Selected quad for the lemma: reason_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
reason_n	authority_n	church_n	infallible_a	2,260	5	9.5871	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B07186	Sions svveets, or, The spouses spikenard; and mysticall myrrhe / by Thomas Barnes, preacher of Gods vvord at St Margretts in New-fifth-street. London..	Barnes, Thomas, Minister of St. Margaret's, New Fish Street, London.	1624 (1624)	STC 1477.5; ESTC S124289	64,452	85

is not this bundle this bunch of Myrrhe Christ his righteousnesse worthy of praises being giuen by him as a speciall token of his fauour to poore miserable and sinfull creatures Did the i Luk. 17.16 tenth Leper returne thankes for the cleansing of his body and wilt not thou whom Christ hath chosen as one out of ten yea of twentie to purge thy soule returne glory to his name Mary Magdalen k Luk. 7.47 loued Christ much after He had forgiuen her much Dauid resolu'd with himselfe that on condition the Lord according to the multitude of his mercies would doe away his iniquities and purge him with Hysop which was an Embleme of his cleansing and cloathing with Christs righteousnesse his tongue should sing aloud of his righteousnesse l Psal 51.2.7.14 verses It is reported of Alexander sirnamed The Great that he acknowledged himselfe to owe more to Aristotle his Master then to Philip his Father because from his Master he receiued his Well being whereas from his Father he had but his naturall being m Pet. Mart. in lib. 1. Ethic. Arist p. 5. In like manner I dare boldly say thou that art a true Christian owest more to Christ thy Master yea thy elder brother for giuing thee through the merit of his owne righteousnesse a spirituall being in grace then to thy naturall Father or Mother by whom thou hast thy being in nature Oh therefore owing so much pay him much I meane loue him much be much thankefull vnto him for this his kindnesse Let thy thankefulnesse to him know no limits set no bounds to thy obedience let not much water quench the flame of thy loue thy zeale let not the very fire it selfe deterre thee scare thee from sacrifice from his seruice Propose the blessed Martyrs for thy patterne The sweetnesse of this bundle haue so affected them that rather then they would any way show themselues vngratefull they haue not spared to be prodigall of their very liues Take oh take then the cup of saluation and blesse his holy name vow seruice vow obedience to him vnto the very death for his free mercy in iustifying of thee requires no lesse deserues no lesse at thy hands Leauing this I come now to the next poynt which is That as Christ alone is the Iustifier of the Church * Doct. so the Church alone is iustified by Christ The true Church alone is iustified by Christ Iustification is a benefit belonging onely to the true members of the Church and to none else TO MEE in my Text implies as much To me the Church alone not to you daughters of Ierusalem * Except you be Eloct not to you aliants and strangers to the Common-wealth of Israell is my Beloued a bundle of Myrrhe a bringer of righteousnesse Aske Paul whom he speakes of when he saith In grace HE that is God hath made VS accepted in the Beloued n Ephe. 1.6 that is iustified through Christ and he will answere that he meaneth VS who are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world VS who are predestinated to the adoption of children * Verses 4.5 intimating none to be capable of iustification but such The same thing the same Apostle proueth in the eight of the Romanes Whom he predestinated them also he called and whom he called them also he iustified o Rom. 8.30 Now who are predestinated who are the called of God but the members of the Church p Vers 3. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods Elect It is God that iustifieth that is it is God that iustifieth the Elect q Zanch. ad Eph. c. 2. p. 8. Tom. 5. i. e. Electosfolos Methinkes that of S. Iohn in his Reuelation is very fit for this purpose where he saith not that he saw the r Apoc. 13.1 BEAST with seauen heades and ten hornes that is the enemies of the Church who vse their wit and authoritie against it cloathed with the Sunne that is with Christs righteousnesse but a Å¿ Apoc. 12.1 WOMAN so cloathed that is the Church alone or the company of the faithfull Reason The reason is plaine for faith which apprehendeth justification by Christ is a gift proper and peculiar to the Church and none else for which cause it is stiled The faith of Gods ELECT t Tit. 1.1 Now if none haue faith but the Church then it must needes follow that none are iustified but the members of the Church How full of terror is this truth vnto all those that are out of the Church I meane not onely those who stand sunning themselues in the Church-yard that sit swilling in Alehouses fulfilling their fleshly pleasures following their worldly profits while the Word is Preaching and people are praying vpon the LORDS day I meane I say not onely them who are thus out of the materiall Temple which is made of Bricke and Stone * And yet I include them also for right Christians dare not doe as they doe but also all others that are no true members of Christs mysticall body who though they heare the Word receiue the Sacraments c. yet are voyde of sauing grace are no spirituall stones of the spirituall building no u Cant. 1.17 Cedar beames in Gods house that is no * For Cedar was vsed in cleansing Levit. 14. Notes of the false Church Propounded by the way to shew whom this terror belongs to purified no sanctified ones in Gods familie To all of them to euery one of them here is I say a ground of terrour For ah poore creatures they are not iustified they haue no share in no benefit by the righteousnesse of Christ. This bundle belongs not to them It is peculiar to those whom they for their Religions-sake hate scorne and maligne It appertaines not to those daughters of Ierusalem spoken of in the fift verse of this Chapter who seeme to be of the Church who brag they are of the Israell of God and yet are not * 1. Particular loue of false teaching and teachers Thou therefore that delightest in false Doctrine and castest the Word of God behind thy backe x Ier. 8.9 thou that with Ahab hadst rather heare an hundred false Prophets then one sound Michaiah y 1 King 22. and with Ieroboam z 1 Kin. 13.4 wilt not hearken to the faithfull messengers of the Lord of Hosts * 2. Neutralitie in religion thou that with the same Ieroboam a 1 Kin 12.28.29 art readie to change thy Religion and manner of worship instituted by God himselfe * 3. Defence and ripnes of sinne thou that with the people in Ieremies time wilt palliate and defend thy sinnes professing thou walkest not after Balaim when as yet the Lord sees thy abhomination in the Valley b Ier. 2.23 being pure in thine owne eyes when as yet thou art not cleansed from thy wickednesse c Prov. 30.12 * 4. Blasphemy thou

the wordes be read I take the meaning to stand thus It is the resolution of mee the Church that this sweet bundle shall or It is my heartie desire that my beloued Christ and the sweetnesse which I smell in his righteousnesse may abide with me so long as I am in the might of this world The reason of the Paraphrase For lodging is a symbole of continuance and breasts doe note out the will and affections and so by consequent the resolution and desire and night the world Therefore by lodging all night betwixt the breasts is meant the abiding of Christ as a Iustifier with the sweetnes of his righteousnesse in the desires and resolution of a Christian so long as he is in this world I could obserue from hence thus much That they that are once iustified by Christ are for euer iustified Proue it I could out of Isa 32.17 Hos 2. towardes the latter end Rom. 11.29 And by occasion of this I could tell the doubting and perplexed soule to its singular consolation that though it be in the night of tribulation and temptation in this world yet Christ Iesus will neuer forsake it but will pernoctare lodge with it all night nothing shall seperate it from the loue of God in Christ Iesus But there is another maine thing I driue at and this it is Doct. 6 That it is the resolution and desire of the true members of the Church to retaine and keepe all their life long that sweetnesse which they smell in the righteousnesse of Christ that ioy which they haue from their assurance of being iustified freely by Him This was Dauids resolution I will reioyce and be glad in thy mercie b Psal 31.7 Marke he contents not himselfe to speake in the time present I DOE reioyce but he speakes in the Future tense I WILL reioyce shewing what his minde and purpose was This was also the DESIRE of that holy man c Psal 24.7 One thing haue I DESIRED of the Lord that I will seeke after that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the dayes of my life to behold the beautie of the Lord. And euer and anon you shall finde that Prophet crying Lord lift thou vp the light of thy countenance vpon mee and then I shall be safe that is then I shall haue what I would haue d Psal 4. Restore vnto mee the ioy of thy salvation e Psal 51. that the bones which thou hast broken may reioyce f V. Hence it is that the ioy of Gods people is called an euerlasting ioy g Isa 61.7 The complaints of Christians in the time of spirituall desertion doe euidently show this For looke as Iob in the time of his adversitie did bewayle the losse of his former prosperitie in these termes h Iob. 29.2.3.6 Oh that I were as in moneths past as in the dayes when God preserued me when his candle shined vpon my head and when by his light I walked through darkenesse When I washed my steps in butter and the rockes poured ryvers of Oyle So complaine Beleeuers when they are insensible of those inward comforts and sweete internall ioyes they were wont to haue Oh that it were with me as in times past as in the dayes when God refreshed mee when the candle of his bright countenance shined vpon mee when by the light of his sweet comforts I did walke ioyfully through the darkest temptations Oh that it were with me as it was when the rocke Christ Iesus poured out rivers of ioy vnto mee to accheere me in the assurance of iustification by his owne blood Now what doth this kinde of complaint intimate vnto vs but that the Church is desirous to retaine that ioy which ariseth from the assurance which shee hath of sharing in the righteousnesse of Christ Reason Neither need wee marvaile at it for why this sweetnesse this ioy which springes from this roote is one of the most infallible testimonies of the loue of Christ but choyce loue-tokens as wee know are most desiredly kept and retained Let a Wooer bestow vpon his Loue but a Nosegay or Muske-ball as a testimony of his loue and if shee takes it so whatsoeuer shee be carelesse of els shee will be very carefull to keepe that and still be desiring to recreate her selfe with the sweetnesse of that Inasmuch therefore as ioy in the holy Ghost is a speciall token of the Church her beloueds good will vnto her shee must needs be carefull to keepe that except shee be very much out of tune and still haue that bundle betweene her breasts in the very night time that is that sweetnes in her desires euen in the deepest and darkest affections Vse 1 First of all doe Christians desire to keepe that ioy which the assurance of their free iustification by Christ doth effect in them then this showes that sound and solid ioy is permanent and durable It is not flitting like the ioy of the worldling it is not vanishing like the ioy of the hypocrite it is not perishing like the ioy of the Epicure In Gods presence is fulnesse of ioy and at his right hand saith Dauid in a Propheticall strayne of Christ are pleasures for euermore i Psal 16. Now if in His GLORIOVS presence there be fulnesse of ioy and euerlasting pleasures then the ioyes of his gracious presence must needs be durable also being the tast and beginning of the glorious I deny not but that there is a mixture of sorrowes with their ioyes because it is fit and needfull that so it should be yet this doth not nullifie the perpetuitie of them because it doth not anibilate the essence of them Though Christians haue not alwayes a feeling of them yet they haue alwayes the being of them Myrrhe betweene a mans breasts hath a sweetnes in the night time though whiles he sleepes he smells it not So assurance of iustification is in the beleeuers heart and the sweetnesse of it in his soule though while he slippes into sinne and is in some sleepie fits of carnall securitie he be not sensible of the same To thinke then that the ioy of Gods people is a fading or transitorie ioy is a groundles conceite and a wrong done the honour of Gods mercy which is the fountaine of it For what God giues his children an hearty desire continually to keepe that will HE keepe continually for them Vse 2 Secondly this is of vse to exhort and stirre vp all them that want this ioy Exhortation to vnbeleeuers to get this ioy to seeke after it and to endeuour to attaine it Such earthly things as are most permanent in their owne kinde are most desired by them that enioy them euery one will labour after them This ioy is euer durable They that haue this ioy doe resolue and desire euer to keepe it Labour therefore oh labour I say with might and mayne to get it you that want it And to helpe you hereto you must