Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n
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A47178
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A sermon preach'd at the parish-church of St. Helen's, London, May the 19th, 1700 by George Keith.
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Keith, George, 1639?-1716.
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1700
(1700)
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Wing K211; ESTC R18917
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16,538
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34
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loved us that he gave his only Begotten for us the Word to be made Flesh and God manifest in the flesh and how Christ so loved us that he gave himself for us who as he was the Father's Gift was also his own Gift to us he gave himself for us to redeem us from all Iniquity Before this Love and the great effects of it upon our blessed Lord were made known to us we felt not that influence of it upon our Hearts to move us to live to him but while we were ignorant of those things we lived to our selves and to the World Life and Immortality was to be brought to the Light of our Knowledge the Kindness and Love of God our Saviour was first to appear to us and come to our knowledge before we could be gained upon to Love him and to Live to him who Died for us and Rose again But the next thing that is to be Enquired and Resolved is How this great Mystery of Christ's Death and his great Love that moved him to lay down his Life for us is made known to us This Question I shall Answer in the following Particulars First Christ's Death and Love wherewith he so Loved us that he died for us is made known to us by the Doctrine of the Gospel more especially as it is Preach'd to us and also as we Read or hear it Read to us out of the Holy Scriptures Life and Immortality is brought to light by the Gospel 2. Tim. 1.10 The Mystery which was hid in God before the World began came to be gradually reveal'd after Adam's fall first more obscurely and implicitly but afterwards more clearly and explicitly by the Scriptures of the Old Testament Rom. 16.26 And Lastly most clearly and explicitly by the whole Scriptures both of the Old and New Testaments all which are given by Divine Inspiration and are able to make us Wise unto Salvation through Faith in Christ Jesus 2 Tim. 3.15 16. Both consisting in excellent Harmony and the New Testament being both a Fulfilling and Exposition of the Old Testament The great design of the Scriptures both of the Old and New Testament is to set forth the great Love of God to Men in giving his Son for their Salvation and also the great Love of Christ who gave himself for the same The way and manner how it is accomplished how this Love is the Love of the whole Trinity and how each Person is concerned in the work of our Salvation jointly and severally and of the Duty that Men owe to God for that great Love and to Christ considered not as God only but as God Incarnate i. e. as both God and Man having two Natures as above mentioned but one Person one intire Jesus Christ our Saviour This commends to us the Holy Scriptures Incomparably above all Writings of Men above all Writings and Books of the greatest Natural and Moral Philosophers whether Greeks or Romans or of whatever other Nations whatever true things they Taught or Writ either from true Reason or common Illumination assisting and strengthening their Reason that might be and were useful to Mankind yet they fell short of the discovery of this great Mystery That Christ so loved us that he Died for us and that he Died for us that we might not Live to our selves but to him who died for us Nothing but special Revelation such as he gave to his holy Prophets from time to time from the of the World in the gradual discoveries of it and which are Recorded in the holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament could have given us this knowledge and for this cause it is that we ought highly to value the Holy Scriptures as a special Treasure of greater worth incomparably than all the Gold and Silver and Wealth and Riches of the whole World Secondly The same is made known to us by the Holy Spirit 's internal Illumination and Inspiration perswading us of the truth of the Holy Scriptures and of thhis great Mystery That Christ so Loved us that he Died for us that is so fully Recorded in the Scriptures and also opening our Understandings to understand it and give us to see the great Riches Glory and Beauty of the wonderful Love Wisdom Power and Holiness and other the Glorious Attributes of God in the way of our Salvation in all the various steps of it God hath so appointed it that by his Words as Outwardly delivered by the Holy Prophets by Christ when he came in the Flesh and by his Holy Evangelists and Apostles which are now on Record in the writings of the holy Scriptures and by his Holy Spirit Inwardly Enlightening and Inspiring us we should be both Taught and Helped to Believe and Understand Savingly the great Mystery of our Salvation according to Isaiah 59.21 The words which God gave unto Christ Christ hath given them to the Apostles and Evangelists and they have faithfully Recorded them and by these Records of the Holy Scripture they are given to us while we daily hear them in Preaching and Reading John 17.8 20. And for this cause it is that St. Paul calls the Gospel The Power of God to Salvation to every one that Believes For that the Power of the Spirit of God accompanies the Doctrine of the Gospel to whomsoever it is Preached to enable such who hear it both to Believe and Understand it Faith is thereby offered unto them and the Holy Spirit accompanying the Doctrine offers his help to All who hear it tho All do not receive it yet many do and shall Christ stands at the door of your Hearts and knocks as he said to them of Laodicea If any Man will hear my Voice and open unto me I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with me This calling and knocking of Christ at the door of your Hearts is both Outwardly by the Gospel as outwardly Preach'd or Read and Inwardly by his Spirit The Word Outwardly delivered is as the Hammer but the Spirit Inwardly accompanying is the Hand that moves it If any should bring the strongest Arguments to prove the Scriptures to be True and of Divine Authority suppose they should be as Demonstrative as any Theorem in a natural Science yet all this could produce no more than an Humane Assent or Faith without the Spirit work together with the Word and Doctrine Inwardly to seal to the Truth of the Scripture and work a Divine Faith in us of the Truth of them For true Saving Faith is the gift and work of Gods Spirit and Power It is by the Spirit 's working together with the written Word Preach'd or Read that we know the things that are freely given us of God If any Object What need of both If we are Taught by the Word and Doctrine Outwardly as delivered in the Holy Scriptures what need we to be Taught by the Spirit Inwardly Or if we be Taught by the Spirit Inwardly what need we be Taught by the Word and