Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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A46911
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Eklampsis tōn dikaiōn, or, The shining forth of the righteous a sermon preached partly upon the death of that reverend and excellent divine, Mr. Stephen Charnock, and in part at the funeral of a godly friend / by John Johnson.
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Johnson, John, M.A.
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1680
(1680)
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Wing J783; ESTC R16247
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41,797
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47
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way weaker Christians can hardly get to Heaven for them not without stumbling wounding their Consciences and making their hearts to ake 2. Persons that do iniquity no good much mischief in the Church and that make it their employ Too many such there are in the visible Church because they whose concern it is take not that care of and inspection over them as they ought When both these shall be bundled up by the Angel and hurl'd into the fiery furnace as fewel for Hell yet not be consumed but Salamander-like live in the devouring fire and dwell with everlasting burnings Consider these four Particulars 1. The Subjects of future Glory the Righteous 2. What their Dignity preferment and eternal happiness will be viz. 1. They shall shine as they do in Grace and Holiness much more in glory 2. Shine forth i. e. be perfectly freed from every thing that eclipses their light or obscureth the splendor and brightness of their Grace and Holiness 3. Shine forth as the Sun i. e. gloriously incomparably not as the Moon that changeth as the Sun in its noon day glory with unchangeable everlasting light shall they be perfectly glorified 3. The Firmament or place where In the Kingdom of their Father God may as soon be pulled out of Heaven his Being and Glory be extinct as they plucked out of their Orbs and their light and glory be put out 4. The time when when Hypocrites the unrighteous shall be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone to be tormented with their Father the Devil and abide there for ever there to the torment of sinners their own unspeakable comfort especially to the glory of God shall the righteous in Heaven shine out Hence Note 1. They that shall be glorified are the righteous viz. through Regeneration Reputation by Sanctification and Acceptation 1. They that are righteous through Regeneration called v. 38. the children of the Kingdom by an usual Hebraism as in those terms children of death children of wrath c. 1. Because they are designed for and constituted by God heirs of the Kingdom And 2. are made capable of it being born of the Word of the Spirit of God himself 1. They are born again not of corruptible black rotting seed but of incorruptible the Word of God which liveth and abideth for ever 1 â— et 1.23 24. i. e. Not of the Word of man flowers and flourishâ—s of humane wit and eloquence which soon fade corrupt and like rotten seed come to nothing but of the Word of God pure Gospel v. 25 whence they grow and as the corn sown and the corn in the ear are of the same nature by Regeneration turn as it were very word and spirit that incorruptible seed the Word of the Kingdom being turned into Grace in their hearts changes and transforms them inâ—o new Creatures and they grow from it in Grace and Holiness 2. They are born of the Spirit Joh. 3.5 6. and thereby not only Evangelized but spiritualized 2 Cor. 3 18. Changed into the image of Christ presented to them by the Gospel who received the Spirit without measure and transformed from glory to glory from grace to grace or from one degree of the glorious grace and graces of the Lord the blessed spirit to another made very like not only to their Lord Jesus but the Lord the Spirit Yea 3 ly They are born of God 1 Joh. 3.9 so implicitely termed his children in the Text which calls Heaven by the name of the Kingdom of their Father Though 't is true they grow after in their resemblance of him as they grow more holy as he is holy Eph. 4.23 24. in holiness of Truth wrought in them by the Word of Truth and by the Spirit of Truth whereas before Conversion there is none righteous not one Jew one Gentile one in all the World All are of their father the Devil and his works they will do All are corrupt and do iniquity yea abominable iniquity and do not do good Their best actions in holy Austin's Language are but glittering sins some in our days would say the good Father is out his bolt is soon shot what were the eminent vertues of the Heathens sins how differs Grace from Vertue and Morality therefore we 'l say the best actions of the unregenerate being not from a principle of Grace have nothing of holiness truth of grace and goodness in them So are sins of omission which was Austins meaning They do no good at all 2. Such as are righteous by Reputation i. e. to whom God imputeth not sin and guilt but reckoneth and reputeth righteous in his sight not for any thing wrought in them or done by them but for the merit righteousness perfect obedience and full satisfaction of their Lord Jesus received by faith alone This is the good seed the word of truth the Gospel of our Salvation which being scattered by Ministers and blown by the Blessed Spirit into the prepared hearts of Intelligent hearers takes root and grows there They which come up thereby to trust i. e. to hope in Christ and to be justified by faith thorough him they are the good seed the righteous that shall be glorified As the Sons of the first Adam were made sinners the Sons of the second are made righteous None after regeneration can make themselves righteous if they could keep the whole Law since by Adam's disobedience theirs in him they were made sinners All and only believers are constituted righteous by the obedience of Christ who was made of God the second Adam a common head and representative of all that were given to him by the Father This righteousness is not their own but Christs yet 't is theirs being made theirs 1. by Gods Donation 2. by their thankful acceptance apprehending laying hold upon and appropriating of it by faith So if I may borrow the Learned Mr. Richard Hooker his saying God accepts them in Jesus Christ as perfectly righteous as if they had fulfilled all that was commanded in the Law shall I say more perfectly righteous than if they had fulfilled the whole Law I must take heed what I say but the Apostle saith God made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him 3 ly They who are by Inchoation I mean by the Word and by the spirit of Holiness truly in part though not perfectly sanctified and made righteous and daily more and more when as 't was in an instant of their being turned to God that they were regenerate of their believing in Christ that they were justified Whom he justified them he also glorified Rom 8.30 i. e. say Divines he sanctified There being not a specifical but only a gradual difference betwixt them and such have love and do righteousness 1. They have righteousness inherent in them answering to what was in the first and in some measure to that which is in the second
his as it was of the Lords preaching in the land of Zebulon The people which sat in darkness saw great light and to them which sat in the region of the shadow of death light sprang up And lastly in this great City where his sphere being not spacious enough for so great a light was enlarged Here he intended to have given forth a compleat body of Divinity but alas after he had demonstrated the Being and Existence of God this Sun set before he had gone over half of his transcendent Excellencies and Perfâ—ctions The last subject he treated on and finished was the Patience of God He was looking what to say next of the Mercy Grace and Goodness of God which he is gone to see and to admire for he found that which he most looked and longed for The mercy of our Lord Jesus unto eternal life in heaven where he shines now Indeed all the while he was upon the Attributes of God he moved with that extraordinary strength and celerity 't was an argument of his near approach unto his center his everlosting Rest and if it be true as some say that the Soul doth prominere in Morte his words were too true Predictions and from his Soul when he said that concerning Divine patience would be his last Sermon which the Lord grant may prove Salvation to all that heard him Let me advise you dry your eyes he is translated to Heaven to shine forth Here your Timothy was something obscured by manifold infirmities a crazy Body weak Eyes one dark the other dim a Hand that would shake sometimes an infirm Stomack an aking Head a fugitive memory which after it had failed him sometimes he would never trust again but verbatim pen'd and read all his Notes whereas till of late years in Preaching he never look'd within them more by a little Passion or choler which through grace he turned into the right channel most of all by foul and false Aspersions cast upon him as if he was Melancholly Reserv'd Unsociable to which all his acquaintance will give a character of him diametrically opposite How cheerful free loving sweet-disposition'd was he in all Companies where he could take delight He was their Love their Delights Well your Stephen has seen the Glory of God and Jesus at his right hand in the Glory of the Father and now he shines forth as a Star as the Sun it self for ever and ever I know it the Word of God is Truth They that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars for ever Dan. 12.3 As a Learned Rabbin comments upon the Words They that in their life-time followed the righteousness of God and were the adjuvant causes to make others to work and do righteousness shall attain to a more eminent degree of light and glory from the brightness of the Shechinah or the Divine Presence and their faces shall shine as the face of Moses did when he had been long fed with and lived upon the Divine-light and that for ever for they shall sin no more as here as oft as they sinned they lost degrees of the excellency of their dignity but shall with an absolute perfection be made perfect Then also whatever did let and oppress their shining forth viz. the Captivity we may say Temptations to sin or their being in part carnal and sold under sin Satan and the evil figment or remainders of corruption shall cease And you know that your Sun which is now set did follow after holiness and rejoyced as a strong man a Giant to run that race the light of his Doctrine was pure perfect sure right enlightning the eyes converting the soul making wise the simple and rejoycing the heart Your Teacher was though not a perfect man a perfect Minister thorowly accomplish'd by the Spirit and the Word of Truth the Old and New Testament I never in all my life knew any that had attained near unto that skill he he had in both their Originals except Mr. Thomas Cawton unto all those four good works of the Ministry 2 Tim. 3.16 1. Doctrine i. e. clearly to Expound 1. the Promise the Covenant of Grace the Gospel 2. The Law and so to Preach over the Apostles whole System of Divinity Faith and Love which is in Christ In this which is the only true Divinity he was a most judicious solid and sound Divine As for 2. Reproof he was an able and an Orthodox Divine a Professor in Divinity able to convince of every sin to refute every error to demonstrate the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of each Antichristian or other false opinion 3. For correction and restauration of any that through infirmity or temptation had fallen into sin to the wounding of his Conscience he was an excellent Casuist a most experimental Preacher a most discreet and experienced Divine 4. For instruction in righteousness he knew the way to Heaven and how to conduct and take his Hearers along with him He was a most Powerful and Practical Preacher He was so but now he is not He is not so to you All that I speak I see doth but renew your grief but moderate your sorrows Yea sorrow not Read what Dr. Bates in his Funeral-Sermon on Dr. Manton cites out of Chrysostom pag. 47. yea read the Text 1 Thes 3. from v. 13. to the end Mr. Charnock his soul is gone his body will be raised to be for ever with the Lord. You 'l say you weep for your selves truly well you may yet think not because he hath left you that you are left of God I own it your loss is so great that it cannot be repaired but by God himself Continue in Prayers that God would please to raise you up a Pastor by whose Ministry you may be called more and more effectually to the obtaining of the Glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Were I to speak to Mr. Charnock's people I should beg of them to be most circumspect and prudent in calling one to establish you if they could meet with to chuse such a one as he was a powerful Preacher a good Casuist a judicious Divine a Doctor yea Professor in Divinity I know not what more to advise pray I will since a Chariot of fire hath parted Mr. Charnock and you that a double portion of his Spirit may be and rest on him whom the Lord shall chuse and direct you to pitch upon to succeed him that whilst you are crying my Father my Father the Chariots of Israel and the Horsemen thereof the enemy may not pursue your Souls break in upon rout scatter and divide and so ruine you and your Congregation Amen! Amen! FINIS Pictores P. Ichram absolutámq faciem rarò nis in pejus effingunt Plin. sec lib. 5. c. 10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Stumbling-blocks Traps 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not only as Justin and Gr. Nyssen cite it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 G Nazian Orat. 1â— Rom. 3.10 c. Splendida