Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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A57159
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A sermon preached before the King upon the twenty eighth of March, 1669 by Edward Lord Bishop of Norwich.
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Reynolds, Edward, 1599-1676.
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1669
(1669)
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Wing R1284; ESTC R36786
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19,736
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44
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investigation is far below Angelical Learning But the Mysteries of the Gospel are so great that the glorious Angels gaze upon them with wonder and adoration These things saith the Apostle the Angels desire to look into 1 Pet. 1.12 alluding to the Cherubims with their faces on the Mercy-seat Exod 25.20 To principalities and powers is made known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God Eph. 3.10 This is one Branch of the Mystery of Godliness That Christ is seen of Angels 1 Tim. 3.16 This is one great business of the Angels about the Throne to ascribe power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing to the Lamb that was slain Revel 5.11 12. Again the highest natural knowledge in the world is no way Beatifical A man may as to all such learning be the greatest Scholar living and yet perish But the right knowledge of Christ by the Gospel will justifie and save those that have it By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many Isa 53.11 It is a knowledge which makes perfect Till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man Eph. 4.13 2. The noblest Moral Attainments which men can arrive at by the utmost improvement of natural Reason alone of the most generous Principles of the precepts of the best Philosophers of the examples of the most eminent Heroes will none of it suffice to bring a man to Blessedness The Apostle would not have concluded better things then these to be but loss and dung if he might have been saved by them But there is no other name under heaven whereby salvation is to be had but by the Name of Christ Act. 4.12 Thus the supereminent excellencie of the Gospel of Christ doth appear by comparing it with all other excellent things the excellency of created innocency the excellency of the Law whether Moral or Ceremonial and the excellency of the highest Rational or Moral accomplishments We shall next demonstrate the excellency of the Gospel by considering it Absolutely in it self And here let us first take a view of the supernaturalness sublimity of it It is every where in Scripture called a Mystery the Mystery of Christ the Mystery of the Kingdom a great Mystery of Godliness which signifieth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as St. Chrysostom speaks some wonderful and unknown thing The Apostle calleth it Hidden wisdom the deep things of God beyond the discovery of the noblest created Reason in the world That two natures should be in one Person that God himself should take flesh that a pure Virgin should be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Mother of God as the Council of Ephesus stileth her that he who blesseth all should be made a curse himself who is Lord over all should become a servant himself that the Prince of life should dye and the Lord of Glory be put to shame that the sin should be punished and the sinner pardoned that the Son of David should be the Lord of David and the Son of Mary the Saviour of Mary and he who made the world be born into the World four thousand years after the world was made these were Mysteries shut up in the bosome of God undiscoverable by any created wisdom till he himself was pleased to reveal them Again let us here consider the sanctity of the Gospel as a great Mystery of Godliness The whole design and contrivance thereof being 1. To set forth the glorious righteousness of an holy God that neither his verity nor sanctity might be impaired by his clemency and mercy unto sinners For though he spared them that he might in them shew the riches of his Grace yet he spared not his Son but delivered him up for us all that in him he might declare his righteousness Rom. 3.25 2. Another design of the Gospel was to restore lapsed man unto that primitive holiness wherein he had been created Col. 3.10 for the grace of God which bringeth salvation doth also teach us to deny ungodliness and wordly lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in this present world Christ gave himself for us that he might redeem us from iniquity Tit. 2.11 14. and from our former vain conversation 1 Pet. 1.18 And this the Gospel doth not onely by the precepts thereof as a Rule of holiness but by the grace thereof as a Principle of holiness helping us to do what we are commanded Efficit Fides quod lex jubet Lex imperat fides impetrat saith St. Austin The Law onely commands but faith obtains help to do what is commanded The Law was given to demonstrate our impotencie but Grace was given to heal and to remove it Again here offereth it self to our view the admirable contexture of justice and mercy the unspeakable contrivance of Redemption and salvation by the Gospel There seemeth to be a kinde of conflict between the Attributes of God as St. Bernard hath observed Iustice and Truth resolved to punish sin Moray and Grace resolved to save sinners No created wisdom could have found out a way to effect this so to sever the sin from the sinner that Iustice might satisfie it self upon the one and Mercy magnifie it self upon the other This could not be done but by such a Mediator and Surety as might be both able and willing to suffer the wrath of God and having so done victoriously to rise up and triumph over Hell and Death All this is sound in the Lord Iesus In him man suffer'd In him God conquered His sufferings valid for satisfaction of Justice and impetration of favour and by the infinite dignitie of his Person made applicable to the persons of all that should believe· Grace given unto them that they may believe and consent to their own Salvation And thus all parties are satisfied and all willing· God satisfied by the obedience of his Son This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased Christ satisfied with the salvation of his body He shall see the travel of his soul and shall be satisfied Believers satisfied with their pardon and inheritance When I awake I shall be satisfied with thine Image God willing to pardon sinners Christ willing to Redeem sinners and sinners made willing by the Spirit of the Father and the Son to enjoy the benefit of so great a redemption and to obey the precepts of so holy a Gospel And thus Mercy and Truth are met together Righteoutness and peace have kissed each other All the Religions that ever were in the world could never shew so glorious a temperament of exquisite Iustice of most gratuitous Mercy of unsearchable wisdom as is revealed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 4. Let us consider the necessity of the Gospel by the Grace and Righteousness whereof alone we are saved through faith in Christ Eph. 2.8 A thing may be necessary to an end 1. By way of a Temporary mutable sanction So
Thus have I endeavoured to shew the excellencies of Christ and the unsearchable riches of his Gospel as the alone necessary and indispensable means unto all solid comfort in this life and unto all true blessedness in another in comparison whereof all other the noblest endowments are not onely loss but dung All these things whereby I have proved the greatness of the Gospel are evident demonstrations of the excellencie of the knowledge of Christ thereby since the dignity of science is founded in the Sublimity Majesty greatness of the subject known So that I shall need add but one thing more which is particular to the saving knowledge of Christ that it doth not discover onely him and his excellencies unto us but doth convey them upon us and give us a right and interest in them And hereupon it is An enlivening knowledge I live by the faith of the Son of God He that believeth in me saith our Saviour shall live though he were dead which is more then can be said of all the excellencies in the world they all run like Jordan into a dead Sea the grave devours them without hope of a resurrection But our life in Christ is an abiding and an abounding life It is An ennobling knowledge it giveth us a priviledge dignity and power to be called the Sons of God It is A justifying knowledge by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many It entitleth us to all the merits of the Death and obedience of Jesus Christ. It is A sanctifying knowledge which purifieth the Heart and worketh by love hereby we know that we know him if we keep his Commandments Lastly it is a saving knowledge This is eternal life to know thee the onely true God and whom thou hast sent Jesus Christ. I shall very briefly conclude with but three words of Exhortation 1. To my self and Brethren to whom the dispensation of this glorious Gospel is entrusted that we would be ever mindful of our commission Ambassadors must keep strictly to the Mandate of their Princes and never deviate from their instructions Our Commission is to teach men to observe all things whatsoever Christ hath commanded to preach unto them the unsearchable riches of Christ to take them off from all presumptuous sins from all vain delights from all carnal confidence from all self-opinion of their own performances to set forth Christ before them as the desire of all nations to convince them of the All-sufficiency of his righteousness and of the great duties of faith and obedience which they owe unto him as King of Saints Not to preach our selves our own fancies passions or interests but so to preach Christ Jesus the Lord as becomes the excellencie of his person and offices as becomes the Majesty and awfulness of the doctrines of Salvation 2. To all in place of power and authority that since Christ to whom all power was given did and still doth put it forth for our salvation they also would be exhorted to exert their power for the honour and interest of Christ and his Gospel By the light of their gracious examples to render the beauties of holiness amiable unto others for the lives of great men are a kinde of law to those that are under them By their zeal courage and justice to put to shame the insolencies of any who by profaness and atheism either of tongue pen or life dare offer any scorn or indignity to the Lord or to the Gospel of Glory By their wisdom and love to Christ to use all means for promoting the Gospel of Salvation and removing out of the way whatsoever doth obstruct the powerful progress and prevalencie thereof amongst men And here I cannot but with grief of heart once more bewail those doleful divisions which deface the beauty and shake the stability of this once flourishing Church For as in the natural body solutio continui doth both pain deform it so do breaches in the body of Christ abate both the strength and comeliness of it while we thus by our divisions lessen and weaken one another we comfort and advantage a common adversary Do not all learned and sober Protestants agree in the Doctrine of the Church of England in the vitals essentials of true Religion in the great foundations of faith worship and obedience Have they not all one Father one Head one Faith one Hope one heavenly Canaan whither they profess to be all going Why then should brethren fall out by the way Why is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered I am no Prophet to foretell future events Yet since the Psalmist hath told me that where brethren dwell together in unity there the Lord commandeth a blessing Psal. 133. Since he hath joyned the peace and prosperity of the Church together Peace be within thy walls and prosperity within thy palaces Psal. 122. Since the Apostle hath assured me that if we be of one minde and live in peace the God of love and peace will be with us 2 Cor. 13.11 I cannot but upon these grounds verily perswade my self that if we would with a sincere eye to the glory of God the interest of the Gospel and the peace of the Church which things ought to be most dear unto us set our selves with a spirit of meekness and moderation to heal the breaches and reconcile the differences which are amongst us that so if possible we might be like the Primitive Christians of one heart and one soul the Lord would say unto us as he did unto his people when they laid the foundation of his Temple Hag. 2.19 From this day I will bless you And if this would not effectually do it that which I have last to say I am sure would Which is 3. To perswade all who profess the Gospel to lead their lives agreeable thereunto to hold the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience and to express the lineaments ofChrist in their conversation There is no precept more frequently inculcated in the writings of the Apostles then this therefore I shall give it you in their words as having most of aw and authority in them How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein There is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Iesus who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit If any man be in Christ he is a new creature Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called Put off the old man put on the new man if ye have heardChrist and been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus As ye have received Christ Iesus the Lord so walk ye in him He that saith he abideth in him ought himself to walk even as he walked Let your conversation be as becometh the Gospel of Christ. Adorn the Doctrine of God our Saviour in all things Shew forth the vertues of him who calleth you out of darkness into his