Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
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A56123
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Truth unvail'd by scripture-light In three parts. Written for the sake of those that desire to behold it in its native beauty. To which is added, an appendix, which the author desires to leave as a legacy to his children. By a despised follower of the blessed Jesus, Robert Prudom.
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Prudom, Robert.
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1699
(1699)
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Wing P3883; ESTC R218355
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94,157
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208
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his first and second Appearance But as the Apostle saith Heb. 1.1 2. God who at sundry times and divers manners spake in times past unto the Fathers by the Prophets hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son whom he hath appointed Heir of all things The New Testament which was given forth by the Lord Jesus Christ and his Apostles doth take off the Vail from the Old and as to that part of it which concerns the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ is an Exposition of it Our Lord tells the Woman of Samaria John 4.23 But the hour cometh and now is when the true Worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth for the Father seeketh such to worship him Under the times of the Old Testament the Worship of God lay much outward the Body being greatly exercised in it they had killing of Sacrifices they had material Fire to burn the Sacrifice withal and material Salt to season the Sacrifice But under the New Testament the Worship most of all concerns the Soul it is so far spiritual that the Spirit of God must be the Unfolder of it and calls at the first glance for the Soul to apprehend the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Person held forth in it For without a Heart true unto him no acceptance of the Worship neither the Worshipper The Salt which our Worship must be season'd withal must be inward Sincerity the Fire inward Zeal engaging the Heart with God when exercised in the worshipping of him which will not fail to keep the Body in a decent Posture with it How low doth the Apostle go when he speaks of the Old Testament Worship Heb. 10.1 For the Law having a shadow of good things to come and not the very Image of the things can never with these Sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the Comers thereunto perfect By the Law the following words shew he intends the Ceremonial Law which was appointed by God during that Dispensation to typify out that which is with such Clearness presented unto us in the New Testament And in comparing of these together the Apostle doth not vouchsafe to grant unto the Ceremonial Law to be an Image of the other but a Shadow a Shadow is not so much as an Image nor an Image so much as the thing it self It is a Metaphor taken from Painting Painters are wont with Chalk or a Coal to draw out the thing which they propose to themselves to express Which rude Picture is call'd a Shadow for the obscure Representation Then with the Pencil they bring on the lively Colours that it may be a distinct and express Likeness of a thing which is properly call'd an Image There being so vast a Difference in the Matter of the Worship betwixt the Old and New Testament it is very strange to me to see holy Men run back to the Old Testament to warrant their Practice for such things which they want a Warrant for from the New Having found out the nature of the Publication of the Gospel under the New Testament it will not be very difficult to find out what fort of Persons are the visible Members of the Church which leads me to the next thing to be handled What is required to be admitted a Member of the Church according to the Rule laid down in the New Testament And that is a laying hold of the Lord Jesus Christ by Faith and of that rich and free Grace which is extended to Sinners from God the Father through him accompanied with an outward Profession of their Faith before those to whom they join themselves in Church-fellowship and an outward Declaration of their sincere desire to walk with the Church as Members of it according to the Rule of the Word They first saith the Apostle gave their own selves to the Lord and to us by the Will of God It is impossible but Hypocrites and Formalists should creep into the Church because Man judgeth only by outward appearance it is God alone that can behold the Heart However the admittance of them depends upon the Church's Judgment and the Church receives them as sincere and not as Hypocrites or Formalists for if either of these were discoverable before admittance the Church would not accept them Acts 8.13 Then Simon himself believed also and was baptized By believing must be meant an outward Declaration of his believing for it doth appear that his Heart had not laid hold of the Lord Jesus Christ for if it had he would not have been so ignorant how the Gift of the Holy Ghost was given so as to think to procure it by Mony but being discovered the Apostle Peter tells him Thy Mony perish with thee ver 23. For I perceive thou art in the Gall of Bitterness and in the Bond of Iniquity That is notwithstanding thy outward Profession of Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ thou art in a state of Sin and Impenitency which if continued in will at last bring forth the Bitterness of eternal Punishment To prove that the New Testament doth require a Work of true Conversion upon the Heart as that which qualifies or fits a Person to be a Member of the visible Church and that no pretence of fleshly right as being of believing Parents will do it I shall offer these following Reasons First Because the Entail which gave the fleshly Seed right of Membership to the Church ended with that Old Testament Church-state for altho the grievous and abominable Sins of the Israelites did cause the Lord to bring very heavy Judgments upon them and often to send them into Captivity before the face of their Enemies yet they were not unchurched neither was the Worship of God taken from them for their Wickedness and given to another People and the great Reason was because it was by an Act of Grace that this Favour was granted to the Seed of Abraham that they should be separated from the rest of the Nations and have the Worship of God set up amongst them And the same Grace that extended this Favour to them above the rest of the World was pleased that an Entail to secure the continuance of the Favour granted until the coming of the Messiah should be a part of the Grant it self as appears from the words of Jacob Gen. 49.10 The Scepter shall not depart from Judah nor a Lawgiver from between his Feet until Shilo come He speaks it with a shall not to shew that altho their Sins might bring other Judgments upon them yet this Judgment was reserved to fall upon them for their slighting the Messiah The Lord Christ lays this before the Jews in the Parable of a Housholder planting a Vineyard Mat. 21.33 Hear another Parable There was a certain Housholder which planted a Vineyard and hedged it round about and digged a Wine-press in it and built a Tower and let it out to Husbandmen and went into a far Country This Housholder is God the Fathers this Vineyard
tarry ye here and watch with me Mark 14.35 And he went forward a little and fell on the ground and pray'd that if it were possible the hour might pass from him Compared with Luke 22.42 43 44. Father if thou be willing remove this Cup from me nevertheless not my Will but thine be done And there appeared an Angel unto him from Heaven strengthening him And being in an Agony he prayed more earnestly and his Sweat was as it were drops of Blood falling down to the ground He prayeth for freedom from that Cup and Hour that is from the grievous Torments that were upon his Soul yea so great was the Sorrow wherewith his Soul was ready to be overwhelmed that he seeks for help by the Prayers of his poor drousy sleeping Disciples There is an Astonishment or an Amazement which falls upon the Soul two ways that is an Astonishment of Admiration and an Astonishment of Fear the latter is here meant He saw himself fallen on a sudden into such Distress as he knew he could not be delivered from it and being in an Agony he wrestles with Grief and Fear which pressed his precious Soul yea he struggles and wrestles with it that he might not be so far overcome by it as to bewray any kind of Impatience he vents his Grief and Sorrow in these words Not my Will but thine be done The first Adam had a Garden of Pleasure to walk in the second Adam hath a Garden of Sorrow to weep and mourn in The Garden in which Adam and Eve was placed had a pleasant River running through it to water it this Garden is watered with the Blood of the second Adam that is forced through his Veins by inward Grief and excessive Sorrow he not only is said to have sweat drops of Blood but as it were to have bedew'd the place Saith Jansen upon the words If we behold him upon the Cross he there complains of the withdrawings of the Divine Nature from him in these words My God my God why hast thou forsaken me I come secondly to speak of the Sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ in his Body he experienced the fulfilling of the words of the Prophet Isa 50.6 I gave my Back to the smiters and my Cheeks to them that pluck'd off the Hair I hid not my face from shame and spitting Pilate who was his Judg pronounceth him innocent and as an outward sign of his Innocency washeth his hands when he pronounceth Sentence against him to clear himself of his Blood yet scourgeth him and deliver'd him to be crucified Mat. 27.27 28. Then the Souldiers of the Governour took Jesus into the common Hall and gathered unto him the whole band of Souldiers And they stripped him and put on him a scarlet Robe The putting on the Scarlet Robe was for two Reasons the first that the pain of his scourging might be increased upon him the second reason to shew their Contempt of his Kingly Power Ver. 29 30. And when they had platted a Crown of Thorns they put it upon his Head and a Reed in his right-hand and they bowed the Knee before him saying Hail King of the Jews And they spit upon him and took the Reed and smote him on the Head They would not only mock him with the putting of such a Crown on him but by the same also shew their Cruelty to him by fastening the Thorns into his Head Ver. 32. And as they came out they found a Man of Cyrene Simon by name him they compelled to bear his Cross It was a Custom among the Romans that those Malefactors that were to be crucified did bear their own Cross but such had been already the grievous Sufferings of this innocent Lamb that his Body was wearied and made unable to undergo it so a Stranger is laid hold of to carry it for him to the place of Execution Ver. 38. Then were two Thieves crucified with him one on the right-hand and the other on the left This Death of the Cross was a very painful and shameful Death the weight of the Body being born up by Nails struck through the Hands and Feet until they died by a languishing Death He was numbered with the Transgressors having a Thief on each hand that we might be reckoned amongst the Sons of God His Arms were stretched open to shew his willingness to receive poor returning Sinners with one Arm inviting the Jews with the other the Gentiles to flee from Wrath to come by taking Sanctuary in him O my Soul dost thou desire to behold the abominable nature of Sin Dost thou desire to know how hateful it is in God's sight Then take a view of thy suffering Lord. How was his precious Soul fill'd with Anguish How was his precious Body which was formd by the incomprehensible Power of the Holy Ghost in the Womb of the Virgin Mary wearied out by a painful Death Behold this Man of Sorrow that is acquainted with Grief The Vail of the Temple is rent at his Death to shew that he was plucking away that Vail that interposed betwixt God and poor Sinners The Sun was darkned being asham'd to behold the Rage of the wicked against him the Earth who had long groaned under the Curse for Sin trembles to behold what the Son of God indures to remove the Curse Thirdly I proceed to shew that the Redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ was subservient to the Decree of Election and answers the Designs of it And I shall clear it up from these following Scriptures Acts 2.22 23. Ye Men of Israel hear these words Jesus of Nazareth a Man approved of God among you by Miracles and Wonders and Signs which God did by him in the midst of you as ye your selves also know Him being delivered by the determinate Counsel and foreknowledg of God ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain I shall pass by the Wickedness of these malicious Jews and only take notice of what is contain'd in this 23d Verse concerning the Decree of God his determinate Counsel and Fore-knowledg having determined it to be so that is that his Son should thus suffer which did not in the least lesson their Sin The reasons of our Lord's Death in reference to the answering of the Decree we have in John 17.19 And for their sakes I sanctify my self that they also might be sanctified through the Truth Compared with Heb. 2.11 For both he that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one for which cause he if not ashamed to call them Brethren By sanctified and sanctifieth in these two Scriptures is not meant the sanctifying Work of the holy Spirit but his being set apart to the Work of Redemption performed by the Lord Jesus Christ being the Head of the Elect for their sakes he willingly submitteth to those Conditions his Father required to clear them from the Penalty of the first Covenant That the Redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ is subservient to the Decree