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A85988 A soveraign antidote against sinful errors, the epidemical plague of these latter dayes. Extracted out of divine records, the dispensatory of Christianity: for the prevention and cure of our spiritual distempers. By Claudius Gilbert, B.D. and minister of the Gospel at Limrick in Ireland. Gilbert, Claudius, d. 1696? 1658 (1658) Wing G704; Thomason E939_4; ESTC R202212 152,383 185

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used by him to set forth his goodness What ever defect you find in the Creature he is not capable of that is all goodness all perfection Is not such a Christ a singular object to exercise our knowledge about What his office called him to his progress fitted him for and his relation makes conveyance of through his holy Spirit unto all his Sixthly His Influence is considerable for actual Communication of all Each Relation of his carries still with it a secret sweet and sutable Influx which doth strongly and efficaciously operate on all his thereby they are made more and more Partakers of the divine nature in escaping the pollutions that are in the world through Lust The Apostle had found the precious vertue thereof which made him so desirous to know him in the power of his Resurrection and in the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable to his death This the Converts at Ephesus felt who being made acquainted with this gracious knowledge of Christ were quickned by his power and made to rise with him yea to sit with him at Gods right hand This Influence is free indeed this spiritual wind blows where it lists not being tied to any means it works at pleasure with or without means by weak small improbable or contrary means yet ordinarily God works by his appointed Tools he walks in his own road of Providence and leads his people step by step to the very top of Jacobs Ladder In the course of things natural and spiritual he limits us still though not himself and will be sought and found in each of his ways for the further knowledge of his divine Influence It s he that is the Life of our Life the strength of our strength in whom we live move and have our Being both naturally and spiritually How excellent then is that gracious Knowledge whose Object is thus excellent in every consideration Reason 2. THE Subject and Recipient of this knowledge sets forth the inestimable worth of it They are his Elect his chosen Jewels his peculiar people to whom he imparts this Jewel unto Them only doth he know for his of all the Nations to whom he makes himself thus savingly known As he makes himself the Pearl or Price to them so doth he make them Pearls of Price thereby Blessed are the people who learn to known him being first known of him The rest are refuse stones these are his living precious stones Others he knows with a general knowledge of intuition but these with a special knowledge of appropriation and approbation The rest delight not to know him as he delights not to know them He never knew them and they never knew him in this choise manner For his own he came to make himself thus graciously known to their souls in all the Dimensions of his eternal Love surpassing mans knowledge that they may be filled with the fulness of God How precious is that knowledge that makes the Subjects thereof so precious How admirable is that Jewel that takes up the the sublimest Contemplations templations of the most glorious Angels Those Elect Angels are still attending in his Ordinances to join with his Elect and learn of the Church this manifold wisdom of our God For those Elects sake Christ suffered all things meritoriously and Paul his servant providentially Those Elect whom the Lord did foreknow he never casts away but makes them up among his Jewels by making his Christ so precious to them in a greacious way His choice Love did freely choose them before time and is fully assured to them in Christ being communicated through the precious Operations of his Spirit to make them precious like himself in due time unto eternity Reason 3. The cause of this Gracious Knowledge doth as wonderfully magnifie the same considerable in the Efficient formal and final 1. THe Efficient cause and Author thereof is the blessed Trinity jointly yet distinctly Revealing and communicating Jesus Christ unto his chosen people 1. The external Operations of God towards the creature being indivisibly effected by the three Persons concurring in One the Son doing nothing but what he sees his Father do and working still as the Father works and the Spirit proceeding from both speaks not of himself but whatsoever he hears from them both that speaks he unto Christs Disciples 2. Distinctly according to their distinct personal Relations 1. The Father electing from eternity having chosen them in Christ before the Foundation of the world that they might be holy and unblameable before him in Love and therefore predestinating them to the Adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his Will and making them through his knowledge meet partakers of his Inheritance in Light by translating them into the Kingdom of his dear Son who were chosen according to his foreknowledge through sanctification of the Spirit 2. The Son accepting and undertaking tendring and effecting in and by himself the whole business of their Salvation making known the same by his Word and Spirit as also by his own Person in the dayes of his flesh 3. The holy Spirit by wooing of their souls opening their eyes and fitting them for the Reception of this Excellent Knowledge infusing the same into them applying it particularly to their several dispositions and occasions removing daily the scales of their ignorance and sin scattering the mists raised by the Prince of darkness Repressing the vapours steeming from their boyling Lusts and dunghil hearts setting forth Christ to their souls in his full Beauty and Loveliness and leading them into all Truth by taking of Christ to impart unto them the gracious secrets of the Fathers Counsel Thus the glorious God works graciously in and by all Means of his appointing to the creating encrease and perfecting of his singular Jewel 2. THe formal Cause is very Remarkable in that peculiar saving application made of Christ to his Elect in their conversion gradually carried on towards perfection by the Spirits gracious Operation For then doth he stamp on that soul the glorious characters of Christs Image and begets that new creature which divine off-spring moves upward instantly in conjugal Reciprocations dilating the soul in all her faculties to the further comprehension of Christ It may be parallel'd with that Energetial Power whereby the rational soul and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 animates the humane nature into all suitable operations What the soul is to man in naturals that 's Christ to the soul in spirituals The principle of all Life Sence and Reason thus spiritually applied to the Regenerate enables and excites directs and strengthens them to the choice Improvements of this conjugal Acquaintance Christ on marriage terms by his Spirit in his Word tenders and gives himself to be their Husband By this quickening Touch they
death and to air that Bed for our Repose His God head held his soul and body asunder from each other yet still inseparably united to himself Thus may you see a man drawing out his sword holding in his hands still both sword and scabret till it be put up again Thus it was needfull that Christ should suffer and so make entrance into his Kingdom Secondly Christs Exaltation is further worthy the best observation Therein his glorious person unvailed himself of all humane weakness though he still retained the nature of man and its properties He laid down his sable weeds to put on the roabes of Immortality His God-head did then raise up his Man-hood in his Resurrection and the Son of man declared himself by his divine Power to be the Son of God The Price paid for his people in his humiliation he applies by power through his exaltation to them orderly and effectually He is God-Man still and therefore tearmed the Man Christ Jesus Thus his office was to be compleated by the compleating of his saving Progress He conversed then among his Disciples the space of forty days to confirm their faith and to instruct them in the affairs of his Kingdom Thence his Ascention was solemnly performed followed with his Session at the Fathers right hand and Intercession for his people These are the four main steps of his exaltation to be singularly improved He rose that we might rise from death to Life he ascended that we might ascend he sits at Gods right hand that we may sit with him on his Throne and he still intercedes to make all our Intercessions effectual Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods Elect It s Christ that died yea rather that rose and ascended siting now at the right hand of the Majesty on high and ever lives to make Intercession Thus is Christs progress of chief worth and consideration 4. Christ is most considerable in his purchase also made for all his People which hath both value and vertue in it 1. THE value of his whole Obedience was of infinite worth being the merits of God-man giving full satisfaction to Gods Justice for all the sins of all his elect and making a full acquisition of all the good they were should be capable of This price of Christs perfect Righteousness active and passive was put into Gods Coffers to be seasonably and effectually applied to all his people orderly and actually from their conversion to their utmost salvation by his Spirit according to his eternal Purpose By the same value were all Gods elect from Adam to Christs death delivered from the guilt wages of sin upon Christs engagement of seasonable performance For he is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world intentionally in the divine purpose and promise 2. The Vertue of Christs perfect Obedience extends to the effectual application thereof to all Gods people So the Fathers purpose in electing and the Sons Intention in redeeming do run parallel That value which Christs merits presented to God cannot but be attended with answerable vertue for the making good thereof to the utmost The Son of man came to seek save that which was lost and that to the utmost seeing he ever lives to perform all Whilst therefore he was gone into Heaven to act his part there he was carefull to send his Proxie even his own Spirit that should make a through application of all his Purchase by the conveyance of his saving Grace to all his Chosen His Oblation is living and lively still even as Christ himself who abides for ever The ceremonial Oblations had him shadow'd out to represent the efficaciousness of Christs Oblation A wise man paying a Ransom or Debt as surety for another will be sure to know for whom and to see his purpose fulfilled to his power The agreement or Covenant made between God and Christ distinct from the gracious Covenant made conditionally with the visible Church in Christ imports as much As the Father required that he should offer his soul a Sacrifice for sin which the Son willingly undertook so was it engaged to him that he should see of his seed and the good pleasure of the Lord should prosper in his hand So that the vertue of his blood is still included in the value of it both being directed by divine intention which terminates in the proper subjects thereof Therein concurs his threefold office he being still a Prophet and prince as far as he is a Priest unto any The vertue of Christs Merits is indeed intrinsecally infinite like himself and only limited with the value thereof by the divine pleasure This purchase of his may be said occasionally and secundarily to comprehend the whole Creation in subserviency to divine Intentions but directly and primarily the Scripture limits it to Gods Elect for whom he came and lived prayed and died rose and intercedes still It extends to the removal of all evil both of sin and sorrow inchoatively progressively and consummatively It reaches also the Import of all sutable good spiritual temporal and eternal All things are ours and for our sake that are truly his and so far as we are his Is not this a choice Jewel to be duly viewed Doth not such a purchase challenge our best knowledge The possessive Our gives rellish to all It doth us little good to hear of Indian Treasures that are not our own Fifthly Christ is most precious in his Relation multipliciously expressed to his people by Allusion to all choice relations in things natural civil and artificial The perfection of all creatures is radically in him originally from him and reductively leads to him again None of them can sufficiently set out his wonderfull Relation wherein he stands towards his chosen Ones he therefore borrows the cream and quintessence of them all to shadow out to our shallow capacity the marvels of his glorious Grace Thus he speaks to his Babes in their known Dialect that he may gradually and familiarly be understood of them He calls himself their root giving sap and life to every branch of his He is the Head that conveyes all motion and sense to all his members He is the Fountain-Spring from whom all living waters flow into the streams by his proper conduits He is that Sun who carries Light and Life by his access unto all Creatures He is the Father that tenders his Children He is the husband that cherishes his Spouse the elder brother that looks to his adopted Brethren the Master that hath the best care of Servants That Foundation is he on whom the Fabrick stands that garment that must cover us that food that must sustain us that Portion that must maintain us to saving purpose Look into the whole compass of creatures what ever good you can find therein is