Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n
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A37045
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Heaven upon earth in the serene tranquillity and calm composure, in the sweet peace and solid joy of a good conscience sprinkled with the blood of Jesus and exercised always to be void of offence toward God and toward men : brought down and holden forth in XXII very searching sermons on several texts of Scripture ... / by James Durham.
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Durham, James, 1622-1658.; J. C.
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1685
(1685)
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Wing D2815; ESTC R24930
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306,755
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418
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from the challenges of the Law and from the terrours of justice and of the Conscience even â—rom all things from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses outward means and misâ—aken law Christ being miskend and past by cannot give freedom but by Christ Jesus ye may have freedom A 3d. Ground of conâ—irmation is taken from the consideration of the excellency of Christ Jesus and the efficacy of his blood from the consideration of the excellency of the Person who steps in and 〈◊〉 his blood for a ransom which being applyed the Conscience ought to be quiet and should not to speak so have a face to lay any thing to the Believers charge And this is prest in these two Scriptures on these grounds How much more shall the blood of Iesus Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God purge the conscience In which words we have three things to hold out the excellency of this sacrifice 1. The excellency of the sacrifice it self it s a Sacrifice without spot all these Sacrifices under the Law were but types of this Sacrifice and there was alwayes something to be said of them which argued their imperfection but no such thing can be said of his He was never polluted by his wonderful conception by the Holy Ghost he was kept free from the least tincture or touch of that pollution that all Adams Sons and Daughters the Mother of the Lord not excepted descending from him by ordinary generation are defiled with and so was a sacrifice against which severe justice had nothing to object being most exactly conform to the Law of God to the Covenant of Redemption transacted betwixt Jehovah and the Mediator on which this is mainly founded but he was compleatly satisfied therewith as we may see Psal. 40. 6 7â— Where he is brought in saying Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire all these things were rejected as having no equivalent value or worth in them for aâ—oneing and satisfying provocked divine justice as is clear from the beginning of the following 10. Chap. and down-ward Where the Apostle cites improves and applyes the words of the 40. Psalm Then I said lo I come in the volumn of thy book it is written of me I delight to do thy will O! my God And sayeth he v. 10. By which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Iesus The good will of God willing such a thing and accepting thereof makes that we are thus purged and made clean But 2ly Beside the excellency of the Sacrifice we have the excellency of the Preist that offered it O! what pertinent and powerful reasoning doth the Apostle use Heb. 7. To prove the excellency and pre 〈◊〉 of Jesus Christ our great high Priest above and beyond all the Levitical Preists These Priests were temporal he is eternal They were but servants he is the Son They were consecrated without an oath he with an oath according to the order of Melchisedeck They offered many Sacrifices and often He offered but one Sacrifice and buâ— once as it is v. 27. of that 7th Chapter and chap. 9. v. 28. and chap. 10. v. 12. and 14. Whereby he hath for ever perâ—yted them that are sanctified And sayeth he such a high-Priest became us who is holy harmless undefiled separaâ— from sinners and made higher then the heavens 3ly There is the excellency of the Altar on which the Sacrifice was offered up and the Altar is as the Lord sayes that which sanctifies the sacrifice This was the God-head of our blesâ—ed Lord Jesus He through the eternal spirit offered up â—imself Though as man he had a beginning yet as God he had no beginning and through the God-head he offered up his humane nature which had its worth and efficacy from the divine nature to which it was united in his blessed person in these three the worth value and transcendent excellency of this Sacrifice is held out The Sacrifice it self is Christ as man offered up both in his body and Soul The Altar on which it is offered which makes the Sâ—crifice savour so very sweetly to God to be of such value and worth and to be so highly acceptable is the eternal spirit the God head of the second person of the glorious dreadful and adorable Trinity Therefore Acts 20. 28. God is said to purchase or redeem the Church with his own blood not with silver or gold or any corruptible thing as Peter sayes and the Priest is Christ God and man in one person He is the Sacrifice in respect of his humane nature The Altar â—n respect of his divine nature giving value and virtue to the humane nature For though his humane nature was in it self unspotted yet being as such a finit creature the divine nature to which it was united in his person did add thereto such a value as made it in this respect to be of infinit worth and value and he was the Priest in respect of both natures as God man and Mediator for sinners Now these three being put together what imaginably can be more desired for quieting the Conscience then may be had and is here Especially iâ— we add the nature of Christs offices and his continuance in them Having such a High priest over the house of God a Priest living for ever to make intercession for all that come to God by him let us draw near with full assurance of saith For he who cloathed himself with the vail of our flesh hath â—orn the vail and taken down the pertition wall that was betwixt God and us and by his sufferings hath made a new and living way to us through it into the holy of holies and from this that sweet word follows which we have 1 Iohn 2. 1. If any man â—in we have an advocat with the Father Iesus Christ the righteous A high-Priest that hath offered himself in a Sacrifice to satisfie divine â—ustice and a high Priest that lives for ever to interceed for the application thereof hence also most comfortably follows that he is able to save to the uttermost these that come to God through him able to save them from sin from wrath due for â—in from challenges for â—in from unbelief and disquietness of Conscience and to give solid and perfyt peace The 4th and last ground of confirmation which we shall name is drawn from the consideration of the nature of the covenant of redemption in the reality legality efficacy and extent thereof in reference to sinners if there be such a Covenant and paction betwixt God and the Mediator transacted to speak so â—n the eternal counsel of the God-head wherein it is agreed that Christ shall come into the world and take on the sins of the Elect who shall all in time in due time flee unto him for refuge And that they upon their fleeing to him shall have their sins pardoned and that his satisfaction shall be accepted for them as really as if
excellency and efficacy of it shines furth in the tenderness of the Person that applyes the remedy to such a loathsome sickness and otherwayes insutable desease or by any other hand but Christs Having sayeth the Apostle such an high Priest over the house of God â—et us draw near The Physician is Jesus Christ himself his blood is the cure and he also is the applyer of the cure and O! how very tender dexterous and simpathizing is he he even excells in such cures to admiration He is a high Priest that is holy harmless undefiled separat from sinners and higher then the heavens He is holy and harmless himself he loves these qualities and is able and willing to work them in these that come to him and such an high Priest became us He is one that hath compassion on the ignorant and such as are out of the way who was in all points tempted as we yet without sin That he may from his own experience the more kindly and strongly simpathize with his People and succour them in all their temptations an high Priest that is touched with the feeling of their infirmities The aâ—king of the least finger or toe in his mystical body stounds up as it were to the very heart of him who is the head thereof And Chap. 2. It behoved him to be made like to his brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful high Priest c. 4ly The excellency and efficacy of it appears in this even in the exceeding great freeness of his applying this cure There is no more required but to come and receive it to come however unclean and be sprinkled with his blood to confess the debt of guilt and draw out an extract of the discharge by virtue of his payment thereof And if there be any pollution in the Conscience any challenge or sore whatever it be he furnisheth the remedy and cure freely and frankly Now a Word to the 2d thing viz. The necessity of this blood of sprinkling If it be so as we have said if it be so virtuous and efficacious is there not here an encouragement for the guilty to flee to this blood and is there not a necessity to make use of it a very pressing and vehemently urging necessity for as it was not possible for the man slayer to stand with safety before the avenger of blood out of the city of refuge so no more can the guilty sinner stand before his own Conscience and far less before the Tribunal of God Who is greater then the conscience till this blood be fled unto and till he get his Conscience sprinkled with it And therefore seeing ye have Consciences and guilty Consciences many sins on your score and though the Conscience now sleep it will most certainly once awake and turn a hot and hard pursuer far beyond what ever any avenger of blood was and the longer that it sleep it will pursue the harder and seing Christ Jesus is as a city of refuge to whom ye may now flee and be sase Consider O! consider these words of the Apostle of the Gentiles Acts 13. 38 39. Which we in the name of the Lord say over again to you Be it known unto you men and brethren that through this man is preached unto you forgivenaess of sins and by him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses And it is the great end and design of the Gospel â—o proclaim the mercat of grace and to make this offer unto you sinners freely seing I say all this is O! takewith and be humbled under the sense of your guilt from which ye cannot be pessibly delivered any other way and come forward and make use of it And be-think your selves seriously I beseech you if this day of salvation be sitten and if this offer of grace be despised your Conscience may and will certainly waken upon you yea warr upon you most terribly and ye will never get it quieted but if ye will now in time imbrace and make use of the offâ—r We dare confidently say to the commendation of Gods grace and of the efficacy of this precious blood of Iesus Christ that the sinner can never lay before Christ that sin with what ever aggravations of it nor the disease how filthy and loathsome soever it be but the blood of Christ applyed by faith can aboundantly satisfie Gods Justifie for it and pacify and purge the Conscience from the guilt and defilement of it And if God be pacified the Conscience being his deputy dar no more challenge and pursue to death no more then the avenger of blood could the Man-slayer when once got within the city of refuge or the destroying angel who smote all the first-born of Egypt could or did destroy the Israelits whose houses were be-sprinkled with the blood of the passe-over Lamb. The 3d Use is For strong consolation to Believers in Christ And it is threefold 1. Under the rise of a challenge when the Conscience pursues because there is here a city of refuge to run unto A Mediator for sinners A shield or targe to keep off such a Daâ— and to quench or ward off the deadly wound of it Let us make the supposition and blest eternaly be God through Jesus Christ it s but a supposition What if this had not been How dreadful would the very apprehension of a challenge let be of the vindictive wrath of God have been 2dly To the sinner that flees to this city there is strong consolation in this respect that he shall be made welcome and therefore the Believer needs not skar to make use of Christ nor to come to this blood of sprinkling for he waits for imployment and its the more to the praise of his exquisit skill the moe be cleansed and cured by him through the vertue thereof ye may therefore come and not only so but come with full assurance of faith of attaining whatever ye want and would have Come therefore Believers boldly to the throne of grace that â—e may find mercy and obtain grace to help in time of need as on this ground the Apostle exhorts Heb. 4. 3ly These that have fled to this City of refuge may quiet themselves they are at peace with God and with their own Conscience their peace is as sure as Gods Covenant that cannot be annulled nor altered is And as Christs purchase is of worth and efficacy if the covenant of grace be firm and sure and if this blood of sprinkling be of value and efficacy they have certainly solid grounds of peace and consolation and therefore we exhort Believers in Christ on all occasions to flee to this city to renew your applications by faith to Jesus Christ and after every defilement to be-sprinkle your Consciences with this blood and then comfort your selves in it and bless God who allows such large and strong consolation on you and the Mediator who hath purchased it for you by