Selected quad for the lemma: life_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A54354
|
A spiritual looking-glass wherein is briefly discoursed the excellency and the necessity of saving faith and likewise how it may be known whether we have this faith or no : being the substance of two sermons / preached in London July the 23, 1671 by Sam. Pack.
|
Pack, Samuel.
|
1671
(1671)
|
Wing P152; ESTC R30079
|
19,268
|
44
|
is usually defective and the Corner stone will be sure to fall nay he is the top-stone too as you may see in Zachary Now Christ being all these in the spiritual superstructure it must be that Jesus Christ must fall himself whensoever a true believer doth finally sall off from God Again we shewed likewise it doth arise from the influence that the blessed Spirit of God hath on the hearts of those that are believers as in the 1 Joh. 2. v. 20. But you have an Unction from the Holy One and you know all things he had been shewing before what a sight of Antichrists and Apostates there were but saith he you have received an Unction from the Holy One you have that which they want they had only an outside profession but they wanted the inward teachings of the spirit as in the 26 and 27th ver Isa 59.19 You may there see how God doth keep a soul in a persevering frame So shall they fear the Name of the Lord from the West his glory from the Rising of the Sun when the enemy shall come in like a Flood the spirit of the Lord shall lift up a Standard against him The words are very emphatical whether they do point at the Devil or at the corruptions of our own hearts which are the greatest persecutors of the godly 't is a military expression taken from Souldiers when they lift up their Ensigns in defiance of their Enemies and as Christ saith upon this Rock have I built my Church that the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it so saith the Spirit here when the Enemy breaks in like a Flood then shall the Spirit of the Lord lift up his Standard against them Isa 30. v. 21. You may see how the spirit doth proceed in hi work to keep the Soul in a persevering frame whensoever the poor Soul is ready to turn to the Right hand or to the Left then he doth whisper a sweet word in their ear this is the way walk in it and truly that is a notable word Isa 61. v. 8. And I will direct their work in truth 't is God by the influence of his spirit directing of our works in truth that doth keep us from falling away from God I hope my Friends these are enough to confirm this fourth truth that true believers cannot fall off from God Fifthly It may inform us of the vast difference that is between the state of true Believers and the state of Unbelievers for if you look in those Scriptures wk mentioned Mark 16. v. 16. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned and so likewise in John 3. there you may see the difference set down He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not on the Son shall not see life but the Wrath of God abideth on him The true believer is said to have everlasting life that is he hath the assurance of it sooner or later he hath it in this life in its incoation though not in its consummation I pray my Friends if you remember no more carry away this that if Heaven and Eternal life is not within you while you are in this world you shall never enter into Heavenly or Eternal life when you shall leave this world Now herein appears the vast difference that is between the state of a Believer and an Unbeliever as a believer hath the Heaven of Spiritual Light from God and the same spiritual love to God the same spiritual joy in God and the same spiritual Communion with God now in this life as they shall have in the life to come in respect of the nature and quality thereof though not in respect of the quantity so likewise a wicked man hath the same spirituâ—l darkness in his understanding and the same irregularality in his affection and the same contumacy in his will now as he will have in Hell in respect of the nature and quality thereof though not in respect of the degree and quantity now hellish Drunkards make themselves Drunk with Wine and strong bear and in Hell God will make them pledg the Devil at a full Cup of his wrath which being powered into the Cup of his Indignation will make them Drunk for ever and ever the Hellish Adulterer burns in his Lust here and God will make him burn in Hell for it hereafter As heavenly Saints love God and propound his glory as their ultimate end in all their duties so heillish Sinners hate God and propound their own glory as their ultimate end in duties as believers are daily more and more compleat in vertue so unbelievers are daily more and more repleat with Vice and thus we see the vast difference that is between believers and unbelievers in this life and look upon them at the hour of death and see what a vast difference there will be then between them as in Prov. 14.32 The wicked is driven away in his wickedness but the Righteous hath hope on his death and look upon them at the Resurrection and see what a vast difference there is between them as in Dan. 12. v. 2. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the Earth shall awake some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt and look upon them at the denunciation of that dreadful sentence and see the vast difference that is between them as in Mat. 25.33 34. where the Righteous the believer is set on his right hand and the unbeliever on the left Then shall the King say to them on his right hand come ye blessed of my Father come poor soul thou hast called me to come to thee many a time in cuty then come thou now to me the world looked upon thee to be a cursed Creature but I pronounce thee blessed it may be whilst thou wert in the world the Foxes had a priviledg above thee they had holes to hide their heads in But now there is a Kingdom prepared for thee but now see what will become of unbelievers as in the 41. v. here is a dreadful sentence past against them Depart from me here is a separation from all joy and happiness you said to me in your life-time depart from 〈◊〉 for we desire not the knowledg of the wars now depart from me ye Cursed into everlasting fire there is the extremity of pain and torment thou wast one that did burn in thy lusts here and thou wast one that was inflamed with thy lusts or with wine and strong drink or with hatred against me now go into everlasting fire it was the Devil whose voice thou wouldest obey and whose work thou wouldest do and now thou shalt have enough of him now here you may see the vast difference between the state of all true believers and unbelievers Now believers thy shall cease from all their mourning and all their sorrow she ll be â—â—â—â—ed into joy then thou shalt have joy without
may see this cruelty of his God did so by his wise providence order it that it did tend to his conversion O happy was it for the poor moaler that God did finish two works in one journey that he came to deliver the bodies of his servants from a temporal prison and did deliver the soul of the Goaler from the prâ—son of Hell-fire Well now in the verse before my Text you see the Goaler coming trembling before the Prisoners of hope he that before thought Paul and Silas not worthy to live on the earth did now come and fall down to the earth at their Feet and said what shall I do to be saved O what a serious question was here well now the words in my Text are an answer to this serious question why says the Apostle believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved And thus being come to the words of my Text I shall briefly devide them into two parts First here is an exhortation to a very serious and weighty duty and that is believe in the Lord Jesus Christ 2dly Here is a prevailing excitation to stir him up to the performance of this duty in these words and thou shalt be saved in the exhortation we have several particulars in this first general First here is the act and that is believe 2dly Here is the object upon the Lord Jesus Christ 3dly Take notice of the persons here that is pressing this exhortation on him and that was Paul and Silas Those that had been scourged and imprisoned by him they were now preaching the Gospel to him and without question with bowels of compassion to his pretious souls They did not now think of Revenge and did not now while this poor man was in a spiritual Agony take there advantage against him and say thou hast been cruel to us and now shift for thy self as well as thou canst no for first they hinder him from self-Murther and 2dly they preach the Gospel to him believe on the Lord Jesus Christ in the fourth and last place the person exhorted to this Duty and that was the moaler one that had been a violent persecutor and he is here exhorted to believe in Christ From whence my Friends take notice of this that 't is possible for the greatest sinner to get a broaken heart one would have thought that if any man should have gone without a broken heart and without Christ and mercy a persecuting Goaler should that had persecuted those bleffed servants of God that did come on purpose among them to do their souls good By the way my Friends take encouragement you that are the greatest sinners here though not to continue in your sins yet to wait on God in Gospel Ordinances for you know not how soon God may be pleased to work on your Souls and to turn you from Darkness to Light and from the power of Satan unto God I shall stand no longer before I come to the main Observation that I would present you with which is this that every true believer shall be saved believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved my Friends I having elsewhere made an attempt on these words and made entrance into them I shall not now stand to spend much time in the Doctrinal part but only confirm it by a few Scriptures that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established the first in Mark 16.16 He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved another we have in the 3d. Chap. of Iohn 16. v. For God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life and in the 36. v. of the same Chapter he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting Life he hath it already in its incoation and when he dyes he shall have it in its consummation Now my Friends I shall come to the Application which is that I mainly intend in setting upon this subject this day and in the first place if every true believer shall be saved this is useful first by way of information 2dly By way of examination Thirdly By way of consolation Fourthly By way of exhortation Fifthly By way of Instruction First 't is useful by way of Information if every true Believer shall be saved then it may inform us of the infinite and boundless love of God to all true Believers O! well may the Apostle say in the 3d. of Iohn v. 16. God so saved the World O my Friends their is so much contained in this word so as cannot be uttered by the Creature for when Wisdom it self was speaking of it he puts it off with a so not as thougâ— Christ could not have manifested the verâ— depth of the love of God but because thougâ— he could have done it we being but finite Creatures were not in a capacity to comprehend that boundless depth of this love of God to poor sinners My Friends I may alude to those words of Job 11.7 8 9. Canst thou by searching find out God canst thou find ouâ— the Almighty unto perfection it is as high as Heaven what can'st thou know the measure whereof is longer then the Earth broader then the Sea We see such is the immensity and greatness of this love of God to poor sinners that 't is unspeakable and glorious and I may say of it that 't is that we cannot find out to perfection 't is as high as Heaven what can we do the measure thereof is longer then the Earth and broader then the Sea This love of God to poor sinners it may appear in the highest Heaven for not a Soul that is in glory but is beholding to this boundless love of God for their salvation God so loved the World the Holy Ghost puts it off as it were with a question as if it were that which cannot be uttered nor indeed can it be uttered by the Creature for if all the Angels in Heaven should undertake to set forth the love of God in sending of Christ to dye for poor sinners they must have so much time as will run parallel with the Line of Eternity or else they will never accomplish their work for so long will this love of God extend it self in the highest degree the Creature is capable of Oh my friends was it not wonderful love in God that he should send his Son to dye for Rebels that he that had but one natural Son should give him up to the death for us that were proclaiming open War against him by our sins Oh wonderful boundless love well may the Apostle say indeed in the 5th of Romans the 8th v. Herein God commended his love towards us in that while we were sinners Christ dyed for us that is the first 2ly It may inform us of the glorious effects of the death and sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ for though the love of God was the impulsive cause of our salvation yet it was