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Show IIO • i •I -----'--------------------------~~--~------~ A Confefsiou of the Faith. That upon the Fall ofMa11, Death, a~d Vanity, enter'd, by the JuHice of God; And the !mage of God, 1n Man, was d_efaced; And Heaven, and Earth, whiCh were made tor Mamuie, were {ubdued to Corruption, by his FaU; But then that infranrly, and without Imermiffion of Time, after the Word of Gods Law, became, through the FaD of Man, frufha~e as to obedie~ce, there {ucceeded the greater word, of the Promife; that the Rtghteou(nefs of God, moughc be wrought by Faitb. · Tnat as well the Law of God, as. the ward of his Promife, endure the f.:'une for ever : Bur that they have been revealed, in {cveral manners, according to the Difpen{ation, of Times. For the Law was firfi: imprinted, in that Remnant ofL1ght, of Nature, which was left after the FaU, being fufficicm to accu{c : Then it was more manifcfi:ly expreifcd, in th~ written. Law; And was yet 1nore opened, by the Prophets; And lafily expoun.'c.:l, in the true perfeCtion, by the Son of God the great Prophet, a.nd perfeCt Interpreter, as alfo Fulfiller of the Law: That, likewife, the word of the Promife, was manifefrcd, and revealed; Firfi by immediate Revelation, and In[piration; After by Figure1, which were of two Natures: The one, the Ritts, and Ceremonies, ohhe Law; The other, the Continual Hifi:ory, of the Old world, and Church of the ]ewes, which though it be ltteralb True, yet is it, pregnant of a perpetual Allegory, and fhadow, of the Work, of the Redemption, to follow. The fame Promi[e, or Euangile, was more clearly revealed, and declared, by the Prophets; '.And then by the Son himfelf; And lallly, by the Holy Ghoff, which illmninateth the Church, to the end of the Wurld. · That, in the Fulnefs ofT;rm, according to the Promife, and Oath, of a choj'en Ligna,Re; ddccndeJ, the bleffed Seec{ of the woman, Jefus Chrijt, tneonely begotten Son of God,and Saviour of the world: who was cone ivcd, by the Power, and Overfhadowing, ofthe Holy Gboi1 ~ And rook Flefb of the Virgin hfary : That the word, did not ond y take Fiefh', or was joy ned to Flefh,but was n1ade Flefh,though without Co;~fufion of Subftance, or Nature; So as the Eternal Son of . God, and the ever-ble{fcd Son of Mary, was one Perfon; So one, as ' the BLejJed VitJt.in, may be truly, and Catholiquely called, Deipara, theMotber ~fGoi: So one, as there is no Unity in Univerjal1Vature, not that, of the Sovl, and Body, of Man, [o perfeCt: For the three H~avenly Vnities) (whereof that is'the fecond,) exceed all Natural Vnilies : That IS to fay; The V11it)'' of the three Perfonf, in Godhtad; The Vnity, of Cod, and Man, .in Chrijt; And tLe V/Jtt)', of Chr~{t, and the church; the Holy Gho(t, ·being the worku, ofboth thefe latter Vnities; For by the Holy Ghojt, was chrijt li?carnate, and qu~ckned, ~n Flefh; And by the Holy Ghoft, is Man regenerate, and qmckned, m Spirtt. · That Je[uJ the Lord, became, in the_,Flefh, a Sacri(icer, and Sa~rifice for Sirt; A Satisfauion, and Price, to the Juftice, of God; A Meriter d ConfeJsion of the Faith. j--------· iter, of Glory, and the Ki11o-;;;;;;;:-A Patt f ll . 1: A Preac he r o f the Word, whicoh Htm' felj'was .e· rnA, Fo · a:n . Rz6r,[ Jtel ouJrr ';' eJr;s '· mo-ny; A Corner-Stone, to remove thJe'S epa•r ar'i .OI1 btmet; uero- t l.C Cered- G entu'e ; A n lnterc~.r1ro u•r for the CfJUrch · A Lord ofw Ne.e n, Jew· ' a~n · Mz'r:acles ; A Conquerer, of Deatb and tl~c Po""er ofD ~~~~e, ~11 11~5 .r. Ef' A d l - ' "" . ar~n,Js, 111 us '- ~lj ufre tonl; 11 ~. t 5 1at he fulfilled the whole Counfcl of God • <:r or.meL a IS acred Offices, and Annoynting 011 Earth; Ac~ omphihcd the whole "!ark o} the Redemption, and Refritution of Man, to a Stat~, Supenour t~ the .Anl;els; (whereas the State of Man, b¥ Cr~atwn, was I!1fenour ; ) And reconciled and cfiabli{ hed, aH.Th.mgs, accord1ng to the Eternal VVill, of the ·Father. That 1,n t1n1e, Jef~ the Lord, was botn, in t.hc dayes of Herod; And f11ff<.:red, under the Government, of Pontz~ Pilate, , being Deputy of rbe Romans; And under the Hi<.~h Prie~hood, of CaiphM; And was bctr~yed by JudM,onc of the twelve ApoHles; And was crucified at I~url!falem; And after a true, and narurall, Death, and his Body la yed 111 the Sepulchre, the third day, H~ raifed Himfelf, from the Bot?ds of Death, andarofe, ~n~ fhcwed Himfelf, to many cbo-fen VVitn1fes,. by the fpac~ of divers dayes ; And at the end of thofe dayes, m the. fight oi many, afcended into Heaven· where he c~ntinueth hi~ Intercej!ion; And ihall from thence, at,thc day appotntcd, come ~n greate.fi: glory, to judge the world. That the Sujfermgs, and Merits .of Chrift, as tltey are fufficicnt, to do away the. ~mr:s, of the whole world; [o they arc onely effcCl:uall to thofe, wl~lCh arc Regenerate by ~l~e Holy Ghofl; VVho breatheth w~e~e he wtU, ot ~re_e Grace; w1ucn Grac~, as a ~eed Jncorruptih!e, q;uckcneth the Sptrtt of. Man, and concen•eth h1m anew a Son of Gad, and Member of C.hrift: So that Chrift, having Mans Flefh and Man ha~ing Cbrifts Spiri:, there is an open paffage, and Mu:uall I_mpurauon ; whe~eby. Stn, a1~d f!rath, was conveyed to Cbrift, from ~an; And Mertt, and Life, IS conveyed to Man,from Chriff: '4Vl:Kh ~eed of th~ Holy Ghoft, firfr_ figureth in us, the Image of Chrt~ flam, or cruofied, through a lively Faith; And then renew~ th in us, the Image of God, in Holin_ej]'t,.and Char~ty; though both 1mper.fe6tl y, and 111 degrees farrc d1ffenng; even 111 Gods EleH • As well, 11~ regard,of the Fire of.the Spirit, as of the Illumination then~of; whiCh 1s, more, o~ leffc, In a large proportion; As namely, in the Church befq,re Chrt{f; VVhich yet, ncvertheleife, was parta- , ker, of one, and the ian1c Salvation, with us. And of one and the fame Means, of Salvation, with us. · ' . that the work of the ~pi~it,th?ug~ it b~ not tyed, to any Means, In Heaven, or Earth, yet 1t IS ordwanly d1fpenfcd, by the Preaching of the word; The Admt'ni{trationof the Sacraments; The Covenants of the Fathers, upon the .Children; Prayer; Reading ; The Cenfures of the Church; The Soctety of the Godly; The Croj]e, and .AfjliElions; G~ds lJ(nejits; His Judfl.ement5 upon others; Miracles; The Con.:. templatton of his Creature;; All "Yhich,(though fomc be more pri~- n . 121 |
