A03604:195
The souls exaltation A treatiseThe soules exaltation A treatise
The souls exaltation A treatise containing the souls union with Christ, on I Cor. 6. 17. The souls benefit from union with Christ, on I Cor. 1. 30. The souls justification, on 2 Cor. 5. 21. By T.H.The soules exaltation A treatise containing the soules union with Christ, on I Cor. 6. 17. The soules benefit from vnion with Christ, on I Cor. 1. 30. The soules justification, on 2 Cor. 5. 21. By T.H.
London: printed by John Haviland for Andrew Crooke, 1638London: printed by Iohn Haviland for Andrew Crooke, 1638
Title page typeset from the transcription.
THE SOULS BENEFIT from Union with CHRIST. › PartTHE SOVLES BENEFIT from Vnion with CHRIST. › Part
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
The ground and reason of the point is this, that which in no measure is answerable to Gods Justice, and agreeable to the exactness of the Law and for which a man may be condemned, that cannot justify a man; but what ever a man hath or doth, all the graces of God wrought in him, and all the performances done by him, there is that imperfection or blemish even in them, for which God may justly condemn him: therefore a man cannot be justified thereby: this is an undenied rule of the Apostle, what ever condemns a man, cannot justify a man, but the Law condemns a man for what he hath or can do: therefore it cannot justify a man. There is no grace in a man, no duty to be performed by a man, but if God will look into it according to the strictness and exactness of the Law, he may justly condemn him for it: that I prove, Gal. 5.17. every Saint of God hath these two things, the Spirit lusting against the flesh, and ⟨p. 120⟩the flesh lusting against the Spirit; and these two are contrary: In the best of Gods servants there is flesh, and a lust of the flesh to hinder them from holy duties: so there are two laws, the law of the mind, and the law of the members; the Law of God requires that a man should be perfectly holy without any stain of sin, perfect in the performance of duty without any blemish or stain therein, but every gracious man hath a stain of pollution in his soul, that is one thing; and a stain in his performances, that is another thing; therefore no mans duty, no mans ability, or sufficiency cannot justify him before God. It is that the Apostle Paul crieth out of, Rom. 7.13. A law in his members rebelling against the law of his mind; so that the case is clear, if it were thus with holy Paul, as he professeth of himself, then much more of the best Saints now, for that they have not more grace than Paul had: therefore they cannot be justified for what they have or do. Take a lame limb, as the lameness of the leg will make every motion of the leg lame, a man cannot but go lamely: so it is with the soul of a poor sinner, when a man hath a lame heart, a corrupt sinful heart, all his actions will be lame, his thoughts lame, and his services lame; so that neither heart, nor life, nor actions, are in a right frame, all are impure and weak: