A12166:644
Beams of divine light breaking forth from several places of holy Scripture, as they…Beames of divine light breaking forth from severall places of holy Scripture, as they…
Beams of divine light breaking forth from several places of holy Scripture, as they were learnedly opened, in XXI. sermons. The III. first being the fore-going sermons to that treatise called The bruised-reed, preached on the precedent words. By the late reverend and judicious divine, Richard Sibs, D.D. Mr. of Katharine Hall in Camb: and sometimes preacher at Gray's Inn. Published according to the Doctor his own appointment subscribed with his hand; to prevent imperfect copies.Beames of divine light breaking forth from severall places of holy Scripture, as they were learnedly opened, in XXI. sermons. The III. first being the fore-going sermons to that treatise called The bruised-reed, preached on the precedent words. By the late reverend and iudicious divine, Richard Sibs, D.D. Mr. of Katharine Hall in Camb: and sometimes preacher at Grayes Inne. Published according to the Doctor his owne appointment subscribed with his hand; to prevent imperfect coppies.
London: printed by George for N. Bourne, 1639
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.
1Put case a man be sick, all the meat he eats it strengthens his sickness,2 shall he therefore not eat at all? Yes, he must eat somewhat, there is nature in him to strengthen as well as his disease. Thy best performances are stained, wilt thou do none therefore? yes, though they be stained, yet there is some goodness in them; thou mayest honour God, and do good to others; besides the ill there is good; there is gold in the Ore; there is some good in every good action; nay there is so much good as that God pardons the ill, and accepts the good. So ⟨p. 301⟩though our good actions be ill: yet for their kind and matter and stuff they are good, they are commanded of God: For their original and spring they are wrought by the Spirit of God: for the person the work-man it is one in the state of grace, and for acceptance God rewards them: But it is another thing when we come before God to humble our selves, then we must see what stains and sins are in them. There is no good action so good, but there are wants and weaknesses and stains and blemishes in it as it comes from us. The Spirit of God indeed is effectual to stir us up to good actions: but we hinder the work of the Holy Ghost and do not do them so throughly as we should: therefore besides our wants and weaknesses, there is a tainture of them, either we have false aims, they are not so direct, or our resolutions are not so strong; false aims creep in for a while, though we do not allow them: and then there are some coolers of our devotion; our love is cold, our hatred of sin is not so strong; our prayers are not so fervent, our actions are not so carried without interruption, but are hindered with many by thoughts; who cannot complain of these things? Who is not brought upon his knees for the weakness of his best actions? Nay I say more a Christian is more humbled for the imperfections and stains of his best actions then a civill carnal person is for his outward enormities: for he turns over all ⟨p. 302⟩his outward delinquences and makes the matter but a trick of youth, when a poor Christian is abased for his dullness and deadness and coldness; for false aims that creep into his actions;