A12167:1174
Bowels Opened
Bowels opened, or, A discovery of the near and deer love, union and communion betwixt Christ and the Church, and consequently betwixt Him and every believing soul Delivered in divers sermons on the fourth fifth and sixth chapters of the Canticles. By that reverend and faithful minister of the Word, Doctor Sibs, late preacher unto the honourable society of Gray's Inn, and Master of Katharine Hall in Cambridge. Being in part finished by his own pen in his life time, and the rest of them perused and corrected by those whom he entrusted with the publishing of his works.Bovvels opened, or, A discovery of the neere and deere love, union and communion betwixt Christ and the Church, and consequently betwixt Him and every beleeving soule Delivered in divers sermons on the fourth fifth and sixt chapters of the Canticles. By that reverend and faithfull minister of the Word, Doctor Sibs, late preacher unto the honourable societie of Grayes Inne, and Master of Katharine Hall in Cambridge. Being in part finished by his owne pen in his life time, and the rest of them perused and corrected by those whom he intrusted with the publishing of his works.
London: printed by George for George Edwards, 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.
Again, let us labour to walk in the light of a sanctified knowledge to be attained by the Gospel,1 for as it is, 1. John 1. 3. the end of all our preaching is to assure Christ to the soul, 2that we may be able to say without deceiving our own souls, I am my Beloveds and my Beloved is mine. 3All preaching (I say) is for this end, the terror of the Law and the discovery of corruption is to drive us out of our selves to him, and then to provoke us to grow up into him more and more. Therefore ⟨p. 477⟩saith John, All our preaching is that we may have fellowship with the Father and the Son, and they with us: And what doth he make an evidence of that fellowship,4 walking in the light, as he is light, or else we are liars; he is bold in plain terms to give us the lye, to say we are Christs, and have communion with the Father and the Son, when yet we walk in darkness, in sins against conscience, in wilful ignorance, the darkness of an evil life, we have no communion with Christ; therefore if we will have communion with him, let us walk in the light, and labour to be lightsome in our understandings, to have a great deal of knowledge, and then to walk answerable to that light and revelation that we have. Those that live in sins against conscience, and are friends to the darkness of ignorance, of an evil life, Oh they never think of the fellowship with Christ and with God, these things are mere riddles to them, they have no hope of them, or if any, their hope is in vain, they bar themselves of ever having comfortable communion with Christ here, much less shall they enjoy him hereafter in Heaven.
Againe, let us labour to walke in the light of a sanctified knowledge to bee attained by the Gospell,1 for as it is,