A12167:375
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.
But besides all this,1 there is a more near knocking, that Christ useth to the Church, ⟨p. 143⟩His ministerial knocking, when he was here in the days of his flesh, he was a Preacher and Prophet himself, and now he is ascended into heaven,2 he hath given gifts to men, and men to the Church, whom he speaks by to the end of the world, they are Christs mouth, as we said of the pen-men of holy Scripture; they were but the hand to write, Christ was the head to indite. So in preaching and unfolding the Word, they are but Christs mouth and his voice, (as it is said of John,) Now he is in heaven,3 he speaks by them; He that heareth you, heareth me, he that despiseth you despiseth me. Christ is either received or rejected in his Ministers, as it is said of Noah's time, The Spirit of Christ preached in the days of Noah to the souls now in prison, &c. Christ as God did preach before he was incarnate by Noah to the old world, which is now in prison, in hell, because they refused to hear Christ speak to them by Noah: Much more now after the days of his flesh, that he is in heaven, he speaks, and preacheth to us, which if we regard not, we are like to be in prison, as those souls are now in prison for neglecting the preaching of Noah, 1 Pet. 3. 19. So the Ministers are Christs mouth, when they speak he speaks by them, and they are as Ambassadors of Christ, (whom they should imitate in mildness)We therefore as Ambassadors beseech and entreat you,4 as if Christ by us should speak to you; so we entreat you to be reconciled unto God. And you know ⟨p. 144⟩what heart-breaking words the Apostle useth in all his Epistles (especially when he writes to Christians in a good sta•e) as to the Philippians, 5