A12167:466
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 it is a simple creature without guile, it hath no way to defend it self, but only by flight. There is a simplicity that is sinful, when there is no mixture of wisdom in it. There ⟨p. 191⟩is a simplicity, that is a pure simplicity, and so God is simple, which simplicity of God is the ground of many o•her attributes. For t•er•po• he is Eternal, because there is nothing co• trarie in him, there is no mixture in him of any thing opposite, so that is a good simplicity in us, when there is no mixture of fraud, no duplicity in the soul;1 A double hearted man is inconstant and unstable in all his ways. Now simplicity as it is a virtue, so we must imitate the Dove in it, for there is a sinful Dove-like silliness. For Hosea. 7. 11. Ephraim is said there to be like a silly Dove without heart, they call t• Egypt, they go to Assyria, There is a fatal simplicity usually going before destruction, when we hate those that defend us, and account them enemies, and rely more upon them that are enemies indeed then upon friends. So it was with Ephraim before his destruction, he was a silly Dove without heart, he called to Egypt and went to Assyria (false friends) that were enemies to the Church of God; yet they trusted them more then God or the Prophets. Men have a world of tricks to undermine their friends, to ruin them, and to deserve ill of those that would with all their hearts deserve well of them, when yet in the mean time they can gratify the enemy, please them and hold correspondency with them, as here Ephraim did. Ephraim is a silly Dove, &c. This therefore is not that which we must aim at, but to be simple and children concerning ⟨p. 192⟩evil, but not in ignorance and simplicity that way.
Againe it is a simple creature without guile, it hath no way to defend it selfe, but onely by flight. There is a simplicity that is sinfull, when there is no mixture of wisdom in it. There