A39660:203
Englands duty under the present gospel liberty from Revel. III, vers. 20
Englands duty under the present gospel liberty from Revel. III, vers. 20 : wherein is opened the admirable condescension and patience of Christ in waiting upon trifling and obstinate sinners, the wretched state of the unconverted, the nature of evangelical faith ..., the riches of free grace in the offers of Christ ..., the invaluable privileges of union and communion granted to all who receive him ... / by John Flavell ...Englands duty under the present gospel liberty from Revel. III, vers. 20 : wherein is opened the admirable condescension and patience of Christ in waiting upon trifling and obstinate sinners, the wretched state of the unconverted, the nature of evangelical faith ..., the riches of free grace in the offers of Christ ..., the invaluable priviledges of union and communion granted to all who receive him ... / by John Flavell ...
London: printed for Matthew Wotton, 1689
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.
And this indeed is the true and just account of all those marvellous and gracious changes made upon the Souls of Men by the Preaching of the Gospel: Can the vanishing breath of a dying Man, think you, inspire Spiritual and Eternal Life into the Souls of other Men? Can he search the Conscience, break the Heart, and bow the Will at this rate? No, no, this is the Power and Operation of Christ;1 and of that Presence we must say, saith a Reverend Author, as Martha did to her Saviour, concerning the Death of her Brother Lazarus, John 11. 21. Lord if thou hadst been here my Brother had not dyed. So, say I, if that Presence and Power of Christ were felt by all, which hath been certainly experienced and felt by many, they had not remained in the state of Spiritual Death as they do. But though there be thousands under Ordinances that never felt this Power of Christ upon them, yet blessed be God there are also multitudes of Witnesses and Evidences of this Truth, that there is a Real, Spiritual, Energetical Presence of Christ in his own appointments; which was the first thing to be evinced.
Secondly, The second thing requiring Explication, is the Uses and Ends which makes such a Presence of Christ necessary. And they are
1. To Preserve and Support his Ministers and Churches amidst such Hosts of potent and enraged Enemies: This Presence of Christ is as a wall of Fire round about them. It was the Divine Presence with Jeremiah that was as a Life-Guard to him, against the rage of the Princes