A49255:532
The penitent pardoned a treatise wherein is handled the duty of confession of sin…
The penitent pardoned a treatise wherein is handled the duty of confession of sin and the privilege of the pardon of sin : together with a discourse of Christs ascension into heaven and of his coming again from heaven : wherein the opinion of the Chiliasts is considered and solidly confuted / being the sum and substance of several sermons preached by that faithful servant of Christ, Mr. Christopher Love ...The penitent pardoned a treatise wherein is handled the duty of confession of sin and the priviledge of the pardon of sin : together with a discourse of Christs ascension into heaven and of his coming again from heaven : wherein the opinion of the Chiliasts is considered and solidly confuted / being the sum and substance of several sermons preached by that faithful servant of Christ, Mr. Christopher Love ...
London: printed for John Rothwell, 1657
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.
First, from the time when Christ did leave the world and ascend up to go to Heaven, if you read the Evangelists they will tell you it was abbot the 33 year of his Age, he left this world and goeth up to Heaven. Learn thus much from thence, that if Christ would leave the world in the flower of his Age, a young man, then this should be fastened to the Meditation of you young men, that you should not have your hearts too much glued to the world, to hanker after a long life. Suppose God should take thee away now in the flower of thy age, be willing and submissive, for God took Christ away so.
First, from the time when Christ did leave the world and ascend up to goe to Heaven, if you read the Evangelists they will tell you it was abote the 33 year of his Age, he left this world and goeth up to Heaven. Learn thus much from thence, that if Christ would leave the world in the flower of his Age, a young man, then this should be fastened to the Meditation of you young men, that you should not have your hearts too much glued to the world, to hanker after a long life. Suppose God should take thee away now in the flower of thy age, bee willing and submissive, for God tooke Christ away so.
Secondly, you may learn some what from the place whence Christ did ascend, it is very observable: It was Mount Olivet, Acts 1. 12. Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath days Journey. Luke saith, it was from Bethany, Luke 2. 50, 51 And he led them out as far as to Bethany and he lifted up his hands and blessed them. And it came to pass while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. It was all one, but there is much of Gods mind in this, of all places in the ⟨p. 127⟩world Christ did make choice of Bethany by Mount Olivet to go up to heaven: Beloved, the reason was, because that was the place where Christ was taken when Judas came with the Scribes and Pharisees to apprehend him; from that place he was taken to be crucified, and seeing it was from that place, he would make choice of that place from whence he would take his rise to go up to Heaven [Greek or Hebrew] of [Greek or Hebrew] Bethany in Hebrew, signifies a house of affliction; Christ made that which was the house of his affliction that Bethany to be the place of the translation of him into glory. I would give you thence to note, that God doth oftentimes make our sufferings to be Inlets to our glory. So it was with Christ, from Bethany he was taken a Prisoner, and from that place he would ascend up into Heaven, so if you suffer with him, you shall also be glorified with him, you may be carried to Heaven sometime in ways of sharp afflictions, therefore be not daunted at persecution, for the Lord makes Bethanics, the houses of our afflictions to have a trapdoor in them to let us into our Father Mansion.