A59685:94
The sound believer, or, A treatise of evangelical conversion discovering the work of Christs…The sound beleever, or, A treatise of evangelicall conversion discovering the work of Christs…
The sound believer, or, A treatise of evangelical conversion discovering the work of Christs spirit in reconciling of a sinner to God / by Tho. Shepard ...The sound beleever, or, A treatise of evangelicall conversion discovering the work of Christs spirit in reconciling of a sinner to God / by Tho. Shepard ...
London: printed for R. Dawlman, 1645
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.
This may lastly appear by considering the end of mans fall into sin,1 and the publishing of the Law to reveal sin; and of the Gospel also in reference unto sin; and misery; why did the Lord suffer the fall of man? what was his great plot in it? it is apparent this, that thereby way might be made for ⟨p. 64⟩the greater manifestation of Gods grace in Christ. The Serpent poisons all mankind, that the seed of the woman might have the glory of recovering some; This was Gods last end: The perdition of some (of themselves) being but subordinate unto this, Rom. 9.22, 23. Surely Adam might have glorified grace if he had stood, and God had revealed his grace in preserving him (made mutable) from falling. But the Lord saw grace should not be sufficiently advanced to its highest dignity by this, and therefore suffers him actually to fall, and that into an extreme depth of misery: Now consider mans fall in it self cannot be a mean of glorifying grace, but rather obscures all the glory of God; how shall the Lord attain his end then hereby? truly if the Lord let men see and feel their fall and misery by it, now grace offered will •e accepted and glorified. And therefore the Lord sends the law to reveal sin, and make it exceeding sinful; and death for sin; that this end might be attained. Gal. 3.22. And therefore feeling of sin, and death and misery being the means, must precede the other as the end; and therefore as grace may be seen by conviction of misery, so the sweetness of it only can be felt, by feeling misery in this work of compunction.
This may lastly appeare by considering the end of mans fall into sin,1 and the publishing of the Law to reveale sin; and of the Gospell also in reference unto sin; and misery; why did the Lord suffer the fall of man? what was his great plot in it? it is apparent this, that thereby way might be made for ⟨p. 64⟩