A93248:137
The glorious feast of the Gospel. Or, Christs gracious invitation and royal entertainment of…The glorious feast of the Gospel. Or, Christs gracious invitation and royall entertainment of…
The glorious feast of the Gospel. Or, Christs gracious invitation and royal entertainment of believers. Wherein amongst other things these comfortable doctrines are spiritually handled: Viz. 1. The marriage feast between Christ and his Church. 2. The veil of ignorance and unbelief removed. 3. Christs conquest over death. 4. The wiping away of tears from the faces of Gods people. 5. The taking away of their reproaches. 6. The precious promises of God, and their certain performance. 7. The divine authority of the holy scriptures. 8. The duty and comfort of waiting upon God. / Delivered in divers sermons upon Isai.25 chap.6,7,8,9 verses, by the late reverend, learned and faithful minister of the Gospel, Richard Sibbs, D.D. Master of Katharine-Hall in Cambridge, and preacher at Gray's-Inn, London. Perused by those that were instructed to revise his writings.The glorious feast of the Gospel. Or, Christs gracious invitation and royall entertainment of believers. Wherein amongst other things these comfortable doctrines are spiritually handled: Viz. 1. The marriage feast between Christ and his Church. 2. The vaile of ignorance and unbeliefe removed. 3. Christs conquest over death. 4. The wiping away of teares from the faces of Gods people. 5. The taking away of their reproaches. 6. The precious promises of God, and their certaine performance. 7. The divine authority of the holy scriptures. 8. The duty and comfort of waiting upon God. / Delivered in divers sermons upon Isai.25 chap.6,7,8,9 verses, by the late reverend, learned and faithfull minister of the Gospell, Richard Sibbs, D.D. Master of Katharine-Hall in Cambridge, and preacher at Grayes-Inne, London. Perused by those that were instructed to revise his writings.
London: printed for John Rothwell, 1650
Title page typeset from the transcription.
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.
We see the dependence of these one upon another: Then let us make this Use of all.
Since there is a veil over all men by nature,1 the work of ignorance and unbelief,2 and since God only taketh it away by his Holy Spirit, and since that only those that be godly and sanctified have this taken off: While this is, there is a spiritual feast, joy, and comfort, and strength; then let us labour to have this veil taken off, let us labour to have the eyes of our understandings enlightened to have our hearts subdued to believe, let us take notice of our natural condition. We are drowned and inwarpt in darkness, the best of us all: It is not having knowledge what we are by nature, it is not any knowledge ⟨p. 47⟩that can bring us to heaven, there must be a revelation, a taking away of the veil. How many content themselves with common light of Education and traditionary knowledge; so they were bred and catechized, and under such a Ministry, but for spiritual knowledge of spiritual things, how little is it cared for; And yet this is necessary to salvation. There is great occasion to press this, that we rest not in common knowledge. If Religion be not known to purpose, its like Lightning, which directs not a man in his way, but dazzles him, and puts him quite out of his way. Many have flashes of knowledge that affect them a little: but this affection is soon gone, and directs them not a whit in the ways of life; and therefore labour that the will and affections may be subject. Beg of God a fleshy heart, an heart yielding to the truth. We know ear-truths will harden; as none is harder than a common formal Christian. A man had better fall into the hands of Papists, than into the hands of a formal hypocritical Christian. Why? they pride themselves in their profession. No Persecutors worse than the Scribes and Pharisees, that stood in their own light. They were more cruel than Pilate: And therefore if we be informed, but not truly transformed; to love the truth we know, and hate the evil we know, it maketh us worse.