A93248:224
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.
The head of the Church our blessed Saviour, and all his gracious Apostles, what a life did they live? The glorious Martyrs that sealed the truth with their blood. And therefore as the Apostle saith,* If our happiness were here only, we were of all men most miserable. If we judge by sight, we shall condemn the generation of the righteous: we live by sight; when we see any cast down with sight of sin, sense of temptation, distress of conscience, we think him forlorn; Oh take heed of that: For those that shed tears here, God will wipe them all away. Woe to them that laugh now, for they shall mourn hereafter: Though we weep here, yet matter of joy enough shall spring up hereafter. Afflictions will yield a quiet fruit of righteousness to them that are exercised thereby, Heb. 12. 11. we may not see their fruits presently, but afterwards: And therefore be not discouraged for any thing we can suffer here, or for the Church, if we see her under pressure. As darkness is sown for the wicked,2 the foundation of their eternal torment is laid in their joy: so the ground and foundation of all a godly mans joy is laid in tears.* Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Yet for the present there is more matter of joy than grief, if we look with both eyes: as we ought to have double eyes, one to be sensible of our grief as we must be, the other of our comfort, that we may not be surprised with grief. There is a sorrow to death, an overmuch sorrow; it is unthankfulness to God to forget our comforts, as it is stupidity to forget our sorrow: Take us at the worst, have not we more cause of joy then sorrow? Mark Rom. 5. Being justified by faith, we have peace with God, and rejoice under hope of glory; Nay afterwards, saith he, we rejoice in tribulations: And why? upon what ground? Knowing that tribulations bring experience, and experience ⟨p. 81⟩hope, and hope maketh not ashamed. Now we rejoice in God reconciled in Christ: So that as we ought to look with one eye upon the grief, that we may have ground to exercise grace, which we are not capable of without sensibleness; so we must look to grounds of joy. Our life is woven of matter of sorrow, and joy; & as it is woven of both, affections should be sensible of both, that they may be more apprehensive of the grounds of comforts.