B00698:39
A fountain sealed: or, The duty of the sealed to the Spirit, and the…
A fountain sealed: or, The duty of the sealed to the Spirit, and the work of the Spirit in sealing. Wherein many things are handled about the Holy Spirit, and grieving of it: as also of assurance and sealing what it is, the privileges and degrees of it, with the signs to discern, and means to preserve it. : Being the substance of divers sermons preached at Gray's Inn. / By that Reverend Divine, Richard Sibbes D.D. and sometimes preacher to that honourable society.A fountain sealed: or, The duty of the sealed to the Spirit, and the worke of the Spirit in sealing. Wherein many things are handled about the Holy Spirit, and grieving of it: as also of assurance and sealing what it is, the priviledges and degrees of it, with the signes to discerne, and means to preserve it. : Being the substance of divers sermons preached at Grayes Inne. / By that Reverend Divine, Richard Sibbes D.D. and sometimes preacher to that honourable society.
London: printed by Thomas Harper for Lawrence Chapman, 1638
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.
1Therefore God oft gives up men, upon breach of the first Table, to breaches of the second, that so they may come to more grief, and shame, as being the breakers of both Tables: Men never fall into the breach of the second Table, but upon breach of the first: No man despiseth mans Law, but he despiseth Gods ⟨p. 40⟩law first; No man breake• the law of nature, but he despiseth the God of nature. Profane Atheistical persons that glory in the breach of the third Commandment by swearing; GOD meets with them by giving them over to gross abominable sins of the second Table; which vexeth them more (though they should no•) than sins against the first Table, exposing them, besides inward grief, to open shame; then God opens Conscience to tell them, not only that they are too blame for their gross sins, but for the root of them; Atheism, profaneness, looseness, which are sins against the first Table. This is an aggravation ⟨p. 41⟩of sins against knowledge, when our knowledge hath been holpen and strengthened by education, by example of others running into our eyes, which is a more familiar teaching than that of Rule, and strengthened also by observation and experience of our selves; and the former strength we have had, against the sin we now commit: and sweetness we have found in the resisting of it. None are worse than those that have been good, and are naught, and might be good, and will be naught. When there is more deliberation and fore-knowledge of the dangerous issue, and this also joined with the warning of others. As Reuben ⟨p. 42⟩said unto the rest of hi• brethren, Spake I not un• you, &c? So may Gods Spirit, and conscience, say t• men, Did not I acquai• you with the danger of sin• You are now in misery, an• terrors of conscience, bu• did you not sleight forme admonitions, and helps, and means? Conscience is a inferior light of the Spirit to do things against conscience, is to do them against the Spirit. God spake to me, and I heeded him not, how doth God speak? When conscience speaks, and saith this is good, this is bad then God speaks, conscience hath somewhat divine in it: it is a petty god, it speaks from God; especially when the Spirit joins