so8 THE WORD OP' GOD THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT. Book III. METAPHOR. I! I. A Sword is a keen, fharp, piercing Weapon ; it will enter into the Body and pierce the very Heart of a Man. PARALLEL. Ill. 'I'he Word of God isJharper tha11 any Sword, Heb. iv. 12. If the Spirit ufe it, it will foon enter into and pierce the Heart of a Sinner, as appears by that notable Infrance concerning thofe Jew• that put the Lord Jefus to death; whilfr Peter preached the Word to them, it is faid, they were pricked in their Hearts, Afls ii. 37· IV. A Sword is an honorable IV. The Word of God is an honorable Wea- :VVeapon, an~ of great Antiquity; pon, our Savior and all holy Prophets and good lt hath been m ufe from the Begm- Men would never elfe have made ufe of it: It is ning, a Weapon that no Enemy alfo of great Antiquity, the Writings of M ofes, hath any jufr Caufe to quarrel with. as it is obferved by divers, were before any human Records. No Devil nor vile Heretick hath any Caufe to except againfr it, or to quarrel with the holy Scripture. V.SomeSwordshavetwoEdge<, V. The Word of God is quick and powerful, they will cut both ways, they will Jharper than any two-edged Sword; it hath a two– cut backwards and forwards, as fold Operation at one Time, as it is ufed by the they go in and as they come O\lt. Mini!lcrs of the Gofpel, it wounds the Souls of the EkEt in order to healing, and it wounds the Repmbate in order to damning, to .fuch"it may be called a killing Letter. 'l'o the one wt art the Savor •f Life unto Life, to the other the Savor of Death u11to Death, 2 Cor. ii. 16. VI. A Sword will cut offaMemVI. The \Vord of God hath cut off many a ber; many a Leg and Arm have Member of the old Man, it will cut off a Right– been cut off therewith. hand Lufr, of Profit, or a R ight-eye Lufr, of VII. Some Wounds of a Sword are to mortal, that there is no Cure for them. VIII. A Sword is borne often– times before a Magifrrate to lignify Authority and J uttice. He bears not the Sword in vain, Rom. xiii. 8. Pkafurr. V!I. So fome Wounds that many Sinners re– ceive, are fuch, that there is no Cure for them, viz. fuch who have finned the unpardonable Sin. '!'here is a Sin unto D eath, 1 John v. VIII. He that boars the Word of the Spirit, fhews he is a Man that hath great Authority for what he fays, and that he is a Perfon for Right and J ufrice ; it is that which decides all doubtful Cafes, &c. IX. A Sword is a viCtorious IX. So the Word of God, the Sword of the \illeapon, it hath done great ExeSpirit, is a glorious and viCtorious Weapon, which cution in the World. Jojhua made will appear, if we confider how many it hath great Slaughter upon the feven firuck down dead, and fentencecl to eternal Death; Nations ofCanaanwith the Sword; how many "firong Enemies have been Oain and it is faid, he put all the Souls in fubdued by it, frrong Lu!b, thong Devils, !hong feveral Cities to the Edge of the and vile Hereticks; it is a vic'l:orious Sword. lt Sword. is called the Sword of the Spirit; 1. Becaufe it is a fpiritual Weapon, but that is not all. 2. Becaufe the Spirit is the Author of it, a Weapon it is, faith Gurnal, Page 297, which his Hand alone formed and fafhioned, it came not out of any Creature's Forge. Holy Men of God Jpake as they were moved by the Holy Gboft, 2 Pet. ii. 2 t. 3· The Holy Spirit is the qnly true Interpreter of the 'Word, whence we have that known Paifage of Bernard; S'l_.uo Spiritu fafl£ fun/ Scriptuu:, eo Spiritu legi dijide– rant, ipfo etiam intelligend.e. The Scriptures mufr be read, and can be underfrood by no Spirit, but that a!~ne, by whom they were made. . . 4 . Becaufe the Spirit only can gtve the Word tts Efficacy and Power tn the Soul.; it is the Office of the Spirit, Sigillare animum rerum creditarum. Except he lay hts Weight on the Truth• we read, and hear, to apply them clofe, and as it were cut their very Imao-e in our Minds and HeartS, they leave no more lmpreOion than a Seal fets upon °a Stone or Rock. The Spirit will do nothing for Believers without the Word, and they can do nothing to purpofe without him, the Word is the Sword, and the Holy Spirit of Chrifr the Arm that wteld• a; fo that, . 5· The like ufe that a Sword is of to a Soldter tn War; the fame JS the.Word to the Spirit in order to the cutting down, and fp01hng all hts and others Enemtes. . 2 INFERENCEs.
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