Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	child_n	spirit_n	witness_v	1,106	5	9.8469	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B00698	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.	Sibbes, Richard, 1577-1635.; Goodwin, Thomas, 1600-1680.; Nye, Philip, 1596?-1672.; Marshall, William, fl. 1617-1650.	1638 (1638)	STC 22496; ESTC S123290	62,552	276

of gracious soules now but to bee such as wait for the comming of Christ how oft in the Epistles of Saint Paul is it There is a Crowne of righteousnesse for mee and for all that wait for the appearing of Christ There was a yeare of Iubile among the Iewes every fifty yeares then all that were in bondage were set at liberty So at this blessed Iubile this glorious day of redemption all that are in bondage of death and under corruption shall be set at everlasting liberty No question but the poore servants that were vexed with hard masters they thought of the Iubile and those that had their possessions tooke away they thought of the Iubile the day of recovering all So let us oft thinke of this everlasting Iubile when wee shall recover all that wee lost for ever to keepe it and never to lose it againe as wee did in the first creation Let us oft thinke of this day it will infuse vigour and strength into all our conversation Indeed to the ungodly it is not a day of redemption but a day of judgement and the revelation of the just wrath of God when their sins shall be laid open and receive a sentence answerable Day of vengeance to wicked Alas there is such a deale of Atheisme in the world and the seeds of it in the best unlesse it be wrought out daily that we forget the God of vengeance and the day of vengeance Would men goe on in sinnes against conscience if they thought of this last day It is impossible such courses come frō this abhominable root of Atheisme and unbeliefe for had they but a slight Faith it would be effectual to alter their course in some measure therefore the Scripture gives them the name of fooles though they would be thought to bee the onely wise men The foole hath said in his heart there is no God and what followes Corrupt are they and abhominable The cause of all is the foole hath said in his heart he will needs force it upon his heart that there is no God hell nor heaven nor judgement thence come abhominable courses Grieve not the holy Spirit of God whereby yee are sealed unto the day of Redemption FRom the consideration of all that hath beene formerly spoken of the sealing of the spirit to the day of Redemption there ariseth these foure conclusions First that we may attaine unto to knowledge that wee are in that state of grace Secondly that upon knowledge of our state in grace for the present we may be assured of our future ful Redemption Thirdly that this assured knowledge is wrought by the Spirit Fourthly that the consideration of this assurance wrought by the Spirit is an effectuall argument to disswade from grieving the Spirit The first conclusion For the first wee may know wee are in the state of grace first because the Apostle would not have used an argument moving not to grieve the Spirit from a thing unknowne or guessed at it is an ill manner of reasoning to argue from a thing unknowne 2 Againe sealing of us by the Spirit is not in regard of God but of our selves God knoweth who are his but we know not that weare his but by sealing 3 The scope of the Scriptures indited by the Spirit is for comfort the Apostle saith so directly and what comfort in an uncertaine condition wherein a man knowes not but hee may be a reprobate Wherefore came our Saviour into the world and tooke our nature upon him why became he a curse for us why hath hee carried our nature into heaven and there appeares for us till hee hath brought us home to himselfe but that hee would have us out of all doubt of his love after once by faith wee have received him whence proceeded those Commandements to beleeve those checkes of unbeleevers the commendation of them that did beleeve those upbraidings of doubting as springing from unbeliefe to what use are the Sacraments but to seale unto us the benefits of Christ if upon all this wee should still doubt of GODS love especially when besides the sealing of the promises to us wee are sealed our selves by the Spirit of promise Object This is true if wee know we doe beleeve Answer It is the office of the Spirit as to worke Faith and other graces so to reveale them to us every grace of GOD is a light of it selfe comming from the Father of lights and it is the property of light not onely to discover other things but it selfe too and it is the office of the Spirit to give further light to this light by shining upon his owne grace in us an excellent place for this is the 1 Cor. 2.12 Wee have received the Spirit that is of God that wee might know the things that are freely given to us of God in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every thing bee confirmed one witnesses is the Spirit of man which knowes the things that are in man the other witnesses is the Spirit of God witnessing to our spirits that we are the children of God Here is light added to light witnesse added to witnesse the greater witnesse of the Spirit to the lesse of our Spirits the Apostle joynes them both together Rom. 9. My conscience bears me witnesse through the holy Ghost Obje Mans heart is deceitfull Answ But the spirit of God in mans heart is not deceitfull it is too holy to deceive and too wise to be deceived in this point of assurance wee plow with the Spirits Heifer or else we could not finde out this Riddle where there is an object to be seene and an eye to see and light to discover the object to the eye sight must needs follow In a true beleever after he is inlightened as there is grace to bee seene and an eye of Faith to see so there is a light of the Spirit discovering that grace to that inward sight in the bottome of a cleare River a cleare eye sight may see any thing where nothing is nothing can bee seene it is an evidence that the Patrons of doubtings have little grace in them and much boldnesse in making themselves a measure for other Those that are base borne know their Mothers better then their Fathers Ioh. 1. the Church of Rome is all for the Mother but the babes of Christ know their Father the remainder of corruption will indeed be still breeding doubts but it is the office of the Spirit of Faith to quell them as they arise Wee are too ready in time of temptation to doubt wee need not helpe the tempter by holding it a duty to doubt this is to light a candle before the divell as we use to speake Question May not there be doubtings where there is true faith may not a true beleever bee without assurance Answer There bee three rankes of Christians first some that are yet under the spirit of bondage that like little children doe all for feare Secondly those that

before The reason why wee can neither have grace to beleeve nor know wee beleeve nor when wee know we beleeve enjoy comfort without a fresh new act of the Spirit is because the whole carriage of a soule to heaven is above nature where the Spirit makes a stand we stand and can goe no further wee cannot conclude from right grounds without some helpe of the Spirit some doubts some feares will hinder the application to our selves even as those that live in some damnable sinne cannot but grant that those that live in such a sinne shall never inherit heaven and their conscience tels them they live in such a sinne yet selfe-love blindes them so that they will not conclude against themselves that they shall be damned so true beleevers cannot conclude for themselves without divine light and helpe It pleaseth God thus to keepe every degree and act of sealing in his owne hand to keep us in a perpetuall dependance upon him and to awe us that wee should not grieve the Spirit of grace and cause him to suspend either act of grace or comfort Ioy and strong comfort come from a superadded seale of the Spirit The works of the Spirit are of a double kinde either in us by imprinting sanctifying grace or upon us by shining upon our soules in sweet feelings of joy what the Spirit worketh in us is more constant as a new nature which is alwayes like it selfe and worketh uniformely but comfort and joy are of the nature of such priviledges as God vouchsafeth at one time and not another to some and not to others This degree of sealing in regard of joy hath its degrees likewise sometimes it is so cleare and strong that the soule questioneth not its state in grace ever after but passeth on in a triumphant manner to that glory it lookes for Sometimes after this sealing there may bee interrupting of comfortable communion of farre as to question our condition yet this calling into question comes not from the Spirit which where it once witnesseth for us never witnesseth against us but it is a fruit of the flesh not fully subdued it is a sinne it selfe and usually a fruit of some former sinne For howsoever wee should not doubt after a former witnesse of the Spirit yet there will be so much weakening the sence of our assurance as there is yeelding to any lust The knowledge of our estate in grace and comfort thereupon though it may bee weakened by neglcd of our watchfulnesse yet still it hath the force of an argument to assure us when the Spirit pleaseth to direct us to make use of it because Gods love varies not as our feeling doth and a fit doth not alter a state The childe in the wombe stirres not alwaies yet it lives and that may bee gathered from the former stirrings This degree of sealing by way of witnesse and comfort is appropriated to the holy Spirit every person in the blessed Trinitie hath their severall worke the Father chuseth us and passeth a decree upon the whole ground-work of our salvation The Sonne executeth it to the full The Spirit applyeth it and witnesseth our interest in it by leading our soules to lay hold upon him and by raising up our soules in the assurance of it and by breeding and cherishing sweet communion with Father and Son who both of them seale us like wise by the Spirit This joy comfort is so appropriated to the Spirit as it carrieth the very name of the Spirit and is one of the three Witnesses on earth that witnesseth not onely Christ to bee a Saviour but our Saviour The three witnesses on earth are the Spirit water and bloud for the better conceiving of which place wee must know th●● great worke of Christ of redemption and justification was typified in the old Testament by bloud and the great worke of Christ of redemption justification was typified in the old Testament by bloud and the great worke of our sanctification typified by their washing To answer which types when Christs side was pierced there came forth both bloud and water shewing that Christ came not onely by bloud to justifie us but by water to sanct●fie us Hereupon bloud and water have the power to bee witnesses The bloud of Christ being sprinckled on the heart by the Spirit doth pacifie the conscience in assuring it that God is pacified by bloud as being offered by the eternall Spirit this quieting power sheweth that it was the bloud of God and shed for me in particular The witnesse of water is from the power the Spirit hath to cleanse our nature which no creature can doe but the Spirit of GOD change of nature is peculiar to the Author of nature If wee feele therefore our natures altered and of uncle become holy in some measure wee may know we are the children of God as being begotten by the Spirit of Christ conforming us to his owne holinesse our spirit as sanctified can witnesse to us that wee are Christs But oft it fals out that our owne spirits though sanctified cannot stand against a subtill temptation strongly inforced God super-addes his owne Spirit guilt often prevailes over the testimony of bloud that of water by reason of stirring corruptions runneth troubled Therefore the third the immediate testimony of the Spirit is necessary to witnesse the Fathers love to us to us in particular saying I am thy salvation thy sinnes are pardoned And this testimony the Word ecchoeth unto and the heart is stirred up and comforted with joy unexpresseable So that both our spirits and consciences and the spirit of Christ joyning in one strongly witnesse our condition in grace that wee are the sonnes of God In this threefold testimony the order is this bloud begets water satisfaction by bloud procures the Spirit from God as a witnesse of Gods love and by feeling the power of bloud and water we come to have the Spirit witnessing and sealing our adoption unto us to establish us in the state of grace against stormes of temptation to the contrary The Spirit petiwadeth to looke unto bloud convinceth the heart of the efficacie of it and then quieteth the soule which giveth it selfe up to Christ wholly and to whole Christ and thence feeles his heart established against carnall reason so as hee can and doth oppose Christs bloud to all the guilt that doth arise And this witnesse of the Spirit comforting the soule is the most familiar and affects most If wee feele it not as oft we do not then rise upward from want of this joy of spirit to water and see what worke we finde of the spirit in clensing our soules and if wee finde these waters not to runne so clearely as to discerne our condition in them then goe to the witnesse of bloud and let us bathe our soules in it and then we shall finde peace in free grace procured by bloud for oft times a Christian is driven to that passe that nothing can comfort him within or