Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	brethren_n	know_v	love_v	5,050	5	7.2282	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B09141	Of the conversion of sinners to God in Christ: The [bracket] 1. necessity, 2. nature, [double bracket] 3. means, 4. signs of it. With a concluding speech to the unconverted. / By Martin Fynch ...	Finch, Martin, 1628?-1698.	1680 (1680)	Wing F944B; ESTC R177058	74,683	192

of their eternal conditions accounting it a piece of Christian humility and holy modesty so to do yea thinking such a frame to be a great preservative from sin and a spur to quicken them to more diligence in Gods ways then if the assurance of the love of God were shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Ghost do erre not considering so fully the nature of Gospel Grace and a lively hope of salvation that it doth strengthen and enlarge the Soul in holiness and obedience by urging new and further motives to our walking with God and fruitfulness before him It is the duty of all to try their spiritual estates and not to rest satisfied in some probability of the truth and power of grace in them but to give diligence to the attaining of a full assurance thereof Wherefore are we called upon so often in the Scripture to prove our own works to examine our selves whether we be in the faith or no to give diligence to make our calling and election sure if it be not that those that are not yet converted may find it out that they may not deceive themselves but now look after union with Christ which yet they have not and that those that are converted indeed may be assured of it and so rejoyce and give praise and be stirred up to walk worthy in all things of the vocation wherewith they are called If a man be not yet truly converted unto God it is better for him to know how his condition is though for the present it fill his Soul with much anxiety and fear of the wrath to come then that he should go on quietly and presumptuously to Hell If we be foolish Virgins without the Oyle of grace in our vessels 't is better to know it now whilst Oyl may be got then not to know it till time is past and the door is shut Many are greatly offended when they are put upon trying their spiritual estates they say such preaching troubles their consciences they are loath to see in what a miserable condition they are but if the Lord delight in them to make them his people they will bless God that ever they sate under such an awakening Ministry by which the Lord brought them to see they were in the broad way that leadeth to destruction and brought them out of it unto Christ Now then in answer to this great Question How may a man know that he is truly converted and in the state of grace 1. It may be known by discerning the work of grace upon the Heart 2. It may be known by the more immediate testimony of the spirit 1. Conversion may be known by discerning the work of grace upon the heart If a man think himself something when he is nothing he deceiveth himself Gal. 6.3 Well then how shall such a man be undeceived v. 4. Let every man prove his own work so shall he have rejoycing in himself alone and not in another That is let him try whether the Lord hath began the good work of grace in him let him prove and examine himself whether he hath true faith true repentance true love to God true love to the brethren so shall he have rejoycing in himself alone discerning that God hath wrought in him those things that accompany salvation and not rejoyce meerly in the good opinion of others who though they be gracious and spiritual may easily be deceived in judging of the spiritual estate of others being not so suspicious of others as they are of themselves and know not the secret passages between God and their Souls as they know things between God and themselves Many Scriptures might be brought to shew that we are to take this course in judging of our spiritual estates Hereby we know that we know him if we keep his Commandments 1 John 2.3 Hereby know we that we are in him v. 4. We know that we are passed from death to life because we love the brethren 1 John 3.14 Those that deny inherent grace in those that are converted or would not have them to try their spiritual estates thereby are much mistaken Let those who would know whether they be yet converted set themselves as in the presence of the Lord and examine themselves whether the Lord hath made them sensible of the danger and evil that there is in sin whether the Lord hath taken them off from trusting in their own righteousness and strength whether the Lord hath revealed Christ to them as Mediator and fixed their hearts to put their whole trust in him Whether the Lord hath wrought in them godly sorrow for sin and put a new bent of holiness upon their hearts to desire and endeavour to walk so as to please God He that would have these things more fully opened let him remember or look back to the Third Chapter where I have shewn more largely what Conversion and Special Grace is and to let him examine himself accordingly But that I may through the grace of Christ be further helpful to those who would try their spiritual estates to find out what God hath done for their Souls let these things be observed 1. That the work of grace is not always alike visible and discernable in a Child of God neither to himself nor others with whom he hath to do Through bodily distempers through viclent temptations through sore falls into sin and great dissertions and hidings of Gods face from none of which a Child of God is wholly exempted in this life it may come to pass that a true Saint may be very hard put to it to discern the work of grace in himself yea very much fear that he hath no true grace and walk in darkness and trouble of spirit thereupon With some it is thus a great while God orders it thus amongst other holy ends of his by such examples of troubled Consciences to put others upon more tryal of their spiritual estates to draw forth our pity and compassion to such as are in these spiritual distresses and to make us more thankful for the light of Gods spirit to discern the work of grace in ourselves which these poor sorrowful ones cannot attain unto and to shew us that which I am now upon that grace being so little in the best is sometimes scarce discernable especially when the body is sickyl and distempered and there is some special hour and power of darkness upon us By the way I am afraid that sometimes godly Ministers unawares may deliver somethings that may much puzzle poor Christians about trying the work of grace upon their hearts and bring them into great darkness and trouble of spirit However that which I shall take notice of may be a Caution to such as shall read these things that they do not so I have observed that Ministers do sometimes speak so unwarily of the signs of this grace and the other that those signs which they lay down are signs only of the high actings of that grace and

actings whereby it is more easily discerned as for example when a Believer is examining whether he hath true Faith in Christ the Holy Ghost doth sometimes put that grace into act at that very time and then he can say Lord I believe I see faith at this very time working in my heart and so for other graces as repentance love to God and the like When it is thus a poor believer goes thorough the work of self examination with great satisfaction and delight and if it be not always so yet let a Believer pray and search into his heart and wait upon the Lord If he hide his face yet wait upon him for a good hour when he will come unto us and comfort us 4. The stronger the habit of grace in the heart is and the more frequent and constant the actings of grace are the more easily may we come to the knowledg and assurance of the work of grace in us If faith were stronger in the habit and more frequent in the act we might have more assurance that we have the truth of that grace and usually it is so that such have most assurance the like may be said of repentance love to God and other graces Happy is it when a man can truly say shall I question the truth of my faith in Christ when through the grace of God who hath wrought my heart to this self same thing I find a strong bent upon my heart to cleave to Christ as my Mediatour for ever I am continually looking to him he is precious to me the Meditation of him is sweet to my soul I have counted do count and will for ever count all things but dung in comparison of him shall I question the truth of my repentance when I find that I have continual sorrow in my heart for my sins and sighs and cry continually to be delivered from all my corruptions I say happy is that man whose grace is so strong and in such continual motion and action such a man can more easily discern the truth of it let us pray and wait for this 5. Believers must not be taken up wholly in trying of themselves whether they are in the state of grace or no but press forwards in putting forth New acts of Faith New acts of repentance New acts of love to Christ and New acts of mortification of Sin That we may grow up into him in all grace who is our head even Christ Yea sometimes former grace received may be many ways so obscured yea weakned that there is no other way to recover the vigour and comfort of grace but for the Soul to believe in Christ repent and turn to God as if it were but now to begin to follow Christ Secondly Conversion and the work of grace upon the heart is sometimes manifested to us by the more immediate testimony of the spirit If the holy Ghost do indeed perswade and assure our hearts that we are in the love and favour of God then we are effectually called for though God loveth those whom he hath chosen from everlasting and the giving of Christ to die for them and his drawing them to Christ is from that free love and good pleasure of his will towards them yet until a person be converted the holy Ghost doth not assure him that God hath ordained him to eternal life Those whom God hath foreknown he hath predestinated from eternity to the adoption of Children by Jesus Christ but till they be actually sons and daughters which is not till their conversion and believing in Christ John 1.12 The Lord doth not send his spirit into their hearts to enable them to cry Abba Father The Lord indeed sendeth his spirit into the hearts of the Elect to convert them and work faith in them for without the spirit it could never be done but it is an after work for the spirit to come into our hearts enabling us to cry Abba Father assuring us that we are the Children of God Rom. 8.16 And shedding abroad and pouring in the love of God to us in particular into our hearts Rom. 5 5. We must not think that the holy Ghost at first dash doth assure a person that God hath ordained him in particular to eternal life before he insufe the habit of grace and spiritual Life into him but first the holy Ghost having convinced the soul of sin and convinced the Soul of righteousness to justify to be in Christ and in him alone doth enable the soul to apply Christ and come unto him and afterwards as it pleases him doth manifest to the soul the truth of his faith and his pardon through Christ The Holy Ghost works as a Sanctifyer before he workes as a Comforter the Holy Ghost workes faith in the heart before he fill with joy and peace which is onely in believing in Christ and discerning the fruits of our Vnion with him The manner how the Holy Ghost doth assure us that we are the Children of God is a great mystery When the Holy Ghost clears to us the work of grace upon our hearts this is one way that he doth witness to us that we are the Children of God But sometimes he doth it more immediately that when the believer hath not been at that time trying his spiritual estate or it may be is in great heaviness through manifold inward temptations and outward dangers and afflictions suddenly the Holy Ghost makes him to triumph in Christ and rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory Indeed this way of the spirits witnessing to the soul though it is most refreshing and ravishing yet it is not so ordinary as the other and it is more transient and quickly passing away and is rather a cordial for some sowning fit or some Antidote to strengthen the heart in some great appraoching service or tryal then the common food of the Saints in this life If any shall say how do Believers know the voice and witness of the spirit speaking peace and joy by Jesus Christ to their souls from a delusion I answer 1. By a certain spiritual instinct which no man knows but him that hath it by this they know the voice of the spirit from the voice of a stranger 2. By the signs that follow this voice and Witness of the spirit raising our hearts to look to Christ the Mediatour As he from whom all our springs are admiring the love of the father in giving him to be the propitiation for our sins loathing of our selves for our iniquities and stronger desires to walk in universal obedience to the Lord. But now because some seem to examine themselves little concerning the work of grace upon their hearts but in giving a reason of the hope they have that they are passed from death to life speak not of their faith repentance and other graces but say that they had such and such a word given in as for example I have loved thee with an everlasting love or I have blotted out as a