Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	eternal_a	grace_n	sin_n	7,886	5	4.9100	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01028	A letter first written and sent by Io. Forbes, pastour of the English Church at Middelburgh vnto certen of the companie of marchands adventurers at Stoade, at their earnest desire, for resolving this question: how a Christian man may discerne the testimonie of Gods spirit, from the testimonie of his owne spirit, in witnessing his adoption. And now againe renewed and enlarged by the authour, at the desire of divers good Christians, for the comfort of their troubled co[n]sciences, and published by those of his flocke, to whom he did dedicate it for the publike vse of the Church.	Forbes, John, 1568?-1634.	1616 (1616)	STC 11131; ESTC S118027	27,622	94

so that hee is dead Wherevpon it comes to passe that God therein is so terrible to man that hee cannot abyde him nor heare him but is compelled to runne from him as is cleere by the 12. chapt of the Hebrues verse 19. 20. 21. compared with Exod. chapt 20. verse 18. 19. 20. 21. Thus our former blindnes is turned into bondage and the fruit of blindnes that is securitie is turned in the fruit of bondage which is feare Therefore the ministerie of the Lawe is called the ministerie of death and condempnatiō And in the first act of Gods calling the spirit that speaketh in the Lawe and is given by the ministerie of the Lawe is called the spirit of bondage vnto feare Because the sight and knowledge of our selves and of God which the spirit gives vs by the Lawe workes these effectes And therefore by that name is distinguished from the spirit of Adoption which is given by the Gospell and this will the Apostle signifie to the Galathians when he comparinge the two Testaments to the two by whom Abraham begot Ismael Isaack doeth shewe that the one which is from Mount Sinai doeth beget vnto bondage This being the estate of man both by nature and by the Lawe it is manifest that these effectes of the spirit which witnesse adoption are not in man neither by nature neither by the Lawe But when the free spirit of the Lorde commeth then commeth libertie to the heart And this spirit of the Lord otherwayes called the spirit of promise comes to vs by the preaching of faith and not of the workes of the Lawe as witnesseth the Apostle to the Galathians and the historie of the Actes of the Apostles Nowe then when the man who first by nature was vnder blindnes and next by the Lawe was vnder sinne and death kept in bondage and feare findes him selfe first delivered frō that blindnes and ignorance of minde and next from that bondage of sinne and death and so consequentlie frō his feare which was wrought in him by his bondage then may he knowe that the spirit of adoption grace and libertie hath spoken to his heart and hath taken possession of it because he findes that promise accōplished in him whereof Zacharias speaketh in the Gospell according to Luke to wit that God would grant to vs that we being delivered out of the handes of our enemies should serve him without feare all the dayes of our life in holynes and righteousnes before him For this was the ende of Christes death sayeth the Apostle to the Hebrewes to witt that hee might deliver all them who for feare of death were all their life tyme subiect to bondage Thus therefore the mā who can discerne in his hearte which once was filled with the spirit of bondage vnto feare the ioyfull libertie of the sonnes of God whereby hee that was the bondman and seruant of sinne by the Lawe is now by the Gospell made the free man of Christ the bandes of iniquitie being broken and so freed both from the guiltines and also from the power of sinne being iustified by faith in Iesus Christ and having grace in the superabondance thereof reigning through righteousnes vnto eternall life through Iesus Christ our Lord even in the soule wherin sinne in the aboūdance thereof had reigned through vnrighteousnes vnto death this mā I say may easilie discerne the spirit witnessing his adoption by this his libertie from the slauerie of sinne First in his iustification next in his sanctification and so consequentlie from the feare of death following thereon In place whereof succeeds a ioye vnspeakeable glorious the hart iustified reioycing in the hope of the glorie of God For this cause is it that the Apostle Peter willeth vs by ioyning vertue to our faith and to vertue knowledge and to knowledge temperance c. to make our calling and election sure Because our sanctification being the worke of the spirit of adoption is a sure seale of our election And therefore doeth the Apostle Peter give this reason of his threatning and rebuke against Simon Magus to wit that albeit he was baptised yet the Apostle did see that he was in the gale of bitternesse and in the band of iniquitie wherein Simon being still captive could have no assurance of adoption albeit hee had outwardly embraced the Gospell and therefore is said to have beleeved And because this worke is the great worke of Christ in the elect and chief ende of his comming Therefore doeth the Prophet Esaie describe the worke of his comming and effect of the spirit of the Lord in him in these wordes The spirit of the Lorde is vpon mee the Lord hath annointed me that I should preach the Gospell to the poore that I should heale the broken hearted that I should preach deliverie to the captives and receyvinge of sight to the blinde that I should set at libertie them that are brused and that I should preach the acceptable yeare of the Lord to appoint vnto them that murne in Zion and to give vnto them beautie for ashes the oyle of ioye for mourning the garmentes of gladnes for the spirit of heavines that they might be called trees of righteousnes the planting of the Lord. Which Prophesie Christ sheweth to bee fulfilled by him selfe in the Gospell accordinge to Luc. in the which it is manifest that the work of the spirit in preaching the Gospell is to worke knowledge and libertie in making vs trees of righteousnes planted by God and by libertie to worke ioye and gladnes in place of mourning heavines Therefore is it by good reason that the Apostle forbiddes vs to let sinne reigne in our mortall bodies that we should obey it in the lustes therof in respect wee are made free from sinne in Christ and are made the servants of God having our fruit in holines And also biddeth vs reioyce alwayes in the Lord for there is no condempnation to vs that are in Christ seeing we are freed from the lawe of sinne and death by the lawe of the spirit of life which is in Christ Iesus This is then that great effect of the spirit of Adoption in our heartes whereby as by a most sure testimonie wee discerne the spirit sealing our Adoption Because this spirit of adoptiō which is given vs by the preaching of the Gospell takes away both these miseries to witt the blindnes wherein we are by nature next the bondage reveiled by the law and feare caused thereby Havinge thus spoken of the worke of the spirit it followeth that we consider the voyce of the spirit This voyce of the spirit is of two sortes The first is when the spirit within vs speaketh to God for vs. The second is whē the spirit in vs speaketh from God vnto vs. The voice of the spirit to God is when we by the spirit call vpon God as our Father And this voice of the spirit is

our anointing poured out vpon vs as that oyle on Aaron therefore are we saide to have this annointing from him which is holy and that it teacheth vs and that it is true not lying according to that whiche is said by Christ of the spirit I will pray the Father he will give you another comforter that hee may abyde with you for ever even the spirit of trueth he shall teach you all things And the same also is our earnest therefore it is called the earnest of the spirit and also the first fruites of the spirit So by the same spirit as by oyle as by earnest as by a seale doth God stablish our harts in that which they doe witnes to vs touching our Adoption And that doth the Apostle signifie whē he saieth the same spirit beareth witnes with our spirits that wee are the sonnes of God Marke then the order of Gods working First he speakes the word of trueth to the heart and in speaking writes it in the heart heerevpon the heart is made to beleeve that which it hath heard receyved from the spirit and when it beleeves it speakes and the thing it speakes is that same which is engravē in it by the spirit to wit that God is his God and hee his child For never can the hart of a man speak one word of mercie to him nor of Adoption till the spirit of God have spoken first mercie to it Nowe when the spirit of man hath spoken and given testimonie to him of his election he● the Lord for establishing the heart in this and confirming man in the testimonie of his heart he addeth his spirit and by the testimonie thereof seales this promise in the heart and makes Adoption and eternall life most certaine and sure to the soule that he dare be bold with the Apostle to say Who shall lay any thing to my charge who shall condempne me who shall seperate mee from the love of Christ I am perswaded that neither death nor life nor anguish c. shall bee able to seperate me from the love of God which is in Iesus Christ my Lord. And that we may yet more evidentlie see the necessitie of this testimonie of Gods spirit we are to consider that albeit our own harts have in them a power to witnes vnto vs what wee are both by nature and by grace yet the testimonie of our heartes touching our estate by grace is not so fullie and confidentlie to bee reposed vpon and trusted as the testimonie therof touching our estate by nature For wee may assuredly trust our hearts and cōsciences when vpon anie guiltines they condemne vs seeing hee is cursed who abydes not in everie jo● of the Law to fulfil it he that trāsgresseth one cōmandment is guiltie of all but we are not always to give absolut credit to our consciences when vpon conceit of innocēcie they iustifie vs. For although our consciences accuse vs of nothing yet thereby we are not iustified as is plaine by the saying of the Apost touching himself 1. Cor. 4. 4. the reason hereof is because our consciences doe not so cleerlie see our estate which is from God neither can they of them selves so truely iudge of it as they may do of their estate by nature when they are illuminate by God for then they are made to know and cleerly to see that in vs there is no goodnes and therefore ther is iust reason why they should condempne vs. And we are verily to beleeve our harts vpō this sight and knowledge condempning vs. but on the other part although we see the minde of God towards vs in Christ yet wee can not so throughly apprehende his promises vpon any sight we receive that we dar trust our felicitie absolutly to the testimonie of our owne hearts First because our heartes may be deceyved as is evident by scripture that many shall bee Secondly because wee may mistake the working of God in vs and lay hold on a wrong ground Thirdlie because our heartes are more prone to speake good nor evill of our selves even when they have neuer so small occsion to doe so and when they have much more occasion to do the contrarie And lastlie because all men are lyars onely God is true and therfore we must never give so much credit to our consciences speaking good of vs as when they speake evill speciallie when the question is of being the sonnes of God or not so that even when they witnes that we are the sonnes of God wee are not to rest herevpon except God who only knoweth whom he hath chosen doe by his spirit confirme the testimonie of our spirit For we may much more surely trust our heartes in that which is in our selves and from our selves then in that which is neither from our selves nor in our selves but is the free gift of God in Christ Therefore that we should not bee deceyved by our deceitful harts God secoūdeth our owne testimonie touching his taking of vs for his children by his spirit witnessinge the same even as by his owne mouth cōfirming our adoptiō For by the mouth of two or three witnesses shal everie word be stablished Thus I have shewen you what is the spirits testimonie in what manner he gives it and how necessarie it is Now I come to that which you desired to know that is how wee discerne the testimonie of the spirit which seales our Adoption from the testimonie of our owne spirit For knowledge of this First let vs consider that there be three things whereby wee discerne our Election and Adoption from the spirit of God The first is his presence with vs. The second is his worke in vs. The third is his voyce vnto vs. Touching the first the verie presence of the spirit of Adoptiō is a witnesse of our Adoption For the spirit is the earnest of the inheritance of God as wee have shewen before therefore whosoever hath the spirit the verie having of him is a sure testimonie to that man that he is the sonne of God For he that hath the spirit of Christ he is Christes as by the contrarie hee that hath not the spirit of Christ is not Christes Now the having of the spirit is discerned by the other two that is by the work and by the voyce therefore those two are chiefly to be considered first his worke in vs which must go before his voyce I meane this voyce which seales Adoptiō For otherwayes his voyce alwayes goeth before his worke for it is by the worde that hee worketh all things in vs. For vnderstanding of this work and voyce of the spirit which sealeth adoption marke the wordes of the Apostle in that same eight chap. of the Rom touchinge the spirit Yee have not receyved sayeth he the spirit of bondage to feare againe but yee have receyved the spirit of Adoption whereby wee crye Abba Father Heere Adoption vnder