Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	ghost_n	holy_a	trinity_n	2,581	5	9.6972	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A04641	The gales of grace; or, the spirituall vvinde wherein the mysterie of sanctification is opened and handled. By Thomas Barnes ...	Barnes, Thomas, Minister of St. Margaret's, New Fish Street, London.	1622 (1622)	STC 1476; ESTC S101226	81,318	222

5 and 6. verses with the 18. when he was cast downe with the hand of God so suddenly and violently as he was trauelling with Letters from the high Priest towards Damascus against the Saints had a strong and a strange worke and himselfe into an Angell of light telling the Christian there is a thing like repentance which is not repentance like faith which is no true faith and by this meanes hee driues the poore soule into such a quandary that it can not distinctly tell whether the holy motions which it hath be but meere flashes of ioy of sorrow or whether the holy Ghost be the author of them Seeing then many saints are but yonglings in piety seeing the Diuell seekes by all cunning fetches to blinde their eyes that they may not so plainely see the truth of their graces wee need not account it any strange poynt of Doctrin To hold and affirme that a man may haue the stirrings of grace in him and yet not at all times know that the holy Ghost is the breeder of them Sect. 2. Before I come to the Vse a question must be answered which is fitly occasioned by the Doctrine and this it is Quest Whether a man may haue the worke of Conuersion and not know of it at all To this I answer Answ negatiuely A man cannot be conuerted but he must needes know it some way or other And my reason is this because Conuersion is a change and can a man be changed and not finde an alteration in himselfe Yea but then will some say I contradict my selfe vnsay that which I haue now prooued Not so For though I say a man cannot be conuerted but he must needs know of an alteration in himselfe yet may hee bee ignorant of the trueth of his conuersion for a time to be turned he may finde himselfe but directly to know and to say I am truely turned by the worke of the Spirit hee may possibly not for a time and heerein he may doubt and wauer and though he hath receiued the holy Ghost to renue him yet his condition may possibly be such that he shall say I am not yet renued But to be altered and find no alteration at all in a mans selfe I doe not see what one Scripture doeth warrant it Yes will some say There is Scripture for it Obiect For it is said of some q Acts 19.2 that were in Ephesus who were Disciples of the number of Beleeuers that they had not so much as heard whether there were an holy Ghost or no. For Paul said vnto them Haue ye receiued the holy Ghost since yee beleeued and they answered him Wee haue not so much as heard whether there be any holy Ghost Now if such as beleeued neuer had heard whether there be an holy Ghost then it is likely that they neuer felt the working of the holy Ghost in their conuersion neither one way nor other Answer But to this I answer first of all that it is a bad consequent to conclude that because the Disciples of Ephesus had not heard of the holy Ghost therefore a man can haue no knowledge of his conuersion though he be conuerted Answer Againe besides this we must know that the holy Ghost is taken 3. waies in the Scriptures First it signifieth the substance it selfe or the person of the holy Ghost the third person in the Trinitie secondly it signifieth the sanctifying and inuisible gifts of the Spirit which are conferred vpon the Elect at their conuersion and thirdly the visible spirituall gifts which Christ bestowed vpon the faithfull or some of them in the Primitiue Church Now in this place of the Acts is neyther meant the person of the holy Ghost nor the inuisible sanctifying gifts of the holy Ghost For it had bin a most absurd thing for Paul to haue esteemed those as such as had neuer knowne whether there were an holy Ghost or no or regenerating gifts of that holy Ghost yea or no who were Disciples who had receiued the Baptisme of that Iohn which in his course of baptizing had made mention of such a Spirit and of such gifts when he said r Mat. 3.11 I indeed baptize you with water to repentance but there is one that cometh after me who is stronger then mee he shall baptize you with the holy Ghost and with fire It had beene an absurd thing I say for Paul to haue doubted whether they had knowne of such a Spirit such gifts in neither of those two senses is the place therefore to bee vnderstood but it rather is to be meant of the visible gifts which in those times Christ did powre downe vppon his Church Concerning such gifts therefore Paul asketh the Disciples of Ephesus whether they had receiued them yea or no as the gifts of tongues and prophecie And concerning such gifts they answer Paul also We know not whether there be any holy Ghost wee neuer heard whether euer Christ gaue any such visible gifts vnto his Church as the gifts of tongues and prophecying are So that from that Scripture no such matter can be gathered that it is possible for a Christian neuer to finde a change in himselfe and yet be changed For if a man be conuerted by the Spirit of grace he may know an alteration in himself though he cannot so presently vnderstand that that change in himself is the right change and such as the holy Ghost produceth and causeth and though at sometimes as the Doctrine sheweth the spiritual feeling which he hath within him cannot so directly bee comprehended to come from the Spirit as at another time it is and may be The Vse followeth Sect. 3. Vse To teach the children of God when they haue any feeling in themselues and know not whence directly it is to go and enquire at the word of God at the Priests lips which preserue knowledge or at the mouth of some faithfull brother and to compare their present sense with what that word reuealeth and to open their case plainely faithfully to such a Minister or such a brother telling them how it hath beene with them or how it is with them either in case of sorrow ioy c. intreating them to acquaint them with euidence from the Word whether the griefe which they are sometimes ouerwhelmed withall or the comforts that they are at other times accheerd withall be such as are fruits of Gods sanctifying Spirit For seeing there may be such a feeling in a man and not knowne by him to come from heauen nor whence indeed I thinke that it is very necessary for him to make such an enquiry as I am now perswading vnto Euen as a man therefore that heareth the noyse of the winde abroad that he may know in what corner it lieth from what Angle it commeth whether from the East or from the West c. So when thou hearest a kinde of spirituall sound in thy selfe blowing eyther roughly to humble thee

burthen of sin wherewithall it findeth it self loaden secondly of the want and excellency of grace whereof it seeth it selfe destitute and void for wherefore should the will and desires encline to those spirituall motions to leaue that which is euill and to cleaue to that which is good but because it hath a sense of the vglinesse and burthen of the one of the want and beauty of the other The former feeling Dauid had r Ps 38.4 My sins haue taken such hold vpon me that I am not able to looke vp and are as an heauie burthen too heauie for mee The later the woman of Samaria had when she sayd Å¿ Ioh. 4.15 Lord giue me of this water this is excellent water indeede I neuer dranke of such water Secondly when working grace breatheth an actuall change in the soule the soule feeleth how miserable a thing it is to be out of Christ how sweet a thing it is to be in Christ how hard a thing it is to learne the way of obedience and how good a thing to haue an heart enlarged to keepe Gods Commandements how weake a man is of himselfe to shake off vnbeliefe distrust security to resist euill and what a blessed thing it is to be set free from the slauery of his lusts and from the bondage of those slauish terrors of hell and torment which hee was wont to be troubled withall Some such feeling as this is doth I say accompany working grace Thirdly when coworking grace breatheth there is a sense and experience of Gods hand holding him vp in the time of temptation preseruing him mightily against dangerous falls strengthening him graciously to exercise the fruits of mortification and sanctification raysing him vp when temptation hath foyled him whereupon he feeleth in the second place his loue to be encreased his zeale to be enflamed his edge to goe on in a righteous course to be sharpned as knowing the Lord is euer at hand ready to helpe and assist him and whatsoeuer it be that is a quench-cole to his zeale a cooler to his loue a blunting to his edge he is very sensible of it The Apostle Paul would neuer haue broken out into this speech and left it vpon record in his owne writings Through Christ I am able to doe all things and t 2. Tim. 4 17 the Lord strengthened mee if hee had not had a gracious sense and experience of Gods co-operating and corroborating grace strengthening him in the performance of the generall duties of Christianity and the weighty work of his Ministery Lastly when perfecting grace doth its office hee hath a taste and sight of the vnchangeablenesse of Gods loue assuring his conscience that the Lord will perfect the good worke which hee hath begunne in him Neither is hee vnsensible of those rubbes which hinder perseuerance and hee feeleth many bitter conflicts with temptations telling him that he shall not perseuere which when he ouercometh he reioyceth heartily and perswadeth himselfe assuredly that nothing shall plucke him from his Sauiour Christ Iesus For thus he reasoneth and this sound doth the winde of grace make in his soule Because the Lord hath giuen me a constant will and an earnest desire to stand in the grace whereunto by iustifying faith I had accesse Rom. 5.1 therefore Gods loue will neuer faile mee Such a sound and sense no doubt the Apostle heard and had when he broke out into this speech u Rom 8.38.39 I am perswaded that neither death nor life nor Angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate vs from the loue of God which is in Christ Iesus our Lord. And thus it is cleere what this sense and feeling is which the holy Ghost effecteth in the regenerate soule when it bloweth and worketh effectually in the same Sect. 3. How this sense is wrought The third circumstance in the Doctrine cometh now to be considered of viz. how or by what meanes this sense and sound is wrought and made This will be as manifest as the former if we doe but consider how the sound and noise of the winde commeth to be heard and compare our present matter in hand with that How the sound of the winde comes to be heard by man The winde bloweth in the ayre and maketh a noyse there the aire bringeth the noyse so made in it selfe to the eare the eare hauing by the curious skill of the great Workemaister an Hammer and an Anuile as it were in it selfe conueyeth that sound vnto the brayne where the originall and seate of the sense of hearing is and by this meanes the sound is heard by the creature The comparison Euen so the Spirit of grace breatheth the minde and voyce of God into the writings of the Old and New Testaments for al Scripture is giuen by inspiration w 2 Tim. 3.16 The holy men of God spake as they were moued by the holy Ghost x 2 Pet. 2.21 The Scriptures being truely opened and wisely applyed by Gods Embassadours and Ministers bring this minde and voice of God to the eare of the vnderstanding the vnderstanding by the operation she durst be bold to challenge Christ with his promise of easing loaden sinners and of satisfying Desires hunger longing after righteousnes After this there is a certaine whispering noyse heard as it were afarre off that there is a possibilitie of pardon for thee as well as for an other which sound at the first seemeth very doubtfull Therfore faith still hearkning to the sound that the Spirit bringeth to the vnderstanding through the ayre of the gospel commeth by degrees after many sharpe conflicts which it findeth in it selfe to heare a voyce much like that of our Sauiours to the man sicke of the palsey a Mat. 9.2 Sonne be of good cheere thy sinnes are forgiuen thee Or to the womans that cam to him in the Phases house b Lu. 7.50 Thy faith hath saued thee Vpon which the Gospel still doing its office in informing the iudgement The Spirit of God witnesseth with our spirit that we are the children of God c Ro. 8.16 Vppon this also ioy beginnneth to haue a kinde of spirituall life and feeling in it selfe and there is a great rauishment in the soule and an admiration at the vnspeakeable goodnesse of God to so wretched a creature as I was and it can not containe it selfe but it must burst it selfe foorth with the Song of the Church d Cant. 1.2 Thy loues are better then wine With this ioy next in order loue which is another of the affections apprehends that same sweete sound and she falls to bethink how or which way shee may shew herselfe thankefull for so great kindnesse then the soule burneth with the fire of zeale and wrastleth the Gospel and word of grace stil directing it with euery thing that may bee an hinderance of obedience to the