Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	according_a	speak_v	word_n	5,557	5	4.4077	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A28280	The sufficiency of a standing revelation in general, and of the Scripture revelation in particular both as to the matter of it and as to the proof of it : and that new revelations cannot reasonably be desired and would probably be unsuccessful in eight sermons preach'd in the Cathedral-Church of St. Paul, London, at the lecture founded by the Honourable Robert Boyle, Esq., in the year MDCC / by Ofspring Blackall ...	Blackall, Offspring, 1654-1716.	1700 (1700)	Wing B3055; ESTC R6615	150,254	268

Mat. 26.31 He told the rest of the Disciples that they would all forsake him when they every one profess'd themselves resolv'd to suffer with him Joh. 3.14.8.28.12.32 rather than leave him He signified before by what Death he should die and who should be instrumental therein Mat. 16.21.26.32.28.16 He assured his Disciples that after three Days he would rise again and appointed them a Place in Galilee where they should all see him He Prophesied that notwithstanding the Contempt he was had in and the greater Contempt that his ignominious Death would bring upon him his Religion should by their means a Company of poor illiterate Fishermen be preached with good success in all Parts of the World Mat. 24.14.3.19 He foretold likewise the utter Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple Mat. 24. Mar. 13. Luk. 21. before that Generation passed away and the Dispersion of the Jews into all Nations And several other things which it would take up too much time now to mention he foretold should be just in that manner in which they afterwards came to pass Concerning which it may be noted that some of his Prophecies were fulfilled soon after they were spoken the punctual Accomplishment whereof was to those that both heard them spoken and saw them fulfilled an evident Proof of his Prophetical Spirit and a just Ground of expecting the Accomplishment of all his other Prophecies in their Season and that others were not to be fulfilled 'till a good while after the Accomplishment whereof at the time foretold and long after the Predictions thereof had been recorded by the Evangelists was a good Evidence to those that lived then and is also to us that live now and either read the Accomplishment thereof in History or see the same with our own Eyes that he was endued with a Divine Spirit and likewise takes away all reasonable Ground of a Suspicion which we might otherwise have had that in those Instances wherein both the Prophecy and the Accomplishment of it are related by the same Authors the Prophecies were forged after the Events were come to pass Now if this be true and it is certainly true if the Gospel-History be so that our Saviour did foretell many things which afterwards happened and those very casual and contingent things depending upon the free will of Men this was an evident token that he had a divine Spirit for none can certainly foretell such things but God only or those whom he enlightens with his Spirit And therefore the Prophet Isaiah made this Challenge to the Idols of the Heathens Isa 41.23 Shew the things that shall be hereafter that we may know that ye are Gods And if to this it should be objected that future Events have been sometimes foretold by such as have not been true Prophets of God nor enlightned by his Spirit as by Diviners Astrologers and South-Sayers and by the Oracles of the Heathens this may be granted without any weakning of the Argument I am now upon for the Proof of our Saviour's divine Mission For there may be some future Events upforeseen by us and yet depending so intirely upon the Course of Natural Causes that unless hindred by a Miracle they will as certainly come to pass as the Sun will rise tomorrow And these the Devil who understands much better than we do the Power and Course of Nature may foresee and consequently foretell and When such a thing is foretold we who understand very little of Nature may think it a Prophecy whereas in truth there is no more of a Prophetical Spirit in the Devil when he foretells such things than there is in a skilful Astronomer when he Calculates and foretells to a Minute for several Ages to come the Motions and Eclipses of the Sun Moon and Planets And even in future Contingencies 't is no wonder that the Events have sometimes verified the Predictions of the Devil and his Prophets for this also may well enough be accounted for without allowing that any Being hath a certain Foreknowledge of future Contingencies but God only if we do but suppose as we may very reasonably do that the Devil hath a perfecter Knowledge than we can have of the Counsels Intrigues and Interests of Men that he understands their Tempers and Inclinations that he hath lived a great while and made very exact observations that he hath had a long Experience of things and hath also a notable sagacity much beyond what is in any Man for so even a wise observing and experienc'd Man may without a Spirit of Prophecy see much further before him than Men commonly do and may foretell by a Guess that shall rarely fail a great many things which a less thinking and experienc'd Man would never have thought of And when the thing happens that was foretold it may be past the Skill of others to judge whether it was foretold by a Sagacious Guess or by a certain Foreknowledge of what would be And that the Predictions of Diviners and the Oracles of the Heathens concerning future Contingencies have been no more than only probable Conjectures unless when they have been borrowed from divine Prophecies as they may have often been is evident by their uncertain Accomplishment Some things indeed have happened as they have been foretold but others have not so happened and because the Devil could not always certainly tell what the Events of those things would be which he was Consulted with about he commonly gave out his Oracles in ambiguous Expressions that so whatever happen'd he might be thought to have foretold it And when the Predictions of any Person pretending to Prophecy have fail'd in some Instances tho' in others they have been accomplish'd this is a certain Argument that he did not Prophesie by a divine Spirit according to what is said Deut. xviii 21 22. If thou say in thine heart How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken When a Prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord if the thing follow not nor come to pass that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken but the Propheth hath spoken it presumptuously In which words it seems to be implied tho' it be not expresly said that if the thing foretold did come to pass and especially that if of many things which the Prophet had foretold and which could not be fore-known by the greatest Skill in Natural Causes such as are the Actions of a free Agent not one thing fail'd but his words were made good by the Event in every particular they might then depend upon it that he was a true Prophet except only in one Case mentioned in Deut. 13. Deut. 13.1 2 3. viz. When he made use of that Credit which the Accomplishment of his Predictions had gain'd him to draw Men from the Worship of the true and only God to the Worship of Idols And accordingly 't is observ'd in 1 Sam. iii. 19 20. that because the Lord did let none of Samuel's

Christ every one that had heard him Preach and had been a Witness of his Life and Miracles and Resurrection and had received the Miraculous Gifts of the Holy Ghost did write a distinct Gospel giving an Account of some of the most remarkable Passages of our Saviour's Life which he had been a Witness of and did likewise as he had Occasion write Epistles or other Tracts for the Use and Instruction of the Christian Church every one of all which Books if they were now extant and as well attested as the Books of the New Testament are would be of equal Authority with them because dictated by the same Spirit by which all the Apostles were led into all Truth and had all things that Jesus had spoken brought to their Remembrance yet I say it would by no Means follow from hence either that those Books which are now lost if indeed there are any lost that were written by the Apostles were needless when they were written or that those which do now remain are not sufficient And a very little Consideration of the State of things as it was then and as it is now will make this which I have said very plain For the Case then was thus The Gospel of Christ was to be preached to the whole World by a few Persons who had been Eye-witnesses of his Miracles and were enabled by the Power of the Holy Ghost to confirm their Testimony of him by doing the like Miracles themselves And that this great Work might be accomplished within the Term of their Life it was necessary that they should quickly disperse themselves into all Parts of the World one going this Way and another that according as they had agreed among themselves or were directed by the Spirit And in this Division of Countries every one had a large Province assigned to him so that having much Work to do in a little Time he could not well stay long in one Place And upon this account it might be very proper for him after he had preached the Gospel in one City and made a good number of Converts and ordained Elders and established a Christian Church there when he went thence to leave behind him in Writing the Sum of what he had before preached among them for the Help of their Memories for the Direction of their Pastors and to prevent any Mis-representation that might afterwards be made of his Doctrine by ignorant or designing Men And after he was gone from thence he might have frequent Occasion to send them Letters either to confirm them in their Faith or to caution them against some Errors which he had heard were springing up among them or to correct some Fault in their Discipline or Manners By this Means I say it might well enough be tho' there be no Evidence that it was so that in the first Age of Christianity there might be besides occasional Letters as many distinct Gospels as there were Apostles every One writing a Gospel for the proper Use of those Churches which he himself had planted and in the Language that was best known to them And this if it was done might be no more than might be then necessary when it was not so easy as it is now since the Increase of Commerce and Navigation and the Invention of Printing to communicate and disperse the Books that are Published in one Country to other Countries that are far distant Besides if this could have been done then it can't well be supposed that a Gospel written by any other of the Apostles who had never been in that Province or Division and of whom they had never heard perhaps more than only his Name should be at first of so great Authority to them as a Gospel written by that very Apostle by whose Ministry they had been converted and of whose Miracles they themselves had been Witnesses Thus it might be and if it was so it might be agreeable to the divine Wisdom and Goodness so to order it that before those Books of the New Testament which we now have could be well dispersed and upon good Attestation receiv'd in all Christian Countries some particular Churches and especially those most remote from Judea should have for their present Use other Books written by some other of the Apostles containing the same Form of sound Words and relating the same things concerning the Life and Doctrine of our Saviour that these do And that some of those many Books which might be written by the Apostles or other inspired Men upon this Subject should be lost is no Marvel at all 't is rather a Wonder considering the Poverty of the first Christians and the constant Persecutions they were then under and the many Revolutions of Government that have been in Christendom since that time that so many as we have now left could be preserved for so many Ages before Printing was found out And those were of all the most like to be lost which were published in rude and barbarous Countries and which were written in some Language that was peculiar to one Nation only And those the most easie and consequently the most probable to be preserved which were published in the learned Part of the World and written in the most learned Language then in Use But altho' a greater Number of inspired Books than are now extant might be necessary in the first Age of Christianity before the Christian Churches then newly planted in all Countries of the then known World could have Communication with one another it cannot be argued from hence that those Books which we have now remaining are not sufficient for the present Time and for all the Time that has passed since the other Books were lost But rather it may very reasonably be presumed that there was nothing more for Substance in those Books which are supposed to be lost than there is in these which are now remaining so that the Loss of them may be no real Loss or Detriment to Religion and those which remain and are now receiv'd in all Christian Churches may be abundantly sufficient to instruct us in all Points of Christian Faith and Practice And there is indeed no Reason to think they are not seeing some of those single Books which we have now were written for this very Purpose were designed as Compendiums of the whole Christian Institution For St. Luke wrote his Gospel that Theophilus might know the Certainty of those things wherein he had been instructed And if this was the Evangelist's Design Luke 1.4 it can't be supposed but that he thought he had put into his Gospel whatever was necessary or very material And St. John in the same Place where he acknowledges that he had omitted the Relation of many things which Jesus did Joh. 20.30 31. says that he had written the things contained in his Gospel that Men might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that believing they might have Life through his Name By which it appears that