Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	adoption_n	cry_v	father_n	9,732	5	5.0154	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A81905	A case of conscience concerning ministers medling with state matters in or out of their sermons resolved more satisfactorily then heretofore. Wherein amongst other particulars, these matters are insisted upon, and cleared. 1 How all controversies and debates among Christians ought to be handled regularly, and conscionably to edification by those that meddle therewith. 2 What the proper employments are of Christian magistrates, and Gospel-Ministers, as their works are distinct, and should be concurrent for the publick good at all times. 3 What the way of Christianity is, whereby at this time our present distractions, and publick breaches may be healed : if magistrates and ministers neglect not the main duties of their respective callings. Where a ground is layed to satisfie the scruple of the Demurrer, and of the Grand Case of Conscience. / Written by John Dury, minister of the Gospel, to give a friend satisfaction: and published at the desire of many. Octob. 3. Imprimatur, Joseph Caryl.	Dury, John, 1596-1680.	1649 (1649)	Wing D2836; Thomason E579_1; ESTC R206157	157,053	200

meaning in prescribing these Duties nor my scope in pressing the practise thereof as a cure to our spirituall distempers but the Apostles meaning and my scope is to shew that by these performances some new qualifications of the soul alterations of the frame of the Spirit are wrought in believers to fit them to the enjoyment of that which doth actually free them from all guilt both in Gods account and in their own Conscience For by these meanes our souls are qualified to become susceptible of the Grace which Christ hath purchased for us for whose sake alone we are delivered from the guilt of wrath in the Fathers account and the frame of our spirit is altered to inable us to perceive the remission of the guilt by the testimony of the Spirit of Adoption by which we cry Abba Father and finde effectually that God is in Christ reconciling us unto himself and not imputing unto us our sins for his sake I say these acts of Repentance and our performance of the same are necessary meanes to take away the guilt of our sinfullnes not as to the Justice of God for that is Christs work through the Redemption in his blood but as to the qualification and frame of our spirit to make it susceptible and sensible of the Redemption which is in the hand of Christ to be applyed unto every one who by the conviction of his Conscience is drawn over and doth yeeld himself obedient unto God in these duties For as long as we are impenitent and hardened in our way through the over-ruling deceitfulnes of sin we remain under the guilt of wrath and can have no confidence in God through Christ because the Promises are made unto none but unto those that repent and believe in the Gospel but when we change our course or are rather changed in our course upon the change of our minde with a new frame of heart towards God then the spirit of bondage which is to fear is removed and the free Spirit of Christ which testifieth unto our spirit our Adoption is given to us for till this be done the spirit of bondage doth stand with a flaming Sword between us and the way of the tree of life in Paradise that is between our soul and the Covenant of life in Christ by the Peace of a good Conscience Now the flaming Sword standing between us and the way to this tree is the evidence of Gods wrath as it is due to sin and of our owne guilt as we are liable to wrath and under sin it is then in this sense and by the dispensation of the grace of Repentance to this effect that the guilt is taken away and rest is given to the wearied soul The Remedy of the punishment of sinfulnes The fourth and last Duty doth tend to a full restitution of our estate by the enjoyment of al things pertaining unto life godlines that we may attaine to the glory and vertue whereunto we are called by the profession of the Gospel And to come to this the Apostle doth shew that our way is to humble our selves in the sight of God which if we do the promise is that he will lift us up To humble our selves is to esteem meanly of our selves and to behave our selves as such as are low and mean in their own sense To humble our selves in the sight of God is in respect of God reflecting upon our selves to acknowledge our selves to be nothing at all and as to other men the least of all To be lift up by God is to be made something by his Grace for to the humble the Lord doth give Grace saith the Apostle ver 6. And those that humble themselves have a promise here that they shall be lift up If we see our want of Vertue and are sensible of it in the presence of God he will graciously supply our wants and exalt us to find what we are in him Now God doth lift up men from a low to a higher condition of Grace in three respects In respect of himself in respect of publick employments and in respect of other men 1. In respect of himself he lifts us up when he admits us unto a higher degree of favour and love with himself which is done by manifesting unto us the Love of Christ and making us sensible of his life For thereby he strengthens us with might in the inward man that we may have more and more Communion with him and he with us in Christ till we be filled with all the fulnes of God Eph. 3. 19. 2. In respect of publick employments he lifts us up when he sets our spirits upon the things that are most excellent to discerne and to affect them when he gives endowments sufficient to go about them and when he makes the undertakings glorious to himself and succesfull to the comfort of his Saints 3. In respect of other men he sets us up when he gives us a due place of love and esteeme in the thoughts of the best of them and makes his vertues by us manifest in the sight of all the rest so that they cannot but see his glory These favours are attainable at Gods hand but the way to attaine them is to become lowly as in the sight of God that is as looking upon God and minding our subordination unto him in all things we should unfeinedly esteeme our selves as of our selves to be nothing whether we reflect upon our state in Grace with reference unto God or upon our undertakings amongst men or upon our abilities to performe the same For in these three things our spirituall naturall pride doth commonly break forth and if herein we receive Grace truly to deny our selves in Gods sight and to be nothing in our selves the promise is that we shall be lift up here then the rule of humility is to be observed As concerning our state in Grace the Rule of Humility is That none think of himself more highly then he ought to think but should think soberly according as God hath dealt to every one the measure of Faith Rom. 12. 3. Now to live by Faith is to live by the Truth of God in his Word Concerning our abilities in reference to our selves the Rule of Humility is Be not wise in your own conceits Rom. 12. 16. and again Let no man glory in men 1 Cor. 3. 21. and concerning our undertakings in reference to men the Rule is Minde not high things but condescend to men of low estate Rom. 12. 16. And such as exercise themselves to walk by these Rules with reverence and godly fear as in the presence of God shall in due time be exalted by him unto the enjoyment of that glory and vertue whereunto they are called and appointed to come Who they are that should apply this cure to the spirit of Envy And what failing there is in the application This is the Cure which the Spirit of God doth offer to be applyed unto the spirit of envy that it

triall from God and to look after and flie unto secondary causes The means therefore to rectifie these is that we should draw nigh unto God for if we do so the promise is that he will draw nigh unto us v. 8. which is our cure For by his drawing nigh unto us we become partaker of his vertue and nature which alters our inclinations Here then the Apostle doth presuppose that when the soul is under the triall of a temptation it doth put it self at a distance from God and that Gods presence is not with it for if he were present with it Satan could neither appear nor prevail against it but now our naturall inclinations being to wander and go astray from him as it is written Hebr. 3. 10. They erre alwayes in their heart and have not known my wayes therefore Satan doth find the soul as a lost sheep out of the way and is readie if God should not restrain him to devour it for whiles we are at a distance from God we neither are nor indeed can we be subject to his wil and consequently cannot with submission accept of his dispensation over us That therefore we may be brought about to submit our wils unto Gods will and by that means resist the devil who dwels in the turbulencie of our envious spirit we are exhorted and instructed to draw nigh unto God in our spirits that he may meet us and draw nigh unto us by his Spirit We draw nigh unto God when we come to Christ in the Spirit of prayer and faith to be reconciled to the Father by the redemption which is in him and to be united to him through the covenant that we may live by his word For Ioh. 146. Christ is the way the truth and the life and because none can come without him therefore all must come to the Father by him and live in him according to his word And God doth draw nigh to us when for Christs sake he doth accept of us graciously and testifieth his acceptance of us by the spirit of Adoption by which he beareth witnesse to our spirits that we are the Sons of God and by which he sheddeth abroad his love in our hearts sealing us up unto himself untill the day of our Redemption To draw nigh therefore unto God is in a word when we want his presence to call upon his name as our Father in Christ knowing that whatsoever we ask in his name shall be granted for Christ hath said that he will do it Ioh. 14. 13. This Communion with God in Christ and nothing but this is able to alter the perversnesse of our inclination which resists the will of God and hardens our hearts from submitting thereunto for being in Christ we become new creatures and the law of the spirit of life which is in him doth free us from the Law of sin and death which is in our nature Rom. 8 2. Gal 5. 16. whereby Satan takes hold of us that we may be inabled to walk after the Spirit and not to fulfill the lusts of the flesh whereby Satan doth work in us and lead us captive after his own will The Remedie of the guilt of sinfulnesse which is Repentance Having two parts And severall Acts answerable to the iniquity of our courses In what sense repentance is said to take away the guilt of sinne The third duty which the Apostle doth offer as a further remedie to this our evill doth tend to free us from the guilt under which we lye by reason of the sinfulnesse of our envious courses for as the perversenesse of our nature hindering us from submitting our wills to the will of God is cured onely by Gods drawing nigh unto us when we draw nigh unto him by calling upon his name that we may be saved in Christ so the guilt of our sinfull wayes which is the maine hinderance of our drawing nigh unto God and the cause of our distance from him is cured onely by the grace of repentance when we entertain it as our duty and that we may so do the Apostle doth lay open to us the parts of this duty which we finde to be two in his words the one relating to our selves the other unto God for as the nature of our guilt doth stand in the iniquity of our course and the dishonour done to God thereby so repentance by which this guilt is to be wiped away must relate unto both these that every thing amisse may be righted in that whence the evill doth proceed and so the causes of our separation in all respects removed Now the iniquity of our course is twofold the one is outward the other inward the outward defilements of the flesh going along with all our naturall actions bring us under the guilt of the Law and to free us from this the Apostle enjoyns us to cleanse our hands from sinfullnesse ver 8. but the inward pollutions are from the heart when it is destitute of Faith and sincerity towards God and man and to remedy this the Apostle enjoyns us to purifie our hearts from double-mindednes ver 8. The dishonour done to God by the iniquity of our course doth make us liable to wrath in respect of the Supream Majesty which by our offence is made void and to free us from this part of the guilt the Apostle enjoynes godly sorrow in the inward affections and a behaviour sutable thereunto in the outward expressions In respect of our inward affections we should be afflicted In respect of our outward expressions we should give way to grief Mourne saith he and weepe and we should abstaine from mirth Let your laughter saith he be turned to mourning and your joy to heavines ver 9. For the sacrifices of God which are accepted from us for sin that we may be freed from guilt are a broken spirit a broken and a contrite heart O God thou wilt not despise saith David Psal 51. 17. The proper effect of guiltines is to keep us back from the presence of God and deprive us of the freedom of spirit without which we cannot draw neer unto him this is by these meanes taken away and we are fitted by the sincerity of true Repentance both to come with boldnesse to the Throne of Heb. 4. 16. Grace and also to obtaine Mercy and finde Grace to help our misery in time of need Not that our acts of Repentance are any satisfaction unto Gods Justice for our sins by-past that is for the uncleanesse practised and the spots contracted upon our souls which is our misery or for the Orders and Rules of righteousnes broken and disturbed by us in his Kingdom which is our rebellion and for the wrongs and dishonour done to the name of God thereby which is our Treason as if he should in consideration of the worth of such performances as done by us remit the guilt which we have incurred and account such actions a compensation for the same No that is not the Apostles

Christ doth allow them in going about it to bear witnes to any thing else than to himself and his truth according to the Commission which is given them Luke 24. 46 47 48. Act. 1. 8. and 26. 18. Fourthly whether yea or no the Ministers of the Gospell are not expressely forbidden to apply themselves to any other testimony or doctrine then that which is according to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ by these places of Scripture 1. Tim. 4. 6 7. and 6. 3 4 5 20 21. and 2 Tim. 2. 14 15 16 17. and 1. Tim. 1. 3 4 5 6 7. Fiftly whether yea or no the Narratives Insinuations and Applications which are made of State matters in the sermons of some are not another kinde of testimony then the words of the Lord Jesus and whether those that deliver them in delivering the same speak the oracles of God which in the Church of God alone ought to be delivered 1 Pet. 4. 10. Sixtly supposing there were no such commandments and prohibitions limiting the service of Christ in the Gospell yet it will be granted that Ministers ought to understand the nature of their own office and employment and ought not to do that which is contrary thereunto and if so then we ought to reflect upon the positions which have shewed the coexistence the distinction and the concurrence of the Ministeriall and Magistraticall offices under Christ together with the properties of the Charge of the Administrations of the objects and of the fundamentall Rights of the Function to see whether yea or no such a medling with State matters is not wholly contrary thereunto Seventhly and lastly the proper end and effect of the work at which Christ doth aime by the Ministery of the Gospell and the direct meanes by which he hath appointed the end to be gained are to be considered and compared with the proper end and effect of this practise to see whether this practise doth not make voide the efficacie of those direct means and overthrow that end and if so then by the dictate of our Principles we may conclude this Practise to be utterly unlawfull Thus I have done with the Rules of Regulating this controversie and the method of bringing the doubt to a decision I think it not needfull nor fit at this time to descend any further to the particulars of the application but if any thing be offered in a sober way inducing thereunto I shall not be a verse from that which shall tend to edification Now I shall come to another kinde of application both of the whole and especially of the latter part of this Discourse unto our present state to see what from these grounds and this way both of searching after truths and of discovering duties may be gathered to redresse our disorders and prevent the increase of our calamities For I told you partly in the beginning of the whole Discourse partly at the entrie upon this last part thereof wherein I apply the Rules of debatement unto the subject in hand the aime which I have in handling these matters thus which is distinctly this The Application of the whole Discourse foregoing to such as pretend to debate matters learnedly First in the whole I intend to meet with the spirit of confusion and strife which hath taken possession of the minds of very many of my brethren in the profession whom notwithstanding I love and respect for that Truth which is in them I reverence and embrace for their many good parts and godly inclinations and for their humane failings and infirmities I heartily compassionate them in the bowels of Christ For many of them pretending to Learning to a bookish knowledge of other mens opinions and to a censuring faculty of all that is not agreeable to the notions which they have taken up in point of Theorie and to the interest of that party which they have embraced in point of practise are pitifully snared in holes and shut up in prison-houses and can look upon nothing in a streight line but one way they see all things through a multiplying glasse another through a diminishing prospective Towards these men my scope is upon this occasion first to prevent a needlesse controversie secondly to let them see a Model and true Method without by a sing if they can take it up so how to order their thoughts spiritually and rationally to find out truths in a profitable Controversie for indeed this is that which is most seriously to be recommended to the Ministers of the Gospel above all other men for seeing they are the men above others by whom the thoughts of all men are ordered in doubtfull cases therefore they ought to finde themselves obliged in conscience above other men not onely to be rightly and exactly ordered in all their thoughts and proceedings but also to be able in all things to give a satisfactory reason to their own conscience and to all conscionable and reasonable men an exact and full account of the Rules by which they order those thoughts and intellectuall proceedings by which they have so great an influence upon the spirits of other men He that must answer one day unto the Father of spirits for all the impressions which he works upon the spirits of his children ought to be very carefull and watchfull over his own spirit to discern the motions thereof that they may not be irregular this insight therefore in the ordering of our thoughts as in the presence of God chiefly in matters of debate for God is the finall Judge of all Controversies is one of the chiefest concernments that can be recommended unto Ministers in these times of disorder and confusion that they may be found faithfull in their places without blame and in peace before him who trieth the hearts and this is indeed the principall aime which I have in the Body of this Discourse to put my Brethren upon the search of the Rules by which they should walk in their hearts with him and to draw them forth to give us an account thereof before they take upon them to be many Masters lest they receive the greater condemnation I have a third aime also in the whole of that which hath been hitherto offered which is this to shew by the bye and collaterally the nature of our disorderly constitution and courses with the evils which we beget and foment in one another thereby both against the truth of Christianitie and against the wayes of Peace and Righteousnesse in the Common-wealth and herein my full designe is by a cleer example of a regular and orderly way of meditation to let some of those that have an high conceit of their own sufficiencie and Doctoralitie see how ignorant most men are of the high-way and plain path to reall wisdome and of the direct and easie method to resolve rationall doubts and consequently how little cause many have who think themselves no small Clerks to presume upon their bookish knowledge which yet I do not despise as