Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	ash_n	year_n	zion_n	35	3	8.1511	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47324	The Christian sufferer supported, or, A discourse concerning the grounds of Christian fortitude shewing at once that the sufferings of good men are not inconsistent with God's special providence : as also the several supports which our religion affords them under their sufferings, and particularly against the fear of a violent death / by Richard Kidder ...	Kidder, Richard, 1633-1703.	1680 (1680)	Wing K398; ESTC R656	85,271	258

constantly and immutably good and will not deceive or deny those that ask him That love and kindness and all the degrees of goodness in any Earthly Parents was derived from God who is infinitely and unalterably good and will not fail to fulfil the word which he hath spoken nor can he be deceived or defeated He hath said it that cannot lie nor repent He hath promised who is able to do it And we may as justly disbelieve his Being as distrust his veracity and doubt of his Propensity and his power I proceed to 3. The condition required on our part for the obtaining this assistance And that is a very gentle and easie one Luk. 11.9 10. God will give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him Ask and it shall be given you seek and ye shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you For every one that asketh receiveth and he that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be opened I do readily grant that we are not heard in all the Petitions which we put up to God And it is very well for us that so it is For we should soon destroy our selves if we should obtain that which we sometimes pray for But then this is to be understood with reference to the things of this life where the well instructed and modest man is to refer himself to God who knows what is best for him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 M. Antonin l. 10. In this case the good man prayes that God would give him and remove from him what he thinks fit And the very Heathen could teach men this Lesson But then for the case before us God hath declared his Will and put us upon Praying and that fervently also for the Holy Spirit And we have great need of his heavenly aid and assistance and now we can have no doubt but that we shall be heard because we are sure that we pray according to the Will of God 1 Joh. 5.14 15. And this is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask any thing according to his will he heareth us And if we know that he heareth us whatsoever we ask we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him And especially may we be assured of success when we are provided of so effectual an Intercessour as the Son of God He hath said Joh. 14.13 Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name that will I do that the Father may be glorified in the Son And we are certain moreover that when we pray for the Holy Spirit in the name of Christ we pray for that divine assistance which our Lord went into heaven to send among us This he told us saying Joh. 16.7 I tell you the truth it is expedient for you that I go away For if I go not away the Conforter will not come unto you but if I depart I will send him unto you Nay our Lord assures us that he will hear our Prayers that he will intercede in this very case so that we have here abundant security that we shall receive an answer to our Petition Joh. 14.14 16. If ye shall ask any thing in my name I will do it And presently he adds And I will pray the Father and he will give you another Comforter that he may abide with you for ever For our other requests which we put up for health or riches and the good things of this life our Lord has given us no particular promise of his effectual Intercession but he hath done it in this matter and hath thereby removed our fears and doubts of being heard And sure if God many times prevent our very Petitions and give us some measure of the Holy Spirit even before we ask him we shall then have no cause to fear but he will give greater measures of this Holy Spirit to them that do ask him All our care must be that we ask as we should That we pray for this heavenly assistance with great fervor and constancy that we cry mightily unto God and that we greatly humble our soules before him That we address to him with hunger and thirst and restless importunity that we seek as for Silver and search as for fine Gold That we vehemently desire what we pray for and thirst as the parched earth does for showers from heaven That we strive mightily in our Prayers to God and send up many strong cries That we pierce the Heavens with our cries and that we put forth all our strength That we employ all the powers that we have received and summon up all that is within us to call down this heavenly aid That we cherish and improve the measures of the Spirit which we have received and be greatly cautious that we do not by a careless and a trifling a profane and worldly temper grieve this Holy Spirit and send away this divine and heavenly Comforter That we do not seek our comfort elsewhere and oppose the divine assistance by our self-will and our inordinate affections 4. I proceed now to make some Application of what hath been said And 1. This speaks very much to the comfort of the weak and the fearful at least to all among them that are sincerely good and do desire greatly to become better Here is an help at hand that is sufficient and we need not now be cast down I shall speak to such in the words of the Prophet Isa 44.2 3 4. Fear not O Jacob my servant and thou Jesurun whom I have chosen For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty and flouds upon the dry ground I will pour my Spirit upon thy Seed and my blessing upon thine Off-spring And they shall spring up as among the grass as Willows by the water-courses This blessed time is now come and it is well for us that so it is We are not now unprovided of an heavenly aid God is ready to pour out upon us his Holy Spirit Our Lord came Isa 61.2 3. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord To comfort all that mourn To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion to give unto them beauty for ashes the oyl of joy for mourning the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness that they might be called trees of righteousness the planting of the Lord that he might be glorified Let us not now fear nor be dismayed under all our afflictions and persecutions Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world This heavenly Comforter will abide when earthly comforts leave us And may we but receive the Joy of the Holy Ghost we shall not need be over-whelmed with our earthly sorrows 2. This speaks our duty as well as our Privilege And we may learn what we are to do as well as what God hath done for us The Holy Spirit is promised by God but must be implored by us God will give him but not to the careless and cold the formal

well as very great which send us to the Throne of Grace so it is very evident from what hath been said that our supports and our supplies are derived to us from the Intercession of the Son of God Acts 5.31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour for to give repentance unto Israel and forgiveness of sins But that there may be no manner of doubt remaining of the truth of what hath been said before I shall from the Scriptures shew you the assurances which they give us of this truth from whence it will evidently appear that Christ now he is in Heaven is our Patron and our Advocate there I shall begin with those words of St. John My little Children 1 Joh. 2.1 2. these things write I unto you that ye sin not And if any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous And he is the Propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world Can any thing be more plain or more comfortable than these words are Nothing so much dejects the good man as his sins and his infirmities These things indeed sink him low and fill him with great fears And certain it is that no man can say he hath no sin Chap. 1.8 9. but he that deceives himself But is the good man left without a remedy No certainly If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness It is true indeed we ought not to sin out of the hopes of pardon and if we do so our condition is very sad indeed But so it is that the best man may be surprized and overtaken and if he be here is comfort for him in these words Behold here an Advocate with the Father and we shall not want an Accuser when we have done amiss for besides the Devil who is the Accuser of the Brethren our great Enemy Rev. 12.10 our own Conscience will quickly do that We shall need an Advocate to plead our Cause with God and to undertake for us And blessed be God we are provided for We have an Advocate with the Father We do not want an Intercessor with God But we might fear still if our Advocate were himself guilty we could have little comfort from his Intercession for us who is himself obnoxious But it follows Jesus Christ the righteous A most powerful and innocent person undertakes for us But yet for all this guilt makes men fearful and suspicious and they fear they shall not obtain pardon though their Advocate be innocent and powerful unless he have something more to plead in the behalf of them that are accused And therefore it follows He is the propitiation for our sins Our Advocate cannot only plead his own Innocence as he is Jesus Christ the righteous but he can plead his Merit too he having by his death made expiation for our sins Rom. 5.25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his bloud Our Advocate hath paid a price for our ransom and this price was accepted of God and the bloud that Jesus shed does now plead for us If after all this the dejected sinner fear that the bloud which Christ shed was not shed for him this needless fear is removed by the words which follow And not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world Let us next consider the words of the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews where he tells us that Christ entred into Heaven it self to appear in the presence of God for us Heb. 9.24 Just as the High Priest entred with the bloud of the Sacrifice into the Holy of Holies which he offered up there for himself Ver. 7. and for the errors of the People There it was that the High Priest made Attonement for all the Congregation of Israel Lev. 16.17 Our blessed Lord hath shed his bloud and now appears before God for us Neither by the bloud of Goats and Calves but by his own bloud he entred in once into the holy place Heb. 9.12 having obtained eternal redemption for us Heb. 10.12 Again This man after he had offered one Sacrifice for sin for ever sate down at the right hand of God It is observed by a very learned man that these two expressions viz. To appear in the presence of God for us And To offer himself up to God both which are said of Christ Heb. 9. do signifie one and the same thing diversely considered The latter expression implies the beginning the former the continuation of one and the same thing Our Saviour commends us to God and this is meant when it is said that he appears in the presence of God for us but he began to do this when after he had shed his bloud he offered himself to God in heaven Heb. 9.25 As the High Priest after the Sacrifice was slain carried the bloud into the Holy of Holies and there appeared with it before God So that this appearing of Christ for us and his offering himself to God imports his Intercession for us and does imply the merits of his bloud and the Atonement which our Lord hath made for us And this speaks great comfort to us Heb. 9.13 14. For if the bloud of Bulls and of Goats and the ashes of an Heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh How much more shall the bloud of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God purge your Conscience from dead work● to serve the living God The Author of this Epistle tell us Heb. 7.24 25. that Christ hath an unchangeable Priesthood He is not like one o● the Priests of Aaron who died and left one of his Brethren to succeed him Our Lord lives for ever Wherefore he is able also to sa●● them to the uttermost that come unt● God by him seeing he ever liveth t● make Intercession for them Which words assure us at once of Christ power to save us and of his inclination and readiness to do it For as he is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him so he is also prone to do it and concerns himself about it he ever liveth to make intercession for them To make intercession is to plead in the behalf of another that he may be relieved or released It is opposed to accusing or condemning Who is he that condemneth Rom. 8.34 It is Christ that died yea rather that is risen again who is even at the right hand of God who also maketh intercession for us To what hath been said let me add the words of our Saviour Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name he will give it you Joh. 16.23 Here is great encouragement to us to pray to God We may now approach unto God with very