Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	bear_v	child_n	witness_n	5,986	5	7.7172	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10384	A gleaning in Gods harvest Foure choyce handfuls; the gate to happinesse. Wounded saviour. Epicures caution. Generation of seekers. By the late judicious divine, Henry Ramsden, sometime preacher in London.	Ramsden, Henry, d. 1638.; Goodwin, John, 1594?-1665.	1639 (1639)	STC 20660; ESTC S115629	109,922	246

continuall ground and cause of light but notwithstanding the discerning and perceiving of the light may be taken from us by the night or by an eclipse or by clouds that may take away the sight of the Sunne Iust so it is with a regenerate man a mortified man hee that is not onely a babe in Christ and hath made some beginning in the course of mortification but he that is a growne man and gone on in the practice of mortification yet notwithstanding he may come to doubt and question his salvation and his right to heaven sometimes The reason is because sometimes by reason of temptations or after the committing of some great and haynous sinne mortification in him may be clouded for a time so that hee may loose his assurance the present sense and apprehension of that assurance that may bee lost for a time Iust as it was in Christ when hee was on the Crosse in combate for our sakes h●● seemes to have lost for the present the assurance and apprehension of Gods love hee sayd My God my God why hast thou forsaken me The vaileing of the dietie was a kind of dissertion and forsaking of Christ in respect of evidence and assurance yet hee had the ground of his assurance still the humanitie of Christ was individually and inseparably united to the God-head which was the ground of this assurance I say then it is not every man that is mortified that hath presently assurance of salvation no nor every man that once hath had assurance of salvation that hath this assurance alway it hath ebbings and tides wanes and fulls but indifinitely true mortification seales up to a man the assurance of salvation hee that is dead with Christ that man may be assured he shall live with him Reas 1 And the reason is because God hath made a promise of life and hath intaled everlasting life as it were to those that are mortified Rom. 8.13 If yee live after the flesh yee shall die Rom. 8.13 but if through the Spirit you mortifie the deeds of the body yee shall live Looke as God threatneth death to men that walke after the flesh so he hath promised and covenanted to bestow life on those that mortifie the deeds of the flesh 2 Tim. 2.11 So in 2 Tim. 2.11 saith the Apostle This is a faithfull saying and worthy to be beleeved for if wee bee dead with him we shall also live with him It is a faithfull saying Now what firmer foundation or more pregnant rock can wee have of assurance then the promise of God saith Saint Austin S. Aug. lib. 12 cap. 1. he to whom truth it selfe hath made a promise how should hee be able to be deceived he that is truth cannot lye As God cannot be deceived so hee cannot deceiue S. August in the 12. Booke of his confessions Chap. 1. It is true saith Bellermine Bellarm. wee neede not feare in respect of God to whom hath God promised eternall life to them that are mortified and they shall certainly enjoy eternall life but here is the question How shall we know that we are mortified Quest Answ I answer briefly First where God gives a grace commonly at one time or other God gives a man a gift to discerne that grace I doe not say in the beginning when grace is as it were in its infancie and beginning or in temptation but at one time or other God gives another gift that is a gift whereby a man shall discerne that grace or else how shall God have the glory of his grace if we cannot be assured that we have it Or how shall we have comfort by the Grace of God if our selves cannot come to be assured of it But saith he Obiect Doe we not know that many men deceive themselves with false perswasions of mortification Many men thinke that sinne is dead in them when it is not dead but sleepeth As ignorant men thinke thinke the Flie in winter is dead when others know that the Flie is but benummed there is life in it though shee doe not exercise that life But I answer what then Answ what though that foolish and antick man at Athens thought all the Shippes that came to Beream were his owne because hee thought the Shippes his owne should the owners of them not thinke they were theirs If a man in a dreame think that hee eates shall not men therefore that are awake be assured that they eate It followes not that because some men are deceived with a perswasion of mortification when they have it not that therefore others that are indeed mortified should not bee perswaded of it Well saith he how shall we know it I answer Quest Answ a man may know it three wayes First by the Word of God which God hath left as a Test or Touch-stone whereby men may try the sinceritie and truth of their mortification Heretofore I have given some notes and characters whereby ye may discerne whether you are mortified or no out of the Scriptures The first thing whereby we may try the truth of our mortification is the Scripture which God hath left to bee a light to our feete and a Lanthorne tp our paths to bee a Touch-stone whereby wee may discover whether our mortification bee sincere or counterfeit Secondly there is another testimonie and that is the testimonie of our owne conscience when the conscience being renewed and sanctified conscience beares witnesse before God out of long experience of the truth and sinceritie of mortification that wee are mortified for this assurance that ariseth from mortification ariseth not from one act but from long experience of mortification Now any man knowes that knowes the nature of experience that that ariseth from many acts The second meanes then to know we are mortified it is from the testimonie of our owne conscience and spirit as the Apostle saith Rom. 8.16 Rom. 8.16 that beares witnesse that wee are the children of God that we are mortified Thirdly and lastly there comes another testimonie as a meanes and that assures the rest that is of Gods Spirit that calmes the conscience and perswades of this that wee are mortified and so by consequent that wee have right to heaven That is the first reason then hee that is mortified that is dead with Christ hee is assured to live with him because God hath promised life and salvation to such as are dead with Christ and such as are dead with Christ they may know themselves at one time or other to bee dead with Christ Reas 2 Secondly Mortification seales up to a man the assurance of salvation because it seales to a man the assurance of his being in Christ The argument is this hee that may be assured that hee is in Christ may bee assured that hee shall be saved but hee that knowes that hee is mortified and dead with Christ hee may be assured that hee is actually in Christ therefore he may be assured that hee

our selves burdned oppressed with these sines But you will aske if a man finde himselfe after search Quest that he be opressed with these sinnes how shall he come to relieve and disburthen himselfe I answer briefly to disburthen our selves of these sinnes Answ Meanes to be disburdened of these sins First labour to feele the grievousnesse of them Till a man feele the grievousnesse of the disease he is not diligent to use the remedy 1 To feele the grievousnesse of them it is otherwise with spirituall diseases then with corporall In corporall diseases first we finde the simptomes of them and then wee know them but in spirituall diseases first wee must know them before wee can have the simptomes of them before wee can be relieved of them the first thing wee must labour for is the knowledge of the grievousnesse of them to feele how they burthen us both in spirituall duties and other how they presse our soules except we be disburthened of them in time even to hell 2 Goe to Christ for his Spirit Secondly let us goe to Christ for as it is Christ that beares our burden for us so hee likewise is able to take our burthen from us Let us goe to him and desire him to send his Spirit into our hearts that is a Spirit of strength and power able to lift off these burthens For as I told you when he saith heere take heed least your hearts be overcharged it signifieth such a burthen as is a grievous oppressing burthen such as cannot bee lifted but with a Giants at me such a burthen are these sinnes they oppresse the soule and none but the Spirit of God can case us of them Therefore let us goe to Christ and desire him to send his Spirit into our hearts to ease us of this burthen Looke as it is with those that are troubled with the Incubus the Night-mare when they feele a great weight and burthen on them they put forth all their power to free themselv●● of it so when we finde this Incubus this spirituall Night-mare to lye on us and to presse not onely our bodies but our soules wee should use all our strength and power to bee free that so we may runne with patience the race that is set before us Thirdly and lastly let us use the meanes besides these there are some meanes to bee used to disburden our selves 3. To practise the contrary What are those Looke as in Physicke the rule is contraries are cured by contraries so if we have burthened our selves by surfeiting let us disburthen our selves by the contrary if we have burthened our selves by eating immoderately let us put the knife to our throate abridge our selves in the use of meate not to eate so much as we may doe for as I sayd before out of that doubtfull author he that will goe in the use of indifferent things as farre as he may to the utmost length of his tether it is a thousand to one but that man will offend He that sleepes upon the pitch or brinke of a downfall or Precipis it is twentie to one but hee falls And so for drunkennesse if our hearts and soules be oppressed with the excessive use of strong drinke faith the Apostle rather then I will offend my brother I will not eate flesh while I live if the Apostles argument be good rather then I will offend my brother I will not eate flesh the argument will hold thus too that rather then we wil offend our selves and burthen our soules we will not drinke strong drinke while we live Let us labour thu● to take a kinde of holy revenge on our selves so the Apostle calls it 2 Cor. 7.11 saith hee Behold this selfe same thing that you sorrowed after a godly sort what clearing of your selves what revenge it hath wrought I say thus we should take a spirituall revenge of our selves that if we have beene overshot in the use of meate or drinke and exceeded our bounds that for the future we limit and abridge our selves and take a kinde of revenge of our selves This is the way to disburthen our selves if wee find that our hearts have beene oppressed with these things Vse 3 Thirdly and lastly if it bee the propertie of these sinnes to burden the heart then here take notice briefly of the perverse judgement of the world The false judgement of the world how contrary it is to the judgement of our Saviour aske the world who have the lightest and merriest hearts of all men They will tell you those that fare daintily that are good fellowes they are joviall and merrie hearts But aske Christ and hee will tell us that surfeiting and drunkennesse opresse the heart they have not as the world would make us beleeve light-some hearts It is true if wee will beleeve their faces they seeme to have lightsome hearts if we will judge of their hearts by their sleiting and laughter but Solomon saith Prov. 14.13 Prov. 14.13 That even in that laughter the heart is sorrowfull there is sorrow in their laughter it is but from the teeth outward and it is not so only for the present but the end of that mirth is heavinesse It is sorrow for the present and the conclusion is heavinesse Therefore whatsoever the world saith Epicures and drunken men such as are given to the immoderate use of meate and drinke those men have the heaviest hearts Let the world say what it will the life of a Christian is chearefull he hath a lightsome heart Saith Christ Come unto mee Mat. 11 2● all yee that are wearie and heavy laden and you shall find rest to your soules Take my yoake upon you for my yeake is easie Christs yoake is easie hee that hath given his name to Christ that sets himselfe constantly to the performance of spirituall duties h●●●ath a lightsome hear● Nay whereas 〈◊〉 other things they may be● burthened his body and his estate may be burthened for a while and his name may be burthened for a while but his heart is light and merrie Therefore as the Wise man saith A wounded spirit who can beare But if the heart be well it will beare a mans infirmities so long as a mans heart is light as long as the burthen lies in a mans body or his name or estate if the heart bee light they may bee borne Of all men a Christian a good man a conscientious man hath the lightsomest heare This shall suffice to bee spoken of the fourth part in generall what wee are to take heed of lest our hearts be burthened I told you it is the propertie of these things to burthen the heart Now I come in the next place more particularly to tell you what wee are to take heed of that our hearts bee not overcharged with surfeiting Take beed lest your hearts bee oppressed at any time With surfeiting That is with riotous immoderate excessive eating The word in the originall is Clisani The sense and