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	ghost_n	holy_a	9,059	5	5.3927	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85434	Encouragements to faith Drawn from severall engagements both of Gods Christs heart to receive pardon sinners. By Tho: Goodwin, B.D.	Goodwin, Thomas, 1600-1680.	1645 (1645)	Wing G1242; Thomason E307_18; ESTC R200346	23,699	38

the captives Thirdly The Holy Ghost he also herewith bearing witnesse that God hath exalted Christ to be a Prince and Saviour to give repentance and forgivenesse of sinnes Acts 5. 31 32. And so Heb. 2. 45. And these are these three witnesses in heaven 1 John 5. 7. whose record as it followes is this that there is life to be had in his Son Jesus Christ v. 11. Secondly God hath published this newes both by all creatures reasonable and to all creatures reasonable First the Angels they came and preached it singing Peace on earth good will towards men Luke 2. 13 14. Secondly By men and to that end he hath given gifts to men powerfull and full of glory Ephes. 4. 8. c. And a commission with those gifts a most large and gratious one And he hath committed to us the ministery of reconciliation to wit that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself 2 Cor. 5. 20. Yea and thirdly he hath maintained this ministry in all ages even to our times all times have rung of the newes hereof and the world is still full of his Embassadors to treat with men about this peace and they are to proclaime that he is fully willing and upon that ground to beseech men to be reconciled and so long as Leiger Embassadors reside uncalled home or not sent for away so long the treaty of peace holds Fourthly He hath proclaimed this by these this Embassadors in all places he bad them go and preach it to all the world to every creature Mark 16. 15. And his Disciples did accordingly Now he would not have had it spoken so openly and generally if he were not most serious in it Fiftly Adde to this that he hath declared it by all wayes and meanes that do argue faithfulnesse and seriousnesse First Not by bare word of mouth but we have it under his hand he hath left his mind in writing This book which is dropt from heaven the title of it is The word of reconciliation 2 Cor. 5. 19. the main argument of it being reconciliation In this book we find proclamation sent forth after proclamation book after book line after line all written to this end that we sinners might have hope and strong consolation as the Apostle witnesseth Secondly He hath added to this writing those seales of the Sacraments and further an oath to both and that made advisedly with the greatest earnestnesse and deliberation that might be Heb. 6. 17. God willing the text sayes more abundantly to manifest this his intent the immutability of his counsell he confirmed that promise with an oath that by two immutable things his word and oath we might have strong consolation Thirdly If this be not sufficient he hath pawned heaven and earth the Covenant of day and night in Mortgage to forgive iniquity and pardon sinners Thus Jer. 31. 34 35 36. This is my Covenant sayes God there that I will forgive their iniquities and remember their sinnes no more so ver. 34. and then it follows ver. 35. Thus saith the Lord who giveth the sun for a light by day and the ordinances of the moon and stars for a light by night If those ordinances depart from before me then the seed of Israel c. The like you have Chap. 33. 25 26. Day and night we see stand still and therefore this Covenant holds good still but we have a greater pawn then this the death of his Son And lastly Let his actions and courses which he hath taken from the beginning of the world speak for all the rest as satan hath been a murtherer from the beginning so God hath been a Saviour from the beginning and Christ is the Lamb slain from the beginning of the world God began with the first of mankind even with Adam and Eve the ringleaders the heads of this rebellion who drew all the rest of the world into that enmity these were yet reconciled Kings usually hang up the heads and chiefe in treasons for examples of their justice though they pardon others yet these did God save and pardon as examples of his mercy to all that should come of them and it is observeable that the first thing he did after the world was fallen was this act of mercy both in preaching this Gospel and in pardoning them he began to do that soon which he meant to be alwayes a doing to the end of the world it argues he delights in it yea and according to Christ last promise on earth that he would be with us to the end of the world God is to this day reconciling the world of men to himself Some that walk in your streets by you live among you And he will have thousands when you are gone and what are these but as flags and patternes of mercy hung forth by God to toll and bring others in as Ephes. 2. 7. Vse WHat should the consideration of these things work in our hearts but what the scope of the text it self puts men upon even that they would come in unto Christ and beleeve on him and give up their souls unto him He that beleeves shall in no wise be cast out As Christ therefore is willing so should we be a willing people That which keepes men off is that they know not Christs minde and heart think it not to be an indifferent thing to him whether you beleeve or no as if he came into the world to do this duty of dying for sinners singly in obedience to his Father so that men might be rendred savable if they will and that however if they will not he yet hath enough to satisfie and quiet himself with even this that he shall be glorified in what he hath done though few or none of the sons of men be saved It is a prejudiciall doctrine this to the salvation of men and derogatory to Christs free love What do we think that Jesus Christ is gone to heaven there to complaine unto Angels of the unkindnesse and hardnes of mens hearts that will not turne to him notwithstanding he hath done so much and to tell what he had done for them and what they would not be perswaded to do for themselves and that so he can sufficiently please himself with such just complaints no surely our effectuall salvation concernes him more then so and his heart is more fully bent upon it then thus to leave it of what he hath bought he will lose nothing The truth is he is more glad of us then we can be of him The Father of the Prodigall was the forwarder of the two to that joyfull meeting Hast thou a minde he that came down from Heaven as himself saith in the text to dye for thee will meet thee more then half way as the prodigals father is said to do by his spirit he will send him from Heaven to thee and at the latter day himself will come again to fetch thee and receive thee to himself If among the Angels in Heaven there be

what was it for Not that himself should be glorified by so great a miracle even the greatest that ever he wrought but sayes he I am glad for your sakes that I was not there to the end that you might beleeve He rejoyced if any of his got a little more or further degree of faith And on the other side as sorry was he when men came not in Witnesse his tears over Jerusalem and those speeches of his Iohn 5. 34. These things I speake that you might be saved And thereupon in the ensuing verse he complainingly utters himself You will not sayes he come to me that you may have life He speaks as one greedy of winning soules and as sorry that any customers or hearers of his should passe by and not turne in You will not come to me c. And he relieves himself with this that there w●●e others that would though they would not So here in this place when in the verse before my Text he had complained of them that they would not beleeve he comforts himself with this in the words of the Text All that the Father giveth me shall come unto me And the like you have Ioh 5. 25 26. You beleeve not but my sheep they heare my voice c. And then at his death when he was upon the Crosse he then converts a thiefe that was crucified with him and prayes for those that crucified him And after his Resurrection his last words recorded in Luke 24. 47. are That remission of sins should be preached in his name beginning at Ierusalem that so those whom he had prayed for though they had crucified him might be converted and saved Thus stood his heart all the while he was on earth both before and after his death And then in the third place now that he hath dyed and laid down that price which was to purchase the salvation of sinners he must needs be much more willing if it were possible he should be then ever Many Demonstrations there are from those obligations which Christs sufferings and death do put upon him which I have already given in a Treatise upon this very argument The heart of Christ in Heaven Part 2. onely I have reserved one or two for this place As 1. It was the aim and utmost intent of Christs soul in his being crucified to have sinners saved and saved effectually It was that travaile which his heart was then big with And certainly Christ would not that so many and so great sufferings now that they are past and over should be in vaine The Apostle makes a motive of it unto the Galatians Gal. 3. 34. Are ye so foolish have ye suffered so many things in vain To be sure Christs death shall not be in vain He will not lose the end of his sufferings as the same Apostle intimates but 4. verses before Chap. 2. ult. A businesse that a man hath praied for much how doth he long to see it accomplished and fulfilled and how glad is he when it falls out as he hath prayed and why but because it is the fruit of his Prayers Now much more glad is Christ to see the fruit of his death The travaile of his soul and thereby is satisfied Isai. 53. 10. a place I often quote to this purpose I will add but this to it When a woman hath been in travaile she forgets all her paines for joy that a man-childe is borne which is the fruit of that her travail and so doth Christ And then again for that other word that Christ is said to be satisfied Satisfaction is the accomplishment of desire or the fulfilling of ones longing So in that speech of Christ Blessed are those that hunger for they shall be satisfied So that this doth argue and presuppose the most vehement desires and longings in Christ for the salvation of souls and his having dyed must needs encrease them And 2. Adde this engagement unto that former That his death can be put to no other use then for the pardon of sinners So as if he should not expend it that way he should utterly lose the fruit of it or let it lye uselesse by him For divert it to any other use he cannot And yet if he knew how to improve it to any other purpose yet his love he having intended it for the sons of men would not suffer him to do it But besides if it be not imployed and bestowed this way it will be wholly in vaine for the good Angels though they stand in need of his Personall mediation to confirme them in grace yet his blood was not requisite thereunto And for the bad Angels they are utterly excluded the benefit of it And then Christ himself he stands in no need of it nor can he have any benefit by it all that Personall glory which now he hath in Heaven being due unto him by that Hypostaticall union So that his death serves for no end if not for this Christ indeed hath an honour in Heaven besides the glory of the personall union but then it ariseth to him from the salvation of sinners through his death which salvation is the purchase of his blood as you have it Ephes. 1. which might afford a third engagement In that Christ should not only lose the fruit of his death but that glory that is ordained him by the salvation of men So that he should be a loser not only of his sufferings by-past but of all that glory that is to come from the salvation of believers which is no small thing unto him As Officers in Courts of Law or in Universities get the more fees the more Clients and the more Commercers there are so it is the more for Jesus Christs gain that many sinners get out and are received to grace and mercy Some Extrinsecall demonstrations of Gods and Christs willingnesse to pardon sinners ANd unto all these secret engagements both of God and Christ mutually to each other and to us we may adde all the professed publications of their minds herein unto us which have been made upon all occasions and by all means possible As First This newes hath been published by all three persons first God the Father he began to preach it to Adam in Paradise and hath renued it again and again as with his own immediate voice from Heaven when Christ was baptized This is my welbeloved Son in whom I am well pleased heare him which the Apostle Peter records and confirmes as spoken a second time upon the Mount as a matter of highest moment to be known by us which voyce he heard sayes he and is no fable 2 Pet. 1. 16 17. Secondly Christ who is the faithfull and true witnes Rev. 1. 5. he came from the bosome of his Father and preached peace Ephes. 2. 17. Yea and it was one of his first texts he preached upon Luke 4. 18. The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anoynted me to preach the Gospel to preach deliverance to