Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	believe_v	faith_n	grace_n	8,077	5	5.8830	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A88993	A sermon preached to the Honorable House of Commons, at their late solemne fast, Wednesday, Feb. 26. 1644. / By John Maynard, minister of the Word of God at Mayfield in Sussex, and a member of the Assembly of Divines.	Maynard, John, 1600-1665.	1645 (1645)	Wing M1452; Thomason E277_2; ESTC R200000	34,511	39

the market though it be neere their owne doores who grossely neglect precious opportunities of hearing the word upon slight pretences Did they know the worth of truth and looke upon it as their life they would not think every petty inconvenience a just excuse A little change of weather or distemper of body will not keepe those within doores who are necessitated to seek out for that without which they cannot live Those that followed Christ sometimes three dayes together having nothing to eat might have had a fair plea in appearance to shift off their attendance Such as will suffer nothing in this case but make the hearing of the word a meere recreation when they can doe it with ease and at pleasure are not likely to go to the price of truth 4. Of those that come onely as meere spectatours rather than buyers who view many glorious Gospel-truthes openly proposed and freely tendred to all but are content to looke on whilst others buy Such are our common sort of ignorant hearers compared to the way side who hear the word and understand it not The seed lieth above ground then commeth the wicked one and catcheth away that which was sowne in his heart The father of lies easily robbeth such a one of the word of truth 5. Of such as seem to cheapen but doe not buy those who are somewhat affected with the truth and think it worth the carrying home if they might have it at their own price they hear it perhaps talk of it repeat it c. And of these there are two sorts the one compared to the stony the other to the thorny ground the former would own the truth were it not accompanied with the crosse but when persecution ariseth because of the word by and by they are offended They never gave the truth rooting in their hearts and so when the Sun ariseth it is scorched and withered The latter suffer it to be overgrown and choaked with thornes there may be some stirrings in their spirits some springings of their affections upon the receiving of the seed of truth but then their unmortified lusts the care of this world and the deceitfulnesse of riches and pleasures of this life draw away the strength of their hearts from the truth and it becometh unfruitfull they will not renounce their earthly-mindednesse or their voluptuous ambitious corrupt affections to make a full purchase of truth Herod did many things and heard John gladly but would not yeeld so far to the commands of truth as to forsake his Herodias there was a thorny lust which choaked all The yong man also seemed willing to buy What good thing shall I doe that I may have eternall life what shall I give to buy truth again All these have I kept from my youth what lack I yet Thus much I have offered if this be not enough I am willing to give more I beleeve he thought hee offered like a chapman But when he heard Christ raise his demands so high Goe and sell all that thou hast and give to the poore he brake off went away sorrowfull as if the price had been unreasonable I feare many who countenance the cause of truth some who are great actours in it yea some who may venture their lives in the prosecution of it may deceive themselves There may be some thornes not rooted up some root of bitternesse not killed some corrupt principle which may carry men far this way some by-end which may poison all If I give my body to be burned and have not love it profiteth me nothing A man may seem to die for the truth and yet never buy it Use 2 2. This is for for exhortation 1. In generall to us all 2. In speciall to those whom the Lord hath honoured above others for the patronage and promoting of the great cause of his truth And 1. let me stir up you and my selfe by all meanes to make this purchase 2. Not to think any cost too much for that purpose concerning the former 1. Get a cleer and solid understanding of all the main and most necessary truthes Learn to be throughly acquainted with the Fundamentalls of Faith Great is the mystery of godlinesse And the knowledge of it is of great concernment it is a great mystery and requireth a deep search An overly slight and superficiall view of those great secrets which the Angels desired to looke into must not satisfie them who will indeed buy truth Labour for a right understanding of the Alsufficiency and infinite excellency of God in all his attributes as hee hath revealed himselfe in his word of the person natures offices of Christ of the covenant of grace of the fountain of all spirituall blessings in heavenly things in Christ the eternall love and good purpose of God toward his and those glorious wayes and meanes whereby the Lord is pleased to bring poore lost soules to glory reconciling them to himselfe by the death of his Sonne calling them by his Word and Spirit uniting them to Christ adopting them for his children and heires justifying them freely by his grace sanctifying quickning and keeping them by his mighty power through Faith unto salvation These and the like are especially to bee studied and wee are to take heed lest Satan intangling us in doubtfull disputes about things of an inferiour nature should cunningly divert our thoughts from searching into these hid treasures I confesse the rents and divisions which follow upon contrariety of opinions are sad and such as we have cause to lament but I am perswaded this is not the onely nor the greatest mischiefe I feare Satan gaineth much advantage by engaging young beginners and wanton wits in the agitation of controversies ere they have laid the foundation much more before themselves have taken root in Christ or so much as proved themselves to be in Christ and Christ to be in them 2. Let us labour to make those Truths which we understand our owne 1. By mixing them with faith The word preached did not profit the unbeleeving Israelites not being mixed with faith in them that heard it they did but view not buy the truth we cannot make the truth our owne nor truly say we have bought it unlesse we so mixe and temper it with faith as that it becometh one with our soules or rather our soules become one with it faith strongly closing with the word digesting it and so leavening all the powers of the soule with the truth and causing them to relish of it 2. By receiving the truth in sincere love No man buyeth truth who doth not truly love it So much truth as thou lovest is thine owne Some may hastily conclude from hence Then all the promises of pardon are mine for these I love from my heart though not those precepts of obedience and qualifications of repentance morification and holinesse But know this It is easie to mistake lies of our owne coyning for God his

holy truth for those promises carrie a respect to their qualifications and are true in relation to them if thou seperatest what God hath joyned together thou huggest an Idoll of thine own braine and dost not embrace the truth of God as the Devill in his temptations mangleth the truth of God promissionem objicit conditionem abjicit he objecteth the promise rejecteth the condition But this is rather to prophane the truth then to buy it He that will buy must take the commodity with all the appurtenances This not receiving the truth in love was the roote of that great Apostasie of the world This beggered and undid them they played with the light and dallied with the Truth of God and did not buy it and enrich themselves with it by receiving the love of the Truth that they might be saved 3. Labour to abound in the knowledge of the truth A Merchant who hath made a good voyage finding such a commodity advantagious is encouraged to new adventures that man never bought any saving truth who sitteth down and thinketh he hath enough If once thou wert possest of the truth indeed thy desires would bee more and more enlarged toward it many seem to think they have got truth enough already more then they know what to do with so much that they are troubled with it it disturbeth their slumbring spirits disquieteth their consciences These men are far from buying the truth rather some truthes have surprised them against their wills and are as welcome to them as Elijah to Ahab Hast thou found me O mine enemy But all that will buy truth let them hearken to the Apostles Counsell Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdome 4. They that will buy truth must subject themselves to the power and command of it A man must not buy truth as he purchaseth outward things to dispose of it at his pleasure thou must not buy it as men were wont to buy slaves to keep it in bondage to make it serve thy lusts and ends or to fetter it and imprison it by withholding the Truth in unrighteousnes but as a man would buy an office at Court a place of service and attendance upon a Prince in buying truth thou must sell thy self a servant to the truth give up thy self to be ruled guided by the truth Some I beleeve are troubled that they have more of the truth than they can well rule it meeteth and faceth them in many of their crooked by-pathes it is as a lighted torch to them when they are most of all retired in acting their works of darknesse it is apt to interpose yea and to controll it will not suffer them to bee private when they would these would have truth enslaved and lust predominant But to pretend to truth and not to allow it that Soveraignty which belongeth to its place and dignity is indeed to reject it Let truth rule thy judgement will and affections in all things 5. Do not rest in meere notions of truth but endeavour to have the truth of God realized to thy soul Labour to have thy heart possest with the substance and reality of Divine truth to furnish thy selfe with those very things which thou findest cloathed with the truth of God in Scripture Saith the Apostle Ye were sometime in darknesse but now are ye light in the Lord He doth not say ye have light but ye are light the light is realized in you ye are transformed into the light ye are become such indeed and in truth as the light discovereth those to bee who are children of light The word and truth of God hath many beames of light in it and we must seek to take them in so as to find the reall effects of them in our selves Beleeve and thou shalt be saved there is a beame of truth and then do we buy this truth indeed when we get that precious Faith of God his elect that Faith unfeigned which really uniteth the soul to Christ taketh root in him draweth life and spirit from him conformeth and subjecteth the soul unto him Take heed of Satans jugling lest he sell thee a counterfeit stone instead of this precious Pearl a false Faith a vaine fancy an empty shadow of Faith how many content themselves with this because it is of a low price or rather may bee had for nothing But if ever that caution be needfull it is in this case Caveat Emptor Let him that would buy truth beware It is not in this case as when a man would buy a thing to please a childe a slight toy of small value will serve as well as a better but it is as if a man were to buy a ship to transport himselfe his whole family and all his goods into a far-country were it not the extremity of folly to venture all in a rotten vessell for saving of charges rather then with greater cost to provide a substantiall bottome Oh let us tremble to embark our souls more precious then the world together with all our eternall hopes in a leaking ship of a rotten faith being to make so great a voyage among so many dangerous Rockes and sands through so many stormes and waves which were too much for the soundest Faith to breake through were it not kept by the power of God unto Salvation Again Except ye repent ye shall all perish Doe not think thou hast bought this truth so soon as thy judgement is informed that this grace of repentance is necessary to salvation thou hast but viewed it yet thou hast not purchased it If thou wilt buy it indeed thou must have a through change wrought in thy heart soul repentance from dead works repentance unto life thou must look upon thy sweetest sins as thy bitterest enemies and feel them as they heaviest burthens fleeing from them as from a Serpent inwardly loathing outwardly leaving them Thou must labour for the truth of mortification the reall destruction of thy lusts as it is said of Cassius Chaerea a Pretorian Collonel or Tribune when he and others conspired the death of that cruell tyrant Caligula the signall word agreed upon was Repete strike again So thou must not content thy self to make some faint attempts against thy sinnes or a light skirmish as souldiers at a muster but thou must do it with all thy might hast thou wounded them and do they yet resist Repete strike again and again hate them pursue them to the death give them no quarter spare them not so long as thou findest them stirre or breath Again the Apostle saith The Kingdom of God is righteousnesse peace joy in the Holy Ghost This is a most sweet and precious truth wouldst thou buy it If thou doest thou buyest a Kingdome yea a Kingdome more worth then all the Kingdomes of the world But if thou wilt buy it indeed thou must have this Kingdome set up in thy heart Righteousnesse must reigne there or