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	know_v	6,721	5	4.2859	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A52533	A sermon preached at the publick commencement at Cambridge Sunday in the forenoon, July iii, 1698 / by Peter Nourse ...	Nourse, Peter, 1663-1723.	1698 (1698)	Wing N1415; ESTC R181111	10,105	34

dangerous is their case who to form the Scripture to their own notions put a strain'd and forced Interpretation upon those places in it which of themselves are very clear and easy Thirdly The consideration of Gods goodness reveal'd in the Gospel is a farther proof of the Justice of their Condemnation to whom it is hid as to the Power of it for were there no Arguments to prove its Divine Authority yet the Rules and Precepts contain'd in it are so agreeable to our Rational Nature and so fitted for our Welfare in this Life that there is no one that is either sober or prudent but would wish at least that it were from God that all Mankind might be under the strongest tyes and obligations to observe it But if besides the advantages which it brings us in this Life we consider the Discoveries which it makes with regard to the next its gracious Overtures of Peace and Reconciliation with God the allowances it makes for our Infirmities the Grace and Strength it Promises to assist us with and the glorious Rewards which shall Crown our obedience could we possibly have made better Terms for our own Happiness than God is pleased there to offer to us how then can any one hope to escape if he neglects so great Salvation But there are many men who will readily acknowledge that they are justly lost to whom the Power of the Gospel is hid so as that the wickedness of their lives is a disgrace and contradiction to their Profession but they are not of the same opinion as to those who have corrupted the substance of the Christian Faith the most essential parts of its Doctrine and who endeavour as much as lies in them to hide it from others Thus they leave men at large to believe as they think fit or as they pretend they are able and this is lookt upon as a piece of Christian moderation an instance of great Charity and an Evangelick Spirit but 't is certain that the Apostles neither practised nor recommended it they knew what influence a right Faith has upon a right conversation that the Fruit could never be good where the Tree was not so therefore they spared not the False Teachers they never flatter'd or complimented those who corrupted their Gospel but rebuked them with sharpness without admiring their knowledge or making any allowances for their pretended morality whoever he were though an Apostle or an Angel from Heaven that should Preach any other Gospel than that St. Paul Preached he has no respect for his Character but says he Let him be accursed Ep. to the Gal. chap. 1. v. 8. which he repeats again in the next verse to make the deeper impression I say let him be accursed and v. 7. he tells us that by another Gospel he did not mean any new Revelation that should be set up in opposition to that which they had from God but that which deserved the Curse was the misconstruing his Gospel the perverting the Gospel of CHRIST But say some is not this very severe is it not contrary to the Temper and Spirit of the Gospel to pronounce men accursed for that which it is not in their Power to help Must they perish everlastingly and not be able to prevent it To be honest in ones dealings to be sober to be merciful in a word to be good say they is in every ones Power and they who are otherwise do justly bear the blame and the punishment of their folly But the Faith which we so earnestly contend for is out of their reach if there be any blame in their want of it it must lye at his door who made them for their parts they have spared no pains to search out the true sense and meaning of the Scriptures they have weary'd their Reason and their Judgment in that labour would we have them renounce them If therefore the Gospel be hidden to them in Misteries 't is none of their faults 't is at most but their unhappiness and God will excuse them But granting that no one is lost but by his own fault let such men be examin'd more narrowly and there will certainly appear other causes of their unbelief than what they are willing to alledge for it for sometimes God sends a Spirit of delusion upon men as a punishment of their lust or former disobedience as it is seen by experience that many a one who has been bred up in the true Faith after a long course of wickedness has turn'd Atheist or Infidel But allowing that these men are as free as others are from any open enormous Crimes yet Pride and Self-conceit will as effectually blind the understanding as the God of this World could do and is it not a most notorious sign of Pride that where God requires Faith they set up for knowledge and must have other reasons to ground their belief upon than those of his Will Should God require of us to comprehend the Mysteries that are above our Reason to damn men for not doing it would be inconsistent both with his goodness and his justice for that would be all one as to damn them by fatal necessity but when he commands us only to believe those things where is the difficulty of believing that what God saies is true Or indeed is it possible for any one that seriously considers it to deny his assent to that Proposition If it be not then neither can he deny his assent to such other Truths as have a necessary connexion with it We know that there are Misteries in Nature and in Philosophy which we cannot comprehend and the Controversies about them can never be decided by us for instance whether space be finite or infinite who can determine but suppose God should declare that it is infinite would it not be true and must not we believe it to be so yet our Reason could never comprehend this nor be able to Answer such difficulties as might be brought against it Wherefore as for those deep things of God those mysterious Truths which are most clearly reveal'd in Scripture though the nature of them be such that they must needs surpass our understanding yet there is that connexion between them and many of our Christian Duties that it is as necessary to believe the one as it is to perform the other if any doubt or scruples arise concerning them we ought to follow the example of the Apostles Luke chap. 17. v. 5. and pray to our Lord that he would increase our Faith Those men take quite a wrong method who puzzle themselves to Know what is only to be Believ'd and Faith being the gift of God Prayer is the proper means of obtaining it A late Philosopher tells us that Male-branche Traité de Morale cap. 5. §. 4. Study and Attention are a natural Prayer to God for Knowledge if so 't is only for natural Knowledge but Faith is a supernatural gift and for such Study and Attention cannot be sufficient but Prayer must be offered up for them in the name and through the merits and according to the Prescription of him who purchased those gifts for us Let us therefore offer up such Prayers to Almighty God and be ready to receive his Holy Word with the modesty and submission of little Children let us endeavour to keep our understanding as free and unprejudic'd and our wills as innocent as theirs and so we may be fully assur'd that our gracious God will neither hide his Gospel from us in this World nor his Ever-blessed presence in the World to come Here followed the Commemoration of BENEFACTORS To God the Father Son and Holy Ghost be all Honour and Glory now and for evermore Amen FINIS