Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	bless_a	jesus_n	lord_n	6,161	5	3.6174	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A66104	Love's pedigree, or, A discourse shewing the grace of love in a believer to be of a divine original delivered in a sermon preached at a lecture in Boston, Febr. 29 1699/1700 / by S. Willard ...	Willard, Samuel, 1640-1707.	1700 (1700)	Wing W2283; ESTC R39758	12,825	30

hereby to us but for which we must have remained utter strangers unto peace for ever 4. This love hath pointed out to us the way of Salvation by Christ. As God hath laid it in Christ for us so he hath in the Gospel discovered the way of it to us There is a way in which Sinful men must come to partake in the precious fruits of Christ Redemption and there are terms on which these are conveyed to us now God hath opened these terms and laid out all the Articles of the New Covenant in his Gospel This is not a favour which all partake in it is said of the Gentiles who are without the Gospel in Rom. 3. 17. The way of peace have they not known And we are told in 2 Tim. 1. 10. That God hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel There are the proposals in the New-Covenant which must be complied withal by those ●hat hope to be Saved by Christ they that never hear of them can never comply with ●hem Rom. 10. 14. How shall they believe in him ●f whom they have not heard And it is Gods ●ove to his chosen that moved him to open ●his Covenant and propose the terms of it to ●hem in order to their being brought into it 5. This love hath not only provided the means but also renders them effectual to our Salvation God brings about the Salvation of his Elect in the way of means as best accommodated to his treating of them as reasonable Creatures he hath therefore appointed them in the Gospel and they are the gifts of our glorified Saviour Eph 4. 10. c. It is therefore a singular favour for men to enjoy them there is that remark Psal 147. 19 20. He shewed his word unto Jacob his statutes and his judgments unto Israel he hath not dealt so with any nation c. And it must be so for the want of them is a note of perdition 2 Cor 4. 3. If our Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost But yet many have them and they prove occasions of their greater ruine because they abuse them Herein therefore is Gods love antecedently to ours eminently celebrated in that he gives a blessing to the means and so making them powerful to advance the end of them Rom. 1. 16. The Gospel is the power of God to Salvation in them that believe and why only in such a● do believe why because the Spirit of God comes in with them to such and leaves saving impressions by them Now all these are the incentives of our love and do certainly proceed from his loving us first USE I. We may hence infer the Doctrine of personal Election Great attempts have been and are used in the Christian world to undermine this truth but all are in vain If there were no more Scripture evidence for the confirmation and establishment of this Article of our faith but only the words of our Text it is sufficient to enervate all the cavils and objections that are brought against it If Gods first loving us be not only a Reason but a Cause too of our loving him and consequently if any of us have the love of God produced in him it is an evidence of that antecedent love which he bare to us it so becomes a distinguishing note between them whom he loved and others and for that reason it must needs be an infallible evidence of Gods having such a love for us before which must needs be from Eternity because his will and purpose is like himself Immutable And this can amount to nothing less than a Personal ●lection for if God be the author of this Grace ●● us and he produceth it by his Spirit because ●e loved us than we were personally appointed ●ereto from Eternity So the Apostle layes it ●own Eph. 1. 3 4. Blessed be the God and Father ●f our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with ●ll Spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy USE II. This tells us that Gods Electing love could not ●e founded on the prevision of any thing in the Creature We are here acquainted with the Absolute Sovereignty of God in this affair If Gods love be the first cause of all Grace and Good to us it must needs then be it self Independent for that is an inseparable property of a Supream Cause If Gods love produceth all that is good in the Creature it is then impossible that the goodness of the Creature should produce that love to it To limit Gods special love which he bears unto any unto something foreseen in the Subject is to make something in us that did precede that and that did not derive from it as the Efficient of it which is to invert the order of Causes and put the second being in the place of the first God could not foresee any thing lovely in us but upon his own purpose to confer it upon us on which the futurity of it depended an● therefore this foresight could not cause his lov● but must needs flow from it He bestowed th● gift on us because he loved us Rev. 1. 5. Un● him that loved us and washed us fr●● our sins his blood USE III. Hence we learn what little reason they have t● think that God loved them who are void of th● love of God It is true Gods love to those whom he hath Chosen in Christ runs under groun● for a great while and there are those whom h● hath an endeared respect for who are at presen● in arms of rebellion against him who have n● regard for him who say unto him depart from us such indeed are all Gods Elect before Conversi● on Eph 2. 2 3. Wherein in times past ye walke● according to the course of this world c and wer● Children of wrath even as others Tit. 3 3 We ou● selves also were sometimes foolish and di●obedient c. And though there are ●nseen ways in which this love of his is before hand working towar● them yet all this while ●●ey have no groun● of evidence to prove their interest in his special favour It is certain if any are the Subjects of this love it will sooner or later brea●●orth in their Calling and will kindle in them a ●incere love to him Jer 31 3 I have loved th● ●ith an everlasting love therefore in loving Kind●ess have I drawn thee And this is the first ●iscovery by which they know that he loved ●hem 2 Thes 2. 13 God hath from the begin●ing chosen you to Salvation through the Sancti●cation of the Spirit And therefore the order ●f Assurance is to come at the knowledge of ●ur Election by our Vocation 2 Pet. 1. 10. In ●ain then do they pretend to be the be●oved of God who do not love and serve ●im cordially USE IV. Hence it follows that they who truely love God ●annot but acknowledge and adore his Electing love ●o them What is the reason why the Profesing World is so full of prejudices against the Doctrine of Gods free Sovereign Election and ●hat there are so few that can relish or pa●iently endure the Preaching of it Doub●ess ●t must be because they were never experimentally acquainted with it That man who ●ath had the love of God shed abroad in his ●eart and hath known what it is to be Saved by Grace will put the greatest Emphasis upon this Article of it and his love will be the more ardently enflamed by it to think that herein God hath manifested what precious and endearing thoughts he had for him in the da● of Eternity how distinguishing that love w●● when he had neither being nor deservin● My Prayer then for all such prejudiced persons shall be that God will give unto them the experience of this love in themselves and that will silence all their uprisings of heart and fill them with adoration FINIS