Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A64978
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Christ the best husband: or An invitation of young women unto Christ Delivered in a sermon to young women. By Thomas Vincent, minister sometime of Maudlins Milkstreet, London.
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Vincent, Thomas, 1634-1678.
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1672
(1672)
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Wing V428; ESTC R219230
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16,515
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32
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are indeed some spots in Christs Spouse but there is beauty too and they are growing on farther and farther towards perfection of beauty and hereafter they shall be made perfect in holiness and here they are perfect in their Head they have a covering for their spots I mean the perfect righteousness of Christ through which they are reputed by God as perfectly beautiful 5. That the Lord Jesus Christ doth exceedingly desire the beauty of such as are espoused unto him He greatly desireth to see it and enjoy it in his fellowship with them See this desire after his Spouses beauty Cant. 2. 14. O my dove thou art in the clefts of the rock in the secret places of the stairs let me see thy countenance let me hear thy voice for sweet is thy voice and thy countenance is comely See farther how he admireth the beauty of his Spouse chap. 4. 1. Behold thou art fair my love behold thou art fair He calleth his Spouse his Love being the dear object of his love and he admireth her loveliness he repeats it twice Thou art fair Thou art fair and that with a note of admiration Behold thou art fair and again Behold thou art fair and so he goeth on in the description of her beauty and in the 7th verse he telleth her Thou art all fair my love there is no spot in thee Through his own comliness which he had put upon her he saw nothing but beauty and no spot in her and in the 9th verse we have a wonderful expression of Christ to his Spouse Thou hast ravished my heart my Sister my Spouse thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes with one chain of thy neck The Original word signifieth thou hast un-hearted me or taken away my heart from me the Spouse had got away Christs heart with one of her eyes with her looks and glances of love upon him and he was excedingly taken with the chain of faith and other graces linked together about the neck of her Soul The Lord Jesus doth marvellously delight in the internal beauty of his people and he greatly desireth to see and enjoy it which he doth when they are brought near into the most intimate communion with him The APPLICATION Use 1. For Examination DOth the Lord Jesus Christ the King of Glory invite all the children of men and particularly the daughters of men to be his Spouse and is he so greatly desirous of the beauty of such as are joyned unto him This then should put all of you upon the enquiry whether you are espoused unto Jesus Christ You have been called hereunto have you hearkened You have had great proffers made to you have you considered You have been invited again and again and many arguments have been used with you to prevail with you to come and joyn your selves to the Lord Jesus but have you inclined Have you been perswaded Is the match indeed made up between Christ and your souls If you are espoused unto Christ then 1. You are disjoyned from sin Is the cursed league broken which is naturally between sin and your hearts Before you come to be espoused unto Christ you are as it were espoused and married to sin sin is your Husband and you are tied in its bonds sin doth inhabit with you and dwell in the embracements of your dearest love and delight you care for the things of sin how you may please your flesh and gratifie your inordinate desires and whilst this husband and beloved of your hearts liveth you are not at liberty to be espoused and married unto Jesus Christ and sin liveth in the affections whilst it doth possess the most prevailing liking affections and so long you are knit and linked unto sin examine whether sin hath yet received it's deaths wound in your hearts whether ever the false mask of sin hath been plncked off and the odiousness of it hath been made manifest unto you whether your hearts have been brought to a loathing and detestation of it and so sin killed in your affections and the knot unlosed which hath tyed your hearts unto it Do you indeed hate sin with the greatest and most implacable hatred Is sin mortified and subdued as to its reigning power if sin be dead you are at liberty to be espoused and it is a good evidence that you are espoused unto Jesus Christ. 2. If you be espoused unto Christ then you have been drawn to him by the spirit Ioh. 6. 44. No man can come unto me except the Father which hath sent me draw him and the Father draweth by the Spirit You have had external calls of the Word to come unto Christ have you been called effectually and drawn powerfully irresistably and yet most sweetly by the Spirit unto Jesus Christ Have you had a discovery by the Spirit not only of your necessity of and lost estate without an interest in Christ but also of Christs beauty and transcendent loveliness His excellency and great willingness to give entertainment unto you in this relation and have you been moved and drawn hereby unto him 3. If you be espoused unto Christ then you have laid hold upon him by faith the spirit doth draw unto Christ by working the Grace of Faith and enabling persons to believe in him by Faith Christ is received Ioh. 1. 12. To as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name By believing on Christs name persons do receive Christ in this relation Faith is the hand of the Soul which layeth hold on Christ and by this joyning of the hand with Christ the knot is tyed and the Soul is united to Christ in the relation of a Spouse have you this Grace of Faith wrought in you with power have you received and applied Christ unto your selves have you received him upon his own termes and do you by Faith draw quickning and strengthning influences from him 4. If you be espoused unto Christ then you do embrace him in the arms of your dearest love then you love the Lord Jesus in sincerity and you love him with the supremacy of your love If you love father or mother houses or lands riches or honours delights or pleasures or any thing in the world more than Christ you have no true love to Christ and be sure are not espoused to him but if Christ be chiefly beloved it is an evidence that you are joyned in this relation unto him 5. If you are espoused unto Christ you have acquaintance and converse with Christ and you like his company best and you highly value and diligently attend upon all those Ordinances which are the means of bringing you and Christ together and this is the great thing which you desire and seek after in Hearing and Prayer and at the Table of the Lord that you may have a sight of your Beloved and a taste of his Love and more intimate communion with Him And is acquaintance begun with
Christ and farther intimacy defired by you Are pure and powerful Ordinances of great esteem with you Do you give all diligence to wait upon and for your Beloved in them 6. If you are espoused unto Christ then you endeavour to promote his interest and advance his name in the world then when others seek their own things you seek the things of Jesus Christ and look upon them as your own when others labour chiefly to lift up themselves in the esteem of men you labour above ill to lift up Christ in mens esteem you are commending your beloved above all others beloved and endeavour to bring others in love with him and into the same relation with your selves vnto him Can you shew such evidences as these of your espousals unto Christ And if beyond these you have love-tokens to shew which you have received from Christ if he have given you Soul-refreshing visits heart-ravishing siniles gracious returns to your Prayers the white stone a sight of your name written in his book the hidden manna the fruit of the tree of life a glympse of glory an earnest of your inheritance a fore-taste of Heaven un-utterable peace of conscience a heart enlarged with love to Him and filled sometimes with the joyes of the Holy Ghost such love-tokens as these may put it quite out of question whether you are espoused unto Christ when all these are the tokens of his conjugal especial and most endeared Love Use 2. For reproof of all those that refuse or neglect Christs invitation of them to be his Spouse 1. This is your great sin hereby you highly affront Christ and you exceedingly offend him I suppose it would offend and highly displease your selves should you make love to an inferiour and have your persons contemned and your love slighted by them Christ hath made love and made suit unto you who are infinitely inferiour unto him He calleth upon you and his great desire of you is that you would be his Spouse by your refusal of him and neglect of his invitation you contemn his person and slight his Love yea you preferr his inferiours before him even those that are not worthy to be nam'd with him and can there be a greater indignity offered If Christ should contemn you that are so mean and slight your Love as unworthy of any regard it would not be so much wonder It is no great wonder to see a Prince slight the aspiring conjugal Love of a Béggar but for you that are beggarly sinners to slight the person and love of such a Prince this is a great sin and provocation 2. This is your great folly as well as sin to refuse and neglect the gracious proffers of being made the Spouse of Christ hereby you forfeit all that especial Love of his which you might have with all the endeared expressions thereof by this refusal and neglect you chuse raggs before robes dross before gold pebbles before jewels guilt before a pardon wounds before healing defilement before cleansing deformity before comeliness trouble before peace slavery before liberty the service of the Devil before the service of Christ hereby you chuse dishonour before a crown death before life Hell before Heaven eternal pain and misery before everlasting joy and glory And need there a farther evidence of your folly and madness in refusing and neglecting of Christs invitation to be his Spouse Use 3. For comfort of all those that have hearkned considered and are inclined and perswaded to be the Spouse of Jesus Christ. 1. This is your wisdome they are foolish Virgins which refuse but you are the wise Virgins who have accepted of Christs proffer and have disposed your selves unto him you have made the wisest choice and however the blind World may deem you fools yet you are wise in the esteem of God and one day will be so in the esteem of them them that now despise you 2. This is your glory you that are espoused unto Jesus Christ are advanced unto great dignity and honour you are of all others in the world most highly preferred It is the dignity of Christ to be so near to the Father and it is your dignity to be so near unto Christ It is Christs honour beyond every creature that he is joyned in the hypostatical union unto the Father and it is your honour that you are joyned in this mystical and conjugal union and relation unto the eternal Son of God Let not the wise man glory in his wisdome nor the mighty man glory in his strength nor the wealthy man glory in his riches but you may glory in the Lord that you are espoused unto Christ glory not in your selves but in the Lord who hath most freely and graciously taken you into this relation 3. This is your safety If you are espoused unto Christ you are under the wing of his especial protection continually he is by this relation unto you engaged to protect and defend you and that from Sin and Sathan and eternal ruine and so long you are safe yea he hath a special regard for you in times of danger from men he hath secret chambers of his providence to hide you in when there are great storms and tempests of trouble about you and if such times should overtake you which are not very unlikely either he will preserve you from common desolation or by it lodge you with himself out of the reach of all future trouble 4. This may comfort you at all times and in all conditions that you are so nearly related unto Christ that he loveth you when the world hateth you that he careth for you and hath promised to provide for you what is needful here and at length will receive you to the mansions he hath prepared in his Fathers house where you shall see and share in his glory and take up your habitation for ever with him Use 4. For Exhortation both of those that as yet are not espoused unto Christ and of those that are espoused 1. You that are not as yet espoused unto Christ I shall direct my speech unto you and that to all both men and women but particularly to you that are young women whom especially I am now called to preach unto It may be novelty and curiosity hath hrought many hither this day which otherwise would not have been here and possibly the Lord may make use of this opportunity not only to invite by his Word but also to perswade by his Spirit some of you to espouse your selves unto him and if any souls may now be brought to a closure with Jesus Christ I shall attain my great end and both you and I shall rejoyce that I hearkened unto that motion and desire which was made to mee of preaching a particular Sermon unto young women as I have done many particularly unto young men Come Virgins will you give me leave to be a Suiter unto you not in my own name but in the name of my Lord May I prevail with you