Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	contrite_a	humble_a	revive_v	5,567	5	11.6295	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29912	Twenty five sermons. The second volume by the Right Reverend Father in God, Ralph Brownrig, late Lord Bishop of Exeter ; published by William Martyn, M.A., sometimes preacher at the Rolls.; Sermons. Selections	Brownrig, Ralph, 1592-1659.; Martyn, William.; Faithorne, William, 1616-1691.	1664 (1664)	Wing B5212; ESTC R36389	357,894	454

us Thus Cain complained I am east away from thy face Gen. iv 14. So Saul upon his disobedience cryes out God is departed from me 1 Sam. xxviii 15. I will shew them the back and not the face Ier. xviii 17. It was the woful condition of mankind by nature we were strangers from God nay without God in the world So Paul tells them at Lystra that God suffered all Nations to walk and wander in their own wayes never owned or regarded them Our sins separate twixt God and us and he hides his face from us 2. Not onely the world of wicked men reap this fruit by their sins but Gods own people find this uncomfortable desertion when they grievously offend him he turns away from them This Moses shewed them in a visible Resemblance Exod xxxiii 7. The people there had sinned against God then 't is said Moses took the Tabernacle and pitch'd it without the Camp a farr off from the Camp thereby signifying God's displeasure against them and his departure from them Otherwise the Tabernacle was to be in the midst of the Host Numb ii But God was offended and withdrew himself from them 3. Yea not onely his visible Church but even God's Darling-Saints find this woful effect that their sins bring upon them that God stands aloof off and withdraws from them How often doth David mourn for this and pray against it Psal. x. 1. Why standest thou a farr off O Lord why hidest thou thy self in time of trouble So again Psal xxxviii 21. Forsake me not O Lord O be not far from me Upon his sin of Adultery O cast me not away from thy presence This the Saints often find and feel if they turn unto folly God turns from them stands afarr off not to hear them not to help them not to own them And Tertullian gives the reason Res delicata est Spiritus Dei he will not rest in a defiled soul. 4. Some sins of his people are of higher Provocations and so set him off far from us As 1. Bloud and Oppression and Violence That cast off Cain So God said He would remove Iudah out of his sight for the bloud-shed committed by Manasseh When you make many prayers I will not hear you for your hands are full of bloud Isai. i. 15. 2. A secure neglect of God's Offers of grace That turns him from us When he stretcheth out his hand to us and we will not come in and be reclaimed then saith God I will get me to mine own place Hos. iv 15. This cost the Spouse in the Canticles sorrow when Christ knock'd and still she refused to open to him at last I opened to my well-beloved but my well-beloved had withdrawn himself and was gone 3. Falsness in his Covenant When we corrupt that holy Religion which he hath committed to us that turns him from us See what that works Zech. xi 8. My soul then loathed them and their soul also abhorred me God will bear with many failings but once when we come to this height to adulterate his Worship ye may see what that will work in the Case of the Israelites Psal. cvi 39. They were defiled with their own works and went a whoring after their own inventions then he abhorred his own inheritance It made him forsake the Tabernacle in Shiloh the Tent which he had pitched among them Psal. lxxviii 58. This Sin 't is counted spiritual Adultery that dissolves the Marriage-knot 'twixt God and us and causes him to turn away and to divorce us 4. Incorrigibility under means of Reformation when God strives with us and we resist him It was the Case of the old World His Spirit would strive no longer with them but he cast them off The Prophet Isaiah notes it chap. lxiii 10. They rebelled and vexed his holy Spirit therefore he was turned to be their enemy and fought against them Thus God is giving over Judah Why should ye be smitten any more Isai. i. All that labour is spilt upon you III. Come we to the third Consideration It is the blessed fruit of repentance that it recovers Gods presence and causes him to return graciously to us When I name Repentance I understand a real cordial spiritual repentance that and that onely can re-gain us Gods favour and return him to us That you may better acquaint your selves with this necessary and soveraign duty not to enter upon any large discourse about it that duty will require of us these three Acts 1. Humiliation 2. Deprecation 3. Reformation I will exemplifie this to you by the repentance of the Ninevites 1. They put themselves to great Humiliation Ionah iii. The King himself came down from his Throne laid his robe from him and cover'd himself with Sack-cloth nay man and beast was covered with Sack-cloth prostrating and debasing themselves before an angry God We must put our mouths in the dust Lam. iii. be ashamed and abashed and even abhorr our selves in dust and ashes That is their Humiliation Next 2. Is their Deprecation they Cried mightily unto God Vers. 8. The spirit of lamentation and supplication must abound in us not content our selves with our ordinary perfunctory Prayers but we must strive and wrestle in prayer as it is said of Iacob he had power over the Angel and prevailed he wept and made supplication to him We must put our selves not onely to an exercise but to an agony of repentance Iacob wept Tears they are ●…udor animae the Sweat of the soul in this holy agony 3. Reformation That was a main point in the Ninevites repentance Vers. 8. Let them every one turn from his evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands Violence that was the sin of Nineveh they were an oppressing people It was this last that mainly prevailed with God See v. 10. God saw their works that they turned from their evil way and then it is said God repented He saw their Humiliation he heard their Deprecation but yet that which pleas'd him best was their Reformation He saw his eye was chiefly upon that That is the fat of the Sacrifice Such repentance is like to prevail with him Let him be turned away he will draw near to us again See two places Psal. xxxviii 18. The Lord is nigh to them that are of a broken heart he will save such as be of a contrite spirit Nigh how nigh Isaiah tells even to dwell with them that 's a constant presence Isai. lvi I dwell in the high and holy place with him also that is of a con●…te spirit to revive the spirit of the humble Indeed 1. Repentance so pleas●… him that the very imperfect acts of repentance if they be true and sincere though not according to the strict standard of the Sanctuary are accepted by him David cried out Peccavi I have sinned and presently God absolved him The loving father meets his returning Prodigal Son half-way when he was yet afarr off and but making towards him 2. Repentance so

extrinsecus by conferring with God as a Mudd-wall when the Sun shines upon it but Christ's glory came from within from his Deity to his Soul 2. Moses his shining was not in such glory that was concealed and hid by the covering of a Vail Christ's darts through his Garments His shinings were radii divinitatis Damasc. Moses had splendorem sub velamento Christ had velamen in splendore 3. Moses his shining was terrible Christ's was comfortble The Apostles were loth to lose the sight of it 2. Christ was Transfigured to prefigure the glory of his second comming at the day of Judgment Then he will have his Saints about him as Moses and Elias and his Apostles to be present with him and he Himself will be in his glory His first Coming was in infirmity but the Kingdom of God shall come with power Look upon Mount Tabor and then believe the glory of his second Appearance 3. Christ was Transfigured consignare Resurrectionem It shews the possibility nay the facility of his own and our resurrection He who can transform himself thus into glory how easily can he raise up himself and us also and translate us into glory Look upon Mount Tabor and then doubt not but Mount Golgotha shall give up her dead 4. Christ was Transfigured armare contra scandalum crucis He had told his Disciples of his Cross and sufferings It greived and troubled them Now to remove this scandal of his Cross he arrayes himself in glory This Face that shall be spitt upon I can make it as the Sun this Body that is to be tortured shall shine as the Light these Garments that are to be parted shall be made resplendent Look to Mount Tabor and be not offended at Mount Calvarie 5. He shews himself in glory to his Apostles gives them a glimpse of Heaven to quicken up their appetites to the longing for it These praeludia of Heaven will support any drooping spirit As Ionathan the tast of Hony revived him presently As Caleb cut down a bunch of Grapes from Eschol and by the presenting of that encouraged the people to desire Canaan Fix thy Meditations upon these glories behold by faith Christ in his glory not attended only with Moses and Elias but with innumerable Angels behold thy Throne thy Crown thy white Robes it will make thee couragious and desirous to be dissolved THE THIRD SERMON ON S. LUKE ix 30 31. And behold there talked with him two men which were Moses and Elias Who appeared in Glory and spake of his Decease which he should accomplish at Ierusalem NOw follows Christ's honourable Attendance that accompanied him in his glorious Transfiguration And in it observe three particulars 1. The Persons who are present 2. The Manner of their presence They appeared in glory 3. Their Action and Employment An holy and heavenly Conference They spake of his decease First The Persons that attended and were present at his Transfiguration And they present themselves in three considerable notions 1. Their number Two 2. Their kind Two men 3. Their specialty Moses and Elias I. Their number Two Why so small a number of glorious Attendants He could have commanded twelve Legions All the assembly of the Saints were ambitious of this honour heaven would have emptied it self upon this Mountain to celebrate this glorious Transfiguration of Christ. Yet but two admitted 1. This Transfiguration of Christ was but a glimpse of his Glory no full manifestation He shews here but one beam of his Majesty not the full lustre and splendour of it When he comes in full Glory troops and millions of Saints and Angels shall wait upon him Now he more privately discovers himself in the view of a few and if he be now so glorious how resplendent will he be in all his Saints and holy Angels 2. These Saints present are not present for attendance only but as witnesses to give testimony to the Son of God And two witnesses of such choice and note of so great authority to seal and assure us of Christ's glorious Divinity are sufficient At the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses shall a matter be established Deut. xix 15. There need no more Here therefore onely three from earth are assumed to this vision and two onely from heaven Hereafter Every eye shall see him Now the sight of him is more reserved and mystical and of a more reserved dispensation 3. Two Saints are assumed into attendance of this Glory others are omitted to shew and figure out a disparity and diversity of Glory in those blessed Spirits All the Saints have their portion of bliss but in their proportion not in a just equality As from earth he hath his favourites three choyse Apostles the rest stood at a more remote distance so in heaven though all are happy yet have they their measures and degrees of Glory These two in the Text are taken into a greater nearness admitted to a more full view of Christ others were waiting his coming into heaven longing for and expecting his glorious Ascension These had the favour of seeing him before in the dayes of their flesh Moses and Elias saw his back-parts These again are dignified with this glorious Apparition assumed with him into his triumphant Chariot as Iehu did assume Ionadab That 's the first their number two II. Their kind two men Why was he not attended with glorious Angels Why were not these commanded to wait upon him and worship him No he assumes not Angels but these holy men 1. They were magis idonei Testes more competent and convenient witnesses of his Deity and Mediatourship then the choicest Angels Moses and Elias should be of more prevailing Autherity then the Angels These had Authority of teaching in the Church And they bear record here in relation to what they were before with respect to the Scriptures of which they were the Pen-men and Teachers This is a great assurance of Truth that those Saints who first published the tidings of Salvation are now eye-witnesses feel and find the truth of what they Preached Remember them who have spoken to you the word of God whose faith follow considering the end of their conversation Heb. xiii 7. That Doctrine which they taught brought them to Glory 2. Duo homines Two men they attend this Glory of Christ because they are more concerned in Christ's Incarnation and Mediatourship These are not onely Spectators but Partners Our Salvation and bliss is the main aym of Christ the glory of the Angels is less principal and accessory He took not upon him their nature fulfilled not their Covenant To us he was born to us he lived for us he died They are not the Spouse but the friends of the Spouse The Church is Christ's Spouse they like S. Iohn the Baptist rejoyce at the sight of it As when God led the Israelites into Canaan a mixed people followed them and entred in with them so we are the choise people who are