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
A32723	Several discourses upon the existence and attributes of God by that late eminent minister in Christ, Mr. Stephen Charnocke ...; Discourses upon the existence and attributes of God	Charnock, Stephen, 1628-1680.	1682 (1682)	Wing C3711; ESTC R15604	1,378,961	866

God is then considered in a disposition contrary to this which can be nothing but his Righteousness If you that are unholy and have so much Corruption in you to render you cruel can bestow upon your Children the good things they want how much more shall God who is holy and hath nothing in him to check his mercifulness to his Creatures grant the Petitions of his Suppliants 'T was this Attribute edg'd the siduciary importunity of the Souls under the Altar for the revenging their blood unjustly shed upon the Earth Rev. 6.10 How long O Lord holy and true dost thou not avenge our blood on them that dwell on the Earth Let not thy holiness stand with folded Arms as careless of the eminent Sufferings of those that fear thee we implore thee by the holiness of thy Nature and the truth of thy Word 2. This renders him fit to be confided in for the comfort of our Souls in a broken condition The reviving the hearts of the spiritually afflicted is a part of the holiness of his Nature Isa 57.15 Thus saith the high and lofty one that inhabits eternity whose name is holy I dwell in the high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit to revive the spirit of the humble He acknowledgeth himself the lofty One they might therefore fear he would not revive them but he is also the holy One and therefore he will refresh them he is not more lofty than he is holy besides the argument of the immutability of his Promise and the might of his Power here is the holiness of his Nature moving him to pity his drooping Creature His Promise is usher'd in with the name of power high and lofty One to bar their distrust of his strength and with a declaration of his holiness to check any despair of his Will There is no ground to think I should be false to my word or misemploy my Power since that cannot be because of the holiness of my Name and Nature 3. This renders him fit to be confided in for the maintenance of grace and protection of us against our spiritual Enemies What our Saviour thought an argument in Prayer we may well take as a ground of our confidence In the strength of this he puts up his sute when in his mediatory Capacity he intercedes for the preservation of his People John 17.11 Holy Father keep through thy own Name those that thou hast given me that they may be one as we are Holy Father not merciful Father or powerful or wise Father but holy and Verse 25. righteous Father Christ pleads that Attribute for the performance of God's Word which was laid to pawn when he past his word For it was by his Holiness that he swore That his seed should endure for ever and his Throne as the Sun before him † Psal 89.36 which is meant of the perpetuity of the Covenant which he made with Christ and is also meant of the preservation of the mystical Seed of David and the perpetuating his loving kindness to them ‖ Vers 32 33. Grace is an Image of God's holiness and therefore the holiness of God is most proper to be used as an Argument to interest and engage him in the preservation of it In the midst of Church provocations he will not utterly extinguish because he is the holy One in the midst of her * Hos 11.9 Nor in the midst of Judgments will he condemn his people to death because he is their holy one † Hab. 1.12 but their Enemies shall be ordained for Judgment and established for Correction One Prophet assures them in the Name of the Lord upon the strength of this Perfection and the other upon the same ground is confident of the protection of the Church because of Gods holiness engag'd in an inviolable Covenant 3. Comfort Since holiness is a glorious Perfection of the Nature of God he will certainly value every holy Soul 'T is of a greater value with him than the Souls of all men in the World that are destitute of it Wicked men are the worst of vilenesses meer dross and dunghil ‖ Psal 12.8 The vilest m●● 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Purity then which is contrary to wickedness must be the most precious thing in his esteem he must needs love that quality which he is most pleas'd with in himself as a father looks with most delight upon the child which is possess'd with those dispositions he most values in his own nature His Countenance doth behold the upright Ps 11.7 He looks upon them with a full and open Face of favour with a countenance clear unmaskt and smiling with a Face full of delight Heaven it self is not such a pleasing Object to him as the Image of his own increated holiness in the created holiness of Men and Angels As a man esteems that most which is most like him of his own Generation more than a piece of Art which is meerly the product of his wit or strength And he must love holiness in the Creature he would not else love his own Image and consequently would undervalue himself He despiseth the Image the wicked bears * Psal 73.20 but he cannot disesteem his own stamp on the godly he cannot but delight in his own work his choice work the Master-piece of all his works the new Creation of things that which is next to himself as being a Divine Nature like himself † 2 Pet. 1.4 When he overlooks strength parts knowledge he cannot overlook this He sets apart him that is godly for himself Psal 4.3 as a peculiar Object to take pleasure in he reserves such for his own complacency when he leaves the rest of the World to the Devils power he is choice of them above all his other works and will not let any have so great a propriety in them as himself If it be so dear to him here in its imperfect and mixt condition that he appropriates it as a peculiar Object for his own delight how much more will the unspotted purity of glorified Saints be infinitely pleasing to him So that he will take less pleasure in the material Heavens than in such a Soul Sin only is detestable to God and when this is done away the Soul becomes as lovely in his account as before it was loathsome 4. 'T is comfort upon this account That God will perfect holiness in every upright Soul We many times distrust God and despond in our selves because of the infinite holiness of the Divine Nature and the dunghil Corruptions in our own but the holiness of God engageth him to the preservation of it and consequently to the perfection of it as appears by our Saviour's Argument Joh. 17.11 Holy Father keep through thy own name those whom thou hast given me to what end that they may be one as we are one with us in the resemblances of Purity And the holiness of the Soul is used as an Argument by

yet we had been as unable Spiritually to raise our selves from Sin to Grace as to raise our selves naturally from Nothing to Being In this state we were when his Goodness triumphed over us when he put a hook into our nostrils to turn us in order to our Salvation and drew us out of the Pit which we had digged when he might left us to sink under the rigors of his Justice we had merited Now this Goodness in Conversion is greater than that in Creation as in Creation there was nothing to oppose him so there was nothing to disoblige him Creation was terminated to the good of a mutable Nature and Conversion tends to a supernatural Good God pronounced all Creatures good at first and Man among the rest but did not pronounce any of them or Man himself his Portion his Inheritance his Segullah his House his Diadem He speaks slightly of all those things which he made the noblest Heavens as well as the lowest Earth in comparison of a true Convert * Isa 66.1 2. All those things hath mine hand made and all those things have been but to this Man will I look to him that is of a contrite Spirit 'T is more goodness to give the espousing Grace of the Covenant than the compleating Glory of Heaven As it is more for a Prince to marry a Beggar than only to bring her to live deliciously in his Courts all other benefits are of a meaner strain if compar'd with this there is little less of Goodness in imparting the Holiness of his Nature than imputing the Righteousness of his Son 6. The Divine Goodness doth appear in answering Prayers He delights to be familiarly acquainted with his People and to hear them call upon him He indulgeth them a free access to him and delights in every address of an upright Man * Prov. 15.8 The wonderful efficacy of Prayet depends not upon the nature of our Petitions or the temper of our Soul but the Goodness of God to whom we address Christ establisheth it upon this bottom when he exhorts to ask in his name he tells them the Spring of all their Grants is the Fathers love * Joh. 16.26 27. I say not I will pray the Father for you for the Father himself loves you And since it is of it self incredible that a Majesty exalted above the Cherubims should stoop so low as to give a miserable and rebellious Creature admittance to him and afford him a gracious hearing and a quick supply Christ ushers in the Promise of answering Prayer with a Note of great Assurance * Luk. 11.9 10. I say unto you ask and it shall be given you I that know the Mind of my Father and his good disposition assure you your Prayer shall not be in vain Perhaps you will not be so ready of your selves to imagine so great a Liberality but take it upon my word 't is true and so you will find it And his Bounty travels as it were in Birth to give the greatest Blessings upon our asking rather than the smallest * Verse 13. Your Heavenly Father shall give his Holy Sp●rit to them that ask him Which in Mat. 7.11 is called good things Of all the good and rich things Divine Goodness hath in its Treasury he delights to give the best upon asking because God doth act so as to manifest the greatness of his Bounty and Magnificence to Men and therefore is delighted when Men by their Petitioning him own such a liberal disposition in him and put him upon the manifesting it He would rather you should ask the greatest things Heaven can afford than the trifles of this World Because his Bounty is not discovered in meaner Gifts he loves to have an opportunity to manifest his affection above the liberality and tenderness of Worldly Fathers He doth more wait to give in a way of Grace than we to beg * Isai 30.18 And therefore will the Lord wait that he may be gracious unto you He stands expecting your Suits and employs his Wisdom in pitching upon the fittest seasons when the manifestation of his Goodness may be most gracious in it self and the Mercy you want most welcome to you as it follows for the Lord is a God of Judgment He chooseth the time wherein his doles may be most acceptable to his Suppliants * Isai 49.8 In an acceptable time have I heard thee He often opens his hand while we are opening our Lips and his Blessings meet our Petitions at the first setting out upon their Journey to Heaven * Isai 65.24 While they are yet speaking I will hear How often do we hear a secret Voice within us while we are Praying saying Your Prayer is granted As well as hear a Voice behind us while we are Erring saying This is the way walk in it And his liberality exceeds often our desires as well as our deserts and gives out more than we had the wisdom or confidence to ask The Apostle intimates it in that Doxology * Eph 3.20 Vnto him who is able to do abundantly above all that we ask or think This Power would not have been so strong an Argument of comfort if it were never put in practice He is more liberal than his Creatures are craving Abraham petition'd for the life of Ishmael and God promiseth him the birth of Isaac * Gen. 17.18 19. Isaac asks for a Child and God gives him two Gen. 25.21 22. Jacob desires Food to eat and Raiment to put on God confines not his Bounty within the narrow limits of his Petition but instead of a Staff wherewith he passed Jordan makes him repass it with two Bands * Gen. 28.20 David askt life of God and he gave him Life and a Crown to boot † Psal 21.2 3 4 5. The Israelites would have been contented with a free life in Egypt they only cried to have their Chains struck off God gave them that and adopts them to be his peculiar People and raises them into a famous State 'T is a wonder that God should condescend so much that he should hear Prayers so weak so cold so wandring and gather up our sincere Petitions from the dung of our distractions and diffidence David vents his astonishment at it * Psal 31.21 22. Blessed be God for he hath shewed me marvellous kindness I said in my haste I am cut off from before thy Eyes nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplication How do we wonder at the goodness of a petty Man in granting our desires how much more should we at the Humility and Goodness of the most Soveraign Majesty of Heaven and Earth 6. The Goodness of God is seen in bearing with the infirmities of his People and accepting imperfect Obedience Though Asa had many blots in his Scutcheon yet they are over-lookt and this Note set upon Record by Divine Goodness That his heart was perfect towards the Lord all his days * 1 Kings 15.14 But