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
A47309	The practical believer, or, The articles of the Apostles Creed drawn out to form a true Christian's heart and practice in two parts.	Kettlewell, John, 1653-1695.	1688 (1688)	Wing K380_VARIANT; ESTC R36226	263,804	566

tell particular Men they are truly Penitent having reserved that to be declared at the last judgment Besides every Man must have true Faith before he can be pardoned Faith and Repentance being the conditions of Pardon But no Man must believe his sins are pardoned before they are pardoned since that were plainly to believe a falshood Quest. But since all doubting of the Pardon of our Sins and the Favour of God implies distrust how will it stand with Faith in God Ans. The belief that our Sins are pardoned implies our trust and confidence of two things One is of God's Power and Fidelity in fulfilling his Promises The other is of sufficiency of our own care in performing his Terms Now Faith implies trust and confidence only in the former of these Quest. Is Faith only a confidence and trust in God not in our selves and implies a good opinion only of his Power and Faithfulness but not of our own fitness Ans. Yes and so of Abraham it is said when he believed That he gave glory to God Rom. 4. 20. His Faith consisted as the Apostle notes in what regarded him he being counted righteous for believing that what God had promised he was fully able to perform verse 21. When once Men have the greatest assurance of those Divine Properties they are said to have the greatest Faith though at the same time they think meanly and are most distrustful of themselves So the good Centurion was having such confidence in Christ's Power that he thought a word of his mouth would recover his Son without giving him the trouble to come in person and at the same time thinking so meanly of himself that he judged his house unworthy to receive him And of this Christ declares I have not found so great faith no not in Israel Matth. 8. 8 10. Quest. I perceive 't is no part of any Man's Faith to believe his sins are pardoned nor of Infidelity to doubt of it But though such doubts are not the sin of Infidelity against God yet are they not always sinful and blame-worthy upon some other account Ans. No but oft-times expressions of virtue and serve to recommend us the more to God as being acts of humility and self-abasement of modesty and poverty of Spirit which set no Man further off but bring him nearer and interest him the more in his favour The fearful humble Publican who durst not presume on any favour but with dejected eyes stood afar off went home justified of God rather than the proud Pharisee who justified himself Upon which our Saviour adds that every one who exalts himself shall be abased and every one that humbleth himself shall be exalted Luke 18. 10. to 15. God is nigh saith the Psalmist to the broken of heart and contrite of spirit Psal. 34. 18. He dwells with the contrite and humble spirit to revive the spirit of the humble and revive the heart of the contrite ones Isaiah 57. 15. He looks to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit and trembles at his word Isaiah 66. 2. to lift up those that humble themselves in his sight James 4. 10. and to bless the poor in spirit Matth. 5. 3. Indeed dejection sadness and tormenting fears are a backner of good endeavours and accuse God as if he were an hard uncomfortable Master very difficult to please and Religion as if it were a sowre melancholy service so that faithful hearts must not affect or harbour fear to these degrees But when they maintain a comfortable hope 't is generally more commendable to lean to the side of humble fear than of arrogant self-flattery to be too lowly and modest rather than too presumptuous and boasting Quest. And is it not more safe too Ans. Yes fear begets care whereas security slackens watchfulness and abates endeavour And therefore the Apostle advises those who would expect to stand not to think highly but fear Rom. 11 20. and to work out their salvation with fear Phil. 2. 12 13. And he was a wise Man that said Happy is he that feareth always but he that hardneth his heart against fear shall fall into mischief Prov. 28. 14. The wisest and the best way generally is to be fully assured of what concerns God but fearful and jealous of what depends upon our selves Quest. But have not some good Men great confidence of God's favour And since that is the priviledge of the most consummate Saints and gives the greatest peace and joy in God and comfort in believing which the Scripture speaks of must it not be a most justifiable as it is really a most blessed and desirable thing Ans. Yes if their confidence is not beyond their grounds and under this comfortable assurance of their present claim to Happiness they preserve an humble sense of their own defects and unworthiness and a fear of their falling from it by afterfailures And this comfortable assurance is vouchsafed to some extraordinary good Souls as their special priviledge as fears and doubts are continued to others for their exercise And different Persons are either indulged more happy injoyment from God or so exercised as to make them more acceptable and dear to him both these ways Quest. You have said enough to explain the nature and to set off the excellency and usefulness of Faith. But lest after we have taken the pains to walk by it it should fail all our expectations in the end pray show me something of the certainty of it Ans. That depends on the Authority of Jesus Christ who is the Author of our Faith. And all must needs be true that he Says and sure that he Promises because he is the true Messiah or the Christ of God who was to come as his Great Prophet to make known his mind unto the World. CHAP. II. That Jesus is the Christ from Ancient Prophecies The Contents Among those Prophecies which prove Jesus to be the Christ First Some prescribe the time of his coming This they mark out by the nearness of such notable Occurrences and Revolutions as would fall under all Mens observation And by fixing the very Year he should appear in Accordingly there was a general expectation of him at that time His coming not put off beyond the time appointed for the sins of the People An account why the Jews who read these clear Notes of the time in their own Prophets are not convinced by them Secondly Others assign man peculiar and visible Notes whereby he may be demonstratively pointed out from all other Men. As 1. His being born of a Virgin. This in some sense spoken of a Virgin of that time but principally of Messiah and then only fully accomplished when Jesus came This cleared from exceptions 2. His having the Spirit of Miracles resting on him 3. His Death with the particular manner and circumstances of it And his returning to Life again 4. His putting an end to the Jewish Sacrifices and Mosaick Covenant and bringing in a New one and a better to

his Bosom And these if they are untruths cannot be fancies but downright Forgeries and Impostures they argue not so much an Enthusiastical as a false and designing Man since no Person in his wits as 't is most evident he was could fancy himself into such persuasions And thus it seems the Adversaries of Jesus themselves believed For they never once accused him as being a deluded Enthusiast but always as a false Impostor who crastily invented those pretensions which he sought to impose upon the world Matth. 27. 63. John 7. 12. Quest. Was he also as apparently honest and undesigning Ans. Yes for never Man sought so little for himself or did so much for others making it his meat and drink to bring Glory unto God and dispense Blessings to the World. Whatsoever he claimed or did was in pursuit of those publick ends not at all to greaten his own secular State and Power or to gratifie his own Will and Humour And on this score he calls upon all Men to believe him as one that visibly could have no temptation to deceive and plainly sought to serve no ends of his own upon them My judgment is just saith he because I seek not mine own will but the will of the Father which hath sent me John 5. 30. Quest. Two great things there are which Men may seek by such pretences Interest that ratifies the covetous and Honour that Idol of the ambitious and vain glorious And doth it plainly appear of Jesus that in pursuing his pretensions he sought neither of these Ans. Yes For as for Honour though by his miraculous Power he did every where the most stupendious things yet was he never tempted to do any one out of vanity to set on his own Praise but only as occasion was given him by the requests or needs of Men or as he saw they might serve to accomplish God's ends Yea after the miraculous Cures were done he several times imposed silence on those he cured or those who were privy to it to stifle the spreading of his own Fame He gave the Honour of all he did to God declaring That of himself he could do nothing but that his finger wrought all the works they so much admired and directing them to adore and laud him for them as accordingly they did And then as for worldly interest though he pretended to come as a Prince and Shepherd yet he declared that was not to serve himself of his People but to serve them and shed his Hearts Blood for them And all Men must needs say he seeks no private interest or self design who comes among Men only to have the opportunity to die for them And being thus apparently free from all designs or endeavours of seeking his own interest or applause upon this score he calls upon all reasonable Men to receive ●is Testimony The good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep I am the good Shepherd for I lay down my life for them J●●n 10. 11 15. I honour my father says he again and seek not mine own glory He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory but he that seeketh his glory that sent him the same is true and no unrighteousness is in him John 8. 49 50. 7. 18. Quest. Indeed such manifestations of sober Wisdom and undesigning Integrity are enough to gain great regard to any Man's account But as you said it would be of more force still if God by extraordinary Providences and miraculous Events brought to pass for or about a Person should prepossess the World with a great Opinion and raise in all Men some extraordinary expectations from him And was this done for Jesus when he came Ans. Yes for besides that a confessed Prophet was sent in God's Name as I shewed on purpose to declare him a Train of Revelations and Miracles was laid by Almighty God to prepare his way and usher him in One Angel is sent to his Mother then and afterwards a Virgin with the news of his Miraculous Conception another to clear her Honour and satisfie her jealous Husband and a whole Host of them are heard to sing Anthems of Joy and Praise at his Birth declaring to the Shepherds that he was Christ the Lord. A prodigious Star of an irregular place and motion is created to lead some great Men of the East to the place where he was Who coming by its guidance to Jerusalem in search of him put King Herod and all the Jews into an anxious fear and consternation And being led on farther by it to Bethlehem to the very House where he lay they most solemnly paid their Homage and Devotion offering him Gifts Gold Frankincense and Myrrh And to heighten the observation and perpetuate the memory of these things a strange instance of most lamentable and unheard of cruelty accompanied them For at the Wise Mens report Herod growing jealous of this new King and not being able to learn where he was that under pretence of going to Worship he might seize and devour him they failing to bring him word according to their promise through God's warning them to the contrary in a Dream in his Bloody Rage he slew all the Children under two years old in Bethlehem and all the coasts thereof assuredly concluding he should cut off him among them Besides all which at the accomplishment of his Mothers days of Purification when he was brought into the Temple Simeon Son as is supposed to the Great Hillel and Father to Gamaliel and * Hannah two Persons eminent for Piety and Holiness and known though not in ordinary course yet at some times to be acted by a Prophetick Spirit which having ceased among the Jews for four hundred Years ever since Zechary and Malachy begun then to revive again did own him for the Christ of God and spoke of him to all that looked for Redemption in Jerusalem All these with a number of other great Signs shewed about him were most publickly known among the Jews and were the wonder and discourse of that time and must needs raise in Mens minds strange expectations from him And seeing him thus visibly sent of God they would be the more prepared when he declared himself to give him credit Especially when they knew him still more Gloriously set out and all the foregoing Signs advanced and confirmed by the visible descent of the Holy Ghost upon him and the voice from Heaven accompanying it at his Baptism when he begun his Preaching Quest. And to all this did he also himself give them a Sign for his own justification Ans. Yes and the very same too that Moses prescribed for a proof of any Man 's being sent of God as a Prophet viz. his fore telling things to come Deut. 18. 22. For this Jesus did among them and that too on this very score according to the rule of Moses to justifie his Mission His own Resurrection under the Type of Jonas he gives to the Jews for