Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	covenant_n	heart_n	new_a	6,959	5	6.8797	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47400	A discovery of some troublesome thoughts Wherewith many godly precious souls are burthened, and extreamly pressed: that like a canker eats out all their comforts, and keeps their souls under continuall fears and distractions. Together with a compound of some Scripture and experimentall cordials, for the refreshing of those who are sick of such a disease; and through the blessing of God, may prove medicinall, to the cure of some, and the comforting of others. By Daniel King, preacher of the Word.	King, Daniel, preacher near Coventry.	1651 (1651)	Wing K489; ESTC R216092	52,316	69

souls All their offices are exercised for the effecting and carrying on of grace 3. It is against Gods Covenant For God undertakes our part of the Covenant for us where we are short Isa 48.17 I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit and leadeth thee in the way that thou shalt go Jerem. 32.40 I will make an everlasting Covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do them good but I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me Hebr. 8. I will write my law in their hearts and put it in their inward parts And I WILL be to them a God and they shall be to me a people And they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest for I WILL be merciful to your transgressions and your sins and iniquities I will remember no more 4. It is against Gods glory take things rightly He hath pronounced the glory of his justice against the unbelieving world already John 3.18 He that beleeveth not is condemned already And hath reserved the glory of his grace for his elect people he cannot have the glory of his grace from Reprobates It is the glory of his grace to save poor humbled sinners I came not to call the righteous but sinners to Repentance For righteous men grace cannot act upon them It is no grace to give a righteous man his wages Again to take a rebellious Sinner into grace and let him remain rebellious is not grace for Gods countenance cannot look upon iniquity to approve of it Hab. 1. But grace is to shew mercy to sinners That is poor humble repenting beleiving sinners such as stoop for mercy Now here it is grace So that God must either glorifie his grace in poor humbled sinners or have no glory of his grace Therefore it is against God 5. It is against the work of God his work of creation in thee and for thee Isa 65. But be you glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create for behold I create Jerusalem a rejoycing and her people a joy Man God never gave thee a new heart that thou shouldest alwaies let it lie bleeding with distracting thoughts and discouragements but to rejoyce I create Jerusalem a rejoycing and her people a joy 2. Use of reproof of those that discourage themselves The 2. Vse is of Reproof And it is of those that discourage themselves by harbouring and entertaining discouraging heart-breaking thoughts as Christ disciples here why do thoughts arise in your hearts And herein I shall endeavour to propound cases that are troubles and discouragements to the hearts of many And to answer to them both by way of reproof and discovery of the mistakes which are the ground of such troubles and also to lay down some grounds of incouragement for troubled souls So that this use will be both of reproof of instruction and incouragement And herein I shall mention some of those thoughts that do distract and distemper the people of God for it is impossible to speak to them all particularly they are so various according to the various manner of Sathans working and laying his snares and engines to intangle poor souls This tree of discouraging complaints hath multitudes of branches and appearances which would be an endles work to go about to cut and prune them off one by one Therefore I shall speak to the root of them and endeavour to cut of those spurs that spreading into and fastning upon a poor soul feed all the branches of this bitter tree that makes the soul cry out there is death in the pot The first discouraging thought The first discouraging thought that troubleth a godly soul Oh saith the soul I am none of Christs none of Gods I have no interest in him am not in covenant with him cannot call him mine as others can do I cannot find the witness in me testifying to my heart as others have done God seals not to my spirit as he hath done to others I pray for it and long for it but cannot come by it Therefore how can my heart choose but be troubled and thoughts arise in it To this case let me speak a word or two Who told thee that thou wast none of Gods did God ever say so in his word or did the spirit of God ever witness such a thing to thee No thou canst not say so The Spirit of God witnesseth Adoption and not destruction And if Satan or thy own heart tell thee so they are both deceitfull And therefore A necessary observation First know that to know ye are Gods children or interested in him is not the first round in the Ladder of Christianity The Prodigals course was not first to know whether his father would receive him and entertain him as a Son or a servant but he resolves to go and confess his sin and unworthiness and cast himself upon his fathers mercy The Apostles in planting Churches first preached faith in Christ simply But to beleevers they prest them on to further assurance 2 Pet. 1. vers 10. Strive to make your calling and election sure A direction Therefore this do If you know not your selves to be Gods go and present your selves as objects of the grace of Christ 2 Cor. 1. For all the promises are in Christ as spokes fitted in the wheel Therefore saith the Apostle Rom. 8.32 If God have given us Christ how shall he not with him also freely give us all things I say present your selves before God as objects to be wrought upon that God would make you sensible of sin and give you a longing desire after Christ Rom. 8. For God hath his spirit of bondage to rough-hew you as well as his Spirit of Adoption to pollish you Now when God hath thus fitted thee go offer thy self to Christ and the promise with Assurance But what assurance Not of thy person as if thou wert already Gods for it may be thou hast not yet the Seal but assurance of the promise made to thy condition Mat. 5.6 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after Righteousness for they shall be filled So that if thou canst not present thy self before God as a Son present thy self before the promise of God as a lost man And so presenting thy self before God with relation to the truth and sweetness of the Promise it may be thou shalt find Faith flow out of thy heart to imbrace the promise for when the heart is emptied it is best fitted to receive free grace for first God gives the Faith of the promise and then the good of the promise must be received by the faith of the promise I mean it redounds to a man by vertue of that To the point then You say you are none of Gods To be Gods and know it I answ The best state is for a man or Woman to be Gods and know it 2. The best next is to be Gods

though he do not know it 1. I say The best state or Condition is for a man to be Gods and know it that he is so Though not to know it doth not cut up the mil-post and overthrow all though it may indeed take off the sailes I mean though it may put a man to a stand or make him go heavily yet it doth not prove his condition to be desperate A man is Gods two wayes A man is Gods two wayes By Election and Calling 1. By Election 1. By Election So a man may be a sheep not gathered John 10.16 Other sheep I have which are not of this fold them MVST I bring So that they are not yet brought and yet sheep which Christ must bring Therefore ye cannot make this conclusion that ye are none of Gods by Election 2. By Calling 1. Cor. 1.1 But Secondly A man is Gods by Calling And so he is a Saint For we are Saints by Calling Now the purpose of Gods electing is the calling of a man and the Evidencing of his Calling And therefore our Calling is effectuall and powerfull because it is a calling accotding to Gods purpose Rom. 8.28 And the purpose of God in Election is evidenced to us by Calling the first dawning and evidence of this love of God to us is this calling us to Christ 2 Pet. 1.10 Give diligence to make your Calling and Election sure So that the way of Evidence is from the second to the first Now it is best for a man to know himself Gods both wayes For though this assurance doth nor make a man to be a man in Christ yet it makes him to be a lively man in Christ for he is made a man in Christ simply by beleeving or taking Christ at the hands of God A double witness Now we are evidenced to be Gods both wayes by a double witness that gives evidence The evidence of our Spirit and the evidence of Gods Spirit Rom. 8.16 The Spirit it self beareth witness with our spirit that we are the Sons of God Now this Calling is evidenced two wayes Regeneration 1. By regeneration or being born of God Secondly by Adoption whereby being strangers we are made Sons by our incorporation into Christ For both these see John 1.12.13 As many as received him to them gave he power to become the Sons of God even to those that beleeve on his name Sons of God who are those Those that are born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God Now observe that the Sons of God by faith in Christ are Sons of God by the birth of the Spirit Therefore see whether your faith reach this or no They were born not of blood nor by the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God For prove one and prove the other Adoption Yet know that Regeneration and Adoption are two distinct things The one is the act of God towards us The other is the work of the Spirit in us But the Spirit of sanctification and the Spirit of Adoption are both one but they are two distinct acts The Spirit of Sanctification worketh in us a new life The Spirit of Adoption may rather be called the evidence So that prove one and prove the other Prove that a man breathes and by that you prove he liveth yet there may be a more proper proof as if he feel or see c. So that this is it that I would say That the witness of our spirit may properly be said to attest our Sanctification And the witness of Gods Spirit our Adoption And by both our spirit and Gods Spirit we are witnessed to be the Sons of God How our Spirits witness our new birth But observe that the witness of our spirits that witnesseth our new birth and Sanctification witnesseth it by Water and Blood 1. John 5.6.8 This is he that came by water and Blood even Jesus Christ not by water onely but by water and Blood And it is the Spirit that beareth witness because the spirit is truth And there are three that bear witness on earth the Spirit and water and blood and these three agree in one And it is by vertue of these two that our spirits do attest and witness that we are the Sons of God For blood and water all the Scripture over are said to purge and cleanse as in all the Legal Types yet God giveth to them an office of witnessing Properly they purge But they Witness by their work of purging This BLOOD the blood of Christ purgeth away the guilt of Sin as it bindeth a man over to hell and damnation This Water the Sanctifying Spirit of Christ purgeth away the love of Sin as it hath Dominion † Ezek. 36.25.26.27 Of both these the conscience of a regenerate man comes to be sensible in himself The sense of Blood purging by pacifying of his conscience that he cannot but look upon God with a conscience full of tranquility And the water purging by Sanctifyng him to make him walk with God out of the power of sin Now the witness of a mans spirit witnesseth that he is translated out of the guilt of sin and power of sin and then he is born again Objection But some may object and say This testimony may deceive Answer I answer If you consider the power of this blood and water in a man How wonderfully it removes a man from all inthralling lusts and how it compels him to walk in holiness yea the peace that riseth from blood-purging Sin which moves morally to holy walking and is full of infinite strength for the sence of the pardon of sin And that is an excellent adjunct unto and in Sanctification as can be the graces of Sanctification do determine the Soul to the wayes of God as a strong Byas sheweth which way the Bowl will go Consider that for one how the heart is moved in Gods way And that is by Faith and Love And then if you consider the respect or aim or end the new creature moves to That is In God for God and to God that he may be glorified Rom. 11. ult For of him and through him and to him are all things All things that are of him through him tend to him Consider all these together that they be in you the power of Moving how you are moved By Faith and Love And the end you aim at to glorifie God And it makes a good Testimony and witness that ye are the Sons of God The witness of Gods Spirit Now for the Testimony of Gods Spirit the Spirit of Adoption If we shall speak distinctly of it from our spirits for the spirit and water and blood are distinct though they agree in one 1 John 5.8 Now if you consider them distinct I conceive then the Spirit of God witnesseth by an immediate impression upon the Soul representing to the soul and conscience making you understand