Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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A94351
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The fourth principle of Christian religion: or, the foundation doctrine of laying on of hands. Asserted and vindicated by way of answer to such arguments as by Lieutenant Colonel Paul Hobson have been presented against this Gospel ordinance. Affectionately tendred to such enquiring souls as are desirous throughly to forsake Babylon notion an humane tradition, and by universall obedience to follow the lamb in all his righteous appointments. / By Tho. Tillam a minister of Jesus Christ.
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Tillam, Thomas.
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1655
(1655)
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Wing T1165; Thomason E850_9; ESTC R207403
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44,938
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67
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thy Principles The Lord make my counsell acceptable to thee which is To live in the perpetuall exercise or practise of all thy Principles Yet mistake not I would not have thee set them up for Idols Judg. 17.13 and live upon them to say Now I know that the Lord will doe me good seeing I have got a Levite to my Priest Take heed of so practising any of thy Principles Now I have done enough once to believe a Magus may do so or repent Act. 8.13 Judas did it or be baptized so was Ananias and Sapphira In this respect Phil. 3.13 14. thou must forget what is behind and presse forward In this respect Heb. 6.1 thou must leave thy Principles and go on to perfection But how must thou leave thy Principles What never to look at them any more No such matter Mat. 19.5 But as thou must leave thy father and mother and cleave to thy wife so thou must leave thy Principles Whosoever shall teach thee in a marryed state to be disobedient to or utterly to leave and forsake thy Parents I shall bequeath to him the Legacie fit for a blind Pharisee Mat. 15.6 And the like portion to him that shall counsell thee to learn thy Six Principles but not to practise them or at any time to leave them so As for the first Principle which is Repentance Why thou poor soul as oft as thou callest for thy dayly bread so often thou must practise thy Repentance For thou dost dayly contract new flaines therefore thou must dayly go to that sountain * Zech. 13.1 Rev. 7.14 to wash thy robes and make them white in the bloud of the Lamb. Crying Father which art in heaven forgive my trespasses as I forgive others that is manifest forgivenesse seal my pardon satisfie my soul that all my sins are imputed unto Christ and his righte-ousnesse to me And can thy soul live a day without this satisfaction without this assurance The Lord would have thee aske to purpose not barely pardon but assurance that thou art pardoned Aske and ye may receive Joh. 16.24 that your joy may be full And thus thou must not leave but practise Repentance Secondly for Faith If ever thou didst receive it embrace it Rom. 1.5 and yeeld obedience to it be carefull constantly to live in the exercise of it Why thou no longer livest then thou believest Vers 17. therefore go thy wayes on from faith to faith in the mounting steps of Abrahams faith as one of the houshold of faith Rom. 4.12 Gal. 6.10 Take heed of Hymeneus sin * 1 Tim. 1.19 and let Pauls exercise be thine Act. 24.16 O beware of men that will yeeld thou shouldest learn it but not practise it As for Baptisme If ever thou was buried with Christ in it Rom. 6.4 one buriall will serve the turn 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he that is once baptized or washed needeth not save to wash his feet * Joh. 13.10 compared with 2 King 5.10 14. Heb. 10.22 and yet there is dayly need of Mortification Col. 3.5 this thou must be practising all the dayes of thy Pilgrimage thou dost never learn it till thou practise it There 's dayly need of a holy walk in newnesse of life Rom. 6.4 Wherefore thou Baptized Believer whatever men say be thou dayly in the practise of this Principle A chast Virgin often resisted Satans temptation with this weapon Christiana sum I am a Christian As oft as the enemy makes his appoaches against thee tell him thou art espoused to Christ and hast not in thy childish infant state when perhaps thou wast asleep made a bold manly profession of thy subjection to him in this Ordinance What should I fear if truth speak truth Mark 16.16 I did I do believe I was Baptized I shall be saved And for this fourth Principle Be sure thou practise it as ever thou desirest a larger measure of the Spirit for the communicating of which it is appropriated If God do immediatly confer his gifts in or soon after the administration be carefull to improve them to his glory put them not under a bed of ease or a bushell of gain If he deal with thee as with those Hebrew babes keep thee long in thy childhood without some eminent manly gift yet practise this Principle in the exercises of patience waiting for a return to those prayers that did accompany this Ordinance and indeed is an essentiall part of it without which neither this nor any thing else is or can be sanctifyed Luk. 11.13 and upon which pretious promises are entail'd Breaking bread is no ordinance of Christ 1 Cor. 12.11 without prayer and praise Remember the Spirits method who is a free Agent Dividing to every man severally as he will what how and when he pleaseth Some seed in some sort of ground will spring up speedily Though I do not say that is either the best seed or the best soil see Mat. 13.5 And such is the gift of tongnes to such as greedily gape after it and pettishly cast away the ordinance of hands if they may not have it That or nothing will please their palate But the Spirit hath another sort of seeds which may not so suddainly appear but possibly lie all winter under the clods and yet the ground very good and the seed lying so long in it makes it better and although it make not such speed in springing yet it is carefully kept Luk. 8.15 and brings forth fruit with patience At the first practise of this Principle the seed is sown Isa 45.19 and in a sutable season it will spring and appear Be patient therefore brethren unto the coming of the Lord Jam. 5.7 Behold the Husbandman waiteth for the pretious fruit of the earth and hath long patience for it untill be receive the early and latter rain We are at a great losse for want of waiting for returns of duties Having therefore yeelded obedience to this Ordinance let no man perswade thee thou longing soul to cast off the exercises of a patient waiting for a return but take up thy resolution with the Prophet Psal 85.8 I will hear what God the Lord will speak for he will speak peace unto his people and to his Saints but let them not turn again to folly If God have but bestowed so much wisdome upon thine obedience as to wait with faith and patience for fuller manifestations of himself then I am sure thou hast not found this ordinance empty The fifth Principle If thou be truly spirituall must be thy dayly practise It is a duty incumbent upon thee and beares a date as antient as thy visible profession and reall subjection to Christs commands Rom. 6.4 For in thy buriall with thy Redeemer in the Baptismall sountain 2 Cor. 5.17 Heb. 10.20 thou didst begin thy case in the similitude of his resurrection with an engagement so to run by the rules of the new creature in that new and living way all the dayes of thy life Thou wast a miserable polluted creature Ephes 2.1 before he met with thee dead in trespasses and fins but he hath breathed upon thee by his quickning Spirit and therefore in the power of the same Spirit dayly thou must practise the resurrection Rom. 3.11 If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the death dwell in you he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortall bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you Wherefore stop thy ears to any other Spirit that would dull the edge of thy devotion in the practise of the resurrection Live at present in the power of it and make use of all means with the Apostle Phil. 3.11 If by any means I might attain unto the refurrection of the dead Thy God will be found in the use of his own means Col. 3.1 If ye then be risen with Christ seek those things which are above And Lastly Let the eternall judgment be thy exercise continually Thou hast no other way in this world to avoid the horrour and terrour of it and this way whatever men talke to keep thee in idlenesse thou mayest escape it 1 Cor. 11.31 For if we would judge curselves we should not be judged Cheer up thy drooping spirit take courage and resolution and be as lively as possible in the practise and exercise of all thy Principles The more lively the more like Christ whose meat and drink was to do the will of his father and the more like Christ the more boldnesse thou shalt have in the day of judgement * 1 Joh. 4.17 Wherefore labour diligently to be found in all the will of thy God Let no man spoil thee of any truth but especially of one of thy Foundation principles What though this milk be never so mean 't is the more like a crucified Christ I confesse Laying on of hands is but a simple service Rom. 6.17 no more is its companion Baptisme but t is one of the first words of thy dear Redeemer a part of that form of Doctrine which he delivered and hath owned Act. 8. 19. and by signs and wonders confirmed which he would not so fignally have ratified had it not been a part of his owne service Let not mens conceits of the cessation of this holy Ordinance deprive thy pretious soul of those choice gifts which stream through it which thy panting spirit if thou be truly thirsty soul cannot but find as much need of as thy fellow saints sixteen hundred years since The promise runs as strenuously to this age and the Saints in it though we be those afar off as it did to them that were nigh * Act. 2.39 For he that made promise remains faithfull and what ever men dare affirme to the contrary yet he hath said that It is easier for heaven and earth to passe Luk. 16.17 then one tittle of the Law to fail THE END