Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	dead_a	life_n	quicken_v	5,491	5	10.4511	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A49589	The wedding-supper as it was handled out of the fourteen first verses of the 22. chapter of Matthew, in sundry exercises in Tavistock in Devon. Wherein the offer of salvation, both to Jews and Gentiles, is noted: and divers plain and pithy doctrines observed, and applied. Being the effect of twelve sermons preached by Thomas Larkham, the oppressed pastor of the despised Church of Christ there.	Larkham, Thomas, 1602-1669.; Cross, Thomas, fl. 1632-1682, engraver.	1652 (1652)	Wing L442; ESTC R222016	113,881	272

second particular is to speak of the Honourable person that gives occasion for this feast And that is Christ who is to be married whose Spouse is the Holy Church In this particular there are divers things of great weight to be taken notice of First The Author and fountain of saving grace viz. God called here A King making a Marriage for his Son Secondly Here is implied the neer union that is betwixt Christ and the Elect. It is agreed that there shall be a marriage concluded upon according to God the Fathers everlasting purpose between them and his son Jesus The Kingdom of heaven is like unto a King that made a Marriage for his Son Thirdly we shall also out of these words speak of the way and Means whereby this Grace from God in the supper of the Lamb is conveyed made out to the Elect towit the powerfull preaching of the Gospel This lies wrapped up in these words the Kingdom of Heaven whereby is meant as I told you in the beginning the word of the Kingdom The plain Truth is and the Summary Sense The preaching of Christ and the offering of him in the Ministry of the Gosepl is the way the Lord hath ordained to work faith by whereby we are united unto Christ and justified I will begin with the first and so proceed to the handling of the rest at this time as in the presence of the Lord. Doct. The first Doctrine shall be this From the first That grace here and glory hereafter are the free gift of God It it his pleasure that his Son be Married and such a Wedding Supper held as may shew forth the riches of his Grace according to the capacity of man somewhat answerable to the bounty of a God You see the Subject matter is Grace which we must warily speak of that we may shun the Charybdis of Popish merit and yet not fall upon or into the Scylla of Lawless Antinomianisme Most certain it is that Salvation is of Grace and not of works as that learned Dr. of the Church the Apostle Paul disputes it and demonstrates it both in his Epistle to the Romans and also in his Epistle to the Galatians And although there are many uses of the Holy Moral Law which I purpose not now to meddle with yet must it stand aside as weak and insufficient through the flesh and give place unto Gods sending his Son into the world that whosoever believeth in him and accepteth of Gods offer of Grace should not perish but have life everlasting This Grace of God is by much the Elder brother if we look no higher then Abraham Gal. 3.17 And this I say saith Paul that the Law which was 430. years after cannot disannull the Covenant that was before of God in respect of Christ that it should make the Promise of none effect All is of Grace First Election is of Grace Rom. 11.5 There is a remnant according to the election of Grace Ephes 1.5 6. Having predestinated us c according to the good pleasure of his will to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved See Cap. 2. to the tenth And in many other places Secondly all the Coordinated Mediums all that God works by all are free and of Grace As first Christ is given Romans 8 32. Who spared not his own Son but gave him for us all to Death Secondly The word bringing savation is free and is therefore called the Grace of God Titus 2.11 bringing Salvation Thirdly Repentance is of Gods giving also Acts 11.18 Fourthly Likewise Faith that mother-Grace is the gift of God Phil. 1.29 And generally the whole Law of the Spirit of life as it is called Rom. 8.2 is of Gods gracious working as is testified Ephes 2.1 And you hath he quickned which were dead in trespasses and sinnes Reas 1 We may reason from the very name Grace it signifies that which is imparted gratis Conveniunt rebus nomina saepè suis that is freely So the Holy Ghost often reasons in these words or else Grace were no Grace And Grace and Merit do stand extremly in opposition one to another Secondly We may reason from universality from the General to Particular Quicquid praedicatur de genere praedicatur de specie Of him and through him as well as for him are all things Every good and perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the father of lights c. James 1.17 All common Graces are of his Grace and free gift much more saving grace which is a more speciall effect of his love and favor Vse 1 But I come to the Uses having two other Doctrines to dispatch at this time And first here falls to the ground the Doctrine of merit so mightily and subtilly among our latter Popish School-men contended for What should I read Lectures of Polemical Divinity in this popular auditory They have a blind distinction of merit of congruity and condignity one place of Luke will serve for all Cap. 17.10 So likewise ye when ye shall have done all that is commanded you say We are unprofitable Servants There is neither merit of congruity before justification nor merit of condignity after But by Grace are we saved through faith Dona sua coronat Deus non meritatua Aug. and that not of our selves it is the gift of God Ephes 2.8 not our Merits but Gods gifts are with his mercifull and bountiful vouchsafements crowned here and hereafter Vse 2 Secondly comfort ye comfort ye your selves with these words O all ye desirers of saving Grace They that hunger and thirst c. are pronounced blessed Mat. 5.6 What though ye see nothing in your selves but that which loads you even such are invited to come Mat. 11.28 If God send to invite surely he will not reject those that desire him though they be never so sinfull But we must take heed First of being contented with a few weak and faint desires If thy desires come from a right principle they are as truly Grace as faith it self There is Grace desiring Gratia sitiens sitiata as well as Grace desired Secondly take heed of regarding wickedness in your hearts Psal 66.18 or else the Lord will not regard your desire And no marvail These desires so accompanied shew themselves not to proceed from that preventing Grace which all successfull desires do proceed from Vse 3 I have yet one use more Grace here and Glory hereafter are of the free gift and Grace of God Ye see where to go for both the one and the other God is the Author and Fountain of all Grace seek it of him Mot. 1 And to move you consider first the Excellency of that condition ye shall be in Christ to partake of his goodly Image and Grace to be transformed into his Image from Glory to Glory Secondly It is of absolute necessity that ye come to this supper I say He that refuseth and cometh not shall

We have spoken already of his charge and that both of the matter of it that he came into the marriage without a wedding garment and also of the manner of the Lords dealing with him calling him friend by an Irony As i● the King should say Friend what make you here I see you pretend to be one of mine but how is it that you come in hither not having a wedding garment We have also spoken Secondly of his Conviction and he was speechless Thirdly We have begun to speak of his execution out of these verses now again read unto you In which we have noted First The Commission it self in the 13. verse Secondly The ground or reason of it ver 14. Again in the Commission we have observed and fully handled the circumstantial part of it And are now the Lord assisting to proceed and to speak of the substance of the Commission out of these words Bind him hand and foot c. Wherein two things are set forth First The manner of his punishment bind him hand and foot and take him away and cast him into outer darkness Secondly The condition of this poor wretch under his punishment sad enough wofull enough in these words There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth We will begin with the manner of his punishment laid forth under a continued Metaphor taken from the manner of dealing used among men with gross and heynous offenders who being found guilty are manacled fettered and separated from the society of men and cast into some dark dungeon there to lie and dye and never to come out thence again Under which words Christ sets forth the future condition of all wicked men and women to wit that they shall be cast into Hell where they shall lie weeping and wayling and gnashing of teeth not only as long as the Sun and the Moon endureth but as long as God shall be God 〈◊〉 three degrees of misery is this punishment of ungodly men here described unto us First Bind him hand and foot that is Tye hi● fast chain him up let him not escape by 〈◊〉 means Secondly Take him away that is carry him hence from my gracious presence Let him never see my face more nor come among my servants Let him never sit with my pretious Saints more Separate him from the communion and society of my faithfull ones Depart thou cursed cateiffe saith God thou caredst not for my people or mine Ordinances on Earth and therefore now thou shalt not be troubled with them Take him away and cast him into outer darkness Here is a third degree of misery Let him go like a Castaway as he is as one good for nothing cast him away For men do not use to cast that away which is good for any thing But here is an aggravation of this third degree of misery cast him into outer darkness that is into Hell Into outer darkness that is out from God and out from his Church For with God is light and in his Church is light But out of Gods presence and out of the Church is darkness Note Therefore note by the way That To be cast out of the Church here is a degree of that outer darkness that ungodly men shall be cast into hereafter So some understand 〈◊〉 8.12 Many shall come from the East ●nd from the West Calvin c. But the children o● the Kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness that is Gentiles shall become Members of the Church and the Jews called the children of the Kingdom because they were so then shall be exiled and cast into a dark and dead frame of Spirit as usually such are as are justly excommunicated if Gods physick work not with them to their humiliation and repentance Now We will gather some short lessons from these particulars thus opened And the first shall be Doct. That ungodly men shall not escape punishment The Reason is because they are bound as it were hand and foot God hath ordained Bands and Chains to bind wicked men withall They are bound with a threefold Cord which is not quickly broken Besides the Chains and cords which God binds wicked men withal to Hell torments there is a threefold Cord to bind them with in this life First The Cord of Gods Decree Jude's Epistle ver 4. Who were before of old ordained to this condemnation All the men on Earth or Angels in Heaven are not able to break this Cord. There is also a blessed Cord which the Saints are bound with Rom. 8.30 Moreover whom he did predestinate them also he called and whom he called them also he justified and whom he justified them also he glorified The use that we may make of it is to bless God if we sind we are not bound with that chain that the wicked are bound with but with that fore-appointed for the Saints The second Cord to bind men is that Mat. 18.18 Whatsoever ye shall bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven This Church binding is the second with which men are bound And for my part I would not lie under the just censure of a well-ordered Church for the whole World The reason is because the Scriptures being true whom the Church binds on Earth God binds in Heaven There are three acts in this binding God acts first and last and the Church in the middle God acts first in giving rules to his Church to walk by The Church acts by those rules which God hath given and are like Levi which knew not father nor mother And this acting of a Church carrieth more in it then the reproof of one Godly man though a publick Preacher because of the Authority which the Lord hath given to his Church And then thirdly God acts in confirming in Heaven what the Church regularly doth on Earth There is in the Church use of ordinary and common brotherly admonitions and exhortations with this Cord the People of God bind one another to the Lord. So Heb. 3.12 Take heed brethren lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God But exhort one another daily while it called to day lest any of you be hardned through the deceitfullness of sin And therefore all the People of the Lord should look upon this work as a duty and when it is performed it should be looked upon as a mercy from the Lord to tie us closer to him Besides this sometimes the unruly are to be warned and desired to forbear from communicating with the People of God This is as it were the trial of Leprosie We usually call it suspension from the Lords Supper and it hath its use as a cord to bind men to the good behaviour or to discover their Spirits But in the last place Fulk on 1 Cor. 5. Sect. 3. Rhem. Test there is excommunication which is to be done by the officers of th● Church as in the name of Christ so in the name of the Church and People to avoid