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
A86586	An exercitation concerning the nature of forgivenesse of sin. Very necessary (as the author humbly conceiveth) to a right informaion [sic], and well grounded decision of sundry controversal points in divinity now depending. Directly intended as an antidote for preventing the danger of antinomian doctrine. And consequently subservient for promoting the true faith of Christ and fear of God, in a godly righteous, and sober life. / By Thomas Hotchkis, Master of Arts of C.C.C.C. and minister of Gods word at Stanton by Highworth in the county of Wilts. To which is prefixed Mr. Richard Baxters preface.	Hotchkis, Thomas.; Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1654 (1654)	Wing H2891; Thomason E1518_1; Thomason E1632_1; ESTC R208563	133,342	405

the threatnings of Scripture as uselesse to them will by their direct consequence lead them to cast off both Precepts and Promises as useless also Now for the proof the Point let th● following particulars be considered 1. That God doth no lesse threaten the godly themselves with hell and damnation if they fall away from their goodnesse then hee doth the wicked if they continue in their wickednesse See for this * My intent in quoting those Scriptures is not as that of the Remonstrants to prove the Apostacy of the Saints but to prove that God doth threaren them that if they do as others do they shall so suffer as others suffer which they are to believe or to make account of and acordingly to fear Ezek. 18.24 1 Chron. 28.9 Rom. 8.13 Heb. 10.38 39. Matth. 6.15 Not to transcribe the fore cited places at length we do perceive plainly therein that in case the godly do fall from their righteousnesse do forsake God do live after the flesh do draw back do not forgive one another their trespasses God will not pardon them will have no pleasure in them wil cast them off for ever Yea I am perswaded that upon search of Scripture it will be found that the most terrible threatnings of all other are directed to the Saints and the most fearful things that are threatned to any are threatned to them in case of their not persevering in the faith For which see Heb. 6.4 5 6. and 10.26 27. 2 Pet. 2.20 21. 2 Consider to what end God doth so threaten them or direct the said threatnings to them And to a Question of that nature propounded I answer 1. To beget the faith 2. The fear of them 1. To beget in the Saints a belief of the said Threatnings or that they might believe them for God is to bee believed in all his sayings of what nature soever they be or whatever the contents there of are the truth of God being alike in all his sayings It is no less the duty of the godly to believe God in what he threatens to them then of the wicked to believe God in what he threatens to them according to the pattern of the men of Nineveh of whom it is said That in what was threatned by Jonah they believed God Jonah 3.5 And according to the pattern of Noah who believed Gods threatning the world with a universal deluge Heb. 11.7 Briefly As the Israelites were to hear the curses of the Law denounced upon Mount Ebal as wel as the blessings thereof pronounced upon Mount Gerizim and were to say Amen to the former as well as to the latter so the godly are to affix their Amen or to put their Seal of Faith unto the Threatnings as well as to the Promises of the Word whensoever they read or hear them yea they are as well to read and hear the Threatnings as the Promises of Scripture with an applicative faith i. e look in what sort or sense in what cases or upon what suppositions God doth denounce his threatnings against them in such cases or upon such suppositions they are to apply the curses and threatnings of God to their owne souls no lesse then in other respects or upon other suppositions they are to apply the Promises of the Word all Scripture Threatnings as well as Promises being written for the learning of the godly And accordingly we find that the Saints have applyed the curses and comminations of the Word to themselves Heb. 2 3. How shall we escape saith Saint Paul if we neglect so great Salvation 1 Cor. 9.16 Wo is me saith the same Apostle if I preach not the Gospel 2 John 8. Look to your selves that we lose not the things which we have wrought 2 To beget fear in them As the immediate end of Gods Promises is to beget hope so the immediate end of his Threatnings is to beget fear the subject of the one good things being the proper object of Hope and the subject of the other evil things being he proper object of Feare This fear is commanded the Saints in sundry Scriptures Heb 12.28 29. Let us have grace to serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear Andlest any man should think that it is not the property of a godly man who is designed for heaven or to receive a Kingdom that cannot beshaken to fear Hel as if such afear could not be a godly fear observe therefore the Apostles reason For our God is a consuming fire It is a Threatning taken out of the Old Testament which the Apostle a Gospel Minister did not scruple to apply to New Testament Believers Deut. 4.24 See also Heb. 4 1. Let us therefore fear lest a Promise being left us of entering into his rest any of you should seem to come sho●t of it q.d. As in every Threatning there is vertually a Promise for he that expresseth Whosoever believeth not shall be damned doth imply in the way of Promise He that believeth shall be saved so in every Promise there is vertually a Threatning he that promiseth Whosoever endures to the end shall be saved doth implicitely threaten That those who do not endure to the end shall be damned Let us therefore feare left such a said Promise vertually containing a Threatning being left unto us any of us should fall short of it See also Luke 12.4 5. where Christ doth command his Disciples to fear God because of Hell I say because of Hell for that description Who or which Which after he hath killed is ratiocinative or causal i.e. it imports the reason or motive of that counsel which Christ gives his Disciples of searing God to bee his power of casting into hell together with his pleasure so to do in case they should fear man and not him The Relative Particle which is not in the Orginal the Apostle expressing himself in a Particle of the Present Tense Fear him having power Now I think it a good Observation of him that tels us saying It is a known propriety of the Greek tongue to import the Reasons or Grounds of things by their Particles as in 1 Tim. 5.17 I shall in the next place apply my self to make answer to such Objections as may be or usually are made against this Truth e.g. Obj. 1. What good Believers do or what evils they do avoid they do them and avoid them out of a principle of life and love and not out of fear Answ Let it be first rightly understood what the meaning of the word Life is and what it is to do a thing out of a principle of life for which purpose bee it known That all of us being by nature dead in trespasses and sins we are not able to do any good of our selves no more then a dead man is able to perform the actions of a living man God must quicken us by his Holy Spirit and regenerate us by his grace before we can do any thing that is good in a spiritual and acceptable manner as to

Salvation so that to do a thing out of a principle of life is to do it as one being quickned renewed and regenerated by the sanctifying Spirit of God Now this being the meaning of that phrase I answer That by the same reason that a beliver is said to do the good hee doth out of a principle of life and love he may be said to do it out of a principle of life and fear for 1. The love of God and the fear of God are not things opposite but consistent with the same subject 2. It is as well the command of God to a Believer and consequently the duty of a believer to fear God as to love him yea to fear the threatnings of God as Josiah d●d 2 Chron. 34.19 21. I doubt not but this fear was one part of or one ingredient into that tenderness of heart for which that gracious King is commended 2 Chron. 34 27. 3. The fear of God is as well a fruit of Christs holy Spirit as is the love of God for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodnesse Eph. 5.11 which Spirit is therefore stiled the Spirit of the fear of the Lord Isat 11.2 4. The fear of God is as well a qualification of that service which we owe and do to God as is the love of God Psal 2.11 Serve the Lord with fear and rejoyce with trembling Hebr. 12.28 Let us have grace to serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear Obj. 2. Believers are to fear God and his goodness Hos 3.5 The children of Israel shal fear the Lord and his goodness They are to fear God and his Commandments Ezra 10.3 Let us make a Covenant according to the counsel of my Lord and of those that tremble at the Commandments of our God and therefore they are not to fear God and his threatnings wreth ourse Answ The things which are consistent are therefore not to be opposed but composed and what God hath joyned in his Word we are to keep together and by no means to put asunder Be it known therefore that as God is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as God I say is Maximus as well as Optimus The great righteous and terrible Lord God Dan. 9.4 Nehem 9.32 as well as a good and gracious Father so is he to be dreaded in regard of his power wrath judgements as well as to be feared or loved in regard of his goodness pity kindnesse Yea one special reason why a Saint doth tremble and is to tremble at the commandments of God is because of the wrath power and justice of God they being the Commandments of that Law-giver who alone is able to save and to destroy James 4.12 and they being Commandments not without a Sanction i.e. comminations of terror annexed to them which God in Justice is obliged to execute And that it is the duty of believers not only to fear God because of his goodness but moreover because of his wrath and the curse may be undoubtedly proved 1. Because they are upon this ground commanded or for this reason instigated and urged to feare him as was before said out of Luke 12.4 5. Hebr. 12.28 29. 2. Because God doth no lesse threaten them then he doth any others with wrath and judgment in case of their Apostacy as was before proved the end of the said threatnings being to beget fear in the Saints God thereby intimating not onely what is in his power to do but moreover what is his pleasure actually to do in the said cases or upon the said suppositions of their Apostasie 3. Because the Saints who have in this sort stood in awe of God are commended in Scripture and their examples recorded for our imitation See the example of David and Job Psal 119.120 My flesh trembleth for fear of thee and I am afraid of thy Judgments Job 31 23 For destruction from the Lord was a terror to me Job was a man most eminently pious as appears by the testimony of God himself both in that book and elsewhere Ezek 14 14. yet one thing which restrained him from evil was the terror of destruction from the Lord. See also 2 Cor 5.11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord wee perswade men Obj. 3 Perfect love casteth out fear because feare hath torment Answ 1. There is no Christians love here so perfect as utterly and altogether to cast out fear for so long as we are in the flesh we shall not be free from fear though at the day of Judgement love being perfected will cast out all fear as saith the Apostle there 2. By fear the e is meant only a tormenting fear or fear so far forth as it hath torment in it as is evident by the Apostles explication of himself Now though the fear of hell as that which a man is actually obliged to suffer rebus sic stantibus be indeed a * Of this fear see Heb. 2.15 There bee those who do understand that tormenting feare which perfect love is said to cast out to bee that carnal fear of men and dangers by means of which we do as Peter did chuse rather to deny Chrst and sin against God rather then expresse our love by suffering for him And this Intepr●tation is not improbable as will appear by comparing that in 1 John 4.18 with 2 Tim. 1.7 tormenting thing yet what torment is there to a Believer being actually discharged or disobliged from the curse neverthelesse to fear it in case of his Apostasie Was Saint Paul tormented with fear when he said How shall we escape if wee neglect so great salvation or when he said I keep under my body and bring it into subjection lest that by any means when I have preached to others I my self should be a cast away or a Reprobate Or was Saint Peter tormented with fear or was it his intent to torture the Saints with fear by telling them That God will without respect of persons judge righteously and that the latter end of Apostates will bee worse then the beginning They only will account this torment who do judg it a torment to be curbed from their sins or restrained from following of their lusts of which torment see Rev. 11.10 3. True love will till the flesh be cast out preserve this fear for its assistant and fellow helper two being better then one according to that Proverb of Solomon Eccl. 4.9 Sure I am that the love of God is never otherwise then in conjunction with true love to our selves and as sure I am that if any one should under pretence of perfecting his love to God endeavour to cast off all fear of his judgments in case of Apostasie hee should therein cast off the true love of himself as taking therein a ready way to prove the destroyer of himself neglecting one way or means which God hath appointed him for the preserving of himself I think it well said by him whosoever he be that said it The flesh would soon make Love a wanton and