Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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A64978
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Christ the best husband: or An invitation of young women unto Christ Delivered in a sermon to young women. By Thomas Vincent, minister sometime of Maudlins Milkstreet, London.
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Vincent, Thomas, 1634-1678.
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1672
(1672)
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Wing V428; ESTC R219230
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16,515
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32
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are indeed some spots in Christs Spouse but there is beauty too and they are growing on farther and farther towards perfection of beauty and hereafter they shall be made perfect in holiness and here they are perfect in their Head they have a covering for their spots I mean the perfect righteousness of Christ through which they are reputed by God as perfectly beautiful 5. That the Lord Jesus Christ doth exceedingly desire the beauty of such as are espoused unto him He greatly desireth to see it and enjoy it in his fellowship with them See this desire after his Spouses beauty Cant. 2. 14. O my dove thou art in the clefts of the rock in the secret places of the stairs let me see thy countenance let me hear thy voice for sweet is thy voice and thy countenance is comely See farther how he admireth the beauty of his Spouse chap. 4. 1. Behold thou art fair my love behold thou art fair He calleth his Spouse his Love being the dear object of his love and he admireth her loveliness he repeats it twice Thou art fair Thou art fair and that with a note of admiration Behold thou art fair and again Behold thou art fair and so he goeth on in the description of her beauty and in the 7th verse he telleth her Thou art all fair my love there is no spot in thee Through his own comliness which he had put upon her he saw nothing but beauty and no spot in her and in the 9th verse we have a wonderful expression of Christ to his Spouse Thou hast ravished my heart my Sister my Spouse thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes with one chain of thy neck The Original word signifieth thou hast un-hearted me or taken away my heart from me the Spouse had got away Christs heart with one of her eyes with her looks and glances of love upon him and he was excedingly taken with the chain of faith and other graces linked together about the neck of her Soul The Lord Jesus doth marvellously delight in the internal beauty of his people and he greatly desireth to see and enjoy it which he doth when they are brought near into the most intimate communion with him The APPLICATION Use 1. For Examination DOth the Lord Jesus Christ the King of Glory invite all the children of men and particularly the daughters of men to be his Spouse and is he so greatly desirous of the beauty of such as are joyned unto him This then should put all of you upon the enquiry whether you are espoused unto Jesus Christ You have been called hereunto have you hearkened You have had great proffers made to you have you considered You have been invited again and again and many arguments have been used with you to prevail with you to come and joyn your selves to the Lord Jesus but have you inclined Have you been perswaded Is the match indeed made up between Christ and your souls If you are espoused unto Christ then 1. You are disjoyned from sin Is the cursed league broken which is naturally between sin and your hearts Before you come to be espoused unto Christ you are as it were espoused and married to sin sin is your Husband and you are tied in its bonds sin doth inhabit with you and dwell in the embracements of your dearest love and delight you care for the things of sin how you may please your flesh and gratifie your inordinate desires and whilst this husband and beloved of your hearts liveth you are not at liberty to be espoused and married unto Jesus Christ and sin liveth in the affections whilst it doth possess the most prevailing liking affections and so long you are knit and linked unto sin examine whether sin hath yet received it's deaths wound in your hearts whether ever the false mask of sin hath been plncked off and the odiousness of it hath been made manifest unto you whether your hearts have been brought to a loathing and detestation of it and so sin killed in your affections and the knot unlosed which hath tyed your hearts unto it Do you indeed hate sin with the greatest and most implacable hatred Is sin mortified and subdued as to its reigning power if sin be dead you are at liberty to be espoused and it is a good evidence that you are espoused unto Jesus Christ. 2. If you be espoused unto Christ then you have been drawn to him by the spirit Ioh. 6. 44. No man can come unto me except the Father which hath sent me draw him and the Father draweth by the Spirit You have had external calls of the Word to come unto Christ have you been called effectually and drawn powerfully irresistably and yet most sweetly by the Spirit unto Jesus Christ Have you had a discovery by the Spirit not only of your necessity of and lost estate without an interest in Christ but also of Christs beauty and transcendent loveliness His excellency and great willingness to give entertainment unto you in this relation and have you been moved and drawn hereby unto him 3. If you be espoused unto Christ then you have laid hold upon him by faith the spirit doth draw unto Christ by working the Grace of Faith and enabling persons to believe in him by Faith Christ is received Ioh. 1. 12. To as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name By believing on Christs name persons do receive Christ in this relation Faith is the hand of the Soul which layeth hold on Christ and by this joyning of the hand with Christ the knot is tyed and the Soul is united to Christ in the relation of a Spouse have you this Grace of Faith wrought in you with power have you received and applied Christ unto your selves have you received him upon his own termes and do you by Faith draw quickning and strengthning influences from him 4. If you be espoused unto Christ then you do embrace him in the arms of your dearest love then you love the Lord Jesus in sincerity and you love him with the supremacy of your love If you love father or mother houses or lands riches or honours delights or pleasures or any thing in the world more than Christ you have no true love to Christ and be sure are not espoused to him but if Christ be chiefly beloved it is an evidence that you are joyned in this relation unto him 5. If you are espoused unto Christ you have acquaintance and converse with Christ and you like his company best and you highly value and diligently attend upon all those Ordinances which are the means of bringing you and Christ together and this is the great thing which you desire and seek after in Hearing and Prayer and at the Table of the Lord that you may have a sight of your Beloved and a taste of his Love and more intimate communion with Him And is acquaintance begun with
CHRIST THE BEST HUSBAND Or an Invitation of YOUNG WOMEN UNTO CHRIST Delivered in a Sermon to YOUNG WOMEN By THOMAS VINCENT Minister sometime of Maudlins Milkstreet London LONDON Printed for George Calvert and Samuel Sprint and are to be sold at the Golden Ball in Duck Lane 1672. CHRIST THE BEST HUSBAND Psal. 45. 10 11. Hearken O daughter and consider and incline thine ear forget also thine own people and thy fathers house so shall the King greatly desire thy beauty for he is thy Lord and worship thou him THis Psalm is called a Song of Loves the most high pure and spiritual the most dear sweet and delightful Loves namely those which are between Christ the Beloved and his Church which is his Spouse wherein is set forth first the Lord Jesus Christ in regard of his Majesty Power and Divinity His truth meekness and equity and then the Spouse is set forth in regard of her ornaments companions attendants and posterity and both are set forth in regard of their loveliness and Beauty After a Description is given of Christ an invitation is made unto his Espousals and that of the children of men called by the name of Daughter and therefore particularly applicably unto the Daughters o men yet not so as excluding the sons of men any more than when God speaketh unto the sons of men he doth exclude the daughters and with reference chiefly unto the Daughters I shall now speak unto the words and from hence observe this Doctrine as comprehensive of the words as I can make it Doct. That the Lord Iesus Christ the King of Glory doth invite all the children of men particularly the Daughters of men to be his Spouse and is exceedingly desirous of their beauty who forgetting their people and fathers house do hearken consider and incline to his invitation and joyn themselves to him in this Relation In handling of this point I shall 1. speak concerning Christ's espousing himself unto the children of men 2. Show that Christ doth invite all the children of men and particularly the daughters of men to be his Spouse 3. That such who would be espoused unto Jesus Christ must hearken consider and incline to his invitation and forget their own people and fathers house 4. That such as are espoused unto Jesus Christ are very beautiful 5. That Jesus Christ doth greatly desire the beauty of such as are espoused unto him 6. And lastly Make some Application 1. Concerning Christs espousing himself unto the children of men Christ doth espouse and betroth people unto himself in this world the publick solemnization of the marriage is reserved until the last day when his Spouse shall be brought to him in white robes and raiment of perfect righteousness more rich and curious than any needle-work and the Marriage-feast will be kept in his Fathers house in Heaven where they shall be received into the nearest and closest embracements of his Love The espousal between them and marriage knot is tied here There are four things chiefly included in Christs espousal with the children of men 1. Mutual choice 2. Mutual affection 3. Mutual union 4. Mutual obligation 1. Mutual choice besides the eternal choice which is not only in Christ as Mediator but also by Christ as the eternal Son of God Christ doth in time actually chuse some of the children of men passing by others without the least respect to any worthiness or desirable qualification in them but freely of his mere grace to make them his Spouse and to bring them into the Marriage covenant and relation to himself and herein Christ doth begin he chuseth them first as he telleth his Disciples Ioh. 15. 16. Ye have not chosen me but I have chosen you and then they make choice of him above all to take him for their Lord and Husband Christ findeth them deformed defiled enslaved poor miserable wretched very despicable and loathsome by reason of sin and he maketh choice of them not because they have any beauty and sutable qualifications for this match but that he may put his beauty and comliness upon them and endow them himself with such qualifications as may make them meet for his embracements but in their making choice of Christ they are drawn to it by the most attractive and powerful motives of the transcendent beauty and superlative excellency which they see in him beyond all persons and things in the world 2. In this espousal there is mutual affection this doth accompany the choice on Christs part at first he doth bear a love of benevolence unto them whom he doth espouse and doth desire the nearest union and conjunction unto them and therefore doth make suit to them for their Love On their part their hearts are drawn forth in desires after Christ None but Christ none but Christ is the language of their hearts when they are made throughly sensible of their need of him and however his dowry at first is most desired yet afterwards as they get more acquaintance they are most taken with his person 3. In this espousal there is mutual Union and herein most properly doth the espousal lie in this union Christ and souls are contracted and the knot is tied so fast as no power can untie which union is by the Spirit on Christs part and by Faith on their part by the Spirit Christ doth lay hold on them and by Faith they lay hold upon Christ by the Spirit Christ doth draw them and knit them to himself and by Faith they come and joyn themselves unto him and so the match is made Christ becomes theirs his person portion and all his benefits theirs and they become Christs their persons their hearts and all that they have is resigned up unto him 4. In this espousal there is mutual obligation Christ obligeth himself to them to love them and never leave them to protect to provide for them to live with them here and at length to take them to live with him for ever and they engage themselves unto him to be loving loyal faithful obedient and with full purpose of heart to stick close to him as long as they live this is implied in the espousal it self 2. Christ doth invite all the children of men and particularly the Daughters of men to be his Spouse this is that which they are invited unto in the Text. It is upon this account that Christ doth send his Ministers to be his Embassadours to whom he giveth Commission in his Name to call the children of men unto this most near and sweet relation they do represent his person and are to invite and woe in his Name that people would come and joyn themselves unto him The Apostle Paul tells the Corinthians how successful his Embassage was amongst them upon this account 2 Cor. 11. 3. I have espoused you unto one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin unto Christ. And when any Ministers are instrumental in the conversion of any they do espouse them to Christ in