Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	faith_n	hear_v	word_n	8,928	5	5.0549	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A59759	A sermon preach'd at the funeral of the Right Honorable Sir Maurice Eustace Kt. late Lord Chancelor of Ireland at St. Patrick's Dublin the fifth day of July 1665 : together with a short account of his life and death / by W.S.B.D.	Sheridan, William, 1636-1711.	1665 (1665)	Wing S3233; ESTC R32139	29,923	53

sorrow for it and some kinde of Confessions like that of Cain and Judas But such a Repentance is not with hatred of the sin but horror of the punishment And thus I come from speaking of Repentance which is the first particular requisite for obtaining the favour of God to speak of Faith which is the second wherein we must consider first What it is and secondly how it may be obtain'd First As touching what it is You are to take notice that the Scriptures sometimes call by the name of Faith that credit which we give to Gods Word sometimes power to work or to have a miracle wrought sometimes trust in God as in a storm Christ rebuking the fear of the Disciples askes Where is your Faith sometimes perswasion that we shall receive something from God as when he bids us ask in faith without wavering and sometimes as if it would exclude nothing that the word signifies But that Faith which reconciles to and justifies before God and which is here principally meant as it must be a Faith working by Charity so it has for its next and immediate object Christ the Redeemer and for its final and ultimate the whole Trinity Yet it is confest that this Faith presupposes credit to be given to Gods Word especially to the Doctrine of the Gospel that it is Divine and true and it produces a perswasion of receiving the accomplishment of Gods promises upon performance of the conditions but the former not onely evi men but the Devils themselves may have for they believe and tremble And the latter many times they that are reconcil'd to God have not especially in their first Conversions or Relapses into grievous sins before their restauration which happens because it is a consequent of the former and a fruit then onely present when God vouchsafes to grant it For as we see the Rose tree bears flowers but not in Winter or it may be the first year it was planted yet is apt to do so in convenient time so this justifying Faith is apt to produce perswasion though it does not always do so Secondly As to the obtaining of Faith It is most certain that we have not power of our selves to deserve or acquire it yet God has appointed some means in order to the attainment of it which he usually assists by his Spirit and in the conscientious practise whereof he gives it in certain degrees as First By hearing the Word preach'd he opens the understanding and so illuminates it that it may see what is deliver'd Secondly he convinces the judgement that attends and considers well what is said and from the Majestie Holiness Power and Consonancy of the Doctrine concludes it is from God Thirdly When a man is thus convinc'd he is not far from the Kingdom of heaven for that he onely then lacks time to deliberate Whether it be not most fit for him all things being considered to submit unto and obey this Doctrine Whereupon being mov'd by Gods Spirit he desires Christ which is the first degree of faith in him and prays the Lord for his sake to have mercy on him Which Faith thus gotten receives new additions of growth and strength by the practise of pious exercises as the familiar hearing of Gods Word Prayer Meditation and the frequent and holy use of the blessed Sacrament of the Lords Supper and this Faith being added to the remorse for our sins will be imputed to us for righteousness God thereby giving us Christ and the life which he hath in him given to the world John 5.13 And when the sinner is thus reconcil'd to God the great care must be to secure his favour For the doing of which he must First Abstain from his former sins for God pardons sinners as Princes do Rebels on condition they rebel no more Go thy way saith Christ and sin no more John 8.11 For as when the wicked turns from all his sin which he hath committed and does that which is lawful and right God will not remember his former wickedness So when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness Ezek. 18.24 and committeth iniquity and doth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doth all his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mention'd but in his trespass that he hath trespassed and in his sin that he hath sinned in them shall he dye Therefore we must not think it enough to have repented of our former sins unless we so repent as to forsake them and so forsake them as never to return to them again But we must mortifie the flesh by the Spirit and not consent unto the lusts thereof that so we may evidence the reality of our repentance Which while we do though our infirmities will not suffer us to give a perfect and impartial obedience to the whole Law yet this shall not be imputed unto us for that we have a Law of liberty whereby our actions are favourably interpreted according to the sincerity of our endeavours and the uprightness of our intentions and not according to the rigour of Justice and the measures of our weak performances And while we walk in this light so as our hearts condemn us not we have communion with God and the blood of his Son cleanseth us from all sin Secondly We must walk circumspectly considering our actions weighing our words and watching over our thoughts ere we give consent unto them setting our selves in Gods sight continually desiring him to direct us and to lay out the way before us doing all the good we can not conforming our selves to the world but transforming our selves by the renewing of our minds that we may prove Rom. 12.2 what is that good that acceptable and that perfect will of God And though we may through the frailty of our nature and the prevalency of a temptation fall again after reconciliation into Gods disfavour we must not altogether be disheartned thereby but renew our faith and repentance being assur'd that if while we were enemies we were reconcil'd to God by the death of his Son Rom. 5. we shall much more be saved by his life And this done the great care must be that we die well In order whereunto it is observable that oftentimes it so falls out that the state of the person is not always discern'd by himself and that though he is in favour with God yet he is not assur'd thereof Therefore it would be worth your inquiries to know how the Conscience may be ascertain'd of Gods favour presupposing that we now speak of such as are in Christ and have a right thereunto 1. Then this is general That whatsoever the cause of the doubt is it is requisite to evidence the truth of Repentance and Faith and to lead the party so affected to the renewed exercise of them and to an earnest invocation of God whereto may be added the special use of the Ministry of Reconciliation and the power of the keys after the