Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	father_n	good_a	holy_a	7,427	5	4.6212	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96430	A treatise tending to shew that the just and holy God, may have a hand in the unjust actions of sinfull men: and that in such a way as shall be without any impeachment of his justnesse and holinesse, or diminution of his power and providence. By Thomas Whitfield minister of the Gospel.	Whitfield, Thomas, Minister of the Gospel.	1653 (1653)	Wing W2011; Thomason E684_34; ESTC R207076	39,661	51

A TREATISE TENDING To shew that the Just and Holy God may have a Hand in the unjust actions of Sinfull Men And that in such a way as shall be without any impeachment of his Justnesse and Holinesse or Diminution of his Power and PROVIDENCE By Thomas Whitfield Minister of the Gospel The Lord is just in all his wayes and holy in all his workes Psal 145.17 How unsearchable are his Judgements and his wayes past finding out Rom. 11.33 LONDON Printed for John Wright at the Kings Head in the Old-Bayley 1653. To the Right Honorable Edward Lord Mountague of Boughton a fruitfull increase of piety prosperity and all true happinesse both here and hereafter My Noble Lord IT would not a little conduce to the happinesse of our lives if our thoughts which are the immediate and to oft abortive issue of our minds were rightly employed and improved then are they well imployed when they are conversant about the most excellent object when they are taken up with the contemplation of the wisedome power providence justice holines and other excellent attributes of him who is excellency it selfe in the fruition of whom is our highest felicity this made the sweet Singer of Israel to say How precious are thy thoughts to me O God how great is the summe of them Psa 139. As if he had said the thoughts of thy wisdome and wonderfull workings of thy providence things which before he had mentioned are of great price and worth being things of incomprehensible excellency yea they are as rare as precious the minds of most men being so seldom taken up with them I am bold to present to your Lordship this small Treatise that it might give you occasion to entertain such thoughts as these as also that it might be a testimony of my thankefull acknowledgement of all that honorable respect I have received from you Thus humbly imploring the Father of mercies that he would farther enrich you with the true treasure inable you inwardly with the graces of his spirit proportionably to those outward endowments wherewith he hath been pleased to dignifie you I resign you to his mercy rest Your Honors in all due observance and Christian service Tho. Whitfield The Preface IT hath been a question much controverted in all ages how the good and holy God can have a hand in the great evils that are done in the world Quomodo id non fieret praeter Dei voluntate quod fit contra voluntatem as Austin speaks this is done miro ineffabili modo as he saith this one of the mysteries and depths of divinity worthy our searching into Scripture expressions for the most part hold this forth by way of action As when it is said that God hardned Pharaohs heart that he sent Joseph into Egypt that he took away Jobs Cattle which were taken away by the Chaldaeans and Subaeans and the like Papists and Arminians confine this onely to a way of permission without action and calumniate our Orthodox divines as if they made God the Author of sin because they bring it within the compasse of his will and decree and make him to have a kind of action in it Thus Bellarmine chargeth Zunighlius Calvin Peter Martyr Beza The like impuration also Arminius seeks to fasten on Mr. Perkins I know well that it is far beyond my ability to untie this knot as may give satisfaction to all but if I may contribute any beame of light towards the clearer discovery of Gods manner of proceeding in the production of fin If I may helpe to vindicate the innocency and Orthodoxie of our worthy Writers from the unjust aspersion of their adversaries especially if I may in any sort vindicate the All wise and All-working providence and power of God from that overmuch streightning and diminution which hath been put upon them for the maintaining of his justice If I say I may by this discourse be helpefull any of these wayes I shall attaine the end which I aime at Whereunto I shall onely promise these things briefly 1. That this discourse is not so much intended for those of the learned sort who are better able to informe these lines as for such ingenuous Christians who when they meet with those Scriptures wherein by the sound of the words God seems to be made the proper cause of sin they stumble at them and not being able to satisfie themselves desire help this way 2. I shall desire the indifferent Reader that if in this discourse he shall meet with that which may seem to go higher then many of our Divines have done in making God to have an active hand in the actions of sinfull men he would forbeare either to reject or censure till he hath weighed the strength of the arguments brought to prove the thing propounded 3. If I shall let fall any thing in this Treatise which shall not be agreeable to cleare evidence of Scripture and this be made appear to be so I shall not refuse to unsay any thing which I have said and readily to imbrace any truth though not agreeing with my former apprehensions The good Spirit of truth make us all lovers of truth and lead us into all those wayes of truth which may bring us at length to the enjoying of him who is the author of truth Amen Exodus 9.12 And the Lord hardned Pharaohs heart c. IT is a principall priviledge belonging to the Covenant of Grace and a speciall promise which God hath made unto his people that he would take away their stony heart from them and give unto them hearts of flesh Ezek. 36.26 that is that he would take away the hardness of their hearts How God should take away the hardness of heart in some and yet harden the hearts of others is not easie to apprehend The scope of this Treatise is to shew how the just and holy God may have a hand in the sinfull actions of men and that not onely by way of permission but also by some kind of operation and working and yet this be done without any diminution of his justice or violation of his holinesse but still he remaine to be most just in all his waies and holy in all his works CHAP. I. Shewing what hardness of heart is HArdness of heart may be said to be an evill quality of the soul which makes it in a man insensible of the evill which he doth or the evill which he shall suffer when either he hath no feeling of it or feels it not in that measure which he should do then is his heart affected with hardness It is mans duty to be sensible of the sin which he commits and of the suffering which will most certainly follow after God hath placed in his soul that faculty of Conscience for this very end and purpose to give him warning and make him take notice of both these that he might be affected accordingly Now when after the comitting of sin there are no affections of grief sorrow