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	heart_n	son_n	17,006	5	5.6134	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29105	The qualifications requisite, towards the receiving a divine revelation a sermon preach'd in the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, January the 2d, 1698/9, being the first, for this year, of the lectures founded by the Honourable Robert Boyle, Esq. / by Samuel Bradford ...	Bradford, Samuel, 1652-1731.	1699 (1699)	Wing B4118; ESTC R19718	14,828	33

But more particularly they may be reduced to these two following sorts Those who have attain'd to worthy apprehensions concerning God and natural Religion Those who have together with these apprehensions fixt in their Minds an honest purpose and resolution to act agreeably to them By taking a short view of these two particulars we shall easily perceive both that these are the results of God's teaching men and that they are each of them preparatory to the receiving farther communications from him Such men have heard and learn'd of the Father who have attain'd to worthy apprehensions concerning God and Natural Religion By worthy apprehensions of God I meah that they should conceive of him as a Being infinite in all Perfection and particularly in those we call the Moral Perfections of the Divine Nature commonly exprest by the general term of Holiness comprehending the Truth the Justice and the Goodness of God that they should think of him as the Original of all Being the great Maker and Preserver of the World and the Supreme Lord and Governour of it that they should look upon him as the great Parent of the intellectual part of the Universe who hath a tender care of and concern for this his Off-spring that they should apprehend him to be a Being infinitely good to all his Works and especially propitious to those his Creatures who have always retain'd or are willing to return to the temper of dutiful and obedient children who as on the one hand he will not suffer his Laws to be violated and his Authority contemn'd without making the Transgressors sensible and afraid of his displeasure so on the other hand also he will be ready to compassionate in all compassionable cases and to make all such allowances as are proper to be made by a Creator to his Creatures By worthy apprehensions of natural Religion I mean that they should see and acknowledge the eternal and immutable difference between moral good and evil together with the necessary and indispensable Obligation a reasonable creature is under to chuse the one and refuse the other that they should discern the fitness of yielding Reverence and Love Worship and Obedience to our Maker of exercising Justice and Charity one towards another of subjecting our Flesh to our Spirits and reducing our Appetites and Passions under the direction and government of Understanding and Reason of improving our Minds as our principal part and using our several Faculties according to the nature and design of each of them These I take to be worthy apprehensions of God and natural Religion and such as will be entertain'd by all those who are taught of God and have not only heard but learn'd of the Father And whosoever hath these Apprehensions well settled in his Mind will be always ready to embrace a Doctrine which comes from God and approves it self to be worthy of him he will be apt to entertain a Revelation as Divine which renders all the Attributes of God conspicuous and illustrious he will diligently listen to and easily believe a fair account of the Goodness of God to the apostate children of men reconcil'd with his Wisdom and Justice in governing the World and he will heartily approve an Institution which throughly explains and heightens the Obligations which reasonable Creatures are under to all that is truly good and praise-worthy that is he will be well dispos'd to become a Christian these being as I hope hereafter to shew the just Characters of Christianity Upon this ground it was that our Lord gave his approbation to the Judgment of the Scribe upon his saying there was one God Mark 12.32 33 34. and that for a Man to love this God with all his heart and to love his Neighbour as himself was more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices The Text says that when Jesus saw that he answer'd discreetly i. e. when he discover'd so just apprehensions of God and the nature of Religion in general he said unto him Thou art not far from the Kingdom of God as far as his Judgment went at least he was almost a Disciple of Christ being well dispos'd to entertain the Doctrine which he taught But then There must be added to this that those who have heard and learn'd of the Father have together with these Apprehensions fixt in their Minds an honest purpose and resolution to act agreeably to them The perfection of a reasonable creature consists in the regularity of his Will and Affections as much at least if not more than in the improvement of his Understanding Nay the very use of any information given to the Understanding is that it may direct and influence the Will and Affections of the Man and consequently the great design of all God's teaching which is without question intended to perfect our Natures is to improve the temper and disposition of our Souls so that no man can be said to have heard and learn'd of the Father till he have form'd his temper by the knowledge which is imparted to him from God and reduc'd his Notions to practice All the Truths of God are to be receiv'd in the love of them and the end of their communication is that we may yield our selves to be directed by them and he that is arriv'd thus far has heard and learn'd of the Father in the full sense of that Expression and after this can want nothing more towards the entertaining any new Revelation from God than a fair proposal of it to him This is agreeable to what our Saviour hath told us and what is evident from the nature of the thing that If any man will do the will of God Joh. 7.17 he shall know of his Doctrine whether it be of God or whether he spake of himself And this 't is likely was wanting in the Scribe before-mention'd whom our Saviour declar'd not to be far from the Kingdom of God Had he added to his just apprehensions of Divine truths a full purpose of mind to yield to their influence he would not only have approach'd but enter'd into the Kingdom And here in truth lies the main difficulty with most men Their Apprehensions would be more easily set right if their Wills and Affections were but subdued but this latter requiring some pains they too often make their Judgments comply with their Inclinations and suffer their Wills and Affections to conduct their Understandings It may therefore be worth the while enquire once more What Qualifications are requisite both to the hearing and learning of the Father and coming to the Son which was the last particular I propos'd to be consider'd I shall mention only the three following A serious and compos'd temper of Spirit A good degree of Humility Purity of Heart A serious and compos'd temper of Spirit This is a Qualification necessary in order to proficiency in any other sort of learning that is of considerable use and much more is it so where God is the Teacher and Religion the Subject of

the Enquiry God is a great Being infinitely above us the thoughts of his Majesty are sufficient to strike an awe into our Minds He is perfectly pure and holy he hath full Authority to command us and an irresistible Power as well as an undoubted right to govern and controll us and our Happiness depends intirely upon his favour Religion is the solemn Obligation we acknowledge our selves to be under to this excellent Being whereby we are instructed in his Will and engag'd to comply with it and the Christian Religion in particular pretends to be an improvement of that which is natural Now these are matters of the greatest Weight and highest Concernment to us and consequently such as require the most sedate temper of Mind in those who are conversant about them Besides that the ways in which God teacheth men are such as make a very serious attention necessary 'T is remarkable that when our blessed Saviour had in the Text mention'd hearing and learning of the Father he adds in the very next words Not that any man hath seen the Father intimating thereby that we do not learn of God as one man learns of another No 't is by serious contemplation of his Works by frequent retiring into our own Souls exercising and consulting the best of our Faculties those I mean of Understanding and Reason and Conscience 't is by looking out for those who are wiser and better than our selves and attending to what they shall impart to us of their knowledge in Divine matters and finally 't is by cherishing and improving the secret Motions and Influences of the good Spirit of God and in a due exercise of our Faculties together with a serious application to God preparing our selves for the reception of his communications How then is it likely that a man of a fantastical airy and unthinking temper should hear and learn of the Father or come to the Son 'T is not in the least probable that such an one should apply himself to the consideration of these serious Subjects or give that attention of Mind which is proper nor can it be thought that the Holy Spirit of God should attend such light and unsettled minds Another Qualification for hearing and learning of the Father is a good degree of Humility It becomes a Learner in general to give a deference to the judgment and authority of those who instruct him much more is it fit that those who would learn of God should attend to his Instructions with the greatest Humility that is possible They should have those mean thoughts of themselves which become Creatures when they are learning of their Maker They should remember that their Minds are finite and narrow that their apprehensions of things are very imperfect at the best that they are fallible nay exceeding liable to be mistaken of themselves and consequently do stand in need of the constant direction and guidance of the first and great Mind They should consider farther that they are altogether unworthy of such a favor as to be taught of God forasmuch as they cannot but be conscious of very great disorder in their Natures too much indisposition to do and consequently to know the Will of God All these considerations will be apt to make them humble and thereby dispose them to hear and learn of the Father For by this means they will be brought to acknowledge the reasonableness of those great duties which natural Religion enjoyns viz. submitting and resigning their Wills intirely to the Will of their Sovereign Lord being well contented with his disposal and fully satisfied with that share of the good things of life which he is pleas'd to allow them depending upon him and acknowledging him in all their ways as also demeaning themselves towards other men with a regard due to those of the same nature with themselves however they may differ from them in some accident respects And by the same means they will be dispos'd also to come to the Son of God whose Institution lays before us abundance of humbling considerations drawn from the weakness and corruption of humane Nature as well as from the guilt we have contracted and gives us in charge such Precepts as cannot possibly consist with pride or haughtiness of spirit such as condescending to those of the lowest rank for their good bearing affronts forgiving injuries returning good for evil and the like upon which account our Lord saw it fit to forewarn those that pretended to be his Disciples that one necessary condition of being so was to humble themselves Mat. 18.3 4. and become as little children Nay farther this Humility will dispose those who are endued with it to allow that God may possibly reveal to us some Truths of concernment and use which we could not have found out our selves and which when discover'd in part we may not be able fully to grasp and comprehend as well as he may oblige us to some Duties which may lie cross to certain inclinations and propensions that we may have contracted which duties may notwithstanding be very reasonable in themselves and good for us A competent degree of Humility will dispose us to think on this manner and consequently will render us capable of Divine Instruction Which it will yet farther do by qualifying us to partake of the Illumination and Assistance of the Spirit of that God who as we are assured both by Scripture and Reason Pet. 5.5 resisteth the proud but giveth Grace to the humble The last Qualification I mention'd was Purity of Heart by which I mean not only a freedom from guile and hypocrisie but also in a good degree from all those other vitious habits that defile the Soul and particularly a being so far dis-entangled from sensual and worldly inclinations that the mind may be tolerably at liberty in it's searches after truth having no strong byas upon it to incline it the wrong way nothing whereby the Understanding must be unavoidably blinded or the judgment distorted 'T is acknowledg'd by every serious Deist that as God is a pure and holy Being so the design of true Religion is to render us like to him and consequently to refine and purifie our Spirits by raising us above the things of sense and this present life And this we Christians affirm to be the great design of that Religion which we profess Now nothing can make us more indisposed to hear and learn either of the Father or the Son than strong habits of Vice indulg'd by us or which comes to the same issue being deeply immerst in the sensual and animal life This was the reason why Aristotle pronounc'd young men unfit to hear Lectures in moral Philosophy namely because of the vehemency of their sensual inclinations and passions Christianity in confidence of its reasonableness together with the assistance and strength it offers proposes it self to every age as well as each condition of men but still this must be own'd that by how much the more sensual or