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	person_n	son_n	33,804	5	6.4746	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A64986	An explicatory catechism: or, An explanation of the assemblies shorter catechism Wherein those principles are enlarged upon especially, which obviate the great and growing errors of Popery; useful for those families that desire to hold fast the form of sound words.	Vincent, Thomas, 1634-1678.	1675 (1675)	Wing V434; ESTC R220763	119,453	302

in the Prison to the Spirits but to the Spirits in Prison The difference betwixt these two expressions is very great He preached to them in the daies of Noah who were in Prison in the daies of the Apostles He Preached to them out of Prison that are now in Prison which is nothing to their purpose Object 3. Mat. 12. 32. Whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man it shall be forgiven him but whoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven him neither in this world neither in the world to come Hence they argue that some sins shall be forgiven in the world to come A. Not to be forgiven in this world nor in the world to come is as much as shall never be forgiven so Matthew explains himself Mat. 12. 31. And so Mark doth express it Mark 3. 29. Read the places O●ject 4. They urge Mat. 5. 25 26. read the place This Prison saith Bellarmine is Purgatory out of which after the Debt is paid the Debtor shall go forth A. 1. Some understand the place literally and if it be so understood it is altogether impertinent to the matter in hand 2. If the place be taken in a spiritual sense by the Prison must necessarily be understood Hell and not Purgatory whence the Debtor shall never come forth because no meer man by his suffering can in a finite time satisfie the infinite offended Justice of God 3. And that which may be an argument to them they interpret other Scriptures where they meet with the like phrases in the same sense we understand this very place see Mat. 1. 25. Gen. 8. 7. Deut. 34. 6. 1 Sam. 15. 35. and 2 Sam. 6. 23. So that in brief in the literal sense it is impertinent and in the spiritual sense it must needs be understood of Hell whence there is no Redemption Q. How many sorts of Prayers are there A. Three viz. Closet Family and Publick Q What do you mean by Closet-Prayer A. Entring into our Closet alone and praying unto our Father in secret Q. Why is Closet-Prayer necessary A. Because those that pray after the manner of Hypocrites to be seen of men have their reward But if we pray to the Father in secret our Father which seeth in secret shall reward us openly Q. And must we in our Closet-Prayers pray both for our selves and others A. Yes Q. When you say you are to pray for others what do you mean by it A. That we ought to pray for all in the Land of the living which is the only Land of hope yea though they be the greatest sinners and such Prisoners as are bound with the bands and setters of their sins they are Prisoners of hope if they have not sinned the sin unto death and we ought to pray for them Q. What do you mean by Family-Prayer A. Praying in and with our Families for our selves and others Q. Why ought we to pray in our Families A. Because God will pour out his fury upon the Families that call not on his Name as having on them the mark and brand of the accursed Heathens Ier. 10. 25. Q. What mean you by Publick-Prayer A. Praying in and with the publick Assemblies for our selves and others Q. Ought not publick prayer to be preferred above all Family-private-prayer A. Yes because every particular Believer hath special interest and power with God and doth prevail with him for all desireable blessings and a multitude of Believers assembled together in publick will have a greater interest and power with God in Prayer than a few met together in a private Family And therefore publick-prayer ought to be and will be preferred by all that regard their own interest above any Family-private-prayer whatsoever Q. Whom doth the Preface of the Lords Prayer teach us to pray unto A. To our Father who is in Heaven Q. And do we by this appellation express our reverence to him and our Faith in him that his Goodness Will and his Power can grant our requests for our selves and others A. Yes Q. But when mention is made of the Father do you exclude the Son or the Holy Ghost from being prayed unto A. No. Q How and in what order are we to direct our Prayers to the persons of the blessed Trinity And whether may we not single out any one of the Persons to whom we may direct more immediately such or such a Prayer A. The case hath so much difficulty in it that a short answer must not be exp●cted to so great questions as are couched in it yet we will endeavour to give an answer thereunto as briefly as we can in these following Conclusions Some of which will be of use to us as rules of direction to lead us into the sound knowledge of these and other mysteries of the Gospel 1. That in all parts of divine worship and so in this of Prayer the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity is to be worshipped and respected Or That we ought so to think of God in Prayer as one in Essence yet three in Persons and so as three in Persons that he is but one in Essence 2. That we ought so to think in Prayer of some one Person in the Trinity as thereby to be led to the other two The Father being in the Son and the Son in the Father and the Holy Ghost in them both 3. That in order we are first to direct our Prayers to the blessed Father yet not as first or chief in honour and dignity above the other two but as first in order of subsisting according as the Scripture in two places where the order of the blessed Persons is set down the Father is first set down in order of witnessing 1 Ioh. 5. 7. and invocation and worship Mat. 28. 19. 4. In singling out any one Person in the blessed Trinity we are to pitch most usually on the Father as he to whom we direct our Prayers through the mediation of Christ and by the help of the Holy Ghost That is the Rule and method prescribed by Christ to ask the Father in his Name Ioh. 16. 23. and suitable is and hath been the usual practice of the Saints And yet in such directings of Prayers most what as to the Father in the general intention of their Spirits do the Saints mind and eye the other two Persons and include them as joyntly worshipped and therefore in their Prefaces of Prayer they do oftimes mention expresly that blessed God one in Essence yet three in Persons as he to whom they speak and in the close they subscribe glory to the blessed Father Son and Spirit three Persons yet one God c. 5. We may single out the Son of God the Lord Jesus Christ as he to whom we occasionally present some special request either by way of Apostrophe whilst we are directing our Prayers to the Father or in way of Ej●culation as did Stephen Acts 7. 59. Lord Iesus receive my Spirit And so