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	show_v	son_n	5,912	5	5.7697	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07286	Grieving of Gods spirit Contayning the summe of a sermon preached at Saint Maries in Oxford. The chiefe points intreated on are, Viz. I. Of grieuing of Gods Spirit. II. Of resisting of Gods Spirit. III. Of blaspheming of Gods Spirit, in the highest degree commonly called, the sinne against the Holy Ghost. By Radford Mauericke, minister in Devon. Reade iudiciously, but iudge charitably.	Mavericke, Radford, b. 1560 or 61.	1620 (1620)	STC 17681; ESTC S102313	17,741	30

Christ And albeit some haue thought that those places of Scriptue in the sixt and tenth to the Hebrewes haue pointed at this sinne of grieuing of Gods Spirit Heb. 6. 10. and therefore could not bee renewed by Repentance yet it is certaine that in those places That great sinne against the Holy Ghost is touched vpon whereof wee haue promised and purpose God-willing to speake in its owne place I say therefore for the comfort of the godly afflicted in conscience but to flatter none in their sinnes That to grieue the holy Spirit of God or sometimes by sinning to quench as it were the good gifts and graces of Gods Spirit is a sinne oftentimes committed by the Children of God that are called by the preaching of the Gospell iustified by Faith and in some measure sanctified by the holy Spirit of God this I say is the sinne many times of Gods Children against which sinne as against all sinne they doe much labour and striue and daily yea almost hourely they doe repent for the same To resist the Spirit of God being the second pont I haue proposed to speake off is the proper sinne of such as are not yet effectually called nor sanctifyed but may be in time if God giue them grace to repent and beleeue the Gospell But to blaspheme the Spirit of God in the highest degree which is called the sinne against the Holy Ghost is onely that sin which cannot be renewed by Repentance And so much for grieuing of Gods Spirit in our selues and of the difference betwixt grieuing resisting and blaspheming of Gods Spirit Now there is moreouer A second sort of Greiuers of Gods Spirit another sort of grieuers of Gods Spirit but not in themselues but in others and these are farre different from the former and without speedie Repentance may come neere to the latter Such were many sinfull sinners of the olde World who did grieue the holy Spirit of God which was in Noah and such as Saint Peter saith vexed iust Lot 2. Pet. 27. with their vncleanly conuersation And such as grieued Saint Paul when hee said Phil. 3.18 Many walke of whom I haue told you often and now tell you weeping And such as Dauid complayned of when hee said Mine eyes gush out with teares because men keepe not Gods Law Such grieuers of Gods Spirit in others wee haue but too too many in our dayes and this Age is full of such vngodly persons which take pleasure to mocke and scoffe at all vertuous and godly exercises in others making but a past-time of sinne in themselues and the more they are reproued the more sinfull they are and the more outragiously they runne into all mischiefe to the high dishonouring of Almightie God euen in contempt of God and all goodnesse to the disgrace of Christianitie and finally to the great griefe of the godly specially of those who haue the cure and charge of their soules committed vnto them But for so much as those grieuers of Gods Spirit in others doe resist the same Spirit of God against themselues wee will here conclude our first proposed part of grieuing of Gods Spirit and so come to the next to shew what it is and who they are that doe resist the holy Spirit of God obseruing this not by the way that GODS Spirit is called the holy Spirit of God not because hee is holier then either the Father or the Sonne but because his proper office is to sanctifie and to make holy the Elect Children of God So come we now to speake of Resisting of Gods Spirit being the second generall part of our Text. TO resist the Holy Ghost The second part of this Sermon of resisting of Gods Spirit is on the one side to despise or to make little account of the good gifts and graces of Gods Spirit and of those good meanes which God hath appointed to bring vs vnto Saluation As the despising of Gods Word Sacraments and Prayer prophaning of the Lords Sabbaths which he hath sanctified and especially ordained for holy exercises to mocke or iest at the preaching of the Word and of the Preachers thereof These are great sinnes and to bee repented off aboue many other sinnes because they manifestly fight against the first Table of Gods Law and against the whole worship and Seruice of God Furthermore to resist the Holy Ghost is to harden our hearts and to stop the eares of our soules against the Word of God as some Recusants will stop the eares of their bodies with Wooll when some inforcement bringeth them to Church To day saith the Holy Ghost Psal 95.7 if you will heare my voyce harden not your hearts This was the sinne of the Israelites in the Wildernesse when God proued them fortie yeeres whether they would obey him and heare his voyce but they would not at length God sware vnto them in his wrath that they should not enter into his rest that was into the Land of Canaan But behold a fearfull Iudgement of God of six hundred thousand no small number there were onely two persons Caleb and Ioshua Numb 14.30 that entred into that Land of Promise The rest were ouerthrowne in the Wildernesse These saith Saint Paul are examples vnto vs 1. Cor. 10.6 and are written to admonish vs vpon whome the ends of the World are come That wee should not lust after euill things as they lusted nor tempt God as they tempted him nor murmur as they murmured nor harden our hearts against the Word of God as they did lest the Lord sware in his wrath as he did vnto them that wee should neuer enter into his eternall rest the Kingdome of Heauen Yet surely this is the great and grieuous sin of too too many in our Land The hardning of their hearts against the voyce of God as the Iewes did in Ieremies time Ier. 18.28 to whom they said Let vs not giue eare to any of his words Let the Law and Curse of Gods Iudgements by the mouth of Gods Ministers bee thundred against obstinate and rebellious Sinners neuer so terribly nay let God himselfe thunder from Heauen neuer so hard and fearefully let fire and flashes of Lightning flye ouer them and vpon them Let Houses Townes and Villages with extraordinarie fire be quite burned into ashes let Warre Famine Plagues and Pestilences pursue vs and almost ouer-take vs Let some of this wicked sort escape these or any other Iudgements of God but one inch they 'l care for no more their hearts shall neuer be the softer nor yet their liues one whit the better They will be as sinfull as euer they were as vnmercifull as euer they were as full of malice and disdaine as euer they were as hard-hearted as euer they were and will not sticke to say Tush these things shall neuer come neere vs. On the othe otherside let the glad tydings of the Gospell be preached vnto them neuer so often and so comfortably let the sweet Mercies

Holy Ghost though they bee very fearefull sinnes seeing they haue been committed by GODS owne Seruants and also pardoned vnto them Example we haue of the one in Peter Luke 22.61 1. Tim. 1.13 of the other in Paul both great Apostles of Iesus Christ By this negation or opposition What sinnes are not that sinne against the Holy Ghost we shall I trust the better consider and sooner find out what this peculiar sin against the Holy Ghost is whereof we are now God assisting vs punctually to intreate Two causes why the sinne against the Holy Ghost should bee made knowne And seeing it is so great a sinne yea the greatest sinne and such a sinne as shall not be forgiuen it is most necessarie that it should be distinguished and made knowne from all other sinnes and that for two causes especially The one to this end that we knowing the danger therof should euermore most carefully flye farre off from so deepe Pit of perdition The other which in my opinion is the best vse that may be made now in this time of peace and fun-shine of the Gospell to make knowne vnto Gods people yea euen vnto them which are more simple lest Satan should make any to beleeue or thinke who being fallen or slyding into some other Pit of sinne neere or somewhat like vnto this That they are plunged in this deepe Gulfe of perdition neuer more to be recouered For as we must not be ignorant of Satans slights as the Apostle saith so must Christ his Ministers aboue all other bee as carefull and readie to preuent him and to instruct Gods Children in all such points of sound doctrine as are required either for comfort or instruction Wherefore in my poore vnderstanding they are worthy in this particular to be blamed who though they will not speake against preaching in generall yet will they by no meanes allow all the Doctrine reuealed in the Word of God to bee taught and preached vnto the people of God Some say that Predestination being a chiefe if not the chiefest point in all Diuinitie ought rather to be concealed then publikely to bee taught and preached vnto the people Others hold and these are Papists specially that many sentences of Scripture which indeed are most sweete to repentant and sorrowfull sinners as At what time soeuer a Sinner doth repent and the like are vnfit to be either read or preached to the people for feare forsooth lest some will take thereupon the more libertie of sinning as though because Grace doth abound therefore sin should abound which is onely the fault of gracelesse persons but neuer of any of Gods Children Last of all many are of opinion that this sinne against the Holy Ghost is not at all to bee defined at least not to be declared or spoken of in publike I grant Reuerend Fathers that these as all other points of Diuinitie and some of these aboue many other points of Diuinitie ought very religiously and discreetly to be taught and preached vnto the people but to hold opinion or to labour to maintayne it which is worse that any of these or other like points of Doctrine must bee concealed which God of purpose hath declared in his Word to be opened and reuealed is sarre from all Diuinitie to speake the best of it and nothing agreeing with the rule and practice of Saint Paul Acts 20.35 that great Doctor of vs Gentiles Who boasted and tooke exceeding comfort thereby vnto himselfe that he had reuealed to his Auditorie at times All the Councell of God that is not all that God hath or doth keepe secret to himselfe but all that God hath or had reuealed vnto the Apostle either openly in his Word or by any secret Reuelation from Heauen which points so reuealed vnto that holy Apostle as likewise vnto all the rest of Gods Prophets and Apostles they haue publikely preached and plainly left them in writing vnto posteritie to be seene read and knowne of all not onely for their sakes which are learned but also for their sakes which are more ignorant to bee openly taught and preached vnto them by the succeeding Ministers of Iesus Christ Wherefore if we the Ministers of Christ wil exspect to haue the same comfort in our Callings that Saint Paul and the rest of the Apostles had we must take the same course in teaching which they haue done namely to publish the secrees of the Gospell that is all which God hath reuealed in his Word so farre as our knowledge may attayne vnto And truly the confideration of the premises did partly induce my minde at the first to determine vpon this Text and to speake of this finne against the Holy Ghost for my Text directing mee to speake of leffer sinnes against the holy Spirit of God me thought and God I trust directed my thoughts it should be to some purpose to speake of the greater or greatest of all Obseruing this not by the way worthy to be remembred that though the sinne against the Holy Ghost may be knowne and is reuealed in the Scripture yet the Sinner is not easily rather not at all to be pointed at nor to bee iudged of men but to bee left to the iust Iudgement of God one reason hereof may be because finall impenitencie must accompany this sinne which cannot easily bee discerned of men One note more before we enter into the description of this sinne would bee obserued which a learned man hath well noted and therefore I will vse his owne words Blasphemia in Spiritum Sanctum non referri debet ad Spiritus essentiam simpliciter sed ad gratiam qua donati sumus which is That this Blasphemie against the Holy Ghost is not simply to bee referred to the Essence of Gods Spirit nor to his person for so in sinning against the Holy Ghost wee sinne in like manner against the Father and the Sonne but it is to bee vnderstood that in so blaspheming wee sinne against the good gifts and graces of Gods holy Spirit wherewith wee haue formerly beene inlightned Now come wee in Godsfeare to speake of the sinne it selfe What the sinne against the Holy Ghost is not wee haue alreadie partly noted to wit That it is not properly not onely blasphemie against God the Father not against the Sonne nor euery Blasphemie against the Holy Ghost as grieuing of Gods Spirit nor refisting of Gods Spirit nor back-sliding or falling from God and his Truth through feare or any other infirmitie nor persecuting of Gods Church and Children through ignorance neither is it any particular fin committed against the first or second Table neither is it final impenitencie as some of the Fathers haue affirmed for there be thousands which neuer tru ly repent which neuer yet commit this sinne Therefore if one saith well Qui impenitentiam esse definiunt nullo n●g●tio refelli possunt But rather it may bee said to be such a sinne which contayneth in some sort all these sinnes and more too