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	son_n	way_n	5,888	5	5.0772	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A88993	A sermon preached to the Honorable House of Commons, at their late solemne fast, Wednesday, Feb. 26. 1644. / By John Maynard, minister of the Word of God at Mayfield in Sussex, and a member of the Assembly of Divines.	Maynard, John, 1600-1665.	1645 (1645)	Wing M1452; Thomason E277_2; ESTC R200000	34,511	39

such a poore and humble spirit as Agur was surely I am more brutish then any man so the translation but as ye see the word any is in a smaller Character not being in the originall neither doe I think it ought to be supplied but we are to read it thus I am more brutish then man according to that of the Psalmist man being in honour abideth not he is like the beasts that perish Man being honoured with the image of God in wisdome and Holinesse his spirit shining with the Beauty and glory of Divine truth did not abide in this condition but lost the truth yeelding himselfe to be seduced by the father of lies and so no longer had the wisedom of man in him but degraded himselfe from his created Dignity debased himselfe to the ranke of brute creatures enthralled his immortall Soul and intellectuall nature to his brutish senses and affections and the next words of Agur confirm this sense And have not the understanding of Adam in me that understanding and knowledge of Holy truth which was in Adam and was properly belonging to the nature of man He that knoweth not thus much of himselfe knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know and is no fit Merchant to Trade for truth Christ first informeth the Laodicean of his wants Thou art wretched and miserable and poore and blind and naked and then counselleth him to buy vers. 18. Secondly He that buyeth giveth a considerable value But alas what have we to give that is considerable If we offer gold or silver what can we expect but such an answer as Simon Magus had Thy money perish with thee because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money And Solomon telleth us This wisdom of Divine truth is better then rubies and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it which maketh good what I said before we cannot buy truth too dear all outward things that can be desired are not to be compared to it And therefore we may conclude This buying is not of the nature of common contracts in which there is a just proportion between the price and the purchase but rather such as hath some remote Analogy or resemblance to it such as that where the Lord by solemn Proclamation offereth a free and open market H● every one that thirsteth come ye to the waters and he that hath no money Come ye buy and eat yea come buy Wine and milk without money and without price And indeed whosoever getteth possession of saving Truth he hath it by a free gift of meere grace yet so that we must give up whatsoever is necessary for the obtaining of Truth and cast away whatever may hinder us in the receiving or retaining of Truth or is inconsistent with it 1. We must give up our selves our hearts spirits souls bodies to the God of Truth We must bee content to part with any outward things for the procuring and promoting of Truth for the supporting and maintaining of Truth we must account our selves gainers by every losse which we can possibly suffer for Truth 2. On the other side we must renounce and cast away our lusts our own corrupt reason blind carnall notions and prejudices in a word we must out our selves of our selves and yeeld up our selves into the entire possession of the Truth and in all this we give nothing unto God for whatsoever we give up to him for Truth is his own already and cannot bee withheld from him without wrong and robbery what wee cast away is worse then nothing and if we leave it not we keep it to our losse and utter undoing It remaineth then that though we are said in some sort to buy yet Truth is a most free gift of God and conveyed to man by a meere Act of grace Thirdly If we will buy Truth we must get the propriety of it we must make it our own get it into our possession have a sure interest in it and title to it For the Truthes sake which dwelleth in us and shall be with us for ever Then hath a man bought the Truth when he hath so owned it and given it such possession of his heart that it is in him as in an everlasting Mansion so as to dwell in him and be in him for ever when he is so possessed of the Truth and the Truth hath such possession of him as to denominate and Characterize him according to that Hereby we know that we are of the Truth and shall assure our hearts before him As great Persons are denominated from their Seates Mannor-houses c. Such a Lord of such a place So he that will buy Truth must get such possession of it and propriety in it as that he may by good right take a title of honour from the truth his own conscience bearing him witnesse in the Holy Ghost that he is of the Truth Thirdly Of whom must we buy Truth This hath been intimated before even of him who is the God of Truth who is the first the Highest Truth the Fountain of all Truth who calleth himselfe I Am because he is in and of himselfe the onely infinite perfection of being and so the infinite perfection of Truth He seeth and knoweth his own essence infinitely perfect and glorious with a most exact knowledge of infinite perfection and some have conceived that this contemplation of God the Father reflecting upon His owne Majesty and glory is the eternall and unspeakable generation of the Son But we are to speak soberly of these mysteries so farre above us Howsoever when we use Scripture-language we are warranted by the highest Authority which calleth Christ the brightnes of his Fathers glory and the expresse image of his Person and the Son of God saith of himselfe I am the Truth And the Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son is called the Spirit of Truth To this fountain wee must bring our empty pitchers if we would be filled with these living waters and take in these pure streames of Truth John being in the Spirit saw before the throne of God in heaven a Sea of glasse like unto Crystall The Saints may have their Vials filled with Truth but here is veritatis plenitudo An Ocean and full Sea of Truth and that without mud or mixture cleere as crystall wherein the faithfull Soule may see the glory of God shining in the Face of Christ Here is the Springhead of Truth and they which come not to God and are not inwardly acquainted with him in Christ are strangers to the Truth they never looked into this Sea of crystall which is before the throne of God And so I come to the fourth and last particular to shew the necessity of making this purchase ye see it is absolutely commanded in the Text and because a threefold cord is not easily broken observe how Solomon strongly twisteth together a threefold

dependeth wholly upon the death of the Testatour To this end saith he was I borne and for this cause came I into the world that I should beare witnesse to the Truth How many thousands of God his Saints have drunk of the same Cup in severall Ages It is appointed to all men once to dye and that is a blessed improvement of death when a man dyeth not onely in the Lord but for the Lord and His Truth He that loseth his life shall find it He shall find mortality swallowed up of life His life is hid with Christ in God far above the reach of any weapons of warre and when Christ who is his life shall appear then shall he also appeare with him in Glory And now give me leave Much honoured Worthyes to bespeake your selves in the Name of the God of Truth whom I looke upon as precious Instruments of the Lord for the advancing and promoting of His Truth Truth of doctrine of worship of discipline truth and power of Godlinesse Ye are farre engaged in this Cause of truth already and it concerneth you to goe on both in Conscience and in point of Honour but chiefely for the Honour of your God who hath so highly dignifyed and so many wayes encouraged you by notable testimonies of His Presence Let it appeare that ye are so possessed with the truth so overpowered by the truth that ye may justly apply that of the Apostle to your selves We can do nothing against the truth but for the truth and then Christ will not fayle to make good that title which he hath assumed to himself The Amen the faithfull and true witnesse The People of God have reposed a great trust in you and they expect truth from you And blessed be God they have had their desires in great measure already answered and the Worke is yet in your hands these first-fruits seeme to be pledges of a full Harvest if our sinnes doe not blast our hopes One of the cleerest evidences I conceive which ye can give of the truth of your hearts to the Publick Cause is Selfe-denyall and quitting of Private Interests Of this ye have given reall demonstration in your readines to devest your selves of militarie and civill dignities that ye might reserve your selves for your proper worke Hereupon yee may with greater Authority exact truth from those whom yee shall imploy a true accompt of the publick service and for the future at least a true accompt of the publick treasure though perhaps for the time past it may be difficult if not impossible in regard of those many sudden exigents confusions unexpected occurrences which have happened yea inasmuch as ye have made your selves such eminent precedents of self-denyall how can others in modesty refuse if you require them not to seeke great things for themselves in making over much advantage of the publick miseries especially such whose service is attended with no hazard and very little labour some redresse in these things might encourage the well affected to more cheerefulnesse in assisting the common Cause and stop the mouthes of others More particularly let me beseech you in the first place to examine every man the truth and sincerity of his owne heart in managing the great businesse which yee have in hand To professe a mans selfe engaged in the Cause of truth and yet to be salfe-hearted toward it and to harbour treacherous aimes against it is not onely contrary to the duty of a Christian but a thing far below the spirit and ingenuity of a Gentleman it suiteth better with the basenes of common cheaters then with men of place and worth A man who by his corrupt principles is led out of the way and put into a posture of defiance and open hostility against the truth is lesse odious by many degrees then a false brother I am perswaded there was more of the Devill in one Judas then in all the High Priests Cavaliers and that Christ resented more hellish malignity in that one Traytours kisse than in all their swords and staves Wherefore Let every man prove his owne worke and then shall he have rejoycing in himselfe and not in another For every man shall bear his owne burden It is not enough to joyne with those who are sincere in the Worke of the Lord but every man must prove his own worke with what heart out of what inward principles to what end upon what grounds and motives in what manner he doth it that he may have rejoycing in himselfe and not in those with whom he joyneth in a good cause nor by comparing himselfe with those who either directly oppose or basely desert it For in the great day of account every man shall beare his owne burden men shall not be ranked on the right hand by whole Companies Corporations Regiments Brigades Armies Houses of Parliament but as in that search which was made in Achan his case they shall be singled out man by man and every mans worke shall be tried in particular 2. Be united among your selves in the great cause of Truth according to that of the Apostle Stand fast in one spirit with one minde striving together for the Faith of the Gospel The expressions are strong he speaketh to them as to Champions of the Truth as the originall word importeth and to whom may it bee applyed if not to such ●oble Champions as your selves stand fast keep your ground Servate gradum as Beza maintain your station and that in one spirit in the power and strength of that Holy Spirit of Truth with one minde or one soul wrestling or striving together as if ye were a combination of many bodies associated and concentred together by one soul as one man with joynt forces contending for the Truth of the Gospel and for the cause of Truth so should ye be able to strengthen your spirits with that encouragement following In nothing terrified by your adversaries which is to them an evident token of perdition but to you of salvation and that of God Your uniting would be a terrour to the adversaries a strengthening to your selves an encouragement to those who are friends to the truth and your friends and servants for the Truthes sake If a noble Heathen out of a morall bravery of spirit could privatas inimicitias reipublicae condonare passe by private quarrells for the Common-wealthes sake far be it from any Member of a Christian Parliament not to lay down all private grudges and crosse designes at the feet of this afflicted Church and State far be it from them not to quit them for the truthes sake lest the cause of truth should miscarry through their default If the greatest persons who will approve their hearts to God must throw down their Crownes at the footstoole of Christ how much more their corruptions But especially let every one take heed of raising or fomenting divisions out of a secret desire to hinder the carrying on of the great work