Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A97020
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Christian reconcilement or God at peace with man in Christ, delivered in a sermon at St Mary's in Oxford. / By John Wall, Dr in divinity and præbendary of Christ-Church in Oxford.
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Wall, John, 1588-1666.
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1658
(1658)
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Wing W467; Thomason E2120_2; ESTC R210151
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17,884
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56
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them and said of every thing which hee made 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it was good very good the first and the last of Genesis This was our Condition in the sad times of humane defection and thus wee stood at a distance I will not say a defiance with the Lord of hosts and the God of spirits But since the partition wall is broken down and there is an entrance made into the holy place wee have obtained mercy and are received into favour The heat is of the fire is quencht wrath is alaid the strife is ended and he that was most wrong'd is most desirous to bee reconciled Whilst the Angels of God are made the Embassadors of peace and do openly proclaime tidings of good will unto men upon earth As James said of Abraham that hee was termed the friend of God so wee may say of all beleivers the Sonns of Abraham the generations of his Children They are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lovers of God and beloved of him God is their freind and they are Gods freinds by the new Covenant of eternall righteousnesse in the dispensation of Christ and merit of his obedience For as when two men fall out a third coming between makes them freinds and brings them to an amicable condition so Christ being in the nature of God and man hath united both and made them one as well in love as in person by the sweet interposition of his mediatory function If any shall desire to be further satisfyed concerning the nature of this atonement and shall say to me of this spirituall Manna as the Israelites did of their corporall Manna which fell in the Wildernesse full of pleasure and delectable sweetnesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 What is this or how doe you Conceive it to be understood Wee are ready to pronounce with learned Zanchius that it is renovatio c. a reinvesting of man with pristine holynesse or a reducing of man to that former interest wee had with God in Christ Jesus from the state of wrath to the state of peace from the state of bondage to the state of liberty from the state of fear to the state of assurance from the state of misery to the state of mercy that we may draw neer with boldnesse to that heavenly throne and having received that spirit of adoption cry Abba father 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 8. as Sonnes and heirs heirs of God and coheires with Christ in the sweet fruition of an everlasting Kingdome The dislike and antipathy the variance and the enmitie which transgression wrought being quite abolished and obliterated by the precious blood of that paschall Lambe sprinkled upon the door posts of our hearts and consciences For to speake in the Words of Salvian Crimen nostrum discrimen gravissimum Our greatest danger is from sin That being cleansed wee are preserved nor only so but graced and honoured embraced and dignify'd with signal ornaments of love and kindnesse by ring and by robe as they are distinctly mentioned by St Luke the Evangelist in that comfortable story of the prodigalls Conversion Hence it is the Apostle doth so much boast of a holy Communion which the saints have with the Father and the Son Our fellowship saith he and that with an Emphasis truely Our fellowship is with the Father and the Son in the 1st and 3d of his First Epist That as he is one with the Father so wee may be one with him of one heart of one mind of one desire of one judgment of one building one Temple one body one spirit which indeed is the height of comfort and doth most eminently represent the wonderfull excellency of Christian atonement St Bernard mentions divers unions in a tract of his stiled Varij Sermones naturall carnall virtuall morall personall substantiall and the like Naturall between the Soul and the body they are one man Carnal between the Man and the Woman they are one Flesh Virtuall in the Consent of our affections they are one harmony morall in the Conjunction of brethren they are one Society personall with the divinity and humanity they are one Christ substantiall in the deep mystery of the blessed Trinity They are are our God our Lord of whom and by whom and through whom all things were made As for the union in the Text it is spirituall whereby wee are not only transformed in our selves and transported out of our selves but engrafted in Christ and made one Spirit with him as it is directly avowed by the Doctor of the Gentiles in the 6 Chapt. and 17. verse of the 1 Ep. to the Corinth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he that is joyned with the Lord is one Spirit with him acted by one Spirit raised by one Spirit sanctified by one Spirit governed by one Spirit the holy ghost moving as it were upon the whole body of the Church and having a gracious influence from the head of Christ to the hearts of men and the secretest juncture of his dearest members For when Christ was gone he sent down a fire on the Earth a Vestal fire a sacred fire a blessed fire a holy fire I mean the Comforter which is the love of God that hee might keep us to to himselfe and abide with us for ever I could fix upon such a meditation as this and dwell in the contemplation of divine peace that great atonement that blessed atonement the atonement with an Emphasis the atonement with an excellence that cleares the minde and cheares the spirit with unimaginable comfort dulcor ejus absorbet conscientiam saith that elegant father the sweetenesse thereof swallowes up my thoughts and puts me into a frame of jubilar excesse O that it were no lesse with men than with God and that wee might see a perfect reconcilement in every condition like that of the disciples who mett together 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Text hath it with one mind in one place in the 2. and 1. of the Acts of Apost But this is more to be prayed for than can easily be expected in Massa and in Meribba at the Waters of strife amidst the divisions of many brethren And yet it is a shame that Christ should dye to make our peace and we should live to make debate amongst our selves striving and strugling like Iacob and Esau in the wombe and bowels of Church and Country not as true Israelites but as vaine Ishmaelites or generations of the Patriarch Dan who was said to be Coluber in viâ a Snake in the path and a Serpent in the way Gen. 49. The Lord grant that at length we may be able to say in a generall sense a sense morall a sense politicall a sense naturall a sense ecclesiasticall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 wee have received the atonoment for the honour of God the peace of Sion and the great Security of this Land and Nation But I hasten to my Second observation from the grace to the meanes from the benefit to the Conveyance and