Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	ghost_n	holy_a	know_v	16,529	5	4.2676	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B01135	The true Israelite, or, The sincere Christian distinguished from the hypocrite. By Master William Andrewes, late minister of the word of God.	Andrewes, William, minister of the word of God.	1638 (1638)	STC 630.5; ESTC S124182	38,395	238

these but words of course if thy heart beleeves this doctrine Deceive not thy selfe by secure presumption Marke what the Apostle addeth and such were some of you but ye are washed ye are sanctified ye are justified in the Name of the Lord Iesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God he doth not say and such are some of you and yet ye are justified but such were some of you giving us to understand that such sinnes cannot stand with the grace of Iustification and Sanctification of the Spirit I but yet such a person may bee elect saith one We doe not now dispute what he may be or what Gods purpose is to worke in him hereafter but this wee are bound to teach and the people beleeve that men so long as they continue in such sinnes are not in the state of salvation and if they dye without repentance they are certainly damned Neither must men deceive themselves with a conceit of hidden grace and presence of the Spirit during the continuance of such sins for these sinnes being contrary to the Holy Ghost doth so quench the divine motions and so pollute the soule that Saint Iohn speaking of one of such sinnes affirmes flatly 1 Ioh. 3.15 Wee know that no man-slaier hath eternall life abiding in him He doth not deny but that a man-slaier repenting may have eternall life but he concludes against this fraud of presumption maintaining that such an one during his sinne without repentance hath not eternall life abiding in him but by his sinne hee hath lost the Spirit of GOD and the comfort of salvation by Christ untill he be againe renewed by repentance And therfore men that continue in such sinnes ought to bee so farre from beleeving that they in Gods favour are safe they that are bound to beleeve by the word of God that they shall never inherit the kingdome of Christ I but saith this deceiver doth not the scripture say Blessed is the man whose unrighteousnesse is forgiven Psal 32.1 and whose sinnes is covered if covered saith he then continuance in sin cannot hurt a beleever But the godly which know the comfortable sence of these words admits not this deceivers glosse All our former sins by repentance and faith in Christ are forgiven and so covered that they shall not appeare to our confusion but then we know also that repentance imports not onely a verball confession and acknowledgement that we sin but also a reall and true forsaking of such sins as are committed against consciēce The grace of Christ then covers our infirmities as a cloath to hide them because they continue so long as wee live but it covers our impieties crimes as a plaister that draweth out the filth and healeth the sore We must not thinke that the Name and merits of Christ are a cloake for villanies or a covert for iniquities but as by the grace of Christ our weaknes is covered so our wickednes is cured so that a wicked man and a Christian are directly contrary 3. Fraus impia the wiced fraud in profession of Religion VVE have observed alreadie that fraud of Iniustice deceiving others that fraud of folly deceiving themselves now let us see that impious fraud in the profession of Religion deceiving the LORD of which we may briefly observe six kinds The FRAUD 1. Of Formall and Politicke 2. Of Faint and Negligent 3. Of Fained Counterfeit 4. Of Forced and Servile 5. Of Forged and Arbitrary 6. Of Flattering and Carnal RELIGION 1. Of Formall POliticke Religion admits no more of Gods service than may stand with the state serve the time and please men a ranke of men there are that so turn themselves to serve GOD that yet they have alwayes an eye therin to serve their own turne Aug. de civi dei ca. 20. l. 2. Hence come the principles of polititians Tantùm stet tantùm floreat copijs referta victorijs gloriosa pace secura Respublica et quid ad nos caetera Let but the state of the common wealth stand and flourish abundant with plenty glorious with victory secure with peace and we looke after no more Hence come their positions Conservatio Reip. status prior ac antiquior esse debet quam religionis causa B●lloy pag. 2. The preservation of the Common-wealth ought to be more precious and more to bee respected than the matter of Religion Antiquisart p. 124. Hence comes this their brutish conclusion Virorum fortium hic scopus hoc studium haec cura primaria esse debet vitam laetam ac affluentem ducere This ought to be the drift the study and prime care of a generous man to live a jocund and delicious life Of which beasts yet Iob hath fearefully concluded Iob 21.13 They passe their dayes in pleasure and in a moment goe down to hell O how this polititian smiles to observe the true Israelites following their profession in earnest counting them therefore God Almighties fooles But well answered the Lady Paula the Polititians of her time nos stulti propter Christum sed stultum Dei sapientius est hominibus We are fooles for Christs sake but the foolishnes of God is wiser than men Inertiaese et otio dante c. saith Ierome whilst these Mammonists give themselves to idlenes and sloth they count those which seriously meditate in the Law of God day and night tanquam garrulos et inutiles as vaine and scripture-men Psal 14.6 and as David saith They have made a mocke at the Councell of the poore because the Lord is his trust This formalist is in the Church as a sword in the heart as a serpent in the bosome as a poyson in the stomack as a theefe in the house by him the righteous soule is grieved the plaine Israelite circumvented the weake infected the Church robbed From this fraud the true Israelites exempted who first seeks the Kingdome of God and his righteousnesse serves not the time but the Lord and their prime care is to worke their salvation with feare and trembling 2. The fraud of faint Religion THe second fraud in profession is Negligence when the professour is not inflamed with zeale and the love of God but with a remissnes and carelesnesse creeps about the workes of godlines This fraud the holy Ghost espied in the Angel of the Church of Laodicêa Reu. 3.15 saying I know thy workes that thou art neither cold nor hot and of this guile speaks the Scripture fearfully Ier. 48.10 Cursed is every one that worketh the worke of God negligently Free from this guile are all true Israelites Psa 42.2 So David that said my soule is a thirst for God 1 King 19.10 So Elias that protested saying I am zealous for the Lord God of Hostes though many times they which are at ease in Syon count Elias his zeale the maine disturbance of Israel T' is a fearefull commination of the Lord against neutralls these luke-warme professors in the Prophecy of

as more fine than firme deceitfull stuffe like unto the wind which fills but feeds not the body which though it may catch flyes the curious and the vaine yet it will never save soules and the Cockatrice and the Spider the loathsome conversation of uncleane men whose example of life is offensive in the Church of God as a most infectious thing How much harm both in weakening the power of the word and in confirming the corruptions of the World the Ministers conforming and fashioning themselves to the ryot excesse sensuality of these times have done the wicked see and deride the godly see and lament If thou want'st faith love and a good life in the weighty calling of the ministry though thou hast an Angels tongue yet thou art but as harsh-sounding brasse a brazen-fac'd Hypocrite and few good men will desire thee thou art but a tinckling Cymball and too many will play upon thee To a wanton young man that was disputing of temperance and sobriety one said well Who can endure thee building like Crassus supping like Lucullus and yet speaking like Cato But as Nazianzen said of Basil sit tonitrum oratio tua fulgur vita so let thy speech be thunder but thy life lightning many thunder but they lighten not the one may rouze the drowsie sinner terrifie the secure wanton the other comfort the faithfull hearers who are glad of such a light amongst them guide and direct the weaker minds who need such an helpe who looke for such a patterne If then Nathanael goe and see Christ by thy ministry as Zacheus got upon the Sycamore tree to see Iesus the one shall bee received the other left Zacheus honoured the tree cursed then let Philip alwayes say Come and see that going together to Christ there may bee honour to Philip comfort to Nathanael 2. Nathanaels comming to Christ in these words Iesus saw Nathanael comming In Nathaneel his comming to Christ foure things may bee observed 1. His Consent hee coms without resistāce 2. His Speede hee coms without delay 3. His Truth hee coms without fraud 4. His Success hee coms without losse 1. His Consent NAthaneel having a call from God a direction by Philip doth not resist either by excuse or frowardnesse but freely willingly resolutely yeelds himselfe to forsake his fig-tree his prejudiciall conceit and addresseth himselfe to goe to the Lord. True it is that the Mediatour had never seene Nathanael comming unto him as a true Israelite if the Father had not drawne him by secret and effectuall perswasion yet if Nathanael had wantonly and wilfully resisted the holy Ghost and Philips direction hee had not beene drawne Let us then endeavour in the receiving of the Grace of God to consent to the heavenly motion and not to be stiffe-necked as St. Paul speaks to be hardened in our hearts through the deceitfulnesse of sinne or as Saint Stephen saith of the Iewes Heb. 3.13 to resist the holy Ghost Acts 7.51 For in our conversion in our comming unto Christ these three are cōnexed namely the prevention of Gods grace mooving and stirring us the direction of the Gospel in which the Holy Ghost effectually worketh and the consent of the will which striving against diffidence and sinne endeavours to yeeld unto the counsell of Gods Word motion of the Spirit If we should dreame as the Manichees and the Anabaptists of the power of the holy Ghost carrying us unresistably without any action of ours without endeavour and labour in the exercise of Prayer and hearing the Word the ministry of the Gospel should be needlesse and there could be no conflict in the mind no thirsting no contending to lay hold on God Hence St. Basil saith wel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 onely resist not being called consent being moved endeavour being counselled desire being stirred and the Lord that sees thee strugling draws neere helps thy infirmity and gives the Victory of thy conversion to this purpose speaks Saint Chrysostome 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whom the Lord draws he draws consenting that is not giving himselfe to idlenesse and neglect of endeavour but having the voice of the Gospel and the inward moving of the Spirit labours against the savour of the flesh to delight in God So yee see a Cōnexion of these three prevention of Grace direction of the Word and consent of the Will in the worke of our conversion according to that of St. Iohn Revel 22.17 The Spirit and the Bride saith come and let him that heareth say also come and let him that is a thirst come and whosoever will let him take of the water of life freely Nothing excepts thee from the spirituall fountaine but thy will Not God for the Spirit saith come Not the Church for the Bride saith come Not any convert for he that heareth saith also come Not necessity for hee that is a thirst may come Not want of merits for it may be taken freely Only want of will may hinder because it is taken by desire and will As then in the Old Law there was the Holocaust or whole burnt-offering of which all was given to God nothing reserved either for priest or people and the offering for sinne of which part was given to God and part reserved for the Priest but none for the people and the peace offering of which God had his part the Priest his part and the people their part So in the Gospell we finde a threefold worke The worke of Redemption the worke of Ministration and the worke of Conversion In the worke of Redemption all is given to the Mediatour to the bloud of Christ as the onely price of our redemption nothing to the Priest or people In the worke of Ministration part is given to God part to the Priest but nothing to the people the consecration and sanctification of the worke unto God the execution to the Priest But in the worke of conversion part is given to God preventing by grace and effectuall perswasion part to the Priest directing by counsell by instruction and part to the people consenting by will For if the will of man were utterly idle in our conversion in vaine should the Apostle say Wee beseech you that yee receive not the grace of God in vaine 2 Cor. 6.1 2. His Speede. YE have heard Nathanaels consent now observe the hast and speed which hee makes to have experience of the Lord Hee is called and he comes at the first call hee observes the time of his visitation without delay He is now called if hee dally out so gracious occasion hee knowes not whether he shall be cal'd againe or no. For as Gregory the great well noteth Qui promisit poenitenti veniam non promisit peccanti crastinum though God hath promised pardon to him that repents yet he hath not assured the sinner one day to live His speed confounds our sloath he comes at the first O that wee would come to Christ at many at any call In worldly matters wee can say