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	temple_n	7,031	5	7.9574	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A81566	Divine characters: or, The true Christian discovered, and the hypocrite detected. In three treatises. The first treatise shewing, that both saints and unconverted sinners ought daily to go to God in Jesus Christ, for pardon of their sins ... The second treatise shewing, how we are to expect salvation, not from any righteousness of our own, but by the righteousness of the mediator, Jesus Christ ... The third treatise shewing, The Gospel evidences of a true Christian ... ; To which is added the summe and substance of the Christian religion, in a short catechise.	P., A.	1695 (1695)	Wing D1718A; ESTC R174671	155,114	255

these are things worthy the thoughts of Saints indeed 4. They have to take up their thoughts the glorious blessedness of the forgiveness of their sins What a blessed state a state of forgiveness in the blood of Jesus Christ is Blessed Oh blessed for ever are they whose iniquities are forgiven Bless the Lord O my soul who forgiveth all thine iniquities c. Psal 103. God hath not appointed me to wrath but to obtain salvation through my Lord Jesus Christ 1 Thes 5. Oh blessed extasie for a poor called pardoned Believer to be in 5. Such as are New-Creatures in Christ they have the Mystery of the New-Covenant the everlastingness of it to bring their hearts to and to work the Promises thereof upon their hearts to muse on the returns of their Prayers to behold the continual Providences of God towards them and his ways of mercy and kindness to them 6. They have the shortness of their time the vanity of their lives the certainty of Death to muse on Lord make me to know the number of my days that I may know how frail I am Yea they have a future and eternal state of Blessedness and Glory to have their thoughts swallowed up into That they shall one day see Jesus Christ as he is in all his glory and never look off him any more They shall do nothing else but love him enjoy perpetual communion of Saints be praising admiring adoring the blessed Majesty of God for ever and ever Oh! If there are such excellent and blessed things for the thoughts of the holy-ones of God to be exercised in Oh! what base Dunghil hearts have such that pore upon nothing but earth and filth Let it not be so with such that have tasted the good and sweetness of those things that have real substantial soul-filling goodness in them What matter of Complaint to God's poor Children whose hearts are too too apt to sink earthwards pois'd with weights that they cannot keep them up in the vision of God his Christ and what ever is blessed in him Oh! when the thoughts of your hearts must be taken up with your Callings which cannot be done without it keep a Watch over them let them not run forth to sinful distempers but that you may be fit to go to God and converse with him and get the blessed savour of these things upon your hearts and do not let out your thoughts to idleness and soul-defiling vanity and feed upon vanity when there are such solid glorious things to feed upon which you expect to be taken up with in an infinite unwearied delight to all eternity And do not suffer the Devil to take up his abode by his subtle and sudden suggestions or more close insinuations upon you If he make his Inroads resist check defie with abhorrency his first Attempts before he work up corruption in you And remember still your spirits and bodies are the Temples of God and the Temple of God must be holy 1 Cor. 6.19 20. What know ye not that your body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost that is in you which ye have of God and ye are not your own for ye are bought with a price therefore glorifie God with your spirits and bodies which are Gods And thus much of this special evidence of the New-Creature in the newness of his thoughts and the acting of them 8. The Eighth Discovery of the New-Creature is this The New-Creature hath a new Lip a new Tongue let loose to speak of God and for God And this also I shall a little insist upon Saith our blessed Lord A good man out of the good Treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things Matthew 12.35 Good and wholsom and savoury Words To this we find the Holy Ghost in the Scriptures often pressing saith the wise man Prov. 20.15 The Lips of knowledge are a precious Jewel The mouth of a righteous man is a well of Life The lips of the righteous feed many Prov. 10.11 12. So the Apostle Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your Mouth but that which is good to the use of Edifying that it may minister grace to the hearers Ephes 4.29 Let your speech be always with grace seasoned with salt c. Col. 4.6 By which places 't is evident that a special discovery of the New-Creature is herein manifested 1. The New-Creature hath a New Tongue to speak Savourly and Experimentally of the things of Christ and the work of the Spirit Because that which the heart is exercised with it will be bringing forth Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh an evil man out of the abundance of evil in his heart bringeth forth evil things as a good man doth good things Matth. 12.25 28. If the heart and affections be spiritually exercised the Tongue will be speaking forth 2. Because thereby a New-Created Soul doth give glory to God they speak of the Testimonies works goodness grace and the wonders of the Love of God to poor sinful Creatures And hereby God is much glorified Come and hear all ye that fear God and I will tell what he hath done for my Soul Psal 66.16 3. Gracious hearts do hereby stir up the Grace of Christ in them 't is like the blowing of a spark and makes the heart to glow e're it is aware gracious Conference is the very breath of the Spirit which kindles all our Graces afresh as it was with the Disciples going to Emaus Luke 24.32 Did not our hearts burn within while he talked with us by the way 4. Good Souls do not only profit themselves in receiving good but they profit others one of the best ways that we do good is in profiting weak Saints or Sinners how hath a word spoken from a savoury person humbly and wisely dropt in upon the Soul of a sinner which hath been its first awakening And so upon a poor weak tempted Child of God how seasonably hath God ordered a word for a poor soul from conference with another Vse If a New-Creature in Christ hath a New Tongue as well as a new heart then let it be for Conviction of sinners whose Tongues as well as hearts are exercised in vanity altogether in prophane or vain or carnal or worldly Discourses this shews there is no good treasure in the heart The Apostle James follows this Conviction very closely and makes it the Character of a carnal pretending Believer or false and dead Faith James 1.26 If any man among you seem to be religious and bridleth not his tongue but deceiveth his own heart this mans religion is vain 'T is but a seeming to be religious a vain Religion where the tongue hath a carnal Liberty and he calleth the Tongue a world of iniquity set on fire of Hell Jam. 3.6 an unruly evil full of deadly poison ver 8. The evils of the Tongue that bespeak a sinner unregenerate are these and they are frequent among this generation 1. Speaking evil of the Spirit of God and

on this side the grave yet at the great Judgment it will not be so No nothing but upbraiding of Devils for neglecting Gospel-Grace and refusing the terms of pardon and for gross security this will be the portion of every unpardoned sinner that neglects the day of his salvation therefore the pardon of sins requires the deepest thoughts of heart and can never be made too sure to a poor sinful Creature Vse 1. Is the pardon of sin be of so great and infinite weight how doth this meet with the wretched deplorable carelesnefs of a world of souls in this day that think of nothing less than whether their sins are pardoned that will hear of nothing that may call this great matter into question or may awaken them to it Oh how many poor souls I fear too many of you though so often and earnestly prest to it that were never before the Lord mourning after the pardon of your sins What a light matter would it be to be pardoned if there should be no more in it nor care about it than most sinners that call themselves Christians make about it Ah sinners why do you make no more adoe no more matter of it why so sensless of that which is alone worthy all the thoughts of thy heart if thou shouldst live a million of years to dispatch this one thing to get thy sins all pardoned You that are Elderly people have a large reckoning especially upon your account of sinning against Gospel-light and grace make haste what you do do quickly lay hold on eternal life the sun is ready to set upon you and wo with you as ever you were men and women if you fail of a good and sure dispatch of this one concernable thing that your sins are pardoned And you that are younger take heed least the day of grace set upon you and you be given up to your own hearts lusts and no word that is spoken from God or Man shall ever reach you Oh tremble at trifling with convictions and light but begin to honour the Lord Jesus and bow unto him and wait for the promised effusion of his spirit and the joy of the Lord shall be the joy of your youth and the Love of the Lord will be very sweet and precious to you 2d Exhort Oh then let every soul of us be deeply affected with this weighty matter let your souls say within you Oh the dreadfulness of an unpardoned condition what tongue can express it to have all my store little or much house corn cattle trade all under a curse and enjoy it as a curse and only to further my eternal damnation to be hated of the great God and not loved to be under all the condemnation of the Law wherever I read of wrath and wo it belongs to me to have not one of my prayers nor any thing else accepted of the Lord to be in a condition of expecting nothing from Jesus Christ at his coming but go go ye cursed when I shall see so many blessed souls that took pains for Heaven enter into the Kingdom and my self shut out Wo is me if I speak peace to my soul in such an estate one moment more Awake my soul Awake Away in to the blessed God for mercy pardon grace Christ his blood spirit holiness eternal life I will go the Lord helping me and cry in the bitterness of my soul for them all and if 't were possibe to weary the Lord with the cryes of my poor soul I will do it till he have mercy upon me and bid me go in peace the Gracious God shall as hardly deny me as ever he did any poor sinner that lay bleeding at his feet for mercy and grace from Heaven to heal a poor condemned soul Oh what have I been doing in the world all this while get a little something and my sins unpardoned in daily danger of dying in them and so be lost without all remedy for ever Oh! such will be the great thoughts of heart about the pardon of sins when the Lord shall speak to a poor sinner and the Conscience shall be throughly awake about it Oh! let me yet in the name of the Lord argue out this matter with thee Be serious for once and ponder it in thy heart what is health or wealth what is it to have something about thee in the world and lay up yearly and thou go deeper in debt with the just God every day What if all the world be at Peace with thee and God thy enemy and hate thee as thou hast been shewed What if all the world say of thee Blessed if God and his holy Word of truth pronounce thee Cursed because thy sins lye upon thy soul and the Spirit of grace is not upon thee Ah! poor Creature do not do not let thy sins lye upon thy precious soul any longer do not be contented to be a child of Gods wrath any longer Oh! do not thou poor careless soul if there be a spark of pity in thee Do not as the Devil flatters rest in this and say I hope better and I hope 't is better with me and I hope I am or shall be pardoned and so fall asleep till thou drop into Hell You that think it an easie common matter to be pardoned know not what it is you have yet no part in this blessedness Saith a poor convicted soul 1. 'T is a great matter that any sinner in the world is pardoned much more such a one as I if ever I attain to it 2. Souls that get pardon do make it their greatest care to be assured of it they do not leave the matter at sixes and sevens and put it off with bidding the heart hope well but they labour after a Gospel assurance of it 3. Such Souls will labour to see that nothing be wanting that must accompany pardon of sin and a state of salvation Heb. 6.9 4. They try all their pretenees to pardon and grace over and over and will take nothing upon trust from their hearts or the Devils flatteries or the flatteries of carnal Ministers but search and prove and lay their hearts under the Word and Spirit till it be sealed by the Holy Ghost and that they are wrought of God for this self same thing and that he hath given them the Earnest of the Spirit 2 Cor. 5.5 Well therefore say in thy heart in good earnest Oh! it hath not been so with me I have been careless I thought well of my self I ne're questioned this weighty matter to purpose Oh! the Lord give me grace to take pains in the use of means to be violent for Heaven Oh! I will not rest Oh! let me not till I am assured indeed that my my sins are done away and Christ is mine Go and say and do it and the God of all grace and might be with thee in it But yet further to press the weight of this matter upon thy Conscience that thou mayest go off thoroughly convinced and

more to live out of my self for my Justification and to be kept a poor empty nothing for ever before the Lord if this I say be thy experience then thou shalt have peace and joy in the Holy Ghost thou may'st rejoyce in a justified estate Christ his Righteousness Grace Spirit Heaven are thine Having now laid open the Sinner as under the Law excuseless guilty and under Condemnation under an impossibility of obtaining righteousness and acceptance with God by the best endeavours to keep the Law I would now set upon the opening the Gospel-Righteousness by Jesus Christ through which only a poor condemned Sinner can find acceptance but that I conceive it first needful to speak a word to those words in the close of the 22th verse viz. For there is no difference which may further help on the conviction we have been upon The Jew might object to the Apostle thus you by your Doctrine seem to conclude all under the Law equally and under guilt you make no difference between us Jews who have the Law and endeavour to keep it and the open prophane Gentiles and Sinners in this you do us wrong No saith the Apostle There 's no difference you who in part keep the Law are under the same condemnation as others that which I shall lay down will be this Observ There is no difference between the most prophane person and the righteous and sober as to justification or condemnation by the Law I mean this the just sober man as to his keeping of the Law outwardly or in part is in as damnable estate as the profanest wretch in the world This will hardly go down but 't is most clear from the Apostles words read unto you and hath been in part proved by shewing all the Sons and Daughters of Adam Jews and Gentiles sober and ungodly all under the Law But a little further to prosecute this Doctrine for where a man or woman who hath lived honestly or soberly in the eye of the world but yet out of Christ convinced that he or she were in as bad and damnable a condition as any great sinner in the world it might be a startling to them and a means through the Spirit 's working to bring them off their vain confidence and to lead them to Christ Now that I may clear this let us first consider what it was that might difference the sober Jew from the prophane idolatrous Gentile it being the same which such as conceive themselves sober harmless people in this day do put confidence in 1. The Jew was Circumcised which was the first Ordinance of the Old Testament-Church as Baptism is of the New and it doth appear this was much insisted on by the Jew by what the Apostle speaks Rom. 2. vers 18 19. For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly neither is that Circumcision which is outward in the flesh but he is a Jew which is one inwardly and Circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit and not in the letter whose praise is not of men but of God 2. They had the Scriptures of God Rom. 3.2 Vnto them were committed the Oracles of God which indeed the Apostle calls an Advantage in the same place as it might be a means to lead them to the knowledge of God and to the Promise of Jesus Christ but no advantage at all as to the meer having them read and opened and in a general Faith believing them as the more to justifie them in the sight of God 3. The Jews were under the publick Service of God such as was ordained by God himself Rom. 9.4 5. 4. They were for the most part righteous to Men and sober and blameless in the outward man Ye indeed are they which are righteous before men as the Lord often speaks of them Now 't is most clear that these things did not difference the Jew as to acceptation with God and Jesus Christ from the most profane sinner for the Lord Jesus Christ rejected these and call'd to himself Publicans and Harlots and tells the Jews that such should enter into the Kingdom of God before them Matth. 21.31 As might be further instanc'd in the case of the Pharisee and Publican Luke 18.9 Now the Reasons of this point have been before hinted namely that a meer sober Man under Christian Priviledges is no more accepted with Christ nor in any nearer capacity to come to Christ than the greatest sinner because one sin puts a man under the condemnation of the Law as well as a million of sins against it one fellony condemns a man as well as a thousand and the Malefactor must dye by the Law for it All the good a man doth will not be imputed to him if he be found a transgressor in one part of the Law Ezek. 18.24 All men come short of the glory of God in the fulfilling of the Law and he that falls short but in one mile is in as bad a case as he that falls short twenty miles Jesus Christ accepts of no man for his righteousness but as a Sinner nothing else but a Sinner so that still the case of a just man in reference to the Law is as dangerous as the greatest sinners in the world Vse A little further to press this you who are baptized have a general belief of the Scriptures are under part of the publick service of God are just and harmless as to men but yet are under the power of Vnbelief and see it not are not born again of the Spirit are not in Christ Jesus You who rest satisfied in such a condition and think your hope for Heaven well-grounded and will not be beaten off it I must tell you and 't is proved unto your Consciences from the Word of the Lord that there 's no difference between you and the vilest sinners in the Country as to your acceptance with God Though it be thus with you yet as you have been shewed you may be under the Law condemned for one transgression and what can you be more than be condemned Neither doth all this as in it self any more prepare you for Jesus Christ and therefore let all the Convictions Arguments Demonstrations we have produced from the clear light of the Word of the Lord at last prevail with you that you who thus satisfie your selves because you are baptized believe the Scriptures frequent the service of God are just and sober therefore it is well with you and you will trouble your selves no further in the matter of your Salvation that the estate of your Souls is as unsafe and desperate how secure soever as the vilest Drunkard in the Country Therefore let this Conviction have force upon your Conscience that you must come anew to Jesus Christ as a meer sinner having nothing to commend you to him Say from the Light of the Word though I have thus satisfied my self pleas'd my self in these Duties and outward Priviledges yet there 's no difference between me and the