Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	good_a	heart_n	word_n	8,179	5	4.0825	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26938	How far holinesse is the design of Christianity where the nature of holiness and morality is opened, and the doctrine of justification, imputation of sin and righteousness, &c. partly cleared, and vindicated from abuse : in certain propositions, returned to an unknown person, referring to Mr. Fowlers treatise on this subject / by Richard Baxter.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1671 (1671)	Wing B1282; ESTC R6861	14,037	25

70. To conclude undoubtedly Holiness is the life and beauty of the soul The spirit of Holiness is Christs Agent to do his work in us and our pledge and earnest and first fruit of Heaven It is Christs work and subordinately ours to cleanse us from all filthiness of flesh and spirit perfecting Holiness in the fear of God Christ the Spirit the Word the Ministry Mercies afflictions and all things are to bring home our hearts to God and to work together for our good by making us partakers of his Holiness Our Holiness is our love of God who is most Holy And our love of God and Reception of his love is our Heaven and everlasting Happiness where having no more sin to be forgiven but being presented without spot or wrinkle unto God we shall for ever both magnifie the Lamb that hath redeemed us and washed us from all our sins in his blood and made us Kings and Priests to God and also shall with all the holy Society sing Holy Holy Holy to the blessed Jehovah who is and was and is to come to whom all the Heavenly Host shall give this special part of praise for ever And as all real Saints desire nothing more than holy Hearts and Holy Lives Holy M●gistrates and Holy Pastors Holy Churches and a Holy State Holy Doctrine Holy Worship and Holy Discipline and that all the People may indeed be Holy that true Reformation may make all the Churches of the world more Holy and their Holiness may win home the Infidels and Idolaters to a Holy conformity to them and that the Kingdoms of the world may become all the Kingdoms of God and of his Christ so all those Hypocrites that place their Holiness in Superstition vain singularities in a Love-killing proud dividing zeal in bittern●ss against those that are wiser and better than themselves in making things to be sins duties which God never made so in new opinions for which they think highly of themselves and contemptuously of those that are not of their mind in dead imagery and cold formalities or hurtful pomp in names and words and shews and sidings in reproaching silencing and cruel handling all that dislike their carnal interest and way and wil not sell their innocency and salvation to humour them in their pride comply with all their interests and conceits That think their Places their Parties their high professions do make those sins to be small tolerable in them which God abhorreth in all others All these counterfeits Images or carkasses of Holiness are but the powerful cheats of the unholy and the portion of Hypocrites Unbelievers shall be the same though not perhaps in the same degree Aug. 24. the fatal day 1671. What Happiness is Augustin de Morib Eccles cap. 3. Fol. 1. pag. 320. Beatus quantum e 〈…〉 o neque ille dici potest qui non habet quod amat qualecunque●●● neque qui habet quod amat si noxium sit neque qui non amat quod habet etiamsi optimum sit Nam qui appetit quod adipisci non potest cruciatur qui adeptus est quod appetendum non est fallitur qui non appetit quod adipiscendum esset aegrotat He might have added Et qui non habet quod amet quia neque objectum habet beatificans nec actum Quartum restat ubi beata vita inveniri queat cum id quod est Hominis optimum viz. Deus amatur habetur I take not him to be Blessed who hath not that which he loveth whatsoever it be nor him that hath what he loveth if it be hurtful nor him that loveth not that which he hath though it be the Best For he that desireth that which he cannot get is tormented And he that getteth that which is not Desirable is deceived And he that desireth not that which should be gotten is sick It remaineth therefore fourthly that a truly Blessed Life consisteth in this when that which is Best for a Man is both loved and enjoyed which he proveth at large to be God alone What Holiness or Virtue is Id ib. cap. 15. Quod si Virtus ad Beatam Vitam nos ducit nihil omnino esse virtuiem affirmav●rim nisi summum Amorem Dei sic definire quatuor virtutes non dubitem ut Temperantia sit Amor integrum se prebens ei quod amatur Justitia Amor soli amato serviens propterea recte dominans Prudentia Amor est ea quibus adjuvatur ab eis quibus impeditur sagaciter seligens That is But if Virtue be the way to a Blessed life I will affirm that Virtue is nothing else but the chiefest Love of God And I make no doubt thus to define the four Virtues Temperance is Love delivering our selves intirely to our Beloved Fortitude is Love easil●●nduring all things for the sake of our Beloved Justice is Love serving our Beloved alone and therefore rightly governing our inferiors Prudence is Love skilfully differencing our helps from our hinderances Holiness not Fanatically proud or aspiring Id. ib. cap. 12. Fit Deo similis quantum datum est dum illustrandum illi atque illuminandum se subjicit Et si maximè ei propinquat subjectione istâ quâ similis fit longe ab eo fiat necesse est audaciâ quâ vult esse similior That is A man is made like to God in that degree that is granted him when he subjects himself to him to be illustrated and illuminated by him And let him come never so near Him by this subjection to whom he is made like it must needs be that the Arrogancy of desiring to be liker to him than is meet will be far from him FINIS

60. It is not possible for God to hate a holy soul that loveth him as God and beareth his holy Image 61. Yet is his Holiness no satisfaction to Gods Justice for the sins of his unholy state or for his imperfections 62. If you ask what then would God have done with one thus converted if he had no Saviour to ransom him from Justice for his sin I answer it is a supposition that is not to be put Because no man is converted and sanctified that hath not a Saviour and the Pardon of his sins For none but Christ could first Merit and then Give the Spirit of sanctification which we had lost and so without Christ and his Spirit we should have been equally unsanctified and unpardoned 63. It is vain therefore to dream that Cicero or Seneca Augustine or Chrysostom Luther or Calvin are as much Saviours as Christ so far as their doctrine maketh men holy For neither Philosophers nor Divines preach any good doctrine but what Christ as the Mediator and Light of the world did some way or other communicate to them so that their doctrine that is good is not their own but his even theirs that know him not It is not they but He that merited all grace and that preserved the sinning world from being used as it deserved and that ascending up on high gave gifts both common and special unto men Their light is as the Moons derived from the Sun Which of them but Christ hath purchased and given a Covenant of Grace to the condemned world And which of them but Christ sends forth with their doctrine a Quickening Illuminating and sanctifying Spirit to overcome the Devil the World and the Flesh 64. While all sober Divines thus plead for Holiness and censure one anothers doctrines as unholy and countenancing sin it plainly sheweth that they are very much at unity in the main but that they have not the skil to word and methodize their notions rightly and to make all fall right with the ends and main matter which they are agreed in And when we hear men accuse each other of unholy and sinful opinions and practices though we must hate the ignorance pride and uncharitableness which is in it yet it is a comfort to us to hear and read that they all agree to cry down sin in the general and to disgrace it and that they all bear so conjunct a testimony for the excellency and necessity of Holiness what hope is there then that if we could set all our tacklings together and see truths fall right in their several places we might unite our force against the Kingdom of the Devil and ungodliness and might give over destroying Holiness by crying down the things we understand not as unholy and might be healed of that antique phrensie which maketh so many Divines and other Christians by ill managing their zeal for holiness to divide the Churches and hinder the Gospel and be the instruments of Satan to keep and cast down Holiness in the world 65. Those Churches especially that lament the lapse of Discipline and the confounding of the Holy and prophane and those that are constituted by unwarrantable scrutinies after the Holiness of Members beyond the test that was appointed by Christ should not dishonour themselves nor bring their doctrine or persons in●o suspition by being the hasty censurers and condemners of such Writings as drive harder for the promoting of Holiness than themselves 66. There is so clear a tendency in all Gods instituted Ordinances to further Holiness that he knoweth not what he talketh of who slighteth them on pretence of natural Evidences and Helps to the same end seeing natural and supernatural evidences and helps are so far from being opposite that they are both necessary and do in admirable suitableness and harmony concur 67. He knoweth not the hurtful miscarriages of our times who knoweth not what the mistaken notions about free grace have done against free grace it self and how the Gospel hath been supplanted by an erroneous crying up the Gospel and crying down the Law and how Justification hath been abused by mens seeming to extol it and sanctification injured by such pretexts And he that with one eye looks on that disease and its effects and with the other looks on the Book you tell me of and such like will quickly see what Sore this Plaster was provided for and how much excellent matter there is in it which the foresaid persons and diseases need 68. And as to your mention of my former writings and my interest in the business questioned I shall say but this 1. That either you have read my former Writings or you have not If not I will not write more to satisfie you who read not what is already written For why should I think that you will rather read the later than the former If you have read them especially my Confession my Disputations of Justification and my Life of Faith either they satisfie you or not If they do you need no more If not I cannot satisfie you The question is whether it be truth and clearly opened which is there written If it be I will not avoid it lest men abuse it nor will I hope to write that which none shall misunderstand or turn to an occasion of some extream 2. And these few pages tell you my sense the same which I have formerly published If wrong confute it If right my former writings fullier opening the same things are so far right 3. And my Life of Faith is so late and large in opening the same points where I have named no less than fifty eight errours on the Antinomian side and their fautors in the point of Justification and Imputation that me thinks you should not so quickly call for more 69. And as to Mr. Fowlers Consectaries ch 20.22 23. what would you wish more accommodate to an honest concord which is our strength and beauty and to the healing of deforming and destroying divisions than the practising of the motion that our union be placed in things necessary to Holiness And whereas you think our Church-controversies concerned I know not your own mind because I know not you But as for my self you are not I hope so unreasonable as to expect that I plead the cause of the Imposers of Conformity And as for the Non-conformists I think they have no dislike to his rule ch 23. how far we may comply with Rulers or Customs but highly approve it whether they are in the right or the wrong I suppose you will not allow me to be judge But you cannot sure be ignorant that they are so far from taking the things for indifferent which they refuse that they think it would make them guilty should they do them of sins so many and so very great and for peace and the reverence of Superiors I will not now so much as name And they take nothing to be more suitable to their principles about such things than Mr. Fowlers doctrine