Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	gospel_n	law_n	life_n	7,267	5	5.2543	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51916	Sermons preach'd on several occasions by John March ..., the last of which was preach'd the twenty seventh of November, 1692, being the Sunday before he died ; with a preface by Dr. John Scot ; to which is added, A sermon preach'd at the assizes, in New-Castle upon Tine, in the reign of the late King James.	March, John, 1640-1692.; Scott, John, 1639-1695.	1699 (1699)	Wing M583; ESTC R18158	123,796	330

brought Life and Immortality to Light through the Gospel 2 Tim. 1. 10. Thus great is the Light of the Gospel and therefore those sins which are committed against it are the more heinous and damnable sins against Knowledg have more of wilfulness in them and argue greater contempt of God Hence such sinners are said in Scripture to reproach the Lord Numb 15. 30. Yea to rebel against the Light Job 24. 13. Since therefore Christians sin against greater Light they must expect severer Punishments Fer he that knoweth his Masters will and doth it not shall be beaten with more stripes 3. Another reason why Christians must expect the severest Punishments if they neglect this great Salvation is because the means of Grace which the Gospel affords for the obtaining of this Salvation are now more plentiful than they were before St. Iohn tells us Chap. 1. 17. That the Law was given by Moses but Grace and Truth came by Iesus Christ of whose fulness saith he Verse 16. we all have received and Grace for Grace or Grace upon Grace to denote the great plenty and abundance of it The Law could do no more than shew Man his Duty but the Gospel affords him Grace to perform it Hence the Preachers of the Gospel are styled Able Ministers of the New Testament not of the Letter but of the Spirit for the Letter killeth but the Spirit giveth Life 2 Cor. 3. 6. The Law is here called the Letter and is said to Kill because it shews our Duty and the Danger of neglecting it but gives no Grace to help us in the performing of it But the Gospel is called the Spirit because the Spirit of Grace does by his internal Operations accompany the outward Ministration of the Gospel and so gives us Life Thus you see what plentiful Means of Grace the Gospel affords us for the obtaining of this great Salvation And therefore if we do neglect these Means of Grace our Condemnation as it will be more just so it will be more heavy too This is plain from our Saviours threatning Chorazin and Bethsaida Mat. 11. 21 22. Wo unto thee Chorazin wo unto thee Bethsaida for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon they would have repented long ago in Sackcloath and Ashes But I say unto you it shall be more tollerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of Iudgment than for you Thus Christians as they enjoy more plentiful Means of Grace than others so if all these be lost upon them they must expect the severer Punishments Thirdly I come now in the Third and Last Place to shew you that Ministers may very well be allowed to be mighty earnest and passionate in their Exhortations and Admonitions See how earnest and passionate St. Paul is in the Text with what Vehemency and Fervency of Spirit does he cry out How shall we escape if we neglect so great Salvation St. Paul was one of the greatest Orators in the World And he never thought his Oratory better employed than in the winning Souls to Christ. Hence we find him in the Acts Preaching with such Zeal and Eloquence that the Men of Lycaonia fancied Mercury their God of Eloquence was come down from Heaven And as St. Paul was thus Fervent in Spirit serving the Lord and promoting the Salvation of Souls so 2 Tim. 4. 2. He charges Ministers to be Instant in Season and out of Season Reproving Rebuking and Exhorting with all long Suffering And in truth what Zeal what Vehemency can be thought too much for the Pulpit Indeed the Heathen of old said well Stultus labor ineptiarum It is a ridiculous thing said he to make a noise about Trifles But sure Life and Death Heaven and Hell these are no Trifles Men do not well consider the worth of Souls and the greatness of that Salvation Christ has purchast for them when they are offended at the Zeal and Earnestness of Ministers when they are angry at the seriousness of their Exhortations or the severity of their Reproofs But what pity is it that Hell should be hung with such rich Furniture as the precious Souls of Men And who would not employ their utmost Zeal to save such wicked sinners as are ready every moment to drop into Hell Fire Let me therefore with all seriousness intreat you to work out your Salvation with Fear and Trembling As you love your own Immortal Souls and value that Infinite Price which Christ has paid for them as you dread the everlasting Burnings of the infernal Tophet and earnestly desire the endless Joys of Heaven be perswaded to break off your League with Sin and make your Peace with Almighty God that when ye come to die your Blessed Saviour may see the travel of his Soul and be satisfied that he may then be as ready to Bestow on you as he was to Purchase for you that you may at last obtain this great Salvation Which God grant unto us all for the sake of Jesus Christ to whom c. The Grace of our Lord Iesus Christ and the Love of God c. A SERMON Preached at the Assizes in New-Castle upon Tine in the Reign of K. Iames II. Ephes. ii 19 20. vers Now therefore you are no more strangers and forreigners but fellow-citizens with the Saints and of the houshold of God Vers. 20. And are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets ST Paul having planted the Gospel among the Ephesians labours in this most excellent Epistle to confirm them in the same by sundry Arguments Some of these Arguments are drawn from the consideration of that wretched condition they were in before and some from the excellency and blessedness of their present State Their former condition is displayed in all its colours ver 12. of this chapter where he tells them that they were then without Christ they were then Aliens from the common wealth of Israel strangers from the covenants of promise having no hope and without God in the World It seems such as are without the pale of the Church are no better than the Children of Wrath they are expos'd to all the dreadful effects of God's anger in this World and must hereafter be cast into everlasting burnings in the next But tho' this was the lamentable condition of these Ephesians before their conversion yet the planting of the Gospel had made a happy change for they were now no more strangers and forreigners but fellow citizens with the Saints they were now delivered from the fears of Eternal damnation and had a Right and Title to all these glorious Priviledges which Abraham and the other blessed Citizens of Heaven did actually possess And what was it which gave them a right and title to all this happiness If you please to look a little farther into the Text you 'l find it was because they were of the houshold of God or in plain terms Members of the true Church for this indeed is the true Gospel which

Resolution Now tho' all this do abundantly shew a late Death-bed Repentance to be a thing most dangerous and in some sort impossible and yet seeing this is a Subject of most serious importance 5ly I will in the Fifth place add one Consideration more which will shew it yet to be more dangerous and in some sort impossible And pray let it be Consider'd that the Day of Grace may be lost before the Day of Death come Sure it is not possible that such sinners should repent without the assistance of God's Grace and yet before their death they may sin to such an height as to forfeit this assistance of God's Grace It is the vain fancy of such presumptuous sinners that the Day of Grace and the Day of Life run parallel and that as long as the one lasts the other will last too and therefore they encourage themselves in their wickedness thinking they shall have time enough to repent when they come to dye But if this Fancy of theirs be vain the delaying of Repentance till the Hour of Death must needs be a thing most dangerous and in some sort impossible Now it is very plain from Scripture that God has set bounds to his Patience and limits to his Mercy Tho' he bears very much with sinners and waits a long time to be gracious yet he has told us expresly Gen. 6. 3. My Spirit shall not always strive with Men We find in the following Verse that God allowed the Anti-Deluvians or Old World a long Day of Grace he promised to bear with them 120 Years now during this time he sent unto them Noah a Preacher of Righteousness Besides those Admonitions and frequent Calls the Holy Man gave them to repent his very building the Ark was a constant daily Sermon to them but when they would not hearken unto this Preacher but scoffed at his Discourses God did not tarry for the time of their death but with a dreadful Deluge swept them all away In Luc. 19. 41 42. we find our Saviour weeping over Ierusalem and declaring their wretched Condition in such like doleful Accents as these O that thou hadst known even thou at least in this thy Day the things which belong unto thy Peace but now are they hid from thine Eyes It seems the Day of Grace has an Evening before the Night of Death approaches The things of Peace were hid from the Eyes of Ierusalem before they were closed by the Hand of Death To this we may add what we read in Prov. 1. 28. Then shall they call upon me but I will not answer they shall seek me early but shall not find me There is a certain measure of Iniquity God is said in Scripture to allow Sinners to fill up and when this Measure is full they may call upon him in vain they may seek him early and late but he will not hear them And as is it thus plain from these Texts that the Day of Grace may be lost before the Day of Death so the same Truth may be evidenced by sundry Scripture Examples God allowed Cain a Day of Grace and during the Time of this Day Cain tho' he sinned again and again yet he heard nothing but this Still Voice if thou dost well shalt not thou be accepted but if thou dost ill Sin lieth at the door But when all the Means of Grace were lost upon him when notwithstanding the frequent Admonitions of his Father and solemn Remembrances of Heaven he added sin to sin till at last he fill'd up the Measure of his Iniquity by murdering Righteous Abel His season of Grace was then gone and God tells him in plain terms that he was then accursed from the Earth Now this hapned unto him some hundreds of years before his death Another Instance we have in Esau whom the Apostle styles a Prophane Person He was an idle unprofitable Fellow one who spent too much of his time in Gaming and impertinent Recreations and to all his other sins he added the felling of his Birthright on which were entailed all the Blessings of Heaven and this indeed shewed him to be a Prophane Person with a witness one that preferr'd his Sports and Recreations before God and his Religion Now this great sin fill'd up the Measure of his Iniquity so that his Day of Grace expir'd some 50 years before his death as Divines compute And tho' now he endeavour'd to regain his Birth-right tho' he sought the Blessing earnestly and with Tears yet he was rejected there was no place found for Repentance Heb. 12. 17. I shall add but one Instance more and it shall be the Example of wicked Saul God had striven with Saul many ways and many times He had given him Riches and Honours yea all the Glories of a Kingdom and which were more than all the gifts of his Spirit but when Saul multiplied his Transgressions and notwithstanding such signal Tokens of his Favour rebelled against the Lord God then cast him off yea he sent an Evil Spirit to torment him and would no longer hearken to his Cries as he sadly confesses to the Witch of Endor Now this Rejection hapned 36 years before he died according to Iosephus's Chronology Thus God does withdraw the Assistance of his Spirit from sinners long before they dye In their Life time he delivers them up to a Spirit of slumber and of giddiness He hardens their Hearts and sears their Consciences and gives them over to a Reprobate sense And since these things are so it will be too late for the Clinicks of the Age to Repent when they come to dye If they will obstinately go on in a Course of wickedness and multiply their Transgressions till the measure of their Iniquity be full then they are beyond the possibility of Salvation they have then forfeited the Assistance of God's Grace without which it is impossible they should repent It will therefore be safe for sinners to follow St. Pauls Advice To day if you will hear his Voice harden not your Hearts As the Prophets Exhorts Seek the Lord while he may be found call upon him while he is near Let not this present Discourse this present Opportunity be lost upon you for as the Apostle speaks Now is the accepted time now is the day of salvation Begin this very moment to resolve against thy sins come this day to the Holy Sacrament and there vow and swear that thou wilt hereafter keep all Gods Righteous Iudgments I shall conclude all with the excellent Advice of the Son of Sirach Say not God's Mercy is great and he will be pacified for the multitude of thy Sins For Mercy and Wrath is with him he is mighty to forgive and to pour out Displeasure and as his Mercy is great so are his Corrections also Therefore make no long tarrying to turn to the Lord and put not off from day to day For suddenly shall the Wrath of the Lord come forth and in thy security thou shalt be destroyed Humble thy self

remember such Texts of Scripture as these Prove all things hold fast that which is good 1. Thess. 5. 21. Take heed lest ye being led away with the error of the wicked fall from your own stedfastness 2. Pet. 3. 17. Nay St. Iude carries the duty one step higher and tells us we must contend earnestly for the Faith which was once delivered unto the Saints Ministers must contend by their Tongues and Pens Magistrates and Gentry by their Power Interest and Authority and private Christians by their Prayers and open Profession of it And if St. Iude would have the Primitive Christians not barely own but even contend and that earnestly for the faith when they groaned under the heavy Persecutions of Pagan Emperours sure we have little reason to be afraid to do so who live under the Protection of a most gracious King And since these things are so I hope I shall need no more than these two Motives to back the Exhortation and to enforce the Duty 1. Let us consider The great happiness of such as continue stedfast in the Faith of Christ and Doctrine of the Apostles 2. The lamentable condition of those that shall dare to disown it 1. Let us consider the great Happiness of such as continue stedfast in the Faith of Christ and Doctrine of the Apostles As the Church of Christ is that Golden Candlestick which holds forth the light of the Gospel so it is the Treasurer of all the Riches of Heaven for to it belong the Adoption and the Glory to it appertain the Covenants the Service of God and all the Promises Here we may enjoy all the Ordinances of God and satisfie our Souls with the marrow and fatness of his Sanctuary Yea if we will believe our Apostle in the Verses following my Text every Christian does now grow into an holy Temple in the Lord he becomes an habitation where God vouchsafes to dwell and manifest his special Presence by the saving Operations of his Holy Spirit Happy Souls who have the Honour and the Privilege to lodge and entertain their God! What Joys and Comforts will now crowd into the Soul and attend this glorious Guest And yet all this is only a preparatory for much greater Happiness For these happy Believers as our Apostle speaks are now become fellow citizens with the Saints such are here of the houshold of God and if they make a just improvement of that Grace which is afforded them they shall hereafter be admitted into the Society and Fellowship of Saints and Angels And what Tongue is able to express this Happiness How great an Honour how great a Priviledge was it thought of Old to be a free Citizen of Rome and to have a right to all the Offices and Franchises of that Imperial City So highly valuable was this Freedom that the chief Captain in the Acts tells us he did not obtain it but with a great sum of Mony To these Priviledges S. Paul alludes when he tells the Ephesians and in them all Christians that if they are of the houshold of God and built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets then they are fellow citizens with the Saints that is Denizons of Heaven and free of that City which is above even the heavenly Ierusalem Glorious things are spoken of thee O thou City of God St. Paul tells us Heb. 12. That here dwell an innumerable company of glorious Angels the general Assembly of the First-born That is the Holy Apostles the First-born of the Gospel the Spirits of Prophets Martyrs Confessors and all those just men that are already made perfect Nay farther yet here God the Judge of all vouchsales his glorious Presence and Jesus the Mediatour of the New Covenant appears in all his Glory To be Citizens therefore of this Heavenly Ierusalem is to enjoy the most ravishing Society of Saints and Angels to be admitted to the Beatifick Vision of God himself and to live for ever in Paradise with the Holy Jesus It is to lye with Lazarus in Abrahams bosom feeding continually on the feast of the Lamb and drinking of those Rivers of pleasures which ran at Gods right hand for evermore This one would think should be argument enough to make us hold fast the profession of our Faith stedfast unto the end But if all this will not prevail with us I know nothing that can unless it be what I proposed to be considered in the 2d place Namely the Lamentable condition of those who dare disown and deny the Truths of the Gospel And I cannot give you a truer prospect of their sad condition than in the words of our Saviour Mat. 10. 33. Whosoever shall deny me or be ashamed of my words before men him will I deny before my Father and his holy Angels How many Woes are crowded into this one sentence I will deny him It is to say no more a compendious expression of Hell an Eternity of torments comprized in a word Oh the ineffable horror that will seize the poor Sinner when he stands arraign'd before the Tribunal of Heaven When at the great Assize at the last day he shall see his very Advocate become his Accufer and hear his Sentence pronounced by his merciful Saviour the very hearing of it will be a kind of Hell and the Promulgation of the Punishment anticipate the Execution And now if I could give you a lively representation of the guilt and horror on the one hand and paint out eternal Wrath and Vengeance on the other I might then hope to shew you the condition of such a Sinner as shall be thus disowned and denied by his Saviour But alas this is not all we shall find more ingredients of horror in this Condemnation if we consider that Christ threatens to deny such a Sinner before his Father and the Holy Angels If there could be any room for comfort after the Sentence of Damnation it would be this of being executed in secret But it seems the Sinners folly must be laid open before God and his Holy Angels and all his baseness ript up before the whole World Christ will now in the presence of God the Father of Men and of Angels compare himself who was denied and the Cause for which he was denied together he will now parallel his infinite Merits with a Lust and lay Eternity in the ballance with a Trifle he will now propose that worthy price for which he was denied he will hold it up to open view he will call upon Men and Angels saying Behold that piece of dirt that windy applause that corruptible dower that poor transitory satisfaction for which I was dishonoured and my Truths disowned for which Life Eternity and God himself was scorned yea trampled on by this vile wretched Sinner Judge all the World whether what he despised in the other Life he deserves to enjoy in this How will the vile wretched Sinner then crawl forth and appear in all his filth He will then call in vain upon the