Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	abundant_a	gracious_a	lord_n	1,650	5	4.2037	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A90625	The voice of the Spirit. Or, An essay towards a discoverie of the witnessings of the spirit by opening and answering these following queries. Q. 1. What is the witnessing worke of the Spirit? 2 How doth the Spirit witnesse to a soule its adoption? 3. Who are capable of attaining the witnessings of the Spirit? 4. How may a soul know its injoyment of them? 5. By what meanes may a soule attaine them? To which is added. Roses from Sharon or sweet experiences reached out by Christ to some of his beloved ones in this wildernes. / By Samuel Petto preacher of the Gospell at Sandcroft in Suffolke.	Petto, Samuel, 1624?-1711.	1654 (1654)	Wing P1903; Thomason E1500_2; ESTC R208647	109,805	256

Assurance 4. Be much in selfe-examination it is the proper end of this duty to helpe a soule into a right understanding about its condition 2 Cor. 13.5 And hence it is that Satan seeketh to beate off so much from this duty But exercise your selves much to it at seasonable times i. e. when the eyes of your soules are cleare in a day of desertion they are dimme and so you will be liable to mis-judge about your state and you are principally then to attend upon other duties as the enquiring into the causes of the Lords withdrawing and a coming up to his ends therein and a seeking for its returne c. but selfe-judging acts are of great use towards Assurance when the soule is not disabled for knowing its condition 5. Be much in the observation of Gods dealings with your owne soules Gods end towards the Israelites in all their temptations and miraculous preservations was that they might know that he was the Lord their God Deut. 29. v. 3 4 5 6. and it is charged upon them as a great evil that they soone forgat Gods workes Psal 106.13 Christians know not what they loose by burying their experiences they disable themselves for strengthening the weake hands and confirming the feeble knees of others and it is a great disadvantage to themselves The Apostle exhorteth to adde one grace to another as one meanes to make their calling and election sure 2 Pet. 1. v. 5 6.10 A heape of experience must needs conduce much to the clearing up the state Though you can keep but the shell the carkasse of your experiences yet have them upon record and afterward the Lord may cause dry bones to live 6. Be often renewing acts of faith especially take all opportunities that are offered for the most eminent actings of it when Abraham by an eminent act of faith had declared his willingnes to follow Gods call in the offering up of Isaac then he obtained a double testimonie of acceptation with God Gen. 22. v 11 12. An Angel called to him out of heaven This Angel is Christ for he speaketh as God v. 12.16 And his speaking to Abraham is for a double end 1. To stay his hand v. 12.2 To manifest the acceptation of the person v. 12. Now I know thou fearest God seing thou hast not with-held thy Son thine onely Son from me And the Lord is not content with this but v. 15 16. The Angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time If Isaac had died one sight of Christ would abundantly have recompensed Abraham for his great losse but behold after this eminent act of grace he cometh againe the second time There were many things that doubtles did endeare Isaac to him he was his Son and onely Son v. 16. and a Son of promise too Heb. 11.17 and the slaying of him seemed to crosse both Gods Command that he should not kill and that promise In Isaac shall thy seed be called v. 18. and yet his faith gets above all and he hath a double appearance of Christ after it Object But the dispensations of God towards me seeme to run crosse to the promises that faith should act upon and so doe forbid my beleeving However I finde my heart so out of frame and my condition so sad that I durst not act faith on promises Answ 1. It is thy duty to beleeve on Christ whatever thy condition be if thou hast not committed the unpardonable sin thou can'st not tell but that thou mayest finde mercy If thou wantest interest in Christ it is high time for thee to seeke after it by beleeving Trouble and perplex not thy soule so much about that question whither thou hast beleeved or not but put it out of doubt by a fresh act of faith A repetition of acts of faith is very sutable to a Saint in his darkest Condition Isai 50.10 He that walketh in such darknes that be hath no light is injoyned then to trust in the Name of God If particular promises faile or be out of sight and sensible experiences faile that it be a midnight of darknesse with the soule yet there is the Name of God to run to and trust in still what his Name is see Exod. 34. v. 5 6. The Lord God mercifull gracious long-suffering abundant in goodnes and truth forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin c. When thou can'st not see that he is gracious to thee or that he hath forgiven thy sins yet put forth an act of faith upon him through Christ and in that way waite for his being gracious and for his forgiving thy sins I would not have a soule upon slighty grounds cast away all former experiences but if Egyptian darknes seemeth to cover it the best way to recover all againe is by a new act of faith Psal 56.3 What time I am afraid I will trust in thee When it is afraid of unsoundnes of heart then it ought to trust in God as well as under other feares 2. Oftentimes the Lord doth cast in matter of discouragement in a soules way to beleeving purposely to draw out acts of faith Rom. 4. v. 19 20. Abrahams body was dead and Sarahs womb dead before the Son of promise was given Math. 15.24 I came not but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel Here was a word to appearance against her So that a man may have seeming impossibilities in the way to his mercy yea a word may be cast in and that by Christ that may seeme to speake against him and yet it may be intended by Christ but for the tryall of faith not to hinder beleeving But usually in such Cases the Lord giveth clearnes about what is duty before he blocketh up the way to it yea and holdeth up the heart to it in the midst of such discouragements this woman was the more importunate the more repulses and seeming denyals she had from Christ What the word doth undoubtedly warrant to be thy duty in that condition thou art in though thou mayest seeme to have a word and never so much against ther yet thou oughtest the more eagerly to owne thy duty And beleeving is the great Command of Christ to all that heare the sound of the Gospell Mark 16. v. 15 16. Rom. 10.9 1 Joh. 3.23 Yea it is a duty at all time ●or in all conditions Psal 62.8 and know that Christ doth never contradict his owne Commands to forbid any soules beleeving and therefore nothing should beate thee off from this It is thy duty to live a life of-faith when thou wantest feeling Christ was without feeling when he cryed out Why hast thou forsaken me and yet not without a faith of Assurance for he saith my God my God So Psal 89. v. 34 35 36. The Lord engageth himselfe by Covenant and Oath that the throne of David should be astablished for ever and presently he was rushed under such dispensations as did threaten the non-accomplishment of what was promised v. 38

my heart was melted into the still●nes of this voice and of those things which I did see I was formed into them I found a nullifying of selfe and my heart was much desiring he might be glorified how he would and my heart crucified in a way of subjection and quiet submission that I did see a solid contentment enough yea my heart was withall commanded to be quiet I saw that Gods glory was his owne and he could give it out how he would and the soule is to rest in the still voice and the lesse it resteth in it selfe the more it giveth glory to God The Lord assured me that he had rebuked Satan and the earth should be a quiet habitation and also my heart I saw what power God had to dissipate sin and cast it out of my soule and I found the nullifying of all earthly affections I was affected with nothing on earth I did behold the glory of God I did manifestly see abundance of glory in this ministration Yet not so much to raise my affections But rather committed to my understanding as I apprehended it then to my affection I did understand that it was God 2. Concerning the patience of God and how it doth differ from that in the creature I saw how pure it was and without all mixture in him and that he was free from all such passions and hurryes as the creature is subject to and so I discerned his transcendency above all Creatures Also I was made capable at that time of those Scriptures that formerly I could not understand my objections were removed by comparing Scripture with Scripture that were cast in those that heretofore seemed to disagree were reconciled and made one and all the Scriptures were confirmed to me to be one truth Many Scriptures that were darke and mysticall were made cleare to me which before I knew nothing of and the interpretations very spirituall My memory will not admit to discover what I met withall this way As When a mans wayes are pleasing to the Lord his enemies shall be at peace with him Another seemed to be quite contrary viz. When they kill you they shall think they doe God good service These were reconciled thus When they persecute yet in their Consciences they shall Justifie Their being at peace was in regard of their Consciences not that they should be at peace as men contrary but though through the vilenes of Nature they have malice against you yet in their Consciences they shall justifie and acquite you and fall downe and say God is in you of a truth So 1 Cor. 2.15 He that is spirituall judgeth all things yet he himselfe is judged of no man i. e. The Lord giveth him a judgement of all things in himselfe and he can judge what is of the Spirit and what is not and another cannot judge him about his having a Spirit of judgement given him And it was brought in that it was the same Spirit I now felt that Spirit that did write the Scriptures And it was brought to minde thus these are the things that thy heart did glow and pant after though understandingly thou did sh ot expresse it I was heretofore in a sad condition my life was a life of begging when should I praise the Lord I begged for understanding in the mysterie of the Covenant and sometimes this was brought in that this spirituall understanding which the Lord did give me into the Scriptures this was that I prayed for it was an answer of these things And by the temptation that did follow this is that thou did'st pray for c. I did remember it was given in so Many other Scriptures were brought in which I cannot recall After in the day I had something of what I thus injoyed in the night and I would then have recollected and have considered what it was but I could not my heart fainted and presently I fell into a cold sweat I could not review or recollect for a Quarter of a yeare It pleased the Lord to bring to minde severall discoveries to the Apostles in what manner the Lord did reveale himselfe to them Job 33.15 16. Isai 32.3 4. and concerning Job And the eyes of them that see shall not be dimme And the tongue of him that stammereth shall be ready to speake plainly Such Scriptures were brought to mind with the meaning of them and accordingly that I should speake plainly and that I should clearly understand the Spirits working from every other thing that it was from God And for the Certainty of it I did see and could not doubt of it that the very administration was given to me which was given to the Apostles and Saints of old Yet it was rather committed still to my understanding then to my affection Another night againe waking I had other Scriptures in the new Testament opened to me in the same manner as before Joh. 17. v. 11.21.23 I understood that to be one with Christ was to have our will melted into the will of Christ and it was that I now felt and I did see the thing to be of infinite glory to have our hearts melted into the glory of God Another was Math 26. v. 29. I will not drinke henceforth of the fruit of the Vine untill that day when I drinke it new with you in my Fathers kingdome The wine is that Comfort and wonderfull refreshment which is injoyed and that which I had was a symptome and tast of that wine that I should ever drink in the kingdome of heaven and it was wonderfull for the present This was in the night in the day againe I went on in feare astonishment I thought in the morning what it should be and the end of it I considered whither it were the powring out of the Spirit which the Scripture speaketh of and I could not tell what it should be I could never pray for it distinctly and so I had it not in that way it was above what my heart could conceive of before I hid it and so I could not pray for it This againe put me into melancholy and my heart fainted yet I was not able to recollect for the probation or tryall of what I mett withall whence it came c. Onely the Lord did discover to me some of his ends in these things Now I had feares that I should never be fitt for my Calling againe and there was no agreeablenes or sutablenes between me and any Creature But though my Spirit was full of trouble yet I had a staying thought that the Lord would fit me for my calling or let me die That word was cast in Math. 9.17 Men doe not put new wine into old bottles else the bottles breake I see it was because of the oldnes of my vessell that I was under such fears but the Lord assured me that he would beare me up to the thing that he should declare unto me and make me able to beare his enlightenings and he did