Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	believe_v	good_a	know_v	2,695	5	3.4876	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61475	The spirit convincing of sinne opened in a sermon before the Honorable House of Commons, assembled in Parliament upon the solemne day of their monethly fast, Novemb. 26, 1645 / by Peter Sterry ...	Sterry, Peter, 1613-1672.	1645 (1645)	Wing S5483; ESTC R34606	20,614	44

THE SPIRIT CONVINCING OF SINNE OPENED In a Sermon before the Honorable HOUSE of COMMONS Assembled in Parliament upon the solemne day of their Monethly Fast Novemb. 26. 1645. By PETER STERRY sometimes Fellow of Emanuel Colledge in Cambridge AND NOW Preacher of the Gospel in LONDON Published by Order of the House of Commons LONDON Printed by Matth. Simmons for Henry Overton and Benjamin Allen and are to be sold at their shops in Popes-head Alley 1645. To THE HONOURABLE THE KNIGHTS BURGESSES OF THE HOUSE of COMMONS Assembled in PARLIAMENT GOD hath promised his people to carry them on the Eagles Wing The onely desire and humble endeavour of your lowest servant in Christ hath been to work with God in this Sermon that your Soules Counsels Warres may be carried on by the Spirit of God who in the language of the Scriptures is not onely the Dove for Purity and Peace but also the True Eagle for Wisdome and Power Worthy Senatours if you knew this Spirit you would ask Him of your Saviour and Hee would be in you a Fountain of Counsell and Strength springing up to Everlasting Peace and Glory But have you not known The Spirit His sound hath gone forth into all your Eares All the Scriptures speak of Him as they doe of Jesus Christ Daniel was chosen by the King of Assyria to sway the great affaires of that vast Empire because the Spirit of the immortall God was found in him David was a Statesman Wiser then his Teachers David was a Souldier His fingers were skil'd in fighting his hands train'd up to Victory over Wild Beasts Giants Armies of Men was not the Spirit the Lamp of God which shone thus gloriously on David's Court and Camp which made his Throne so great Thy Word saith he was a Light to my Feet The Word of God is the Spirit of God saith St. Paul The Sword of the Spirit a which Spirit not Sword is the Word of God This made David when hee had sin'd cry Take not thine Holy Spirit from me When the Spirit of God once left Saul an evill Spirit came upon him which vex't him which haunted him to the losse of his kingdome and life together Honourable Fathers of your Countries I humbly move to know By what Title you sit there and rule over us Is it not as Powers on Earth But All power on Earth as well as in Heaven is given to Iesus Christ You are Substitutes and Vice-gerents to the Lord Iesus Look then to Iesus the Beginning and End of your Authority God hath laid the Government on his Shoulder What is his sufficiency for it The Spirit of the Lord resteth on him and this is A Spirit of Counsell and Might in him You who sit at the right hand of the Lord Iesus in this Common-wealth as the Lord Iesus sits at the right hand of his Father in that Kingdome which is over all pray that the same Spirit which was powred forth on him may be by him powred forth on you So shall you be Messiahs anointed ones and Saviours to this people Can You be able to rule over any spot of this earth when Jesus Christ was not fit for the government of the whole without the Spirit Do you put your whole trust in the promises of God and expect by them to be made partakers of every blessing Do you believe the promises made in the Word of God I hope I may say at least with as good confidence as Paul said it to Agrippa I know you believe them This is the promise The Spirit shall lead you into all truth You are now searching into the deep things of God which concern Religion Live in the Spirit and the Spirit shall bring all into your minde and shew you the things of Iesus Christ It behoves you to know the method of Satan the stratagems and dark deeps of the Devill himself in mysteries of State and Religion Walk in the Spirit hee shall lead you into their chambers as hee did Ezekiel and let you see what mischiefes they are there contriving in secret This is the promise The Spirit of God and of glory shall rest on his servants in their conflicts and sufferings Sit still in all humble resignation of your selves to the working of this Spirit that hee may rest on you so shall hee manage your counsels finish your wars and end all your sufferings with glorie I shall conclude my Epistle with an humble Petition to your Honours an hearty Prayer for you My humble Petition is that You would ever remember to converse as Doves among Doves with this Dove He is a tender Spirit take heed of grieving this Spirit where ever hee dwels For by him alone can your hopes be sealed to a day of full accomplishment My hearty Prayer is that as you sit debating in Parliament the appearances of the Holy Ghost may be among you as hee was with the Apostles sitting over them in the form of fiery tongues that when you fight in the field the Holy Ghost may be as a two-edged sword going forth from the mouth of the Lord Iesus into your enemy's hearts that you may never see upon the walls of your house that hand-writing which made Bel-shazzer tremble Your kingdome is divided but in stead of this that uniting and building Principle Not by might nor by power but by my Spirit saith the Lord This is the fervent constant prayer of Your Honours humble servant in Christ Peter Sterry A SERMON PREACHED Before the honorable House of COMMONS Novemb. 26. 1645. being the publike Fast JOHN 16. 8. When he shall come he shall convince the world of sin c. I Will at once open to you the publike scope of this place and the private sense of my Text as it lies imbodied in the Context Our tender-hearted Saviour is now cheering the hearts of his Disciples drooping with the sad presages of their dear Master's death The Lord Jesus sweetly gives them for a revivall of their fainting spirits a gracious promise of his own Spirit This Promise is threefold The Spirit 's 1. Personall Comming 2. Particular Comforts 3. Universall Convictions Pardon me if I be somewhat larger in the Explication of these For this also will serve my purpose which is to set before you the Spirit of the Lord Jesus that Spirit by which we know those things which Reason cannot reach and live not a as Men {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} but as b Partakers of the Divine Nature The first Promise is the Personall comming This hath two parts The Person comming Comming of that Person Part 1st The first part is the Person comming It appears to be a Person of whom our Saviour speaks by those demonstrative particles Hee Him It appeares to be some great One a Divine Person by those workes which are to be done by him To comfort hearts To convince a world To be in stead of Christ nay to be a better Comforter then

brought us into his his own {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} marvelous Light Hee that sees Christ sees him in a strange wonderfull in a divine Light in God's own Light To believe is thus to see Christ and to live continually by this sight of Christ The life I live is by the faith of the Son of God Gal. 2. chap. ver. ult. Paul was convinc'd by this sight of Christ and of this sin that he had ever liv'd on any other sight Gal. 1. chap. 16. vers. When it pleased the Father to reveale his Son in mee I consulted not with flesh and blood You may see by Paul's Conversion what his Conviction was He had consulted with flesh and blood that is with Principles of Reason with the Spirit of man what should hee have consulted with or whom with the Word the immortall Word with the Wisdome of God with the discoveries of Jesus Christ in him Is this the Sin you chiefly mourn for this day By this judge of your convictions Do you grieve to think that the glory of God hath shined so long so sweetly from the face of Christ filling all things round about you while you have been sitting under the shadow of humane wit and reason as in the shadow of death That so bright a Day hath dawn'd from the Person of the Lord Jesus and yet you sit spinning out your Counsels and Course by the candle-light of man's spirit and policy as in the night Do your hearts sigh-forth this sense Lord we have sate in counsell concerning the great affairs of many Kingdomes Churches Common-wealths but not by thy Wisdome by the shining forth of thy Son in us Many Principles of State Reason Policy have raigned over us but the sight of thee O Jesus in our hearts hath not ruled us When the Spirit convinceth of sin hee makes this the great sin and folly that the appearances of Christ have not been our Sun and shield No such shield is there to defend us from the strifes contentions conspiracies of men and things as to be hid in the light of our Saviour's looks No such advantage is there as to gain this Sun to have the beamings forth of our Husband-king on our side How do the glorious dartings of his presence from among us dazle the spirits of our enemies trouble their order and make them unable to fight against us or hurt us When the Spirit convinceth of sin hee shews us that the story of things in the Wildernesse was a Figure for us under the Gospel 1 Cor. 10. c. 4. ver. When the Jews were to passe over the river Jordan the Ark went before them so they passed through dry-shod When they travelled through the Desart the Cloud the Glory went before them as that moved they marched on when that rested they stood still Your Ark now is the spirituall presence of Jesus Christ in your hearts the Cloud the Glory now is the appearance of your Saviour resting upon your spirits You have waded through many rivers of blood have you seen the discoveries of your Jesus going before you and followed these You have made many Marches many Rests hath the wel-pleased face of your Jesus as your Leading-starre been still in your eye Have you march't as this hath moved Where this hath stood still have you stay'd The Jews sung of old What ailed you ye waters that ye fled ye seas that ye were driven backwards The waters saw thee O God and fled before thee If these things be thus with you you may go forth and say in your songs What ailed you ye mighty armies at Keinton Newbury York Naseby that ye fled and were driven backwards What ailed you ye strong treasons close conspiracies that ye trembled and fell and your foundations were discovered before you could take effect They saw thee O Jesus they saw thee appearing in the midst of us so they fled so they fell before thee If things have not been thus with you behold the sin over which you are principally to powre out your tears Behold the sin which troubles you Assure your selves all your acts in Counsell and Camp will be Null till the Lord Jesus be as the shout of a King in the midst of you Vain are all our hopes sweet dreams of Peace till our Deare Saviour shew himself among you as once among his Disciples Saying Peace be with you Breathing Peace upon you These are the Perswasives in which Rationall and Spirituall convictions for sin differ not all but some few which I have chosen for you from among the rest Now remains the difference between these Convictions in the Principles themselves Principles The Principles themselves are the Spirit of Man or Reason the Spirit of God But I can no more convey a sense of this difference into any soule that hath not seen these two Lights shining in it self than I can convey the difference between Salt and Sugar to him who hath never tasted Sweet or Sharp These things are discerned only by exercise of senses and are too hard for those who have not their own senses exercised in them as St. Paul speaks Hebr. 5. chap. 14. ver. When you shall see the Sea of Truth the Spirit then you will know that the Great River of Reason was not the Sea I can tell you that as much as the complexion of a face the colour of a cloth or lace seen by Moon-light and Sun-shine differ So and farre more do the convictions or discoveries by Reason and the Spirit But still this is the difference in the Effects not in the Principles themselves To give you as I may some shadowie description of this I will commend to your most constant and serious meditations that place 1 Cor. 15. chap. 45. v. The first man was a living soule the last man a quickening spirit Vers. 46. The naturall is first and then the spirituall Vers. 48. As the earthy so are they that are earthy as is the heavenly so are they that are heavenly Vers. 49. As we have born the Image of the earthly man so shall we beare the Image of the heavenly From these places you may draw these Architectonick or commanding Conclusions 1. A Living soule in her full glory as she was in the first man in innocencie in Paradise is not the Principle of the second man the new birth but the All-quickening the Eternall Spirit 2. A Living soule with the highest improvements raised to the noblest actings of Wit Reason Worth is naturall not spirituall the Image of the first Adam not the Image of the Lord Jesus 3. The naturall and spirituall man differ as much as earth and heaven corruption and immortality flesh and spirit You see the difference between these two sorts of convictions as I have been able to set it before you I will now conclude this Use with an Admonition as I begun it An earthly Root may bring forth earthly fruit nothing can reach up to Heaven and immortalitie but that which