Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	good_a	spirit_n	word_n	4,029	5	3.9896	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93682	A hand-kercheffe for a disconsolate soule, to wipe away his sinne, and to keep him from despaire, as though they had never been committed. / By Samuel Spinckes, minister of Gods word.	Spinckes, Samuel.	1651 (1651)	Wing S4981; Thomason E633_7; ESTC R206473	19,356	31

patience and be content with Gods answer to Saint Paul 2. Cor. 12.9 My grace is sufficient for thee and my strength and power shall be made manifest in thy weakenesse and know that it is not for thy merits but for the merits and worthinesse of Christ that God freely accepts us And this is the very promise of God to those who are once his on whom he hath once bestowed those graces of the knowledge of Christ of fayth of repentance of regeneration and newnesse of life which thou canst not deny I thinke but at sometime to have beene in some measure in thee though hee suffers thee to fall into divers great and grievous temptations yea temptations of a very high nature yet hee will lay no more upon thee or them then he will make thee and them able to beare 1. Cor. 10.23 And though he suffer to be overcome for a time yet will he make a way to escape and will give grace of fayth and repentance by which they may bee reconciled and re-assured of the love of our heavenly Father Doubt not then to apply the promises of God in particular unto thy selfe upon repentance and comming unto Christ because there is no kinde of sinne which thou canst commit but the mercies of God in Christ are farre greater For that sinne against the holy Ghost thou canst not commit which is not any transgression of the Morrall Law eyther in generall or in particular eyther of ignorance or of infirmity or a sin committed wilfully or presumptuously and against a mans owne conscience though these be grievous sinnes but it is an universall and finall Apostacie or falling away from Christ I say it is a voluntary renouncing of the knowledge or known truth of the Gospel and a rebellious proceeding from the hatred of it being joyned with a tyrannicall sophisticall and hypocriticall oppugnation of the same when a man that hath beene enlightned with a true knowledge of Christ and is convinced in his conscience of the truth of it by the blessed Spirit and hath tasted of the good word of God Heb. 6.5 and of the powers of the world to come but it is only a taste for they that doe feede of these graces spiritually and doe digest them and are nourished by them to newnesse of life I dare say God will never suffer them to fall into this sinne when such an one I say shall afterwards universally and with a full consent fall from the truth deny Christ persecute him and though it be but in his members with reproaches despisings and taunts and so disdaine the sacrifice of his death and passion and continuing thus without repentance unto the end this is the sinne against the Holy Ghost Thus did Julian and other Apostats sinne and of these are that of the Apostle to be understood in Heb. 6.6.7.8 c. But to thy comfort whosoever thou art that art troubled with doubtings and so feares that heaven and the joyes thereof belong not unto thee This sinne I say thou canst not fall into being first ingrafted into Christ by fayth and for all other sinnes be they never so grievous yet remission is promised upon fayth and repentance and that freely not for the merit of thy faith or repentance but for the love and merits of Christ Why then shouldst thou not apply the generall promises of grace unto thy selfe in particular Come unto me sayth our blessed Saviour Matt. 11.28 all that are weary and heavy laden and I will refresh you This promise is generall But this thy owne conscience will tell thee that thou art weary and laden heavily with the burthen of thy sinnes and therefore thou mayest well conclude that comming unto Christ the promise of mercy belongs to thee Whosoever shall believe and be baptized shall be saved Mar. 16.16 this is a generall promise also But thy owne conscience will tell thee that thou art Baptized and that without our new fangled re-baptizings and that thou beleevest though it may be that thy faith is but weak but like a graine of mustard seed that is very small Matth. 7.20 yet if thou canst but say with the man in the Gospel I beleeve Lord helpe my unbeleefe Mar. 9.24 If thou canst but touch the hemme of Christs garment with the finger of fayth if thy hand of fayth by which thou mayst lay fast hold of him be wanting yet by this touch of Christ even but with the finger of fayth the vertue of Christ may flow foorth sufficiently to stop the bloudy issue of thy sinnes and to cure the maladies of thy soule and with this thou mayst truely apply the promises of grace unto thy soule Well then as you have seen since thou art and must be a Soldier whilest thou livest in the Camp or Field of the Church faint not at the sight of thine enemies though they be many and terrible but comfort thy selfe with this that as Elisha sayd to his servant in the 2. Kin. 6.16 there are more with thee then with them yea and though thou bee weake yet the stronger part is on thy side for thou hast God thy friend to send thee more ayd of grace if at any time thou art decayd in thy strength thou hast Christ a Conqueror thy Captaine under whose Banner thou doest fight thy friend and thou hast the blessed Spirit to encourage thee and though he may leave off to shew his favourable presence for a time yet will he not bee long absent from thee Though for a moment he hide his face yet with everlasting kindnesse will he have compassion on thee Esay 54.7.8 In a word thou hast being in Christ Myriads of Angels to accompany thee and the prayers of the Saints of the whole Church yea I say and of Christ himselfe at the right hand of his and our Father like the shouting of the Israelites to make the walles of Jericho the strength of their enemies to fayle Jos 6.20 And therfore faile nor but there goe on I advise thee with fayth and constancy to endure the combat and faint nor though thou hast many losses of grace many wounds by sinnes and by thy spirituall enemies for Christ being thy Captaine thou shalt certainely prove a Conqueror in the end But notwithstanding all this thou findest that thou art unable to apply the promises of mercy and free grace unto thy self or to doe it so weakely that feare is not altogether removed out of the heart Then as in the sicknesse of thy body thou art ready to seeke and to send to the Physitian for health of thy body that so he may apply somewhat unto thee for thy health and cure so must thou doe I say in the sicknesse of thy soule then thou must flie and seeke to Gods Minister for the Priests lips ought to preserve knowledge and thou must seeke the Law at his mouth saith the Lord by his Prophet Mal. 2.7 To him then thou must open the wounds of thy soule and all the

tribulations and afflictions are the patrimony of good men and good women therefore never dispaire of mercy for any vexation or trouble nor have such a thought in thee as to think that Gods mercies are not for thee I wish that all our Anabaptists and women-Preachers would have such thoughts in them then I am perswaded it would make them more conformable to our Parliament and to the truth of Gods holy word Let no afflictions or troubles of this world I say daunt thee for unto good men and women afflictions and troubles in this life serve to admonish them of their infirmities and the vertues of good people are made manifest unto the world by their troubles and crosses of this life wherefore if thou beest almost in despaire or beest cast down upon thy bed of sicknesse c. why then note to thy comfort as in a skirmish as God grant it may be otherwise with this Kingdome wherein there are now too many in the warres that when the conflict is once begun then the courage of the Captaine I say then and not before is his valour exercised and known so when God doth call his children to any crosse or calamity then begins the battell then their blessed patience and meek contentment is made known and manifest I say then or never knowing that all goes by the hand of Gods providence and holy Ordinance in whom we live move and have our being Acts 17.28 And know that no Physitian I write this as a Hand-kercheffe to wipe away all teares from the eyes of such as are mourners for sin can be more carefull for the health of the body then God is and will be if we be constant and confident in calling upon him by prayer for mercy and favour in his Son and our blessed Saviour Jesus Christ for the health of the soul how bitter soever the potion and portion of our afflictions may seem to us yet receiving it from him who meanes us so well we should not but receive it and them with patient suffering yea whatsoever his mercifull hands shall reach or lay uppon us saying with holy and just Job though he kill me yet will I trust in him Job 13.15 My son saith the Wise man when thou commest to the service of God then prepare thy soule for temptations and fears and troubles and shrink not away when thou art tryed for whom the Lord loveth him he chasteneth as gold and silver are tried in the fire so I say are our faith and patience tried in the furnace and fire of afflictions Sicknesses and afflictions are a means to purge out the drosse of naturall corruption which by reason of our sins remaines within us Afflictions being sanctified saith Gregory will bring us to a true fight of our sinnes and so to a hearty sorrow for the same and Affliction will teach Humility even in the best of Gods Children as Job David Paul and a man that should but read Johes Booke Davids Psalmes and Saint Pauls Epistles he could not but wonder to thinke that ever they should have any mirth at any time c. If we put into the Ballance the afflictions of this life they will be found of no weight nor in any wise able to counterpoize the greatnesse of the reward for as I sayd before tribulation is but a passion and therefore small is the force thereof but glory is an action and therefore powerfull and encreaseth every moment This life passeth away swiftly and soone vanisheth therefore despaire not but strive to make they election sure which may be done if thou canst but believe and so labour and endeavour for the glory to come Esay 64.4 which hath no end and is full of sweet comfort and happinesse more then heart can think 1 Cor. 2.9 and endureth for ever and ever Oh therefore good Christian soule persevere constantly in a pure faith in Christ and therin labour to finish your course for great is your reward which God hath promised and Christ hath purchased if thou canst but believe in him And mark this also for thy future and eternall comfort that the life of a Christian cannot be without sin nor temptations for I dare say our profit and encrease in godlinesse is through temptations as St. Augustine saith and his reason there followeth for neither doth a man well know himselfe except he be tempted neither can he be crowned except he overcome neither can he overcome except he fight neither can he fight except he have enemies and temptations to encounter with Whence again note and observe that God useth divers instruments in tempting troubling and afflicting of his children for sometimes he useth the Devill as he did with Job sometimes wicked men he useth as a meanes as the talse witnesses against our Saviour and sometimes he useth other creatures but yet in all these there is a double comfort to Gods childe first that great and many are the troubles of the righteous and then secondly for their full comfort the Lord will deliver them out of all Psal 34.19 the Prophet doth not say he hath nor in the present doth but in the future shall Againe if ye observe the ends of afflictions therein also know that sometimes we are afflicted that we may be humbled and the pride of our hearts abated sometimes to the end that we may not fix our love upon this world sometimes they are sent to make us more zealous in good workes and sometimes they are sent for this end that pertaking with Christ in his sufferings we may also be glorified with him and herein remember how the Lord tryed Abraham in offering up his Son how he tryed Isaac Jacob and all the Patriarchs with many and hard peregrinations and think also how he tryed all the holy and godly Martyrs with scourges and torments with fire and faggot and thereby thinke imagine and know that the scourge of tribulation stirreth up the drowsie humbleth the proud purgeth the penitent and crowneth the innocent Againe know and understand that the Lord afflicteth his children for these ends that our faith thereby in the first place may be more pure holy and perfect even as gold out of the furnace Secondly that we might the better know our selves and our own frailnesse and weaknesse Thirdly in respect of others that so we might be examples of patience and constancy unto them Thus Christ proved the faith of Peter on the Sea and at his Passion and againe after his Resurrection And the Apostle Paul witnesseth that through his persecutions and bonds I say that thereby many of the brethren were imboldned and did more frankly speake the truth Philip. 1.14 even thorow my bonds saith he and hence proceeded those confident speeches of the Christians and holy Martyrs to their tyrants and persecutors saying torment us rack us condemne us breake us in pieces yet for all this your malice and iniquity it 's nothing to our hurt but for our joy and comfort it is nothing but the