Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	holy_a	lord_n	spirit_n	8,095	5	5.0560	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29134	The sleepy spouse of Christ alarm'd, or, A warning to beware of drowsiness vvhen Christ calls, lest he withdraw in a discontent being the sum of some sermons upon Cant. 5th, and the beginning / by J. B., minister of the Gospel ; recommended in a preface by Nath. Vincent.	J. B. (James Bradshaw), 1636?-1702.; Vincent, Nathanael, 1639?-1697.	1667 (1667)	Wing B4151; ESTC R27223	96,463	214

of Christs call that turn their backs upon his Ordinances Greater contempt cannot persons pour upon Christ than to despise and set light by the Ordinances of Christ which he hath instituted as means for the enjoyment of him And if this be so how ordinarily is Christ shut out We complain of the deadness of Trade and what a low rate all kinde of commodities carry but I am sure Christ's trade is very low the commodities which Christ offers in the market of his Ordinances though very rich and costly in themselves yet are at a very low rate in the esteem of most men O how slight an occasion will keep persons back from the Ordinances of Christ If any worldly business be to be done persons think it unreasonable to be moved to leave that and to attend the Ordinances of Christ as the Spouse here thought it unreasonable to move her to leave her warm bed to come to open to Christ O how many will rise more early travel further and take more pains for an earthly bargain than to meet with Christ in his Ordinances these must onely be attended at leisure-times when men have nothing else to do If the Ordinances of Christ lose men an hour in their shops or a single bargain if but to the value of a shilling in their trades they think Christ bids them loss if he move them to leave their worldly business and attend upon him Many value Christ and his company at a lower rate than thirty pieces Some again can spare time to attend Ordinances but if it must cost them any thing these Ordinances must be forborn In many places and with many persons he is the best Minister that will be hired at the cheapest rate though his preaching be little to the purpose though he seldom disturb them with any considerable calls from Christ Others though they do frequent Ordinances yet not as the Ordinances of Christ which binde Conscience but as indifferent things that may be done or left undone without any guilt or blame And therefore they make little matter of rushing out of the world and worldly business into an Ordinance altogether unprepared and uncomposed but their thoughts and hearts are full of the world as may be and as little matter of running into the world again so soon as ever the Ordinance is ended without allowing themselves the least time to meditate or beg God's blessing upon what they have been partakers of Is this your opening to Christ at his call I am very confident this is not the least reason of persons unfruitfulness under Ordinances at this day because the Ordinances are not conscientiously attended Nor do persons allow themselves time in meditation and prayer that the Ordinance might have its soaking influence upon them By this means Sirs you do too ordinarily if not constantly shut out Christ This low esteem that the Ordinances of Christ have among us doth sufficiently manifest that our hearts are not rightly open to Christ It was far otherwise with the Spouse Cant. 2.3 She sate down under his shadow with great delight and his fruit was pleasant to her taste But these have scarce time and less mindes to sit down at all but are in a running posture as if Christ's bounties were not worth the staying for 3. If the heart be open to Christ whence is it that persons are so cold formal and indifferent both in their profession practices and performances Surely if Christ were let in the heart would be more warm and lively Grace would be more active in us than it is at this day We read Cantic 5.5 that when Christ put but in his finger by the hole of the door though the door was not fully opened to him yet he left such a warming perfuming vertue behind him as set the Spouse her Graces afloat she can rest no longer in her bed but ariseth her bowels yern towards him and before she get the door open her fingers drop with myrrhe there will be a sensible alteration of the humours to speak so a change of the frame and disposition of Grace in the heart where Christ comes and meets with ready entertainment The Souls sleepy fit will be over when Christ comes in and her Graces will fall to their work Faith will be strongly active Love will be inflamed Thankfulness will be increased Obedience will be more exact and universal Repentance more deep and serious the heart wholly and zealously engaged for Christ when the door of the heart is truely opened to Christ But oh how far otherwise is it with us something of the carcass of Religion and the form of Godliness an external profession of the Name of Christ is left but little of the life and zeal and warmth and power of Religion left In former days when Christ was eminently seen in his Ordinances and Believers hearts were more freely and fully open to him we see what holy heavenly zealous universally circumspect Christians were then to be found what wonderful works did manifest themselves in them and were done by them But where have we almost any Christians of the old stamp and strain left Now adays we have much talking of Religion but little holy strict and exemplary walking in the ways of God in all holy Conversation and Godliness Sure I am there is a vast difference between Christians in former days and those that now live Then they were humble holy blameless in all manner of conversation zealous for Gods glory lively spiritual and heavenly in their Duties fervent in spirit serving the Lord fervent in love towards God and the Brethren and that not in word only but in deed and in truth such as might easily be distinguished from the generality of the world But now how many professors of Religion are there who are Proud covetous sensual compliers with the fashions and customes of the world envious malicious backbiters slanderers having only a form of godliness very curious about circumstances very careless about the substance and practical part of Religion This shews that though we carry the name of Christ in our foreheads yet Jesus Christ is too much kept out of our hearts 4. If the heart be open to Christ how comes it to pass that the world hath so great a share and interest there Surely where Christ comes he gains the heart and the whole bent of the Soul is after him Nothing more earnestly desired or diligently sought for than Christ Rachels language to Jacob upon better grounds and with far better reason is the language of a gracious heart to God Give me Children or I die So saith the Soul Give me Christ or I die I can no longer be without him I languish and pine away for want of him If I may have but one wish or request in all the world it shall be this That God would bestow Christ upon me that I may not onely have an interest in him and title or claim to him but that I may have his

another if one argument will not prevail they make use of another leave no stone no subject unturned unspoken to that they can imagine may prevail with you What bespeaks all this earnestness and industry but that Christ calls now in good earnest upon you for we are able to do nothing without him It is he that directs us to our subjects and puts a word into our mouths It is he that enlargeth our meditations blesseth our studies and warmeth the word upon our hearts It is he that toucheth our Lips with a Coal from his Altar and helps us to deliver our message in the evidence and demonstration of the truth and of power And all this is for your sakes that the call might be more convincing and effectual upon you And therefore if you finde a more than ordinary spirit upon the Prophets at this day you may conclude it is a more than ordinary call And therefore apply that to your selves which the Apostle speaks Acts 17.30 However Christ might wink at former ignorance or neglect yet now by way of eminency he commands every man every where to repent 5. Doth not Christ eminently knock and call at the door of thy heart by secret impulses of his Spirit and convictions of thy own Conscience Doth not the word of God sometimes come within thy bosome and not onely prove a general word spoken to all but brings some special message to thee and saith to thee as Nathan did to David Thou art the man or as Wisdom to the simple ones Prov. 1.22 23. How long ye simple ones will ye love simplicity and the scorners delight in scorning and fools hate knowledge turn ye at my reproof c. May we not say that God is not wholly departed out of his Ordinances but that yet he walks in the midst of his Golden Candlesticks that his Spirit is yet striving with us and that yet he hath compassion of his heritage and is loth to leave his dwelling place Is there not now and then a secret word whispered in your ear that this word comes from Heaven and is sent a particular message to you Are not you ready to think within your selves sometimes How comes the Minister to know my case so particularly and to speak to those things that none knows but God and mine own Conscience Why you must know that this is God that speaks to you by us It is he that sends us unto you and puts words in our mouths and tells us what to say to you He who knows the secrets of all Hearts directs us what to speak and he by his Spirit opens your ear to hear and to take notice of what is spoken And he by his Spirit convinceth your Consciences that you are the persons to whom it is spoken And therefore when it is thus with you you may assuredly know that this a special knock and call from Christ May there not be the same inward working in your Hearts while this word is sounding in your ears or represented to your eyes in reading of it that was in the Disciples going to Emaus while Christ talked with them and opened the Scriptures Luke 24.32 Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us c. Have you not some secret motions gripings and prickings at the heart under this or other ordinance this is the voice of Christ saying Open to me c. and the more sensible and piercing these are the more loud is Christ's call 6. Are there no fears upon the hearts of God's people lest Christ his stay at our doors should not be long Are there no signes and symptomes of Christ's weariness and readiness to depart seen and taken notice of Is there not a general fear upon the Spirits of most men lest the Gospel should be ready to be removed what ground and cause men have for those fears from second causes I say nothing but that there is such a fear however it comes to pass or what it is grounded upon is evident and I am sure this cannot be without the hand of God This fear is an evil of affliction it disquiets and troubles the spirits of men and therefore must needs proceed from the hand of God For the Prophet tells us Amos 3.6 That there is no evil in the City but the Lord doth it This negative interrogation being a more vehement affirmation And if Christ should not wholly depart and take away his Gospel yet his particular cal●s by inward convictions and strivings of his Spirit may not last long as he gives you a day so he will give you but a day and then he will swear in his wrath that ye shall never enter into his rest How much of this day may be spent you may better guess than any one can tell you knowing how long he hath called and waited how clear and full convictions have been and how they are now how hot the Gospel hath shined and how cool it is now and the shadows of the evening stretched out And if this be gone what will it advantage you to have the Gospel continued It will be but for your hardening and the sealing you up to everlasting destruction Isaiah was a powerful Preacher and yet you see what a message God sent him to Israe● Isai 6.9 10. It is a very uncomfortable message to a faithful Minister of Christ to be sent upon this errand but yet it is the message that God sends them to many an one with and if this be our message to you it will be sad However we must go what message our Master sends us and if it be sad to us it will be ten thousand times more dreadful to you Only our earnest desire is that you might know at least in this your day the things that belong to your everlasting peace before they be hidden from your eyes And these general fears are a loud call to delay or linger no longer but open to Christ 7. Are not all these Calls by Gospel-Ordidinances in answer to your Prayers Here I speak to you that do pray For I am not ignorant that there are a generation of prayerless souls in the world and I wish they were not so great a number There are but too many Families that call not upon the name of God which the Prophet prayes that God would pour his wrath upon Jer. 10.25 and dreadful will the wrath of God be when it comes But I speak here to those that do pray Hath it not been your Prayer that God would return into his resting place he and the ark of his strength Have not you prayed Arise O north-winde and come thou south and breath upon my garden Let my beloved come into his garden Have not you prayed that you might see and meet with God as sometimes you have done in his Sanctuary That you might sit down under his shadow with great delight and his fruit might be pleasant to your taste Have not you sighed and breathed out