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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	saviour_n	spirit_n	worship_v	2,314	5	9.2452	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61638	Shecinah, or, A demonstration of the divine presence in the places of religious worship being an essay, tending to promote piety, prevent apostacy, and to reduce grosly deluded souls, first to their right wits, then to the right waies, of Gods publick instituted worship / by John Stillingfleete ...	Stillingfleet, John, 1630 or 1-1687.	1663 (1663)	Wing S5680; ESTC R9466	109,230	256

The Word of Christ is the Instrument the Spirit maketh use of to beget life in the soul by working Faith Christs very Sermon could do no good in order to the producing of life in the soul were it not accompanied with the Spirit of Christ § 6. I shall onely hint at one place more It 's very observable that St. Paul calls the Gospel The Ministration of the Spirit 2 Cor. 3.8 because of the Spirits Presence with the Word and because it hath the efficacy of the Spirit joyned with it For the understanding of this observe a twofold opposition betwixt the Law and the Gospel First The Law is called the Ministration of the Letter the Gospel the Ministration of the Spirit The Law is called the Ministry of the Letter because whilst it commands or forbids us any thing it affords no inward strength at all whereby the heart may have an inward obedience wrought in it but onely propounds the external command written in Tables of Stone and therefore called the Letter But the Gospel whilst it declares remission of sins and life eternal through Christ it administers also the help assistance and presence of the Spirit by which Faith is stirred up in our hearts whereby wee apply Christ himself and all his benefits unto our souls and therefore 't is called the Ministration of the Spirit Secondly The Law is called the Ministry of Death the Gospel the Ministry of Righteousness and Life The one the Ministry of Death because of the Letter for the Letter killeth whilst it giveth no inward strength or assistance to yeeld obedience to those commands it layes upon us and so the flesh and corrupt nature is more and more provoked and becomes more obnoxious to death and sin than before This is clear from Rom. 7.11 The Law gives occasion to sin to slay the man The Gospel is the Ministry of Life because it affordeth power and the help of the Spirit which produces Faith by which Christ is applied to the soul for life and salvation so that by the Spirit the Gospel affordeth life to the beleeving soul This made Paul say Gal. 2.20 the life which I now live is by Faith in the Son of God Take a Christian without Faith and you do unchristian him hee is left as an ordinary man So take the Gospel without the Presence of the Spirit and it is but a dead Letter That there is such a Presence of the Spirit I have shewed by Scripture The next thing is to shew it from reasons grounded upon undeniable experiences For the better apprehending of them I have moulded them into so many practical Queries § 7. Qu. 1. What makes Gods Children that have excellent Teachers yet pray for the opening of their eyes and spiritual illumination It is from their sense and sight of the want of the Spirits teaching to be superadded to the preaching of men Though David had Nathan and Gad excellent Teachers yet hee begged of God that hee would open his eyes that hee might see the wonderful things of his Law All the light in the world cannot make a man see if hee want a seeing faculty The most raised Preaching can do as little good to the souls of men if they have not spiritual eye-salve bestowed upon them to open the eyes of their dark understandings Barrenness in Prayer is seldome without unfruitfulness in hearing because they seldome get much good in hearing of the Word that are not often begging the Spirits Presence in the Word § 8. Qu. 2. What made so many that heard our Saviour Christ in the flesh yet remain in their unbeleef Was it not because they onely heard the Word of Christ but had not the Spirit of Christ going along with it How blinde were the Jews even after Christ brought light into the world They loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil When the good Word of God comes to had hearts unless the Spirit sets it home effectually to make them better they ordinarily become worse For wicked men are much like Swine turn their eyes up to the light and they fall a crying and bring the light of the Word to wicked hearts and they fall a railing and reviling Thus the Jews dealt with our Saviour You would think it were an admirable way for conversion to have heard Christ preaching to men and truly so it was yet wee see many beleeved not You may be ready to think the Ministers preaching foolishness as many do yet many have been converted by their teaching Is it not strange that ever any that heard Christ should go away unconverted that was God as well as Man and that any should be converted unto God that hear sinful men preach Truly not at all because the Word of Christ went to some men and was not set home by the Spirit And the same Word and Gospel-Truths though preached by sinful men is accompanied with the Spirit and that makes it effectual § 9. Qu. 3. What made Peter so successful in his Ministry that at one Sermon hee converted three thousand souls Act. 2.41 And yet wee never read of such a plentiful harvest gathered in at once by our Saviour Christ That chapter tells us God had just then poured out the Spirit which was the fruit of Christs Ascension Vers 33. There were the same Truths before and one would have thought a better Preacher when Christ himself was in the Pulpit And see how Christs Sermon takes with the people From vers 16. to vers 31. ●uke 4. Is not this Josephs Son Instead of looking well at the Doctrine they fall a cavilling at the Person a poor mean inconsiderable fellow a Carpenters Son Hee was then upon as precious matter as any in all the Book of God Hee told them what hee came into the world for it was to do good and to save souls vers 18 19. Enough to have melted the hardest hearts and humbled the proudest sinners if meer words would have done it and 't is said they all wondred at his gracious words vers 22. Well! but see the issue of all Vers 28. They were filled with wrath Vers 29. They thrust him out of the City and indeavoured to tumble him down the Hill You see here their good will to Christ notwithstanding all his pains and preaching Hee came to break their hearts and they in recompence would have broke his neck Hee preached to save their Souls and they would have taken away his life Certainly if Christ had so bad successe then Peter who denyed his Master would have had far worse if worse could be had No such matter There was the Spirit powred out and did powerfully set home the Word by Peter's ministry which Christ was not pleased to let work powerfully upon the hearts of his hearers for reasons best known to himself And that is the reason of that kind welcome the Word received Now when they heard this Acts. 2.37 they were pricked in

to turn them to vain inquiries and curious speculations that so if they will be knowing hee may keep them busied about unprofitable curiosities contrary to the saving knowledge taught by the Holy Spirit of God § 6. Five waies Satan promotes Curiosity to prevent saving knowledge First By putting us upon inquiring after those things which God hath not revealed It might prevent many miscarriages in inquisitive curious minds if they had often such handsome jerks as St. Aust in gave him that would needs know what God was doing of before hee created the World hee told him hee was making Hell for such curious inquirers into Gods secrets Secret things belong to God yet the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him Labour to fear God and all those secrets that are for our advantage shall be known It 's the greatest folly in the world to endeavour to be wise beyond Gods revealed will Secondly By making us industrious to inquire after those things that nothing concerns us As when any are busying themselves about the Apostasie of the Angels and searching after reasons of the irrecoverableness of their fall and in the mean while neglect salvation offered by Christ for their own lost and undone souls Thirdly By putting us upon the studying after the knowledge of things less necessary As when one should devote and immerse himself wholly in the searching into the circumstances of Worship and the ceremonies of the Church and in the mean while neglect the studying the very Articles of the Covenant of Grace Fourthly By putting us upon studying the more difficult places of Scripture neglecting those that are most for edification When one reads the Revelations of St. John more than his plain Epistles The Devil knows hee is no loser and the curious soul but a little gainer if hee can but perswade him to be alwaies poring upon Daniels Prophesies with a neglect of Davids Psalms If hee can but put him upon reconciling difficult Scriptures and neglect mortifying unruly lusts and the quickening his affections by the plainest Truths Fifthly By making souls not to rest barely in Gods revealed Will without a reason of it and for it How far this Curiosity-hath driven those of the Socinian perswasion may easily be seen by those many gross opinions that are extant in their writings which make many for-bear to own them as Christians It is a very gross failing in the studying of things of God to bring all things down to the measure of humane reason There is reason for us to beleeve it if God sayes it and to practise any thing if wee are assured that God commands it And yet Christianity is so far from stripping men of their reason that no Profession doth put any upon so true an use of it and doth so ennoble the rational faculties of man as the Christian Religion doth The Spirit of God in teaching souls effectually the things of God for their salvation removes this gross impediment of a curious mind and makes plain necessary and most edifying Truths to be most acceptable § 7. II. Suggerendo The Spirit teacheth the Soul by suggesting Gospel Truths unto the soul When the Spirit of God teaches any in order to make them new men it brings new Truths into the minds of men All Old things are done away and all things become new These are called new Truths in regard of the subject receiving of them not in regard of the Spirits suggesting of them for the same Truths are alwaies taught by the Spirit now as were formerly nor in opposition to the Word for so they are not new Truths but such as of old were revealed and declared in the Word The very office of the Spirit in suggesting Truths is restrained by Christ himself to those Truths which our Saviour had formerly taught us I shall shew further from John 14.26 § 11. There may be new suggestions of the Spirit in setting home Divine Truths upon the mind and these are really new to the soul that receives them but they are old Truths of the Word and not new Revelations that the Spirit teaches to beleeving souls and in this sense we are to understand those Scriptures which speak of the teaching of the Spirit of God Yee need not that any man teach you 1 John 2.27 but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things and is Truth Not that we need not a Ministry but he speaks comparatively you shall not be so helped by any instructions without the Spirit as with the Spirit The Spirit shall declare the Truth as it is in Jesus The Spirit this Holy unction shall teach the Saints all things not all things knowable that is impossible for finite creatures to attain to But The Spirit teaches 1. All things needful for salvation of the Soul 2. All things needful to life and godlinesse 2 Pet. 1.3 3. All things needful to our places callings and ages 4. All things needful to preserve us in the way of Gospel Truth against errour and seducers which is the main thing St. John hints at in that expression So also in the Gospel of St. John When the Spirit of Truth is come he shall guide you into all truth John 16.13 This promise primarily belongs to the Apostles Secondarily to all Beleevers Three things promised to the Apostles First immediate illumination by the Spirit of God Secondly A full knowledge of all those Truths belonging to their Apostle-ship necessary Truths for them at that juncture of time and as to their Office Thirdly Absolute infallibility as to matter of Doctrine Three things also promised to all Beleevers First Mediate illumination teaching Truths by the Spirit of Truth in the use of the means of Grace Secondly Knowledge of all Truths necessary to salvation Thirdly Infallibility too so far forth as they adhere to the spirit teaching in the Word otherwise Gods dearest Children may be overtaken with errours § 8. III. Illuminando By enlightening the mind There must not onely be an object presented and the light of truth without but a light also within for the mind to see objects that are presented All the light in the world is never able to make us see Divine Truths savingly till wee are enlightened of the Lord. Yee were sometimes darkenesse but now are yee light in the Lord. Ephes 5.8 The Ephesians while unregenerate were meer darkenesse but after conversion they are truly enlightned their eyes are cleared their minds are rightly informed so that now they may be rightly called light in the Lord. This is a light within that wee must own and commend to all viz. Light in the Lord. Light that comes in after darknesse that speaks unregeneracy is expelled wee must walk as Children of this light Light in the Lord None truly enlightned but those that are in Christ Out of Christ the highest light is meer darknesse There is no true light that leads to salvation but what comes from Christ the Sun of Righteousnesse And this

from a general and calls that Scripture that comes by a clear consequence from it It is written Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God And Further our Saviour sticks not to say It is written And him onely thou shalt serve Though it be but implied in that place of Moses Spanhem Dub. Evang Par. 3. D. 65. p. 292 For indeed the very nature of the subject spoken of implies a peculiar reference unto God alone Because those things such as worship and fear which are due unto God as God are due onely unto God with whom no creature can claim a partnership in Divine Adoration without great Sacriledge and none can be admitted to it without gross Idolatry Argum. 2. If the necessary requisites of the proper object of Adoration be onely in God then Adorability is proper onely unto God For how can that be the object of Divine Worship which is not qualified with those properties and attributes that are necessary for its constitution in such a capacity but in God alone are those requisites found Which are these three Frist Omniscience that hee that is worshipped should know all our wants our sighs and groans and know the deepest secrets of the most retired thoughts of our hearts As true Worship may inwardly be performed many times by the secret thoughts of the mind so it is necessary that hee that is thus worshipped should have a peircing and omniscient eye to have a clear and full view of those very thoughts For otherwise hee may be worshipped and hee not know it And then what small comfort would it be for the most spiritual worshippers to serve him with their hearts who unless hee be omniscient would be ignorant whether they worshipped him or no. Secondly Omnipotency that hee should be able to help us in our wants and give in a supply suitable to our greatest grievances and necessities Why should I worship one that is not able to help mee or why should I not worship and adore any thing else besides God if that were as able to supply my wants and relieve mee in any kinde of misery as God is who is Omnipotent Thirdly Omnipresence that hee should every where hear our prayers and answer our requests This was one great peece of unreasonableness in the worship of the Heathens that they made choice of such Gods to worship which they themselves acknowledged were confined to particular places and so could not be present to help them under any sudden emergency and because they wanted power their worshippers would remain helpless still though they were present in their very Temples the places of their confinement Now God the God of Israel the Onely Being in the world that is both Omniscient Omnipotent and Omnipresent and therefore Adorability is proper onely to him § 3. This Proposition being thus proved it may easily be improved to convince the Papists of grievous Idolatry in worshipping those things with a Religious Worship which are not proper objects of Adoration as Images Saints and the like As also to condemn the Socinians those great Patrons of Reason of their gross absurdity and unreasonableness in devesting Christ of his Divinity and yet of attributing Divine Worship and Adoration to him notwithstanding hee is held but a Creature But I had rather prevent a mistake and miscarriage amongst ordinary Christians than stand to confute those that are visibly the Disciples of Antichrist as the former or those that have really forfeited the very name of Christians as the Latter The mistake is this when Christ our Mediator God and Man is propounded in Scripture as the Object of our Religious Worship and Adoration less wary minds may be apt to terminate their Worship upon his humane nature When as 't is evident the humane nature and flesh of Christ is not God though it be the flesh of God viz. of God the Son and personally united to him But the personal union of the Divine and Humane Nature in Christ the Mediator doth neither destroy nor confound the proprieties of either but leaves them entire as they are in themselves And Adorability is no less a propriety of the Divine Nature than Omniscience Omnipotence Omnipresence and Eternity are God therefore manifest in the flesh is to be worshipped with a Religious Worship but his flesh ought not thus to be worshipped As the King may be civilly worshipped who wears a Crown or Diadem upon his head and bears a Scepter the emblem of Majesty in his hand yet neither Crown nor Diadem nor Scepter can be said to be honoured with a civil worship And the godly are then said to have worshipped Christ when they knew clearly his Divinity that hee was God as well as Man As the blinde man made whole when Christ had told him hee was the Son of God that cured him Then hee said Joh. 9.37 38 Lord I beleeve and hee worshipped him Thus those that saw Christ walking upon the Sea and quieting of it Mat. 14.33 Then they that were in the Ship came and worshipped him saying of a truth thou art the Son of God See also the example of Peter Luke 5.8 And the Women that sought Christ in the Sepulchre Matth. 28.9 And the Apsstles that were gathered together in the Mount when Christ took his leave of them Vers 17. When they saw him they worshipped him whom they knew now to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead § 4. Before I pass to the next Proposition wee may here from this first learn a true account why Heathenish Worshippers would never admit the Worship of the True God of Israel under the Old Testament or of Jesus Christ revealed under the New Testament dispensation but would willingly entertain the Worship of all other Gods whatsoever One would have thought the True God who truly is the proper object of Adoration might as well have been entertained as any of the false and fained Deities The reason was this because it was very indifferent to Satan after what manner hee was worshipped so hee was but worshipped at all hee could easily admit a multiplicity of Gods But The God of Israel and Jesus Christ when they are worshipped they must be worshipped alone they and none other all else must be excluded it being the first and chiefest of all Gods Commands Thou shalt not have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 any other Gods before my face But the Worship of false Gods did not at all hinder but that worship might be given to other Idols so that the kind and degree of it peculiar to each Idoll was but distinguished by their Disciples § 5. Propos 2. Actual Adoration or Worship is due to God from all intelligent creatures by the obligation of nature Actual Adoration and the formal exhibition of Worship is neither essential to God to have it or to the creatures to give it Not to God to have it because God was before there were any creatures to worship and adore him And it

Companions but in a safe sense to bee our Protectors The Angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him Psal 14.7 and delivereth them He shall give his Angels charge over thee Psal 91.11 Piscator to keep thee in all thy waies Thy waies that is those that God hath marked out for thee Now the Devil layes his cloven Foot upon the Principal part of the promise and if Possible would have cheated our Saviour into disobedience to expect the Angels help when hee was not in any of Gods waies but upon the Devils ground But are wee not in Gods way when we are enjoying of his Ordinances If so here is a clear Promise for the Presence of the Angels yea and of their Protection too They shall keep thee in all thy waies § 6. 4. Though consequences are clear Proofs such as our Saviour made use of to proove the Resurrection yet we shall produce clear words 1 Cor. 11.10 For this cause ought the woman to have power over her head 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because of the Angels What can be more clear Admit but this truth of the Angels Presence in Publick Assemblies and all the difficulties that have perplexed this place will soon vanish away Many I confesse have troubled themselves much and others more rather by augmenting than removing the difficulties of this Text. Give mee leave to clear it a little and before I have done wee need not I hope insert the Geneva note on this place What this meaneth I do not yet understand And I humbly conceive wee need not reserve the knowledge of this as also of that of being Baptized for the dead 1 Cor. 15.29 till wee come to heaven As the Reverend and Holy Mr. R. Bolton with much modesty and humility thinks wee must Let us therefore briefly examine the Text and clear the emergent doubts For this cause ought the woman 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to have power on her Head The Apostle is here bringing the Saints of Corinth to a right decorum in their Church-Assemblies this vers concerns the women It is indecent to have the veil 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * Velum appellat 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 potestatem pro signo vel indicio potestatis quam in uxorem vir habet vel patius velum quo caput faeminarum obnubilari vult Apostolus ideo vocatur ab co 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod ejusmodi velum Hebraice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vocatur Arabes illud vocant 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cant. 5 7. Isa 3.23 quarum vocum illa enim ● R. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ista a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 utrumque autem thema significat 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dominari 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 potestatem in aliquem exercere itaque 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 non m●le reddi potest si primitiv● vocis prop●●am signific●●ionem spectemus velum autem illud dietum esse ab Haebraeis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ideo quod esset sign●●s subjectionis faeminarum erga viros Facile concesserim D. Fesseli Adversa Sacra l. 2. c. 17. sect 6. Camer in Locum off from the womans Head For by power we are to understand the Veil which is the sign Power the thing signified this Metonymy is frequent in Scripture Thus Camerarius glosses upon the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Power that is a covering or veil being a sign of the power of her Husband to which the woman is subjected to Now the reason is subjoyned 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Because of the Angels who are Guardians of the Church and Assistants of the Church Assemblies these would be offended at it So wee see the Text is clear and the Argument strong all irreverence and indecency must be avoided in our Publick Assemblies because it is not onely odious unto God but even offensive to the holy Angels whose Presence God hath afforded to be both spectators and assisters in his Publick Worship Having thus cleared the Text. I shall indeavour to remove these four doubts following § 7. Quest 1. But may it not be understood of the Ministers of Christ who are often called Angels as the Revelations of St. John mention the Angels of the seven Churches viz. the Pastors and Ministers of those places Answ 'T is granted Calvin in Los habet sensum Pareus autem ibid. verba regulae they are called Angels sometimes but that Rule that Calvin laies down will tell us when the word Angels is not to be applied to them Angelorum Nomen absolute positum nunquam ponitur nisi proprie The word Angels put absolutely is never taken otherwise than properly So that it cannot be meant of the Ministers of the Gospel in this place And I finde but one place which Beza produces as an instance to overturn this general Rule Eccles 5.6 Say not before the Angel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hee would have it the High Priest and to be understood of Ministers after him But I have already shewn that the word in that place is meant of Angels properly and is taken collectively to denote the good Angels that attend at Publick Assemblies § 8. Quest 2. May it not be understood of the Devils evil Angels so they may be taken absolutely as the rule would have it And the Apostle himself uses this very word for the Devils 1 Cor. 6.3 Know yee not that wee shall judge the Angels that is the Devils and the Argument would be clear and strongly urged by the Apostle because the Devil would abuse the beauty of women when unveiled to tempt men to lustful thoughts Answ Dr. Lightfoots Harm on the place I acknowledge this a most ingenious gloss upon the place which Tertullian hinted of old and our late learned Harmonist urges from 1 Cor. 6.3 and the Argument is good and strong urged by the Apostle Yet still by consequence wee may infer the presence of good Angels for if the Devil be there to tempt why not the good Angels to assist us in Worship since they are Ministring Spirits to help the heirs of Salvation Yea Heb. 1.14 but if wee narrowly look into the Text and Context wee may finde all the Arguments there to be drawn from the indecorum the indecency it self and not from the remote and occasional consequences of it as tempting to lust and the like and therefore I humbly conceive the Argument in the tenth verse speak reference immediately to the good Angels and not to the bad § 9. Quest 3. Suppose it be meant of the holy Angels yet may it not be understood by way of exhortation rather than aggravation that is are they not exhorted to have a veil on their heads in imitation of the Angels who have a special care to reverence the Blessed Trinity and therefore with two wings cover their faces in the presence of the Lord of Hosts Isa 6.2 So should Women be veiled in token