Selected quad for the lemma: father_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
father_n	john_n	son_n	spirit_n	18,006	5	5.9361	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A88993	A sermon preached to the Honorable House of Commons, at their late solemne fast, Wednesday, Feb. 26. 1644. / By John Maynard, minister of the Word of God at Mayfield in Sussex, and a member of the Assembly of Divines.	Maynard, John, 1600-1665.	1645 (1645)	Wing M1452; Thomason E277_2; ESTC R200000	34,511	39

such a poore and humble spirit as Agur was surely I am more brutish then any man so the translation but as ye see the word any is in a smaller Character not being in the originall neither doe I think it ought to be supplied but we are to read it thus I am more brutish then man according to that of the Psalmist man being in honour abideth not he is like the beasts that perish Man being honoured with the image of God in wisdome and Holinesse his spirit shining with the Beauty and glory of Divine truth did not abide in this condition but lost the truth yeelding himselfe to be seduced by the father of lies and so no longer had the wisedom of man in him but degraded himselfe from his created Dignity debased himselfe to the ranke of brute creatures enthralled his immortall Soul and intellectuall nature to his brutish senses and affections and the next words of Agur confirm this sense And have not the understanding of Adam in me that understanding and knowledge of Holy truth which was in Adam and was properly belonging to the nature of man He that knoweth not thus much of himselfe knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know and is no fit Merchant to Trade for truth Christ first informeth the Laodicean of his wants Thou art wretched and miserable and poore and blind and naked and then counselleth him to buy vers. 18. Secondly He that buyeth giveth a considerable value But alas what have we to give that is considerable If we offer gold or silver what can we expect but such an answer as Simon Magus had Thy money perish with thee because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money And Solomon telleth us This wisdom of Divine truth is better then rubies and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it which maketh good what I said before we cannot buy truth too dear all outward things that can be desired are not to be compared to it And therefore we may conclude This buying is not of the nature of common contracts in which there is a just proportion between the price and the purchase but rather such as hath some remote Analogy or resemblance to it such as that where the Lord by solemn Proclamation offereth a free and open market H● every one that thirsteth come ye to the waters and he that hath no money Come ye buy and eat yea come buy Wine and milk without money and without price And indeed whosoever getteth possession of saving Truth he hath it by a free gift of meere grace yet so that we must give up whatsoever is necessary for the obtaining of Truth and cast away whatever may hinder us in the receiving or retaining of Truth or is inconsistent with it 1. We must give up our selves our hearts spirits souls bodies to the God of Truth We must bee content to part with any outward things for the procuring and promoting of Truth for the supporting and maintaining of Truth we must account our selves gainers by every losse which we can possibly suffer for Truth 2. On the other side we must renounce and cast away our lusts our own corrupt reason blind carnall notions and prejudices in a word we must out our selves of our selves and yeeld up our selves into the entire possession of the Truth and in all this we give nothing unto God for whatsoever we give up to him for Truth is his own already and cannot bee withheld from him without wrong and robbery what wee cast away is worse then nothing and if we leave it not we keep it to our losse and utter undoing It remaineth then that though we are said in some sort to buy yet Truth is a most free gift of God and conveyed to man by a meere Act of grace Thirdly If we will buy Truth we must get the propriety of it we must make it our own get it into our possession have a sure interest in it and title to it For the Truthes sake which dwelleth in us and shall be with us for ever Then hath a man bought the Truth when he hath so owned it and given it such possession of his heart that it is in him as in an everlasting Mansion so as to dwell in him and be in him for ever when he is so possessed of the Truth and the Truth hath such possession of him as to denominate and Characterize him according to that Hereby we know that we are of the Truth and shall assure our hearts before him As great Persons are denominated from their Seates Mannor-houses c. Such a Lord of such a place So he that will buy Truth must get such possession of it and propriety in it as that he may by good right take a title of honour from the truth his own conscience bearing him witnesse in the Holy Ghost that he is of the Truth Thirdly Of whom must we buy Truth This hath been intimated before even of him who is the God of Truth who is the first the Highest Truth the Fountain of all Truth who calleth himselfe I Am because he is in and of himselfe the onely infinite perfection of being and so the infinite perfection of Truth He seeth and knoweth his own essence infinitely perfect and glorious with a most exact knowledge of infinite perfection and some have conceived that this contemplation of God the Father reflecting upon His owne Majesty and glory is the eternall and unspeakable generation of the Son But we are to speak soberly of these mysteries so farre above us Howsoever when we use Scripture-language we are warranted by the highest Authority which calleth Christ the brightnes of his Fathers glory and the expresse image of his Person and the Son of God saith of himselfe I am the Truth And the Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son is called the Spirit of Truth To this fountain wee must bring our empty pitchers if we would be filled with these living waters and take in these pure streames of Truth John being in the Spirit saw before the throne of God in heaven a Sea of glasse like unto Crystall The Saints may have their Vials filled with Truth but here is veritatis plenitudo An Ocean and full Sea of Truth and that without mud or mixture cleere as crystall wherein the faithfull Soule may see the glory of God shining in the Face of Christ Here is the Springhead of Truth and they which come not to God and are not inwardly acquainted with him in Christ are strangers to the Truth they never looked into this Sea of crystall which is before the throne of God And so I come to the fourth and last particular to shew the necessity of making this purchase ye see it is absolutely commanded in the Text and because a threefold cord is not easily broken observe how Solomon strongly twisteth together a threefold