Ambrose - Houston-Packer Collection BX5200 .A49 1674

Chap.1.sea. 11. JLoo3mg uato ·jzfu.s. Book IV. 49i 1 -,-.-~manner of the Spirits million : to the old Church the Spirit came ufually in dreams, or vilions, or in a lowUill voyce, or in fume latent ways ; bur now he came in power, in evidence and deroonfrration; ·and therefore it i~ called, the Spirit of revela- Eph.;. q, tion and~nowledge ; At the appannon ol God to Eli;ah, H IS flld, that•the Lord pajJed 1 llmg.I9·', ~· P.Y; and a::rem, mul ffrong wm_d rer.t r_he mountams, t!r.d br~ks m puccs the rock! before • th< Lord, b11t the Lord w~.« not w the ~rmd; and after the wmd an earth-qttake, but tpe Lord WM not in the earth-qu:tk!f; and aftrr the earth-quakg a fire, but the Lord WM not in rhe fire; and after thefire a {fill [mall voice, and then Elijab w~apped hu face in hi& face in hi& mantle, a; k[1owing rhe Lord; prefence ;va;; therein: the Sp~r!t came _not of o_ld, fave in a vilion, or dream, or tn a lhll fmall voyce; but now the Spmt came m a ruil11ng mighty wind, in fiery tongues, in earth-quakes, in fo much, that the place wa; jhaken Alt. 4· 3'· whert they were ajJembled, and rh:y were all filled with the Holy Ghoft: the Spirit now made choyce to come in fuch apparitions, as il10uld have in them afelf-difcovering property, which would not be hiden ; ar.d here is one diff<rence, 2 • Another difference is in refpe<.'l of the fubjetl:s' unto whom he was fent; before now he came only upon the inclofed garden ot rhe Jews, but after rhe afcenfion of Chri!t, rhe Spirit was poured upon all flelh ; now every bt!iever is of the Ifrael of God, every Chriflian i; a Temple of the Holy Gholl; now we receive the Spirit too, or elfe it is wrong with us; for if any man have not the Spirit of Chrift, he u none of hi&; Rom. 8.9. . At Perm Sermon to Cornelitu, it is faid, that the Holy Ghoftfell on all them which heard Alt. 10 •44>45 the Word ; and they of the circumcifton which believed wrre Ajfonycd, becaufe that on the Gentiles ulfo wa; poured out the gift of tke Holy Ghoft. It was fome wonder at firll:, even to the Apoa!es themfelves, but m tlm Sermon Peter acknowledges, Of a truth I Alt.to.34,3S• perceive that God Uno reFf;e[l.er of per{ons, but in every Nation he th~t feareth him, and work£th rightcoufncfs, u .accepted with him. Mark,i In every Nati•n ; upon ~llflefh, I will pour out my Spirit: Heres an other dttference. . 3. · One difference more is in the meafure of his miffion. At lir!t he was fent only in drops and dew, but now he was powred out in lhowers and abundance: 7he Ho'J. Ghoft (faith Paul) w.uJbed on m abundantly through Jefm our Sa_viour. As there are degrees Tir. 3• 6, in the wi_nd, aura,_ ;;cnttu, procella ; a bre.•t!'· ablaU, a ftttfe g~le; fo w~ ~annot deny degrees m the Spmt, the Apoftles at Chnft s refurrechon recetved the Spmt, but now they were filled with the Spirit; then it was but .a ~reath, but now it was_a ':l'ightywind•. And indeed never was the ltke meafure of the Spmt gtven to men as at thiS ume • the Fathers before this, and we and our Fathen; fince this , have but (as it were) a hi~ of the .Spirit to their Epha; fuch a Pcmeco!t as t~is, never was but this, never the like before or fince; it was Chri(l:'sCoronation-day, the day of placing him in his throne, when he gave thefe gifts unto men, and th.refore that day was all !llagnificence iJJewed above all other day•; Thus for the meafure of the Spirit nott' given to the Church of Chrift. SECT. II. Of the Rcafom why the Holy Ghoft w:U fent. 5· F 0 R the Reafons why the Holy Ghoft was fent ; they are feveral: As--- . I. That aU the Prophefies concerning this miffion might be accomplilhed. ifatah fpeak• of attme when the Spirit fhou/d be pot.red upon tu from on high, and the Ifa. 32.1 S· wtldernefs fhould be a frnirful field. And Zachary Prophelies, tha' in that day !will Zach. 12. lo, pour ~tpon the hou[e of .David, ana upon the inhabit..nu of [emfalem, the Spirit of gr.<ce and Joel 22 8 2 f~ppltcallon. _ And 7oel PropheCies yet more exprefly, It Jhall come to pa(s, thae I wtll ' ' 9 ' pour out my ~pmt~tpona/lftefh, and your fons and )'OJ<rdaughtersjhallprophefte; your old men fball dream dre•ms, your youngmtn]hall fee vi(ions; and alfo upon the fervants and upon thehand-matds tn thofe days I will pour out my Spirit, and they fhall prophefte. This very Prophefie was ctted by Peter in hi_s lira Sermon ~f~er the Spirits miffion, Ail. 2. 17, r8. tn whJCb we read of two pomtngs of the Sptm., one upon their fom and the other upon. ~u fervams; the former concerned only the Jew, they lhou!d'have Prophr!tes, Vtltons, and Dreams, the old•way of the Jews; but the latter concerns us, ~e are not of their fo~s, but of hi,$ fervants, to whom viji1ns and dreams are lefr qutte out; and therefore tf any now pretend to thofe vifions and drelms, we Fff " - · · (ay

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