A03604:84
The souls exaltation A treatiseThe soules exaltation A treatise
The souls exaltation A treatise containing the souls union with Christ, on I Cor. 6. 17. The souls benefit from union with Christ, on I Cor. 1. 30. The souls justification, on 2 Cor. 5. 21. By T.H.The soules exaltation A treatise containing the soules union with Christ, on I Cor. 6. 17. The soules benefit from vnion with Christ, on I Cor. 1. 30. The soules justification, on 2 Cor. 5. 21. By T.H.
London: printed by John Haviland for Andrew Crooke, 1638London: printed by Iohn Haviland for Andrew Crooke, 1638
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Then know that the Spirit of God doth in the first stroke of faith, as the Spirit of God did upon the waters: Gen. 1.2. the text saith, there […] confused lump, and the Spirit moved upon the […] and set upon that confused lump, fas••• […] ⟨p. 30⟩the creature out thereof: so it is with the Spirit, (and when I speak of the Spirit, I intend the promise too) the Spirit in the promise meeting with an humbled soul now abased, and staggering and quarrelling with himself, he is in a confused estate, he knows not what to make of himself, nor of his confused condition: now the good Spirit of the Lord moves upon the soul, and leaves a spiritual dint and supernatural work upon it; and the soul by virtue thereof is carried, and fitted, and fashioned to go to Christ: this I take to be the meaning of that place, Acts 26, 18. Saint Paul was sent to turn men from darkness to light: Now it is a confession amongst all Protestant Divines, that the first stroke of the Spirit is upon the soul: there is nothing in the soul that can drive sin from the soul, and pluck the soul from sin; but the Spirit works this, and the soul takes this blow, and by virtue of that Spirit, the soul is pulled from corruption, and turned from sin: this is a confessed truth, that the first stroke in conversion is not from any thing within the soul, but it is from the Spirit; nay the same stroke doth two things; it turns from darkness to light: the same hand, and the same stroke doth both these; as for example, when you tear one thing from another, as you rear it from the other, you pull it to your self: he that pulls a bough from a tree, as he pulls it from the tree, he plucks it to himself: so the same Spirit that works upon the soul in calling it from sin, it doth work upon the soul in drawing ⟨p. 31⟩it to Christ: it pulls off hope from the world, and makes it expect a Christ; it pulls off desire from the world, and makes it long for Christ; it pulls off love from the world, and makes it entertain a Christ; it pulls off the will from the world, and makes it choose a Christ; so that one stroke doth both, and it is plain, therefore the work of the Spirit upon the soul must bring it unto Christ. The like phrase we have,