Baptized 1584 – 1639
Dyke was a Calvinistic puritan and the brother of Daniel Dyke.
A Worthy communicant: Or a Treatise Showing the Due Order of Receiving the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper (London: Printed by J. Raworth for Luke Fawn, 1645), p. 373-5
God commands us to come to Christ; “come, for all things are ready,” [Luke 14:17] We do not only have a commandment, which might have sufficed, but we have a promise, “Him that comes to Me, I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37), that is, I will with all hearty welcome embrace and receive those that come to and believe in Me. I see that “come” and the “welcome.” The Christ that bids me, if I come at his bidding, will bid me welcome. Does my soul doubt it? Then consider what Christ is by what He was on earth. I find in the gospel that the poorest, and meanest, might come to Him. I see in Matt 21:14 that the lame and the blind came to Him; they came, and they were welcome; they came to Him, and He healed them. If I come to Him, I shall find Him a healing Christ. And how much my soul needs healing! I see that a leper comes, a foul unclean leper, and yet he is not loathed for his leprosy, neither does Christ reprove him and tell him to keep off. He was welcome too and had his leprosy cleansed. I never find Christ displeased with any for coming to Him; never find Him complaining of any for coming. I see none refused, or forbidden to come. I hear Christ complain that men did not, would not come. I find Christ displeased with His disciples for forbidding little ones to come: “Suffer little children to come; yes, and He embraces and blesses them” (Mark 10:16). Now I see that Christ bars none from coming… I will go to Him; Lord Christ, I will come to Thee.
Diverse Select Sermons on Several Texts, 1640, London
‘Of Quenching and Not Quenching of the Spirit’, p. 1-150
“Quench not the Spirit.”
1 Thess. 5:19
p. 4
Now for the words, Quench not the Spirit. In them there is a Metaphor, and a Metonymy [the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant]. The metaphor in the word ‘Quench’: Quenching properly is of fire, when the light and heat of fire is abated and put out, we use to say it is quenched. And hence is this word borrowed to signify the abating, decaying, or extinguishing of the Spirit.
The metonymy [the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant] is in the word ‘Spirit’. ‘Spirit’ is taken:
…
III. For the gifts of the Spirit. And thus it is here meant [in the 1 Thess. 5:19]. Quench not the gifts and graces of the Spirit. Now the ‘Spirit’, in this sense, is taken [understood] diversely.
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3. For the gifts and common graces of illumination, as knowledge of the doctrine of religion, understanding of the truths of the Gospel, and other such common graces as reprobates may have. Thus it is taken in Heb. 6:4, have tasted of the heavenly gift, and made partakers of the Holy Ghost. That is, if they had their understandings enlightened and their judgments convinced of the Gospel, if they were enlightened by the word of the Spirit of God.
p. 9
Secondly, take the ‘Spirit’ for the gifts and common graces of illumination, and so the Spirit may be quenched, and utterly extinguished, so as such may quite lose that grace that looked like grace, and came very near a saving grace. If they fall away, Heb. 6. Therefore men may have all that there is spoken of [in Heb. 6:4-10] which fall away.
p. 116-8
And this very thing is that which undoes men and a main reason that they never come to believe, repent, etc. God’s Spirit moves to these things, and when He makes the motion, He offers his help; and men they put off these motions, they will set upon [to exercise] faith, repentance, obedience, and they will pray, but at this time they cannot so well do it. At such a time they will do their things: And when they come at these they cannot for their lives repent or pray, they find the work utterly impossible, if they had set upon it when God’s Spirit counselled to it, because that was the time in which God’s help was to be had: so that the quenching of the Spirit is the losing of God’s help and assistance in duties.
Behold I stand at the door and knock, Rev. 3[:20], if any man will open. Alas! we cannot open the door, it is so locked, and barred, and bolted, that it is impossible for us to open it. True, it is so, but yet there is a way to open, and that is to be opening when God would help us open. When God offers to help you to open the door, then set upon opening the door, and whatever the bolts, bars, and locks are, you shall be sure to have it open.
1. But when does God offer to help us to open it? Then when his Spirit knocks, when in the motions thereof He solicits us to open, then God offers his help to help us to open. Take that time, and then set on the work, and the door shall be opened. But if that time be neglected, we may strive to open but cannot open, because then that power is gone that would have helped us to open. See Eccl. 9:12: Man also knows not his time. This is one cause of man’s misery, that he knows not his time, that he misses the time of doing himself most good. Not to strike in and close with God when He offers his help, is to miss our time, and this makes us miserable. And this misery of missing our time is the fruit of quenching the Spirit. The time of God’s help is the time of his Spirit’s solicitations. They that neglect the time of the Spirit’s motions, they neglect God’s time of help; they that lose the time of God’s help, lose ability and power to do God’s work. To day if ye will hear his voice, etc. [Heb. 3:13] What then? Hear his voice today, and then today He will help you. But when men hear not his voice today, but will stay till tomorrow, and next day, and I know not how many days, and so put off God’s Spirit, and so lose that help and assistance of the Spirit they might have had. This is that one danger of quenching the Spirit in the motions of it, we thereby lose the help and assistance of the Spirit in holy duties of obedience.
2. Secondly, a man’s quenching the Spirit in the motions thereof may prove the silencing of the Spirit for a long time after, if not forever. The Spirit in this kind quenched, will hardly be kindled again, if ever kindled, and it may be never kindled again, but so quench as quenched forever.
1. First, it may prove such a quenching as it will be very hard to recover that Spirit again. Recovered it may be, but with so much ado, with so much difficulty and toil, as could a man consider it before hand, he would fear, and take heed how he quenched the Spirit…
2. Secondly, the Spirit of God quenched in the motions thereof, may be quenched forever. The Spirit of God moves in your heart, and solicits you to believe, to repent, etc. You put Him off as Felix did Paul, When you have more convenient leisure you will hear more of him, you neglect and disregard his counsels, and motions, and so you have quenched the Spirit. Well, what can you tell whether ever He will come to you anymore, whether ever you shall hear that voice behind you anymore. It may be that He will never solicit you more. A neglected motion may be the last motion that ever He will make… So when we neglect and quench the Spirit of God in the motions thereof, who can tell whether ever the Spirit of God will do him that favor anymore? Whether He will ever dart any of those sparks of that heavenly fire into his heart or no? When he has so foolishly quenched them. The quenching of the Spirit may justly provoke Him to cease his work and to stir no more.
It is a sure thing, that the Spirit of God unkindly used will forbear, and will be gone, Isa. 30[:1], Ye shall hear a word behind you, etc. [Isa. 30:21] The stopping of our ears against his motions, will at last prove the stopping of his mouth. As in the case of the ministry, so God deals in this case, Eze. 3:26, I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shallt be dumb and shalt not be to them a reproof, for they are a rebellious house. Deaf hearts make ministers dumb, and rather than disobedient people having the Ministry of the Word, as in Jeremiah’s case, God did not only forbid them to pray for that people, but He forbade them to preach to that people, Jer. 36:5. Just so will God deal in this case; When He sends his Spirit to direct us, reprove us, and He comes and woos us, allures us, urges us to this and that duty, and we slight his motions, disregard and disobey them. God when He sees us deaf, He will make his Spirit dumb, and He will stop his Spirit’s mouth when we stop our ears. He shall no longer instruct us, direct us, reprove us, but He will suspend and silence his Spirit from doing these offices.
It suits just with that, Gen. 6:3, My Spirit shall not always strive with man; As if He should say, My Spirit has striven with them for a long time, has striven in the motions thereof to bring them to repentance, but He shall not always strive with them, there shall come a time that He shall strive no longer. So then, God would have his Spirit at last to forbear striving. And what was the cause of it? That we shall see by that place, 1 Pet. 3:19,20, the Spirit of Christ went along with the ministry of Noah, and seconded it by his solicitations. How were his solicitations entertained? They were disobedient. They listened not to the gracious motions of the Spirit and so they quenched the Spirit. And how did they quench it? My Spirit shall not always strive. They so quenched it that it should not only cease striving, but it should cease forever, He should never strive more with them, but give them up forever; go your ways, do as you will, you shall never have a good motion from my Spirit more.
See how Christ speaks to the Pharisees, John 7:33,34, Yet a little while I am with you, and then I go unto Him that sent Me. And what then? Ye shall seek Me, and shall not find Me. [John 7:34,36] Christ was with them a little while, striving with them to do them good. But they rejected the counsel of God and would none of Him. Well, says Christ, I am a little while with you, and then I go, etc. and then ye shall seek, etc. ye shall not find me though you would never so fain [desire], though you would give all the world for it. So I may say of God’s Spirit, yet a little while He is with you, yet a little while He is striving with your conscience, and urging you seriously to labor for grace, yet a little while He is with you knocking and rapping at the door of your heart, yet a little while He is with you to woo you, to allure you, to work on you in the Word, and the rest of the ordinances. But if you quench Him in these his gracious dealings with you, He will go unto Him that sent Him, and then you shall seek Him, oh that I had but one of those gracious motions I was wont [accustomed] to have! that I might but once more, once more hear the voice of God’s Spirit! thus shall you seek Him, but shall not find Him forever, a world (if you could give it) shall not purchase one whisper more, not a syllable more, from the Spirit of grace so unkindly quenched. Consider now how dangerous such a case will be, and as you would fear it should be your case: so fear to quench the Spirit. It is a great mercy of God to give us his Spirit in this kind to have these eagle’s wings fluttering over us, Neh. 9:19,20. Why then for God to call home his Spirit, and to forbid Him to strive with us, to call upon us, to instruct us, how heavy a judgement is it! It is a judgment to have a good minister silenced; what is it then to have the Spirit of God silenced! It is a sad thing to have ministers mouths stopped; what is it then to have the Spirit’s mouth stopped! Quenching the Spirit, will prove silencing the Spirit; Quenching the Spirit, will prove stopping of his mouth. So much for the danger of quenching the Spirit in the motions.
p. 139-40
But now, when the Spirit is quenched in the common gifts and graces thereof (such as reprobates may have) then the quenching of the Spirit of God, is the kindling of the Spirit of the Devil, so as he enters with so much the more power, to carry men into all manner of sin with greediness. Mark that passage, 1 Sam. 16:14, But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul. There was the Spirit of the Lord quenched. And what was the issue? Was that all? No, mark the danger that followed upon it, And an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. God’s Spirit goes, and the Devil’s spirit comes. Yea, he came so that Saul was carried into horrible and fearful sins. He proved unreasonably malignant and malicious against David… what a fury and barbarous madness is this? All this showed that now the Spirit of God was quenched, the spirit of the devil was entered and kindled. For God’s Spirit being quenched, the spirit of the devil is so kindled, that it carries him to monstrous, foul, and horrible wickedness, without all measure. Now the Spirit of God was quenched in Saul, the spirit of the Devil is not only kindled, but so kindled that he grows outrageous in his wickedness. And again, after this he goes to consult with a witch, he goes and seeks to the Devil himself. When men once play the apostates and quench God’s Spirit, the spirit of the Devil not only enters, but enters with a witness, so as he hurries them as his slaves into all excess of wickedness. They do not sin the common sins of men, Ps. 53:3…
It is with such persons as in that case, Lev. 13:18-20. If a man had a boil, and that was healed, and after the healing it brake out again, it proved the plague of leprosy. It proved worse, a more filthy and loathsome disease than before. A leprosy was a thousand times worse than before. Men that quench God’s Spirit, kindle the Devil’s spirit in them, and so kindle the spirit of the Devil in them that they who before were but boily persons, they after the quenching of the Spirit prove leprous persons, stinking and filthy, loathsome lepers, they become altogether filthy. See 2 Pet. 2:20,22. They not only turn swine, but filthy swine, swine wallowing in the mire, not besprinkled with mire, not only falling into the mire, but swine wallowing and tumbling in the mire. For when men quench the Spirit, and fall off by Apostasy, not only the spirit of Satan comes in, but there is a further matter…
p. 144
3. Thirdly, a third danger is, that a man quenching the Spirit in the graces of it, may quench it finally and totally; the quenching of the Spirit may prove total and final. Indeed the sanctifying Spirit and grace of God we saw before, cannot be so quenched; but yet the flame of that fire may be so quenched, that a man may sit cold a long while after, and such a fire kindled in his conscience withall, as may make him rue [bitterly regret] his folly that does it. Yea, the acts and operations of grace [may be] so damped, as not easily brought to life again, and the degrees and measures of grace so quenched, as possibly never recovered again, though the habits remain. And that’s such a danger as may make any wise man take heed of quenching the Spirit so.
But now for common graces, they may be so quenched, as quenched totally and finally. Totally, Ps. 53:3, They are gone backward, they are altogether become filthy. Altogether, they are altogether quenched, not a spark of good or grace left in them. Luke 19:24, Take from him his pound, not part of his pound, not half of his pound, but take the whole pound from him, Luke 8:18.
‘The Purchase and Possession of the Truth’, p. 305-395
“Buy the Truth and sell it not”
Prov. 23:23
p. 311
It is that [which] is called for, Isa. 55:1, “Come ye, buy and eat, but wine and milk.” It is not enough to come and look and gaze upon this commodity, to praise and commend it, no not enough to bid for it, and offer for it, but we must strike through the bargain, and buy it. A man may bid and not buy, but we must bid and buy both.
p. 330
Secondly, hearing the Word, and attending upon the ministry thereof. As Paul speaks of Christ, Rom. 15:8, that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God. so it may in another sense be said of the ministers of the Gospel, that they are ministers of the Gospel for the truth of God, to make known the truth of God, to offer and tender it unto people. And Mal. 2:6, The law of truth was in Levi’s mouth. God sends them to set his truth to sale, they bring this commodity to market.
p. 334
I may allude to that speech of Christ’s, Zech. 11:12, If you think good, give me my price, and if not forbear. So the Lord in this case says to us, If you think good of my commodity that I offer to you, you shall have it, but then you must not think to have it at your own price, but you must give me my price, the price that I ask and set you. The seller sets one price, and the buyer offers another, but if the buyer offer too low a price, he must rise and come to the seller’s price if he will have his commodity. It is not enough then if we will buy the truth to offer a price, and give a price, but we must give God’s price, that is, the full price.
Related Pages
The Sincere Free Offer of the Gospel
Historic Reformed Quotes on the Sincere Free Offer of the Gospel