Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	aaron_n	body_n	head_n	159	3	6.2156	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26804	Sermons preach'd on several occasions by William Bates.	Bates, William, 1625-1699.	1693 (1693)	Wing B1122; ESTC R27748	111,901	397

into Hell God tries them in the Furnace of Afflictions to purify and prepare them for Heaven 2. 'T is a strong Cordial against fainting to consider that by virtue of the Paternal Relation he scourges every Son whom he receives for no Troubles are more afflictive and stinging than those that are unexpected Now when we are assured that there is no Son whom the Heavenly Father doth not chasten we are less surprized when we meet with Crosses Indeed there is hardly any kind of Affliction that may befal us but we have some instance in Scripture of the Saints suffering the same Are we poor and mean in the World we should consider that Poverty with Holiness is a Divine Complexion Jesus Christ the holy and beloved Son of God had not where to lay his Head Are we under bodily Distempers good Hezekiah was struck with an uncomfortable Disease as to the Quality of it and Gaius had a flourishing Soul in a languishing Body Are our dear Relations taken away Aaron and David lost some of their Sons by terrible Strokes Are our Spirits wounded with the sense of God's Displeasure Job and Heman were under strong Terrors yet the Favourites of Heaven Briefly how many most dear to God were called forth to extream and bloody Trials for Defence of the Truth How many Deaths did they endure in one Torment How many Torments in one Death yet they were so far from fainting that the more their Pains were exasperated the more their Courage and Joy was shining and conspicuous as the Face of the Heavens is never more serene and clear than when the sharpest North Wind blows 'T is the Apostle's Inference Seeing we are compassed with such a Cloud of Witnesses let us run with Patience the Race that is set before us This is further enforc'd by the following words If ye be without Chastening whereof all are partakers then are ye Bastards and not Sons If God doth not vouchsafe us the Mercy of his Rod 't is evident we are not part of his Fatherly Care The Bramble is neglected while the Vine is cut till it bleeds 'T is a miserable Privilege to be exempted from Divine Discipline and by Ease and Prosperity to be corrupted and made fit for Destruction St. Austin represents one expostulating with God O Deus ista est Justitia tua ut mali floreant boni laborent O God it is righteous with Thee that the Wicked should prosper and the Good suffer Dicis Deo ista est Justitia tua Deus tibi ista est Fides tua haec enim tibi promisi ad hoc Christianus factus es ut in seculo isto floreres in inferno postea torquereris God replies to him Is this your Faith Did I promise you Temporal Prosperity Were you a Christian for this that you might flourish in this World and be miserably tormented in Hell The Apostle represents the special Prerogative of God as the Father of Spirits and so hath a nearer Claim to us than the Fathers of our Flesh and that he is not liable to those Imperfections that attend the Earthly Relations They for a few days chastened us for their own Pleasure Human Love is a troubled irregular Passion mixt with Ignorance and prone to Error in the Excess or Defect Sometimes Parents are indulgent and by a cruel Compassion spare their Children when they are faulty sometimes they correct without Cause sometimes when the Reason is just yet they err in the manner or measure of the Correction so that their Children are discouraged But in God there is a perfect Union of Wisdom and Love of Discretion and Tenderness his Affection is without the least Imperfection His Will is always guided by infinite Wisdom If his Children offend he will chastise them with the Rod of Men that is moderately for as in Scripture things are magnified by the Epithet Divine or of God so they are lessened by the Epithet Human. Accordingly the Apostle declares to the Corinthians that no Temptation had befallen them but such as is common to Man but God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able but will with the Temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it As a prudent Physician consults the Strength of the Patient as well as the Quality of the Disease and proportions his Medicine so all the bitter Ingredients their Mixture and Measure are dispens'd by the wise Prescription of God according to the degrees of Strength that are in his People The Apostle specifies the immediate End of God in his Chastenings But he for our Profit that we may be partakers of his Holiness This is the supream Excellency of the Divine Nature and our Conformity to it is so valuable that it renders Afflictions not only tolerable but so far desirable as they contribute to it In the present State our Graces are imperfect and our Conformity to the Divine Purity is like the Resemblance of the Sun in a watry Cloud very much beneath the Perfection and Radiancy of that great Light Now God is pleased to fashion us according to his Image by Afflictions As a Statue is cut by the Artificer to bring it into a beautiful Form He is pleased to bring us into divers Temptations to try our Faith to work in us Patience to inflame our Prayers to mortify our Carnal Desires to break those voluntary Bonds whereby we are fettered to the Earth that we may live with those Affections wherewith others die And certainly if we make a true Judgment of things we have not the least cause to suspect the Love of God when he chastises us to take away Sin the only abominable Object of his Hatred and deep Detestation and to render us Partakers of the Divine Nature And the present peaceable Fruit of Righteousness is the Product in those who are duly exercised by their Troubles It is an Allusion to the Reward of the Conquerors in the Olympick Games who had a Crown of Olives the Emblem and Shadow of Peace But true Peace a Divine Calm in the Conscience shall be the Recompence of all that exercise their Graces sutable to an afflicted State In short the Apostle assures Believers that they are chastened of the Lord to prevent their Condemnation with the World The correcting Rod delivers them from Hell This Consideration changes Thorns into Roses and extracts Honey out of Wormwood if the way be stony or showery that leads to Blessedness a Christian should willingly walk in it To conclude from the Consideration of what the Scripture declares concerning Temporal Evils let us lift up the Hands that hang down and the feeble Knees and make streight Paths for our Feet lest that which is lame be turned out of the way but let it rather be healed i. e. In our Affliction let us take Courage and Resolution from the Promises and live in a holy Conformity to God's Will that