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	call_v	prove_v	18	3	5.4131	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85783	The Christian in compleat armour. Or, A treatise of the saints war against the Devil, wherein a discovery is made of that grand enemy of God and his people, in his policies, power, seat of his empire, wickednesse, and chiefe designe he hath against the saints. A magazin open'd: from whence the Christian is furnished with spiritual armes for the battel, help't on with his armour, and taught the use of his weapon, together with the happy issue of the whole warre. The first part. / By William Gurnall, Minister of the Gospel in Lavenham. Imprimatur, Edmund Calamy.	Gurnall, William, 1617-1679.	1655 (1655)	Wing G2251; Thomason E824_1; ESTC R207679	343,381	430

without it and much ado to go with it If the flesh be kept high and lusty then 't is wanton and will not obey if low then it 's weak and soon tires Thus the Christian rids but little ground because he must go his weak bodies pace He wrestles with a body of sin as well as of flesh this mutters and murmures when the soule is taking up any duty Sometimes it keeps the Christian from duty so that he cannot do what he would As Paul said I would have come once and again but Satan hindred me I would have prayed may the Christian say at such a time and meditated on the Word I heard the mercies I received at another but this enemy hindred 'T is true indeed grace swayes the Scepter in such a soule yet as School-boyes taking their time when their Master is abroad do shut him out and for a while lord it in misrule though they are whip't for it afterwards thus the unregenerate part takes advantage when grace is not on its watch to disturb its government and shut it out from duty though this at last makes the soul more severe in mortifying yet it costs some scuffle before it can recover its throne and when it cannot shut from duty yet then is the Christian wofully yok't with it in duty it cannot do what it doth as it would many a letter in its copy doth this enemy spoil while he joggs him with impertinent thoughts when the Christian is a praying then Satan and the flesh are a prating he cries and they louder to put him out or drown his cry Thus we see the Christian is assail'd on every side by his enemy and how can it be other when the seeds of war are laid deep in the natures of both which can never be rooted up till the devil cease to be a devil sin to be sin and the Saint to be a Saint Though wolves may snarle at one another yet soon are quiet again because the quarrel is not in their nature but the Wolfe and the Lamb can never be made friends Sin will lust against grace and grace draw upon sin whenever they meet SECT III. Vse 1 First this may reprove such as wrestle but against whom against God not against sin and Satan These are bold men indeed who dare try a fall with the Almighty yet such there are and a Wo pronounced against them Isa 45.9 Wo unto him that striveth with his Maker 'T is easie to tell which of these will be worsted What can he do but break his shins that dasheth them against a rock A goodly battel there is like to be when thorns contest with fire and stubble with flame But where live those giants that dare enter the list with the great God what are their names that we may know them and brand them for creatures above all other unworthy to live Take heed O thou who askest that the wretched man whom thou seemest so to defie be not found in thy own clothes it self Iudas was the Traitour though he would not answer to his name but put it off with a Master is it I and so mayest thou be the fighter against God The heart is deceitful Even holy David for all his anger was so hot against the rich man that took away the poor mans ewe-Lamb that he bound it with an oath the man should not live who had done it yet proves at last to be himself the man as the Prophet told him 2 Sam. 12. Now there are two wayes wherein men wrestle against God First when they wrestle against his Spirit Secondly when they wrestle against his Providence First when they wrestle against his Spirit We reade of the Spirits striving with the creature Gen. 6.3 My spirit shall not alwayes strive with man Where the striving is not in anger and wrath to destroy them that God could do without any stir or scuffle but a loving strife and contest with man The old world was running with such a cariere headlong into their ruine he sends his Spirit to interpose and by his counsels and reproofes to offer as it were to stop them and reclaim them As if one seeing another ready to offer violence on himself should strive to get the knife out of his hand with which he would do the mischief Or one that hath a purse of gold in his hand to give should follow another by all manner of entreaties striving with him to accept and take it Such a kinde of strife is this of the Spirits with men They are the lusts of men those bloody instruments of death with which sinners are mischieving themselves that the holy Spirit strives by his sweet counsels and entreaties to get out of our hands They are Christs his grace and eternal life he strives to make us accept at the hands of Gods mercy and for repulsing the Spirit thus striving with them sinners are justly counted fighters against God Ye stiffe-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears ye do alwayes resist the Holy Ghost Now there is a twofold striving of the Spirit and so of our wrestling against it First the Spirit strives in his messengers with sinners They coming on his errand and not their owne he voucheth the faithful counsels reproofs and exhortations which they give as his own act Noah that Preacher of righteousnesse what he said to the old world is call'd the Preaching of the Spirit 1 Pet. 3.19 The pains that Moses Aaron and other servants of God took in instructing Israel is call'd the instruction of the Spirit Nehem. 9.20 so that when the Word which Gods Ministers bring in his Name is rejected the faithful counsels they give are thrown at sinners heels and made light of then do they strive with the Spirit and wrestle against Christ as really as if he visibly in his own person had been in the Pulpit and preached the same Sermon to them When God comes to reckon with sinners it will prove so then God will rub up your memories and minde you of his striving with you and your unkinde resisting him They whether they will heare or whether they will forbear shall know they had a Prophet among them Now men soon forget whom and what they hear ask them what was prest upon their conscience in such a Sermon they have forgot what were the precious truthes laid out in another and they are lost well were it for them if their memories were no better in another world it would ease their torments more then a little But then they shall know they had a Prophet among them and what a price they had with him in their hands though it was in fooles keeping They shall know what he was and what he said though a thousand years past as fresh as if it were done but last night The more zealous and compassionate the more painful and powerful he was in his place the greater shall their sin be found to break from such holy violence offered

to do them good Surely God will have something for the sweat yea lives of his servants which were worne out in striving with such rebellious ones May be yet sinners your firmament is clear no cloud to be seen that portends a storme but know as you use to say winter does not rock in the clouds you shall have it at last every threatening which your faithful Ministers have denounced against you out of the Word God is bound to make good He confirmeth the Word of his servant and performeth the counsel of his messengers and that in judgement against sinners confirming the threatenings as well as in mercy performing the promises which they declare as the portion of his children But it will be time enough to ask such on a sick-bed or a dying houre whether the words of the Lord delivered by their faithful Preachers have not taken hold of them Some have confessed with horrour they have as the Jewes Zech. 1.6 Like as the Lord of hosts thought to do unto us so hath he dealt with us Secondly the Spirit strives with men more immediately when he makes his inward approaches to the consciences of men debating in their own bosoms the case with them one while he shews them their sins in their bloody colours and whether they will surely bring them if not look't to timely which he doth so convincingly that the creature smells sometimes the very fire and brimstone about him and is at present in a temporary hell another while he falls a parlying and treating with them making gracious overtures to the sinner if he will return at his reproof presents the grace of the Gospel and opens a door of hope for his recovery yea falls a wooing and beseeching of him to throw down his rebellious armes and come to Christ for life whose heart is in a present disposition to receive and embrace the first motion the returning sinner makes for mercy Now when the Spirit of God follows the sinner from place to place and time to time suggesting such motions and renewing his old suit and the creature shall fling out of the Spirits hands thus striving with him re infectâ as far from renouncing his lusts or taking any liking to Christ as ever This is to resist the Spirit to his face and it carries so much malignity in it that even where it hath not been final poor humbled soules have been so over-set with the horrour of it that they could not for a long time be perswaded but that it was the unpardonable sin Take heed therefore sinners how you use the Spirit when he comes knocking at the door of your hearts Open at his knock and he will be your guest you shall have his sweet company repulse him and you have not a Promise hee 'll knock again And if once he leave striving with thee unhappy man thou art lost for ever thou liest like a ship cast up by the waves upon some high rock where the tide never comes to fetch it off Thou mayest come to the Word converse with other Ordinances but in vain 'T is the Spirit in them which is both tide and winde to set the soule afloat and carry it on or else it lies like a ship on dry ground which stirs not Secondly we wrestle against God when we wrestle with his Providence and that two wayes First when we are discontented with his providential disposure of us Gods carving for us doth not please us so but that we are objecting against his dealings towards us at least muttering something with the fool in our hearts which God heares as lightly as man our words God counts then we begin to quarrel with him when we do not acquiesce in and say Amen to his Providence whatever it is He calls it a contending with the Almighty Iob. 40.1 yea a reproving of God And he is a bold man sure that dare finde fault with God and article against heaven God challengeth him whoever he is that doth this to answer it at his peril He that reproveth God let him answer it v. 2. of the chapter fore-mentioned It was high time for Iob to have done when he heares what a sense God puts upon those unwary words which drop't from him in the anguish of his Spirit and paroxysme of his sufferings contend with the Almighty reprove God Good man how blank he is and cries out I am vile what shall I answer thee I will lay my hand upon my mouth Let God but pardon what is past and he shall hear such language no more O Sirs take heed of this wrestling above all other Contention is uncomfortable with whomsoever it is we fall out Neighbours or friends wife or husband children or servants but worst of all with God If God cannot please thee but thy heart riseth against him what hopes are there of thy pleasing him who will take nothing kindly from that man who is angry with him And how can love to God be preserved in a discontented heart that is alwayes muttering against him Love cannot think any evil of God nor endure to heare anyspeak evil of him but it must take Gods part as Ionathan Davids when Saul spake basely of him and when it cannot be heard will like him arise and be gone When afflicted love can allow thee to groan but not to grumble If thou wilt ease thy incumbred spirit into Gods bosome by prayer and humbly wrestle with God on thy knees love is for thee and will help thee to the best arguments thou canst use to God But if thou wilt vent thy distempered passions and shew a mutinous spirit against God this stabs it to the heart Secondly we wrestle against Providence when uncorrigible under the various dispensations of God towards us Providence has a voice if we had an eare mercies should draw afflictions drive now when neither faire meanes nor foule do us good but we are impenitent under both this is to wrestle against God with both hands Either of these have their peculiar aggravations One is against love and so dis-ingenuous the other is against the smart of his rod and therein we slight his anger and are cruel to our selves in kicking against the pricks Mercy should make us ashamed wrath afraid to sin He that is not ashamed has not the spirit of a man He that is not afraid when smitten is worse then the beast who stands in aw of whip spur Sometimes mercy especially these outward mercies which have a pleasing relish to the carnal part in a Christian hath prov'd a snare to the best of men but then affliction useth to recover them but when affliction makes men worse and they harden themselves against God to sin more and more while the rod is on them what is like to reclaim them few are made better by prosperity whom afflictions make worse He that will sin though he goes in pain will much more if that once be gone But take heed of thus contesting with God