Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	ability_n	able_a	present_a	21	3	4.2945	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A49386	The duty of servants containing first, their preparation for, and choice of a service, secondly, their duty in service : together with prayers suited to each duty : to this is added A discourse of the Sacrament suited peculiarly to servants / by the author of Practical Christianity.	Lucas, Richard, 1648-1715.	1685 (1685)	Wing L3396; ESTC R5519	91,855	259

is this they who would be extremely devout must be extremly pious they who would find the pleasure of transports in Prayer must be frequent in their Retirements strict in their Self-denial and Mortification devout if it may be even in their daily Conversation In a word they must be crucified to the World and delight in God and in Jesus above all things The Servants Duty as it respects their Obligation to and Preparation for the Sacrament shall be handled at large in the close of this Book I have insisted thus long upon these Duties because whoever conscienciously performs these will not be like to miscarry in any other I will now single out those other Duties which do seem to me more peculiarly to concern Servants for as there are some times so there are some stations which do more particularly require the practice of some Virtues as Adversity of Patience Prosperity of Thankfulness The station of a Magistrate requires the practice of Justice and the station of a Subject the practice of Loyalty and both the one and the other is bound to this out of Conscience towards God So is it in the station of a Servant tho' he must not look upon himself as dispens'd from any Duty common to him with others yet there are some wherein he must endeavour to excel and be eminent as being more immediately and directly necessary in his Imployment such are these three Fidelity to his Master dependance upon God The Servant's Fidelity to his Master a Duty owing to God and Contentment in his station First Fidelity to his Master I place this first because all his Prayers and Sacrifices without this cannot be accepted by God his diligence in reading and hearing the Word is without this Hypocrisie and his communicating of the Sacrament is without this but a bold and presumptuous prophanation of it And I place this here as a Duty towards God because I would have every Servant know that it really is so nothing can be plainer than that the * Eph. 6.5 c. Apostle thought so which you will readily acknowledge if you 'l read with impartiality that weighty and earnest Exhortation which he makes to Servants Eph. 6.5 c. Servants be obedient to them that are your Masters according to the flesh in fear and trembling with singleness of your heart as unto Christ not with eye-service as men-pleasers but as the Servants of Christ doing the Will of God from the heart with good will doing service as to the Lord and not to men knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doth the same shall he receive of the Lord whether he be bond or free How could the Apostle more fully or more pathetically express your Obedience to your Masters to be a duty to God he tells you that the discharge of your Place is a good work that God owns it and will reward it as a Service done to him that it doth very much concern the Honour of your Christian Profession that the Rule by which you are to behave your selves is the Conscience of its being a Duty towards God a firm persuasion that you are to be accountable for it to Christ our Lord and Master and our Judge and for these Reasons you are to perform this Duty with fear and trembling that is not an apprehension of what you shall suffer in your Temporal Interest if you perform it not faithfully but a dread of dishonouring Christ and provoking God by it Those other Properties of the right performance of this Duty singleness of heart chearfulness c. as they respect your Duty towards your Master shall be treated in their proper place I am only here to mind you that they are here pressed upon you as Duties to God the Apostle intimating that where the Master's Eye could not there God's Eye would see regard and mark the behaviour of the Servant and that though his heart were not open to the inspection of his Master yet 't is to God's and therefore he must serve his Master from his heart too He that is acted by such a Conscience as this will certainly do his Duty for when he shall think that God overlooks him and fills every place which his Master cannot he cannot then easily be tempted to allow himself in murmuring or unfaithfulness or idleness Whatever he would not do or say if his Master's Eye were upon him that being govern'd by this Conscience he will not do how far soever he be absent for he will fear Damnation more than the loss of his Service and the displeasure of God more than that of Man A second Duty towards God which I would recommend to Servants is 2. Trust in God Trust in him or dependance upon him There is no state so secure or so fortunate as not to stand in need of God and consequently none wherein this is not a proper Duty But yet it seems most proper and indispensible for such as have fewest Friends fewest supports to relie upon and such are Servants they are therefore to endeavour to be eminent in this Grace there is no way by which they can more directly and immediately own God by which they can make a more publick and eminent Profession of their firm Belief of his Wisdom Power and Goodness The Servant therefore must learn to look upon God as his Father as his Patron as his Guardian as all in all to him to him he must resort for Counsel to him he must complain if wrong'd of him he must beg assistance and on him alone he must relie for a blessing in all he doth and for Provision He must learn to call upon him in all his Straits and praise him in all his Enjoyments From the conscientious practice of this Duty the Master will reap two great Advantages the first that his Servant will do his Duty with much better courage as aiming in all he doth to recommend himself not only to his Master whose power to requite him is it may be very little but most especially to God who he knows is a Patron that never wants either power or will to recompence those that apply themselves to him The second that God will bless him and all he has for his Servants sake This was the Advantage which Potiphar enjoy'd in the Service of Joseph and Laban in that of Jacob the Prosperity of those Idolaters being owing to the Religion of their Servants the Servant besides the contentment and satisfaction of his mind arising from his frequent Addresses to God and besides the actual blessings which God will one time or other certainly bestow upon those that trust in him will also find a good support a ready Antidote against all the real and imaginary Evils of his state For were but this Duty of Trust in God conscientiously practised Servants of ability and spirit would never want encouragement nor those of meaner Capacity satisfaction and comfort They who serv'd in hope would be able in despight of an

application of your mind runs upon the World this is a State to be repented of and you must enter upon resolutions of greater care and watchfulness and fervency and having done this you may proceed to the Sacrament without making so long a trial of your selves as in the former case because neither the Church nor your Neighbour can receive any scandal thereby Now beside this part of Examination consisting in an enquiry what sins you have been guilty of or now live in there is a second part of Examination consisting in this enquiry what good you have done what resemblance there is between your life and the life of Jesus your Spirit and the Spirit of Jesus for negative righteousness is not sufficient to make a man a good Christian and though it be true that we are not bound to the highest perfection under pain of damnation yet the love of God the love of Jesus and the hopes of eternal glory do all oblige us to aim at it and therefore we ought to bemoan our non-proficiency barreness and unprofitableness I mean not absolutely such but comparatively with respect to what we should attain to And that you may do this aright demand of your selves what requital have we made our Parents What assistance have we afforded them since God has blessed us What share of what God has prosper'd us with have we given to the poor the hungry and the naked What service have we done for the comfort and support of any that have been any ways distressed After this read with a sober devotion the Beatitudes Mat. 5. and examine the state of your Souls by 'em thus am I poor in Spirit contented in the lowest state resign'd up to God both as to my undderstanding and my will filled with humble thoughts of my own endowments both natural and moral do I mourn under the sense of my past sins and my present defects and infirmities Do I weep in secrets for the sins of my people for the Desolations and Divisions of the Church of Christ for the infidelity of Jew and Gentile and in general for the dishonour God's name suffers in the World Am I of a meek and quiet Spirit peaceable and slow to anger full of humility and reverence towards all but especially my Governours and Masters studying to do my own business and to live quietly in my Station Do I hunger and thirst after righteousnes Is my Soul inflamed with a desire of saying knowledge Do I delight in the meditation of Heavenly truths Am I ravish't with the Loveliness and Beauty of works truly great and truly Christian Am I merciful do I delight to imitate my heavenly Father as far as I am able being bountiful to the needy compassionate to the distressed long suffering towards the offender gentle and easily intreated carefully studying and resolv'dly pursuing the good of all even of mine Enemies and such whose either Ingratitude to me or their aversion to their own good renders the work much more difficult Am I pure in heart Is the World crucified to me Do I account all things but dung and dross in comparison of the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord Do I love my God and love my Jesus even to a thirst after a dissolution that putting off the body I may enjoy 'em in Heaven Do I in the singleness and simplicity of my heart pursue the honour of God without regard to any by-interest or corrupt affection Am I a peace-maker content to purchase it for my self or promote it amongst others by any travail or pains and by very great disadvantages to my self Do I pursue peace in the Church of Christ in the State in the Neighbour hood in the Family in my narrow capacity withal imaginable zeal Lastly Am I willing if the will of God so be to part with all and follow Christ to undergo not only reproach and contempt but if need be the spoil of all I have nay Stripes Imprisonment and Death it self These are the heights you are to labour after and though you may fall very short of 'em this Examination will serve to encrease your humility to make you more importunate for the assistance of God and more desirous of being strengthen'd and refresh't by the Holy Sacrament nay it will excite and quicken your graces in you for there is a loveliness in Virtue and therefore the oftner you seriously behold it the more you 'l be enamour'd of it When you have discover'd by this Examination the state of your Souls then proceed to bewail 'em before God thus These and many more which I cannot recollect are my sins O thou Judge of the World and these have all been repeated from time to time so that they now are grown formidable to me for their very number yet besides this how provoking are the aggravations of them that I should sin thus in defiance of the brightest revelation of thy will in contempt of thy long suffering patience and goodness in contempt of thy astonishing love manifested in my redemption by the blood of Jesus in defiance of thy great and precious promises and of all the calls of thy Spirit and of thy Providence nay O my God I have trampled under foot all my most solemn engagements and returned to the commission of sin in contempt even of my repentance my vows and resolutions and canst thou have mercy upon such a wretch as I am I know I have most justly provok't thy wrath and indignation against me my sins are gone over my head as a thick cloud they are a sore burthen too heavy for me to to bear they are more in number than the hairs of my head and my heart has fail'd me but O Lord God I do earnestly repent and am heartily sorry for these my misdoings the remembrance of 'em is grievous to me the burden of 'em is intolerable I am ashamed yea even confounded under the sense of my folly and ingratitude I have consider'd thy terrour and fearfulness and trembling has taken hold upon me I have consider'd thy tender mercies and my Soul is wounded within me for having so falsly and unworthily forsaken and offended thee I have consider'd the humiliation and the sufferings of my blessed Saviour and my Soul suffers an Agony of love and shame with in me for what I have done against my dear Lord. I have consider'd the Beauty of Holiness and I loath my self for the deformity and pollutions of my sins O therefore thou who dost delight to shew mercy to repenting Sinners thou God of love and mercy have mercy upon me and O thou Lamb of God which didst shed thy blood for sinners have mercy upon me thou that takest away the sins of the World have mercy upon me and O my Heavenly Father deliver me not only from the guilt but from the power of my sin I tremble indeed at thy wrath and my soul faints within me when I think of being excluded forever from tny

ill face and appearance of their present Circumstances to carry their prospect farther and believe their Advancement very easie to God though it scarce appeared probable to the Eye of Man and they whose Ambition mounts no higher than a mean Service would not be frightned by fears of want in Sickness or in Age as being fully persuaded that God cares for them Having said this I cannot think it necessary to stir you up to trust in God by any new Motives for the two which I have insinuated are methinks abundantly sufficient namely first the pleasure and satisfaction of mind that springs from it in that it gives men an unshaken support and security in a troublesom and uncertain World hence that of the * Psal 4.8 Psalmist I will both lay me down in peace and sleep for thou only makest me dwell in safety And hence 't is that a fearless Security even amongst the Menaces and Allarms of approaching Dangers is by the Psalmist made the Character of one that trusts in God * Psal 112.17 He will not be afraid of any evil tydings his heart is fixed trusting in the Lord. A second Motive is the actual Benefit this Trust procures you namely Relief in all your Wants and Deliverance in all your Dangers for this is that the Scripture teaches us * Psal 34.10 Fear the Lord ye his Saints for there is no want to them that fear him The young Lions do lack and suffer hunger but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing And so Psal 46.1 God is our Refuge and Strength a very present help in trouble O that you would be persuaded to make a Trial of the Pleasure and Happiness of this Duty that you would experience the blessedness of that state wherein a man hath nothing to do but * Psal 4.5 to sacrifize the Sacrifice of Righteousness and put his Trust in the Lord. A third great Duty of the Servant towards God 3. Contentment in his place is Contentment in his place this is a Duty necessary to your own Happiness necessary to the Service of your Master and necessary to the Honour of God To your own Happiness for though your Circumstances be never so good yet if you do not think 'em so you must needs be uneasie and discontent doubles the weight and burden of any Service To the Service of your Master for you can never serve him well if you do not serve him chearfully and from the heart which you can never do whilst you are sick of your Employment Lastly To the Honour of God which requires that you submit to the Wisdom of his Providence and not murmure and repine at his Dispensations This Humility is a Virtue so consonant to common Reason that 't is just matter of wonder how any should be guilty of the contrary for though we should not be able to give a Reason of God's dealings with us yet sure the Reverence we have for his Infinite Wisdom and the persuasion we have of his Infinite Goodness may easily induce us to believe that he has always a kind and good Reason for what he doth and surely you that look upon it as your Duty to execute the Commands of your Masters without demanding the Reasons or Motives of 'em cannot but think it reasonable to treat God with as much Reverence and Humility as you do a mortal man I might in the next place put you in mind that all we possess is owing merely to the favour of God not to your Merit and that he that has least has much more than he deserves and if so you have no reason to complain of him as if he had dealt niggardly with you because he has dealt more bountifully with others May he not do what he will with his own but there are two Motives to Contentment which I would more especially recommend to you One is that whatever you undergo in this World shall be made up and recompensed to you a hundred-fold in another if you suffer with Meekness Patience and Humility So that this state of Humiliation doth but put you into a capacity of greater degrees of Glory hereafter The other is that if you consider your state aright you have no reason at all of murmuring against God as dealing unequally with you for in all these things which are substantially good and valuable he has dealt as bountifully with you as with others You enjoy the Light of the Sun the Beauties of the Creation are as much expos'd to your view as to any Monarch's the freshness of the Air the coolness of the Stream the fragrancy of the Spring are imparted as bountifully to you as any others whoever You have Rational and Immortal Spirits healthy strong and active Bodies the Food that is best for health the Raiment that is best for for warmth is every where to be had the things wherein God has made a difference between you and others are trifles imaginary and phantastick not real Advantages but you take pains for what you have your Labour is not half so great a burden to you as is their Idleness to them But even of those things which I call substantial blessings they enjoy more than you 'T is true but you enjoy enough and more than enough like Manna breeds but Worms that is troubles and cares And this puts me in mind that the state of a Servant has some Advantages really and truly above that of a Master Not to mention that Obedience it self is not only a much plainer but also a much easier Duty than Government that it has nothing in it disobliging or unkind as Reproof Chastisement and putting away of Servants has that it is no way responsible for the discretion of its actions c. not to mention I say these and such like Advantages which you possess there are others of greater importance You enjoy the World without the Cares of it Storms sink no Ships of yours nor scorching Vapours blast your Fruit or Corn the Turns and Changes of Fortune concern you very little or not at all and I do very much question whether your travail and labour as well as your care be not much less than that of many Masters 'T is true there are a sort of men who account Idleness and Looseness as the Prerogatives of an ample Fortune envy 'em not you ought rather to bless God that he has hedg'd in your ways that he has put you in a state of Life wherein it is extremely difficult for you to be large or intemrate to be proud or wanton for surly 't is a blessed Advantage belonging to your condition that it has fewer incitements to sin and more to Virtue than that of the Rich and Great But of this I have discours'd at large in the beginning of this Chapter There remains then nothing for you to quarrel at in the condition and quality of a Servant unless you think it too mean and contemptible for you in