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 saviour_n 23 3 6.0116 4 false
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A12554 A paterne of true prayer A learned and comfortable exposition or commentarie vpon the Lords prayer: wherein the doctrine of the substance and circumstances of true inuocation is euidently and fully declared out of the holie Scriptures. By Iohn Smith, minister and preacher of the Word of God. Smyth, John, d. 1612. 1605 (1605) STC 22877.1; ESTC S117609 137,387 190

There are 2 snippets containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

rather allowed to young Christians that want the gift of conceiuing and vttering an orderly prayer or to those that want audacitie and boldnes to speake before others than to strong and exercised Christians vnto whom God hath vouchsafed the gift of knowledge and vtterance and boldnes 3. It is safer to conceiue a prayer than to reade a prayer for a man may reade a prayer and neither vnderstand it nor consider the matter thereof nor affect or desire the petitions therein contained hauing his minde pestred with wandring thoughts but hee that conceiueth a prayer though perhaps hee doe not desire the things he conceiueth yet at the least he must haue attention and so be free from many wandring thoughts he must haue also memorie and knowledge and consideration needfull all for the inuenting of matter and so there is lesse feare of babling in conceiuing a prayer than reading one 4. An vniforme order of publike prayer in the seruice of God is necessarie 2. Chro. 29.30 Thus the Priests and Leuites in the old Testament praised God with the Psalmes of Dauid and Asaph which Psalmes were framed of those holie men and sent to the Musitions to bee sung vpon Instruments Thus all the reformed Churches vse thus the Church immediatly after the Apostles time vsed yea thus in the time of the Apostles vsed the Church of Corinth 1. Cor. 14.26 as may probably bee gathered by that which Paul speaketh concerning the bringing of a Psalme into the publike assemblie of the Church 5. Lastly notwithstanding in priuate prayer when a Christian being alone calleth vpon the name of God it seemeth most expedient and profitable that he powre out his soule vnto God with such a forme of words as hee can for there and then the edification of other is no end of his prayer as it is of publike prayer 1. Cor. 14.26 and the Lord hee regardeth the heart and hee knoweth the meaning of the spirit though thy speeches bee neuer so ragged and broken though thy sentences bee neuer so short and imperfect though thy words be rude and barbarous and yet a man ought to labour to glorifie God with the best of his lippes also But here certaine obiections must be answered which are alleaged against the vsing of read prayers Obiection For they say it is to quench the spirit to limit the spirit of God that teacheth vs to pray For answere whereof we are to know that as he cannot be said to quench the spirit that readeth a chapter of holy Scripture and no more or that preacheth a sermon which he hath premeditate so also he cannot bee said to quench the spirit that pray th a portion of holie Scripture as the Lords Prayer or the salutation of Paul or a Psalme of Dauid or any other prayer agreeable to the word which hee hath premeditate before and committed to memorie for the spirit is not limited though kept within the bounds of holy Scripture as it ought to be Againe in a prayer which a man readeth though a man doe not speake euerie thing that the spirit of God putteth into his heart yet hee quencheth not the spirit for to quench the spirit is to oppose ●gainst the voyce of the spirit Neither is it to limit or stint the spirit if a man pray it with his soule though hee speake not the words For example sake I say the Lords Prayer yea when I speake these words Giue vs this day our daily bread there commeth into my soule by the motion of Gods spirit this petition Grant me grace to be content with the mediocritie thou hast giuen me If I pray this in my heart though I doe not vtter these very words yet I cannot bee said to stint the spirit for the substance of that petition is comprehended in that fourth petition of the Lords Prayer So likewise reading any prayer agreeable to holy scripture and hauing attention to the matter read though many motions come into my minde vpon consideration of the words of that prayer which I vtter not in particular speeches yet I vtter them in g●nerall for they are all comprehended in the matter of that otherwise they may iustly bee termed wandring thoughts though good prayers at other times Lastly publike wants are alwaies knowne and may bee expressed in the publike Liturgie also priuate wants and blessings are for the most part knowne as at meate labour rest recreation Physicke c. Secret wants and blessing● may be acknowledged in secret prayers if any extraordinarie occasions occurre extraordinarie prayers accordingly may bee had They alleage also against set prayers the speech of the Apostle Obiection Rom. 8. We know not what to pray but in a set prayer a man knoweth what to pray therfore set prayers are not prayers warrantable For answere wherof the speech of the Apostle in another place must be remēbred 1. Cor. 2.14.15 the naturall man cannot discerne spirituall things but the spirituall man can discerne them so may we say the naturall man cannot tell what to pray but the spirituall man can tell what to pray Flesh and blood reuealed not the knowledge of Christ vnto Peter but God the Father Matth. 16. so flesh and blood cannot reueale vnto vs what wee ought to pray but the spirit of God helpeth our infirmities which spirit was in our Sauiour Christ that taught the Lords prayer and in the rest of Gods seruants that wrote prayers wee are not able of our selues to thinke any good but God giueth vs abilitie 2. Cor. 3. so of our selues we are not able to pray but God giueth vs the spirit of prayer which teacheth vs to pray with sighs and groanes which cannot be vttered when we haue this spirit of God then wee know what to pray and can teach others also This may suffice for the answere of their maine obiections against set prayers To conclude then Christ hath not commanded vs to vse these words and no other neither hath hee forbidden vs to vse these words or any other holy forme of prayer but hee hath left it indifferent and arbitrarie to vse them or not to vse them as was said Hitherto of the precept of prayer in the two general points thereof first that we must pray secondly how wee must pray Now followeth the prayer it selfe In handling whereof we will first propound some generall considerations after descend to the particular exposition of the words thereof In the generall consideration of the Lords prayer wee may obserue three things Generall● of the Lords prayer 1. The abuse of the prayer 2. The true and holy vse thereof 3. The qualities and conditions of it And first to entreate of the abuse of this prayer How the Lords prayer is abused and so of any other godly prayer for this prayer is all prayers in vertue and largenes seeing that all prayers must be framed of the matter and affections herein expressed it is abused especially by foure sorts of
and triumpheth ouer him and this power and grace is communicated vnto vs from Christ our head who was therfore tempted and ouercame the temptor Mat. 4. Heb. 2.18 Iam. 4.7 Apoc. 3.21 that when we are tempted we might resist and preuaile being succoured by him Hence it is that the Apostle willeth to resist the diuell and he will flie from vs and Christ promiseth vs a place in his throne if we ouercome all which doe import thus much that as it is a thing possible to resist the diuell to put him to flight to ouercome him so the children of God haue this facultie communicated vnto them from Christ that broke the serpents head 1. Cor. 10.13 Now followe two other doctrines collected by contrarie viz. that if perseuerance follow grace then no grace no perseuerance A wicked man cannot resist temptation though he may refraine from sinne Gal. 5.17 Rom. 7. First therefore hee that wanteth grace cannot resist a temptation for although peraduenture a wicked man may be solicited to commit some sinne whereto he hath an indisposition yet he cannot properlie be said to resist the temptation but only to refraine the sinne for in resisting a temptation there is the spirituall combat betwixt the flesh and the spirit each of them lusting against other which is not in a man destitute of grace who is all flesh and no spirit and so the will of a wicked man and his affections may resist the motion of his vnderstanding or his conscience may terrifie his will and affection but there is not an opposition of grace and sinne in one and the same facultie or affection Luk. 11.12 for the strong man hath the possession of the castle and he ruleth there as it pleaseth him without contradiction The wicked fall into euill Secondly the wicked man wanting grace and perseuerance must of necessitie fall into euill according to the prouerbe of the wise man Prou. 24.16 A iust man falleth seuen times and riseth againe but the wicked fall into mischiefe but this doctrine shall more euidently appeare afterward in the whole discourse of the meaning of this petition which is the second generall now following 2 The meaning of this last petition We are to vnderstand that there are two great enemies of grace which continually lay siege against vs. 1 The first is Temptation 2. The second is Euill Against both these our Sauiour Christ teacheth vs to pray in this petition The first enemie of grace and impediment of preseruation is Temptation in these words Leade vs not into Temptation Here we are to consider two things 1 What Temptation signifieth 2 What it is to leade into Temptation First What it is to tempt and what is temptation Affliction is temptation Iam. 1.2 temptation in the Scripture hath diuers significations sometime it signifieth affliction so the Apostle Iames saith that wee should account it all ioy to fall into manifold temptations meaning afflictions this is not the signification of the word in this place for that is included in the next clause Secondly To tempt God Psal 95.9 temptation signifieth that triall which man taketh of God so the word signifieth in the Psalme whereas the Prophet vbraideth the Israelites for tempting God in the wildernes Thus the diuell perswaded Christ to cast himselfe vpon the immediate prouidence of God Mat. 4.7 in casting himselfe down from the temple which was to tempt God and this is not the meaning of the word in this place Thirdly To tempt or intrap a man Matth. 22.18 temptation signifieth that triall which man taketh of man to intrap him and bring him into daunger of law so the Pharisies and Herodians tempted Christ and thus was Christ tempted diuers times in the Gospell and this is not the meaning of the word in this place neither Fourthly To trie what is in man temptation signifieth that triall which God taketh of man to manifest to himselfe and others what is in him So God tried Adam in the estate of innocencie Genes 3. Genes 22.1 so God tried Abraham in commanding him to sacrifice his sonne and thus God daily trieth his children for diuers ends Neither is this the meaning of the place Lastly To solicite man to sinne temptation signifieth that triall which the diuell taketh of man to cause him to commit sinne by his entisements who in this respect is called the tempter Mat. 4. How man is prouoked to sinne by Satan and thus the diuell tempteth man 1. by prosperitie 2. by aduersitie 3. by example 4. by suggestion though for the most part suggestion is the generall affection of all the other three for that in time of prosperitie and aduersitie and by euill examples the diuell infuseth his temptations into our mindes though sometime he inspireth his temptations suddenly by occasion of no obiect at all as we may sometime haue experience by some fearfull blasphemies which suddenly without any dependance of former cogitations or obiects rush into our mindes and according to this latter signification temptation is taken in this place VVhat it is to lead into tentation Further we are to consider what it is to leade into temptation for which point we must know it containeth these foure particulars Desertion or the forsaking of the creature 1 The leauing of the creature or forsaking the creature not as though God ceased to support and sustaine the nature or naturall powers of the creature but for that he ceaseth to supplie a second grace to the first he withdraweth his second grace this the Prophet Dauid feared and therfore prayeth God not to forsake him ouerlong or ouermuch Psal 119.8 Psal 51.11 and to this sense the Prophet intreateth the Lord to confirme him with a strong spirit after his lapse into sinne for preuenting of future lapses This first part is called Desertion Deliuering the creature to his owne lusts 2 Deliuering ouer the creature to his owne lusts when God hath withdrawne his second grace the first grace is not of abilitie to encounter the lusts of the flesh but the lusts of the flesh doe fight against the spirit and ouermaster it for the present This phrase of deliuering vp the Apostle applieth to the Romanes in regard of the repressing or refraining grace Rom. 1.24.26.28 saying God gaue them ouer to vile affections to a reprobate minde c. And after this The efficacie of Satan 1. Chro. 21.1 3 The creature is in the power and hands of the diuell in a certaine measure so as he may tempt him and preuaile ouer him to the committing of most fearefull sinnes as he did preuaile with Dauid and Peter and others Excecation induration blindnes of mind hardnes of heart 2. Sam. 10.5 12.16 4 Vpon this followeth a kinde of excecation and induration when the seruant of God maketh little conscience of sinne and doth not sensiblie feele and perceiue Gods displeasure against sinne This