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	think_v	75	3	3.5427	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A66062	Sermons preached upon several occasions by the Right Reverend Father in God, John Wilkins ...; Sermons. Selections	Wilkins, John, 1614-1672.; Tillotson, John, 1630-1694.	1682 (1682)	Wing W2215; ESTC R21732	182,840	522

a man in his dealing with others to have the gift of wisdom an ability of discerning spirits of clearing and opening deep mysterious things a mighty power of persuading and convincing But to all these if a man were able in a case of doubt and difficulty to confirm what he preaches by a miracle one would think that were a most infallible way of subduing any opposition and carrying all before him And yet all these advantages would signify nothing without these moral foundations and a keeping close to these might in some measure be effectual without miracles 'T is a saying of a Reverend Divine that if the Gospel were now to be planted again all the miracles in the world would not be sufficient to make it take whilst our morals are no better than they are A miracle may strike a little wonderment at first but good morality soaks and sinks to the heart And therefore it were a most rational thing in a man to mistrust the truth of any Miracle which did tend to the prejudice of things morally good And the Scripture in several places doth encourage to it Deut. 13.1 Upon which account it may be asserted that the sutableness of the doctrine of the Gospel unto purest highest Morality did as much conduce to the spreading of it as the Miracles whereby it was confirmed And therefore when many of the Pharisees did pretend those wonderful acts of our Saviour to be done by Magical arts and the help of the Devil they were presently confuted by the holiness of his doctrine These are not the words of him that hath a Devil Joh. 10.21 And what can be said higher in the commendation of any thing than that it is a test whereby to try even Miracles themselves and doth in some sense give authority to them And therefore there is very good reason why we should be excited to a great zeal in the promoting righteousness and peace and joy in the holy Ghost 'T is true subtle notions and questions are more the fashion of the times than these moral duties but they are withal the disease of the times and Professors now if ever may be said to be sick of Questions as the phrase is 1 Tim. 6.4 Whereas these other things were Religion before any of these fashions came into request and will be so when they are laid aside and vanished As being founded upon that universal perpetual Law written in every mans heart which can never be either augmented or diminisht or abrogated Nec per senatum aut populum solvi hac lege possumus No power can dispense with this Law Nor doth it need any interpreter to explain it Non erat alia Romae alia Athenis alia nunc alia posthac sed omnes gentes omni tempore una lex sempiterna immutabilis continebit saith the Roman Orator 'T is the same in all places and in all times as proceeding from the Supreme Lawgiver towards whom he that will not yield obedience must deny his own essence and dependence as he goes on very sublimely and elegantly upon that subject I know many other things are necessary as to our religious state besides these moral Duties But yet these are the primary foundations And nothing else will be effectual without these The End of the second Sermon The Third Sermon ROM XIV 17.18 For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the holy Ghost For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God and approved of Men. III. THE true reason why Christians of several persuasions stand less approved towards one another is for want of a right proportioning their zeal about matters of Religion and because they lay out more of their strength in these lesser things than on those of greater consequence There is no reason to expect that the minds of men should ever be united to a mutual liking and approving of one another till they can come to be more truly zealous and more heartily concerned for those substantial matters of righteousness and peace and joy in the holy Ghost than for those circumstantials of meats and drinks If we consult the state of the Primitive times as 't is represented in the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles we shall find that this was the occasion both of raising and keeping up the differences amongst the Christians then namely the insisting more upon forms and parties meats and days some being for Paul others for Apollos others for Cephas than upon the substance of duties And the same likewise might be made evident from abundant testimony out of Ecclesiastical Writers concerning the following Ages And what hath been the state of things in our own times is sufficiently obvious to any easy observation There are two heads of Reasons or Argument that I shall mention for proof of the Point 1. From the nature and usual consequents of that zeal whereby men are engaged to these lesser things 2. From the nature and necessary fruits of mens being devoted to the more substantial things of Religion I. Zeal about these lesser matters is not only consistent with strifes and divisions but is many times the very occasion and fewel whereby they are begotten and continued amongst men What the Apostle saith concerning those questions which he calls foolish and unlearned is in some proportion true concerning such other disputes as are managed with greater vehemence than they ought that from hence cometh envy strife railings evil surmisings 1 Tim. 6.4 Let a man but look indifferently round about him amongst all the kinds of Parties in our times even those whom in his own judgment he esteems the best and then say whether both our common peace and the power of Religion hath not suffered exceedingly upon this account When men have once given up themselves to controversies of this nature tho they should perhaps be on the right side yet these consequences do ordinarily follow upon it 1. Such men are narrowed in their judgments liable to strong prejudices upon very weak grounds 2. Soured in their spirits becoming more censorious and rugged in their dispositions 3. Vitiated in their morals declining in the duties of moral honesty neglecting the tyes of Relations friendship gratitude and such other things as should secure and sweeten humane society 4. Cooled in their zeal and fervor towards the more substantial parts of religion whilst they are wholly taken up with the prosecution of lesser matters That man hath conversed but a little in the world or at least made but slender observation who hath not in these times met with abundance of examples to this purpose II. The second Reason is from the nature of these more weighty and substantial matters of Religion whose property it is to unite the minds of men and heal their differences There is a twofold notion under which the strifes and contentions amongst men may be considered either as their Sin or

ever he retracted But that it would in many respects be inconvenient to uncover their nakedness And those amongst us in these days who either really are or are esteemed to be the great Luminaries of Religion they are not greater than the Fathers were in their times Many of the superstructions which they lay out so much care and cost upon will prove but mere hay and stubble when they come to a trial by fire I shall but mention these two Reasons of the Point 1. From the nature of Man to which nothing is more incident than frailty and error He was a good man that said Who can understand his errors not only of his practice but his judgment too And he who in another place In many things we offend all If any one should say he hath no error That man hath not the truth in him Now if mens integrity in the more substantial parts of Religion did not secure them notwithstanding these errors and failings no man living could be saved 2. From the nature of Religion which comprehends under it things of several natures and degrees There are some things essential substantial fundamental other things circumstantial accidental Religion is compared to a building it is not a covering of the roof with thatch or leaving a flaw in the wall but only a failing or breach in the Foundation that will cause the fall or ruine of it Again 't is compared to a new life and nature Now it is not a blackness of the visage or deformity of the members nor every hurt or wound of the body that shall prove mortal so long as the vital parts remain sound and intire And on the other side a hurt in the vitals would prove mortal tho the countenance were never so beautiful But 't is a principle this so very obvious and plain and without any dispute that it will be needless to insist any longer upon the confirmation of it In the Application of this Point I shall insist only upon two Uses of Examination and Ehxortation I. For Examination If it be so that some things are of such absolute necessity to our happiness it will concern us then to examine and judge our selves by these things Nothing is more desireable than for a man to know upon good grounds the truth of his own estate and condition in respect of his interest in the kingdom of God and nothing can better discover this than our serving of Christ in righteousness peace and joy in the holy Ghost 1. For Righteousness by this I told you before we are to understand an universal conformity to the moral Law both first and second Table with subordination to the grace of faith Now this as it concerns the duties of the first Table is properly called Holiness and as it refers to the second Table Iustice or righteousness who even allows himself in a neglect or violation of either of these whatever he may think of himself is not accepted of God 1. As for Holiness we are told expresly that without it no man shall see the Lord. And elsewhere 't is said the pure in heart shall see God He that doth either generally omit or neglect the duties of Gods worship and hath not an holy awe and dread upon his mind towards matters of Religion but can deal with sacred things with the same slight and common affection wherewith he manages other ordinary matters hath just reason to suspect himself as coming short of the kingdom of God 2. And so likewise for that other righteousness of the second Table referring unto Iustice in our dealings with one another Tho the having of this be not enough to entitle us to the Kingdom of God yet the want of it is enough to barr us from it 'T is so sutable to the light of nature so necessary to humane society that there is not any one kind of failing that doth more scandalize the profession of Religion or render it less approved amongst men than offences of this kind especially such as are done upon pretence of Religion 2. As for Peace Our Saviour tells us Matth. 5.9 The peace makers ' shall be called the children of God By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples if ye love one another Where as there is envying and strife and division amongst you are ye not carnal and walk as men 1 Cor. 3.3 The Apostle makes it his business Gal. 5.19 to set down such marks whereby men may judge of their conditions both in respect of the fruits of the flesh and of the spirit And amongst the fruits of the flesh he hath no less than seven several expressions to this purpose Hatred variance emulation wrath strife sedition envyings And then he subjoyns ver 21. They who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God And in the next verse when he comes to reckon up the fruits of the spirit he mentions but nine particulars and of them there are six that refer to this grace The fruit of the spirit is love peace long-suffering gentleness goodness meekness against such there is no law The New Testament is so frequent and so express in this point that a man of an unpeaceable contentious spirit must very grosly delude himself to build his confidence upon his zeal in lesser matters with the neglect of this 3. And so in the third place for joy in the holy Ghost that is a cheerful and sedate temper of mind under all outward dispensations though cross to our particular hopes and desires as being secure of our interest in him who hath the management of all times and events at his own disposal and hath engaged himself by promise to order them so as that they shall prove for the best to those that love him This is a duty frequently insisted upon in Scripture and 't is one main branch of that life of faith which is proper to believers And therefore those froward peevish professors who are never contented with any estate but are always complaining apt to interpret every thing for an injury and unworthy dealing towards them have upon this ground just cause to suspect themselves of much impotence unbelief pride want of that lowliness and meekness of spirit which the Gospel doth require If upon a strict enquiry we find our selves willfully grosly negligent in these more substantial things we have just cause to suspect our conditions II. I have but one Use more for Exhortation with which I shall conclude this Point To quicken and stir us up to lay out our strength and zeal for the promoting of these things both in our selves and others There cannot be any more effectual motive as to our selves than what I have already insisted upon that nothing else can secure us without these and that these will secure us without other things But besides these things in reference to our doing good unto others will be more effectual than any other abilities whatsoever They are singular advantages for