Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	abominable_a	abomination_n	call_v	39	3	4.7738	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93240	Divine cordials: delivered in ten sermons, upon part of the ninth and tenth chapters of Ezra, in a time of visitation. By that godly and faithfull preacher of Gods Word, Iosiah Shute, B.D. and late rector of Mary Woolnoths in Lumbard-Street London. Published by authority.	Shute, Josias, 1588-1643.; Reynoldes, William.	1644 (1644)	Wing S3714; Thomason E38_7; ESTC R7756	101,687	190

the objects of his bounty and not only so but he doth it likewise to vex and afflict Gods children for when God shall open their eyes hee knowes it will grieve their spirits for sleighting Gods mercy as they have done therefore it is that he steps in then when God hath been most gracious to men and puts them on to commit sinne that thereby hee might draw black lines over the legible characters of Gods mercy Let me perswade you Vse that as yee bee sensible of Gods mercies so to watch over your selves upon the receit of them that yee may be thankfull for them the Saints of God have been carelesse this way notwithstanding God hath bestowed abundant favours upon them they have been wanting in payment of that tribute of prayse which God expected and deserved at their hands when God looked for sweet they have brought forth wilde and soure grapes like as it was with the Heathen of old who comming to the Temples of their gods to give thanks for their health went home drunk and as the Devill doth labour then to step in when God hath done men most good so above all times labour at that time to be most thankfull and obedient that God may have his glory and you a sweet relish of his mercy shall wee break thy Commandements How shall wee understand this break his Commandements how could it be otherwise doth any man live and not sinne and yet shall they for this be exposed to Gods judgements who knowes not but as long as we live in this world and spin out the thread of our life that we cannot but break Gods Commandements were we as faithfull as ever Abraham was yet wee could not but wee must bee guilty sometimes of breaking Gods Commandements and doth not Saint Iames say in many things we sinne all and what saith the Apostle Iohn he that saith hee hath no sinne is a lyar and there is no truth in him As it is in the Fable which was told the mother of Achilles that if she dipped her Son into such a River so farre as the water wet him so farre hee should bee invulnerable therefore she drencht him over head and eares and wet every part of him save onely the tip of his heele by which shee held him and in that part hee received his deaths wound So let a man be never so much sanctified be hee as holy as ever any Saint was I will not except the Virgin Mary yet as long as he dwels here below he will be guilty of breaking Gods Commandements how then must wee understand what Ezra saith when he saith shall we againe break thy Commandements His meaning is that if after so great mercy as God had vouchsafed them they should fall into grosse sinnes then God should be just in punishing them for though a man cannot shun peccata quotidiana sins of infirmity yet hee may refraine from committing foule and scandalous sinnes Luk. 1.6 In Luk. 1.6 it is said of Zachary and Elizabeth That they were righteous before God walking in all the Commandements and Ordinances of the Lord blamelesse and it is possible for a man to live sine scandalo without scandall though not sine querela without being guilty of lesser iniquities or secondly he may be understood thus though they bee sinnes which be lesse yet if men shall wilfully commit them it shall bee just with God to punish them for the same if they be of industry and not of infirmity if they be lesse then the first and yet shall be runne into against knowledge and conscience they shall for these be exposed to Gods judgements as well as for greater sins From the words thus opened note thus much in way of application Vse 1 In the first place let us deplore the misrerable corruption of our nature since our fall there is now a necessity of sinning waking sleeping solitary in company at home and in Gods Temple were it so that a man were living yet if hee were alwayes sick we would say it were a poore life what is it then to be alwayes prone to sinne yet this is our unhappinesse while we are cloathed with flesh have wee not cause then to be weary of this sinfull life and ought we not with Saint Paul to sigh while wee are burthened with this body of clay desiring to bee cloathed upon with immortality that mortality might be swallowed of life Is there not just cause for us to say with the same Apostle in the sorrow of our soules Cupio dissolvi esse cum Christo I desire to bee dissolved and to bee with Christ Vse 2 Secondly because Ezra would have them avoid foule sinnes in the name of God let our care bee to abandon such Which bee they Swearing whoredome oppression murder drunkennesse Sabbath breaking these doe vastare conscientiam wast the conscience and endanger the soule more then other sinnes a ship may live at Sea that hath a leake sprung if the Mariners bestirre themselves in pumping but when it is shot thorow and thorow by wind and water it is hardly kept from sinking So a man that sins of infirmity if he repent he shall obtaine pardon but the soule that sinnes wilfully is scarse kept from sinking Lastly hee would have them avoid smaller sinnes and so ought wee for a little sinne committed with purpose is greater in Gods account then a great sinne committed against a mans will as therefore a man should avoid great sinnes so also all lesser impieties the heart of man should bee against all sinne and he should have respect to all Gods Commandements that if hee chance to fall it may not bee presumptuously but by infirmity and then hee may expect mercy from God who knowes whereof wee are made and remembers that wee are but dust Shall we joyne in affinity with the people of these abominations It is an Hebraisme the Spirit of God cals them people of such abominations in stead of abominable people it is more to be called people of such abominations then abominable people thus when Antichrist is called the man of sinne it is more then if he were called a sinfull man Here I could observe how hatefull the Heathen and all their doings be unto God as also how odious all grosse sinners are in his pure eyes hee loathes and abhorres them in the Scripture yee shall finde if the godly be compared to gold they are termed drosse if the godly be compared to wheat the wicked to chaffe Nay the ungodly man is resembled to the dirt in the street which you know is filthy and noisome Again if the godly be termed sheep the wicked are called goates nay in our Text they be abominable As it was said of Naaman hee was an honourable man and a brave souldier but a leaper So wee may say of the wicked man be he never so rich and honourable if he be a grosse sinner hee is hatefull to God yea I will be bold to say hee

forbeare but breaks forth into lamentation and mourning which affords us this point of Doctrine Doctrin 1 Good men though they be at peace with God finde cause of sorrow for other mens sinnes yee shall see this proved in the Scripture the Spirit of God calls Lot a righteous man yet this righteous mans soule was vexed from day to day with the uncleane conversation of the Sodomites 2 Pet. 2.8 The like we see in Moses that good man 2 Pet. 2.8 doe yee not think that hee was strangely moved at the sinne of the people when he let fall and brake in pieces the two Tables of Stone in which God had written the Decalogue with his owne sacred finger Exod. 32.19 Exod. 32.19 It was so with the Prophet Samuel he mourned for the disobedience of Saul for which God rejected him from reigning over Israel 1 Sam. 15.35 1 Sam. 15.35 the like we see in David mine eyes saith he gush out rivers of teares because men keep not thy Law Psal 119.136 Psal 119.136 may some man say what were the sinnes of the world to David it is true they were none of his yet he thinks himselfe bound to grieve for them because he knew they were displeasing to his maker We see the same in good Ieremiah he wishes his head were waters and his eyes a fountaine of teares that he might weep day and night for the iniquities of his people who were all adulterers and an assembly of treacherous men Ier. 9.1.2 Ier. 13.17 Ier. 9.1.2 and in Ier. 13.17 He professes that his soul shall weep in secret for their pride and was it not so with thee O blessed Saviour thou didst mourn for the hardnesse of mens hearts Mark 3.5 Mark 3.5 and when thou camest to Hierusalem thou weptst over it saying if thou hadst known even thou at least in this thy day the things which belong to thy peace but now they are hid from thine eyes Luk. 19.41 42. and the same spirit was in S. Paul Luk. 19.41.42 Philip. 3.18 Philip. 3.18 he tells them he had told them often and now speakes it weeping that there bee those among them who are enemies to the crosse of Christ thus yee see the point sufficiently proved Vse 1 It shall be to let us see the stupidity and sencelessenesse of the sonnes of Belial though they have most cause to weep and mourn yet they live in jollity and merriment and are meere strangers to all sadnesse Some of these stick not to say What hath any man to doe to weep for their sinnes and that by their impieties they trouble none but their own soules But I tell thee O wretch thou troublest not only thine own house and soule but thou troublest all Israel thou givest the Saints of God occasion to be pensive for that which makes thee jocant and glad and happy is it for thee that there be such as Noah Lot Samuel and David to mourn for thee for were it not that some did mourn for thy prophannesse thou shouldst not live againe to commit it did not some bewaile thy drunkennesse thou shouldst bee taken away with the pot at thy mouth did not some godly people grieve for thy filthy lust thou shouldst with Zimri and Cosbi be smitten dead flagrante crimine in the very act of uncleannesse but the servants of God pray and mourn fast and weep and all to avert judgements from thee who deservest little at their hands Vse 2 In the second place This may Answer a common Objection which is put to the Saints because they be sad and dumpish I would have you know that it is not holinesse which makes them sad but the prophannesse of the world is that for which they are so much dejected What need the child of God be sad who is in the love and favour of God thou that complainest against him for his sadnesse know that therfore he grieves with holy David because he is constrained to sojourne in Mesech Psal 120.5 and to dwell in the Tents of Kedar Psal 120.5 Vse 3 Lastly according to the practise of Ezra though we have made our peace with God let us mourn for the wickednesse of others every one knowes what cause there is for this iniquity having overspread this Land of ours from Dan to Beersheba from one corner of it to another and were these impieties modest it were not so much but they be impudent and have a Brazen front Religion is out of fashion and none are so esteemed as fashion-mongers they be your only men now in credit The case thus standing there is no way to prevent judgements which be imminent but by mourning and fasting Now that yee may bee perswaded to practise these so seasonable and necessary duties remember but these things First it is piety to mourn for the sins of others shall we hear and see God to bee dishonoured and not grieve for it piety cannot lodge in that breast where such an ill spirit inhabites a man will and ought to grieve when his friend is wronged Christ calls us his friends Ioh. 15.15 and hee is our best friend Iohn 15.15 therefore wee have abundant cause to mourn for the sinnes of wicked men whereby hee is much dishonoured and the Holy Spirit grieved Secondly pity requires this duty at our hands I read of Marcellus the Roman that entring a City which he had gained by composition after a long siege he burst forth into teares one that stood by him demanded why he wept saith he I cannot chuse but weep to see so many thousand led into captivity Shall a Heathen weep for the captivity of mens bodies and shall not Christians mourn for their sinnes which are enough to enthrall soules and bodies in Hell for evermore it should bee the griefe of our soules to see thousands and tenne thousands that will be damned Thirdly if we doe not mourne for other mens sinnes we make them our own that of the Father is most true peccatum quod non displicet tuum est that sinne is thine with which thou art not displeased and that yee may see I goe not without book in this look that place in 1 Cor. 5.6 there was one in the Church of Corinth that had committed that foule sinne of incest 1 Cor. 5.6 and the Corinthians were so farre from grieving for it as they ought to have done that they gloried in it S. Paul corrects them for it telling them that thereby they were become a sowre lump Lastly we should be moved to this duty by the blessing which attends it what saith our blessed Saviour Matth. 5.4 Matth. 5.4 Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted And in Ezek. 9.4 the Lord gives command to spare them in Hierusalem Ezek. 9.4 that did sigh and cry for the abominations done in the midst thereof The next way to escape judgement is to mourn for the sinnes of the Nation and though we should bee

So for the matter of punishment which is to our purpose God commanded them not to exceed fourty stripes therefore they would inflict but thirty and nine upon offendours Thus S. Paul saith 2 Cor. 11.24 Of the Iewes five times I received fourty stripes save one 2 Cor. 11.24 I do not applaud their superstition in doing more then God commanded but yet it argues mercifulnesse towards Delinquents so when a man had deserved death if the Lord had not exprest in his word what death he should die they would put him to that which was most esie I wish that this practise of theirs rise not up in judgement against us Christians how many be there among us that for petty matters seek to crush and undoe men they are so farre from punishing men lesse then they deserve that they inflict ten times more upon them then is meet this is the fault of Masters and Mistresses they will so beat their servants for trivials that they be scarfe their own men and women ever after doth this argue bowels of mercy or doth God deale so with your soules remember the parable of the two servants one whereof owed his master tenne thousand talents and because hee had not to pay his Lord commanded him his wife and children and all that he had to be sold and payment to be made the servant therefore fell down and worshipped him saying Luk. 1● Lord have patience with mee and I will pay thee all Then the Lord of that servant was moved with compassion and loosed him and forgave him the debt No sooner had his Lord forgiven him but hee goes out and found one of his fellow servants which ought him an hundred pence and hee laid hands on him and took him by the throat saying Pay me that thou owest and his fellow servant fell downe at his feet and besought him saying Have patience with mee and I will pay thee all and he would not but went and cast him into prison till he should pay the debt When his Lord heard of it he calls him to account againe for it seemes he had forgiven him upon condition that hee should forgive his brother and saith unto him O thou wicked servant I forgave thee all that debt because thou desiredst mee shouldst not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant even as I had pitty on thee and his Lord was wroth and delivered him to the tormentors till hee should pay all that was due unto him Call this parable often to remembrance and seeing God is so mercifull to thee deale not to extremity with others let those that be superiours think of this let them remember what they expect from God and let them be mercifull as hee is mercifull Another Exposition of these words thou hast punished us lesse then our iniquities deserve is this the words in the Originall are thou hast held us from being beneath by our iniquities As if hee had said thou hast kept us from being prest down to hell by our transgressions in this phrase of speech the Spirit of God intimates to us of what weight and load sinne is saith David mine iniquities are as an heavie burthen they are too heavie for mee Psal 38.4 and in Isa 1.4 God calls Israel a people laden with iniquitie Psal 38.4 Isa 1.4 Matth. 11.28 Heb. 21.1 and our Saviour Christ calls to him all that are heavie laden Matt. 11.28 and in Heb. 21.1 we are called upon to lay aside every weight and our Saviour saith to his Disciples in Luk. 21.34 Take heed to your selves lest at any time your hearts be overcome or prest down with surfetting and drunkennesse Luk 21.34 Now that sin is weighty and of a ponderous nature appeares thus First one sinne presseth upon another and they all presse down to hell Secondly sinne hinders us from doing whatsoever good is it makes us dull and heavie in the performance of good actions above all remember how heavie Christ our Redeemer found our sins though he was but a sinner by imputation yet he found the burden of our sins so weighty on his sacred shoulders that they made him sweat drops of bloud in a cold night and to cry out on the Crosse My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Vse 1 Doth sinne presse us down then yee may see the folly and stupidity of people that goe on in sinne and never finde it burdensome but let me tell these if ever God shall awake their drowsie conscience they shall finde that one Ionah is too much for a whole Ship the Devill is cunning and to the end hee may engage men in sinne he will not represent it to them in its own hue which is most ugly but hee shewes it in a false glasse either of profit or pleasure and hence it is that he ensnares so many soules hee tells them that sinne is no burthen and that hell is not so hot as the Minister makes it to bee but herein hee playes the lyar which hath beene his trade from the beginning Vse 2 In the second place let us find sinne a burthen there is no better argument of grace then to be sensible of the weight of sin and that man that doth not find it ponderous happily he may complaine of the stone in the kidney or the bladder but hee hath most cause to cry out of the stone in his heart for were not his heart harder then the nether mill-stone he would feele sin a burthen too heavy for him to beare Vse 3 Thirdly if God have freed us from this burthen let us take heed of being engaged in it againe for every sin is a weight the least is enough to presse us to hell but many will presse us downe to the bottome of hell Vse 4 Fourthly is sin a burthen let us then labour all wee can to ease men of it by giving them good and wholsome counsell but the times be wretched and it is a wonder the world stands so long some laugh at the sins of men others labour to engage them in sin and take pleasure in loading them there be too many that make men drink drunk and provoke them to sweare these are desperate wretches and most unchristian-like for instead of keeping their brethren from they put them on to sin Vse 5 Lastly is sin such a burthen how are wee bound to thee O blessed Saviour for easing us of this pressure of thy infinite and unspeakable love thou tookest to thee a load which would have prest us to the pit of hell make us wee beseech thee ever mindfull of it and thankfull for it The last amplification of Gods mercy is that he had delivered them thou hast given us such a diliverance as this Will some man say what deliverance was that it was the delivering of Israel from the Babylonish captivity which lasted seventy yeares and was a very great deliverance for in Babylon they hanged their harps on the willows and sat downe by the rivers

loves not his Countrey so much quia magnam because it is great as quia suam because it is his Therefore if God entitle his people to himselfe they may bee sure hee will care for them and what can bee more for Gods people to triumph in then that the Lord is their God This high Priviledge exceeds all things whatsoever for hee that hath honour and riches may goe to hell with them but hee that hath God to bee his God is sure to bee everlastingly happy I read of one in S. Augustine that passing by a stately house which had faire demeanes about it hee asked one that hee met to whom that house and land belonged hee answered to such a one O saith hee that is a happy man no saith the Father hee is not happy that hath that house and land but hee is happy that hath the Lord to be his God Vse 2 Secondly mee thinks this should take off the edge of all Persecutors Is God the God of his people and dare they touch that which is hallowed unto God will they meddle with the apple of his eye God is said to be blasphemed when Rabshekah that railing Oratour reviled the Host of Israel and Christ saith to Saul when hee was going to Damascus Saul Saul why persecutest thou mee It is well known that there was an infinite distance between our Saviour and hee but it was in his members that hee was persecuted Zeresh the wife of Haman gave good counsell to her Husband had he taken it in time shee tells him Esth 6.13 Esth 6.13 If Mordecai bee of the feed of the Iewes before whom thou hast begun to fall thou shall not prevaile against him but surely falI before him I know that oftentimes God gives Persecutors power to hurt his people but it is not ad extirpationem to root them up sed ad exercitationem but to exercise and try them Therefore the enemies of Gods Church are compared to Bees that have honey as well as a sting God makes the wicked as usefull to his children as the fire is to the gold as Ignatius that holy Martyr said when hee was threatned that he should bee eaten up of wilde beasts saith he By passing thorow the teeth of wilde beasts I shall bee the purer manchet for the table of God my Master Vse 3 Thirdly me thinks it should teach all Persecutors and all wicked men to love the people of God how are wee affected with earthly things If wee know a man whom the King favours how doe wee seek to get into his favour wee will doe him any service to obtaine it and are not the Saints of God his Favourites Yes they are those whom God highly honours Why doe wee not then indeare our selves unto them if the wicked were wise they would keep in with Gods people above all others one Moses will more prevaile with God to turne away his wrath then a thousand other men Acts 27. and in the Acts 27. all in the ship are beholding to Saint Paul for their lives I know the wicked mis-use the godly and think meanly of them but were it not for them they should quickly be made as Sodom and Gomorrah for they stand in the breach interceding with God for them in so much that hee saith let mee alone but though ungodly men maligne them we who are led by a better spirit should doe the Saints of God all the good we can And they that doe it shall not goe unrewarded for it is a Sacrifice well pleasing to God Phil. 4.18 Phil. 4.18 And saith the same Apostle Heb. 6.10 Heb. 6.10 God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love which yee shewed towards his name in that yee have ministred unto the Saints and yet minister and Christ himselfe saith Matth. 10.42 Matth. 10.42 Whosoever giveth a cup of cold water only to the least of these in the name of a Disciple verily hee shall not lose his reward Vse 4 Lastly is the Lord the God of Israel let Israel then behave themselves as Gods people what saith the spirit of God in Deut. 26.18 Deut. 26.18 The Lord hath avouched thee this day to bee his peculiar people as hee hath promised thee that thou shouldst keep all his Commandements So in 1 Cor. 6.20 1 Cor. 6.20 Yee are bought with a price therefore glorifie God in your body and in your spirit which are Gods Titus 2.14 and in Titus 2.14 Who gave himselfe for us that hee might redeeme us from all iniquity and purifie to himselfe a peculiar people zealous of good works and Saint Peter cals the people of God lively stones and a holy Priesthood Why so it followes in the next words to offer up spirituall sacrifices 1 Pet. 2.5 acceptable to God by Iesus Christ 1 Pet. 2.5 Therefore as many of you as lay claime to God be not companions to wicked men though they sweare lie deceive oppresse vos autem non sic yet must not you doe so Though Iudah play the harlot let not Israel sinne let your chiefe care bee to live as the people of God and if yee would bee known to bee such Let your conversation bee according to the Gospel and as many as walk after that rule peace shall be upon them and upon the whole Israel of God Now wee come to the particulars in the Text as wee laid them down First for his justifying of God thou art righteous This hath been ever the practise of Gods people they have still confessed God to bee just in what he hath brought upon them Thus doth David Psal 51.4 Psal 51.4 Against thee thee only have I sinned and done this evill in thy sight that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest and be cleare when thou judgest As if he had said though thou punish mee severely yet I cannot but confesse that it is justly Psal 119.137 So in Psal 119.137 Righteous art thou O Lord and upright are thy judgements The like wee see in Eli when Samuel told him that sad Message from God concerning the extirpation of his house hee saith It is the Lord let him doe what seemeth him good 1 Sam. 3.18 1 Sam. 3.18 which calls to my minde that of Hezekiah when he had shewed the Embassadours of the King of Babylon his Treasurers and that the Lord had sent Isaiah to tell him that for his vaine-glory hee would give them into the hands of that King all that hee saith is bonum est verbum Iehovae good is the word of the Lord Isa 39.8 Isa 39.8 The like wee see in Daniel Dan. 9.7 Dan. 9.7 O Lord righteousnesse belongeth to thee but unto us confusion of faces as at this day The same was the practise of good Nehemiah Neh. 9.33 Nehem. 9.33 Thou art just in all that is brought upon us for thou hast done right but wee have done wickedly As if hee had said we know wee lie