Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	acceptable_a	according_a	action_n	24	3	6.1212	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77593	Ton anexichniaston plouton [sic] tou Christou. The unsearchable riches of Christ. Or, Meat for strong men. Milke [for] babes. Held for th in twenty-two sermons from Ephesians 3.8. By Thomas Brookes, preacher of the Word at Margarets New-Fishstreet.; Anexichniastoi ploutoi tou Christou	Brooks, Thomas, 1608-1680.	1657 (1657)	Wing B4919; Thomason E841_8	318,122	353

there is little or no good in them and therefore thou mightest justly cut them downe But oh my father I see here a bunch and there a bunch here a little 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bring forth It is the custome of all Writers and very frequent in the sacred Dialect to use phrases whereby they understand much more then they do expresse an example whereof you have in this verse where Christs not breaking the bruised reed signifies his great mercy and kindness in repairing and restoring and curing the bruised weakling And so his not quenching the smoking flax is his enlivening quickening and enflaming that fire or spark of grace or goodnesse which was almost quencht c. Others understand the words of Christ seting up the profession of the Gospel in the world among the Heathens if the Jewes will not receive it grace and there a little grace surely there is a blessing in it O spare it let it not be stubb'd up let it not be destroyed So Mat. 12. 20. A bruised Reed shall he not breake nor smoking flax shall he not quench till he send forth judgement unto victory A bruised Reed shall he not breake The Jewish Commentators carry it thus He shall not Tyrannize over but nourish and cherrish the poore weake feeble ones that are wont to be oppressed by great ones But men more spirituall carry it thus Christ will not carry it roughly and rigorously towards poore weake tender soules whose Graces are as a bruised reed and as smoaking flax A Reed is a contemptible thing a tender thing it will break sometimes before a man is aware a bruised Reed is more tender it will be broken with a touch yet Christ will not breat such a bruised Reed i. e. a soule weak in grace Nor quench the smoaking flax The wick of a Candle is little worth and yet lesse when it smoakes as yielding neither light nor heat but rather smoakes and offends with an ill smel which men cannot bear but will tread it out But the Lord Jesus Christ will not doe so Soules whose knowledge love faith and zeale do's but smoak out the Lord Jesus will not trample under-foot nay he will cherish nourish and strengthen such to life Eternall Look what Tallow is to the wick or Oyle is to the Lamp that will the Lord Jesus be to the Graces of weak Christians Till he shall bring forth judgement unto Victory That is untill the sanctified frame of grace begun in their hearts be brought to that perfection that it prevaileth over all opposite corruption Thus you see how sweetly the Lord Jesus carries it to soules weak in grace Therefore let not those that bring forth a hundred fold despise those that bring forth but thirty nor those that have five Talents despise those that have but two The fifth Support is this That weake Saints may be very usefull to the strong and sometimes may doe more then strong Saints can As you may see in 1 Cor. 12. 14. to 28. The Apostle in this Scripture discovers the singular use of the weakest Saint in the body of Christ by the usefulnesse of the weakest and meanest Member in the naturall body to the strongest Ver. 21. The eye cannot say to the hand I have no need of thee nor again the head to the foot I have no need of thee By the head and by the eye he means such Saints as were eminent in gifts graces that were adorned more richly and that shin'd more gloriously in grace and gracious abilities then others Oh these should not despise those that were not so eminent and excellent as themselves for God hath so tempered the inequality of the members in the naturall body that the more excellent and beautifull members can in no wise lack the more abject and weak members therefore slight not the weakest Saints for certainly at first or last the weakest will be serviceable to the It was a sayink of Generall Vere to the King of Denmarke That Kings cared not for Souldiers untill such time that their Crownes hung on the one side of their heads strongest A Dwarfe may be usefull to a Gyant a Child to a man Sometimes a little finger shall doe that that a limb in the body can't doe 'T is so often in Christs spirituall body I will give you a very famous instance for this At the Councel of Nice there was 318 Bishops and by the subtilty of a Philosopher disputing against the Marriage of Ministers they generally voted against it that those that were single should not marry At length up stars Paphnutius a plain Christian and in the name of Christ with the naked word of God he pleaded against them all in that case and God so wrought by his Arguments that he convinc't the 318 Bishops and carried the cause against them yea and so Socrates Eccles Histo convinc't the Philosopher of his error that before all he freely confest it As long saith he as mens words were onely pressed I could repell words with words but what is weake man A little Sta● hath light influence tho nor the glory which is proper to the Sun to withstand the word of God I yield I am conquer'd Weak Christians may be of singular use to the strongest those that know most may learne more even from the weakest Saints Junius was converted by discoursing with a Plow-man And Acts 18. 24. to 27. Apollo though he was an Eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures as the Text speaks yet was he furthered and bettered in the knowledge of Christs Kingdome by Aquilla and Priscilla a poor Tent-maker and his wife were instrumentall to acquaint him with those things that he knew but weakly He had not ascended above John's Baptisme but they had and so communicated their light and knowledge to him The sixth Support is this Where there is but a little Grace there God expects lesse 6 Support and will accept of lesse though it be accompanied with many failings Thou sayest Oh! I have but a little grace a little faith a little love a little zeale Oh know where there is but a little grace there God expects lesse obedience and will accept of lesse service 2 Cor. 8. 12. For if there be first a willing mind It is very observable that the Eagle the Lyon those brave Creatures were not offered in Sacrifice unto God but the poor Lamb and Dove To note that your brave high lofty spirits God regards not but your poore meek contemptible spirits God accepts it is accepted according to that which a man hath and not according to that which he hath not The two Mites cast into the Treasury Luke 21. 3. by the poor widow her heart being in the action were more acceptable then two Talents cast in by others Noah's Sacrifice could not be great and yet it was greatly accepted by God In the time of the Law God accepted a handfull of Meale for a Sacrifice

love to grace and because of an excellency that they see in grace Grace is a very sparkling Jewel and he that loves it and pursues after it for its owne native beauty ha's much of it within him c. Thirdly 'T is your Principle That men must subject themselves and square all their actions by the word of God Now what will make a man live up to this Principle will a little grace Surely no. But great measures of grace will Isa 8. 20. Zacharias and Elizabeth were rich in grace and they liv'd up to this Principle Luke 1. 5. They walked in all the Commandements of the Lord blamelesse The Apostles were rich in grace and they liv'd up to this Principle 2 Cor 1. 12. This is our rejoycing the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity we have had our conversation in the world So in 1 Thess 2. 10. Ye are witnesses and God also how holily justly and unblameably we have behaved our selves among you that believe Oh here are soules that live up to their Principles A Christian that is rich in grace is excellent all over George Prince of Anhalt his family is said to have been Ecclesia Academia Curia A Church a Vniversity and a Court. A Christian that is rich in grace ha's a heart as large as his head yea a heart that is as large as the whole will of God Acts 13. 22. I have found David the Son of Jesse a man after my owne heart which shall fullfill all my will In the Greek 't is All my wills to note the universality and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sincerity of his obedience Soules rich in grace practice that themselves which they prescribe to others Lessons of Musick and Copies must not be read onely but acted also Soules rich in grace are good at this and they will be good in all places and cases They are as good at the particular Duties of Religion as at those that are more generall they are good Fathers and good Masters and good Husbands as well as good Christians in a more generall sense But now soules that have but a little grace they are much in the generall Duties of Religion but very defective in the particular Duties of Religion as sad experience does abundantly evidence Those that have a blemish in their eye think the skie to be ever cloudy and nothing is more common to weak spirits then to be criticising and contending about others Duties and to neglect their owne But such that are rich in grace make it their glory to subject themselves to the rule of righteousness As Baldasser a German Minister cryed out Let the word of the Lord come let it come saith he and we will submit to it if we had many hundred necks to put under It must be much grace that must inable a man freely fully and sweetly to subject himselfe and his actions to the word of the Lord. Fourthly 'T is your Principle That you must deny your selves your owne profit ease pleasure c. for a publick good And this the Scripture requires 'T is your Principle to deny your selves your own honour pleasure profit c. for a publick advantage when your particular advantages stand in competition 'T is a base unworthy spirit for a man to make himselfe the Centre of all his actions The very heathen man could say A mans Countrey and his friend and others chalenge a great part of him with the publick Now selfe must be laid by and the publick must carry the day Oh but will a little grace inable a man to live up to this Principle Wofull experience shewes the contrary I but now take me a man that is rich in grace and he will live up to this golden Principle as you may see in Nehem. 5. 14 15 16 17 18. Nehemiah was a man eminent in grace and he chooses rather to live upon his owne Purse then upon the publick purse Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their Governour in the Land of Judah from the twentieth year even unto the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the King that is twelve years I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the Governour Behold the former Governours that had been before me were chargeable unto the people and had taken of them bread and wine besides forty Sheckles of silver yea even their servants did bear rule over the people but so did not I because of the fear of God yea also I continued in the worke of this wall neither bought we any land and all my servants were gathered thither unto the worke Moreover there were at my Table an hundred and fifty of the Jewes and Rulers besides those that came in to us from among the Heathen And yet for all this saith he I required not the bread of the Governour because the bondage was heavy upon the people Oh! here was a brave spirit indeed he was far from inriching himselfe by others ruines from emptying others Purses to fill his owne But he is dead and it seemes this brave spirit is buried with him there are few of his name and fewer of his spirit if any in this world and therefore well might he pray Thinke upon me my God for good according to all that I have done for this people And accordingly God did think upon him for good and made him very famous and glorious in his Generation And that 's a remarkable passage concerning Moses Numb 14. 12. to 21. I will smite them with the Pestilence and dis-inherite them and will make of thee a great Nation and mightier then they saith God to Moses Therefore let me alone to destroy them and cut them off for they are a rebellious Generation And I will make thee a mighter Nation for honour riches and power then they Nay saith Moses this may not be Lord. Oh the people must be spared the people must be pardoned and the people must have thy presence with them and rather then it should be otherwise let my name Lord be blotted out of the Book of life Lord I care not how ill it goes with my particular so long as it may goe well with the generall let me dye so they may live Can the self-seekers of our age think seriously of this and not blush So Mordecai was a man of a brave publick spirit Esther 10. 3. Mordecai the Jew was next unto King Ahassuerus and great among the Jewes and accepted of the multitude of his brethren seeking the wealth of his people Or as the Hebrew ha's it Seeking good for his people That is he made it his businesse to seek their good Christ also was full of grace Christ healed others but was burt himselfe he ●ed and filled others but was hungry himselfe c. and had a brave publick spirit he laid out himselfe and laid downe himselfe for a publick good and so did Paul c. Few in our dayes are of his opinion