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 mourning_n zion_n 25 3 8.0858 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
A66075 Counsels and comforts for troubled consciences contained in a letter, lately written to a friend / by Henry Wilkinson ... Wilkinson, Henry, 1616-1690. 1679 (1679) Wing W2234; ESTC R34095 48,680 121

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

likewise the Apostle acquaints us that we are appointed unto afflictions For saith he that no man should be moved by 1 Thes 3. 3 these afflictions for your selves know that we are appointed thereunto Sect. 6. Object But you will say that your wounds are more inward and your troubles are wounds of Conscience and you urge that of Solomon The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity but a Pro. 18. 14 wounded spirit who can bear Ans For Answer There is nothing which hath befallen you but what hath befallen others of Gods Children For Job complains The Job 6. 4. Arrows of the Almighty are within me the poyson whereof drinketh up my spirit The terrors of God do set themselves in array against me But David complains of broken bones but they were caused by breaches first made upon his Conscience in the matters of Vriah Though David was a great King and full of riches and honour and though he was an excellent Musician and of a sanguine complexion and those naturally are most cheerful yet he had inward as well as outward trouble For so he complains I am feeble Psal 38. 8. and sore broken I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart But what must be done in this case You must make hast to God the only Physician who can cure you and apply the Blood of Christ which is the only Medicine As you ought to be sensible of your wounds so you must seek speedily for cure Imitate those who were stung with the fiery Serpents and presently look'd up to the Brazen-serpent and were cured The Command was from the Lord unto Moses Make thee a fiery serpent and Num. 21. 7 set it upon a pole and it shall come to pass that every one that is bitten when he looketh upon it shall live And what was commanded Moses obeyed accordingly good success followed And Moses made a Serpent Vers 8. of brass and put it upon a pole and it came to pass that if a serpent had bitten any man when he beheld the serpent of brass he lived The bitings of the Serpent represent the dreadful stings of sin and the looking up unto the Brazen-Serpent represents the looking up unto Christ with the eye of faith Christ the best Expositor thus expounds that Scripture And as Moses lifted up Joh. 3. 14 15. the serpent in the wilderness even so must the soon of man be lifted up That whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life When sorrows have almost drunk up your spirits as you complain of your disease whereof you ought to be sensible so you must seek after a Remedy There is a vast difference between poor doubting Christians and confident presumptuous sinners these are over-hasty to apply Comforts which appertain not to them and are not in the mean time affected with sense of their sins nor afflicted for them with godly sorrow Whereas the other dare not apply promises though they have a right unto them but stay too much in beholding their wounds and mourning for them both these extremes must be removed As on one hand we may not be confident on our condition and be too hasty to apply comfort before we have been cast down with godly sorrow so on the other hand we must not deny our selves those comforts which God appoints ●or godly mourners For what was prophesied of Christs preaching he actually accomplished The spirit Isa 61. 1 2 3. Luk. 4. 18. of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek he hath sent Hinc colligimus Isaiam proprie de Evangelio loqu● Lex enim data est ut superbos turgentes inani fiducia animos prosternat Evange lium vero afflictis destinatur i. e. iis qui se omni bono vacous esse s●iunt ut colligant animos ac sustentent Calv. me to bind up the broken-hearted to proclaim liberty to the capt●ves and the opening of the prison to them that are bound to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God to comfort all that mourn to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion to give unto them beauty for ashes the Oyl of joy for mourning the garment of praises for the spirit of heaviness that they might be called trees of righteousness Make haste unto Jesus Christ and apply this great promise for the comfort of your soul Sect. 7. Object But you will say farther I fear that I am not concerned in this promise because it belongs to such as are broken-hearted only and godly mourners Ans For answer I ask you Do not you hate and abhor sin Is not sin your greatest sorrow And is not Christ your greatest joy If so then you may apply that excellent promise to your particular condition and notwithstanding the sense of your own weakness and unworthiness be not discouraged from coming to Christ There 's help laid upon one that Ps 89. 19. is mighty And this is Jesus Christ Go therefore laying aside all delays excuses and demurs unto Christ quickly for he is an absolute and All-sufficient Saviour Wherefore he is able Heb. 7. 25. also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them Sect. 8. Object But farther you will say that my afflictions are judgments and tokens of Gods wrath Ans But why do you so pre-judg and mis-judg your own condition as making it worse than it is as being more ready which is your failing to catch at any thing which may make against you than at any thing which may make for you I shall distinguish of two sorts of judgments the one is of chastisement and the other is of punishment As for this of punishment this is only appropriated unto ungodly men who many times even in this world receive part of payment and an earnest of those judgments which shall be their full portion and full payment in everlasting burnings in that Lake that burneth with fire and brimstone these are firebrands of Hell But then there is a judgment of chastisement and fatherly correction and this befalls Gods own dear Children in this present world For saith the Apostle judgment begins at the house 1 Pet. 4. 7. of God And chastisements are love-tokens unto Gods Children For whom the Lord loveth he chastneth and scourgeth Heb. 2. 6. every son whom he receiveth Such then are in a happy condition who make a right improvement of afflictions For saith the Psalmist blessed is the man whom thou chastneth O Lord Ps 94. 12. and teachest him out of thy law And then a Christian is well improved by any affliction when it is sanctified to him and he made more holy by the affliction for God chastiseth us for our profit that we might be partakers Heb. 12. 10 of his holiness And though
on those many and special Invitations * Ingens in nobis requiritur desiderium ●t tantorū beneficiorum participes esse possimus Cal. in loc One is Ho every one that thirsteth come ye to the waters and he that hath no money come ye buy and eat without money and without price By waters are understood the Divine Ordinances by buying without price the riches of free grace and mercy in Christ are represented by coming is meant the using of those means which God hath prescribed as believing repenting hearing of the Word receiving the Lords Supper c. Another Invitation suitable hereunto is If any man thirst let him Joh. 7. 37. come unto me and drink A thirsty soul who is sensible of his want of Christ and that he is lost and undone without him hath a special invitation to come unto him The third Invitation which is sutable to the former runs thus And the Spirit and the Bride say come and let him that heareth say come and let Rev. 2. 17. him that is a thirst come and whosoever will let him take the water of life freely For Explication of that choice Scripture there is a special remark to be set on these particulars 1. Consider who are invited and 1. Thirsty persons are invited they are thirsty necessitous indigent persons who are apprehensive of their absolute necessity of having Christ and that no other waters but such living-waters as flow from Christ can satisfie them these only have a special Invitation 2. It 's said Whosoever will though 2. Whosoever will a willing mind is commended and accepted of by the Almighty God yet this willing mind is first given to us by God before we can imploy it for God We read that God stir'd up Ezra 1. 1. the spirit of Cyrus King of Persia to build the house of the Lord God of Vers 3. Israel he is the God which is in Jerusalem After the command of Cyrus the issue thereof followeth Then rose up the chief of the Fathers of Judah Vers 5. and Benjamin and the Priests and the Levites with all them whose spirit God had raised to go up to build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem As those who were builders of the Temple in Jerusalem had their spirits rais'd by God for that great work so all those who will do any spiritual and acceptable service unto God must first have their spirits rais'd and have a willing mind vouchsafed by God unto them Unless we have assistance from Christ and be acted guided and governed by his Spirit we can do nothing pleasing unto God All our fresh-springs are in Christ Phil. 2. 13. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost All our sufficiency is from God And it is God that worketh in you to will and to do according to his good pleasure A fourth Invitation to name no more is that which Christ himself makes to such as are sensible of the heavy weight and burthen of their sins Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy-laden and I will give Mat. 11. 28. you rest Some understand the words of crosses and afflictions and others of the rigor of the Law and others of sin of all these burdens Christ can ease us * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 laboribus frangere lassare te significat Bilson de perpet Guber Hales 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sarcina proprie quae humeris fertur item quae navi imponitur V. Leigh Crit. Sac. The Original words are Emphatical and intimate that such as are even ready to sink under their burthens are invited to come to Christ for help and succour Put then the Question home to your own soul Are you sensible of the heavy burthen of sin and weary of it Is sin more grievous and burthensome to you than an aking Tooth or a broken Arm If this be your condition be not dismay'd but with all expedition go to Jesus Christ who alone can remove all your burthens and give you rest Sect. 25. 4. Ground of comfort the particular application of Christs merits I conclude all with the fourth and last Ground of comfort and with some suitable Scriptures appertaining thereunto As for this Ground of comfort though I name it last yet it is the chiefest of all it is the particular application of the merits of Christ as offered in the Gospel to your own soul We usually say that Medicines cure not in their preparation though to prepare them is necessary but in their application The Soveraign Medicine of the blood of Christ is of infinite dignity price and value One drop of his Blood and one dram of his Grace is sufficient for you The Apostle was once a great persecutor and afterwards was a zealous professor and Preacher of that Gospel which he formerly persecuted He ascribes the great change wrought in him to the grace of God * Quod dignitati suae tribuere non potest tribuit gratiae Dei agnoscit se alium esse personae de meriti sui indignitate alium per gratiam Dei Musc in loc By the grace 1 Cor. 15. 10. of God I am what I am and his grace which was bestowed on me was not in vain 1 Tim. 1. 17. However you may be troubled with variety of strong Tentations as the Apostle was and you may 2 Cor. 12. 17. have a Thorn in the flesh even * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. immissus mihi a satan● Grot. the messenger Satan buffeting of you yet if you wholly cast your self and rely upon the free grace of Christ tendred in the Gospel you will find all sorts of help in his merits for justification sanctification and consolation in this world and for glorification in the world to come It 's to be supposed that * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hunc comparat sud● ac paxillo quemadmodum sudes praeacuti carnem pungendo afficit sic sit illius infestationibus veluti punctionibus afflictatus Musc in Loc. 2 Cor. 12. 7 8 9. 1 Joh. 17. the thorn in the flesh was some strong Tentation wherewith the Apostle was assaulted and he made haste to God in earnest prayers and supplications This was the right and only means to obtain cure For the same wise God who exercised the Apostle with such tryals could only give a blessed issue out of them all You must after this example go and do likewise For this thing saith the Apostle I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart And he said unto me My grace is sufficient for thee For my strength is made perfect in weakness You complain that you are defiled with sins you must apply the Blood of Christ for it's cleansing blood to your soul The blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanseth us from all sin You frequently complain that you are a great sinner for an answer to your complaints I thus distinguish There are two sorts of