Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	according_a	lord_n	zion_n	107	3	9.1180	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12197	The saints safetie in evill times Delivered at St Maries in Cambridge the fift of November, upon occasion of the Povvder-Plot. Whereunto is annexed a passion-sermon, preached at Mercers Chappel London upon Good-Friday. As also the happinesse of enjoying Christ laid open at the funerall of Mr Sherland late recorder of Northampton. Together with the most vertuous life and heavenly end of that religious gentleman. By R. Sibbes D.D. master of Katherine-Hall in Cambridge, and preacher at Grayes-Inne London.	Sibbes, Richard, 1577-1635.	1634 (1634)	STC 22507; ESTC S102406	165,121	608

no matter God will pardon all I care not so I may have my wish this is the heart of many gracelesse persons that are not led with heavenly respects But take a Christian and he had rather beg doe any thing in the world than doe a thing unworthy his profession unbeseeming the Gospell or that high calling whereunto hee is called Shall such a man as I doe this hee will not and therefore his care is to take heed of ill workes for then he is sure to have God his friend who hath riches and honour enough for him because the earth is the Lords and the fulnesse thereof this is the care of a judicious wel instructed Christian But marke the Extent from every evill worke Saint Pauls care is not for one or two but that God would keepe him from every evill worke Why so Because he that truly hates one sinne will hate all the kinds of it both come from the same love of God he that loves God as he should will hate whatsoever God hates and have respect to all Gods Commandements as the Psalmist speakes partiall obedience is indeed no obedience at all for he that obeyes one and not another obeyes not simply because of the Commander to yeeld obedience unto him but onely to satisfie his owne corrupt nature picking and choosing what pleases himselfe which belongs not to an inferiour but to a superiour to doe And therefore such make themselves gods in that they single out easie things that doe not oppose their lusts which are not against their Reputation c. and therein perhaps they will supererogate and doe more than they need onely because they will have a compensation with God that he should quit with them for other things I have done that and therefore he must beare with mee in this Oh but there is no compensation here a man is never so straitned but he may escape without sinne there is no pretence will serve but we must abstaine from every evill worke Satan keepes many men in his snare by this and so he hath them safe in one sinne hee cares not therefore he will suffer them to heare read and pray c. holding them fast in one raigning sinne wherein hee will let them alone till the time of some great affliction or death and then he will roare upon them Oh beloved wee cannot provide worse for our owne soules than to cherish a purpose of living in any one sin for that is enough for the devill to hold his possession in us by and at the houre of death to claime us for his owne If wee regard any iniquity in our heart the Lord will not heare our prayers I beseech you therefore let us labour to have cleare consciences freeing our selves from a purpose to live in any sinne that in all our slips and failings we may say with an honest heart My purpose was not to do this but to refraine from wickednesse Againe he speakes of this for the time to come the Lord will deliver me from evill A true Christian is as carefull to avoide sinne for the time to come as to bee freed from the guilt of sinnes past Iudas may desire to have his conscience freed from former sinnes but Indas cannot desire to be a good man for the time to come Nothing argues a good conscience more than this The most wicked wretch that breathes may desire to have his conscience stilled and yet never have any purpose or power to abstaine from sinne but like a dogge after he hath disgorged himselfe returne to his vomit againe True Repentance is a turning from former evills to a contrary good Our griefe no further yeelds comfort of sound repentance then it hath care attending for prevention of sinne according to that which Christ said to the woman taken in adultery Goe and sinne no more and as David prayes Purge me O Lord and cleanse me but withall establish me with thy free spirit for the time to come As if hee should say Lord I know it is not in man to order his owne wayes I desire not the forgivenesse of my sinnes that there by I might with more liberty offend thy Majesty but with pardoning grace I begge preventing grace No false heart can move such a desire as this to God A gracious heart that prayes aright prayes as well that God would preserve him from future sinne as forgive him his former sinnes It is a ridiculous thing of the Papists to make confession of a sinne which they meane to commit as some late Traitors confessed such and such things which they were to act were straight absolved for it So your cursed duelists that will pray and repent when they meane presently to fall one upon another Is this repentance when a man is inveigled with the sin hee meanes to commit and cannot overcome himselfe in the case of revenge Doe these men thinke they repent No certainely repentance is of sinnes past and the carriage of every true Christian is to avoide evill for the time to come Againe it is here a perpetnated Act the Lord will deliver me still from every evill worke whence you see that In every evil worke we are tempted to we need delivering Grace as to every good worke assisting Grace Indeed our whole life if we look upwards is nothing but a deliverance but if we looke to our selves it is nothing but danger and a warfare and therefore wee have need of a deliverance How little a temptation turnes over a great man as sometimes a little winde turnes over your mighty gallies We see this in David and Salomon and if God leave us to our selves even the strongest man in the world how soone is he overturned in the midst of sinsull occasions how ready are wee to joyne with them and betray our owne soules But from the whole take it as it comes from God altogether the truth is thus much that a Christian who is privy to his own soule of good intentions to abstaine from all ill for the present may presume that God will assist him against all ill workes for the time to come I say a Christian that hath his conscience telling him that he meanes to be better and is not in league with any sin may beleeve this for the time to come that God will keepe him from evill workes I speak this because many who are yet sinners thinke it in vaine to strive for they shall never bee better What doest thou talke man hast thou a minde to be better God will meet thee one time or other is thy will at liberty he that gives thee the will will also give thee the deed is not this the Promise that God will deliver thee from every evill worke and therefore away with all discouragements O but There are sonnes of Anak mighty Giants that molest mee my sinnes are as so many Giants to stop my proceeding I shall never be● better Say not so nay rather

may give way a while that the thoughts of many may be reve●led and that his glory may shine the more in raising his children and confounding his enemies but he will put a period in his due time and that is the best time There is a day of lacobs trouble when his enemies say This is Sion whom none regards but God sets bounds both to the time of his childrens trouble and to the malice of the wicked Their rod shall not rest over-long upon the backe of the righteous God will put a hooke into the nostrils of these Leviathans and draw them which way hee pleaseth Againe we see here that mischievous attempts are successelesse in the end for did ever any harden themselves against God and prosper long Let Cain speake let Pharaoh Haman Achitophel Herod Let the persecutors of the Church for the first 200. yeares let all that ever bore ill will towards Sion Speake and they will confesse they did but kick against the pricks and dash against the rocks The greatest torment of the damned Spirit is that God turnes all his plots for the good of those hee hates most Hee tempted man to desire to become like God that so he might ●uine him but God became man and so restored him God serveth himselfe of this Arch politician and all his instruments they are but executioners of Gods will while they rush against it Iosephs brethren sold him that they might not worship him and that was the very meanes whereby they came at length to worship him God delights to take the oppressed parties part Wicked men cannot do Gods childrē a greater pleasure then to oppose thē for by this means they help to advāce thē The ground of the miscarriage of wicked plots is that Satan and his maintaine a damned cause and their plots are under a curse Every one that prayes thy kingdome come prayes by consequence against them as opposers of it and how can the men and plots of so many curses but miscarry and prove but as the untimely fruit of a woman they are like the grasse on the house top which perks above the corne in the field but yet no man prayes for a blessing upon it when men come by a goodly corne field every one is ready to say God blesse this field c. Beloved it is a heavyer thing then Atheisticall spirits thinke of to be under the curse of the Church for as God blesseth out of Sion so usually the heaviest curses come out of Sion Wo be to the Herods and Iulians of the world when the Church either directly or indirectly prayes against them This is a ground of staying the soules of Gods people in seeming confusion of things there is an harmony in all this discord God is ●itting his people for a better condition even when they are at the worst and is hardning and preparing the wi●ked for confusion even when they are at the best The wicked practise against the righteous but God laugheth them to scorne for hee seeth all their plottings and his day is acomming whilest they are digging pits for others there is a pit a digging a grave a making for themselves they have a measure to make up and a treasure to fill which at length will be broken open Which mee thinkes should take off them which are set upon mischiefe from pleasing themselves in their plots Alas they are but plotting their owne ruine and building a Babell which will fall upon their owne heads If there were any commendation in plotting then that great plotter of plotters that great Engineir Satan would goe beyond us all and take all the credit from us But let us not envie Satan and his in their glory they had need of something to comfort them let them please themselves with their trade the day is comming wherein the Daughter of Sion shall laugh them to scorne there will be a time wherein it shall be said Arise Sion and thrash And usually the delivery of Gods children is joyned with the destruction of his enemies Sauls death and Davids deliverance the Israelites deliverance and Egyptians drowning The Ch●rch and her opposites are like the scales of a ballance when one goes up the other goes downe Hamans wife had learned this that if her husband began once to fall before the Jewes hee should surely fall Wicked men have an house and they will be sure to take it and God hath his house too and will be as sure to take that The judgements of the wicked are mercies to the Church so saith David He flew mighty Kings Ogg King of Basan for his mercy endureth for ever c. God hath but two things in the world that he much regardeth his Truth and his Church begotten by his truth and shall we think that he will suffer long wretched men who turne that wit and power which they have from him against his truth Church No assuredly but he will give them up by that very wit of theirs to worke their owne destruction they shall serve their turne most whom they hate most God sits in heaven and laughes them to scorne Shall God laugh and we cry They take counsell together on earth but God hath a counsell in heaven that will overthrow all their counsells here Marke the bitter expressions in Scripture Why do the heathen rage without feare or wit Goe to now saith God gather a counsell c. Beloved it goes to the heart of proud persons to be scorned especially in the miscarriage of that which they count their Master-peece they had rather be counted Devils then fooles Let us worke wisely saith Pharaoh when hee was never more foole they usurp upon God and promise themselves great matters for the time to come whereas that is only Gods prerogative and they neither know what the wombe of their counsels nor what the wombe of to morrow may bring forth that which they are big of may prove an abortive or a viper to consume the wombe that bred it Goe to now saith the Propher all yee that kindle a fire walke in the light of your fire but take this of me you shall lye downe in sorrow c. The Scripture is full of such expostulations and up braidings Man is become like one of us saith God When men will have a way of their owne and think themselves wiser than God then it stands upon Gods honour to out-wit them Yet God is wise saith the Prophet you thinke to goe beyond God deceive not your selves God is wise and you shall finde him to be so ●e hath a way to goe beyond you Doe not many men spinne a fine thread and weave a faire webb when by their turnings and devices they turne themselves into hell Woe be to them that dig deep faith the Prophet and think to hide their counsels from the Lord God hath an eye to see into the most secret dark conveyances of