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	people_n	zion_n	36	3	8.6912	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A89567	Gods master-piece. A sermon tending to manifest Gods glorious appearing in the building up of Zion: preached to the Right Honourable the House of Peers, in the Abbey Church of Westminster, March 26. 1645. Being the day of the monthly publike fast, / by Stephen Marshall, B.D. minister of Gods Word, at Finching-field in Essex. Published by order of the House of Peeres.	Marshall, Stephen, 1594?-1655.	1645 (1645)	Wing M756; Thomason E279_2; ESTC R200025	37,316	57

GODS MASTER-PIECE A SERMON Tending to manifest Gods glorious appearing in the building up of Zion PREACHED To the Right Honourable the House of Peers in the Abbey Church of Westminster March 26. 1645. Being the day of the Monthly publike Fast BY Stephen Marshall B. D. Minister of Gods Word at Finching-field in Essex Published by Order of the House of Peeres Esa. 60. 14. They shall call thee the City of the Lord the Zion of the Holy One of Israel Psal. 68. 24. They have seen thy goings O God the goings of my God my King in the Sanctuary LONDON Printed by Richard Cotes for Stephen Bowtell and are to be sold at the signe of the Bible in Popes-head Alley 1645. To the Right HONOVRABLE THE House of Peeres Assembled in PARLIAMENT Right Honourable THis plain Sermon when preached was entertained by Your Lordships with singular attention and now comes to publike view by Your command I shall not presume now to make another tryall of Your patience by a long Epistle as I did then in a long Sermon I onely present it unto You and since You please to have it so to the eye of the World humbly beseeching the Lord to accompany it with his blessing that all who read it especially Your Lordships may in it behold as in a Glasse the Glorie of the Lord and be changed into the same Image by the Spirit of the Lord thatso they may account it their greatest Honour to promote this Worke to beautifie the place of Gods Sanctuary and to make the place of his feet glorious So prayeth Your unworthy Servant Stephen Marshall A SERMON PREACHED To the Right Honourable the House of LORDS at the Monethly Fast March 26. 1645. PSALM 102. 16 17. When the Lord shall build up Zion hee shall appeare in his glory hee will regard the Prayer of the destitute and not despise their prayer I Have chosen a Text Right Honourable and Beloved which is neither difficult in it self nor which is the lot of many plain Texts made to seem obscure by the variety of glosses and interpretations put upon it There is a generall agreement concerning the scope and meaning of the Spirit of God in this Psalm some little difference is found amongst Interpreters concerning the time and the Pen-man of it Some conceiving it was about the time when the Jews were stopt and interrupted in the works of building the Temple by their ill neighbours but most doe agree that the time was about the end of the seventy years captivity when God had raised up the spirits of the Prophets to encourage the people to expect this mercy according to that of Esay 40. Comfort yee comfort ye my people saith the Lord speak ye comfortably to Hierusalem and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished and also stirred up the spirits of the people to pray to the Lord to accomplish his good word for their returne according to that of Jer. 29. Then shall yee call upon mee and I will hearken unto you And as for the Penman of it who ever it was for that is altogether unknown most certain it is that hee neither penn'd nor spake these things in his own name or of his own condition but in the name of the whole Church of God like another Jeremy writing a book of Lamentations for the desolations of Zion bemoaning them before the Lord and most earnestly begging mercy and deliverance In the 11 first Verses you may behold the afflicted Church of God sitting alone like a desolate widow with her tears on her cheeks her belly cleaving to the dust her heart smitten and withered like grasse eating ashes for bread mingling her drink with weeping as a Pelican in the wildernesse as an Owl in the desart her enemies many and raging against her shee looking round about and all her Lovers and friends departed from her enquiring after succour and comfort and it is farre removed Behold to what a sad condition the sinnes of Gods own people doe oft times bring them and that is the first part of the Psalme But in this dark and tempestuous night of calamity and desolation this afflicted soul with Jonah in the whales belly with weeds-wrapped about his head looks up to God begins to remember those everlasting mercies that may bee found in the Lord Jehovah and presently there darts in a beam as from a new created Statre of light and comfort in the 12 and 13 Verse which shines into the soule and inables this poore desolate creature to conclude very comfortably that that God who had broken her would yet again heal her that his wrath should not alwayes continue but he would return and revive and quicken them after all the days wherin he had afflicted them and so suddenly begins to renew its strength and mount up with wings of comfort as an Eagle And from the 12 Verse to the end of the Psalme after all this sad lamentation there is a comfortable propheticall story of all the good that God did mean to doe fot this afflicted Church which now lay in the dust and rubble wherein there are three remarkable things The first is A strong confident propheticall conclusion that the deliverance of Gods Church was nigh at hand in these words Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion for the time to deliver her yea the set time is come that 's her conclusion that it must of necessity be the Lord was resolved speedily to raise them out of their low condition Secondly you have the Argument which satisfied this afflicted desolate soul that the time of Zions deliverance was at hand because all Gods servants took pleasure in the dust of it and pityed the very stones and the rubbish of it their hearts were deeply humbled for Zions miseries they had set themselves earnestly to pray to the Lord to give him no rest night nor day till hee had set it up and this spirit of prayer powred out upon the Church was to her as sure a token of approaching deliverance as the day star is a token of an approaching morning That is the second The third part of this prophecy is the use or fruit which he doth foretell should be made of this great work of Gods raising and building up of Zion which is very excellent partly the use that the rest of the Nations of the world should make of it all the heathen should stand and wonder at it and praise Gods name for it yea their Kings even all the Kings should behold the glory of the Lord and come in and worship and honour him who had wrought such a great work as the raising Zion out of the dust and then for the Church the people that are created on purpose to bee for Gods glory it should bee written for them from generation to generation that they and all their posterities should perpetually love and serve the Lord who did thus remember his people in their low condition Now

in truth it is glory it selfe it is the very face of God and therefore holy men are said to beare the image of God because they are like his very face when Holy Holy Holy is the Lord of Hosts may be sung unto him the whole earth is full of his glory with that work which causeth his holinesse to appeare then like the Sun he shewes his glorious face when he appears in his holinesse Now this excellent Attribute is celebrated to the height in the Churches building This is cleare in that solemne and glorious representation of Christ ruling in and beautifying of his Church Revel. 4. the foure Beasts representing the Catholike Church in the foure quarters of the world when night and day they give glory to Christ the head and King the Builder and Ruler of his Church their Song is onely this Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty and that triumphant Song of the Church recorded Revel. 15. for the victory obtained over the Beast wherein they celebrate his greatnesse truth and justice the Church sets this as the rise of all For thou onely art holy and in truth the usuall name he takes to himselfe and by which his people call him in reference to this work is The Holy One of Israel and it is fit it should be so for then he shewes how little he can endure iniquity then he purges away the sin of his people then he makes them a peculiar people zealous of good workes then he separates their drosse and their rubbish from them then he makes them like unto himselfe never doth God beautifie his holinesse so as he doth when he builds the Church That is the third Fourthly and that which is one of the sweetest the Lord never magnifies nor glorifies his free grace and his love so as he doth in this work of building the Church all the treasures of love and favour which before lay hid in his breast do gloriously shine out then he marries her or keeps his Wedding-feast and makes all the world to know how deare she is unto him there and then and no where else doth he bestow his choice favours When he gives Kingdomes and Empires he gives nothing but a peece of clay what he cares not for but when he builds the Church there he layes out his Treasure The time would faile me to number the gifts which he then gives Great Princes ordinarily have their Almoners with them wheresoever they goe and they give this or that peece of silver or gold to ordinary Petitioners but when they will appeare in their glory and give such gifts as shall magnifie them then it may be they create Earles and Lords and great Officers of State which are peculiar and discriminating pledges of their love So doth God when he builds up other Nations with outward mercies with fruitfull seasons health wealth and pompe c. he esteemes them as nothing he cares not a shoo-latchet for these common gifts they are his common almes but when he builds his Church then he gives his Ordinances then he gives his Ministers then he gives them the Graces of his Spirit these are his Chrysolites his Emeralds his Pearles and Diamonds then he makes all the world stand amazed as my Text saith and all the Kings to wonder at the love and beauty which he shewes to his people in the day he builds up Zion then they who despised her shall wonder at her Who is this that comes out of the wildernesse leaning upon her beloved and bow downe at her feet and confesse that she is now to be called Heph-zibab and Beulah because her God delighteth in her And lastly The Lord useth more then at any other time to glorifie that excellent Attribute of his Justice because then he takes vengeance upon his Churches enemies You shall finde in the Scripture that these two things ever goe together the Lambes marrying and the Whores burning Zions building and Babels ruine his Servants exalting his enemies falling his People raised up his adversaries spoiled then doth the Lord call them to account and pay them eye for eye tooth for tooth breach for breach the day of Zions deliverance and redemption and fury and recompence to her adversaries ever goe together Behold saith the Lord in that day I will undoe all that afflict thee and will save and gather thee in one and the same day the spoiled Church shall be rescued and they who oppressed her shall be fed with their own flesh and made drunk with their own bloud The Church militant and malignant are as a pair of ballances or Buckets at a Well when the one goeth up the other still goeth down And by this time I hope you see how the Lord appeares in his glory when he builds up Zion I have but the fourth question to answer and this will be fit for Application and that is Why the Lord appeares thus glorious in this work rather then in any other There are these two reasons of it First because it is a worke that infinitely pleaseth him Men chuse to appeare in their cloaths and behaviour suitable to the work that they are to be employed in the woman of Tekoah must feigne her selfe to be a mourner when she goes on a mournfull message and David when he goes on a dolefull journey covers his face and puts on mourning apparell but when Solomon is to be crowned he goes in all his royalty and a Bride adorns her self gloriously when she is to be married Verily so doth the Lord when he goes about a worke he takes no pleasure in he puts on his mourning apparell he covers himself with a cloud and the heavens with blacknesse when he is to doe his strange work of judgment then he mournes How shall I give thee up Ephraim how shall I make thee as Sodom my bowels rowled within me my compassions are turned but the building of Zion doth infinitely please him because Zion is as the apple of his eye to him he bought Zion at a dear rate with his owne bloud he layes Zion in his bosome he is ravished with Zion Zion is his Love his Dove his faire one he hath chosen Zion and loves the gates of it better then all the Palaces of Jacob and being so pleasing to him no marvell if he put on all his glorious apparell when he is to adorn and build up Zion And se●ondly it is Because all the glory that he looks for to eternity must arise out of this one work of building Zion this one work shall be the onely monument of his glory to eternity this goodly world this heaven and earth that you see and enjoy the use of is set up onely as a shop as a Work-shop to stand onely for a week for six or 7000 years a thousand yeeres is with the Lord but as a day and when his worke is done he will throw this peece of clay downe againe

should hinder these men from the work the Emperour writes back to this purpose You Tatnai and Shethar-boznai keep far from them meddle not with them I make a decree that whosoever he be that offers to hinder this work his house be pulled downe and timber be taken downe and set up for a gallowes and himself hanged thereon and the Goa that hath caused his name to dwell there root out from the face of the earth all Kings and Princes that offer to alter this work or destroy this house Here was a brave speech of a Heathen of a Pagan Emperour the like must be said to these men whoever offers to hinder the building of Gods house the reformation of the Church the decree of the great King will reach them it is ratified in heaven the God that hath caused his name to dwell in the Church will cut off all Kings and Princes Lords and Ladies rich and poore and whosoever dare offer to hinder the building of it But who is he or where is he that in his heart dare think such a thing I tell you their number is numberlesse God grant there be none such present I le name some of them not onely the Antichristian Prelaticall Malignant party who are in armes against us and endevour with all their power and cunning to destroy us and so cause this work to cease but even all who secretly affect and assist them or stand as Neuters and hang off when this work of God is in hand and like the Nobles of Tekoah refuse to put their shoulders to the work are all enemies to it and doe dash against this rock and all whose wicked lives are contrary to it all whose ill examples discourage and lye like stumbling-blocks in the way who refuse to be hewen and framed and laid like living stones into the building of God who are unwilling to beare Christs yoke who by counsels by power or otherwise hinder the spreading of the Gospel which is the rod of his power and the great engine whereby he reares the Church and subdues his enemies or that have ill will to the preaching of it all that spread corrupt Doctrines licentious opinions who seek to rend and divide the people of God all you and your works are enemies to it whatsoever you think of your selves and whosoever you are whether great or small you all kick against pricks and beleeve it you must all come under the curse of it you are all wretched and miserable creatures to oppose that work which must prosper and to stumble at that stone which will fall upon you and grind you to powder you must all perish who have ill will at Zion not onely your weapons must be unprosperous which are forged against it but this is the plague wherewith the Lord will smite you your flesh must consume away your eyes rot in their holes your tongues consume away in your mouths and to conclude your misery you must all be slaine before his face and cast into a Lake burning with fire and brimstone Repent therefore of this not onely your folly but madnesse which now is your shame and is like to prove your confusion Doth the Lord appeare in his glory when he builds up Zion then I beseech you all give God the glory of his worke you can never grieve a man more then to neglect him in that which he makes his glory to sleight or throw aside a Work-mans master-peece as if it were a toy is taken very heinously among men now I tell you that although every work of God is excellent and his praise may be found in it the works of the Lord are all great and worthy to be had in remembrance yet this work of building the Church is his Master-peece every pin every stone from the foundation to the cap-stone is so enameld and checkerd with Rubies Saphires Emeralds Chrysolites Carbuncles with all manner of precious stones such admirable curious workman-ship that Ahabs Ivory Palace and Solomons Cedar house the Pyramids of Egypt all humane Artifices yea all the rarities and secrets of nature have no glory when compared with the glory of this one work of Christs gathering building protecting and beautifying of Zion this you would soon acknowledge if you could look upon it with spirituall discerning eyes get therefore your Bibles and the Stories of the Church and read them and in reading labour to the utmost to understand this peece of Gods work consider how ever since he hath had a Church upon earth what a strange way he hath took to governe it from what small beginnings he hath multiplied it from what dead low ebbes he hath brought it by what unlikely instruments he hath built it what potent enemies he hath subdued before it with what rare priviledges he hath enriched it by what unthought of wayes and providences he hath done good it ponder these things and you can hardly read one Paragraph of the Story of Gods Church but you must with admiration cry out This is the Lords doing and it is wonderfull in my eyes O that there were in us such a heart that could be thus raised up thus inlightned as to see nothing excellent but onely Gods going in the Sanctuary they have seen the goings of my God and King in the Sanctuary such an heart would be according to Gods own heart a spirit which the Lord would delight in more especially study and behold the glory of this last peece of his work this new edition of the Church which he is now about to set forth wherein I hope he will vouchsafe to make his Churches even amongst us a praise in the earth O read over the admirable dealings of God towards us in these foure or five last yeares I am assured it will be the wonderment of succeeding generations God will have it written by one hand or other and when these things shall be told they will be wondred at indeed when it shall be written what a low ebbe we were at how we were tantum non swallowed with Popery Prelacy Superstition Arminianisme Tyranny Oppression all things concurring to undoe us and then the Lord broke those Iron yokes and hath called this Parliament which after he hath sitted and tried and humbled he hath put upon the repairing of his Church and building the walls of his City in a troublesome time when they build with the Trowell in one hand and the Sword in another when huge potent Enemies are risen up to destroy them and yet he carries on this work exercising and manifesting such rare wisdome in the midst of our folly such admirable power in the midst of our weaknesse such holinesse in the midst of our corruptions such love in the midst of our unworthinesse such justice to our enemies in the midst of their pride carries it on after such a manner that they who read these things must stand amazed and cry out O how wonderfull are thy doings O