Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A36281
|
Domestick devotions for the use of families and of particular persons whereunto are prefixed some earnest perswasives to prayer and devotion.
|
|
1683
(1683)
|
Wing D1842; ESTC R3307
|
94,764
|
289
|
16. And he is the Spirit of Adoption whereby we cry Abba father g Gal. 4. 16. Whence we are embolden'd to beg the blessing of God with the freedom of Children and may promise our selves to be kindly received when we address to him 6. Lastly whereas by reason of sin neither our Persons nor our Prayers could be acceptable to God nor could we hope to prevail with him on our own account this obstacle and discouragement is also happily remov'd for we have a Mediatour between God and us the man Christ Jesus * 1 Tim. 2. 5. who being the Son of God and of greatest Interest with him hath so effectually interpos'd as to obtain audience for us and that our Petitions shall not be in vain by his attonement and satisfaction he hath expiated our sins appeased the Wrath of God and reconcil'd us to him so that we may now approach by that new and living way which Christ hath consecrated for us h Heb. 10. 20. In whom also we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him i Eph. 3. 12. And though our devotions be accompanied with sinful infirmities and we have reason to pray that our very prayers may be forgiven us yet while coming with faith and sincerity we may assure our selves that our service shall not be rejected for as did Aaron the high Priest for the Jews so much more Christ of whom he was a type doth for us Christians bear the iniquity of our holy things k Exod. 28. 38. and the defects of our oblations are done away by means of his perfect sacrifice who offered himself a Lamb without spot or blemish l 1 Pet. 1. 19. It is therefore said that we being an holy Priesthood do offer to God what is acceptable to him by Jesus Christ m 1 Pet. 2. 5. Likewise we are allowed to use our Saviour's name and to plead his merits when we present our requests And he hath undertaken it shall well succeed Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name I will do it n Joh. 14. 13 14. and again hitherto ye have asked nothing in my name ask and ye shall receive that your joy may be full o Joh. 16. 24. for our prayers have this further advantage by the mediation of Christ that he doth himself recommend them in Heaven by his intercession having enter'd into the Holy of Holies that he might there carry on his Work of Mediatour and save to the utmost all that come to the Father through him seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them p Heb. 7. 25. he is the great Master of Requests in the Court of Heaven nor is there any other beside him our Advocate with the Father q 1 Joh. 2. 1. and because he is Jesus Christ the righteous as it follows in that Text he doth therefore sollicite for us with good success while pleading the merits of his own righteousness in our behalf and by this he doth cause our prayers to be well received For he is that Angel of the Covenant represented to St. John who having a golden Censer doth offer up in it the prayers of the Saints together with his own incense r Rev. 8. 3. that they may become a sweet smelling savour Wherefore though unworthy and obnoxious in our selves yet if interested in Christ we may draw nigh to God with full assurance of faith ſ Heb. 10. 22. and having so compassionate an high Priest in Heaven who doth intercede for us let us come boldly to the Throne of Grace that we may obtain Mercy and find grace to help in time of need t Heb. 14. 15 16. The duty to which we are excited is with respect to God highly just and reasonable as to us most becoming and beneficial and in it self little burdensome or difficult the devotion requir'd from us Christians being free from the great trouble and cost of the Jewish worship we are excus'd from their Oblations Sacrifices and other numerous Rites nor are we oblig'd to tedious journeys as they who were bound at set times to wait on God from all parts of the Country in his Temple at Jerusalem u Exod. 23. 17. Deut. 16. 16. 2 Chron. 8. 13. The service expected from us is that we present our selves a living sacrifice w Rom. 12. 1. and offer up to him devout Prayers and Thanksgivings which are our spiritual sacrifice x 1 Pet. 2. 5. and holy incense y Rev. 8. 3. prayers and giving of thanks saith Justin Martyr I do affirm to be the only sacrifices that are perfect and acceptable to God z Dial. cum Tryph. and to these it doth refer when 't is said in Malachy that the Name of the Lord should be great among the Gentiles and they should offer incense to him and a pure offering a Mal. 1. 11. by which is meant the sincere prayer of pious Christians Sacrificium mundum scilicet simplex oratio de conscientiâ purâ so Tertullian understands that place b Adv. Marc. l. 4. cap. 1. and more fully elsewhere Nomini meo offertur sacrificium mundum gloriae scilicet relatio benedictio laus hymni c Ibid. l. 3. cap. 21. by our declaring the Glory of God by our thanksgiving our praise and singing of Psalms we offer up that pure offering which was foretold and to the same purpose another ancient Father when describing the piety of a Christian 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 prayers and praises are his sacrifices d Clem. Alex Strom. 7. And these oblations of the Gospel beside that they are without charge and expence have this other ease too that they may be presented in any place whatever In every place saith that Text of the Prophet e Mal. 1. 11. and we are to pray every where lifting up holy hands without doubting of acceptance as 't is prescrib'd by the Apostle f 1 Tim. 2. 8. for to us now since Christ by his coming hath made the whole earth alike holy every place is an Oratory g August de Temp. Serm. 129. Since therefore prayer doth on so many accounts recommend it self to us and God who can be no gainer by it is yet pleas'd to be so urgent with us both by invitations and commands that we seek unto him since he hath given us such great encouragements to it and we may obtain his favour and blessing at so cheap a rate as the bare asking if we have any understanding or sense of things his great goodness herein cannot chuse but oblige us to a chearful and devout service of him and our natural love to our selves should easily prevail upon us to make our daily applications and on all occasions of this mortal life humbly to represent our wants and desires to him who is so willing as well as able to do us good A PERSUASIVE TO Family Devotion
Courts of the Lord my heart and my flesh cryeth for the living God One day in thy Courts is better than a thousand I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the Tents of wickedness For the Lord God is a Sun and a shield the Lord will give grace and glory and no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly O come let us worship and bow down before the Lord our Maker For he is our God and we are the People of his Pasture and the sheep of his hand To day if ye will hear his voice harden not your hearts ALmighty God who art great and glorious infinite in all perfections and of incomprehensible Majesty in comparison of whom the Princes of the earth are but vile Worms and all the Nations of the World less than nothing and vanity Thou deservest to be feared and magnified to be adored and praised and 't is our greatest honour to wait upon thee thy service is the most perfect freedom and we cannot but think it very meet and reasonable that a good part of our time should be devoted to thee and thine honour yea our whole life is too little to celebrate as we ought the excellence of thy divine Nature and of thy great Works O Lord this admirable Fabrick of the World is of thy making for in six days were all things Created by thee and the Seventh day in which thou didst cease from thy Work thou didst set apart for an holy Sabbath in which the Sons of men might remember thy Creation and honour thee for it Wherefore on this day of our religious rest we desire to meditate and admire that wonderful workmanship which doth appear in thy Creatures By the Word of the Lord were the Heavens made with all that glorious Host of Sun Moon and Stars thou hast founded the earth beneath and given life and breath to all things living We acknowledge thy signal kindness to our selves above the rest of thy Creatures in that thou didst Create man after thine own Image making him little lower than the Angels that thou hast given him dominion over the works of thine hands and made him capable of eternal happiness in the service and enjoyment of thy self O Lord how manifold are thy works in wisdom hast thou made them all the earth is full of thy riches and what is man that thou shouldest magnifie him That thou shouldest set thine heart upon him We do likewise extol thy love to mankind which hath been further shewn in the great work of our Redemption That after we had broken the Laws of our Creation by sinning against thee had faln short of the glory of God and were become liable to Death and Hell thou wert pleas'd to send thine only begotten Son out of thine own bosom to save us from destruction and restore us again to thy love and favour who took on him the form of a Servant liv'd a persecuted life dy'd a painful and ignominious death for us men and for our Salvation he did alone thy justice by the Sacrifice of himself overcame Death and the Grave and finished our Redemption by rising to life the third day when he was declar'd to be the Son of God with power by his wonderful Resurrection which we and all thy Church do this day commemorate O God thine acts of favour have been thus great and admirable to us-ward we do therefore offer up our hearty praise and thanksgiving for the discoveries of thy Wisdom Power and Goodness in the Creation of us and the whole World for thy compassion and rich grace in and through our blessed Saviour Jesus Christ And we do here with deep Repentance humble our selves for that our lives have not better answered such obligations of thine to duty and obedience for we have sinn'd against thee as thou art our Creatour by not loving and fearing thee as thou hast deserv'd by neglecting thy service and employing our souls and bodies which thou hast made in actions displeasing to thee and which thou hast forbidden We have offended thee as the Author of our Redemption by not receiving the Gospel with a due love and esteem thereof nor conforming our lives to its holy precepts nor walking suitably to that abundant grace which hath therein appeared teaching us to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts But O thou Father of Mercies who delightest not in the death of sinners be thou pleas'd to pardon and justifie to do away our iniquities and receive us graciously bless unto us all the means of grace and the opportunities of receiving instruction from thine holy Word When we appear before thee in the Congregation of thy people help us to be serious and devout as in thy presence to join in Prayer with an intent and fervent mind and to hear thy Word with reverence and submission that by an attendance on thine holy Ordinances we may encrease in Piety and all the Graces of Christian Holiness for the righteousness and merits of that holy One who died for our sins and rose again for our Justification And we do also humbly beg for his sake that thou wouldest grant unto us thine holy Spirit and Heavenly Grace whereby thine Image may be renewed in us that we may from henceforth honour and serve thee from whom we have received our being and help us more and more to conform our selves to the death of Christ by dying to sin and to his Resurrection by rising to holiness and newness of life To this good end we pray thee to grant that on this thine holy Day we may sanctifie thine holy Name that our thoughts may be heavenly and our affections set on things above that we may take delight in the exercises of religion and may be in thy fear all the day long Bless thy Church and be thou graciously present in all Christian Assemblies throughout the World to hear the Prayers they shall this day put up and to prosper thy Word which shall be Preached that it may become effectual for pulling down the Kingdom of Satan and for edifying the body of Christ in sound Faith and real Godliness Let the light of thy glorious Gospel be spread abroad and the borders of thy Sons kingdom daily enlarg'd Call home thine ancient people the Jews and bring in the fulness of the Gentiles that all the Nations of the earth may be one sheepfold under the one great shepherd of Souls We implore thy particular kindness for this Church and Kingdom and more especially for the Kings Majesty that he may have Wisdom Justice Piety and all princely vertues to govern according to thy Will for thy glory and the good of thy people And let thy true religion be continued to us for all generations We present unto thee our hearty thanks for thy many and great benefits vouchsafed to us for our excellent being our preservation hitherto and all temporal enjoyments for our birth and education in a