Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	apostle_n	scripture_n	word_n	6,515	5	4.2341	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10030	Three sermons vpon the sacrament of the Lords Supper. By the late faithfull and vvorthy minister of Iesus Christ, Iohn Preston, Dr. in Divinity, chaplaine in ordinary to his Majestie, master of Emanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolnes Inne	Preston, John, 1587-1628.	1631 (1631)	STC 20281; ESTC S115171	49,613	90

a man is to do What hath the Lord vouchsafed mee this favour that I may come to his Table I may come and renew the nuptials and my covenant with him Surely then I will looke about and consider what I want what request I shall put up unto him for there is nothing that is wanting but it is within this Covenant and thou art to put up thy request in a speciall manner whatsoever it be be it concerning things belonging to thy soule to have a strong lust mortified to have thy hard heart softned to have some sin that lyes upon thy conscience forgiven and to have that forgivenesse assured to thee be it any thing that concernes thy particular estate if it be to be delivered from a potent enemy or whatsoever it be put up thy request and that largely open thy mouth wide that is make thy request full feare it not Put the case againe it be somewhat that doth not concerne thee but that it concerneth the Church abroad or the Church at home it is a case that much concernes any of these in the Church put it up to him and put it up with confidence For this is a marriage day as it were it is the time when he reacheth out his scepter as you know the things I allude to and thou maist come to his presence you know when Hester was admitted to the presence of the King then said hee What request hast thou when you are admitted to the familiarity and presence of the Lord hee lookes for it he askes what request you have to put up to him and the promises are large enough I will give it whatsoever it be if you aske according to my will and therefore do in this case as Moses used to doe you shall find when Moses drew neere unto the Lord when he was admitted into his presence and saw him face to face for that was the great priviledge Moses had when there was any speciall apparition of the Lord to him Moses makes this argument saith hee It is a great mercy that thou wouldest shew mee this that such a poore man as I am should have this priviledge and give mee leave to make use of it Lord if I have found favour in thy sight that is since thou hast vouchsafed mee such a favour in thy sight do thus and thus for mee you see he made this request for the whole Church of God and saved them or else they had beene destroyed If thou hast not any particular argument in this case say If I have found favour in thy sight do this so I say when thou hast this promise confirmed that Christ hath given himselfe to thee the symbol of that promise is the bread and wine which he hath given to thee put up thy request O Lord if thou hast vouchsafed to give mee Christ wilt thou not with him give mee all things else Lord if I have found favour in thy sight to do so great a thing for mee deny mee not this particular request Thus we ought to doe especially when we come to things that are beyond nature when we come let us consider with our selves Indeed I have a naturall disposition that carries me strongly to evill I shall never be able to overcome it there are such duties to doe I shall never be able to performe them In such a case thou must doe it the more earnestly thou must sigh groane to the Lord. Elishah when hee comes to doe a thing so much above the course of nature as to raise a dead child to life hee sighed unto the Lord that is he prayed earnestly Eliah when hee would have Raine hee cryed he tooke much paines he prayed So must thou doe in this case and know this for thy comfort that though thou thinke thou shalt never be able to doe these things to overcome such lusts such hereditary diseases yet the Lord is able to helpe thee though these are past naturall helpe yet they are not past the helpe of grace though the spirit in us lust after envy yet as the Apostle Iames saith The Scriptures offer more grace that is the Scriptures offer grace and ability to doe more than nature can doe nature cannot heale a spirit that lusteth after envy or any other thing a spirit that lusts after credit after mony after the sinne of uncleanenesse or whatsoever is presented now the Scriptures offer that grace that will overcome any of these sinnes bt they never so strong or so old Christ healed hereditary diseases he healed those that were borne lame and blinde so though thou be borne with such lusts Christ is able to heale thee you see a Prophet could heale Naaman of his Leprosie when there was no other that could doe it so saith Christ Come unto me all yee and I will heale you So that you see wee must put up our requests to God The third Sermon WE have already made some entrance upon the words I told you what the Apostles scope is in them which is to make knowne to all Christians to whom he wrote another great priviledge besides that which hee named before that is That hee that hath the Sonne hath life this saith hee is another priviledge that whatsoever you aske you shall have onely remember that you have this assurance in him that is in Christ Iesus That point what it is to be in him that it may be the ground of all the benefits and priviledges wee injoy wee handled the last day Now we come to the priviledge it selfe If wee aske any thing according to his will be heareth us The words are so plaine I shall not need to spend any time in opening of them but deliver you the point that lyes so evidently before us which is this That all the prayers of the Saints made upon earth are assuredly heard in heaven whatsoever we aske saith he according to his will hee heareth us onely the conditions must be observed When you heare such a generall as this it must be limited there are certaine bounds set to it which wee will name unto you which are these foure conditions First all the prayers that are made upon earth shall be heard in heaven if they be the prayers of a righteous man and are faithfull and fervent The person must be righteous that must first be remembred because although the prayer be never so good yet except the person be accepted from whom it comes the Lord regards it not you know in the old Law the blood of Swine was reckoned an abominable Sacrifice yet if you take the blood of sheepe and compare them together you shall finde no difference It may be the Swines blood is the better then what 's the reason the Swines blood is not accepted even because of the subject of it it was the blood of Swine and therefore you see it was put downe that it was an abominable Sacrifice So it is with prayer Take

be in such a distresse when neither King nor Queene could be able to helpe him or though they were able as she was in that case yet it might be sent and not delivered Now then consider what the Lord doth to vs Hee hath given us this priviledge he hath given us prayer as it were this Ring he hath given us that to use and tells us whatsoever our case is whatsoever wee are whatsoever we stand in need of whatsoever distresse wee are in doe but send this up to me saith he do but deliver that message up to me of prayer and I will bee sure to relieve you Now certainely what case soever we are in when we send up this it is sure to be conveyed wheresoever wee are Againe whatsoever our case is we send it to one that is able to helpe us w th a Prince many times is not able to do This benefit we have by prayer That whatsoever we aske at the Lords hands wee shall have it Now consider this great advantage which you have It is expressed 4 Phil. in these words Be in nothing carefull saith the Apostle And that you may see wee have ground for this generality In nothing bee carefull but in all things make your requests knowne unto God That is whatsoever your case bee I make no exception at all but whatsoever you stand in neede of whether it concernes your soules or your bodies your name or your estate yet be in nothing carefull This is a great matter There is none amongst you that heares me now but sometime or other he is carefull for something or other for which he is solicitous Now when a man heares such avoyce from heaven that the Lord himselfe saith to us Bee carefull for nothing doe no more but make your request knowne it is well enough I will surely heare in heaven and grant it It is a great comfort Beloved comfort your selves with these words and thinke this with your selves that this is that Charter and great Grant that the Lord hath given you and to none but you that what prayers you make to him hee heareth you But it will bee objected why is this said so generally That we must in nothing be carefull but in all thinges make our request knowne For then if a man were but a poore man it is but going to the Lord and asking riches and hee shall have them If a man were sick of an incurable disease it were no more but going to the Lord and hee should be sure to be recovered If a man hath an enterprise to bring to passe it is no more but goe to him and it shall be done what is the reason then that godly and holy men have not these things graunted to them To this I answer you must understand it with this condition even as it is with a Father I will prove it to you by that suppose he should say to his sonne I will deny thee nothing whatsoever I have I wil deny thee nothing but thou shalt have part in it Though he say no more yet we understand it with these conditions First that if his Childe shall aske him for that that is not good for him or if the child should refuse to have that done or pray his Father and say I beseech you do it not when the Father knowes it is good here the Father is not bound hee thinkes as for example if a Father sees his childe needes Physick it may be the child finds it bitter and therefore is exceeding loath to take it it makes him sicke and is irkesome unto him so that hee earnestly desires his Father that hee may be excused that hee might be freed from it In this Case the father will not heare him for hee knowes the Child is but mistaken On the other side if the Child aske something that is very hurtfull if he aske for wine in a feaver the Father denyes it him No saith he you are mistaken I know your desire is that you might have health and recover and this I know will hurt you though you know it not This the Father understands and therefore he puts in that condition So when the Lord saith In nothing be carefull but in all things make your requests knowne If you mistake the matter at any time and your prayer shall not bee the dictate of the Spirit so that yee alway make request according to his will but the dictate of your owne hearts and shall be the expression of your naturall Spirit and not the Lords Spirit In this case there is no promise of being heard and yet the Lord makes his word good Bee in nothing carefull but in all things make your request knowne Secondly a Father when hee saith to his Child I will deny you nothing but you shall have part in all that I have yet the Childe may carry himselfe so that the Father upon such an occasion may deny him and be ready to say unto him Well if you had followed your Booke if you had not runne into such disorders if you had not bin negligent to doe what I gave you in charge I would have done it In this case the Father withholds the blessing that hee will bestow upon his Child not because he is unwilling to bestow it but because he would thus nurture his Child hee useth it as a meanes to bring him to order So the Lord saith to Moses That because he had spoken unadvisedly because he had not honoured him before the people at those waters the waters of strife therefore the Lord tells him by the Prophet he should not goe into the good land And so he tells David that because he had sinned against him he would not give him the life of the Child So the Lord saith to us sometimes I will not graunt you this request for though I be willing to graunt it yet this is one part of the discipline and nurture that I use to my Children That such a particular request I will deny you for such an offence as worshipping of Idolls c. Beloved this is not a generall denyall and this is not for our disadvantage but it is a helpe to us it makes us better that sometime we should be denyed knowing hereby that it is denyed to us for our sinne that we may learne to come to the Lord and renew our repentance and to take that away that we may come to prevaile in our prayers with him Thirdly when a Father is willing to graunt it yet he will thus say to his Child Though I bee willing to doe what you aske at my hands yet I will not have you aske it rudely I will have you aske it in a good manner and a good Fashion For when wee come to call upon God and come in an unreverent manner in such a case the Lord heares not Or againe hee will say to his child I am ready to heare you but you must not aske in a negligent