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	speak_v	word_n	9,283	5	4.1967	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65324	Universal Christian charity, as comprehending all true religion and happiness, demonstrated from scripture and reason in a sermon preach'd before the Right Honourable Lord Chief Justice Treby, at the assizes held at Maidstone in Kent, March the 17th, 1696 / by Tho. Watts ...	Watts, Thomas, 1665-1739.	1697 (1697)	Wing W1159; ESTC R38960	15,491	32

Universal CHRISTIAN CHARITY As Comprehending all True Religion and Happiness Demonstrated from Scripture and Reason IN A SERMON Preach'd before the RIGHT HONOURABLE Lord Chief Justice Treby AT THE ASSIZES held at Maidstone in Kent March the 17th 1696. By THO. WATTS Vicar of Orpington and St. Mary Cray London Printed for Eliz. Whitlock near Stationers Hall 1697. To his ever Honour'd Friends Benefactors and Loving Neighbours NOT to insist upon the Publick Approbation wherewith this Discourse was Honour'd nor tho many particular Engagements lying on me thus to appear and under so general a Dedication In Gratitude to you whose Beneficent Examples give life to the Doctrine asserted I would only thus far declare to the World thereupon that where-ever any Obligation lies upon a Man Common Honesty leads him to pay the Debt so may this be accepted as an honest Instance of my Duty and Thankfulness tho' it is impossible for me according to my small Talent to discharge the total Summ Yet would I make this Publick Acknowledgments to be Just and Thankful For the Apostle make Ingratitude the Compendium of all Impiety in 2 Tim. 3. 2. These two words Unthankful Unholy And tho' in general all Men who receive Favours ought to be Thankful yet certainly every single Person has as much right to chuse the way of expressing his Thanks as he has a Propriety to his Complexion and Fortunes Moreover the truest Notion of Gratitude is never to give real occasion that our Benefactor should Repent that he bestowed his Benefit upon us Now as I would thus live and behave my self to my Friends so would I give none any just occasion to become mine Enemies but yet we must look for Tribulation in an uncharitable World and Peace only in Christ and not expect to fare better than himself and his Apostles and the best Christians did here How Innocent Peaceable or Beneficent soever we may be we shall meet with Foes in abundance and be ever Persecuted with the Virulent Tongues or Malicous Deeds of Selfish Moross Proud Ill natur'd Angry Wretches whom I do heartily Pity and Pray for as even those who can Prophanely trample upon things Sacred Proudly Insult over their Spiritual Guides and Hipocritically Devour or Sacrilegiously Invade the Churches Patrimony which Jews and Heathens have abborr'd to do How Constantly and Faithfully soever we sow our Spiritual things in greatest Charity to Mens Souls yet are we deny'd the Grateful Just and Meanest Returns and basely accounted Mens Enemies for telling them the Truth But of you my Friends have I happily Experienc'd better As Charity is your Glory and will be your Reward So Prayeth your most Obliged Orator T. W. A SERMON 1 Cor. XIII 13. And now abideth Faith Hope Charity these three But the greatest of these is Charity THis Text which affords such useful Meditations for all times may not improperly be consider'd upon this occasion and in this our solemn Lent-Season as it concludes St. Paul's most Noble Description of the sublimest Grace and compleatest Vertue in a whole Chapter which begins with very great and surprizing Assertions shewing that all Gifts how excellent soever are nothing worth without Charity to Verse 4. where by Charity must certainly be understood that grand Principle of true sincere Love both to God and Man residing in our Hearts enlivening our Souls purifying our Desires seasoning our Intentions and influencing all our Words and Actions without which we can neither think speak or do any thing that will deserve the Name of pious good or vertuous nor ever become real Christians Theresore the Apostle instanceth in these extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit which God was pleas'd to bestow upon his Church in the First Ages of Christianity Verse 1 2. Though I speak with the Tongues of Men and of Angels and have not Charity I am become as sounding Brass or a tinkling Cimbal The Gift of Utterance equal at least to the Angelical and far exceeding all humane Eloquence were the Apostles first endow'd with when the Holy Ghost actually descended upon them in Cloven Tongues like as of Fire Acts 2.3 wherewith St. Peter converted 3000 Souls in his first powerful Sermon Verse 41. which otherwise had been no better than a loud and insignificant noise without the charitable Design and Endeavour of Conversion And what better are the wittiest Sayings the most elegant Speeches or highest Strains of Rhetorick without Intention of Good 'T is the Charity express'd in the Angel's happy Message to the blessed Virgin that makes his Salutation renown'd Luk. 1.28 Some Persons may please their Humours with nauseous Flattery others satisfie their idle Fancies with meer Flourishes or tingle their itching Ears with Clamours and such may raise Pyramids to their Orators given them an aiery Exaltation in a popular Vogue But how ridiculous and empty is all that whereby neither the Speakers aim at nor the Hearers receive any Benefit What signifies the most Learned Harangues or florid Panegyricks And what less the windy Sounds Groans and Acclamations to rouse up Peoples Affections and set them a-gazing when their Understandings are no ways improv'd nor their Wills rectify'd while all they are taught lye only floating on the Surface of the Brain having no Root nor Foundation lower nothing deep enough laid for the Glorious Building upon the Heart in Christian Edification through Love Eph. 4.16 So farther says the Apostle and tho' I have the Gift of Prophecy and understand all Mysteries and all Knowledge and tho' I have all Faith so that I could remove Mountains and have no Charity I am nothing Thus Prophecy and the deepest Knowledge in the Mysteries of Religion and the Glorious Power of working Miracles were in themselves of no more Account than the other unless well us'd to a good end unless tending purely to God's Glory and the Salvation of Souls otherwise they that have prophesied and cast out Devils or done many wonderful Works in Christ's Name shall be cast off at last among the Workers of Iniquity Matth. 7.22 23. Whose best Actions are corrupted through By-ends False Principles or Vanity As again Verse 3. And tho' I bestow all my Goods to feed the Poor and though I give my Body to be burned and have no Charity it profiteth me nothing Here St. Paul asserts the same concerning the greatest Liberality to the Poor and Martyrdom it self the laying down our very Lives which seems to be the utmost that can possibly be requir'd of us upon any occasion the greatest Love imaginable as may be suppos'd from that noted Text Joh. 15.13 But yet here it is manifestly imply'd as a late pious Bishop observ'd hereupon that a Man may part with his whole Estate and his Life too and yet that he may want Charity This may seem a very strange and surprizing Supposition to us who can see no farther than the bare outside and appearances of Things but God who is intimately acquainted with all the secret Motions and Imaginations of the