Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	bless_a	jesus_n	lord_n	6,161	5	3.6174	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A75711	Religious covenanting directed, and covenant-keeping perswaded: presented, in a sermon preached before the Right Honourable Thomas Adams Lord Major, and the right worshipfull the sheriffs, and aldermen his brethren, and the rest of the Common-Councel of the famous City of London, January 14. 1645. Upon which day the solemne League and Covenant was renewed by them and their officers, with prayer and fasting, at Michael Basing-shaw, London. / By Simeon Ash minister of the Gospel.	Ashe, Simeon, d. 1662.	1646 (1646)	Wing A3965; Thomason E327_5; ESTC R200647	18,380	27

How many oppressions are we freed from by Parliamentary authority through the goodnesse of our God Therefore besides other presents of praise which God deserves at our hands we have just occasion to present our selves unto his Hignesse by Covenant-renewing Fourthly Notwithstanding our various and glorious experiences of Gods patience and goodnesse Have we not too much cause thus to complain that to this day we want hearts to husband Gods remarkable providences to his honour and our own advantage Who loves God more or who serves him better because of the great things he hath done for us Is our faith in Gods promises stronger Is our fear of Gods displeasure greater Are we more zealous for the Lord of Hosts or more couragious for his truth against errour Dare we say that we do our utmost for the speeding of Church-reformation that we may not be over-run and undone by Sects Schismes and confusions Therefore certainly we have a call to renew our Covenant to quicken our improvement of Gods gracious providences both to his praise others profit and our own further comfort in Christ Fiftly and lastly That we may not fall from our stedfastnesse we have need to binde our selves yet further unto our God by solemne Covenant Men are wont as I have heard to hoop their vessels with iron bonds in which they carry their stronger liquors beyond seas that by the tossings in the ship and the liquors working the vessels may not be broken into pieces and the liquor lost And have not we more need to add the bond of a solemne Covenant to the bond of Gods sacred commands that we may not be broken from one another nor divided from God in his truths and holy worships in these broken erroneons stormy tempestuous times For 1. Emulation variance strife seditions heresies are reckoned Gal. 5. up by the Apostle amongst the works of the flesh unto which our corrupt natures do strongly dispose us 2. There are more then a good many of subtle busie factours in this City to promote errours schismes and factions of severall sorts to draw disciples after them and to spread their infection amongst people of all rankes and qualities 3. It is apparent by too many instances that divers persons both wise and godly have been deceived and drawn aside from the wayes of truth into the by-paths of errour and schisme and into practices of bitternesse I will not say of how many kindes against their brethren Therefore in this respect as in those before mentioned you have just cause to say one to another Come let us joyn our selves unto the Lord in a Covenant never to be forgotten Vse 2 Having thus far endeavoured to clear up your call unto Covenant-renewing I now proceed by way of exhortation to perswade your regular and reverentiall cautiousnesse in this weighty businesse Consider the glorious Majesty of God unto whom vows are to be made He ought to be feared as our translation renders the words following the Text or He is fear as the Originall hath it In which phrase we have Nomen affectus pro objecto God is a dreadfull and terrible Majesty And this doubtlesse is added to awe mens hearts in the undertaking of such like services The advice of Solomon upon this ground is more open Eccles 5. 2. Be not rash with thy mouth and let not thy heart be hasty to utter any thing before God for God is in Heaven and thou upon earth In which counsell the wise man hath speciall reference unto vowing as the following words declare Now for your guidance in this great service I will give you briefly some plain and necessary rules 1. You must Covenant knowingly It is thus openly expressed of them who covenanted in the dayes of Nehemiah Every one having knowledge and having understanding they clave to their brethren they entred into an oath to walke in Gods Law Neh. 10. 29. Ignorance doth nothing well the light of knowledge must guide our whole course And in this businesse of a sacred vow it is necessary that men know both the nature of the duty and the matter of the federall engagement No man should be moved by an implicite faith but every one should be fully perswaded in his own minde For as in other cases so in this whatsoever is not of faith is sin 2. Repentance for former offences must precede and prepare for Covenant-renewing Thus it was with those who sealed and subscribed the solemne Covenant in the time of Nehemiah for they assembled themselves to keep a religious Fast as we do this day before they entered into the Covenant Neh. 9. 1. In which exercise deep sorrow for sin was expressed their particular evils were aggravated and largely confessed themselves were judged and God was justified in his severe administrations All these expressions of repentance are manifest in that 9th Chapter of Nehemiah which then was the introduction to the Covenant And doubtlesse if we do not penitently bewail our former violations of Gods commands and our own vows we cannot with acceptation to God or with comfort in our own hearts renew our Covenant with him this day 3. Your hearts must go along with your vows It is said ● Chron 15 15 That all Judah did swear with all their hearts And God will not take up with lesse at our hands this day It is no better then hypocrisie to lift up hands before God when the heart is far from him We must in our judgements approve and resolve upon the payment of our vows and all our affections both concupiscible and irascible must be upon the wing according to the various particularities expressed in the Covenant The soul should with love joy and longings worke towards the speedy setling of Church-governement according to the word of God and towards the maintaining of brotherly union between the two Kingdoms of England and Scotland together with the more full reformation of our selves and families And O how should your souls now rise in holy dislike in the hatred of and in indignation against Popery and all profanenesse against Heresies Schisme detestable Neutrality and whatsoever else it is which is against God and the wellfare of these Kingdoms 4. Our Covenanting must be accompanied with humility 1. From the sense of our own weaknesses to keep touch with God in comming up fully to the Covenant we should lean to his promise and take hold on his strength Say as the Church Through God we shall do valiantly Psal 60. 11. And as the blessed Apostle did Phil. 4. 13. I can do all things through Jesus Christ strengthening me 2. And being apprehensive of our own unworthinesse to receive any ability from the Lord seeing by our sins we have enfeebled our own spirits therefore we should humbly petition for divine assistance Herein imitate David who having thus in resolution and promise expressed himself before God I will keep thy statutes he immediatly adds O forsake me not utterly Psal 119. 8. The more of the

spirit of self-deniall and prayer is in your hearts when you take the Covenant the more hope there will be of your keeping it afterwards 5. Come to the Covenant conscientiously Be not acted only by the appointments expectations or practices of men in this particular Let not this be the alone motive upon your spirits Covenant-renewing is ordered by the Court of Common-Councel But rather reason thus The manifold providences of God before specified do call unto this service and therefore we will undertake it If you respect not God in the worke you shall lose both accept 6. Covenant fiducially If your spirits act sincerely according to the fore-named directions then be you confident that the consequence of this dayes service will be comfortable Although your weaknesses are many and great yet if your hearts be herein found upright with God you may hopefully perswade your selves that the Lord will so far regard his own ordinance and have respect unto the mediation of Christ the Messenger the Mediatour of the new-Covenant that your worke shall be crowned with good successe You heard before that Enemy-conquering providences made way unto the exhortation in the Text Vow and pay unto the Lord your God And I conceive that the verse following is considerable being the language of faith He shall cut off the spirit of Princes he is terrible to the Kings of the earth The most potent adversaries of the Church shall be brought down by holy Covenant-making and Covenant-keeping with God Now this lets me into the consideration of my next Doctrine Doctr. That vows made must be paid unto the Lord our God Although a vow must not be made a bond of iniquity and therefore unlawfull vows rather call for repentance then performance as Davids rash revengefull resolution against churlish Nabal Yet such Covenants as we make according to Gods will we must make good in conscience to his commandment Pay that which thou hast vowed saith Solomon Better it is that thou shouldest not vow then that thou shouldest vow and not pay it Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin Eccles 5. 4 5. The Scribes and Pharisees were but sleighty superficiall Expositours of Gods Law yet they were wont thus to publish Gods command Thou shalt not forswear thy self but shalt performe unto the Lord thine oaths Mat. 5. 33. In the prosecution of this plain profitable seasonable and necessary point I shall faithfully endeavour three things 1. To perswade this duty by arguments 2. To guide this practice by rules 3. To promote your obedience herein by some short directions The motives whereby we may be induced to make good our honest and holy vows shall be cast under severall heads that my Motives progresse in them may be the more easie and edifying 1. From the nature of a vow in generall and from sundry circumstances considerable in our Covenant particularly In generall 1. All vows are sacred obligations upon our consciences If any saith Moses vow a vow unto the Lord or swear an oath to binde his soul with a bond Numb 30. 2. c. In this respect the holy Psalmist resolved upon this duty Psal 56. 12. Thy vows are upon me O Lord I will render praises And doubtlesse every gracious heart will be sensible of this great spirituall engagement 2. By means of vows we become Gods debtors Hence it is that the Text calls for payment Vow and pay I here remember the speech of the Prophet unto the poor widow 2 King 4. 7. Go sell thine oyl and pay the debt And the Holy Ghost gives in this as a note of a wicked man Psal 37. 21. He borroweth and payeth not again You Merchants who have great dealings in the world would you not be ashamed to appear upon the Exchange if you were not carefull to pay your debts unto men Therefore vow and pay unto the Lord your God More particularly there are sundry weighty circumstances considerable in regard of our solemn League and Covenant which may worke our hearts unto serious resolutions to keep it 1. The materials of our Covenant are lawfull and justifiable we vow to endeavour the extirpation of Popery Prelacy Superstition Heresie schisme profanenesse and whatsoever shall be found to be contrary to sound doctrine and the power of godlinesse And have we not good reason thus to do For have not these things much endangered the welfare both of this Church and Common-wealth already and will not the indulging of such matters prove destructive both to our publike hopes and comforts We vow sincerely really constantly through the grace of God to endeavour the reformation of Religion in Doctrine worship Discipline and Government according to the word of God and the example of the best Reformed Churches I shall not need to specifie our engagements to defend the Kings person and authority in the preservation of the true Religion to preserve the priviledges of Parliament as also to continue a firme peace and union between the Kingdoms of England and Scotland These and other things expressed in the Covenant are by you Covenanters accounted just and equall I remember Davids resolution Psal 119. 106. I have sworn and I will perform it that I will keep thy righteous judgements And if we judge the materials of our Covenant righteous we should in that regard lay the greater charge upon our consciences to keep it 2. Our vows are deliberate The nature of this ordinance hath been unfolded the severall Articles in the Covenant have been considered of and therefore the rather to be observed Rash vows binde conscience if the keeping of them prove only in inexpediencies prejudiciall to our selves and contradict not any of Gods ever-binding laws Therefore Solomon calling for the payment of vows tells people that they must not thinke to put off that obligation by saying It was an errour Eccl. 5. an inconsiderate oversight And we all know that when Israel was bound to the Gibeonites by an oath through a mistake being over-reached by a cheat All the Princes said to all the Congregation We have sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel now therefore we may not touch them Josh 9. 19. How then shall we be excused if our premiditated vows be not performed 3. We have vowed before many witnesses Men who stand much upon their credit and reputation in the world will be taken with this argument When King Herod was caught in a snare by his heady vow and being troubled because the dancing Damsell demanded the head of John the Baptist it is said Neverthelesse for the oath sake and them which sate with him at meat he commanded it to be given her Mat. 14. 9. Consider how many have seen you lift up your hands unto the most High possessour of Heaven and earth in holy Covenanting Remember how many thousands know that the vows of God are upon you and be you hereby prevailed with to keep touch with him 4. Hereto I might add the consideration both of the