Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	body_n	holy_a	soul_n	16,669	5	5.2335	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A45548	The first general epistle of St. John the Apostle, unfolded and applied the first part in two and twenty lectures on the first chapter, and two verses of the second : delivered in St. Dyonis. Back-Church, An. Dom. 1654 / by Nath. Hardy ...	Hardy, Nathaniel, 1618-1670.	1656 (1656)	Wing H722; ESTC R31526	315,886	434

give us grace for that little inch of our candle which is yet to burn so to let our light shine before men that they seeing our good works may glorify thee our Father which art in heaven To this end we pray thee enlighten our blind minds incline our crooked wills soften our hard hearts compose our distempered passions mortify our earthly members sanctify our whole man Spirit Soul and Body and preserve us blamelesse to the coming of our Lord Jesus Implant oh God and increase all the graces of thy holy Spirit in us confirm our faith stablish our hope strengthen our patience enlarge our love enflame our zeale quicken our obedience put thy fear into our hearts that we may never depart from thee and do thou never leave nor forsake us but be our God our Guard our Guide even to the death and after death receive us to thy self in that glory which is everlasting Not to us oh Lord not to us alone but to thy holy Catholick Church be thou propitious she is the Vine which thine own right hand hath planted let her be for ever preserved and suffer not Good God suffer not either the wild Boar out of the Forrest to pluck up her root or the many pestilent Foxes that are within her to pluck off her grapes Plant thy Gospel where yet it is not restore it where it is lost continue and enlarge it where it is especially in these Realmes Remit our crying sins Remove thy heavy judgements Restore our wonted blessings Settle all things once again amongst us upon their right and ancient Foundations that Glory may dwell in our Land Let the cry of the Fatherlesse and the Widow ascend into the eares of the Lord God of Hosts that he may give them beauty for ashes and the oyle of gladnesse for the spirit of heavinesse Blesse all sorts and degrees of men among us Let the Gold of our Nobility excell in Grace as they do in Honour purify the Silver of our Gentry from the drosse of vice Engrave upon the brasse of our Commonalty the fear of thy holy Name and preserve thine earthen vessels in whom is laid up and by whom is dispensed thy heavenly Treasure the Pastors and Ministers of thy Church Comfort all the sonnes and daughters of sorrow poure oyle into wounded consciences succour tempted souls settle distracted minds heale diseased bodies releeve impoverished families release imprisoned persons those especially who suffer for the Testimony of a good conscience Oh thou that hast a Salve for every sore a Cure for every crosse a Remedy for every malady apply thy self suitably to all the necessities of thy children And now in Blessing Blesse that Word of all thy Grace which goeth forth throughout all Congregations lawfully and duly assembled in thy fear this day this in particular Oh thou that standest at the door and knockest be pleased to open Open the Preachers lips that his mouth may shew forth thy praise and declare thy message with power and plainnesse open the peoples ears that they may hear thy Word with reverence and diligence open all our hearts that with faith and love we may receive with care and conscience we may obey thy sacred truth so as it may become the power of thee our God to the illumination of our judgements the renovation of our natures the reformation of our lives and the salvation of our soules through Jesus Christ our only Mediator and Redeemer for whom we bless thee To whom with thy self and blessed Spirit of Grace we give all praise and glory and in whose most absolute Form of Prayer we further call upon thee saying Our Father which in Heaven c. THE FIRST Epistle General OF St. IOHN HISTORY PROPHECY and DOCTRINE are the three Channels in which run the Streames of Sacred Writ from whence ariseth the division of its BOOKES into Historical Prophetical and Doctrinal Not but that all the Bookes of Scripture are Doctrinal in which respect the Apostle saith it is profitable for Doctrine but because some Books are chiefly concerned in narrations of things past others in the predictions of things to come and some are chiefly if not only conversant about Dogmatical Truths and Practical Precepts they are not unfitly thus distinguished Of this latter sort are the Epistolary Writings and therefore in this regard the fittest to be discussed among the people The Prophetical Books are most congruous to the Schooles but the Doctrinal most suitable to the Pulpit those for exercising the Learned these for feeding the Vulgar Upon this account I have made choice of an Epistle and in particular not without serious and mature deliberation nor yet I hope without the blessed Spirits instigation of this First Epistle General of S. JOHN to be the subject of my Postmeridian discourses If any shall be inquisitive to know why among all the Epistles of the Holy Apostles I have pitched my thoughts upon this I shall returne this threefold answer which as a threefold cord and that saith Solomon is not easily broken enduced me to this Work One though indeed the least is that I finde not any English Expositor upon it nor yet many among the Latine except those who have undertaken Comments upon all the Epistles whereas either in Latine or English or both I finde several excellent Interpreters upon each of the rest and truly I shall esteem it an high honour conferred upon me by my God if through his gracious enablement by a though imperfect dilucidation of this Epistle I may cast a Mite into the Churches-Treasury A second and more perswading reason is the congruency of it to the age wherein we now live since there is the same occasion as to general if not particular considerations now given to Ministers of handling which St. John had then of writing this Epistle To clear this you may be pleased to know that there were two sorts of men in St. Johns dayes to wit Antichristian-Hereticks and Carnal-Gospellers those expressely denied the fundamentalls of Christian Religion these whilest they had Divine phrases seraphical expressions flowing from their lips were sensual and diabolical in their lives talking of Communion with God dwelling in God knowing the truth and what not and yet practising envy malice hatred and all uncharitablenesse in their actions against both these this Boanerges for so he with his brother James are called by Christ thundereth and accordingly as appeareth by the several Chapters his Scope is double in this Epistle 1. To warne the Orthodox that they were not withdrawn from their Christian profession by the wiles of Hereticks this our Apostle himself expresseth to be one special end of his writing where he saith These things have I written unto you concerning them which seduce you Indeed wherein can the shepherd more expresse the care of his flock then in keeping off the wolves a Minister of his charge then in arming them against Hereticks And is there not as great

what is the joy of a godly Minister namely when the people by his declaring preaching writing are brought to fellowship with God and Christ and the more they gain to this fellowsh●p the more is their joy enlarged and filled up Indeed that I may borrow Seneca's similitudes if it cannot but delight the husbandman when he seeth his plants grow his trees flourish his fruits ripen if it must needs rejoyce the Shepheard to behold his Sheep sound fat and fruitfull if it glad the heart of a Schoolmaster o● Tutor to observe his Schollers thrive in learning and increase in knowledge it must needs be matter of abundant joy to the Ministers of the Gospel when they reap the fruit of their labour in the conversion and confirmation of their people This is that which this holy Apostle John as here so elsewhere expresseth to be his temper when writing to the Elect Lady the saith I rejoyced greatly that I found of thy children walking in the truth and when writing to the well-beloved Gaius he saith I have no greater joy then that my children walk in truth the same spirit lodged in that blessed Apostle Paul who calls the Philippians his joy and his Crown and the Thessalonians his hope his joy his Crown of rejoycing his glory and his joy by which phrases is intimated an exceeding joy glorying being the height of rejoycing nay Emperours cannot take greater joy in their crownes then he did in those of whose conversion God had made him instrumental nay as if he knew not how enough to be thankful he breaketh forth into that pathetical question what thanks can we render to God for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes To this purpose was that pious speech of an holy Bishop to his flock implestis viscera mea cum implestis mandata divina your fulfilling Gods precepts is the filling up of my joy We read in the parable of a woman who having found her lost groat called her neighbours and friends to rejoyce with her that finding the lost groat is an embleme of a lost sinner gained to Christ and the woman represents the Minister who cannot but greatly rejoyce at his being the means of converting any sinner indeed as we find afterward in that Chapter There is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth the truth is there is joy both in heaven and in earth whilest both the Angels those heavenly Ministers and Ministers those earthly Angels rejoyce at the winning of soules to Christ. This is the joy of godly Ministers for the present and shall be yet much more at the last day in the presence of our Lord Iesus Christ at his coming when as St. Gregrory aptly Peter shall appear with his converted Iews and Paul with his converted Gentiles and all Pastors with their reduced sheep when they who have received any spiritual profit by us shall give in evidence for us and be as so many pearls set in our Crown of glory Oh then how should we that are the Ministers of Christ double yea treble our diligence in feeding the flock according to Christs threefold mandate how should we bestir our selves in all the wayes by all the means we can by preaching writing and that in exhorting reproving comforting that we may bring men to this fellowship since it will be the filling of our joy Indeed a lazy careless Minister is not more the peoples than his own enemy since as he hindreth their good so his own comfort for if it be uncomfortable when we sow much and reap little the success not answering our pains it must needs be much more doleful when conscience giveth in testimony against us that we have sowed but little having been careless and negligent in the discharge of our duty since whereas the other is but onely a cross this is a curse according to that of the Prophet Ieremy cursed is he that doth the work of the Lord negligently But further oh that you who are the people would upon this consideration labour to profit by what we preach and write to you that hereby you may fill our joy Many of you pretend a great deal of love and respect to us oh my brethren if you love us do not grieve us by your unprofitableness By your presence you fill our Churches by your maintenance you fill our purses but what is this if by your obedience you do not fill our joy many of you seem to pitty us when you see us exhausting our spirits wasting our bodies weakning our strength in preaching to you oh then why do you not refresh our minds revive our spirits rejoyce our hearts in requiting our pains with your fruitfulness it is true beloved our work in it self is difficult but your hard hearts are an heavier burden to us than our hard work Truly if our hearts deceive us not to finde good wrought upon you by our pains is the best cordiall you can give us as that godly Father said to his people of Antioch I feel not the weight of my labour because I am revived by the gain of you that are my Auditors Let me then bespeak you my dearly beloved parishiners and auditors this day in the same language St. Paul bespoke his Philippians fulfill you my joy in your endeavour to profit by my Ministery why shall we who are Evangelical sowers be forced to complain that we sow our seed if not among bryars and thorns which scratch and tear the usage that too many have found in these dayes yet among stones so as it yields no fruit why do you force us with our preaching and praying to joyn tears in weeping for and over you because of your barreness nay why should we come in at the last day of Iudgement as witnesses against you and be forced to give up our account with grief I end all if on the one hand you will not be won to Christ by our Ministery know that as it is our sorrow it will be your misery our heaviness your unhappyness if it be uncomfortable to us it will be unprofitable to you and if you put us upon a woe of condoling you will meet with a woe of condemning and on the other hand if our Ministery be effectual to bring you into fellowship with God and Christ know that it will not only be ours but your joy for so we may put both the readings of this clause together we shall have some and you will have much more cause of comfort in it For this end it is my brethren that we shew and declare and write Oh do not disappoint us of our hopes and frustrate our desires but for this cause do you hear beleive and obey that both your and our joy may be full THE FIRST EPISTLE OF St. IOHN CHAP. I. Ver. 5 6 7. This then is the message which we have heard of him and declare unto you that God is light and