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	soul_n	whole_a	13,673	5	5.8632	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09999	The saints daily exercise A treatise concerning the whole dutie of prayer. Delivered in fiue sermons vpon I Thess. 5.17. By the late faithfull and worthy minister of Iesus Christ, Iohn Preston, Dr. in Divinity, chaplaine in ordinary to his Maiesty, Master of Emmanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolnes Inne.	Preston, John, 1587-1628.; Sibbes, Richard, 1577-1635.; Davenport, John, 1597-1670.	1629 (1629)	STC 20251; ESTC S105990	87,396	182

for that you haue receiued mark first that they must be holy good the desires dispositions must be good for that i●… 〈◊〉 rule all the affections and desire●… are good or evill according 〈◊〉 their obiects 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 these that 〈◊〉 fixed vpon good 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 good desires 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what are the good things 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the desi●…s and dispositions of the 〈◊〉 good They are temporall things and spiritual both A man may pray for temporall thing●… in a spirituall manner and the desire may be good And 〈◊〉 he may pray for spirituall things in a carnall manner and the desire may bee naught Therefore that must be observed withall that it is not simply the obiect but there is a certaine manner of 〈◊〉 For example if a man pray for 〈◊〉 things for o●… 〈◊〉 comforts 〈◊〉 things 〈◊〉 belong to the present 〈◊〉 of his body 〈◊〉 If he pray for them with these condi tions that he prayeth for that which is convenient for him he prays for such a measure a●… God se●… to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for me This prayer is good Bu●… if a●… 1. Tim. 6. If any 〈◊〉 will be rich it is an inordinate desire when men wil haue excesse of these outward things and more then is 〈◊〉 for them And agai●… if you desire that which is conveient and spend it vpon your 〈◊〉 If you desire health and long life that you may liue more pleasantly If you desire wealth that you may liue more deliciously and not simply that which the creature may desire and ●…o the ●…nd that you may hee the more enabled to se●…e the Lord in these things your desire is not good So I say first it must bee for that which is convenient secondly you must not spend 〈◊〉 vpon your 〈◊〉 but in Gods service And lastly wee must pray for them in a right method First the Kingdome of God and 〈◊〉 other things that is set a price on them as you ought not too high a price but value them aright We should so pray for outward things as our prayers may be spirituall On the other side a man may pray for spirituall things in a carnall manner as for temporall things in a spirituall manner A naturall man may pray●…rnestly ●…rnestly for saith and for grace and repentance not out of any beautie that he sees in them not out of any taste and relish that he hath of them but because hee thinkes them a bridge to leade him to heaven and that hee cannot come thither with out them when he considers in his heart that hee cannot be ●…ved without these things I say then hee may desire th●…m and desire t●…em 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It was the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who cryed so earnestly for grace that hee might haue but a d●…p of it because he could not be saved without it bee giues the reason himselfe he said withall hee saw no excellencie in it he desired it not for it selfe and therefore he thought his prayers should not bee heard Thus you see that prayer is an expression of holy and good desires and it is an offering them vp to the Lord. I will not stand vpon that you are well enough instructed in it that whatsoever petition is made to the creature it is not a prayer they must 〈◊〉 be offered vp to the Lord. Then I adde they a●… such as 〈◊〉 are so from the regenerate part this is looke how much there is of the 〈◊〉 part in a prayer look how much 〈◊〉 holy Spirit hath to doe in it looke how much 〈◊〉 from that which is called the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so 〈◊〉 as it is sanctified so farre that prayer is accepted and no further But that wee may open this a little more fully wee will shew you it by some other expressions of prayer that we finde in the Scriptures It is called a l●…ft 〈◊〉 of the ●…eart to God a po●…ring forth of the soule to the Lord 1. Sam. 1. 15. A 〈◊〉 of him i●… spirit so Paul calleth it Now if we open these p●…rases vnto you a little you shall know more fully wherein the nature of right praying to God co●…s That phrase the Apostle ●…seth who●… 〈◊〉 i●… my spirit it is the same 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the original that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fo●… fasting and 〈◊〉 Now what i●… that to pray to God in the spirit for a man may say 〈◊〉 cannot make a prayer but there is an act o●… hi●… mind goes to it and everie man what service soever he performe his spirit must needes haue a hand in it so it cannot be performed without the mind I take this to be the meaning of it the Apostle his scope is to distinguish the true and holy services of God from those that are but shadowes and counterfeit that are but the body and carcasse of right service Therefore when he saith I serue the Lord in my spirit or I pray in the spirit The meaning is this when the prayer of a man is not onely that which the vnderstanding dictates to him but when the whole soule the will and affection●… goe together with his petition and whatsoever the petition is a mans heart is affected accordingly As for example if a man come to confesse his sinnes and yet sleights them inwardly in his heart If a man pray for reconciliation with God and yet haue no longing and sighing in his heart after it if hee earnestly aske grace and the ●…ortification of sinfull lusts when the heart doth not inwardly seek it now he praies not in the spirit To pray in the spirit is as that in Iohn 4. 24. He will be worshipped in spirit and in truth The m●…ning is so to pray that the heart goe together with our petition also this is the meaning of th●…t 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ●…owreth forth his soule before the Lord. So 〈◊〉 saith of her selfe I am a woman troubled c. And po●…re ●…t my soule before the Lord. That is when a man deliuers to God that which the vnderstanding and mind ha●… devised for prayer is not a worke of 〈◊〉 or of memory but when a man powteth foorth his whole soule that is his will and affections when they goe together when there is no reservation in his mind but when all within him is opened and explicate and exposed to the view of the Lord not as 〈◊〉 saith of himselfe when hee came to pray for the mortifying of his lusts saith he I had a secret inward desire that it should not bee done Therefore when the soule is po●…red ●…rth the meaning is that all ●…e opened to him so that when a man wi●… make an acceptable prayer hee must make this accompt hee must then call in all 〈◊〉 thoughts and affections and ●…collect them together 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 o●… 〈◊〉 the s●…ne 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ●…nd that makes prayer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 wheras otherwise it is but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thing that

hath no strength 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it Now with all this you must know that when wee say the whole soule must goe together with the petition the meaning 〈◊〉 that not onely the will and affections be imployed 〈◊〉 i●… 〈◊〉 naturall man in his desire of health when hee is sicke or w●…th assistance ●…d guidance in difficult cases not onely the vnderstanding but the will and affections are 〈◊〉 ●…gh it is likelie and therefore we adde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that 〈◊〉 which is called the spirit which is 〈◊〉 in the whole 〈◊〉 that 〈◊〉 be s●… a work in the performance of this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whensoever we seek to him in prayer For this you know that there are two things in a regenerate man for that you must take for granted by the way that no naturall man is able to make a prayer acceptable to God seeing there is no spirit in him but in the regenerate man there is I say flesh and spirit now when we come to powre forth our hearts to the Lord that which lyes vppermost will be ready to be powred forth first and that which is spirituall it may be lyes in the bottome and that is kept in and so a man may make a carnall prayer though he be a holy man that is when the flesh hath gotten the vpper hand as in some fits it may when the mind is filled with worldly sorrow and wordly reioycing and worldly desires and these would bee expressed to the Lord it is a prayer that the Lord regards not though the man bee holy from whence it comes but right prayer is this when the regenerate part is acted and stirred vp and the flesh that hinders is remooved For you must know this that wheresoeuer there is a regenerate part in any man there is a regenerate aptnesse in that to call vpon God and it cannot bee disioyned from it but that is not alwayes in act As we see a fountaine it hath alwayes an aptnes to powre forth water it is ready to breake into a current but if it be stopped with stones mud and other impediments it cannot breake out so he that is a regenerate man that hath a holy part in him there is an aptnesse to prayer Which is that which our Saviour saith Math. 26. 41. The spirit is willing that is there is alwayes a willing nesse that followes the spirit or the regenerate part in a holy man but saith he The flesh is backeward that is it stops this fountaine and therefore Rom. 8. 27. The spirit is said there to helpe our infirmities and to make requests for vs that is even as a man remooues stones from a ●…ountaine with his hands and when he hath done that it breaks out into a current so the holy Ghost removes this flesh that stops vp the current the spirit takes away those carnal impediments that are in vs. And not onely so but stirreth vp the regenerate part and when that is done we are able to make a spirituall prayer to God in Christ Iesus So that is the thing that you are now to obserue That the spirit must h●…lpe our infirmities when we come to call vpon God and our prayers bee so farre acceptable as they bee the fruits of the regenerate part now we want but one thing to adde in the definition They are such prayers as are offered to God in the name of Iesus Christ. This is a thing that you all know that those prayers that are not offered vp in Christ are not acceptable because the person is not regarded It was the sinne of Vzzi●… in the 2. Chron. 26. he would goe to the Temple himselfe being a King on the throne and hee would offer incense without a Priest Wee doe the very selfe-same thing whensoever we goe to offer vp any prayer to God without Christ Iesus In the old 〈◊〉 men might bring their sacrifices but still the Priest must off●… them so must w●…e here and the reason is given Reu. 8. because the prayers that come from vs ●…auour of the flesh from which they come and the Angell of the Couenant mingleth much incense with them and makes them sweet and acceptable to God with much incense that is as the flesh is more so there needes more incense that they may be made acceptable to God the Father So that we haue indeed a double intercessour one is the spirit that helpes our infirmities that helpes vs to make our petitions that quickens and enlargeth our hearts to prayer The other is the intercessor to make them acceptable to God that he may receiue them and not refuse reiect them So much shal serue for the first thing to shew you what the duty is what a right true and acceptable prayer is Now for the second Why we must pray for that obi●…ction a man may make the Lord knowes my minde well enough and what needes such an expression of it by prayer The reasons briefly why the Lord will haue vs to pray are taken Partly from himselfe And partly from vs. 1. From himselfe though he be willing to bestow mercies vpon vs yet he will haue vs aske his leaue before he doth it As you know fathers doe with their children though they intend to bestow such things vpon them as are needfull yet they will haue their children to aske it as it is a common thing among men though they be willing a man should passe through their ground yet they will haue leaue asked because by that meanes the propertie is acknowledged otherwise it would be taken as a common high way so the Lord will haue his servants come and aske that they may acknowledge the propertie he hath in those gifts he bestowes vpon them Indeede otherwise we would forgetin what tenure we hold these blessings wee enioy and what service wee owe to the Lord as you know there is a homage due to the Lord that the Lord might bee acknowledged so the Lord will haue this duty of prayer performed that we may acknowledge him that we hold a●…l of him and that we might remember the service that we ought to doe to him to rise and goe at his command that is to doe his service which we would be ready to forget if wee were not accustomed to the duty of calling on him Likewise he will haue it done for his honours sake hee will hauen en call vpon him that they may learne to reuerence him and likewise that oothers might be s●…irred vp to reverence him and to honour him and to feare him The servants of a Prince doing honour and reverence to their Lord they stirre vp those that are lookers on And as the Schoolemen say of glory Glory is properly this not when a man hath an excellencie in him fo●… that hee may ha●…e and yet bee without glorie but glory is an ostentation a shewing out of that excellencie It is the phrase that

yet he ha●…h a libertie at other times to pray as freely a●… hee will in private and there●…ore he is not so tied but though at that time he be yet it is no generall tie at another time or immediately after he may be as free as he will in secret Aga●…ne I answere it is not a tye and a restraint of the spirit because there is a tye of words for the largenesse of the heart stands not so muc●… in the multitude and variety of expressions as in the extent of the affection now then the heart may be very large for all that though he be tyed in words yet there is not a tye vpon the affection that may be extended more in putting vp the same petition when another mans is more streightened therefore there i●… no tye and limit vpon that And this is enough to satisfie that that a set for me of prayer must be vsed But now if you aske whether that be sufficient whether a man may thinke if hee haue beene present at publique prayer which is a commendable thing to vse it constantly I say whether that be sufficient My Beloved this is a matter of some moment to consider what we ought to doe in this case for we may be deceived in it and I answer plainly it is not sufficient a man that i●… diligent in publique prayers that keeps them morning and evening if he thinkes now hee hath discharged his duty he is in a very great error and this is the reason because they are not sufficient Indeed they are to be vsed for God is worshipped in them and it is a more publ●…que worship and when God is honoured before many as a man when there are many spectators more honour is done to him it is a greater honour so it is when men ioyne in this worship And many other reasons there be but that is not the thing I am now vpon to commend it to you but I say it is not sufficient although it ought to bee done because there are many particular sinnes which cannot be confessed in publique prayer there are many particular wants which in publique prayer you cannot vnfold and open and expresse vnto the Lord. Againe the end of a set forme of prayer is to be a helpe for the private for the publique it is another case a helpe that one may vse that is yet exceeding weake a childe that cannot goe may haue such a proppe but we must not alway bee children we must not alway vse that helpe Besides we must consider this that there is no man that hath any worke of grace in his heart but he is inabled in some measure to pray without a set forme of prayer hee is able to expresse his desires to God in private one way or another there was never any man in any extreame want but he knew how to expresse himselfe where he had libertie to speake so it is in this case Besides the spirit of a man hath greater libertie in private there a man may powre forth his soule to the Lord as Ha●…a saith 1 Sam. 1. which in publique he cannot doe freely there are many particular mercies which he hath cause to be thankfull to God for Besides there is a particular paines that a man is to take with his heart from day to day which in the publike common petitions he is not able to doe for Beloved know this that the prayer that is required from day to day is not so much the performance of the dutie the doing of the taske but the end is to keepe the heart in order for if sinfull lust grow vpon it and 〈◊〉 and worldly mindednesse the end of this duty is to worke them out againe to renew repentance againe and when there is a forgetfulnesse of the covenant when grace growes weake when good desires begin to languish to renew and recover them to put fewell to them and this is not done by the performance of the publ●…ke onely and therefore I say though you performe it in your families and meete in the congregation you must not thinke that this is enough you are bound to a private performance of this duty Againe this is another case what a man is to doe in the private performance of this duty whether he be bound alwayes to vse his voice whether he be bound alwayes to vse such a kinde of gesture I answer this briefly for there is no great difficulty in these things and therefore I p●…sse them over for the gesture in publike there is more heede to be taken of that because it is a publike and open worship of God and therefore in publike the g●…ture is alway to be reverent You know how often it is repeated in the olde testament especially that they bowed downe and worshipped still Christ looked vp to heaven Paul kneeled downe and the rest with him and prayed and many such like expressions you haue mentioned in the Scriptures where you haue prayer mentioned in publike still you shall finde an expression of some reverend gesture and when we appeare before the Lord in the publike performance of this dutie especiall care must bee taken hereunto in the private the case is different there variety of gestures may be vsed I doe not see but all variety of gestures may be vsed there are many examples for walking and lying and sitting onely this is to be taken heede to that even in private as farre as may be the gesture be such as may both expresse the inward reverence in the heart and of the outward man but there i●… a libertie in that I thinke this is the best rule in private that the gesture bee vsed that doth most quicken and doth helpe the duty most Some gesture may bring a dulnesse and in disposition when another may quicken the body and make it more ●…it for prayer sometimes lying is inconvenient and sometimes more convenient and therefore in this case the best rule is to vse that ge●…ure which quickens most which helpes most the duty some gesture may breede a wearinesse in the body some may breede a dulnesse some are painfull to the body all this is a hindrance to the duty when the change of it may quicken and helpe Now for the voice I say for that as for the sture it is not simply required for God is a spirit and he will be worshipped in spirit men that haue eares and bodies they must haue men speak to them but God that is a spirit delights in that which is like himselfe and therefore all his eye is vpon the inward behaviour of the spirit Besides the spirit may speake to God when the voice doth not as you know the Angels speake to God and they speake one to another The Schoolemen haue great disputes about the speech of Angels but this they agree in that one Angel speakes to another after this manner when any one