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
A91431	A farewel sermon preached in VVake-Field, January 1, 1655 By Thomas Parker, Master of Arts, late minister of that church.	Parker, Thomas, Minister of Wake-Field.	1656 (1656)	Wing P476; ESTC R229920	24,920	28

mighty Herds of Cattel which himself possessed in abundance he tells us they are but Snares and Thorns either to entangle or torment us gotten with labour kept with fear and lost with sorrow All external forms of worship where Christ is not in the heart or not met with in the Ordinance is no more then a fools Sacrifice or as the word carrys it the service of hypocritical light and unconstant men These and many other gatherings he makes out from his own experience After these discoveries he prescribes many excellent rules for the settlement of the soul in reference both to its present and future good An humble acknowledgment under and dependance upon the providence of God in all events singleness and sincerity of heart in his worship and service The right use of wisedom in discerning times and judgments contentednesse and sweet reposedness of soul in every condition of life Obedience and Loyalty to Superiors Conscientious walking in our particular Callings Preparedness of spirit against all tryals and afflictions Moderation in the use of comforts in this life and preparation through the fear of God and obedience for death and judgment in the words of my Text Hence he may well be stiled a Gatherer and his Book a Book of gatherings The grand enquiry of the whole Book is that Summum Bonum that puzzled all our blind Philosophers The Preacher here discovers that Stone that turns all things into Gold which they have long tired themselves in seeking for and could never finde to this day Observe I pray you how he begins this Book 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and how he ends it He begins it with Vanity of vanities All is vanity Idols light vile things of naught as the breath of ones mouth or the bubble in the water vapours soon vanishing Vanity of vanities vain vanity or extream superlative vanity This our first Parents saw and therefore called their second Son Hebel or vanity David confirms it Psal 144 4 Adam is as Abel or man is like to vanity there is an Allusion in the Original to both their names And herein he makes out the insufficiency and disability of the Creature to confer any true happinesse upon the Soul And secondly observe how he ends his book Fear God and keep his Commandments methinks it is not much unlike to that of Christ to Martha thou art troubled about many things Luke 10.41 42. but one thing is needfull Mary hath chosen the good part c. He begins you see with nothing he ends with all things he shews us what our first estate is an observance of lying vanities and forsaking our own mercies he shews us what our best estate is Fear God c. We begin at Idols and vanity and never know what our beginning was till we come to this end never know that we are vain till we arrive at the true fear of God My dear people whom I love and must ever love in the bowels of Christ Jesus and must ever call you so though now unhappily torn from you let not my words this day fall to the ground lay them up in your hearts let it suffice that you have spent your time past in vanities and Idols things of emptiness and torment let us not be like the people of those countries that whatsoever they chance to see first every morning they worship solemnly all the day after if sin have had the morning let the evening be Gods it is time we should come home to that only true happiness the Lord Jesus Christ Content not your selves with any outward blessings til you be sure you injoy him to the Salvation of your souls other excellencies may set you out in the eys of men generosity obligingnesse wisedom learning valour c. every one of these is sufficient to be a sober mans Idol render a man praise worthy but it is Christ only that makes us blessed other blessings you may injoy and perish with them but he that injoys Christ by true faith Ioh. 3.16 shall never perish but hath everlasting life The Text is Solomons 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 after a solicitous inquiry or the treasure of true happinesse discovered it is in it self an exhortation or a duty you may call it whether you please the substance is the same There is not any thing remarkable in the Preface save that in the Original it begins with a Capital Letter as pointing out some high subject and stirring up the more serious attention to the matter in hand which indeed rightly weighed is an Epitome of the whole Gospel Would you know after my long observations what you are to trust to What is the sum and substance of the whole matter Where true and durable felicity may be found It is in this Fear God and keep his Commandments without this man is but as one calls him praestantissimum brutum which puts me in mind of that saying Job 28.28 where the holy man concludes his speech as the Preacher here doth his book Behold the fear of the Lord that is wisedom and to depart from evil is understanding man then becomes wise when he fears God when Christ the wisedom of the fatheres dwels in him We shall not need neither did I ever love to name a Text the conclusion riseth plainly and naturally from it To fear God and keep his Commandments is the whole duty of man or as it is in the Hebrew the whole man and so the LXX render it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where the true fear of God is once planted it carries the whole man with it spirit soul and body guides and directs the whole man rectifies and reforms the whole man it is all in all and through all sets a price and worth upon the whole man in this life and crowns and glorifies the whole man in the life to come There is a natural fear arising from the sense of humane weaknesse which is not in it self sinfull we have examples of it in the Saints 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yea and in Christ himself Mat. 26.38 Heb. 5.7 he was heard in that he feared which though the Rhemists translate for his reverence and charge us with the corrupting of the Text contrary to the version and sense of Antiquity and the ordinary use of the Greek words yet I find it signifying as well a natural as a pious fear Acts 23.10 where a commotion being raised the chief Captain or Tribune is said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 afraid lest Paul should be torn in pieces which could not be a pious fear in him that was a Pagan but a natural civil fear lest a Roman a Prisoner and under his present charge should have been violently and tumultuously murthered between the Pharisees and the Sadduces 2. There is a carnal fear I may call it a fear of diffidence because arising from unbelief Apoc. 21.8 They are liable to the second death and joined with unbeleevers the Apostles are called 〈◊〉

experience having acquainted him with the vanity and his miseries with the vexation of it In another perhaps a contempt or wearinesse of his life like a discontented Jonah Take I beseech thee my life from me or Elias under the Juniper Tree it is enough c. and this is sometimes accounted a special piece of piety and mortification A third falls to his prayers oftner then usual and is importunate in the duty as the tempest in Jonah cast the Heathen Mariners upon their knees A fourth making some progress towards reformation wishings and wouldings that he were a better man but all these make not up this breach of divine fear this true waiting upon God and submission to his wisdom I shall now desire for your future good to commend these Instructions to you 1. Be sure to eye God in all his dispensations whether of mercy or judgement for all mercies spiritual and temporal return thanks to him from whom every good and perfect gift cometh as a Present both to humblenesse and thankfulnesse but that which I would now commend to you is the eying of God in the several dispensations of his judgements whosoever be the instrument look upon him as the author of the punishment there is the hand and counsel of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Acts 4.28 All the sin and furies guilt and damnation of Hell may be in the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the doing or executing Gods Will Satan alone having the Patent of persecution and every Persecutor intrenching upon Hell for his Commission but then all the mercy and all wisedom sometimes the redeeming of a World in the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the thing being done Paul calls his suffering 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the brands or prints of Christ not only the transcripts of his suffering but the works of his hands also I dare commend this to you from my own experience I have found it a strong support to me under my sad persecutions and I have cause to blesse God this day that he made me a sufferer and punished me immediately for my sins a faire step to future Salvation and not a Persecutor whereby adding affliction to Gods anger my own hellish spirit had wrapped me up to eternal destruction Secondly That you may rightly wait on him you must not only look upon these dispensations as Gods hand but as his right hand the hand of love look upon your afflictions as caustick Plaisters preparatory to the incarnative the Knife and the Lance reckoned by Hypocrates among the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the mollifying Preparations which the Physitian must ever carry about with him as your new Artists tels us of a Feaver it is not properly a disease but an indeavour or strife of nature to cure her self ever look upon your afflictions as designed for your good for the humiliation of your untamed spirits to bring you to a neerer sight of your God a neerer sight of your selves a stricter inquiry into your own hearts to deal neer to God to make your Peace with him and the like Look not upon them as things from chance or malice those two heathen principles of Theology 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but as sent on purpose from love and pondering from judgement and bowels sent not as a curse to you for sin that is already satisfied to and for the elect in Christ but as tryals and fatherly chastizements to bring you to himself Secondly as we are to wait upon God in his ways so it is a part of his fear to wait upon him in his times It is recorded as an errour of Gods own people that they limited the holy one of Israel Psalm 78.41 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they would sign design circumscribe God write or determine for or instead of God bring him down and confine him to their own times and their own wayes a folly we are all naturally inclined to whether in case of judgement inflicted or mercies promised and expected we are all for the present time but Gods times are not our times My times are in thy hands says David Psal 31.15 as well the time of removing as aying on the burthen we have met with evil times God fit us for the worst and we are prone to murmur both at the weight and continuance of our Pressures and to expostulare with God and charge his ways as unequal and unreasonable let me therefore commend this to you wait Gods times in all events learn to stand still and you will see the salvation of the Lord you will reap in due season if you faint not Gal. 6.9 though it be troublesome you will find it comfortable and usefull to your spirits when your rebellious hearts shall put you on to murmuring and impatience remember this God hath his time to have mercy upon Sion and he will assuredly come when the sins of his enemies are come to maturity become impudent and incorrigible when our own spirits are throughly humbled and all hopes and helps in man so far removed that we have neither hope nor help but in God then may we look for him in the mean time I will wait Thus he that feareth the Lord waits contentedly and calmly for his return he beleeveth in the Lord and his feet stand fast This is that time I would intreat you to wait for and it is the second precious stone in the ring to wait God in his ways and in his times The third is to walk with him which is here in the Text called Keeping his Commandments The word Schamar signifies not only to Keep but to lay up and hide or treasure in the heart as Jacob is said to have observed or laid up in his heart the saying of Joseph It is translated to take heed 1 King 2.4 to observe or keep their ways Psal 105.45 A comparison taken from a Watchman in a City or the Garison in a Fortress all these expressing that care diligence and solicitude which all those that fear God have in and about their obedience This is that yoke of Christ I have often commended to you an easie yoke Matth. 11.30 all pleasure and profit made up in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a yoke not like that of the Law a weight and burthen but fitted and smoothed by Christ to be an instrument of advantage and make the burthen more easie and supportable a yoke wherein Christ himself draws with and for us that we may the better undergo it I know this part of the fear of God will rellish harshly with such spirits as are unaccustomed to this yoke unacquainted with the sweetnesse of it To take leave of our old acquaintance to carry out the whole body of our lusts to their Funeral it goes heavie with a heart under the power of sin to spiritualize the flesh rack it fetch it from the lees to put on the yoke enter the traces and harnesse for the future race these are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the child-birth pangs of dying