Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	call_v	faith_n	work_n	5,379	5	5.7492	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B01189	A dyet for the Christian soule, constantly to be obserued euery day, that it may alwaies reioyce in the Lord..		1600 (1600)	STC 6832.65; ESTC S126272	9,205	78

A Dyet for the Christian soule Constantly to be obserued euery day that it may alwaies reioyce in the Lord. IN DOMINO CONFIDO LONDON Imprinted by Iohn Wolfe 1600. CONSTANTIA ET LABORE To the Reader CHristian reader thou hast here prescribed vnto thee a Diet for the Soule which if thou with a faithfull heart be carefull to obserue It shall be a good meane to cōuey thee safely through the troublesome dangerous stormes which do continually arise in the salt Sea of this world till thou come to the hauen of safetie which is the euerlasting Kingdome of God My desire is to adde a Preparatiue to this Diet that it may make it more sauorie to those whome God shall enable with his grace carefully to practise the same with sincere harts to come vnto him And that the rest which do it onely of custome or to some other inordinate end may bee left more without excuse Now the Preparatiue which I adde is none other but such as God hath appointed to bee mixed with euery spirituall dish that hee will haue set vpon his table otherwise the meate will be so farre from nourishing vs that it will turne to our bane and this Preparatiue is faith without which it is vnpossible that any part of Gods ordinance shoulde profite vs. Reade Heb. 4. 2. The word that they heard profited not them because it was not mixed with faith in those that heardit yea without faith it is vnpossible to please God Heb. 11. 6. These are proofes sufficient to shewe vnto vs the necessitie of faith Mine exhortation therfore is that thou looke to thine heart and take heede that thou bring faith with thee when thou entrest into the seruice of God in any part thereof as it is here set downe in this Diet otherwise in vsing of it either thou doest set thy selfe a worke or thou art procured thereunto by some other man but the Lord hath no part in it and therefore thou canst hope for no blessing vpon thy labour because those whom he doth set a worke by the motion of his holie spirit and outwarde ministerie of his worde for that is the ordinarie meane whereby hee doth worke our conuersion Iam. 1. 18. Such when they do rightly enterprise anie part of those duties which here in this treatise thou hast rules of Fi●st they come vnto it with feare and trembling because they see with the eyes of faith how pure the Lord is who can abide none impuritie and howe vile and wretched they them selues are whom God doth nowe summon to appeare before him and as they come in the feeling of their own wretchednesse so also they come with greedie appetites to bee taught of God and to bee relieued at his hand yea and they come also with hope that they shall bee relieued howsoeuer the same may seeme small at the first yet by dayly and continuall exercise they doe feele it to grow and increase so receiue comfort because their hope is grounded vppon the promises and nothing else and this is to haue the worde mixed with faith in vs and this fruit will come of it for God doth neuer set vs a worke vpon the meanes to seeke for mercie and grace at his hand but hee doth giue the thing also that wee seeke for because hee is infinitelie mercifull The sea is not fuller of water nor the Sunne of light then hee is of mercie to all these that call vpon him in truth be their sinnes neuer so great And it is al one with him to pardon ten thousand talents as to forgiue ten pence He is as easily intreated to heale a deadly wound as to cure the prick of a pin It is not the greatnes of our miserie that dooth hinder this mercie but a heart of vnbeliefe when w●e doe vtterlie distrust the same God dooth many times forgiue great and grieuous sinnes to those that doe beleeue when hee doth impart smal sinnes be they neue● so small to those that are voyde of fayth his children doe knowe this and therfore are imboldned to seeke vnto him in their greatest aistresse for whome should the wife seek vnto in her trouble but to her husband and whom should the childe seeke vnto when hee is grieued but to his father By faith we knowe that God is our husband and our Father and therefore hath commaunded vs to call vpon him in the time of neede nay to speake more properly he doth set vs a worke so to doe by his holy spirit whereby hee doth assure vs also that hee will relieue our griefes by ministring comfort vnto vs but as for those who set themselues a worke without the Lord. It is ether of custome to serue the time because they would not bee contrarie to their Prince or else for that they hauing knowledge may be able to talk of it and so seem to others to bee that they are not or else they do it with a mind to merit by the thing done as if there were religion and holinesse in the bare ceremonie as if it were a meritorious worke to reade to heare to pray to med●ta●e or to performe any other part of Gods ordinance bee it neuer so vnfruitfullie and barrenly passed ouer of them Now any of these though they take neuer so great paines yet shall not feele any fruit at all vpon their labors for they are such as the Scripture speaketh of which are euer learning and neuer come to the knowledge of the truth If they who vse the meanes may so vaunt of faith misse the marke of salua●ion they who neglect the meanes must needs fall into damnation Wherefore I do not disswade any from the vse of the meanes still but rather I aduise all to vse the mea●es still yea and that more earnestly but with a better mind and to build vpon a better foundation that so they may receiue better fruit from their labours and more certain and sound comfort otherwise all their glory ing will vanish like smoke and that which they seeme to haue shall be taken from them like wise and they left naked what will it boote them then though their neighbors and all other men haue still thought well of them and highly cōmended their waies if God himselfe doe not approue of them but vtterly reiect them and al their doings for as wee are before the Lord so we are in deed and not as men do account of vs and therefore let vs in all things seeke to approue our selues vnto God who searcheth the heart discerneth the verie secret cogitations guile cannot bee hid frō him be it neuer so close although wee smooth it ouer with neuer so many faire and goodly shewes to the world-ward yet the Lord can easily finde it out and such shall bee accounted of in his sight no better then Hypocrites yea and all their pretended seruing of God none other then the sacrifice of fooles till the Lord of his infinit mercie do purge their hearts