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	heart_n	word_n	6,159	5	3.9745	3	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17927	A sermon preached in Oxford-shire; by Nicholas Cantrel, Master in Arts. Published at the request of Sir Richard Blunt	Cantrell, Nicholas.	1624 (1624)	STC 4588; ESTC S118531	21,341	42

dutie of man the Epitome of all profitable learning Luk. 10.42 Col. 12.13 2. Tim. 3.15 which is only able to make us wise to salvation These are those bookes which thou shalt be put unto upon the greatest tryall that ever can befall thee even upon life and death not this temporall of the bodie but that eternall of soule and bodie before the Almightie Iudge of the world In the twentith of the Revelation and the 12th I saw the dead saith Iohn both great and small stand before God and the bookes were opened and another booke vvas opened which is the booke of life and the dead vvere iudged of those things vvhich were written in the bookes according to their vvorkes Well the seeond rule that I will propose to be practised for the right performance of this duetie to God is this If thou thy house wouldst serve God so as you ought to serve him then know that God hath set apart one day of the weeke for his service He allowes thee sixe dayes to spend upon thy selfe but requires that thou shouldest dedicate the seventh day unto him and lest thou mightst forget it he bids thee Remember to keep it holy Oh denie him not so small a request as one day that hath given thee all Nor hath he for himselfe anie need of this from thee but for thy sake requires it of thee with manifold blessings to returne it to thee This day then thou must exempt from the vaine things of this world and spend it wholly in pious duties in religious exercises in the Word in the Sacraments in the workes of mercie and charitie Now thou must rouze up thy soule and all that is within thee to sing prayses unto the Name of the Lord in the congregation of his Saints Now thinke upon the glorious workes of the Lord the sweet hope of thy redemption the manifold benefites and consolation that thou enjoyest in Christ and then let thy ravisht soule burst forth into those glorious exultations of David It is a good thing to give thankes unto the Lord and to sing prayses unto thy Name O most High to tell of thy loving kindnesse in the morning and of thy truth in the night season Psal 92.1 A third Rule I adde and that is this As the Sabbath is appointed of God to be wholly consecrate unto his service so thou must let no day passe without a speciall remembrance of God The Heathens in their counterfeit Religion yet retained this principle A love princip●um to begin the day and whatsoever they undertooke by first calling upon their gods and shame it were for Christians to be more negligent in performing this service unto the God of heaven the true God than Heathens were in performing it unto their Idols which by nature were no gods Therefore if thou wouldest be the true servant of God thou must everie day call upon him every day pray unto him privately by thy selfe publikely with thy family joyning together with one heart and with one spirit with reverence with diligence with fervencie This Rule wee may learne from the Apostle Pray alwayes saith he with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit but how and watching thereunto with all perseverance Ephes 6.18 The common sort of Christians doe shew by their carelesse behavior that they are fouly mistaken what prayer is they thinke it enough to repeat the words and so the tongue be busie in speaking no matter what the heart is thinking thus they turn the chiefest means of grace into the foulest sin that is tempting the great majestie of God by their rash presumption But if we would pray as we ought we must come unto this dutie with a reverent preparation behaving our selves as in the sight of God For this is an high heavenly duty which makes us as it were familiar with God whereby wee come into the presence of God and are vouchsafed being but dust and ashes to conferre with that glorious majestie of God and therefore unlesse we meane to pull downe a curse upon our selves we must take heed how wee perform so weightie and divine a dutie carelesly formally and coldly I speake this with griefe of heart and to our shame no garish toy no companie so vile and hatefull in the sight of God but is able to cause us to omit this duetie and to break it off What my beloved doe we thinke that God stands in such need of our devotions that when wee have served the flesh and the world he will be contented with the refuse of our time and affections Oh no! we may learne farre better things of the Heathens Ignavis precibus fortuna repugnat Fortune say they resisteth cold and sluggish prayers And shall that service bee thought meet by Christians for the true and everliving God which Heathens thought unmeet for their blind their false their imaginarie goddesse Farre be this from us wee have not so learned Christ A fourth rule to be observed that wee may bee the true servants of God is to withdraw our affections from worldly vanities wee must take heed that these get not the possession of our hearts if they doe all that service which wee should performe unto God will soone vanish and come to nothing Love not the world saith S. Iohn neither the things that are in the world If anie man love the world the love of the Father is not him 1 Iohn 2.15 For indeed where the heart is taken up with vanitie what roome can there be for pietie There cannot bee two such different masters as are the God of heaven and the god of this world And our Saviour plainely tells us that no man can serve two masters without hating the one of them Yee cannot saith hee serve God and Mammon Wee must therefore according to that rule of the Apostle so use the world as if wee used it not so use it that we fall not in love with the vanities of it that we be not ensnared with the deceitfulnes of it A fift and last rule to be observed of us if wee would shew our selves zealous in the service of God is first that wee should love and affect good men cherish them and encourage them keepe them with us and converse with them A true friend saith the proverbe is a friend also to him that loves his friend I may extend the nature of this proverbe to the true servants of God they that serve God sincerely themselves will make much of the servants of God And David puts it for one of the characters and markes of him that shall rest upon the holy hill of God to make much of them that feare the Lord Psal 15.4 On the contrarie those that be ungodly and prophane that deride all pietie and religion such as those are thy soule must hate and abhorre David could tell no better way whereby to make proofe of his zeale unto God than by such an affection Doe not I hate them saith he that hate

of their enemies but will be readie to assist them and to comfort them at all assaies Yea let them not be discouraged nor dismaied with the manifold offences which they finde in this world God will shorten these wretched times for his Elects sake when it shall be unto everie man according to his faith Onely in the meane time let them possesse their soules in patience and resolve with Ioshuah to be constant in the service of God how-ever the world varies for if they continue to the end undoubtedly they shall obtaine that promised crowne of glorie Thus much for the connexion of my text the words themselves doe now crave your attention in which being as they are a Protestation you have these two circumstances First the partie protesting whose qualitie and condition you are to consider Secondly the extent of his Protestation Hee that protesteth here is Ioshuah the Governor of the Israelites famous amongst them for his Conquests in the warres and no lesse renowned for his Counsailes in the times of peace in a word the chief man among them both in power dignitie and authortie from which ariseth this point of instruction God requires of the greatest men the greatest zeale for his glorie A point which you may see notably proved 2. Sam. 12.7 where Nathan the Prophet being sent to reproove David for those heinous sinnes of murther and adulterie which hee had committed enforceth the arguments of his reproofe from the promotion and dignitie which God had raised David unto and from the benefits which were conferred upon him Thou art the man saith Nathan having made David to pronounce the sentence of death upon himselfe by a parable which he told him thus saith the Lord God of Israel I anointed thee king over Israel and delivered thee out of the hand of Saul and gave thee thy Lords house and thy Lords wives into thy bosome and gave thee the house of Israel and of Iudah and would moreover if that had bin too little have given thee such and such things wherefore hast thou despised the commandement of the Lord to do evill in his sight And indeed there is good reason why the Lord should require the sincerest and greatest service of them whom he hath exalted unto the highest places and upon whom he hath bestowed his benefits more abundantly than upon others For first of all by a like reason Doth not the husbandman expect the goodliest croppe from that ground upon which hee hath bestowed the greatest cost and labour Doe not parents also expect the greatest duetie and affection from that childe towards whom they have bin most indulgent and carefull in his education So likewise it is with the Master towards his servant If his bountie have bin extraordinary towards him hee may justly looke for extraordinarie respect and service at his hands And shall not Almightie God require of them the sincerest service and greatest zeale for his glorie whom hee hath raised unto the greatest dignitie Againe secondly if wee looke about in the verie course of nature that will teach us another sufficient reason of this point The highest Spheares are not they the swiftest in motion and doe they not carrie about with them the inferiour orbes by their celeritie The biggest starres in the firmament are they not evermore the brightest and doe they not give lustre unto the lesser starres Now tell mee If God doe prescribe such order to his dumbe creatures how much more will hee require that the same order should be kept in his reasonable creature in his more noble creature man Thus then wee may conclude by a like reason Men that beare authoritie that are eminent in power and dignitie that excell in riches and Command are placed in the highest Spheares of humane societie to this end that like sonnes of God they might shine brightly unto their inferiours by their godly life and example Such arguments as these it were fit that they should alwaies beare in their minds lest being great in this world they forget the hand that raised them that befall them which David complaines of Man being in honour saith he hath no understanding but is compared unto the beasts that perish For the divell is well seene in subtile sophistrie hee useth to frame a preposterous argument and to inferre à positione beneficij depositionem of ficij from the position of dignitie the deposition of duetie Let poore men saith hee and such as be of a lowly and humble spirit tremble at the word of God Let them be dejected and groane at the sight of their sinnes who want the good things of this world to comfort them Great resolutions become them that bee in great places Wilt thou goe with the multitude and bring them forth into the house of God This is the way to make thee lesse than thou art Doe not trouble thy selfe with frequenting religious exercises nor with mortifying contemplations which enter thorow even to the dividing asunder of the soule and the Spirit Learne to have the advantage of thy great fortune one houre in a Sabbath is enough to spend in devotion the rest thou maist bestow upon thy selfe Thus doth Satan goe about to delude man and make the blessings of God become snares in his way perswading him that by how much he is above others he hath by so much more liberty than others Where on the contrarie God is no accepter of persons nor regards heeanie man the more for that which he hath but in as much as he hath received all from him hee lookes for the greater feare and obedience at his hands The more talents a man hath received the greater account hath hee to make for them The use therefore of this point serves for instruction unto all them whom God hath advanced in this world upon whom he hath bestowed his outward favours and blessings to teach them to be alwaies mindfull what and of whom they have received them and to be carefull to walke worthie of their high calling These outward graces which make men to be esteemed and admired in the world riches honours power and preeminence they are not borne with men men are not borne unto them they have them not by nature But they are the gifts of God he bestowes them where he pleaseth and where he bestowes them there he expects that like good stewards men should faithfully dispose of them Act. 17.21 to his glory God saith the Apostle hath appointed a day in the which he will iudge the world with righteousnesse then shall all men rise to give an account of their doings Not the poorest man that lives but hath manie waies tasted of the benefits and bountie of God and therefore stands accountable for his service for his thankefulnesse He that hath bin unfaithfull in a little shall be beaten with the fewer stripes but the mightie saith the wise man shall he mightily tormented Wis 6.6 For why Great and publicke examples have this condition annexed unto them