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	life_n	word_n	7,065	5	4.3086	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A49384	The Christian race a sermon preach'd before the Queen at Kensington on Sunday the 31th of July, 1692 / by Richard Lucas ...	Lucas, Richard, 1648-1715.	1692 (1692)	Wing L3394; ESTC R13000	14,824	32

for their distance and futurity and Faith Supplies the place of Vision for Faith is the Substance of things hoped for the Evidence of things not seen Hebr. 11.1 So that 't is evident the Scale of Victory is not turned on the side of the Body against the Mind till false Principles have supplanted the Authority of the one and Indulgence and ill Customs increased and fortified the Propensions of the other to worldly and sensible things I have remarkt this that none of us may go about to remove the Guilt of our Ruin from our selves on our first Parents or God that none may think we have sufficiently discharged our Duty by accusing our Nature or excused our Vices by Arraigning our Frailty This calls to mind a Second Truth contained in this Rule namely That no Sin is invincible that none is so deeply rooted in us either by Nature or Custom but it may be extirpated This is an Assertion you will easily admit if you consider by what glorious Instruments the Conversion of Man is wrought the Spirit of God and the Word of God i. e. the Wisdom and the Power of God Or if you consider the Description of it in Holy Scripture it is called the Divine Nature the New Creature the Image of God the Life of Faith a being transformed from Glory to Glory the glorious Liberty of the Sons of God and such like What Degrees of Perfection all this may import I enquire not 't is plain it can imply nothing less than a Purification from all Filthiness of Flesh and Spirit and through Sanctification of Spirit Soul and Body Nor is this a matter of meer Speculation the Converts of the first Times were living Demonstrations of this Truth and their daily Actions were nothing else but the glorious Effects of an intire Victory not over the Weakest only but most Obstinate of their Sins All this inculcates this one plain Lesson That no Man must think to shelter his Negligence and Lukewarmness or any Darling Lust under the pretence of an insuperable Infirmity or that by owning himself to be but Man he is excused from being a Christian The truth is if Christianity did consist in a Quarrel only with our Sins not a Conquest of them it would be nothing else but a Circulation of Sins and Follies for Regret and Remorse which doth only disturb not reform may be reckoned amongst the Infirmities of Man and that Repentance which brings not forth Fruit is it self to be repented of amongst our other Faults For Thirdly The last Truth I 'le observe to you from this Rule is That Spiritual Liberty is the beginning of Perfection that the first step towards doing Well is ceasing to do Evil that the Christian must make the first Experiment of his Zeal upon himself that Reformation and Charity must begin at home not only that his Attempts of doing good may have in them their proper Luster and Majesty their just Authority and Influence but indeed that he may be qualified and capacitated for making any for how weak and unsuccessful must his Endeavours be whilst some wretched Lust takes up his time imployes the Vigour of his Soul and alienates his Affection from every thing that is truly Great or Good Will the Unclean deny the Importunities of his Lust to satisfie those of his Duty will the Covetous impoverish himself so he styles giving Alms to support others in Laziness and yet his Heap of Treasure like heaps of Soil and Dung is good for nothing till it is scattered abroad Will the Proud stoop to the humble Offices which our Crucified Saviour did will the Soft or the Ambitious run those Hazards or indure those Hardships which are generally unavoidable in carrying on any considerable Good or will the Factious cross the Interest of his Party to promote that of his God I mean that of Religion in General This abundantly demonstrates how inconsistent every sinful Affection is with Success in our Christian Race and consequently how necessary the Advice of my Text is That we should put it off as a burthen or weight Nor is this true only of this or that particular Sin but of all in general and therefore me must put off every weight Strive said our blessed Saviour to enter in at the streight Gate for streight is the Gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto Life and few there be that find it All our vigour all our strength assisted by the Spirit of God will be little enough to open this Way and storm Heaven Ah! what can we expect from Affections divided between God and Mammon or any other Lust from Strengths scattered and disperfed in pursuit of Vice as well as Vertue and these deserted and abandoned by the Spirit of God for the Holy Spirit of Discipline will fly Deceit and will not abide when Iniquity cometh in Wisd 1. But though all Sin in general obstruct the Christian in his Race and defeat him of his Crown yet none so fatally as the beloved one And therefore 't is against this against the sin that easily besets us that the Apostle in his second Rule awakens all our Jealousie and Summons all our Courage this being the Sin in which especially lyes the strength of Satan and in the Conquest of it the first and I think I may add the greatest Difficulty of Christianity To illustrate therefore this Advice of the Apostle I 'le first shew what it is and then secondly how to cure it First What it is As in the Humours of the Body so in the Vices of the Mind there is one Predominant which is this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it has an Ascendant over us and leads and governs us it is in the Body of Sin what the Heart is in the Body of our Nature it begins to live first and dies last and whilst it lives it communicates Life and Spirit to the whole Body of Sin and when it dies the Body of Sin expires with it It is the Sin to which our Constitutions leads our Circumstances betray and Custom inslaves us the Sin to which not our Vertues only but Vices too lour their Topsail and submit the Sin which when we would impose upon God and our Consciences we excuse and disguise with all imaginable Artifice and Sophistry but when we are sincere with both we oppose first and conquer last 'T is in a word the Sin which Reigns and Rules in the Vnregenerate and too often Alarums and Disturbs ah that I could say no more the Regenerate Having thus fully discovered what this Sin is without vexing and torturing the Text by Criticisins I 'le now proceed secondly to shew you how to conquer it First Indeavour to possess your Souls with a true Notion of Sin in General but especially of this beloved one in Particular Falshood and Folly Levity and Inconstancy Cowardize and Ingratitude and all that is base constitute the very Essence of Sin As to the Effects of it it dishonours and as much