Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	certain_a	desire_v	great_a	110	3	2.1561	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A48438	A funeral sermon after the interment of Mrs. Sarah Lye. The late wife of Mr. Thomas Lye of Clapham. By Phil. Lamb, minister of the Word. Together with the scriptual evidence and experiences of the grace of God towards, and in her, left under her own hand	Lamb, Philip, d. 1689.; Lye, Sarah, d. 1678.	1679 (1679)	Wing L206; ESTC R213605	35,653	142

world naturally estranged from God In Psal. 58. 3 The wicked are estranged from the womb they go astray as soon as they be born speaking lies There is the very Character and Picture of a man in a natural state he is born with his back upon God and going with his face towards Hell before he can walk with men he can run away from God 2. I shall shew you That they that would escape that sin and misery that attend this estate of estrangement from God must seek him early for they are in the Regions of darkness and in a state of sin and misery as the Apostle expresses it Ephes. 2. 12 Being without Christ aliens form the common-wealth of Israel strangers from the covenant of promise having no hope and without God in the world And the Apostle speaking of such so living and so dying in 2 Thes. 1. 9 says Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power And there is no way to escape this but by seeking early after God by seeking early after Jesus Christ. And this is that which I shall now speak to and which the Prophet Isa. 55. 6 7 offers to us in the like terms Seek ye the Lord while he may be found call ye upon him while he is near Now is the accepted time now is the day of salvation 2 Cor. 6. 2 You cannot tell how soon it may be that you may seek and God will not be found that you may call and he will not answer that you may knock and yet it shall not be opened to you for I tell you yea Christ himself tells you Luke 13. 24 That many shall seek to enter in and shall not be able and it must be and is spoken of such kind of persons as we be of persons that make a high profession that injoy the Ordinances of God Mat. 7. 22 23. Many says Christ will say to me in that day Lord Lord have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name have cast out Devils and in thy name done many wonderful works And then will I profess unto them I never knew you depart from me ye that work iniquity Now is the time of your seeking And because there is the greatest Emphasis intended in this term early early seeking after God I shall wave all the rest and apply my self to a timous to an early seeking after God if God shall give us the wisdom of the Swallow the Turtle the Stork and the Crane Jer. 8. 7 to let us know our season and the things that belong to our peace And in reference to this I should have thought it most proper for me to have spoken more largely to five or six particulars but the time will not give me leave and therefore I shall but only name them 1. I should have shewed you what it is to seek what is meant by the act of seeking 2. What it is to seek God considering the act with the object what it is to seek Christ And that under these Four Heads 1. To seek the Lord is to seek an acquaintance with God to seek after the knowledg of Christ this we should do early and because we cannot do it more early we should do it now and it is our great concern to get an acquaintance with God we should seek now to know God and Christ this is of so great weight that Christ himself tells us Joh. 17. 3 This is life eternal that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent 2. To seek God is to seek reconciliation with God for there is enmity and hostility between God and us poor sinful wretches every one of us as we are sinners by nature and by practice ought to seek reconciliation with God and an interest in Christ aud to make him our Friend and for this we are Ambassadors the whole Gospel serves for this end it is the Ministry of reconciliation 2 Cor. 5. 18 19 20 All things are of God says the Apostle who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation To wit that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself not imputing their trespasses unto them and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation Now then we are Ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us we pray you in Christs stead be ye reconciled to God 3. To seek the Lord is to seek communion with God and to seek communion with Jesus Christ to seek him in his Ordinances in his publick Ordinances Institutions and Appointments to seek him in our private duties in our closets to have close communion with God and with Christ there If any man love me he will keep my words and my Father will love him and we will come unto him and make our abode with him says Christ Joh. 14. 23. So that it is a duty that lies on us to seek God more in secret duties and more in publick Ordinances night and day wherever we be to have further rnd more intimate acquaintance with him and to have a more clear interest in Christ and more intimate communion with him By night on my bed says the Spouse Cant. 3. 1 2 3 4 I sought him whom my soul loveth I sought him on her bed but that perhaps may be drowsily it was a kind of drowsie seeking and I found him not What then I will rise now and go about the City in the streets and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth I sought him but I found him not The watch-men that go about the City found me to whom I said Saw ye him whom my soul loveth It was but a little that I passed from them but I found him whom my soul loveth I held him and would not let him go c. Thus should we seek Jesus Christ thus should we seek communion and fellowship with him And in Cant. 1. 7. She thus bespeaks the Lord Jesus Tell me O thou whom my soul loveth where thou feedest where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions And this Scripture I mention the rather because I now it was much the spirit of our deceased Friend that precious Saint now with God who did seek Jesus Christ in pure Ordinances and desired to wait for him in the most uncorrupt and purest ways of Communion for which she had a great zeal to my certain knowledg 4. And Lastly To seek the Lord is to seek the eternal injoyment of God and so to seek the Lord Jesus Christ as that we may injoy him in his glory setting our faces heavenward as in Jer. 50. 4 5 It is said of the Children of Israel and the Children of Judah that they shall come together going and weeping that they shall go and seek the Lord their

saw more of value than in any injoyments whatever it was what did concern my spiritual estate I begun to be much troubled about how such a poor sinful creature that was by natnre under the wrath and curse of God should escape this I did believe as I had been taught it was by a Redeemer I did also believe that there was no name given under Heaven by which I must be saved but the Lord Christ Jesus I did also much hearken to the tenders of Christ in the Gospel and how he invited sinners to himself and that he offered himself freely this gave me encouragement But as I had read and heard it was a strait gate and a narrow way few that find it this made me very careful lest I should be deceived And here came in the great question But how shall I know that God in Christ will accept me For many are called but few chosen God hath mercy on whom he will and it is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that sheweth mercy This made me very diligent to hearken to marks and signs of grace The first that I remember troubled me was this understanding it was the common lot of all Gods People through many afflictions to enter into heaven This did much trouble me at that time and I was apt to think I should be able to bear any thing that God would lay on me so it might evidence to me the love of God to my soul but fool that I was I judged too soon for when it pleased the All-wise God to try me I quickly saw that my strength was but small by my fainting so much as I did in a day of adversity which by many sad experiences I can shew how unable to bear any thing when tryed However then I thought I could bear any thing from with out so all might be well within After this by a Providence I came to hear Mr. V. at St. Olaves the first Sermon that I heard him was on these words And all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her Prov. 3. 15. Wherein was set out the value of Jesus Christ above all that the world afforded which very much wrought on my heart with great longing after this Christ but still came this question How shall you know your interest However it pleased God so to bless his Ministry to me that usually I found my doubts so resolved and my heart so opened that I went away with great joy and comfort but for all this I was perplexed with dreadful thoughts after I had such peace and joy then Satan begun to work indeed I but is there such a God and such a Christ to be believed in How to answer this temptation I was at a great loss and would tell none what did ail me I mourned much under it and thought I questioned whether there was a God or no yet then I did not neglect praying and did as it were pour out my soul daily unto God for victory that he would not give me up to an unbelieving heart and of his free-grace who knew my soul in adversity by his word to send me relief Going to hear on a Lecture-day he then Preached on these words Hos. 2. 7. I will go and return to my first husband for then was it better with me than now It pleased God so to order it that he gave great caution against such thoughts saying Take heed poor soul when the Devil casteth in such thoughts Is there a God or a Christ Take heed for then Satan will have you in his snare This with many other things was set home on my heart then he did convince me by appealing to the Saints experience Is it not better to entertain good thoughts of God and of Christ was it not better with you then than now The Lord gave me so to close in with the truth of that word that I had great joy and peace through believing and went home full of comfort that God had so met me with a word By that means it pleased the Lord to give check to those unbelieving thoughts that so overcame me And yet to this day I have great cause to mourn for that unbelief I find in my heart notwithstanding all the experiences that God hath given me that Scripture doth often reprove me Heb. 3. 12. Take heed lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God After this I kept waiting at the posts of Wisdoms gate that I might understand the state of my soul which was the one thing necessary that I desired to look after and finding by the word Preached that the usual way and method of God was to strike the soul down as he did them in the second of the Acts and the Jaylor and the like this did raise in me great doubts what to think of my self because I could not find in my self such convictions of and humiliation for sin as was pressed and as to Original sin it did not seem much to affect me this did bring me into great fears However I took that way I had found comfort in which was by prayer to the Lord to bless his word to me Mr. V. was then on this Text Ephes. 2. 8. By grace are ye saved through faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God To this I diligently hearken'd and received great support for all my objections seemed to be answered yet for all this I did as it were refuse to be comforted he being on signs of grace closed the Text with these two marks 1. A souls going on in a way of duty was a very hopeful sign 2. But the Spirit of God was the only infallible witness the spirit it self beareth witness with our spirit that we are the Children of God The first did comfort me the second did very much trouble me for I could not understand the meaning of the spirits witness which fearing lest I should be deceived in a matter of so great a concern made me give all diligence in reading and hearing that my doubts might be resolved but as yet no rest in my spirit and the more increased being the time to go into the Country where usually our family was this added much to my grief to be taken off from hearing Mr. V. I began to look more into the Scriptures and to pick up whatever did come suddenly into my mind and it pleased God to cast in many that seemed to comfort me which I wrote down in that year But then came this question These are marks and signs that belong to such and such Saints in Scripture But what is this to thee These thoughts much cast me down what to do I knew not but kept still praying and waiting on God and I found speedy relief when I least thought of it My Father being at Hammersmith I went constantly to hear there and that Summer several City-Ministers