Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	eternal_a	life_n	soul_n	7,461	5	5.0564	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A89716	Gods great care of his good people in bad times discovered in several sermons / preached by Mr. James Nalton (late minister of St. Leonards Foster-Lane) immediately upon his return from Holland, about twelve years since ; published by J.F., teacher of short- writing, who took them in characters from the said Mr. J. Nalton.	Nalton, James, 1600-1662.	1655 (1655)	Wing N122A; ESTC R42508	60,551	169

notwithstanding there was an Athanasius that did help to bear up the truth with courage and confidence against all opposition and you know in Queen Maries dayes when Popery was here set up by a Law yet there were then many faithfull servants of Jesus Christ that sealed the truth with their blood and were more willing to lay down their lives for Christ than many now adayes are to part with a little of their estates for Christ and for the Gospell so that you see in the worst of times and amongst the worst of men the Lord will have some that are good and that retain their goodness And if you would know the Reasons of it they are these First Reas 1 Because the Kingdom of Jesus Christ is an everlasting Kingdom of his Kingdome there shall be no end Luk. 1.33 Jesus Christ will have a Church here upon earth maugre the might and malice the rage and fury the plots and projects the craft and subtiltie of Sathan and all his instruments All the enemies of the Church may as well think to turn the earth off its hinges or pluck the Stars out of the Firmament or blow out the Sun with a pair of Bellows or shake the pillars of Heaven as to root out the number of the godly from off the face of the earth The gates of Hell Mat. 16.18 shall not prevail against the Church It is true indeed the Church of Christ is not tied to any particular place nor to a stinted number but yet like the sea though it lose in one place it gains still in another place and the Church of Christ being his spouse he will never lose his spouse he will alwayes have some even in the worst of times and in the worst of places that shall own him and his truth therefore you know he had a Church in Neroes House though Nero was one of the bloodiest Monsters that ever lived amongst men Phil. 4.22 All the Saints salute you chiefly they that are of Caesars houshold And he had some that did bear up his Name when Antipas his faithfull Martyr was slain and where the Devil had his Synagogue Rev. 2.13 That 's one Reason Secondly Reas 2 2 Tim. 2.19 The Foundation of God stands sure and therefore it is not possible that the Elect should be totally seduced our Saviour saies indeed there shall be such cunning seducers and impostors Mat. 24.24 that if it were possible they should deceive the very Elect I but that is impossible Gods Elect it is true may sometimes be hurried into ways of errour and sin by a Croud but then their hearts will still be God-ward just as the Needle of the Seamans Compass may jog this way and that way but the bent of the Needle will still be North-ward so their hearts will be God-ward and they will recover themselves the Spirit is in them like a springing water Joh. 4.14 that springs up to eternal life it is an immortal seed so that they cannot sin unto death 1 Joh. 3.9 and the fear of God is the aw-back of the soul it is such an awe upon their spirits that they shall never totally and finally depart from God Jer. 32.40 I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me And thirdly Reas 3 The intercession of Jesus Christ is very prevalent for all his Elect Luke 22.32 I have prayed for thee faies Christ to Peter that thy faith fail not and this prayer he made not for Peter onely but for all that shall believe in his Name to the end of the world as appears by John 17.20 Neither pray I for these alone but for them also which shall believe on me through their word And then fourthly and lastly Reas 4 God will alwaies have a remnant of good ones of Godly Persons that shall retain their goodness even for this very end to convince gainsayers to stop the mouthes of wicked ungodly men that are ever blattering against the truth he will have some that shall bear witness against them that they shall not plead ignorance of that truth they so much scorn and contemn and of the ways of holiness which they so much abhor as God would have the Gospel preached if not for conversion yet for conviction to be a testimony against them that received it not Mat. 24.14 saies Christ this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all Nations so likewise God will have some faithfull ones to be his Martyrs to lift up his name and to bear witness still unto his truth against them that oppose it and to rise up in judgement against those that are the desperate and implacable enemies of it Heb. 11.7 as it is said of Noah by building the Ark he condemned the world that is his righteousness condemned their unrighteousness his faithfulness condemned their infidelity his sincerity condemned their hypocrisie and his steadfastness condemned their apostacy so God I say will still have some to bear witness and to judge the wicked of the world when he shall have a little number that will own him when others do disown him and despise him Now for the use of this Point If it be so that God will still have some in bad times that are good and retain their goodness Vse 1 then I beseech you tell me are you good in bad times are you the better the the worss the times are my brethren I need not tell you that we live in sad and sinfull times for certainly iniquity atheisme and heresie are boyled up to a greater heighth in these three or four years last past than they were in forty years before now doubtless in such distinguishing and trying times as these are you will either be very good or else very bad you will be like one of these two baskets of Figs the good Figs were very good and the bad were very bad tell me then whether you be good Figs or whether you be bad Figs Jer. 24.2 Now to help you in this scrutiny there are but these three questions I would propound to you and I wish you would propound them to your own souls First Are you impartially good Secondly Are you sincerely good Thirdly Are you constantly good Let me speak to every one of these heads a little First tell me Are you impartially good have you respect to all the Commandments of God Psal 119.6 Then shall I not be ashamed when I have respect to all thy Commandments Do you respect every command without partiality and without hypocrisie as the Apostle hath it 1 Tim. 5.25 Do you provide things honest in the sight of God and in the sight of men in the fight of God in the duties of the first Table and in the sight of men in the duties of the second Table do you study to be righteous in reference to the second Table as well as to be religious in reference to the

they may be as big as the best and possibly of as good a colour I but yet they are rotten within If you have not only an outward profession for that is an easie matter but if with your outward profession and giving up of your names to Christ you joyn an inward submission and give up your hearts to Christ that you obey from the heart as it is Rom. 6.17 then are you these good Figs to whom God intends good in all your afflictions Secondly If you have a filial fear of God and can fear him for his goodness mark that text Jer. 32.40 41. Saies God I will put my fear into their hearts that they shall not depart from me And then saies he I will rejoyce over them to do them good with my whole heart and with my whole soul If God have put this fear into your hearts and this fear is a fountain of life to cause you to depart from the snares of death then are you these good Figs. Thirdly If you be of the number of those that love God and are called according to his purpose For that is set dewn Rom. 8.28 And we know that all things worke together for good to them that love God and are called acording to his purpose If you love his ordinances and love his Saints and children and love his presence if you love him for himself and delight in him and desire him only that you can say none but thy self O Lord can give my soul satisfaction and can say with Luther Do not put me eff with these earthly comforts and contentments It is not an housefull of Gold and Silver that I can take up with but I must have thy self and the smiles of thy face and the discoveries of thy love and nothing else And if you are called according to his purpose that is Mat. 22.14 not only outwardly called by his word for so many are called but few are chosen but inwardly called by his Spirit for you must know this promise doth not belong to every one that is outwardly called on a man may be outwardly caled but yet not effectually called there is an outward ordinary generall invitation that a wicked man may have when the Spirit of God knocks at his heart by his word by his mercies by afflictions and by the examples of others and he stifles all the motions of the Spirit and rejects the offers and tenders of his Grace now to have onely this Generall invitation it is not to be truly called for so the Spirit knocks often at the doors of your hearts in many a Sermon and in many a correction and in many purposes of heart I but now if you are called by the effectuall operation of the Spirit of God that the Spirit of God not onely knocks but unlocks the doors of your hearts and makes you willing to accept the invitations of his grace and to give entertainment unto Christ and you can say come Lord Jesus into my heart and rule in me as thou pleasest when he so calls that you hear his voyce and when he saies Seek ye my face thy heart answers Lord thy face I will sock Come unto me saies Christ all yea that labour and are heavy laden Math. 11.28 And the heart returns eccho come I would come to thee O blessed Saviour upon my hands and knees I would come with all my soul when the Spirit of God saies this is the way this is the way of holinesse this is the way of strictnesse and purity so much spoken against every where Is this the way saies a poor soul O! I would walk in it that I might find rest to my soul and I would submit to the Government of Jesus Christ and be as willing to have him my Ruler as my Redeemer if thou lovest God and hast chosen him for thy portion and art thus called and returnest an eccho to the voice of Christ and submits to his Government this is a certain evidence thou art in the number of those the Text here speaks of whom God intends good to in his severest dipensations That is the second thing by way of explication Thirdly With what limitations must this be understood that God in his severest providences intends his peoples good There are but these two limitations I will give you and then I will apply all First When 't is said God intends his peoples good you must understand it thus That this good is not presently and all at once effected but it is by degrees It may be for the present thou findest no benefit at all by thy afflictions but thy heart in thy own apprehension is rather made barder and thou sits down in a disconsolate despondency and dost not see how such a passage of providence workes for thy good at all I but mark what the end will be look not onely at the beginning of a work saies Solomon but consider the end of it give God leave to do his own work Ecl. 7.8 and give him leave to do it his own way and give him leave to do it in his own time saies the Apostle Jam. 5.11 You have seen the end the Lord made with Job And Psal 37.37 Mark the perfect man and behold the upright for the end of that man is peace And Deut. 8.16 He humbled thee and proved thee to do thee good at thy latter end He doth not say it was to doe them good presently but to doe them good how ever in the latter end with this limitation therefore it must be understood though for the present thou maist not find it so yet in the conclusion thou shalt find it so Again secondly Another limitation is this when we say that all these providences of God shall worke for good you must not understand them singly and apart but taken joyntly and together and so they will be for good 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this is that which is exprest Rom 8.28 All things work together for good they work together if thou shouldest take one providence alone by it selfe haply thou maist find it do thee no good at all but now put providences together and then thou wilt find them do thee good as one drug in an Apothecaries Shop cannot make a wholesome medicine but put many drugs together and then it will do thee good And one wheel in the Clock you know cannot make the Clock move but put all the wheels together Gen. 42.36 and then it will move Jacob complains saies he Joseph is not and Simion is not and ye will take Benjamen away all these things are against me True take these providences singly by themselves and they were all against him I but at last he had his Joseph again and his Simeon again and his Benjamin again and though for the present they were all against him yet he lost nothing in the latter end Now for the Use of this Point briefly Vse 1 If God in his severest dispensations intend his