Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	faith_n	holy_a	receive_v	7,630	5	5.5906	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A81210	Heaven and earth embracing; or, God and man approaching: shewed in a sermon preached before the Honourable House of Commons upon the day of their publike fast at Margarets Westminster, January 28. 1645. By Joseph Caryl minister of the Gospel at Magnus neer London Bridge.	Caryl, Joseph, 1602-1673.; England and Wales. Parliament.	1646 (1646)	Wing C779; Thomason E319_11; ESTC R200557	28,718	47

prayer Communion with God is better then all things for which we have communion with him Prayer is better then any worldly thing we pray for This means is better then the end and God to whom we pray is better then any spirituall thing we pray for This object is better then any end It is the highest reward the very wages which the Saints look for in these duties to finde God in them Psal 65. 4. Blessed is the man whom thou chusest and causest to approach unto thee Where were these approaches made The next words shew us where That he may dwell in thy Courts we shall be satisfied with the goodnesse of thy house even of thy holy Temple We shall be satisfied Is it any wonder to see a man delight in satisfying goodnesse What is it that any man desires but satisfaction What is heaven but satisfaction The reason why the world is so much desired is because it gives so little satisfaction Men still hope for further satisfaction And the reason why holy things are desired is because they give so much satisfaction The Saints never think they have enough of them because they ever finde enough in them In heaven and heavenly things satisfaction and appetite are perpetually interchangeable We shall be satisfied with the goodnesse of thy house even of thy holy Temple Unlesse carnall men finde satisfaction in their own houses they finde none in Gods Temple-comforts please them not unlesse they may have their fill of Kitchin-comforts And here 's the reason why carnall men and hypocrites who formally approach unto God in these duties are so soon weary of them for unles they receive some outward sensible it may be sensuall advantage some present pay unles they thrive in worldly things they thinke their labour lost and their time too To what purpose is this waste They know not what you mean by the goodnesse of Gods House they understand not this language Hence that cry Isa 58. 2. Wherefore have we fasted and thou seest not What was it that troubled them What that God was not neer them No but because creature-comforts and successes were not neer them Prayer brought no money into their purses nor peace into their State Now the Saints are never weary of prayer and fasting though they pine and starve at them because they finde God in them in whom they are feasted with sweet wine and various dishes of delight when the world yeelds them not a cup of cold water or a bit of bread God alone is enough and all him they finde vvhen they finde nothing These heavenly Epicures feed fat and full on Christ and drinke large draughts of the wine of his consolation when they have no more in the creature then Dives had in hell not a drop of vvater to cool their tongues Thirdly If these duties be a drawing nigh to God I beseech you consider whether you intend them so or no. Doe you draw nigh to God when you pray and hear Have you been nigh to God this day We are in the exercise of the point we are speaking of It would be sad if any soul should be farre from God in that duty where the whole businesse is to draw nigh to God It is ill to be absent from God at any time but then worst vvhen vve seem to come into his presence It is possible to have God in our mouths and not at all in our thoughts to have God at our tongues end and our hearts at the vvorlds end A man may be as farre from God at a prayer as at a play As farre from God at a holy fast as at a drunken feast Thus the Lord charged his ancient people Isa 29. 13. This people draw neer me with their mouth and with their lips they doe honour me but have removed their heart far from me So the Prophet Jer. 12. 2. Lord thou art nigh in their mouth but thou art farre from their reins O that such might be awakened out of this sinfull sleep as Jacob out of his naturall and forced to cry out as he Surely God is in this place and we knew it not Gen. 28. 16. If it shall be asked How may vve draw nigh to God I vvould answer these three things about it 1. We must have a right vvay 2. We must have a right staff of strength 3. We must have the right steps to draw neer to God Your vvay your staffe your steps must be considered First If you would draw nigh to God look to your vvay and exercise faith about it The way is Jesus Christ I saith he am the way the truth and the life no man commeth unto the Father but by me Joh. 14. 6. There is no choice of waies to God if we misse one we have missed all The Law made nothing perfect but the bringing in of a better hope did by the which we draw nigh unto God Heb. 7. 19. What is that better hope Christ the object hoped for is this hope our hope depends so much on him for the best things that he is our better hope by which with assurance we may draw nigh unto God That 's the Apostles encouragement Heb. 10. 19. Having therefore brethren boldnesse to enter into the holiest by the bloud of Jesus by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us thorow the vail that is to say his flesh Let us draw neer with true hearts Secondly The staffe of ●●rength by which vve draw nigh to God is the holy Ghost Edifie your selves in your most holy faith Jude v. 20. Praying in the holy Ghost so we translate others thus Praying by the holy Ghost that is by the power of the holy Ghost For Rom. 8. We know not what to pray as we ought but the Spirit it self maketh interces●ion for us with groans that cannot be uttered As it is the office of Christ to intercede with God for us So it is the office of the holy Ghost to make those intercessions in us which vve put 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Particula 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ad nos laborantes resertur quorum tamen vis omnis ab e● spiritu proficiscitur qui ficut nos penitus collapsos erexit ita etiam erectos regit ideoque dici●ur ipse vicissim on●● attollere ex altera parte ne sub eo satiscamus Beza up to God All the prayers which prevail with God are formed vvrought and fashioned in our hearts by the Spirit of God There are no prayers in our hearts The prayers vvhich goe to God come from him The burden of prayer as well as that of sin is too heavy for us to bear Therefore it is said in the beginning of the verse The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities The Greek word signifies to help as a nurse helpeth the little childe upholding it by the arm or as a weak decrepid old man is upholden by his staff Or rather The Spirit helpeth together for so much the composition of the

the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually Others referre it to the answer of Moses vvhen his servant Jashua brought him a complaint against Eldad and Medad for prophesying in the Camp desiring his Lord Moses to forbid them Enviest thou for my sake Numb 11. 29. Whether this or that vvas the speciall text is doubtfull of this vve are sure the Scripture yeelds us this position The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy What spirit is this And how doth it lust Some take it for the corrupt spirit of man and so the sense is Hath not the Scripture cause to say that the sinfull spirit of man lusts to envie or is envious at the power and greatnesse of others and is desirous to grasp all to it self Hath the Scripture spoken this without cause Doe you not finde such a spirit acting and striving in you Doth not the experience you have of your own hearts unlesse you be strangers at home justifie this charge The spirit that dwels in you lusteth to envy Others take the spirit for the Spirit of God Doe ye thinke that the Scripture saith in vain that the Spirit of God dwelling in the Saints or that spirituall principle given in regeneration lusteth to envy And then the sense is this Ye are such as professe ye have received the Spirit of God ye are a people scattered by persecution for the profession of the Gospel and bearing the fruits of the Spirit Doe ye thinke the Scripture saith in vain the spirit that dwelleth in you lusteth to envie That is that the best having yet the seed and remains of every sinne in them and so of envie the spirituall part in you or the spirit dwelling in you is put to continuall work and warre by strivings and lustings to keep in the motions of your hearts from these sins For as there is a sinfull lusting of the flesh against the Spirit So there is a gracious lusting of the Spirit against the flesh Gal. 5. 17. one worke whereof there named by the Apostle is envying vers 21. with all it's attendants According to this interpretation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to envy hath the sense of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Against envy which is an allowed signification of the Greek preposition And so to lust notes that hostile 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pug●are contra aliquem opposition vvhich the holy Ghost raises in the Saints against envie implying that even they are subject to envie as vvell as others M. Calvin renders the text interrogatively Doth the spirit that dwelleth in us lust to envy Ye speak of the Spirit of God and ye say ye have the Spirit is this a work that looks like the vvorking of the Spirit What is the Spirit of God that dwels in you or which you pretend dwels in you a spirit of envie Nothing lesse the Spirit of God breaths other thoughts and teacheth other lessons That Spirit which is truly liberall cannot be envious He that giveth freely to all would not have us envie those to whom he gives more freely then to our selves Or he that giveth us more doth not envie us for what we have v. 7. But he giveth more grace If any receive not more from him it is because they are unfit to receive not because he is unwilling to give God indeed resisteth the proud but giveth grace to the humble A proud man would have all to himself he thinks the vvhole vvorld must serve his ends and therefore God opposeth him in his vvay Submit your selves therefore to God be sure you pray under God and not above him Many a man when his bodie lies low before God hath his spirit above God He that seeks himself in prayer to God sets himself above God to vvhom he praies A thought of vvhich was the devils first entertainment His first suggestion was Ye shall be as gods Nothing makes us so unlike creatures especially so unlike new creatures as a desire of such likenesse unto God And vvhile we would be nigh him in making our own way or in being our own end vve depart furthest from him Be carefull then to resist this devil of self-seeking and resist him most when ye are seeking unto God Resist this devil by fleeing from your selves and he will flee from you Having thus put the devil to flight you may draw nigh to God with this confidence that he will draw nigh to you That 's the second point proposed the promise of mercy or the fruit of our drawing nigh to God Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you I will not handle this later part doctrinally but onely as an argument to provoke your spirits to draw nigh to God upon his gracious condiscention to draw nigh to you There is much oratory in this promise vvho can expresse how drawing and attractive it is to hear that God will draw nigh unto us God will draw nigh What 's that We may interpret it by what he spake before Ye ask and receive not If God draw nigh you shall ask and receive you shall have your petition So it is expounded Deut. 4. 7. What Nation is there so great that hath God so nigh to them as the Lord our God is in all things we call upon him for That is he readily gives us all things we call upon him for On the contrary The not hearing of prayer is the departure of God So the complaint of Saul teaches us 1 Sam. 28. 15. God is departed from me and answereth me no more neither by Prophets nor by dreams When God puts out and acts mercie or power for us he draws nigh unto us Ps 75. 1. For that thy Name is neer thy wondrous works declare Gods works speak where he is when we see some wickednesse acted we may say It is a sign who hath been here we may see such have been here by the spoil they have made we may read the Agents names upon their actions So when we see great noble and glorious works though all men should be silent yet such vvorks have a voice to proclaim their Authour The finger of God is here I might shew you how every topick yeelds us a perswasive argument to desire this presence of God with us First A necessario from the necessity of it We have no need of many creatures they are but conveniencies to us We have no absolute need of any creature God can be now as he will be hereafter All in all unto us God is enough to us without any creature but no creature can be any thing to us without God God and all that he hath made is not more then God without any thing which he hath made Secondly Ab utili All our profit comes in vvith God He that hath the fountain hath the stream He that hath the Sun cannot want light He that ows the silver and golden mines cannot want treasure God is fountain sunne and mine