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	soul_n	word_n	7,065	5	4.2672	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12202	The spirituall favorite at the throne of grace. By the late learned, and reverend divine Richard Sibbs Doctor in Divinity. Published by the authors owne appointment, subscribed with his hand; to prevent unperfect copies	Sibbes, Richard, 1577-1635.	1640 (1640)	STC 22512; ESTC S103004	21,096	106

can be that may procure the favour and ingraciate us because it is in vaine to pray unlesse wee use all possible meanes to winne their favour but if it cannot be upō good tearmes Then whether to obey God or man judge ye And as the three young men wee take no thought to answer in this matter our God can def●nd us if he will And as Hester said If I perish I perish When things are cleare we are to be resolute Yet reserving due respect to Gods ordinance and to his lieftenant upon earth I say alwaies reserving due respect and using meanes to win favour and also to use prayer Holy Nehemiah hee prayes here and together with that he attends upon the King as good Iacob observed Esau so all good meanes must bee used or else God will not blesse our proceedings Remember that all inferiour gouernours whatsoever they are subordinate and dependant and therefore they must bee regulated by a superior They are limited they are dependant they are derivative they are dependant upon God they are derived from him Therfore as the Apostle saith that servants must obey their masters in the Lord So wee must obey do all in the Lord that limitation must be alwaies added but reserving that it is a good thing to pray that there may be favour from the King because it is of much consequence to bring businesse to a good issue And with prayer there must be a using meanes to get favour alwaies with this liberty to doe it so farre as we can with preserving a good conscience As they have a distinction among civilians there is a parting with a thing Cumulativé and privativé Cumulativé that is when wee part with a thing so as that we reserve the proprietie privativé when wee give away the proprietie and all Now so GOD parts with nothing below as to strip himselfe but cumulativé hee derives authority to others but reserves the propriety to himselfe Therefore we must obey them in him and with this limitation as it may stand with his favour To draw to a conclusion in a word You see here that any good Christian may be a good statesman in one good sence what is that A good Christian hath credit in Heaven and he hath a spirit of prayer and his prayer can set God on worke and God can set the King on worke and hee can set his subjects on worke Now he that can prevaile with God to prevaile with the Gods upon earth here surely such a man is a profitable man in the state And you know God he can alter all matters and mould all things it is but a word of his mouth And what God can doe prayer can doe for prayer bindes God because it is the prayer of faith and faith as it were overcomes God Now prayer is the flame of faith the vent of faith faith is a victorious triumphant grace with God himselfe If it bee any it is Christians that can prevaile with God for a blessing upon a State then certainely there is no good Christian but is of excellent service in the state though in particular perhaps he hath not pollicie and wisedom and government yet hee hath Gods eare to heare him and hee can pray to God that God would make the King and other subordinate Magistrates favorable You see what great good a good man may doe in a State The Innocent man delivers the Iland as it is in Iob. And the poor wise man delivers the citie as it is in Eclesiastes A few holy gracious men that have grace and credit in Heaven above they may moove God to set all things in a blessed frame below And surely if this holy meanes were used things would bee better then they are and till this be used we can never look for the good successe and issue of things that otherwise we may hope for Diverse things might be spoken of the doctrinal part I will give you but a word of it That God hath our hearts in his governement more then we our selves I speake it to informe our judgement in a point of doctrine whether God foresee and determine of things below upon foresight which way they shall goe or whether hee foreordaine that they shall goe this way because hee directs them thus that is to make God God indeede Hee determines that these things shall be because he determines in the series and order of causes to bring things to passe and to guide Kings and Princes and Magistrates and all this way Againe whether God hath set all men at liberty in matters of Grace especially that they may apply grace at their liberty which way they wil and in fore-sight which way they will apply their liberty to determine thus or thus of them This is to make every mans will a God and to divest God of his honour as if God could foresee the inclination of the creature without foresight that hee meant to incline it this way or that way Can God foresee any entitie and thing that hath a beeing in nature or grace without foresight to direct it this way or that way he cannot this is to make him no God Wee see God hath the hearts of Kings in his power and that is the ground of prayer for grace to them Why should we pray for them if they could apply their own will which way they would Why should wee give thankes for that wee have liberty to doe this way or that way It stopps devotion and petition and thankesgiving to say that the creature hath libertie to apply it selfe and God seeing it would applie it selfe thus determined so Oh no wee must goe to God he hath set down an order course of meanes and in the use of those meanes desire him to guide us by his good spirit to enlighten our understandings to guide our wills and affections by his holy spirit because our hearts are in his governement more then our owne If it were needfull to prove it I could prove it at large if there had beene such aliberty good Nehemiah would never have made this prayer But God doth strangely put thoughts and guide all even of himselfe as we may see excellently in the storie of Hester I will give you but that example and instance what a strange thing was it that Ahasueros could not sleep and when hee could not sleepe to call for the book and then that hee should reade of Mordecay and therupon to advance Mordecay all this tended to the good of the Church it was a strange thing And so in other things It is a strange thing that God should put little thoughts and desires into great persons and then follow it with this circumstance and that so bring things to passe all this is from God Except we hold this that God rules al without and especially the hearts of men where it is his especiall prerogative to set up his throne we shall never pray heartily or give thankes And if wee doe pray and give thankes he will put thoughts into governours mindes strange thoughts and resolutions for the good of the Church that we could never have thought off nor could come otherwise but from the great God of heaven and earth We shall see a strange providence concurre to the good of al But I must leave the enlargement of these things to your own thoughts and meditations FINIS Imprimatur Thomas Wykes August 24. 1639. No promise of mercy but to those that re +turne It is a good Argument to plead with God for former favours It is an an excellent skill and art in prayer to havestrong argumēts Simile Tertul. Empty relations have no comforts in them Religion most seene in the affections Simile Those that will prevaile in prayer must look to the bent of their affections Christianity consists especially in holy desires Holy desires the imediate issues of the soule Tryall of desires whether true If constant If strong and growing If for grace as well as mercy If more for holinesse then happines in heaven If accompanied with desire after the means that convey grace 1 Pet. 2. Vse Comfort for weake christians Psal. 145. Why God accepts of desires Because they are the breathings of his Spirit Simile Because they manifest the change of the soule The true knowledg of our relation to God a meanes to strengthen faith in prayer Simile What is included in the word prosper In our Petitions to God for any prosperitie or good successe wee must bring selfe deniall Simile With our prayer for successe wee must use the meanes Vse In what condition of soule wee may expect prosperity from God The King a great instrument to convey good things frō God to men Observ. In busines with great men looke first to God A good Christian is a good Statesman God hath our hearts in his government more then wee our selves

their desires But how are the truth of these desires knowne I will name a few signes The truth of those desires may be tryed thus if they be constant desires and not flashes for then they come from a new nature Nature is strong and firme Art is for a turne to serve a turne when men personate a thing they doe it not long creatures that are forced to doe so and so they returne to their own nature quickly but when a man doth a thing naturally he doth it constantly So constant desires argue a sanctified frame of soule and a new creature they argue that the image of God is stamped upon the soule Therupon wee may know that they are holy desires that that they spring from a holy soule if they be constant if they be perpetuall desires and not as a torrent that is vented for the present on a sudden and then comes to nothing after they are constant And likewise if these desires be hearty strong desires and not onely strong but growing desires desire upon desire desire fed with desire still never satisfied till they be satisfied Strong and growing desires argue the truth of desires as indeede a childe of God hath never grace enough never faith enough never love enough or comfort enough till he come to heaven They are growing desires more more the Spirit of God that is the spring in him springs up still further and further till it spring to everlasting life till it end in heaven where all desires shall be accomplished and all promises performed and all imperfections removed till then they are growing desires still Wee desire to feare thy Name and to please thee in all things Againe true desires they are not onely of the favour of God but of graces for the altring of our nature as Nehemiah here he desires not the favor of God so much as he desires to feare Gods Name Now when desire is of graces it is a holy desire You have not the worst men but would desire with Balaam to dye the death of the righteous c. that they might injoy the portion of Gods people but to desire grace that is opposite to corrupt nature as fire and water this is an argument of a holy principle of grace in us whence this desire springs when we desire that that is a counter poyson to corrupt nature that hath an antitipathy to corruption Therefore when a man from the bottome of his heart can desire oh that I could serve God better that I had more liberty to serve him that I had a heart more inlarged more mortified more weaned from the world Oh! that I could feare God more And of all graces if it be a true desire it is of such graces as may curbe us of our sinfull delights and restraine us of our carnall liberty and knit us neere to God and make us more heavenly minded the desire of these graces shew a true temper of soule indeed True desire is carried to grace as well as glory and the desire of heaven it selfe A true spirit that is touched with grace with the Spirit of God it desireth not heaven it self so much for the glory and peace and abundance of all contentments as it desires it that it is a place where it shall be freed from sinne and where the heart shall be inlarged to love God to serve God to cleave to God for ever and as it is a condition wherein he shall have the image and resemblance of Iesus Christ perfectly upon his soule Therefore wee pray Thy Kingdome come that is we desire that thou wouldest rule more and more largly in our soules and subdue all opposite power in us and bring into captivity all our desires and affections and let thy Kingdome come more and more Let thy will be done by us and in us more and more In earth as it is in heaven Here is a sweet prayer now serving to the first petition the hallowing of Gods name when we desire more to honour God and to that purpose that he may rule in us more and make us better these desires argue an excellent frame of soul as we see in Nehemiah our desire is to feare thy Name True desires are likewise to the meanes of salvation and to the meanes of salvation as they convay grace as sincere milke as you have it 1 Pet. 2. As new borne babes desire the sincere milke of the Word Where a man hath holy desires of any grace and hath them in truth hee will desire those meanes whereby those graces may most effectually bee wrought in his heart therefore hee will heare the word as the word of God hee comes not to heare the Word because of the eloquence of the man that delivers it that mingles it with his owne parts hee comes not to heare it as the tongue of man but he sees God in it it is the powerfull Word of God because there goes the efficacie of the Spirit with it to worke the graces he desires Therefore a man may know by his tast of divine truth whether he desire grace hee that desires grace desires the meanes that may convay grace and especially so farre as they convay grace As new borne babes desire the sincere milke of the Word You cannot still a childe with any thing but milke he desires no blending or mixing but onely milke so a true Christian desires divine truthes most because the Spirit of God is effectuall by them to worke grace and comfort in him I will not inlarge my selfe in the point The comfortable observation hence is this that weak Christians that finde a debilitie and faintnesse and feeblenesse in their performances hence they may comfort themselves by their desire to feare God and to worship God and to serve him if their desires bee true Therefore in Isaiah 26. the Church alledgeth it to God in the way of thy judgements have we sought thee c. The desire of our soules is towards thy Name they bring it as a prevailing argument to God So when we come to God The desire of our soules is toward thy Name Lord our indeavours are weake and feeble but the desire of our soules is to thy name and thou wilt not quench the smoaking flax therefore wee come to thee with these weake and poore desires that we have The Lord will fulfill the desires of them that feare him Psal. 145. If they be but desires if they be true and growing and constant desires and desires of grace as well as of happinesse as I shewed before The reason why God accepts them is partly because they spring from his owne spirit these desires they are the breathings of the spirit For even as it is in places where fountaines and springs are digged up they are knowne and discovered by vapors the vapors shew that there is some water there some spring if it were digged up so these desires