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	word_n	work_n	9,170	5	5.6799	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A31012	A sermon preach'd June 1, 1699, at Feckenham in Worcester-shire, before the trustees appointed by Sir Thomas Cookes, Kt. Bart. to manage his charity given to that place by John Baron ...	Baron, John, 1669 or 70-1722.	1699 (1699)	Wing B879; ESTC R10496	18,182	44

A SERMON Preach'd June 1. 1699. AT Feckenham IN WORCESTER-SHIRE Before the Trustees appointed by Sir Thomas Cookes Kt. Bart. To Manage his Charity given to that Place By JOHN BARON M. A. and Fellow of Balliol College in Oxford To him that soweth Righteousness shall be a sure Reward Prov. 11.18 OXFORD Printed by Leon. Lichfield 1699. To the Right Worshipful Sir Tho. Cookes OF BENTLEY Knight-Baronet SIR I Hope You will not be surpriz'd when You find your Name set before the following Discourse As it was Preach'd at your Request so I think I have no reason to doubt of Your favourable Acceptance of it especially since I know You are perswaded that the Doctrines contain'd in it are both sound and seasonable The Charitable Settlements which You have already made are a sufficient Argument that You firmly believe Good Works to be absolutely necessary to Salvation and Your very earnest Desire of perfecting Your more noble Designs notwithstanding the Discouragements You have met with farther shew that You look upon the time of Life to be the most proper if not the only time of doing good As far as I remember I have never seen any just Discourse on this Subject and I heartily wish what I have here said may answer my chief design in the Publication of it which is that I may convince Men of Ability of the danger of delaying their Charity till they dye If I should not be so happy as to succeed herein it will yet be a great satisfaction to me to consider that I have so fair an opportunity of acknowledging Your generous Kindness to me and of assuring You withal that I am Honour'd SIR Your very Humble Servant JOHN BARON Ball. Coll. Oxford July 11. 1699. GAL. Chap. VI. Ver. 10. As we have therefore opportunity let us do good unto all men IN these Words there are three things contain'd I. A Duty recommended II. The Extent of this Duty III. The proper Time of performing it I. The Duty here recommended is that most excellent one of doing good to which we are indispensably oblig'd both by the Principles of natural and reveal'd Religion Right Reason directs us to it Almighty God has expresly commanded it our blessed Saviour while he was upon Earth exemplify'd it to us for he went about doing good Act. 10.38 and he has likewise assured us all who are call'd by his holy Name that we must be exercis'd in it if we desire or hope at the last day to give up our Accounts with joy and not with grief Notwithstanding the great heats that have been rais'd about Justification herein all agree that good Works are the necessary visible Fruits whereby the sincerity of our Hearts may be known without these our Hope is Presumption our Assurance nothing but a groundless Confidence and our Faith absolutely ineffectual For as the body without the spirit is dead so faith without works is dead also Jam. 2.26 II. The second thing to be observed is the universal Extent of this great Duty express'd in these words Let us do good unto all men Our Kindness must be extended as the Blessings of Heaven are and the displays of our Love must reach like those of the Sun in the Firmament to the just and the unjust For we are all Brethren descended from the same common Stock and he that is afar off as well as he that is near is according to the Christian interpretation of the word our Neighbour 'T is true indeed the proud and ill-natur'd Pharisees of old restrain'd the sence of this Word and accordingly confin'd their Charity and Mercy within the narrow limits of their own Nation But he who came to fulfil the Law to supply what was wanting and to explain what they by their false Glosses and ill-grounded Comments had darkned and perplexed He who was the way the truth and the life has taught us by the Parable of the good Samaritan taking pity on a Stranger that fell among Thieves that under the Gospel every Person who stands in need of our relief tho' he be as great an Adversary to us as a Jew to a Samaritan must yet be looked upon as the object of our Compassion and Mercy and of any charitable acts which he can receive and we perform III. The third thing to be observed is the proper time of performing this Duty which is when and while we have opportunity For though to do good to all Men be a Duty incumbent upon us yet we are not at all times equally oblig'd to the exercise of it The cries of some that want never come to our ears and the necessities of others may be so great that we are not able to relieve them No Man can be oblig'd beyond his knowledge and power neither will much be requir'd of him to whom little has been given The Apostle therefore saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As we have opportunity let us do good unto all Men. The old Version is while we have time Dr. Hammond renders it as we have ability Grotius his Note upon the place is Dum manet haec vita While we are alive All these put together will compleat the signification of the Word for after death we can do nothing and in this Life we can then only be said to have an opportunity offered us of doing good when the wants of others and our own plenty meet together So that what St. Paul here presses from the certainty of a reward which we shall reap in due time if we faint not is That we be merciful after our power and so far as we have ability embrace every opportunity of doing good while we live These things being premised that my following Discourse may the better suit with the present occasion I shall endeavour to shew 1. That 't is upon several accounts more advisable for Men of Ability to dispose of what they intend for charitable Uses in their Life time than to leave it to be manag'd by others after their Death 2. That Men of Ability are in Duty oblig'd to do good while they live 3. I shall speak of the peculiar excellency and usefulness of those charitable Settlements which are design'd to promote and encourage Learning 4. And lastly I shall enquire what is the Duty of all those who more immediately enjoy the Benefit and Advantages of such Foundations First I am to shew that it is upon several accounts more advisable for Men of Ability to dispose of what they intend for charitable Uses in their Life time than to leave it to be manag'd by others after their Death This Proposition I hope to make good from the following Considerations 1. That it is utterly uncertain whether that which Men of Ability leave to the disposal of others be ever settled according to their original design and intent 2. It is a greater Argument of a free and generous Mind to dispose of what they design for charitable Uses while they live than to leave it to

upon themselves for the remainder of their Lives Righteous and Merciful Men are the peculiar Favourites of Heaven and by a secret and undiscerned Providence all things are made to work together for their good Lose thy mony saith the Son of Syrach for thy brother and thy friend and let it not rust under a stone to be lost Lay up thy treasure according to the commandments of the most High and it shall bring thee more profit than gold Shut up alms in thy store-houses and it shall deliver thee from all affliction It shall fight for thee against thy enemies better than a mighty shield and strong spear Ecclus. 29. As for what the poor Miser objects That Charity is wholly inconsistent with our temporal Interest and that by doing good to others we shall in a short time impoverish our selves and our Families 't is spoken with as much ease and as little reason as other Calumnies are by Men who dare speak any thing but what is true and do any thing but what is good The Royal Psalmist was a Man of Years and Experience when he declared That he had never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread And his Son Solomon so justly celebrated for his Wisdom observed that there was that made himself rich and yet had nothing and there was that made himself poor and yet had great riches And again that there was that scattered and yet increased and there was that with-held more than was meet and it tended to poverty That the liberal soul was made fat and he that watered was watered also himself Our Heavenly Father who is the Fountain and onely dispenser of all Plenty and from whom alone every good gift cometh is always able and does many times reward the liberal Man with temporal Blessings improving every Alms which he gives like the Oyl in the poor Widow's Cruse which was so far from failing that it increased in spending and grew more by being consumed I own this is not universally true the charitable Man does not always meet with a proportionable recompence in this World But then it should be farther considered that when it pleases God otherwise to order things and to fail him in his returns here he has for his security the Promise of him who is Truth it self with whom is no variableness or shadow of turning that he shall be amply rewarded at Resurrection of the Just. And besides all this if we should farther suppose that God for the tryal of his Patience or out of very faithfulness should cause him to be troubled If he should suffer by any common Calamity if any fatal Change any sudden extraordinary Revolution of State should reach him among others in a word if poverty should overtake him like an armed man yet he has this apparent advantage over the unmerciful Worldling that the good deeds which he has done will recommend him to the liberality of others and the light afflictions which he here indures will procure him a far more exceeding and an eternal weight of glory 2 Cor. 4.17 6. And lastly It ought to be considered by Men of Ability that the Reflection upon what good they have done in their Life will afford them great comfort and satisfaction when they come to dye This is as important a Consideration as can well be for the thoughts of this great Change do naturally affright and disturb the Soul which never stands in more need of comfort than at the time of its separation The best Men when they are laid on the Bed of Sickness feel some disorder within some doubts arising concerning their Salvation they are perplexed and divided between Hope and Fear Nature and Grace Now the most effectual way of removing these disquietudes and of procuring rest for our Souls at the hour of Death is to reflect upon what good we have done in the healthful and vigorous part of our Lives Alms are a lasting foundation and a sure Pledge of Peace and Tranquillity and good Works which are done out of an unfeign'd Faith in Jesus Christ will deliver from Death and contribute very much to the covering a multitude of sins I do not remember saith St. Jerom that I have read that ever any charitable Person dyed an evil Death for having the Holy Spirit for his Comforter a good Conscience for his Testimony and CHRIST for his Advocate he can with cheerfulness commit his Soul to God as to a faithful Creator 'T is a mighty ease and refreshment to him to remember that he has clothed the Naked fed the Hungry entertain'd the Stranger and visited those that were sick and in Prison and to consider withal that whatsoever kindness or mercy he has shew'd to his necessitous Neighbour will be as well accepted by Christ as if it had been immediately done unto himself If amidst these joyful composing Reflections the great Enemy and Accuser of Mankind should raise any distrustful thoughts in his Heart he can presently fly for refuge to the Father of Mercies who knows and pities his Infirmities and who will the rather deliver him because he observes his Confidence is ballanced with Reverence Humility and Godly Fear As for cruel uncharitable Men it is not so with them at the approach of Death when the terrors of the Lord set themselves in aray against them fearfulness and trembling comes upon them and an horrible dread overwhelms them they are like the troubled sea which cannot rest The sensual Delights which they heretofore so eagerly pursued can now entertain or divert them no more neither will their Treasures of Wickedness profit them in this day of wrath They may look for some to have pity on them but they will find none none that can redeem their Souls or make an Agreement with God for them They are left perfectly as Men without Hope which is certainly the most miserable condition they can be in on this side Hell They remember that they many times stopped their ears and turned their faces from the poor and needy and therefore they conclude that the face of the Lord will be turned away from them and as they shewed no mercy so they are under a certain fearful looking for of judgment without mercy The bitterness of their Souls makes them long for Death and yet the sence of approaching Vengeance makes them afraid to dye I shall conclude this Consideration with the words of the truly pious Bishop Taylor Certain it is saith he God cannot will not never did reject a charitable Person in his greatest needs and most passionate Prayers For God himself is Love and every degree of Charity that dwells in us is the participation of the Divine Nature and therefore when upon our Death-bed a cloud covers our Head and we are enwrapped with sorrow when we feel the weight of a sickness and do not feel the refreshing Visitations of God's Loving-kindness when we have many things to trouble us