Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	father_n	lord_n	see_v	5,685	5	3.6798	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10030	Three sermons vpon the sacrament of the Lords Supper. By the late faithfull and vvorthy minister of Iesus Christ, Iohn Preston, Dr. in Divinity, chaplaine in ordinary to his Majestie, master of Emanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolnes Inne	Preston, John, 1587-1628.	1631 (1631)	STC 20281; ESTC S115171	49,613	90

be in such a distresse when neither King nor Queene could be able to helpe him or though they were able as she was in that case yet it might be sent and not delivered Now then consider what the Lord doth to vs Hee hath given us this priviledge he hath given us prayer as it were this Ring he hath given us that to use and tells us whatsoever our case is whatsoever wee are whatsoever we stand in need of whatsoever distresse wee are in doe but send this up to me saith he do but deliver that message up to me of prayer and I will bee sure to relieve you Now certainely what case soever we are in when we send up this it is sure to be conveyed wheresoever wee are Againe whatsoever our case is we send it to one that is able to helpe us w th a Prince many times is not able to do This benefit we have by prayer That whatsoever we aske at the Lords hands wee shall have it Now consider this great advantage which you have It is expressed 4 Phil. in these words Be in nothing carefull saith the Apostle And that you may see wee have ground for this generality In nothing bee carefull but in all things make your requests knowne unto God That is whatsoever your case bee I make no exception at all but whatsoever you stand in neede of whether it concernes your soules or your bodies your name or your estate yet be in nothing carefull This is a great matter There is none amongst you that heares me now but sometime or other he is carefull for something or other for which he is solicitous Now when a man heares such avoyce from heaven that the Lord himselfe saith to us Bee carefull for nothing doe no more but make your request knowne it is well enough I will surely heare in heaven and grant it It is a great comfort Beloved comfort your selves with these words and thinke this with your selves that this is that Charter and great Grant that the Lord hath given you and to none but you that what prayers you make to him hee heareth you But it will bee objected why is this said so generally That we must in nothing be carefull but in all thinges make our request knowne For then if a man were but a poore man it is but going to the Lord and asking riches and hee shall have them If a man were sick of an incurable disease it were no more but going to the Lord and hee should be sure to be recovered If a man hath an enterprise to bring to passe it is no more but goe to him and it shall be done what is the reason then that godly and holy men have not these things graunted to them To this I answer you must understand it with this condition even as it is with a Father I will prove it to you by that suppose he should say to his sonne I will deny thee nothing whatsoever I have I wil deny thee nothing but thou shalt have part in it Though he say no more yet we understand it with these conditions First that if his Childe shall aske him for that that is not good for him or if the child should refuse to have that done or pray his Father and say I beseech you do it not when the Father knowes it is good here the Father is not bound hee thinkes as for example if a Father sees his childe needes Physick it may be the child finds it bitter and therefore is exceeding loath to take it it makes him sicke and is irkesome unto him so that hee earnestly desires his Father that hee may be excused that hee might be freed from it In this Case the father will not heare him for hee knowes the Child is but mistaken On the other side if the Child aske something that is very hurtfull if he aske for wine in a feaver the Father denyes it him No saith he you are mistaken I know your desire is that you might have health and recover and this I know will hurt you though you know it not This the Father understands and therefore he puts in that condition So when the Lord saith In nothing be carefull but in all things make your requests knowne If you mistake the matter at any time and your prayer shall not bee the dictate of the Spirit so that yee alway make request according to his will but the dictate of your owne hearts and shall be the expression of your naturall Spirit and not the Lords Spirit In this case there is no promise of being heard and yet the Lord makes his word good Bee in nothing carefull but in all things make your request knowne Secondly a Father when hee saith to his Child I will deny you nothing but you shall have part in all that I have yet the Childe may carry himselfe so that the Father upon such an occasion may deny him and be ready to say unto him Well if you had followed your Booke if you had not runne into such disorders if you had not bin negligent to doe what I gave you in charge I would have done it In this case the Father withholds the blessing that hee will bestow upon his Child not because he is unwilling to bestow it but because he would thus nurture his Child hee useth it as a meanes to bring him to order So the Lord saith to Moses That because he had spoken unadvisedly because he had not honoured him before the people at those waters the waters of strife therefore the Lord tells him by the Prophet he should not goe into the good land And so he tells David that because he had sinned against him he would not give him the life of the Child So the Lord saith to us sometimes I will not graunt you this request for though I be willing to graunt it yet this is one part of the discipline and nurture that I use to my Children That such a particular request I will deny you for such an offence as worshipping of Idolls c. Beloved this is not a generall denyall and this is not for our disadvantage but it is a helpe to us it makes us better that sometime we should be denyed knowing hereby that it is denyed to us for our sinne that we may learne to come to the Lord and renew our repentance and to take that away that we may come to prevaile in our prayers with him Thirdly when a Father is willing to graunt it yet he will thus say to his Child Though I bee willing to doe what you aske at my hands yet I will not have you aske it rudely I will have you aske it in a good manner and a good Fashion For when wee come to call upon God and come in an unreverent manner in such a case the Lord heares not Or againe hee will say to his child I am ready to heare you but you must not aske in a negligent

whether your hearts goe this way or no to seeke a vertue in the excellencies of Iesus Christ and so shew them forth to others by examining whether this be thy cheifest wish that thou mayest bee a Christian that thou mayest bee found in Christ that thou mayest be able to say as Paul said I reckon all other things as drosse as base and vile things onely to bee found in Christ to be cloathed in his righteousnesse to excell in the graces of his Spirit this onely I prize as most excellent and most worthy And this is the first 2 Secondly consider what is thy chiefest Treasure for you see Hee that had gotten the field hee gave all that heehad for it and went away rejoycing for hee reckoned it his greatest treasure and worth all the rest It is certaine whosoever hath taken Christ doth so esteeme of him hee reckons him to bee his chiefe treasure You will say How shall I know it Why consider what men do with their treasure for it is certaine as I said before of excellencie so every man hath some treasure or other The poorest man that is hath a treasure something that hee esteemes of which hee makes account of I aske not what thou art possest of but what thou most esteemest for treasures are as they are most esteemed of As wee say of jewels the worth of them is according to mens fancies according as they are esteemed so it is with every mans treasure One makes this thing his treasure another that Now I say consider what thou makest thy treasure and you shall know what your treasure is by these markes 1 A man layes up his treasure in the safest place Then if Christ be thy treasure thou wilt lay him up in the innermost parts of thy heart he shall not dwell in thy tongue he shall bee laid up in the closer of thy heart hee shall not dwell in thy outward man in thy understanding only but hee shall bee laid up in thy inward part that is he shall bee pitched upon the very bottome of thy heart and there hee shall rest there thou wilt entertaine him 2 Againe what a mans treasure is that hee keepes with his greatest care with the greatest warinesse and solicitude So wilt thou the Lord Iesus when once thou layst him up in thy heart thou wilt not be carefull for any thing so much as to keepe him safe that is to keepe the assurance of his favour safe to keepe him neere thee and thy selfe neere unto him thy minde will be more carefull of this more than of all things else Thou wilt then take heede of all things that may cause a distance betweene thee and him thou wilt then take heede of whatsoever may loose him of whatsoever may make a separation betweene the Lord and thee thou wilt be more carefull for this than any man is to keepe his wealth or to keepe whatsoever it is that he makes his Treasure 3 Againe whatsoever is thy treasure that thou wilt most esteeme thou wilt set it at the highest rate above all things else Before a man is in Christ there are many other things which in truth howsoever hee pretend something else hee prizeth at a higher rate than Christ Worldly vanities before hee is in Christ seeme great things to him but when he is in him once he lookes upon them with another eye My beloved you know there was a time when God looked upon the creatures and they were exceeding good even all that are in the world those things that men magnifie so much I say there was a time when they were exceeding good but sinne hath blowed upon them it hath blasted the beauty and vigour of them so that now when the Lord lookes upon them this is the sentence that is pronounced of them you know in Eccl. 2. They are all vanity and vexation of spirit Consider if thou be able to looke on all these things even the best things the world hath as things being but meere vanity things wherein the Lord sowed not mens happinesse and therefore thou canst not thinke to reape it there If you marke but the expression the wise man useth in 1. Eccles. saith he All things under the Sun are but vanity now there is a reason conteined in these words why they are but vanitie for waters you know they ascend not higher than the fountaine and they carry not any thing higher than their owne ascent so all the creatures that bee in the world they be but under the Sunne therefore they cannot ascend to that happinesse which is above the Sunne nor carry you to that condition which is above for happinesse is above the Sunne laid up in Heaven Therefore saith he all things under the Sunne if they bee considered to make a man happy they are but vanity Now consider whether thy judgement be so of them or no whether it bee conformable to the holy Ghost whether thou hast this conceit of all other things but the quite contrary conceit of Iesus Christ whether thou canst thinke of him as of one that is most excellent and thy chiefest treasure as one that is farre beyond all these as one upon whom thy heart is pitched as one in whom thy happinesse is conteined 4 Againe a mans treasure is that which he will bee at any cost to get hee will bee at any paines to attaine it It is that on which his heart is bestowed and his affections are occupied about Is it so with thee when thou commest to Christ Iesus art thou willing to bee at more cost and paines to get him than any thing besides Is thy heart and affections more bestowed upon him For where a mans treasureis there his heart is I doe not aske whether thou bestowest more time upon the matters of grace than the duties of thy calling but whether thou dost them with more intention whether thou bestowest thy time and paynes upon them as upon that which thou reckonest thy treasure farre exceeding all other 5 Fiftly consider whether thou art willing to part with any thing rather than with Christ Iesus for whatsoever is a mans treasure you know a man will part with any thing rather than it Is it so with thee hadst thou rather part with any thing than with Christ than to part with a good conscience with the graces of the Spirit or with any thing that tends to holinesse to build thee up further in the worke of Gods grace I say consider whether thy heart bee willing to part with any thing rather than with Christ for you shall find this that Sathan and the world will cheapen Christ and when they come to bidding they will bid well Consider whether thy heart can give a peremptory answer to the world and say thus I will not sell Christ I will not sell a good conscience for any thing yea when Satan and the world bid highest and tell thee as he did Christ that hee

the Passover not a jot of old leaven but we must part with it Now this is the nature of leaven It is alwayes purging out and it will be purging out while we are here only the efficacy and strength thereof remaines not Then thinke with thy selfe is all new in me looke what naturall disposition I haue had looke what naturall lusts and desires I haue had see what acts I was wont to doe what old haunts and customes I haue had looke what old company I kept what old courses I tooke what my tract hath beene is all this altered and every thing become new for saith he it must be a new creature a new nature That is it is not enough for a man to haue a new course for a fit to haue new purposes and a new change that comes like flashes I say that is not enough you may haue many new thinges in you that may be in old hearts like peeces of new cloath in old garments that will doe thee no good at all the Lord regards not that like new wine in old vessells so it is where there are some new things that are good things in themselves in a carnall and old heart they are not fit for the heart and therefore they never stay long there So saith the text Put a new peece into an old garment and it makes the rent greater Therefore all must be new I say there must be a new nature that these new things may be there even as the severall creatures are in their severall elements as the elements are in their owne place as the plants are in their proper soyle as the branches are vpon their own roote For then they florish then they hold out then they continue Therefore see whether this vigor this efficacy this vertue hath gone out from Christ into thy heart whether it hath not only renewed all in thee but also hath given thee a new nature That is whether it hath wrought such a change in thee that all the wayes of godlines and new obedience become in a measure naturall to thee so that thou canst doe them cheerefully even as we heare and see and doe naturall actions and that thou dost them without wearinesse for you know things that are naturall wee are not weary of them And so thou wilt doe them constantly for what is naturall stayes and abides by us that it outgrowes and out-wearies what ever is in us beside Now hath there a vertue gone out from Christ that hath wrought all this in you that hath made all new hath not only done so but hath made it naturall to thee But you will say must it needs be so cannot Christ take and comprehend mee but there must bee this wonderfull change wrought who can bee saved then I haue then but little hope when I am vpon my death bed and then shall looke vpon my old nature and find no such worke as this wrought vpon me Beloved I beseech you consider this that there is a necessity of it It is so and it must bee so and except you have it you cannot be saved you see the words in the Scriptures are most cleare Whosoever is in Christ is a new creature Doe but consider whether it be so or no there must be withall a new heaven and a new earth You see that was the great promise that was to bee fulfilled in our times of the Gospell was it not a new preisthood was it not a new covenant hath not the Lord said there must bee a new heauen and a new earth That is new graces from heaven and a new company of men wrought on and changed by those graces Shall old Adam those that are borne of him shall they receiue a power from him to make them like to him to carry his Image to bee corrupt and carnall and sinfull as hee is And doe you not thinke that the New Adam the Second Adam shall haue as much efficacy in him to make those new creatures that are in him that come to him Certainly there is as much power life and vigor in the new Adam to change every man that is in him that comes to him and to make thē new creatures as in the old Adam to make them like him Besides hath not Christ said plainely I came not into the world to saue soules only that is not my busines alone though that was a great part of the businesse and errand for which he came into the world but saith he I came to purifie a people to my selfe zealous of good workes in the 2 Tit. Now if that were the end of Christs comming dost thou thinke that hee will loose his end And therefore its impossible that any man should be saved or haue part in Christ and that he should be in Christ and Christ in him except his heart be purified so as to be zealous of good workes If Christ dwell in thy heart thou mayst easily know it for dost thou thinke that Christ will dwell in a foule and uncleane place hath he not pure eyes And therefore it is certaine wheresoever he dwells that place must be a fit Temple for him to dwell in Wherefore of necessity he must cleanse thy heart he must fashion it and keepe it pure and cleane and sweet so as it may be a fit Temple for him and his Spirit to dwell and delight in Besides doth he not looke to his glory in all those that belong to him hee hath many eyes to looke upon them as it were there are many spectators men and Angells to see what they are and how they behaue themselues If hee should haue a company of men to belong unto him that are carnall perverse and worldly minded that haue crooked wayes like other men would this bee for his honour would it not bee said Like men like Master would it not reflect upon him Certainly it would and therefore the Lord so orders it that those whom he hath redeemed should bee holy in all maner of conversation Saith hee you must be as I am else it will bee for my dishonour As I am holy so every one of you must be holy in all manner of conversation Therefore let no man deceiue himselfe to thinke he can goe away and yet be in Christ and be saved through Christ and the mercies of God in Christ when there goes out no such vertue and power from Christ to change him to worke on him to alter him to make him another creature And therefore I beseech you in the examining of this for its a matter of great moment to consider with your selues if this be wrought in you or no whether you finde any experiment effect of this mighty power efficacy and vertue and let mee bring you a little to particulars Hath there gone out a vertue from him to enable thee to beleeue There is a faith required in the Deity there is a faith required in the Deity