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
B12432	The progresse in pietie taught by Frances Dillingham in his parish of Wilden, and now published for the benefit of all good Christians.	Dillingham, Francis, d. 1625.	1606 (1606)	STC 6888; ESTC S114597	10,442	34

death seuenthly suspect repentance and impenitencie eightly consider the dignitie and excellencie of man ninthly peace of conscience tenthly Gods benefits eleuenthly the passiō of Christ twelftly the testimonie of Martyrs and the examples of Saints what heart is so hard as the meditation of these things will not mollifie The second meanes by which we may proceede in pietie is daily search of our waies To this we are exhorted in the 3. of the Lament Let vs search our waies and turne vnto the Lord. This search consisteth in three things first whether we doe things otherwise thē we should doe or no secondly whether we doe that we should not doe or no thirdly whether we leaue things vndon or no which we should haue done Pythagoras commaunded his auditours going home to repeate this verse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wherein haue I transgressed what haue I done what haue I left vndone Shall heathen goe thus farre and shall not Christians thus examine their liues I wil in a word name the impediments of this search that they may be auoided 1. griefe 2. securitie 3. worldlines 4. fearefulnes for many men are like vnto bankerupts that dare not looke into their estate 5. ignorance 6. pleasure The third meanes to proceede in pietie is praier pietie begetteth praier and prayer preserueth piety as faith causeth hope and hope nourisheth faith as frendship causeth benefites and benefites nourish freindship and as the heat of the heart begetteth the fatte about it and the fat preserueth the heate of the heart so doth godlines beget praier and praier furthereth godlines Nowe wee haue many arguments to mooue vs to prayer First we haue a Mediatour in heauen Christ Iesus Christus saith Ambrose lib. 5. Iacob cap. 8. est os nostrum per quod patri loquimur oculus noster per quem patrem videmus dextera nostra per quampatri offerimus Christ is our mouth by which we speake to the father he is our eye by which we see the father he is our right hand by which we offer vnto the father Secondly the Lord commaundeth this dutie Thirdly he promiseth bountifully to them that pray Fourthly Christians haue the spirit of God which teacheth them to pray Fiftly it is our calling to pray for all Christians are preistes by calling Sixtly our necessity should mooue vs to pray Seauenthly the force of prayer which is recorded in scripture to be wonderfull Plus potest vnus iustus orando quàm mille peccatores pugnando one righteous man can do more by prayer then many sinners by fighting The fourth meanes to proceed in Christian pietie is exercise of Christian duties he that vsed his fiue talentes gained fiue other so he that vseth his knowledge encreaseth his knewledge to him that hath saith our sauiour Christ shall be giuen and to him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath Mark. ● Many keepe in their giftes as fire is kept in the flint and doe no good with them others let them rust with fee blenes and so in the end by Gods iust iudgement they are depriued of them The fift meanes to proceed in pietie is company with the godly am not I saith the prophet Dauid a companion of all them that keepe thy commandements Quim solem venit colorabitur Psal 119. qui vnguentaria taberna resederunt loci odorem secum auferunt qui apud pios fuerunt traxerint aliquid necesse est ea est vis pietatis vt non studentes solùm sed conuersantes iu●et He that walketh in the sun shal be coloured with it and they that sit in sweet shoppes shall carrie away the smell of the place so they which bee amongst Christians must needes carrie some pietie away such is the force of piety that it doth not only profit the students but those that conuerse with them I maruell not then then though mē proceed not in piety Many Protestants are like Papists who haue leane praiers and fat fasts seeing they are companions of prophane men Noscitur ex socio qui non noscitur ex sese he is known by his cōpanion that is not known by himself The sixt meanes by which a man may proceede in piety is fasting concerning which duty these things are to be obserued First that we fast from sinne Esay 5.8 Ieiunium magnum generale saith Austen tra 17. in Ioh. est abstinere ab iniquitatibus illicitis voluptatibus saeculi the great and generall fast Ipsis Christianis qui omnia percipiunt non nos propter abstiuētiam praeseramus Let not vs preferre our selues before Christians which eate all things for our abstinence Prosper is to abstaine from sinne and the vnlawfull pleasures of the world Secondly we must not trust in fasting this was the proud Pharisie his fault Luk. 18. and it is the Papists likewise Thirdly it is better to eate daily a little then to eate seldome and much Hiero. ad Furiam Parcus cibus venter esuriēs triduanis praefertur ieiuniis multo melius est quotidie parum sumere quàm rarò satis sumere pluvia illa optima est quae sensim descendit in terram subitus nimius imber in praeceps arva subuertit A little meate and a hungry stomacke is preferred before a fast of three dayes much better is it dayly to eate little then seldome a great deale the small raine doeth most good great raine hurteth the fieldes Fourthly and lastly Christians must sometimes absteine from all food Si à quadrup●dibus abstinentes à piscibus persruantur n●n mihi videatur res●care delectiationes corporis s●d mala re Prosp lib. 2. de vidu cap. 23. as good Queene Ester did and the Niniuites if men abstaine from flesh and eat fish they cut not off delights of the body but chāge them The seuenth meanes to proceede in piety is a Christiā exercise of vowing concerning vowes First a Christian may vowe to be thankfull vnto God as for example if a man get the victory he may vowe to praise God and to bestow somwhat on the poore Secondly a man may vowe to put away by prayer the wrath of God as for example if a Christian hath offended by eating too much knowing that the wrath of God hangeth ouer his head for this he may vowe for a time to abstaine from all dainties Thirdly a christian may vowe to keepe himselfe more war was for exāple if be he ouertaken in offending with his tongue he may lawfully vow silence in company from idie wordes Lastly a Christian may vowe to stirre himselfe vp to religion as for example if he feele himselfe backward in giuing of almes he may vowe to giue almes to the poore If a man feele himselfe backward in the seruice of God he may vowe to serue God with greater alacritie And nowe Christian brethren to conclude this point marke the policie of the deuilltin poperie he abused praier in so much that men prated for the dead now he driueth men to Atheisme that they will not pray for the liuing in poperie he abused fasting nowe he driueth men to neglect this dutie wholherin poperie he abused vowes nowe he driueth men to be carlesse in vowing but the godly must remember to practise prayer fasting vowing The eight and last meanes to proceede in pietie is the frequent vse of the meanes that God hath appointed as the word preached and the use of the Sacraments howe should he liue that neyther eateth or drinketh howe should he liue spiritually that neuer heareth sermons and as he that eateth little and seldome hath vsually but a spare and leane body so they that heare sermons little and seldome haue lean soules Not to vse the means that God hath appointed is to tempt God Is it not strange that men should thinke to flie without wings is it not strange to thinke that men can flie vp to heauen without the wings of faith which is begotten by the word of God preached and nourished by the same By hearing sermons a Christian is reprooued comforted instructed exceedingly built vp in Christ Habet latentis aliquid energeias viua vox saith a father vnde Aeschines cum Rhodi exularet legeretur illa Demosthenis oratio qua aduersus eum habuerat mirantibus cunctis atque laudantibus quid si ipsam audissetis bestiam sua verba resonantem inquit ergo vina vox in aures discipuli tranfusa fortiù sonat A liuing voice hath some secret force in it therefore when Aeschines was banished at Rhodes Demosthenes his oration was read all men approouing and merueiling at it what saith he if you had heard the best vttering these things therefore a liuely voice hath greater force so the liuelyvoice of preaching hath greater force then the word read And thus I haue briefly finished both the impediments of the progresse in piety the means to proceed in the same I might haue enlarged this thing and so haue made a iust volume but giue a wise but an occasion of wisedome and he wil be more wise The Lord of his infinite goodnes and mercy graunt that we may carefully eschew the hinderāces and impediments of so holy a worke a●d diligently vse the meanes to proceede in the same in so doing without all peradventure we shall be heires of euerlasting life FINIS