Linguistic DNA - Concept Modelling Demonstrator

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	fire_n	ghost_n	holy_a	6,369	5	5.6726	4	false

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09958	The doctrine of the saints infirmities Delivered in severall sermons by John Preston Doctor in Divinity, Mr. of Emanuel-Colledge in Cambridge. And late preacher of Lincolnes Inne.	Preston, John, 1587-1628.; Goodwin, Thomas, 1600-1680.; Ball, Thomas, 1589 or 90-1659.; Marshall, William, fl. 1617-1650, engraver.	1636 (1636)	STC 20219; ESTC S115062	47,226	230

anointed for that very purpose And so for the bruisings that arise from sinne unmortified why Christ hath promised not to leave thee to thy self nor forsake thee but wil de stroy all the works of the devill in thee therefore goe to Christ and put him in minde of this promise and say Lord. I am one of them to whom this promise is made I am as a bruised reed and as smoaking flaxe and thou hast promised not to breake a bruised reed nor quench the smoaking flaxe put Christ thus in minde of his promise and he wil heare and help heal thee But now here are soÌ„e cases of conscience to be resolved First some will be ready to say that they have none of these bruises that they are not thus weary and heavy laden because they cannot greive for sin so much as for other things To w ch I answer there may be some violent and sudden griefe which may exceed griefe for sinne as Davids griefe for Absalom But here is the difference the griefe for sinne is constant and perpetuall but the griefe for some losse or the like is but for the present Now a spring that runnes and is never dry yeelds more water then a land flood which for the present seemes greater but is soone dryed up so greife for sin is like water that runnes from a spring which continues and griefe for other things is like a land flood which lasts not long Againe they differ in regard of the termes of this sorrow when a man hath lost a friend he lookes on it as a total irrepairable losse and so greives the more and so in like manner if we should look on the favour of God as a thing irrevocably lost his griefe for this would exceed the other But because he alwaies conceives some glimpse of Gods favour in the mid'st of this mourning therfore this greife seems the lesse though in regard of continuance it be greater Oh! but I have not attained to a just measure of bruisednesse If there bee such a measure of bruisednesse in thee as brings thee home to Christ thou hast attained a sufficient measure to bring thee to heaven But this distinction must bee remembred that there is a double bringing of a man home to Christ. One is when a man is brought so far towards Christ as to bee willing to take the crowne and partake of the priviledges onely but this is not sufficient but when thy sorrow shall so bring thee home to Christ that thou art willing to take Christs yoke on thee to subiect thy selfe to Christ in all things so much sorrow and bruisednesse as this is sufficient to bring thee home Oh but though I am thus farre bruised that I am willing to beare Christs yoake and to doe that hee shall command me yet I doe not finde that this promise is performed to me God hides his face from mee and I cannot finde him whom my soule loves and that I cannot finde that my sins are pardoned and so for bruises belonging to sanctification I have striven long against such a lust and cannot see it mortified any whit To this I answer that Christ in with-holding the Comfort and suffering thee to bee more laded doth ever fulfill this promise here made Math. 11. 28. Come unto mee c. But the Objection might be made We have come unto thee and yet finde no rest Christ therfore addes Take my yoke on you and learn of me c. The yoke of Christ is the government of Christ the taking of this yoke upon us is the subjecting our selves to this governmeÌ„t Now the government of Christ consists in two things First it commands us to doe many things Secondly he will have us to suffer many things and if wee take Christs yoke upon us we must do both Now a man is willing to doe many things that Christ commands but stoppes at some things there is some thing some duty which he wil not do as prayer giving of almes or some other And so also for suffering he is willing to endure some things for Christ but there is somthing againe which he cannot endure Reproches Scoffes and the like If therefore God hold off comfort for any long season let a man looke well to his spirit and see if hee be perfectly willing to take Christs yoke upon him if he were the promise is certaine and shall be made good hee shall finde rest to his soule and if hee doe not there is some fault in himselfe In the tenth of Iudges ver 10 to the end of the Chapter there the people were burdened and cryed unto the Lord and yet found no rest but God deferres comfort and tells them he would deliver them no more theÌ„ the people submitted themselves unto God saying Doe with us what pleaseth thee and put away their strange Gods ver 16. and served God Now when the children of Israel were brought to this to cast away the reliques of Idolatry and to serve the Lord perfectly then it is said The Lords spirit was grieved for the misery of Israel So if a man would have peace and have sought it long and cannot find it let him see whether there bee not some relique of corruption which God would have cast out of thy heart and when it 's done and thou art willing to serve god perfectly then thou shalt finde rest unto thy soule And so much for the second signe of true grace wrought in a man to wit if there be any life strength in him though it be mingled with much weaknesse The third wee named that where true grace was there was heat Smoaking flaxe wil he not quench where there is smoake there is fire and where fire is there is heate be it never so small and this added to the former of life Life is nothing else but a sublimary heat and where there is life there is heate all life is joyned with heate but not on the contrary where there is heate there is life For cold things may be warmed from without by the Sunne but where there is heate from an inward principle there is life The Spirit is compared to fire and heat Quench not the spirit He shall baptise you with the holy Ghost and with fire or which is as fire Therefore where this spirit is in a man there the holy Ghost hath bin Now this heat is nothing else but a solicitous and earnest desire to please God in all things to get and encrease communion with Christ and to be built up in grace I say it is first a solicitous and earnest desire a desire accompanied with carefulnesse how hee may doe to please God in al things whereas in other men there is a lukewarmnesse a remisnesse in all things they care not whether they doe it or no but this is an earnest carefull desire and that in the second place to please God an hypocrite may

have strong desires let him bee brought to have an apprehension of Gods wrath and hell fire he would have an earnest desire to bee delivered from it But all this is not to please God but himselfe not God in all this But our desire must bee to please God See how the affections were stirred and what fruits it wrought they were moved by motives taken from God and with desire tending to him and so must wee be Againe this righteous fire hath in it this property that it purifieth the heart from drosse and filth and it puts it selfe forth in holy actions makes a man ready to pray to speak profitably and the like as fire makes men active and fit for action Lastly it is alway guided by the spirit of judgement when you minde that most which the Scripture presseth most where the heart is upright a man despiseth none of the waies of God not the meanest trueth but would know them all but that which the Scripture most of all urgeth that hee most earnestly presseth after and labours to bring his heart unto them as the Scripture is most love and the like so hee taketh most paines with his heart about this now therfore try by these properties whether you have heate in you or no. Oh! but I cannot finde this heate in me I cannot finde these holy affections in my heart I answer consider if thou findest any affections that are holy in thee though not many yea if thou findest none consider if thou hast not this smoake for sometimes a man may finde the fire it selfe somtimes onely this smoake what is it I answer when you finde not the affections so moving as you see some others doe yet you finde in your selfe a carefulnesse and watchfulnesse over your wayes that thou wilt'st not runne into sin though thou canst not doe what good thou would'st why here is the smoake and some fire though but small David was not able to doe as he was wont to doe to pray as hee was wont and therefore hee praies God to restore him his spirit and the joyes he was wont to have but yet he was carefull over his wayes afterwards And if thou findst but this smoak this care over thy wayes this resolution to commit no knowne sinne though thou findst not the flame of this holy affection yet be not discouraged thou hast that which is of the same nature within thee Smoake is of the same nature with flame for flame is nothing but smoake set on fire and therefore take comfort continue constant still till God inflames thee and that is the 3 signe Where there is true grace wrought there is combate and strife in the working and afterwards till hee bring forth judgement into victory Before victory there goes a combate this then is implied there must be a strife The Disciples strove amongst themselves who should bee the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven This is a property of all his servants as Christs kingdome is not of this world so are they not apt to contend for any thing in this world But you may know if you be Christs servants or no if you contend for spirituall things Strive to enter in at the streight gate for many shall seeke to enter in thereat but shall not be able We see there are two dispositions of men that some seeke are willing to goe to Heaven but take no paines for it these seeke saith Christ to enter but shall not be able to get in but others strive and contend with all their power such must be our strife if we will get into HeaveÌ„ The difference betweene the wise Virgins and the foolish lay in this that the wise were more diligent than the other Formall professors may contend but it is but for a fitt they are soone weary of this contention they leave off rowing suffer the boate to goe down the streame but wee must strive untill we get the victory and run with St. Paul untill we get the prize And what made him to doe so why hee considered 2 things first he look't on the Crowne an incorruptible Crowne Secondly he was loath to run in vaine lose all his labour so the reason why we doe not contend is because we doe not consider these 2 things namely the prize crowne of reward and that else wee shall but lose our labour and therfore we must strive if we be remisse it is an argumeÌ„t that wee have a name to live but are dead And therefore consider it there must be a strife a combate and there will be that by reason of that original corruption that is in us We have continuall worke with our owne hearts the flesh is ready to have the first hand in every businesse if wee doe not resist it wee shall exceedingly goe downe the winde if we do not strive and that hard For when there is an infused habit as grace is and a corrupt nature contrary to it nature is ready to take part with it which was bred borne with it WheÌ„ I would doe good evill is still present with me there is something lay at the fountaine-head as it were and stopt him when hee would doe any good It is our case also in wel-doing we see how backward we are to begin and when we haue begun how ready we are to leave off But if it be a businesse that concernes our selves we are ready to doe yea to over-doe it How ready we are to idle words how backward we are to profitable conference how ready to spend on our lusts how backeward to true liberality so I might instance in divers others And therfore seeing wee have this flesh about us we had neede to strive it is that which a Christian should make account of to do that which he hath not a mind to doe and not to doe that which he hath a minde to doe and so still to doe the contrary and strive against the lusts of the flesh and so to restraine his nature from what he would doe But how should we doe to contend thus To give you some directions Fight the good fight of faith The acting of our faith and setting it on worke when any thing comes to hinder us will helpe us to overcome in this combate Let a man beleeve the promises and threatnings of God and he shall be able to resist the flesh but let faith bee asleepe and it will quickly prevaile against us Take the shield of faith Now what a shield is for the defence of the body that faith is for the defence of the soule WheÌ„ any temptations are suggested unto us faith is it that repells them never is a man overcome but through defect of faith or when the habit lies hid asleepe in us Heb. 11. When they set their faith on worke what marvellous things did they what made Ieroboam so weake but

Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Text snippets containing the quad