Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	flesh_n	lust_n	sin_n	7,244	5	5.0237	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A91431	A farewel sermon preached in VVake-Field, January 1, 1655 By Thomas Parker, Master of Arts, late minister of that church.	Parker, Thomas, Minister of Wake-Field.	1656 (1656)	Wing P476; ESTC R229920	24,920	28

experience having acquainted him with the vanity and his miseries with the vexation of it In another perhaps a contempt or wearinesse of his life like a discontented Jonah Take I beseech thee my life from me or Elias under the Juniper Tree it is enough c. and this is sometimes accounted a special piece of piety and mortification A third falls to his prayers oftner then usual and is importunate in the duty as the tempest in Jonah cast the Heathen Mariners upon their knees A fourth making some progress towards reformation wishings and wouldings that he were a better man but all these make not up this breach of divine fear this true waiting upon God and submission to his wisdom I shall now desire for your future good to commend these Instructions to you 1. Be sure to eye God in all his dispensations whether of mercy or judgement for all mercies spiritual and temporal return thanks to him from whom every good and perfect gift cometh as a Present both to humblenesse and thankfulnesse but that which I would now commend to you is the eying of God in the several dispensations of his judgements whosoever be the instrument look upon him as the author of the punishment there is the hand and counsel of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Acts 4.28 All the sin and furies guilt and damnation of Hell may be in the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the doing or executing Gods Will Satan alone having the Patent of persecution and every Persecutor intrenching upon Hell for his Commission but then all the mercy and all wisedom sometimes the redeeming of a World in the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the thing being done Paul calls his suffering 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the brands or prints of Christ not only the transcripts of his suffering but the works of his hands also I dare commend this to you from my own experience I have found it a strong support to me under my sad persecutions and I have cause to blesse God this day that he made me a sufferer and punished me immediately for my sins a faire step to future Salvation and not a Persecutor whereby adding affliction to Gods anger my own hellish spirit had wrapped me up to eternal destruction Secondly That you may rightly wait on him you must not only look upon these dispensations as Gods hand but as his right hand the hand of love look upon your afflictions as caustick Plaisters preparatory to the incarnative the Knife and the Lance reckoned by Hypocrates among the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the mollifying Preparations which the Physitian must ever carry about with him as your new Artists tels us of a Feaver it is not properly a disease but an indeavour or strife of nature to cure her self ever look upon your afflictions as designed for your good for the humiliation of your untamed spirits to bring you to a neerer sight of your God a neerer sight of your selves a stricter inquiry into your own hearts to deal neer to God to make your Peace with him and the like Look not upon them as things from chance or malice those two heathen principles of Theology 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but as sent on purpose from love and pondering from judgement and bowels sent not as a curse to you for sin that is already satisfied to and for the elect in Christ but as tryals and fatherly chastizements to bring you to himself Secondly as we are to wait upon God in his ways so it is a part of his fear to wait upon him in his times It is recorded as an errour of Gods own people that they limited the holy one of Israel Psalm 78.41 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they would sign design circumscribe God write or determine for or instead of God bring him down and confine him to their own times and their own wayes a folly we are all naturally inclined to whether in case of judgement inflicted or mercies promised and expected we are all for the present time but Gods times are not our times My times are in thy hands says David Psal 31.15 as well the time of removing as aying on the burthen we have met with evil times God fit us for the worst and we are prone to murmur both at the weight and continuance of our Pressures and to expostulare with God and charge his ways as unequal and unreasonable let me therefore commend this to you wait Gods times in all events learn to stand still and you will see the salvation of the Lord you will reap in due season if you faint not Gal. 6.9 though it be troublesome you will find it comfortable and usefull to your spirits when your rebellious hearts shall put you on to murmuring and impatience remember this God hath his time to have mercy upon Sion and he will assuredly come when the sins of his enemies are come to maturity become impudent and incorrigible when our own spirits are throughly humbled and all hopes and helps in man so far removed that we have neither hope nor help but in God then may we look for him in the mean time I will wait Thus he that feareth the Lord waits contentedly and calmly for his return he beleeveth in the Lord and his feet stand fast This is that time I would intreat you to wait for and it is the second precious stone in the ring to wait God in his ways and in his times The third is to walk with him which is here in the Text called Keeping his Commandments The word Schamar signifies not only to Keep but to lay up and hide or treasure in the heart as Jacob is said to have observed or laid up in his heart the saying of Joseph It is translated to take heed 1 King 2.4 to observe or keep their ways Psal 105.45 A comparison taken from a Watchman in a City or the Garison in a Fortress all these expressing that care diligence and solicitude which all those that fear God have in and about their obedience This is that yoke of Christ I have often commended to you an easie yoke Matth. 11.30 all pleasure and profit made up in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a yoke not like that of the Law a weight and burthen but fitted and smoothed by Christ to be an instrument of advantage and make the burthen more easie and supportable a yoke wherein Christ himself draws with and for us that we may the better undergo it I know this part of the fear of God will rellish harshly with such spirits as are unaccustomed to this yoke unacquainted with the sweetnesse of it To take leave of our old acquaintance to carry out the whole body of our lusts to their Funeral it goes heavie with a heart under the power of sin to spiritualize the flesh rack it fetch it from the lees to put on the yoke enter the traces and harnesse for the future race these are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the child-birth pangs of dying

ways of his Ordinances in hearing the word attending at the Gates of Wisdome in the honour and use of the Sacrament in prayer and other Divine Institutions This is the way Christ hath prescribed and in all ages wonderfully blessed to his Church I have experimentally found it in my self and to my great comfort have had the acknowledgment of it from many of you by and under my Ministry These are the Channels of grace the Conduit-pipes by which God conveys himself and the waters of life to his people here will your souls meet with God and finde the enjoyment of him and the due observation of them is a strong Test of your obedience I know that after my departure you will meet with Foxes and Wolves some crying down all Ordinances as things carnal and below a spiritual and raised estate they will tell you they are weak and low administrations no more then walking by Moon light they will tell you that Seraphical men are above and beyond all Ordinances and their Enthusiasms of greater concernment then the Ordinances of Christ you will meet on the other hand with those who so far cry up Ordinances that they make Idols of them slighting him who is the substance men of Pharisaical Spirits and Interests who while they should preach Christ and him crucified will preach themselves their own parts passions and interests whereby you may probably be made weary both of them and their preaching My ever dear people let none of these things drive you from the Church of God or deter or discourage you from following Christ in those ways he hath prescribed let it be your care to wait on him I have known some who taking offence at these things wo in the mean time to him by whom the offence cometh have in these times declined either to Popery or Atheism I beseech God blesse you I hope better things of you and should be heartily grieved to see such sad failings in any of you I have two things to commend to you in this Point for your better satisfaction First Rest not in a bare formal attendance upon the Ordinance The Harlot can say I have made my peace offerings to day the Ordinance is but the means the end is Communion with Christ and fruition of him The Jews promised themselves much from the naked presence of the Temple Ier. 7.4 though they had but small honour for the Lord of it Iudges 17.13 Micah promised himself mountains when he had got a Levite to be his Priest though he still retained his Idols The Pharisees boasted they were the seed of Abraham when they did the works of the Devil Ioh. 8.33.44 How many poor souls have thus turned the means of salvation into the means of destruction feeds upon busks instead of the true bread nay turned their food into porson not finding Christ in the Ordinances nor being led home to Christ by them My good people think it not enough that you hav● Geheza with his masters staff that you have Christs Minister and Christs word but as that Shunamite 2 King 4.30 lay hold on Christ himself where every faithful soul sees casts receives enjoys in these Ordinances Secondly when thou hast done thy best and purest service and met with Christ in the Ordinances rest not in the work done loath yourselves with a sincere acknowledgment of your ownunworthinesse and the unprofitablenesse imperfections and iniquities of your most holy things ever resting upon free-grace Be so careful of duty as if there were no grace to justifie you and so rest upon grace as if no work were to be done by you And then secondly wait upon God in the ways of his providence and dispensations this is that excellent grace a fruit of the sanctifying spirit of God whereby the soul freely submits not to the will only but to the wisdom of God in all the crosse acts of Providence we meet with in this life enabling us to bear our own burthens without inordinate sorrow or fretting discontent As by faith we injoy God and by love we injoy our neighbour so through humble waiting and submission to the wisedom of God we possesse our own souls This is an excellent lesson but hard for flesh and blood to learn to beleeve that God can chuse best for us better then we our selves Are not Abanah and Parphar Rivers of Damascus better then all the Waters of Israel 2 R●g 5.12 Kinds of age a few fatherly kisses and imbraces a portion in my hand this nature cries out for and would be well pleas'd with but the soul that fears God hath learned with Paul to be content in every condition of life hath learned that sublime Phylosophy of subscribing to Gods wisedom not to his will only that he will force us to and he is a kind of mad Atheist that should deny it but to his wisedom to acknowledge God the best chuser for us the stripes he sends more suitable to us then all the blessings we pray for his denying our demands the most divine way of granting them resolving whatever he imposes upon us is best for us his thoughts are not like our thoughts Heaven and Earth are not alwaies of one opinion Good is the Word of the Lord says good Hezekiah when destruction was denounced to his whole family It is the Lord Iet him do what seemeth him good says old Eli when besides the losse of both his children in one day God tells him there should not be an old man in his house for ever All things saith Paul work together for good to them that love God This submission to the Wisdom of God and the consequent of it Rejoycing in Tribulation is that waiting upon God which I would now instruct you in that better days may teach you humblenesse which is a part of this fear Prov. 22.4 and worser days may teach you that Christian patience whereby you shall be inabled to undergo the hands of heaven to look after deliverance in the ways and accept it upon the terms of God My dear people you are my glory and crown of rejoycing let me commend the serious remembrance of this to your Spirit It was never of more use then in these times of the Churches persecution You shall see men strangely and severally wrestling and tugging under Gods Dispensations In one man a supine stupidity in another the relieving his melancholy thoughts in a cup of Lethe a sleeping Pill of good fellowship like Sauls sending to the Minstrel when the evil spirit came upon him or his second address to the Witch to charm the judgment that was ready to invade him you shall see a third multiplying his sins as fast as God his judgments like the Elephants in the Maccabees whom the blood of the Mulberies more enraged hardning like Pharaoh under the rod like Ahab and Ahaz growing worse under the judgment you will meet with more plausible effects then these in one a contempt of the world his