Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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A13120
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The gaines of seeking God In two sermons, preached in the parish church of VVestminster: by Christopher Styles.
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Styles, Christopher.
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1620
(1620)
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STC 23412; ESTC S122483
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26,139
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54
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of the whole Word is not to be valued to the worth of the soule for what shall it profit a man to winne the whole World and lose his owne soule Wee reade that the holy Saints haue crucified their owne bodies and chastized themselues with hard penance and all that they might saue their soules Gal. 5.4 For they that are Christs haue crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts of it O you holy Saints and dearest friends of God tell vs O tell vs why with so many Watchings so many Prayers and so much Discipline you haue so cruelly mortified your flesh O most glorious Martyrs why haue you exposed your selues to such cruell torments that you haue not refused to die yea euen a violent death with cheerfulnesse embracing such a sentence O blessed Iesus why diddest thou suffer three and thirtie yeeres together hunger thirst labour sweat deepe wounds and finally death it selfe they answere all aloude it was for the soule therefore it is manifest the soule is more precious then all the other things of the world Seeing then all things are but vile in comparison of the soule why doe wee so vainly care for the preseruation of euery thing but the soule our bodies our riches our cattell our garments are curiously deckt and prouided for but alas few men haue any respect at all vnto their soules O vnhappie wretched men why are you so carefull about many things nay euery thing sauing this one thing for which all your care should be bestowed Remember Christs counsell to Maries complayning Sister Martha Martha thou carest and art troubled for many things but one thing only is necessarie O then beloued in the Lord let vs louingly care for this one thing our soule in the faithfull preseruation whereof consisteth all things else that pertaine to mans eternall happinesse which God giue vs grace truly to performe for euer more Amen The third circumstance to be considered whereby to know the dignitie of the soule is by the habitation being capeable of such a glorious Tenant as the Holy Ghost for God hath created the soule to no other end but for himselfe which is to be his habitation so that the soule is called the Temple of God As the Apostle saith 1. Cor. 3.16 Know yee not that yee are the Temple of the Holy Ghost and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you if you bee the holy seate of God thither our Sauiour comming to keepe perpetuall Holidayes hath ordayned all things necessarie for the honour of his entertaynment So long as God dwels in the soule of a iust man Psal 91.1 Hee hath commanded an Host of Angels to guard him Hee shall giue his Angels charge ouer thee to keepe thee in all thy wayes Psal 34.7 And the Angell of the Lord tarryeth round about them that feare him to deliuer them Behold the dignitie of the soule how God hath appointed the Angels that are so noble Creatures to bee their keepers Man made lower then the Angels yet lo attended by them Surely its great dignitie to the soule that euery man at his birth hath an Angell chosen to bee his keeper And this Angell is so employed about our businesse as a Messenger alwaies running betwixt the Beloued and her Loue offering our Desires and Prayers as an acceptable Sacrifice vnto God and bringing downe the Royall Present of Gods holy Gifts into the soule still stirring vp the soule to all good workes and labouring to appease Gods wrath that it should neuer bee kindled against vs this Royal prerogatiue of the soule to entertayne God as a Ghest truely describes the dignitie of the same which all this while is attended with an Armie of heauenly Souldiers 2. Kin. 6.17 Againe whilest God inhabiteth the righteous soule he makes it a continuall feast in the large open Chamber of a quiet conscience and giues them the Bread of Life to feed vpon euen by breaking his owne precious Bodie vnto them the effect of bread is to preserue life and to strenghten mans heart So Christ that is the true Bread come downe from Heauen giueth them spirituall Bread his Bodie thereby to preserue the life of the soule Labour not then for the meate that perisheth but for the meate that endureth to euerlasting life which the Sonne of man shall giue vnto you for him hath the Father sealed Againe yet whilest God in habiteth the righteous soule hee bringeth her a greater blessing then Caleb could bestow vpon his Danghter although hee gaue her the Springs aboue the Springs beneath a rich Dowrie Iosh 15.19 For whereas Man by nature and sinne is made barren of all Grace yet being bathed and washed in the euer-streaming Fountaine of Christs Bloud by Repentance and renewed by the Grace that is brought vnto her through our Lord Iesus Christ She is made fruitfull in euery good worke and to walke acceptably before God The Apostle shewing the Corinthians That the vnrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdome of GOD saith such were some of you but ye are washed but yee are sanctified behold the dignitie of the soule in the estimation of her price For saith the Apostle yee are bought with a price 1. Cor. 6.20 Great is the price of the soule whome nothing could redeeme but the bloud of Iesus Christ God make vs carefull of this dignitie for euermore through Iesus Christ our Lord Amen In the second place we are to consider the qualitie of the soule which may bee vnderstood in the three powers of the soule which I told you of before and is mentioned in this word your First Sapientiam docet It teacheth vs Wisedome Secondly Munditiam seruat It preserueth vs in Innocencie Thirdly Constantiam nutrit it nourisheth our Constancie who were else vtterly vnable to fight that great and tedious battaile betweene vs our spirituall enemies It teacheth vs wisedome three wayes intelligende praeterita by vnderstanding the things long since past Iudicanda praesentia in being able to discerne and iudge of those things that bee now present Expectando futura in expecting good things to bee receiued hereafter at the hands of God First Intelligendo praeterita bona Animae Sapientiae Wisedome is the treasure of the soule a good man knoweth all things which God hath made to be knowne aswell those things of the World which are past as the things that are to come euen the inuisible things of God that is his eternall Power and Godhead are seene by the Creation of the World being considered in the Creatures his Workes This made Dauid sing The Heauens declare the glorie of God and the Fi mament sheweth his handy-worke the soule is only capeable of Reason and therefore considering the worthinesse of her selfe the vilenesse of the bodie and the shortnesse of this life therefore she chuseth rather to prouide for the Life to come which is immortall then to regard at all this life which is so transitorie this makes vs to worship
not endure the least winde of temptation without falling into finall desperation as Achittophel and Iudas Iscariot What is the cause beloued that so many endure great labour and take sore paines to doe euill and to wearie themselues in the wayes of wickednesse and we will not patiently endure the least paines in the profitable paths of godlinesse and that some labour more for death then we for life as Theeues and the wicked Iudges is it not the corruption of an vnfaithfull soule O then let vs not bee as naked men in the middest of our armed enemies A raw Tyle cast into the water is easily dissolued but being burnt in the Furnace doth wax hard and durable so man liuing in the waters of sinne is full of carnall pollution but being burnt in the fire of holy loue or in the furnace of tribulation his soule is constant in holy deuotion therefore as Beares are made fat by stripes and the Asse is fedde with a whip and the Salamander delighteth in the fire so let our soules take food and fatnes in temptation and be delighted in the patience of true constancie foreuermore Amen Thirdly fideliter diligendo when wee consider the sweetnesse of Gods mercie sparing when wee deserue punishment c. How can wee but open our soules in loue and sing to God It is good for me that I haue bene troubled c. Thy Rod and thy Staffe do comfort me O how great is the multitude of thy Mercie O Lord The Lord is gracious vnto euery man and his Mercie is ouer all his Workes and it is an especiall dutie of Religion for loue of God wisely to auoyd the snares of the World the Flesh and the Deuill for the soule that is enlighted by God doth driue away the wicked motions of temptation as the Sunne draweth vp the mists from the Earth and this loue of the soule being firmely fixed vpon God doth easily ouercome all feare euen the feare of Pouertie the feare of Death and the feare of Iudgement for perfect loue casteth out feare and loue is strong as death Much water cannot quench loue Cant. 8.7 neither can the flouds drowne it The loue of God is in vs and vnto vs the life of our soules O then let our soules liue to prayse him God euen for his loue will not shrinke from vs so let our soules in faithfull loue to him bee constant in all seruice appertayning to him humbly to take vp our crosse daily and follow him patiently to endure his chastnings of loue and faithfully to loue him for his gracious mercies towards vs for his prouident preseruation of our liues and estates and for his mightie deliuerances out of all our temptations And God almightie giue vs all grace to performe this truth for euermore Amen In the third and last place wee are to consider the vtilitie and comfort of the soule which is contained in these words shall liue carnally we say they that liue in mourning and miserie seeking for helpe of God and seeing it yet farre from them they are counted among the dead which be out of minde and liue in the graue and they that are voti compotes satisfied according to their hearts desire and frollick it in mirth and ioy are said to liue And so spiritually wee say the soule that truely seeketh after God onely delighting in the Lord may be truely said to liue in God these three wayes first per abstractionem desiderij by the restraint of his desire secondly per dispositionem voluntatis by the disposition of his will thirdly per praesentiam adiutoris by the presence of his friend and helper First per abstractionem desiderij your soule shall liue that is it being now dead by sinne and dead by sorrow yet God shall speake peace vnto your soules and you shall liue being refreshed with the blessing of peace Dauid complaineth of the deadly ebbe of his estate how his enemies liue and are mightie they come in no misfortune like other folke neither are they plagued like other men but I am cleane forgotten as a dead man out of minde and am become like a broken vessell and when he desires to liue he describes the manner hee would liue Ps 144.12 that our sonnes may grow vp as the young plants and that our daughters may bee as the pollished corners of the Temple that our Garners may bee full and plentious withall manner of store that our Sheepe may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets that our Oxen may be strong to labour that there bee no decay no leading into captiuitie and no complayning in our streets O this is a life indeed happy are the people that be in such a case but the iust liue euen as well in that they doe abstrahere desiderium restraine their desires from carnall and temporall delights The soule here is put for the life present because all our life is in our soule therefore the soules of the Saints doe euen now seeke heauen as Paul who desireth to be dessolued and to bee with Christ And Dauid hath rather to bee a dore-keeper in the House of God then to dwell in the Tents of vngodlinesse Zacheus so farre restrained his greedie appetite that he gaue halfe of that he had to the poore and restored his wrongs done to any foure-fold and the Prodigall considering his Fathers bountie will bee no more a sonne but a hired seruant and surely beloued if we did but once taste in our soules the gracious mercy of God towards vs we should haue lesse respect to the world and more care to receiue heauen giue to your soules the fulnesse of all pleasure which Salomon inioyed and with him you will crie out All is but vanitie and vexation of spirit or let soules choose any peculiar delight that this world can afford to comfort her yet will shee not be satisfied seeing God alone is the Alpha and Omega of all her happinesse Therefore I exhort and beseech you all beloued in the Lord put a bridle vpon your affections to restraine those boundlesse and vngodly lusts whereto our flesh is too too prone and seeke after God in your spirits with truth that your soules may liue in peace and ioy Secondly the soule is said to liue per dispositionem voluntatis by the godly disposition of her will A faithfull soule is the House of God because God is sed to dwell in her in this life present by the sweet taste of his gracious loue administred vnto her and in the life to come by the blessed fruition of his glory now it is most meete that euery Master or Lord should haue command of his house and so should God of our soules therefore it is our dutie euen as Christ hath taught vs to submit our will to his will not my will but thine be fulfilled thy will be done in earth as in heauen O Father from this time forth for euermore Amen Secondly the soule may be said to