Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	good_a	grace_n	lord_n	7,245	5	3.6848	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A39249	The Christian hearer's first lesson a sermon preached at St. Mary's Church in Nottingham on Thursday, Octob. the 4th, 1694 : the first day of a lecture preached there weekly by the ministers of that town and country : publish'd to satisfie the desire of some of the auditors / by Clem Elis ...	Ellis, Clement, 1630-1700.	1694 (1694)	Wing E551; ESTC R20476	18,619	32

The Christian Hearer's First Lesson A SERMON PREACHED AT St. Mary's Church IN NOTTINGHAM On Thursday Octob. the 4 th 1694. The First Day of a LECTURE preached there Weekly by the MINISTERS of that Town and County Publish'd to satisfie the Desire of some of the Auditors By CLEM. ELIS Rector of Kirkby in Nottinghamshire IMPRIMATUR Novemb. 10. 1694. Ra. Barker LONDON Printed for W. Rogers at the Sun over against St. Dunstan's Church in Fleetstreet 1694. TO THE Christian Readers THIS plain Sermon preached at the Request of my Reverend Brethren of the Clergy and here published in compliance with the Desire of Them and as they assure me of some others who heard it I do first most humbly offer to Almighty God in Prayer for his Blessing that it may become in some measure useful to his Church and next to you the Christian Readers to make the best use of it you can If any one of you receive Profit by it pay as you are here directed all your Thanks to Him alone who giveth the Encrease I only beg that you would assist the Sinful Author with your devout Prayers for the encrease of Grace lest that by any means when he hath preached to others he himself should be a Cast-a-way THE Christian Hearer's First Lesson 1 COR. iii. 7. Neither is he that planteth any thing neither he that watereth but God that giveth the encrease SAINT Paul as we read in the XVIII th Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles had by the good Blessing of God upon his Labours been very successful in preaching the Gospel of Christ at Corinth so reasoning and perswading that notwithstanding all the opposition and blaspheming of the Jews Crispus the chief Ruler of the Synagogue believed on the LORD with all his house and many of the Corinthians hearing believed and were baptized Ver. 8. After his departure thence came Apollos an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures who being fervent in the Spirit spake and taught diligently the things of the LORD at Ephesus and being come into Corinth helped them much which had believed through Grace mightily convincing the Jews ver 27 28. And this is it that St. Paul here saith v. 6. I have planted Apollos watered but God gave the encrease An Encrease indeed very considerable as it appears by the Apostle's Thanksgiving to God for it I thank my God saith he Ch. 1. v. 4. always on your behalf for the Grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ that in every thing ye are enriched by him in all utterance and in all knowledge even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you So that ye come behind in no gift waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And in the Second Epistle c. 8. v. 7. he testifieth of them That they abounded in faith in utterance and knowledge and in all diligence and in their love to him and their other Teachers Here then by the planting of Paul and the watering of Apollos and the Success which God gave to them both in their Ministry an eminent Church grew up in a short time and flourish'd at Corinth of persons sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be Saints But alas how imperfect are all the most perfect things that are under Heaven This so lately planted so plentifully water'd so highly commended Church as the purest and best constituted Church on Earth will always have had its spots and blemishes and those not a few but many and some of them of the foulest sort too and such as did not only stain her beauty but endanger'd her very Life The Resurrection of the Dead was denied by some among them Fornication and Incest such as the Gentiles would blush to hear of was committed by others the holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was prophaned by the Irreverent and Uncharitable by the Drunkard and the Glutton Stumbling-blocks were laid in the way of the weak Brethren and their tender Consciences wounded by an unnecessary and uncharitable use of Christian Liberty Little conscience was made of scandalizing their holy Religion by going to Law before Infidels nay by wronging and defrauding one another Discipline lay neglected and there was none of that mourning which should have been for all these Abominations committed among them Here then were Corruptions many and great both in Faith and Manners and such as tho' they would not warrant any Member in a separation from this Church were more than enow to fire the holy Zeal of all the Members of it and to engage them all in the most vigorous endeavours for a speedy Reformation in it What then is to be done in such a case as this Why truly all that can be done providing still for the safety and preservation of the whole and as much as may be of every part All that can be to heal and cleanse and edifie but nothing to destroy Let every Member of the Body according to its station and office therein contribute what possibly it can to the preservation of its Life and restoring of its Health but let no Member be cut off so long as the Body may be preserved without such mutilation and there is hope remaining that the corrupt Member may be cured by gentler means much less let any Member tear it self off so long as by continuing in the Body it may have life and nourishment Dividing is a very untoward way of healing and I think should never be used but when the case is otherwise desperate Indeed the Body may sometimes be saved by the loss of a corrupt Member but it will be very hard if possible to keep a Member from dying that separates it self from a living Body tho' diseased St. Paul takes a great deal of pains to correct and reform the many Errors and Disorders among these Christians of Corinth but whatever he doth or orders to be done for a Reformation he seems to have his Eye continually fixed upon the Peace and Vnity of the Church considering well how unhopeful a thing such a Reformation is in a House that is divided in it self And therefore he goes to work like a skilful Reformer He would have the old leaven purged out but so that they might still continue one tho' a new lump c. 5. v. 7. He would have the House repaired without pulling it down or taking it in pieces Stone from Stone So that the Foundation which he as a wise Master-builder had laid continue he thinks it better to leave the Wood Hay and Stubble which others had built upon it to the trial of the Fire when God shall send it than to take the building asunder c. 3. v. 10 c. He would have the Body kept sound yet so if possible that it may also remain entire that so it may still grow up into him in all things which is the head even Christ from whom the whole body fitly joyned together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth according to the

a sincere and unaffected Christian Piety now languishing even to death among us that we solely aim at But alas what are we that we should attempt such things as these We are nothing we can do nothing of our selves towards so weighty a Work all our Sufficiency must be of God The sense of this directed me to the choice of this Subject as most proper to humble us and instruct you To humble us I say in consideration of our utter insufficiency for the important work which lyeth upon us and to instruct you how notwithstanding all our weakness you may be sure to reap some profit by the weakest of us all And truly I the rather hope for God's Blessing upon our Endeavours when I consider with what unanimity and cheerfulness of Mind my Reverend Brethren have consented to this Service It will now much confirm this Hope if you shall be pleased Worshipful and Beloved not only to countenance us with your presence and attention but to assist us with your devout Prayers 1. And therefore next to the humbling of our selves in the presence of God as nothing without him unable to serve either Him or you without his Special Assistance and because of our manifold Sins most unworthy of that also the first Use which I very heartily desire you to make of what hath been said is to help us with your daily fervent Prayers at the Throne of Grace for the pardoning of our Sins and the sanctifying of our Souls and the supplying of all our Defects That in simplicity and godly sincerity not with fleshly wisdom but by the Grace of God we may have our conversation in the World and more abundantly to youwards at this time not handling the Word of God deceitfully but by manifestation of the Truth commending our selves to every man's Conscience in the fight of God That God would open unto us a door of utterance that we may open our Mouth boldly that the Word of God may have its free course and be glorified with you Therefore Men profit so little by the Ministry because they so seldom or so coldly address themselves in Prayer to God for his Blessing upon it Whilst we bestow so much more time in Hearing than we do in Praying as being the far easier Task of the two it may be feared we expect more from Men than we do from GOD and tho' we may carry the Sermon home we leave God's Blessing behind us Therefore 2. Because we are nothing and all the Encrease is of God let us take heed how we depend so much on the Ministry of Men who are nothing as to attend too little in their Ministry upon God who doth all Whilst you are pleased to afford us your Ear be sure that you give God your Heart Neither regard ye what we say any farther than we speak as the Oracles of God Imitate the Thessalonians in this who when they received the Word of God which they heard of St. Paul and others received it not as the Word of Men but as it is in truth the Word of God which effectually worketh in them that believe 1 Thess. ii 13. Come with a desire and resolution to hear God himself speak to you by what Mouth soever he shall speak and be sure of it the Word will be mighty and prevail It is a very lamentable thing to see in what Extreams we are apt to lose both God and our selves First Because neither Paul nor Apollos are any thing without God or in comparison of God therefore some very rashly conclude that they are nothing at all to them and that the Ministry of such Men is of no use in the Church but all are to be taught of God only And 't is true that our chief Teacher is God himself but if we will be taught of him we must submit our selves to be taught by him as it pleaseth him to teach us and not as we have a mind to be taught What though the very best Instrument be able to do nothing by its self out of the Workman's hand Yet even an indifferent one may do much when managed by the hand of a skilful Workman I shall only desire one thing to be granted me by him that resolves to be taught of God alone without the Ministry of Men ordain'd to teach and I think it a very reasonable request that before he thus put it to the venture whether he shall be taught or no he be first very sure that God will as well as that he can so teach him or that he hath not ordained the Ministry of Men in his Church or that he will meerly to humour him change his ordinary method and cancel his own ordinance It is certainly God alone that gives the Encrease in the Field as well as in the Church and yet Men are not so unreasonable or confident as to expect and relye upon a good Harvest from God without the Labour of the Husbandman Why then should they expect the Fruit of the Spirit without the Labour of the Ministry till God give them some better assurance of it than yet he hath done We must not indeed stint God's Power as though he could not work without this or that Instrument and yet neither must we slight his Institution and neglect his ordinary method He that would pluck God's Instruments how mean soever they seem out of his hand and not give him the Glory of magnifying his Strength in the Weakness of Men tho' he do not thereby disable God from working yet doth he enough to provoke him not to work Others there be who in another Extream seem to make God himself almost nothing and the Minister all Such are they who place the greatest part of their Religion in hearing many Sermons and when they have heard enough are apt to perswade themselves that they have served God well enough They are wont to be very attentive with a great deal of Affection and it may be a great deal too much Admiration to the Preacher and to talk much of him and of his excellent Sermon and yet all the while are as regardless of God and address as little to him for his Blessing as tho' they had heard nothing at all of him nor had any thing to do with him It is very well if God be not too often thus put off with a vain shew of Worship and if the Preacher have not all but only what in the coveted reputation of Hearers and Professors we catch at for our selves of the Honour which is due unto Him The delight which many of us take seems to be too much in the meer planting or sowing and if that be done according to our own opinion artificially we are mightily pleased and if not more offended and we count all the time lost as in sad truth it is which we have spent in hearing The Harvest and Encrease is the thing that of all others we least think of as tho' we heard only for hearing 's