Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A30278
|
Eighteen directions for saving conversion unto God by Daniel Burgess ... thus published for the poor.
|
Burgess, Daniel, 1645-1713.
|
1691
(1691)
|
Wing B5705; ESTC R36045
|
21,736
|
58
|
is well quickly and that God and you are Reconciled Satan also still pushes on toward presumption Towards Hope without any ground for it Or at least without just ground for it But fair and soft goes best and farthest Think thus if you are indeed Reconciled your Examination of your self will not break no but Clear and Strengthen the Reconciliation and bring you in abundance of comfort But if you are not Reconciled to God you never can be reconciled until you know your want of it And Examination is Gods appointed way for your Knowledge Do not say But this Knowledge will scare us For I pray what will Hell do What! Will you not bear the Judgment Seat of your own Consciences Whether you will or no you shall bear God's greater Judgment Seat Go resolve then and say thou Never will I be high-minded but Fear I will maintain a godly Jealousie of my Self and my State Daily will I Examine and pray God to Examine my Heart and try my Ways I will Consult my God my Heart my Minister and my Friends about the grounds of my Hopes and Comforts 2 Cor. 13.5 1 Cor. 9.27 Rev. 3.17 D. 14. Sleep not on the top of a Mast Do not Delay to mend your Condition while it is apparently dangerous He that is on the Ladder is near to Execution and Vnregenerate men be all on the Ladder Delay is not for them every breath for ought they know is their Last See my Sermon against Delay in the Morning Lectures Say to thy Soul as the Angel to Lot Arise lest thou be consumed Escape for thy Life NEITHER STAY THOU Escape lest thou be consumed If thou dost not flee wrath will come and thou wilt not be able to flee from it Eccles 12.1 Now in days of Youth No Delay in Youth it self 2 Cor. 6.2 D. 15. Let thy Sins be but Falls and not Leaps Though after all thou doest the Evil that thou wouldst not do see that thou doest not one more than what is against thy will Thou fallest into Sin when for want of strength thou committest it Thou leapest into it when thou committest it with consent of choice and for very pleasure True the wages of all sin is DEATH yet the former is a Gnat and the latter a Camel So wide is the difference And the Gospel is plain Lambs fall into the mire but they are Swine that leap into and wallow in it Psal 19.13 Rom. 7.15 16 17. Heb. 10.26 D. 16. Row against the stream The World wonderfully mistakes CANNOT for WILL-NOT Beware you of it for it may soon become fatal Use your selves unto this Language Here is a Duty against which my mind is full of carnal Objections and my Will full of like Oppositions But against both I will Fight God help me by his Grace to Conquer The Duty goes against me I confess but I for God will go against my Self I am asham'd that I cannot do it more Freely but I will go force my self to perform it Though I cannot Cheerfully I will Mournfully perform it Men are sometimes bid to Eat for a Stomach I will go Obey to get a better Heart to Obey with Isa 64 7. God rewards Duty with Duty Psal 119.55 56. D. 17. Flee from Popery When you have gone thus far admit no conceit of Merit in it Dream not that your own strength brought you so far neither Without the Grace of Christ nothing can be done And it must be for his alone Merit that all is accepted when it is done Every one of your good Thoughts are the works of his Spirit And every kind look of God upon you is the purchase of his Blood You must never expect to Repent Believe or Obey but by his Strength And when you do you must never look for acceptance with God but upon the Merit of his Obedience Rom. 5.18 19. Rom. 10.4 1 Cor. 1.30 Colos 3.17 NB. 1. Christ satisfied God offended with us He payed what we Owed and could not pay 2. God Accepted what Christ performed as performed on our behalf 3. Believers enjoy the Fruits of Christs Performance being so Accepted 4. And therefore must not Believe or Obey for those Ends for which Christ did Obey I mean to Satisfie Gods Justice and to Merit his Mercy D. 18. Finally and Principally Take no rest and give God none till through his Grace you discern your selves to have risen up orderly these seven Steps By these he leads every one of his Chosen unto the Glory prepared for them Nor are you to preach peace unto your Souls till they have ascended them all 1. CONVICTION Or a thorough Perswasion of the Sinfulness Miserableness but Changeableness of your Condition See Twelve necessary Convictions in my Call unto Sinners John 16.8 2. CONSIDERATION Or Serious Much and Frequent Meditation of the things whereof you are Convinced in your Hearts Psal 119.59 3. CONTRITION Or Fear and Grief and Shame and Hatred of Sin wrought by the Consideration aforesaid as the means thereof Psal 51.17 4. CONSULTATION Or Enquiry and Taking Counsel of God and of his Servants what to do for Covenant Union unto Christ and Saving Interest in him Acts 2.37 5. ACCEPTATION To wit of the Lord Jesus Christ to be your Prophet Priest King and Pattern or Exemplar Intelligent and Sincere CONSENT to his being all four unto and for you John 1.12 6. DEDICATION Or Solemn Compleating of that said Acceptation by Purpose Promise and Vows to Learn 2of Christ to Trust in him to Obey him to Imitate him And this both by Inward and Spiritual and Outward and Sacramental Covenanting Isa 44.5 2 Cor. 8.5 Ezek. 16.8 Gal. 3.27 1 Cor. 10.16 17. 7. CONVERSATION Or a Life expressive of all aforesaid A Life aptly signifying that the Soul has been Convinced Considerate Contrite Consultative Acceptive of Christ Dedicative of it self unto Christ A Life of endeavoured though not attained Perfection Col. 2.6 Psal 50 21. Rom. 6.18 19. Mark here the AS YE HAVE and the SO NOW YIELD and observe well the Doctrine of it We should SO serve God and Holiness in our Regenerate State AS we did serve Sin and Satan in our Vnregenerate State Even SO 1. So Readily and Freely 2. So Resolutely and Invincibly 3. So Carefully and Studiously 4. So Painfully and Industriously 5. So Pleasantly and Delightfully 6. So Perpetually and Incessantly 7. So Progressively and Proficiently 8. So Perswasively of others and with Zeal provoking many NATURE will not let a Man live without some Service of God And GRACE will not let a Christian live without such Service as this Performed or at least Endeavoured Go Reader and say to this effect Morning Noon and Night I will be Catechising my Soul about these seven things Yea and I will desire my Pastor to Catechise me concerning them And till I have ALL I will account my self NOTHING yea WORSE than Nothing May every Peruser be a Practiser of these Directions May all my Imperfections in them be
forgiven in the Blood of my Redeemer by my gracious God! May my more Judicious Brethren more able in Speaking and more able in Writing be drawn to publish their more Elaborate Directions by the good Success of these so hastily thrown together May these Lines Live when I am Dead and Speak when my Breath is Stopt and in the mean time may they Preach unto Thousands of whom I can never see the Faces till the Resurrection Amen and Amen FINIS Books Printed for and Sold by Tho. Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns in Cheapside near Mercers Chapel A Call to Sinners such as are under Sentence of Death and such as are under any Prospect of it from the Long-suffering and Gracious but most Righteous God Three Questions resolved briefly and plainly viz. 1. What Conceptions ought we to have of the blessed God 2. What are those Truths whereof the Knowledge appeareth most indispensibly necessary unto our Salvation and therefore to be first and most learnt by us 3. What is the change wrought in a Man by God's H. Spirit before he can safely conclude himself pass'd from Death to Life Being the Summ of three Sermons A seasonable Question plainly resolved viz. What are we to judge of their Spiritual Estate who neglect the Lord's Supper And What is that discerning of the Lord's Body in it without which Men do eat and drink their own Damnation Mans whole Duty and Gods wonderful Intreaty of him thereunto Set forth from 2 Cor. 5.20 and published at the Request of some Hearers Advice to Parents and Children The Sum of a few Sermons Contracted and Published at the Request of many Pious Hearers Christian Commemoration and Imitation of Saints Departed Explicated and Pressed from Heb. 13.7 occasioned by the Decease of the Reverend Mr. Henry Hurst Lately Minister of the Gospel in London All Six by Daniel Burgess Minister of the Gospel FINIS Directions for Daily Holy Living by D. Burgess Minister of the Gospel D. 1. LImit your sleeping hours Let them not be as many as brutish Sense demandeth Let Reason fit their number to your Health and Labour Your Motion is not by the Rule of Religion if your Rest be not so Psal 139.18 I awake that I may be still with thee So some Learned read it D. 2. Consecrate your waking thoughts Let your God have those first Fruits He always Loved the first of all things The first Fruits and first Born under the Law were his Present Him with these every morning Thoughts are inward Speeches Let God hear Himself first spoken of by you still It will argue that He is your Beloved and it will make Him more so Love makes Thoughtful and Thoughtfulness makes Love A Potter is known by his Vessels and a Heart by its Thoughts and of all Thoughts by its first in the morning and last at night My voice shalt thou hear in the morning O Lord Psal 5.3 D. 3. Regulate your Bodily Dresses Long Dresses bewray large Consciences if no worse He that duly prefers his Soul above his Body would rather go like the wild Indians than dress like some Londoners The Hebrew word Beged signifies Cloathing and Covenant-breaking God seems to have taught thereby that the Cloaths on our backs should humble us for the sin of our first Parents and Persons But if they do not so and if outward Adorning be that which employs our early hours and severe thoughts it will be dearly paid for in our dying hours with tormenting thoughts 1 Pet. 3.3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning D. 4. Time well your Closet and Family Worship They be not the same things in season and out of season Let the Word be read one verse rather than none and Prayer be made the shortest rather than none both by your selves alone and with your Families If it may be worship first by your selves But needlesly tie not your selves being God hath not bound you unto such and such hours Still do as you verily think is most for Edification Mat. 6.6 Enter into thy closet and when thou hast shut the door pray to thy Father Josh 24.15 As for me and my House we will serve the Lord. D. 5. Sanctifie your worldly Business Nothing is your business but that which God your Master sets you about Dare not then do any thing but that whereto you can entitle Him Nor dare you to do it for any other chief end but to please Him When you do WHAT He sets you and supremely BECAUSE He sets it and wills that you do it knowing and hoping for his Direction in it and Blessing of it you then sanctifie it Then HOLINESS TO THE LORD is written upon it whatever it be 1 Cor. 10.31 Whether ye Eat or Drink or WHATSOEVER ye do do all to the glory of God D. 6. Moderate your Pains in your Callings Pains must be Sweat is required But by Reason and Religion they must be measured God's Laws be all Just and Good Drones that will not work must not eat He that is a sluggard in his work is branded as Brother of the Prodigal waster Prov. 18.9 Drudges of whose Labour there is no end and who bereave their Souls of good who use themselves worse than God allows Oxen to be used Treading out the Corn and muzzling themselves these are branded by the Spirit of God as inconsiderate absurd and self-destroying fools Eccles 4.8 Diligent hands have the promise of being made rich That is Hands that be neither Drones nor Drudges Prov. 10.4 The hand of the diligent maketh rich D. 7. Strengthen your guards against your strongest Enemies Sin is our Enemy even One and All. God hates nothing but sin and man can be hurt by nothing but sin Sin 's name is Legion for it is many And of the many there is some one or other in every man that has more power than all the rest That gives strength unto all the rest And being mortified all the rest are mortified There be also beside that KING-sin in the Souls some kind of PEER-sins which of all next unto the KING-sin are by far the most dangerous The KING-sin is alway or mostly your Temperamental sin the sin of your Constitution The PEER-sins be the Radical ones of Sensuality Unbelief Hypocrisie and the way-laying ones whereunto Temptations will every day meet us in our Company and Business You can never have any but a false Peace till you can say as Psal 18.23 I am upright before the Lord I keep my self from my own iniquity Doctor Bates his little Book upon that Text is a Light and a Lamp a Rod and a Staff D. 8. Govern your Thoughts and your Words Let not your Minds or Tongues be unbridled and run whither they will You are in your Shops and your Business very often alone Reverence your Conscience and dare not in the presence of God's Vicegerent to suffer a sinful or useless self-discourse But talk with your selves of great and good Subjects and with