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	heart_n	work_n	6,984	5	5.3450	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A31012	A sermon preach'd June 1, 1699, at Feckenham in Worcester-shire, before the trustees appointed by Sir Thomas Cookes, Kt. Bart. to manage his charity given to that place by John Baron ...	Baron, John, 1669 or 70-1722.	1699 (1699)	Wing B879; ESTC R10496	18,182	44

A SERMON Preach'd June 1. 1699. AT Feckenham IN WORCESTER-SHIRE Before the Trustees appointed by Sir Thomas Cookes Kt. Bart. To Manage his Charity given to that Place By JOHN BARON M. A. and Fellow of Balliol College in Oxford To him that soweth Righteousness shall be a sure Reward Prov. 11.18 OXFORD Printed by Leon. Lichfield 1699. To the Right Worshipful Sir Tho. Cookes OF BENTLEY Knight-Baronet SIR I Hope You will not be surpriz'd when You find your Name set before the following Discourse As it was Preach'd at your Request so I think I have no reason to doubt of Your favourable Acceptance of it especially since I know You are perswaded that the Doctrines contain'd in it are both sound and seasonable The Charitable Settlements which You have already made are a sufficient Argument that You firmly believe Good Works to be absolutely necessary to Salvation and Your very earnest Desire of perfecting Your more noble Designs notwithstanding the Discouragements You have met with farther shew that You look upon the time of Life to be the most proper if not the only time of doing good As far as I remember I have never seen any just Discourse on this Subject and I heartily wish what I have here said may answer my chief design in the Publication of it which is that I may convince Men of Ability of the danger of delaying their Charity till they dye If I should not be so happy as to succeed herein it will yet be a great satisfaction to me to consider that I have so fair an opportunity of acknowledging Your generous Kindness to me and of assuring You withal that I am Honour'd SIR Your very Humble Servant JOHN BARON Ball. Coll. Oxford July 11. 1699. GAL. Chap. VI. Ver. 10. As we have therefore opportunity let us do good unto all men IN these Words there are three things contain'd I. A Duty recommended II. The Extent of this Duty III. The proper Time of performing it I. The Duty here recommended is that most excellent one of doing good to which we are indispensably oblig'd both by the Principles of natural and reveal'd Religion Right Reason directs us to it Almighty God has expresly commanded it our blessed Saviour while he was upon Earth exemplify'd it to us for he went about doing good Act. 10.38 and he has likewise assured us all who are call'd by his holy Name that we must be exercis'd in it if we desire or hope at the last day to give up our Accounts with joy and not with grief Notwithstanding the great heats that have been rais'd about Justification herein all agree that good Works are the necessary visible Fruits whereby the sincerity of our Hearts may be known without these our Hope is Presumption our Assurance nothing but a groundless Confidence and our Faith absolutely ineffectual For as the body without the spirit is dead so faith without works is dead also Jam. 2.26 II. The second thing to be observed is the universal Extent of this great Duty express'd in these words Let us do good unto all men Our Kindness must be extended as the Blessings of Heaven are and the displays of our Love must reach like those of the Sun in the Firmament to the just and the unjust For we are all Brethren descended from the same common Stock and he that is afar off as well as he that is near is according to the Christian interpretation of the word our Neighbour 'T is true indeed the proud and ill-natur'd Pharisees of old restrain'd the sence of this Word and accordingly confin'd their Charity and Mercy within the narrow limits of their own Nation But he who came to fulfil the Law to supply what was wanting and to explain what they by their false Glosses and ill-grounded Comments had darkned and perplexed He who was the way the truth and the life has taught us by the Parable of the good Samaritan taking pity on a Stranger that fell among Thieves that under the Gospel every Person who stands in need of our relief tho' he be as great an Adversary to us as a Jew to a Samaritan must yet be looked upon as the object of our Compassion and Mercy and of any charitable acts which he can receive and we perform III. The third thing to be observed is the proper time of performing this Duty which is when and while we have opportunity For though to do good to all Men be a Duty incumbent upon us yet we are not at all times equally oblig'd to the exercise of it The cries of some that want never come to our ears and the necessities of others may be so great that we are not able to relieve them No Man can be oblig'd beyond his knowledge and power neither will much be requir'd of him to whom little has been given The Apostle therefore saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As we have opportunity let us do good unto all Men. The old Version is while we have time Dr. Hammond renders it as we have ability Grotius his Note upon the place is Dum manet haec vita While we are alive All these put together will compleat the signification of the Word for after death we can do nothing and in this Life we can then only be said to have an opportunity offered us of doing good when the wants of others and our own plenty meet together So that what St. Paul here presses from the certainty of a reward which we shall reap in due time if we faint not is That we be merciful after our power and so far as we have ability embrace every opportunity of doing good while we live These things being premised that my following Discourse may the better suit with the present occasion I shall endeavour to shew 1. That 't is upon several accounts more advisable for Men of Ability to dispose of what they intend for charitable Uses in their Life time than to leave it to be manag'd by others after their Death 2. That Men of Ability are in Duty oblig'd to do good while they live 3. I shall speak of the peculiar excellency and usefulness of those charitable Settlements which are design'd to promote and encourage Learning 4. And lastly I shall enquire what is the Duty of all those who more immediately enjoy the Benefit and Advantages of such Foundations First I am to shew that it is upon several accounts more advisable for Men of Ability to dispose of what they intend for charitable Uses in their Life time than to leave it to be manag'd by others after their Death This Proposition I hope to make good from the following Considerations 1. That it is utterly uncertain whether that which Men of Ability leave to the disposal of others be ever settled according to their original design and intent 2. It is a greater Argument of a free and generous Mind to dispose of what they design for charitable Uses while they live than to leave it to