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	work_n	work_v	6,969	5	7.2984	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A60352	A sermon preach'd at Crosby-Square, Jan. 8, 1692 upon the funeral of that faithful servant of Christ, Mr. John Reynolds, who died in the Lord the preceding 25 Decemb. / by Samuel Slater ...	Slater, Samuel, d. 1704.	1693 (1693)	Wing S3972; ESTC R37561	27,157	38

for those Graces to yield their Fruit those Spices to flow forth Now act submission to the Divine Will Here am I let him do what seemeth good unto him Fall to Improving of the Affliction get Meat out of the Eater Honey from the Carkase of the Lion that what hath devoured thy Comforts may seed thy Graces see if you cannot by an holy Chimistry extract Gains out of Losses and turn Iron into Gold Try what advantage you can make of the Sickness that consumes you of the pain that grinds and tortures you what Life you can fetch out of the Grave the death of such a Friend or Relation there is no Affliction with which we are exercised but it puts into our hands an opportunity for some special work or other there is no Condition but what hath a particular duty belonging to it Do not say I am now altogether useless and unserviceable who is it that hath made thee so God hath not have a care thou dost not make thy self so What thô thy Work doth not lie where it did it lieth somewhere find it out and do it I most freely and readily grant you cannot do your present Duty nor any thing else in your own strength as it ought to be done You cannot stir a Finger without Divine Concurrence nor lift up a Prayer unless the Spirit set his hand to it there must be an helping of the Infirmity else no performance of the Duty It is one above that worketh both to will and to do of his own good pleasure But however go you about your Work set to it heartily and in good earnest going for strength where it is to be had Seek it in and from Christ in whom it is laid up for you To this purpose for your Encouragement remember that of Paul in the 4 Phil. 13. I can do all things thrô Christ who strengtheneth me Upon the gracious conveyances of Life Spirit and Power from Christ he is able to do the work of a Christian and of an Apostle to resist Temptation to bear Affliction and glory in Tribulation He was able wisely to improve what he had and willingly to part with it able to deny himself and yet enjoy himself when he had done so In short while you bitterly complain that you know not what to do have a care you do not overdo in inflaming your own wounds afflicting and sinking your own Spirits when the hand of God hath touched you Secondly Labour to extricate your selves and with all possible speed procure your own deliverance and enlargement out of these Distresses Submit to the Loss God hath order'd out to you and to the Affliction with which you are exercised Hath he brought you into the Dust lay your Mouths there and lie quietly till he bring you forth to the light and shew you his Smiles and Salvation but get out of the distress as fast as may be only see that it be in the right way Be content that a Storm should be upon thy Tabernacle as long as God will have it there but command thy Soul to be silent and still and as soon as thou canst recover the calm of thy Spirit Our Lord and Saviour of his own accord came to do the Will of his Father and without hesitancy yielded to a suffering Condition not running from it to the last but breathing out his last upon a Cross but his Agony did not last long very sharp indeed it was so that therein he sweat drops of Blood but it was short and quickly went over again and in all his after Trials he expressed a full and most sweet Composure of Soul and carried it with a true greatness of Spirit There should be in us a due sense of Losses and Afflictions otherwise we shall be guilty of offering an Affront unto God and putting a slight upon him and we shall prejudice our selves by not serching that good out of an Actiction which we might But still we must be careful to moderate our grief as much as possibly we can both as to degree and duration returning to a right and even Temper It is most honourable for the Christian and comfortable to him when Grace doth that which Time will In order hereunto I advise these four things First Ease your selves in a way of Prayer It is indeed very good when an Oppressed Person can broach the Vessel and give his Sorrow vent in Tears I my self have known some among others an Eminent and Noble Lady so full of Sorrow that their Hearts were ready to break relieved by Weeping when all their Friends that came to Comfort them prov'd Physicians of no value but the best and most excellent way is to mingle Tears and Prayers together Weep over your Afflictions if you can but withal go and tell your Father of them pouring out the Complaints and Desires of your Souls into his Bosom Poor Hannah was in great distress having an Adversary in the House with her who multiplied provocations to make her fret whereupon she became bitter of Soul In that Case she tried what God would do and sought unto him 1 Samuel 1. 10. She wept sore that she could not help nor did she endeavour it Tears have their Rhetorick but she also prayed And O! how much did she gain by it what abundance of Peace what Quietness and Comfort did her Prayer fetch into her It is said ver 18. She went away and her Countenance was no more sad While she was praying God gave her a Gracious Smile a look of Love and she was a cheerful Woman ever after Faith and Prayer will do the work notwithstanding the difficulties of it and scatter the Clouds be they never so thick The more a gracious Soul relies on God in a way of Believing and seeks him in a way of humble fervent Supplication the easier will every Burden be to it the lighter every Affliction and the more comfortable every Condition Secondly Put the most fair and candid sense you can upon Providences and make the best interpretation of every thing God doth with you We should have both Honourable Thoughts of it and Amicable too for He is too Righteous to do wrong to any of his Creatures and too Gracious to do hurt to any of his Children When our Lord had open'd the Ears of the Deaf Man and loos'd his Tongue the People said 7 Mark 37. He hath done all things well say the same of God for it is true He doth not fail in any of his Undertakings nor miscarry in any of the works of his hands but doth all things like himself like a God Do not only assert this of his Providences in General but bring it down and apply it to particular Dispensations He hath done well in this and well in that 119 Psalm 65. Thou hast dealt well with thy Servant O Lord according to thy Word 71 Verse It is good for me that I have been afflicted 75. I know O Lord that thy judgments are right

his own confusion and to the confusion of his Mothers nakedness As if he should have said Thou dost by this means expose thy self and thy Mother to reproach none will look upon thee as my Son but a Bastard and of some mean and base Original Fourthy Ionathan was true and immoveably faithful to the interest of David He was a cordial and sincere Friend as did appear by his stedfastness As he was united to him in Affection so he would bind himself to him yet faster by a Covenant As in the 1 Sam. 18. 3. Ionathan and David made a Covenant and they did again renew it in the 20 ch 12 13 14 15 and 16 Verses Thus he added Obligation to Obligation as if he thought he could never lay bonds enough upon himself nor give unto David sufficient assurance of his Sincerity and Faithfulness and that never dying Friendship and Kindness which he had with and for him He so loved David that he feared himself and was jealous of his own Heart lest it should afterward prove false and treacherous and therefore he would bind it to its good Behaviour Fifthly Such was the Love of Ionathan to David that it put him upon being his Advocate Oh how ready and forward was he at every turn to appear on his behalf and plead his Cause with his angry Father tho' he knew him to be very jealous of him and desperately enraged and set against him and could not but foresee that his standing up on his behalf would certainly bring his Fathers Displeasure Frown and Indignation upon himself yet he was resolved to act the part of a Friend and Brother to the utmost and put his Life in his hand and speak rather than by a timerous silence be wanting unto David We find in the 1 Sam. 19. 1. that Saul spake to Ionathan his Son and to all his Servants that they should kill David He gave them Command and Commission to do it but notwithstanding this we read in the 4th Verse of the same Chapter that Ionathan spake good of David unto Saul his Father and said unto him Let not the King sin against his Servant even against David because he hath not sinned against thee and because his works have been to thee-ward very good It was an argument of dear Love and a brave Spirit to speak so to his Father at such a time And he did the like again in the 1 Sam. 20. 31 32. As long saith Saul as the Son of Iesse liveth upon the ground thou shalt not be established nor thy Kingdom wherefore now send and fetch him to me for he shall surely dye What now this went to Ionathans Heart it was as a Sword in his Bones the Fire burned Then spake he with his tongue and said unto his Father wherefore shall he be slain what hath he done i. e. What Evil hath he done what one thing hath he done for which he deserves to dye And it is said ver 34. He did eat no meat the second day of the month for he was grieved for David He could not but think of David's Case and when he did think of it it could not be without great sadness Sixthly I shall add but this one thing further Ionathan was unto his David a ready and faithful Counsellor Ready to give him timely notice of any danger that threatned him and to acquaint him with the true state of things and how matters went as to him and to afford him the best Advice he could for the steering of his Course and preservation of himself in so critical a time Thus in the 1 Sam. 19. 2. When Saul had declar'd his Will to have him butcher'd Ionathan told him My Father seeketh to kill thee and thereupon directed him what to do I pray thee take heed to thy self until the morrow and abide in a secret place and hide thy self And again afterward in the 20th Chapter by the Arrows which he shot and the words which he spake to the Lad he gave him to understand how exceeding hazardous his continuance thereabout would be and how necessary it was for him to provide for his own Security as well as he could and with all possible speed Make speed haste stay not Shall we now take all these six Particulars and bind them up togegether thus Since Ionathan was in so near a Relation to David as his Brother and did bear him such a sincere and entire Affection could freely wave his own Interest and lay it at the foot of David continued so faithful to him and at all times ready to plead for him and carefull to give him the best Advice and counsel that he could he must needs be very pleasant exceeding desireable and delightful he was very loving and therefore very lovely But alas David was not always to have his Ionathan the knot is soon untied that had united and coupled this excellent pair Ionathan hath breath'd his last his Soul hath made it's escape out of his wounded Body and taken its flight into the other World He is slain in his high places and that brought David into distress and it brings me to the second thing which I promised to enquire into viz. What was there in the Case that David should be so distressed What Reason was there that so Good a Man should be in such a plunge Time was when we found him at Ziklag 1 Sam. 30. which was burnt by the Amalekites the Wives and Sons and Daughters were taken Captives and the People spake of stoning him and then he pluck'd up a brave Spirit and encouraged himself in the Lord God How then comes it to pass that upon this Occasion tho' sad enough he cryeth out of his being distressed I shall give you my Answer in these three things First I do not think he was brought into Distress by any Fears or dark Apprehensions concerning the Eternal State into which Jonathan was now enter'd Surely he did not question but he was now in the Bosom of Divine Love though he had fallen by the Cruel hand of a barbarous Enemy for he was a good Man whosoever reads the Story of his Life and considers his Spirit and Carriage will find therein sufficient reason to conclude him not only truly gracious but a Person of an excellent and more than ordinary Spirit and from thence gather whatever was his Exit out of this World He had an entrance ministred to him abundantly into the glorious Kingdom of his God and Saviour His dying upon the Mountains of Gilboa could not at all hinder his direct speedy and joyfull ascent to the Mountains of Myrrhe and Beds of Spices where he shall take a sweet and undisturbed repose to all everlasting He had indeed his Head not incircled with a Crown but laid in the Dust and so the earthly Throne was left for David to fill but he was advanced to one much above it a Throne of Glory in Heaven I do not in the least doubt that David was abundantly