Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	grace_n	holy_a	lord_n	14,167	5	3.6878	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A50328	The bruised reed, or, A sermon preach'd at the cathedral church of St. Asaph, for the support of weak Christians by D. Maurice, D.D., sometime chaplain in New Colledge, Oxon.	Maurice, David.	1700 (1700)	Wing M1357A; ESTC R43437	22,707	31

it's essence and cause yet it do's quoad esse exercitium as to it 's well being and exercise and therefore the Lord will not quench the smoking flax 3. Grace may be hinder'd in it's growth by reason of weak gifts and want of natural parts such as Memory to carry away the word read or heard and the gift of Prayer A Sigh from such is acceptable to God for God doth not regard the Logick nor Rhetorick nor Arithmetick but the Divinity of Prayer 't is the sincere broken petitions that flow from a broken heart that prevail with God more than all the gaudy Eloquence of any Hypocrite whatever 4. A Christian's Grace may be weak for want of the means of Grace many people have been unfruitful under and unthankfull for the word of God and therefore the Lord may in Judgement say of them what David said of Gilboa 2 Sam. 1.21 Let there be no dew neither let there be rain upon you A dreadful curse And if a weak Christian chance to be in such a barren Wilderness the Lord will bear with his bruised reed because he has not the means of growth and strength to wit the milk and strong meat of the word Luke 12.48 Vnto whom much is given much shall be required that is he that has been planted by the rivers of waters and enjoyed powerfull Preaching and plentiful means of Grace the Lord do's expect from such an answerable growth in Grace and Knowledge and so without question he doth from you all that do frequent this Church but if a poor Christian's lot has fall'n upon a mount Gilboa the Lord will not expect so much from him but will consider such weaklings in Grace that are so for want of spiritual Food and bear with their weaknesses This is the first reason why our Saviour is so tender of weak Christians and very careful to preserve the least measure of Grace in them to wit because Grace may be hinder'd in it's growth by such things as the Believer cannot prevent and those are first A Believer may be living in a wicked Family as Abijah was secondly It may arise from the temper of the Believer's Body thirdly from the weakness of his natural Parts fourthly from the want of means of Grace as those in Acts 19.2 that knew not whether there was a spirit or no. 2. The second reason why Christ is so tender is because he is the Purchaser of the least measure of Grace this smoking flax is the price of Christ's Blood and what cost him so dear shall never be lost by his good will and the same good will that he had to spend his Heart's Blood to redeem them will surely ingage his almighty Power to defend them This adds weight to the charge of the Pastors of the Church of Ephesus Acts 20.28 Take heed unto your selves and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers to feed the Church of God which he hath purchas'd with his own Blood as if he should say the meanest among you is of an inestimable value no less than the price of God's own Blood and therefore see you have an especial care of them And if he lays so great a charge on his Ministers to look to them surely he will not forget them himself but will make it his constant business in Heaven to intercede for them that none shall pluck them out of his hands whom he paid so dear for He that was made a Priest by God's oath to sacrifice his own Life to redeem sinners from Death continues for ever a priest to intercede for and procure them the full price of his purchase to wit Grace and Glory and this exceeding great care he takes for weak Believers appear'd presently after his ascension into Heaven by the speedy dispatch he made of his Spirit to the supply of the weak Orphans at Jerusalem for so the Disciples were 'till he sent the Comforter unto them and so he calls them Jo. 14.18 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Comforter he sent to wit the Holy Spirit assoon as he was warm if I may so speak in his seat in Heaven at God's right hand to the unspeakable comfort of them and us and all Believers to the end of the World 3. The third reason is because this Holy Spirit is the Author of the least measure of Grace and therefore will not leave his work unfinish'd or neglect what he hath so graciously begun but having begotten us again unto a lively hope 1 Pet. 1.3 5. he will keep us by his mighty power through faith unto salvation If all the created powers of Heaven and Earth were united and concentred in one person yet he could not so much as make this Flax to smoke 't is the effect of Divine power Grace is the product of the Spirit Jo. 3.5 and therefore since the Holy Spirit is the Father of such gracious dispensations he 'll engage the same strength to preserve what he hath begot Jer. 31.18 19 20. We see how soon doth the Lord hear Ephraim bemoaning himself when he was as a smoking flax a newly tamed heifer brought to God under the yoke of Afflictions his cry soon pierceth God's ears and his ear affects his bowels and his bowels awake his power to be his guardian When Christ brings a wandring sheep into his fold he puts it on his shoulder and rejoyceth all the way he brings it home Luke 15.5 The power of his Spirit is that shoulder on which he carries it the everlasting arms wherein he bears his lambs and those eagle's wings upon which they are both tenderly and securely convey'd to glory Ex. 19.4 nay he useth more care and tenderness towards weak Believers than the strong because of their weakness for the weakest child can call God father and the more weak and feeble the child is the greater is the care and stricter is the eye and observance of the mother upon him what Job says Job 31.15 the weakest and most faint Believer may say the same of the strongest champion in the Lord's house did not one and the same holy Spirit fashion us in the womb and if they are once the workmanship of his almighty hands then will he make them strong and fertile a little one shall become a thousand and a small one a strong nation Isa 60.22 In a word the least measure of Grace being the work of the Holy Spirit of God is therefore call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a new creation or a new creature and be sure none shall be abortive which he begets but go on to be an Heir of Glory and Christ calls this child of the Spirit by his own name Gal. 4.19 My little children of whom I travel in birth again 'till Christ be formed in you This clearly signifies to us that he will be as careful and tender of this Divine nature this piece of himself as if it were himself 4. The fourth reason is because the least measure

translated from death to life and that he is in the state of Grace a Child of God a new born Babe of Grace and an Heir in hope of the Kingdom of Glory And truly I find by experience the necessity of meditating upon and handling of this Subject by us Ministers who are often to deal with sick Persons on their Death-beds for to administer unto them some spiritual Physick for the health of their Souls 'T is the usual Practice and Method of our grand Enemy the Devil to act the part of Job's Wife by endeavouring to make a Believer to curse God before he dyes in presenting him with his Sins in the magnifying and multiplying Glass of the Law and so tempting him to despair if he can at least he will blow out the Candle that the poor Christian is forced to go to his Bed of Earth in the dark This Prince of Darkness will cast a mist between the Christian's Eye of Faith and the Sun of Righteousness that he shall not be able to see the Light of God's Countenance and then Death must needs be a King of Terrours to him Therefore to be well satisfy'd in this particular must exceedingly encourage a Believer and infinitely comfort him in that day of Trouble and Trial when he is upon the Brink of Eternity even now entering into those Mansions of Glory and Satan treading upon his Heel endeavouring to send him halting thither when he cannot shut the Door against him This Subject therefore is well worth your Christian Attention and serious Consideration Yet before I proceed to my first Proposal I must necessarily premise two things 1. That it is very difficult for any one to discern in himself whether he has the least measure of Grace whether he be this bruised reed or no tho' in it self it is easily discernable and therefore the School-men distinguish betwixt Grace in naturâ suâ and Grace in personâ gratiosâ Grace in Ideâ and Grace in subjecto in it 's own Nature 't is easy to know it by plain Scripture Rules and Signs but in the gracious Person 't is hard for him by a reflex act of Faith to perceive it for these Reasons First as there is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a damnable self Love and self Conceit in the ungodly so is there a self Prejudice in the Godly the one is blown up with a false ill grounded Hope and the other is kept down by a weak Faith 't is therefore equally difficult to make the one believe he has Grace as the other to believe he has none for so indeed the Scripture describes them the true Believer is poor in spirit low and vile in his own Eyes the greatest of sinners and the least of all Saints and therefore he hungers and thirsts after Righteousness in a deep sense of the want of it the other is of a Laodicean temper lukewarm in his Devotions careless in his Profession being rich and full and seeing no need of any thing when indeed he wants all things his Riches are but Emptiness the Lord will send him empty away so we find the proud hypocritical Pharisee blown up like the Toad in the Fable with the wind of self applause lifting himself above his Brethren by his odious Comparisons when the poor humble Publican by a serious Reflection on the Infirmity of his Nature had not so much Confidence as to look up Secondly 'T is hard to discern the least measure of Grace because false Grace so nearly resembles it There has been a great deal of stir kept in the late times about common Grace and special Grace true Grace and counterfeit whether they differ'd gradually or specifically and if they differ'd specifically whether morally or physically and many such Distinctions and Notions I think to little purpose at last it was concluded by the Combatants that there was a specifical moral Difference between them as between Vertue and Vice as Vertue and Vice do differ gradually and yet specifically too as for example the excessive degree of Liberality which is a Vertue is Prodigality which is a Vice But however they differ in themselves it is certain from Scripture and Examples that the true Believer especially the weak Believer and the Hypocrite do differ very little yea many times the Hypocrite exceeds the truly pious in outward appearance which will appear if we consider the Repentance of Ahab the Zeal of Jehu the Faith and Joy that were in the Hearers compar'd to the stony ground and how Herod heard John the Baptist gladly and did many things and there was but one thing lacking in the young Man in the Gospel to wit his secret Sin of Covetousness which was the only Remora that kept him from Christ and so blameless was the outward Conversation of Judas among the Disciples that each of them might suspect himself to be the Traitor as well as he This makes many a poor Christian to work out his salvation with fear and trembling and to endeavour to out-run the most refin'd Hypocrite in the race that is set before him and this makes the least measure of Grace so imperceptible by us 'T is the Lord Jesus alone that has the fan in his hand who will throughly purge his floor and separate the wheat from the chaff 2. The second thing to be premised is that wherever the least measure of Grace is there will be a longing desire and an earnest endeavour after more Grace and a constant use of the means appointed for the obtaining of it But the hypocritical Professor is contented if he can keep up a more formal Profession and an external Conformity so far as to keep up his Reputation among Men and he cares for no more If he knew how much Grace would bring him once within the Precincts of Heaven he would never look after one degree of Grace more But the truly gracious like St. Paul forgets the things that are behind and reacheth forward to the things that are before and still presseth toward the mark for the price of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus Phil. 3.13 14. he is as eager for the obtaining of that Perfection of Grace which accompanies the Resurrection from the dead as he was in persecuting the Church wherein he confesseth he was mad and enrag'd with a furious blind Zeal for he expresseth both by the same word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Acts 20.11 compar'd with Phil. 3.14 And that is the reason why the Acts and Exercise of Grace are express'd in Scripture in terms of Indigency and Industry such as poverty hunger thirst panting breathing running wrestling pressing forward following hard after striving earnest seeking fighting resisting even to blood c. Oh says the true Believer that I had communion with God and a sense of his Favour and the light of his Countenance upon me for that would be better than Life Oh! had I an Interest in Christ and the assurance of it and I should never grieve more oh