Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
spirit_n heart_n lord_n way_n 8,141 5 4.5838 3 false
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A02183 Short rules sent by Maister Richard Greenham to a gentlewoman troubled in minde for her direction and consolation, also very necessary for euery Christian to be exercised withall: vvith directions for a Christian life.; Garden of spirituall flowers. Selections. Greenham, Richard. aut 1612 (1612) STC 12324; ESTC S116702 4,951 1

There are 2 snippets containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

thereby to keepe them from the true sight of their sinnes so to oppresse the sweet flocke of Christ with false and causlesse feares thereby to keepe them from the glorious feeling of their ●demption Hee knoweth to his griefe that ioy may be temporally interrupted but not finally or eternally be denyed Therefore he applyeth himselfe though he cannot extinguish it yet to diminish your iust and royall right in your Christ In regard whereof you stand guilty of not maintayning the Lords royaltie giuen to the elect if in the least measure you yeeld to these slauish feares of the aduersarie This subtile Serpent is not ignorant that by these pensiue practises he doth weare to a dulnes the edge of your praiers that he drawes from you with an vncomfortable tediousnesse the fruits of your faith and consequently by these meanes you are depriued of the fruit of a more comfortable seruice to your God The weake ones fearing also by your example the profession of Christ to be strict and comfortlesse 27 A straight course of Religion is somewhat an vncomfortable companion but blessed be that mortification which so farre estrangeth vs from the world that it changeth vs to the similitude of Christ to whom wee must be confirmed in sufferings that we may be like him in glory Suffer not your heart to be straight narrow and vncomfortable in heauenly things This draweth away both the breath blood and life of our godlinesse The Lord keepe you from euill the Lord satisfie you with gladnesse the Lord giue you the spirit of Prayer and heare your prayers the Lord be your teacher and your comfort Oh pray pray pray It is the best sacrifice to God and the most comfortable duty you can doe I am not loath to put you in minde of these things you haue many carefull for you in other things oh pardon me if I be bould in this one thing I trust I reioyce more in the good of your soule then euer I should reioyce in the fruit of mine owne body It would be a thousand deaths yea a thousand hels vnto me to see your soules miscarry Oh let me be accepted more then a ciuill friend more then a friend of the world Giue mee this benefit to be thought further then a friend of the flesh FINIS A Scoare of holesome Precepts or Directions for a Christian life 1 ACcompt not of your selfe better then you are for the more base you are in your owne conceit the more glorious are ye in the sight of God for God regardeth a lowly minde as the poore Publican that did deny himselfe had more fauour in the sight of God then the proud Pharisie that boasted of himselfe 2 Speake not of God but with reuerence knowing that we are not worthy to take his name in our mouth much more we ought not to take it vainely 3 Hold fast to God aswell in prosperitie as in aduersitie for in aduersitie we can come to God but in prosperitie we forget our selues often Also if you be in aduersitie despaire not but stick to God waight vpon him for deliuerance he wil send it when there is no hope of it to the glory of his owne name and for the good of his children as Daniell from the Lyons 4 Buy and redeeme the time past with repentance looke to the time present with diligence and to the time to come with prouidence 5 Let not malice make you to reueale that which friendship bound you once for to conceale 6 In Praysing be discreet In Saluting courteous and in admonishing brotherly not hastily and angerly 7 Reade something of Gods word daily and doe not onely count it sufficient that you serue God truely your selfe but also looke that all your charge and houshold doe the same truely 8 Whatsoeuer blessings yee craue of God aske them in the name of Christ. For no man commeth to the Father but by mee saith Christ in Iohn 14.6 9 Whatsoeuer you take in hand to doe before you doe it aske counsaile of God whether it be lawfull to be done and then doe it with peace of heart if it be lawfull 10 Looke that Meate Apparell and Recreation be needfull lawfull and moderate 11 Take heede of presumptuous sinnes for though many presume that God is a God of mercy yet though he be a God of mercy to the penitent yet he will not shew mercy to them that doe presume of his mercy 12 Forsake the World and flye to God for it is vnpossible that a man louing the World should haue any comfort from God for the loue of the World is enmity with God besides keepe not any thing of the World to you that may draw you from God for God will not haue part of the Man but the whole Man 13 Be alwayes armed against temptations for those that belong to Christ must looke for temptations alwayes and thinke not if that ye haue ouercome any temptation or trouble once or twice or often that then you are freed for Christ was tempted often so were the Apostles they had one time peace and then persecution and then peace after persecution so alwaies an intercourse and when they were in peace they made ready to be armed for temptation knowing that they should haue temptation therefore this life is called a Christian warfare 14 Besides if yee are tempted and tryed it sheweth manifestly that ye belong to God for God scourgeth euery Sonne that hee receiueth Besides those that haue no temptation or tryall it sheweth manifestly they belong to the Diuell for what neede hath hee to tempt them which hee hath already in bondage 15 Flye from all sinnes in generall indeauour and then God will accept your indeauours though weake and imperfect through the perfection of Christ and sticke to no darling Sinnes for the Diuell can as well hold a man in subiection by one sinne as by all sinnes 16 Let the words that you speake proceede from the good spirit not from the flesh for if they do God abhorreth them 17 As God doth abound in mercy and goodnesse towards you so be you enlarged to him in obedience 18 When yee are tempted at any time by the Diuell or his Ministers be sure to haue the word of God to answere him for the Word is compared to a two edged sword that doth not onely defend vs but also offend our enemies 19 Christ he vsed scripture to repell the diuell he could haue driuen the Diuell away with the breath of his nosthrils but hee did answere him with Scripture to shew vs exsample that if we were tempted at any time we should with scripture repell him And that euery one may know them the better they must read them often vse conference and marking the true meaning of the words and conferring one place of Scripture with another and praying to God for to giue thee the blessing of vnderstanding it truely and the like 20 Follow your Betters obserue and marke the Wise accompany the honest and loue the Godly FINIS Printed at London by T.S. for T.P. and are to be sould at the entring of the Exchange 1612.
Short Rules sent by Maister Richard Greenham to a Gentlevvoman troubled in minde for her direction and consolation also very necessary for euery Christian to be exercised withall VVith directions for a Christian life 1 THose Temptations shall be laid to your charge wherevnto you haue yeelded c. yeeld not therefore but resist as S. Iames biddeth 2 No motion shall hurt you wherevnto you giue not consent in hart You haue no sinne which in heart you long to be freed from you want no goodnesse which in heart you couet to haue Rom. 7. 3 Where sicknesse is at the highest there is hope of diminishing so likewise in temptation 4 It is a great mercy of God to discerne a temptation in time of temptation 5 When you would doe any good or receiue any good offer vp your endeauours actions and meanes in a Sacrifice to God in Christ beseeching God to giue his holy Spirit to sanctifie his owne Sacrifice 6 If you haue receiued but a little release of temptation giue thanks and you shall haue more 7 It is a sinne as well to deny Gods gifts as to presume of them 8 Temptation smothered as fire burnes more inwardly 9 Be perswaded alwayes you are in the presence of God and his Christ and frame your actions accordingly 10 Be more afraid of secret sinnes then of open shame lay this foundation sure that there is mercy with Christ Iesus 11 Remember the former mercies you haue receiued and thinke your present estate to be none other then the estate of Gods Children if you be grieued pray to God if relieued praise him there is a vicissitude of griefe and comfort as of light and darknesse 12 Beware of a discontented minde in any case yea be contented to haue your desires denyed you of God and if your prayer be not heard of God vexe not your selfe too much neither vehemently couet nor be grieued for any thing sauing the hauing or losse of the fauour of God 13 Labour for meekenesse and patience and be ready to kisse the rod and to offer vp all to him of whom you haue receiued your selfe for if you struggle it will fare with you as with a Byrd in a Grin the more she striueth the faster she is We must vse the word in troubles and temptations as a sicke man doth his Meate which though hee eate against his stomacke presently feeleth no benefit of it yet we know by experience it doth him good and himselfe afterwards shall perceiue it 14 The patient bearing of misery is an acceptable sacrifice to God for when the Goldsmith putteth a peece of gold into the fire to make better vse of it it seemeth to the vnskilfull that hee vtterly marreth it So the children of God in affliction seeme to the iudgement of the naturall man vndone and brought to nothing but spirituall things are spiritually discerned 15 Beleeue alwayes your estate to be the worke of God and vary not therein for your humiliation your consolation the glory of God and the good of many others 16 Beware that you doe not often alter your iudgement of your estate as saying sometimes it is Gods worke sometimes melancholy sometimes your weakenesse and simplicity sometimes witchery sometimes Sathan for these diuers thoughts will much trouble you you may thinke melancholy to be an occasion but no cause and so of the rest Therefore looke stedfastly to the hand of God surely trusting on this that he not onely knoweth thereof but that whatsoeuer is done directly or indirectly by meanes or immediately all is done and gouerned by his diuine prouidence for your good 17 Say not you cannot be helped for that may hinder the worke of God Say not if I were in such a place and such a place I should doe well for God is infinite and therefore euery where aswell where you are as where you would be 18 Whereas in consideration of the falling away of many excelling you both in the ages and graces of the new birth you feare you shall not perseuer vnto the end your meditation and collection is good so long as it preserues you from the carelesnesse of the flesh but it is euill when it should dissolue the assurednesse of your faith Indeed so long as you looke vpon your selfe you haue cause of feare because you are vnable to prolong as you are to begin new birth but if you looke to God you haue nothing but matter of faith for that whom he once loueth he loueth for euer Againe as a man that swimmeth in the deepe waters is neuer in danger of drowning so long as his head continueth aboue the waters So though you swimme in deepe seas of dangerous temptations yet are you sure and secure because Christ Iesus your head is still aboue all troubles and therefore is able to draw you his member to the shore of saluation without all perill of perishing 19 Beleeue that God the Father doth gouerne your temptation that the holy Ghost shall and doth assist you that Iesus Christ was tempted to ouercome in you that the Saints on earth doe pray for you euen those which neuer knew you but doe pray for the tempted ones 20 None can iudge of the worke of the spirit but by the light of the spirit as none can iudge of the Sunne but by it selfe 21 Dispute not with God least you be confounded nor with Sathan least you be ouercome 22 Be euer perswaded your punishment is farre beneath your sinne 23 In such multitudes of Gods mercies as you enioy meruaile not you haue some Crosses God sends blessings with crosses least we should dispaire likewise crosses with blessings least wee shoud presume 24 In any outward blessing which you see you cannot haue beseech God you nay neuer be vexed for it 25 No shame griefe or sorrow pleaseth the Lord which goeth altogether seperated from a sweet perswasion of his fauour Againe our pleasing our selues in the assurance of pardon is not acceptableto God which altogether reiecteth the care of espying bewa●ling and auoyding of sin Wherefore let this be the barre ●nd bond of your affection in these cases so long as Christ goeth with you so long as the mercies of God accompany you so long as the grace of the spirit shineth vpon you be dea●●ng with your sins and condemne them vnto death Likewise while you are tender of conscience afraid of sin reuerently perswaded to walke holily with your God laugh at Sathans accusation despise destructions and set at naught the terrours of Hell You neuer erre one way nor other but by fayling of one or both these points That is either in your griefes you are grieued without comfort or in your ioyes you reioyce without reuerence whereby it fals out in the end that as in vnnecessary griefes you can finde no spiritual pleasure so in vnaduised ioyes you can finde no spi●●tuall profit 26 It is the policie of Sathan to blinde and beset with a quiet possession of an vniust mirth