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	sin_n	word_n	8,197	5	4.1049	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A72251	The conditions of Christianity, or, The termes upon which Christ will be followed a necessary consideration for them that otherwise would bee apt to take up religion upon trust, and only keep company with Christ awhile for fashion sake / by Mr. Christopher Harvey, sometime minister of Gods word at Bunbury in Cheshire.	Harvey, Christopher, d. ca. 1602.	1636 (1636)	STC 12897.5; ESTC S5223	17,435	83

kingdom of heaven and those eternall joyes which heart cannot thinke nor have ever entred into the mind of any man to bee blessed and happy for evermore I will not endeavour to ●ell you the excellency of them that shall follow Christ my tongue cannot utter it the tongue of any man is but the tongue of a ●abe to tell you these things a small tast thereof in our soules will en●lame us with a longing after it one glimpse therof is sufficient to ravish us with a desire of it Our Saviour in a word telleth his Disciples asking him what they shall have that have left all and followed him Mat. 19.28 that they shall participate with him in his soveraigne glory and in his kingdome shall sit on thrones like Princes and Iudge th● twelve tribes of Israel Ye● shall bee made Kings not o● earth or earthly things bu● of heaven 1 Cor. 6.3 yee shall judg● the tribes of Israel yea th● very Angels themselves ● as Paul teacheth Tha● thing which wee see th● greatest in this world to bee a King Matth. 20.23 a Iudge tha● which Zebedees Children desired in this life that and farre greater shall every one of them have that follow CHRIST not Zebedees Children but every one of us that follow Christ shall sit on his right hand in his heavenly kingdome But let us see what condition is required of them that must come to this exceeding glory what the price thereof is and what wee must lay out if wee will attaine it Two things Christ requireth First that wee should deny our selves that is utterly to renounce whatsoever is naturally in us whether it appertaine to our wit or knowledge or whether it belong to our affections actions deeds and practices For our owne wit not to credit it to refuse our own counsell to renounce what flesh and bloud putteth in our heads and to bee content to know nothing to understand nothing but what Christ hath taught us and willed us to know 1 Cor. 3.18 Which Saint Paul declareth when he saith that if any will be wise the onely way is to become a foole a foole to the world a foole to flesh and bloud a foole to all that have not submitted themselves to Christ this is the way to be wise this is the first steppe which we must make in following Christ The first thing when wee come into Christs Schoole that wee must tread upon is our owne necke A hard lesson deare brethren for flesh and bloud which naturally is puffed up with a selfe-liking of it selfe and of those things which belong to it which is the cause indeed 1 Cor. 1.26 that so few wise so few noble so few mighty are called to follow Christ for that they are hardly brought to this passe to deny and defie themselves to account of their wisedome as folly their strength weakenesse their nobility basenesse to esteeme all things in them as dung to winne Iesus Christ. And yet so it is that until we be brought to this passe to deny all that is in us to lay even our crownes at Christs feet we cannot follow him Neither must wee onely deny our knowledge wit and understanding to learne and know onely what Christ hath taught us but we must also deny our owne deeds such thoughts and works as wee are naturally given unto For hee that will follow Christ 1 Pet. 1.15 2 Cor. 6.14 15. must be holy as he is holy for what fellowship can there be betwixt light and darknesse Christ and the sonnes of Belial wicked and ungodly persons Amos 3.3 and our Saviour Christ Can two walke together except they bee agreed By nature wee are all sinners our hearts are set on fleshly lusts and ungodly deeds which God hateth and his soule hath no pleasure in and all sinners are his enemies whom his soule hateth Wherefore till such time as wee have denied these ungodly lusts and naturall transgressions wherein we walk even from our birth we are enemies to God and therfore being not agreed and made friends wee cannot walke together with God we cannot follow Christ 1 Ioh. 1.6 Wherefore Saint Iohn telleth us that whosoever saith that he hath fellowship with Christ that he is his companion that he followeth him and walketh in darkenesse in his owne way he lyeth there is no truth in him For none can follow CHRIST but hee that hath denyed himselfe forgone his wicked life which naturally he is inclined to and is become a new Creature Here we may mark that our Saviour biddeth us deny our selves Hee saith not deny ungodly workes deny the wisedome of the flesh though he meaneth as hath beene said such things but deny our selves to shew unto us the great corruption which is in our nature Rom. 6.6 that wee are not only sinfull but even sin it selfe as it were this body of sinne wee must deny our selves Col. 3.5 So Saint Paul calleth them our members Mortifie your earthly members To which purpose also the Scripture speaketh when it saith that we are not only sick in sinnes and trespasses Eph. 2.1 or wounded or maymed but even dead of no more power and ability to doe that which GOD liketh then dead men to performe the actions of this life Ioh. 5.25 28. And our Saviour Christ teacheth that it is the power of his Gospell to raise not such as are fallen not such as are a sleepe but even those that are dead yea such as are in the graves over whom death hath dominion who are buryed as dead men Ps 51.10 in sins and transgressions Which also the holy Prophets acknowledged when David prayeth not to reforme or amend as a thing in which some small fault was but to create a new heart within him to frame him again and cast him as it were in a new mould Create in me a cleane heart O Lord and renew a right spirit within mee If you aske of me how can this be This is an hard speech that wee are dead that we can doe nothing to what purpose then is Gods word preached to us Why are wee commanded to serve God to follow Christ If wee be dead we cannot doe it it is in vaine to command any such thing Nay God forbid we should so think Our Saviours words bee truth and life Hee saith his Gospell is preached even to them that are as dead men in the graves And how then Is that to any purpose Yea sure Ioh. 5.28 for hee saith that the power thereof is such that they shall heare which are in their graves We be dead in sinnes not able to move one whit to any good thing yet is the Gospell preached to us c. that it will quicken us it will revive and set us on our feet it will raise us from the death of sinne and create us anew to serve God and walke in his Commandements Which point the Lord openeth in the Prophet Ezekiel speaking of

the gathering together of his Church hee saith Ezek. 11.19 I will give them one heart and put a new spirit within their bowels I will take the stony heart out of their bodyes and I will give them an heart of flesh that they may walke in my statutes and they shall be my people and I will be their God Hee sheweth what wee are by nature what metall wee are made of stones the workman that doth this great fear is God I will take the stony heart out of their bodyes Man can make new faces Hypocrites can alter their countenances but it is GOD alone that maketh new hearts There is within each one of us a heart of stone is it then any marvell though we be beaten upon never so hard that we yeeld not though the seed bee cast never so oft that it groweth not though the dew of heaven fall never so oft that wee fructifie not Why our heart is of stone which beateth backe the stroake and will not yeeld it is a rocke on which the seed cannot take root a hard flint into which the hard droppes cannot pierce And how shall wee doe Heb. 6.7.7 8. the ground which receiveth the raine and bringeth not forth fruit is cursed and shall bee burned GOD alone deere brethren can rippe us up and pul up this stony heart and place for it an heart of flesh The onely hammer that breaketh this stone Ier. 23.29 is the word of God wherefore we must willingly suffer it to be stricken therewithall that it may be bruised The rod of Gods power Ps 110.2 as it is called in the Psalme if it strike the rocke the waters shall gush out of it But before this our heart is a stone which cannot yeeld which cannot bee bowed untoward nothing fit without preparation not fit to be taught it cannot bee mended wee must needs have a new It is stone hard mettall nothing fit for this purpose it must bee taken away quite away and another sort of matter put in place If we will follow Christ wee must renounce even our selves The second generall point is the taking up of our Crosse we must take it up It is not a badge of Christians to have a Crosse on their backes for the wicked also have very many but the difference is this the wicked have crosses layd on their backes which they beare but against their wills the godly that follow Christ have taken up their Crosses that is have willingly submitted themselves thereunto A wild and unruly horse which is to be broken beareth his rider on his backe but it is against his will hee flingeth and runneth and chafeth but in vaine hee tooke not up his rider but beareth him against his will So is it with the ungodly they are often in misfortune and trouble and adversity they have many crosses on their backes but faine would they shake them off if they could but all in vaine the godly have stooped downe and taken up their Crosse and patiently carry it because they know it is Gods appointment so to exercise al those whom he meaneth to make inheritors of his kingdome The name of Crosse in this place as in diverse others of the New Testament is used for any misery trouble affliction distresse vexation of body or mind which it pleaseth GOD to send upon his Children which because it is diverse and not after one sort Christ commandeth each one to take up his owne Crosse GOD having layd this on one that on another according to his mercy and wisedome which disposeth as pleaseth him of them on some hee layeth a lighter because he knoweth their weaknesse and being faithfull will not tempt them above their strength on others a heavier to whom hee hath given a greater measure of patience and endurance But whatsoever it bee whether small or great light or heavy we must be content to sustaine it The name of Crosse is not used without great cause in this and the like places The death of the Crosse was a punishment not only most painfull but most ignominious also and full of all shame and reproach and so much the more Deut. 21.23 among the Iewes for that he was pronounced accursed by GODS owne mouth that came to this death The Gallowes among us is shamefull as you know and to bee hanged wee count it commonly a dogs death but this cannot bee in such contempt as was the Crosse which by GODS owne mouth brought a ●rse to every one that han●●d on it And so much ●●emore was the shame of them that so dyed for that they were enforced as the Evangelists and other ●●ophane writers teach to ●●rry it on their backes which they should present●● be hanged upon For ●here we read that Simon ● Cyrene was enforced Mar. 15.21 to ●●re the Crosse which our ●●viour dyed on it was ● that he being wearyed and weakened with paines and sorrowes did himselfe then hee was in the way ●●nt under it not able to ●●rry it any longer Wherefore when Christ talketh ●ere of a Crosse which every one must take up ● is meant that they should prepare themselves for the most grievous and m● shamefull and contemp●●ous dealing which 〈◊〉 world could devise agai●●● them So that wee m●●● bee content to sustaine 〈◊〉 griefes miseries losse 〈◊〉 friends of goods bani●●ment imprisonment to 〈◊〉 slandered envied bely● evil spoken of reproache● in a word to endure wh● the naughtinesse and malice of all the world c● devise against us even 〈◊〉 the very death For this 〈◊〉 to take up our Crosse th● is the charge wee must b● at if wee will build o● house the precious pear● ●l cost not a whit lesse Againe when all our af●●ctions which God sen●●th us are called crosses ●is to our great comfort ●hen we see that whatsoever we endure for Christs ●e and his Gospell wee ●e crucified as it were that 〈◊〉 communicate with him suffering and that after ●ort Christ beareth this ●rosse with us For such fellowship and partaking there betwixt Christ the ●ad and his servants the members that when they ●●ffer Acts 9.4 hee suffereth with them Paul persecuted ●●em and therefore persecuted him and so I trow ●aint Paul himselfe afterwards calleth his sufferings Christs Col. 1.24 Now fulfill 〈◊〉 my flesh the rest of the ●flictions of CHRIST Hee hath suffered perfect to redeeme us but the suffering of tryal and proo●● hee endureth in his members partaking with the●● all their punishments 〈◊〉 afflictions are Crosses 〈◊〉 that when wee are in a● calamity for Gods cau●● let us call to minde th● this is our Crosse and ta● it on our backe patient●● remembring that Christ in our company to partake with us thereof Ru●● found such goodnesse 〈◊〉 Naomi her mother in Law that Ruth 1.16 when shee was to depart out of Moab when Ruth was borne and brought up into the land of Israel Ruth would not leave her in any case though her