Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	high_a	zeal_n	zealous_a	45	3	8.8319	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A25205	Duty and interest united in prayer and praise for kings and all that are in authority from I Tim. II. 1,2 : being a sermon preach'd at Westminster upon the late day of thanksgiving, Sept. 8, 1695 / by V.A.	Alsop, Vincent, 1629 or 30-1703.	1695 (1695)	Wing A2908; ESTC R27733	27,230	36

improper in our lowest condition In the managing this observation I will endeavour 1. Briefly to confirm it 2. Then largely to apply it I. For Confirmation And for that I shall only offer three consideratious 1. Reason The wise God has put all things in this lower world in a state of mixture none so evil but has a mixture of good to allay the evil none so good but has a mixture of evil to dilute the goodness of it God oftentimes writes bitter things against a person against a people but withal sends some Mercy to sweeten it at other times he indulges us pleasant morsels but withal provides a mixture of crosses that we may not surseit upon the luscious Mercies And as the good is distinguisht from the evil tho not separated so the evil is mingled with the good but not confused good is good still tho it receives a tincture of evil and evil is evil still tho it receives a dash of goodness Now as mercy and judgment sorrow and joy are as it were blended together into one mass so will our praises and prayers have their proper employments in both If God sets the good against the evil Eccles. 7. 14 there 's matter for prayer that God would turn the evil unto good Gen. 50. 20. and matter for praise too that God has promised it shall work for good Rom 8. 28. And first let us for the clearing of this point look back into former ages especially into the Jewish state 2 Chron. 15. 16 17. we read that Asa removed his Mother from being Queen because she had made an Idol in a Grove To depose an Idolatress was then it seems one good step towards a happy Reformation And Asa cut down her Idol and stamp it and burnt it by the brook Kidron What rejoycing was there in Judah that the work of Reformation went on so pleasantly What cause of thanksgiving to God that he had inspired the King with such a zeal for the true worship of God against Idolatry But yet 16. 17. The high places were not taken away out of Israel There 's matter of lamentation that the work advanc'd no further and of prayer too that God would raise such a spirit as might pluck them down also Nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days The most perfect heart of the most zealous Prince cannot always go through to a perfect Reformation But do we not read that this good King Asa ch 14. v. 5. Took away out of all the Cities of Judah the high places and the images True out of Judah but not out of Israel Where lay the reason of the Difference In Judah he had an haereditary right had better hold on the spirits of the people there was a sweet harmony between the King and the People there he might venture farther in Reformation In Israel he had but an acquired right by Conquest the People were averse to a through Reformation there he must use caution and prudence However the Idols were broken down there 's matter of rejoycing and praise the high places are not removed there 's matter of sorrow and prayer Sometimes the King may be inclin'd to reform and a restli●● People may binder there give thanks to God for a well inclined King and pray that he would cure the Peoples bigotry Sometimes a King may incline to Idolatry and the People adhere to the true Religion give thanks for a fixed people and pray for an averse Prince Secondly Let us but look into our own hearts and there we shall find too great a mixture there we shall meet with grace and nature heaven and earth flesh and spirit in continual combat Gal. 5. 17. The flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these are contrary the one to the other so that ye cannot do the things that ye would The flesh has its interest motions and actings the spirit opposes it it cannot do the evil it would the spirit breathes moves works towards God the flesh opposes it so that it cannot do the good it would The Law of the mind commands the serving glorifying of God the Law of the members rebels and wars against it the law of the members leads to bondage under sin the law of the mind resists it What reason of strong cries and prayers that we may be delivered from this body of death Rom. 7. 24. What cause of thanksgiving that Christ gives us the victory that with our minds we serve the law of God v. 20. In a word we are furnisht with matter of thanksgiving that we are on this side Hell and yet have mighty reasons for prayer too because we are on this side Heaven Thirdly Let 's view our case at home we shall find a mixture ●here of good and evil affording us matter of sorrow and joy and hence of prayer and praise God has given our King some good success abroad let us give thanks for that but our victories are purchased with the lives the blood of many of our fellow Subjects there 's matter of mourning to cool the joy of our successes and still for further prayer that the issue of this bloody war may be a happy just and honourable peace We have large matter of thanksgiving that God by our King has given a check to the Arms of that Monarch who had swallow'd up so many Countries and threatned the rest but still cause of servent prayer that God would yet use his Majesty as an instrument in the hand of his wise and gracious Counsels to reduce the man of the earth to reason that he may no more triumph Again we have abundant reason to give thanks for our King that under his auspicious Reign we may be as holy as we will yet have we reasons for further prayer that men may not be as wicked as they will and as their own naughty hearts and the Tempter would prompt them to be Such then being the posture of all humane affairs there is a dark and bright side of the same cloud they are checquer'd with black and white throughout that as they administer matter of joy and sorrow trouble and comfort and nothing is sincere and without mixture so they bespeak of us both prayer and praise In Hell the wrath of God is poured out without mixture Rev. 14. 10. without mixture either of mercy from God or hope in them In Heaven the love of God is given out without mixture either of anger in God or fear in the blessed but we in this middle state have our hopes and fears our tears and rejoycings which call for praise in our most depressed and prayer in our most exalted condition II. Reason Is drawn from the natural and necessary connexion between these two duties of Prayer and Thanksgiving they are twins of the same womb they are born they breathe they smile or weep live or die together The renewed nature the new heart is but one the actings which proceed from

men which seems very hard to flesh and blood We are apt to think we behave our selves well towards all men if we can bear their insolences forbear revenge and rest content under their provocations and think it to be a straining of the point too far to press us to give thanks for them But indeed in some cases we owe more 〈◊〉 than to our friends the one will conceal the other divulge our failings and seeing our hearts are so deceitful and our friends so partial let 's give thanks to God that we have enemies that will watch against and learn from thence to watch over our selves We are debtors to the poor and to the rich the poorest may lend us the subsidy of their prayers of their holy examples they may teach us meekness under hard treatments of men patience under the hand of God submission to poverty improvement of trials and afflictions which are mercies of so great value that we cannot expect any obligations equivalent from the richest 2. But especially we owe our supplications prayers intercessions and thanksgivings for Kings and all that are in authority under them If self were rightly understood this duty would be the easiest task that ever was imposed upon us for in praying for them we pray for the Nation and so for our selves the prosperity and success of the King is the prosperity of the whole Kingdom and as the Philosopher curst the man whoever he was that first divided bonum utile honestum that which is profitable from that which is just and righteous So may they be lookt upon as the common Plagues of a Nation who first divided the interest of the Prince from that of his People or first taught the People to set up an interest distinct and separate from that of their Prince 3. The Reasons which support so weighty a duty are next to be attended to and they are two The first is drawn from our clear duty the second from our unquestionable interest and consider the cause we have to acknowledge the goodness of God who has so strongly united both these that we can never fail in the former but we must be false to the latter 1. The former Reason is drawn from the conscience of the divine Command given forth by his Apostle l exhort under the authority of which Praecept the highest spirit must bow the stubbornest bend This answers all objections silences all disputes satisfies all scruples This Text is not constitutive of a new duty but declarative of an old obligation which from the beginning lay upon the Conscience this was not a duty now newly created but newly exemplified he does not now make a new bond but ties it closer that Conscience may feel its bonds when Conscience slumbers it must be awakened and when a Notion is much worn off it must be refresht and toucht up again to the Original 2. The other Reason is drawn from our own interest and advantage that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty Which Reason has two branches 1. Our civil interest will lie much in 't that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life 'T is but a languishing dying comfort we can take in any thing we call ours if we cannot possess it in Peace Security is the sweetness of Propriety whatever be the furniture of our table the sawce of every morsel is peace and quietness We look upon all our good things with a pitiful eye when we think they may be ours but for this moment The Sword of a foreign Enemy the Rapine of some petty Tyrant may sweep away what we have in an hour 2. Our Religious interest is greatly concern'd in this duty that we may lead a life in all godliness and honesty Reason then we have to pray and give thanks for our Rulers that we may and do lead such a life in outward peace with a freedom to worship our God according to his will reveal'd to us in his holy word From the words thus open'd many observations offer themselves I must content my self and I hope you with this one clear from the Text and pertinent to the present occasion Doctrine A religious and Loyal People can never want just cause to praise and give thanks to God for their Kings and Governours If they be bad yet we have reason to pray God would mend them and to praise God too that they are no worse that if they be not such as are eligible yet that they are such as are tolerable If they be good and gracious then the case is plain to pray he will confirm them and to give thanks that we who have neither merit nor meetness for so great a favour yet are blessed with it If God shall exalt the Nation we have cause enough to pray that he would not cast us down if he shall lay us low to bless his name that we are laid no lower If God shall prosper our King with success we have reason still to fear and pray that our turning those successes into wantonnes may not provoke God to turn his hand against us if he shall humble us with adverse providences yet will there remain matter of thanksgiving that we are not consumed We can never be so low but the everlasting arms are underneath us our enemies are never so high but the Almighty arm of God is above them Let the storms rise and roar and rage our God fits above them There 's matter of praise if it be a dead calm still we have reason to pray that storms may not surprize us The Psalmist has drawn the circumference of our rejoycing and our fears with great exactness Psal. 2. 11. Rejoyce with trembling Never such cause of rejoycing but it suggests matter of trembling never such cause of fears but it affords matter for hope place for faith and room for thanksgiving to God that we are not sunk in utter despair The Apostle 1 Cor. 7. 30. teaches us the due measure of sorrow To weep as tho we wept not and the true bounds of rejoycing too To rejoice as if we rejoiced not The former because God can 〈◊〉 ●way those tears from our eyes the latter because he can●allay 〈◊〉 most pro●use rejoycing and mingle our cup of consolation with the waters of bitter affliction when God exalts us we are cautioned not to exalt our selves but our God when he abases us he would have us keep our hearts low but to lift the eye of our faith on high And this will be the true mean under the various dispensations of providence when God humbles us to be humbled when he chastises us to be chastifed but not sink in ●●pondency when he lifts us up then to be lifted in praises The Apostle James ch 5. 15. instructs us that Prayer is the proper duty for a day of affliction that praise is the suitable duty for prosperity but yet s● that prayer is never out of season in our highest not praise