Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	life_n	live_v	soul_n	13,623	5	5.6183	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77987	Habakkuks prayer applyed to the churches present occasions, on Hab. 3. 2. And Christs counsel to the church of Philadelphia, on Rev. 3. 11. / Preached before the provincial assembly of London. By that late reverend and faithful minister of Jesus Christ Mr. Samuel Balmford, pastor of Albons Woodstreet.	Balmford, Samuel, d. 1659?	1659 (1659)	Wing B608; Thomason E1910_2; ESTC R209972	36,857	123

HABAKKVKS PRAYER Applyed to the Churches present occasions on Hab. 3. 2. AND CHRISTS COUNSEL To the Church of Philadelphia on Rev. 3. 11. Preached before the Provincial Assembly of London By that late Reverend and faithful Minister of Jesus Christ Mr. SAMUEL BALMFORD Pastor of Albons Woodstreet Jer. 30. 7. Alas for that day is great so that none is like it It is even the time of Jacobs trouble But he shall be saved out of it London Printed by E. M. for Adoniram Byfield at the three Bibles in Corn-hil neer Popeshead-Alley 1659. Judicious READER FOr such the works of this holy man of God Mr. Samuel Balmford now with the Lord require and deserve Here is represented to thee a Forlorn-hope or two Scouts being a small parcel of those many excellent pieces intended for the presse sent before ad vada tentanda not as if these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were of higher stature in worth then others their fellows and therefore fitter for it Among all Superlatives Comparisons are excluded Pharez and Zara strove with equal strength for precedency of birth but this piece to satisfie the importunity of friends hath broken forth first The Author was a person of eminent Orthodoxy of Word and Life by both which as a burning and shining light he was an exact and powerful Teacher the observant eye of impartial conversers with him finding the Transcript of his Sermons in his life his actions being living walking Sermons He was a man of a meek and modest spirit cloathed with humility lowly in heart but high and eminent for gifts and graces in the esteem when living and honoring remembrance now dead of those that are best able to judge of real worth An excellent husbander of time a painfull Student of great diligence and faithfulnesse in all Trusts and Relations of much Candor affability communicativeness and condescention in matters capable of it but immoveable where sence of duty obliged him Not forward to speak and therefore his words were more savoury by lying long in the falt of a deliberate minde and administring more grace to the hearers A man of a publick spirit pitying souls mourning for the sins of others and deeply laying to heart the afflictions of the people of God abroad and their dissentions at home as these ensuing Sermons do abundantly testifie For his labours in the Ministry he was one would not do the work of the Lord negligently nor offer unto God what cost him nothing or a corrupt thing when as indeed he if any had a male in the flock and was a workman that needed not be ashamed He thought the delivery of Embassies from God to man most needed and best deserved careful preparation and therefore chose rather to approve himself to his Master and the alwayes smaller number of judicious hearers by an industrious searching the Scriptures and digging to the bottome of that excellent Mine than to spare himself and please the most by taking up with the nearest uppermost and lesse precious parcels of Ore he hung not forth Alchimy lace that a little wearing by judicious meditation would have changed the colour of but of such true and pure metal as would wear brighter and brighter When some thorow injudiciousnesse and possibly prejudice the Lord give such repentance to life accounted his bodily presence as they Pauls weak and contemptible and felt not the evidence and demonstration of the spirit in his words others more judicious and candid hearers Christians and Ministers have had their souls hanging on his lips and heard him with joy and delight to their great profiting Though he well knew the distempered palate of these diseased times yet would not this fisher of men bait the ground to draw multitudes about him with curious enquiries and speculations unprofitable though pleasing notions quarum inventarum solus fructus est invenisse nor talking impertinencies without book or filling up vacuities by most insipid and nauseous tautologies He did not by strength and strain of lungs comick actions peculiar modes of carriage having more of affectation than affection in them make up defect of matter nor cloud wisdom with words without knowledge wrapping up mysterious non-sense in silken phrases nor dresse up sober truths in the meretricious garb of enticing words of mans wisdom nor yet did he prostitute the Word to the contempt of the worldly-wise or disadvantage it to better-minded more judicious hearers by flatnesse or rudenesse of stile but sought out acceptable words those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 making words still servants to matter neither going before vainly nor yet following at too great a distance negligently He did not leap into his matter without trying and showing the ground he went upon but accurately weighed the Original carefully consulted with expositors solidly stated the subject of his discourse and then excellently divided the Word of Truth by exact natural Method and faithful application to the different conditions of soules therein not venting his passions nor concealing Gods truth He was every way such as not to have known him was an unhappinesse to have indeed known him and not honoured him an impossibility Of him the world was not worthy he therefore is taken away from the evil to come These things I freely testify from the full knowledge I had of him having by him been allowed the happinesse of a free converse and intimate acquaintance with him by which I must acknowledge my selfe to have been much and often profited Thomas Parson THe Reverend and Learned Author of these ensuing Sermons very seasonable and useful for these times was a Minister of Christ endued with very good abilities a workman that needed not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth full of piety modesty humility and integrity Sound in the Faith immovable in the Truth painful in his Ministerial imployment and one who hath left a precious name behind him among stall those who throughly knew him And therefore unto the testimony given of him by my Reverend Brother I do freely chearfully and most heartily subscribe Edm. Calamy Errata Page 1. in the Text for receive r. revive for people r. years p. 2. l. 21. for open r. opine p. 5. l. 15. dele and mercy page 6. line 9. for use r. verse page 13. line 10. for Psal r. Isai p. 15. l. 4. for favor r. wrath p. 34. l. 21. for know r. known p. 41. l. 2. dele experienced and appeared p. 53. l. 4. for of r. by p. 66. l. 26. for keep r. kept p. 72. l. 11. for Christ r. Christians p. 78. l. 8. for usual r. useful p. 84. l. 9. for apprehension r. approach Habakkuks Prayer applyed to the Churches present occasions Habakkuk 3. 2. O Lord I have heard thy speech and was afraid O Lord receive thy work in the midst of thy people in the midst of the year make known in wrath remember mercy THe Prophesie of this holy Prophet is termed a Burden especially in regard of the sad and

fear and trembling at the denunciation of Gods judgements and especially at the Prognosticks and signals of dangers and miseries hanging over the Church and people of God My flesh trembleth for fear of thee and I am afraid of thy judgements so David Psal 119. 120. Good King Jehoshaphat having certain intelligence of grear Forces of combined Enemies preparing against him and Gods people he feared 2 Chr. 20. 3. And Jehoshaphat feared and set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah And such a feare well tempered ought to be found in them upon such occasion and that most rationally For consider with me I beseech you 1. The speech and voice of God when it is but preceptive onely and in the way of commanding is enough to strike his people with fear as it may be presented to them in a Majestick manner So it did at Mount Sinai when God delivered his Law to his people though then they stood upon good terms with him For there is a dreadfulness ever in the Soveraign Majestique Presence of God See Psal 89. 7. God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the Saints and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him Much rather then when he utters himself in the way of threatnings of judgments which are most fit to beget fears in the soul 2. We know that the very goodnesse of God and his pardoning mercy should work the soul about by the way of love unto a Reverential and Cautionary Fear of offending him Psal 130. 4. But there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared How much more properly then may the severity of God and his menaced judgements cause a trembling fear in them whom they concern 3. We finde God offended at men and those of his own people not only for formal sinfull matters of provocation but even for not fearing as they should and not trembling before him in the way of his judgements So with Judah I saw saith he when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away and given her a bill of divorce yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not c. Jer. 3. 8. So with the remnant of Judah during the Captivity in Babylon who went down into Egypt For God threatned them for having forgotten the wickedness of their Fathers and for not being humbled at that day nor having feared c. Jer. 44. 9 10. 4. And on the contrary we finde God in a just expectal of this fearfull trembling disposition at the voice of his threatnings and judgements and well pleased with it The Lion hath roared who will not fear Amos 3. 8. Shall a Trumpet be blown in the City and the people not be afraid Jude ver 6. To this man will I look saith God even to him that is poore and of a contrite spirit and trembleth at my word Isa 66. 2. Quest But what manner of fear and trembling at Gods threatnings may this be which is required Doth not the Scripture say that The righteous man shall not be afraid of evill tidings because his heart is fixed trusting in the Lord Psal 112. 7. And doth not the Scripture divers times forbid and reprove the people of God for their fear of enemies and oppressors and a sad and calamitous condition under them Who art thou saith God that art afraid of a man that shall dye and of the son of man that shall be made as grass c and that hast feared continually because of the fury of the oppressor as if he were ready to destroy c. Psal 51. 12 13. Answ It must be granted there is a great deale of fear that the poor people of God are subject unto in this life which is and may most justly be interdicted and forbidden to them and checked in them by the Spirit of God as being inordinate and sinfull in sundry respects and yet it must be held that there is a fear of threatned judgements from God which is not onely indulged to them but falls under duty There is a great deale of base slavish fear in the ground of it of excessive fear in the degree of it and of either preposterous or otherwise unseasonable fear in the time of it as it then works unseasonably when God after a time of long publick triall and affliction discovers himself by sundry tokens and evidences ready to comfort his people And so in that place mentioned in Isa 51 12 13. See the Context thereabout But while God speaks terrible things unto his his people they ought to fear Provided that their feare be thus qualified 1. It must be a Fear that hath the great God properly for its Object and not the Creature I take it to be generally observable in the holy Scripture that God finds not fault with his people or any other for fearing him no not meerly in regard of his power and wrath as King of Nations See Jer. 10. 7. Who would not fear thee O King of Nations for to thee doth it appertain forasmuch as among all the wise men of the Nations and in all their Kingdoms there is none like unto thee And Psal 90. 11. Who knoweth the power of thine anger even according to thy fear so is thy favour Isa 19. 16. In that day shall Egypt be like unto women and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of Hosts which he shaketh over it But for fearing the Creature suppose the instrument he useth of his wrath or punishing displeasure is that werein the base degeneration of humane fear lieth that men look not at or consider not the chief Efficient and Meritorious causes of judgment threatned but the matter of it the Instruments of it only And so not at the hand of God in it and his displeasure stirred up by sin but at the hand of man or other Creatures executing it and the matter of loss or smart in it Their fear is not before the Name of God Mal. 2. 5. but before the names and faces of men Now this is base and quite contrary to the temper that God requireth who in case of judgements or dangers would not have sensual but spiritual considerations taken on for they that know Gods Name aright should learn by an holy Chimistry as it were to abstract a spirituall fear of the Creator from the carnall feare of Creatures and preserve that fear by them 2. It must be a Fear that riseth not onely out of Self-love as apprehensive only of personal dangers But a fear that ariseth from true brotherly charity born towards the community of Gods People and apprehensive of Divine anger kindled against them and of dangers toward them This Prophet feared in the behalf of the people and prayed in behalf of the people of God and not of himself either only or chiefly Publique respects should outweigh private in all that would be accepted of God

8. used or was used for them in respect of their Land Isa 63. 17 18. The people of thy holinesse have enjoyed it but a while and in a small scantling c. But to draw to a conclusion 3. Would we have God revive this work for his people Then we must pray also that God would revive his work in his people and with it his people themselves and each of us is to look that it be revived in himself What work is this First The life of Faith in the main Remember The just shall live by Faith Chap. 2. 4. that is Faith shall be a principle of life exercising many lively acts in them and they shall attain to the life of Restauration and Comfort by believing Gods promises And therefore we are not to lie down in any dejections or despondences of mind through distrust of Gods power or promises in any case that may conduce most to his glory in his peoples good Secondly The Spirit of prayer for the reparation of Zion the spiritual restorement of the Church for when the Lord shall stir up his servants more generally and heartily to pray with melting compassionate affections toward the spiritual dilapidations deformities of his Churches it will be a good sign that the set time to favor his Zion is come See Psal 102 13 14. Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion for the time to favour her yea the set time is come For thy servants take pleasure in her stones and favour the dust thereof 3ly Resolutions for best endeavours in behalf of the work of Reformation This concerns you all beloved in your several places and therefore to be far from being obstructors of it through worldly and carnal ends instead of being its promoters and advancers and they that have pretended to build with Gods people when they have intended to hinder as they in Ezra 4. 2 3. God will discover them But more especially this concerns you my reverend and much respected Brethren of the Provincial Assembly to look that you put forth revived spirits toward this work If that were true sano sensu Jupiter quos servare vult suscitat then 't is as true eos per quos servare vult c. If God quicken up those whom he will save then those by whom he will save others instrumentally O let us therefore through grace 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 stir up the gifts and graces of God in us let us quicken up our selves to use all counsels and endeavours for the furtherance of Gods Church-work and joyntly attend upon and prosecute all those good means according to our trust undertaken whereby it may be carried on forward waiting on God for the issues of all our prayers and all our endeavours which shall seem best to his heavenly wisdom However events shall fall out to us in our time resolve as our Prophet doth infer ver 17 18. Although the fig-tree shall not blossome neither shall fruit be in the vines the labour of the Olive shall faile and the fields shall yeeld no meat the flock shall be cut off from the fold and there shall be no herd in the stalls Yet I will rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my salvation FINIS Christs counsel to the Church of Philadelphia Rev. 3. 11. Hold that fast which thou hast that no man take thy crown THese are a parcel of the words of Christ immediately directed unto the Angel of the Church in Philadelphia but mediately to that whole Church and every Member of it yea intended for the good of other Churches also and therefore of ours For he that hath an ear let him hear what the spirit saith unto the Churches It is the common Epiphonema which our Lord subjoyns to all his Epistles unto those Asian Churches written according to the dictate of his spirit by the pen of his Apostle John in the second and third Chapters of this Book He would have every one that hath an hearing ear to lend his attention to that which is spoken by his spirit to what Church soever in that such is the general nature of all Churches and Church-Members as either they do or may stand in need of all such divine admonitions as are addressed occasionally to any of them Now whether those seven particular Churches written unto by our Lord in this Context were Types of several Churches of several constitutions and temperaments and conditions to follow in after-times by divine providence I will forbear to assert positively though I cannot but say what I think that the invention of one of our own Worthies was very bright and clear in finding out those suitable correspondencies between these seven and others succeeding down to this present age respectively Now for that Church in Philadelphia to which my Text is part of that which was written this is remarkable concerning it that it that of Smyrna were the only Churches of all the seven which our Lord Christ openly reproved not at all wheras he found something reproveable in all the rest as on the other side it is remarkable concerning that of the Laodiceans that it was the only Church of the seven which Christ commended not at all whereas he took notice of something commendable in all the rest and why this not because there was nothing faulty or imperfect in those of Smyrna and Philadelphia but to shew how much the Lord favoureth humble modesty nor because there was nothing good in that of Leodicea but to shew how much the Lord disliketh proud vain-glory But I wave such general Observations I draw nigh to the words read unto Sect. you And not to take up any of our time with an exact Analysis of Christ his Epistle to Philadelphia because I shall go near to draw all the lines from the utmost circūstance of it into the center of my Text know only that after he had given testimony to the present good that was in her ver 8. and assurance of after goodness he would shew to her ver 9 10. both in subduing disguised Adversaries and in preserving her under temptations he comes in the words I have hinted upon to exhort her unto duty upon a double motive The duty is To to hold fast that which she had Brevis est hortatio sed Emphatica valde Pareus The first motive which is placed in the front is taken from the speedinesse of Christ his coming behold I come quickly The second which follows in the rear is from the possibility of danger upon neglect of that duty that no man take thy Crown First of the duty Touching which take up this Observation that It concerns the best of Gods Obser Churches and people to hold fast that which they have I purpose to handle this Point which is the principal in the Use so as ye shall perceive it reacheth not only Church-Officers but also Church-members and those of what condition soever this duty being of universal concernment to