Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	old_a	young_a	youth_n	300	4	8.2577	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A64984	The death of ministers improved. Or, an exhortation to the inhabitants of Horsley on Glocester-shire, and others, on the much lamented death of that reverend and faithful minister of the Gospel, Mr. Henry Stubbs By Tho. Vincent, John Turner, Rob. Perrott, M. Pemberton. To which is added a sermon upon that occasion, by Richard Baxter.	Vincent, Thomas, 1634-1678.; Turner, Robert, b. 1649 or 50, 4aut.; R. P. (Robert Perrot) aut.; Pemberton, Matthew, d. 1691. aut.; Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1678 (1678)	Wing V430; ESTC R221906	43,418	108

away from God don't give the strength of your years too Let the time past be sufficient wherein you have served divers lusts and let the remaining part of your days be devoted unto God It is likely that many of you are now got into intanglements and will be hindred by incumbring business in the work which is like to be more difficult than if you had begun betimes but think although the difficulty of Repentance be never so great yet the necessity of Repentance is far greater Repentance is both universally and absolutely altogether indispensably necessary you must repent all of you must repent otherwise you are lost irrecoverably and will perish everlastingly It may be hard to you now and grievous to unravel all your sinful works to undo what hither to you have been doing to begin another life now after you have spent or rather mispent so much of your time It may be very grievous to you to cut off your right hands to pluck out your right eyes but better do so than that the whole body be cast into the fire we mean it is better to part with your most beloved lusts called in the Scripture and by our Saviour the right hands and the right eyes than that the Soul should perish in sin and be tormented in Hell surely Hells torments is far more grievous than repenting work and converting work can be O be not befooled by the deluding Devil and your own deceitful hearts to defer so great and necessary work any longer you have thought to repent at this time and thought to repent at that time and yet this time hath come and that time hath come and both have slipt and are gone and still you are where you were as far from Repentance yea further from it more indisposed more averse to it than at the beginning Sinners what do you resolve upon will you hold fast sin still Will you pursue your lusts to the burning lake Or will you defer again this work of Repentance until a fitter season What season can be more fit than the present season when God calleth you commandeth you and stretcheth forth his hand to encourage you unto this duty Thirdly And lastly We shall add one word to call old sinners to Repentance your Spring is past your Summer is ended your Winter is come and yet you have not repented yet have not amended And what do you think now to do Are you resolved to finish your course as you have begun it Are you resolved to fill up the measure of your sin with your days and will you deafen your ears against all Gods calls unto the last You have one foot in the grave and don 't you sometimes think of Death Can you think to live here always Don't you feel your strength to decay Have you no Harbingers and forerunners of death with you Do not your Silver hairs mind you of the loosing of the silver cord and your daily breakings through the infirmities of old age of the breaking of the golden bowl and pitcher at the fountain and wheel at the cistern whom dust shall return to the earth as it was and the Spirit to God that gave it that by him you may be judged Eccl. 12.6 7. Young ones may die in youth but you must die in old age you cannot last much longer in a moment you may go down into your dust and what do you think will become of your Souls when they are separated from your bodies Will not God call you to an account for all your sins Shall you not receive according to what you have done in the body Can you be content that God should banish you from his presence for ever and punish you amongst Devils in Hell Can you dwell with devouring fire Can you inhabit everlasting burnings Can you endure to be tormented and that to eternity and that with extremity of torments But you will say is there no hope I answer the Devil may tell you there is no hope when you were young the Devel perswaded you it was too soon to repent and in the strength of your years that it was too soon time enough hereafter and now it may be he would perswade you it is too late yet however grey-headed Converts are very rare some such there are and have been found We read Math. 20.6 of some called to work in the vineyard at the eleventh hour Indeed your Repentance now will be with the greatest difficulty but consider what hath been said of its necessity and you may take same encouragement from its possibility It is possible for you to obtain Repentance and Remission and Salvation if without further delay you seek it if you diligently seek it You have need to ransack your hearts to read over the Register of your Consciences to draw up bills of inditement against your selves you have need to retire within to go down into your Spirits with the candle of the Lord in one hand and the word of the Lord in the other hand that you may find out and bring out and slay those lusts there which war against you and which if they be not slain will be your ruin you have need to humble your selves greatly before the Lord to lie very low to cry very loud to mourn and weep to grieve and lament over so many sins and those so highly aggravated as yours have been And then know there is mercy enough in store for such as you free-grace can save the oldest and greatest sinner the merits of Christ are sufficient for your pardon the promises of the Covenant are large and may reach the worst of you O then break off your sins by Repentance and lay hold on the Lord Jesus by faith and devote what remaineth of your life unto God and it is possible that such as you may get into the Kingdom of Heaven and eternally admire the infinite Riches of Gods free grace in your Salvation Our Letter would swell too much should we add particular directions in order to this work we therefore exhort you to call to Remembrance what your own Pastor hath Preached to you for your guidance and help and it is possible that the seed which he sowed whilst alive may spring up after his death and the Sermons which he hath Preached amongst you and the Counsels which he hath given to you may through Gods blessing and your Remembrance and Application have their effect even now he is gone in your Conversion and Salvation Besides unconverted persons we hope there are many true Converts truly gracious persons among you and not a few who have been the Seal of Mr. Stubbs's Ministry Some of you are new born others well grown Christians some of you are in a declining state others are thriving Christians we might be as large in our writing to you as we have been in our call of the Unconverted we might give particular counsel and advice in order to the healing of wounded Consciences the reviving decay'd graces

capable of gaining by our diligent hearing sometimes minding us of our death and the eternity which we should enter upon immediately after the separation of our Soul from our Body but did we think his own death was so near and that he would enter into eternity so soon himself We remember with what gravity seriousness and sincerity he used to Preach unto us with what plainness he did accommodate the word to our capacity with what zeal and fervency he did make application to us of the great truths of Religion how he pressed sins upon our consciences by a clear close and powerful conviction adding the most moving considerations to awaken us vnto a sense of them a hearty grief and repentance for them We remember how feelingly he made known to us the glad tidings of Salvation by faith in Iesus Christ how earnestly he urged upon us our duty towards God and one towards another backing his exhortations with the most cogent arguments and how notably he did insinuate what he spake hereby into our affections we remember how he taught us not only by his Doctrine but also by his example going before us in the way of duty and the way to Heaven but did we think however in Heaven he would be above us that he would be also in Heaven before us He came to my house not long before he went to London it may be one may say and another may say and possibly many of you may say ●lthough I were unworthy to receive such a one under my roof and methought his face did look ●ike the face of an Angel I remember his ●umble grave look his image is still upon my ●ind as if his person were still before mine eye ● remember his kind pleasing countenance his ●weet and obliging speeches he came not to eat of my bread but to feed me with the bread of life ●nd how did he entertain me with holy and ●eavenly discourse he spake to my self and he ●pake to my Wife about our Souls I hope I shall ●ever forget his last words so long as I have breath and a memory to retain any thing he spake to my Children and my Servants he would needs ●ave them all called that he might give them some words of instruction that he might speak something to awaken and quicken them to mind ●heir Souls and Salvation He told us all of ●eath and judgment how near we were to Eter●ity but did I think his own glass was so near ●un out and that he would so quickly be himself ●n that Eternity which he spake of so frequently ●nd affectionately to others When he went forth ●f my doors did I think he would never set foot ●ithin them again And that when he went ●way he was going and was so near unto his long ●ome The last Lords day of his Preaching to us ●e gave us notice of his journey that he intended on the Monday and desired to see us the nex● morning not at his house but in the Church that there he might take leave of us and ther● several of us came together to see him and ther● we heard his last Sermon to us his Text was Prov 3.6 In all thy ways acknowledg him and he shall direct thy paths We well remembe● the words that dropped then from his mouth bu● did we think they wou●d be his last words to us Did we think when God was directing his path t● London that he was thereby directing his way so soon to Heaven Did we think that when he took his Farewell of us that it was his last Farewel and that we should meet him no more until the Heavens shall be no more O that we ha● perswaded him for he was a man easy to be entreated that he would have stayed in the Countrey with us some weeks longer and have forborn such frequent Preaching until the hea● of the season were over which his old body and wasted spirits could not so well brook although he thought himself able to bear it well enough and that he should go thorow it as he had done in former times Had we foreseen the issue and ven● of this journey to London rather than fail we would have raised the whole Countrey of his acquaintance and come about him with earnest desires and requests to stay him here we would have hung about his arms and neck we would have ta●en hold of his hands and his feet and forcibly if we could not otherwise have detained him among us that he might have escaped that arrow and stroke of death which was prepared for him in London If he had been resolved to go that he might hasten home to his Fathers house we would have used our endeavour to alter his resolutions we would have wept and cry'd and prayed with importunity Good Sir don't leave us yet good Sir stay with us a little longer pity such and such ignorant Families which when you are gone are like to perish for want of instruction pity such and such unconverted persons who are hastning and rushing forward in ways of sin to their own damnation and although they have not hearkened to former calls it may be some further calls from your mouth may through Gods blessing prevail with them and be effectual to convert and save them Pity your Wise who is like to be left a Widow and what a sorrowful Widow is she like to be Pity your Children which will be Fatherless and if some of them be provided for yet you know who of them are low and shiftless and quickly will feel your loss and all of them will greatly miss your company and your help of them in Heavens way Pity your Spiritual Children some of whom are but new born Babes in Christ who are not like to thrive should they be so soon wean'd from the breast who have need that you should give them more of the sincere Milk of the word which they have tasted and so well relish in order to their Spiritual growth and nourishment pity your poor flock which you are leaving think what grievous Wolves when you are gone may enter amongst them to rend and tear them some of them are sorrowful and they have need of you to comfort them and how will their sadness and sorrow be encreased when they hear of your decease Some of them are weak and they have need of you to strengthen them some of them are staggering they have need of you to establish them yea some have lost their way already and are wandring and they have need of you to reduce them some of them are bruised and they have need of you to bind them up and the most of them are exceedingly diseased all have their Spiritual maladies and they have need of you to administer Soul-Physick to them in order to their cure and healing and will you leave your flock in such a condition when there is so much need of such a Pastor and they are not like in hast to get another