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
A66111	The truly blessed man, or, The way to be happy here, and forever being the substance of divers sermons preached on Psalm XXXII / by Samuel Willard.	Willard, Samuel, 1640-1707.	1700 (1700)	Wing W2298; ESTC R30205	358,966	674

pleads with young ones to husband their youth well Eccl 12. begin There will be many encumbrances of life afterward which now burthen them not and when old age siezeth them it will greatly unfit them for it who did not engage in it before 2. Whiles the Gospel is dispensed to them powerfully and faithfully This is another special season Here observe 1. That the Gospel Ministry and Ordinances are the ordinary instruments by which God Converteth Sinners He hath seen meet to make this the appointed way of promoving the Salvation of men 1 Cor. 1. 21. Rom. 10. 17. Where he sendeth not these it is an awsul sign that he hath none of this work to do there 2. That they are the Gospel truths by the dispensation whereof he useth them as instruments They are moral instruments and therefore their business is to treat with men and the matter of the treaty is these great truths that declare the Counsel of God and the way wherein Sinners may come to enjoy him in and through Jesus Christ 1 Cor. 2. 2. 3. Hence the faithful dispensation of these truths is that which gives men all the advantage to seek and find God Their work is an Embassy 2 Cor. 5. 20. And the business is Reconciliation which is to be advanced by opening the terms and urging of them suitably If then they are faithful and do seriously and solemnly pursue this design there is all that can be expected of instruments by way of information and excitation Legal Preaching sufficeth not for this but Preaching Christ and the way of Peace by him and the more there is of this the more is the advantage of such a people 4. Hence when these fail this advantage is greatly impeded If then the Gospel is no longer Preached among a people it is a Judgment and a sign of his departure If instead of such dispensations there be such who Preach false Doctrines who blow up men with opinion of their own abilities who corrupt the pure stream of Gospel Truth or Proach unprofitable things needs must these impede this affair 3. Whiles the Spirit is pleased to accompany the means with his powerful influences This is a special finding time And here observe 1. That our sincere seeking of God depends on the Spirits operation He first seeks us if ever we seek him We must have a principle of Grace for it else we cannot do it and that must derive from him who is the God of all grace 1 Pet. 5. 10. All our own moral powers can never exert this 2. There are times when he is more plenteously poured out upon men Not only is there a more powerful Ministry at one time than another but also more of the efficacy of Grace on the hearts of men when Sinners come flocking in apace at the call of the Gospel and the reason why it is so at any time is because the Spirit sets in powerfully with the means They may be the same and the labour in dispensing them as great Isa 33. 15. 3. There are times when he applieth himself to this and that person in particular as he did to Lydia Act 16. 14. And this is not always but at certain sea●sons which are arbitrary and he acts his liberty therein This he doth sometimes to one sometimes to another and when it is so it is an happy opportunity he is now very near and ready to be found when he stands at the door and knocks it is but opening to him 4. There are times of his withdrawing in both respects He sometimes lets a faithful Ministry be an unprofitable one to such as sit under it his Servants toil all night and catch nothing they complain as he Isa 49. 4. I have laboured in vain c. And then it becomes an hardning Ministry as Isa 6. 9 10. a savour of death 2 Cor. 2. 16. It will be hard finding of God at such a time as this 5. And there are times when after a great while he cometh again The Spirit withdraws and mens hearts grow hard but afterwards sometimes he comes again before he utterly giveth them up they have awakenings and remorces and now he is also near 4. When God brings his Judgments on a people And here 1. These Judgments whether publick or personal are Testimonies of Gods displeasure at men for neglecting to seek him He herein witnesseth his righteous anger at them and the reason is because they have not sought him but something else instead of him Jer. 2. 17. Isa 57. 17. If they had not forgotten him he had not fallen upon them 2. The proper design of these Judgments is to awaken them to seek him A professing people may so far provoke him as to fall upon them in his fury and make his Judgments a Sword to cut them off but it is not so at first they are part of his Discipline hence called his Corrections and God speaking after the manner of men tell● them what he expected Zeph. 3. 17. I said thou● wilt receive instruction c. 3. He is wont to stir up some at least of his Servan●● to take this occasion to be earnest with men He affecteth them and makes them to cry aloud they see his anger and are afraid and upon it blow the Trumpet Thus in the times of the Apostasy of Israel and Judah God sent such Prophets to them who dealt faithfully with them 4. And he usually toucheth mens hearts at suc● times Indeed it is a natural operation of Judgments to put men upon thoughtfulness but th● Spirit is wont to set in and put such a people at●least many of them upon enquiring after hi● mind and to affect them with Convictions of sin● and fear of his Wrath. And this is a great advantage now to seek him 5. If all this be neglected he is hereby grievously● incensed It is an high provocation and he now thinks of withdrawing Hos 5. 15. Nay some● times it arrives at that that because all means a●ineffectual and they grow worse by them he de●clares resolutely to come at them in this way n● more but abandon them to destruction Ezek. 2● 13. And then what a wo case are they in USE 1. For caution Let none from the pr●mises conclude that his time is past I know som● troubled hearts are apt to be shaken by such aw●ful truths and the adversary is ready to set i● and perswade them that their day is done an● so sink them into despondency To prevent this ●● me offer these things 1. That none hath Scripture warrant so to conclude Gods purposes concerning individual persons on this account are reserved with himself nor hath he given us any Rules in Scripture to determine it concerning our selves or others there being but one Sin there branded for unpardonable all others may be forgiven Mat. 12. 31. Now we are to ●●tch our hope and regulate our selves in our duties by the revealed will of God 2. The arguments that such are wont to

of this Grace is to be made to you and though it be admirable yet God hath bidden such a proclamation to be published Jer. 3. 1. And I am sure that he can break your hard hearts and give you repentance and if he do there is no doubt of the good success of it 2. You are yet striven with and called upon God indeed speaks of a cessation of his Spirit striving with obstinate Sinners Gen. 6. 3. And there are the awful instances of it but the case is otherwise with you If the means of grace are influenced so as to rouse and awaken you out of your security and make you feel your mifery and be asraid by reason of it if he presents your sins to you i● their aggravations and makes them evil and bitte● to vou this is a wo●k of his Spirit and saith tha● he st●ives still and whiles he strives there is hop● that he may be found 3. Hence these fears and terrours are not to dri● ●ou to despair but to awaken you from your neglect And indeed you stand in need of them You de●pised many a gentle warning and were grown dreadfully secure fearfully asleep it was there●ore meet that you should be star●led by some ter●ible impressions made on you that he should give you deep and gaping wounds in your Con●dences to make you sensible the providence then is merciful though terrible but you ought to count it a mercy and then the lesson properly to be learned from it is to put you upon speed and utmost diligence in seeking of God without delay We have such a prayer of the Psalmist Psal 83. 15 16. God makes sin a burden too heavy t● hear that men may feel the necessity of seeking him And therefore Christ specially invites such to come unto him Mat. 11. 28. Be then encouraged whatever you have been and done there is hope in Israel concerning this thing only delay not Conclu 3. That there are special special seasons wherein God is to be found by those that seek him A finding time not only intends that it must be done in time but that there is a division of time into that wherein God is to be found and that wherein he is not to be found Here in general observe 1. That God hath more largely made this life a finding time so that none in particular ought to conclude his time to be past if he be alive This is the difference between the dead and the living Isā 38. 18 19. The treaty of grace ordinarily continu● with men under the Gospel till they dy and a● long as it so doth their state is not to us desperate for any to say of himself my time is over my day is done I am gotten past hope of Salvation is a rash conclusion without any Scripture warrant It is a great sin because it stops men from using the means yea it is to make God ●liar for he saith in his word to such if you will return to me I will return to you whereas this saith let me seek and pray and confess and mourn all will be to no purpose he is resolved never to save me 2. God hath declared concerning some that their f●●ing time shall be over in this life He may wait and strive longer or shorter as he pleaseth and though we have no ordinary Rule certainly to determine it to persons that they are so left yet there are some and that should make all fearful of trifling with and putting of him off we have such threatnings Prov. 1. 28. Joh. 8. 21. Hence that warning Heb. 3. 7. Gods invitations are all for the present their date is To Day and whether he will repeat them another day is with him Esau represented too late Heb. 12. 17. And how awful a word was spoken to those Jews who rejected the Salvation offered them Act. 13. 46. Now there are some awful symptoms of this 3. That there are some seasons wherein there is greater advantage to seek find God than in other The word Time in our Text signifyeth an Opportunity it intimates a fit season A work may be done while there is time but it is best and more readily done at some times We are told that sometimes God is near and that it is best then to Call upon him Isa 55. 6. intimating that he may be far off and then it will be more difficult There are times when he is within call and will answer at first and times when we may call again again before we have an answer from him Here ●o Quest What are those seasons wherein we are peculiarly advantaged for the seeking and finding of God A. There are four seasons more especially for this 1. The time of Youth is a special season for this Young persons put off and think hereafter is soon enough but it is their great folly there is no such ●eason for seeking and making out after Christ as 〈◊〉 For 1. God earnestly calls upon such to seek him He doth as it were single out such and the offer is particularly made to them the Spirit of God speaks emphatically to such Psal 34. 11. Come ye Children 〈◊〉 Wisdom calls them as it were by name Prov. 4. 1. 5. 7. 8. 32. Eccl. 12. 1. which tells us how ●●in God would have young ones to begin early and how loth he is that they should spend their first time in vanity 2. God hath testifyed how well pleased he is when such seek him The entertainment he gives them is a testimony how acceptable it is to him What respect did he shew to young Abel Gen. 4. 4. How wonderfully did he reveal himself to young Samuel who was devoted to him from his Infancy 1 Sam. 3. 1. with verse 19 21. What an eminent instrument of reformation did he make of Josiah who began young 2 Chron. 34. 3. And what a testimony did he give to a good Child of a wicked father when dying 1 King 14 12 13. 3. Young ones have not so resisted him as others have done Children have Original Sin in them as soon as they live and begin to discover it as soon as they are capable but God hath taken the Children of his Servants into Covenant with him and they have not so notoriously rejected his Covenant as those have done who withstoold him in youth and addicted themselves to follow folly and vanity 4. Their hearts are usually more tender and easy to be wrought upon Not but that natural hardness born with us requires Gods Almighty power to take it away in the tenderest Child that is But there is a contracted obstinacy which grows on persons by custom which Children do not presently arrive at but are more tractible readier to receive the impressions of Counsels given them And this is the reason why we are bidden to begin early with them in Prov. 22. 6. 5. They have many advantages now which they will not have afterwards With such arguments the Spirit of God