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	zeal_n	zealous_a	21	3	8.5711	4	false

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

is good ye know well the Apostles Precept 1 Thes 5. 21. Prove all things hold fast that which is good we have found the things in kind that single Christians and conjoyn'd Christians in Church-fellowship are to hold fast respectively viz. matter of Doctrine and of Religious and Moral practice and of Church-administration Now all these are to be proved and then so farre as found good stedfastly retained Here divers things might be spoken touching the businesse of proving and trying Touching the course taken for proving what would the Apostle have Christians wander up and down into every Conventicle or every corner to hear the broachers of all sorts of Opinions or would he have Christians adventure to travell into all Countries and to intermingle in all sorts of companies to get information what all men hold and all men practice O no Beloved wofull experience in our times shews that a number of light-headed curious gadders and travellers having no ballast of weighty judgement in them are so tossed up and down with the various kindes of Opinions and waves of mens practices clashing and breaking one upon another that they scarce ever come to side at Anchor at Sea much lesse put in at any safe Harbor but still fluctuate as Scepticks in Opion and Antinomists in practice and half Atheists at least in both We need not wander up and down for variety to bring under trial for we may finde too much brought home to us to our own places to exercise our judgements if we have any and if not to distract and disquiet us A great part of Solomons curious scarch experimentally was so unnecessary and unseemly as we may suppose it cost him a great deale of repentance afterward I say no more of this But then again for what is necessarily brought under our eye for proving remember that our onely true test or touchstone or rule for proving is the written Word of God And yet here we need begg of God sound wisdom how to make a right use of this proving touchstone for surely it is most grosly abused and wrested and perverted among our people at this day what through want of Learning what through want of humility because they would be dogmatizing And I fear there be crept in among them a number of Popish and profane witts who though secret scoffers at the Scriptures are leaders into manifold Errors by counterfeiting very greatly a reverence to Scripture Authority and urging the letter of it and express commands and examples from it while in the mean time they aime at both the disparagement of Scriptures and the confusion of their silly self-conceited followers The Lord direct us all to a right esteem and use of holy Writ for 't is possible there may be such found like those of old who melted and moulded their golden earings of precious Doctrines if right used into Idolatrous Images And such as can turn a brasen Serpent from a divine institution to become a superstitious Idol Thus having considered well what course we take in the way of Trial let us as was said hold fast only that which is good Onely pure and holy Doctrine onely approvable gracious practice suitable to such Doctrine and in Church-respects whether as Pastors and Teachers or other Ecclesiastick Officers onely such administrations and wayes of Government as may be found agreeable to the minde and word of our Lord Jesus It is observable that duty of this nature in our Text viz. to hold what was had already is either expresly or implicitely charged upon every one of those Asian Churches written to by Christ except that of Laodicea for all the rest had somewhat commended in them but she nothing as if she had nothing worthy to hold fast But why this Had she not much precious Doctrine retained by her Grant it yet it seems while she held her luke-warm temper in point of Government and Discipline all her Doctrine was as if it were not O Beloved that we had not yet amongst us a number of old Laodiceans obstructing what they can all proceeding in way of a right wise and sober Reformation and zealous onely to damp the zeale of people that way and stifly to hold fast humane superstitious inventions and their proud vain-glorious conceits of them The Lord soften and bend their spirits Use 2 Use 2. A second Use of this Point let be by way of Exhortation or Incitation to the act O that we would all stirre up our selves to all care and diligence to hold fast what good we have and let us all be stirred up thereunto at present Surely there are very strong Motives hereunto which may easily be perceived if we look about us I shall only press a little those two which lie on either hand the duty in our Text or what is equivalent thereunto The first is in the beginning of the verse Behold I come quickly saith the Lord Jesus A Motive taken from his quick apprehension unto them Now that speedy coming of his needs not to be understood meerly of a personal visible coming but of his coming in such ways of providence as wherein he was to be understood as vertually and effectually present for the mannaging of them and so we must needs understand the phrase Chap. 2. 5 16. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen and repent and do the first works or else I will come unto thee quickly and will remove thy candlestick out of his place except thou repent Repent or else I will come unto thee quickly and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth Where his quick coming was doubtlesse in a way of punishment or chastisement c. But how are we here to understand Christ his quick coming First In a way of Trial. He had intimated immediately before that there was an hour of tentation coming upon all the world to try them that dwelt upon the earth and he is to be thought to be in that trial professing himself to be the searcher of the reins and heart Chap. 2. 23. and here as referring unto it he saith Behold take notice I come quickly viz. to try you among other in that hour of temptation what hour was that Immediately it signified as some Expositors think with good consent that persecution which soon after followed upon the Churches under the reign of Trajanus the Emperour and in which persecution Philadelphia was tried as well as other Strabo the Geographer writes that Philadelphia was terrae motibus crebrò concussa often shaken with Earthquakes Well whatever natural or proper Earthquakes she as a City with the region thereabout was subject unto certainly as she was a Church both she and others in those Primitive times were often shaken with Political Earthquakes shaking violences and assaults by Adversaries threatning their ruine and destruction And lest this consideration should not seem to reach us at this day take notice that in the judgement of many godly learned there is now an hour

it in this sense infringe the certainty of the perseverance and salvation of the Saints Answ No it doth not For in the community of a visible Church there is a mixture of Hypocrites with sincere Professors Now Hypocrites may lose the Crown of glory because they never had really either true Faith or holinesse but onely seemed to have them and therefore though they lose that Crown which was proposed to them to runne and strive and labour for yet is not the tenure of divine Election in the least weakened by their failing because though they were called externally yet not elected and never had the faith or grace of the Elect. And for sincere Christians who onely are elected though they shall not lose the Crown prepared and reserved for them yet they have need of such caveats as this Partly to minde them though they be kept by the power of God to salvation yet in themselves there is a Principle of defection and Apostacy and were they left unto themselves they should let go all grace and lose all glory and therefore need be the more wary Partly to keep them from loosenesse and defection for Exhortations and Admonitions from the mouth of God and set on by the Spirit of God are instrumental in Gods hand to stirre them up to duty and hold them in ●erseverance The premisses considered O Beloved how should we be strengthened in our resolutions and actuated in our strongest endeavours to stand fast and hold fast that truth that grace and all those spiritual liberties and priviledges bestowed upon us Use 3 Use 3. A third Use of this point may be to give and take some Directions for the more effectual practice of this Rule since it is a thing both of so much difficulty and of so great consequence to observe it In the way of hopefull means therefore be pleased to take notice of these few particulars 1. Would we hold fast what good we have personally and Ecclesiastically Then take an humble recognition of our own weaknesse respectively It is said of this Church of Philadelphia a little before at ver 8. that she had 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a little strength and indeed this duty of holdfast is directed neither to livelesse persons nor meer impotent persons in spiritual respects but it was but a little strength So it was with her that was one of the best of the sisters we are then to be humbly apprehensive of the smalnesse of our own strength even when we are at the best And then besides we may reflect back and consider whether in some particulars we have not slipped back with Ephesus and fallen from our first love and whether we are not in some particulars in a languishing condition as Sardis and so need to strengthen the things which remain that are ready to dye But I say we are to be humbly sensible of our little strength at the best and that will dispose us to more care to hold fast what we have c. 2. Take we and keep we fast hold on God by Faith and in the frequent exercise of Prayer imitating Jacob in not letting of him go He looks that his people should do so even to take hold of him and his strength in a good sense Isa 27. 5. not in a way of presumptuous contest with him but for our own support by him Stirre up our selves to lay hold on him Isa 64 7. For why Qui habet habentem omnia habet omnia so Qui retinet c. In his own might shall no man no Church be strong but we may be able to do all things through Christ strengthening us and therefore we are alwaies to walk and act in the strength of the Lord Psal 71. 16. Maintain sound Doctrine in the strength of the Lord keep the way of holinesse in the strength of the Lord perform all Church-duties in the strength of the Lord c. 3. Let it be our holy covetous aime to be getting more of that good which we are to hold fast Men of the world are ready to think that in externall things if they be not on the increasing hand they are on the diminishing And what shall we think of our condition in Spirituals If we look into the Evangelical Parable of the servants that had Talents or Pounds committed to their usance we may finde the evill servant there keeping his Talent and wrapping it up in a napkin and did he not then hold it fast but that proved neither pleasing to his Master nor comfortable to himself because he should have been imploying and improving it which because he was not therefore he was said not to have and sentenced to have that taken from him which he onely seemed to have For without some improvement a stock cannot long be kept entire together Wherefore in spiritual things beloved if we would with Philadelphia hold fast what we have we must affect the commendation of Thyatira Chap. 2. 19 to have our last works more than our first to advance in solid knowledge in true and sincere holinesse and if it be possible to have our after Church-Ministery Church-Assemblies Church-Administrations better than our former This I say must still be our aime or otherwise we shall be soon cast backward when men are in a broad wheele either to crane up things from the earth or to draw up baskets out of the water they are still steping forward or else they could not stay in the same place and circumstances of posture where they are as it is also with Birds in a turning bellcage And so when Christians or Church-Members are set into such a frame as the wheele of occurrents is still turning upon them either they must be still stepping forward or else they cannot keep the same sight of their station but be driven backward and overturned 4. We must be industrious and zealous in all the affairs which make for the preservation and improvement of what we have I commend that cluster of Apostolical precepts unto you in Rom. 12. 11. Be not sloathfull in businesse but fervent in Spirit serving the Lord. And these are connexed and subordinate one to the other First Not sloathfull i. e. neither altogether idle nor remisse or carelesse how we do what we pretend to be doing how slowly how seldom how slightly For he that is sloathfull in his work is brother to him that is a great waster Prov. 18. 9. so farre will he prove from a holder fast of what he hath For the sloathful gets nothing as the waster spends all and so in their emptiness and needinesse they come to shake hands together Again If we would not be sloathfull we must be fervent in Spirit for sloathfulnesse is from coldnesse of temper corporally or spiritually and activity is from heat and fervency so that unless one be somewhat zealous he cannot be constantly laborious As the light is gone in a manner when the flame of a candle is extinguished and the fire will quickly