Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	pray_v	prayer_n	supplication_n	6,912	5	11.1562	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17927	A sermon preached in Oxford-shire; by Nicholas Cantrel, Master in Arts. Published at the request of Sir Richard Blunt	Cantrell, Nicholas.	1624 (1624)	STC 4588; ESTC S118531	21,341	42

dutie of man the Epitome of all profitable learning Luk. 10.42 Col. 12.13 2. Tim. 3.15 which is only able to make us wise to salvation These are those bookes which thou shalt be put unto upon the greatest tryall that ever can befall thee even upon life and death not this temporall of the bodie but that eternall of soule and bodie before the Almightie Iudge of the world In the twentith of the Revelation and the 12th I saw the dead saith Iohn both great and small stand before God and the bookes were opened and another booke vvas opened which is the booke of life and the dead vvere iudged of those things vvhich were written in the bookes according to their vvorkes Well the seeond rule that I will propose to be practised for the right performance of this duetie to God is this If thou thy house wouldst serve God so as you ought to serve him then know that God hath set apart one day of the weeke for his service He allowes thee sixe dayes to spend upon thy selfe but requires that thou shouldest dedicate the seventh day unto him and lest thou mightst forget it he bids thee Remember to keep it holy Oh denie him not so small a request as one day that hath given thee all Nor hath he for himselfe anie need of this from thee but for thy sake requires it of thee with manifold blessings to returne it to thee This day then thou must exempt from the vaine things of this world and spend it wholly in pious duties in religious exercises in the Word in the Sacraments in the workes of mercie and charitie Now thou must rouze up thy soule and all that is within thee to sing prayses unto the Name of the Lord in the congregation of his Saints Now thinke upon the glorious workes of the Lord the sweet hope of thy redemption the manifold benefites and consolation that thou enjoyest in Christ and then let thy ravisht soule burst forth into those glorious exultations of David It is a good thing to give thankes unto the Lord and to sing prayses unto thy Name O most High to tell of thy loving kindnesse in the morning and of thy truth in the night season Psal 92.1 A third Rule I adde and that is this As the Sabbath is appointed of God to be wholly consecrate unto his service so thou must let no day passe without a speciall remembrance of God The Heathens in their counterfeit Religion yet retained this principle A love princip●um to begin the day and whatsoever they undertooke by first calling upon their gods and shame it were for Christians to be more negligent in performing this service unto the God of heaven the true God than Heathens were in performing it unto their Idols which by nature were no gods Therefore if thou wouldest be the true servant of God thou must everie day call upon him every day pray unto him privately by thy selfe publikely with thy family joyning together with one heart and with one spirit with reverence with diligence with fervencie This Rule wee may learne from the Apostle Pray alwayes saith he with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit but how and watching thereunto with all perseverance Ephes 6.18 The common sort of Christians doe shew by their carelesse behavior that they are fouly mistaken what prayer is they thinke it enough to repeat the words and so the tongue be busie in speaking no matter what the heart is thinking thus they turn the chiefest means of grace into the foulest sin that is tempting the great majestie of God by their rash presumption But if we would pray as we ought we must come unto this dutie with a reverent preparation behaving our selves as in the sight of God For this is an high heavenly duty which makes us as it were familiar with God whereby wee come into the presence of God and are vouchsafed being but dust and ashes to conferre with that glorious majestie of God and therefore unlesse we meane to pull downe a curse upon our selves we must take heed how wee perform so weightie and divine a dutie carelesly formally and coldly I speake this with griefe of heart and to our shame no garish toy no companie so vile and hatefull in the sight of God but is able to cause us to omit this duetie and to break it off What my beloved doe we thinke that God stands in such need of our devotions that when wee have served the flesh and the world he will be contented with the refuse of our time and affections Oh no! we may learne farre better things of the Heathens Ignavis precibus fortuna repugnat Fortune say they resisteth cold and sluggish prayers And shall that service bee thought meet by Christians for the true and everliving God which Heathens thought unmeet for their blind their false their imaginarie goddesse Farre be this from us wee have not so learned Christ A fourth rule to be observed that wee may bee the true servants of God is to withdraw our affections from worldly vanities wee must take heed that these get not the possession of our hearts if they doe all that service which wee should performe unto God will soone vanish and come to nothing Love not the world saith S. Iohn neither the things that are in the world If anie man love the world the love of the Father is not him 1 Iohn 2.15 For indeed where the heart is taken up with vanitie what roome can there be for pietie There cannot bee two such different masters as are the God of heaven and the god of this world And our Saviour plainely tells us that no man can serve two masters without hating the one of them Yee cannot saith hee serve God and Mammon Wee must therefore according to that rule of the Apostle so use the world as if wee used it not so use it that we fall not in love with the vanities of it that we be not ensnared with the deceitfulnes of it A fift and last rule to be observed of us if wee would shew our selves zealous in the service of God is first that wee should love and affect good men cherish them and encourage them keepe them with us and converse with them A true friend saith the proverbe is a friend also to him that loves his friend I may extend the nature of this proverbe to the true servants of God they that serve God sincerely themselves will make much of the servants of God And David puts it for one of the characters and markes of him that shall rest upon the holy hill of God to make much of them that feare the Lord Psal 15.4 On the contrarie those that be ungodly and prophane that deride all pietie and religion such as those are thy soule must hate and abhorre David could tell no better way whereby to make proofe of his zeale unto God than by such an affection Doe not I hate them saith he that hate