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
A88594	A treatise of effectual calling and election. In XVI. sermons, on 2 Pet. 1.10 Wherein a Christian may discern, whether yet he be effectually called and elected. And what course he ought to take that he may attain the assurance thereof. Preached by that faithful servant of Christ, Mr. Christopher Love, late minister of Lawrence Jury, London.	Love, Christopher, 1618-1651.; Calamy, Edward, 1600-1666.; Cross, Thomas, fl. 1632-1682,	1653 (1653)	Wing L3178; Thomason E696_1; ESTC R202781	182,095	256

of John so the Eunuch was converted by reading Isa 53.7 Beloved God is not bound up to any one way in saving man He that wrought upon Austin by a verse reading upon another by a Sermon he can do so by thee Reading is an ordinance of God and God is not bound up but may use that as ameans of thy effectual call likewise Thirdly Yea but saith another doubting soul Peradventure I was never wrought upon neither by seeing godly people among whom I lived and observing their example nor was I wrought upon by reading good books but I was first wrought upon by hearing such a Minister that I now see is run into error or a Minister that is grown loose in his practice happily in these present times gone to joyne with the enemy against the Kingdom and become a wicked and vile liver and the Minister being bad that wrought upon me makes me question whether the work be not an unsound and bad work also and this gravels many a Christian likewise To which I answer briefly First That suppose the Minister were bad that wrought upon thee yet the badnesse of the Minister is no just ground of making us suspect our calling For then we should never be sure of our call A man may be sure of his own conversion though a man may not be sure of the conversion of him by whose means he was called Secondly Again it is clear in Scripture God may use Ministers that are wicked themselves to convert others The Ministers of the seven Churches of Asia doubtlesse some of them were bad men Paul tells you 1 Cor. 9.27 I keep under my body lest when I preach to others I my self may be a castaway Intimating that a man may preach to others and may be a means to save others and yet not be saved himself So 1 Cor. 13.1 Ministers in this case may be as Cooks are A Cook may dresse many a dish and let them go through his hands to furnish a large and stately Table yet of all these dishes himself hardly taste one So Ministers they may dresse many a dish for their hearers yet they not lick their fingers or taste of this spiritual food themselves As in the building of the Ark there were many men built Noahs Ark to save others that were drowned themselves so many men may build an Ark by preaching the Word and the wayes of God to save other mens soules when they may be drowned themselves Hence it is the Scripture tells us of Starres that fell from Heaven many Ministers that seemed godly Ministers like Starres in their Generation yet they fell and became wicked and loose And I remember Doctor Pembleton a famous Minister in the dayes of Queen Mary and a man whose Ministry had converted many Christians yet at length he himself turned to be a Papist Now these Christians did never misdoubt or suspect their conversion because the man that converted them was a bad man They might be good people though he was a bad Minister so that this is no ground in the world though I confesse it is not ordinary that God makes wicked men meanes of conversion but God ordinarily crowns the Word most in the mouth of a godly Minister yet sometimes I say God may use a wicked man to be a means to convert soules And I would give you these reasons to prove that a wicked man may convert soules and that God ties not conversion onely to a godly Minister Because first the efficacy of the Word doth not depend upon man but upon Jesus Christ and Christ may make use of whom he pleaseth Secondly If only a good man could convert then this would follow that we could be as well sure of another mans conversion as we are of our own which is a thing most untrue For if only a godly man could convert then if I were sure of my own conversion I were as well sure of his conversion that wrought upon me also which cannot be so that clearly this should lay no block in your way because you discern the Minister that wrought upon you to be no good man seeing conversion is not tied onely to a godly Minister Thirdly a third ground from whence doubts arise in called ones is from some seeming defects they apprehend to be in the concomitants that accompany or in the effects that should follow effectual calling and this makes them fear that sure they are not effectually called I will name to you three or four First saith a doubting Christian I do hear in Scripture what effects will follow and what will accompany a man effectually called and I find them not wrought in my soul As now first I apprehend that when a man is effectually called he shall be inabled by God to call upon him in prayer I finde in Scripture 1 Cor. 1.2 That all that are called to be Saints they shall call upon the Lord in every place but alas wo is me I do not find this in my soul I find I have a dull dead listlesse unpraying heart all the dayes of my life and therefore I doubt whether I am effectually called or no. Now to this I shall lay down three things for answer First peradventure you judge that you are not enabled to pray because you want expressions in prayer though you have affections Now if you judge your inability to pray because you want expressions only you judge amisse because prayer is to be judged by the affections not by the expressions Expressions they are but the breath of nature a natural voluble tongue may tumble out expressions whereas affections in prayer they are the breath and fruit of the holy Spirit Therefore do not judge you cannot pray because you have not such fluent expressions as others use for the very essence of a prayer lies in the heart and therefore it is said when the Spirit of God teacheth men to pray it teacheth them not only in expressions but with sighs and groans that cannot be uttered Rom. 8.26 When the Spirit moves the heart and makes you sigh out your requests and sorrow out your supplications you pray best of all Secondly you that judge your inability to pray and therefore think you are not called because you cannot call upon God I would say this unto you That the best of Gods children have found a great difference in their spirits in reference to praying duties the best of Gods children do not alwayes pray alike Sometimes the affections of godly men are as swift in prayer as the Chariots of Aminadab otherwhiles they drive as heavily as Pharaohs Chariots when the wheels were off Sometime the people of God are burning in their affections hot as fire otherwhiles they are frozen in their affections cold as ice None of Gods people are in their carriage alwayes alike towards God in prayer Psal 77.4 It is the speech of Asaph O Lord my spirit is overwhelmed within me I am sore troubled I cannot speak The man was

in with me and cleave to me and take content and delight in me Beloved there are many that hear the word yet never go out of themselves and never close in with Christ yea but all they that heare and learne that hear and are called by hearing they all come in to Jesus Christ Wherefore all you that in hearing cannot find your hearts in love with Christ cannot find your hearts to close in with Christ and believe in Christ you have just cause to suspect your Call that your calling is not effectual 1 Cor. 1.24 The Apostle tels you there were other men counted Christ foolishnesse but to you that are called Christ is the power and wisedome of God that is you do acknowledg and you do conceive of Jesus Christ that he hath as much power as God hath in him and as much wisedome as God hath in him and you close in with Christ for that end when other men think Christ to be foolish and Christ weak men uncall'd they have low thoughts of Christ but to you that are call'd Christ is the power and wisedome of God You will have high thoughts of Jesus Christ if you are effectually called 4. That man that is effectually called he shall be inabled by the spirit of Christ to call upon God 1. Cor. 1.2 To all in Corinth called to be Saints with all that call upon the name of the Lord. There the Apostle joynes called to be Saints with this phrase to call upon God to shew that whoever is effectually called to be a Saint that man shall be inabled by the Spirit of Jesus to call upon God Psal 27.8 When thousaidest Seek my face my heart said unto thee thy face Lord will I seek Hence ye read Acts 9.11 when Ananias doubted whether Paul was truely call'd or no and Jesus Christ would convince Ananias that he was truely call'd what means doth he use verse 11. do not suspect him but arise saith Christ and goe to him into the street called Straight and enquire at the house of Judas for one Saul of Tarsus for behold he prayeth If he were not call'd he would never goe to God in such a cordiall way and humble his soul before God for his by past failings and beg strength for time to come and labour to have his peace made with me Go to him for behold he prayeth and therefore all you that have not a spirit in any measure to call upon God and to powr forth your requests in a solemn prayer you have just cause of jealousie to suspect your Call 5. If you are effectually call'd God hath wrought in your souls an utter detestation and loathing of all the evils that in the former part of your lives before you calling your have committed and were guilty of Hos 14.8 Ephraim shall say what have I any more to doe with Idols The interrogation imports a vehement detestation of them and indignation against them 2 Cor. 7.11 the Apostle speaks there of repentance the same with calling when men come to have the work of grace in their hearts and this is a branch of it that godly sorrow causeth care and causeth fear and causeth indignation that is if any man be a repenting man and a converted man this conversion will cause indignation that is he will be even mad with himself and angry with himself that he should be so vile a wretch before conversion as he hath been Thus was Paul hee speaks with indignation against the sins he was guilty of before his calling I have been a persecutor I have hal'd the Saints into prison Nay saith hee I was even mad against the Church Beloved you will count your sins to be madnesse and count them to be greatly aggravated that were committed before God call'd you Anselm said to his body I 'le tame thee O unruly beast with fasting and praier We read of one that bit off his tongue in indignation that therewith he had denied Jesus Christ Another Martyr put that hand first into the fire with which he had subscribed a recantation saying Burn thou O hand that didst subscribe to that which might have made me burn both body and soul in hell And therefore you that have no loathing thoughts against past deceit and past drunkennesse and past swearing and your past evils suspect your calling You that do not abhor the thoughts of your former evils your wonted pride and wonted covetousnesse if you cannot looke with indignation against these you have great cause to suspect your call For if God have call'd you he will make you even angry with your selves that ever you have been so vile as you have been Hence it is when God speaks of Israels conversion Isa 2.20 't is said they shall cast away their idols from them they shall cast away their sins as with indignation against themselves because they have sinned And hence in the Prophesie of Ezek. 20.43 the Prophet tels them that for the evils they had done they should loath themselves in their own eyes their indignation should be so great against themselves that ever they should be so vile against God before their call So David with indignation saith after he had recovered himself and brought his heart into a repentant frame so foolish was I and ignorant Psal 73.22 Now Beloved I would here appeale unto you I will judge no man let your own consciences pass sentence upon you But let me appeal to your selves Have not many of you before these times been opposers of Religion men walking in ungodly lewd and profane courses of living haply now you are moulded into a form of Profession now you hear the Word speak well of Ministers now you cry up Government many plausible wayes and actions you can cary on but what is in your hearts Have you indignation against your past persecution and evils If not beleeve it though you go far I fear you may come short of beaven your calling is not real if you have not indignation and wrath against your former sins committed And therefore O what a sad word is this to all insensible sinners that are men that never had their hearts touch'd with remorse for any evil What a sad word is this to you that have been drunk week after week and sworn day after day and deceived hour after hour and been unclean time after time and yet all these evils never touch'd the heart Truly you have great cause to fear that God hath not yet effectually called you by Jesus Christ 6. The man that is effectually called his spirit is brought into an obediential frame to yeeld obedience to the commands of Jesus Christ if God call you by his Spirit hee will not leave you to the exorbitancies of your own wayes and will but he will bring you to a yeeldingnesse of heart to all his commands Rom. 15 6. We have received grace and Apostleship for obedience to the faith among all Nations among whom you are also the called of

eclipse your comforts to you Nothing in the world doth so impede your comfort in assurance as incumbring and carking cares about the things of this world Thirdly Take heed you do not harbour the guilt of any one known sin upon your conscience Keeping of sin upon the conscience is a great impediment to your inward comforts You will never be assured while you do thus and therefore if ever you would have assurance remove this It is an observation of Mr Hildersham upon Psal 51.12 14. What doth David do when he prayes for assurance saying Restore to me the joyes of thy salvation establish me with thy free Spirit Restore my comforts and my evidences to me And what course doth he take Read verse 14. Deliver me from blood-guiltinesse O Lord. As much as if he should say All the while that sin lay upon conscience unrepented of as it did for nine monthes together all that while David lost the joyes of the Spirit and lost the comforts of Heaven And therefore when he comes to renew his comforts and restore his assurance he doth with begging of God for assurance beg of God also to deliver him from blood-guiltinesse as knowing that if this sin should be upon conscience unrepented of and unpardoned he should never have the joyes of Gods Spirit restored Beloved you will never have assurance of your effectual calling till your consciences are freed from having sin upon them with approbation It is an observation that Aristotle hath about earth-quakes that they are occasioned by reason of winde got into the Caverns and hollow places of the earth which having no place for vent again it makes ruptures and overturnes houses and mountaines and all before it Sin upon the conscience unrepented of is like winde in the earth it will make a heart quake there that there shall not be that calmnesse and quietnesse and setlednesse of minde which there would be were sinne away Hence we read Esa 33.16 The sinners in Sion are afraid and fearfulnesse hath surprised the Hypocrite The sinners are afraid those who had guilt upon them their sins bred terrour and seare and hypocrites that are conscious to themselves of their own guilt fearfulnesse surprizeth them but the upright and sincere in heart were not so To note that this is a great enemy to inward peace and to assurance about your everlasting estate if so be you harbour sin upon the conscience unrepented of And it is just with God it should be so because if you keep sin in your hearts that will be ever jarring with heaven it is just with God to be at oddes with you Fourthly Avoid the casting of your eye in a way of dejection upon others who are more eminent in grace then you and have got a precedencie of you in the wayes of godlinesse 'T is true indeed a man that is given to spiritual pride and selfe-conceitednesse touching his own goodnesse it is fit that he should look upon those that have a precedencie before him in grace the more to humble him But for a man that lies under trouble of minde and doubtings touching his everlasting estate that man should not look upon others more eminent then he in grace because it will rather increase discomforts then any way work assurance in you If you look upon the glittering beames of the Sun shining in its full strength the more you look upon that orient and resplendent body the more it will dazle your eyes that you can behold but dimly things upon the earth It is so with Christians some Christians they shine like so many Suns in the firmament their graces do so shine and sparkle that if you look upon them they will even dazle your eyes and make you blinde that you cannot see those small scantlings and sparks of grace that are in your own hearts In case therefore you would get assurance avoid the casting of your eye too much upon those that have a precedencie in grace before you Fifthly Take heed you make not sense and feeling the Touchstone to try your effectual calling by sense and feeling will deceive you in the matters of your calling I may allude to that passage in the book of Genesis you know old Isaac was dimme-sighted and by reason of his old age he ran into a mistake by feeling He had Jacob by the hand and by feeling thought it had been Esau Beloved many of us are dimme-sighted in our comforts and in our graces and if we trust to feeling we may be deceived as Isaac was You may think when you have Jacob by the hand I mean grace in the heart that it is but an Esau it is but a reprobate Therefore take heed of making sense and feeling the Touchstone to try your calling by A childe is born yet knowes not that it is born lives yet knowes not that it lives but those about it do so a Christian may be born again live the life of grace and yet not be sensible of it Sixthly Give diligence to remove this hinderance to wit Pride in your gifts and dependance upon your graces Pride and dependance they are not onely murderers of comforts but they murder our graces also and if God sees you swell with pride because you abound in grace he will soon prick that swelling bladder It is the observation of a Modern Divine that exaltings of spirit after assurance attained it will inevitably expose a Christian either to great discomforts or to great sins Hence the Scripture makes mention that Pride of your gifts is not onely an enemy to comfort but an enemy to grace not onely an enemy to the comforts from grace but to the very having of grace Hab. 2.4 If a mans heart be exalted his spirit is not upright within him James 4.6 God resists the proud Job 40.7 and gives grace to the humble So that pride is not onely an enemy to your comforts but to the very getting of grace likewise when the branches of a vine grow luxuriant they shall have the pruning hook And thus you have the first sort of helps laid down to you In case you would get assurance you must use diligence to avoid those things that may be a hinderance to you in getting assurance of your call Secondly A second sort of helps in case you would get assurance is to use diligence in the practice of those things that may be helps and furtherances to the obtaining of assurance about your effectual calling And here I shall name onely six or seven particulars First Exalt arguments of faith against present feelings If so be that you will once enter the lists to dispute with the devil he will out-cavill you and Non-plus you The devil is a cunning Logician and it is not safe saith Dr Preston to argue with the devil the devil will out-dispute and out-argue you It is a Christians work to exalt arguments of Faith against present feelings In case you would get assurance you are to do as Abraham

ingages God to take away comforts from a people As First the sinne of superciliousnesse and uncompassionatenesse of spirit towards doubting Christians If a soul carries a proud and supercilious eye over poor Christians and carries no compassion towards doubting souls God for that sinne of wanting bowels of compassion may bring him to the same estate which he could not compassionate in other men Secondly the sinne of grieving the Spirit if you grieve Gods Spirit God will grieve yours Esa 63.10 Or Thirdly The sinne of spiritual pride ordinarily this may be the sinne Or Fourthly The sinne of worldly-mindednesse or eager pursuit after the things of this world As digging in the earth doth endanger a man to bee stifled with damps so digging and poring in the world brings but a damp upon a Christians comforts and many times stifles their assurance As the Sun is eclipsed by the interposition of the Moone between it and our sight so if the world once get between the Sunne of righteousnesse and you it will eclipse the Sunne that you shall not see the glory of Jesus Christ and shall not perceive nor gain that interest in Jesus Christ you had in former time Secondly Another cause you are to search If it be not the commission of some great transgression yet it may be the omission of some necessary and weighty duty and the Lord may bring you upon the stage of discomfort for omission as well as commission If a man doth let but a wound go undressed he may as well die as if you knockt him with a Beetle upon the head Beloved if you let your wounds be undressed and let your discomforts be unlooked after and let all run at sixes and sevens if you interrupt in your duties it is just with God to interrupt you in your comforts If you keep not your watch 't is no wonder if you are surprized There are many Christians that grow carelesse in keeping communion with God that love seldome reading and seldome praying and seldome examining their owne hearts alas men casting away their duties it makes God in judgement make stoppage in a way of comfort Fifthly In your searching work examine your selves what you would do in case God should restore to you your former evidences could you bring your hearts to this temper that you would think no pains too much to take no cost too much to give nothing should be irksom to you that God would have you perform in case he would give you your wonted comforts If you finde this temper of spirit in you this is a very ready way to bring on your comforts and restore the joyes of your salvation to you Secondly Set upon humbling work the onely way to gain what you have lost is to mourn over your losses Jer. 31.18 19 20. See how Ephraim comes to have his comforts restored when he wept over his own discomforts I have heard Ephraim bemoaning himselfe saith God and I said Is Ephraim my dear sonne I saw him smiting upon his thigh humbling his soul for his sinnes and since I saw him I do earnestly remember him and I will shew mercy to him Here you see lamenting Ephraim God in the very time of his bemoaning himself restored his comforts to him we hear many lament for their outward losses but who laments for the losse of inward comforts And David after he had lost his comforts by that great sinne of adultery makes seven penitential Psalmes Psalmes of lamentation or repentance and he calls one of them A Psalm to call to remembrance And as an Authour well notes when David came to renew his comforts he makes a Psalm to call to remembrance those sinnes that might provoke God to take away his comforts from him So Beloved let it be your work to make such Psalms in your Closets and make it your practice to call to remembrance those evils that provoke God to eclipse your comforts to you and let that humble you If you cannot find out the Particular sin labour to humble your soules for every sinne and then to be sure you cannot misse that Thirdly Would you restore your wonted comforts then set upon praying work This course you finde David took Psal 51.8 Make me O Lord to hear the voice of joy and gladnesse that the bones which thou hast broken might rejoyce Create in me a new heart and establesh me with thy free Spirit verse 12. Here you read of Davids praying work how he poured forth his soule in prayer that God would restore to him the joyes of his salvation And here in your praying work I would only cast in three directions First Pray for a distinct sight of those evils that provoked God to take your comforts from you Secondly After you have got a sight bend the strength of your prayers most against those evils that did so provoke God to cloud your comforts Pray against them as against the deadliest enemy you have in the world Thirdly Pray for attaining those graces that may be inlets to spiritual comfort as the graces before named the grace of godlie sorrow the grace of humiliation the grace of faith and of love to Jesus Christ Thus if you set upon searching upon humbling and upon praying work you are in a likely way to have your comforts restored Fourthly Set upon the work of meditation and in this work I shall commend four meditations you are to take into your thoughs which may be very helpful and useful to you in restoring your comforts As First Let your meditations run upon this that sometimes you are not so competent Judges of your own spiritual estate as others may be As First In a time of desertion when God hath left you and frownes upon you Secondly In times of temptation when the devils temptations are violent against you Thirdly In times of Relapse when you are fallen into some great sinne at this time you are not so competent Judges of your own estate but standers by may see more of your own good and your own sincerity then your selves may do as the Proverb is Many times Lookers on see more then he that playes the game it is true in this A Looker on may see sincerity sparkle in thy practice and thy graces shine in thy conversation when thou canst not do it thy selfe A childe when it blubbers and cries can see nothing of his book So when Christians are sad and sullen and lumpish they can hardly read any thing of their evidence Mr. Throgmorton got his assurance this way by the Testimony of a company of godly Ministers that they could lay their soules in his soules stead Let this therefore run in your Meditations that many times standers by and Christians that behold your walkings and see your Actions they may see more ground of comfort in you then your selves can do Secondly Meditate and think upon the comforts God gave you in wonted time and call them to minde Do as David did Psal 77. I called to