Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	word_n	worth_a	worthy_a	23	3	6.8501	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A63572	Gods glory in mans happiness, with the freeness of his grace in electing us together with many Arminian objections answered / by Francis Taylor ...	Taylor, Francis, 1590-1656.; Taylor, Francis, 1590-1656. Gods choice and mans diligence.	1654 (1654)	Wing T279; ESTC R17346	100,184	248

out of which Gods calling delivers us So Davids preferment was the greater when he was made a King because he was taken from following the Ewes with young Psal 78.70 71 72. Gen. 32.10 Jacobs two bands were the greater riches because with his staffe only he went over Jordan The mercy of the caller is the greater because of the misery the called did endure before Our condition was obscure before now it is famous It was servil before now it is free It was full of impiety formerly but now God hath planted piety in us It was loaden with impiety at first yet now our hearts are set upon equity and righteousnesse This promotion of ours cals for the more inspection because of the high honour and great riches we are called unto What greater honour then to be Gods children What greater riches then the inheritance of the kingdome of heaven 1 Thess 2.12 Walke worthy of Go● who hath called you unto his kingdom● and glory Great disproportion there i● betwixt darknesse and light Eph. 5.8 Ye wer● sometimes darknesse but now are ye ligh● in the Lord. No lesse difference between life and death 1 Joh. 3.14 Yet we know that we have passed from death to life Every man is willing to understand his own honours And we count them but bad husbands that dive not into their own Estates and are ignorant of their own Possessions Look then how far spirituall honours and treasures goe beyond temporall the soul beyond the body immortall possessions beyond mortall so much the more reason have we to pry carefully into our vocation and all the circumstances of it and dependences upon it Lastly consider we the way which God cals us by and that is his word Great is the power of Gods word and worthy to be lookt into By it God made the world and all the creatures in it By it he brought all things out of nothing By it he brought light out of darknesse Yet hath Gods word a very different operation in calling of sinners The same Sermon reclaimes one and offends another One man obeyes it and another resists This diversity of operation proceeds not out of the diversity of the soil for we are all naturally corrupted But it comes from the assistance of Gods Spirit joyned to the Preaching of the Word or restrained from it And are not all these things worthy of admiration Vse 1 A sort of secure persons come here to be censured who slight Gods choise and calling They never look into the worth nor the price of it Yet are they wonderfull curious in observation of earthly things They fully understand what belongs to their inheritances There is no corner of their offices unsearched If new honours be bestowed upon them they know quickly how to take state upon them But although God dayly call men by the mystery of the Word yet do they never look into the worth of that heavenly calling Hence it comes to passe that this spirituall honour is slighted This is the cause why the means of salvation is neglected because men never look into the worth of our vocation Yet in the mean while worldly studies are embraced all means of gain and new projects are attended Yea such as often end in losse are embraced in hope of gaine because men enriously pry into every hole where worldly profit may hide her self but neglect to take to peeces and view the severall parts of our divine vocation Vse 2 Yet let their carelesnesse make us the more carefull Let their negligence make us the more diligent in searching the mysteries of our calling Let us looke into all the parts of it This is the way to make us thankfull to God that hath called us This is the way to make us profitable to men that are not yet called Let us when we look up to God that cals us remember his greatnesse Let us when we look downward to the misery out of which he hath called us remember the depth of it Let us when we look forward to the honour unto which he hath called us ponder upon the height of it Let us when we look backward upon the means whereby he hath called us consider the ineffectualnesse of them upon others So shall we finde the totall sum to be this That the highest God hath called us out of the lowest degree of misery to the greatest step of glory out of his own grace and free mercy One thing more ere we leave St. Pauls exhortation offers it self to our meditation He bids them not look upon other mens calling but their own Look upon your calling Remember how mean ye were once and how miserable whom God by his calling hath now made so high and glorious Such as be exalted by God must often call to minde their former meann●sse Such a meditation it was that made David a King to cry out Who am I O Lord God 2 Sam. 7.18 and what is my house that thou hast brought me hitherto And St. Paul a glorious Apostle remembers himself and leaves it written for others to read that he had been a blasphemer 1 Tim. 1.13 a persecutour and injurious A low meditation for an high Apostle yet very profitable to himself and exemplary to others Many and great are the commodities that arise to the highest of men from such low meditations as these Benefits of remembring our low estate First 1 Thankfulnesse it breeds thankfulnesse to God that hath preferd them As for generall favours that are common to us and others they do not so much affect us much lesse make us thankfull to God as those peculiar mercies which are proper to us and which others have no share in Thus the remembrance of our own particular basenesse first affects us with joy and then stirs us up to thankfulnesse towards God Secondly 2 Admiration of Gods providence it breeds admiration of Gods providence in us who raiseth up the poor out of the dust and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill Psal 113.7 8. that he may set him with Princes even with the Princes of his people The changes that are wrought in others do not commend Gods providence to our cogitations so much as those that are wrought in our selves Gods providence then which though it work many strange things for others and it may be more strange then it works for us is slighted and neglected by us by calling to minde our former lownesse is highly wondered at by us and admired Thirdly 3 Patience it brings forth patience in all adversities that can happen unto us There can nothing happen to such as are exalted from a low to an high estate but the same or the like they have had experience of before If poverty fall upon them they have been poor before If want trouble them they have been in want before Experience makes a man better able to bear any calamity These things may be strange to such as never

have not chosen me saith our ●viour but I have ●●sen you Non vos me elegistis inquit sed ego vos ●legi Quid ergo eramus nisi iniqui et perditi Neque enim jam credideramus in eum ut eligeret nos Nam si jam credentes elegit electos elegit Cur ergo diceret Non vos me elegistis nisi quia miscricordia ejus praevenit n●s Hic certe vacat vana illorum ratiocinatio qui praescientiam Dei defendunt contra gratiam Dei et ideo dicunt nos electos ante mundi constitutionem quia praescivit nos Deas futuros bonos non se ipsum nos facturum bonos Non h●c dicit qui dicit Non vos me elegistis quoniam si propterea nos elegisset quia bonos futuros esse nos praesciverat simul etiam praescisset quod eum nos fuiss●mus prius el●cturi Aug. in Joh. tract 86. What were 〈◊〉 when we were chosen 〈◊〉 wicked and casta●es For we had not 〈◊〉 beleeved in him that 〈◊〉 should chuse us For ●e chose beleevers he ●se such as were chosen ●ore Why should he ●n say You have not ●sen me but because his ●ey prevented us This ●ly overthrows the vain ●soning of such as de●d the foreknowledge of ●d against the grace of ●d and say God hath ●efore chosen us before the creation of the ●ld because he knew beforehard that we ●ld be good not because he would make us good He saith not so that saith Ye ha● not chosen me because if he had therefor● chosen us because he foreknew that 〈◊〉 would be good he would withall have fore known that we would have chosen h● first Et paulo post Audi ingrate ingrate audi Non vos me elegistis sed ego elegi vos Non est ut dicas ideo electus sum quia jam credebam Si enim credebas in cum jam elegeras eum Sed audi Non vos me elegistis And not far after Hearken O i● gratefull person O ingratefull person hearken Ye have not chosen me but I ho● chosen you There is no reason for thee 〈◊〉 say I was therefore chosen because I d● beleeve before For if thou didst beleeve 〈◊〉 him first thou hadst first chosen him B● hear ye have not chosen me So that i● St. Augustines judgment an election o● of faith or works foreseen is either 〈◊〉 election or a self election And the that teach it give occasion to pr●phane persons to scoffe at Go● election Let Gods elect not on● not be discouraged by scoffers n● daunted by false teachers but let the acknowledge a divine election as t● foundation of all their holinesse a● happinesse What were you before God cho● you but unholy unhappy Wh● would ye have been yet if God h● not chosen you but what you w● before Let Augustine answer th● question What shall we then say wh● ●●e hear Ye have not chosen me Quid ergo dicturi sumus audiendo non vos me elegistis nisi quia mali eramus et electi sumus ut boni per gratiam nos eligentis essemus Aug. in Joh. tract 86. but that ●e were evill but are elected that we ●ight be good through his grace that hath ●lected us In all the Scripture there 〈◊〉 no higher action then Gods electi●n Acknowledge this therefore for ●he fountain from whence spring the ●wo pleasant streams of grace and glory ●nd thus much for the first and top ●ranch of this most glorious tree We ●ave climed up to the highest now let ●s go downward by degrees slowly ●nd safely for fear of falling 2. There is a vocation depending upon this election and answerable to it That vocation depends upon electi●n and goes hand in hand with it ●t Paul instructs the Romans Rom. 8.30 Whom he ●d predestinate them he also called He ●●viseth the Corinthians not to marvail 〈◊〉 the meannesse of such as were called ●r they are the very same that were ●re-elected 1 Cor. 1.26 27. Ye see that God hath ●lled foolish and mean persons to be ●irs of glory because he had chosen ●ch before he made the world We ●e called to faith and what is that ●●t the faith of Gods elect Tit. 1.1 St. Augustine observes that in the beginning of bot● St. Pauls Epistles to Timothy there is 〈◊〉 Trinity of blessings not found so linked in the beginning of many other 〈◊〉 the Canonicall Epistles Id verbum interposuit quo plane a peritur atque ostenditur non meritis operum priorum sed secundum misericordiam Dei nobis dari spiritum sanctum Aug. expos epist ad Rom. inchoatae lib. 1. Grace merey and peace The Apostle saith he 〈◊〉 Mercy between Grace and Peace that 〈◊〉 might plainly shew that the Spirit of Go● is given us not for the merits of our for● mer works but according to Gods mercy And indeed what can come betwee● Gods grace of election and our pea● of justification so fitly as Gods mer● in our vocation Before we mention● a twofold election now we must me●tion a twofold vocation The one outward in the Ministry 〈◊〉 the Word The other inward in the operati● of Gods Spirit The former depends not up● election Many called few chosen Mat. 2 16. There are some so called that 〈◊〉 not elected Mat. 13.47 48. as Judas and Simon Mag The net takes many things that af● are cast away at shore The Gospell c● many outwardly that after perish et●nally Jud. v. 5. Moses word brought many 〈◊〉 of Egypt that fell short of Canaan a● perished in the wildernesse The into ●nall vocation is the subject I am now ●to treat of and that alwayes depends upon eternall election For vocation is nothing else but the execution of election Grace is ordained to be given by the one and grace is actually given by the other Rom. 9.13 The purpose of God according to election is perfected by God that calleth This made Augustine to call predestination an hidden vocation Aug. lib. 83. quest And we may as well call vocation a manifest election Gods consails eternally precede the execution and the execution followes in time just according to the precedent determination The persons called must needs be the same that were elected Otherwise Gods counsail may be deluded and his conclusions may be altered Yea the determinations of God before the world must be subject to the actions of men in the world If they please his purpose shall stand if they please not it shall be altered Thus shall Gods omnipotency stoop to mans infirmity and mans mutability over-rule Gods immutability Here may we behold the downfall of naturall preparations and meritorious dispositions consisting of the good use of naturall endowments whereby our calling should be furthered and without which it cannot as some think be attained Our vocation depends upon Gods election not upon our preparations How was Paul disposed and affected Act. 9. when