Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	worship_n	worship_v	wrong_a	43	3	11.2462	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A81199	An exposition with practicall observations continued upon the twenty-second, twenty-third, twenty-fourth, twenty-fifth, and twenty-sixth chapters of the book of Job being the summe of thirty-seven lectures, delivered at Magnus near London Bridge. By Joseph Caryl, preacher of the Word, and pastour of the congregation there.	Caryl, Joseph, 1602-1673.	1655 (1655)	Wing C769A; ESTC R222627	762,181	881

man chafed and enraged as a man full of wrath and fury but as a man most tenderly affected and full of pity for a bruised reade shall he not breake and smoaking flax shall he not quench a bruised read and smoaking flax are emblems of the weake of the arme without strength of those who are without wisdome Christ will not deale roughly with those he will not breake the bruised read nor quench the smoaking flax that is such as are broken with the sence of sin such as are weake in faith such as are so much over-powred by corruption that they doe rather smoake and make an ill-sented smother then burne or shine in a gracious profession such as are thus low and meane in spiritualls Christ will not breake with his power nor quench with his rebukes till he send forth judgement to victory that is till he hath perfected their conversion and hightned their graces to the full and caused the better part in them to prevaile over the worse as the house of David did over the house of Saul till it arive at a blessed victory And againe Isa 61.2 The spirit of the Lord God is upon me for wh●t because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings to the meeke he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted to proclaime liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound Here is helping those that have no power and saving the arme that hath no strength Thus Christ handles those who through temptation affliction or any trouble are brought low For the neglect of this duty the Lord reproves the Shepheards Ezek. 34.2 3 4. Son of man prophesie against the Shepheards of Israel prophecy and say unto them thus saith the Lord God unto the Shepheards Woe be to the Shepheards of Israel that doe feed themselves should not the Shepheards feed the flockes That is should they not be more intent upon the feeding of their flocke with spiritualls then upon the feeding of themselves with temporalls should they not labour more to feed the peoples soules then their owne bellyes surely they ought But what did the Shepheards of Israel The next words shew us both what they did and what they did not Ye eate the fat and ye cloath you with the wool ye kill them that are fed These things they were forward enough to doe But see what they did not ye feed not the flock That 's a general neglect of duty then followeth their neglect of particular duties The diseased have ye not strengthened neyther have ye healed that which is sicke neyther have ye bound up that which was broken neyther have ye brought againe that which was driven away by force of Satans temptation neyther have ye sought that which was lost through selfe-folly and corruption Here is a large enditement against the Shepheards All which may be summed up in Jobs language to Bildad They did not helpe those who had no power they did not save the arme without strength nor counsel those who had no wisdome See againe how the Prophet describes the compassionatenesse of God to his people in an afflicted condition Isa 27.8 In measure that is moderately when it shooteth forth thou wilt debate with it he stayeth his rough winde in the day of the East winde that is when affliction like an East winde blowes feircely upon his from the world then he stayeth his rough winde he will not bring his rough winde out of his treasures to joyn with the East-winde God will deale gently with his when they are hardly dealt with by men And thus it is our duty when it is a day of the East winde a day of trouble and temptation upon any soule to stay the rough winde to breath gently to give refreshment and ease to the weary soule How hast thou helped him that hath no power how savest thou the arme that hath no strength Secondly Observe The manner how we performe any duty is to be attended as well as the matter Bildads businesse was to comfort the sorrowfull to strengthen the infirme how did he performe this his strengthening was a weakning his helping was a grieving of Job already weake and grieved and the reason was because he failed in the manner or mannaging of this worke we must be carefull as to doe good for the matter so to doe it effectually which cannot be unlesse it be done rightly Some goe with an honest purpose to helpe who yet administer no helpe at all to every such helper it may be sayd with rebuke How hast thou helped him that is without power how unhandsomely hast thou done it what worke hast thou made of it Thou hast but entangled the poore soule worse then before This runs through all duties We may say to some How have you prayed and called upon God They onely speake a few words present a few petitions but without a heart without faith without a sense of the presence of God or of their owne wants how have such prayed call ye this prayer we may say to others how have you heard the word of God is this to heare what to re●eive the sound or the sense of the word and never to minde it more never to digest nor turne what is heard into practice is this hearing We may say to others how have you f●sted and humbled your soules before God Is this a fast that God hath chosen a day for a man to hang downe his head like a bullrush Is this fasting to God even to God No This is but a mock-fast a No-fast God hates such formality in praying hearing fasting with a perfect hatred A body exercised and a soule sitting still is not worship God is a spirit and will be worshipped in spirit and in truth In the truth or according to the rule of his owne word as also in the truth or according to the sincerity of our owne hearts unlesse we worship God in this twofold truth we worship him not at all as he will be worshipped how much soever we seeme to have a will to worship him As Job here puts a question mixt with admiration and indignation to his helper How hast thou helped him that hath no power How ilfavordly how bunglingly hast thou done it So the Lord will put such a question to many of his worshippers How have ye worshipped him that hath all power how slightly how formally how hypocritically have ye done it Therefore in all duties looke to the manner as well as to the matter and labour to doe them well as well as to doe them To neglect the doing of a duty or the doing of it negligently are alike offensive unto God and he will say to the latter with as much displeasure How hast thou done what I commanded as he will to the latter Why hast thou not done what I commanded yea Thirdly Observe That which is not done as it ought is to be judged as if not done That which we strive not

because the Lord will not be mercifull to such thus final impenitency may be called a triumphing or conquering sin seing the mercy of God seemes to yeeld unto it They will not humble themselves to seeke mercy yea they slight and despise mercy therefore they shall not finde mercy The Prophet Jeremie represents the LORD thus expostulating againe with the Jewish Nation Chap. 5.22 23. Feare ye not me sayth the Lord will yee not tremble at my presence which have placed the sand for the bound of the Sea by a perpetuall decree that it cannot passe it and though the waves thereof tosse themselves yet can they not prevaile and though they roare yet can they not passe over it but this people hath a revolting and rebellious heart they are revolted and gone The words as I conceive have these two things in them first that the Lord is to be feared who doth such things who sets bounds to the Sea c. Secondly that the wickednesse of mans heart is admirable or rather that we are to be astonished at the wickednesse of mans heart which is more boysterous and disobedient then the raging waves of the Sea The Lord sets bounds to the waves of the Sea which waves in their owne nature are altogether boundlesse liquid waves have no bounds of their owne yet the Lord having put bounds to them they are kept in bounds The sand bounds the Sea so that though the waves thereof tosse they cannot prevaile though they roare they cannot passe over but this people have revolted and are gone As if he had said I the Lord have put a bound to the Sea I have also set a bound to the wickednesse of mans heart what is that my Word my Law The Law of God is a moral bound to stop and keepe in compasse the raging waves of mans corruption God doth not alwayes put an externall bound by sword and judgement to stop men whether they will or no from sinne but he alwayes puts a morall bound to stop them this is supposed in the Text I put a bound to the Sea to the Sea also of mans heart to the wickednesse that is there but this people are revolted and gone they have broken all my bounds even that perpetuall decree of my righteous Law Now as when the Sea breaks its bounds the waters flow infinitely there is no stopping them so when the heart of man breaks bounds revolts and is gone he sinnes infinitely he makes no end of sinning By these Scriptures we may understand in what sense the iniquities of wicked men may be sayd to be infinite though nothing is infinite in a strict and proper sence but God himselfe Is not thy wickednesse great and thine iniquitie infinite But hath Job given Eliphaz any just occasion of this surmise that his sin was in this sence infinite Did he ever observe eyther wickednesse in generall or those particular wickednesses which he presently enumerates taking a pledge denying reliefe of the poore stripping the naked c had he seene any of these evills acted by Job certainly he had not Job was a man of another frame of life then these things import these blacke lines and colours would never make the picture of Jobs heart or life this is as ill a draught of a man as could be made yet Eliphaz puts all this upon Job at least by supposition is it not thus but what reason had he for this supposition none but this the greatnesse of his affliction the infinite troubles that were upon him God set no bounds to Jobs sorrows therefore he thought Job had sinned beyond all bounds Hence observe Wee are ready to judge their sinnes great who are the greatest sufferers Though we know nothing by them though we can charge nothing upon them yet this thought riseth naturally in us when we see any under great and extraordinary sufferings surely they are great and extraordinary sinners The worst of sinners never suffered more in this world then the best of Saints Witnes those Jewish Worthyes whose torments are reported by the Author to the Hebrewes Chap. 11.37 and as these were adjudged to suffer because they were thought the worst of sinners so doubtlesse many who saw them suffer thought them such though they knew nothing done by them to make them such Read also this Spirit Luk. 13.2 Act. 28.4 This hath been formerly observed from other passages in this booke and therefore I onely touch it and passe away Againe Eliphaz seemes to take Job off from the wrong ground of his sufferings and tells him though he looked to other reasons yet the true reason was the greatnesse of his wickednesse and the numberlesnes of his iniquities Hence observe That few thinke of or hitt upon any other cause of suffering but sinne Sin is so much and so often the cause of suffering that we doe it no wrong to suspect it as the cause of all sufferings and it is indeed one kinds of cause causa sine qua non of all our sufferings so that we can hardly wrong sin by this suspition but we may easily wrong both God and man by it When the blind man came before Christ his Disciples asked him saying Master who did sin this man or his parents that he was borne blind they could hit upon nothing but sin why the man was borne blind Joh. 9.2 But at the third verse Christ answered Neither hath this man sinned nor his parents he vindicates both from this suspition What man was this and who were his parents that they sinned not were they cleane from sinne not so neyther but the meaning of Christ is this neither hath this man sinned nor his parents so as that eyther his sin or theirs should be reckoned the speciall cause why he was borne blind There was somewhat else in it which the Disciples tooke no notice of nor did they understand Christ doth not deny but that a mans owne sinne and the sin of his parents may be a cause of blindnesse but neither the one nor the other was the cause in that mans case as if Christ had sayd Can you thinke of nothing else why a man is afflicted but onely his sinne There are many other causes of suffering besides that The cause why some suffer is the tryall of their graces The cause why many suffer is to beare witnesse to the truth and to encourage others both in the profession of it and in persecutions for it And Christ particularly assignes another cause of the sufferings of the blind man That the worke of God might be made manifest in him That the worke of God in his power and mercy might be seene in restoring this man to his fight therefore was he borne without the power of seing The blindnes of that man was an occasion to make a very glorious discovery of God Much of God had not been so eminently seene at that time if that man had alwayes seene Many are cast downe upon beds of sicknesse or into a

good It is not enough for a man to say he doth not judge his brother maliciously he ought not to judge him ignorantly Though to speake or judge ill of another because wee wish him ill be the greater sinne yet barely to speake or judge ill of another by whom we know no ill is very sinfull And then 't is most sinfull when wee doe it not onely as not knowing any evill they have done but because we know heare or see the evills which they suffer 'T is dangerous as well as improper to make the hardest and harshest dealings of God with any man the ground of our hard and harsh thoughts of him Thirdly Consider who they were whom Job is supposed to have oppressed they were not the great ones not the mighty men of the earth but the fatherlesse and the widow Whence note That the poore are usually the subject of oppression The greater fish in the sea of this world devoure and live upon the lesser The strong should support the weake and they who are upper-most should uphold those who are under them But because the weake and the underlings may most easily be opprest therefore they are most usually opprest As Covetousnesse is cruell so 't is cowardly and dares not meddle with its match God in reference to Spiritualls filleth the hungry with good things and the rich he sendeth empty away Luk. 1.53 Ungodly men in reference to temporals would send the rich away empty if they could but they are so farre from filling the hungry with good things that they take away all the good things they can from the hungry they care not if they starve the hungry if they make the poore poorer and take all from them who have but little Fourthly Job having been a Magistrate and so by his place a Minister of Justice is strongly pressed with the doing of injustice Whence note First That they who have power may easily though not alwayes justly be suspected for the abuse of it To have a power in our hands whereby we may doe good is a temptation to doe evill 'T is hard to keepe power within its bounds and to rule that by which others are ruled The Prophet Isa 1.10 calls the rulers of Sion rulers of Sodome because they ruled like them or rather worse then they eating up the people under their charge rather then feeding them and vexing those whom they undertooke to governe and to be a Shield unto against the vexations of others Secondly Note That as oppression is a sinne in any man so it is most sinfull in those who have power in their hands to releeve the oppressed Such act not onely contrary to a common rule but contrary to their speciall duty by how much we have the more obligation not to doe a thing by so much we sin the more if we doe it Thirdly Note That as it is very sinfull in Magistrates to wrong any man so it is most sinfull to wrong them or to deny them right who have most need of it the widow and the fatherlesse Magistrates are called Gods And God who hath honoured them by putting his name upon them expects that they should honour him by imitating or acting like unto him What a Magistrate doth he should doe like God he should doe it so that every one may be convinced that God is in him and with him of a truth As God takes care of the widow and of the fatherlesse so should he God is knowne by this Title A father of the fatherlesse and a Judge of the widow is God in his holy habitation Psal 68.5 That is in Heaven for that 's the habitation of his holines and of his glory there he dwells Judging for the widow and the fatherlesse And as that is the speciall businesse as it were of God in Heaven so they who are Gods on earth ought to make it their speciall businesse to judge for the widow and the fatherlesse Hence wee finde the widow and the fatherlesse commended by name to the care of the Magistrate The fatherlesse have no naturall parents living or none neere of kinne remaining to maintaine and defend them therefore the Magistrate who is pater patriae the common father of his Country should be their Foster-Father They who want power are the charge should be the speciall care of those in power Thus they are commanded Psa 82.3 4. Defend the poore fatherless doe justice to the afflicted needy deliver the poore and needy rid them out of the hand of the wicked Here 's their worke and the neglect of this worke how busie so ever Magistrates are about other worke is often complained of aloud in Scripture as a crying sinne as a sinne that ruines Nations and drawes downe publicke Judgements upon a people Isaiah 1.17 Cease to doe evill learne to doe well seeke Judgement relieve the oppressed Judge the fatherlesse plead for the widow And at the 23 verse They judge not the fatherlesse neither doth the Cause of the widow come unto them Againe Jer. 5.28 They judge not the Cause of the fatherlesse It is a sin not to judge any mans Cause not to judge the Cause of the richest of the greatest yet it is more sinfull not to judge the Cause of the widow and the fatherlesse And when he saith They judge not the Cause c. the meaning is they judge not the Cause of the fatherlesse impartially and righteously And indeed he that doth not judge righteously doth not judge at all and when the Prophet saith They judge not the Cause of the fatherlesse it is as if he had said Among all the Causes that lye unjudged this is the Cause that God takes most notice of and is most displeased with the neglect of it even when the Cause of the fatherlesse is not pleaded or judged All are forward enough to plead the Cause of the rich but when the Client is poore and appeares in forma pauperis his cause seld me finds any but a poore and formal pleading We read Acts 6.1 That there was a great murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrew●s because their widdowes were neglected in the daily Administration Church-Officers in their capacity as well as State-Officers in theirs ought to have a carefull eye upon widows that are in want And the Apostle James Cha. 1.27 summes up as it were all Religion into this one duty Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this to visit the fatherlesse and the widow Not as if this were indeed all religion or the all of religion but as when the Spirit in Scripture hath to doe with prophane persons or meere moral honest men who place all religion in civill righteousnesse and workes of charity then he calls them to first Table duties or to the sincere worship of God so when the Spirit is speaking to those who place all their religion in worship or in first Table duties neglecting the duties of charity and righteousnes then we finde