Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	john_n	spirit_n	worship_v	7,067	5	9.7470	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A87871	A discourse of praying with the spirit, and with the understanding. Where of extemporary premeditate set forms of prayer. Preached in two sermons at Hillsborough anno 1659. By Henry Leslie (maugre all antichristian opposition) Bishop of Down and Conner. And now published for the redresse of the great abuse of prayer in that diocesse, whereof he had, and ought to have a charge. Whereunto is annexed a letter of Jer. Taylor, D.D. concerning the same subject.	Leslie, Henry, 1580-1661.; Taylor, Jeremy, 1613-1667.	1660 (1660)	Wing L1162; Thomason E1041_4; ESTC R207928	28,259	45

and maketh request for us with groanings which cannot be uttered It can not be truly said of the Spirit of God which is God that he either prayeth or groaneth but the meaning is he hath that operation in our hearts that he maketh us to pray and groan so Gal. 4.6 it is said that the spirit cryeth Abba Father because by him we cry Abba Father as it is exprest Rom. 8.15 If the holy spirit dwell in our hearts he will fill us with holy thoughts and desires He openeth our eyes to see the miserable Estate wherein we stand and what great need we have of Gods grace and help for all things Then he openeth our hearts to pray and openeth our lips also He strikes our hearts with a deep sense of our own misery and wretchedness and with a true consideration of Gods Majesty and greatness and so makes us to pray with reverence and humility he inflames our hearts with love to God and to our Brethren and so makes us to pray in charity he begets in us a confidence to be heard and so makes us to pray in faith he gives us patience and so makes us wait upon God and persevere in prayer And from the power of the Spirit we have those motions kindled in us whereby our prayers are made fervent for it falls out often that when we settle our selves to pray our own hearts do leave us and our minds are wandring abroad not regarding what the tongue speaketh Bernard complaineth much of this saying Nihil in mundo fugatius est corde meo nothing in the World is swifter then my heart it flyeth away and fastneth upon other objects And therefore he used to begin his devotions with exurgat Deus Let God arise and let his enemies be scattered For indeed those wandring thoughts are great Enemies to devotion they arise so thick that they suffer not our prayers to come up unto God As when Abraham offered sacrifice he was no sooner gone from it but the fowles of the air light upon it Gen. 15.6 So when we offer unto God the Calves of our lips it comes to pass through our carelesness and wantonness that many foul thoughts gee upon our sacrifice and defile it But our care must be to drive them away as Abraham did the fowles of the air And for this the spirit of God doth assist us for he calleth us home and putteth us in mind that we are kneeling before the Majesty of God and therefore ought to take good heed what we speak in his presence and to himself The holy Spirit also inflames our affections with zeal so that we pray with fervency of Spirit and utter our desires unto God with sighs which cannot be exprest without this speciall assistance of Gods spirit the best of our prayers are but luke warm as saith St. Austin Tepida est omnis oratio quam non praevenit inspiratio And this leadeth me to a third consideration of praying with the Spirit As to pray with the spirit signifieth to pray by immediate inspiration and in an unknown tongue here in this text and also to pray by the direction and assistance of the holy Spirit Jude 20. So it signifyeth to pray zealously and fervently with earnest and ardent affection and so it is to be taken Ephes 6.18 Praying alwayes with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit that is heartily and fervently So St. Paul worshipped God as he protests Rom. 1.9 God is my wittness whom I serve in my spirit as if he should say I do not serve God for by-ends or in outward appearance and sight of men but I serve him in my spirit heartily fervently sincerely So he would have all who worship God to be fervent in spirit for he joynes them together Rom. 12.11 Fervent in Spirit serving the Lord. This is the only worship that pleaseth God as our Saviour hath taught us John 4.23 The true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth for the Father seeketh such to worship him God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit that is they must joyne their heart and spirit with the outward performance That worship pleaseth God for the Father seeketh such to worship him But if the heart be wanting and the spirit dull the outward art though never so formally done will not please God as appeareth by what the Lord himself saith Esa 29.13 This people draw near me with their mouth and with their lips do honour me but have removed their heart far from me The like complaint we have Jer. 12.2 Thou art near in their mouth and farr from their reins And Hos 7.14 They cryed not unto me with their heart when they howled upon their beds Where we finde that Hypocrites did pray and cry and howle to but the Lord did not regard it because it was not with their heart For God is a spirit and looketh especially to the inward disposition of the spirits of men he first of all requireth the heart Prov. 23.26 My Son give me thine heart Look whatsoever duty he requireth of us he will have it done with the heart and with all the heart we must seek the Lord with all our heart cleave unto the Lord with all our heart serve him with all all our heart turne unto him with all our heart love him with all our heart obey him with all our heart follow him with all our heart praise him with all our heart And so also pray unto him with all our heart and not with our lips only for prayer is not a powring out of the lungs but of the heart and soul before God as Hanna saith 1 Sam. 1.15 I have powned out my Soul before the Lord. And so David exhorteth us Psal 62.8 Yea People pour out your hearts before him And as we are to pray with all our heart so with all our might that is with the whole strength and endeavour of our soul and all the faculties of it It is said of David 2. Sam. 6.14 That he danced before the Lord with all his might That was a worship of God a spirituall worship wherein David by his outward act of dancing did express his exultation and rejoycing in the Lord and the text saith the did it with all his might borrowing a Metaphor from bodily exercise For as a man is said to Wrestle with all his might when he useth all his force and putteth all his strength to it even so we worship God with all our might when all the faculties and powers of our souls are concentrated and united together in the performance of that work then do we wrestle with God as Jacob did or strive in prayer as the Apostle exhorts us Rom. 15.30 I beseech you bretheren that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me So did David worship God for he danced before the Lord with all his might to express his joy for bringing home of the Arke And as