Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heart_n	body_n	spirit_n	vital_a	3,629	5	10.6721	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A81211	Ioy out-joyed: or, Joy in overcoming evil spirits and evil men, overcome by better joy: set forth in a sermon at Martins in the fields, to the Right Honourable the Lords assembled in Parliament, upon the day of their solemn rejoycing and praising God, for reducing the city of Chester by the forces of the Parliament, under the command of Sr William Brereton, February 19. 1645. / By Joseph Caryl minister of the Gospel at Magnus neer London Bridge.	Caryl, Joseph, 1602-1673.; England and Wales. Parliament.	1646 (1646)	Wing C780; Thomason E323_3; ESTC R200591	20,183	35

the great day Secondly they are under a chaine of providence God lets them goe abroad but never without this chain He gives them scope and checks them as himself pleases Wicked men are led captive by Satan at his will 2 Tim. 2. 26. and Satan is led captive at the will of Jesus Christ He cannot act either by himself or by his instruments but as permitted and if Christ oppose both his power and the power of his instruments is stopt and broken Iohn the Apocalypt Rev. 20. 1 2. Saw an Angel Christ come down from Heaven having the key of the bottomlesse pit and a great chain in his hand and he laid hold on the dragon that old Serpent which is the Divel and Satan and bound him a thousand years and cast him into the bottomlesse pit and shut him up and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled and after that he must be loosed for a little season Opinions and dispute● are very various about the precise time of Satans binding and loosing But we may hence conclude an illustrious proof for this point in generall That Satan is subject to the power of Christ He bindes him from deceiving the nations and he can binde him from troubling either persons or nations This magnifies the power of Christ he makes evil spirits subject This is a conquest beyond all those of the Roman Consuls or Caesars there was never any of them that brought the Divel home in chains Evil spirits were never dragged at their chariots of triumph Those conquerours were themselves captives to these spirits And while they procured liberty for the common-wealth they themselves were the servants of corruption and slaves to Satan for of whom or by what any maie is overcome of the same is he brought in bondage 2 Pet. 2. 19. Secondly This may encourage us in the greatest difficulties If spirits are subject to the power of Christ acted in the Saints then what is there in the world but may be subjected by this power There is no power greater then the power of spirits One spirit destroyed a mighty army in one night 2 King 19. 35. Can flesh and blood can gates of brasse and walls of stone stand out when spirits themselves must yeeld Every creature hath its strength in its spirits There are corporall spirits as well as spirituall spirits There are spirits of the body produced out of the matter being the finer purer and more sublimate parts of it spirits animall in the brain vitall in the heart and naturall in the liver these are the strength of our bodies And there are spirits in things without life These spirits are their strength also the spirit of wine is the strength of the wine so of any other liquour Spirits extracted are the strength of any substance contracted into a narrow room There is a spirit of a spirit The spirit of the minde Ephes 4. 23. Be renewed in the spirit of your minde This spirit of the minde is the strength of the minde To spend spirits is to spend strength and to get spirits is to get strength both of body and minde When the Prophet would shew that the horses of the Egyptians were weak he saith Their horses are flesh and not spirit Isa 31. 3. and the Apostle to shew how strong Devils are Ephes 6. 12. saith We wrestle not against grosse things flesh and blood but against principalities and powers against the rulers of the darknesse of this world against spirituall wickednes in high places Spirituall wickednes is wicked spirits and because they are spirits therefore they are powers In evil spirits there is power much more in good spirits and most of all in the best spirit the Holy Ghost ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you Act. 1. 8. wheresoever spirit is there is power The spirit of a man is of such strength that it is able to beare his infirmity our infirmities are our heaviest part Nothing calls for more strength then the bearing of our own infirmities or the infirmities of other men Yet while a man can hold up his spirit and maintain that he may beare and rejoyce in the heaviest burthen of his own outward infirmities A strong spirit strengthens the weakest and a weak spirit weakens the strongest body or minde The sum of all is this spirits are strong and evil spirits are stronger then all flesh yet these are subject to the power of Christ then never fear flesh and blood fire and sword when you heare spirits must submit When Christ would assure the Church that it should stand against all opposition he promises the gates of hell shall not prevail against it Matth 16. 18. that is the power of evil spirits shall not and if the gates of hell cannot surely gates of earth shall never prevail We may be confident if spirits cannot flesh and blood shall not doe us any hurt while Christ is with us This leads us to the second Observation It is matter of joy to bring spirits evil spirits into subjection The Disciples passion was not without reason when they rejoyced to see spirits stoop it is no small priviledge to make evil spirits stoop whether they be evil spirits tempting and troubling without or moving within us It is matter of joy to subdue any reall enemy but chiefly those First who are most for number Secondly those who are mightiest in strength Thirdly those who are highest in place Fourthly those who are subtillest in projecting Fifthly those who are most malicious and bloody in executing All these meet in evil spirits They are many mighty high subtile and malicious The Devil is a legion by name a Prince by his place A Goliah an Achit●phel A Doeg all joyn'd in one It is a glorious victory to overcome a temptation to sinne Every time we doe so we overcome a Devil The Apostle James encourages us Resist the Devil and he will flee from you that is he will be subject to you You drive away the Devil every time you stand it out in a temptation and stand fast It is a great victory to overcome the sinnefull corruptions that are in our own hearts To overcome passion and corruption within is like the overcoming of a temptation from without The evil spirit is vanquished in both The Sadduces denyed all spirits Act. 23. 8. and others have affirmed that good and evil spirits are onely good or evil motions within us I abominate the errour and yet there is a truth somewhat like it Good or evil motions within us are in a sense good or evil spirits For as that which is borne of the good spirit is spirit Joh. 3. So that which is borne of the evil spirit is spirit too Every evil motion in us is borne of the Devil who though he be not the immediate parent of all such motions yet he was the immediate parent of that corruption from whence such

motions are derived So that though these sinfull passions are not those spirits yet they have the strength and life of evil spirits in them Hence Solomon puts the glory of a conquest over them beyond the glory of earthly conquests Pro. 16. 32. He that is slow to anger is better then the mighty and he that ruleth his spirit that is who overcomes his sinfull spirit and makes it subject to him is better then he that taketh a City We are called to blesse God for taking a City this day if we overcome our selves and rule our own spirits this is a more honourable conquest then that we blesse God for this day the taking of a City He that ruleth his spirit is better then he that taketh a City I beseech you saith the Apostle Peter 1 Ephes 2. 11. As pilgrims and strangers abstain from fleshly lusts which warre against the soul Fleshly lusts are spirituall enemies Abstaining from these is victory over these we kill them by fleeing from them This is the greatest warre and the issues of it are of greatest consequence It is more noble to subdue lusts within us then Armies without us And it is more advantage to us to conquer lusts then to conquer the world Better be a Paul then an Alexander Further It is matter of great joy when the evil spirits of men are overcome This is the hardest part of our warre with men and the best Battels are but half won when onely the bodies of men are wonne then it is a thorow victory when we are victours over their spirits The counsel which that Indian Gymno-sophist Calanus Plutarch gave Alexander about managing of his warre was this Get into the heart of your enemies Countrey which he taught him by the embleam of a great Oxe-hide spread upon the ground He advised Alexander to get into the heart of the Enemies Countrey My humble advice to you Right Honourable is to get into the heart of your Enemies While nothing is conquered but the bodies of men and Cities you are but upon the borders of victory There is a double conquest over spirits one is the chaining of spirits the other is the changing of spirits this later is a blessed conquest not onely to those who conquer but to those who are overcome The Parliament hath cause this day to blesse God for subjecting evil spirits to them but I may say without a figure or the least strain to truth most of those spirits are subject to them but as the Divels were subject to the Disciples 't is but a forced and a constrained subjection a chain is put upon their spirits their spirits are not changed they are subject because they cannot longer prevail and have their wills We have cause I say to blesse God for this The Prophet foretelleth what subjection shall be made at last to the Church Isa 60. 14 The sonnes also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee and all that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet c. It is a mercy when men are made to bow but it will be our glory when all shall willingly bow to the throne of truth and holinesse to the Scepter of judgement and righteousnes It is well for us when fire and sword makes enemies submit but it will be best with all when repentance and sorrow for sinne when honesty and grace makes men submit When men submit from a change of their principles not from a change only of providences from a change wrought in their hearts not from a change wrought in their states God hath fulfilled that prayer of the Psalmist Psal 68. 30. in our dayes He hath rebuked the company of Spear-men or as the letter of the Hebrew gives it the beasts of the reeds of which speares were anciently made and to which they are in fashion like These beasts of the reeds God hath rebuked as also the multitude of the Buls boisterous men and the calves of the people simple men till many of them have submitted themselves with peeces of silver to make their compositions and hath scattered the people who delighted in warre ● that is such as would not submit This the Lord hath done already Now let this be a word to you Right Honourable who are so highly interested in the publique affaires let your designe be especially to make spirits subject to you by a willing subjection Endeavour that in the day of your power as it is in the day of Christs power Psal 110. the people may be not only subject but willing That their subjection to the Parliament may be in its sphear like that of the Corinthians to the Gospel 2 Cor. 9. 13. a professed subjection not a forced subjection The greatest part of your warre is with the spirits of men it is said of Saul 1 Sam 16. 14. That the spirit of the Lord departed from him and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him that evil spirit was it which encreased his envy and continued the warre against David The Pharisees said of Christ Joh. 10. 20. He hath a Divel and is mad every man as the learned Mr Mede observeth in one of his Diatribes was thought to have a Divel in those times who did things furiously and madly Many such furious ones are amongst us of whom we may well say they have a Devil for they are mad they would never run such mad courses did not an evil spirit enrage and hurry them I might describe many of these evil spirits I will name a few First the evil spirits of pride and contention These are the cause of wars and troubles in all nations Because of pride commeth contention Natural spirits do not generate but these spirits doe The spirit of pride procreates the spirit of contention Were we more humble we might he more quiet and the reason why so few have their desires is because so many resolve to have their wills Secondly the evil spirits of envy and malice Many are sick of other mens health and poor with other mens riches and disappointed by their neighbours successe impotent envy thus rotting the bones breeds rancorous malice in the heart and both break out to the danger of the whole body Could we bear the good of others it would be better for our selves Thirdly the evil spirits of errour and falsehood unquiet our times What a calmnes would follow if these were cast out of every heart A spirit of errour deserves every mans abhorrence though a person erring may challenge our patience This spirit of errour is extream bad but a spirit of false-hood is farre worse All agree they may be somewhat borne with who erre conscienciously which is very possible But they are insufferable who act unconscionably which is very usuall Fourthly the evil spirits of jealousie and self-love I put these together because ungrounded jealousie of others is commonly accompanied with inordinate love of our selves The spirit of jealousy so it is called Numb

5. 14. is the disturber of Kingdomes as well as of families And self-love is set in the head of that black Army which is prophesied to make perillous times in the last dayes 2 Tim. 3. 1 2. Above all there is an evil spirit which I may call the Beelzebub of this generation or the Prince of Devils that is a spirit of division This workes in all places almost in all hearts Division seems to be the great designe against us That while we act simply we may be universally overcome This spirit is grown so cunning that it can work distances by a motion or an endeavour for union While many are ready to say and pray Let us not divide though we cannot agree yet are most ready to divide upon every disagreement And while it is almost in every mans mouth Let us be one in affection though we cannot be one in opinion yet every man almost acts as if neither one earth nor one heaven could hold those who hold not one opinion These spirits and such as these are the troublers of our peace and unlesse these spirits are changed or at least chained all flesh is in danger to perish among us The chaining of them may make our times peaceable but the change of them will make our times glorious How happy should we be if a spirit of humility and meeknes of charity and brotherly kindnes of truth and uprightnes of self-deniall and ardent desires of maintaining the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace possessed all our hearts Right Honourable if once you had received letters of credit and good assurance that evil spirits were foiled and had received a blow either in the east or west north or south and that a better spirit were acting in this Nation you would have cause to keep such a day of Thanksgiving and praise to God as you never kept to this day Till a conquest be gained over the spirits of men our conquests over men will not give us rest And though I would not lessen the mercies of God especially at this time when we come to blesse him for so great a mercy as we this day commemorate yet I say what heart almost can we have to blesse God or be enlarged in his Praises for subduing bodies Towns and Cities while legions of evil spirits in camp in so many places and quarter in so many hearts A conquest over spirits is the glory of all our other conquests Therefore Right Honourable I say it again let the stresse of your counsels and designes be laid against these spirits The sword may work an unwilling subjection God only can work a subjection of the will Yet two things done by men by men as your Selves are in Dignity and Authority will contribute much towards this subjection First justice done and done impartially for and upon all Secondly countenance and encouragement given to all that are good and do good When spirits are overcome upon these terms I know not who shall have greater cause to rejoyce they who are subject or they who have made them so But though this would be matter of great joy yet this must not be either the totall or the chief matter of our rejoicing The next words of the Text lead us to this modification of our joy Notwithstanding in this rejoyce not but rather rejoyce that your names are written in Heaven The connexion tells us we are very apt to overact outward comforts and overjoy our worldly joy The whole world is too narrow for the heart of man Our joys may quickly exceed it and we be more taken with it then it is worth Christ saw his Disciples in danger of taking in too much of the world The creature gets quickly into our hearts and our hearts may quickly get beyond the creature Onely God is an object which we cannot overjoy or stretch our affections too far towards It is seldom that we can rejoyce at all we can never rejoyce enough while we are in the flesh in spirituall mercies and it is seldom but we rejoyce too much in temporall The world is so much of kin to us and is so like us worldly comforts suit us so well and are so neer us that while we deal about them we need a bridle not a spurre It is one of the greatest priviledges which we wait for in Heaven that our affections may bee ever kept in a due temper There we shall love and rejoyce in nothing but God or for God And as we cannot love and rejoyce in God too much so there we shall not love or rejoice in him too little But while we converse with creatures we are apt to feed too heartily upon them and to drink larger draughts of the wine of their consolation then becomes us The way to lessen earthly joy is to stirre up heavenly As when love is divided upon many objects of the same worth it cannot run so strongly to any one so much more when it is carryed to a more worthy object will it abate towards those which are lesse worthy The Text is clear for it teaching us That our receits of temporall and outward mercies should be but as an occasion to raise our hearts higher in rejoycing for spirituall and eternall mercies Notwithstanding rejoyce not in this that spirits are subject to you but rather rejoyce c. All creatures and comforts on earth should be but as foils to set off the glory of Heaven How good is grace and glory if there be so much good in nature It was Christs art to do thus when he came to the well Joh. 4. and was thirsty he riseth from that water and the thirst he had to it to tell the woman of another water which if she could once drink she should never thirst And Joh. 6. 27. when he saw his followers so hungry after loaves of bread which is perishing meat He took an occasion to exhort them to labour for the meat that perisheth not but endures to everlasting life It is safest for us as well as our duty to bestow the strength of our sorrowes upon our sinnes and the strength of our joyes upon Christ There is a double ground or reason why we should thus in our receits of temporall mercies get our hearts off or get our hearts above them First spirituall mercies are the best mercies They are best in their nature and they are best in their enjoyment they are lasting mercies The joy of the hypocrite all his joy is but for a moment and the worldly joy of the sincere is but for a moment That cannot last long whose bottom and foundation cannot last long the world passeth away and the fashion of it therefore the joy that ariseth out of the world and the goodly fashions of it must needs passe away too When one of the Ancients stood by Caesars tomb who had the honour while he lived of so many victories and triumphs he cries out O Caesar where is now thy magnificence