Selected quad for the lemma: life_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
life_n	body_n	soul_n	unite_v	6,137	5	9.8589	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01210	The forbidden fruit· or A treatise of the tree of knovvledge of good & evill of which Adam at first, & as yet all mankind doe eate death. Moreover, how at this day it is forbidden to every one as well as to Adam; and how this tree, that is the wisedome of the serpent planted in Adam, is that great image, and that many headed beast, mentioned in Daniel and the Apocalyps, whom the whole world doth worship. Lastly, here is shewed what is the tree of life, contrary to the wisdome, righteousnesse, and knowledge of all mankind: with a description of the majestie and nature of Gods Word. By August: Eluthenius [sic]. Translated out of Latine into English.; De arbore scientiae boni et mali. English	Franck, Sebastian, 1499-1542.	1640 (1640)	STC 11324; ESTC S102619	62,776	198

God and these two Trees are as God and Satan so contrary one to another that the one brings Life unto us and the other death Therefore he that eates of the one its impossible he should eate of the other because they are divided by a flying Cherub and a flaming sword which I interpret sinne and disobedience which sometimes in the Scriptures is called a partition wall For hee that eates of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evill that is hee that is possessed with a Diabolicall wisdome of the Flesh he cannot eate the Tree of Life that is he is departed from divine knowledge and wisdome that proceeds from God For these two wisdomes are incompitable they cannot bee in one and the selfe-same heart being as contrary one to the other as heaven to hell He that eateth of the Tree of Life and is pertaker of divine knowledge hee cannot dye neither sinne For this Fruit eates the eater of it and changeth him into its owne nature into Life as the Scriptures doe testify of those that doe eate the flesh of Christ For it is one and the same thing to eate Christ to live in his word to eate of the Tree of Life to beleeve in God c. as it is also the same thing to be in Adam to live in Adam to eate of the Tree of Knowledge of Good Evill to obey the word of Satan and be God Therfore those that eate of this deadly Tree and adhere to the word and wisdome of the Serpent and are borne of Satan these cannot doe any thing that is pleasing unto God As on the contrary the other doth not any thing that is displeasing unto him Therefore he that would be the one must bidd adew to the other He must putt off the wisdome of the Serpent and vomitt up the Fruit of the Forbidden Tree who would eate of the Tree of Life Adam must dye in us and the witt of the Flesh must be unlearned of us if we would have Iesus Christ to live in us and obtaine the direction of the holy spirit For the death of the one is the life of the other the infirmity of the one is the strength of the other No man can serve two Masters neither is it possible to unite Adam God the Devill together CHAP. XII The praise of the Word of God on which alone man ought to build rest reside and it onely know if he will remain unshaken in adversity have his Faith manifest and approved and finde quietnesse to his Soule INdeed there be many arts profitable to the body which God the belly hath created and yet doth dayly finde out which truely bring much profit to the kitchin and onely serve worship obey their God the belly most zealously as it is expedient they should But as the cōmon proverbe is that which is profitable to the body doth often hurt the soule and that which is the bellies and flesh as life foode and plentie is often times the death of the soule and a meere poyson unto it because the spirit is contrary to the flesh Hence it comes to passe that table or belly arts because they be the Fruit off-spring and witt of the flesh are altogether vaine famine and death unto the soule And on the contrary that onely art the end whereof was not for God bellies advantage which the whole world doth so much sleight and litle regard that onely true wisdome and Theologie to witt God and the knowledge of his Word in him together with the knowledge of him divinely infused into our soules is the sole art onely necessary to mans salvation Therfore the true heavenly divine art the true tree of Life of which whosoever eateth hath everlasting life Furthermore I say this art is the Foode Wine Milke excellencie defence and all whether the profitt pleasure or advancement of Soules All other arts being vaine doubtfull and the poyson of the Soule hurtfull and deadly to the Spirit of Man if hee leane upon them rest in them glory in them or build his happinesse upon their sandy foundation In a word they are the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good evill of which whosoever eates as J have amply proved hee shall dye the death Therefore I desire that wee would not be to righteous nor wise in our owne eyes As Solomon Eccles. 8. as also Proverbs 3. doth faithfully instruct us that we should esteeme nothing to be our wisdome righteousnesse or any other vertue in us but onely to know God in and with himselfe and love praise worshipp feare honour and understand him as wee ought Which thing must necessarily proceede from God himselfe beeing the worke of his eternall and in it selfe everlasting and immutable word which without spokesman from him proceeds out of his mouth that hee speakes in our hearts teacheth himselfe in our soules imprinting and engraving his Image in us thereby enlightning so our understanding that to speake in a word he so teach love know understand pray unto heare guide governe and worshipp himselfe in us All other things whatsoever are to dull and all the vertue of things are to base that they should be able to teach us God and give us everlasting felicity or that God by them should give it unto us God will be himselfe teach himselfe give and convay himselfe into our hearts Neither will hee suffer his honour to bee given to any Creature that by it wee should be saved or sanctified but hee that heareth and learneth it of the Father commeth unto him He will himselfe be the Master of spirits and so a spirit shall be taught of a spirit And all those that are divinely instructed of the all-knowing and understanding God shall be said truely to be learned and wise The flesh hath teachers who belonging to the ould covenant have commerce with the flesh The new covenant because it is spirit and Life and in like manner hath a spirituall and new birth of God to be instructed hath also a spiritual word and Master to instruct it which is the word and spirit of Life Therefore if any man would know himselfe submitt himselfe quietly to the direction and permitt himselfe to bee spoken too sought and found in him He surely should be elevated to a wonderfull Light if any man I say doth follow the instruction and Doctrine of the Father in himselfe he verily should finde God in God and with God But the world busied and accupied in the Creatures passeth away in a confusion and not considering the hidden and secret treasure that is closed in his heart Neither seekes for this precious Pearle but covered all over with the earth of the Creatures remaineth in darknesse with the multitude of his arts and sciences weary ignorant and void of all true arts and sciences yet doth he in the meane space learne art after art further and further searcheth into the my fierie of knowledge And to use the words of Saint Paul is

old word beeing growen out of use And againe the old words are received the new being thrust out so farre forth that nothing is durable or constant in this life And if any man would observe he shall finde that our mother Tongue in England is dayly changed that at this day they speake otherwise then they did a few yeares since yea and such a curiositie nicenesses there is in the word and tongues that what men have a while made use off suddenly they cast away as disdaining the same Every man endevouring to bring out some new and rare thing that he seeme not to imitate the words of any other insomuch that the cheife inventour of words doe now obtaine the chief praise and estimation of Art And by this meanes all things are confounded in the earth and what now is new is presently growen old and anone become new againe and the hearts of men the Kingdomes peoples and Languages of the World like to the course of the yeare In times past France spoke the Dutch language as Beatus Rhenamis writing of the Germaine affaires most elegantly proves but now it hath gathered a proper speech to it selfe out of Italie Germaine Spaine but most specially from Italie which thing of the tongue was caused perhaps by their warre because divers people being mixed together they made and used a mixed kind of Speech Hence it came to passe that as yet they retaine some of the Germain words as Suppen Sacken kushen which they almost according to the Nether Germains pronounce after the bastard Germaine Souper Sacen Cuysten This I speake that we may see that nothing is constant or new in the earth and that is true which Terence writt Nothing is spoke now which was not spoke before So nothing is done which was not done before So that Cornelius Agrippa thinkes the invention of Gunpowder and ●uns was no new invention of which opinion in the Historian Volatiramis and this may be gathered out of the sixt of Virgils Eneads where thus he writes of Salmon I Salmon saw with paine torment late Who would loues flame thunder imitate For caried by foure steeds with torch in hand Through Elis Cittie all Grecian Land Did ride in triumph and command that all Sh●uld give him honour and a dietie call O mad man he who with his Chariots noyce Would imitate the mightie thunders voyce And Solomon shewes the same all along in the 3. chapt. of Eccles. as also to the first that what hath beene that shall bee what hath beene done the same shall be done neither is there any thing new under the Sunne There is something which is as if it were new yet was that in auncient times which hath beene before us There is no memory of former ages neither shall there be of those that are to come amongst who are to be and a little after things past and things to come are all forgotten and the wise together with the fool doe dye In which words what other thing would the preacher show then that all arts are subiect to oblivion and death Neither can they alwayes remaine in the soule but together with the body departs or perisheth by death For nothing I say can adhere unto the Image of God I meane the Soule which is like unto God and consist in death and fire but what is onely God and his word this is the onely endure able creature and the meate of Eternall Life Not that opinion and Art of Philosophers but the true good of the minde and Soule which can happen to no other thing but the word although I doe not denye but that word appeared to some of the Gentils and taught them because God is no respector of Persons but as a common Light of soules as the Sunne is the Light of the whole world neither is the hand of God shortned nor his eye envyous that he should not looke upon the whole VVorld With the same love eye and grace since we are all alike the same workmanshipp of God all of the same love estimation and authoritie with him Hence thou mayst collect that all arts invented by men are death and fruits of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evill For assoone as Adam had eaten of that Tree the same day he dyed in the eyes of God as the historie declares although afterwards according to the flesh hee lived many yeares as from heavenly matters the same day was his eyes shutt up and he eat death although in his owne judgement his eyes were opened and he seemed to himselfe to be a living God knowing Good and Evill Then began he to exercise his art his cunning to expound dispute and seeke out a malitious sutle and captious meaning in all things and also to deale deceitfully with God and in all things to hide himselfe to cover himselfe with Figge leaves to kisse his owne hand in a word to worship himselfe by inventing many arts amongst his posterity And out of this Roote spring up all the precepts of men their expositions their arts and so excellent a foundation have they as both the inventour and the authour of them was the Devill and the first Scoller that learned them did eate death therefrom And this Science and Art is utterly to be abhorred being no other then a Diabolicall perswasion conceived in Adam formed and hid in the Seede of the Serpent And yet all the World as Adam did thinkes that Life is placed in it neither doth it receive any instruction from Adam neither indeed understand the historie of Adams fall or his rising againe and that whole matter at this day doth live yet accounting it but a Historie long since acted done and afterwards dare say the word of God endureth for ever Therefore wee must needs confesse that nothing is past which in its kinde is not yet extant Whole Moyses is urged upon Christians neither is one jott of the word of God lost which shall not be fulfilled in every moment in spirit truth Therefore the fall of Adam happeneth dayly dayly doth Adam in his posterity eate of the forbidden fruit And therfore his Sonnes in Adam as in the roote are damned dead Now this our fall as Adams is amended and repaired if we spirt out and vomitt up this knowledge of good and Evill as poyson and become as Adam was before his fall Children Fooles and innocent Turttles that wee may eate of the Tree of Life and suffer the Seed of the woman to be ingrafted in us This is not the Seede the art witt and counsell of the Serpent but the Seede word will the minde of God the Tree of Life which whosoever eateth and suffreth himselfe to be fedd therewith is indowed with Eternall Life Now in us there is a Medicine with poyson For as by sinne the Tree of knowledge of good and Evill was planted into the heart of Adam so by his conversion rising againe and Seede of the Woman the

the same and confirmes the truth thereof with all assurance not so craftie subtiltie can be objected against the truth but that may be battered weakened and refuted with one word neither can any thing so accute be produced which weakened with the like accute may not be overthrowne onely the word of God overcommeth with such force that even the minde of the enemy is overcome and taken with it the outward man alone and the face of the flesh which would not be bridled seekes out all kinde of ambushes trickes and turnings to escape this thunderclapp And falshood for shame covers its face with its hands and thereby thinks that the whole body is covered that it cannot be seene Moreover it is behovefull that all other traditions of arts words and spirits bee examined by the word of God as by an index golden rule and touch-stone I call that the word of God which is the Spirit and Life not the Letter written without Inke and paper in the hearts of beleevers which speakes unto the soules of all those that are obedient unto it This J call the Word of God Not the Scriptures For if we speake properly the Scriptures or Letters are not the word of God but the minde spirit and that true divine meaning which Paul calleth the sence of Christ and mind of the Spirit and Christ the Word of God This I say is the word of God as saint Paul doth testify The Letter sayth he doth kill but the Spirit that is the true and spirituall meaning thereof which onely spirituall men are indued with which doth quicken These alone have the Key of David for the opening of all the Seales of this closed booke to all other the booke is Sealed with seven Seales Of which mention is made in Dan. 7. Apoc. 5. and Mat. 13. by way of parable and the vaile of the Letter doth hang before their eyes untill they turne unto God and seriously will obey his will The spirit of understanding entreth into no froward scorner who in the letter only desireth to shew his nicitie and Clarkeship For the truth is that word of God and his secrets are made manifest to them that feare him Therefore many in our times are snared who betwixt the writings and the word of God doe know no difference and so doe they esteeme the Scriptures for the word of God so as beside it they knovv no other But it appeares by the Testimony of many divinely taught that the scriptures are nothing but the huskes the shell the sheath the Lanthorne the shrine the letter the cave the vaile of the word of God From whence it ariseth that they appeare so sinister and in shew often repugnant and are hidden from wicked men But the Word of God placed in and under them is the kernell the life fulnes and thing it selfe or substance For otherwise those learned men the Scribes and Pharisees had been blessed and happy if the Letter had beene the word of God viz. the light c. because they had so well conned the Scriptures that most part of them they could say by heart yet were they for all that most miserably to perish with this Art and so death is eaten by the Tree of good and evill while yet men thinke thereby to have Life But Christ doth more ingenuously testify that they know not the Scriptures that is what in the Scriptures is the word of God for what otherwise belonged to the Letter and grammaticall sence they writt but knew not the mind of Christ which was the force and meaning of the Letters and the Letters in my judgment are of sett purpose so sinister and darkly dictated by the Holy Ghost comprehended and declared that those impious Swine and Dogges may not understand them according as Christ out of Esay doth alleadge them and giveth this reason why he speaketh so obscurely by similitudes and demonstrateth the same thing more significantly in Iohn least we should make an idoll of the Letter And that wee should thinke some other thing more necessarie to salvation then Bibles to weet that of God we should desire the Light of his word which is hidden in this Lanthorn and also that true teacher the Holy Spirit which may direct lead and instruct us in the holy Scriptures and may open the Seales thereof declaring unto us the mysterie of this shrine that is his divine word Law pleasure will and meaning hidden under the dead Letter Many thinke it enough that they have Bibles and know how to reade Here forsooth they find the Holy Ghost the word of God that double Sword of the Spirit yet wrapped up and closed in the sheath But who can understand gaine finde and brandish the same He answers by the Prophet Esay Yong Children who will be affrayd at this killing Letter they are sore out of heart tremble and dye for feare Therefore it is not enough although it is good to have Bibles What to have Bibles All the Pharises had the same could say them by heart and yet they lived no lesse blinde and dead These very Bibles are the Tree of Good and Evill of which they did eate death although to the godly who consult with God about the meaning of them and renouncing themselves pray unto him for the obtaining of his Spirit they be the Tree of Life God will give his glory to none other no not to the Scriptures but hath made them darke unto us and hath reserved the interpretation to himselfe that he may teach enlighten rule and guide how when and as hee will and his will is that we alwayes wax stronger and by degrees come nearer to the knowledge of the truth if so be we would doe the same by his helpe but hee hath not sowen his word by the way side for dogges and swines but hath covered it the same beeing hiding in the Letter that we may not rest our selves contented in the Letter but digg up the hidden treasure and with all Religion pray for grace and understanding and consult with his Holy Spirit that he may take us into his tuition guide us teach us leade us unto the Tree of Life the Fruit whereof may feed us up unto eternall Life And this is the tryall of all Arts Doctrines and Spirits that they be compared and agree with the word of God that that which is divinely unto us we finde to be true by his word in our hearts In a word that our spirits may confirme the same so to be by its testimony as wee have divinely learned the same and that we sustaine for the defence thereof to dye Therefore it is likely and so it shal be indeed what Doctrine soever commeth frō god the same is not repugnant to the word which divinely taught we have in our hearts but agreeable thereunto giveth testimony that wee know his word as we are knowne of God and comprehended as we are comprehended of him otherwise how could we say Amen and assent if