Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	account_n	act_v	action_n	22	3	5.7248	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85783	The Christian in compleat armour. Or, A treatise of the saints war against the Devil, wherein a discovery is made of that grand enemy of God and his people, in his policies, power, seat of his empire, wickednesse, and chiefe designe he hath against the saints. A magazin open'd: from whence the Christian is furnished with spiritual armes for the battel, help't on with his armour, and taught the use of his weapon, together with the happy issue of the whole warre. The first part. / By William Gurnall, Minister of the Gospel in Lavenham. Imprimatur, Edmund Calamy.	Gurnall, William, 1617-1679.	1655 (1655)	Wing G2251; Thomason E824_1; ESTC R207679	343,381	430

the wickednesse of his heart in this glasse of the devils nature and he will see himself as a great debtor to the mercy of God as Manasses or the worst of sinners as in pardoning so in preventing the same cursed nature with theirs before it gave fire on God with those bloody sinnes which they committed That thou didst not act such outragious sinnes thou art beholden to Gods gracious surprize and not the goodnesse of thy nature which hath the devils stamp on it for which God might have crusht thee as we do the brood of Serpents before they sting knowing what they will do in time Who will say that Faux suffered unjustly because the Parliament was not blown up it was enough that the materials for that Massacre were provided and he taken there with match and fire about him ready to lay the traine and canst thou say when God first took hold on thee that thou had'st not those weapons of rebellion about thee a nature fully charged with enmity against God which in time would have made its own report of what for present lay like unfired ponder silent in thy bosome O Christian think of this and be humbled for thy villainous nature and say Blessed be God that sent his Spirit and grace so timely to stay thy hand as Abigail to David while thy nature meditated nothing but warre against God and his laws Vse 3 Again Thirdly are the devils so wickedly malicious against God himself O Sirs take the right notion of sinne and you will hate it The reason why we are so easily perswaded to sinne is because we understand not the bottome of his designe in drawing a creature to sinne It is with men in sinning as it is with Armies in fighting Captains beat their drummes for Voluntiers and promise all that list pay and plunder and this makes them come trowling in but few consider what the ground of the Warre is against whom or for what Satan enticeth to sinne and give golden promises what they shall have in his service with which silly souls are won but how few ask their souls Whom do I sinne against what is the devils designe in drawing me to sinne Shall I tell thee dost thou think 't is thy pleasure or profit he desires in thy sinning alas he means nothing lesse he hath greater plots in his head then so He hath by his Apostasie proclaim'd warre against God and he brings thee by sinning to espouse his quarrel and to jeopard the life of thy soul in defence of his pride and lust which that he may do he cares no more for the damnation of thy soul then the great Turk doth to see a company of his slaves cut off for the carrying on of his designe in a siege And darest thou venture to go into the field upon his quarrel against God O Earth tremble thou at the presence of the Lord. This bloody Joab sets thee where never any came off alive O stand not where Gods bullets fly throw down thy armes or thou art a dead man Whatever others do O ye Saints abhorre the thoughts of sinning willingly which when you do you help the devil against God and what more unnatural then for a childe to be seen in armes against his father CHAP. VII Of Satans plot to defile the Christians spirit with heart-sinnes The second Point followes THat these wicked Spirits do chiefly annoy the Saints with and provoke them to spiritual sinnes Sinnes may be called spiritual upon a double account either from the subject wherein they are acted or from the object about which they are conversant First in regard of the subject when the spirit or heart is the stage whereon sinne is acted this is a spiritual sinne such are all impure thoughts vile affections and desires though the object be fleshly lust yet are spiritual sinnes because they are purely acts of the soul and spirit and break not forth unto the outward man Secondly in regard of the object when that is spiritual and not carnal such as are idolatry errour spiritual pride unbelief c. both which Paul calls the filthinesse of the spirit and distinguisheth them from filthinesse of the flesh 2 Cor. 7.1 SECT I. First of the first Satan labours what he can to provoke the Christian to heart-sinnes to stirre up and foment these inward motions of sinne in the Christians bosome hence it is he can go about no duty but these his Impes I may call them haunt him one motion or other darts in to interrupt him as Paul tells us of himselfe When he would do good evil was present with him if a Christian should turne back when ever these crosse the way of him he should never go on his journey to heaven It is the chief game the devil hath left to play against the children of God now his field-army is broken and his commanding power taken away which he had over them to come out of these his holds where he lies sculking and fall upon their rear with these suggestions He knows his credit now is not so great with the soul as when it was his slave then no drudgery work was so base that it would not do at his command but now the soul is out of his bondage and he must not think to command anothers servant as his own No all he can do is to watch the fittest season when the Christian least suspects and then to present some sinful motion handsomely drest up to the eye of the soul that the Christian may before he is aware take this brat up and dandle it in his thoughts till at last he makes it his own by embracing it and this he knowes will defile the soul and may be this boy sent in at the window may open the door to let in a greater thief or if he should not so prevaile yet the guilt of these heart-sinnes yea their very neighbour-hood will be a sad vexation to a gracious heart whose nature is so pure that it abhorres all filthinesse so that to be haunted with such motions is as if a living man should be chain'd to a stinking carcase that where ever he goes he must draw that after him and whose love is so dear to Christ that it cannot bear the company of those thoughts without amazement and horrour which are so contrary and abusive to his beloved This makes Satan so desirous to be ever raking in the unregenerate part that as a dunghil stirr'd it may offend them both with the noisome streames which arise from it SECT II. Vse 1 First let this be for trial of thy spiritual state What entertainment findes Satan when he comes with these spirituals of wickednesse and solicites thee to dwell on them canst thou dispense with the filthinesse of thy spirit so thy hands be clean or dost thou wrestle against these heart-sinnes as well as others I do not ask whether such guests come within thy door for the worst of sinnes may be found in the

their infernal Father in the world this shews sin is mighty in them indeed Many a man though so cruel to his own soul as to be drunk or sweare yet will not like this in a childe or servant what are they then but devils incarnate who teach their children the devils Catechisme to sweare and lie drink and drab If you meet such be not afraid to call them as Paul did Elymas when he would have perverted the Deputy children of the devil full of all subtilty and mischief and enemies of all righteousnesse O do you not know what you do when you tempt I 'le tell you you do that which you cannot undo by your own repentance thou poisonest one with errour initiatest another in the devils School Alehouse I mean but afterwards may be thou seest thy mistake and recantest thy errour thy folly and givest over thy drunken trade art thou sure now to rectifie and convert them with thy selfe alas poor creatures this is out of thy power they may be will say as he though he did it upon a better account that was solicited to turne back to popery by him who had before perswaded him to renounce the same You have given me one turn but shall not give me another And what a grief to thy spirit will it be to see these going to hell on thy errand and thou not able to call them back thou mayest cry out as Lam●ch I have slaine a man to my wounding and a young man to my hurt Nay when thou art asleep in thy grave he whom thou seducedst may have drawn in others and thy name may be quoted to commend the opinion and practice to others by which as it is said though in another sense Abel being dead yet speaks thou mayest though dead sinne in those that are alive generation after generation A little spark kindled by the errour of one hath cost the pains of many ages to quench it and when thought to be out hath broke forth again Thirdly They are not barely wicked but maliciously wicked The Devill hath his name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to denote his spightfull nature his desire to vex and mischief others When he drawes souls to sinne it is not because he tastes any sweetnesse or findes any profit therein he hath too much light to have any joy or peace in sin he knows his doome and trembles at the thought of it and yet his spightful nature makes him vehemently desire and uncessantly endeavour the damnation of souls As you shall see a mad dogge run after a flock of sheep kill one then another and when dead not able to eate of their flesh but kills to kill so Satan is carried out with a boundlesse rage against man especially the Saints he would not if he could leave one of Christs flock alive such is the height of his malice against God whom he hates with a perfect hatred and because he cannot reach him with a direct blow therefore he strikes him at second hand through his Saints that wicked arme which reacheth not to God is extended against these excellent on the earth well knowing the life of God is in a manner bound up in theirs God cannot outlive his honour and his honour speeds as his mercy is exalted or depressed this being the attribute God meanes to honour in their salvation so highly and therefore maligned above the rest by Satan And this is the worst that can be said of these wicked spirits that they maliciously spite God and in God the glory of his mercy Vse 1 First this may help us to conceive more fully what the desperate wickednesse of mans nature is which is so hard to be known because it can never be seen at once it being a fountain whose immensity consists not in the streame of actual sinne that is visible and may seem little but in the spring that uncessantly feeds this but here is a glasse that will give us the shape of our hearts truly like themselves Seest thou the monstrous pitch and height of wickednesse that is in the devil all this there is in the heart of every man there is no lesse wickednesse potentially in the tamest sinner on earth then in the devils themselves and that one day thou whoever thou art wilt shew to purpose if God prevent thee not by his renewing grace thou art not yet fledg'd thy wings are not grown to make thee a flying Dragon but thou art of the same brood the seed of this serpent is in thee and the devil begets a child like himselfe thou yet standest in a soile not so proper for the ripening of sinne which will not come to its fulnesse till transplanted unto hell Thou who art here so maidenly and modest as to blush at some sinnes out of shame and forbear the acting of others out of fear when there thou shalt see thy case as desperate as the devil doth his then thou wilt spit out thy blasphemies with which thy nature is stuft with the same malice that he doth The Indians have a conceit that when they die they shall be transform'd into the deformed likenesse of the devil therefore in their language they have the same word for a dead man and the devil sinne makes the wicked like him before they come there but indeed they will come to their countenance more fully there when those flames shall wash off that paint which here hides their complexion The Saints in heaven shall be like the Angels in their alacrity love and constancy to serve God and the damned like the devils in sinne as well as punishment This one consideration might be of excellent use to unbottome a sinner and abase him so as never to have high thought of himself It is easie to runne down a person whose life is wicked and convince him of the evil of his actions and make him confesse what he doth is evil but here is the thicket we lose him in he will say 't is true I am overseen I do what I should not God forgive me but my heart is good Thy heart good sinner and so is the devils his nature is wicked and thine as bad as his These pimples in thy face shew the heat of thy corrupt nature within and without Gospel-physick the blood of Christ applied to thee thou wilt die a Leper none but Christ can give thee a new heart till which thou wilt every day grow worse and worse Sin is an hereditary disease that encreaseth with age A young sinner will be an old devil Vse 2 Again it would be of use to the Saints especially those in whom God by his timely call forestall'd the devils market as sometimes the Spirit of God takes sin in its quarters before it comes into the field in the sinnes of youth now such a one finding not those daring sinnes committed by him that others have been left unto may possibly not be so affected with his own sinne or Gods mercy O let such a one behold here

sorrow CHAP. IX Of Pride of Gifts and how Satan tempts the Christian thereto THe second spiritual wickednesse which Satan provokes unto especially the Saint is spiritual pride This was the sin made him of a blessed Angel a cursed devil and as it was his personal sin so he chiefly labours to derive it to the sons of men and he so far prevailed on our first Parents that ever since this sin hath and doth claim a kinde of regency in the heart making use both of bad and good to draw her chariot First of evil Pride enters into the labours of other sins they do but work to make her brave as subjects to uphold the state and grandure of their Prince Thus you shall see some drudge and droile cheat cosen oppresse and what mean they O 't is to get an estate to maintain their pride Others fawn and flatter lie dissemble and for what to help pride up some mount of honour Again it maketh use of that which is good it can work with Gods own tooles his Ordinances by which the holy Spirit advanceth his Kingdom of grace in the hearts of his Saints These often are prostituted to pride A man may be very zealous in prayer and painful in preaching and all the while pride is the Master whom he serves though in Gods livery It can take Sanctuary in the holiest actions and hide it self under the skirt of vertue it self Thus while a man is exercising his charity pride may be the idol in secret for which he lavisheth out his gold so freely It is hard starving this sin because there is nothing almost but it can live on nothing so base that a proud heart will not be lift up with and nothing so sacred but it will profane even dare to drink in the bowles of the Sanctuary nay rather then starve it will feed on the carcases of other sins Difficilè valde vitatur peccatum quod ex victoriâ vitiorum nascitur This minion pride will stir up the soule to resist yea in a manner kill some sins that she may boastingly shew the head of them and blow the creature up with the conceit of himself above others as the Pharisee who through pride bragged that he was not as the Publicane so that pride if not look't to will have to do every where and hath a large sphere it moves in Nothing indeed without divine assistance the creature hath or doth but will soon become a prey to this devourer but I am not to handle it in its latitude Pride is either conversant about carnal objects as pride of beauty strength riches and such like or about spiritual the latter we shall speak a little to I confesse for the former possibly a Saint may be catched in them no sin to be slighted yet not so commonly for ordinarily pride is of those perfections which are suitable if not proper to the state and calling we are in thus the Musician he is proud of the skill he hath in his Art by which he excells others of his rank The Scholar though he can play perhaps as well yet is not proud of that but looks on it as beneath him no he is proud of his learning and choice notions and so of others Now the life of a Christian as a Christian is superiour to the life of man as a man and therefore doth not value himself by these which are beneath him but in higher and more raised perfections which suit a Christians calling As a natural man is proud of perfections suitable to his natural estate as honour beauty so the Christian is prone chiefly to be puffed up with perfections suitable to his life I shall name three pride of Gifts pride of Grace pride of Priviledges these are the things which Satan chiefly labours to entangle him in SECT I. First Pride of Gifts By Gifts I mean those supernatural abilities with which the Spirit of God doth enrich and endow the mindes of men for edification of the body of Christ of which gifts the Apostle tells us there is great diversity and all from the same Spirit 1 Cor. 12.4 There is not greater variety of colours and qualities in plants and flowers with which the earth like a carpet of needle-work is variegated fOr the delight and service of man then there is of gifts in the mindes of men natural and spiritual to render them useful to one another both in civil societies and Christian fellowship The Christian as well as man is intended to be a sociable creature and for the better managing this spiritual Common-wealth among Christians God doth wisely and graciously provide and impart gifts suitable to the place every one stands in to his brethren as the vessels are larger or lesse in the body natural according to their place therein Now Satan labours what he can to taint these gifts and fly-blow them with pride in the Christian that so he may spoile the Christians trade and commerce which is mutually maintained by the gifts and graces of one another Pride of gifts hinders the Christians trade at least thriving by their commerce two wayes First pride of gifts is the cause why we do so little good with them to others Secondly why we receive so little good from the gifts of others First pride of gifts hinders the doing of good by them to others and that upon a threefold account First pride diverts a man from aiming at that end so far as pride prevails the man prayes preaches c. rather to be thought good by others then to do good to others rather to enthrone himself then Christ in the opinions and hearts of his hearers Pride carries the man aloft to be admired for the height of his parts and notions and will not suffer him to stoop so low as to speak of plain truths or if he does not plainly he must have some fine lace though on a plain stuffe such a one may tickle the eare but very unlikely to do real good to the soules alas it is not that he attends Secondly if this painted Jezabel of pride be perceived to look out at the window in any exercise whether of preaching prayer or conference it doth beget a disdain in the spirits of those that heare such a one both good and bad 'T is a sin very odious to a gracious heart and oft-times makes the stomack go against the food though good through their abhorrency of that pride they see in the instrument It is indeed their weaknesse but wo to them that by their pride lead them into temptation nay those that are bad and may be in the same kinde like not that in another which they favour in themselves and so prejudiced return as bad as they went Thirdly pride of gifts robs us of Gods blessing in the use of them The humble man may have Satan at his right hand to oppose him but be sure the proud man shall finde God himself there to resist him whenever he goes about any duty