Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
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A34759
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The tomb-stone, and A rare sight
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Carter, John, d. 1655.
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1653
(1653)
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Wing C656A; ESTC R36272
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81,644
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218
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keepe nothing of Gods counsell back He must lift up his voyce like a Lyon and roare in the eares of Kings Potentates and the greatest States-men The Lyon must roare though the Doggs bark and the Wolves howle and all the Beasts of the Forrest do yell and grin A soule-searching Ministry is gall and wormwood to unreformed persons Ministers that cast the Pearles of reproofes before Doggs and Swine must expect that such brutish creatures will fly in their faces and if it be in their power will rent and teare them But what saith the Lord Thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speake Be not afraid of their faces for I am with thee to deliver thee Jer. 1. 7 8. Make thy face strong against their faces and thy forehead strong against their foreheads Ezek. 3. 8. Ministers must have undaunted resolutions ahd be as bold as Lyons 4. Ministers of the Gospell must not forget the stately gate of the Lyon The Lyon is comely in his going Ministers should be carefull above all others to walke as becomes the Gospel of Christ A holy walking that is the comely walking I beseech you behold how the high Priest is adorned and how he walks He had a plate of pure Gold upon his forehead and upon that Plate was ingraven HOLINESSE TO THE LORD Upon his Brestplate the URIM and the THUMMIM Viz the light of knowledge and the perfection of holinesse these were upon Aarons heart when hee walketh when he goeth in before the Lord. He had a Robe down to his feet and towards the bottome beneath upon the hemme of it a golden Bell and a Pomegranate a Golden Bell and a Pomegranate round about The golden Bell signifies the sound of pure Doctrine and the Pomegranate a sweet and savoury fruit notes that holinesse of Conversation that was in the High-priest view him well and you see him adorned with holinesse Cap a pe from head to foot It is the duty of Ministers Vivere concionibus concionari moribus to live Sermons Melius docemur vita quam verbo Examples prevaile more with men then Precepts In all things shew thy selfe a Pattern of good Workes saith Paul to Titus in Doctrine uncorruptnesse gravity sincerity In the frame of the Temple upon the borders were painted and ingraven Lyons Oxen and Cherubims To shew what kind of persons they ought to be who serve in Gods house As Angels for knowledge to dive into the Mysteries of the Gospell laborious and painfull as the Oxe They must be Lyons also for courage and boldnesse and they must be comely in their going their Conversation must be holy and lovely I shall commend at this time but one thing more to my Brethren of the Ministry and that is Prayer Let us be much and earnest in Prayer Alas we shall never be able to open the Book except the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah help us verse 4. John wept much because none was found worthy to open the Book and to read it We must weep and pray pray and weep that we may be enabled to open the Booke For there are sublime things in the Book and hard to be understood Alas our hearts will faile us and we shal be afraid of the faces of men if the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah do not strengthen us and put Courage into us keep up our Spirits to him therfore we nought to make our Addresses Yea in this let me beg help for my selfe and others wel-beloved I speak to you all that are before me this day in the words of Saint Paul Eph. 6. 18. Pray alwaies with all prayer and supplication of the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance supplication for al Saints 19. And for me and for all the faithfull Ministers of the Gospell that utterance may be given unto us that we may open our mouths BOLDLY to make known the mystery of the Gospell Exhortation 3. I passe on now to the third Exhortation and that is to all in generall men women and young ones And there are various and sundry duties which I shall endeavour to perswade you to And first Is Jesus Christ the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah Then prostrate bow to this Lyon tremble at his voice Is Christ the King of his Church and People then come all in shake off all other yoakes Satans Dominion and Sins Reigne and list under this King be his Subjects kisse his Scepter and kneele to him know your King be loyall to him give him your whole heart honour feare and obey him give to Caesar that which is Caesars pay him all his Tribute of time of your Estates of every thing Fight for him contend for the faith the truth the honour of Jesus Christ Let the Lord Jesus Christ have a Throne in all your hearts say We have no King but the Lord Jesus Christ To move you hereunto consider the excellency of this Kingdome above all other Kingdomes in the World It hath the best King He is fairer then the Children of men He is the supream the absolute King of himselfe all other earthly Kings are but Vice-roys Lord-deputies All other Kings are but meer men he is God and man all other Kings have but a little peice of earth to set their feet upon he is the great Monarch of Heaven and Earth all other Kings weare but a corruptible Crown but his Kingdome endureth for ever Such a King there is not another What the Queen of Sheba said of Solomon the Type hath its Complement and perfection in Jesus Christ Happy are the Servants and Subjects of this King Blessed be the Lord thy God Oh thou Lyon of the Tribe of Judah which delighted in thee to see thee on the Throne of Israel because the Lord loved his Israel for ever therfore made he thee King It hath the best Scituation I have set my King upon my holy hill of Zion There is the nether Zion and the upper Zion both pleasant Of the nether or lower Zion the Pilgrim Church upon Earth it is said Beautifull for scituation the joy of the whole Earth is Mount Zion the City of the great King And what is the beauty thereof The presence of God dwelling in the midst his people and protects them God is known in her Palaces for a Refuge Of the upper Zion the triumphant Church in Heaven it is said Yee are come unto Mount Zion and unto the City of the living God the heavenly Jerusalem and to an innumerable company of Angels to the general Assembly and Church of the first-borne which are written in Heaven and to God the Judge of all and to the spirits of just men made perfect and to Jesus Heb. 12 22 23 24. It hath the best Lawes What Nation is there so great that hath Statutes and Judgments so righteous as all this Law which I set before you this day
28. 1. 6. There be three things which go well yea foure which are comely in going The Lyon is the first and chiefest of them The Lyon hath a stately gate majesticall orderly and resolute he turnes not aside his head for the greatest that he meets not for the vast Elephant he will dye before he will degenerat into a disorderly pace And herein give me leave to exhort you to walke as the Lyon walkes How is that First in regard of your whole Conversation let your going be stately not with proud phantasticall affectation but humbly an humble gate is a stately gate soberly holily with all Gravity walk as the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah be you holy as he is holy Only saith Saint Paul Let your Conversation be such as becometh the Gospel of Christ Take heed that you do no uncomely thing that you set not a step awry Have a sutable carriage and deportment both to the profession of Christianity and also to your place of Eminency Will it become a chiefe Magistrate to walke with vaine Persons to walke to scandalous houses to walke on in any sinne When one profer'd unto Scipio a beautifull Harlot he said to him Vellem si non essem Imperator were I not a Governour I would Let all that are before me this day take forth this Lesson let your Conversation be such as becomes the Gospell of Christ move in a higher Sphere then the men of the World Let your Conversation be in Heaven Walk like Angels They went every one strait forward whether the Spirit was to go they went Remember you are Kings Christ hath made us so Then let your going be King-like A King may be known by his Majesticall gate and deportment What manner of men were they said Gideon to Zebah and Zalmunna whom yee slew at Tabor And they answered as thou art so were they each one resembled the Children of a King Finally Brethren whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are pure whatsoever things are lovely whatsoever things are of good report if there be any vertue and if there be any praise think of these things And as I call upon you to walk as the Lyon stately gravely and holily in your whole course of life So let me exhort you without offence more particularly to walk as Lyons even in regard of outward state and pomp The Lyon is the King of Beasts and is of a comely and stately presence adorned with shaggy locks bushy haire a golden and bright shining Mane which crownes his head and as Robes do cloath his neck back shoulders and legs and truely the Lyon would be a great deale more contemptible if he were barbe'rd and shaven I say be Lyons Keep your haire and skin maintain your power and state and the Ensignes of your Authority King Agrippa came to the Judgment Seat with great Pomp. And there is good use of these trappings to the common people Ad populum phaleras These procure some reverence awe and terrour in the people And I do the rather insist upon this because I see there is an Anabaptisticall Enthusiasticall levelling Generation start up who attempt very subtlely Leonem radere to barb and shave the Lyon to overthrow all Magistracy And they do not go about directly but slily and with wiles They would perswade you at first only to lay aside your Robes and your Solemnities as either being superstitious or else not agreeable to the simplicity of the Gospell Have you not lately been preached out of your Scarlet Gownes and have you not very obediently left them off many times Do they not inveigh against all manner of Solemnity upon this very day of Inauguration well what will the end be If they can but once shave off the Lyons majestick haire and flay of his skin it wil be a poor contemptible Carkass that is left I dare say though outward state and Pomp be but a Complement yet take that quite away and the very Magistracy will soone follow Maintain your State and Power It is observable in the Lyon that when he walkes upon stony rocky and rough places that he contracts and pulls up his Tallons to preserve them for if they should be broken he could never after seize upon his Prey Your Power and the Ensignes of your Authority are your Tallons be carefull to preserve them else evill doers will contemne you and you will never be able to give them so much as a scratch 7. Know where your strength lyeth The Lyons strength is in his head and in his breast chiefly And there lyeth your strength a good head and a good heart make a good Magistrate Labour therefore for a good head for knowledge and a good understanding Hearken to the word of the Lord This book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth but thou shalt meditate therein day and night that thou mayst observe to do according to all that is written therein for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous and then shalt thou have good successe And above all labour to have a good heart an honest heart a sanctified heart an obedient heart Such a heart as David had even an heart according to Gods own heart Which that you may attain unto do as Solomon did pray pray Go unto the Lord and say And now oh Lord my God I thy Servant am in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen a great people Give therefore thy Servant an understanding heart to judge thy people that I may discern between good and bad For who is able to judge this thy so great a people 1 Kin. 3. 8. 9. Beare away with you these few words of Exhortation and that you may the better remember them I shall present all before your eies in a little Embleme I am Gods Herauld and I wil give you a Coat of Armes an Escoucheon which if you will own you will shew your selfe a generous Lyon You shall beare not Or or argent No no you must not be carried away with Silver or Gold or such earthly and transitory things but you shall beare Azure blew caelestiall Have your Conversation in Heaven Let your charge be a Lyon Now as for the posture of your Lyon I have spent some serious thoughts It must not be a Lyon dormant I beseech you do not sleep neither at the Church nor on the Bench. It were a shame to have it either crouchant or fugient Never yet was seen such a Coat as a Lyon current To flee is a reproach do not flee away do not turn your back on Gods truth on Gods cause and Gods people and all for cowardly feare stand to the Lion of the Tribe of Judah to the last drop of blood Neither should the Lyon be over rampant Rampant sheweth his gesture in seizing on the Prey The Prey that a Magistrate pursueth are evill doers Pursue this Prey be rampant but