Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	apostle_n	faith_n	word_n	5,163	5	4.0959	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A02242	A sermon, at the funeral solemnitie of the most high and mighty Prince Ferdinandus, the late Emperour of most famous memorye holden in the Cathedrall Churche of saint Paule in London, the third of October. 1564. Made by the reuerend father in God, Edmund Grindall, bishop of London.	Grindal, Edmund, 1519?-1583.	1564 (1564)	STC 12377; ESTC S103449	21,147	38

y e law and so offended God and is no more in this pointe to be followed then Loth and Dauid beyng otherwise godly men are to be folowed in their euill actes nor the author of that booke more to be credited in this sentence without the Scripture then in his commendyng of one in the same storie who did kill him selfe contrarie to the Scriptures Besides that diuers of the oldest written copies of the storie of the Machabaees in Greke haue no mēcion at al of the prayeng for the dead So that that place is suspected to haue ben corrupted of purpose by some addition put to many yeares after For most certaine it is if prayer for the dead had ben so necessarie as manie now a dayes would haue it seme it had not lacked all authoritie and example of the Canonical Scriptures as it doth Nowe if they shall alledge that the auncient doctours make for them for Scripture other then afore is alleged they haue none that maketh any thynge for the purpose fyrste it is to be sayde that mens writinges alone are not sufficient in matters of faith and religion It cannot be denyed but from Gregories tyme when the corruption of religion increased very much the doctrine of purgatorie and praying for the dead hath gone with full saile being mainteined principally by fayned apparitions visions of spirits and other like fables contrary to the Scriptures But the the eldest writers and doctours of the Churche for Dionysius euen by the Iudgement of Erasmus is not so olde as they make hym speake not at all of praying for the dead And although in Chrisostome Saint Ambrose sometyme there is mencion of praying for the dead yet it is in a farre other meanyng with them then the scoolemen and other of the latter tyme beyng men ignoraunt in the tounges and other good learnyngs haue collected and gathered of them For it is manifest that those holy fathers ment nothynge lesse then by praying for those y t were departed to establish Purgatorie or thirde place without the whiche neither the Pope hym selfe nor any of his clergy woulde any thyng at al contend for praying for the dead For y e terrour of Purgatorie beyng taken awaye their gayne would ceasse and withall their prayer for the dead inuented for filthy lucre were at an ende For it is confessed of all men that if there be no thirde place prayer for the dead is in vayne for those that be in heauen nede it not those that be in hell cannot be holpen by it so that it nedeth not or boteth not as the olde prouerbe goeth If the auncient fathers therefore when they praye for the dead meane of the dead whiche are already in heauē and not els where then must we nedes by their prayer vnderstande either thanckesgeuyng or elles take such petitions for the dead as they be in deede in some places for figures of eloquēce and exornation of their stile and Oration rather then necessarie groundes of reason of any doctrine But I will make this matter more playne by an example or twaine not entending at this tyme to make any lōger discourse or disputatiō cōcernyng this matter S. Ambrose in his funeral oratiō or Sermō cōcerning the death of Theodosius the Emperour doth much cōmēd his vertues especially he commēdeth him for his great lowlines hūblenes of spirit for that he being an Emperour submitted him selfe to the discipline of the Churche and did publicque penaunce for the murder committed at Thessalonica by hys cōmaundement lamētyng his ouersight therin with abundaūce of teares which few priuate mē in these dayes would be contēted to do In the processe of this oration Saint Ambrose laboureth to persuade all men that Theodosius who had liued so godly was vndoubtedlye saued and at length pronounceth therof playnely vsing these wordes Fruitur nunc Augustae memoriae Theodosius luce perpetua tranquillitatae diuturna et pro hiis quae in hoc gessit corpore munerationis diuinae fructibus gratulatur that is The Emperour ▪ Theodosius of most honorable memorie now enioyeth perpetuall light and continual quietnesse and for those things whiche he did in this body he doth reioyse in the fruition of Gods rewarde How could S. Ambrose haue more plainely expressed his certain persuasion cōcernyng the blessed state of Theodosius And yet within a fewe lynes after he hath these wordes Domine da requiē perfecto seruo tuo Theodosio requiē quā parasti sanctis tuis Lorde geue rest to thy perfect seruaunt Theodosius the rest I meane which thou hast prepared for thy saints First he calleth Theodosius the perfect seruaunt of God But purgatory by the cōfession of the patrones therof is not for the perfecte but for the imperfect And moreouer what nedeth S. Ambrose to praye to God to geue Theodosius rest seyng he hath pronounced afore that Theodosius was already in possession of that rest and therfore not in purgatory where is paine as they teach contrarie to rest It is euident therfore that S. Ambrose in this and lyke places ment not to establish the doctrine of purgatorie or praying for the dead but vseth onely a figure of eloquēce and vehemencie of affection Likewise in the Greke liturgie entituled to Chrisostome are cōteyned these wordes following Praeterea offerimus tibi rationalem hunc cultū pro omnibus in fide quiescētibus maioribus patribus Patriarchis Prophetis et Apostolis praeconibus et euāgelistis martyribus cōfessoribus cōtinentibus et omni spū in fide initiato precipue pro sanctissima immaculata sup omnes benedicta d●a nostra deipara et sēper virgine Maria Moreouer we offer vnto thee this reasonable worship for al y e forefathers resting in faith for the fathers patriarches Prophetes Apostles preachers euangelistes for martyrs confessors cōtinent persons euery spirit endued with faith But chiefly for the most holy immaculate blessed aboue all other our Lady the mother of God and euermore a virgine Marie These are Chrisostomes wordes shall we nowe gather hereof bycause Chrisostome affirmeth the reasonable worshipping at the holy communion to be offred for y e Patriarches for the Apostles yea and for the blessed virgine Therfore the Patriarches Apostles and the blessed virgine are in Purgatorie It is to greate an absurditie This oblation therfore is onely a thankesgeuing to God for the Saints of God departed with the remembraunce of them by name who did in true faith departe out of this worlde These places wel weighed are sufficient to declare y e true meaning of many other lyke places alledged out of y e fathers for praying for y e dead for purgatory But to aunswer to the secōd sort who thinke this to much to come to nere to y e superstitious rites abrogated I would those mē would follow y ● example of y e Israelites in a time of variaunce betwene thē some of their brethrē the storie is cōt●ined the .22 of Iosue y