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	holy_a	lord_n	6,631	5	3.5276	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A06990	A treatise of the sin against the holy ghost made by M. Augustine Marlorate. Translated out of French to the great consolation of all such as repent them of their sinnes, and to the astonying of of [sic] those that mock and despise the gospell of our Lord Jesus Christ; Traité du péché contre le Saint Esprit. English.	Marlorat, Augustin, 1506-1562.	1570 (1570)	STC 17410; ESTC S102682	17,651	42

there remaineth no more sacrifice for sinnes that is to say If we wittingly and obstinatly leaue of the doctrin of the Gospel which teacheth vs that Iesus Christe hath giuen him self to clense vs from all our sinnes there resteth no more sacrifice for our sinnes For there is nothing but the blood of the sonne of God that can clense vs from our sinnes that we haue committed against God. Touching that which is alleaged of Alexander the copper smith it is not to be douted but S. Paule who was ful of the holy ghost had sōe perticuler reuelatiō knowledge of certain persōs with whome he had to doo by vertue of the which holy Ghost hee did disclose their wickednesse and hipocrisie and holdely detests it before all men which gift is not giuen to all men neither is it necessary for Gods wil is to keep vs within the boūds of sobrietie and modestie And it is good reasō that we leaue to him the knowledge of such high matters which belong to his vnsearchable and eternall councel Forasmuch then as Alexander of determinat ▪ purpose did fight against the troth whiche hee knew Saint Paule pronounceth that such wickednesse is altogither vnworthy of mercy Likewise he saith in an other place If any man looue not the Lord Iesus Christ let him be excommunicate to death And again He that troubleth you shall beare his condemnation who so euer he be And anon after Would to God they were euen cut of whiche doo disquiet you But hee that should imitate the holy Apostle héerin and pronounce sentence of cursse against those that obey not the Gospel yea or those that maliciously resist the same it is to be feared lest that whiche the Lord said to his disciples might rightly be said vnto him Ye knowe not of what spirit ye are That which is alleaged of Ieremy and Samuel confirmeth that whiche we haue said that is If any man haue certain reuelation or commaundement not to pray for those that God hath forsaken we ought to obey it For then the Lord should manifestly declare that such were out of hope of saluation But when we haue no such reuelation leauing it altogither into the hands of the Lord we ought of charitie to commit to him the saluation of all men yea and the more hainously we se them sin and approch to their ouerthrowe the more ernestly ought we to commend them to God who killeth and maketh aliue bringeth downe to the graue and raiseth vp again which S Iude commaundeth saying Haue compassion of some in putting difference and others saue with feare pulling them out of the fire S. Peeter sawe that Simon the Sorcerer was a wicked and ambitious hipocrite ready to misuse and prophane holy and spirituall things and yet after he had sharply reprooued him and shewed him the iust iudgment of God he mooueth him to repentance and putteth him in hope of obtayning pardon saying Repent of thy wickednesse and pray to God that if it be possible the thought of thine hart may be forgiuen thée for I sée thou art in the Gall of bitternesse and in the band of iniquitie S. Paule also hauing to do with Elimas the enchanter that went about to turn away the deputie from the faith pronounced not vnto him the extreme seueritie of the iudgement of God but onely after he had declared vnto him his iniquitie pronounceth that hee shal be blinde and not sée the Sun for a time to th' end that the Deputie seeing the vertue of God which wrought in his holy Apostle might be prouoked to receiue the doctrin of the gospel which he brought vnto him Although then the the wicked shew sometimes such euident signes of their wickednesse and rebellion that they seem wholly cast of desperate neuerthelesse it is not lawful for vs while they are in this present life to think the they are so far out of the way of saluation but that they may be brought home again through the mercy of him that came into this world to saue sinners As for the curses drawen out of diuers Psalmes where Dauid craueth Gods help agaist his enemyes desiring that they may bee ouerthrowen and confoūded we say as we haue said touching that which S. Paule writeth of Alexander the copper smith that is that Dauid hauing the spirit of prophecie might haue certain reuelation of the ouerthrowe of those against whome he prayed and guided by the same spirit he forsheweth and wisheth in conforming him self to the iust iudgement of God that his enemyes shall come to shame and confusion Considering also that this Prophet represented the head of the Church that is to say Iesus Christe King of Kings and onely hed of the faithful And in this respect he boldly proceedeth and saith that all they that withstand him whome God hath raised vp abooue others shal be sharply punished for their boldenesse and rashnesse for that they with stand God and his Christe We may not then defend our selues with suche like cursings as are found in many places of Scriptures seeing there are certain things perticuler to Prophets which cannot consequently belong to thē that are much inferior to such holy personages which did as it were foresee their ouerthrowe at hand whome they wished to be saued if they would haue repented As appéereth plainly by certain examples of the Scriptures Moises was the mildest and gentlest man that euer was yet seeing the hard and ambitious harts of Dathan Core and Abiron and that God was redy to take horrible vengeance on them for their murmuring said vnto the Lord not with desire of vengeance but in the spirit of Prophesie Look not vnto their offering I haue not taken so muche as one Asse from them neither haue I hurte any of them Yet neuerthelesse we sée el●wher how ernestly he laboureth to appease the Lords wrath whiche seemed to bee so kindled against the people for worshipping the golden Calf as though he wold vtterly destroy them who would not thinck that there were two diuers Spirits in this one person that he delt more gently with the I dolaters then with the murmurers Yea it might sée me that hee was more careful for his owne honor then of the glory of God sith he prayed to the Lord so ernestly to pardon the people their Idolatry as to desire that the Lord should rather wipe him out of the Book of life on the other side he prayeth God not to receiue their offrings which presumptuously stood vp against him his brother Aaron whiche were but mortall men But the same spirit which enforced them to craue pardon for the people prouoked them to aske vengeance on the rebells and murmurers which withstood not onely Moses and Aaron but the Lord vnder whom they exercised the charge which they had receiued of him The like we see in the Apostle S. Paule who did beare so great affection

to the blinde Iewes that gain said the Ghospel that he desired to bee seperate from Christe for their saluation and neuer thelesse whē he considereth how detestable their infidelitie obstinacy is before God he boldely pronounceth the they shall feel his horrible vengance For these be his woordꝭ Who bothe killed the Lord Iesus and their owne prophets and haue persecuted vs and God they please not and are enemyes to all men and forbid vs to preach vnto the Gentils that they might be saued to fulfil their sinnes alwais for the wrath of God is come on them to the vtmost Séemeth it not héer that hee had forgotten that feruent affection that he bare to his owne nation But we must alwaies come back to that which we before said that the holy ghost so gouerneth the prophetꝭ and apostles that according to that knowledge which they haue of the secret iust iudgments of God they haue so framed their prayers and requests conforming them selues thervnto that not withstanding they haue not left as muche as in them lay to sue for the saluation of poor sinners knowīg that the mercy of God dooth farre surmount the rigor of his iudgement Wherfore let vs boldely condemne all those that woork iniquitie declare vnto the rebellious and wicked the iust vengeance which is prepared for them except they repēt Espetially hate the horrible and cursed Apostasie of such as forsake the profession of the Ghospel But let vs beware we enter not to curiously into the secrets of God in condemning this man or that man but rather seek by all meanes possible and namely by feruent and cōtinuall prayer the saluation of such as are so blinde and miserable that they séem willingly to cast them selues away Let vs consider that the Lord hath at all times so magnified his kindenesse mercy towards poor sinners the they whiche seemed the moste wicked desperate in the world haue in th' end béen brought to repentance and so obtained forgiuenes of their offences against god For example who wold euer haue thought that Manasses King of Iuda could haue repented that God would haue forgiuen him his sinnes The Scripture witnesseth of him that he did euil in the sight of the Lord like the abhominatiō of the heathen and hee went back and built the high places which Hesechiah his father had broken down and he set vp alters for Baalim and made Groues and worshipped all the hoste of Heauen serued them He built Alters in the house of the lord He caused his Sonnes to passe the fire in the valey of Ben hinnom He gaue him self to Witchcraft and Charming and Sorcery and hee vsed them that had familiare spirits and South-sayers he did very much euil in the sight of the Lord to angre him he made Iudah and the inhabitants of Ierusalem to erre and to doo wursse then the Heathen whome the Lord had destroyed before the Children of Israel Besides this he shed so much innocent blood that he filled Ierusalem from one end to an other besides his sin wherwith he made Iudah to sin and to doo euill in the sight of the lord Was there euer King on Earth further from equitie humanitie and vertue yea from true Religion● wherin he had been instructed not onely because hee was a Ievv but also the Sonne of a very good father which was Ezechias that restored the true seruice of God Neuerthelesse the holy Scripture witnesseth that this King Manasses so wicked so cruel and such an enemy of true Religion that he séemed rather a Monster thē a man beeing in tribulation praied to the Lord his God and humbled him self greatly before the God of his Fathers and prayed vnto him and God was entreated of him and heard his prayers and brought him again into Ierusalem into his kingdome And euen as he had caused the people to turn from the Lord with Idolatrye so commaunded he Iudah to serue the Lord God of Israel Lo héer an excellent mirrour of the grace and looue of God towards sinners that men may learne modestie to keep within their bounds and not rashly to iudge of the end of any And therfore S. Paule said of him self For this cause was I receiued to mercy that Iesus Christe should shewe on mee all long suffering to the ensample of thē which shall in time to come beleeue in him vnto eternall life Then euen as the election of the good and reprobation of the wicked belongeth so to the secret councel of God that it were rashnesse in man to pronounce any thing absolutely but as far as we may sée by outwarde shewes whiche often times chaunge contrary to our opinion before conceiued So we say that as touching the sin to death or against the holy Ghost we may giue no sudain iudgement lest experience it self and the conuersion and amendmēt of those whom we condemne conuince vs of rashnes and folly yet if we should néeds iudge of the election of the faithful or reprobation of the wicked it is muche better simply to iudge of the perseuerance of those in whom we sée some tokens of the election then of the ouerthrow and vtter destruction of such as haue some tokens of reprobation For charitie bindeth vs to hope well of those whom God in mercy may bring to repentance seeing we see that he dayly woorketh contrary to mans expectation S. Paule saith that he is perswaded that he that hath begun a good woork in the Phillippians wil performe it vntil the day of Iesus Christ and addeth that it becōmeth him so to iudge of them all He saith also to the Thessaloni●●● ye are all Children of light and the children of the day Further We ought to giue thanks alway to God for you brethern belooued of the Lord because that God hath from the beginning chosen you to saluation through sanctification of the Spirit and the faith of trueth Whence commeth this iudgement and good opinion yea assurednesse that S. Paule had of those to whome hee had preached the Gospel but because he saw the tokens of the election in them And as he saith in an other place that whē they receiued the woord of the preaching of God they receiued it not as the woord of men but as it is in déed the woord of God which also wrought in them that beleeued Surely charitie the frute of that faith whiche the holy Apostle in the promises of God mooued him to hope wel of those whiche had wel begon because God wil performe his woork And as touching those which profited not so wel in the doctrin of the Gospel as the other which were so far strayed that they sémed wholly out of the way he is so far from dryuing 〈◊〉 into despair or casting them of as despisers of Gods good gifts that he laboreth with all power to lead thē again into the right way as we haue all redy said of the Corinthians