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	speak_v	word_n	9,283	5	4.1967	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A59254	A Serious and faithfull representation of the judgments of ministers of the Gospel within the the province of London contained in a letter from the to the general and his councell of war / delivered to His Excellence by some of the subscribers, Ian. 18, 1649.	Gataker, Thomas, 1574-1654.	1649 (1649)	Wing S2605; ESTC R37368	11,205	18

God suffers men to prosper in sinfull courses Wise Solomon tels us from his own experience that there be somtimes just men to whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked again There be wicked men to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous There is a just man that perisheth in his righteousnesse and there is a wicked man that prelongeth his life in his wickednesse But because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily shall therefore the heart of the sonnes of men be fully set in them to do evil God forbid And therfore the Providence of God which is so often pleaded in justification of your wayes is no safe rule to walk by especially in such acts as the Word of God condems God doth not approve the practise of whatsoever his Providence doth permit When David in the cave had an opportunity to destroy Saul who was then in actuall pursuance of him for his life Davids men make use of such an Argument from Providence Behold say they the day of which the Lord said unto thee Behold I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee but David neither durst himself nor would permit his men to make use thereof but saith The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my Master the Lords Annointed to stretch forth my hand against him Again when David found Saul sleeping in his Trench behold a Providence might Abishai have said God saith he hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day now therefore let me smite him c. No saith David Destroy him not for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lords Anointed and be guiltless But if to follow Providence had bin a sufficient warrant David should have taken another course In summe if this be a good warrant nothing can be a sin for nothing can come to passe at all unlesse the permissive Providence of God afford an opportunity Nor is it safe to be guided by Impulses of Spirit or pretended impressions on your hearts without or against the rule of Gods written Word For by this means the temptations of Satan and the motions of Gods spirit will be put in equall ballance And we desire you likewise to consider whether any History sacred or profane recordeth any example of an impulse of spirit falling upon Multitudes of Persons at the same time putting them all at once upon performances contrary to morrall Precepts as also whether such Persons who are acted by an impulse of spirit can Command others who want it nay who do not so much as pretend to have it to do that unto which themselves pretend to be so incited We know that it is the duty of Christians to try such instigations by the Word of God and examine how well they agree thereunto that they may accordingly judge whether it be the voice of God or the voice of Satan and of their own corrupt hearts that prompteth them To the Law and to the Testimony if they speak not according to this Word it is because there is no light in them The Apostle Peter directs the Jews to whom he wrote to adhere to the word written as to a more sure word of Prophesie By the same Rule whereby we must try the spirits we must also try the impulses of spirit otherwise we do exceedngly strengthen the divils hands against our own souls and tempt him to tempt us If beyond all this you plead Necessity of doing thus least what you pretend as a glorious work might else miscarry and therefore venture on these wayes which are by your selves confessed to be irregular and not justifiable We answer that no necessity can oblige a man to sinne God stands not in need of our sin to carry on his own work Will ye speak wickedly for God and talk deceitfully for him saith Job And yet this Plea of necessity is of the lesse weight in your case because we fear the ends you aim at are no more justifiable then the means you use and the necessity pleaded is either meerly pretended or at least contracted by your own miscarriages But if at any time a Precept of God may be dispensed with upon a Necessity Yet we suppose your selves will grant That this necessity must be Absolute Present and Clear not Doubtful Uncertain and Conjectural as that which is alledged in your case must needs be it being discerned onely by your selves and your own party It is most apparent to us that there was of late no necessity at all of these your irregular practices the Parliament being till forced by you ful and free acting what was Covenanted for and if we mistake not what was agreed upon long before by the Parliaments of both Kingdoms Besides you have engaged your selves by an Oath to preserve his Majesties person and the Priviledges of Parliament and this is most clear That no Necessity can justifie Perjury or dispence with lawful Oaths That dreadful flying Roll being ready to seise upon him that sweareth falsly by the Name of God An example of which severe judgement from God for the violation of an Oath you haue in Saul who though he did out of a good intention in his zeal to the children of Israel slay the Gibeonites a people formerly accursed and who had fallaciously procured a Covenant from Joshua above two hundred years before yet for Sauls breaking of that Covenant was the whole Kingdom of Israel and his posterity in particular most severely punished by God We do therefore upon the whole matter seriously beseech you as in the sight of God to recede from these evil wayes and contain your selves within your own bounds to learn John Baptists Lesson for Soldiers Do violence to no man or put no man in fear neither accuse any man falsly and be content with your wages But if you persist in these wayes behold you have sinned against the Lord and be sure your sin will finde you out and take heed lest when the hand of God shall overtake you and turn the wheel upon you you be found to suffer both as evil doers and as busie-bodies in other mens matters And when you shall thus return to your duty as we shall have cause to blesse God for it so we shall not need to fear those threatnings which some of us have received we say not from your selves yet from Messengers directed as they informed us immediately from your selves to some of us That if we persist to stir up the people to Sedition for so it seems our bewailing your sins before the Lord is interpreted and Soldiers do us a mischief we may thank our selves That if there follow another War you will give quarter to none that stands against you That you will spare neither man woman nor childe English or Sranger But if these our Exhortations prevail not we have discharged