Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A43044
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A free-will offering by James Harwood ...
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Harwood, James.
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1662
(1662)
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Wing H1097; ESTC R8676
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24,477
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96
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not have freed us Hadst thou not been our God thou wouldst not have done this for us We have experienced thy power as the Lord and none do come in competition we have found thy favour as our God and it is thy superlative mercy is solely to be magnified Let us weep for that we have sinned against so good a God let us joy in the Lord for that relieved by the arm of the Lord our God Of late we were in Babylon now in Sion servants to slaves now servants only to God and the King praised be God it is thou whom we do serve though of late O Lord our God other Lords besides thee have ruled us He that takes upon him to rule without God is sure to be punished by the Devil Let me tell you an Usurper on Earth is a Free-holder in Hell and though he make us suffers for the present he in all likelihood is to be tormented to Eternity But what a madness is this to strive to rule a multitude when thou canst not rule one to seek for soveraignty over men when thy usurped power makes thee a slave to the Devil It is the most unseemly sight for Peasants to personate Princes and for Princes to stand at the Bar when Peasants sit on the bench We have seen the time and God be blessed over-lived the time and though long inslaved at length relieved Yet to humble us and give God thanks we do confess to our late grief and now joy how O Lord our God other Lords besides thee have ruled us THE ANGELS ANTHEME Luke 2.14 Glory be to God in the highest peace upon earth goodwil to man THe occasion of this Antheme is Christs Birthdome the Messenger is an Angel his Message to the Sheepherds the news glad tidings to all people the Choristers a multitude of heavenly Souldiers their Angelical Carrol Glory be to God in the highest peace upon earth goodwil toward man Christ is born and Christs Brithdom and the Angels Antheme divulge the great love of the great God to mean man For God sent his Son from Heaven to Earth he came from Heaven he came to Earth he became man to make us all men was born of a Virgin O blessed Birthdom whose birth gives life to many millions O Divine condescention Our Christ came to live with men that we men might live with God He assmes our nature to make peace betwixt the Creator and the Creature nay more he took upon him life natural that so he might free us all from death eternal He lived to dye that we might not dye but live His Birth is the forerunner of all our benefits and therefore in honor of that Day Christs Birthday Angels sing a Gloria Patri they sing the Antheme in three parts In Alto. In Alto glory be to God in the highest In Basso In Basso Peace upon earth In Medio In Medio Goodwil towards men The Singers are the Angels the Ditty Glory Peace Goodwil the Tune in Alto Basso Medio behold Glory ascends on high Peace possesses the earth Goodwil pursues each soul And thus Heaven Earth and Man bear all parts in this Song God in Heaven Man on Earth and the Earth from whence Man came each do here bear their part apparent while glory is given to God Peace to the Earth goodwil to Man What soul is not ravished with this sacred Ditty sung by Angels sung on Christs Brithday sung for joy That our Redemption drew nigh A Song to be sung in Triple time which as Musicians know allows of two Minnims down and one onely up And is not here one up Glory be to God on high And two down Peace be upon earth And two down Good-will towards man These are Heavens Waits and being come to the doors of us Mortals they double their strokes and having honored God God takes it for no dishonor in a redoubled note for them to express their love to us Thus shall be done to them whom the King means to honor Well let Angels be our Samplers and let us learn by them to us to give back again to God praise and glory praise for our Creation glory for our Redemption Let God have the glory for making our peace with him yea glory to God in the highest for affording us peace one with another peace within ourselves and for that hope we have of that Peace which passeth all understanding And as thus we give glory to God for this peace proclaimed so glory be to God for his goodwil to man we may possess our souls in peace for we have the good will of God we had enslaved our selves to sin and Satan It is Gods good will to free us from Hell and the Devil The Prince of darkness is rooted and our peace is purchased not onely peace for us who are earth but the goodwil of God to all mankinde on earth But though the Greek Fathers interpret these words of Gods goodwil to man yet the Latine Fathers thus translate this Antheme Peace be upon earth to men of goodwil As if men could never be at peace with God the Father whilest he bears ill will to his neighbour He is quite out of tune who is not in charity neither will God afford him peace that affords not his neighbour love As love is the fulfilling of the Law so the large and the long and the brief and the semi-brief in this sacred Sonnet An ill will d man is a wicked man and while he lives at odds with men can never have hopes of peace with God But the twofold Exposition of the Greeks and Latines the one expounding this Antheme of Gods goodwill to us the other of ours to God and all mankinde This proclaims How Heaven and Earth are agreed God loves us and we love him and we all one another He us before we were we him in time He loved us before we loved him we love him after his love to us hath mollified our stony hearts But how comes this good agreement none were more at odds then God and man O! the reconcilement is made by the Birth of Christ a Birth predicted by the Sibbels foretold by the Prophets and confessed by all Christians Christ Harbinger came before our Saviour came quickly afeter When nigh at hand the cry went Advenit advenit advenit advenit He comes he comes he comes he comes to us in utero Virginis in the womb of a Virgin O rate generation Adam was neigher of man nor woman Eve from a man but no woman Our Saviour is born of a woman begot of no man he is born man and Mary made the Mother of God For the Word was made flesh Joh. 1.14 and all this that we who are more flesh then Spirit might by the Spirit of Christ become less carnal and more spiritual And now since Christ is come to save us us his enemies such enemies as made a combination with the World Flesh and Devil against the Father Son and Holy Ghost
a good Christian He is an unsufferable subject that pretends the fear of God and fears not the King He is a Demi-Chtistian who vaunts how he honors the King while the fear of God is not before his eyes But let us look into this Ark and we shall find Manna laid up in it good advice for after ages That enjoyned is Fear God Who should I fear if not God But what is he and what must I go do God is a Spirit uncreate eternal a parte post so are we a parte ante so none but he for God is never to have an ending nor ever had a beginning And this Eternity à parte ante is it that no humane reason can fathom Lord where Reason fails give me faith to believe and that it is an eternal God Creator of Heaven and Earth that I must fear And have I not just cause to fear him whom so oft I have offended But this Scripture hints not at fear of punishment but such a fear as love leads on to the keeping Gods Commandments He hath the true fear of God in him that fears to break the Commandments He that says he fears God and casts his word behinde him doth not so much deceive the World as the Devil deceives him When I square my life by Gods Law then I keep this command a prophane person then hath no fear of God in him and if to be guided by Gods Word picture out this party such then who pervert the Word of God to their own damnation how dwelleth the fear of God in them I have cast my eye up let me now look down and look at a debt I owe as to God so to the King Religion obliges me to fear God the Law the King The Law Moral as my common Parent the Law Municipal as my Lord and Soveraign truth is he is a loose fellow will not be bound up to the Law The King is set over by God for is it not said By me Kings do reign Prov. 8. and since of his setting up none but a Devil will pull them down Obedience and reverence is due to the Prince and the want of each assert the breach of this charge Let no man separate assunder those whom God hath joyned together Yet let me set a vast distance betwixt fear and fear my Spiritual fear I reserve for God a Civil for my Soveraign There is an awful reverence due to the one as my Creator I owe reverence to the other for that set far above every sublunary Creature Love is the fulfilling of Gods Law and a filial fear leads on to the completion of the Kings commands As he that fears not the King the fear of God is not in him so he fears not the King who fears not to break his Laws Know it and for an assured truth That when the King in his vertual Capacity is contemned his personal Capacity stands in need of a guard And therefore either fear to break the Kings Law or else it is to be feared thou wilt attempt to wrong the Kings Person Experience is a witness to this Thesis and proclaims How haters of the Law have turned murtherers of their Soveraign Lord the King These deserve pity for they hate reproof while had rather dye in their sin then be told of their sin Let us resolve To fear God and the King let us shew our fear to him by our fear to stray from his wholesome Laws Laws able to keep you in possession of your own in peace one with another Thus you shall preserve the bond of peace in the unity of the Spirit live as Christian Brethren and dye true loyal Subjects To conclude where there is no fear of God there is a want of the grace of God But that you all may possess Grace and Peace Grace which assures you have Peace with God Peace which witnesses you are in high grace with the King Fear God for love and love the King for the fear of God And that thy fear may not interfear thy charge is Fear God and the King SIONS SAD COMPLAINT Isa 36. part of verse 13. O Lord our God other Lords besides thee have ruled us THis is a mixt Song sung in the tune Lachrymae sung in the Cliff Gaudete The people of God call d to minde their Babylonian Bondage and tears stand in their eyes They are brought back from Babylon and now with their sad thoughts are intermixed mirth and merriness The parallel of these Jews is the River Alphaltes in whose channel run salt and fresh waters How can it but grieve to think of their long and late Captivity How does it solace to enjoy their lost liberty that so long sufferers exhausts tears that sufferers are become conquerers For this cause rejoyce and again I say Rejoyce That other Lords have bore rule this flats our joy That they have but do not revives our drooping spirits Let us look behinde before at what past at what present at our late banishment miraculous restorement These duplicated thoughts extract mixt passions joy and sorrow hope and fear We grieve when we remember what past joy for that our griefs are past Those other Lords put us in fear O Lord our God thou puts us in good hopes And thus fear and hope sorrow and joy are here housed Of this I rest assured while this I hear read O Lord our God other Lords besides thee have ruled us These Israelites are not grieved that God hath punished but complains of that body of sin which provoked the Lord to punish They quarrel not at the stone they look at the thrower and takes all well as it comes from God yet think meaner of themselves for that O Lord our God other Lords besides thee have ruled them Them and us they led the round we hold out the dance Their Thraldom was long since ours scarce got from our doors The Jews were Captives in a forreign Land we made slaves at home a mighty King conquered them the off-scum of our Kingdom tyrannized over us Worshippers of Idols inslaved the Israelites Pretenders to God and Godliness plauged our Church and Nation When Religion must cloak faction that is the height of Rebellion and the Church then sadly suffers when her new Gospellers abhor Idols yet commit Sacriledge What can adde more to misery then to have the Law of God and the King trod undersfoot When the Kings Laws suffer an Eclipse the Kings Crown is under a cloud when the Preachers of the Gospel are turned out of their pulpits they are not far off who mean to rob them of their benifices We have experienced the merciless mercy of these Egyptian Taskmasters who caused us to make our stint of brick and seek our stubble live like men and miraculously get our maintenance O if we could have over-ruled our selves others should not have ruled us our sins led us into bondage it is of the Lords doings to redeem us Hadst thou not been the Lord thou couldst