Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	believe_v	faith_n	grace_n	8,077	5	5.8830	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A13261	A Christian loue-letter sent particularly to K.T. a gentlewoman mis-styled a Catholicke, but generallie intended to all of the Romish religion, to labour their conuersion to the true faith of Christ Iesus. By Iohn Swynnerton, Gent	Swynnerton, John.	1606 (1606)	STC 23558; ESTC S120777	49,016	88

by christ our sauior and afterwards penned down by those heauenly inspired actuaries of his the holy Euangelists the creed comprizing the substance of the gospel which is a ioyfull message of saluation bestowed vpon vs vnder a condition of faithfull beleeuing The commandements comprehēding the sum of the law which is an assurance of eternal life vnto vs but vnder a cōdition of a harder nature namely the exact performance of our dutye towardes God and our neighbour expressed in these commaundementes And the Lordes prayer contayning an absolute Method of inuocation or a perfect rule how to offer the sacryfice of prayse and praier vnto our God wherewith he confesseth himselfe to be honored and wherin our seruice vnto his maiesty especially frō our inward man is most effectually performed the creed which is our law of beleeuing The commaundements which are our lawes of liuing and the Lords prayer which is our law of praising and praying and long since for the dignity of it intituled euen the Law likewise of liuing and beleeuing Now the creed the commaundements and the Lords prayer being thus in effect a compendious breuiarie of the whole Bible which containeth the sacred worde of the euerliuing God whereby his blessed will for our maner of seruing him is manifestly reuealed vnto vs and the definition of my religion being a true seruice of the euerliuing God according to his will reuealed in his worde I am warranted not anye way impugning the same to affirm that my religion is to beleeue according to the creed to liue according to the commaundements and to inuocate the name of God according to the Lordes praier Howbeit I vnderstand not heere this word according in sence of absolute corospondence with the creede the commaundements and the Lordes prayer But vnder this humble and necessary reseruation namely that I beleeue according to the creede as stedfastly and assuredly that I liue according to the commandements as vprightly and conformably and that I inuocate the name of God according to the Lordes prayer as zealously and effectually as the measure of faith grace and the spirit do enable me For these are al Gods giftes and he freely bestoweth them vppon his needy followers in proportion that is best pleasing to his vnchaungeable will and most agreeable to his vnsearchable wisedome For I dare not thinke better of my selfe in the ability of beleeuing liuing and praying then my betters haue formerly done of themselues O that I were so gratiously qualified wherby I might iustly be occasioned to thinke so wel my betters I meane the best of Gods seruants some of them hauing cryed vnto the Lord for helpe to their vnbeleefe and to haue theyr fayth increased Some hauing agnized that the godlyest seuen times a day shew what house they are come of whose loynes they proceed from that Adam the ringleader of man-sinners was their ancestor and some auerring that we of our selues know not what to praye as wee ought and therefore to helpe vs out that the spirit it selfe maketh request for vs with sighes that cannot be expressed Wherefore as in effect I saide before I beleeue as the measure of faith doth enlighten me acording to the creed I liue as the measure of grace doth enable me according to the commaundements and I pray as the measure of the spirit doeth informe me according to the Lordes prayer Thus I beleeue thus I liue thus I pray this is my religion and as I take it The true seruice of the euerliuing God according to his will reuealed in his word Nowe hauing as I promised after that little glimpse of vnderstanding by the mercy of my God reserued in me giuen you a view of my profession which through the subtilitie of Sathan playing vpon your simplicity you are smoothly borne in hand is so erronious absurd and Hereticall I would gladly know wherein such heresie absurditie or error can be found but it was my promise and is still my purpose if God that disposeth of all thinges howsoeuer mā purposeth be pleased therwith to make you see the vnseemelines of your owne mishapen opinions and to feele the daungerousnesse of your owne souls disease by vnderstanding the errour absurditie and heresie of your owne religion Which I knowe not how better or in plainer sort to perform then by laying before your view the doctrin of your Romā church in opposition to the doctrin of our church of England touching these principall heads of a christians profession which I haue already though briefly and but in part runne ouer that so comparing the one with the other and trying them both by the touchstone that discouereth truth from falshood you may more iudicially descerne the currant from the counterfeit and more powerfully be induced hauing once found so inestimable a Iewell to long after the ful fruition thereof which although you sell all you haue to gaine it wil not prooue deere vnto you for it wil make you rich vnto eternall saluation AND first against my religion 4. Sect. which I defined and proued to be The true seruice of the euerliuing God according to his wil reuealed in his word I must be so bold with yours as to call it a forged seruice of God according to the will of man reuealed in traditians decretals and counsels I may tearme it a forged seruice of God because it is according to the will of man only and not of God and I dare say it is according to the will of man onely because it is onely reuealed in these Traditions meerely humaine vnwarrantable Decretals and Counsels not lawfully called and are you not in a hard case already euen vppon this entraunce into consideratior of your religion Doe you not thinke it a miserable condition whereunto with their plausible perswasions they whom you deeme your ghostly fathers but by the Holighost himselfe are described by creeping into houses and leading captiue silly Women such as your self haue done their best to tie you Is it not and be your own iudge a dangerous case and a condition most disaduantagable so to be traduced to fasten your soules dependance vpon a course of seruing God which neither by God himselfe nor Christ Iesus his sonne nor by his faithfull seruants the prophets or Apostles was euer commaunded no nor by the general consent of the fathers of the primitiue church for 5. C. years at least after Christs incarnation euer prescribed or practised For your adoration inuocation of Sa. your praiers for the souls of your friends departed your superstitious pilgrimages your communion vnder one kind only your calling vp on God for you know not what in a tongue you vnderstand not your sacrifice of the masse your meriting by your works and diuers other such like grosse absurd opinions wherupon your religion is composed as they can find no substantiall warrant in the sacred canonical scriptures which are Gods pure truth and containe all things necessary for our saluation So had they not

deposing of my lawful soueraigne the Lords anointed no not although my king were a tyrant as we all know and his very enemies acknowledge he is gratious and mild and after the Apostles precept hath put on euen the howels of compassion but concerning this last treason that treason of treasons the vnparalleld arch-treason of the world my protestation shall extend it selfe fvrther Namely that were I assared besides the fruition of all the former cited felicity that my God neither in this world by the worme of conscience nor in the world to come by eternall confusion would lay the same to my charge but absolutly remit it for euer yet that I should abhor from my soule such a bloody inhumaine action neuer be won to giue my consent thereunto for my loue to god and his church my king and country would I know religiously and forcibly restrain ●ne heere you may thinke I go very far but I assure you no fur●her then I am directed by holy warrant and this I affirme to be the true resolution of a protestant and present vnto you as the proper fruit of our religion Whereupon if you please to fix the eie of your soule which is your vnderstanding and weigh the same in the true and single ballance of impartial Iudgment you wil presently I doubt not distast the fruits of your religion and happely discouer the same not to be as it seemeth but rather like the aples of Sodome which are said to be faire and beautifull in shew but when they are touched turne to ashes and reueile themselues to be of no substance But I ouerlong detaine you and confesse it is more then hie time I had concluded I leaue therefore this and all the other pointes formerly touched to your mature and indifferent consideration and theirs whomsoeuer that shall likewise daigne the perusall thereof and will now make bold though an vnbidden guest and but an intruder to come to your wedding It should seem without impeachment of the gent. worth that the deere expence of your time that pretious and vnualuable Iewell was an eloquent and powerfull aduocate in his behalf that at last hath so happily made conquest of your affection wherein I must approue your wisedome for there is no earthly Iewel to be compared therewith Iewels being lost may by possibility be recouered againe but time being spent can neuer be recalled againe I condemne my selfe in iustisieng of you Indeede therein I confesse I haue bene a prodigall for I haue played so long at this dangerous game of delay that I deserue methinkes to be notorious for ill husbandry The idle time-spender being as it is truely saide the greatest vnthrift you haue conside ratiuely avoided this scandall wherunto I onely say this that as you haue bin wise to enter into that happy and honourable calling of marriage and for ought I knowe aduised in making your choise so it is and shall be my prayer how weake soeuer you account the power thereof that you may bee hlessed in your course that your husbande that lyeth in your bosom the yssue which is likely to spring from those imbracements and all other blessings belonging to marriage may deriue vnto you such contentment ment and happinesse as your vttermost desires can aime at or any Gentlewoman of the world euer inioyed If you haue deserued well of me this for the present is my best requitall if otherwise it is my vttermost reuenge But if the world which is wedded to idle inquisition and sicke of her old disease sinister misconstruction would vnderstand the reason that brake the marriage betwixt vs two and gaue you occasion otherwise to dispose of yourselfe as you haue done let them know that on my part nothing but our different religion was the impediment I appeale vnto yourselfe whether I speake truely For you cannot but remember that in all oportunity I was still harping vpon that string and euer did my best though all in vaine to haue set the same in perfect tune I told you that if you would alter your grosse and foolish opinions or but giue mee hope that in future time I should haue better hearing and might happily win you thereunto I woulde be most willing and thinke my selfe most happy to knit that gordean knot without longer deferring although our friends should vtterly withstand it and euen inforce vs to get our maintenance I with my pen and you with your needle yea albeit we were sure to haue gone a begging which we then had not neither I hope euer that haue reason to stand in feare of These words I spake oftner then once vnto you I spake them from my hart I protested that I spake them so and I protest againe that I protested truly This methinks may discharge me from all imputations touching that matter and vpon this targe of proofe will I safely take all the malevolent darts that shall be throwne against my reputation I say if I was not so forward and willing as the world expected and your worth required our different manner of doing God seruice gaue the occasion And you are not the only Iewell of worth for I will euer acknowledge your worth your morral ver tues your gifts of natur all your praise-worthy parts as al are praise-worthy that that onely which obscureth ali the rest excepted I say you are not the onely Iewell of worth that this religious and lawfull impediment hath debarred me the wearing of But my god whose blessed will I refer my self vnto and vpon whose holy pronidence I pray I may euer depende will I know sufficiently prouide for those that faithfuly trust in his goodnesse and in his insinite and vnspeakeable distribution of blessings I am in good hope not forget my poor and sinful selfe though his most vnworthy seruant And so I beseech his diuine Maiesty Our almightie creator for the merit of his deere sonne Our merciful redeemer by the illumination of his blessed spirit Our holy sanclisier to renew you in the spirit of your mind to giue you grace to lay lowne the old man which is corrupt and to put on that new man which after God is shapen in righteousnesse and holinesse of truth To sill you with knowledge of his will in all wisedome and spirituall vnderstanding to free you from these strong delusions and to giue you a true liuely iustifieng faith in the righteousnes of Christ Iesus our Sauior wherby you haue cause to say and sing with holy Dauid My soul is escaped euen as a bird out of the snare of the fowler the snare is broken and I am deliuered That when your house of clay whose foundation is but dust shall be consumed You may be translated into the great citty holy Ierusalem be fed by the Lambe which is in the midst of the throne be led into the fountains of liuing water haue all your teares wiped from your eyes And in a word be crowned amongst the true seruants of the euerliuing God with eternall ioy and felicity in heauen where I hope notwithstanding our seperation vppon carth we shall one day by the mercy of our god liue and raign together FINIS