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	holy_a	scripture_n	6,955	5	5.9774	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26063	A discourse against blasphemy being a conference with M.S. concerning 1. the rudeness of atheistical discourse, 2. the certainty and eternity of hell-torments, 3. the truth and authority of the Holy Scriptures : published pursuant to Their Majesties injunctions to suppress atheism and irreligion / by William Assheton.	Assheton, William, 1641-1711.	1694 (1694)	Wing A4030; ESTC R27660	15,382	49

it He expostulates with us why we will Dye and Perish And we may be confident since God is Truth it self he is very sincere in those Expostulations And as the highest Evidence of all this He sent his Son into the World not only to instruct us and to be an Example of holy Life but also to Dye for us and to reconcile us to himself Now He that spared not his own Son but delivered him up for us all how shall he not with him also freely give us all Things In Sum God is the most Indulgent Father the most bountiful Benefactor and the surest Friend He hath promised and he is able to do it to defend us in all Dangers to relieve us in all our Wants to direct us in all our Doubts Finally He will guide us by his Counsel here And if we follow his Conduct will at last bring us to his Glory Such Apprehensions as these all good Christians have of God From whence pray do you judge how unpleasant it must be to Persons thus perswaded to hear such an excellent Being Despised So great a Majesty Prophaned and such infinite Goodness Abused And therefore since Men are impatient to hear that contemned which they value and admire Or to be told that is false which they firmly believe to be true Do not turn Conversation into Brawls and Quarrels At least be so modest as not to affront the common Sense of Mankind But if you will not Worship God your self yet at least be so civil as not to Laugh at those that shall And that I may convince you what little Cause there is to be so pleasant on such Occasions I must desire you further to consider Not only the Rudeness but also II. The Danger of such Discourses And here I may rationally suppose you have so much Love for your self that you dread the Thoughts of being Eternally miserable And I appeal to your own Experience if the serious Apprehension even of the Possibility of such Torments like Belshazzar's Hand upon the Wall hath not loosned your Joynts perplext your Thoughts and dampt your Pleasures And therefore since a mistake in this matter is like to prove so fatal you ought to be well assured what you do and upon what Grounds you do proceed For it is not sufficient Security in this Case to affirm Perhaps there is no Life after this And 'T is probable there is no Account to be given in another World And you are not able to understand how there should be such a Hell such a Place of Torments c. I say this is not sufficient But if you will proceed with Reason you must then further Demonstrate That it is plainly impossible and a flat Contradiction that such Things should be Unless therefore you can prove this Proposition It is impossible there should be any future Account Any Torments in another World you do not act upon Prudential Grounds nor shew your self Master of such exalted Reason as you commonly pretend to 'T is a known Rule which all Wise Men will observe Provide for the Worst And therefore tho it should be granted to be highly improbable Or as you are pleased to Phrase it A very unlikely matter that there should be a Hell or a State of such dismal Torments yet unless you can further prove That it is utterly Impossible you are obliged in Prudence to provide for the worst Even to amend your Life and to reform those Practices which if there be a Hell will most certainly bring you thither I must confess you have a very difficult Task whilst you attempt to prove a Negative But if you will be trying of your skill I 'le shew you the Method in which you must proceed Whoever shall undertake so extravagant a Design as to prove there is no Hell He must First consider those Grounds and Reasons upon which all good Christians do believe it and he must then shew those Grounds to be Impossible and to imply a Contradiction or else he trifles and deceives his own Soul Now if any one should ask me Why I Believe a Hell Did I ever see any of that Infernal Region Did I ever converse with those Damned Spirits Did they ever tell me there is such a dismal Place I Answer No. But I therefore believe it Because God who is infallibly True hath plainly Declared it If it further shall be Demanded How am I assured that God hath thus Declared I Answer Because the Holy Scriptures which contain the mind of God and in which the surest Notices of another World are to be found I say These Scriptures do in plain Terms inform me That there is such a Hell Therefore I Believe it So that this Truth There is a Hell and the Torments of it are Eternal is proved and supported by these following Propositions 1. God hath Revealed his Will to Mankind 2. These Books we call the Holy Scriptures contain this Revelation of the Divine Will 3. This Truth That there is a Hell and that the Torments of it are Eternal is fully Revealed in these Holy Scriptures 4. What God hath Revealed in these Holy Scriptures is Infallibly True And consequently Whoever will pretend to prove it Impossible That there is such a State of Eternal Torments He must make good these Propositions 1. That it is Impossible that Almighty God should reveal his Will to Mankind Or else 2. If the Possibility of such Revelation shall be granted he must then prove That it is Impossible that these Books we call the Scriptures should contain this Revelation of the Divine Will Or 3. If both the former shall be acknowledg'd He must then prove it Impossible That such a Doctrine concerning the Eternity of Hell-Torments should be revealed in Scripture Or else 4. He must make it appear That what God hath thus Revealed cannot possibly be true As to the First DIvine Revelation is so far from being Impossible that it hath the highest Probabilities to support it You have already granted There is a God And I am sure upon due Consideration you will further grant That God is a Rational Intellectual Being A free Agent having Liberty of Choice to determine his own Actions And consequently what should hinder but that such a God may communicate his Designs and Intentions to Mankind Men you know do frequently discover not only what they resolve at present but also their Apprehensions de futuro what they purpose to perform hereafter And this faculty is acknowledged a great perfection in human Nature such as other Creatures are not capable of Why then will you deny that Capacity to so excellent a Being as ' an infinite God which yet you will grant to a limited and finite Creature And this expostulation will appear the more rational when I have further told you That if you deny the Possibility of Divine Revelation you have then the Suffrage of all the World against you All Nations and all Religions Jewish Heathen Mahumetan as well as