Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	bless_a	jesus_n	lord_n	6,161	5	3.6174	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A05479	Twelue sermons viz. 1 A Christian exhortation to innocent anger. 2 The calling of Moses. ... 11 12 The sinners looking-glasse. Preached by Thomas Bastard ...	Bastard, Thomas, 1565 or 6-1618.; Bastard, Thomas, 1565 or 6-1618. Five sermons. aut	1615 (1615)	STC 1561; ESTC S101574	96,705	150

I am the Way the Truth and the Life Whom shall we beleeue of the Way but the way it selfe whom of the Truth but the truth Whom of Life but the life What then haue you done O deepe deceiuers and seducers which haue sought by all the Art and cunning of the Diuell to bring men out of this way to stop the road-way the high way to the kingdome of Heauen and to round and circle vs about by merits by freewill by traditions by reliques by Purgatory by faith implicite by questions of prayers for the dead Which for beleefe in GOD bring men to Romanam Catholicam for faith in Iesus Christ to Papa non potest errare the Pope cannot goe out of the way When Ennius sought his friend at his house and asked his seruant where his Master was the Master said to his seruant Tell him I am not at home which speech Ennius ouer-heard but tooke the answere from the seruant Next day the same man comes to Ennius his house and asked his seruant where his Master was Ennius spake aloud tell him I am not home What saith he will you deny your selfe with your owne tongue Why not said Ennius I beleeued when but your man tolde me you were not at home and will not you beleeue mee which say so my selfe The Ministers and seruants of Christ should shew Christ to all that seeke him but if there be any such as that seruant which denied his Masters presence when hee knew where hee was yet Christ is not like Ennius hee cannot denie himselfe Behold to those wicked trayterous Iewes when they sought him Whom seeke you Iesus of Nazareth I am he and will he denie himselfe to his friends This then is all wee require of you Beleeue Christ of Christ. When Zaccheus was too little and could not see Iesus he climed vp a tree but that wee may see him Christ hath climed the tree of the Crosse himselfe and there was lifted vp to draw vs to him If this be not enough hee hath mounted vp aboue the highest heauens to the right hand of the most high and mighty God Far aboue Angels and thrones and powers and principalities and euery name that is named Why then permute this one knowledge and faith in him for all knowledge all doubts all disputes all wisedome of men for heare what he saith this is eternall life to beleeue c. Thus wee are made to vnderstand not onely that the Scriptures are sufficient to saluation but that the Scriptures abound and more then abound to instruct our vnderstanding We reduce all the precepts of the law and whatsoeuer is else written in the Prophets to loue and all our knowledge is comprehended and endeth in the knowledge of Christ. This is the knowledge of the treasure so the Apostle saith of the knowledge of Christ In whom are hid all the treasures of wisedome and knowledge This is knowledge to the full For in him dwelleth all the fulnesse of the Godhead bodily But he is full wee are empty no hee is our fulnesse Of his fulnesse we haue all receiued grace for grace For as loue is the fulnesse of the law so faith in Christ is the fulnesse of the heart That Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith that you being rooted and grounded in loue may be able to comprehend with all the Saints what is the breadth length depth and height and to know the loue of Christ which passeth knowledge that you may be filled with all fulnesse of God See what perfect Schollers the faith of Christ makes vs the head is the bodies fulnesse Christ is our head by whom wee holde by faith and we are his body and as S. Paul saith That God the Father of glory reade from the seauenteenth verse to the last hath appointed Christ ouer all things to be head of the Church which is his body euen the fulnesse of him that filleth all in all See how Christ is our fulnesse and how he counteth vs his fulnesse for the head cannot haue his fulnesse without the body Grow we vp in this head receiue we from him the fulnesse of the body till we meet altogether in the vnity of faith and knowledge of him For this faith as I haue shewed was sufficient for the thiefe to be assured to be in Paradise and to omit the rest for all the Martyrs in the primitiue Church to be euerlastingly with all honour recorded For there was neuer any piece of story nor point or pricke of letter recorded that euer yet was seene or to be found that any of those Martyrs in the primitiue Church shed their blood for any of those points or articles which are controuerted betweene vs and the Church of Rome either for Purgatory or Prayers for the dead or any other Sacraments or for infallibility of errour in the Pope or traditions or merits or free will or transubstantiation or whatsoeuer is disputed betweene vs but onely for this eternall life the confession of the Diuinitie and humanity of Iesus Christ. And to this Pope Leo bringeth testimonie in his sixe and twentith Epistle to Theodosius Augustus which liued neere about the fiue hundreth yeere after Christ his words are these Prae ●…culis h●… et tota acie mentis aspicite 〈◊〉 Petri glori●… et comm●… cum ipso o●…ium Apostolorum corona●… c●…ctorumque ma●…tyum palmas qu●…bus alia non fuit ●…ausa patiendi nisi confessio verae diuinitatis et humanitatis in Christo. Haue before your eyes and consider with all the sight of your minde the glory of blessed Peter and the crownes of all the Apostles and the palmes of all the Martyrs which had no other cause of suffering but the confession of the true Diuinitie and humanity in Christ. Happy were you O blessed Martyrs to whom it sufficed both for temporall death and life and glory eternall to confesse Iesus Christ to be the Sonne of the true and liuing GOD you had no torment but of your body you kept your faith vndaunted and vnshaken and so yeelded your blessed spirits to GOD. It is not allowed for sufficient for vs to beleeue in God to confesse Iesus Christ and to cleaue to him is to vs imputed for heresie wee are counted separated from the body because we hold by the head and traps and snares are laid for vs in the word and Sacraments in our faith in iustification Wee are tortured with wrests and wrenches of disputations we are martyred in our mindes and consciences and may ius●…ly complaine that of the Apostle For this are wee reiected and persecuted because wee trust in the liuing God For this being Christians wee are persecuted by Christians If all the tyrants in the world did seeke our bloud we would kisse death being of the Church our owne fellowes kill vs and hauing suffered the same things for the same cause in which the first holy Martyrs suffered we are

of which himselfe was ignorant this honour doth the truth of God require of vs to bring all our senses and wits to nothing to be of it selfe sufficient without meanes to be aboue all difficulties and lets whatsoeuer As therefore when he before expected Izhak from the dead womb of Sara in hope he went beyond hope so now apprehending the same quickening power of God which was able to inspire the ashes of his dead sonne he passeth out of the Laborynth and Maze of the temptation And albeit God tendering our infirmities doe not so seuerely racke and examine our faiths yet it pleased him to shew an example thereof in the father of all the faithfull to bring vs at the least to the common triall thereof For Faith which is more precious than gold cannot without triall take deepe roote downeward nor flourish vpward But this triall touching the Promise leaues not Abraham yet For hauing giuen off his own affection to Izhak and departed with fatherly pitty he must seem to reiect the loue of God which he beheld in Izhak which was to him as a glasse of life and the pledge of all Gods graces and fauours and further the very name of Izhak must moue him which is by interpretation Laughter and telleth him he hath no ioy left He then which was giuen only for matter of joy and comfort being taken away must needes leaue him to sorrow and griefe of heart Eliak being tyred out with afflictions in the heauines anguish of his spirit cryed out to God It is enough Lord take away my soule what am I better than my Fathers Might not Abraham so farre sifted the triall now boyling in the fornace of his heart cry it is enough Lord take away the tentation But now hauing answered all doubts to God and his conscience hee must answere the world and the speeches of men For what will others say An injust father a Butcher of his childe I his owne wife and houshold seruants will condemne him and cast his obedience to GOD vpon him as an action of most vile reproach and extreame cruelty Thus when hee had vanquished the Diuell and Distrust within hee must answere feares and shames and fight without and this was no doubt no small temptation Yet must Abraham farther carry the racke in his heart three dayes iourney in which what is he himselfe but continually sacrificed He must behold his sonne all this while whose sight bindeth all his woes together hee must drinke in Bitternesse with his eyes which cannot be suffered to depart from their griefe To which the words of Izhak My father heere is wood and fire but where is the Lambe for sacrifice make his wounds bleede afresh so that now Abraham is like Ionas in the belly of the Whale in the bottome of the Sea hauing all Gods mighty waues and surges ouer his head Yet that his triall may want no part of extreame agony and anguish the Action it selfe were able to draw out of his eyes flouds of teares and to make the sinews of his armes shrinke in the execution and to make an heart of stone to bleede For albeit in the former trialls hee departed not from his obedience yet it might haue beene that when hee looked vpon the pale face of his onely sonne Izhak which he loved and all these circumstances of sorrow and ruth anew and freshly were presented him and his one heart must endure all these temptations now joyned together like a Wedge to sunder his soule and spirit I say it might haue beene that his resolutions would haue staggered his pitties and compassions which hee cast out returning againe Hee must 〈◊〉 his deere and tender sonne Izhak with cords he must how him on the bloudy Altar to dye in the place of a Beast Hee must first hauing killed him take his bloud and sprinckle it vpon the Altar hee must cut him in pieces and pull out his entralls and wash them and wash his legges and put them vpon the other pieces and his head and burne them all to cinders and doing this he must not blinne hee must shew no face of sorrow And thus wee haue the aged Sire binding his tender childe bound with cordes and hee with a strong arme vnsheathing his sword lifteth his hand on high to fetch downe a mortall stroke on the neck of Izhak when the Angell of God spake Abraham Stay thine hand All this Abraham did at the Commandement of God He did it as if he had had Gods heart and Gods hand for albeit Izhak was not thus slame yet because God onely hindred the execution God alloweth the worke for done and the Scripture beareth witnes by Faith Abraham offred his sonne Izhak And Saint Iames Was not c Abraham iustified by faith when he offered his sonne Izhak Iames Chap. 2. Verse 21. To come then to our second part Wee see in our father Abraham a notable example of obedience He shutteth his eyes to all things else and onely openeth them to Gods word He maketh a way to serue God through all lets through all fleshly impossibilities and being in this way hee trampleth vnder him his owne nature and beateth a path for Gods word out of his owne heart Finally hee regardeth not what men say nor what his owne thoughts can say but hauing receiued his mandate posteth on his journey suffering Gods wisedome to reason for him and Gods omnipotent power and prouidence to worke for him For Abraham was now such a man as might haue hoped for rest in his flesh hee might haue said Lord I haue serued thee these hundred yeares in sufficient trialls of my loue and obedience now I am old giue me now immunity let me be no longer prest Againe he had accesse to God and familiarity he knew God was pittifull and mercifull and easie to be intreated and yet he neuer spake one word for himselfe nor his sonne Izhak He complayned not of his griefe he defired not to haue the burden lessened but as if he had the feete of an Hinde runneth three dayes journey by the way of the commandement till a new Post from Heauen ouertaketh and stayeth him and Gods owne mouth comforted him Thus he which beleeued and obeyed hath found to his and our endlesse comfort that all the trialls through which it pleaseth God to leade vs are no other than steps and staires to raise vs higher into his grace and fauour For the issue of the temptation was to winne a farther obedience from Abraham that God might lift him vp higher and make his Couenant with him irreuocable by swearing by himselfe As if God should say Thou art not yet Abraham so great as I will make thee I haue purpose to aduaunce thee higher Thou mightest be contented with this opinion and forme of obedience but I will ring it further and make thy name more glorious Thus Abraham by thinking to glorifie God hath magnified himselfe and turned his obedience to God to