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	lord_n	soul_n	6,252	5	5.0695	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A60170	A new naked truth, or, The sandy foundation of the Sacramental test shaken, by a warning-piece discharged from heaven against all sorts of persecutors wherein you may hold Christ crucified mystically and sacramentally, upon the cross of the sacramental penal test, with all the rest of the penal laws and tests attending thereon, and contributing thereunto / by Giles Shute ...	Shute, Giles, b. 1650 or 51.	1688 (1688)	Wing S3709; ESTC R11222	67,483	56

Ordinance or spiritual Government must be and how they must be qualified And thirdly and lastly I have shewed ye the danger that all those are in that rush upon this Ordinance without being dutly qualified and prepared for it both of Believers in a carnal frame of Heart and Hypocrites that are in a carnal dead state of Nature But it may be queried Whether this sacred Ordinance of the Lord's Supper may not be made a Civil Test also to accommodate Civil Government for the Admittance of Members thereunto and for their Confirmation therein and for a License to sell Ale by and other secular things in this nature as well as to be a Test for all them that belong to this spiritual Government Unto this I will answer in the Negative That it is not for not one Soul that ever did or that ever shall Receive this Holy and Blessed Ordinance out of such a base secular prophane end and design to qualifie them to come into the Government or to sell Ale or any such thing but what does highly provoke God in prophaning that sacred Ordinance not discerning the Lord's Body And so they make themselves guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord which is to Crucifie to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame They do eat and drink themselves into the very same Spirit with the unbelieving Jews which they had in them when they did literally and actually and maliciously Crucifie our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ So that according to this Testeering Law there must not one Soul come into the Government but what must first go and Crucifie to himself the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame God hath commanded People to Crucifie their Lusts before they can be meet or worthy to come into this spiritual Government and partake of the Lord's Supper and all other Church-Priviledges thereunto belonging But these Penal Laws or Test commands Men to go and Crucifie their Lord and Master before ever they can be permitted to partake of the Civil Government or any of the Priviledges thereunto belonging And is not this a dreadful Law think ye and such a mystery of Iniquity as is not to be parallel'd in all its Circumstances Would it not be a dreadful thing think ye if there was a Law made That no Man should come into the Government unless he would eat so much Rats-bane as would fetch off all his hair off of his head and face and fetch off all the nails from off of his fingers and toes and lay him under a declining wasting lingring Distemper so that his Life would be but a burden unto him Why I will be bold to say That infinitely worse is this Law of encouraging Persons to eat and drink Damnation to themselves to qualifie them to come into the Government For as the blessed Ordinance of the Lord's Supper is spiritual Food and also wholesome Physick for the worthy Receivers for in the former it feeds and strengthens the new Man viz. all the Graces of the Spirit that is in him and by the latter all his Sins are subdued and mortified and his Soul purged and so kept in spiritual health And thus it becomes both Food and Physick to the true Believers this is a branch of the Tree of Life the Leaves whereof are for the healing of the Nations And so on the other hand it becomes strong Poyson to spiritual Vermine namely Hypocrites It is the worst Poyson that ever can be thought on to them As it is the greatest Mercy on the one hand unto them that Receive it worthily because then they are as sure to go to Heaven as if they were there already whether they do know it or not know it themselves so on the other hand it is the greatest Judgment under Heaven for a Person to Receive it unworthily in a carnal unconverted state because he eateth and drinketh Damnation to himself not discerning the Lord's Body This that is the greatest Mercy to a Child of God is turned into the greatest Judgment to a carnal Hypocrite that dare be so bold as to partake of this blessed Ordinance out of any other end and design than what the Holy God in his Infinite Wisdom has appointed it unto O dear Souls Do you that have been Test-Makers and Test-Takers and Test-Givers in this sinful way and manner tremble to think what will become of your precious Souls unless you do speedily vomit up again this deadly Poyson by unfeigned Repentance and thorow Reformation God hath said by his Servant St. Paul Let a Man examine himself and so let him eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup That is he must try himself whether God by his Holy Spirit hath made him meet and worthy to partake of this holy Ordinance that he may know in himself whether he be one of the Guest that is invited unto this blessed Feast where they are not only to feast with the Lord but upon the Lord by Faith John 6.47 48 50 63. 1 Cor. 10.1 2 3 4. And thereby are made worthy to take this spiritual Test of the Lord 's own appointment in his own way and manner and so to come into the spiritual heavenly Government and be made Members thereof For whosoever eateth and drinketh this Cup of the Lord unworthily eateth and drinketh Damnation to himself not discerning the Lord's Body Here it is said Whosoever that is High or Low Rich or Poor Priest or People Lord or Commoner this is the unalterable Law and Magna Charta of Heaven God is no Respecter of Persons therefore look to it you that are great Ones And Death is no Respecter of Persons also for when he cometh with his Sythe he outs down a Lord as soon as a Beggar Well thus you do hear what the Law of Heaven saith unto all these things and now let us hear what the Laws of Men saith unto it also Why the Laws of the Church of England saith quite another thing for they say tacitly and consequentially Let them be examined whether they have eat and drank their own Damnation and Crucified unto themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame and so let them come into the Government both of Church and State For whosoever whether he be a Lord or Commoner that shall come into the Government without being thus sinfully qualified does incur to himself and Family the Danger or Condemnation of 500 l. damage not discerning or taking notice that the Law of the Church of E is against him and that they shall pay it every groat on 't when she hath the Whip in her hand again and the Nation under her feet Hence we may observe That if any Persons will come into the Government duly qualified according to the Law in that case made and provided they must enter in at Hells Gate they must pawn or even deposit their very Souls that precious Jewel that is more worth

with them should Abolish and for ever Destroy all these Snares and Snakes that are apparently so and make better Laws for the Security of our Christian Liberty in the Room of them Eighthly and Lastly I Exhort all you of the Church of England that have been at the Sacrament formerly or latterly to Examine your selves what you went to the Lord's Table for Or if you please give me leave to ask you a few Questions 1. What was your Business at the Lord's Table 2. Pray What Condition did you go unto this Holy Ordinance in 3. Who did you expect to meet with there 4. And lastly What Benefit did you receive or expect to receive at this Holy Ordinance First What Business had you at the Sacrament Did you go there for fear of Displeasing the Parson Or Did you go there because your Neighbours should have a better Esteem of you that they should think you are a good Christian Or Did you go to satisfie the Laws of Men that binds ye so to do Or Did you go there to qualifie your selves to come into the Government Or Did you go there to satisfie and quiet a Natural Conscience What was your End and Aim in going there and partaking of that Sacred Ordinance Was it in Obedience to Christ's Command Pray do you give the Answer unto God and your own Consciences Secondly In what condition did you go unto the Lord's Table Were you born of God For this is the Children's Bread and for none else Or Did you go and rush upon this Blessed Ordinance in your Sins Were you Regenerated and born of God before ever you came there For the same Graces that fits a Person for Eternal Salvation in Glory fits him for a Right Worthy Receiving of this Holy Ordinance of the Lord's Supper therefore those do run a desperate Hazzard that do drive off Repentance and the getting all other Graces of the Spirit until they come to lye on their Death-bed when pale Death looks them grimly in the Face and is ready to launch them out into the Ocean of Eternity And then to expect that this Ordinance of the Lord's Supper shall bring all these Graces along with it to fit them for Heaven and Eternal Glory whenas they must have the same Graces to fit them for this Holy Ordinance which is lodged in the Kingdom of Heaven below as is to fit them for the Kingdom of Heaven above this being no Converting Ordinance For the Text in 1 Cor. 11.29 tells us plainly That he that Eateth and Drinketh Vnworthily Eateth and Drinketh Damnation to himself not discerning the Lord's Body Therefore I beseech ye all in the Spirit of Meekness and in the fear of the Lord that are of this Opinion to consider seriously of it because Consideration is a good Hand-Maid unto Reformation for this Ordinance does not bring one dram of Grace along with it unto any Soul but unto such as have Grace in their Hearts before receiving this Ordinance It is like the pouring of Water into a Pump that standeth in a Well that hath Water in it to fetch the Water But the giving this Ordinance to any Person that hath no Grace is like the pouring of Water into a Pump that standeth in a Well that hath no Water in it It is as Water spilt upon the Ground nay it is infinitely worse But then did you ever feel the powerful Operation of the Holy Ghost dart spiritual Light into your Souls whereby you come to see that which you never see before and feel that in your selves which you never see nor felt before Have your Souls been raised out of the Grave of Unbelief Out of a carnal corrupt dead State by the mighty Power of the Spirit And has it infuled Spiritual Life into you Hath that Almighty Power that raised a dead Saviour raised thee that was a poor dead Sinner Have you ever found and felt Sin to be an intollerable Burthen unto your Souls so as you have apprehended your selves to be in a lost and undone Condition Have you ever been made sensible of the want of Christ who calleth the Burthened Weary and Heavy laden Sinner unto him for Ease and Relief And has it made you forsake all your Sins and Lusts and all other things that come in Competition with Christ to follow him fully Have you been throughly convinced that nothing could Redeem you from Wrath and Hell and Attone you to God and Purchase Eternal Life and Salvation for you but Christ and that by and through his Righteousness and Merits alone Did you cry to God and say Lord give me Christ or I die and shall be Damned and never enjoy God nor have any Benefits by his Death and Blessed All-sufficient-Merits and Copious Righteousness Had you the Kingdom of God within ye before you came into that which you apprehend to be the Kingdom of God without ye namely the Church Did you know what you were to take it for before you came to the Lord's Table And Pray What frame of Heart did you go to the Sacrament in Were your Graces in a lively Exercise Did all those sparkling Jewels that adorn the Soul of the Believer shine forth in their Vigour and Lustre which is the Trimming that belongeth to the Wedding Garment And did you see him whom your Soul loved and longed for And did you discern the Lord's Body by an Eye of Faith through the Elements And receive him by a Hand of Faith and feed upon him with the Mouth of Faith Did you go to the Table of the Lord even sick of Love to Christ And could nothing satisfie your Hungring Thirsty Soul but Communion with Christ in that Ordinance And did you Exercise saving Faith and Spiritual Light and Knowledge and godly Sorrow for your Sins which was the Cause of Christ suffering and dying And did you receive him with Praise and Thanksgiving and with a Holy Vehement Desire Thirdly Who did you expect to meet withal at the Lord's Table Did you expect to meet with a Crucified Saviour there and to have Communion with him in that Blessed Ordinance Or Did you go only to meet with the Parson and others of your Neighbours there Did you see him by an Eye of Faith that should be your Redeemer and the beloved of your Soul Or Are you wholly ignorant of what Communion with God in that Ordinance meaneth Fourthly What did you expect to receive at the Lord's Table Did you expect to receive the Bread and Wine only and to feed upon that Or Did you expect to receive Christ which is the spiritual Bread and Drink of your Souls into your Hearts and so to receive a fresh Pardon sealed unto you for all your Sins Did you go away thence with God's Broad Seal Impressed afresh upon your Souls And your Covenant-Interest with God Ratified and Confirmed unto you in the Blood of the Lamb And your Eternal Salvation made sure unto you But if on the contrary you went to that Ordinance

is an old trick of the Devil And thirdly and lastly binding over Persons for Worshipping God is a very ancient thing also A Persecutor is one that must abandon all moral Honesty he must do as he would not be done by he must sacrifiee his Conscience and pawn his Soul in the Hands of the Devil for he must persecute Christ Acts 9.4 5. and fight against God Acts 5.38 39. A Persecuter is one that bids Defiance to Heaven and is in open Hostility and Rebellion against the Almighty and he is striking at the Apple of God's Eye Zech. 2.8 For thus saith the Lord of Hosts after the Glory hath he sent me unto the Nations which spoised you do you hear you persecuting Spoilers of the Nation for he that toucheth you toucheth the Apple of his Eye that is of God's Eye Again A Persecuter is worse than the Devil in some Respects for the Devil cannot force a man to sin he can but tempt and suggest to Sin but the Persecutor does both he tempts them to conform to a Religion or Worship that they are convinc'd in their Consciences is not right because it has none of the Sanction of God's Authority upon it and if they refuse then he does what he can to force them by Indictments and Fines and Excommunications and Plundering and Imprisoning them and the like Now this the Devil cannot do himself personally therefore they are worse then the Devil Again Fourthly A Persecutor or one that hath this Cain-like Spirit in him every time he saith the Lord's Prayer he speaks Blasphemy for he does blaspheme the Name of God the Father the first Person in order in the Blessed and Glorious Trinity for he begins it in Blasphemy for he saith Our Father which art in Heaven And the holy Word of God saith That no man can call God Father but by his Spirit for let him that taketh the Name of the Lord in his Mouth Depart from Iniquity and the Apostle saith Know ye not that the Spirit of Christ is in ye except ye be Reprobate And our Lord Jesus Christ told the old Sect of Scribes and Pharisees that were Persecuters as our New-Gospel-Sect of the same Leven are in John 8.44 Ye are of your Father the Devil and the Lusts of your Father ye will do He was a Murtherer from the beginning and abode not in the Truth Why So all his Children departs from the Truth when they turn Persecuters they do not do as they would be done by they depart from that Truth which the very light of Nature doth teach us as well as the Word of God. Now can it ever be possible that a Child of the Devil can call God Father without being guilty of Blasphemy at the same time for he saith Our Father which art in Heaven when as his Father is the Devil so that by his Lye he does tacitly and consequentially pull God out of his Throne of Mercy and place his Father the Devil in his room upon the Mercy Seat in Heaven and puts up his Petition to the Devil instead of Praying unto God his Maker And is not this a dreadful Case Nay further in the fifth place for I have not done with ye yet When a Persecuter doth say the Lord's-Prayer he doth say Thy Kingdom come thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven And no Persons are so great Opposers of Christ's Gospel-Kingdom coming as the Persecuters are and none does oppose the doing of God's Will in Earth as it is in Heaven like them of a persecuting Spirit for in Heaven there God's Will is done uninterruptedly by Angels and all other Glorified Spirits there they Praise God in perfect Peace Love and Union there is no Persecuter there nor none to disturb nor make them afraid for there they are all of one Heart and of one Mind But so it cannot be done in Earth by the Persecuters who cannot sleep unless they do Mischief and they do hinder others from doing the Will of God in Earth as it is done in Heaven therefore a Persecuter cannot be sincere and in good earnest when he saith Thy Kingdom come thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Therefore all they of a persecuting Spirit do but dissemble and mock God and tell him a parcel of Lies to his very Face for they do say in Words that God's Will must be done in Earth as it is in Heaven but in Works they do utterly deny it for they Dethrone the Almighty who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords as much as in them lyes And the proud Persecuters do mount God's Throne here on Earth namely the Souls and Consciences of men and say to their Souls Bow down that we may go over They do rob God of his Sovereignty and become spiritual Legislators to make Laws and give Laws unto their Fellow-creatures to Worship God by as they pretend and so do wrest the Government out of God's Hand over the Souls and Consciences of men which is peculiarly belonging to the Great and Dread Sovereign Majesty of Heaven and Earth which is to do their Father the Devil's will on Earth as it is done in Hell And not to do God's Will in Earth as it is in Heaven Again Sixthly A Persecuter as often as he saith the Lord's Prayer does in Effect Pray that God would not forgive him his Sins for he saith Forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them their Trespasses against us Now a Persecuter cannot say this heartily and sincerely because that instead of praying to God he does imprecate the forest of Judgments upon himself for he saith Forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them their Trespasses against us and the Persecuter did not nor yet does not forgive the Dissenters though but pretended Trespasses against them when some Persons have fallen into their hands by their Nonconformity in the matter of Worshipping of God when they have desired them to be favourable unto them and have told them if they did proceed to the Rigour of their Law they would ruine them and their Wife and Children they would not hearken unto them unless they would bow down their Soul unto them that they might go over namely to Conform so that they must Trespass against God or else they would not forgive them their pretended Trespasses against them which made the Remedy infinitely worse than the Disease and so they chose rather to lay their Bodies with the Ground and as the Street for them to go over then that they would sin against God by conforming which was passive Obedience of the right kind therefore the Persecuters do Pray that God would not forgive them their Sins for Christ hath said But if ye forgive not men their Trespasset neither will your Father forgive you your Trespasses Mat. 6.15 Now if the Persecuters did run their Hatred and Malice to the very uttermost Extent of the Persecuting Laws and further too and are now contending to keep the

Lord's body And therefore it is that we are commanded to Examine our selves before we partake of it to see whether we be born of God and so are in a converted Spiritual state of Grace and also to try our selves whether we be in a Spiritual frame of heart that we may know whether Grace be in Act and Exercise in us or not But to Return to the words of Institution After the same manner also he took the Cup when he had supped saying This Cup is the New Testament in my Blood this do ye as oft as ye drink it in Remembrance of me for as often as ye eat this Bread and Drink this Cup ye do shew the Lord's Death till he come Here is not one word of making this Sacred Ordinance a Test to accommodate the Civil State withall but on the contrary as you shall hear by and by For the Apostle bringeth it in Argumentatively with a Wherefore Whosoever shall eat this Bread and drink this Cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord That is instead of commemorating Christ's Death and Sufferings and all the Benefits that floweth unto us from that Fountain of his precious Blood They do eat and drink their own Damnation without unfeigned Repentance and God's Infinite Mercy for they do crucifie to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame whosoever shall eat thus unworthily whether Lord or Commoner let them look to it for God is no respecter of Persons for he that feareth God and worketh Righteousness and none but such are or shall be accepted with him O that all they that are thus Guilty may tremble to think what is a coming upon them for this great Abomination of profaning the Lord's holy Supper by a Law which I had almost said is a National sin because the major part of the Governing Party have been thus Guilty Though I do hope and also believe That there was many in both Houses of Parliament both of Lords and Commoners when this Snare was made that had neither heart nor hand in it But yet notwithstanding the major part of them must be for it or it could not have been made therefore I would not be found to grieve any of the Generation of the Righteous without a cause by condemning the Innocent with the guilty But as the Apostle saith Let every Man examine himself whether he be guilty or not But let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup. And here the holy Apostle is bringing it in again argumentatively by way of precaution for said he He that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth drinketh damnation or condemnation to himself not discerning the Lord's Body for this cause many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep that is die For what cause was it why for profaning the Ordinance of the Lord's Supper And who was it the holy Apostle charged this Guilt upon why even upon some of the Corinthians that believed in Christ for he said some among you They were converted as to their Spiritual state they were in a state of Grace But yet notwithstanding that they were in a very carnal loose frame of heart They did eat and drink worthily as to their Spiritual state but yet nevertheless they did eat and drink unworthily as to their frame of heart and therefore God punished them with corporal sicknesses and death though they were free from Eternal Death and Condemnation by vertue of their Union with Christ and so in a state of Grace which can never be broken Rom. 8.1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus that respects the Spiritual state of the Believer who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit The former that respects the State and this later respects the frame of heart in the former they are alive to God and in the later they walk with God The holy Apostle Peter was in a very carnal frame of heart when he would have disswaded our blessed Saviour from suffering Matt. 16.22 23. Then Peter took him and began to rebuke him saying Be it far from thee Lord this shall not come unto thee But ne turned and said unto Peter Get thee behind me Satan thou art an offence unto me for thou savourest not the things that be of God but those that be of men That is he was in a carnal frame of heart in a sudden passion of misguided Love and Zeal he was carnally minded and our Saviour Christ said unto Peter in another place of Scripture When thou art converted streng then thy Brethren this could not be meant of his first conversion into a state of Grace for so he was converted long before that time But it is meant of his after-conversion unto a more Spiritual frame of heart which he should be in after he had denied Christ And the Apostle Paul said Are ye not carnal and walk as men when one saith I am of Paul and another of Apollos and another of Cephas That is walk as men walketh in a carnal unregenerate state not that they were so but they were even like such And the two Disciples were in a very carnal unbelieving frame of heart even on that very Day that our Redeemer rose from the Dead Luke 24.21 25 26. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel and beside all this to day is the third day since these things were done They looked upon themselves to be deceived in effect but mind what our Saviour said unto them and also to us in them Then he said unto them O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the Prophets have spoken Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory As if he should have said Did not all the Prophets prophesie of my coming in the flesh and dying in the flesh and rising again in the flesh and did you not see it with your own eyes or might have done it and did not I tell ye so my self that am the great Prophet the head of all the Prophets and will you not believe me nor my Prophets nor your own eyes neither as if Christ should have said This was a very carnal frame of heart indeed and it is said To be carnally minded is death but to be spiritually minded is Life and Peace Now there is a great deal of difference between being carnally minded and a carnal mind as much as there is between Light and Darkness or as there is between hardness of heart and a hard heart for the carnal mindedness in the believer brings a death upon all his Graces and spiritual Comforts he is as if he was in a carnal State with a respect to the comforting Evidence of it that all lieth dead and all the Graces of the Spirit lieth covered over with these Ashes of Carnality and that fills the Soul of the