Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	blood_n	water_n	witness_n	7,183	5	9.0325	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96686	Hypocrisie unmasked: by a true relation of the proceedings of the Governour and company of the Massachusets against Samuel Gorton (and his accomplices) a notorious disturber of the peace and quiet of the severall governments wherein he lived : with the grounds and reasons thereof, examined and allowed by their Generall Court holden at Boston in New-England in November last, 1646. Together with a particular answer to the manifold slanders, and abominable falshoods which are contained in a book written by the said Gorton, and entituled, Simplicities defence against seven-headed policy, &c. Discovering to the view of all whose eyes are open, his manifold blasphemies; as also the dangerous agreement which he and his accomplices made with ambitious and treacherous Indians, who at the same time were deeply engaged in a desperate conspiracy to cut off all the rest of the English in the other plantations. VVhereunto is added a briefe narration (occasioned by certain aspersions) of the true grounds or cause of the first planting of New-England; the president of their churches in the way and worship of God; their communion with the Reformed Churches; and their practise towards those that dissent from them in matters of religion and Church-government. / By Edw. Winslow. Published by authority.	Winslow, Edward, 1595-1655.; Gorton, Samuel, 1592 or 3-1677.; Williams, Roger, 1604?-1683.	1647 (1647)	Wing W3037; Thomason E409_23; ESTC R204435	90,941	117

brother I tro not I am now in a higher sphere then that though they be acknowledged coheirs with Christ can ataine unto therfore if witness be brought in and Oath taken though never so untrue your consciences are purged by law and your power must have tribute payd unto it so far an mens Names to bee branded with infa●●ie estates depryving women and children of things necessarie and precious lives of men can extend themselves to contribute any thing thereunto so that the professed mercie and Clemencie of your law to exercise censures only for amendment of life and recoverie comes unto this issue as much as in you lies to send both soule and body downe unto hell for ever without redresse and all hope of recovery But your houre and the power of Darknesse is known what it is either to have mens persons in admiration because of advantage or else to seek all occasions against them to brand them with all manner of reproch and ignominie but for the truth taught daily in the Temple y●● know not how to streatch out your hand or exercise your ministry against it lest it become leprous and you take it back again with losse when it appeares dried and withered And wherefore reason yee amongst your selves saying wee exercise the power of your ministrations against none but such as are Delinquents whereby we cleer the innocent and establish peace in all our borders Wee demand what think you of those two witnesses prophecying in Sackcloth a thousand two hundreth and threescore Dayes those two olive trees and two candlestickes standing before the God of the earth are these guiltie and vile persons out of whose hands by the power of your ministries you are delivering and releasing the world then indeed are your wayes justifiable But if these bee the Just Chosen and peculiar friends of God yea such as without which his truth and Righteousnesse are not justified his wisdom and holinesse maintained and upheld in the world in point of salvation by Christ then are your wayes wicked and to bee abhorred for in your professed Course you are they by whom these are slaine and put to Death and all your glory is to keepe their Corpes unburied in your streetes and yet you know not what you are doing no more then you know what these witnesses are whom you are altogether ignorant of for your Libraries never saw them and you see not but by their eyes for these are two and never more nor yet lesse yea ever the same they are olive trees else no witnesses and also Candlesticks else both the former faile yea are not at all Wee must tell you what these are else wee cannot declare how you kill them for it is not our intent to open unto you the house of the treasures the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oyntment nor the house of our armour because you take all as execrable and put all to a profane use that commeth from us but these two witnesses are the life and death of our Lord Jesus or in the true language of heaven also the strength and the weaknesse of Christ for hee was crucified through weaknesse but hee liveth by the power of God this is the word of the Lord in Zerubbabel Not by an army nor by power and so deprives him of all strength but by a spirit that the greatest mountaine or loftiest hill in the world cannot stand before but becomes a plaine which with facility and ease hee passeth upon thence it is that hee doth not onely lay the top or the head stone of all but also the lowest 〈◊〉 the foundation and then onely is the voice of shouting heard Grace grace in the house for ever and then doth the day of small things become the day of joy and triumph yea of parting the rich spoiles and prey of all the world for then hee that doth but turn and lift up his eyes he cannot looke besides that great flying book of the Curse that is gone forth over the whole earth Without these two witnesses jointly uttering themselves in every particular Scripture undertaken to bee divulged by any no evidence nor testimony of God is given or brought in at all but a meere refuge of lies for the soules of men to betake themselves unto without these two pipes of the olive trees emptying themselves into the bowle of the candlesticks no unction nor oyle at all is found in them and that being wanting the light of the Sanctuary is gone out so that the light appearing amongst you is onely the light of Balaam whose eye was open which you may read either Shethum or Sethum for that opening is nothing else but the shutting up of the holy things of God so that in seeing you see not but communicate onely in the light of that beast who puts the witnesses to death as Balaam did in the sight of that dumbe beast of his whose eyes were opened to see the angel before him so that while you thinke it is our wisdome to stoope unto you for light wee never come amongst you but see our selves in a regiment of grosse and palpable darknesse and discern you very plainly how you scrabble upon the wall to finde the doore of Lots house and cannot As also how you toil your selves to climbe up into the sheep-fold another yea so many other wayes and have no sight nor discerning of us the Door at all by the which whosoever entereth becomes a true seeder of the flock of God yea none entereth in thereat but the true Shepheard himself Most impious it is to put to death two such Noble witnesses that have power to shut heaven that it raine not in the dayes of their prophecying to turne the waters into bloud and to smite the earth with all manner of plagues as oft as they wil whom that spirit that is amongst you kills on this wise the life or power of the sonne of God as above which is infinite not admitting of circumsc●iption or containment for the heaven of heavens cannot containe him yet have you not dared to graspe and inviron that power in the heavens and therefore have resolved and concluded that hee onely rules upon the earth in these dayes by his Deputies Lievtenants and Vicegerents whereby you limit and so destroy the holy One of Israel for give him that in one time or place which afterwards or elsewhere you deny him and you make a nullity of him unto your selves and in so doing you kill that other witnesse namely the death or weaknesse of the Lord Jesus for you must have man to bee honourable learned wise experienced and of good report else they may not rule among you yea and these things are of man and by man as appeares in that they onely officiate so as man may disanull and take it away againe witnesse your change of officers constantly speaking for us herein thus have you slaine also the death or the weaknesse of Christ who

professeth himselfe to bee a worm and no man the shame and contempt of the people and these faithfull and true witnesses thus slaine you must of necessity deny buriall and keep them both in open view in your streets or otherwise all your pompe and glory falls to the dust whence it came and on which it feeds Nor can you send your presents one to another of your acts of Justice power to protect wealth honour and friends wherewith you gratifie each other and where these are thus slaine and their corps lie in open view none of the gentiles peoples tongues and kindreds suffering their carkasses to bee put in graves there is that great City which spiritually is Sodom and Egypt where our Lord is crucified but after three dayes and an half the spirit of life from God shall enter into them and they shal stand up upon their feet to the terrour of you all Nor doe you thinke that wee onely inveigh against the great ones of this world for thus doing for wee know that the basest peasant hath the same spirit with the greatest Princes of this world and the greatest of the Princes of this world hath the very same spirit wherewith the basest peasant hath laid himselfe open in the view of all men these wee say are the two witnesses if you can receive it and what a dishonour is it to trade so much by meanes of witnesses and yet not know what a true witnesse is which if you did you durst not attempt the things you doe whereby you cast reproach upon all the world in that you professe your selves a choice people pickt out of it and yet goe on in such practices as you doe maintaining them as your onely glory Our Lord gives you in charge not to sweare at all but it is your dignity to bring men to your seates of Justice with nothing but oathes in their mouthes why doe you not ballance the scriptures in this point viz. It hath beene said of old Thou shalt not committ adultery but I say unto you hee that looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her in his heart already so also it hath beene sayd of old Thou shalt not forsweare thy self but I say unto you sweare not at all so that if it be adulterie to looke to Iust it is also forswearing a mans self to sweare at all if the one be adultery the other is perjury if one be admitted in some cases the other also so that in preaching the toleration nay the duty of an oath you preach the toleration yea the duty of adulterie it self So that our Lord plainly evinceth unto all mens consciences not onely the guilt but the folly and madnesse of the oath of man shewing how farre it is either from investing into place or demonstrating Causes so that hee that concludeth upon honour and power received from the oath of man or upon knowledge and bouldness to judge in a cause from that testimony without the which he could not have it is as vaine in his thoughts as if hee should herupon conclude I have now altered the frame of heaven which is no less stable then the throne of the great God or demolished the earth which is as firme as his foot-stoole for ever or made a fraction in the orders of Jerusalem that choice and peculiar City of the great King whose institutions no mortall breath can intrench upon or to professe his authority and skill to be such whereby he can make a haire of his head blacke or white cause his age to wax old as doth a garment or renew it with the Eagle at his pleasure hereby doth man in this point of swearing professe his folly to bee such that hee is become not onely vaine in his imaginations but unto that pride and usurpation therein as to intrude himselfe into the prerogative royall of his Maker So that however you boast of the Ordinances of God yet he tels you there is no more then yea yea and nay nay in them for what is once nay is ever nay in the Ordination of Christ and what is once yea is ever yea with him and according to his account however man reckoneth whose account shall be called over againe what is once curse is ever the curse and what is once the principality and power of Christ is ever the principality and power of Christ as that which is once the principality and power of Darkenesse is ever the same what hands soever it cometh into for manifestation measure your kingdome whether it bee eternall and your Jurisdiction whether it bee illimited for he hath given him the heathen for his inheritance the utmost parts of the earth for his possession and a kingdome of lesse extent hee professeth not nor can hee approve or acknowledge any that doe no more then light can approve of darkenesse or the Lord Jehovah of the Lord Baal Bee wise therefore and be thinke your selves while it is called to day harden not your hearts as though you would make your selves Meriba nothing but strife and contention against the Lord rather kisse the sonne if it bee possible lest his wrath bee kindled and you perish from the way for ever O blessed onely they that hope in him So that hee which professeth on this wise it is yea I am a pastour but it was nay at such a time I was none hee renounceth that spirit of the true pastour yet onely feeder of Israel professing onely that spirit that pusheth the weake with the horne and pudleth with his feet the waters where the flocke of God should drinke Hee with whom it is yea I am a Ruler but it was nay when I was none at all renounceth that spirit of him that rules in righteousnesse professing the spirit of him that rules according to the god of this world that Prince of the power of the Aire who is now working so effectually in the children of disobedience So also hee with whom it is yea I am a Captaine or chiefe slaughter-man but it was nay time was I was none at all renounceth that victorie and slaughter made by the Captaine and High-priest of our profession who as hee is a Lambe slaine from the beginning his victory and slaughter must bee of the same antiquity professing himselfe to bee a chiefe slaughter-man or superfluous Giant made in that hoast of the Philistims standing in readinesse to come out to defie the hoast of the living God yea it is evident that whatsoever is more then yea yea and nay nay not settlingeach upon its Base whereon it standeth for ever without controule but can remove create or make void offices and officers at their pleasure it of that evill or not of Jesus the salvation of his people but of Shedim that waster and destroyer of mankinde for ever know therefore that it is the oath of God which confirmes and makes good his Covenant and promise unto a thousand generations and it is the oath of

up your speeches or tales wee meane your Sermons but that wee affect not the Idolizing of words no more then of persons or places For your selves know the word is no more but a bruit or talke as you know also your great and terrible word Magistrate is no more in its originall then Masterly or Masterlesse which hath no great lustre in our ordinary acceptation Therefore wee looke to finde and injoy the substance and let the ceremony of these things like vapour vanish away though they gather themselves into clouds without any water at all in them the Lord is in the mean time a dew unto Israel and makes him to grow like a lillie casting out his roots and branches as Lebanon We say fill not up your talk as your manner is crying that shee went out without ordinances for God can raise up out of that stone which you have already rejected as children so also ministers and ordinances unto Abraham You may remember also that every people and poore plantation formerly fleeced by you cannot reach unto the hire of one of your Levites nor fetch in one such Dove as you send abroad into our native Country to carry and bring you news Nor can you charge them in that point for it was for protection or government shee went And however hire in other respects yet the price of a wife and safetie of his owne life adjoyned carryed a Minister along with them of the same rise and breeding together with you● owne to adde unto the blood so savagely and causelesly spilt with a company of such as you take pleasure to protect for they are all of one spirit if they have not hands in the same act we say their death is causelesse for wee have heard them affirm that shee would never heave up a hand no nor move a tongue against any that persecuted or troubled them but onely indeavour to save themselves by flight not perceiving the nature and end of persecution neither of that antichristian opposition and tyrannie the issue whereof declares it self in this so 〈…〉 and lamentable Note good Reader that I had order to publish these two Letters of his as well literatim as verbatim but because their Orthography was so bad as it would scarce have been understood I left it to bee corrected by the Printer but no word to be changed And the reason of the word here left out is because it was worne out and so soyled in the origina●● 〈◊〉 wee could not read it and thought good rather to leave it a bl●●●k then to put in a word of our own that was not theirs In the next place I present thee here ●ith certaine Observations collected out of both their Letters by a godly and reverend Divine whereby the Reader may the better understand them and indeed try the spirits of these men whether they be of God or no. Now these his Observations are ranked into three H●ads Viz. First their reproachfull and reviling speeches of the Government and Magistrates of the Massachusets which in Gortons Booke hee pretends so much to honour because their Government is derived from the State of England and therefore I desire thee to take the better notice of it The second Head of his Observations directs thee to their reviling language not onely against that particular Government and the Magistrates of it but against Magistracy it selfe and all Civill power And in his third Head thou art directed to take notice of their blasphemous speeches against the holy things of God All which because they are of great concernment I beseech the Reader to take a little paines to compare them with Mr. Gort●ns and his Companies Letters Certaine Observations collected out of both their LETTERS I. Their reproachfull and reviling Speeches of the Government and Magistrates of the Massachusets 1. THey say our Magistrates did lay their Wisdome prostrate in sending Letters to them which they scornfully call an irregular Note 2 That they bare them causlesse enmity the proofe whereof every occasion brings forth 3 They slily call them the seed of the ancient mother i. of the enmity of the Devill 4 That they know it is the name of Christ call'd upon them against which our Magistrates doe strive 5 That they goe about to hide their sin as Adam bearing the world in hand that they desire not to contend but to redresse something in point of Civill peace 6 That they stand on tip-toe to stretch themselves beyond their bounds to seek occasion against them 7 That those who accuse them are accusers of the Brethren Satan being a lyer and the father of it which thing our Magistrates cannot know though they be told of it 8 That this act of theirs to treat about their land is a mappe of their spirituall estate 9 That they delight daily to eate of the forbidden fruit which they call mans wisdome out of which our Churches and Common-wealth is formed to gaine conformity with their maker 10 They scorn at their purity and godlinesse telling them that Cole and Arnold their dissembling subjects are full of the spirit of their purity 11 They doe not say plainly that our Magistrates are dogs but compare them to dogs in resuming their vomit into its former concoction by receiving Cole and Arnold under our jurisdiction 12 That the whole structure and edifice among us i. the Churches and Common-wealth is raised up in the spirit of an hireling and that by submission to the Word of God in fasting feast-sting retirednesse for study contributing treasuring i. for Church uses in severall Churches they doe nothing else but bring forth fruit unto death 13 That farther then the Lord Jesus agrees with riches honour and ease our Magistrates minde him not nay renounce and reject him 14 That they plainely crucifie Christ and put him to an open shame which the Apostle Hebr. 6. applies to the worst of men who commit the unpardonable sin and for whom men are not to pray 15 That our Magistrates are as farre from yeelding subjection to Christ as Cole and Arnold from being honourable and loyall subjects whom they call the shame of Religion the disturbance and disquiet of the place dissembling subjects pag. 10. as also deboist rude inhumane Nabals il-bred apostatised persons and fellonious page 23. with many such like speeches 16 That the things of Gods kingdome are infinitely beyond the reach of their spirit nor can they heare the lively Oracle and therefore are dumb in telling Justice 17 That the Magistrates are Jewes according to the flesh and stout maintainers of the man of Sin 18 That they know our Magistrates eyes are dazled with envy and their ears open to lyes 19 That they judge them before their cause be heard 20 That in inviting them to their Courts for their equal-ballanced Justice as they scornfully call it they thereby strike at Christ their life 21 That our Magistrates are like Herod whom God smote with wormes