Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	body_n	flesh_n	soul_n	20,045	5	5.6682	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A72210	The race celestiall, or, A direct path to heauen by Henry Greenvvood, maister of arts and preacher of the word of God.	Greenwood, Henry, b. 1544 or 5.	1609 (1609)	STC 12335.3; ESTC S5239	32,701	98

flesh ready to dominéere ouer the spirit but by afflictions we are brought to hate that which before we loued and to imbrace that which before we loathed Well therefore sayth Gregory Aurem cordis tribulatio aperit quam saepè prosperitas huius mundi claudit i. Tribulation doth open the eare of the heart which worldly prosperity doth many times shut As Antiochus in his prosperitie thought himselfe equall with God yea aboue God but hauing a fall out of his Chariot being in aduersitie he sung a new song saying Iustum est hominem mortalem subditum esse Deo i. O it is méete requisite for mortall man to be subiect to the immortall God So Alexander being hurt with an arrow said Homines dicunt me esse filium Iouis sed sagitta haec probat me esse mortalem i. Men say that I am the sonne of Iupiter but this arrow proueth mée to be but a mortall man So Nabuchadnezzar proudly vaunted himselfe against the Lord of hosts in his prosperitie But when the Lord tooke him to taske metamorphosing this proud King into a base beast then he could say That the Lord was able to abase all those that walke in pride Thus therefore doth the Lord chasten vs in this world that wee may neither be intangled with the loue of this world Nor be condemned with this world For as the Nurse to weane her child from thirsting after her milke doth annoint her teat with Aloes or some such bitter thing Euen so our heauenly Father to weane vs from the pleasures of this wicked world doth send vs many sharp afflictions in this world Secondly the Lord suffereth vs to be afflicted thereby to draw vs to amendmēt of life Before I was troubled I went wrong but now haue I learned to keep thy Law The rod saith Salomon bringeth wisedom As the rod of Moses striking the stony rockes caused whole riuers of water to flow therefrom So the Lord striking vpon our stony hearts with the rod of affliction causeth vs to shed forth buckets of teares for our sinnes commited Aduersa corporis animae remedio sunt agritudo carnem vulnerat sed mentem curat i. The affliction of the body is wholesome physicke for the soule it killeth the flesh but cureth the spirit it woundeth the outward man but reuiueth the inward Cum infirmor tunc fortior sum i. when I am weake then am I strong Affliction therefore may bee fitly compared to a Gold-smiths Forge which trieth the pure gold from the impure drosse It is like a purgation which expelleth corrupt humours from the body It is like a Shepheards crooke whereby the Lord doth bring againe his wandring shéep to the fold It is called of the Prophet Virga vigilans i. a wathfull rod a rod that kéepeth men in continuall watchfulnesse The Prodigall child that wandred farre in the by-waies of sinne by this shéep-crooke was brought backe againe to his fathers house so the Lord by this meanes doth bring home many that haue erred from the way of truth wearied themselues in the way of wickednes For as the carefull mother cannot sée a mote amisse in her beloued child but will immediatly wash the same away So our heauenly father cannot endure y e blemish of sin vpon y e face of his déere children but he will wash it presently away with the water of affliction if thou sinnest to day he afflicteth to morrow Thirdly the Lord suffereth vs to be afflicted that we may the more earnestly call vpon him the more spéedily séeke vnto him Mala quae nos hic premunt citius ad Deum ire compellunt i. aduersitie that oppresseth vs héere in this world doth make vs swiftly and spéedily runne to the Lord. Lord in their streights they sought thee Susanna being ready to be put to death cryed out to the Lord the Prophet Ionas being in the Whales belly powred out his praiers to the Lord. Dauid in many of his Psalmes being in trouble called vpon the name of the Lord especially in the 130. Psal De profundis clamaui ad te Domine Domine exaudi vocem meam i. Out of the haue I cried vnto thée O Lord O Lord heare my voice c. So the prodigall child being in a streight sought to his father desiring him to make him but as one of his hired seruants So the Disciples when the ship was ready to suffer naufrage by reason of the tempest awaked their Master saying Lord saue vs we perish So Peter being ready to sinke cried out to Christ saying Maister saue me Therefore that men may be compelled to séeke the Lord he sendeth afflictions vpon them according to that of good S. Augustine A deo premuntur iusti vt pressiclament clamantes exaudiantur exauditi glorificent eum i. Men are therefore oppressed of God that being oppressed they may cry vnto him crying vnto him he may heare them and hearing them he may deliuer them and deliuering them may be glorified of them Fourthly the Lord doth suffer vs to be afflicted thereby to try vs whether we will depart from him in time of trouble yea or no. And thus was Iob tried of the Lord For though the Lord had permitted Satan to tempt him his enemies to vndoe him his children by sudden death to be taken from him his body to be afflicted from top to toe with biles botches and sores hauing no sound part throughout his wife to be an occasion of offence vnto him who in these his distresses should haue béene a comfort to him yet notwithstanding all this Iob sinned not against his maker yea he was so farre from mistrusting in God as he sayd though the Lord killed him yet would he put his trust in him and so farre from murmuring against him or cursing him as with admirable patience in them he blessed the Lord for them saying on this heauenly manner The Lord giueth and the Lord taketh away blessed be the name of the Lord. Thus were the Apostles and holy Martyrs tryed who were so farre from recantation as they willingly chose to loose their liues in tribulation And thus were the thrée children tried in the fornace By affliction are the children of the Lord and the sonnes of Belial discerned euen as crased vessels wil breake in peeces when they come to the fire and the sound onely hold out So the wicked like counterfeits will bewray themselues when they come to the fagot and the godly onely stand to it as we reade in the Gospell of S. Luke They depart from God in the time of tribulation Many will with Peter vow to follow Christ Iesus and to sticke close to him but when they come to Pilars hall a silly maide will make them forsweare him The Lord therefore afflicteth vs to try our faith our patience our hope and other vertues Faith is exercised in affliction by considering the causes

are daily wrought and subiect to much trauell The barren trée is not beaten but the trée that is planted by the riuers side and bringeth foorth his fruit in due season is sorely shaken and yearly beaten The stones that were for Salomons temple were squared and heiuen before they were layde in the building So euery Christian who is a liuely stone in this spirituall building as saith S. Peter must be hewen with the are of affliction and squared with the saw of correction before he can be receiued into the triumphant Church whereof Christ Iesus is the head corner stone Ideo Dominus quibusdam hic parcit non feriendo vt in aeternum feriat ideo hîc ferit non parcendo vt in aeternum parcat i. The Lord spareth some for a time that he may punish them for euer and he chasteneth some for a time that he may spare them for euer Diues that was spared on earth was tormented in hell and Lazarus that was corrected on earth was spared in heauen For qui vult cum Christo conregnare in regno coelorum i. He that will reigne with Christ in the kingdome of heauen must cum Christo compati in valle lachrimarum i. must suffer with Christ in the vale of teares qui vult consequi must sequi i. he that will obteine Christ must follow Christ he that will follow Christ must take vp his crosse and follow him Christ suffered before he entred into glory so must euery Christian first suffer before he can be glorified The seruant must not be aboue his maister Si ergo compatimur conregnabimus i If we suffer with him we shall reigne with him Dulcia non meruit qui non gustauit amara i. He deserueth not to taste of the swéete that will not taste of the sower Iouinian a king hauing two vessels of wine in his pallace the one swéete wine and the other sower decréed that whosoeuer would taste of the swéete wine should first taste of the sower So whosoeuer will taste of the swéete ioyes that runne through the celestiall paradice must first with Christ sup of the cup of salt teares of affliction No maruell therefore if the Prophet in generall saith that many are the troubles of the righteous No maruell if he compareth afflictions to waues of the sea for as one waue dasheth ouer the necke of another so one affliction continually followeth another for God is not like a waspe that hauing stung once can sting no more but there is a plurality of crosses with God he can sting againe and againe as one sorrowfull messenger came to Iob after another euen so one affliction visiteth the Christian after another as the viper leapt vpon Paul and leapt off againe euen so afflictions leape vpon Gods seruants and leape off againe Those therefore that runne in the race of godlinesse must not thinke this strange neither must they thinke themselues frée from afflictions for they are hedged in on euery side with sundry kinds of troubles and haue thrée deadly enemies continually warring against them Whereupon Iob calleth the life of man a warfare vpon earth and that worthily for we fight against thrée mighty enemies the Diuell the World and the flesh The first enemy that withstandeth vs in the way to heauen is the diuell who in respect of his cruelty and might is compared to a roaring Lyon The Diuell like a roaring Lyon goeth vp and downe seeking whome hee may deuoure The second enemy is the world which is as subtill as the diuell is powerfull for by the profits and pleasures therein it draweth many to the seruice of Satan The third enemy which is the flesh is no whit inferior to either of them for Caesar being asked what was the greatest thing in the world to ouercome sayd Scipsum vincere to ouercome a mans owne selfe and his vntamed affections It doth alway rebell against the good motions of the spirit it is a Iudas to betray our soules into the hands of old Leuiathan The prophecy must be fulfilled I will put enmity betweene thee and the woman betweene thy seede and her seed Therefore the Church of God in this respect is called Ecclesia militans a warring Church a Church y e fighteth manfully vnder the banner of Christ against y e aduersaries abousaid No maruell therefore our life being a warfare if this world be called vullis lachrimarum a vale of teares for afflictions are so common that we haue alwayes cause to shed foorth a whole Ocean of teares with the Prophet Dauid who although he were a man according to Gods owne heart was a Pellicane in the wildernesse of this world whose nature is alwayes to haue teares trickling downe her bill his teares were his meate and drinke he watered his bed with salt teares and washed his couch with continuall weeping This is the state and condition of all Gods children in this life that will runne in the race of Christianity so that we may conclude with Iob and say Man that is borne of a woman is of short continuance is ful of trouble Séeing then that we are borne to trauell as the bird to flying let vs arme our selues w t patience let vs possesse our soules with patience and let vs runne the race that is set before vs with patience knowing that Non sunt condignae passiones c. that the passions that we can suffer in this world are not worthy of the ioyes in the world to come And séeing we are withstood in this way by thrée mighty enemies let vs like wise souldiers put on the whole armor of God the helmet of hope the brest-plate of righteousnesse the shield of faith the girdle of sincerity the shoes of peace and let vs alway haue ready drawne the sword of the spirit which is the word of God which is able to quench all the fierie darts of Sathan and slay the dragon in the deepe Moreouer let euery Christian that runneth in the race of godlinesse know that as afflictions are by no meanes to be auoided so are they necessary for the good of Gods children All things worke for the best to them that loue God And it is good for me saith y e Prophet that I haue beene in trouble for therby haue I learned thy law For affliction to y e godly Medicina est non poena castigatio non dānatio i. is a curing medicine not a destroying punishment a profitable chastisement not a deuouring condemnation For diuerse causes therefore doth the Lord suffer his déere children to be afflicted First to weane and winne them from the loue of this wicked world for in prosperity we are ready to be forgetfull of God and of our selues also we are ready with the deafe adder to stop our eares at the voyce of the charmer charme hee neuer so wisely the wéde is ready to ouergrow the corne and the