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	lord_n	soul_n	15,609	5	5.1843	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A64128	A sermon preached at the consecration of two archbishops and ten bishops, in the Cathedral Church of S. Patrick in Dublin, January 27, 1660 by Jeremie Taylor ...	Taylor, Jeremy, 1613-1667.	1661 (1661)	Wing T391; ESTC R23465	25,378	54

channels of Salvation quite another way and leave the Church to a perpetual uncertainty whether she be alive or dead and the people destitute of the life of their Souls and their daily bread and their spiritual comforts and holy blessings The consequent of this is If Sacraments depend upon Bishops then let us take care that we convey to the people holy and pure materials sanctifyed with a holy ministery and ministred by holy persons For although it be true that the efficacy of the Sacraments does not depend wholly upon the worthiness of him that ministers yet it is as true that it does not wholly rely upon the worthiness of the Receiver but both together relying upon the goodness of God produce all those blessings which are designed The Minister hath an influence into the effect and does very much towards it and if there be a failer there it is a defect in one of the concurring causes and therefore an unholy Bishop is a great diminution to the peoples blessing St. Hierom presses this severely Impiè faciunt c. They do wickedly who affirm that the Holy Eucharist is consecrated by the words alone and solemn prayer of the consecrator and not also by his life and holiness and therefore St. Cyprian affirms that none but holy and upright men are to be chosen who offering their Sacrifices worthily to God may be heard in their prayers for the Lords people but for others Sacrificia eorum panis luctus saith the Prophet Hosea their Sacrifices are like the bread of sorrow who ever eats thereof shall be defiled This discourse is not mine but St. Cyprians and although his words are not to be understood dogmatically but in the case of duty and caution yet we may lay our hands upon our hearts and consider how we shall give an account of our Stewardship if we shall offer to the people the bread of God with impure hands it is of it self a pure nourishment but if it passes through an unclean vessel it looses much of it's excellency 3. The like also is to be said concerning prayer For the Episcopal Order is appointed by God to be the great Ministers of Christs Priesthood that is to stand between Christ and the people in the entercourse of prayer and blessing VVe will give our selves continually to prayer said the Apostles that was the one half of their imployment and indeed a Bishop should spend very much of his time in holy prayer and in diverting Gods judgments and procuring blessings to the people for in all times the chief of the Religion was ever the chief Minister of blessing Thus Abraham blessed Abimelech and Melchisedek blessed Abraham and Aaron blessed the people and without all controversy saith the Apostle the less is blessed of the Greater But then we know that God heareth not sinners and it must be the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous Man that shall prevail And therefore we may easily consider that a vitious Prelate is a great calamity to that Flock which he is appointed to bless and pray for How shall he reconcile the penitents who is himself at enmity with God How shall the Holy Spirit of God descend upon the Symbols at his prayer who does perpetually grieve him and quench his holy fires and drive him quite away How shall he that hath not tasted of the spirit by contemplation stir up others to earnest desires of Celestial things Or what good shall the people receive when the Bp. lays upon their head a covetous or a cruel an unjust or an impure hand But therefore that I may use the words of St. Hierom. Cum ab Episcopo gratia in populum transfundatur mundi totius Ecclesiae totius condimentum sit Episcopus c. since it is intended that from the Bp. grace should be diffus'd amongst all the people there is not in the world a greater indecency then a holy office ministred by an unholy person and no greater injury to the people then that of the blessings which God sends to them by the Ministeries Evangelical they should be cheated and defrauded by a wicked Steward And therefore it was an exellent prayer which to this very purpose was by the son of Sirach made in behalf of the High Priests the sons of Aaron God give you wisdom in your heart to judge his people in righteousness that their good things be not abolished and that their glory may endure for ever 4. All the offices Ecclesiastical always were and ought to be conducted by the Episcopal order as is evident in the universal doctrine and practise of the primitive Church 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It is the 40th Canon of the Apostles Let the Presbyters and Deacons do nothing without leave of the Bishop But that case is known The consequent of this consideration is no other then the admonition in my text VVe are Stewards of the manifold Grace of God and dispensers of the mysteries of the Kingdom and it is required of Stewards that they be found faithful that we preach the word of God in season and out of season that we rebuke and exhort admonish and correct for these God calls Pastores secundùm cor meum Pastors according to his own heart which feed the people with knowledge and understanding but they must also comfort the afflicted and bind up the broken heart minister the Sacraments with great diligence and righteous measures and abundant charity alwayes having in mind those passionate words of Christ to St. Peter If thou lovest me feed my sheep If thou hast any love to me feed my lambs And let us remember this also that nothing can enforce the people to obey their Bishops as they ought but our doing that duty and charity to them which God requires There is reason in these words of St. Chrysostom It is necessary that the Church should adhere to their Bishop as the body to the head as plants to their roots as rivers to their springs as children to their Fathers as Disciples to their Masters These similitudes express not onely the relation and dependency but they tell us the reason of the duty The head gives light and reason to conduct the body the roots give nourishment to the plants and the springs perpetual emanation of waters to the channels Fathers teach and feed their children and Disciples receive wise instruction from their Masters and if we be all this to the people they will be all that to us and wisdom will compel them to submit and our humility will teach them obedience and our charity will invite their compliance Our good example will provoke them to good works and our meekness will melt them into softness and flexibility For all the Lords people are populus voluntarius a free and willing people and we who cannot compel their bodies must thus constrain their souls by inviting their wills by convincing their understandings by the beauty of fair example the efficacy

and holiness and the demonstrations of the spirit This is experimentum ejus qui in nobis loquitur Christus The experiment of Christ that speaketh in us For to this purpose those are excellent words which St. Paul spake Remember them who have the rule over you whose faith follow considering the end of their conversation There lyes the demonstration and those Prelates who teach good life whose Sermons are the measures of Christ and whose life is a coppy of their Sermons these must be followed and surely these will for these are burning and shining lights but if we hold forth false fires and by the amusement of evil examples call the vessels that sail upon a dangerous Sea to come upon a rock or an iron shore instead of a safe harbour we cause them to make shipwrack of their precious faith and to perish in the deceiptful and unstable waters Vox operum fortiùs sonat quàm verborum A good life is the strongest argument that your faith is good and a gentle voice will be sooner entertaind then a voice of thunder but the greatest eloquence in the world is a meek Spirit and a liberal hand these are the two pastoral staves the Prophet speaks of nognam hovelim beauty and bands he that hath the staff of the beauty of holiness the ornament of fair example he hath also the staff of bands atque in funiculis Adam trahet eos in vinculis charitatis as the Prophet Hosea's expression is he shall draw the people after him by the cords of a man by the bands of a holy charity But if against all these demonstrations any man will be refractary We have in stead of a staff an Apostolical rod which is the last and latest remedy and either brings to repentance or consignes to ruin and reprobation If there were any time remaining I could reckon that the Episcopal order is the principle of Vnity in the Church and we see it is so by the innumerable Sects that sprang up when Episcopacy was persecuted I could adde how that Bishops were the cause that St. Iohn wrote his Gospel that the Christian Faith was for 300 years together bravely defended by the sufferings the prisons and the flames the life and the death of Bishops as the principal Combatants That the Fathers of the Church whose writings are held in so great veneration in all the Christian World were almost all of them Bishops I could adde that the Reformation of Religion in England was principally by the Preachings and the disputings the vvritings and the Martyrdom of Bishops That Bishops have ever since been the greatest defensatives against Popery That England and Ireland were Governed by Bishops ever since they were Christian and under their conduct have for so many ages enjoyed all the blessings of the Gospel I could adde also that Episcopacy is the great stabiliment of Monarchy but of this we are convinc'd by a sad and too dear bought experience I could therefore in stead of it say that Episcopacy is the great ornament of Religion the Gentry being little better then Servants while they live under the Presbytery That as it rescues the Clergy from contempt so it is the greatest preservative of the peoples liberty from Ecclesiastick Tyranny on one hand and Anarchy and licentiousness on the other That it endears obedience And is subject to the Laws of Princes And is wholly ordained for the good of mankind and the benefit of Souls But I cannot stay to number all the blessings which have entered into the world at this door I onely remark these because they describe unto us the Bishops imployment which is to be buisy in the service of Souls to do good in all capacities to serve every mans need to promote all publick benefits to cement Governments to establish peace to propagate the Kingdom of Christ to do hurt to no man to do good to every man that is so to minister that Religion and Charity publick peace and private blessings may be in their exaltation As long as it was thus done by the Primitive Bishops the Princes and the People gave them all honour Insomuch that by a decree of Constantine the great the Bp. had power given him to retract the sentences made by the Presidents of Provinces and we find in the acts of St. Nicholas that he rescued some innocent persons from death when the executioner was ready to strike the fatal blow which thing even vvhen it fell into inconvenience was indeed forbidden by Arcadius and Honorlus but the confidence and honour was onely chang'd it was not taken away for the condemned criminal had leave to appeal to the Audientia Episcopalis to the Bps Court. This was not any right which the Bishops could challenge but a reward of their piety and so long as the Holy Office was holily administred the World found so much comfort and security so much justice and mercy so many temporal and spiritual blessings consequent to the ministeries of that order that as the Galatians to St. Paul men have plucked out their eys to do them service and to do them honour For then Episcopacy did that good that God intended by it it was a spiritual Government by spiritual persons for spiritual ends Then the Princes and the People gave them honours because they deserv'd and sought them not then they gave them wealth because they would dispend it wisely frugally and charitably Then they gave them power because it was sure to be us'd for defence of the innocent for relief of the oppressed for the punishment of evil doers and the reward of the virtuous Then they desir'd to be judg'd by them because their audiences or Courts did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they appeas'd all furious sentences and taught gentle principles and gave merciful measures and in their Courts were all equity and piety and Christian determinations But afterwards when they did fall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 into saecular methods and made their Counsels vain by pride and durtyed their sentences with money then they became like other men and so it will be unless the Bps be more holy then other men but when our sanctity and severity shall be as eminent as the calling is then we shall be called to Councels and sit in publick meetings and bring comfort to private Families and rule in the hearts of men by a jus relationis such as was between the Roman Emperors and the Senate they courted one another into power and in giving honour striv'd to out do each other for from an humble wise man no man will snatch an imployment that is honourable but from the proud and from the covetuous every man endeavours to wrest it and thinks it lawful prize My time is now done and therefore I cannot speak to the third part of my text the reward of the good Steward and of the bad I shall onely mention it to you in a short exhortation and so conclude In the Primitive