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	part_n	whole_a	9,166	5	5.5416	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44211	An account of the spirits working upon the minds of men in the several ages of the Christian church in a visitation sermon before the Right Reverend Father in God, Henry Lord Bishop of London, at Burntwood in Essex, Septemb. 14, 1680 / by Richard Hollingworth.	Hollingworth, Richard, 1639?-1701.	1680 (1680)	Wing H2485; ESTC R26432	13,861	26

own labour and industry have collected and got together For did it affist us not only with strength and resolution of mind to adhere to what we know but with the knowledge of things themselves without any inquiries of our own all labour and diligence would be discouraged and he that lived the most idle life might be improved to as due apprehensions of things as the most studious and solitary person whatsoever which if any man can give me an evidence of I will let go this first assertion but if I hold it till I meet with such an instance I believe I shall die of the same opinion I am now of And therefore those men that pretend to new lights to more glorious discoveries to more large manifestations of the mind and will of God than former Ages have been acquainted with why these men run up and down the World with a pretence whereby they may indeed make the silly world mad but I am sure they will never make if wiser or better for there is no such thing as new Lights and when the New Testament was sealed up God cursed any man that added to the words of that Book and he had certainly been wanting to his Church if they had wanted any necessary to salvation which he hath since revealed No no I say again the Spirit of God now brings no new things but its business is to set the old ones upon our hearts and souls to strengthen our good purposes for an holy life to enlighten our dark faculties whereby we may see the beauty and excellency of those Divine objects that are proposed to our understandings and to excite our affections to a love agreeable to the worth and value of those things in which our souls are more immediately concerned and if any man appear let him by looks and winks pretend to never so much Heavenly-mindedness yet I say if the man appear amongst you with promises of further discoveries of the way and Kingdom of the Lord Jesus than the Christian world hath yet been acquainted with look upon him as an Impostor as the Devils Agent who comes on purpose to disturb men in the good old way through which the blessed Apostles the noble Army of Martyrs the excellent Saints in Primitive times travelled to the New Jerusalem and this head I cannot leave till I have given you an account what one of the greatest Scholars this latter Age hath produced says concerning this Hales's Golden Remains The effects of the Spirit says he as far as they concern instruction and knowledge are not particular informations for resolution in any doubtful cases for this were plainly Revelation but as the Angel who was sent to Cornelius informs him not but sends him to Peter to School so the Spirit teaches not but stirs up in us a desire to learn desire to learn makes us thirsty after the means and pious sedulity and carefulness makes us watchful in the choice and diligent use of our means The promise to the Apostles of the Spirit of God which should lead them into all truth was made good unto them by private and secret informing their understandings with the knowledge of high and heavenly mysteries which as yet had never entered into the conceit of any man the same promise is made good to us but fulfilled after another manner for what was written in their hearts by revelation for our instruction have they writ in Books to us for information otherwise than out of these Books the Spirit speaks not When the Spirit regenerates a man it infuses no knowledge of any point of faith but sends him to the Church and to the Scriptures when it stirs him up to newness of life it exhibits not to him an inventory of his sins as hitherto unknown but either supposes them known in the law of nature of which no man can be ignorant or sends him to learn them from the mouths of his Teachers more than this in the ordinary proceeding of the holy Spirit in matters of instruction I could never descry so that to speak of the Spirit helping in private either in dijudicating or interpreting of Scripture is to speak they know not what And truly till the World especially that part of it whose understandings are of a more ordinary size come to such convictions as these it is impossible but we should be over-run with Doctrins of Devils and it is very probable that some worse Sect than that of the Quakers if a worse can come in their room will e're long be at the door in order to disturb the minds of Credulous People and to insinuate such Doctrins and Principles as tend to make them dishonest and immoral And therefore if any fancies spring up in your heads and you find your selves as it were smitten with it and ready to adopt it into one of the most necessary truths to be believed and known pray bring it to the touch-stone to Scripture and right Reason and there consider what weight it hath in it and what plea it can make in a sober and rational way for its acceptance amongst the great things of God And if men did but take this course the world would soon be reduced to order and every man would keep his place and live in those limitted dependencies upon the judgments of other men that are necessary for them considering the difference of mens education and improvements 2. Another thing I lay down concerning this Divine Spirit under the Gospel and the assistances that it affords men of pains and diligence is this that it works upon the intellectual part of man and not upon the animal spirits of the body the not understanding of which hath done a great deal of mischief to the world for the more ignorant part of mankind finding sometimes according to their fond affections they have for any person or thing a great warmth upon their spirits and a kind of eager fire burning in their bowels all which arises from the present motion of their bodily spirits increased by the strength of their fancy and imagination Why alas let the thing be never so dangerous and destructive yet away they run with it as if the whole interest of Jesus Christ lay at stake and they care not what perils they expose themselves to what losses they sustain what hazards they encounter nay nor what Authority they affront so they may but see Sion happy in the settlement of the present opinion they have conceived so great a kindness for and their ignorance and their zeal together hurls them out of all considerations and makes them deaf to all advice and suspicious of any man as an Enemy to the Kingdom of Christ who attempts their reduction to more calm and temperate thoughts But now certainly the Spirit of God which comes with a design to refine the mind and reform the manners of the Sons of Men hath a better and more worthy subject to work upon than a company of confused spirits hot

suggestions are made to you by others to consider thus much that God cannot be deceived neither can he deceive and what he hath plainly given out as his will and pleasure that you may readily entertain assent unto and live in the practice of without any danger whatsoever and still let holy Writ with the help of the interpretation of wise and good men be your Standard to prove Doctrins and Rules by and then I am sure you are safe 4. The Spirit of God which now influences and act the minds of men is a Spirit of Wisdom and understanding as well as of warmth and zeal and when any man is acted truly by this Spirit though it may beget in him such affections for things as may infuse a convenient courage and cloath him with a necessary boldness yet for all that he is kept within his proper bounds he runs not out to any excess does nothing by vertue of a pretence to this Spirit but what is very accountable to any person of true understanding And whosoever he is that gives his passions leave to run before his judgment that is acted by so preposterous a zeal that he no sooner is impressed but presently without consulting his considering faculties he makes himself ready for the undertaking though the man may mean well yet he must not he ought not to bring in the Spirit of God to patronize his follies for wheresoever it rests it as I said before teaches no new things though it helps us in reflecting upon the old and prompts to nothing but what is warranted to him by the evidence that is brought before his reason and understanding And if it was not so what strange and horrid things might be done by a pretence to the Spirit of God what Murthers and what Rapins what invasion of other mens rights and encroachments upon their liberties and the like And therefore 't is very necessary as well as expedient for all Christians who would be a credit to their profession not to pursue any thing under a notion they are spurred to it by the Spirit of God unless they can give a sober rational and wise account both to themselves and others of the usefulness of the thing of its conduciveness to some good purposes and designs for still the Spirit of the Lord that is sent into the world on purpose to reform the minds of men suggests no new things to them but sets on the old which are already delivered from Holy Writ and whether the Scriptures do not make us wise to salvation whether we are not by them directed to every thing that is lovely and praise-worthy I leave the most nice Critick to judge Away then with those men who are all fire without any allay at all whose heels are upon the go without any commission from the Head for these men are generally the shame and reproach of Christianity and expose it to a thousand reflections from men who judge of it only by what they observe in others Away I say with these and give us the man who sits down and retires into himself and doth nothing under a pretence of the Spirit of God but what he can give a reason for this man indeed travels in a safe road stands upon a bottom that shall never fail and builds upon a rock which the winds and waves cannot dash in pieces for Reason is the same now that it was from all eternity and we cannot fall into any danger so long as we do the best we can to do things wisely and with our understandings and I am sure we shall not wrong the Divine Spirit to give him his due share in any action that is begun upon this principle and finished by the influence of such considerations for he is called the Spirit of wisdom and understanding of counsel and might Isa 11.2 That is he is not a Spirit that puts men upon headlong actions that countenances any thing that is ridiculous and foolish that is not well thought of and debated beforehand This Spirit leaves men to the full exercise of all their faculties and after a just satisfaction and an intention to pursue those things we are so satisfied in it gives us proportionable assistance that is it doth not do all for us and we sit still but when we do what we can it lends us helps suitable to our infirmities and weaknesses and what is wanting in us to do the work to Gods acceptation this Spirit makes up and so long as men are wise and prudent and improve the powers of their souls by study and contemplation so long they may expect the Spirit of God entring into their souls with all helps and aids agreeable to their necessities And on the other hand so long as men drive on foolish designs and suffer themselves to be acted by every plausible Argument why let their zeal be never so high and touring never so hot and violent yet I assure them their heat proceeds from the present temperature of the Body and not from the concurrence of Gods Spirit for still I say it is a Spirit of wisdom and understanding and gives encouragement to no mans folly or indiscretion 5. Though the Spirit of God be a Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding where it comes and is truly harkned unto yet it does not exclude the use of means in order to obtain that Wisdom and though I would wish my tongue might sooner cleave to the roof of my mouth than I would do or say any thing to the disparagement of this Spirit yet have I no warrant to tell lies in its behalf or to speak more for it than it hath warranted me to do and therefore I say this Spirit considered under the notion of the ordinary Spirit for the extraordinary is ceased does not exclude the use of means in order to obtain Wisdom for still God having given us faculties of mind capable of inquiring and knowing and having obliged us to the use thereof and promised a blessing upon the use thereof certainly he would not prevent our labour and industry by an extraordinary influence when it might be done to all necessary purposes by the ordinary no no we find this all along that God never went out of the ordinary course of Nature if it would do what he purposed without an extraro-ordinary interposal and when ever he wrought Miracles it was in order to such convictions as dull Man could not receive without them And therefore for any sort of Men to think themselves wiser than all the world beside purely because they are of a party to whom they fancy the Spirit of God is alone married is to argue themselves the greatest fools for though it prompt men to nothing but what is Wise yet it leaves men to the improvement of themselves in Wisdom by exerting the powers of their own minds and that man who does not take pains to increase his knowledge who is not studious thoughtful I will warrant him shall