Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A47747
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A letter of advice to a friend upon the modern argument of the lawfulness of simple fornication, half-adultery, and polygamy.
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Leslie, Charles, 1650-1722.
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1696
(1696)
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Wing L1136; ESTC R41466
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9,685
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17
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no stead at the Bar of the Great Tribunal no nor qualifie their Desponding Consciences upon their Death-Bed upon which Men have a Notion of sinful Pleasures when they are to be for ever separated from them very different from that which they had while they were in the Pursuit of them and those Arguments which then appeared favourable to the Gratification of their Lusts will now be seen in their true Colours to be nothing but Deceit and Fatal Delusion like Promises which are said to be made to Witches by their Familiars which are not discovered till their Death to have a double meaning a False one to delude them with Hopes while they liv'd but the True one always verified in their Destruction when it is too late to Prevent it When Men sin out of Human Infirmity there is a Sting of Conscience always remains which by the Blessing of God may some time or other Reclaim them though it is the most extreme Danger and Madness to go on in our sins trusting to this For when Habits are grown strong it is the utmost difficulty to return from them Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the Leopard his Spots Then may ye also do good that are accustomed to do evil Jer. xiii 23. But some to get rid of that terrible Monitor a wounded Conscience when they are resolved not to part with their Vices do studdy and greedily catch at Arguments to alter the Nature of their sin which cannot be altered and so come at last to Persuade themselves that they are Persuaded of the Lawfulness at least Tolerableness of a Darling sin which therefore they Indulge if not without all Reluctance yet with less than they had before and therefore think this a happy Conquest But alas it is a miserable one over themselves and their Condition then is most Desperate for this is a Corrupting of their Principles and there is no Repenting or Returning from that sin which they think not to be a sin or can find excuses for it such as for the present shall satisfie them at least stop the Mouth of a Clamorous Conscience Balaam sought such an Excuse and he found it and He that seeks shall find in this wicked Sense as well as in the contrary Sense of which our Saviour spoke it And now let me Reason a little with you upon the Merits of this Cause God is a Spirit and therefore Spirit is more Real more substantial than Body and the true Pleasure is indeed but Spiritual in that low Degree by which our Spirit or Soul partakes of Pleasure by the Mediation of the Body or the Body only by the Powers of the Soul which enliven and actuate it and from which it receives its Sensation and therefore when our Soul is gone the Body is no longer Sensible either of Pleasure or Pain because the Soul acts no more by it But those Pure Souls which act without the Incumbrance of Bodies have a Perception much more Quick and Delicate than can be conveyed by such Gross and Elementary Body as ours are rendered since the Fall And therefore the Happiness which is laid up for us is to be freed from the Dull and Terrestrial Bodies and to have Spiritual Bodies given to us fashioned like unto Christ's Glorious Body This is our utmost Happiness and thither all our endeavours should tend And this is the greâ—t end of our Religion to wean us from the Body to Fit and Prepare us for the Spiritual State For we must be in some sort made like unto it before we enter into it and that is to be done while we are in this Life Now of all sins those of the Flesh are the most opposite to the Spiritual Enjoyment and therefore the Flesh is to be kept under even in our Lawful allowances we may sin by excess in them how much less then are Forbidden Pleasures to be allow'd of For all these do proceed from an Inordinate Affection which of it self is a sin Therefore taking this matter from the bottom you see the Reason of the severe Prohibitions against the sins of the Flesh they are utterly inconsistent with a Spiritual Estate they do the most of all other sins incapacitate us from the Spiritual Delight they put us into a Frame quite opposite to it and that is to God whom the Pure Hearts and Minds do only see Matth. v. 8 for he is Spiritually Discern'd Therefore it is said Gal. 5.17 That the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these are contrary the one to the other And 1 Pet. ii 11. Dearly beloved I beseech you as strangers and Pilgrims abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the Soul Observe they War against the Soul and the Reason why we should subdue them is because we are Strangers and Pilgrims that is in this world our Rest our Enjoyment is not here but we are ordained to be made partakers of the Divine Nature but this shall be only to those who have escaped the Corruption that is in the world through lust 2 Pet. i. 4. That is either those who have not been guilty of it or who have sincerely Repented and returned from it as Mary Magdalen out of whom Christ cast seven Devils Mar. xvi 9. There are Evil Spirits believe it which Possess those who give themselves up to Uncleanness and these must be Dispossessed before the Holy Spirit of God will enter which will never descend to a foul and polluted Soul This is the great Argument us'd 1 Cor. 6. That our Bodies are the Temples of the Holy Ghost and Chap. 3.17 If any man defile the Temple of God him shall God destroy We are Members of Christ shall I then take the Members of Christ and make them the Members of an Harlot This Consideration is Dreadful The Body is not for Fornication but for the Lord and the Lord for the body Here is great Honour given to our Bodies the Lord has reserved them for himself and himself for them This is a great Mystery and should strike us with astonishment And from hence it may be argued that when we abuse our Bodies we commit Adultery even against God who is Married to us Jer. 3.14 And to shew the Hatefulness of this sin Idolatry is all along through the Prophets called going a Whoring from the Lord committing Adultery against him And as this sin is most Provoking to God so it comes nearest to our selves it affects us most of any other sin Every sin that a man doeth is without the Body but he that committeth Fornication sinneth against his own Body It is like putting hand on ones self assaulting of our own Bodies And God has punished this sin severely in Sampson in David in Solomon the Greatest the Wisest the Bravest of Men. It was this sin of Lust for which the World was Drowned Sodom Burned and the Canaanites utterly Destroyed Lev. xviii 27. God has poured greater Vengeance upon no sort of sin Many late