Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	call_v	church_n	holy_a	7,200	5	5.2401	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A28333	An earnest plea for peace and moderation in a sermon preached at Barnstaple in Devon, to the ministers and others occasionally there assembled, Octob. 17, 1660 / by Martin Blake.	Blake, Martin, 1594 or 5-1673.	1661 (1661)	Wing B3133; ESTC R25930	13,288	30

ever men may think we cannot in this case better consult either for our acceptance with God or our credit with goodmen than by professing our selves to be overcome of Truth Indeed this is not so much as a foil as an honour for in being thus conquered we our selves obtain a noble Victory Let us reflect here upon that famous Worthy the great St. Augustine who purchased to himself no less venerable esteem in the Church of God by his Book of Retractions than he had done formerly by his other Writings communicated by him to the world My sixth Request as consequent upon the former is that you would not overmuch regard the applauses of the vulgar or it may be the good opinion of some well meaning but mistaking Christians Oh this itch after Popular esteem is a thing of very evil consequence and will surely hazard us if not seasonably cured to many inconveniences Indeed it will make us unfit to be Masters of our own judgement yea it will so weaken our sight and for the present so blinde our eyes that we shall not be able to discern Truth from Error Peace from Faction or the Lovers of Peace from the Troublers of our Israel These are the Requests which I thought good at this time to present you with in reference to your selves I told you there is somewhat else which I would also beg at your hands in reference to others and the Particulars are two First I would entreat that in case you be not yet so cleerly satisfied as to all your scruples and in every circumstance you would not however thereupon grow clamorous by that means endeavour to engage the multude into the participation of your discontent Consider Brethren if the mistake be on your side your sin in so doing will be greatly aggravated first in regard of the Power which you disobey secondly in regard of the Persons whom you mislead thirdly in regard of your selves by adventuring so far in a disputable point upon your own misapprehensions But suppose and for this discourse lake I but suppose it suppose I say you may be in the right yet let me entreat you once more to consider whether the thing you contend for be of that importance as for the sake thereof to embroil a whole Church Or whether on the contrary it be not an act of as great imprudence so to do as for a man to burn his house that he may wast an egg Brethren you know that all Truths are not of the same alloy and that therefore as the case may be some harmless and quiet mistakes in judgement may be comparatively better than some unruly Truths Surely he was a wise man and an Orthodox and well studied Divine who said Though I love Peace well yet I love main Truths better and again on the other side Though I love all Truths well yet I rather conceal a small Truth than disturb the common Peace Remember I beseech you the Truths wherein we all agree are fundamental and me thinks our agreement in them should tye us faster than for every petty difference to fall asunder Give me leave here to commend unto you that seasonable and wholsom advice of St. Paul Philip. 3. 15 16 where he saith Let us as many as be perfect be thus minded and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded God shall reveal even this also unto you Nevertheless whereto ye have already attained let us walk by the same Rule let us mind the same thing To be hot in our disputes about Supposals and in the mean season even by the violence of such disputes to hinder the growth of Reals Oh how unbeseeming how much better would it become us in matters of this kind to leave off contending and to fall a supplicating first to God and then unto Authority that all these obstacles and rubbs in the way of Peace on either side may be lovingly removed Brethren we are now thanks be to God for it under the blessed influence of a gratious Prince whose heart as we may gather from the effects is composed and made up as I may say of Truth and Justice of Love and Tenderness to God and Man To God for the promoting of his Service To Man for the procuring of his Good and how can we but hope for an answerable Care in him to settle Peace and unanimity among us by a gratious condescention in things convenient to weaker spirits Besides under the Government of so good a Prince you may rest assured that no rational Expedient which may really conduce to the Publick satisfaction of all sober and modest Christians will be with-held much less the indicting if need be of a free National and well composed Synod if you will humbly wait the time for it A fair way I confess and indeed a way which God hath blessed from the very infancy of the Church toward the silencing of disputes and the repressing of stirs in this kind which also our late Saintly Soveraign of dear and glorious memory of whom nor we nor as the Apostle phraseth it in a like case the world was worthy did Himself chalk out and recommend unto us in his last dying words when his pretious Soul was as I may say upon the wing toward his heavenly Rest Now under the expectation of all this I beseech you quiet your own minds and let my words find acceptance with you while I say as Joseph sometime did unto his brethren See that you fall not out by the way But secondly there is one thing more wherein I must needs crave your charitable endeavours and that is that you would not onely be thus quiet your selves but also do your best to quiet others As our Saviour said to Peter upon another occasion so shall my Exhortation be to every one of you Et tu conversus confirma Fratres In a common combustion it is not enough to forbear the bringing of more fewel to maintain the fire but every good Citizen must be forward to his power toward the quenching of the flame Beloved you cannot be ignorant that there are at this time great thoughts of hearts for the Divisions of our Reuben Oh now for the Spirit of meeknesse humility and love such as was in Abraham and Moses to intervene and say as they did in effect Sirs why do ye strive thus seeing you are Brethren Why do ye revile and smite and wound each other by your unseasonable janglings Even thus surely it would become us each one in his place and within the compass of his own Calling to expostulate with our Brethren and to endeavour as we can with a sweet and gentle calmness to allay the boisterous and tempestuous violence of hotter spirite and with a grave and sober importunity to call them back if possible unto a right Christian moderation that so these sparks of contention which are but in appearance may dye away and never have the power to kindle into a flame Give me leave here as a hearty well-wisher to the Churches Peace to tread in the foot-steps of a gratious Soul now at Rest with God and upon this occasion to revive the memory of that sweet and heavenly Spirit of holy Augustine who when he saw the bitter contentions between Jerome and Rusfino two great and famous Doctors of the Church in his dayes Heu mibi said he qui vos alicubi simul invenire non possum c. Alas that I can never find you two together How would I fall at your feet How would I embrace them yea and weep over them How would I beseech you either for other and each for himself both of you for the Church and therein especially for those weak ones for whom Christ died and who not without their own great danger do sadly look on and see you two thus fighting one against the other in this Theatre of the world Loe here the lovely temper and peaceful disposition of the Holy Man a pattern well worth our imitation Indeed we have the opportunity which it seems he missed yea and complained that he had it not and therefore let us do at least what he said he would do let let us beg and seek for Peace as we would for life For my own part I do make it this day my humble Request unto you all and could wish now if possible that my Ribs were as strong as Brass and my voice as Ioud as Thunder that the sound thereof might reach over the whole Land to the kindly affecting every heart But Almighty God I trust hath his Agents abroad And may his Blessing make their labours fruitful In the mean season Brethren as to you that are present I shall conclude my plea for Peace and Moderation in a few words It is to me an uncertain thing whether I shall ever meet you thus again together in this place God onely knows but it is probable I never shall And therefore as if now taking my last leave of you let me breath out the very longings of my Soul into your bosoms and shut up all with the words of the Apostle 2 Cor. 13. 11. Finally Brethen Farewell Be perfect be of good comfort be of one mind live in peace and the God of Peace shall be with you To him and to the Word of his Grace I commend you and he mercifully grant that every one who both heard me this day may comfortably return to his own home aut sanior aut sanabilior either actually more sound or at the leastwise in a nearer disposition to be made sound And even so O Holy Father so be it for the sake of thy dear Son Jesus Christ to whom with thine own Majestie and thy blessed Spirit three Persons and one God be all Glorie and Honour Thansgiving and Obedience now and for ever Amen FINIS * See 1 Chron. 15. 1 2 12 13. verses De Baptis lib. 3. cap. 1● * That sweet natured and holy man of pretious memory Dr. Joseph Hall late Bishop of Norwich

Church comforted and our poor Souls edified First then I say this is a good mans duty such a duty as I confesse we owe in some sort to the whole community of Mankind for even they also though in somewhat a larger sence are our Brethren and Companions and it is likewise possible if God will that they may be brought within the compasse of Gods house and therefore we may not altogether exclude them either from our well-wishing or well-doing in their behalf as occasion shall present The very Law of Humanity doth oblige us to the contrary But then in a more special manner we owe all this to the Society of the Saints as those with whom we are more nearly linked and to whom we stand in a more intimate and dear Relation As therefore the bond of Nature prompts us to do good unto all so the bond of Grace calls upon us to do our best for these in a more singular regard This surely was the Judgement of St. Paul as you may see Gal. 6. 10. As we have opportunity saith he let us do good unto all but specially to them who are of the Houshold sanguinity and Christianity that you would heartily incline to Peace and Love and so study the composing of your minds and the tempting of your wills together with your affections passions and expressions that though your heads may in somethings of lesser moment have different notions yet your hearts may be one and that you may say and say truly both of and to our Engl sh Sion as it is here in my Text For our Brethren and Companions sakes we will now say Peace be within thee because of the House of the Lord our God we will seek thy Good And to this end among many other valuable considerations which your own wisdoms can reflect upon I do earnestly beg your practical assent unto these few Particulars whereof some refer to Almighty God some to your selves and some to your Brethren In reference to Almighty-God I beg of you that in the first place you would humble your selves under his hand and lye low at his foot-stool under the consideration of your miscarriages heretofore in what kinde soever and particularly of your failings this way among the rest Secondly that you would earnestly implore the Divine mercy for his gracious pardon of all that his pure eyes have espied to be amiss in you to this very day whether habitual deordinations or actual deviations in every respect Thirdly that you would petition him out of his abundant goodness to bestow upon you the Spirit of Wisdom Humility and Love Of Wisdom that you may discern rightly between things that differ and lay no more stress upon the Conscience than Himself hath imposed Of Humility that you may not onely know but also keep within the bounds of your own station and so meekly and quietly submit your selves where you owe obedience agreeable to his Command Of Love that in all your demeanours you may be ever studious to observe that Golden Rule of the Apostle wherein he calls upon us to preserve the Vnity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace Ephes 4. 3. And this again the rather because as St. Augustine plainly tells us Non habent Dei charitatem qui non diligunt Ecclesiae unitatem They have not the Love of God who do not love the Unity of the Church In reference to your selves my hearty desire is that you would practise your own Prayers and bring on the best and choicest of your endeavours by all good means to compass that which you have prayed for And as tending hereunto give me leave to present you with these ensuing Requests My first Request is that you would distinguish between Theological Verities and Problematical Queries in which latter you know many learned and godly men have and may have apprehensions contrary to our Conceptions And here our Duty is not to be too confident and forward in our own Determinations We must remember we are but men and therefore not infallible but subject not seldom to mistakes And upon this ground it will become us as sober Christians to be rather humbly modest than peremptorily censorious My second Request is that you would put a difference between the essentials of Religion and the outward circumstantial administration of it that is between things of absolute necessity as prescribed of God and matters of indifference wherein our lawful Superiours have a just power to interpose for orders sake And here we must remember that in these latter seeing God hath not laid either his Command or Prohibition the Inferiour is bound to submit himself to his Superiour It is so in the Family and in the Common-wealth And why not likewise in the Church My third Request is that you would not believe that by the intervening Command of your Superiours about Things indifferent you are any way abridged of your Christian Liberty Your Liberty is the same still as to the thing simply in it self considered and so you are taught onely your conformity to the Command of your Superiours is for the time while the Command remaineth in force of necessary observance I say of necessary observance for though the thing commanded be still as it was before in its own nature in different yet the use of it for the time becomes necessary to us by vertue of that higher Command of God which doth enjoin us in such cases to yield obedience to our lawful Superiours My fourth Request is that you would take heed how under the supposed notion of Religion you slip ere you be well aware of it into the guilt of Superstition There is you know a two fold Superstition the one affirmative the other negative Affirmative when a man conceives himself obliged to this or that as a thing intrinsecally holy which yet in its own nature is but arbitrary Negative when a man so judgeth of things arbitrary as if in the very nature of them they were wicked and ungodly And truely for my part I cannot say which of these two is the greater Superstition Onely this I know that in the second Commandment where God forbids the worshipping of Images there also he forbids the worshipping of Imaginations And to say truth what else are these Imaginations than internal or mental Images which the fancy of man contriveth and carveth within it self and so sets them up as the object or at least the Rule of Adoration My fifth Request is that you would not hold your selves bound to maintain for ever what you have once said or done upon a mistaken ground or that it will be any disparagement to your personal repute if now upon a true conviction you recede from those practises which formerly you both allowed in your selves and pressed upon others I fear this hath been to many I do not I dare not say it hath been so to you a great obstruction to ingenuity But my Brethren let us not deceive our selves for certainly what