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	father_n	son_n	22,994	5	6.0917	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A79493	The evening star appearing to the saints, directing them to celebrate their holy rest, even the Sabbath-day (not from morning to morning nor from midnight to midnight but) from even to even, according to the word of God ... There is an epistle to the Parliament in the conclusion ... Unto which is annexed, A new Christian creed ... / By Samuel Chidley, Cler.	Chidley, Samuel.	1650 (1650)	Wing C3839B; ESTC R173826	39,041	163

intention and as the heart brayeth for the River of water so longeth this soule for God and to be known of him whom she knoweth not And thus as the spouse sick with ●ove and ravish'd with desire she ●eeketh him whom her soule ●oveth In this strength of desire all o●her desires and intentions are ●rowned so that this soule hath ●o entertainment for carnall and ●eshly desires but such as in cold ●nd careless as being much more ●illing to be freed of them then 〈◊〉 be exercised in them And as it is with naturall men ●eir religious desires are cold ●d the desires of profits and ●easures do drown all divine ●tentions so is it on the other side with the soule of the Christian where he entereth his foot into his heavenly progression But some will say what doth this soule desire I answer that which is unknowable even God himself Thirdly we are to consider the equality that is between this man in this progression that is to say before he undertaketh it and a meere naturall man Now to speak as the truth is he is as like to a naturall before this progression as one egge is like another for the soules of al● men both elect and reprobate● are in the same condition empt● of the true good and natural● moving towards true happine●● as was shewed in the seco● Chapter so that till the Arme● of the Lord be revealed brin●ing the soules of his people out of all created contentment the Children of God and the Children of the world do answer each other in a true sympathy consimilitude of like condition Fourthly and lastly we are to note the dissimilitude and difference that is between the Child of God after he is entred into this progression and the naturall man There was not more consimilitude then contrariety for the Child of God in this Estate surpasseth the naturall man in the object of his desire seeing he aspireth to nothing under God himself so transcendent is his desire This man laboureth to know ●hat which passeth knowledge ●nd his chief care is to beat down the working of his wit and to keepe his understanding from curiosity of speculation as knowing it to be a great hinderance to the act of his soules Communion with God Hence it cometh to passe that this man is a wonder to the world and to all Sectaries for they have all their knowledge such as they can in reason comprehend which maketh them such apt disputers and cunning cavillers and causeth so much division and accomplisheth so many Sects Also in the degree of desire the man in this Progression differeth much from a natural man for this mans desire is most strong yea stronger then death and most constant without variety of objects and so is his understanding drowned in this one thing whereunto hi● heart presseth so that variety of particular questions are most grievous and burthensome unto him But tontrarily all naturall men yea the greatest of our litterall professors they are occupied in and about so many particulars of knowledge that that Ministery which is exercised about this one thing and terminateth all in one is unto them as ridiculous as the song of the Cuckoe Notwithstanding he which is the truth said there is one thing needfull And as the naturall mans intentions are variable so are they weake in comparison of the godly mans desire for according to that opinion of Philosophy ●trength united is more strong So then it must of necessity fol●ow that that man which is with●rawn from many things and hath his desires bent wholly in one thing hath a more forcible and strong intention as in our English Proverb he that hath many Irons in the fire must coole some of them so those men which mind many things have less fervor in all their intentions and also lesse constancy But the Child of God once entred into this out-going and progression marcheth valiantly in the degree● thereof till at the last he come to that happy Haven God himself as it is to be shewed in the 11. Chapter CHAP. 9. The hearts farewell to all false flattery THe heart resolving such a progression towards true happines in this out-going from ●t selfe and all comprehensible good doth now take her optimum ultimum vale her last best farewel of all those flattering de●eits wherewith she was detained kept from this aspiring towards ●he true good And here as in the eight Chap in the rest which ●ollow wee must remember that we speake of things proper and peculiar to the people of God who as Eagles doe follow the ●arkase of Christ himselfe in whome dwelleth that Soul of truth God himselfe bodily A man resolved to goe into some strange Countrey and that with purpose never to return cannot but have within himself a great conflict in this resolution to forsake freinds acquaintance c. But at the last being strong in resolution he biddeth them all farewel Even so it is with the Child of God intending this progession For to his flesh it is greivous to part with profits pleasures naturall wisdome and humane speculations so deare unto nature are all sensull and rationall acquaintance till at the last as Theologically saith that Divine poet Dubartas of Abraham in the forsaking of his Country he concludeth it must be so for so the Lord commands A carnall man or carnall stands But for all reason faith sufficeth me who lodgeth with God shall never houselesse be But that this farewell may more plainely appeare wee will particularly consider in it three things First the things whereof he taketh his leave or farewell Secondly the manner how he taketh his leave Thirdly the arguments where upon he groundeth this his resolution The first is twofold that is first from sensuall things Secondly rationall contentments The sensuall contentments do for a long time detain and retain the heart of man And that by reason of the variety of that vanity in our subtill and diabolicall invention So that our heart as a ball is tossed to and fro from vanity to vanity through our manifold inventions as with so many several rackets can find no rest Thus was it with Salomon in the time of his vanities till at last he found all vanity to be vexation of this spirit then did he take his farwell of such Sensualitie And this was the case of the prodigall Sonne but at the last he did take his farwell went towards his Fathers house This forsakeing of Sensuality is called a mortifying of the Members and a killing the deeds of the body And though this forsaking of sensuallity and sinfull pleasure be a thing grievous to flesh blood yet is all such contentments contemned of the man in this progression and he casts them of● as dung or as dogs meat in the resolution of his heart voweth to have no more cohabitation with such Companions And having taken his leave of this false friend sensuality it may be he

and his eye towards Heaven with some strong groane in the declaring of his newly conceived opinion and that he frequently used this phrase of the glory of God c. these men I say are by and by of another opinion supposing to themselves that God hath made known some further truth unto them for they are unestablished in any way and are constrained to tast of all waters if they be zealous in the bodily workings for of such I speak and not of prophane worldlings nor of luke-warme professors but of devout zealousnes such as have a zeal of God but not conform to knowledge Now all this excessive bodily working and the varieties thereof do plainly shew and declare the emptiness of the heart for as much as the true worship of God is more inward and spiritual as God himself is a spirit The true service of God is in a profound silence and inward intention towards God declared to God by groanes which partly the soule cannot and partly it will not express And if this truly devout soule fall into any bodily exercise as often it doth such as is the uttering of the mind to God by vocall tearmes then is he in his Chamber or place of most private repose and his door shut or at least himself hid from the eyes of men as much as may be And if by his place or degree in the Church or Familie he be urged to performe duties Religious either more or less publique then in such performance be laboureth more to forget such affected gestures and actions as is the sadness of the countenance c. then any way to frame his body thereunto and so serveth God in more depth of spirit and heart-cleaving to the love of truth Hence it cometh to passe that when the bodily performers behold this mans service they by and by judge him weake or cold in religious exercises but the wise in heart perceive that he is inward with God CHAP. 8. The hearts progression towards true happiness NOw in the eight place we are to consider the progression or going forward of the heart to true happiness in the handling whereof we are to observe a very speciall and peculiar difference between this eight Chapter and all the former for all the former parts have their use and exercise in a natural man but this and consequently all that follow is proper to the elect Children of God for thus the case standeth that the naturall motion of the heart declared in the second Chapter doth press mainly towards rest but it is so violently interrupted and hindered by the enemy Sathan in the subtill use of those Engines the objects of our senses and phantasies spoken of in the fifth Chapter that the heart of the naturall man can never find any out-gate from his sensualities and formalities or make any progression to any properly called supernaturall good but sticketh still in one created good or another either more grossely or more closely to a sensuall life or at least standeth inlived in the bodily performance of some religious exercise according as it hath been declared in the Symptomes of the conceited happiness Chap 7. but contrariwise the heart moved by the finger of God though for a time it may be hindered by created contentments as was Salomon yet at the last it breaketh out as a prisoner from the prison from all those things wherein it was insnared And as a Ship having a faire wind waigheth Anchor and delayeth not so the soule in feeling a sweet gayle of grace filling her sayle which is desire doth put forward for a more happy Haven then yet she hath been acquainted withall And this is the progression of the heart toward true happiness In handling whereof let us consider 4. things First the truth of the assertion that there is such a progression Secondly in the nature of it and wherein it doth consist Thirdly the consimilitude that is between this man and a natural man before this Progression Fourthly the dissimilitude that is between this man and all such as have not entered their foote into this progression For the first that there is such a progression and out-going of the heart from sensuality c. it is most cleare in Salomon who for a time did wallow and sport himself in all sensuall delights and in them expected a rest to his soul but at the last was forced to confesse that all is but vexation of the spirit he maketh progression toward the feare and love of God as his book of retractions doth declare The prodigall Sonne did for a time seeke contentments in vanity at the last set saile towards his Fathers house St. Paul doth not unaptly point at such a progression when in the Philipians he saith Phil. 3.13 he did forget those things which were behind and did reach forth unto those things which were before And though in speciall manner he hath respect in that place to the degrees of Christianity and in the further conforming of the man to the Image of Christ yet cannot Paul have forgotten that out-going of his heart from all that fleshly and worldly glory wherein according to the flesh he had cause to rejoyce verse 4. of that third Chapter doth that place give a slender confirmation of this truth where Paul saith that when he was a Child he spake as a Child c. But when he came to be a Man he put away Childishness The truth of this expression is so well known to the soule experienced in the truth of Godliness that it needeth no proofe and the Mystery of it is so great ●nd so farre above the naturall ●an that it is altogether hyper●olicall and incredible The second point is to shew the ●ature of this progression what 〈◊〉 is and it standeth in two ●hings First the putting off of all ●onceipts and comprehensible ●ood Secondly in putting on pure ●esire towards the unknown and ●omprehensible good For the first The Child of God is brought to a true dissilence distract in all his carnall ●nd created confidence whether ●hey were sensuall pleasures or externall religious exercises or ●oth And as we read of the Snake that creeping through a hedge she leaveth her skin behind her even so the Christian heart i● truly stript of all putten-on contentments either in this thing or in that thing and so is become truly poor miserable and naked so that notwithstanding he could say a● St. Paul If any man have caus● to rejoyce in the flesh much more l● yet will this man glory in nothing save only in infirmities that to the shame and confusio● of his own face And thus will the Kings Daughter he forsaketh his Fathers house and with Abraham leaveth his native Countrey to seeke dwelling in a Land as yet unknown The second point is putting on of desire The poor soule beaten by the ministery of Christ out of its contentments is now dissolved into desire and is nothing else in sensuality but pure