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	gift_n	holy_a	5,324	5	5.3132	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A87933	A letter from a person in the countrey to his friend in the city: giving his judgement upon a book entituled A healing question.	Person in the countrey.	1656 (1656)	Wing L1420; Thomason E885_8; ESTC R202810	21,671	24

A Letter from a Person in the Countrey to his friend in the City giving his judgement upon a Book entituled A healing Question Sir I Have received your Letter with the printed Paper in it entituled A Healing Question propounded Resolved c. your commands with it to give you my poor sense upon it In observance of which I present you this which if it much exceede the limits of a Letter I have only this to say that 't is in obedience to your orders and that the guilt thereof is contracted alone against him who is the occasion of it for I write not for any mans sight but yours I have indeed perused it and I may say not without some propensity and by as to the Authours design because of its carrying with it as I heard the approbation and consent of some honest men I think truly there is as much said in it as the Argument can well bear yet not so much but may be well answered and if not by me yet by some other who may have better time and abilities for such a work But if in telling you my thoughts upon the whole I leap from one page over the Heads of many others it is not done by designe but by necessity the matter being so disposed of by our Author that I could not avoid it In his third Page he mentions two Generals from which all his other particulars are derived and those are to use his own words The Honest Peoples just natural Right in Civil things and true Freedome in matters of Conscience I shall beg your and our Authors pardon if I transpose his Order and give things of the first concernment the first place by which I am tyed to proceed to answer that Head under this Title of true Freedome in matters of conscience which he hath defined and given Reasons for from the latter end of his 5. page to near the middle of the 8. But therein I doubt t wil be found that he to be sure to binde up the Magistrate hath set at liberty all others I shall willingly agree with him That in things of the nearest and Highest concernment all possible tendernesse ought to be exercised by the Magistrate But I must beg this excuse if I cannot think that in things of that nature he is wholly excluded He may sin in two extreames In not doing and in over-doing And me thinks even what our Authour himself sayes That the Nations of the world have Right and Title by the Purchase of Christs blood to Freedom in Spirituals doth at least evince That none have right thereunto which do not own him by whom only they can have that right therefore were all others exempted from that power such are not Who shall punish blasphemers or deniers of him that bought them A herefie branded by the Spirit it selfe by the name of damnable Churches as such cannot do it adequately to the Crime since the highest of their actings is to separation or excommunication and what punishment is it for him that believes there is no God or Christ to be excluded from his publique Worship and ordinances hath God taken care that his Glorious Name should not be blasphemed from the beginning till Christs time and afterwards doth not regard it to the end of the world nor is it competent to say that in the new Testament we read of no such power exercised by any Christians as Magistrates since it is evident that after some yeares that the Lord Christ was come in the flesh there were no Magistrates which were Christians but since any have been it hath been both the duty and care of the good from time to time by punishing to beare their testimonies against such evills yea even when wickednesses have assumed the names of religion for Satan can transform himselfe into an Angel of light a truth too evident and sad in our dayes to be denied by any I shall ingenuously confesse to you Sir I begin to suspect those most which in soul concernments do cry for liberty most the Bishops how bitterly did they inveigh against the inquisitors and how soone and exactly when they got the power became they such the Presbyterians whom the Lord made the rod to whip those you see how our Authour whips them with the names of persecutors towards the close of his 7 page and from them flies to the next sort of Clergie I wish his quarrell be not to those of that calling for he ends there when alas too many others are even persecuting those Clergie as far as they can that is with their tongues and if not punished and deterred by the Magistrate would questionlesse do it with their Hands also for 't is as to the punishing of others a short and easie step from declaring the guilt to acting of its penalty I have truly my selfe heard some averr that they esteemed it a religious duty to call such as we owne to be Ministers of the Gospel hirelings dumbe dogs Baals Priests and sellers of the gifts of the holy Spirit where note by the way these franticks confesse these said Ministers they so miscall have the gifts of the holy Spirit else they could not make merchandize of them for they cannot sell what they have not nay they are either so ignorant or malicious as to allow them the best gift to accuse them for imploying it the wor●● way but if they have it He ensure their accusers they cannot so dispose of it now I would gladly know where but from the Magistrate shall such oppressed be relieved since from such people themselves we cannot hope they will punish any of their owne number had they any discipline amongst them because that which is their fault is a part of their religion but it may be said that this is a cleare acted evill and therefore cognoscible by the Magistrate I say so too but those which are guilty of it will deny it and alleadge some internall dictate or impulse carried them to do it and therefore 't is a part of their worship to act what the Magistrate and others think a part of their duty to punish If it be said they are mistaken I desire to know who are competent judges therein and they will answer in our Authors owne words p. 6. about the midst of it Why shouldest thou set at nought thy brother in matters of his faith and conscience and therin intrude into the proper office of Christ since we are all to stand before his Judgment seat whether Governours or governed and by his dicision only are capable of being declared with certainty to be in the right or in the wrong so that if you punish or restrain such people you deny according to what our Authour sayes that right which the Nations of the world are intitled unto by the Purchase of Christs blood and if you do not you tye up the sheep of the flock whilst you let loose the Wolves while you cry up liberty you