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	scripture_n	word_n	9,880	5	4.5225	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A33134	The Churches complaint against sacriledge, or, Sacriledge truely dissected and layed open wherein is briefly shewn 1. The just collation, 2. The unjust ablation of the riches and honours of the clergy.		1643 (1643)	Wing C4273; ESTC R35594	15,292	29

If the heathen Oratour must be seen in all the arts and nooks of learning the Christian Doctor had need bee bard no field of knowledge for the soule he is to look to is thrice more worth than the goods of Fortune Our Brethren of Scotland and all it seems are out who take their Church-men along in their weightyest affaires and their Sermons here in England they say savoured of some thing more than pure preaching of the Gospell The Clergie are men men of liberall education they wade through the Arts ere they come at divinity wherby me thinks they should be capable of human affaires with other men And Divinity can bee no hinderance Perhaps they are better seene in Ecclesiasticall matters and therefore may arrogate them as their peculiar but for us to exclude them our Councells as an abject generation who have the deepest share in Gods promise of assistance and give the best Authority to resolutions comming in the Name of God cannot proceed either from good policy or Religion The Priest-hood amongst the Iewes had a hand in all Temporall affaires and in matters meerely of order and governement and no way Typicall Iewes as hath beene said may bee Presidents for Christians The Apostles perhaps at first exercised none other Authority but the Spirituall power of excommunication to withhold the Ordinances and forbid Communion which delinquents and left further censures to the Secular Magistrate But when Princes received the Gospell they requited the Ministers thereof with a share of their power and magnified their authority with the glory of these Ministers Perhaps it had been sinne in them at first not to have honoured the Gospell but for us to devest it is more out of question Their Voyces in Parliament c may seeme matters of small moment for the publike peace But besides the dishonour to Religion they are of dangerous consequence for the same reason that shall invalid them may as well overthrow the whole Fabrick of the Church And it is to be feared it is some mens aime to effect that by degrees which at once they find not feasable The Prelate spoke not by rote who said they would serve them as High-way men doe honest Travellers first gag and bind then rifle them Thirdly they pretend a convenience in pulling down Order and Government in the Church to buy in Impropriations and set up preaching Preaching in deede and labouring in the Word have high Attributes in Scripture as of introducing grace and working faith c. and the Gospell at first being committed to the bosomes of men the only way then of propagating thereof was Sermon-wise by a kinde of Preaching Christ thus taught the people and instituted his Disciples to this Annunciation But their preaching was not the same in use with us theirs had its Authoritie from the Spirit they spake by which wee borrow from their writings Any way of publishing and promoting the Gospell is preaching in the Scriptures sense as well as our exposition of Scripture the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 involves them all nor can the foresaid Attributes be appropriated to that which we call preaching Saint Paul laboured in the Gospell before there was a Gospell written hee laboured by word and writing by constituting Canons and in seeing them observ'd and now not only extemporary Expositions but all effectuall meanes for the propagation of the Tenor thereof is the Ordinance of God and no doubt his free Spirit accordingly conferreth grace and faith by them Whether they bee Doctrinall by word and writing by catechisme to young beginners by reading of the Scriptures Apochryphall Bookes divine Homilies or other profitable discourses or after institution magisteriall by enacting and establishing good lawes as Kings and Emperours we know being converted by their Edicts in an instant more advanced the Gospell than private Preachers with many Sermons in many ages though otherwise they had extraordinary assistance of the Spirit The Gospell may and must be preach'd in every Court that is Christs law must be there preserved and though that bee not the proper place for teaching there may happen to bee as effectuall Sermons for the promotion of the Gospell from the Bench as from the Pulpit where men of power meet and draw things to a point there there is preaching powerfull Thus some particular Bishops have had the oportunitie to doe more good than all the Clergie in their Diocesse againe Neither in words alone but in workes of pietie and businesse of State Christ may be advanced Lay-men may but Ministers more especially must thus Evangelize Our preaching and practising and writing and Government are all twines of that Mother preaching in Scripture Let preaching be the eldest and the fairest sister their dowties and their vertues may be alike we must not set too great a price on one to disparage the rest or because preaching was first of all reduce Christianity to its principles and hold there This were as if because Writing was before Printing and then had high elogies amongst the ancients we should renounce the benefit of Printing to hold to Writing only or prefer it before Printing This is the grand imposture and illusion of the Age. Preaching is cryed up nought but Preaching God knowes a sorry kind of Preacding when nobler helpes should share It s to bee feared they would serve the Clergie as the Fox in the fable did the Crow commend their voices till they let goe their morsells where wee heare knowledge is confined wee cannot thinke libertas Prophetandi shall have its scope As in Reason we excell beasts Elocution whereby we readilyest conveigh our conceit to others exalts us amongst men Sermons may be most apposite to the maladies of the hearers and best fit for their affections they most readily catch and transport furthest The Preacher like as skillfull Physition can varie his recipe according to the exigence of the patient hee can cast his discourse into what mould or forme he please he can insinuate and creepe upon particulars how ever prepossess'd and as occasion serves invade or surp●ise the Affections he can give food to healthy and physick to diseased minds And the very act of Preaching the countenance and gesture adde life to words and have a singular energie over bare reading for thus they make all they deliver new as it were and their owne when the other way it seemes but flat and borrowed they set forth Christ and his Doctrine with more pompe unto our soules and in pressing Scripture make it like bruised Spices more ravishing Yet its long of us and our corrupt affections if Sermons carry it we are more for sauce than meate more tickled with the momentany dresse and relish of the workeman than the meate which endureth As diseases are commonly alike in different men the same remedies were wee attentive might serve our severall soules as doe our bodies God no doubt was both able and willing to prescribe Catholike Remedies for all our Maladies in his Word