Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	church_n	ghost_n	holy_a	15,335	5	5.3715	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44695	A sermon preach'd on the late day of thanksgiving, Decemb. 2, 1697 by John Howe ... ; to which is prefixed Dr. Bates's congratulatory speech to the King, Novemb. 22, 1697, in the name of the dissenting ministers in and about London.	Howe, John, 1630-1705.; Bates, William, 1625-1699. Congratulatory speech to the King, Novemb. 22, 1697.	1698 (1698)	Wing H3040; ESTC R6550	23,177	33

that an Earthly Vain Carnal Mind has in them and over them What can our Peace with Men signifie in this Case What do we not know that the Friendship of this World is Enmity against God James 4. 4. 1 John 2. 15. And that it is as impossible for a Man to be a sincere Lover of GOD and an over-intense Lover of this World as to have two GODS i. e. two Supream Powers to govern him two Supream Goods to satisfie him This must breed a perpetual War till the Case alters between Thee and Him that made Thee and Woe to him that strives with His Maker To have the Wrath of GOD Armed with Omnipotency engaged against Thee and yet that thou shouldest not covet Peace that yet thou shouldst not cry for Peace To have the Peace-making Blood of thy Redeemer crying to Thee O he at Peace with GOD To have Him that shed it thus bespeaking Thee I am ready to do the Part of a Days-man I have dyed upon the Cross that I might do so that I might effect and bring about a Peace between GOD and Thee I am ready to Mediate make Use of Me. I will undertake on GODS Part that He shall Pardon Thee that He shall Forgive Thee and let the Controversie fall if yet thy Heart on thy Part will yeild melt and relent and thou cry for Mercy He came with this Design into this World the Proclamation of Angels at His coming spake his Design Glory to GOD in the Highest and Peace on Earth and Good Will towards Men. Shall not all this be believed Or shall Men pretend to believe it and not Consider it or not Look upon it as a considerable Thing 2. AND there is as much need too that we supplicate for this Spirit as a Spirit of mutual Love among Christians to reconcile them to one another Which indeed is also but to Christianize them to make Vital Religion take Place with them For that same Spirit of Christ which animates his Body and makes them his Living Members makes them such to one another And the Matter speaks it self That opposite Spirit unto truly Christian Peace and Love which appears amongst us nothing but the Spirit of Christ can overcome we are not to expect a Cure of our Distempers in this Kind but by the pouring forth of this Blessed Spirit And if there be not a Cure we are certainly to expect the pouring forth of his Wrath. And Things look with a Threatning Aspect upon us to this Purpose Now that Opportunity is so Inviting GODS Call so Loud and the Way so Plain That yet an Indisposition to Peace should be so obstinate that Breaches should be kept open by Trifles and unaccountable Things of which no Man of Sense can pretend to give an Account That there is Strife too manifestly not from the Love of Truth whereof not one Hair needs be Lost nor of any other valuable Thing but meerly from the Love of Strife when as to the most Material and Important Truths Men are agreed but would seem to disagree they Mean the same Things but impute to one another a different Meaning and pretend to know the others Mind better than themselves that on that pretence they may Quarrel with them All this looks Fatally And our unjust Anger 's at one another are too expressive of GODS just Anger with us all that his Good Spirit that Spirit of Love Peace Kindness Benignity is so notoriously Resisted Vexed Grieved and Despited by us And the Consequences are likely for some Time to be very Dismal Though when GOD hath proceeded in a Way of Punitive Animadversion so far as he shall Judge necessary for the Vindication of his own Name and the Honour of our Religion so scandalously misrepresented to the World it will be easie to Him by one Victorious Effort of that Spirit to reduce the Christian Church to its Original genuine Temper and make it shine again in its own Native Light and Lustre But in the Mean Time I cannot see that there is greater need of an over-pouring Influence of the Holy Ghost to draw Men into Union with Christ and thereby to bring back Apostate Souls to GOD or to work in them Faith and Repentance than to bring them into Union upon Christian Terms with one another Or that the Love of this World or any the most ignominious sensual Lust or Vice Drunkenness Gluttony or any other are more hardly or more rarely overcome than the Envy Wrath Malice which Christians ordinarily are not at all shy of expressing toward one another I speak upon some Experience lamenting that having this occasion which Sense of Duty will not let me balk I have also so much Cause to mention that foregoing Observation For I cannot forget that sometime Discoursing with some very Noted Persons about the business of Union among Christians it hath been freely granted me that there was not so much as a Principle left among those the Discourse had Reference to upon which to Disagree And yet the same fixed Aversion to Union continued as before as a plain Proof they were not Principles but Ends we were still to differ for In this Case what but the Power of an Almighty Spirit can overcome To quote Texts of Scripture upon such Occasions signifies nothing even to those who profess a Veneration for those Holy Oracles of GOD. Let such Places be mention'd as are expresly directed against Division Wrath Strife Slandering or Backbiting one another and they avail no more than if the Vice were the Vertue or the Vertue the Vice no more than if it were a Command to Christians to Malign to Traduce to Backbite one another To urge so plain and numerous Scriptures in these Cases it is to as little Purpose as to oppose ones Breath to a Storm It is the same Thing as if all Scriptures that had any Aspect or Look this Way were quite put out of the Canon and all this with Men zealous for the Divine Authority of the Scripture And indeed it is come to that pass as to look like a Jest to expect that any Man should be swayed by Scripture or the most convincing Reason agreeable thereto against his own Passion or Humour or against the supposed though never so grosly mistaken Interest of his Party NOR is it meer Peace that is to be aimed at but free mutual Christian Communion with such as do all hold the Head Christ. As Peace between Nations infers Commerce so among Christian Churches it ought to infer a Fellowship in Acts of Worship I wish there were no Cause to say this is declined when no Pretence is left against it but false Accusation none but what must be supported by Lying and Calumny Too many are busie at inventing of that which is no where to be found that Exists not in the Nature of Things that they may have a Colour for continued Distance And is not this to fly in the Face of the Authority under which we Live