Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A16680
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A spiritual spicerie containing sundrie sweet tractates of devotion and piety. By Ri. Brathwait, Esq.
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Brathwaite, Richard, 1588?-1673.; Jacobus, de Gruytrode, fl. 1440-1475.
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1638
(1638)
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STC 3586; ESTC S106112
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100,652
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500
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of my mind For why doth my soule appointed for me only love thy Sonne why doth she thus hate mee why relinquisheth shee all things concerning me Behold how she swallowed up with the incomparable love of thy Sonne walketh as one without sense now there is nought else shee heareth nought else shee thinketh or tasteth nought else shee smelleth being alwaies desirous to rest in his armes There is shee joyed there is she cheered there abundantly delighted there made drunke with too much love is shee lodged Neither is it to be wondred at if this my Soule cleave so constantly to thy Sonne Because unlesse she were harder than stone and more insensible than iron seeing thy Sonne hath done such great things for her she can doe no lesse than this for him Yea where is that stone so hard which would not rend with the heat of so great love yea melt like wax if all these aforesaid benefits should be done it I doe not then complaine to thee O most benigne Father of my Soule for that shee hath done no more than she ought but of thy Sonne who hath so forcibly allured her with the benefits of his mercy and by that meanes left mee in so great misery An Answer of the Father to the Flesh. Cap. XV. ATtend and hearken what answer this most gracious Father makes to the Flesh. Forasmuch as thou art my creature I will shew thee Justice with Mercie Whereas then thou wert ordained to bee the Soules Hand-maid yet hadst ever a desire to play the Mistresse and demeaning thy selfe alwaies inordinatly hast caused her to serve thee and not mee by making her prone unto all evill and which is worse hast subjected her who was made after my image to the bondage of Satan Thou I say who hast made her worse than any brute beast being by thee defiled and abâ—ominably polluted yea above all darknesse blackned and so much altered as I cannot know that noble creature stamped and formed to so glorious a feature Needfull it was then because I loved her so much that was inclosed in thy Flesh that my Sonne should take Flesh upon him that so hee might allure her to his and my love And because the Soule by cleaving to thee her Flesh was become dead it was my will that my Sonne who became Flesh should be slaine for her that she might be quickned Neither was this in my Sonne any circumvention or deceiving but mine and his ineffable vouchsafing And because thou O Flesh hast done evilly ever from thy first infusion but my Sonne hath beene inflamed towards thy Soule with exceeding affection and hath wholly given himselfe up for her redemption therefore my justice exacteth many things especially that I wholly and totally resigne her unto him and that shee abhorre thee more than dung and that she desire that thou maist bee abhorred of all But forasmuch as thou hast be sought not onely my Iustice but Mercy it is my will that thou in some measure bee refreshed with that present sweetnesse which thy Soule feeleth in my Sonne yea more than all this I will hereafter endow thee most nobly and most perfectly and if thou beest truly obedient to thy Soule from henceforth deliver thee from eternall punishment and bring thee to an inheritance gloriously permanent where I live eternally resident A pithy Meditation upon this Expostulation and Answer to inflame the Soule with a devout fervour IS it so O my Soule that shee whom thou hast so daintily cockred with whom thou hast so familiarly conversed and to whom thou hast so easily consented is thy domestick Enemy and by so much more fearfull because domesticall Chastise her whoÌ„ thou hast cherished estrange thee from her with whom thou hast so freely consorted incline not to her to whose advice thou hast so freely condescended It is Ismael that playeth with thee who whilest she playes with thee playes upon thee Looke upon that gracious Shepherd who hath sought thee fix thine eye upon that precious price with which he bought thee The worth of the whole world comes farre short of the worth of that price be it then thine highest honour to advance his praise Let no sinne soile that image which is so richly beautified Let no cloud obscure that light which was so freely bestowed Hee that tooke on him Flesh for thee hee that in his Flesh suffered so much for thee hee that gave himselfe to gaine thee and shew'd himselfe so truly thine to retaine thee Let him solely and wholly have thee Suffer not thy Flesh to converse with thee till she become a true Convert in the practice of piety Better is it for thee by contempt of thy Flesh to augment thine owne honour than by obedience to thy Flesh to procure thy dishonour Short is the Fight but great is the Conquest Recoile not for thou hast him for thy Chiefetaine who hath vanquish'd that foe who to this houre hath given all Chiefetaines the foile Fight valiantly then under his banner embrace all contempts for his honour Erect the eye of thy Faith to Heaven while thou directest thy feet on Earth that after thy well-past pilgrimage on Earth thou maist bee rewarded with a lasting inheritance in Heaven Amen GENERALL Rules of living well The highest pitch of Wisdome's pieâ—y By which man 's taughâ— both how to live die EVery day drawest thou nearer than other to Death Judgement and Eternity Bethinke then with thy selfe every day how thou maist stand in the severe discussion of death and judgment and how thou maist eternally live Thou art to take an exact account of all thy thoughts words and deeds because an exact account is to be given of all thy thoughts words and deeds Thinke every evening that death is that night approaching Thinke every morning that death is that day accoasting Deferre not thy conversion nor the performance of any good action till to morrow because to morrow is uncertaine but death is ever certainly waiting There is nothing that hinders piety more than delay If thou contemne the inward calling of the holy Spirit thou shalt never come to true conversion Doe not defer thy conversion nor the practice of any religious action to thy old age but offer unto God the flower of thy youth Uncertaine is old age to the young but certaine destruction attendeth him that dieth impenitently young There is no Age more fit for the service of God than youth flourishing in abilities both of body and mind For no mans sake oughtst thou to take in hand an evill action for not that man which thou so respectedst but God in whose brest all the treasures of wisdome are stored shall in the end judge thy life Doe not then preferre any mans favour before the honour of thy Maker In the way of the Lord wee either increase or decrease Take examination then of thy life every day whether in the practice of piety thou increasest or decreasest To stand in the way of the Lord is
Tinder-box and these gave light to my lighter discourses I held my pockets sufficiently stored if they could but bring mee off for mine Ordinarie and after dinner purchase mee a stoole on the stage I had cares enough besides hoording so as I held it fit to disburden my selfe of that and resigne it over to the worldling A long winter night seemed but a Midsummer nights dreame being merrily past in a Catch of foure parts a deep health to a light Mistresse and a knot of brave blades to make up the Consort I could jeere Him to his face whoâ— I needed most Ten at hundred I meane and he would not stick to pay mee in mine owne coyne I might beg a courtesie at his hands but to starve for 't never prevaile for herein I found this instrument of usâ—rie and the Devill to be of one Societie and that they craved nothing of any one save onely Sâ—ouritie A weake blast of light fame was a great part of that portion I aimed at And herein was my madnesse I held nothing so likely to make mee knowne to the world or admired in it as to be debauch't and to purchase a Parasites praise by my riot It is not in mee no it is far from mee and my memorie to recall to mind what miriads of houres that time mis-spended Scarcely one poore minute can I bethinke mee on wherein I did ought or exprest my selfe in ought that might redound to his honour whom now in mine age I have only sought How truly might I say in those daies in those many evill dayes I had beene secure if Society had not made me impure And yet must I be enforced to retract this too if I desire freely to lye open my selfe and speake what is true For of all those Consorts whose company I used I found no Consort worse than my selfe Yea I confesse and may this my confession be never without heartie contrition that it is impossible for mee to remember how many poore simple soules who when they scarce knew how to sin I taught them when they were willing to sin I perswaded them when they withstood sin I constrained them when they enclined to sin I consented to them Yea to how many I lay snares in the way where they walked for how many I made pit-fals in the way when they sought it And to the end I might not be afraid to commit I feared nothing at all to forget Aug. Med. c. 3. O how often have I returned after such time as I had mourned to that vâ—mit which I seemingly loathed and to that clay wherein I formerly wallowed How strong were my promises how weak my performance What lesse then can I doe than resolve my selfe into teares that my bespotted soule may be rinsed my many innumerably many sins may be rinsed my too secure soule from the grave of sin raised With anguish of heart and bitternesse of spirit will I therefore conclude calling on him who is my trust Lord forgive me the sins of my youth Of his Manhood MEMORIALL V. WHen I was a Childe I loved childishnesse when a Youth delicacie and wantonnesse But being now come to Man what can bee lesse expected than fruits of obedience Fruits Few God knowes and those bitter fruits Never did man reade man more and expresse man lesse A long time had I been a stranger to my fathers house Many yeares had I sojourned with the unwary Prodigall in a strange countrey I had spent my portion that faire portion of many rich graces which my heavenly Father had bestowed on me I was driven to such want as I was like to starve yet would I not acknowledge my poore estate Returne I would not to my father nor crave any succour though I was become a most miserable creature a foule uncleane Leper one utterly lost for ever had not some kind-hearted Samaritan relieved mee in such time of danger But Necessitie brings ever along with her some remedie I suffered my sore to be opened that it might bee cured I found my selfe sick I besought my Physician my heavenly Physician that hee would looke upon mee with the eyes of his compassion And he came unto me and healed mee yet with this condition that I should sin no more But I found the custome of sin too hard and the continuance thereof too sweet to bee left so soone No sooner had I recovered strength than I returned to my former state I found the abilities of nature too strong in me to leave sin so speedily No sentence in all the Scripture was so fresh nor frequent in my memory as At what time soever a sinner doth repent him of his sin c. Ezek. c. 18. but I abused the Text and by it promised to my selfe more libertie I held it Security enough to sinne secretly As one retired from the sight both of God and man to promise more impunitie to sinne I stickt not to say Who seeth mee But woe is mee what was worst of all and what without griefe of heart I shall never remember Though I saw many eyes upon mee and that my example might have done good to many for that in the opinion of others I was ranked both for knowledge and condition before many others those whom I might by my uprightnesse have improved by my loosenesse of life I depraved Which made me call to minde with much heavinesse of heart what I had sometimes read Of so many deaths is every one worthy as he hath given evill examples to those that live with him or left evill examples to those that shall succeed him O my God thus would I many times commune with mine owne heart how many deaths have I deserved who held it not enough to undoe my selfe by taking upon me a liberty of sinning but to undoe others too by chalking them out a way by my unhappie example for the like freedom of traÌ„sgressing This I confesse could not chuse but make me to oâ—hers most hatefull my selfe to my selfe most distasteful And yet for all this swum I still in the same streame Truth it is that froÌ„ my youth up wheÌ„ as yet no early soft downe had cloathed my chin I had takeÌ„ a full perusall of my owne estate I found in me what of necessity might bee either corrected by me or nought could I looke for lesse than misery Some bosome sins likewise I fouÌ„d in me after I came to mans estate which ill became the condition of man and I sought for cure of them Amongst these one I culled forth more deare to me than the rest and which neither day nor night would afford mee any rest And I found meanes to remove it or to weane mee from it and I applyed them but got no helpe by them because I mis-applyed them for I well remember after such time as I had beene advised what directions to use to allay if not take away the poyson of that darling sin wherewith I was infected I tooke great care for a while