Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	dead_a	life_n	live_v	7,322	5	6.0283	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A15762	The pilgrimage to paradise Compiled for the direction, comfort, and resolution of Gods poore distressed children, in passing through this irkesome wildernesse of temptation and tryall. By Leonard Wright. Seene and allowed.	Wright, Leonard, b. 1555 or 6.	1591 (1591)	STC 26032; ESTC S102797	28,957	79

receiue And though our prayers be but weake faint and full of wandring fantasies y●t in stirring vp our selues what in vs lyeth hee will no doubt put to his helping hand sharpen our duln●s strengthen our weakenes pardon our imperfections and accept our obedience But contrariwise as he is mercifull so is he iust As he is liberall so is he wise He appeared not vnto Moises before he had runne out of Egypt vnto the hilles of Madian Neither will he endewe the hartes of such with his heauenly consolatiō as are yet possessed with worldly vanities He will not cast pearles before swine not the childrens bread vnto dogges Ne●ther giue a tast of his treasure where there is no will to receiue it He will be found of those saith the wise man that tempt him not Chapter XII Of true abstinence or fasting FAsting serueth especiallye to three endes First to mortify and subdue the lustes of the flesh Secondlye to stirre vp more feruent aptnesse to meditation and prayer And th●rdly to be a testimony of our inward humility and duetifull obedience to the will of God We ought to fast saith S. Ambrose to keepe our bodies from surfetting and our soules from sinning The diseases of the minde saith S. Ierom are to be healed with praying and the lustes of of the body with fasting For euen as a wanton pampered horse doth striue to cast his rider so doth a wanton pampered bodie by nature resist against reason and vertue And as a fat foule with few fethers is vnapt to flye in the aire so our praiers as it were the wings of the soule without abstinence of bodie are vnapt to fly vnto heauen The bodie of an obedient Christian is the meetest temple wherein the holy Ghost delighteth to dwell An humble penitent hart the fittest altar whereon the Lord taketh pleasure to receiue our offerings and the mortifying of our flesh the most acceptable sacrifice to appease the honorable maiestie of our God Yet alwaies prouided that as he is well contented with the abstinence of the godly so much more with the conuersion of a sinner Hee is greatly moued with the prayers of the iust but much more with the restitution of the iniurious He is greatly delighted with the patience of the sicke but much more with the charitable hospitality of those that be whole It is good to fast saith S. Augustine but better to giue almesse When the lustes of the flesh are mortifyed our wronged brother satisfied and our needy neighbour releeued then God with our fast is well pleased The sicke for lacke of stomach fast the poore for want of meate The couetuous chuffe to spare his purse the glutton more to eate The apish hipocrite for praise a good man for his soules health alwaies Chapter XIII A briefe summe of Christian religion AS the wise men of the East did offer vnto Christ their costlye presents of gold frankensence and mirre so the most pretious thing that we can present vnto him is the golde of faith and sure hope the franckensence of zeale and true deuotion and the mirre of vertue charitable liuing To honor him with due obedience and depend wholy vpon his prouidence Ioyning alwaies practice with knowledge deedes with wordes keeping with hearing walking with talking and expressing with professing Knowing that not the hearers of the word but the doers shall be iustified Not euery one that saith vnto me Lord Lord shall enter into the kingdome of heauen but he that doth the will of my father which is in heauen If you vnderstand these things saith our Sauiour happy are you if you do them Blessed are they that heare the word of God and ●eepe it He that heareth the word willingly vnderstandeth it rightly belieueth it faithfuly learneth it perfectly applyeth it profitably and keepeth it diligently shall ioy with Christ assuredly And this is religion or godlines the ground of conscience and true deuotion The word of God propoundeth repentance seeketh prayer findeth faith apprehendeth hope assureth and charity perfourmeth And where faith neuer doubteth nor hope neuer shrinketh nor charity neuer ceaseth there God neuer faileth And this is the golden chaine of saluation the true pilgrimage to Paradise and right ladder to heauen To know and beleeue the truth are two winges to flye vnto ioy and to resist vice and practise vertue two legges to walke to felicity Iohn heard a voice from heauen saying blessed are the dead which die in the Lord euen so sayth the spir●t that they rest from their labors their works follow them And he that will die in the Lord must be carefull to liue in the Lord. It is an infallible rule qualis vita finis ita to him that liueth vertuously God doth alwayes giue grace to dye faithfully A ioyful death followeth a charitable life and a happy life insueth such a death So as hee that liueth to dye well shall surely die to liue better whereas he that will not frame himselfe to honor and obay the giuer of his life is vnworthy to haue or enioy his life And as God in olde tune was not contented to be serued with the blind lame and maimed of the flock so he that carelesly imployeth the bewty and strength of his youth in vice vanity and seruice of the Deuill as though old rotten bones and dregs of age were good ynough to vse in the seru●ce of God he seldome granteth either time to liue long or grace to dye well Such as liue like wolues do often dye like swine Commonly after a dissolute life without feare of death followeth a desperat death without hope of life And it agreeth with all equity right and reason that such as in lewd behauiour haue passed their time should by rygure of iustice receiue their end Chapter XIIII An exhortation to indure constant in time of tryall IT is required in a true christian Pilgram to be wel and strongly armed with patiēce and girt with constancy to abide firme and stable in the time of temptation and triall so as nether prosperity nor aduersity well nor woe life nor death can once moue quaile or discorage him Worldly riches are subiect to many mishaps bodily strength is taken away by sicknes and by age that dayly cree●es on bewty is soone consumed but a true constant mind comforted by Gods holy spirit no chance or misfortune can alter or quall Elias in the desert Iohn Baptist in the wildernesse and Peeter in prison with the rest of the Apostles in time of their pilgrimage had but simple clothing but the loines of their minds were we●l surely gi●t Whose commendations of Christ himselfe are very great yet not so much for leauing their parents frendes goods and countrie to followe him nether for their strait kinde of liuing or valiant corage in preaching as for that they continued constant to the end You are they that

the Apostles did cast out Deuils and heale diseases Which kind is common as wel● to the reprobate as to the elect But the true liuely and iustifying faith whereby Gods wrath is pacifyed our sinnes pardoned our minds lightned our harts strengthened our praye●s heard our requestes granted and we adopted the children of God members of Christ and Temples of the holy ghost without which it is not possible to please him is a syngular gift of God whereby his holy spirit by the preaching of his word and sacraments doth seale and conforme in the harts and conscience of his elect a certaine assured trust that onely by and through the conception byrth merits death passion resurrection assention intercession of that pure innocent Lambe Christ Iesus to haue free pardon remission of synnes both originall and actuall and raigne with him in glory for euer Pope is an assured constant and vnmoouable expectation which as an inseperable companion doth stedfastly looke and long for the perfourmance of those things which faith belieueth to be true and is therefore called the bloud of faith and anker of saluation Loue in generall is a common effect of fauor and affection and charity is loue reduced in due order the handmaid of faith and mistres of all other vertues And as faith beleeueth the word and hope waiteth for the promised reward so charity seeketh to helpe comfort and releeue her neigh hour To profit and do good vnto all and to hurt or hinder none To loue all men in Christ and for Christes sake and to hate none but sin and for sinnes sake And as the spirite of life descending from the head disperseth into euery part of the bodie so that if any member shall not be partaker thereof it cannot liue but perish terrestrially euen so the spirite of Christ being the head of his Church so disperseath into euerye member thereof quickning knitting and ioyning them together by the vertue of concord loue and charity that if any part or member shall bee separate or cut from the same it cannot liue but perish eternally Chapter XI Of prayer and meditation AS amongst the Iewes in olde time those beastes onely which chew the endde were counted cleane and meete for the sustenance of man so those men onely which by faithfull prayer and meditation chew the cudd of their minds are counted righteous and meete for the kingdome of heauen Meditation is the keye of conscience which openeth the closet of the heart and the eye of the soule whereby she seeth her whole estate defect and danger Prayer is an humble lifting vp of the minde vnto God the fruits of repentance and foode of faith consisting of two partes inuocation and thanksgiuing Which Christ himselfe hath not onely in mercy ordained as the chiefest part of Diuinity profitably appointed it as the surest staffe for a christiā pilgrim to s●ay vpon straightly commaunded it as the strongest defence for his poore distressed children to flye vnto and by his owne example confirmed it as the onely meane to obtaine all thinges meete for the vse and profite of man but hath also prescribed an ordinary rule and firme as it were his common store house of wealth and vertue to direct our praiers according to his owne diuine wisedome Wherein is contained all thinges necessary both concerning his owne glory the health of our soules and preseruation of our bodies Adding thereunto a certaine assured promise confirmed with an othe and sealed with his owne bloud that whosoeuer do faithfully beleeue in him put their trust in his mercy and depend wholy vpon his prouidence shall haue cleane remission of sinn●s and eternall life And whatsoeuer they shall profitably aske in his name he will assuredly here them and graunt their requestes Call vpon me in the daye of trouble saith the Lord and I will heare thee and thou shal praise me This is the trust that we haue towardes him saith the Euangelist that if we aske any thing according to his will he heareth vs. If you abide in me and my wordes abide in you saith our Sauiour aske what you will and it shall be done vnto you Whatsoeuer you shall aske in prayer if you do beleeue saith he you shall receiue it The Lord is nigh vnto all that ca●l vpon him saith Dauid Yea vnto all such as call vpon him faithfully I will heare before you call yea while you are but euen thinking to speake saith the Lord. As truely as hee heard Iobes prayer in the dunghill Ieremy in the clay p●tte Daniell in the Lyons denne the three children in the flaming fire Iona● in the whales bellye and Steuen vnder the stones so truely will he heare the rest of his obedient children that call faithfully vpon him in distresse and mistrust him not But hee that doubteth saith the Apostle is like a waue of the sea tost w●th the wind and carried with violence Neither let that man thinke that he shall receiue any thing of the Lord. Some are not heard because they pray with lippes onely without the affections of the hart Some for vngratefully abusing Gods benefites as though got by their owne policie Some in praying for superfluity are iustlye denyed things necessarie You receiue not saith the Apostle because you aske not And you aske and receiue not because you aske amisse The matter in prayer lyeth not in much saying but well saying It is not in the number of words or lowdnesse of voice but the zealous affection of an humble penitent heart and the feruent groning desire of a troubl●d spiri●e that as most delicate musicke pearceth the heauens and soundeth in Gods sacred eares as daintie meate pleaseth his diuine tast and as sweete incence delighteth his heauenly smell When Anna a figure of the Church did pray in the Temple her hea●t and lippes did moue but her voyce was not heard and yet God hard her So was Moises saide to be vehement in prayer when he spake not one word It is moreouer to be obserued that our prayers for spirituall giftes pertaining to the soule ought alwaies to be absolute without condition as well assured of rem●ss●on of sinnes and eternall saluation in Christ according to his promise But for temporall thinges pertaining to the bodie to b●e alwaies ioyned with this condition that if it sha●l please his fatherly goodnes to graunt our petitions Because wee are ignorant what is most meete and profitable for vs. When it pleaseth the Lord to bestowe a benefit of his children his custome is first to sti●re vp their mindes moue their heartes and open their lippes humbly to pray vnto him And then as a louing father so farre as shall further his owne glorie and their saluation to graunt their requestes For whatsoeuer is contrarie is vnme●t for him to giue and hurtfu●l for vs to