Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	devil_n	young_a	youth_n	63	3	8.6030	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A02553	Meditations and vowes, diuine and morall. Seruing for direction in Christian and ciuill practise. Deuided into two bookes. By Ios. Hall.	Hall, Joseph, 1574-1656.	1605 (1605)	STC 12679.5; ESTC S103712	37,803	238

MEDITATIONS and Vowes Diuine and Morall Seruing For direction in Christian and Ciuill practise Deuided into two Bookes By Jos Hall AT LONDON Printed by Humfrey Lownes for Iohn Porter 1605. Votum Authoris QVas ego non vano deprompsi e pectore leges Quaeque ego vota tuli pacis honesta meae Alme Deus nec enim sine te vouisse i●●abit Te sine nil facio nil fugio sine te Da placide seruem praesta seruando quietem Sic mihi certa salus sic mihi sancta quies To the Right Worshipfull Sir Robert Drury Knight my singular good Patron All increase of true Ho●or a●d Vertue SIr that I haue made these my homely Aphoris●es publique needes n● other reason but that though the world is furnished with other Writings eu●n to satietie and surfet yet of these which reduce Christianitie to practise there is at least s●arcitie enough wherin yet I must needs confesse I had some eye to my selfe for hauing after a sort vowed this au●tere course of iudgement and practise to my selfe I thought it best to acquaint the world with it that it might either witnesse my answerable proceeding or check mee in my straying there-frō by which meanes so many men as I liue amongst so many monitors I shall haue which shall point me to my owne rules and vpbrayd me with my aberrations Why I haue dedi●ated thē to your name cannot be strange to any that knows you my Patron and me your Pastor the regard of which bond easily drew mee on to consider that whereas my body which was euer weake began of ●ate to languish more it would be not in-expedient at the worst to leaue behind me this little ●onument of that great respect which I deseruedly beare you And i● it shall please GOD to reprieue me vntill a longer day yet●●t shall not repent me to haue sent this vnwoorthie scrowle to wayte vppon you in your necessarie absences neither shall it be I hope bootlesse for you to adioyne these my meane speculations vnto those grounds of vertue you haue so happily laid to which if they shall add but one scruple it shall be to me sufficient ioy contentment recompence From your Halsted Dec. 4. Your Worships humbly deuoted IOS HALL The first Booke contayning a full Centurie of Meditations and Vowes both Diuine and Morall 1. IN Meditation those which begin heauenly thoughts prosecute them not are like those which kindle a fire vnder greene wood and leaue it so soone as it but begins to flame leesing the hope of a good beginning for want of ●econding it with a sutable proceeding when I set my self to meditate I wil not giue ouer till I come to an issue It hath beene said by some that the beginning is as much as the midst yea more thē all but I say the ending is more thē the beginning 2 There is nothing but Man that respecteth greatnes Not God not Nature not Disease not Death not Iudgement Not God hee is no accepter of persons Not nature we see the sonnes of Princes borne as naked as the poorest and the poore child as faire wel-fauored strong witty as the heire of nobles Not disease death iudgment they sicken a-like die a-like fare a-like after death There is nothing besides naturall men of whō goodnes is not respected I will honour greatnes in others but for my self I wil esteem a drā of goodnes worth a whol world of greatnes 3 As there is a foolish wisedome so there is a wise ign●rance in not prying into Gods Arke not inquiring i●to thinges not reuealed I would faine know all that I need and all that I may I leaue Gods secrets to himselfe It is happy for me that God makes me of his Court though not of his Coūsell 4. As there is no vacuity in nature no more is there spiritually Euery vessell is full if not of liquor yet of ayre so is the hart of man though by nature it is empty of grace yet it is full of hypocrisie and iniquitie Now as it filleth with grace so it is emptied of his euill qualities As in a vessell so much water as goes in so much ayre goes out but mans heart is a narrow-mouthed vessell and receiues grace but by drops and therefore askes a long time to emptie and fill Now as there be differences in degrees and one hart is neerer to fulnes then an other so the best vessell is not quite full while it is in the bodie because there are stil remainders of corruption I wil neither be content with that measure of grace I haue nor impatient of Gods delay But euery day I wil endeuor to haue one drop added to the rest so my last day shal fill vp my vessell to the brim 5 Satan would seeme to be mannerly reasonable making as i● he wold be cōtent with one halfe of the hart wheras God challengeth all or none as indeed he hath most reason to claime all that made all But this is nothing but a craftie fetch of Satan for he knowes that if he haue any part God wil haue none so the whole falleth to his share alone My heart when it is both whole at the best is but a strait vnwoorthy lodging for God if it were bigger better● I would rescrue it all for him Sathan may look in at my doores by a temptation but he shal not haue so much as one chamber-room setapart for him to soiourne in 6 I see that in naturall motions the neerer anie thing comes to his end the swifter it mooueth I haue seene great riuers which at their first rising out of some hills side might be couered with a bushell which after many miles fill a very broad channel drawing neere to the Sea doo euen make a little Sea in their owne bankes So the wind at the first rising as a little vapour from the cranies of the earth and passing forward about the earth the further it goes the more blustring and violent it waxeth a Christians motion after he is regenerate is made naturall to God-ward and therefore the neerer he comes to Heauen the more zealous hee is A good man must be like the Sunne not like Ezechias Sunne that went backward nor like Iosuahs Sunne that stood stil but Dauids Sunne that like a Bride-groome comes out of his chamber and as a Champion reioyceth to runn● his race only herein is the difference that when he comes to his high noon he declineth not How euer therefore the mind in her naturall faculties followes the temperature of the body yet in these supernatural things shee quite crosses it for with the coldest complexion of age is ioyned in those that are truly religious the feruentest zeale and affection to good thinges which is therfore the more reuerenced and better acknowledged because it cannot be ascribed to the hot spirits of youth The deuil himselfe deuised that olde slaunder of ●arly holines A young Saint an

olde Deuill sometimes young Deuils haue prooued olde Saints neuer the contrary but true Saints in youth doo alwayes prooue Angels in their age I will striue to bee euer good but if I should not finde my selfe best at last I should feare I was neuer good at all 7 Consent hartneth sin which a little dislike would haue daunted at first As wee say there would be no theeues if no receiuers so would there not be so many open mouthes to detract and slaunder if there were not as many open eares to entertain them If I cannot stoppe other mens mouthes frō speaking ill● I wil either open my mouth to reproue it or els I will stop mine eares from hearing it let him see in my face that hee hath no roome in my heart 8 I haue oft wondred howe fishes can retaine their fresh taste and yet liue in salt waters since I see that euery other thing participates of the nature of the place wherein it abides so the waters passing through the chānels of the earth varie their sauour with the ve●nes of soyle through vvhich they slide So brute creatures transported frō one Region to another alter their former qualitie degenerate by little and little The like daunger haue I seene in the manners of men conuersing with euill companions in corrupt places For besides that it blemisheth our reputation and makes vs thought ill though wee be good it breedes in vs an insensible declination to ill and works in vs if not an approbation yet a lesse dislike of those sinnes to which our eares eyes are so continually inured I may haue a bad acquaintance I will neuer haue a wicked companion 9 Expectation in a weake minde makes an euill greater and a good lesse but in a resolued minde it digests an euill before it come and makes a future good long before present I will expect the woorst because it may come the best because I know it will come 10 Some promise what they cannot doo as Sathan to Christ some what they could but meane not to doo as the Sonnes of Iacob to the Shechemites some what they meant for the time and after retrayt as Laban to Iacob some what they doo also giue but vnwillingly as H●rod some what they willingly giue and after repent them as Ioshu● to the Gibeonites So great distrust is there in man whether from his impotence or faithlesnes● as in other things so in this I see God is not like man but what euer hee promises hee approoues himselfe most faithfull both in his abilitie and performances I will therfore euer trust God on his bare word euen with hope besides hope aboue hope against hope and onwards I will rely on him for small matters of this life for how shal I hope to trust him in impossibilities if I may not in likelihoods how shall I depend on him for raising my body from dust and sauing my soule if I mistrust him for a crust of bread towards my preseruation 11 If the world would make me his Minion● he could giue me but what he hath and what hath he to giue but a smoake of honour a shadow of riches a sound of pleasures a blast of fame which when I haue had in the best measure I may be worse I cannot be better I can liue no whit longer no whit merrier no whit happier If he professe to hate me what can he doe but disgrace me in my name impouerish mee in my state afflict me in my body in al which it is easie not to be euer the more miserable I haue beene too long beguiled with the vaine semblances of it Now hence-forth accounting my selfe borne to a better world I will in an holy loftines beare my self as one too good to be enamoured of the best pleasures to be daūted with the greatest miseries of this life 12 I see there is no man so happy as to haue all thinges and no man so miserable as not to haue some Why should I looke for a better condition then all others If I haue some-what and that of the best thinges I will in thankfulnes enioy them and want the rest with contentment 13 Cōstraint makes an easie thing toilesom wheras againe loue makes the greatest toile pleasant How many miles do we ride run to see one silly beast follow another with pleasure which if wee were commaunded to measure vppon the charge of a superiour we should complaine of wearines I see the folly of the most men that make their liues miserable and their actions tedious for want of loue to that they must doo I will first labour to ●ettle in my heart a good affection to heauēly things so Lord thy yoake shall be easie and thy burden light 14 I am a stranger euen at home therefore if the doggs of the world bark at me I neither care no● wonder 15 It is the greatest madnes in the world to bee an hypocrite in religious profession Men hate thee because thou art a Christian so much as in appearance God hates thee double because thou art but in appearace so while thou hast the hatred of both thou hast no comfort in thy selfe Yet if thou wilt not bee good as thou seemest I hold it better to seeme ill as thou art An open wicked man doth much hurt with notorioussinnes but an hypocrite doth at last more shame goodnes by seeming good I had rather be an open wicked man then an hypocrite but I had rather bee no man then eyther of them 16 VVhen I cast downe mine eyes vppon my wants vpon my sinnes vpon my miseries mee thinkes no man should be woorse no man so ill as I my meanes so many so force-able and almost violent my progresse so small and insensible my corruptions so strong my infirmities so frequent and remedilesse my bodie so vnaunswerab●e to my minde But when I looke vp to the blesinges that GOD hath enricht mee with all mee thinkes I should soone be● induced to thinke none more happie then my selfe God is my friend and my Father the world not my Master but my slaue I haue frends not many but so tryed that I dare trust them An estate not superfluous not needy yet neerer to defect then abundance A calling if despised of men yet honourable with God A body not so strong as to admit securitie but often checking mee in occasion of pleasure nor yet so weake as to afflict me continually A mind not so furnished with knowledge that I may boast of it nor yet so naked that I should despaire of obtayning it My miseries afford me ioy mine enemies aduantage my account is cast vp for another world And if thou thinke I haue said too much good of my selfe either I am thus or I would be 17 The worldlings life is of all other most discōfortable for that which is his God doth not alway fauour him that which should bee neuer 18 There are three messengers of death Casualty Sicknes Age The two