Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	die_v	flesh_n	live_v	7,051	5	6.1602	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61470	The clouds in which Christ comes opened in a sermon before the Honourable House of Commons, assembled in Parliament, upon the solemne day of their monthly fast, Octob. 27, 1647 / by Peter Sterry ...	Sterry, Peter, 1613-1672.	1648 (1648)	Wing S5475; ESTC R16803	32,320	66

God comes forth before us in all our Objects There is a Two-fold Enmity in our affections towards this Two-fold Intent of Christ in His Comming 1. An Adhesion to the Flesh 2. An Aversenesse from the Spirit 1st The First Enmity is an Adhesion to the Life of Flesh Our soules cleave to the Flesh-pots Our Spirits are drawn down into a land of Bondage and detain'd there by the Rank scent of Garlike and Onions We are very unwilling to travell thorow a wildernesse though it be unto a Land flowing with Milk and Honey We are like Lot we know not how to leave this Sodome of the Flesh till we be drawn forth by the Hand of Angels Then we are still like Lot's wife when we are come forth from the City of this World casting a longing look back upon it in the midst of its Flames But if we be like her in her fault let us be so too in the Consequence of it She was chang'd into a Pillar of salt So may we as in answer to the Type if we bring forth a Spirit of Remorse and Fire like salt to consume the Fleshly Corrupting Part that the Divine Part may be preserv'd untainted to Eternity 2. The second Enmity is an Aversenesse from the Spirit Jesus Christ promised His Disciples the Effusion of the Spirit at the Disappearance of His Flesh He spake to them of Divine Powers Lights Gloryes Joyes of the Highest Company and Contents which should come when His Spirit came Yet the Disciples were sad and as dead men still when their Saviour spake of His Death The Spirit appear'd to them a Miserable Comforter and Comfort when they were no more to have a grosse sight of their Jesus in Flesh He was as None to them when He was to be Onely in the Spirit When Peter felt Himselfe born up alone by the working waves he feares faints and begins to sink though he have the Call of Christ to carry him on and Christ Himselfe in his Eye to infuse Spirits into him This is an Example for us When we cal'd by God begin to feel the Foundations of the Earth and the Seeming-firme Land of Sense withdrawing from us when we are now Lanching forth into the Sea of the God-head we no sooner feel our selves left upon the waters of the Spirit to be sustain'd by them but Immediately we sink our selves by our feares and unbeliefe Let us then now weep that we have refused the All-quickning Spirit which is our Jesus as if there were no Life in this Spirit or no Light in this Life as if God were a wildernesse and the Building of God had no Foundation or Fairenesse in it Let us now returne weeping and say We have feared to commit our loves hopes and joyes to Thee O meek O Mighty Iesus But all our Springs are in Thee those that feed our outward senses our inward Faculties with Streames of Life Truth Strength and Pleasures Thou art our onely Husband the Image of all Loves and Lovelinesse to us the Best Image of our selves Come thou downe upon us appeare in thine Invisible gloryes and make our soules ere they are aware like the Chariots of Aminadab Thus I have concluded the First Use for Humiliation For Caution Take heed of making any Opposition against the Comming of the Lord Iesus I shall begin this use with an humble profession that my desire is to have every thing which I speake understood as proceeding from him who would faine speak and live in a Continuall sense of the Doubtfull Dimnesse of that Light of Reason which twinkles in his breast as also of the want of oyl to feed the Flame of the Spirit to any Height or Constancy I do therefore onely present what passeth from me submitting all ever to any Brighter Light in whatsoever Candle-stick it shine My care shall be especially in the subject of this use while I am in this Twi-light to avoid Particular Conclusions and Peremptory Determinations I shall in these Termes set before you these Two Cautions 1. Take heed how you Iudge or Confine the Comming of Christ 2. Take heed how you furiously oppose any thing that pretends to the Advancement of Christ in His Comming 1. Caution Take heed how you Iudge or Confine the Comming of Christ and that for Two Reasons 1. He comes as a Spirit 2. He comes in the Darke 1. Reason Christ comes as a Spirit Who can foreknow or set the wayes of a Spirit who can comprehend a Spirit in any outward Forme Is it not free to All and from All When Christ was risen he sometimes put on those shapes in which he had formerly liv'd or died as to Thomas Sometimes he cloth'd Himselfe with strange shapes sometimes uncloth'd Himselfe of All For now He was raised into the Spirit in which as in a Divine Ward-robe he comprehended All shapes to put Himselfe forth in them or to put them under His Feet at pleasure Saint Paul thus reasons Colos. 2.20 If ye be dead in Christ why as living in the Flesh are ye subject to Ordinances which perish in the using But this Reasoning is much more strong If Christ be Risen from the dead why do we subject Him to Ordinances as if He were still living in the Flesh or rather as if He were not come in the Flesh who is the Lord of All Fleshly Rites Formes are sweet Helpes but too severe Lords over our Faith They may be Ornaments to our Face and Neck serving the Beauty of Christ's Appearances to us and His union with us But then they must be of Gold or Precious stone taken out of the Mine or Treasury of the Spirit So worne they may become the Heires at age the Spirit-born Princes But if they be of Iron or Brasse laid upon our Feet and Hands that is Grosse in Fleshly Darknesse binding up the Activity and Motion of our Spirits towards God then are they sad Marks of the Bond-womans Children The Body is esteem'd a Prison or Grave to the Soul because it tyes the Soul up into One Particular Appearance suffering it not to enlarge it selfe to any other but as they are reflected in This Glasse When the Eternall Spirit is fast'ned and proportion'd to any One Form of Things is it not now imprison'd or buried It was a seasonable and High Contemplation that of Solomon at the Consecration of the Temple The Heavens Heavens of Heavens cannot hold thee How much lesse this House which I have made When we Consecrate or converse with any Ordinance or Peculiar way of worship let us then remember that our Object is the Person of Jesus Christ that Wisdome of God whose way is more untrac'd than the Eagle whose extent is wider than the Earth The Heavens of Heavens cannot take in All of Him to Containe or Confine Him much lesse any One Ordinance in this world or Fleshly Fashion 'T is in vain to attempt to shut up Christ in any Thing Though you kill Him that you

on the Booke I saw and behold a White Horse and He that sate on Him had a Bow and a Crowne was given Him and He went forth Conquering and to Conquer The Booke is the Image of God the Seven Seales the Naturall Formes of Things The Opening of the Seales by the Lamb His Comming forth in the Spirit I will finish this Head with that place of Scripture 1 Cor. 15.45 The First Man Adam was made a Living Soule the Last Man was made a Quickning Spirit Our Blessed Lord in his Second Appearance comes into the World as a Soule comes downe into the Body The Soule comes downe upon the Body clothing it with a new Shape Life and Lustre So Jesus Christ descends upon the World to Comprehend to Act it to Appeare in it to Gather it up into One Spirit of Beauty and Immortality in Himselfe So shall the Heavenly Man sprout forth thorough the Earth as an Vniversall Paradise sending forth all Earthly Formes as Revived Plants by a New Growth out of Himselfe Then shall All Without the Circle of this Spirituall Person this Quickning Spirit be Death and Hell a Hell for Dogs and Devils each foule false and fiery Spirit I have now passed through the First Head The Comming of Christ 2. Head The Clouds in which Christ comes These Clouds are of Foure Sorts 1. Darknesse 2. Tempests 3. Worldly Changes 4. Angels 1. Clouds of Darknesse Clouds are used in This Sense as the Springs and Seats of Darknesse So they furnish out and set off the Comming of Christ as God into the World Psal. 97.2 Clouds and Darknesse are round about Him A Two-fold Darknesse surrounds our Saviours Person as He flides downe in a Glory upon the Earth 1. From His owne Will 2. From the World 1. Darknesse From His owne Will David in the 18. Psalme is confest by All to speak of His owne Deliverances Literally but of Christs Last Comming Mystically and Prophetically ver. 11. He made Darknesse His Secret Place His Pavilion round about Him were Dark Waters Thick Clouds of the Sky The Prince in the Poet wrapt about with a Thick and Darke Ayre entred into Carthage passed thorow the Court into the presence of the Queene there stood in the midst of them unperceived while they speak of Him as absent Lament him as lost till the Fire purified it selfe into a Clearnesse So the Great Prince of Peace and Spirits as He comes forth casts a Cloud about Him so He comes on upon us so He encompasseth us is still in Motion Yet still we speak of Him as far above and beyond the Starry Sky and of His Comming as at a Great Distance But Behold He is already in the midst of us He breaks forth on our Right hand and on our Left like a Flame round about us and we perceive Him not 2. Darknesse From the World 1 Thes. 5.2 The Day of the Lord commeth as a Thiefe in the Night 'T is the interposal of the Earth's shadow between the Sunne and our Eyes that makes Night The Devill benights Man-kind by interposing this shadowie world betweene their Saviour and their Soules In this Night he rocks them into a Sleep by a perpetuall Motion of vanities In this Sleep he deludes them with Dreames of Reason Counterfeit Images of Truth Now in this Night Sleep and Dreame the Day of Christ's appearance appeares not but as a Fancy or Dotage All things seem to continue as they were from the Beginning Where say they is the Promise of His Comming They discerne no Dawning of it All the Powers and Spirits of Darknesse hate the Light and Christ because He comes as the Light to increase and inflame their Darknesse They therefore Strive to raise Mists upon this Rising Glory that they may stain it if they cannot stop its Course So the Progresse of Christ is to the greatest part of Men like the Motion of the Sunne in a Winter day when 't is hard to perceive the Day-break or distinguish between Day and Night This is the First sort of Clouds Dark Ones 2. Clouds of Tempests Clouds are the Womb in which Tempests are bred and the Cradle in which they are rock't No Painter no Poet no Writer Holy or Profane hath any thing anywhere so Direfull so Tragicall as is the Description of our Saviours second Comming in the Scriptures Can you cast your eye on the eighteenth Psalm and not tremble when you see there the Earth Shaking and Trembling v. 7. a Fire Devouring v. 8. The Heavens bowing Down-ward v. 9. Thick Clouds darkning the Sky Thunders Lightnings Hail-stones flying through the Ayre The Foundations of the world below discover'd v. 11 12 13 14 15. Thus the Mighry God our Jesus descends Again Psa 97. Hils Melting The Earth Trembling Lightnings flashing thorow the Ayre and being its onely Light Dark Clouds environing all This is the Scene of Things This the State in which Christ comes forth Behold Habakkuk with quivering Lips trembling joynts bones mouldring into dust when he had onely a Prophetick Representation of our Saviours second Appearance All the Dreadfull things that attended the Presence of God in Aegypt at the Red Sea on Mount Sinai thorow the wildernesse are made but Types but shadows of this Terrible March of the Capteine of the Lords Hosts Christ in the Spirit thorow all Flesh Habak. 3. A wise Jew was wont to say from a Deep fore-sight of the Blacknesse of this Day The Messias will come but Lord let not me live to see His Comming The Comming of our Saviour in the Spirit is for the Full Dissolution of all Flesh 'T is no wonder then if every step he takes as he comes along strike earthquakes pestilences warres desolations thorow the Earth This is the second sort of Cloudes Tempestuous Ones 3. Clouds of Worldly Changes The Finest Piece of this Creation Naturall Flesh of Christ Himself is cal'd A Vail Heb. 10.11 A Living way through the vail his Flesh Well may we then call all other Fleshly Things Vailes and Clouds Gen. 1.2 The Creation in its first Principles is Figured out to us as a Dark and Deep Sea Each particular Creature is as a Cloud raised out of this Sea of Darknesse over-cast with Light and Images When the Temple was finish't which was an Earthly Palace shadowing out Heaven fil'd with all Excellencyes as Pictures of Heavenly Glories then Solomon saith to God 1 Kin. 8.12 Thou dwellest in Thick Darknesse Signifying that the Brightest Beauties of Nature are True Clouds In the midst of this Darknesse our Saviour passeth on upon the backs of these Clouds he comes riding along Behind the visible Formes of things He hides Himselfe and steales in upon us ere we be aware All Their Motions are His Approaches Mat. 24. The Disciples ask their Master What should be the signes of His Comming He relates by way of Prophesie the whole story of the World Publike in Nations Particular in Families Private in single Persons From His death to that