Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	divine_a	life_n	soul_n	5,625	5	5.0009	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85388	The tyranny of Satan, discovered by the teares of a converted sinner, in a sermon preached in Paules Church, on the 28 of August, 1642. By Thomas Gage, formerly a Romish Priest, for the space of 38 yeares, and now truly reconciled to the Church of England.	Gage, Thomas, 1603?-1656.	1642 (1642)	Wing G116; Thomason E119_20; ESTC R3263	28,403	44

there shalt thou be delivered saith the Lord Let my Conversion be a President to you of this truth and strengthen you that you may not despaire of Gods mercies For if I who have sucked my first milk of the Whore of Babylon of the most erroneous Popish doctrin who have worshiped creatures and Saints instead of my Creator who have been disloyall and treacherous to my King and Countrey who have beleeved a damnable doctrine of Purgatory derogating thereby from the infinite merits of the satisfaction of Christs Passion who have superstitiously offered up a sacrifice of the Masse for the quick dead as if the Sacrifice which Christ himselfe offered of his own body upon the Crosse were not a sufficient Sacrifice for a whole world yea and many more worlds if I who erroneously have beleeved that by my own works I might merit de condigno the glory of heaven as if any human or naturall works may work a thing supernaturall and merit a glory which required the meanes and satisfaction of Christ not as man only but as God and man If I who have been almost 40 years thus blinded who have so many years persecuted the chosen elect and Protestant people of the Lord who have so many years been frozen and void of all heat of the love of God who have so many years been in Babylon in confusion and slavery there have been delivered there have found the mercies of God like stars in a winter night shining most confortably into my cold and frozen soule O let none despaire of the mercies of God nor willingly fall into sin by my example least their comming out of Babylon be as hard to them as my conversion hath been to me But how great soever your miseries be trust in the Lord that as he prayed for Peter that his Faith might not faile as he hath pleaded for me before his ●…ernall Father So he may also be an Advocate and only Mediator between God and you when deepest you are in sin and according to mans judgement hardest to be brought out of it The last Point which is plainly to be observed in my text is a precept and cōmand of our Saviour to Peter contained in those words And when thou art converted strengthen thy Brethren This Peter did and this all they are bound to do who are truly converted from sin and from a wicked estate to the true knowledge of Gods Laws True it is Peter did fall and did most cowardly thrice deny his Master But after our Saviour looked upon him and with one look turned his heart then Peter went out and wept bitterly And he did not only weep and repent within himselfe but most zealously endeavoured to strengthen his Brethren as you may observe Acts 2. when having received the Holy Spirit himselfe he preached couragiously unto the Jews to convert them and strengthen them in the true Faith as you may read from the 14● to the 38 verse and forward where publickly he said unto them Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost O he was a true converted man and thought he must not be contented to be himselfe converted only but that he was bound to convert and strengthen others So did Saul who had been so great a Persecutor when he was truely converted presently he strived to do good to others as you may read Acts 9. 19 20. verses And when he had received meat he was strengthned Then was Saul certaine dayes with the Disciples that were at Damascus And strait way he preached Christ in the Synagogue that he is the Son of God And further in the 22 ver. But Saul increased the more in strength and confounded the Jews that dwelt at Damascus prouing that this is very Christ Behold how this converted Apostle is not satisfied with his own conversion but presently burneth with an inward zeale of communicating unto others that good which he had received from God by his Conversion Your Divines say that Bonum est diffusivum sui that which is truly good in it selfe is with a natu●all inclination to impart it selfe yea prodigally to pou●e it self out to others This doctrin also David teacheth us in his 51 Psal. where he repenteth himself for the Adultery which he had committed and having begged of God that he would create in him a clean heart and renew a right spirit within him Then saith he in the 13 verse will I teach transgressors thy ways and sinners shall be converted unto thee Lo how David doth not only repent himselfe and manifest his conversion by words of sorrow and bitter compunction but promiseth God that he will strengthen others by teaching them the ways of God that also they may come to be converted In the first Chapter of the Canticles ver. 4. You shall find a few words easy in this sense but hard to be understood in any other where the Spouse speaking to her Beloved saith Draw me we will run after thee The King hath brought me into his Chamber we will be glad and rejoyce in thee we will remember thy love Me thinkes the Spouse should have said draw me I will run after thee The King hath brought me into his chamber I will be glad I will remember thy love If one be drawn why do many in the plurall number run If one be brought into the Kings chamber Why be many glad and rejoyce O dearely Beloved it is to teach us how we ought to be have our selves when we are truly converted The Spouso signifieth a soule wedded by Faith to God the true and heavenly Bridgroome The Chamber whereinto this foule is brought is the true Church Therfore if one Soule be drawn by God many must run after this one if one Soule be brought into the true Ancient and Apostolike Church many must be glad and rejoyce Why B●cause we must not be contented to be drawn alone from our iniquities we must not be contented to be brought alone into the Church we must also draw others we must make others also rejoyce by strengthning them by teaching them by converting them by our words works and good example This is the command and precept of our Saviour to Peter in the words of my text And when thou art converted strengthen thy Brethren This cōmand of Christ I that am this day converted brought into the Heavenly Bridgrooms chamber into his true Church must also obey O I must not be contented to be drawn alone I must be the cause that many may run after me This dearely Beloved I have begun to performe already having brought one from the snares of Popery strengthned one soule in the true Protestant Apostolik Religiō of this Kingdom This by the Grace of God both by preaching writing and printing I will endeavour all my life to performe by discovering and laying open to the world those Rocks and quicke sands of Popish doctrin whereupon so many soules do run and are dayly cast away by the ignorance of foolish and unskilfull Pilots O dearely beloved never were you in greater danger than at these times for in Ireland you see how the Papists threaten us with their erroneous doctrines here at home they secretly plot to bring in their superstitions therefore let me warne you this day to hoyse up your sailes and top masts and with the gale of that heavenly Spirit of that Divine blast save your soules from being splinted upon these Rocks of Popish superstition from being swallowed up with the quick sands of Antichristian doctrin O beloved abhor all your lives the chief and principall point of all Popery which is that false authority that Supremacy which the Papists give to the Pope above all the Church O never admit this erroneous doctrin nor ever thinke that Christ left Peter or any other to be Supream head and only head over the Church but this authority was given equally to all the Apostles as ye may gather out of Matth. 28. 3 last ver. where our Saviour equally and with equall authority sent all his Apostles to preach and teach saying Go ye therefore and teach all Nations And further he saith And loe I am with you alway even unto the end of the world Behold how Christ sendeth not only Peter but all his Apostles to preach and teach And saith he will bee not only with Peter but with all his Apostles inspiring spiritually and instructing them all and not Peter alone to rule and governe feed with spirituall food his flock If this be so dearly Beloved never beleeve that the authority which the Pope challengeth to himself over all the Church is due unto him who usurpeth his authority seeketh by it to encroach upon Kings and Princes Crowns as I shall in some other occasion more largely declare Fly therefore deare soules from this chief and most dangerous Rock of all Popery and having once discovered the dangers of this false doctrin abhor then all other erroneous doctrins of Rome which come from him that usurpeth Christs own power and challengeth it to himselfe alone O let my conversion be your strength and comfort O beleeve an experienced and skilfull Pilot who hath travailed almost over all the world and hath by experience of almost 40 yeares discovered all those rocks and quick sands of Popish errors of Antichristian doctrines and superstitions which threaten the losse and utter overthrow of your soules O that this day I may performe what Iesus said to Peter And when thou art converted strengthen thy Brethren O let my example dearely Beloued strengthen you all in the true Protestant Religion that so I may say with the spouse draw me and we will run that I being drawn this day unto the true Faith yee may all run more hastily and speedily to the same that I being brought this day into the Kings chamber that is into the true Church ye may all be glad and rejoyce finding in your soules a new greater strength to continue and dye in this ancient and Apostolike Church that so we may all meet and rejoyce together after this life in another chamber of our Heavenly Bridegroome in the triumphant Church of Heaven Amen FINIS

spoken by the mouth of all his holy Prophets since the World began What fruitfull Faith could be in me who so often have kneeled to Images worshipped them burnt Franckincense before them and praid unto them so contrary to the Commandements of God Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven Image or any likenesse of any thing that is in Heaven above Thou shalt not bow downe unto them So contrary I say to holy Scripture which teacheth that no Saints are to be called upon no Saints are to be Mediators between us and God but only Iesus Christ as ye shall find in the 1 Epistle of Paul to Tim. in the 2 Chap. and 5 verse For there is one God and one Mediator between God and man the Man Christ Jesus What fruitfull Faith hath been in mee who have beleeved and taught a Purgatory a place of satisfaction for sins derogating by this most damnable doctrin from the infinity of Christs satisfaction who had not aboundantly nor infinitly satisfied for us if we our selves ought in fire and torments to adde satisfaction to the satisfaction made by his most pretious bloud O good God how do I now perceive my self to have been sequestred from thy just and righteous beleevers to have beene sequestred from thy true Apostolike and Primitive Church to have be●n sifted like branne from the flower like chaffe from the corne O most mercifull Father if in these 40 yeares I had met with thee at the passage of Jordan at the passage of my Soule from my body not being able to say Shibboleth what could I have expected but to feele the smart of thy sword to receive the wound of everlasting death to heare that dreadful curse of thine Depart from me you cursed into everlasting fire But think not Dearely Beloved that Satans cruelty is satisfied with thus separating a sinner like chaffe from the corne by making him ready for Hell fire O yet his cruelty goeth forward yet he sifteth further a Soule Though properly to sift in our English tongue be to sift the flower from the branne Yet this word sifting in Greek is more Emphaticall for the true word {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} in Greek according to M. Cameron's explication signifieth Cribrare which as he saith containeth two things to wit illa concussio agitatio that thrashing and beating of the wheat and also illa divisio separatio that division and separation of the chaffe f●om the corne So by Satan's sifting a Soule as wheat we must know that he is not contented to separate a Soule from the Church and the fruitfull granes and members of it yet his cruelty goeth forward for he knoweth Gods mercies are great and touch the soule of a sinner daily to bring him to repentance therefore he desireth our perseverance in sin our obstinacy and hardnesse that we may no way return unto our Lord He useth yet more tyranny over us by sifting us he beateth us yet with blows even as the corn is beaten with the flaile with one blow hee beateth out our eyes that we may not see the hideous estate we are in With another blow he striketh at our tongues and breaketh the mouths of our hearts that we may not call upon God for helpe and succour with another blow he shuts up our eares that we may not heare nor give eare to the truth when it is preached Even as a Captaine when he besiegeth a Castle taketh up al the high ways wherby any maintenance or provision may come to these within the Castle So doth this cruell enemy of ma●kind when he hath separated a soule from the good and righteous he shuts up all the high wayes which are the mouth of the heart the hearing of it the eyes of the understanding that so no maintenance nor spirituall food may enter into it This was figured in Mark 9. 17. 18. where it is said that one of the multitude brought unto our Saviour his son which had a dumb spirit And he said Whersoever he taketh him he teareth him and he fometh gnasheth with his teeth and pineth away By this dumb Devill spiritually is to be understood the effect which the Devill worketh in a soule which he hath once possessed making it dumb and speechlesse that it may not cry out to the Lord nor acknowledge its sins with one peccavi And many of the Fathers upon the explication of this dumbe Spirit say that it was also deaf and blind to signifie the two other effects which the Devill worketh in a soule which he hath once got into his power This same destruction of a Soule according to the Fathers exposition was signified by that deaf and dumbe man whom our Saviour cured as ye may read Mark 7. 33 34 35. And he took him aside from the multitude and put his fingers into his eares and he spit and touched his tongue And looking up to Heaven he sighed and saith unto him ephphatha that is be opened And strait way his eares were opened the string of his tongue was loosed and he speake plaine In the 7 of Dan 5 ver. you shall find a like figure of this cruell tyrant where Daniel declaring a dreame and vision which he had faith And behold another beast a second like to a Beare and it raised up it selfe on one side and it had three ribs in the mouth between the teeth of it And they said thus unto it arise devore much flesh Although S. Hierom by this ugly beast doth understand the Kingdom of the Persians and by those 3 ribs and 3 set of teeth between rib and rib expoundeth the 3 Empires of the Babylonians Persians and Medes Yet Richardus de Sancto Victore and many Fathers in a spirituall sense declare this ugly Beare to be a true portraicture of the malicious spite of the Devill who with 3 set and orders of teeth devoureth and destroyeth the three noble powers wherewith the Soule doth spiritually speake see and heare And truly in my mind no Beast is a more proper Embleme of the Devill than the Beare if we consider well what Aristotle in his 7 Book De Histor. Animal and 17 Chap. writeth of this beast which is that he eateth of all things of the fruits of trees of herbes of Bees and Honey of little Amits and their egs yea of your shell fishes and also of flesh A strange quality proper only to this Beast For if the Lyon eat flesh he eateth not hay grasse nor hearbs and the Oxe that eateth hay and grasse eateth not flesh Only the Beare eateth of all sorts and with this quality resembleth the Devill more than any other Beast For the Devill devoureth and eateth of all If a man be given to the flesh there is the Devill sporting also himselfe with those fleshy thoughts If like an Eremite one feed of hearbes only there also wil Satan be endeavouring in the wildernes to overthrow those that hide themselves there flying from the