Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	earth_n	heaven_n	soul_n	6,226	5	4.7265	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A90260	The souls excellency or, A sweet meditation of the preciousnesse of the soul of man. A subject fit for every man and woman in the world, to fixe their best and choisest thoughts upon: who desire to begin heaven here, and to live with God in heaven for ever. By J.O.	J. O.	1648 (1648)	Wing O7; Thomason E1189_16; ESTC R208303	9,123	21

THE SOULS EXCELLENCY OR A sweet Meditation of the preciousnesse of the Soul of Man A Subject fit for every man and woman in the world to fixe their best and choisest thoughts upon who desire to begin heaven here and to live with God in heaven for ever By J.O. Onely take heed to thy self and keep thy soul diligently Deut. 4 9. Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward but he that keepeth his soul shall be far from them Pro. 22.5 Fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul but rather fear him which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell Matth. 10.28 London Printed for R. W. at the Star under Peters Church in Cornhill 1648. DEUT. 6.7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children and shalt talke of them when thou sittest in thine house and when thou walkest by the way and when thou sittest down and when thou risest up THE SOULS EXCELLENCY OR A sweet Meditation OF The preciousnesse of the Soul of Man c. POore men and women yong and old your manner is to sooth up your selves in your own vain fancies and conceits of something or other here below wherein you place a great part of your happinesse and upon which you set your hearts and for which you bestow a great deale of paines and time And you doe esteem most precious of all things else in the world ye it is your manner to dote after these low and empty shadows as though there were some superexcellency in them When God knows the best creature under heaven is but meer vanity and he that enjoyes the most of it doth enjoy it but with vexation of spirit and yet poore soules you are not willing to be crost in your hasty pursuit after them but run the hazard of soul and body and all to gaine that which is but losse and lose that which is the greatest and most happiest gaine True it is that the mighty Creator hath adorned the World with abundance of his works of wonder and hath made every thing beautifull in its time but yet not comparable though all set together with the least glimps of Gods countenance to the Soule Indeed we have a larg book of the creatures in which we may read much of the Creatour and see much of God in but we have one more neer and should be more deare unto us then ten thousand Millions of worlds were there so many which is our deare and most precious souls which is the master-piece of the whole Creation And yet poore people how basely doe you esteem of your precious souls that very hardly can you bestow one houres serious meditation upon the peace and welfare of your souls in all your life time Very hardly can you spare out of that masse of love you have to the world one dram of love or pitty to your poore souls O the precious soul can no man value the price of it is beyond any mans reach and the losse of it beyond any mans recovery You rich Merchants that fetch your treasures from far and finde out the treasures hid in the sand and bowels of the earth did you ever amongst all your rich jems and precious pearls and costly stones finde out any thing to counterpoyse the soul can all your treasures laid together ransome one poore soul from destruction No here the whole Creation must be silent the soul is beyond all nothing is found in them to be compared to the soul St. Augustine sayth One soule is worth a thousand bodies what are ten thousand bodies to one soul The body is of much worth but in comparison of the soul ten thousand bodies are worth nothing they differ as much as flesh and spirit as light and darknesse as heaven and earth and why not as much as heaven and hell what are so many bodies without the soul but so many stinking carions and lothsom dungeons S. Augustine is so bold as to say that the soul of a flye is of more excellency then the glorious Sun in the firmament of what worth and excellency is the soul of man then think you ô most precious soull what may be compared to thee surely nothing come down to the dust all things in the world then in comparison of the soul Stand by on the left hand or sit down at my footstool all you creatures yea the best of creatures yea the very heavens with all their glorious ornaments the Sunne Moon and Stars with all the Coelestiall bodies the earth with all her wonders mountains and valleys pleasant medows and woods fruitfull trees birds beasts sheep oxen lambs and horses little or great beasts or curious fowls with all the seas admirable wonders gold silver precious stones and what ever the heart of man can conceive to be most beautifull and glorious stand by all pleasures beauty riches honours wisdome learning Arts and Sciences Kingdoms or Empires yea all that is on this side heaven all created excellencies whatsoever I say If I were Lord Paramount of all these had them all at my command what is all this to my precious immortall soul true I may say with David Psal 104.24 25. O Lord how manifold are thy works in wisdome hast thou made them all the earth is full of thy riches so is the Sea also great and wide c. But what is all this tome if I lose my precious soul My soul my soul is more precious than all these The soule is all in all to us sayth Tertullius The soule is a little demi-god or Angell many have so called it sayth Clemens Alexandrinus the soul is a part of heaven sayth Hipparchus The soule is the Idea and Sampler of all the world for excellencie and worth sayth Paphinous and what can be sayd more to set forth the excellencie of the precious soule Yea farther Plato is of opinion that the soul is next in degree to the eternall God of Heaven and earth Alas then what will it profit a man though hee win the whole world and lose his own soul Mat. 16.26 The very Angels and Archangels the Cherubins and Seraphins and all the powers of heaven are not so deare to us as our own souls be alas if we lose our souls what are all they to us The soul then it seemes is a very precious piece nothing in the whole Creation so precious Oh! what heart is able to think or conceive the excellency of the soul The soul is the best thing in the world were there as many worlds as there be sands on the sea shore as many as the Epicureans Diog Laert thought infinite of worlds what could all these profit if we should lose our souls Oh! what fools and mad men are we to slight our precious souls to prefer a base lust before the precious soul to take more pains cost and care about our poore fraile perishing bodies a lump of clay then about our most deare and precious fouls

souls O! my dear friends be warned betimes and make all your worldly employments and your temporall gaine to be suborinate to the eternall peace of your souls make not earthly imployments heavenly impediments use the world no more then may make you more fit for the spirituall welfare of your Noble and most precious souls Woe to you Drunkards ver 11. that can rise early to follow drunkennesse and to you that continue till night till the wine inflames you it will be a sad bargain to you if you drink away your souls and while you drownd your estates and your wits and health you drownd your poor souls in the bottomlesse gulfe of hell Woe to you that draw iniquity with cords of vanity and sin as with cart ropes ver 18. surely it will goe ill with you one day if you for the profit or pleasure of your sin lose your souls O my beloved set a greater prize upon the soule then to sin away the eternall blessednesse of your souls Woe to you who ever you be that call evill good and good evill that put darknesse for light and light for darknesse ver 20. c. Will you thus flatter away the happinesse of your immortall souls ô poor people what will you doe if you lose your souls Woe to you that are wise in your own eyes ver 21. c. your wisdome is but folly and madnesse how many be there that thinke if they have but wisdome enough to drive on an earthly designe to be skilfull in trading or in Arts and Sciences or the like thinke themselves happy enough though they be as ignorant for their souls as the beast and is not the greatest number of poor mankind in this condition and yet poor creatures tell them but of their grosse ignorance they will be ready to fly in your face and tell you they know as much as you can teach them and they are as wise as your selfe and they scorne to live so long in the world to be taught what is good for their souls now and the like but alas all this while the Holy Ghost tels them they be but fools or at the best there is more hope of a fool then such a man Prov. 26.12 And the same spirit of God tels you what you get by reproving such Prov. 9.7 8. alas poor creatures will you not pitty your own souls I pitty you and oh that you would but pitty your selves Truly the most men take more care for their beasts a horse an oxe a sheep a hog or a good dog then for their souls nay they take more care for their old shoos then for their souls for a pigg or a goose then their souls for a cup of ale or a piece of bread then for their dear and precious souls nothing so base and inferiour under the Sunne but it is looked after with far greater pains diligence and industry then the immortall soul any thing for back or belly more then for the soule hence it is that men are so glad to heare that the soule dies with the body that it is not immortall and some that 's there no such thing as a day of judgement or a heaven or a hell that the Scriptures are but mens inventions that threatnings are but bug-bears to keep men in awe and a thousand such things as those that so they may more safely and securely sinne away their precious time without any thoughts of the hazard and losse of the soule therefore they can put far from them the evill day and make a jest of sinne But these men shall be no president for me to walke by seeing the soule is so precious and the losse of it so irrecoverable the price of it so great and happinesse of it so full of joy unspeakable and full of glory Worldlings take your fill eat drink get you riches and honours yea fill your selves brimfull with whatsoever the world can afford you but let not me taste of your delicates ô my soule my soule is ten thousand times more precious to me and so much the more precious because it was bought with the precious bloud of the Lord Jesus Christ for whom I account all things losse and doe judge them to be dung that I may winne Christ and might be found in him c. Phil. 3.7 8 9. this makes my soule leap for joy My body is from the earth my soule from heaven woe is me if for transitory profit or pleasure or honour or the like I should lose my own soul Farewel the world then there 's nothing in thee that can satisfie my soul welcome Christ Jesus in whom satisfaction is made in abundance Farewell all earthly pleasure and treasure my treasure is in heaven there lye all my comforts there will I treasure up my soule where Christ my treasure is Lord Jesus thou art my souls refuge my soule is so much the more precious because it is in thy keeping and no man or devill can take it out of thy hands Shall the pleasure or profit of sin carryme headlong to destruction shall I hazard my precious soule for honour case or preferment shall my own will be my law or my own opinion my rule shall I embrace every false principle in Religion and drinke in every unsound Tenent and dangerous and damnable Doctrine that the world swarms with in these dayes to the ruine of my soule No my soul cost more then so the precious bloud of Christ was not thought too deare for to redeem my soule and shall I cast it away for a straw or a pin Beloved you see how precious a piece the soul is but you have but a small glimpse of it at a little crevice the worth and excellency of the soul appears not in open view now while we are in this earthly tabernacle but here we see all things darkly as in a glasse but the beauty and excellency shal be most splendent when corruption hath put on incorruption But I say thrice happy are you if you now at last will resolue to study the safety and eternall welfare of your precious souls neglect no opportunity to do your souls good Besides consider what hath been said Death gives no warning As soone comes a Lambes skin to the market as an old sheeps it is an old Proverb which we see daily verified Carry this paper daily in your pocket and the meditation thereof daily in your hearts and think of that dreadful sound Arise yee dead and come to judgment Consider also the longest day hath his night and Methusalem had his period and our lives are compared to things of the swiftest motion and shortest continuance he that hath passed many yeares and purchased little profit hath had a long being and a short life for life is more to be measured by well doing then by the number of yeares seeing that men yee the most of men by many dayes doe procure many deaths and others in a short space attaine to the life