Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	eternal_a	life_n	soul_n	7,461	5	5.0564	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17054	A commentary upon the Canticle of Canticles, written first in Italian by Antonio Brucioli, and now translated into English by Th. Iames fellow of New colledge in Oxford; Annotationi sopra i proverbii di Salamo. English	Brucioli, Antonio, 1487-1566.; James, Thomas, 1573?-1629.	1598 (1598)	STC 3928; ESTC S118389	80,311	190

that is to say with the doctrin of the Gospel from whence come these goldē chaynes that is to say true wisedome which leades a man vnto eternall life and these chaines are pointed with points of siluer wherby is signified godly learning and zealous charitie wherewith the faithfull people Church of God are pricked and inflamed both to the glorie of God and benefit of the elect The Spouses words vnto Christ Whiles the king The bridegrome cōmendeth extolleth his workes in the Church now she returneth al the glory backe againe vnto him confessing that his workes are admirable in her eyes and that all her beautie commeth from the glorie of her husbande Christ and that shee receiueth from him all those gifts and graces which are mentioned in the verse immediatly going before Wherfore she speaketh vnto him as vnto a third persō saying Whiles the king was at his repast my spikenard gaue the smell thereof Spiknard is a litle herb but hath a great smel by which is to be vnderstood the humility of the faithfull because they confesse thēselues to be sinners and that they are nothing of thēselues notwithstanding they go onward alwaies in well doing whēce it is that they yeeld a most pleasant sauour of a good report which doth inuite draw others to do the like and this precious spiknard which hath such a perfect smell is not to be gotten but when Christ is at his repast and his repast is the Church secure minds of the faithfull Our Spikenard then is our humility which then sendeth foorth a most sweete and pleasant smell most acceptable vnto God a smell indeed of good works when Christ the king resteth in vs otherwise it is but the stinking smell of hypocrisie and a sauour of death vnto death The words of the spouse concerning her selfe My welbeloued is vnto mee as a bundle for myrrhe Surely it is a great cōmendation for the bridegrome that without him the spouse hath no smell at all And therefore this is her meaning she knoweth that she doth fully possesse enioy Christ that Christ must alwaies dwell with her as a bundle of myrrhe which is bitter but hath a most excell ēt smel in it self hath this power to keep things frō being corrupted And verily the spirit of the bridegrome doth bring to passe these things in the godly First of all he sendeth thē bitternesse because the sword of griefe shold pierce their soules secondly he poureth forth the sauour of the sweet oyntments thirdly lastly he keepeth preserueth thē from corruption by bestowing eternall life vpon all those which beleeue trust in him Ioh. 3.14 And as Moyses lift vp the serpent in the wildernesse so must the sonne of man be lift vp that whosoeuer beleeueth in him should not perish but haue eternall life And indeed this same mirrhe is a bitter thing signifying hard and grieuous tribulations but seeing that all these things are to come vnto her for her louing husbands sake she gratifieth cheereth vp her self with these words hoping that god will giue her the grace manfully couragiously to endure al things therfore she calleth not that an armefull or a whole burden which she is to suffer for Christ but a handfull bundle or rather to speake more properly a bundelet wel she may call it a bundelet that is to say a litle bundle because the afflictions of this world are not worthy the glory which shalbe reuealed vnto vs hereafter My welbeloued is as a cluster of camphire Christ the only begotten son of God ceaseth not to praise extol his welbeloued spouse he termes her to be like vnto a most precious sweet cluster of camphire which is a kind of aromaticall tree it is all one as if she shold haue said my welbeloued husband is like vnto a most delectable cluster of some excellēt vine which groweth in the vineyard of Engedi to the which there is no vineyard in the world that may be compared because the cōfort which we receiue by the holy ghost doth far surmount all earthly cogitations delights the consolations cōforts of the spirit are these to know that God is fauorable vnto vs and to haue the loue of God almighty inclosed within our harts cōsciēce The words of the Bridegrome vnto the Bride 14 Behold thou art faire behold thou art faire thine eyes are like the doues The Bridegrome cōmendeth the happy state of the spouse i● this that he doth worke and bring to passe great matters in her herein consisteth her beauty chiefly that she hath doues eyes that is to say a most right sense vnderstanding of Gods spirit which may be very fitly takē for a doue because it appeared vpō Christ in the shape similitude of a doue it is as much in other words as if the bridegrome should speak after this sort vnto the bride doubt not my dearest deare of any displeasure of mine because I am very wel pleased with thee I reckon thee to be most beautifull faire howsoeuer thou maiest seeme to thy selfe to haue a blacke swart coūtenance because thou pleasest me right well this loue of mine doth not come by any nature of yours but by grace frō me I desire not ornaments of gold or looke for any costly apparell that which I desire and looke for is doues eyes eyes of simplicity or singlenesse of faith and perpetuall chastitie and that nothing may please thee but me I say I desire honest and plaine dealings and meanings not crooked and deceitfull eyes The Spouse speaketh vnto her husband My welbeloued behold thou art faire and pleasant She that before was praysed of her husband for her eyes doth now most ingenuously plainly confesse that he is altogether faire and beautifull The spouse as long as she liueth in the flesh hath some deformitie or indecorum in her by reason of the flesh notwithstanding she is beautifull with the beautie of her husband and shee hath doues eyes but not as Christ hath because he is wholy and soly in euery part of him most beautifull and amiable but to the faithfull onely who alwayes at all times are exceedingly much delighted with the sight of him as also with his wordes And it followeth Also our bed is greene whence it is manifest that all things are cōmon betweene the bridegrome the bride and what other thing is meant by this greene bed but the euer flourishing peace which we obtaine by Christ and by the houses the particular Churches of his kingdome and also we may hereby vnderstand the faithfull people of God In euery one of these houses a man shall finde a most sweet bed of peace whereon the holy Ghost doth oftentimes repose and rest himselfe The beames of this house are of incorruptible and wel-smelling Cedar that is to say they containe the soliditie and stablenesse of true faith in Gods words which both of

set with Chrysolits and pretious stones because that it is not possible for any mortall man to cōprehend the height depth of Gods omnipotent power Furthermore shee praiseth him for his belly vnderstanding by his belly his affections cogitations she saith that his belly is like white iuory couered with saphirs Because all the cogitations affections and purposes of Christ and the faithfull are and appeare in the presence of God most white most precious and most acceptable Iuorie is made of an Eliphants tooth very hard very durable or incorruptible and the Saphire is a kinde of pretious stone which shineth most brightly and euen so the iudgements of Christ and his elect are most sincere firme and incorruptible and furthermore they are bright and Orient Saphirs lightning the whole body of the Church with their good workes so thē men seeing them may glorifie God which is in heauen His legges are as pillars of marble set vpon sockets of fine gold his countenance as Lebanon excellēt as the Cedars His legges Here in this place the spouse goeth about to commend Christes legges Now all the strength and nimblenesse of a man is in his legges wherefore by the legges wee may note the inuincible strength and fortitude of Christ which is able both to breake all his enemies in peeces and preserue his seruants from all manner of euill and therefore they may be well likened vnto pillars of marble set vpon sockets of fine gold because they are inuincible and the strength of them can not bee ouercome for he came into the flesh and ouercame sinne death and hell it selfe because hee might subdue them vnto the faithfull and strengthen their fearefull hearts And hence it is that you may read in the holie Scripture that hee is called a rocke because of his exceeding great force and strength against the which nothing shalbe able to preuaile Thus then the force of Christ consisteth in this that he is a pillar of marble which hath none like vnto him or to be compared with him and as many as beleeue in him may truly bee sayd to bee pillars also So that as many as are strengthened and confirmed by him may bee sayd to be pillars of the Church And now after all this shee setteth foorth his beautie at large which onely the beleeuers see and are delighted with the beautie thereof and yet they see no more then it pleaseth him to reucale vnto them And his countenance is likened vnto Lebanon which is a most stately and pleasant place because indeed all the beauty and sweete smell of Lebanon that is to say of the Church which is mystically to bee vnderstood by Lebanon is hid in Christ and among all the trees of Lebanon he is compared vnto the high incorruptible and odoriferous Cedar for looke howe much the Cedar doth passe all other trees in height euē so much and more doth he exceed and surpasse all others in the Church because hee is more high more precious and more odoriferous then any other yea there is no good smell no pretious good thing whatsoeuer which is not deriued frō him as frō the fountain of all good His mouth is as sweet things and he is wholly delectable this is my welbeloued this is my louer ô daughters of Ierusalem His mouth c. Last of all she describeth the bridegromes mouth taking it for all his inward sweetnesse that is to say for that inestimable great loue which he bare vnto mākind in seeking their saluations his peace which passeth all vnderstanding the righteousnes of Gods eternall truth in a word his ineffable inestimable spirit Finally the spouse wondering at the altitude of Christs glory and seeing that all the praises that shee could heap and accumulate vpon him were many degrees inferiour vnto his deserts concluding much matter in few tearms she saith that he is wholly delectable indeed this is her principall intent purpose euery where in the Canticles to proue Christ to be most earnestly desired and sought after that she might inflame and kindle the loue of all men towardes him And it followeth in the text and this is my louer to shew howe greatly she did glorie in him The vvordes of the young virgins vnto the Spouse O the fairest among women whither is thy welbeloued gone whither is thy welbeloued turned aside that we may seeke him with thee Whither c. Consider that which went before how the elect not as yet wholly fully perfect but tainted with some small errors and faults haue a kind of forme of godlines and some certaine knowledge of God which they desire might bee increased euerie day more and more and they are willing to bee better informed taught better things The young virgins that is to say the faithfull seruants of the immaculate spouse had learned and heard before what Christ was now they desired to know where his abiding is whither he is gone and where they should finde him and they promise to seeke him with her and they may well say with her for no man can find Christ without he haue that which shal bring him vnto the knowledge of christ or confirme and strengthen him in it Nowe we know that a true faith is a true companion of the faithful Church spouse of Christ which he himselfe nameth the fairest among all women that is to say among all congregations and nations because she is most wonderfully perfect and excellent by reason of that vnspeakeable beautie which she receiueth from her heauenly husband and celestiall bridegrome Christ The sixt Chapter 1 My welbeloued is gone downe into his garden to the beds of spices to feede in the gardens and to gather lillies 2 I am my welbeloueds and my welbeloued is mine who feedeth amōg the lillies 3 Thou art beautifull my loue as Tirzah comely as Ierusalem terrible as an armie with banners 4 Turne away thine eyes from me for they ouercome me thine haire is like a flock of goates which looke downe from Gilead 5 Thy teeth are like a flocke of sheepe which go vp from the washing which every one bring out twinnes and none is barren among them 6 Thy temples are within thy lockes as a peece of a pomegranate 7 There are 60. Queenes and 80. concubines and of the damsels without nūber 8 But my doue is alone and my vndefiled she is the only daughter of her mother and she is deare to her that bare her the daughters haue seene her and counted her blessed euen the Queenes and the concubines and they haue praised her The Commentarie The words of the Spouse vnto the young damsels IT is a strange thing to see how the Church which but a litle since sought after her welbeloued whom she could not find charged the young damsels that is to say the faithfull that if they did find him they should bring her tidings of him because she was sick for the loue of him yet the