Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	excellent_a	find_v	great_a	421	4	2.1545	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A14736	A coal from the altar, to kindle the holy fire of zeale In a sermon preached at a generall visitation at Ipswich. By Samuell Ward, Bach. of Diuinity.	Ward, Samuel, 1577-1640.; Wood, Ambrose.	1615 (1615)	STC 25039; ESTC S103052	29,222	94

mooue the affections as well as inform the iudgement there is a doctrinall as som tearm it a Doctorly kind of preaching which is admired of some that vnderstand it not of others that could be content with the Masse againe because it was gentle and had no teeth in it And such Sermons I haue sometimes heard for matter void of exception but so deliuered as if one were acting a Part or saying a lesson by heart It hath called to minde a song which sometimes I haue met withall excellently composed full of sweete ayre surely and truely sung but with flat and dead voyces without spirit which hath marred the musicke Of such a Sermon and preacher the countrey mans verdit did well that said this man may be a great scholar but hee wants beetle and wedges to heaw our knotted timber withall our greene wood will not burn vnless it be better blowen you shall sometimes see an excellent horse of shape and colour hauing many of those marks Du Bartas describes in Cains supposed horse which yet wanting metall hath beene of little worth and lesse vse If there were no other preachers then these which hold themselues the onely profound and learned preachers I muse what should become of conuersion of soules which they that couet must come with the spirit of Elias to turne the hearts of the fathers to their children I may in trueth and I hope with modestie speake with the Preacher that in obseruing I haue obserued and haue found that diuerse great Clarkes haue had but little fruit of their ministery but hardly any truely zealous man of God though of lesser gifts but haue had much comfort of their labours in their owne and bordering parishes being in this likened by Gregory to the yron on the Smiths anvile sparkling round about And if for this any bordering neighbours whose cold labours work not the like successe shall accuse them of some kind I know not what of policie in bewitching the people they may well reply Behold our zealous affections are our charmes and zeale all our witchcraft as Latimer well answered one that accused the people of partiality for not affecting him that preached one of his printed sermons that he had indeed his Stick but wanted his Rosen meaning his zealous manner of preaching and liuing without which last all the former will doe but little good if a good ensample of life accompany not their doctrine as lightening doth thunder For there are some I speake it with sorrow of heart that seem to haue fire in their preaching but cary water in their life being notoriously proud couetous or debauched stained with odious vices Let vs heare the summe of all Doo we loue Christ more then ordinary would wee giue proofe of our trebble loue to him Let vs then feede his flocke with a trebble zeale expressed in our prayer preaching and liuing Let vs make it appear to the consciences of all that the top of our ambition is Gods glory and that we preferre the winning of soules to the winning of the world This title of Angels why may it not also be extended to Magistrates as well as that higher stile of Gods Sure I am that the scarlet robe of zeale would exceeding well become them Iethro maketh it their prime and essentiall character God and Moses their onely and sole in the charge and commission to Iehoshua so oft repeated Onely be of good courage And if Dauid were now to repen his Psalme I thinke hee might alter the forme of his counsell and say Be zealous yee Rulers and Iudges of the world and not wise and politicke or rather vnder the tearmes of wisdome he cōprehends indeed the zeal we call for the most now adayes being Gallioes wise onely for the matters of the common wealth not hauing a sparke of that spirit which was in Phineas Daniel and Nehemias c. for the Lord of hosts or to his lawes and commandements as if God had made Magistrates keepers onely of the second table gouernours of men and not of Christians guardians onely of ciuill societies and not of his Church and shepheards also of his flocke Are Idolatries blasphemies profaning of Sabaoths no sins Why then either haue not the lawes force and strength enough in them as somtime we are answered when we cōplain or why are they not executed for the suppressing of these raigning sins are not all they punished with death in the Scriptures as well as breaches of the second table Blood I leaue to the malignant Church and admire clemency in rulers as much as any but yet I know the profane dissolutenesse of the times requires a three stringed whip of seuerity to purge our Augean stable of the foule abuses whipt often with pennes and tongues but spared by them that beare the sword a man may say of many gouernours altogether in vaine for matters of religion Are not kings of the earth charged to rēder double to the bloudy strumpet of Rome Why then doth the hurtfull pittie of our times imbolden and increase their numbers Laodicea it selfe I doubt not for matters of mine and thine had as their name imports good ciuill iustice and iusticers but what was God the nearer for it doth hee not threaten for all that to spue them out of his mouth shall hee not curse those that doe his work negligently fearfully partially Our times complaine of two speciall canker-worms of iustice which eate vp zeale in Magistrates The first is couetousnesse which makes men of place to transgresse for a morsell of bread the zeale of their owne houses consumes the zeale of Gods house The building of great houses keeping of great houses matching with great houses raising and leauing of great houses behinde them makes them so rauenous that they deuoure so much as choakes all their zeale which would teach them to shake their laps of bribes and scorn to accept gifts though men would augment them for the peruerting of iudgement The other is cowardise and fearfulnes which how vnfit and base a quality did Nehemiah thinke it for a man of his place no better then shynesse in a fore-horse whose eyes men fense on both sides that they may lead the way and goe without starting vnto which zeale is answerable in Magistrates causing them onely to see him that is inuisible without casting a squint eye at men to sing to God onely of iudgement and mercy without runing their songs to mans eare to walke in the perfect way without turning either to the right or left hand for fear or fauour Oh that there were such an heart in our leaders how easily would our people follow what a spring-tide of zeale should wee haue if the Sunne and Moone would cast out a benigne aspect vpon them Doth it not flourish in all those shires and townes where the word and sword doe iointly cherish it In others which are the greatest number how doth it languish and wane away and hang downe the head where is

who cried great is Diana of Ephesus but meant her little siluer shrines It cannot bee denied but many such there were who helped to pull downe the Abbies not out of any hatred to those vncleane cages but to reare their owne houses out of the ruines and spoyled copes to make cushions Iudas complained of superfluity but grieued it fell besides his bagge many temporalities tithes and glebes vnlawful because they are loth to forgo them If Iezabel proclaime a Fast let Naboth looke to his vineyard If the Vsurer and tradesman frequent sermons let the buyer and borrower looke to themselues It is too common a thing to make zeale a lure and state to drawe customers a bait of fraud a net to entrap with malicious Doegs to make it a stalking horse for reuenge against the Priest thereby to discharge their gall at Ministers and other Christians for the omission and cōmission of such things as them selues care not for with the Strumpet in the Prouerbs to wipe their mouthes and frequent the Sacrifices that they may be free frō suspicion All these euills haue I seene vnder the sunne-shine of the Gospell but by how much zeale is more glorious then common profession by so much is dissembled feruency more detestable then vsuall hypocrisie yea no better then diuelish villany double iniquity such painted wals and whited sepulchers the Lord will breake downe Let all Timothies and Nathanaels learne to discry them and discard them The cure of this was deeply forelaid by Christ I counsell thee to buy gold tryed in the fire all is not gold that glistereth an image of faith breeds but a shew of zeale many seemed to trust in Christ but Christ would not trust them but such faith as will abide the fire brings forth zeale that will abide the touchstone The second is erronious or blinde zeale not according to knowledge Rom. 10. I beare many deuout Papists witnesse though I feare the learnedst of them be selfe condemned that they haue this zeale perswading themselues they doe God best seruice when they please the diuell most in their will-worship The same witnesse I beare many Separatists though I feare most of them be sicke of selfe conceit ednesse new fanglenesse and desire of mastership who would not suspect such zeale which condemnes all reformed Churches and refuseth communion with such as they themselues confesse to bee Christians and consequently such as haue communion with Christ. It would grieue a man indeede to see zeale misplaced like metall in a blind horse to see men take such paines and yet fall into the pit This made Paul to wish himselfe Anathema for the sake of such and yet the multitude and common people often thus Is it possible but these men haue the right But alas how should it be otherwise when a blinde company will follow a blinde sect-master This being one property of blinde zeale a fond admiration and apish imitation of some person for some excellency they see in him which so dazles their eyes that they cannot discerne their errours and infirmīties which they oftner inherit then their virtues as appeares in the Lutherans the Iewes that would sacrifice their children to Molech in imitation of Abraham In these the diuell becomes an Angel of light and plaieth that Dragon Reuel 12. pouring out floudes of persecution against the Church causing deuour men and women to raise tragedies breath out thretnings and persecute without measure then these the diuell hath no better souldiers but when their scales fall from their eyes and they come into Gods tents God hath none like vnto them The cure of this diuinely is forelaid by Christ also to buy eye-saule of him Angels haue eyes as well as wings to guide their flight when the shippe is vnder saile and hath the freshest way it hath most neede to looke to the sterage keepe the watch haue an eye to the Compasse and land marks The third kinde is turbulent zeale called by Iames bitter zeale a kinde of wild-fire transporting men beyond all bounds and compasse of moderation proceeding sometimes of a weakenesse of nature in men that haue no stay of their passion like to Clockes whose springs are broken and Cities whose walls are down Zeale is a good seruant but an ill master metall is dangerous in a head-strong horse And so the Poets which were the Heathens Prophets shadowed out the cure of this in Mineruas golden bridle where with she menaged her winged Pegasus There is too much of this bitter zeale of this Hierapicra in all our books of controuersies but especially there hath been too much in our domesticall warres some sons of Bichri haue blowen the trumpet of contention trumpets of anger the Churches of God should haue no such custome Oh that our Churches vnderstood that saying In quarrels of this nature Paul spends his zeale not in partaking but in parting the tray beating downe the weapons on both sides Who art thou that iudgest who art thou that condemnest thy brother as if he should say The matters are not Tanti wee haue made the diuell too much sport already who threw in these bones to set vs together by the eares whilst he lets-in the common Enemie vpon vs. Charity Charity is the builder of Churches Strife about trifles hath wasted many famous ones and placed the temples of Mahomet where the golden candlesticke was wont to stand We pittie the former ages contending about leauened and vnleauened bread keeping of Easter fasting on Sundayes c. The future ages will do the like for vs. Oh that the Lord would put into the hearts both of the gouernours and parties to these quarells once to make an end of these Midianitish warres that wee might ioyntly poure out the vials of our zeale vpon the throne of the beast Thus haue you heard the errors and counterfeits of zeale through whose sides and vpon the backe of which diuerse of the malicious world vse to beat those whom it hates because their workes are better then their owne iniuriously concluding that all Zealots are alike Thus I haue heard our Marchants complain that the set vp blewes haue made strangers loath the rich oaded blewes onely in request this is an old sophisme Trew iudgement would teach vs to conclude that the best drugs haue their adulterates the most current coynes their slippes and that virtue which so many hypocrites put on to grace themselues withall is surely some rare and excellent iewell The third part The true Zealote whose feruency is in the spirit not in shew in substance not in circumstance for God not himselfe guided by the word not with humors tempered with charity not with bitternesse such a mans praise is of God though not of men such a mans worth cannot bee set forth with the tongues of men and Angels Oh that I had so much zeale as to steep it in it owne liquor to set it forth in it owne colours that the Lord would touch my