Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	faith_n	holy_a	jesus_n	7,332	5	5.7358	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01303	The vvoman of Canaan A comfortable sermon of faith in temptations and afflictions. Preached at Saint Buttolphes without Aldersgate in London, the 15. of February. 1573. By Maister William Fulke Doctor of Diuinity and Maister of Pembrooke Hall in Cambridge.; Comfortable sermon of faith, in temptations and afflictions	Fulke, William, 1538-1589.	1611 (1611)	STC 11425; ESTC S102776	25,978	93

THE WOMAN OF CANAAN A comfortable Sermon of faith in temptations and afflictions Preached at Saint Buttolphes without Aldersgate in London the 15. of February 1573. By Maister William Fulke Doctor of Diuinity and Maister of Pembrooke Hall in Cambridge Now newly reuiued corrected and amended and published at the request of certaine well affected persons Iohn 5 4. All that is borne of God ouercommeth the world and this is the victory that ouercommeth the world euen our faith AT LONDON Imprinted for Thomas Adams 1611. THE EPISTLE to the Reader CHristian reader out of my desire to the multiplication of thy profit in faith and thy comfort by faith in Christ Iesus I haue at length obtayned the republishing of this excellent Sermon of the force of faith in temptations and afflictions preached some yeares since in this citty of London by that learned and Godly man M. Doctor Fulke who was wel seene in the holy scriptures and the fathers and was of such dexterity in maintayning the truth against errors that some of the aduersaries themselues did tearme him the hammer thankes be to Christ who inabled him with such facility to break in fitters their strong arguments that they brought to fortefie their errors But to speake of the Sermon it selfe this I will assure thee it hath bin found so profitable and comfortable to the readers that diuers of mine own knowledge haue written it out and no maruell for whosoeuer shall read it with attention and ponder it shall through Gods mercy besides other fruits of his labour easily learne this short and sweet lesson that wee ought to assure our selues that howsoeuer it shal please Christ to handle vs yet he loueth vs still and hath an eie to that which is good for vs which how profitable and comfortable it is I leaue to thine owne consideration especially seeing it cannot be vnknowne with how many calamities greifes and varieties of afflictions it pleaseth our Heauenly Father to exercise vs in this vale of teares during our pilgrimage here vpon earth it being so is it not a great quietnesse to our hart when wee haue so profited in faith as we can take Gods wil as our soueraigne welfare perfect happinesse for then though all our sences should tell vs that hee is against vs yet our faith will prompt vs to trust in him and to call vpon him as our most louing father who ceasseth not to procure our welfare continualy Such is the calmnes of minde which God giueth to the faithful yea euen in the midest of stormes and extremities Is not faith then a most precious iewel which brings such happines to such as haue it But if thou desire to hold this faith looke wel to thine heart striue to purge it from guilt labour for soundnesse and sincerity for the property of faith is to purifie the heart Act. 15.9 The cause then why so many as seeme to haue faith doe fal and their vertues which they seeme to haue vanish to nothing is because they wāt this soundnesse of heart which vnsoundnesse of heart doth plainly show them if they would see that their faith is not right Wherefore for the helpe of true and right faith in thee I commend this Sermon but why do I commend it read it and it wil commend it selfe therefore I leaue thee to Christ the author finisher of our faith hartely beseeching him so to come vnto thee by his holy Spirit as that thou maist bee able to come vnto him by thy Spirit and so by his Spirit to embrace thee as that hee may stir vp liuely faith in thee to imbrace him and so to ioyne and vnite himselfe vnto thee as thou maist cleaue vnto him in that most happy vnion and most holy wedlocke between thee and Christ which is brought to passe by his spirit and thy faith and is so full of so sweete holy and heauenly consolation Thy well willer MATHEW 15.21 ANd Iesus departing from thence went aside into the parts of Tire and Sidon 22. And behould a certaine woman which was a Cananite comming out of those quarters cried out vnto him saying Haue mercy vpon me Lord thou sonne of Dauid my daughter is pitiously tormented with a diuell 23. But he aunswered her not a word And his disciples came vnto him and be sought him saying send her away for she crieth after vs. 24. But he answered and said I was not sent but to the lost sheepe of the house of Israel 25. Then she came and worshiped him saying Lord helpe me 26. But he answered it is not good to take the childrens bread and to cast it to dogs 27. But she said true Lord but yet the dogs eate of the croomes that fall from their Lords table then Iesus answered and said vnto her O woman great is thy faith be it vnto the as thou wilt and her daughter was healed from the same houre Doctor Fulkes Sermon of the Woman of Canaan THIS part of Scripture beloued in our Sauiour Christ declareth how our Sauiour Christ began to shew some bright beames of his grace vnto the Gentils For although the full time were not yet come that hee should shew himselfe openly vnto the whole world yet by this and such like examples he would giue some fore-taste of his goodnes which afterwards should be offered vniuersally Euen as the Sunne before it ascend in the morning aboue the vpper face of the earth where wee dwell yet casteth vp some beames of his light whereby wee know that hee shall shortly arise so our Sauiour Christ by stretching forth some fruite of his grace vnto the Heathen would giue good hope of that common mercy which shortly after was exhibited both to the Iewes and the Gentiles indifferently Which thing is both profitable and comfortable for vs that are of the Gentills to consider that wee may know by what meanes and degrees the Gospell which is the power of God to saluation was brought vnto vs. There is also set forth in this Gospell a wonderfull commendation of a most strong and inuincible faith in a woman that was a Cananite to set forth the great infidelity and ingratitude of the Iewes that were the chosen people of God that by comparing them together wee might vnderstand how iustly the Iewes were depriued of the promised redemption which so disdainfully they reiected it being offered that the Heathen so willingly embraced when they heard of it Which thing also wee may note in the occasion of his departure out of the land of Iewrie into the parts of Tyre and Sidon which the Euangelist describeth to bee this in the beginning of this chapter The Scribes and Pharisies that came from Ierusalem picked a quarrell against him because his disciples did eate with vnwashed hands whereby they transgressed the tradition of the Elders our Sauiour Christ in defence of his Disciples chargeth the Scribes and Pharises which were so zealous to maintaine their owne ceremonies that they were carelesse to breake the

and Concupiscences thereof It is manifest that these and such like places are not to be vnderstood of perfect innocency free from all sinne but only of such innocency as is but inchoated and begun in this life and made perfect in the life to come Therfore if thou feelest in thy selfe with thy faith in God an hatred of sinne and a desire of righteousnesse which refraineth thee from much wickednesse and stirreth thee vp to some workes of vertue although there remaine in thee the relicks of sinne yea a lust vnto sinne contrary to the spirit of God which also breaketh out some-times into actuall sinne yet by the spirit of Christ that dwelleth in thee thy body is dead vnto sinne thou hast crucified the flesh with the lusts and concupiscences thereof thou walkest in the spirit and not in the flesh and therefore according to Gods promise thou shalt bee saued through thy faith For thy sinnes and infirmities shall not be imputed vnto thee but the righteousnesse of Christ shall be imputed to thee by faith Let vs threfore admitte nothing that may seeme contrary to our assured confidece which is grounded vpon the word of God for in the word of God there is nothing contrary to it and whatsoeuer else doth withstand it is of no force to ouercome it For Heauen and Earth shall passe but the word of God shall not passe But let vs follow the faith of this woman which though she had neuer so many repulses yet would she neuer bee driuen away vntill she had obtayned her request still crying Lord helpe me as though she would say Thou maist well defer thy helpe but thou canst not deny it me yet see what answer Christ maketh vnto her It is not good saith hee to take the childrens bread and cast it to the whelps what an hard and vncurteous answer is this not only to deny her humble request but also to accompt her no better then a dog and to tell her that it is no more reason that shee should obtayne her sute then that bread should be taken from childrens mouthes and giuen to a dog What a great temptation was this that he which onely hath the bread of life to bestow vpon all that hee will doth count her no more worthy to haue part of it then a Dogge to eate that which is prouided for the Sonnes of God for seeing that God made a couenant with Abraham and his seed they onely were the sonnes of God and therefore those speciall graces and gifts of God that were appointed for them were so proper vnto them as whosoeuer should make them common to the Gentiles should abollish the couenant of God Christ therefore with all his benifits was the bread appointed to feed the holy children of God which at that time were the Iewes onely All other Nations of the world were but profane dogs and therefore not worthy to bee fed with that holy bread which was ordayned for Gods owne children Therefore this Heathen woman presuming to leape vpon the table of Gods children like an vnmannerly cur deserued euen like a cur-dogge to bee beaten downe and whipped out of the house rather then that the childrens bread should be taken from them and cast vnto her for so much is implyed in the words of Christ for at it were not meete for him to take the childrens bread and cast it to dogs so she like an importunate dog ready to pull it out of their mouthes deserued great punishment Alas poore woman how should shee avoide this temptation And yet by force of faith she found meanes how to withstand this most eger assault and in the end to obtaine the victory But here to beate downe the pride of the flesh we are taught what wee are all by nature and without Christ euen no better then cur-dogges For this which Christ saith of dogs is ment of all the Gentiles and heathen people as we are all Emperours Kings Noblemen Gentlemen Wisemen Valiant-men Rich-men Poore-men all dogs without Christ for although man by his first creation was the most excellent of all creatures in the world and indeed the sonne of God yet by his fall and transgression hee is become the basest and the vilest and no better then a dogge except hee bee raised vp and restored by the benifit of our onely Sauiour Iesus Christ. By this we see what merit or worthinesse we haue to plead before God and likewise what cause we haue to be proud among men which thing if all men would consider that by kind without Christ they are no better then dogs they would learne to make lesse of their painted sheathes and more to esteeme the benifit of Christ by which they excell if they finde themselues to bee better by grace then they are by nature But to returne to this poore woman although she bee called and accompted of Christ no better then a dog and that she willingly confesseth yet shee will not therefore giue ouer her sute because her faith could not bee ouerthrowne by this assault for of faith proceedeth inuocatiand earnest calling for Gods helpe and saluation For although the aunswer of Christ seemeth to take away all hope from the Gentiles yet because shee knew that hee was promised also to the Gentiles she is certainly perswaded that this promise must take effect and that doth Christ himselfe partly signifie by these words which are rehearsed by S. Marke Let the Children be first satisfied Whereby hee sheweth that the first place was for the Iewes which then were the children of God but this helpeth not her because the time was not yet come in which the Gentiles also should bee made the children of God And therefore shee fleeth to another refuge and thus shee answereth Ye Lord but yet the whelpes eate of the Crums that fall from their Lords table First by this answeare it appeareth how much the certainty of faith doth differ from vaine foolish importunity of ignorant persons which will be answered by no reason and yet haue no reason to continue their sute for this woman doth not here directly contrary the words of Christ but sheweth how the word of Christ may be true and yet she obtained her request also Therefore whereas he had first said she was a dog she willingly confesseth it that she was no better then a dog it is true Lord saith shee I am no better Secondly whereas hee had said It is not good to take the Childrens bread and cast it to dogs she confesseth that also saying yea Lord it is true neither will I presume further then the place of a dog and that is vnder the table For although it is not conuenient that dogs should bee equall with their Maister at the table yet they are allowed to waite vnder the table and to licke vp some few crummes that fall from their maisters I know Gods children are so liberally and plentifully feasted at Gods table that some litle crums may fal