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	zeal_n	zealous_a	73	3	8.8164	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A92173	A most grave, and modest confutation of the errors of the sect, commonly called Brownists, or: Seperatists. Agreed upon long since by the joynt consent of sundry, godly, and learned ministers of this kingdome, then standing out and suffering in the cause of inconformity; and now published in a time of need, for the good of Gods Church, and the better setling of mens unstable mindes in the truth against, the subtile insinuations, and plausible pretences of that pernicious evill. Published by W. Rathband, minister of the Gospell.	Rathband, William, d. 1695.	1644 (1644)	Wing R299; Wing M2893; Thomason E31_11; ESTC R209828	84,262	92

borne but stedfastly opposed to their great reproach dammage and danger many wayes the corruptions in our Church-government worship and Leiturgie and have beene lights and leaders to these latter times therein yet alwayes in a peaceable and regular way as not on the one side to subject themselves to suspitious inventions so on the other not sinfully to separate from the Communion and true worship of Churches accounting it more agreeable to all rules of pietie charitie and Christian prudence to tolerate for the time what they could not mend rather than to rent and teare all in peeces to an utter ruine To conclude though perhaps some few particulars in this treatise may seeme more questionable yet for the maine I doubt not but the Authors have held close to the truth both in their owne positions and in opposing their adversaries By which therefore good Reader thou maiest reape much benefit for thy better settling in these unsettled times if thou be capable thereof and if the Lord shall please to adde his blessing thereunto Which hee shall never cease to pray for who is all that he is truly thine in Him W R. THE PREFACE of the AUTHORS of the Treatise ensuing to the READER THE holy Apostle Saint Paul writing unto the Galathians these words Brethren If any man be fallen by occasion into any fault you which are spirituall restore such a one with the spirit of meeknesse considering thy selfe lest thou also be tempted both sheweth the danger of falling whereunto they are subject who stand in the Church of God and prescribeth the dutie of recovering those that are fallen unto such as are spirituall That is to say as are furnished with gifts thereunto with the manner how all that ought to be performed two necessary points in our judgements to be considered and much tending to the preservation of the good and happy estate of the Church of God for how cometh it to passe that Sathan so farre prevaileth against it but for that weake men consider not the danger of falling untill they be downe and almost past recovering those that are fallen either not at all or not untill they be well neere without remedy It is therefore one especiall part of holy wisedome for men who think they stand to take heed lest they fall and therefore to seeke to kneow the depth of Sathans pollicies and subtilties and then the effectuall means for the preventing of them Into which if they carefully enquire they shall finde that though hee seeke to draw even those that have shined as starres in the Church from heaven unto the earth yet that he much more earnestly laboureth to make them wandring starres forsaking the place wherein they seemed to be fixed to give shine and direction to others that is though hee laboureth and endeavoureth to bring men from their first love and zeale unto a lukewarmnesse or key coldnesse in the Church yet he rather desireth to lead them into a fierie spirit and indiscreet zeale from the Church and societie of Saints which no doubt he doth as for many other causes so for these two 1. That he might by their departure who have seemed zealous and godly professors shake the faith of others and cause them to doubt that they are not in the true Church where they may finde directions toward the kingdome of heaven and at last to flie from it as from Babylon And 2. that he might deprive those men themselves of the happy meanes of the recovery which they might have had easily applyed had they beene in the Church and remained in the fellowship thereof Hence it is that in the Church of God those who breaking the holy bands of love and faith have like unkinde children forsaken her their naturall mother and oft pleaded with her as a strumpet which never was done in more convenient manner then of late by certain of our brethren who having been brought forth of the wombe and brought up in the bosome of the Church of England have not onely renounced as a stepmother but condemned her as one of the daughters yea the eldest daughter of the very whore of Babylon railing on her as if she living in continuall spirituall fornications brought forth sonnes and daughters not unto Christ but unto Antichrist his adversary By which their faults and fallings as they have deprived themselves of those gracious blessings which they did long and might have still enjoyed amongst us to their soules health and made the meanes of their recovery more hard and difficult so have they troubled and disquieted many remaining in the body of our Church and of strong men in the truth brought them to be children again in understanding easie to bee carried about with every blast of diverse and strange doctrines how contrary soever to the truth according unto godlinesse either taught or received by them The case thus standing we take it to be our duties being members and Ministers of this Church having by Gods grace received some though a small measure of gifts fit thereunto as to maintaine the credit of the Church wherein we live And to justifie the practise of our ministerie therein so farre forth as truth will permit so chiefely to seeke and endeavour both the recoverie of those that are strayed from the sheepfold of Christ amongst us and also the stay of those that are ready to runne after them together with the better grounding and confirming of them who remaine in the flocke with comfort under their shepheards which duty we have endeavoured to performe heretofore by publike preaching and private conferences as occasions hath beene offered and now have bestowed our labours in writing this treatise following to the same end wherein after wee have proved by certaine reasons that our Assemblies are the true Church of God we take upon us to shew First The foure chiefest exceptions they take against our Church for warranting Schisme and separation from us are vaine and frivelous Secondly That the maine grounds they stand upon for the erecting their new Church are weake and slender Thirdly that the best arguments that they use for condemning us and justifying themselves are loose and unsufficient which points as we have gathered out of their printed books and written papers where they were before scattered and brought into one forme and body so have we more plainely and nakedly both proposed and dealt in passing by all impertinent and offensive matters And their flouting declamations petitions exclamations and bitter reviling speeches against our Churches Ministers and people all their reprochfull slanderous profane scornings fearefull blasphemies against the Word preached and Sacraments administred prayers and holy exercises of Religion used in our Assemblies wherewith their writings and printings swell to some bignes as Bladders puffed up with winde All these though wee have given the Reader some taste of their spirit in them yet have wee not in our Treatise stood upon them for that wee judge them not worthy the answer This worke

us to joyne unto p. 62. THE Church of Engl. is a true Church OF CHRIST I. EXCEPTION THe first Exception is against the whole body of our Assemblies and our Church in Generall which they tearme Babylonish Synagogues and a whorish Idolatrous Church Henry Barrow in his discovery of the false Church Page 24. ANSVVER THat the Church of England is a true Church of Christ Our Congregations are true Churches For Arg. 1. We have and ●oyne together in the use of the preaching of the Gospell and administ ration of the Sacraments and such an one as from which whosoever wittingly and willingly separateth himselfe cutteth himselfe from Christ wee doubt not but the indifferent Reader may be perswaded by these reasons following First Wee enjoy and joyne together in the use of those outward meanes which God in his Word hath ordained for the gathering of a visible Church for proofe whereof wee alleadge that the meanes which we use and enjoy have been effectuall to the unfained conversion of many as may appeare both by the other fruits of faith and by the Martyrdome which sundry have endured that were Members of our Church and had no other meanes of conversion then such as we have Yea even those men who judge so hardly of us now are able to witnesse with us in this case That if their be any true faith and sanctification in them though it bee much increased as they think since they left us yet it was begun and bred in our Assemblies Secondly If these places of holy Scripture Marth 28.20 Eph. s 4.11 14. bee well examined it will bee found that the means which Christ ordained for the gathering of a visible Church are the very same which we enjoy even the preaching of the word and administration of the Sacraments That which Henry Barrow saith against us in this point pag. 160. of his discovery viz. that there is not any one thing amongst us either in order or administration according to Christs Testament shall bee hereafter disproved when we shall come to justifie our Ministery of the Word and Sacraments against their arguments or Objection whatsoever Now that this is an infallible and good argument of a true Church appeareth Which is an in fallible note of a true Church because First There cannot any people be named that having these meanes may yet by the word be evicted not to have beene the true Church The Papists indeed bragge of these means but without cause for the doctrine of faith is not preached amongst them but oppugned and consequently they cannot have the true Sacraments which are Seales of righteousnesse Rom. 3.12 9 4. which is by faith Secondly the Scripture every where speaketh of the preaching of the Word and administration of the Sacraments as of priviledges peculiar to the Church of God psalm 147.19.20 So while the Jenes only were the Church these priviledges were restrained to them Matth. 10 56. and never made common to the Gentiles till the partition wall being broken downe Acts 11.19 23. they also were incorporated to the Church of God So the Prophet saith Arg. 2. that this should be the reason why the Gentiles were moved to joyne themselves unto the true Church because there and no where else the Ministerie of the Word was to be found Secondly Our whole Church maketh profession of the true faith The confession of our Church together with the Apologie thereof and those Articles of Religion which were agreed upon in the Convocation House in the Yeare of the Lord 1562. whereunto every Minister of the Land is bound by Law to subscribe so farre forth as they concerne the confession of faith and the doctrine of the Sacraments doe prove this evidently for how shall wee better judge of the faith which our Church professeth than by such evidence Many Papists and Atheists are in our Land wee grant and many ignorant and wicked men besides who make not so cleere and so holy profession of the true faith as they should but that our Church accounteth any one to be her Child or member who either denieth Christ or professeth any other way to salvation then faith which worketh by love or who doth not professe this faith an some measure we confidently deny Now this reason also hath force sufficient to prove us the true Church for as true faith in Christ is that which giveth the life and being to such as are effectually called and so become Members of the Invisible and Elect Church so the profession of true saith is that which giveth life and being to a visible Church Upon this profession wee finde many that have beene incorporated into the visible Church and admitted to the priviledges thereof even by the Apostles themselves Act 8.37 38. 16.31.32 12. Yea and Simon Magus though he had neither faith nor the spirit of God yet because he made profession of faith was judged a member of the visible Church and baptized So the Church of Pergamus Act. 8 13. Revel 2.12 15. though it did toletate grosse corruptions in it it kept the faith of Christ and denied not his faith and was still called the Church of God The description of a Church which they give in the page 67. See our further answer to this in the defence we make for our people against the second Article of their third exception of their collection of Letters and conferences viz. That it is a company of faithfull people that truly worship Christ and readily obey him is utterly untrue it it be understood as needs it must of the visible Church for it every one that the Church may account a visible member be truly faithfull how is our Saviour to bee understood when he compareth the Church or Ministery to a draw-net which being east into the Sea gathereth as well that which must be cast away as good Fish * Matth. 13.47 48. And to a field where the Devill doth as busily sow tares as the Sonne of Man doth good Wheate * Matth. 13.37 39. or how shall that difference stand which the Scripture maketh betwixt the Lords judgment and the judgment of men if men may not account any members of the Church by their outward appearance and profession 1 Sam. 1617. Acts 13.28 unlesse they know them to have true faith which thing the Lords eye is only able to discerne Thirdly We hold and teach and maintaine against all Heretickes Arg. 3. and adversaries every part and Article of Gods holy truth which is fundamentall and such as without the knowledge and believing whereof there is no salvation Our confessions Catechismes Articles of Religion published and approved of our Church may perswade all indifferent men of this Yet was not Henry Barrow ashamed to write in the 10th page of his discovery That all the Lares of God both of the first and second Table are here broken and forsaken both of the Ecclesiasticall and