Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	father_n	ghost_n	holy_a	47,258	5	6.0438	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A21172	The boring of the eare contayning a plaine and profitable discourse by way of dialogue : concerning 1. Our preparation before hearing, 2. Our demeanour in hearing, 3. Our exercise after we haue heard the Word of God / written by that faithfull and diligent minister of Gods Word, Master Stephen Egerton ...	Egerton, Stephen, 1555?-1621?	1623 (1623)	STC 7527.5; ESTC S1083	19,475	87

THE BORING OF THE EARE Contayning a plaine and profitable Discourse by way of Dialogue concerning 1. Our preparation before Hearing 2. Our demeanour in Hearing 3. Our exercise after we haue heard the Word of God Written by that faithfull and diligent Minister of Gods Word Master Stephen Egerton sometimes Preacher of the Black-Friars in London ECCLES 4. 17. Looke to thy feet when thou commest into the House of God and be readier to heare then to offer the Sacrifice of Fooles LONDON Printed by William Stansby 1623. To the Christian and beneuolent READER CHristian READER though mine owne Meditations haue hither-to euer shunned the common view of the World contenting my selfe with the priuate Approbation of mine owne Charge yet considering the generall good that may accrue vnto the whole Church of Christ by these labours of my Reuerend Kinsman Master Stephen Egerton I haue ventured to commend them vnto Gods Church being thereunto also intreated I know without my commendation they will be worth your small cost in procuring your little labour in perusing For it is admirable to consider that in these preaching and hearing dayes such faithfull preaching such frequent hearing so many should yet bee possest as it were with a dumb Deuill and all our Sermons to the most of men but as sounding Brasse or a tinkling Cimball So wee pipe and no man danceth we mourne and no man weepeth wee preach peace but no man sorroweth for his sinne May we not say of these as Dauid of the Idolls They haue eares and heare not or as our Sauiour translateth that fearefull commination against the despisers of his Word Hearing they shall heare and shall not vnderstand least they heare with their eares and vnderstand with their hearts and bee conuerted and healed So to heare then is to attend with the eare to receiue with the heart to conuert in the life and conuersation else our sinfull soules can neuer bee healed And therefore this is the voyce of the Spirit vnto the seuen Churches of Asia Hee that hath eares to heare let him heare what the Spirit saith vnto the Churches There are fiue sorts of eares that are not hearing eares The first is a dull Eare when a man is either drousie or carelesse or ignorant The second is a stopped Eare as the Serpent stoppeth his eare against the voyce of the Charmer Such are our Recusants and secure Persons that will not heare lest they should bee thawed from their dregs and so conuerted and saued The third is a preiudiciall or sinister Eare this man like Malchus hath lost his right Eare and hee comes as the Pharisee to Christ to tempt the Minister to catch him in his talke turning all his speech to the worst because hee hates or despiseth the person of the Preacher This man is like the Spider that sucketh poyson out of the sweetest flowers The fourth is the nice or itching Eare that must bee clawed that will heare nothing but nouelties and dainties that lookes not so much to the goodnesse of the meat as to the sweetnesse of the sawce Surely this man must needes haue a thinne and pined soule and he often meets with that hee vnderstandeth not meate that hee cannot digest and so seldom or neuer profiteth by the Word of God The fift is an adulterous Eare that will heare any but the voice of their owne Shepherds You shall know them as the Harlot is knowne they are euer gadding to seeke their new Louers but God shall one day discouer their adultery to the shame of their Persons to the disgrace of their Profession to the confusion of their faces To such let mee say as Christ to the woman taken in adulterie Goe and sinne no more Now all these haue Eares and heare not and therefore haue neede to haue the word Ephphata pronounced vnto them as vnto the deafe man And for their better direction in this dutie this present Tract is of excellent vse being plain and familiar for the manner and sound for the matter being grounded vpon many excellent exhortations and rules in the Holy Scripture whereby men may know how to heare with glorie vnto God honour vnto his Ordinance and profit vnto their owne soules The necessitie of this dutie the Apostle proues where hee thus argueth Faith commeth by hearing c. Now without faith it is impossible to please God The neglect or contempt or ignorance of this dutie is the cause of all prophanesse whereas if men would heare as they ought this hearing would beget faith and faith would bring forth all excellent graces accompanying saluation The seruant which bound himselfe to the perpetuall seruice of his master because he loued him was to be broght vnto the doore of his house and his Master was to boare his eare with an Awle Whosoeuer he is that enters into Gods seruice hee must haue this marke euen an open eare and it must be boared at the Doore of Gods house that he may be readier to heare then to offer the Sacrifice of fooles The Hebrewes say it is the right eare that must bee boared and surely if men heare with a sinister eare they doe not expresse themselues true seruants of God Whosoeuer therfore hath dedicated himselfe to the seruice of the Lord let him expresse his Obligation or Indenture by his open eare to the Word of God for his sheepe heare his voyce and his Familie doe his command God giues vnto euery one that hee receiueth into his seruice this Iewell to hang in his eare namely to heare with attention and reuerence 1. Whatsoeuer God speaketh 2. When soeuer hee speaketh 3. By whom soeuer hee speaketh The next punishment vnto death by our Nationall law is losing the eares And certainly whose eares or hearing God hath suffered to be taken away they are in a dangerous or desperate case because the Word is the sauour of life vnto the right hearer and the sauour of death vnto him that heareth not as hee ought Now that you may heare with your eares and vnderstand with your hearts and be conuerted from your euill wayes and bee healed of all your sins vse this short and easie receipt and as you find the effect of it returne the glory to God esteeme of him who hath presented it to your view and vse as one that hath good will vnto Sion and moaneth for the deafenesse of the Daughter of his People and shall euer pray that this word Ephphatha may bee by the Spirit of the Lord effectually pronounced vnto all those who desire to heare the glad tidings of the Gospell of Iesus Christ To whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost bee all honour and praise and obedience yeelded now and for euer AMEN Yours in the Lord Iesus to be commanded Richard Crooke To the Reader OF all the Senses none is more needfull or vse-full then Hearing Of all the Obiects of Hearing none to be compared to the

Heauen and Earth to speake to him by Prayer and to heare him by Preaching and by both these as also by the Sacraments to feast and feed with him Thirdly We must remember more particularly the fruit of Gods Word and the efficacie thereof in that it is called The Kingdome of Heauen The meanes to keepe vs from Hell The treasurie of eternall life A sure word of Prophesie compared to a light that shineth in a darke place and is not only food to nourish vs but also Seed to beget vs Beeing able to saue our soules That which will support vs and quicken vs in our greatest troubles beeing the very ioy of our hearts Qu. What is the fourth dutie An. Fourthly wee are to reade and meditate in priuate with others if wee may fitly and by our selues vpon that place of Scripture that is to bee handled in the publike Assembly for if a godly man ought to meditate day and night in the Law of the Lord How can he be negligent vpon the Day of the Lord in thinking of that Scripture which is to bee handled in the House of the Lord And if the whole doctrine of the Gospell ought to dwell plentifully in vs alwayes How can we but possesse our selues of that part of the Gospell or Word of God which wee goe now to feede our soules withall Moreouer a Christian shall better remember the matter which is deliuered when hee hath thought of the ground of it before and also discerne more cleerely the grace and power of the publike Ministerie so farre exceeding his priuate Meditations or otherwise the weaknesse of the Minister if hee want either that gift that he should haue or be negligent in that studie and preparation which hee ought to vse Qu. What is the fift duty to be vsed of the Hearers before the Sermon An. Hee must powre forth faithfull and heartie Prayer first for himselfe that God will enlighten his mind confirm● his Memorie reforme his Will soften his Heart purifie his Conscience that hee may grow in the knowledge of his heauenly Doctrine lay hold of it by a true Faith and turne the same into the daily and wholsome exercises of Praier and Repentance herein imitating the Prophet Dauid and the Apostles Secondly For the people that shall ioyne with him especially those of his owne Family For if such be worse then Infidels as make not bodily prouision for their Families they cannot bee Christians that neglect this part of prouision for their soules Thirdly For their Ministers for if Paul beeing so excellent an Apostle needed the Prayers of the Ephesians much more doe the ordinarie Pastors and Teachers of the Church need the same Qu. Wherefore else is Prayer necessarie An. Because First God only giueth wisdome and out of his mouth commeth knowledge and vnderstanding Secondly Flesh and bloud reuealeth not those things to vs but God our heauenly Father Thirdly The naturall man perceiueth not the things which belong to the Spirit of God CHAP. III. Qu. YOu haue shewed mee what is to bee done before the Sermon now tell mee what is the hearers dutie in the Sermon while An. First let such as bee able to reade bring with them to the publike Assemblies the holy Bible to the end that they may not only ioyne with the Church in singing of Psalmes but also readily turne to the principal places of Scriptures that are read expounded and repeated by the Minister by which meanes they shall greatly further both their attention and memorie hauing the helpe not only of their Eare in hearing but also of their Eye in perusing those scriptures that are alleaged to see whether they be truly alleaged or no by which meanes also the Minister shall bee made more carefull to take heed that he doe not but vpon very good ground swarue from the words of the common Translation If this had beene obserued the Nouatian Heretike of whom Socrates speaketh in the Ecclesiasticall Storie durst not haue added those words to the Text which he did saying Cursed is euery one that keepeth the Passeouer without vnleauened Bread Neither would that bee of whom Austine speaketh Epistola nona ad Hicon haue so vnaduisedly made that hurrie among the people by reading a word in the Prophesie of Ionas otherwise then it was in their Bibles Qu. Which is the second dutie An. Euery hearer must endeauour earnestly to bee present at the whole Sermon from the beginning to the end both comming before the first Prayer begin and not departing till the blessing bee pronounced Iudas leauing the Assembly of Christ and the other Apostles before the action was ended and the Psalme sung had heauie successe This was counted so great a fault in former times that the Councell of Carthage appointed him that went out of the Congregation while the Minister was in speaking to bee excommunicated Qu. What is the third An. Sleepe talke and speech with other men curiositie in looking about and reading of other Bookes c. in the Sermon time must bee auoyded Qu. Why should not men sleepe at Sermons An. For diuers Reasons First it is a breach of the third Commandement or a taking of GODS Name in vaine by neglect and abuse of Gods holy Ordinance Secondly It is an enemie to that attention and heedfulnesse in hearing which is required of vs. Thirdly If such a iudgement befell him that slept in the night that at an exceeding long Sermon What are we to say of those that sleepe in the day at a Sermon of an houre long Fourthly It is a thing of euill report and example Qu. How shall they preuent it that by reason of watching early rising age or other infirmities can hardly auoid it An. They must seeke by all meanes to resist it praying and groaning in spirit standing vp vsing the Pen if they can write crauing the helpe of such as sit neere them c. Qu. What say you to talking curious gazing and gaping about c An. They are condemned by all the same Reasons that sleeping is and that so much the more because sleepe is such a naturall Infirmitie that it may suddenly and vnawares steale vpon a good and godly man who hath often resolued with his owne heart neuer to giue place vnto it whereas any man that hath but a sparke of grace and modestie may with a little striuing refraine talking and looking about and therefore it doth argue a farre greater prophanenesse and impudencie then the other Qu. But may not a man reade some good Booke of Diuinitie in the Sermon time An. No not the very Bible it selfe except it be the places that are pointed to by the Minister for wee are to giue attendance to the things that are spoken Besides it carrieth with it a kind of contempt both of the Minister and Ministerie and a secret condemning of those that doe attend Qu. What is the fourth dutie of hearers