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	holy_a	jesus_n	13,652	5	5.8822	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A31656	An effort against bigotry, and for Christian catholocism being a discourse on Rom. 14, 17 / delivered at Andover in Hampshire by Henry Chandler.	Chandler, Henry.	1699 (1699)	Wing C1926; ESTC R32616	24,696	36

herein and so far Pests and Plagues to Christian Societies And 't is my serious Thought that if God in Mercy doth not by some speedy unexpected Providence prevent it this sort of Men will ruine our Liberty and bring us into miserable Confusion Friends if you call this Railing I cannot help it but this shall support me that God hath commanded me to mark them which cause Divisions Rom. 16. 17. and that if I uprightly do my Duty God will at last acquit me tho' Men for the present condemn me God will for Christ's sake shew me his reconciled Face tho' Men my Acquaintance and Friends turn their backs upon me and will not vouchsafe to hear me I say to you as the Apostle in another case 2 Cor. 11. 1. Would to God you could bear with me a little and indeed bear with me I have no delight in offending any Body be sure not in troubling those whom I have found Comforters of me and from whom I might possibly yet expect further Comfort I know Discourses of this nature are not pleasant to either the Guilty or Innocent and you may assure your selves I have as little pleasure in speaking them as you have in hearing them But I say as David to Eliah 1 Sam. 17. 29. Is there not a cause Is not this that I am speaking against a Sin And hath it not done Mischief these many Years in this Nation and particularly in this place Doth not this dividing Spirit naturally lead to the levelling the Ministry with the People and destroying the necessary distinction of Teachers and Learners Rulers and ruled in Churches And is not this the way the high-way to Christianity-Ruining Quakerism and Fanaticism And am not I a Watch-man and shall not a Watchman speak when he seeth Evil approaching You will cut a Dog's throat that will not open when he should and the Spirit of God compares cowardly silent Ministers that tell not the People of their Sin and Danger to dumb Dogs that cannot bark and what the Lot of a People is like to be that have such Ministers you may see Isa 56 9 10. All the Beasts of the Field come to devour yea all the Beasts in the Forest c. 4. Proud Contemners are to be reproved Such I mean who having Knowledge and a greater Latitude than others do therefore despise and contemn their Christian Brethren that having less Knowledge make more Scruples than they This was the fault of the converted Gentile in the Apostle's Time and this is without Rancour I speak it the fault of the more Knowing if more knowing and less Scrupulous Church-man at this Day There was in the Apostles Day a dispute between the converted Jews and Gentiles about the Lawfulness of Eating such and such Meats and the necessity of keeping such and such Mosaick Holy-days or Festivals the converted Jew thought that the coming of the Messiah was to Establish the Jewish Polity and Mosaick Institution therefore tho' he believed in Christ yet he durst not but observe the Ceremonial Law Wherefore he conscienciously kept the Jewish Feasts enjoined by that Law and forbore those Meats that were by that Law pronounced Unclean The Converted Gentile being better informed took no notice of the Precepts or Prohibitions of that Law but eat any Meats and took no notice of those Feasts Rom. 14. 2 5. This diversity of Opinion and Practice in these two Parties of Christians occasioned a sinful Distemper of Mind in both one against another the Distemper of Mind that the converted Gentile sinfully harbour'd against his Brother was proud Contempt as we learn by the Apostle's prohibition ver 3. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not By this it appears that he did despise him he looked upon him as a scrupulous humoursome Fool. Brethren we have a like Case in this our day Some there are that think we be under the Gospel tied up to all the Circumstances of Worship as strictly as the Jews were heretofore under the Dispensation of Moses and that nothing is to admitted in or about the Worship of God but what is commanded in Scripture There are others who think that we are not so strictly tied up under the Gospel but that if the Direction of Scripture be observ'd as to the Object of Worship the recommending Mediator and the assisting Spirit if God the Father Son and Spirit be Worshipped and we present our Adorations by the Lord Jesus in the strength and vertue of the Holy Spirit if the Doctrine preach'd be according to the Analogy of Faith our Prayers suitable to the Directory for Prayer commonly called the Lord's Prayer if we use no Sacraments but such as Christ hath appointed and all be done in Sincerity and Truth Decency and Order unto Edification they think their Worship nevertheless acceptable to God if in it they observe some Ceremonies of Man's appointing This is the profess'd Judgment of the Church of England for these are her Words sc We think it convenient that every Country should use such Ceremonies as they shall think best to the setting forth of God's Honour and Glory I undertake not to determine at this time which is in the Right here but this I say those Church-men are to blame that do despise and vilify those who differ from them 'T is their Sin if they look upon and treat a Person as an ignorant humoursome Fool meerly because he scruples those things that they can dispense with in the Worship of God 'T is Uncharitable and Unchristian for such to overlook the Substantial Piety and serious Godliness that may be in such meerly because they have not the Compliment and Finishing of supposed Orthodoxness in the business of Circumstance and Ceremony of which even the Church of England her self saith That the keeping or omitting of a Ceremony is in it self but a small thing When a Church-man therefore shall in scornful Pride look a-wry upon an humble peaceable pious just charitable Christian meerly because he is a Dissenter from his Ceremonies he sins against the Law of Christ and walks unsuitably to the Principles of his own Church 5. Vncharitable Judgers are to be reprov'd Such I mean as allow themselves to Condemn Persons as Graceless and Prophane upon account of their using such Liberty as they scruple This was the fault of the Converted Jew as we learn by the Words of the Apostle Let not him that eateth not judge him that eateth And this to speak impartially is the fault of the Censorious Dissenter As the Jews heretofore condemned the Gentile as a prophane wicked Person for his eating of Meats forbidden by the Ceremonial Law so some Dissenters thanks be to God 't is but some are ready to condemn those of the Church of England as Prophane and Graceless upon account of their use of the Church Forms and Liturgy Those of them that are not visibly Prophane and Irreligious they censure them as meer Formalists the best they can think of them

all things Orthodox and orderly Then thou must love thy Father or Mother or Wife or Children or Minister yea or thine own self no more for all on this side Heaven have their Mistakes and are guilty of their Irregularities We know but in part saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 13. 9. and in many things we offend all James 3. 2. But hark Christian what are those Errors and Irregularities that hinder thy loving of thy Fellow Christian Doth he deny the Catholick Church that one Body Doth he deny the Holy Ghost that one Spirit Doth he disown the Belief of the Heavenly Glory that one hope of our Calling Or doth he deny the One Lord Jesus the one Faith Baptism or God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in us all Perhaps thou wilt say No no he is not gone so far as that comes to he owns all these Does he then to speak a soft word thou art a foolish Wretch if thou canst not love him because he thinks and speaks somewhat differingly from thee about the Circumstantials of Religion But thou say'st he is disorderly what meanest thou Is he Prophane Intemperate Unjust or Unmerciful It may be thou wilt say No I can lay none of this to his Charge as to the main he seems to live a Sober Righteous and a Godly Life but he is not of my mind and way in the Worship of God he was not admitted to the Lord's Supper as I was he says not his Prayers as I do mine he comes not to the same place of Worship that I do And is this the reason why thou canst not love him Let me tell thee freely whoever thou art thou hast great reason to question whether thou thy self lovest God or no and for thy reason why thou canst not so heartily love thy Fellow Christian thou wouldst have given as good an one if thou hadst said the reason was because he hath a Mole in his Face a spot upon his Coat or another fashion'd Ribbon in his Hat than thou hast for these are as solid Reasons why thou shouldst not heartily love such as I have described as the others are 2. Hence learn Uniformity in Worship is not necessary to the Flourishing of Christianity in the World The Kingdom of God may be in a prosperous and flourishing Condition though all do not Worship in the same manner or with the same Ceremonies exactly Because the Kingdom of God consisteth not in such little things That there be Unity among Christians is necessary they must be united in the same Object of Worship the ever-Blessed and Glorious Trinity in the same Mediator the Lord Jesus Christ in the same Guide and Director in Worship the Holy Ghost in the same Rule of Worship as to the substance of Worship at least the Holy Scriptures in the same end of Worship the Glory of God in their Eternal Salvation But that there should be amongst the several Assemblies of Worshippers an exact Uniformity as to all the Modes and Circumstances of Worship this is I think not possible but I am sure not necessary to the flourishing of Christianity for the Kingdom of God is not Circumstance or Ceremony But alas how do Persons of all denominations some at least talk as if they thought the quite contrary the high Flyers of all Denominations talk and act as if they thought the Kingdom of God was nothing else but Circumstance and Ceremony Ask the rigid Church-man's Opinion and he 'll tell you 't will never be good days till all come to Worship God Almighty with the laudable Ceremonies of the Church of England he 'll tell you that there are no true Ministers but those that have Episcopal Ordination no true Sacraments but what are Administred by such Ministers no true Churches where there are not true Sacraments no Salvation out of the true Church That is in a word that there are no true Churches or Christians that are in a State of Salvation but those of his Way and thus we poor Dissenters all are what in him lieth left without the Pale of the Church to be an easie Prey to the next Herd of Devils that shall chance to light upon us These Men make the Kingdom of God to be Ceremony and Circumstance with a witness in as much as they will not vouchsafe to reckon those amongst Christians that want but the supposed Compliment or finishing of the Imposition of the Hands of a Diocesan Bishop on their Ministers at their Ordination though all other requisites be found amongst them Well are there none of the Dissenters as Foolish in their way Yes verily there are amongst them some as Ignorant and Uncharitable as their Canonical Neighbours This wild Fancy walks sometimes in a Cloak as well as in a Gown and Cassock some there are that think it can never be as it should be with the Kingdom of God till all Ceremonies but their own for 't is impossible to Worship God with external Worship without some Ceremony or other be laid aside they have such extravagant Conceits about the Ceremonies used by the Church of England that they be ready to conclude that the Salvation of such as use them is almost as impossible as 't is for a Camel to go through the Eye of a Needle When they think fit to speak of a Church-man in whom perhaps there 's some good thing that they cannot but see they speak of it with a But. But he is a Church-man But he is for the Liturgy as if his not being a Dissenter or not Worshipping God just in such a way and manner as they did marr all the good that was in him and make it to be nothing The truth is there is such a dictating domineering Spirit in Men of all sorts that every conceited Man would be a Teacher and Ruler to all the rest The conceited Episcopal Man would have all the Nation follow his Fashion and bow down to his Idol I mean his excessively valued Ceremonies the proud Presbyterian would have all observe his Directory and the proud Independent would have all take his Covenant and conform to his Customs and Usages and if these cannot have their Wills and God forbid they should they utter their Complaints and vent their Predictions as if for want hereof all the Storms were raised that have so long threatned the sinking of the Church Whereas the wise and humble and peaceable among all sorts consider that seeing the Kingdom of God consisteth not in Ceremony or Circumstance of External Worship a variety and diversity herein may well be allow'd unto Persons of different Sentiments and Apprehensions without any damage done to the Glory of the Divine Government And that this was the Apostle's mind is manifest from this that when he considers the difference between the Jew and Gentile about the Observation of Holidays he doth not command one to conform his Opinion and Practice to the others but adviseth each to act according to his own