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	prayer_n	6,254	5	6.1558	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A76542	The mystery of phanaticism. Or, The artifices of dissenters to support their schism· Together with the evil and danger of them. Set forth in several letters to a friend. Wherein is made appear, that nothing but the subtilty and cunning of their teachers, doth now hinder the people from conformity. By a divine of the Church of England.	A. B.; Taylor, William, fl. 1698.	1698 (1698)	Wing B23A; ESTC R208943	49,991	144

and Spirit than other Mens For that is all the Praying by the Spirit since the ceasing of Inspiration And who will presume to judge of that Yea Is not the Heart more hinder'd and call'd off in their Prayers by the Invention of Matter and Words than in others where both these are prepared to their hands I hope they do not pretend to Pray by the immediate dictates and suggestions of the Holy Ghost as the Apostles did if they do they must work a Miracle that we may believe them and then we shall reckon all their Prayers of as great Authority as the Holy Scripture if they cannot they must excuse us if we condemn their depending upon such divine and sudden Suggestions of great Rashness and Presumption and that theirs is so far from a more Spiritual way of Worship that 't is rather more Carnal and scarce deserves the name of Divine Worship And yet here lies the great mystery of this Artifice for these Men take Praying Extempore or by present Conceptions to be Praying by the Spirit and so call it a Spiritual way of Worship whereas Praying by a Form is stil'd stinting of the Spirit and so that must not be allow'd to be Spiritual but Formal Worship and by this device they set the Ears of the People a itching after the one and turn them away or make them deaf to the other Now this Falacy may be easily apparent to any that considers that some of the vilest Wretches and greatest Monsters of Impiety that ever liv'd have been most famous for this talent of Extempore Prayer We read of one actually in League with the Devil Vid. Raviliac Rodivivu Major Were who had such a Fluency this way that he was admir'd by all but could be imitated by none that came near him And will any ascribe the Prayers of such a Wretch made up of Sorceries and the vilest Abominations to the Spirit of God Are they not rather the Diabolical suggestions of the Evil Spirit and to be ascribed to the true Author the Devil who is the Father of all Lies and Impostures And certainly he that considers what bad things have been vented in such Prayers will plainly see it to be not only a Belying but Blaspheming the Holy Ghost to entitle them to Him But 't is time to shew the evil and danger of this device And First This pretence of Purer Ordinances and purer Worship hath prov'd a principle of great Instability and Giddiness in Religion for when some Men began to refine upon the Established Church and set up Purer Ordinances Have not others risen up who thought them not pure enough and refin'd again upon them yea Does not one Sect continue still refining upon another and God knows when and where it will end Have not these double and treble Refiners almost refin'd away all their Religion and left little more than the Name and pretence of it Is it not dwindled into Air and Speculation and almost lost in a crowd of endless scruples and disputes How little of the life and spirit of Religion appears in Mens lives and how few can shew their Faith by their Works Which are the sad effects of this Reforming and Refining Humour Again This hath made the generality of People despise all Godly Forms though far more conducing to the purity of Faith and Devotion than other newfangled Methods for a Form of sound Words may preserve soundness in the matter of our Prayers and prevent indecencies in the manner of them whereas Extemporary Effusions can do neither for there much unsound Matter and many unseemly Expressions may and do frequently drop from those that use them Moreover many ignorant and wicked Persons who have been eminent for this Spiritual way of Praying have encouraged themselves in their Wickedness upon the account of this Gift and too many still flatter themselves on the same account that they are the Children of God and endow'd with his Spirit notwithstanding all their Wickedness Others again for lack of this Gift have been apt to despond as if they wanted that which should chiefly recommend them unto God And both of them have thereby grievously deceived both themselves and others Besides This pretence of greater Purity naturally leads to Schism and Separation for he that offers a Purer Model shall be sure to draw Disciples after him and many Men being too much given to change are apt to hearken to any higher offers and degrees of Purity there are some who dream of Purity and Perfection here in this life and these will easily listen to any tenders and advances towards it This will cause them to divide and separate from others vainly thinking themselves advanc'd to a higher Form in Christ's School and to have attain'd to greater measures of Perfection which naturally leads not only to Separating but Vilifying one another for they that take themselves to be of a higher Class will scorn to join or converse with those of a lower Form and as others swell in their thoughts and conceits above them so will they make them too the object of their contempt and scorn hence we find the Presbyterians who had declaim'd against the Church for making an Idol of the Common-Prayer were by the Independents and other Sectaries told That they made a greater and worse Idol of their Covenant and they who had stil'd the Liturgy and Episcopacy the Calves of Dan and Bethel found after the Directory and Presbytery branded with the same names and they too accounted the greatest Calves that most admired them Thus you see to what pass declaiming against publick Order and pretending to purer Ordinances may bring matters to which cannot but give great disturbance to any Church or Kingdom whereas the Wisdom that is from above is not only pure but peaceable gentle easy to be intreated free from pride full of good works without partiality and without hypocrisy James 3.17 18. If you will bring the pretences of Dissenters to this Test 't is to be feared Mene Tekel may be written on them they are weigh'd in the balance and found wanting in all these things I am Yours A. B. LETTER V. SIR I Find you sensible in your last of the great mischief of some Mens pretences to greater Purity and a more Spiritual way of Worship and what great advantage they have given to Sectaries to multiply and increase their Parties I shall proceed therefore to a Fourth Artifice made use of to that purpose and that is to cry up Peace and Unity though their Actions tend all the while to destroy and undermine them They know the Holy Scriptures abound every where with Precepts and Exhortations to Peace and Unity and what pressing Arguments and motives are made use of to that end The First things proclaim'd to the World upon our Blessed Saviour's coming into it next to the glory of God were peace on earth and good will towards men The whole course of his Life and Doctrine whilst he continued in it

shew and pretence of Religion Again 2dly This Device is a mocking of God and a high affront offer'd to our Maker for he that only gilds and paints the outward Man without any regard to the Heart shews indeed an Awe and Reverence to Men who behold and judge only by the outward appearance but betrays an insolent contempt and slight of God who looks chiefly to the Heart and requires Truth in the inner parts he that seeks only to recommend himself to the World by fair shews and pretences without approving himself to God by the sincerity of the Heart plainly bids defiance to Heaven and shews a greater fear of Men than God before his Eyes Lastly This great pretence to Religion brings oft-times a scandal upon Religion it self and tends to destroy and undermine it for when these appear to be only Pretences and that these great shews of Holiness are void of all reality and truth it makes the Name of Religion odious and the Profession of it vile and despicable in the Eyes of the World This at once debauches and destroys Religion by drawing out the life of it into mere shew and appearance and making it evaporate into Air and Formality Yea this naturally leads to Atheism and Infidelity for when Men see so many vile Tricks acted under a colour of greater Holiness when Faction and Sedition are gilded over with a specious pretence of Zeal and Men prosecute their Ambition and Avarice under the ensigns of Holiness and Devotion this makes too many think Religion it self a Trick and so cast it off as a device of Cunning and Designing Men And 't is not to be doubted but the Atheism and Infidelity of the present Age is in a great measure owing to the Hypocrisy of such Pretenders SIR I suppose you plainly see the design and the danger of this Artifice so much us'd by our Dissenters which is indeed the Master-piece of their Craft and the principal Engine to draw and deceive the People they know the Vulgar are easily impos'd upon by fair Shews and fair Speeches and how willing they are to embrace a Religion that is so favourable to their Pride Lust and Worldly Interest and puts them to no trouble about the mortifying of either for 't is but to polish the outward Man and make a plausible appearance of Holiness and they need not take care about purifying of the Heart or rectifying any thing that is amiss within and 't is no wonder if so easy a Religion finds many Followers I am SIR Yours A. B. LETTER IV. SIR I Shew'd in my last how serviceable a pretence of greater Holiness is to increase a Party and create Divisions together with the vanity and mischief of that Artifice I proceed in this to a Third Artifice used by Dissenters to that end and that is A pretence to purer Ordinances and a more Spiritual way of Worship and herein they are the Successors of the Cathari and the Donatists of old who pretended to a better and purer way of serving God than other Men and so Separated from them as Saints of a higher Form and Men of a more rais'd and elevated Devotion And herein they are exactly imitated by our Dissenters who talk of nothing more than pure Worship pure Ordinances and pure Administrations all which they confine to themselves and will not allow others any share in them yea they speak contemptuously of others as serving God after an old dead and dull way of Forms whereas They Pray in a more lively manner by their own Gifts and have a more Pure Spiritual and Evangelical way of Worship They revile the Church of England as Popish and stile its Worship Antichristian Our excellent Liturgy passeth with them for Mass-service and all its decent Ceremonies for Idolatry and Superstition the Surplice is a Rag of the Whore of Babylon Bowing at the Name of Jesus is no better than Bowing to an Idol and Kneeling at the Holy Sacrament as bad as falling down to a Graven Image they interpret the form of godliness mentioned by the Apostle to be a Form of Prayer and the Power of Godliness to be Praying Extempore One of them tells us That the reason why the world hates the Saints is because they are a Praying People Now lest you should take this Malignity to be directed against Forms he tells you no Forms of Prayer they can bear well enough but 't is the Power of Prayer that is Extempore Prayer that they can't endure as if this were a flight of Devotion above the reach of Worldly and Carnal Minds and only suited to the more Heavenly and Seraphical Spirit of the Saints Now how serviceable this Device is to promote the Party is easy to conceive for it mightily gratifies the vanity of Men's Minds to think that they are not only more Holy than other Men but that they serve God in a higher and better manner than they for this makes them believe with the Pharisees that God rejoices in them and is mightily pleas'd with them that they are infinitely dear to him and that God is highly-delighted both with their Persons and their Prayers And who that had these thoughts would not gladly enter into the Class of such Worshippers Again This makes them think well of themselves and creates no small pleasure and confidence in their ways though never so False and Erroneous to think their Prayers are better and more acceptable to God than other Mens This makes them infinitely pleased with their Service and endears to them such a Way of Worship Yea it not only tends to invite many into this way but to make them obstinate and pertinacious in it to harden them in their Schism and render it very difficult to reclaim them from it But what is that great Purity our Dissenters thus boast of Is it a greater Purity of Doctrine No for herein they acknowledge we agree and embrace the same Faith Is it a greater Purity of Life This is indeed pretended but experience hath abundantly consuted this pretence and discovered the Hypocrisy Is it then a greater Purity of Worship Yes this is the great Thing for Ours say they is clogg'd with Ceremonies and mix'd and blended with the Inventions of Men. But are not their Prayers the Inventions of Men Yea Do they not proceed from the present and sudden Conceptions of their own Brain Which sure cannot be half so Wise or Pure as more deliberate and well-weigh'd Composures And as for Ceremonies Are not their various and Antick Gestures in Prayer which serve but to expose the Worship of God far more Improper and Impure too than the decent Ceremonies of the Church which help to make it more Uniform and Solemn Is not hasty Speech delivered in Mimical Postures and Actions much more unbecoming Divine Service than a Grave and well-order'd Devotion But their Worship is more Spiritual than others for they Pray more by the Spirit How so Do their Prayers come more from the Heart