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	trinity_n	9,904	5	10.2376	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A87123	The harmonious consent of the ministers of the province within the county palatine of Lancaster, with their reverend brethren the ministers of the province of London, in their late testimonie to the trueth of Jesus Christ, and to our Solemn League and Covenant : as also against the errours, heresies, and blasphemies of these times, and the toleration of them.	Heyrick, Richard, 1600-1667.	1648 (1648)	Wing H800A; Thomason E434_7; ESTC R7597	26,660	31

THE Harmonious Consent OF THE MINISTERS OF THE Province within the County Palatine OF LANCASTER With their Reverend Brethren the Ministers of the Province of London in their late Testimonie to the Trueth of Jesus Christ and to our Solemn League and Covenant As also against the Errours Heresies and Blasphemies of these times and the Toleration of them LONDON Printed by J. Macock for Luke Fawne at the sign of the Parrot in Pauls Church-yard MDCXLVIII THE Harmonious Consent OF THE Ministers of the Province WITHIN THE County Palatine of Lancaster c. IT is a saying of Solomon worthy to be writen in letters of gold That a friend loveth at all times and a brother is born for adversity a Prov. 17 17 And therefore though God need not the witness of men nor truth our testimony yet when his name is blasphemed the truth contradicted and opposed the faithful friends of God and the sincere lovers of the truth will as in all ages they have done stand up in his cause which they then see in such apparant hazard In the Scriptures we read of a cloud of witnesses b Heb. 12. 1. that appeared for God and bare witness to his truth though for so doing some of them had tryal of cruel mockings and scourgings yea moreover of bonds and imprisonments c Heb. 11 36 37 38. c. In the Apostasie of the ten tribes Elijah and Elesha were zealous for God against the false Prophets of Baal Jeremy at Jerusalem and Ezekiel in Captivity bore witness against the whoredoms of the house of Judah as is most evident throughout their whole Prophesies Peter and the other Apostles though commanded not to teach any more in the name of Christ yet did not therefore forbear resolving rather to obey God then men d Acts 5.28 The two witnesses prophesied one thousand two hundred threescore days all the while the Gentiles did tread under-foot the holy City e Rov 11.2 3. Arrius met with great Athanasius and when the whole world wondered at it self that it was become Arrian the general Councel Of Nice f Concentrate a●tem pratie in un●●lles d●●●llus de p●●lyi●●ose phupt united li●e●●ll it 〈◊〉 di●●n ●in●●●i●sani●●●ale miru●●● it ●●vi●a●●●um ●●npin●●●l●m s●●tntiaplane admyab●les c. Binius vol. 1. Pay 262 met and laid an anatheme on that pernicious Heresie In latter times God had many in this Land who loved not their lives unto the death g Rev. 12 11. and gave testimony to the truth not in ink but in blood and who though they be dead yet speak h Heb. 11.4 as their names wil live for ever When the Complices of Arminius grew many some from the several reformed Churches convened in the general Synod of Dort and accursed his pestilentious Errours And yet more lately The i See the Pre. face to the Protestation May 5.1641 designs of Priests and Jesuites and other adherents to the Sea of Rome against the true reforuted Protestant Religion in his Majesties Dominions established the introducing of divers innovations and superstitions into the Church together with the driving out of multitudes out of his Majesties Dominions amongst other reasons brought forth the Protestation for the defence as of other things so also of the true reformed Protestant Religion expressed in the Doctrine of the Church of England against all Popery and Popish innovations within this Realm wherein not only the Parliament it self was engaged but according to the k See the Order of the House of Commons May 5.1641 concerning the printing of the Preamble the Protestar'en and sending down the Copies printed by the Knights and Burgesses who were to intimate with what willingness all the Members of the House made the Protestation and further to sign fie that as they jutisie the taking of it in themselves so they cannot but approve it in all such as shal take it Order and l See the Voce of the House July 30.1641 wherein they declare that what person soever shal n●●t●ke the Protestation is unsit to hear Other in the Chuch or Common wealth Vote of the House of Commons the generality of the Kingdom were engaged too The m The Preface of the solenm League and Covenant published Sept. 27.1643 calling to mind the treacherous and bloody plots conspiracies attempts and practises of the enemies of God against the true Religion and professors therof in all places especially in these Kingdoms ever since the Reformation of Religion and how much their rage power and presumption had been of late and were at that time increased and exercised did in a great tryal of affliction n Cor. 8.2 induce these Kingdoms to enter into asolemn League and Covenant as for other thing so also for the defence and Reformation of Religion and Extirpation of Popery Prelacy Superstition Heresie Schism and Profaness c. by which so the Protestation and Covenant as there was care taken for the better defence of the truth so there was also a glorious confession of it made before God Angels and men And now when men of perverse spirits and corrupt minds reprobate concerning the faith had resisted the truth o 2 Tim. 3.8 this stirred up the zeal of our reverend and godly brethren the Ministers of the Province of London to give testimony to the truth of Jesus Christ And therefore that we the Ministers of Christ within the Province of the testimony of them that have gone before us considering that we cannot but be sensible of the strange and woful Apostasie of sundry from the Faith the great opposition made against the Government and Discipline of Jesus Christ the sad Divisions and Rents in this tattered and torn Church that an universal Toleration of all even the most execrable doctrines that ever were hatcht in hel or broached in the world is earnestly labored after by many and that the solemn League and Covenant sworn with hands lifted up to the most high God is with many buried in oblivion as it is not only neglected and slighted but also contemned scorned derided and most palpably voilated and trampled on by not a few and that its manifest that God is hereby shamefully dishonored most highly provoked neighbor Churches justly scandalized all fundamental and saving truths in danger to be plucked up by the roots and our several slocks to be poysoned with the spreading Errors of the times The claim that is laid to truth by the three glorious persons in the blessed Trinity p The Father is called The God of truth Deut. 32.4 the Son the truth Jo 14 6 the holy Ghost the Spirit of truth Jo. 14.17 the high price and account that is worthy to be set upon it being to be bought q Prov. 23 23 though at never so dear a rate how ever now a days esteemed of with many as a refuse commodity the high thankfulness we ow to God for keeping trueth so chaste and pure so long

the same Heresies and Blasphemies when they published their Ordinance ' to that purpose As also for to seek Gods assidance for the suppressing and preventing the same and which put us in hopes that there would have been long before now an application of some effectual means of remedy And although we cannot but from the bottom of our hearts lament and pity all those that are intangled in the dangerous and deadly snares fo the Errours of these times yet considering that unsound and heretical doctrine Wil eat as doth a canker b 2. Tim 2.7 or gangrene and therefore doth manifestly tend to the razing down to the ground the true Christian Faith the extirpating of all true Religion and the power of godliness the poysoning and undoing of precions souls is the pest of a Church the weed that wil over-grow Gods garden and so choak the plants of the Lords own planting doth highly provoke God to anger and that the fuligmous vapors thereof which have of late risen up out of the bottomless pit as they have greatly eclipsed so are they in danger to grow into thick clouds to the utter datkening of the heavens over our heads that we should not behold any more the light of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ we do therefore hereby testifie with our brethren c Teslimony to the Touth of Jesus Christ page 33. to all our flocks to all the reformed Churches as our great dislike of Prelacy Erastianism ' Brownism and Independency so our utter abhorrency of Antiscripturism Popery Arianism Socinianism Arminianism Antinomianism Anabaptism Libertinism and Familism with all such like now toorife amongst us and more particularly all those Errours witnesses against by our brethren and recited by them in their Catalogue of infamous and pernicious Errours in their late Testimony And we do hereby as the Watchmen of God and Ministers of Jesus Christ give warning to our several flocks d Mat 7 5. That they take heed of the wolves in sheeps clothing of all e 2 Pet 2 1. false Teachers that do privily bring in dumnable Heresies even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction and that therefore they follow not their pernicious ways that the way of truth may not be evil spoken of that f 2 Ioh. v 10 11 if any man come unto them and bring not the doctrine of Christ they receive him not into their house neither hid him God speed that so they be not partakers of their evil deeds that g Rom. 16 17 they mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which the they have learned and avoyd them And do earnestly exhort them in the bowels of Jesus Christ That they labour to get sound knowledg and to be wel grounded in the principles of the oracles of h Heb. 5.12 God the want whereof is the cause why so many are seduced and turned aside and being i Eph. 4.14 but children in understanding are tossed to and fro and carryed about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men and cuning craftiness of those that lie in wait to deceive k Acts 17.11 That they search the Scriptures with those good Bereans whether those things they hear be so or no l 1 Iohn 4.1 that they beleeve not every spirit but try the spirits whether they are of God because many false Prophets are gone out into the world m I Thes 5.20 21 that they dispise not prophecying but yet prove all things and hold fast that which is good n Eph 4.15 and that speaking the trueth in love they grow up into Christ in all things which is the head Most humbly beseeching o Eph. 1.17 the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of glory that he would give unto all his people the Spirit of wisdoms and revelation in the knowledg of him p Eph. 3.16 That he Would grant unto them according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man that they may be kept from every evil way of errour and sin and may always have something to say for the trueth and nothing against it that all those that go astray may be brought into the Way of trueth and that we our selves our several flocks and the whole Church of God every where may be found blameless at the day of Christ And however we cannot but for the present deplore the sad condition of the Church of God in this Kingdom in respect of the poysonful Errours it is infected with yet we hope that that God which often works by contraries making scandals the tryal and triumph of his chosen is for the present doing his people good by the means of Errours growth thereby ●tying their sincerity and love to trueth stiring them up to prize it the more and more to search after it There must be Heresies saith the Apostle that they that are appoved may be made manifest q C●s 11 19 Open enemies and false brethren by the wise ordering of God who can make soveraign mithridate of the flesh of vipers do always advantage the r Non 〈◊〉 do ●●slo q●od nes●unt s●d ad ●●●un qu●●readum ca●●●les ad 〈◊〉 ap●●●idu● scin●●tua●●●●●●●●cos exci●a●do An●u●●● de vera ●●li●● 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cap. 8. Church And we do further trust that when God by his thus suffering the growth of abominable and pernicious Errours for a time hath thereby fully accomplished the work he hath to do upon the hearts of his people he that knows how to bring light out of darkness order out of confusion good out of evil as he made the pride and tyranny of the Prelates the means to cast them forth so also in much mercy to England wil at length by this most unlikely and contraty means in it self make the Reformation of these Kingdoms much more thorough and glorious III. But before we pass on any further we are here led to express with what astonishment and horrour we are struck when we seriously weigh what endeavours are used for the establishing of an universal Toleration of all the pernicious Errours blasphemous and heretical doctrines broached in these times as if men would not sin fast enough they were biden or as if God were not already enough dishonored except the throne of iniquity were set up framing mischief by a Law ſ Psa 94.20 or as if men were afraid that Errour a goodly plant to be cherished would not grow fast enough except it were made much of or as if it might as justly lay claim to the priviledg of being defended as truth it self or as if there were danger that Satan would not destroy souls enough except he might do the same without all restraint For our own parts as we can never sufficiently admire and wonder that any that have taken the Sole●● League and Covenant should either have so quickly forgo●●nit or else