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	john_n	truth_n	8,102	5	6.1149	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A73284	Profano-mastix. Or, a briefe and necessarie direction concerning the respects which wee owe to God, and his house even in outward worship, and reverent using of holy places. Shewing chiefly when, and how, wee ought to enter; how to behave our selves being entred, how to depart; as also, how to esteeme of Gods house at every other time. Written out of a true and sincere intent to reduce the disordered and factious, to a better order then either their neglect, stubbornnesse, or scrupulositie can purchase for them. / By Iohn Swan curate of Duxford S. Peters.	Swan, John, d. 1671.	1639 (1639)	STC 23513; ESTC S106202	33,675	74

I may the better invite thee let mee plead the cause a little further Dost thou desire to confesse thy sinnes there 's a forme of exquisite confession Or dost thou desire to bee absolved there 's an order how the Priest shall absolve the truly penitent and faithfull soule Or dost thou desire to praise thy God there 's an heavenly Te Deum for such a purpose or dost thou desire to make an open confession of that faith which the orthodox Christians ever held there be the three Creeds namely that of the Apostles Athanasius and the Niceene Creed the two last of which are received of the Church not as new but as expositions of the first Their foundation is in Scripture and are Regula fidei even as the Decalogue is Regula vitae Or dost thou desire to pray as thy Saviour teacheth there 's the Pater noster * Doctor Boyse in his Post A prayer which excells all other in many respects as being the Gospels epitome compiled by wisdome it selfe so large for matter so short for phrase so sweet for order as that it deserveth worthily to have the First and Most place in all our Liturgie The first saith Tertullian as guide to the rest The most saith that learned Hooker as a necessary complement to supplie whatsoever is wanting in the rest This being tanquam sal as a kind of Salt to season all and every part of the divine service Idem ibid. In which regard saith our English Postiller we use it often as at the end of the Letanie at the end of Baptisme at the end of the Communion and at the end of other sacred actions Or againe dost thou desire to give publike thanks as a good Christian ought to doe for publike benefits or to bee eased from generall calamities or to bee secured from common evils why there in that booke be formes and patternes for such a purpose yea for the asking of those things which bee requisite and necessary as well for the bodie as the soule And will none of these things move thee to come betimes to Gods house I doubt thy sanctitie and suspect thy soundnesse The place is holy the service holy And therefore let there bee so much holinesse in thee as may bring thee cheerefully early and devoutly to this holy place and there make thee to be one with the rest in that holy businesse which well beseemes a holy Christian For this is certaine that our holinesse towards God concernes us one way in that wee are men and another way in that wee are joyned as parts to that visible mysticall body which is his Church As men we are at our owne choyce both for time and place and forme according to the exigence of our owne occasions in private But as we be the members of a publike body the service which is to be done of us must of necessitie be publike And so consequently bee performed by us on holy dayes and in holy places And thus I have done with the first thing which is that wee be not late commers The second concernes our Reverence in entring which how it ought of right to bee performed by degrees shall be declared In the Scriptures you know that wee reade of Moses and Aaron that they did their reverence at the very doore of the Tabernacle Numb 20.6 And take heed to thy foot when thou entrest into the house of God is the wise mans counsell in Eccles 5.1 Hee forewarnes thee that hee might fore-arme thee And good reason that his counsell should bee regarded otherwise the heart that thou bringest with thee is no better then cor fatui a fooles heart enough to make a man be guiltie of evill when hee should bee doing of good It is not sufficient to say that although such outward worship was requisite under the Law yet not now required For before Iudaisme began Iacob acknowledged Bethel Gen. 28. the house of God to bee a place of feare and reverence Hee did no sooner perceive that it was an house of God but hee presently began to bee perplexed for feare he had not behaved himselfe so in it as of right he knew hee ought to doe in all such places And albeit our Saviour said to the woman of Samaria in the fourth chapter of S. Iohn that the time was then at hand that God should not be worshipped either at Hierusalem or at mount Garazim but that the true worshippers should worship the Father in spirit and in truth yet did hee not say any thing for the abolishing of publike Places purposely consecrated and set apart for publike worship What then I answer that hee did declare the cessation of worship to be now at hand both according to the custome of the Iewes worshipping at Ierusalem and of the Samaritans worshipping upon the aforesaid Mountaine For all such shadowes types and figures as pointed to the Messiah must cease the body being come And in that regard hee useth the word Spirit by way of opposition or as it is set against that commandement which in Heb. 7.16 is called carnall And so also for the word truth he speaketh of it not as wee set it against a lie but as wee take it in respect of the outward ceremonies of the Law which did only shadow that which Christ performed in very deed as even the Geneva note observeth Or if that of Spirit and truth bee further urged the better to colour mens want of reverence in the house of God it is againe answered that when outward or corporall worship proceedeth from spirituall devotion and is applied thereunto it is then a Spirituall worship because by this rule it is joyned to that which ought to bee the chiefe and principall mover in all our postures 2.2 q. 84. art 1. Ad primum And so saith Aquinas Quod etiam adoratio corporalis in spiritu fit in quantum ex spirituali devotione procedit adeam orainatur And indeed so long as man hath a body as well as a soule how shall hee manifest his inward feare and reverence but by his outward devotion or shall the soule be subject and the body free 'T is nothing so hee that made both requireth as the Apostle tels us that we glorifie him in both And so outward reverence as well as inward feare doth necessarily belong to every Christian The true worshippers therfore should remember to addresse themselves with dread and horror and enter with preparation as unto God prostrating Eae quae exterius aguntur signa sunt interioris reverentiae Aquin. sum 2.2 q. 84. art 1. or bowing downe their bodies not only in token of their both inward and outward humiliation but also in regard of the reverence which they owe to God into whose house and before whose presence they are now entred And indeed it is an humble soule that is both ready and willing to shew and afford due reverence whereas the proud and haughty will rather kick against

to Man But now remember your selves you are met together for the service of God And if so then in aword There must be nothing either said or done which may make us forget the businesse wee come for Object Oh but doe I not heare some object that these postures or gestures which are used as bowing kneeling and standing up are but outward Ceremonies and humane civilities such as are not seldome applyed unto Men and therefore farre unfit for God who would have the true worshippers to worship him in spirit and in truth Answ I have in some sort given answer to this already But that nothing be wanting it is further answered namely that when wee applie these gestures unto God they are changed in their nature from what they were when wee applyed them unto Men. They were then civill honours but are now to bee accounted acts of holinesse For it is a Rule that acts are specified according to their object and end Now then in these the object is God and his glorie their highest end For albeit the Lord in respect of himselfe stands in no need of this because of himselfe hee is all glorie to whom no creature can adde any thing yet in regard of us it ought to be done who doe thereby acknowledge our owne meanenesse and subjection and testifie that reverent and religious esteeme which wee have of his divine Majestie to whom and not unto our selves all the highest degrees of glorie that can be imagined are of all creatures to bee ascribed And so what Ceremonie soever is best able to expresse this is the most commendable and best beseeming us in our Devotions Nor is it among true worshippers but a spirituall as well as a bodily worship For as before was said Bodily worship is performed in spirit inasmuch as it proceeds from spirituall Devotion and is ordered to it Yea and being ordered thereunto it cannot but prove an adjuvant cause to edification For even by outward ceremonies and sensible signes our mind is incited to tend towards the Lord. And therefore Oh come Let us worship and fall downe and kneele before the Lord our Maker is an excellent invitation at the beginning of the publike Service But I hasten further because I desire to explaine some other things as standing up at Gloria Patri at the Gospell at the Creed and shall also speake of Bowing at the name of Iesus and of the Answers required in the Liturgie For all these things are such as fall within the compasse of this third thing which concernes our Cariage or Deportment And first of standing at Gloria Patri it was a long while since observed and was a generall custome to stand up at it in all the Churches of France And this above one thousand and two hundred yeares from hence For Cassian who flourished about the yeare of our Lord God * Helvic in Chronol 430 makes * Cassiauus Instit l. 2. mention of such an order Where note first of all that it is no late innovation but an antient practise And secondly as it is ancient so also a gesture commendable and pious for it is a signe that wee give small glory to the Trinitie when wee doe it sitting and shew no more token of reverence to the highest Majestie then as if wee were haile fellow well met or companions to the God Almightie Nor secondly is it Popish or superstition Standing at the Gospel to rise from our seates at the reading of the Gospell For it is in regard of the authour of the speech which is our Lord Christ whom wee blesse and magnifie for his glorious Gospell giving thankes also to God the Father for sending of his Son to be the publisher and declarer of such good things as are contained therein from whom the Ministery thereof is appointed untill the end of the world to bring men out of darknesse into light that they may be saved Whereupon it is that wee doe not only stand up whilst the Priest readeth it but also use to utter certaine words of acclamation as Glorie be to thee O Lord at the beginning and at the end these or the like words follow Thankes be to God for his glorious Gospell And why wee doe not so at the reading of the Lessons is because the reason of doing thus holds not so fully there as here For the Gospels are more select places then the Lessons and doe most commonly declare historically something or other which our Saviour either spake did or suffered in his owne person for us most miserable sinners That incomparable Hooker gives the like reasons as may be better seene in his owne writings Now who can find any harme at all in any one of these orders See Polyd. Virg. de invent lib. 5. c. 8 and Calvis anno 398. Is there not rather a great deale of good The last of which is also very ancient for I find that there was a Law made concerning it about the yeare of our Lord 400. which is now 1237 yeares since Also Standing at the Creed concerning our standing at the Creed well is it that so wee doe For this is a posture which we use in testification of our faith and allegiance to Christ our Generall as our English Postiller hath declared For as wee may know who is the Captaine of such or such a Souldier when wee see his Colours so a Christian by this authentique Creed is distinguished from either Iew Turke Atheist or Heretick In token whereof it hath beene a long and laudable Custome in the Church of God to stand up at the rehearfall of it openly to manifest our faith and allegiance to Christ Iesus our Generall viz. that we will not shrink backe from Him but stand and acquit our selves like men in the defence of that faith which he hath taught us in spight of all that shall oppose it And next Bowing at the name of Iesus as for bowing at the name of Iesus it is no superstition but as the seed-plats of the Church I meane those two famous Lights of our Land the two Vniversities have determined an outward signe of our inward subjection to His divine Majestie and an apparent token of our devotion Or thus It is to testifie and declare our submission to Iesus Christ in that exaltation wherewith God the Father hath exalted him as a recompence for that profound humilitie and compleate obedience which he shewed and performed For as the Apostle speaketh in that text Philip. 2.8 9 10 11. in which this dutie is commanded seeing he humbled himselfe and became obedient to the death even the death of the Crosse therefore hath God also highly exalted him and given him a name above every name That at the name of Iesus every knee shall bow c. So that here it appeareth that this honour is assigned to him as a part of his reward * See Bishop Andrews Serm upon Philip. 2.8 9 10. Propter mortem