Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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A87671
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Orders given out; the word, stand fast. As it was lately delivered in a farewell sermon / by Major Samuel Kem, to the officers and souldiers of his regiment in Bristoll. Novemb. 8. 1646.
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Kem, Samuel, 1604-1670.
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1646
(1646)
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Wing K254; Thomason E366_3; ESTC R29849
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10,638
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28
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Orders given out the Word Stand Fast As it was lately delivered in a farewell SERMON BY Major Samuel Kem to the Officers and Souldiers of his Regiment in Bristoll Novemb. 8. 1646. For now are we alive if yee stand fast in the Lord. Finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might Put on the whole Armour of God that yee may be able to stand c. LONDON Printed by I.M. for Michael Spark and are to be sold at the sign of the blue Bible in Green Arbour 1647. TO the Noble and Experienced faithfull Officers of my Regiment Captain Hart senior Capt. Grig Capt. Pope Capt. Roe Capt. Lieut. Richards Noble Gentlemen IT was your love first ingaged me to take the charge of the City Regiment and I appeal to you whether my private gain or the publicke service was my ends in accepting of my Commission since which received I have put you in a posture whereby you are inabled to defend your selves or offend the Kingdomes Enemies it is my happinesse I can say and none dare gain-say the faithfull acting my part Yet am I a debter to your Love and in regard the chamber stock of my abilities fail me to discharge what I owe yet were it dishonesty not to keep promise what therefore you heard with so much patience and importuned with more hope to be granted I have here presented to your charity Do but beleeve it and stand fast in the Truths of Jesus Christ and it shall be a compleat compensation for all my labours with you And since I must leave you give me leave to comfort you and to tell you my heart that I think you are the happiest Garrison in the Kingdome maugre you semi-Reducement whilst you possesse within your line that reall piece of Valour humility and sincerity and no lesse Noble then Cordiall Patriot of his Kingdome your Governour Who abhors all self-ends and denyeth attendance onely for the publick good and should I here that he were Charioted from you either by discouragement or ingagement I should sadly cry out Oh my Father my Father the horse-men and chariots of Israel and pray for a double portion of his Spirit on all his publicke aiming schollers in this Kingdom Yea give me leave to councell you the word is Stand Fast I beseech you do so to God and his Glory to Jesus Christ and his Truths to your Covenant in its naked true primitive intentions as at first before the All-seeing-God to both the honourable Houses of Parliament who have adventured all for you to the worthy assembly of Divines who seek God continually for you and attend his Will to declare it to you and to me the most unworthy of the Kingdome and your servants who flyes to you for protection yeilding my Commission and subscribing myself Noble Gentlemen Yours and the Kingdoms faithful although mean Servant Samuel Kem Vpon his much honoured friends Farewell Sermon M. D. these few lines KNow Soldier these ensuing pages tel The properties of a true Centinel Orders are given out The word Standfast Which intimates true valor first and last For let me tel thee if thy heels prove light What ere thy Colours be thy Liver 's white Therefore be stedfast Though the giddy rout Wear windmils in their heads and wheel about Keep thou thy Posts though others Hedghog like Shrink up their courage in some narrow Dike Of self respects there 's no such liberty In Truths plain field either to squat or fly Such as out-run the Truth may here wel know They can have no good ground for what they do Stand to your Arms then Christians and advance To beat all falshood out of Countenance And rout the infantry of new rays'd Crimes And Troops of Hobby-horses of these Times This is the only way to get to be Captain Lievtenant to Integritie Now to the Author of this Book one word Who speaks and then maintains it by the sword Stil crop the peaking Errors which appear That Malobus like not one may shew its ears Stil preach the truth although some Gadarens Have made thee quit their Coasts by hoggish means Stil fight for truth fear not a squint-ey'd troop Of false opinions rather make them stoop To sence and truth or else so rout their train That they may never Rally up again Wel hast thou left the Land to put to Sea Where you 'l not find so much inconstancie Fisher of men cast out thy net once more 'T is like you 'l catch at Sea more then a shore To his friend the Author SIR wil you leave us and is this your last Orders given out the word stand fast Wee le you obey and seeing we must part Who ever comands our persons you the heart Farewell dear Major this we are forst to say You put us in a posture and we wish your pay Yours in Truth R. R. 1 CORINTH 16.13 14. Stand fast in the Faith quit you like men Be strong Let all things be done in love THE words of departing friends if seasonable make sensible not the head but the heart of those in Relation These are my last and I am come to take leave of you for action but never in affection Communions below howbeit lasting are not everlasting The stakes of the Tabernacle must be removed And every Member of the Church Militant must be joging on The Temple is our type of a setled condition above In a word I am to leave you and therefore desire to leave such orders becoming my Trust with you as may secure you for Gods glory and your mutual comforts The Alarum beats Christian soldiers to your arms take heed as the case stands of facing about but as you were to yout ground of Scripture foundations and so stand fast in the faith And although reducable in regard of humane Actings yet never in this life must you expect a discharge from spiritual millitary undertakings for when you were listed in Jesus Christ muster-role it was not for a day lesse or more then your life And therefore I beseech you stand fast The grand General against your precious souls hath taken the field with a vast Army as subtil as powerful as cruel to execute as malicious to prosecute his designs his main body is sinful flesh and the more dangerous because so neerly related unto us And I must tel you that Relations in War are of dangerous consequence This Body is flankt on the right and left with potent Troops of prevailing Enemies And Self-ends hath under hand Commission to be Scout-master General whose sub-undertakers are acting under various shapes all specious yet all servants to Self-ends Avoyd his Ambushments when falling on and you may standing fast come off with honor These thing premised as that there is no further use of me in this City and I being designed for other service and knowing that errors in battel are irrecoverable I could do no lesse but heartily wish I could do more then direct you
boults and butt-ends of the very planks of the ship are started out The Lord pity us what a spirit of giddyness is upon us and if any old errors which is unknown to most with some quaint expressions and hye-flying Phylosophical notions are delivered how cowardly do we start off from the old truths of Jesus Christ and are invassail'd by upstart errors It is a sad time but this a more sad omen of worser times even the rabble of opinions in this City of Bristol of which I may say that as the sword hath slain many so hath error many more in a few moneths time One while such a man preacheth truth and you are willing to pul out your eyes to do him good a little after you are ready to pul out his eyes and he is a low man and not worthy your presence and so discouraged How many wayes do you make to heaven in this place I beseech you where I am related unto to look to your Guards Keep a strict watch double your Guard eye your sallyports and put on the whole Armour of God that you may be able to stand fast to the Truth in the day of assault that you may quit your selves like men Use 2. Informeth us of the causes of this lowerlinesse and basenesse of Spirit and inconstancy to Truth First When men are ignorant they may easily prove inconstant True men have abundance of indistinct knowledge much head knowledge little heart knowledge Now the one makes men talk admirably but the other to stand to it gallantly Truly Ignorance is the spunge to suck in all Errors and spiritual Pride the bawde to vent them that which is weak is light chaff may be tossed any way Secondly When mens apprehensions are very large but their affections very foul when men know much of truth but withall love much of the world or self or sinful Liberty Now you know a foul stomach ever makes an il head and a secret love of sin works out a love of truth Men easily grow erroneous when they affect Liberty and wax Irreligious Third Cause Men are strangely infected with a base and late predominant Epidemical disease the Itch of spiritual Pride which was caught of our first Parent The greatest Errors ever drop from those that are most proud and are taken up by those that are most ignorant Fourth Many have Athenian wits and long after Novelties and although old Wine be best yet they love to drink in fashion Fifth Cause A Colloging slavishnesse many giving up their faith and souls to opinions of other great men or to Relations Sixth An eminent love of the world this made Demas and Hymenaeus forsake truth A slave to the world wil never be a faithful servant to truth he that dares pawn their souls wil in time venter to sel the Truth Seventh Licentious hearts when men affect pleasure for corrupt doctrines gives more scope then truth to a libertinious heart and we are apt to beleeve that soonest that pleaseth us best Erroneous points are more for pleasure and ease yea and purse too Divine truths are for strictnesse Now there are many Grecian-like give up their weapons for their sports many forsake the truth that they may more freely injoy their Liberty in those ways are most pleasing to their spirits Vse Exhortation I am come heartily to beg of you this one thing to lay a solid foundation in the knowledge of the truths of God Confused brains cause unsettled hearts rest not with Pilates quere where art thou or with Israel to halt betwixt two opinions nor to take up any truth on trust for any mans sake whatsoever or any self-ends or aims but with the honorable Bereans search the Scripture receive truth upon the evidence of truth be sure of the Word there is litle difference betwixt shiboleth and siboleth yea and in the last days many shal say loe this is Christ and here is Christ yet try yea the Enemy hath got the word therefore be strict upon examination bring the most specious expressions to the Standard try all there Quaere How shal we know the truth upon his march there being so many gone out under his banners to deceive and all is not gold that glisters Try the spirits for every spirit is not of God Solu You may make a discovery First by its Unity Second by its Purity Thirdly its Efficacy Fourthly Antiquity Fifthly Simplicity For the first observe it you shal find it one as God is one Unum et verum convertuntur There is but one way to heaven many to miss it It is an unisone with its principles Erroneous doctrines want no outward harmony and outward consent but truth as it is one in itself so it works men to onenesse to be of one mind truth is of a binding up nature Secondly Truth is comprehended in Purity Errors are much in outward beauty like Curtizans little in honesty Truth is pure in its self and unto us It is an adversary to all sin because all sin is an adversary to Jesus Christ and to Gods glory It is pure likewise in its operations it sets it self against all basenesse Titus 1.14 15. It is truly pure not counterfeitly pure Thirdly By the efficacy of truth other doctrines add to our Notions but never meddle with our corruptions they swel our heads but never mend our hearts they work in the brain but never meddle with the spirit increase much wit to talk wel but conveigh little strength to walk close with God In a word they never bring grace or peace from Jesus Christ The truth that comes from God leadeth to God It makes the bad good and the good better Truth works the heart not only from grosser but lesser sins even the spots of the world 1 Thes 5.22 vid. Truth works the heart to a liking of nothing unlike it self or unbecoming the Gospel of Jesus Christ Fourthly By the Antiquity Id demum verissimum quod antiquissimum and truly as it was sometime replyed to those of Rome that we can look beyond Luther So may we to the rabble of Heresies in these times we can look and see the time when they had not a being indeed they are comparatively but of yesterday and it is possible for an easie Herald to drive the pedigree of the Anabaptist Brownists Antinomians Pelagians Socinians Arians Antetrinitarians Seekers c. and to demonstrate them to be all subservient although active actors for Scout master general self-ends or aims when truth like the Sun hath run its course through all ages not that all have imbraced it but some have received it Fifthly By its Simplicity it wil indure handling it is found Erroneous doctrine like unfound flesh or sore eyes abhors a touch or the light and therefore is more in private then publick not that I oppose private duties but prise them but resist those that oppose publick Ordinances For if what any deliver in their private conventions bee good and sound truth I beseech them let it come to light Bonum quo communius eo melius Truth fears no trial although il faced women would have al glasses broken but such as they have got made to flatter them Truth put it self upon proof yea in publick Veritas non querere argales especially in days of Liberty of the Gospel and when truth is pallizadoed with so many oaky fortifications It is not now accusation enough to be a Christian no be as holy as David as muke as Moses as wise as Solomon walk with God and be upright before him with Abraham yea let every man be followers of Jesus Christ and injoy his Liberty in the Truths of Iesus Christ for blessed be God there may be some pretences but no just ground for the least fear of persecution for conscience-sake Lastly Having found out the truth I beg heartily of you yea more then for my Arrears to love the truth do the truth suffer for the truth this wil bee a sure boult to keep out all Errors when Truth is stil stirring in your ears and Sin ruling in your hearts you can never do good on it he must needs have a meek hand to hold fast truth or foot to stand fast that hath a wicked heart Hymenaeus let go faith and a good conscience together 1 Tim. 1.19 Wherefore I beseech you be doing Christians as wel as knowing ones And now should I fal on with the reserve and shew you the beauty and honour of a resolved spirit for the truths of Iesus Christ And have given a thorow and thorow charge to the sad yet bold divisions of these times with my left wing under the prevailing Banner of Love and Unity and shown you how good a thing it is for brethren to live in Love and Unity but I am prevented in managing this onslaught at present and shal take leave of you praying you that all things may be done amongst you in love And praying for you That the God of truth would lead you on from this day and fix and establish you in the Truth Finally brethren farewel be perfect be of good comfort be of one mind live in love and peace and the God of love and peace shal be with you yea now the very God of peace sanctifie you all throughout And now the Lord of peace himself give you peace by all means The Lord be with you all FINIS