Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A43044
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A free-will offering by James Harwood ...
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Harwood, James.
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1662
(1662)
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Wing H1097; ESTC R8676
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24,477
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96
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not have freed us Hadst thou not been our God thou wouldst not have done this for us We have experienced thy power as the Lord and none do come in competition we have found thy favour as our God and it is thy superlative mercy is solely to be magnified Let us weep for that we have sinned against so good a God let us joy in the Lord for that relieved by the arm of the Lord our God Of late we were in Babylon now in Sion servants to slaves now servants only to God and the King praised be God it is thou whom we do serve though of late O Lord our God other Lords besides thee have ruled us He that takes upon him to rule without God is sure to be punished by the Devil Let me tell you an Usurper on Earth is a Free-holder in Hell and though he make us suffers for the present he in all likelihood is to be tormented to Eternity But what a madness is this to strive to rule a multitude when thou canst not rule one to seek for soveraignty over men when thy usurped power makes thee a slave to the Devil It is the most unseemly sight for Peasants to personate Princes and for Princes to stand at the Bar when Peasants sit on the bench We have seen the time and God be blessed over-lived the time and though long inslaved at length relieved Yet to humble us and give God thanks we do confess to our late grief and now joy how O Lord our God other Lords besides thee have ruled us THE ANGELS ANTHEME Luke 2.14 Glory be to God in the highest peace upon earth goodwil to man THe occasion of this Antheme is Christs Birthdome the Messenger is an Angel his Message to the Sheepherds the news glad tidings to all people the Choristers a multitude of heavenly Souldiers their Angelical Carrol Glory be to God in the highest peace upon earth goodwil toward man Christ is born and Christs Brithdom and the Angels Antheme divulge the great love of the great God to mean man For God sent his Son from Heaven to Earth he came from Heaven he came to Earth he became man to make us all men was born of a Virgin O blessed Birthdom whose birth gives life to many millions O Divine condescention Our Christ came to live with men that we men might live with God He assmes our nature to make peace betwixt the Creator and the Creature nay more he took upon him life natural that so he might free us all from death eternal He lived to dye that we might not dye but live His Birth is the forerunner of all our benefits and therefore in honor of that Day Christs Birthday Angels sing a Gloria Patri they sing the Antheme in three parts In Alto. In Alto glory be to God in the highest In Basso In Basso Peace upon earth In Medio In Medio Goodwil towards men The Singers are the Angels the Ditty Glory Peace Goodwil the Tune in Alto Basso Medio behold Glory ascends on high Peace possesses the earth Goodwil pursues each soul And thus Heaven Earth and Man bear all parts in this Song God in Heaven Man on Earth and the Earth from whence Man came each do here bear their part apparent while glory is given to God Peace to the Earth goodwil to Man What soul is not ravished with this sacred Ditty sung by Angels sung on Christs Brithday sung for joy That our Redemption drew nigh A Song to be sung in Triple time which as Musicians know allows of two Minnims down and one onely up And is not here one up Glory be to God on high And two down Peace be upon earth And two down Good-will towards man These are Heavens Waits and being come to the doors of us Mortals they double their strokes and having honored God God takes it for no dishonor in a redoubled note for them to express their love to us Thus shall be done to them whom the King means to honor Well let Angels be our Samplers and let us learn by them to us to give back again to God praise and glory praise for our Creation glory for our Redemption Let God have the glory for making our peace with him yea glory to God in the highest for affording us peace one with another peace within ourselves and for that hope we have of that Peace which passeth all understanding And as thus we give glory to God for this peace proclaimed so glory be to God for his goodwil to man we may possess our souls in peace for we have the good will of God we had enslaved our selves to sin and Satan It is Gods good will to free us from Hell and the Devil The Prince of darkness is rooted and our peace is purchased not onely peace for us who are earth but the goodwil of God to all mankinde on earth But though the Greek Fathers interpret these words of Gods goodwil to man yet the Latine Fathers thus translate this Antheme Peace be upon earth to men of goodwil As if men could never be at peace with God the Father whilest he bears ill will to his neighbour He is quite out of tune who is not in charity neither will God afford him peace that affords not his neighbour love As love is the fulfilling of the Law so the large and the long and the brief and the semi-brief in this sacred Sonnet An ill will d man is a wicked man and while he lives at odds with men can never have hopes of peace with God But the twofold Exposition of the Greeks and Latines the one expounding this Antheme of Gods goodwill to us the other of ours to God and all mankinde This proclaims How Heaven and Earth are agreed God loves us and we love him and we all one another He us before we were we him in time He loved us before we loved him we love him after his love to us hath mollified our stony hearts But how comes this good agreement none were more at odds then God and man O! the reconcilement is made by the Birth of Christ a Birth predicted by the Sibbels foretold by the Prophets and confessed by all Christians Christ Harbinger came before our Saviour came quickly afeter When nigh at hand the cry went Advenit advenit advenit advenit He comes he comes he comes he comes to us in utero Virginis in the womb of a Virgin O rate generation Adam was neigher of man nor woman Eve from a man but no woman Our Saviour is born of a woman begot of no man he is born man and Mary made the Mother of God For the Word was made flesh Joh. 1.14 and all this that we who are more flesh then Spirit might by the Spirit of Christ become less carnal and more spiritual And now since Christ is come to save us us his enemies such enemies as made a combination with the World Flesh and Devil against the Father Son and Holy Ghost
earth He is within sight Nam Deus videt God sees within cry for saith he Call on me in trouble and I will hear thee He houses in thy house Know ye not your bodies are the houses of the Holy Ghost A Cordial and may comfort Gods childe a Corrosive and cuts to the quick the sons of Belial God sees thy afflictions and can ease thee He knoweth the impetuous wantonness of the wicked and will punish him But why should I lay on load when God bids Hold off Hands This Scripture is not alledged to terrifie evil livers but to support such as are surround with sorrow Thou livest well and farest ill servest God and art misused by men It is pity that for well-doing thou shouldst be ill intreated This is the course of the World to set light by them who set an high estimate on Gods service The Devil and the sons of Belial both joyn to disjoynt a Saint the wicked with revilings the Devil with temptations The nigher I come to God the closer siege the Devil lays to my soul A daily sinner he seldom assaults No he that is running fast on to Hell needs not be called on to mend his pace but he that is going out of Sodom shall finde many a stop ere he get to Zoar. The approach of Gods Spirit close up to my heart mudles the unclean spirit who vows a return not onely to the house which is empty swept and garnished empty of all Piety swept with the stump worn broom Formality and garnished with the gilt of Hypocrisie but he rages to turn into the Temple of God The heart of the Elect There he hopes for rich plunder Abrahams Jewels Jonathans Purple and Judiths Bravery to surprize a Saints spiritual graces This is that King of Assyria that gives charge to his two and thirty Captains to sight with none but the King of Israel the soul of a Saint O! the fall of such a star he knows would darken Heaven The Apostacy of one Disciple pleases him more then the debauchedness of many Miscreants And now it is that the siege is laid against the precious sould of a sanctified Saint his out-work is battered with persecution his in-work with temptation The Alarm is taken and it holds on all the Summer of our youth and Winter of our old age it lasts from the cradle to the crutch from our birth till our Death To have such an enemy as the Devil and so long a siege as all our lives and such fierce Assailants as seek the ruine of body and soul and for ever Were not this able to crush in pieces Patience But O Jobs Wife be thou gone I never knew her prove a good wise who gave her husband evil counsel I hate here advice to Curse God I like Jobs resolve Yea though the Lord kill me yet will I trust in him Job knew that the Devil was busie about him yet that God was not far from him This is it will make us take our dough upon our shoulders and march though a Wilderness of stinging Serpents We have a cloud behinde to shade us from our enemies a pillar of fire before to guide on to the promised land of our possession The Lord is he who never leaves us nor forsakes us The presence of God is the prime preserver of Patience in afflictions Let me stand it out my Soveraign Lord is within sight Let me not faint since such a second is present The Lord is present What could I do if he were not here What can I not now he is at hand Not onely sight but overcome Become more then Conquerer yea conquer the Devil that meant to make of me a conquest yea Conquer my self whom the DEVIL could not Conquer I am never a freeman untill a Bondman the more I inslave my flesh in which dwells no good thing ne parum ne minimum quidem no not the least good the more my minde my spirit and heart are at liberty now to bring this to pass hic labor hoc opus Our hands are weak and cannot do this work weakned by Adams sin by our own actual sins How can a weak man stand out against a subtile Serpent How can we hold out the fight sixty years that cannot work sixty hours Can frail man undergo a life-lasting Temptation Is not the thought of this able to turn his Patience into Passion to be ever set on day and night waking sleeping without ceasing or intermitting It is now that the power of God begins to manifest it self I am here and here is God I can do nothing without him he will do nothing without me He works in me I work by the help of him I faint he refreshes The light of his countenance puts life into me But O! the mists of homebred Ignorance and hellish Temptations interpose betwixt me and my God! and now with Mary I am ready to cry out They have taken away my Lord and in depriving me of the presence of God they rob me of my perseverance and patience in afflictions This is my fear yet while I fear the worst I may chance fare the best I will sooner approve of a filial fear then a foward presumption Faith may be overcast never finally eclipsed or if eclipsed it is but for a time A short time and the Sun appears even he who made the Sun and the Moon and the Stars God blessed for ever amen Let us by looking up to God as Israel to the Brazen Serpent cure our Soul-sick patience God he is the Register and Records all our sufferings He carries the scales and weighs out our just allowance no more can be laid upon us then he likes no more will he let be laid upon us then we can bear He is night us and none can wrong us He is with us the General with his Souldiers the Soveraign with his Subjects the Phisitian of Souls with his Soul-sick Patients Let us then have patience yea Let your patient minde be known for God is at hand WHERE UNITY Amity I Pet. 3. part of verse 3. Finally be ye all of one minde love as brethren ST Peter shews a scattered Church the best way how to avoid trouble These new Converts in Pontus Galatia Capadocia Asia and Bythenia have been of several judgements but diversity of Opinions breeds discord in Professors And therefore to avoid Insurrection against the State and Schism in the Church the advice is Be ye all of one minde The Gospel makes ex sua Natura union never division neither is it probable that he will make a good Christian that dissevers from the Congregation This Divine Exhortation gives no license for Liberty of Conscience lest Liberty of Conscience become Licentious Libertinism What the Church decrees that Edict must be obeyed for be sure A Schismatick in Discipline when opportunity serves will be a Rebel against his Soveraign A contemner of Church Government hath always been found a close spurner against Kingly Power And therefore