Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	flesh_n	life_n	reap_v	6,710	5	11.2413	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A45358	Melampronoea, or, A discourse of the polity and kingdom of darkness together with a solution of the chiefest objections brought against the being of witches / by Henry Hallywell.	Hallywell, Henry, d. 1703?	1681 (1681)	Wing H464; ESTC R9358	42,600	134

in sucking the warm Bloud of Men or Beasts as a chearful and healthy constitution in drawing in the refreshing gales of pure and sincere Air. CHAP. VIII Inferences drawn from the foregoing Treatise HAving now dispatched the most material Objections against the opinion of Witchcraft I now come to the last part of my design which is to draw some Practical Conclusions from this whole Discourse in reference to the conduct of mens lives and manners And First since we have so clear a discovery of the Powers of Darkness whose united and combined Forces are so potent and terrible in opposing the growth of sincere Piety and Religion we should be strong in God and couragiously resist them being stedfast in the Faith Divine Providence having placed us in this lower World where we are surrounded with Enemies designs not by this our ruine and undoing but that our contest should end in Victory and our warfare crowned at last with Immortal Glory and Felicity Wherefore though our Enemies are tall and mighty Gyants and from the reason of their Natures have many advantages over frail Flesh and Bloud yet such is the Constitution of things and such the Arms we are furnished withal for the Combate that as David through a great Faith and Confidence in the Divine Assistance prevailed over the mighty Champion of the Philistines with a Sling and a Stone so by a firm Trust reposed in the same Aid we may overthrow and become Victorious over all the Infernal Powers that desie the Armies of the God of Israel Here therefore lies the Field of Gallantry and Honour here are the Olympia of the Soul wherein she strives and wrestles not with Flesh and Bloud but with the strong and subtle Forces of Hell and Darkness not for a Garland of Flowers but for Wreaths of Immarcessible Glory Take heart then O Man and like an invincible Champion of the Holy Iesus fight the good fight of Faith Be true and sincere to thy best Hopes and Interests by a perfect Eradication of all thy Exorbitant lusts and corruptions and by a strong Faith and profound Humility form the living Image of God within thee Then shall thy Soul with joy and triumph be lifted up above the perplexed Fate of this Inferior World and be able to repress and extinguish the Incantations and Allurements of the Mundane Spirit through the might and power of a Divine Principle Nor shall the subtle Plots and Machinations of the Powers of Darkness and the Conspiracies of Hell be able to defeat those watchful Armies of Light with which thou art guarded Act generously and becoming not only the nature of a man but a faithful Disciple of the Son of God and behold those numerous Troops of Angels which though invisible to our weak and bodily eyes perpetually surround and encompass the servants of the living God The Blessed Iesus who in the days of his flesh by his Soveraign Command ejected Legions of Infernal Spirits out of their usurped Holds in the Bodies of men and by his glorious Resurrection cast down the Prince of Darkness from his unjust Empire and Dominion in the World maintains the same Righteous Cause still and carries on a successful War against those Apostate Spirits in which whosoever will persevere with courage and resolution shall at the last reap the joyous Fruits of his Victory and Patience and receive from the hands of the glorious King of Righteousness a Beautiful and Immortal Crown of life and blessedness Secondly We learn not to speak evil of Angels For he who is now the Head and Prince of the Dark Kingdom is supposed by most Divines to have been once the highest in Dignity and Power of the whole Angelick Order and though reflecting upon his State and Grandeur and finding himself the chiefest of the works of Gods hands in the haughty pride of his heart he aspired to an equality with God and was thereby cast down into these Aereal Regions yet is he still a very formidable and tremendous Power not to be blasphemed or spoke evil of but to be resisted by all those ways and means which God in his holy Word hath propounded to us It is S. Austin his opinion that what is spoken of the King of Babylon by the Prophet Esay may prefigure or allude to this mighty Prince of the Dark Legions How art thou fallen from Heaven O Lucifer son of the morning For thou hast said in thineheart I will ascend into Heaven I will exalt my Throne above the Stars of God I will sit also upon the Mount of the Congregation in the sides of the North I will ascend above the heights of the Clouds I will be like the most High And hitherto he refers the description of the Prince of Tyrus by Ezekiel Thou hast been in Eden the Garden of God every precious stone was thy covering the Sardius Topaz and the Diamond the Beryl the Onyx and the Iasper the Saphire the Emerald and the Carbuncle and Gold the workmanship of thy Tabrets and of thy Pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created Thou art the anointed Cherub that covereth and I have set thee so thou wast upon the Holy Mountain of God thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created till Iniquity was found in thee And if this so high and majestick a description in its first and primary sence belong to that mighty Angel of Darkness he is not foolishly and idly to be scoffed at or blasphemed but according to the sober advice of the Author of the Golden Verses 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. to be feared as a very powerful and implacable Enemy of mankind by doing good and justifiable actions and by persevering in a course of Virtue which only through the assistance of Divine Goodness can deliver us from his Rage and Malice There is a place of Scripture which though not much taken notice of by later Divines yet is very full to this purpose 2 Pet. 2.10 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 tremble not when they rail at Glories or as our Translation renders it they are not afraid to speak evil of Dignities whereas Angels which are greater in power and might bring not a railing Accusation or a contumelious Indictment 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 against them before the Lord. Parallel to which is that of S. Iude ver 8 9. speak evil of Dignities or rail at Glories yet Michael the Archangel when contending with the Devil he disputed about the Body of Moses durst not bring against him a railing Accusation but said The Lord rebuke thee That by dignities here are understood Angels is clear 1. From the manner of expression calling them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Glories a word frequently used in the Old Testament to express the appearance of Angels The only difficulty will be why evil Angels should be called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉

being all embodied Spirits that is vitally united to Matter they must of necessity be capable both of pain and pleasure the sense of which is more or less acute and vigorous according to either the Tenuity or Grossness of their Bodies and by consequence they are liable and obnoxious to harm and injury from those of their own Society which considering the mischievousness of their natures and dispositions each ones particular Lusts being the grand rule and measure of his Actions would certainly breed an infinite Ataxy and confusion amongst them and at last the ruine and destruction of their Kingdom if not prevented by some external restraint and discipline Wherefore they being all so deeply lapsed into the Animal life whose very foundation is self-love and preservation of the irregular Exertions of their sensual Appetites their Reason which though perfectly subservient to their brutish Faculties yet is no whit abated or diminished by their degeneracy would not fail of moulding them into a Body Politick and enacting by their general consent and approbation for the maintenance and security of their usurped Dominions all such Laws and necessary Provisions as might both secure themselves from outrages and villanies committed upon one another and the more advantageously and successfully drive on the general trade of wickedness throughout the whole kingdom of Hell and Darkness 2. But besides this there is another cogent reason and inducement to believe there is an Order and Government among the dark Fiends in that they are not all of the same rank and quality but may probably have as many divisions among them as there are diversities of Animals upon Earth though they all agree in the common Angelick nature which if so that thirst and desire of Rule and Authority which is so largly spread and diffused through their natures and capacities and so great a branch of the sensual life to which they are wholly addicted will undoubtedly stir up the more powerful and politick among them to take the reins of Government and Authority into their hands and prescribe Laws to the rest such as may both establish and preserve the Empire and Kingdom of Darkness from domestick and intestine broils and dissentions and uphold it when assaulted by forein Invasions And there seems to be an admirable consent between what Reason suggests and the Holy Scriptures in which mention is made of the Prince of Devils who is likewise called the Prince of the aiery Powers or Spirits And to quicken us up to a studious watchfulness and diligence against the latent frauds and machinations of those Infernal hunters we are assured that our contest is against Principalities and Powers and against the Aerial wicked Spirits under their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Prince And the learned Dr. Hammond in his Notes upon that place of S. Paul supposes the Apostle by those several expressions to denote several sorts of Devils either in respect of their Mansions 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Ignatius ad Ephes. Aerial or Earthly Spirits or else of the inclinations which they suggest The Earthly Devils suggesting grosser carnal appetites filthiness of the flesh c. the Aerial pride vain-glory malice c. the filthiness of the Spirit And Drusius upon Ephes. 2.2 6.12 cites two Iewish Authors who speak after this manner Debet homo scire intelligere à terrâ usque ad firmamentum omnium plena esse turmis praefectis c. i.e. A man is to know and understand that all from the Earth to the firmament is full and no place empty of troops of Spirits with their Chieftains and such as are Praepositi all which have their residence and flye up and down in the Air some of them incite to peace others to war some to goodness and life others to wickedness and death And that there are great diversities among the evil Daemons some being more Aiery and Spiritual transacting the affairs of the kingdom of Hell by subordinate Instruments and others more gross and feculent employed in the basest and most slavish actions some sportful and ludicrous others savage and cruel the Sacred Writings give us likewise some further intimation of In Mar. ix 25. we read that our Saviour cast out a dumb and deaf Spirit which certainly denotes a distinct kind of Devil it being not so probable that he was called so from the effects wrought in the possessed for when the Disciples asked our Blessed Lord the reason why they could not cast out that Devil whose dispossession they had attempted he seems to tell them that it was a peculiar kind of Devil that could only be ejected by Prayer and Fasting Others sport themselves in ratling among their chains and fetters and whirling round storms and tempests in their Aiery Regions and Dominions to the destruction of Men and Beasts and the Fruits of the Earth as they did with Iob. And the Psalmist affirms the evil Angels to be the executioners of the sadder sentences of God the Judge of the world Psal. 78.49 He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger wrath and indignation and trouble by sending evil Angels among them where the Septuagint read it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And these are the grim Serjeants and inexorable Officers who carry the Souls of wicked men to their places of punishment which therefore Origen calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the publick Executioners and the Author of the golden Verses 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 subterranean Daemons Now this diversity of Devils must needs cast them into a Political Government 3. Nor is it to be thought but they would retain the same Order and Government in this their dark Empire in which they were instated while they continued faithful subjects of the kingdom of Light Now it is most certain that there are different degrees of Dignity and Order among the good Angels and S. Paul gives us an account of some of them Col. i. 16. For by him were all things created that are in Heaven and that are in Earth visible and invisible whether they be Thrones or Dominions or Principalities or Powers And here it will not be amiss to give the Reader a short discourse of S. Ierome as a Commentary upon these words of S. Paul produced by Zanchy if he have not miscited him in his Treatise of Angels Nunc quaerendum est ubi Apostolus haec quatuor nomina c. i. e. Now let us search where the Apostle found these four names written Thrones Dominions Principalities and Powers and whence he had them For it is not just to think that he who was so well read in the Scriptures should speak any thing that was not contained in those sacred Volumes I suppose therefore that he either brought to light some secret Tradition of the Jews or at least that he understanding the Law to be Spiritual put a more sublime sence upon those things which were written as it were according to the History and Letter And