Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	ghost_n	holy_a	paul_n	7,516	5	6.4255	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A28519	A consolatory treatise of the four complexions, that is, an instruction in the time of temptation for a sad and assaulted heart shewing where-from sadness naturally ariseth, and how the assaulting happeneth : hereto are annexed some consolatory speeches exceeding profitable for the assaulted hearts & souls, written ... March 1621 / by the Teutonicall philosopher, Jacob Behmen.; Trost-Schrift von vier Complexionen. English	Böhme, Jakob, 1575-1624.; Hotham, Charles, 1615-1672?	1654 (1654)	Wing B3402; ESTC R19729	29,679	98

especially when she casts her imagination into the complexion by an anxious search and so feeds upon ♂ his poysonous breath blowes up her fire-life therewith then is she fill'd with a most bitter anguish and horible fear of the Devill and Gods wrath in her Then begins she to speculate and think that God hath not ordain'd her to eternall life in Jesus Christ whereupon she becomes so discontented that she cannot willingly lift up her eyes and countenance to God thinketh herself such a heinous sinner that the door of grace is wholly shut up against her But all this is nothing really but a fancy arising from the complexion disturbed by the starry influence wherewith the soul plagues herself For when the Macrocosmick Spirit hath in the Constellations vehicle insinuated it self into her it acts in her like a Hocus-Pocus fills her brain with strange fancies in so much that both the deluded soul is therewith much afflicted and the outward spirit enflames it self in the earthy origination whence the centrall wheel of Nature whirles fast about that the Spirit cannot fixedly lay hold upon and stay the thoughts which is properly madness with which we oft hear how melancholy men are infested Which when the Devill sees he injects likewise his imagination torments the soul yet worse but he hath no power to hurt her but by herself only the same principle which is the fountain of anguish in the soul is also the fountain of his life as Devil and therefore he is most delighted in such a lodging Except in this he hath a perfect abhorrency from the whole nature of mankind Therefore let no man thus tormented with anguish imagin within himself in the assaults of the complexion that it comes from Gods wrath and want of mercy in him which is a meer fancy of his own complexion in the starrs For we well see that the vilest fatted swine of the Devills herd that wallow and bath themselves day and night in the filth of sin are not so full of sadness not so assaulted with this kinde of temptation the reason is because they have an outward light in the complexion wherein they dance before the Devill in an Angells likeness So as long as there is but one little sparke of light glimmering in a mans heart which desires Gods grace and would gladly partake of salvation the door of Gods grace stands yet open For he who is given over by God whose sin is come to the full measure he is not at all sollicitous after God Man or Devill but is stone-blind runs on carelesly in a course of lightness without fear rests himself upon a customary practise of some outward service of God goes a beast into the sanctuary and comes again a beast out there is in him no true divine knowledge but all his religion is a meer outward custome and Chimaera of mans brain which he sets up to himself as an Idol and embraces it as his holiness Hereby may the Melancholy minde perceive that God doth not so thoroughly manifest his wrath in this life For however the ungodly be punish'd by God in this life he looks at the punishment not as coming from a divine hand but as a thing casually befallen him But that this troubled consc●ence is rather a subject of his pity than wrath that of the Prophet Esay doth sufficiently evidence A bruised read will he not break and smoking fl●x will he not quench Item Matth. 11. Come to me all yee that are sadned in spirit and I will refresh you Now his yoke is this that what in the course of Nature or by speciall providence befalls the soul be it temptation persecution weakness of body or spirit a man bear it with patience and cast himself with a resigned will into Gods free love and mercy The affliction then cannot hurt the soul at all but rather much profits it For while she sits contentedly in the house of mourning she is not in the house of sin viz. the worlds pride and voluptuousness for God holds her hereby fast chain'd from ranging abroad to immerse herself in the delights of sin She must be content to remain in sorrow for a little while but alas what is it how soon will she be at liberty from her sorrowfull prison and have the victorious Crown of everlasting joy set upon her head O Eternity thy duration is of a vast extent what is it for a soul to be a small moment of time in sadness and after that to rejoyce everlastingly for God will wipe all teares from their eyes As long as there is in the soul but one single sparke that breaths after God Gods spirit is it self present in that spark For that a man is desirous of God and earnestly labours after him with a longing thirst comes in no wise from the now corrupted nature of man but 't is the impulse of the Father in his Son Jesus Christ drawing the soul towards him The Holy Ghost is it self the divine desire No man can desire God without Gods Spirit which is alwayes in such desire and holds fast the will of the desire in God whereby the poor soul is preserv'd from falling away for S. Paul saith We know not what we should speak before God when we pray but the spirit of God intercedes for us with gronings which cannot be uttered according to the good pleasure of God Why should we then any longer rest in pusillanimous doubting of his grace and good will towards us he is far more willing at all time to receive us to mercy than we are to come to him See how he dealt with the lost Son which had wasted his Fathers inheritance among the Devills fatted swine and was now become a naked and filthy swineherd how as soon as he saw him returning to him he fell upon his neck and kissed him saying This is my dear Son whom I had once lost but is now come home again he was dead but is now again restor'd to life how he stirr'd up himself with his whole house neighbourhood to rejoyce over his once prodigall Son return'd again into his bosom according to what Christ in another place testifies more explicitely that there is joy in Heaven among the Angells of God over one sinner that repenteth more than over 99 just persons that need no repentance This lost Son is no other than the wretched sinfull man when he begins to be sensible how great a sinner he hath been and thinks of betaking himself to Gods mercy then doth our most gracious Father in Christ Jesus go out to meet him embraces him with the deepest joy and both the Angells and holy Souls in Heaven rejoyce exceedingly that a beloved Soul a dear brother is come up to them from out of the house of sin and death The sorrowfull soul troubles and torments herself because she cannot presently in the point of her desire exsuscitate dig up in herself the fountain of the greatest joy she sighs and bewailes

as well as defensive against those assaults It 's true his Replies in conflict with that wicked Spirit may seem at first to have somewhat of gall but we may take notice he both shewes how effectual a weapon this of contempt is above all other for repulsing this enemy besides advizes an abstinence from this bitterness but upon important necessity The Devill sayes he is a proud arrogant Spirit in his visible terrifying apparitions you cannot better get quit of him than by a bold defiance and contempt As oft therfore as by his frightning appearances discouraging suggestions he endeavours to drive thee to distraction or self-murder flinch not an ace at his presence but meet him with a stout courage and upbraid him with the memory of his lost glory and present shame how of a glorious Prince in heaven he is fall'n to be an infamous hangman in Hell This is a bitter pill he is not long able to digest two or three doses of it will say hard to set him a packing but use it only as a necessary evill in cases of grand terror otherwise do not by such bitter mockings bestorm thy own Spirit and add new affliction to the calamity of his fall This inoffensive carriage even to the Devill himself like that of the Archangell Michael not reproaching him with railing accusations and our Saviours not refusal so far of gratifying them in their moderate request as to qualify their grief for the loss of their Nobler habitation by a Permission to enter the foul carcasses of the Swine shews in the man and his doctrine an unparalleld mildness of spirit scarce visible in the writings or practices of any that now pretend most to the Gospel First we think it lawfull nay an act of godly zeal to spit all our venom in the face of the Devill and then every contrariety to our humours opinions interests looking like him and presum'd to have much of the Devill in it though indeed of Christ must be serv'd with the same sauce Lastly if any be offended with the ill savour the Devill leaves behind him when he flies away in fume he may know that Melancthon a grave Author reports the same circumstance of the same Spirit or one of that Regiment being flouted away by Luther and some others that when a Devill comes off with shame in such an assault he becomes a laughing-stock to his fellow-Devills in the air spectators of the combat S. Paul affirming 1 Cor. 4. 9. That we are made a spectacle to Angells as well as to the world and men Now the Passions of mens souls oft reflecting their Images so cleer upon their bodies in colour gesture and some other more gross demonstrations why may not the perturb'd imagination of a wicked Spirit produce the like symptomes upon its aërial Vehicle Much more reason in nature might be given to assert the probability of Such a Phaenomenon but that the Book 's short and the Preface must not be long I commend thee to the grace of God in a sober use of these discoveries of thy self Ch. Hotham CHAP. I. Of the causes of fear or sadness what the astonishment and anguish is about spirituall things ALL sadness and fear where with a man terrifies and amazeth himself is in his inward man from the soul for the outward Spirit which hath his original from the Starrs and Elements is not in this sort troubled because he lives in his Mother which bore him but the poor soul is with Adam entred into a forein harbour viz. Into the Spirit of this world wherewith the beautifull creature is veild and captivated as in a darksome prison Now the Spirit of this world hath four sorts of lodgings wherein the pretious jewell is shut up Of these four there is but one principally manifest to one man as 't is with the four Elements which every man hath in himself and is himself the same being except his soul which is not of that Essence though it lie as a prisoner in it and of these four lodgings or Images one only hath the predominance in his life the names of them are as followeth 1. Cholerick 2. Sanguine 3. Phlegm 4. Melancholy 1. The first viz. the Cholerick is of the feavers property causes a stout courage hasty anger swelling pride self-willedness mindlesness of others This image shines after the outward world in a side-light labours after the power of the Sun and will alwayes be a Lord 2. The second viz. the Sanguine is after the nature of Air subtill friendly cheerfull yet not of a stout courage it is mutable and easily moved from one thing to another receives naturally the Starry properties and knowledge into her essence its pure and chast and brings great mystery of knowledge into her understanding 3. The Phlegmatick is after the waters nature and property fleshly rude and soft of a feminine will of but a reasonable comprehension yet holds fast what it hath once attained knowledge must be infused into it by teaching for she finds it not in her own root She takes all in good part troubles not her self with grief hath a glance of light is neither extremely sad or merry but is altogether of a middle and common temper 4. The Melancholy being of the earths nature and property is as the earth cold frozen dark and full of heaviness hungry after the light alwayes fearfull of the wrath of God For the Earth and Stones are on the outside of the Eternall essentiality i. e. are comprehended or captivated in the kindled desire in the Fiat both according to the property of the anger and love the good and evill are in them mixt one with another the Good stands in a perpetual fear of the Evill which make a perpetual flight and pursuit as 't is to be seen in metalls whose Tincture is good but the body altogether earthly evill and of an angry corrosive nature whereupon the Tincture of the Metalls as soon as the malignant starry influence toucheth it would fly from the earthly and uncenter it self from it hence comes the growth of the Metalls for their Tincture drives their desire out of it self and desire to fly away but receives in the desire such a corporiety as the spirit or desire it self is hence ariseth the Metallick body The Melancholy nature is dark and dry yields little corporiety consumes and corrodes it self inwardly in its own being remains constantly in the house of mourning and even when the Sun shines in her yet is she in her self sorrowfull she receives indeed some refreshment from the Suns glance but in the dark she is alwaies in fear and horror of Gods Judgement Observe here further the nature of the sad minde IF this Complexion hath predominance in a man so that it be his proper complexion then doth the poor soul as the pretious jewell inhabit this house and must during the time of the life if she hath not yet fully attained the light of God in herself help