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	receive_v	18,187	5	5.7163	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A81211	Ioy out-joyed: or, Joy in overcoming evil spirits and evil men, overcome by better joy: set forth in a sermon at Martins in the fields, to the Right Honourable the Lords assembled in Parliament, upon the day of their solemn rejoycing and praising God, for reducing the city of Chester by the forces of the Parliament, under the command of Sr William Brereton, February 19. 1645. / By Joseph Caryl minister of the Gospel at Magnus neer London Bridge.	Caryl, Joseph, 1602-1673.; England and Wales. Parliament.	1646 (1646)	Wing C780; Thomason E323_3; ESTC R200591	20,183	35

the great day Secondly they are under a chaine of providence God lets them goe abroad but never without this chain He gives them scope and checks them as himself pleases Wicked men are led captive by Satan at his will 2 Tim. 2. 26. and Satan is led captive at the will of Jesus Christ He cannot act either by himself or by his instruments but as permitted and if Christ oppose both his power and the power of his instruments is stopt and broken Iohn the Apocalypt Rev. 20. 1 2. Saw an Angel Christ come down from Heaven having the key of the bottomlesse pit and a great chain in his hand and he laid hold on the dragon that old Serpent which is the Divel and Satan and bound him a thousand years and cast him into the bottomlesse pit and shut him up and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled and after that he must be loosed for a little season Opinions and dispute● are very various about the precise time of Satans binding and loosing But we may hence conclude an illustrious proof for this point in generall That Satan is subject to the power of Christ He bindes him from deceiving the nations and he can binde him from troubling either persons or nations This magnifies the power of Christ he makes evil spirits subject This is a conquest beyond all those of the Roman Consuls or Caesars there was never any of them that brought the Divel home in chains Evil spirits were never dragged at their chariots of triumph Those conquerours were themselves captives to these spirits And while they procured liberty for the common-wealth they themselves were the servants of corruption and slaves to Satan for of whom or by what any maie is overcome of the same is he brought in bondage 2 Pet. 2. 19. Secondly This may encourage us in the greatest difficulties If spirits are subject to the power of Christ acted in the Saints then what is there in the world but may be subjected by this power There is no power greater then the power of spirits One spirit destroyed a mighty army in one night 2 King 19. 35. Can flesh and blood can gates of brasse and walls of stone stand out when spirits themselves must yeeld Every creature hath its strength in its spirits There are corporall spirits as well as spirituall spirits There are spirits of the body produced out of the matter being the finer purer and more sublimate parts of it spirits animall in the brain vitall in the heart and naturall in the liver these are the strength of our bodies And there are spirits in things without life These spirits are their strength also the spirit of wine is the strength of the wine so of any other liquour Spirits extracted are the strength of any substance contracted into a narrow room There is a spirit of a spirit The spirit of the minde Ephes 4. 23. Be renewed in the spirit of your minde This spirit of the minde is the strength of the minde To spend spirits is to spend strength and to get spirits is to get strength both of body and minde When the Prophet would shew that the horses of the Egyptians were weak he saith Their horses are flesh and not spirit Isa 31. 3. and the Apostle to shew how strong Devils are Ephes 6. 12. saith We wrestle not against grosse things flesh and blood but against principalities and powers against the rulers of the darknesse of this world against spirituall wickednes in high places Spirituall wickednes is wicked spirits and because they are spirits therefore they are powers In evil spirits there is power much more in good spirits and most of all in the best spirit the Holy Ghost ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you Act. 1. 8. wheresoever spirit is there is power The spirit of a man is of such strength that it is able to beare his infirmity our infirmities are our heaviest part Nothing calls for more strength then the bearing of our own infirmities or the infirmities of other men Yet while a man can hold up his spirit and maintain that he may beare and rejoyce in the heaviest burthen of his own outward infirmities A strong spirit strengthens the weakest and a weak spirit weakens the strongest body or minde The sum of all is this spirits are strong and evil spirits are stronger then all flesh yet these are subject to the power of Christ then never fear flesh and blood fire and sword when you heare spirits must submit When Christ would assure the Church that it should stand against all opposition he promises the gates of hell shall not prevail against it Matth 16. 18. that is the power of evil spirits shall not and if the gates of hell cannot surely gates of earth shall never prevail We may be confident if spirits cannot flesh and blood shall not doe us any hurt while Christ is with us This leads us to the second Observation It is matter of joy to bring spirits evil spirits into subjection The Disciples passion was not without reason when they rejoyced to see spirits stoop it is no small priviledge to make evil spirits stoop whether they be evil spirits tempting and troubling without or moving within us It is matter of joy to subdue any reall enemy but chiefly those First who are most for number Secondly those who are mightiest in strength Thirdly those who are highest in place Fourthly those who are subtillest in projecting Fifthly those who are most malicious and bloody in executing All these meet in evil spirits They are many mighty high subtile and malicious The Devil is a legion by name a Prince by his place A Goliah an Achit●phel A Doeg all joyn'd in one It is a glorious victory to overcome a temptation to sinne Every time we doe so we overcome a Devil The Apostle James encourages us Resist the Devil and he will flee from you that is he will be subject to you You drive away the Devil every time you stand it out in a temptation and stand fast It is a great victory to overcome the sinnefull corruptions that are in our own hearts To overcome passion and corruption within is like the overcoming of a temptation from without The evil spirit is vanquished in both The Sadduces denyed all spirits Act. 23. 8. and others have affirmed that good and evil spirits are onely good or evil motions within us I abominate the errour and yet there is a truth somewhat like it Good or evil motions within us are in a sense good or evil spirits For as that which is borne of the good spirit is spirit Joh. 3. So that which is borne of the evil spirit is spirit too Every evil motion in us is borne of the Devil who though he be not the immediate parent of all such motions yet he was the immediate parent of that corruption from whence such

IOY OUT-JOYED OR Joy in overcoming evil spirits and evil men Overcome by better Joy SET FORTH IN A SERMON at Martins in the fields to the Right Honourable the Lords Assembled in Parliament upon the day of their Solemn Rejoycing and praising God for reducing the City of Chester by the Forces of the Parliament under the Command of St WILLIAM BR●RETON February 19. 1645. By Joseph Caryl Minister of the Gospel at Magnus neer London Bridge LONDON Printed by G. M. for John Rothwel at the Signe of the Sun and Fountain in Pauls Church-yard and Giles Calvert at the Signe of the Black-spread-Eagle at the West end of Pauls 1646. TO THE RIGHT HONOVRABLE The House of PEERS Assembled in Parliament My Lords THE world is too narrow for our passions we may soon over-joy or over-sorrow the best or the worst estate which earth affords or can inflict What an Atome then is it to our understandings The world is too little and too low-prized for the minde of the least of the poorest man who hath the understanding of a man what A nothing then is it to such as yours are Great and noble mindes And yet as inconsiderable as it is they who have only the world to rejoyce in shall not shortly have a world to rejoyce in The fashion of it passeth away daily and the matter of it is of no long continuance The beauty of it was stained in its infancy and the frame of it must be consumed when it is a few who knowes how few years elder This should call off our thoughts from eager earthly pursuits and pitch them upon a higher and more enduring substance This should provoke us to put the moon all changeable excellencies under our feet and make us restlesse till we are cloathed with the Sun an eternall excellency 'T was the designe of the ensuing Sermon to befriend souls with such a change of cloathing and to entice them into the joys of a name written in Heaven that they might not too much read or rejoyce in any no not their own on earth I know the victories and successes of a just warre endebt us not only to Thankfulnes but to Ioy. Such victories are the exactest pieces both of the wisdom and power of God God is called a man of warre but nothing shews him more a God then warre And among all warres a warre with spirits though but with the spirits of men shews most of God The great promise of restoring Ierusalem is thus prefac'd Thus saith the Lord which stretcheth out the Heavens and layeth the foundation of the earth and formeth the spirit of man within him Zech. 12. 1. All reforming about spiritualls begins at the forming of spirits Whether God forms spirits or breaks spirits which will not receive his form his work is admirable God hath begun a warre with and a work upon spirits in our dayes Some spirits are beautifully formed others are justly broken T' is a duty to rejoyce in both chiefly in the former We must rejoyce for the Angels in heaven do when we hear the spirits of other men are formed but the best cause of joy is when we finde our own are How much soever the publike is reformed without or how many soever are formed within yet if any heart lie ruin'd or life unshap't he may in the midst of all these joys and triumphs for he shall lie down in sorrow That your Lordships may have many rejoicing daies and a rejoycing eternity That your Names may be written in the fairest and greatest letter which Honour can make on earth and that they may be written in the fair-est and greatest letter which Glory Shall make in Heaven is the prayer of Your Honours humbly devoted Joseph Caryl A SERMON PREACHED to the Right Honourable the House of PEERS assembled in Parliament Upon the Day of their solemne Thanksgiving for the reducing of the City of CHESTER LUKE 10. 20. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you but rather rejoice because your names are written in Heaven THE King of Saints and Captain Generall of our salvation Iesus Christ having called commission'd and sent out twelve Apostles as great Commanders to subdue his native Kingdom of Israel to himself at the sixth Chapter of this Gospel He at the first verse of this prepareth and sendeth forth a band of seventy Auxiliaries to prosecute and advance the same designe After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also and sent them two and two before his face into every City and place whither he himse●f would come And to shew that the weapons of their warfare were not carnall but mighty through God these seventy returning victors report the successe of their expedition and shew Christ the Trophies of their conquest at the 17 verse And the seventy returned again with joy saying Lord even the devils are subject unto us through thy Name Yea saith Christ I know it to be so this is not a vain boast of valour like theirs who will vaunt they have kill'd the Devil and run strange adventures when they scarce dare look an enemy in the face I my self can bear you witnesse that you have faithfully and effectually acted your commission the issues of your service have been glorious in mine eye And he said unto them I beheld Satan like lightning fall from Heaven vers 18. The powers of darknesse cannot stand before the Gospel of light The Devil the prince of the ayr is no match for Christ no nor for the meanest of the servants of Christ who go forth armed with his name and power And because Christ found that these servants of his had managed their former commission so well therefore he is so far from calling it in that he inlargeth it at the 19 verse Behold I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you Go forth again in this armour of power with which I have girt you and I warrant you sword-free and shot-free nothing either on earth or in hell shall by any means strength or stratagem hurt you all the world will be against you but I am with you take courage nothing shall hurt you therefore on again in this warfare you shall as my self go forth conquering and to conquer Now who was able to bear such a burden of honour from these past and promised victories with moderation How many by hearing a report of their own conquests over other men have been overcome with their own pride It is an easier matter to gain successes then to bear them well Christ who knows the measure of every spirit seems to suggest that even the good spirits of his Disciples began to over-act upon these victories over evil spirits Hence he gives them an allay by counsel and caution not to raise their joy too high upon this point And more he diverts their joy which he saw ready to overslow the banks

5. 14. is the disturber of Kingdomes as well as of families And self-love is set in the head of that black Army which is prophesied to make perillous times in the last dayes 2 Tim. 3. 1 2. Above all there is an evil spirit which I may call the Beelzebub of this generation or the Prince of Devils that is a spirit of division This workes in all places almost in all hearts Division seems to be the great designe against us That while we act simply we may be universally overcome This spirit is grown so cunning that it can work distances by a motion or an endeavour for union While many are ready to say and pray Let us not divide though we cannot agree yet are most ready to divide upon every disagreement And while it is almost in every mans mouth Let us be one in affection though we cannot be one in opinion yet every man almost acts as if neither one earth nor one heaven could hold those who hold not one opinion These spirits and such as these are the troublers of our peace and unlesse these spirits are changed or at least chained all flesh is in danger to perish among us The chaining of them may make our times peaceable but the change of them will make our times glorious How happy should we be if a spirit of humility and meeknes of charity and brotherly kindnes of truth and uprightnes of self-deniall and ardent desires of maintaining the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace possessed all our hearts Right Honourable if once you had received letters of credit and good assurance that evil spirits were foiled and had received a blow either in the east or west north or south and that a better spirit were acting in this Nation you would have cause to keep such a day of Thanksgiving and praise to God as you never kept to this day Till a conquest be gained over the spirits of men our conquests over men will not give us rest And though I would not lessen the mercies of God especially at this time when we come to blesse him for so great a mercy as we this day commemorate yet I say what heart almost can we have to blesse God or be enlarged in his Praises for subduing bodies Towns and Cities while legions of evil spirits in camp in so many places and quarter in so many hearts A conquest over spirits is the glory of all our other conquests Therefore Right Honourable I say it again let the stresse of your counsels and designes be laid against these spirits The sword may work an unwilling subjection God only can work a subjection of the will Yet two things done by men by men as your Selves are in Dignity and Authority will contribute much towards this subjection First justice done and done impartially for and upon all Secondly countenance and encouragement given to all that are good and do good When spirits are overcome upon these terms I know not who shall have greater cause to rejoyce they who are subject or they who have made them so But though this would be matter of great joy yet this must not be either the totall or the chief matter of our rejoicing The next words of the Text lead us to this modification of our joy Notwithstanding in this rejoyce not but rather rejoyce that your names are written in Heaven The connexion tells us we are very apt to overact outward comforts and overjoy our worldly joy The whole world is too narrow for the heart of man Our joys may quickly exceed it and we be more taken with it then it is worth Christ saw his Disciples in danger of taking in too much of the world The creature gets quickly into our hearts and our hearts may quickly get beyond the creature Onely God is an object which we cannot overjoy or stretch our affections too far towards It is seldom that we can rejoyce at all we can never rejoyce enough while we are in the flesh in spirituall mercies and it is seldom but we rejoyce too much in temporall The world is so much of kin to us and is so like us worldly comforts suit us so well and are so neer us that while we deal about them we need a bridle not a spurre It is one of the greatest priviledges which we wait for in Heaven that our affections may bee ever kept in a due temper There we shall love and rejoyce in nothing but God or for God And as we cannot love and rejoyce in God too much so there we shall not love or rejoice in him too little But while we converse with creatures we are apt to feed too heartily upon them and to drink larger draughts of the wine of their consolation then becomes us The way to lessen earthly joy is to stirre up heavenly As when love is divided upon many objects of the same worth it cannot run so strongly to any one so much more when it is carryed to a more worthy object will it abate towards those which are lesse worthy The Text is clear for it teaching us That our receits of temporall and outward mercies should be but as an occasion to raise our hearts higher in rejoycing for spirituall and eternall mercies Notwithstanding rejoyce not in this that spirits are subject to you but rather rejoyce c. All creatures and comforts on earth should be but as foils to set off the glory of Heaven How good is grace and glory if there be so much good in nature It was Christs art to do thus when he came to the well Joh. 4. and was thirsty he riseth from that water and the thirst he had to it to tell the woman of another water which if she could once drink she should never thirst And Joh. 6. 27. when he saw his followers so hungry after loaves of bread which is perishing meat He took an occasion to exhort them to labour for the meat that perisheth not but endures to everlasting life It is safest for us as well as our duty to bestow the strength of our sorrowes upon our sinnes and the strength of our joyes upon Christ There is a double ground or reason why we should thus in our receits of temporall mercies get our hearts off or get our hearts above them First spirituall mercies are the best mercies They are best in their nature and they are best in their enjoyment they are lasting mercies The joy of the hypocrite all his joy is but for a moment and the worldly joy of the sincere is but for a moment That cannot last long whose bottom and foundation cannot last long the world passeth away and the fashion of it therefore the joy that ariseth out of the world and the goodly fashions of it must needs passe away too When one of the Ancients stood by Caesars tomb who had the honour while he lived of so many victories and triumphs he cries out O Caesar where is now thy magnificence