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	scripture_n	19,615	5	6.1818	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19037	The parable of the vncleane spirit pithily opened, and plainly applied; wherein is shewed Sathans possession, his dispossession, and repossession. A worke needfull for these secure times, in which the most neglect the meanes oftheir salvation. Preached, and now published, by Edmund Cobbes minister of the Word of God.	Cobbes, Edmund, b. 1592 or 3.	1633 (1633)	STC 5454; ESTC S116664	66,367	214

Saviour of the world of whom it was foretold by the Prophet that He Esay 35. 6. should open the eyes of the blinde and unstop the eares of the deafe Then Sathan this uncleane spirit was forced to goe out of them also But the Iewes unto whom Christ the Saviour of the world was sent opposed and disgraced him in his workes and miracles and by all means laboured to withstand him Sathan finding this opportunity returned backe againe unto these stubborne Iewes whose Religion he found stuffed with a number of blinde Ceremonies and pharisaicall traditions contrary to the Law of God In the Temple in stead of Pastors to teach the word he found Drovers Brokers making of sale In stead of pues for prayer tables for Vsurers money changers and in stead of a Congregation for the Saints he found a denne of Theeves Sathan I say finding this opportunity enters into them and houlds them in blindnesse and ignorance so that their last end is worse than their beginning For now they are deprived of their Temple and liberty and are as vagabonds upon the face of the earth as appeares this day By which we may see what a wofull judgement all those are liable unto which oppose the grace of God when it is offered unto them They doe as much as in them lyes lay themselves open to the malice of Sathan who having gained any opportunity will hardly be driven from them Thus having sayd as much as is needefull for the understanding of this present Parable yet that we may receive the greater profit by it we will for methods sake which is memories guide reduce the matter therein contayned under these foure heads 1. Wee will shew the manner and the measure of Sathans departure from the soule of man and then how he demeaneth himselfe when he is gone 2. His diligence to regaine his former possession with the reasons that induce him thereunto 3. When he hath regained possession how forciblie hee sences himselfe to prevent expulsion 4. The miserable estate of all those hee repossesses how and wherein their end is worse than their beginning These 4. points by Gods grace shall be the substance of my ensuing discourse of which in their order We will begin with the first contayned in these words When the uncleane spirit is gone out c. In these words is contained the uncleane spirits departure and demeanour when he is gone This uncleane spirit is here described 1. By his essence he is a spirit 2. By his quality or condition an uncleane spirit He is a spirit The word spirit in Scripture sometime doth signifie the essence of the god-head as God is a Spirit Iohn 4. 24. 1 Iohn 5. 6. Sometimes the third person in the Trinity called the Spirit of truth Sometime the gifts and graces of the Spirit as the Angell did foretell of Iohn that he should be Luk. 1 15. filled with the holy Ghost Sometime it signifies the soule Luk. 23. 46. Psal 3 1 5. of man as Father into thy hand I commend my Spirit But that wee may not spend our time about the divers acceptation of the word Spirit we are to know that whensoever wee finde the word Spirit set downe without any other word to expresse the meaning of it then we are to know that the third person in the Holy Trinity is meant as Rom. 8. 26. The Spirit helpeth our infirmity But when it is set downe with his adjective the nature and quality of his adjective will easily demonstrate what the substantive importeth as the evill spirit vexed 1 Sam. 16 15. Saul that is the Divell And in this place he is called An uncleane spirit whereby his nature is expressed to be uncleane And thus much for his essence He is a Spirit Come wee now to speake of his quality and condition He is uncleane The divell is an uncleane spirit but not in regard of his creation but in respect of the condition hee brought upon himselfe The Scriptures teach that the Divell was not created evill For God saw every thing that he had Gen. 1. 31. made and behould it was very good He was created an Angell of Light and a spirit without mixture of body immortall without feare of corruptiō intellectuall with exceeding promptnesse of wit free that nothing could force his will wise with fulnesse of naturall knowledge powerfull above all inferiour creatures wholy decked with admirable vertues capable of seeing God clearely with promise of this glory if he persevered in his service But not being content with this his estate but seeking to pry into the majesty of the deity Esay 14. 12. and to usurpe the glory of his maker was therefore dejected and cast into hell and so from being a blessed Angell in Heaven he is become a damned devill in hell As he derived his nature from God so he is good but this depravation of his nature is from himselfe An Angell he was of Gods making a divell of his owne And now being deprived of the glory of God he delights in all uncleannesse is an utter enemie to all holinesse Therefore he useth all meanes to make mankinde as unhappie as himselfe and to wrappe every mothers Childe under the curse of God As soone as our first Parents were set in Paradise though they were furnished with the invincible army of innocencie and righteousnesse so that he was not able to conquer them by force and violence yet out of an inveterate hatred which he bare to the Image of God shining in them and out of envie to their happinesse hee entered into a treacherous parlie with our Grandmother Eve and so bewitched her sences with flattery that he caused her to wandor from the truth of Gods Word and to intice her husband to transgresse Gen. 3 16. the Commandement of God whereby they put off the Armour of innocencie and righteousnesse and entertayned into their soules a troupe of his ambitious tentations and then having gayned the possession he sought for presently he ransacked their soules and deprived them of all spirituall graces and brought them like inferiour Captives under his dominion And that he might the more securely keepe them under subjection he did not onely kill and wound Gods graces in their soules but in stead of them hee placed a strong Garison of carnall corruptions and fleshly lusts which should be as a Porter to open passage to his temptations whensoever he please to make any entrance Thus having so poysoned the fountaine and head spring of all mankinde all men now they are conceived in sinne and brought forth in iniquitie And are deprived Psal 51. 5. Rom. 3 23. of the glory of God And remaine under the governance of this uncleane spirit And in this miserable condition every one had remained if the wisedome of God had not found out a way to redeeme us out of this his bondage and servitude Thus we have discovered our adversarie to be

of the holy Ghost and yet fall away then by the same reason Sathan may bee said to goe out of a man and yet still remaine in him Therefore wheresoever we finde such phrases of Scripture as these of Sathans going out or of being made partaker of the holy Ghost and yet by the sequell of the words wee reade of their Apostacie and falling away we must not thinke that such men were ever effectually called and indued with the Spirit of God but that the Lord would have us take notice of the riches of his mer● offered unto hypocrites in the out●ard meanes of salvation as the ●ord and Sacraments for the casting ●t of Sathan out of them And also ●e may see what a desperate judge●ent they bring upon themselves ●hich neglect and contemne the ●eanes God offers for their delivery Mat. 23 37 ●nd this made our blessed Saviour ●ourne for the hardnesse of the Iewes ●earts that looked for a Saviour ●hich should free them out of their ●isery and when he was come to seeke ●nd to save the lost sheepe of the house of ●srael then they scorned and contem●ed him This uncleane spirit may bee sayd ●o farre to goe out of a man and yet ● reprobate as the good spirit of God may be said to depart from a Childe of God and yet still remaine the chosen of the Lord. That the spirit of God may seeme to depart from a Childe of God let David a man after Gods owne heart speake he● prayes Cast me not away from thy presence Psal 51 11. and take not thy holy Spirit fro● mee And in another place he bewailes the absence of Gods Spirit Psal 77 8. yet for all this hee had it still For The gifts and callings of God ar● Rom. 11 29. without repentance yet they may ly● hid without feeling as fire under ● heape of ashes which cannot be● seene or perceived till the ashes be● stirred so this uncleane spirit may lye hid a while till hee be stirred up by some scandalous sinne or other 2. So farre may this uncleane spirit seeme to goe out as the minde i● inlightned this the Apostle affirmes may be in a reprobate Hee may bee inlightned and yet fall away Se● this in Herod he amended many things at the Preaching of Iohn and this uncleane spirit seemed to begon out in regard of outward reformation for● when an hypocrite hath understanding of Gods word hee may acknowledge the truth as Balaam did and leave his sinnes for a time as Simon Magus did his Sorcery when hee beleeved and was Baptized and may humble himselfe for his sinnes as Pharaoh and Ahab did yet for all this hee may lye frozen in the dregges of his sinnes and this ●ncleane spirit may keepe possession for an hypocrite will not part with his darling sinne but rather part with his first borne yea loose his owne Micha 6 6. soule rather than leave it as may be seene by the love which Herod bare to his Herodias An hypocrite will cleave unto Christ so farre as the world will ●et him and if hee may share with him in his benefits and not bee hindred in his profits and pleasures but ●f he must part with them this is so hard a saying that they cannot abide ●t By which we may see that their obedience is but for feare of Gods ●udgements and their understanding ●s but inlightned with historicall faith which consists in quickenesse of wi● and plausibility of speech this fait● is effectuall to inlighten the understanding but not to save the soule Now so farre as this speculative fait● is admitted so farre this uncleane spirit is sayd to goe out God in th● knowledge regards not the quantit● so much as the quality an Hypocrit● may exceede a childe of God in th● gifts of nature which God esteeme no better than shining sinnes Mistake me not I would not have knowledge vilified but rather rectified an● vertue added to knowledge else the gifts of nature if they be not sanctified by grace are fit preyes for the Divell 3. So farre this uncleane spirit i● gon out of an hypocrite as he hath received some sparckles of conversion For by the illumination of his mind● hee may behold the kingdome o● Christ to be glorious and in many degrees to exceede the glory of th● world This made the mother of Zebedees children thinke that if she could procure a place for her sonns that one might sit at Christs right hand and the Mat. 20 21. ●ther at his left in his kingdome shee would have beene abundantly satisfied Another thought him a happy Luk. 14. 15. man that might eate bread in the kingdome of God This also made Balaam earnestly desire to dye the death of Num. 23 10. the righteous and that his last end might be like theirs Now what may bee the reason of this that hypocrites are so ravished with the apprehension of future glory and happinesse Surely this they perceive that Gods kingdome is full of happinesse and they see a possibility of obtaining this happinesse for themselves for they have tasted of the heavenly gifts floting in their braines which makes them imbrace the Gospell and to doe many things that they are commanded therefore they hope they shall be saved On the contrary they see this sinfull world to bee full of trouble and vexation and they feare that there will bee great bitternesse in death Therefore hearing of a full deliverance by Christ from these dangers they are content to yeeld obedience to the Word but yet for want of the Ioh. 5 34 sappe of grace this abides with them but for a season And so for all their outward conformity they may bee rotten and unsound For they doe not love the truth for the truths sake but for some private ends as to gaine estimation of men and to be accounted good Common wealths men and so thought fit to live in a societie As for their desire after the Word it is either with Eve to get knowledge or with Simon Magus to make gaine of it or with the Pharisees to get a name by it for they discover themselves in the time of temptation and are either allured with the baits of prosperity or pinched with crosses and afflictions so that at last they fall away and become Apostates from the faith 4. This uncleane spirit is so farre gone out of a man as he lies hid and covered Hee may keepe his hold though he doe not shew himselfe in hostile manner he can transforme himselfe into an Angell of light and will make a shew of holinesse that he may doe the more wickednesse he cares not though Abimelech entertayne Abraham and give him the best of his land if he can but make him to commit adultery with his wife Hee cares not though Iudas become a Disciple and a professor of Christ if he can fill his heart with covetousnesse to betray his Master Hee cares not though Annanias and