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
A38482	The English Spira being a fearful example of an apostate who had been a preacher many years and then apostatized from his religion, miserably hanged himself, October the 13th, 1684 : giving an account of his dispair, and divers conferences had with him, by several ministers and others of his friends : together with his answer, and papers written by his own hand / left attested by Mr. T. Plant, Mr. H. Collings, Mr. B. Dennis, Mr. B. Keach.		1693 (1693)	Wing E3121; ESTC R37321	41,094	57

till about July last About August last I gave him another Visit and then found him tho' naturally of a strong Constitution and lively Spirit so exceedingly shaken that the horror of the sight made such deep impressions as I think will at seasons recur and set it self before me afresh as long as I live His Speech was very regular which discovered his Memory to be good and that his Distemper had not seized his Head but his Heart He freely discoursed the grief of ●is Mind expressing and setting forth his Condition to be most deplorable as having no hopes of salvation I laid before him with the greatest tenderness the freeness and riches of Gods Grace chusing to argue from his own former declared Opinion against limiting of it but could fasten no word of consolation or hope upon him With some Reluctancy he granted me liberty to pray with him but said his Spirit was shut up he could not pray and while I was praying he often groaned and after I had ended told me God would make him a terrible Example to this present Age and tho' he was full of benignity yet he was also a terrible God being provoked These Expressions and the horror that appeared in his Eyes and all parts of his body drew many tears from mine Eyes and rendred the Spectacle so dreadful that I cannot say as is reported of one that visited Francis Spira that he would go a thousand miles to see another Spira but on the contrary I desire I may never see the like Spectacle again whilst I live in this world He told me he thought either in a dream or when he was awake he could not tell which that I should say to him If he died the common death of all men the Lord had not spoken by me I answered He better knew the temper of my Spirit and Principles than to conceive such a thought of me or that I should take up the words of the Prophet of God divinely inspired and apply them to him but all I could say abated nothing of the horror of his Soul that I could perceive This Comment I make upon it that if any Atheist in the world who had formerly known this man and had conversed with him in these his Agonies he would have seen sufficient to have convinced him that there is a Power besides and so much above Nature as can with a touch shake and disorder and turn into confusion the strongest constitution of body by ministring and fastning terrible things upon the Soul That when God wounds the Spirit of a man neither he himself can bear it nor can any other aid him Therefore it is a fearful thing to fall under the Wrath of the living God who is a consuming Fire and can at his pleasure awaken a stupid Conscience and revive upon it the memory and horror of such sins as seem to be past over and forgotten My Prayer is that this man being made as a Pillar of Salt may warn the present and future Ages of the danger of sinning against the present Light of their Understandings The Effect of a Conference between Mr. John Child and Mr. B. K. ABout the middle of July 1684. Mr. B. K. went to see Mr. Child not hearing the least report of any trouble he was then under and after some discourse which passed between them Mr. K. occasionably mentioned that Book called A Second Argument telling Mr. Child he was reported to be the Author thereof which he presently acknowledged and cried out against himself in a bitter manner saying What he had done therein was out of Malice and Revenge against those People and seemed to abhor himself for casting such abominable Reproaches upon them whom he said he knew deserved it not and presently desired Mr. K. to go up stairs with him which he did and then he farther signified to him his deplorable condition and what horror and anguish of Soul he lay under and that there was no mercy for him And Mr. K. being on a sudden surprized with his deep expression of horror of which he had heard nothing it did amaze him yet he endeavoured with the utmost of his ability to comfort him by shewing the greatness of Gods mercy to true penitent persons together with the infinite worth and value of Christ's Bloud telling him withal that he was glad to find he had the sence of his great Evil on his heart or words to that effect and that he hoped this breaking was in order to healing But Mr. Child said he doubted of that And all the Words and Arguments Mr. K. could use to satisfie him were in vain so that at that time it being late at night he took his leave of him Mr. K. Soon after he came to seek me at my house but then I could not stay long with him But a few days after when he sent for me I went and found him in bed rowling and tumbling up and down in a lamentable manner enough to pierce ones heart I said to him Mr. Child I thought by your deportment when you was at my house the burden was pretty well off or to that effect Mr. Child No no my burden is greater than I can bear I would fain be satisfied as touching one thing Mr. K. What is that Mr. Jo. Child Whether my sin may not be that against the Holy Ghost Mr. K. I hope and believe it is not Mr. Child But I wrote the Book out of malice Mr. K. There is a great deal of difference between doing a thing out of malice and prejudice against the Lord's People and acting out of malice against Christ himself or doing despight to the Spirit of Grace I do not doubt but that you always had holy and reverent dread and respect to the Name of God tho' you might take up a great offence against some of his People Mr. Child I have often had that Scripture brought to me Psal 50.19 20. Thou givest thy mouth to evil and with thy tongue thou forgest deceit Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother and slanderest thy mothers son And of that which follows Consider this ye that forget God lest I tear you in pieces Mr. K. But pray observe tho' you should be guilty of that great evil there mentioned yet there is ground of hope in that you are exhorted to consider I used many Arguments to perswade him to rely on the mercy of God thro' Christ mentioning that passage of the Prophet David Forgive me my sin for it is great and how wonderfully he had manifested and magnified the attribute of his mercy in pardoning great and bloudy sinners Mr. Child Breaking forth into bitter tears cried out I know that the Majesty of Heaven is a good and gracious Being yet when provoked stretching forth his hands in a frightful manner he is a terrible God Mr. K. I think it is necessary that you retract what you have written in that Book for that I think nothing short of it will be

Repentance that I shall never be Mr. P.'s Friend Do you think that God is able to pardon you Mr. Child No. Mr. P. What is your reason Mr. Child God hath sworn in his wrath that I shall never enter into his Rest Mr. P. How do you know that God hath so sworn concerning you Mr. Child Setting himself down said I confess a man should not affirm that which he hath no reason for But rose up as one discontented and gave no further Answer Mr. P. Pray you let me be more inwardly acquainted with the state of your Soul Mr. Child The wrath of God is kindled and burns within me It is impossible for you to imagine my torment and this is but an earnest penny of my eternal damnation I have guilt enough upon me to sink seventeen Kingdoms and I know the Earth would open its mouth and swallow me up alive like Corah Dathan and Abiram were it not that God hath reserved me to be a more publick Spectacle of his Anger and displeasure both to Angels and men God hath taken away my Tallent from me and the influence of the divine Spirit hath altogether left me I can neither pray nor desire others to pray for me my heart is perfectly hardened Mr. P. Could you wish that those that have an interest in God should improve it for you Mr. Child How should I when I cannot desire Jesus Christ to pray for me I am now out of hopes for the Prayers of the Godly are recorded in Heaven against me flouds of tears flowing from his Eyes Dear bought Experience hath taught me that it is not a small thing to trifle with the great Concerns of Religion and Eternity as most men account it I have made a God of this World and neglected God and his Christ and therefore these things are justly come upon me I have been a loose and carnal Professor and if I were in the place of God I should meet the same measure that God doth to me My Calamity is even at the door and all men in a little time will justifie Gods dealing with me Mr. P. Pray you explain your self in these things Mr. Child Evading further Discourse you shall have the full Account of it in print His Wife Who shall print it Mr. P. I suppose Mr. Child intends some signal Impression by Divine Vengeance Mr. Child Though what you have said is true yet it is not what I intended for I have resolved to give the World an Account of my Condition in a printed Paper Mr. P.'s Friend This is an humbling Dispensation that you are exercised under Mr. Child An humbling Dispensation do you call it I tell you it is a hardening Dispensation and I feel it to be so Mr. E. P. I hope there is mercy yet reserved for you Mr. Child I know I shall have mercy such as the damned have I do highly justifie God in his dealings with me A Friend Your justifying the dealings of God with you is a good sign Mr. Child God can open the mouths of Reprobates to justifie his proceedings Mr. P. I hope that God will appear in a way of mercy to your Soul if you sincerely and heartily apply your self to him Mr. Child The most Judicious men know that I am a damned and lost man Mr. P. Walking with him in the Fields You seem now to be more setled in your mind Mr. Child Tho' no consideration can yield me peace or comfort yet the violence of my Torments admits of some intermissions and therefore I am not so sensibly afflicted at all times if I had but such a sence of my sin as I ought to have I should burst asunder or like Judas use extremity towards my self Mr. P. What mean you by that passage blaspheming his Tabernacle in your Letter to Mr. J. Mr. Child By it I intended reproaching and scandlizing the Church Mr. P. Taking the Letter out of his pocket Do you own the Contents of this Letter Mr. Child Yes and it was written by me as with the Pen of a ready Writer I would fain believe but all power is taken away from me Mr. P. I have discoursed with Mr. M. about your Case and it is his opinion that a Recantation is your first step in order to peace in your mind and spoke it with much concern of your Soul Mr. Child Shedding many tears and expressing a passionate inquiry Is this true that he is concerned for me By which expression with the manner of it Mr. P. collected that it gave some ease to the mind of Mr. Child to have his condition entertained in 〈…〉 The substance of another Conference between Mr. John Child and Mr. H. D. Mr. E. M. Mr. F. and Mr. J. B. Mr. D. HOW is it with you Sir Mr. Child I am in great confusion and disorder in my Spirit I have sinned against so much Grace that I am without hopes of receiving mercy Company If your trouble is in respect of the Book which you have written whereby you have done so much injury to the suffering People of God the best way we can advise you to is to free your Conscience from guilt will be to make your Repentance and Recantation as publick as your sin is Jo. 7.19 Mr. Child I must confess I stand greatly indebted to the Publick but I am so confused in my mind that when I think of doing it I can do nothing There are three things which are a burden to me my sin against God which is impardonable my sin against God's People and another thing Company What is that other To which he made no Answer Company Do you think that impardonable sin you mentioned is the sin against the Holy Ghost Mr. Child I cannot tell Company Was what you did done maliciously against God Christ and the holy Spirit and God's People Mr. Child No. Company Then it may comfortably be concluded you have not sinned that sin and therefore you may take encouragement from the comfortable words of Christ viz. that all other sins and blasphemies may be forgiven you quoting many proper Scriptures Consider the instances of David Manasseh Peter Paul and the Jews who were guilty of crucifying our Saviour and imprecated the guilt of his Bloud upon their Children to whom yet our Saviour in his rich mercy commands his Disciples first to preach the Gospel Is your condition worse than theirs Company It may be your Endeavours heretofore too much to advance Free-will and the power of the Creature may be one reason why the Lord hath permitted you thus to fall Mr. Child You have hit it Sir I once thought there was a power in man but now I find it otherwise for I cannot pray the Lord hath taken away the gift of Prayer from me I have no desire after any thing that is good I cannot repent Company Christ is exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance and remission of sins Shall we now pray for you Mr. Child Yes Then

and Law of God by introducing and setting up in the mind another Rule viz. that of their own Appetite private Interest and Utility Than which nothing can be more rebellious against God pernitious to humane Society or destructive to him that hath drenched in such a damnable Delusion For as that first and great Command of God scilicet Mat. 2● 37 38 ●● Mat. 1● 30. To love him with all the heart and with all the soul and with all the mind and with all the strength and that second which is like unto it To love our Neighbour as our selves are the principal Branches of that Universal Law of God Tim. ● to the 〈◊〉 1 Joh. ● 6 7. whereby all other Branches thereof are to be interpreted and on which all the rest depend so by Obedience thereunto in Faith out of a pure Heart and good Conscience our Union Fellowship and Communion with God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ our Lord and one with another is maintained confirmed and enlarged Phil. 3. 2 Tim. 2 3 4 Phil. 3.19 Rom. 2 8 9. Jam. 9. 2 Tim. 9 10. 2 Pet. ● 2 3. and we thereby brought to have our Conversation in Heaven whilst we are on Earth and prepared for everlasting Habitations with the Saints in light And on the contrary they which are lovers of Pleasures more than lovers of God who make their God their Belly glory in their shame mind earthly things stop the voice of their Conscience act contrary to its Dictates and strive to thrust from them as long and as far as they can the terrors thereof are whilst they remain upon Earth on the very borders of Hell and every moment ready to sink into Destruction and everlasting Perdition We have made this brief Reflection on the Nature and Office of Conscience as deeming it may be now and at all times useful to our selves and all that read it whilst remaining in the state of the living but we make not so much as in our thoughts any Reflection upon or Application of any thing we have herein said to the state of him that is dead further than to declare how sadly he experimented in the course and issue of his Life what has been here spoken of the horror of an offended and awakened Conscience and to exercise the Judgment of Charity which only appertains unto us concerning his sorrows for his sin fervent desires to be forgiven of those he has injured attempts after a publick Recantation of his Evils endeavours to repent and pray for forgiveness of God The final Judgment we leave to him who is the proper and only Judge of the secrets of his heart with our fervent Prayers to God that we who have heard and all that shall read the ensuing Narrative treasure up in our hearts what is therein instructive to us so as to have it always ready in our minds as a seasonable Warning never in the like or in any other case wilfully to put to a peradventure the Eternal Salvation of our precious and immortal Souls A brief Account of the Life of Mr. John Child HE was born at Bedford about the year 1638 and when he was grown up put Apprentice to an Handicraft Trade which when he came of age he followed for some time afterwards he betook himself to another Calling and removed to Newport-Pagnel where he lived divers years married twice and by his last Wife of honest Parentage and good Report he had several Children after his second Marriage in appearance he increased in his Estate About five years since he removed to London and in October last he ended his days by hanging himself in a House he had taken the last Spring in Brick-lane near Spittlefields He was endued with a competent measure of natural Parts and vivacity of Spirit In his youth he applied himself to the reading and study of the Scriptures and attained to a greater knowledge in matters of Religion than many of his Equals in years and Education In his Opinion and Practice he was for the Baptism of Believers and consorted with some of us who are called Anabaptists for about twenty years and for divers years at seasons exercised himself in Preaching He was observed for some years before his dreadful Fall to be very remiss in Religious Exercises and in his ordinary Conversation to frequent other Company than he had done in former times He was of a very haughty Spirit and peremptory in asserting his Opinions He sought to exalt himself above what became either his Profession or Attainments All which when the Hand of God was heavy upon him for his open sins he freely acknowledged with severe Charges against himself for his Pride and Hypocrisie as you will find in the following Relations A Narrative of Mr. John Child's Trouble of Spirit and Deplorable End Of some of the Conferences had with him in the times of his Troubles and of such Papers as were written by him on this Subject SOon after the said Mr. John Child had published his forementioned second Argument which was about the latter end of the year 1682 he signified to some of his intimate Acquaintance that his mind was perplext for what he had therein done but yet bare the trouble so as not to make any great shew of it in his general Behaviour until about the beginning of July 1684. when he could no longer bear or conceal the horrors of his mind but spake of it to some that came accidentally to see him and sent to several others of his Acquaintance to come to him to whom when they came he disclosed the miserable Condition into which he had brought himself and the occasion thereof in such manner as that it became publickly known to many of his Acquaintance and Neighbours and occasioned many besides those sent for to visit and discourse with him and others to write to him the substance whereof with his Answers you have as follows Some Account of Mr. John Child by Mr. D. MY Acquaintance with Mr. Child was of about fifteen years standing About two years since meeting with a Book which I was informed he had caused to be published but two days before I saw it I went presently and gave him a visit and found him in his Chamber in a very pensive posture his Eyes red with Tears he immediately acknowledged he was the Author of it and bitterly exclaimed against himself that he wrote it in malice and by the instigation of the Devil from very ill principles of Pride Vain-glory and Hypocrisie I quickly found the wound upon his Spirit was very deep and therefore forbore all Aggravations and endeavoured to administer some spiritual Relief to him After this in his Discourse to others he seemed not to have so sharp a sence upon his Mind but for ought I could observe the Sore continued festered inwardly from the first time he reflected upon his publishing that Book to the end of his miserable Life tho' it brake not out openly