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	see_v	13,824	5	3.8383	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A02796	A watch-word to all religious, and true hearted English-men. By Sir Francis Hastings, knight	Hastings, Francis, Sir, d. 1610.	1598 (1598)	STC 12927; ESTC S118429	32,499	130

not for lay men to meddle with matters of religion that belonged wholly and only as a priuiledge to the Priests thereby making them secure and careles of God and all godlines Only if he came diligently and deuoutly to heare Masse and once a yere to confesse his sinnes to his ghostly father how slenderly so euer his sayde Confessor were furnished with gifts of the holie Ghost in himselfe to instruct him all was safe and he that so did was reckoned as religious a man secundum vsum Sacrū as could be wished And though he were tainted and to bee taxed with the grossest sins Rome by the authoritie from their Vicar generall had a tricke to hale thē into the rabble of their saints and so to canonize him as wee haue example of Thomas Becket in Henry the thirds time whose treasons to his Prince were apparant and manifest and yet after his death was he canonized a saint by the Pope and an holy day was commanded for him These two irreligious and prophane grounds being layd they proceed to a third and set it down for a popish ground that it was a dangerous and deadly sinne for any man to disobey the Pope and his Cleargie in any of their orders enioyned and commaunded In such reuerence and regarde must he and all his Cleargy be had that the meanest Masse-priest comming with authoritie from him must bee obeyed vnder paine of damnation though he command that which is blasphemous before God in Christians or disloyall to men in subiects And hauing thus made an open passage without stop to the marke and matter he aymed at and so hemmed them in as they could not see which way to escape danger but by them that had layd the snare for them they propound vnto them a meanes of deliuerie from all daungers euen when they sinned immediatly against God which is A pardon from his holines and absolution from his holy priests But if the decrees and ordinances of their Romish synagogues were transgressed hardly any mercie was to bee had Thus haue you the blind course they sought to breede vs in by debarring vs the cleere light of the holy written word of God and the carelesnes they sought to settle in vs of all religion by making it a thing impertinent to vs as though wee had no soules to care for or the narrow way that leadeth to saluation were so easily found out as we neede no light to guide vs or no furniture to arme vs with defence against the dangers of our passing And yet Search the scriptures is a watch-word to all that desire to bee the seruants of God and Put on the whole armour of God is a direction to all the true children of God here vpon earth the seuerall parts of which furniture and to what vse all of it must serue vs you shall easily finde if you will take paines to looke into and reade the place And further you fee the terrour and feare they cast vpon vs if we offend the Pope and his Massing priests and then the end is our absolution and pardon must come from themselues which mony must purchase and so the best purse by their rule did speed best in their religion Yet our Sauiour Christ telleth vs that It is as easie for a Camell to goe through the eye of a needle as for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heauen But the fattest purses are fitter for the Popish synagogue than the poore in spirit And yet Blessed are the poore in spirit sayth the holie Ghost by the Euangelist for they shall see God And Godlines is great riches sayth the Apostle if a man bee content with that he hath But as it is beyond my reach to decipher and disclose all the grosse corruptions of the Romish religion so it is no part of my meaning to search curiouslie into thē they are already through Gods fauour and goodnes by many learned more sufficiētly handled discouered and confuted than I can and to their learned workes I referre you I onely touch those few that by these you may see the blacke darknes and grosse ignorance wee were brought into by such as sought more their owne pompe enriching than to set vs in the right way to sauing health and saluation of which they sought to bereaue vs. And hauing giuen you this taste of those miserable times and dangerous estate we were brought into by them I hasten to put you in minde of our most blessed and happie deliuerance out of this spirituall pit and thraldome of Poperie and superstition whereinto we were deeply plunged for which wee owe all dutifull and heartie thankes to our God as the author and all reuerence loue and loyalty to our most gracious Soueraigne Ladie Queene Elizabeth as the instrument whose perill and danger before she came to that abilitie to performe this holie worke amongst vs I may not passe ouer For by Gods goodnes onely and wholly she was preserued her life being malitiously and with great cunning shot at by the Romish Cleargie then in place of credit For Gardiner that most proude and bloodie monster left no corner of his wit vnsought being wise enough to worke mischiefe but set all his skill and cunning on worke to shorten her dayes and to preuent her by bloodie slaughter of her sacred person from euer being our Queene And no reach of man can yeeld me a reason of her deliuerance but the mightie God in power and most rich God in mercie did beyond all expectation of popish malice deliuer her from many dangers and preserue her to free vs from al the most bitter thraldome of this Romish Pharaoh to bring vs into the sweete and sincere libertie of Christs true religion and Gospell euen as hee did miraculously preserue Moses being destined to destruction to deliuer his people of Israell from the miserable taxes and torments they sustayned vnder the Egyptiacall Pharaoh Thus you see that these their bloodie practises would take no place but that the God of Israell who neuer fayleth his hath brought this his religious handmayden our deare Soueraigne to the royall throne of this flourishing kingdome and by her happie entrance into this seate of gouernment hath banished the Popish ordinances and decrees which held vs in slauerie of conscience and in stead of this hath brought home vnto vs the cleere Sunne-shining light of his glorious Gospell and restored vs into the libertie of conscience long wished for and often prayed for by all his Saints and children He hath also established a course of teaching by learned ministers and pastors by whom the glad tydings of saluation is pronounced and published to his people her subiects whereby they may be trayned vp in all true knowledge and vnderstanding And surely the most simple now may learne to poynt out the vanitie of that superstitious religion which was sent and brought to vs from Rome and may see and feele how sweet the Lord Iesus is in the voyce