Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	heart_n	holy_a	son_n	7,690	5	5.1080	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77424	A Breife description or character of the religion and manners of the phanatiques in generall. Scil. [brace] Anabaptists, Independents, Brovvnists, Enthusiasts, Levellers, Quakers, Seekers, Fift-Monarchy-Men, & Dippers. Shewing and refuting theur absurdities by due application, reflecting much also on Sir Iohn Præcisian and other novelists. Non seria semper.		1660 (1660)	Wing B4573; Thomason E1765_1; ESTC R209656	17,102	54

confusions counting it no shame to ascribe those unreasonable absurd motions to Gods most wise holy Spirit which any man of right reason common ingenuity and modesty would be ashamed to owne It had it been better for such not to have known the way of the Spirit in Scripture far mor evenial to erre for want of the Spirits guidance and light than to shut our eyes against it and to impute it to our errors dreames darknesses and hipocrisies It s better to have the heart wholy barren then to lay our adulterous bastards to the Spirits charge when indeed they are issued of nothing but pride joyned to ignorance forgeries and glistring novelties set off with insolence since neither the temper of their Spirits nor their workes or words are like the rules markes or fruites of the holy Spirit of Christ They challinge the spirit of Christ in such a plenary measure and power to themselves that they justifie their want of ordinary abilites and endowments by their needing none Excusing their not studing or preparing for what they utter by their being specially inspired colouring over their well known idleness illiterateness ignorance and emptiness by the Shews of special illuminations sudden inspirations and spiritual inablements You must not ask them where are their Miracles where their Empire over Devills where their gift of languages where their Prophesies these questions though just to be put where extraordinary Inspirations are pretended are too hard for them be they never so godly if you put them one pin above their pitch they either crack or sound like strings overstrained harshly and out of tune In their pretended Liberty and Levelling Principles they justifie the flagitiousnesse of their Villanies as if the zeale they had for Religion provoked them to such Outrages then the most crying Injustice must be thought the highest Iustice the most partiall Tolleration must be voiced for Christian Liberty the grossest Anarchies good Government and the most Novel and unjust Cause that ever was must needs be cryed up for the Good Old Cause The better to set off their Opinions and Practises their Retreat is as Foxes when eagerly hunted to earth themselves in This the Spirit hath taught and dictated those things unto them or interpreted or revealed the Scripture to them in this manner or impulsed and driven them upon such and such waies as are uncomely and unwonted This is done with the same Falsity and Confidence as Mahomet perswaded the credulous vulgar that his fits of Falling-sicknesse and the device of his Pigeon coming to his ear where he had accustomed to feed it were Monitions and Inspirations he had from God by his Blessed Spirit A vacuity with safety may be concluded in their Heads whose bodies and Discourse are filled with too much affectation and vain glory who like Atomes Volatle and unsetled justle whirle up down without incorporating any thing but Air. Their Holinesse is meer titular and verball like Montanists Catharists Gnosticks of old or the later cruel and rude Phanatiques in Germany who cryed Holy Holy Holy to their parties and factions as if there were holy seditions holy ambitions holy sacriledges holy cruelties holy ignorances holy confusions holy errors holy Schismes holy Hypocrisies in the hearts and spirits of spirituall men Under these disguises of extraordinary gifts of the Spirit Architophel and Iehu and Iudas and Symon Magus and the Sons of Sheva and Demus and the selfe made Prophetesse Iezabel and Diotrophes all false Prophets and Ministers of Satan studied to appear If any praies publickly in matter words or method approved by the practise tradition of the Church it is they say but a forme and stinting of the Spirit if they preach with exactness and Preparation it is not the Spirit but Study and Learning If they read holy Bookes t is but a dead Letter and Lip-labour if they celebrate the Sacraments with Reverence and Decency they quarrel at the Place or Time or Gesture or company or Ceremonies used of old If they use the ancient Doxology giving Glory to the Trinity as the Greekes and Latine Churches ever did their Socinian and Arrian Eares are so offended as if Christians should ask them leave to own the Blessed Trinity if any explicateth the Rudiments for Instruction the Principles of Christian Religion continuing summaries of things to be Believed practised and Prayed for as the Creed the Ten Commandements and Pater Noster these men fancy them as the Recitation of some Charmes and looke upon the Priest as some Exorcist confined to these Articles of stinted Spells and Formes If they name any Apostle Evangelist or other Christian of undoubted Sanctity with the Epithet of Saint they are so scared with the Popes Canonizing Saints that they start at the very name so used as if it were an unsanctified Title not to be applyed to the memory of the Blessed but only arrogated to some persons living who ambitiously call themselves and their party Saints If any of these Gloriosoes and New-Illuminates have any competent gifts of knowledge as to something of Religion yet they have commonly something monstrous odd extravagant either vaine or Morose defective or Superfluous light or Tetricall rude or proud popular or affectated and after all the cry and noise and glorying of these mens Inspirings at the best all amounts to no more then but a little Ordinary Knowledge new glossed and painted over whose Ignorance Weaknesse and Confusions will only serve to betray and destroy Religion and State but never to defend it being more offensive then defensive fitter for seduction then reduction to infect then cure Their New-Nursery of gifted Brethren and Prophets are so AEsopick and deformed rather fit to scare men from then to instruct them in Holinesse or Pyety and by their meer Formalities extemporary Pratings and Contempt to make wide Gaps and easie Inroads for Superstition and Atheisme These Pharaohs Dreame of none but lean Cattle in the Field of the Church the lesse wooll and flesh they have on their backs the more spiritual they must needs be fed by thredbare hunger-starv'd Teachers necessitious whining peices of impudent ignorance crowch and fawne on every plausible Errour on every powerfull Novelty on every proud fancy and high imagination prone to adorne by their gifts some odd opinion and set it forth as a Divine Truth Like Arelius a Painter in Iulius Caesars time who when he was to paint any Goddesse corrupted his art by alwaies making them like some of his Mistresses They lick the Sores of any mens Conscience or the Pollutions of any mens hands as they did of Olivers and the Rumps labour to turne all solidity of Truth into nothing but Fantasticall Whimsies empty Notions and sublimity of Non-sence Their Affections like the poor womans Wort is often hot in the point of Zeale when it is very small in point of judgement and apt to run out into much disorder and consusion in rusticall impertinencies and pittifull Rhapsodies of

bunglers in reason wresters of Scripture and hucksters of Religion do finde fault with those tools which they have no skill to use and like cowards quarrel with those Weapons as unlawfull which they most fear and least resist As Apes who knowing their own uncomely want of tailes would be glad if they could bring it in fashion for all Beasts to have none or perswade them to cut off as burthens and deformities those postern ornaments of the body wherewith nature hath furnished the nobler comelier and stronger creatures What would these illiterate furies give to have indeed such an Illumination as might in one night make them as learned and able in all points as the Scotists Thomists Sorbonists and other learned men are who detect these Mountebancks discover these deceitful workers and set these cheats in the Pillory of publick infamy to lose their ears at tandem male audiunt qui male dicunt agunt paring their under nails and muzling the bolder jawes of this ferine faction of these desperate and degenerate Christians who like Balaams beast or as horse and Mule being without understanding are ready to fall upon those that are fit to be their Masters and rulers both in Church and State Who instead of sound learning have confident ignorance or fraudulent and flattering errors or factious semblances of truth to usher in damnable and Heterodox Doctrines and in lieu of excellent literature have onely the three distempers at height which Sir Francis Bacon in his advancement of learning observed to be in most men fantastickness contention and curiosity by imagination altercation and affectation First Comparing themselves with themselves they fancy they grow holier as they grow bolder in their opinions and actions hence they are easily flatered into high imaginations and cheated with strong presumptions as if some common gifts of knowledge some sceptical quickness some volubility of utterance some scriptural expressions which they have attained beyond their former selves or equals were rare immediate and special gifts of the spirit Then because they should seem no body if they carry their small wares in an old pack they invent some new fashion of Religion or model of Church-way they fancy most Then follow those quick Emotions and stirrings upon their spirits which have the quickning only of self in them these are presently cried up for motions manifestations excitations and impulses of Gods Spirit on them Then they are moved to extraordinary heats and irregular vehemencies and illegal irregularities as counterfeit possessed are These fond conceits of their improvements and perfections makes them like careless children forsake the lap of their mother before they can stand by themselves and think themselves Sophies before they arrive to be Sophisters or fit Pilots to steer the Ship of the Church when they are very mean Skippers and Skullers The varity of their conceits mixtures and inventions first kindle with modest sparks as if they would enlighten warm and refine Religion but after they have got to them vulgar fewel they arise to such dreadfull flames and conflagrations as threaten to consume all that was ever built before them Poor men thus once puffed up with their timpanies and self-conceptions having once over-looked their first errors they never after have leisure patience or humility to discern the gross yet secret distempers which are in their spirits the many distinctions disguises and windings by which worldly passions and interests slily creep in and concealedly work in their hearts even then most secretly and so most dangerously when under this blind of Gods Spirit when the Lord shall be intitled to their whole plot and project of their follies and furies Doct. Trace them a little farther in their Doctrine and you will finde them to tread much awry They are a People taught to be tumultuary against you and imperious upon you Teach that evil of sin may be done that publick good may come thereby They permit divorces in sleight causes affect parity and reject Tithes as superstitious and judaical they admit private men to administer the Sacraments and in some places commit the power of the keys to women in preaching they will not be tied to any Text nor in praying to any Form in communicating they sit at Table or have no Table at all and because they would not seem too superstitious in the time of administration they are covered They love not the old names of Churches which they sleightly call Steeple-houses of the daies of the week of the moneths of the year of Christmas Michaelmas Candlemas c. in their Almanacks all Saints daies must be obliterated alias their pious but mendacious Prognosticator William Lilly had not so long kept sanctity with them They are affraid to meddle with any thing that ever passed the Popes fingers except onely the Lands and Revenues of the Clergie leave nothing to maintain Religion or its Ministry but the scraps of arbitrary and grudging Contributions Like Don Quixots and Knights-Errant have so many Romances forms and idaea's of Religion in their heads which makes them admirable but not imitable have such ferocious spirits like pampered horses whom no ground will hold neighing after novelties and give way to long-winded extemporary specious nonsense above the common capacity If any wise man comes to hear them he soon finds them as dark and dusky as if they had been begotten in the eclipse of the Sun and born in the last quarter of the Moon The heat of these Rotomontadoes by their over-charged and ill-discharged zeal usually breaks it self in sunder in its abettors assistants and spectators with such inchanting Opinions that they make God the Patronizer of their Villanies Murders Tyrannies and Treasons and boast how clearly it might appear God owned their Cause and disowned their Adversaries urging Gods permissions against his Precepts and Institutions as though Gods toleration of evil heresies schisms disorders c. did justifie them against his Word and Church that forbids them Pretend the Spirit to be Patron of their most extravagant fancies the deviser of their most incredible opinions and dictator of their most indemonstrable dreams and new revelations They like no humble sober and exact ties of conscience and duties of true Religion by which holy men in all ages have given diligence to make sure their calling and election to work out their salvation with fear and trembling by repenting fasting watching prayer by judging and condemning their sinfull self by mortification and self-denial coming to the Cross of Christ taking it up and bearing it to all patient sufferings These are harder disciplines rougher severities stricter Doctrines of piety than our delicate Novelists our gentle Enthusiasts our triumphing Libertines our softer Saints can endure who contrary to the examples of good old Christians and Martyrs glory not in crosses but in Crowns not in buffets but in raptures not in being counted sinners but Saints not in self-denyings but in self-interesses not crucified to the world but crucifiers of the world