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	prayer_n	word_n	6,870	5	4.3086	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41388	Firmianus and Dubitantius, or, Certain dialogues concerning atheism, infidelity, popery, and other heresies and schisme's that trouble the peace of the church and are destructive of primitive piety written in a plain and easie method for the satisfaction of doubting Christians / by Tho. Good.	Good, Thomas, 1609-1678.	1674 (1674)	Wing G1029; ESTC R23950	83,883	174

is certain that a●prophane carless performing of Divine service is a very great sin and a necessary cause of irreligion and practical Atheism one exception I had allmost forgott which concerns Choristers who are said to be for the most part very untoward Children Firm. First This cannot be denyed but the reasons are first negligence in the Musick Masters whose chiefest care it is to teach them to Sing and the end why they Sing namely to set forth the Praises of their Creator neither are they so careful to instruct them how to behave themselves reverently and devoutly at the worship and service of God Secondly Some of them are not set to the Grammer School where upon they squander away a great part of their time in vain sports and idleness which is the Mother of all villany and wickednss Thirdly But the chiefest reason of all is that our Choristers are commonly the Children o● mean Parents who for the most part are very ignorant in the great matters of Religion and extreamly negligent in the concerns of their own and their Childrens Souls Now Deans and Chapters are necessitated to make choise of such poor Children because the better sort of people disdain to have their Children brought up in that noble Science of Musick which is their gross ignorance besides their scorn and contempt of this Science they misconceive that if they should send them to the Musick School it would hinder them in their Grammer learning which might easily be prevented by imploying those hours only at Musick which are spent in foolish insignificant sports and pastimes which as I am inform'd is the practise in some places beyond Sea where their youths spend much of the afternoons in Musick and Dancing Training Mathematicks and such like manly and profitable exercises which conduce both to the health of the body and benefit of the understanding Dub. I perceive that those exceptions against Deans and Chapters and Cathedral service are not so substantial as once I conceived them to be If you please we will now proceed to those which I have heard urged with much earnestness against ●et forms of Prayer and in particular against the Liturgie of the Church of England Firm. Most willingly I pray you favour me with the recital of them Dub. 'T would be to much trouble and to little purpose to mention all that I have heard seing many of them are very frivolous and not worthy of a serious answer those that seem to be the most material are First that they are imposed by mans Authority Secondly they stint the Spirit Thirdly they are cold and dead forms our Spirits are not affected and quickned by them as by conceived and extemporary Prayers Firm. First whatsoever is imposed upon us by mans Authority contrary to the word of God is utterly unlawfull but set Forms taken out of ●ods word are not contrary to that word especially when not only the very matter of them is contained in Holy Scripture but the very words and phrase 'T is a strange peice of nonsence that what is in it self lawfull and laudable should cease to be so because 't is commanded by our Superiors True indeed that things in themselves lawfull being in their own nature but indifferent if commanded as necessary and intrinsically holy are upon that account unlawfull and repugnant to Christian liberty but more of this when we shall di●course about Ceremonies Secondly That the Spirit is stinted by a set Form and that Reading of Prayers out of a Book cannot be praying by the Spirit To this I reply That if their were any truth in these exceptions how comes it to pass that ●e have so many set Forms of Prayer and thanksgiving in Holy Scripture How do set form● of Prayer more stint the Spirit then set Forms of Psalms for Singing Yea does a set Form of Prayer more stint the Spirit then the extemporary conceptions of the Minister limit and stint the Spirit of the Congregation to whom they are upon this account in the nature of set Forms When these queries shall be rationally answered I shall through away all set Forms which have been used by the ●hristian Churches for above 1400 years Besides those of the Presbyterian perswasion allow'd them as lawfull in their conferences with the Bishops anon after his Majesties restauration As to the other part of the other exception that reading of Prayers out of a Book cannot be praying by the Spirit this to those who understand the true meaning of that Phrase is a most frivilous cavill for setting aside the extraordnary gift of prayer to pray in or by the Spirit denotes first the making of our prayers according to the mind of the Spirit exprest in the Scripture as may appear Col. 3.16 Secondly to pray by the Spirit is to pray by that principle of grace wrought in our hearts by the Holy Spirit and enabling us to every good duty as well as to prayer Thirdly to pray by the Spirit is when the Spirit do's stir up our hearts to this Holy duty working in us good desires and motions quickning our faith and fervency whereby our hearts minds spirits go along with out Tongues and Words utterd either in a set Form or by our extemporary expressions which is usually practized by knowing Christians in their Closset devotions Dub. I confess I am not able to shew why set Forms of Prayer should stint the Spirit more then set forms of Singing and I am perswaded that praying by the Spirit signifies no more then the assistance of the holy Spirit quickning and stirring us up to and in Prayer whereby our hearts and spirits are fixed in that holy duty joyning and going along with the Tongue and Voice but truly I find by experience that my Spirit is more stirred up by a Prayer that is new which I never heard before being lively deliver'd then by a common Form read out of a Book Firm. This is the chiefest reason ●hich renders men such admirers of extemporary Prayers and so opposite to set forms their own experience tels them that they are more taken with such Prayers then with common Forms read out of a Book whi●h phanciful experience no wise man will plead against reason and judgment it being very deceitful and the issue of a very common corruption and humane infirmity which inclines us to be more taken with what is new then with what we have often heard especially when 't is deliver'd in a lively tone with pleasing actions and gesticulations of the Body and without Book though for substance and soundness what is read be infinitely before it Pray Sir answer me but this one question whether are your affections more stir'd up at the reading of some portion of Scripture by the Minister or at a good Sermon delivered from the Pulpit Dub. I confess I am much more affected my affections are more wrought upon by a good Sermon deliver'd with life and action then at the reading of the best Chapter

Righteous as all the Law which is set before you this day which as to their clearness are highly improved under the Gospel engaging us upon higher and more heavenly motives those under the Law being for the most part Temporal to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts to live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present world Tit. 2. 12. There is no virtue which Christian Religion commendeth not no duty which it commandeth not no vice no sin which it does not condemn no Religion doth so much condemn Pride worldly-mindedness sensuality filthy lusts a poore private narrow Spirit selfishness as this no Religion doth so much commend humility meekness selfe-denyal charity peace unity no ●eligion doth so much exalt reason above passion and sence doth so much enoble the Spirit of man making it to look upon the Riches honors pleasures of the world as so many vain shadows deluding dreams transitory nothings the great design of it is not carnal and worldly but high and heavenly as to set forth t●e Glo●y of God to lift up the Soul above the Cre●ture to lead man by the way of holyness to everlasting happiness This Religion gives us the highest motives for the sincere practise of Piety and all manner of virtuous living th●t possible c●n be the pleasures of an holy life here the enjoyment of eve●lasting happiness hereafter it gives the strongest reasons against the power o● temp●ation● te●●hing us to mortifie the lusts of the flesh an● to contemn the vanities of the world putting the joyes of Heaven the torments of Hell the love of God in the ballance against the ple●sures of sin whi●h are no more then a feather to the massy glob of the earth Lastly Christian Religion from holy Scripture on which 't is founded doth reve●l unto us the nature attributes and works of God beyond all the Religions that ever were in the world how doth it magnifie and reconcile the justi●e and mercy of God towards sinful man How do●h it set forth the infinite power and wisdom of ●o● in making the world of nothing in such an excellent form and beauty which has drawn all ●o●sidering men into an admiration of the goodly fabrick of it Yet the must acute Philosophers were at a loss how and when 't was made whether 't was from all eternity or had a beginning in time whether 't was m●de of pr●existen● m●tter o● of the fo●tuitous concourse of Atoms whi●h fond opinions deserve not any serious confutation But the holy Scripture doth ●le●rly solve all these doubts is indeed the best Cōment on the book of Nature and doth give such an account of the original of the world the time and method of its production the peopling of nations the confusion of languages the depravation of nature which the Heathens understanding not fancied two principals one good the other evil from which all the good and evil in the world did proceed Mans recovery by the sacrificing of the Son of God for want of the knowledge and belief thereof all the bloody sacrifices practised by the Hea●hens were meer Impostures and ridiculous nothings these and divers other mysteries far above mans capacity to devise and not within the compass of natural corrupt reason are made plain unto us by Scripture Revelation which does abundantly prove that none but an infinite God could be Authour of this Divine Revelation of which those of the Heathens that of Mahomet were so many apish imitations diabolical cheats Dub. I am fully satisfied by the characters which you have given of the Religion in practise with the people of God especially with the Christians that the rule and measure of it must be from heaven not from men and consequently that all holy Scripture is divinely inspired is the word of the eternal God Firm. I could further acquaint you with many mo●e reasons to confirm you in this great truth which are common in every Authour that treats of it ●s namely the Antiquity of holy Scripture some part of it being before all writings the continu●nce of it by an extraordinary providence notwith●tanding the rage and malice of cruel bloody persecutors the sincerity impartiality candour simplicity of its writers quibus nullum fuit mendac ii praemium they had no earthly motives to perswade them to utter such forgeries as Atheist deem them to be nothing but bonds and imprisonments losses of goods and lives Again it must be acknowledged that the Pen-men of the Scripture were very good men or very bad for men of a cold indifferency they could not be If they were very good men they would never have conspired together to put such a cheat such a grand imposture upon the world as Anti-Scripturists would have the word of God to be If very bad they would never have wrot with so much zeal and earnestness against all manner of wickedness and especially against Lying and Hypocrisie Certainly they would never have exposed themselves to hazard lives and fortunes for no other reward then to be esteemed both Knaves and Fools by all prudent men Add to this that Lyers and Cheats do not usually agree one with the other but there is such a sweet harmony consent betwixt the Pen-men of Holy writ tho they lived at so great a distance from one another that questionless they were acted by one and the same infallible spirit Lastly The aversness the slowness that is in our corrupt hearts to believe all that is written in the Law and the Prophets Luke 24.25 a●ising from that contrariety which is betwixt the holy and spiritual word of God and our carnal and depraved minds is no small proof of the truth of it for 't is otherwise impossible to render any ration●l account why we should doubt or disbelieve this sacred word and never once question the truth of ordinary and common Histories which are conveyed down unto us not with the tenth part of that evidence which we have of the truth of holy Scripture But waving these reasons I shall only mention Two of the best which are urged against Infidelity to bring up the reer of my discourse The First whereof shall be taken from the fulfilling of Prophesies the other from Miracles which are the Seals of this our Magna Charta Dub. Tho I am sufficiently confirmed in the truth of this great principle by what you have already said yet I would most gladly hear your Arguments from Prophesies and Miracles Firm. First for Prophesies I shall acquaint you with some few out of the Old Testament to which your own reading may suggest many more which were exactly fulfilled according as they were foretold Dub. Did not Astrologers and Heathen Oracles foretel many things that came to pass as they were foretold Firm. I grant it but hear what judgment a learned Heathen passes upon them The Gods do foretel some natural things to come for that they observe the order conjunction of their natural causes but of things