Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	holy_a	son_n	trinity_n	8,730	5	10.2166	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A52614	The life of Mr. Thomas Firmin, late citizen of London written by one of his most intimate acquaintance ; with a sermon on Luke X. 36, 37 preach'd on the occasion of his death ; together with An account of his religion, and of the present state of the Unitarian controversy.	One of his most intimate acquaintance.; Nye, Stephen, 1648?-1719.	1698 (1698)	Wing N1508; ESTC R4561	35,362	90

sincerely preached as he then thought and continued still to think of those Points that however no bodies false imputations should provoke him to give ill Language to persons who dissented conscientiously and for weighty reasons That he knew well this was the case of the Socinians for whose learning and dexterity he should always have a respect as well as for their sincerity and exemplariness Afterwards when Mr. Firmin gave him a Copy of the Considerations after he had read it he only said My Lord of Sarum shall humble your Writers Nor did he afterwards at any time express the least coldness on the account of the Answer made to him but used Mr. Firmin as formerly enquiring as he was wonted How does my Son Giles so he called Mr. Firmins Son by his second Wife About the time the Great and Good Archbishop died the Controversie concerning the Trinity and the depending Questions received an unexpected Turn The Vnitarians took notice from D. Petavius Dr. R. Cudworth S. Curcellaeus the Oxford Heads Dr. S th and others that their Opposers agreed indeed in contending for a Trinity of Divine Persons but differed from one another even as much as from the Unitarians concerning what is to be meant by the term Persons Some of 'em say three Divine Persons are three Eternal Infinite Minds Spirits Substances and Beings but others reject this as Heresie Blasphemy and Tritheism These latter affirm that GOD is one Infinite Eternal All-perfect Mind and Spirit and the Trinity of Persons is the Godhead Divine Essence or Divine Substance considered as Vnbegotten Begotten and Proceeding which Modes or Properties they further explain by Original Wisdom Unbegotten and therefore named the Father the reflex Wisdom Logos or WORD which being generated or begotten is called the Son and the eternal Spiration of Divine Love that has therefore the name of Holy Spirit The Vnitarians never intended to oppose any other Trinity but a Trinity of infinite Minds or Spirits grant to 'em that GOD is one Infinite Spirit or Mind not two or three they demand no more They applied themselves therefore to enquire which of these Trinities a Trinity of Spirits or of Properties is the Doctrine of the Catholic Church they could not miss of a ready satisfaction all Systems Catechisms Books of Controversie Councils Writers that have been esteemed Catholic more especially since the General Lateran Council Anno 1215. and the Reformation have defined GOD to be one Infinite All-perfect Spirit and the Divine Persons to be nothing else but the Divine Essence or Godhead with the three relative Properties Unbegotten and Begotten and Proceeding They saw therefore plainly that the difference between the Church and the Vnitarians had arose from a meer mistake of one anothers meaning a mistake occasioned chiefly by the unscriptural terms Trinity Persons and such like They resolved that it became them as good Christians to seek the Peace of the Catholic Church and not to litigate about Terms tho never so unproper or implying only Trifles when the things intended by those Terms are not unsound or heterodox These Honest Pacific Inclinations of men who drove no design in their dissent from the Church gave birth to the Agreement between the Unitarians and the Catholic Church a Book written at the instance chiefly of Mr. Firmin in Answer to Mr. Edwards the Bishops of Worcester Sarum and Chichester and Monsieur de Luzanzy I need not to say what will be owned by every Ingenuous Learned Person without hesitance that the Agreement is as well the Doctrine of the Catholic Church as of the Vnitarians and that in all the points so long and fiercely debated and controverted by the Writers of this and of former Ages It must be confest the hands of a great many excellent Persons did concur to this Re-union of Parties that seemed so widely and unreconcilably divided and did encourage the Author of the Agreement in his disinteressed laborious searches into Antiquity and other parts of Learning and several learned men some of them Authors in the Socinian or Vnitarian way examined the Work with the Candor and Ingenuity that is as necessary in such cases as Learning or Judgment are Mr. Firmin publisht it when examined and corrected with more satisfaction than he had before given forth so many Eristic Writings I did not wonder however that our Friend was so ready to embrace a reconciliation with the Church for he was ever a lover of Peace and always conformed as far as he could according to that direction of the Apostle Whereunto we have already attained let us walk by the same Rule Which with the best Interpreters he understood thus Conform to the Doctrines Terms and Usages that are commonly received as far as you can if in some things you differ from the Church yet agree with her and walk by her Rule to the utmost that in Conscience you may or as the Apostle himself words it so far as or whereunto you have attained From this Principle it was that our Friend never approved of those who separate from the communion of the Church on the account of Ceremonies Habits form of Government or other mere Circumstantials of Religion He was wont to tell such that seeing 't was undeniable they might communicate with the Church without either sin or scandal and did communicate on some occasions it is therefore both scandal and sin to separate and divide With this he silenced many and reclaimed divers In the Year 1658. the Vnitarians were banisht out of Poland the occasion this Poland had been long harass'd with most dangerous Civil and Foreign Wars insomuch that at one time there were in Arms in Poland Lithuania and the Vkrain One hundred and fourscore thousand Poles as many Tartars and two hundred thousand Cossacks besides powerful Bodies of Austrians and Transilvanians which attacked Poland on the West and South The ravages and desolations committed and caused so by many great Armies in a Country that has but few fortified Places were unexpressible Poland therefore was reduced to such a feeble and desperate condition that their King himself withdrew and the King of Swedes took the advantage of their confusion and low estate to invade them with Forty thousand men regular Troops He took the Cities of Warsaw and Cracow and with them almost all Poland he constrained the Polanders to take an Oath of Subjection and Allegiance to him which Oath was first submitted unto and taken by the Roman-Catholies then by the Protestants and not till last of all by the Vnitarians But the Swedish King engaging himself in other Wars particularly with Denmark and in Germany John Casimire King of Poland appeared again and the Poles generally joining their King at length drove the Swedes out of Poland the Swedish King found himself obliged to condescend to a reasonable Peace with King Casimire As the Vnitarians were the last that submitted to the obedience of Swedeland so being bound thereto by an Oath they did not

THE LIFE OF Mr. THOMAS FIRMIN Late Citizen of London Written by one of his most intimate Acquaintance WITH A SERMON On Luke x. 36 37. Preach'd on the occasion of his Death Together with an Account of his RELIGION and of the present State of the Unitarian Controversy LONDON Printed and sold by A. Baldwin in Warwicklane MDCXCVIII THE LIFE OF Mr. THOMAS FIRMIN THE long Acquaintance and intimate Friendship I had with Mr. Firmin are I confess warrantable Causes that so many do expect from me an account of his memorable Life If some other man would answer the publick expectation with more Address as to Expression Method number and value of Observations and Reflections in a word more Ambitiously yet I will not be wanting in Sincerity or Truth Thomas Firmin was born at Ipswich in Suffolk in the month of June Anno 1632. being the Son of Henry Firmin and of Prudence his Wife Henry and Prudence as they did not overflow with wealth of the World so neither was their condition Low or Strait God gave them the wish of Solomon neither Poverty nor Riches but that middle Estate and Rank which containeth all that is valuable and desirable in Wealth without the Gaudery Vanity and Temptations that generally adhere to Riches But these two were very considerable in their degree or place both as to esteem and plenty by means of their Sobriety Diligence and good Conduct the effects of their Piety They were of the number of those who were then called Puritans by the looser sort of people who were wont to impute Precisianism or affected Puritanism to such as were more Devout and withal more Conscientious and Exemplary than is ordinary tho in the way of the Church of England When he was of capable years for it they put their Son Thomas Firmin to an Apprentiship in London under a Master who was by Sect or Opinion an Arminian a Hearer of Mr. John Goodwyn Our young man accompanying his Master to the elegant and learned Sermons of Mr. Goodwyn soon exchanged the harsh Opinions of Calvin in which he had been educated for those more Honourable to God and more accountable to the Human Reason of Arminius and the Remonstrants And now it was that he learned as was the commendable Custom of those times to write Short-hand at which he was so dextrous that he would take into a Book any Sermon that he heard word for word as it was spoke by the Preacher if the Sermon were not delivered with too much precipitance Of this he made a double use both then and in the very busiest part of his Life For if the Sermon was considerable for judicious Morality or weighty Arguments he often read it in his Short-hand Notes for his own further Improvement and then took the pains to write it out in words at length for the benefit of his Acquaintance He left behind him a great many little Books of that kind Sermons copied fair from his Short-hand notes which not seldom are multum in parvo As to his demeanor in his Apprentiship he was so nimble in his motions in taking down opening Goods to Chapmen c. that some gave him the name of Spirit And in making his Bargain his Words and Address were so pleasing and respectful that after some time the Customers rather chose to deal with Thomas than with the Master of the Shop or if a Bargain stuck between a Customer and his Master he would decide the difference to the liking of both He met however with one rub in the course of his Service for the elder Apprentice interverted five pounds of his Masters money and laid it to the charge of Tom Firmin I know not whether the Imputation was believed probably it was not but it pleased God himself to judg in the case For the elder Servant was shortly after taken with a mortal Sickness and before he died made confession that he took and spent his Masters mony Tho. Firmin not being in the least privy to it Thus he that made all things the very least does not disdain or neglect to judg all things even little things in the properest time Many Crimes are suffered to rest or are not presently called to judgment because the delay of Justice ordinarily hurts no body but when the Innocent and Virtuous lie under imputations by occasion of the guilt of others the detection of Offenders and the execution of wrath is but seldom if ever respited So soon as he was made free he began to trade for himself tho his first Stock was but about 100 l. By the opinion he had raised of himself among the Merchants and others and the love he had gained among his Master's Customers the Neighbourhood and a great number of incidental Acquaintance he overcame the difficulties of so weak and incompetent a beginning so that in the year 1660 he married a Citizens Daughter with 500 l. Portion From his first setting up as they speak for himself he would be acquainted with all persons that seemed to be worthy Foreigners as well as English more especially Ministers he seldom dined without some such at his Table which tho somewhat chargeable to his then slender abilities was of great use to him afterwards both in relation to the Poor and the Publick For out of his large Acquanitance and multitude of Friends he engaged the powerful Interest of some and the weighty Purses of others in some of those great designs of Charity or other Services to the Publick for which I shall hereafter account Now also it was that he hapned on Mr. Bidle who much confirmed him in his Arminian Tenents and carried him a great deal further Mr. Bidle perswaded him that the Unity of God is a Unity of Person as well as of Nature that the Holy Spirit is indeed a Person but not God He had a great and just esteem of Mr. Bidle's Piety Exemplariness and Learning and is that Friend mentioned in Mr. Bidle's Life who gave Mr. Bidle his Bed and Board till he was sent Prisoner by Protector Oliv. Cromwel to the Isle of Scilly and when there Mr. Firmin with another Friend procured for him a yearly Pension of 100 Crowns from the Protector besides what he obtained from other Friends or gave himself Mr. Firmin's Diversion in this part of his Life was Gardening for which purpose he cultivated a piece of ground at Hoxton not a mile from London where he raised Flowers and in time attained no small skill in the art of Gardening in the culture of Flowers Herbs Greens and Fruit-trees of all sorts I have often born him company to his Garden but either going or coming back he used often to visit the Poor and Sick this was one of Mr. Bidle's Lessons that 't is a duty not only to relieve but to visit the Sick and Poor because they are hereby encouraged and comforted and we come to know of what nature and degree their straits are and that some are more worthy