Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	law_n	young_a	youth_n	21	3	7.5689	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A34663	A brief exposition of the whole book of Canticles, or Song of Solomon lively describing the estate of the church in all the ages thereof, both Jewish and Christian, to this day ... / written by that learned and godly divine, John Cotton ...	Cotton, John, 1584-1652.	1642 (1642)	Wing C6410; ESTC R20552	96,952	268

deepe waters and calamities as of his greatest deliverances And the holy ghost saith Rejoyce in the Lord alwayes And though singing be chiefly fit and requisite in mirth yet wee should be fit also for a Psalme in our affliction But we commonly in our ill howers are too sullen to sing and in our merry moods our spirits vanish away in carnall mirth and jolity but whatsoever the estate of the Church be we should have our spirits as ready to sing as to pray Use 3 Thirdly is reproved that ancient law and custome of the Synagogue which prohibited young men under thirtie yeares of age the reading and use of this booke but what age fitter for songs then cheerfull youth And further the amorousnesse of the dittie will not stirre up wantonesse in any age if the words be well understood but rather by inflaming with heavenly love will draw out and burne up all earthly and carnall lust and even as fire in the hand is drawne out by holding it to a stronger fire or as the light and heat of the Sunne extinguisheth a kitchin fire so doth heavenly love to Christ extinguish base kitchin lusts A Song of Songs That is a most excellent Song the chiefest of Songs as when they would expresse the holy place they say The holy of holiest The Lord of lords the King of kings the Servant of servants an Hebrew superlative so this is the chiefest Song first of all Solomons other Songs even of his thousand and five Secondly of all Songs without exception for though David was in his time the sweet singer of Israel yet as Solomons throne exceeded his in all other magnificence so did his name exceed his also yet this is no disparagement to the other Songs so neither that some of Davids Psalmes should bee stiled golden Psalmes All purified gold yet some gold wrought more exquisitely then others and finer engraven then others even some portion of the pure and holy word of God more exquisitely penned and polished then other The first Reason why this Song is more excellent then others is because this Song speaketh not onely of the chiefest matter to wit Christ and his Church but also more largely then any of Davids Psalmes and with more store of more sweet and precious exquisite and amiable Resemblances taken from the richest Jewels the sweetest Spices Gardens Orchards Vineyards Wine-cellars and the chiefest beauties of all the workes of God and Man Secondly this Song admitteth more varietie of interpretation then any other and also of singular use some have applied it to expresse the mutuall affection and fellowship betweene Christ and every Christian soule some between Christ and the Catholick Church some to particular Churches from Solomons time to the last judgement And there is an holy and usefull truth in each one of these interpretations but the last doth exceedingly magnifie the wonderfull excellency of this Song making it a divine abridgement of the Acts and Monuments of the Church And that this booke was chiefly penned to bee such an historicall prophecie or propheticall history may appeare First by the Correspondency or sutablenesse of the words of this Song to the events of each age Secondly by the Repetition of the same description and other occurrences in divers parts of this Song which would be a needlesse tautologie if it were spoken of the same persons in the same time as you may see if you compare Chap. 4. 2. with 6. 6. and 2. 7. with 3. 5. and 8. 4. 3. 6. with 8. 5. Reason 3 Thirdly by the diversities of descriptions of some persons which would intimate and imply a contradiction if they were not spoken of severall times and severall persons Reason 4 Fourthly by the sudden admiration of some new persons and occurrences Use 1 First wee may here see the eldest sonne of Wisedome giveth the double portion of excellency to this Song above all others yea since the Holy Ghost giveth it it is not therefore onely Canonicall Scripture but an eminent portion of it It were profane blasphemie to preferre this Song above other Songs of holy Scripture if it were not also given by divine inspiration as well as they to preferre the invention of Man before the wisedome of God were sacrilegious madnesse And although none of Gods ten proper names in Hebrew be once mentioned in this Song yet that impeacheth not the authority of this booke more then it doth of Hester where no name of God is mentioned at all Besides this booke is full of such names of God as sute more with the arguments as Welbeloved Brother Shepheard O thou whom my soule loveth the chiefest of ten thousand Use 2 Secondly this must exhort us to a more studious reading and meditating of this booke as of a most excellent portion of holy Writ Use 3 Thirdly this shewes us that as this Scripture is Canonicall so the Pen-man of it is a Canonicall Saint in Heaven for hee must needs be so according to that not of Peters successor as the Papists would have it but of S. Peter himselfe Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost so that hee must needs be a Saint by S. Peters confession and not he onely but Christ himselfe saith All the Prophets are in the kingdome of God Now all the Prophets came not neere this Prophet and there was no Scripture but it was penned by a Propheticall and Apostolicall spirit and though Solomon did fall yet If he commit Iniquitie I will chasten him with the rod of Men c. verse 15. But my mercy shall not depart from him as I took it from Saul If some say By this it was meant that God would not take away his kingdome to this it is answered he did take it away but hee would not deale with him as he dealt with Saul so then this telleth us Solomon is a Saint in Heaven Which is Solomons Solomon the penner of it but a wiser then Solomon indited it The Holy Ghost maketh choice of his Instruments according to the use he had to put them to to set forth the estate of his Church by the choycest treasures of nature Hee useth Solomons spirit which was as large as the sand of the Sea shore And as God led Moses to the top of mount Pisgah to behold all the places and situations of Israel So he lifted up Solomons spirit to the mountaine of Activitie that I may so speake where onely all times to come are present to behold the estate of the Church throughout the present and all after ages This is to teach us as it was said before that Solomon is a canonized Saint else hee had not beene a Pen-man of Canonicall Scripture canonized not by Peters pretended successors who have shamefully erred in this kinde but by Peter himselfe yea by a greater then Peter or Solomon even Christ Jesus That

these foure respects First for the readinesse and flowingnesse of it it dropped forth of it selfe it needed not to be prest and constrained as an honey-combe Secondly for the sweetnesse of it as the honey or the honey-combe Thirdly for the wholesomnesse of it as milke The smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon Lebanon is full of sweet trees of spices growing in it which yeeld a fragrant smell even a farre off Garments are First partly the wedding garments of Christs righteousnesse Secondly partly the gracious carriage wherewith they cloathed themselves in their outward conversation They cloathed and decked themselves with Christ not onely to their Justification but with his Spirit to their Sanctification which shewes forth it selfe in their humility meekenes patience honesty faithfulness diligence serviceableness of their outward carriage so farre forth as that the Heathen smelled a sweet favour in their whole course yea even in Trajans time when the smell of garments was not so strong yet what a sweet testimony doth Pliny himselfe though a persecutor give of them when hee said hee could finde no fault with them but that they rose early and went into the woods to sing Hymnes to one Jesus Use 1 This first is to reforme their judgements who speake of the Apostolicall Church as an infant and rude Church whereas Christ whose eyes were as a flame of fire and who best knew it commends it for perfection of beauty and saith it was faire So that if a Church were such Christ might imbrace it with both his armes This is the Church excellent for her Ministers excellent for common Christians which had pure eyes of knowledge and faith so that by how much neerer any Church comes to this by so much the fairer it is and by how much any Church comes short of it by so much the fouler it is Use 2 Secondly this doth teach us that not abuses but the toleration of them doth blemish a Church and detract from the perfect beauty of it for otherwise in the Primitive Churches were found Schisms Heresies a denying the Resurrection uncharitable going to Law Incest love-feasts in the Lords Supper strange tongues in the publicke worship and yet because the Apostles stood out against these and reformed them the Church still retaines her perfect beauty In the Church of Ephesus there were false Apostles yet it was a Church so it is corruptions not cut off defile a Church As we then desire the Church should be pure leave we all our sinnes and corruptions which may any way blemish the beauty of the Church Use 3 Thirdly this teaches us to be ready to extoll and acknowledge as occasion serveth other mens labours above our owne Christ gathered a Church in his owne time which hee called Faire but this Church gathered by his Apostles he calleth All faire It grieveth him not to ascribe thousands to himselfe and ten thousands to them yea he foretold it and promised it freely aforehand How farre was he from a Spirit of envie and emulation though indeed all their successe was by his grace and blessing as Paul said By the grace of God I am that I am The contrary Spirit of emulation hindereth Churches from taking that which is their owne from one another Use 4 Fourthly hence wee learne in what cases one Church may step from another to wit First when Christ leaveth a Church and goeth away with us from it Come with me from Lebanon my spouse with me So when Christ leaves and forsakes a Church wee may leave it and goe out with him Secondly when a Church is become an universall spotted Leopard and a cruell Lion blaspheming and persecuting the Gospell of Christ as These things were found in Rome from whence wee departed not in England blessed be the Lord from whom the Separatists would have us to depart But Christ still vouchsafes to be with us converting soules feeding his lambes hearing our prayers We may also worship Christ in truth without feare of lawes yea with acceptance When Christ goes let all his faithfull spouses goe with him when there are dens of Lions and men cannot keepe the profession of Christ but fall into their mouthes then it is time to goe But are there these causes now doth not Christ dwell here in the simplicity of his ordinances As long as Christ is here in England let us not goe away but say as Peter and John Lord to whom shall wee goe thou hast the words of eternall life As long as Christ is pleased to feed us to drop milke and honey into our soules let us not depart Use 5 Fifthly this may teach us how to knit the heart of Christ to us in ravishing affection by cleaving to Christ with setled purpose by abounding in helpfulnesse to the Saints by procuring and keeping faithfull shepherds by burthening the Church not with many chains of lawes but onely with few and those necessary all these are formerly mentioned in the Church of Antioch As ever we desire to have the Lord Jesus Christ to love us let us grow in knowledge faith and all saving graces of his Spirit and hereby shew our love to him and then we shall finde Christ ravished with our love Use 6 Sixthly this doth teach us what kind of love Christ acknowledgeth and embraceth to wit faire strong sweet cheerefull in an enlarging our selves to the reliefe of his poore Saints Use 7 Seventhly this doth teach Ministers how to make their Ministry amiable to Christ not to preach once a moneth or quarterly by the preaching of the Law but to be full as the honey-combe dropping out of it selfe to preach sweet doctrine as honey and wholesome as milk for the nourishment of Christs lambs The Pastors and Ministers of the Primitive Church did this without help of Universities what a shame then is this for us to come short of them in such abundance of outward helpes and means Would'st thou be a faithfull Minister let thy doctrine drop as honey preach willingly freely sweetly comfortably Use 8 Lastly this may learne and stirre up Christians so to walke and so to furnish our selves with inward graces and with outward commendable carriage as may yeeld a sweet savour and smel to God and man that it may be like the smell of Lebanon that men may smell a sweet savour that come neere them let our hearts be inwardly furnished with the graces of God as with sweet oyntments and our outward garments our outward conversation so directed with honesty integrity humility meekenesse and love c. that our names be not dishonoured much lesse God by our meanes Cast we aside stinking drunkennesse whoredome malice covetousnesse c. And thus doing wee shall take away all offence so doing Christ shall looke at us as his faire spouse and say Thou art all faire my love verse 7. A garden inclosed is my sister my spouse