Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	lord_n	people_n	word_n	7,267	5	4.0951	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85485	The progresse of divine providence, set out in a sermon preached in the Abbey Church of Westminster before the house of Peers, on the 24th of September, 1645. being the day of their monethly fast. / By William Gouge, one of the members of the Assembly.	Gouge, William, 1578-1653.	1645 (1645)	Wing G1393; Thomason E302_25; ESTC R200284	30,328	48

they watch for your soules To shew that this kinde of Government doth not intrench upon the authority of the civill Magistrate let the difference betwixt them be well observed and that in these three particulars 1. Civill Magistrates command in their owne name or in the name of a superiour civill Magistrate thus I charge you in the name of the King But Church-Governours in the name of Christ 2. Civill Magistrates require obedience to themselves Church-Governours to Christ 3. Civill Magistrates presse on their subjects their own Lawes as Statutes and Ordinances made by themselves Church-Governours the Ordinances of Christ 4 The progresse of Gods Providence to the better is a great aggravation of the ungracious and ungratefull disposition of many people if not of most whom God hath reserved to these later times God hath graciously done better for them and they deale worse with God Such are 1. They who remaine blinde and ignorant under the cleare light of the Gospel A wonder it is that there should be so little knowledge where there is so plentifull means of knowledge Note an Apostles doom of such If our Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost whose eyes the God of the world hath blinded 2. They who are unstable and carryed about with every winde of doctrine notwithstanding the evident demonstration of the truth now made known unto us The Apostle resembles them to children whereas for the time we ought to be as grown strong men 3. Such as are ever weak in faith full of doubts and fears Oft doth Christ check his Disciples for this Such come farre short in strength of faith of those who lived before these better times Witnesse that catalogue of believers which the Apostle maketh Heb. 11. 4. Such as take advantage from the abundance of Gods mercy to exceed in sinne In the Apostles time upon this gracious extent of grace to great sinners Where sin abounded grace did much more abound some made this impious and unjust inference let us continue in sinne that grace may abound These make sinne the proper procuring cause of Gods grace which is every way free only God takes occasion from the misery whereinto sin implungeth man to extend mercy unto him and that abundance of sinne may not hinder the current of his grace he causeth it to abound Besides they who inferre the fore-said unjust consequence apply that to sins future which is spoken of sins past and extend that to obstinate and impenitent sinners which is intended to such as groan under the burden of their sins 5. Such as from the comfortable Doctrine of Election to life inferre that they shall assuredly be saved though they live never so lewdly not considering that they who are ordained to the end are ordained to the means that bring to that end 6. Such as from Gods wisdom in bringing good out of evil take occasion to do evil upon this pretence that good may come The Apostle most justly makes this inference upon theirs whose damnation is just implying thereby that damnation is their due and that most justly 7. Such as upon Gods pardoning a sinner whensoever he repents put off their repentance not considering that men have not power to repent when they will so as such may never repent and never be pardoned 8. Such as from that liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free imagine that they are freed from all obedience to the morall Law whereas that liberty is only from the rigour of the Law which bindes to a perfect fullfilling thereof in every part point and degree of it and from the curse thereof 9. Such as deny the morality of the Christian Sabbath and profane it with all manner of sports because the ancient day is changed by vertue of Christs resurrection All these and other like them turn the grace of God into lasciviousnesse that is into all kinde of licentious living An Apostle gives this verdict of them They were of old ordained to condemnation 10. All that having escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ are again entangled therein and overcome and willfully sinne after they have received the knowledge of the truth In a word all apostates from the true faith deal most ungraciously and ungratefully with God I may well use Moses his exprobration against them Do yee thus requite the Lord O foolish people and unwise The fore-mentioned Gospel-sins and others like unto them doe much grieve the good Spirit of God and they that commit them go far in treading under foot the Sonne of God and counting the blood of the Covenant wherewith they were sanctified an unholy thing By the means of grace they are exalted unto heaven but by their abuse thereof they are brought down unto hell So as the woe denounced against those among whom Christ much conversed may be applied to these The inference which the Apostle maketh upon Gospel-sinners cannot but terrifie such as heed it it is this He that despised Moses Law died without mercy Of how much sorer punishment suppose yee shall he be thought worthy who hath treden under foot the Sonne of God c. But from these Uses of errour and terrour I proceed to Uses of another kinde 5. Much consolation may be gathered by faithfull ones from the continuall encrease of Gods providence in such sad doubtfull dangerous daies as these our daies are For we may with confidence expect better things The daies wherein the Prophet first uttered this prophecy were worse daies then ours are and to comfort the faithfull that then lived and such others as should from age to age live after them he revealed this promise There are more particular promises concerning a future glory of the Christian Church set down by the Prophets in the old Testament and by Christ and his Apostles in the new especially in the book of the Revelation then we have either heard of or seen in our daies to be accomplished The glorious City described Revel. 21. 10 c. is by many judicious Divines taken for a type of a spirituall glorious estate of the Church of Christ under the Gospel yet to come and that before his last comming to judgement I passe by all conceits of our later Chiliasts or Millenaries whom in English we may call Thousandaries who imagine that Christ shall personally come down from heaven in that nature in which after his resurrection he ascended into heaven and raign here a thousand years with his Saints The certainty of this I leave to be proved by them who are the broachers thereof But this is most certain that there are yet better things to come then have been since the first calling of the Gentiles Among other better things to come the recalling of the Jews is most clearly and plentifully fore told

remnant of Judah which was left in Judaea They both prophesied the same things for substance though they were far distant in place and so ratified each others prophecies As other Prophets so this our Prophet had to doe with two sorts of people impious and pious The impious were openly prophane and impenitently obstinate or covertly hypocriticall and deceitfull The pious were righteous upright and humble In which respect his prophecies were of a mixed kinde In regard of the former sort he had such a spirit as was given to Boanerges sonnes of thunder to denounce Gods terrible judgements against them in regard of the later he had such a spirit as was given to Barnabas a sonne of consolation to pronounce sweet promises Hereby the obstinate were the more terrified and kept down the humble and penitent were supported The spirit of consolation did sweetly breathe forth in this Chapter out of which I have taken my text It is full of very comfortable promises In the beginning of it he pointeth at the insultations of enemies against the Church of God in their troubles with which weak spirits use much to be perplexed The Lord therefore to keep their spirits from fainting by this his Prophet maketh known before hand the good which he intended unto them Many particular promises are set down both before and after my text but the summe of them all is couched in these words I will doe better unto you then at your beginnings The Hebrew is so excellent in compounding words as it compriseth the ten words of my text in two which are these {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} word for word I will doe good above your beginnings The first word compriseth under it all the blessings which God intended for his Church not of Jews only but of Gentiles also and that from time to time even from their return out of captivity till the comming of Christ not in the flesh only but in glory also The later word noting out a comparison between times and times hath relation to all the former ages of the Church even unto those very times of their great troubles The main scope of all is to set out The Progresse of Divine Providence This is done by five particulars 1. The Authour or fountain He is not expressed in the text but clearly intimated for the verb is of the first person besides the copulative particle and doth intend the same person that is mentioned before thus I will multiply I will settle and will doe that is and I will doe In the seventh verse the person intended is plainly expressed to be the Lord God And in the next clause after my text the Lord Jehovah is expressed For where this word LORD is set down in four Capitall letters it sets out Jehovah 2. The Act whereby the foresaid providence is exercised Doe good The word is in the third active conjugation of the Hebrew tongue called Hiphil which signifieth an efficiency 3. The encrease of that providence in this note of comparison {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} above or more then Our English compriseth the act and the encrease thereof under this word better for better sets out more good or greater good 4. The parties to whom that good is intended Vnto you I must confesse that the parties are not expressed in the Originall but yet implied under this copulative particle And which sheweth that this promise is made to the same parties to whom the former were made and they are thus expressed I will multiply upon you and I will settle you so here I will doe better unto you Besides the affix after the later word {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} your sheweth what parties are here intended They are in one word stiled Israel under which is comprised the Church of God 5. The times which are the later times for this promise is made in opposition to former times expressed under this word beginnings These five points afford five usefull instructions 1. The Lord is the fountain of all good I may well say all for the indefinite particle good intendeth as much Besides all the particular good things promised before and after my text are applied to this Authour the LORD So other good things also in other places Pertinently to this purpose saith an Apostle Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and commeth down from the Father of lights 2. God causeth his goodnesse to flow forth He is not only a full fountain but an open and over-flowing fountain David speaking to the Lord of his goodnesse thus saith Thou art good and doest good 3. Gods goodnesse ever increaseth It 's like the waters that came down from the Lords Sanctuary and increased from ankle-deep to knee deep from knee-deep to middle-deep from middle-deep to an impassible river In this respect this word of comparison better useth to be added to the good things which God provideth in later ages I intend to exemplifie this in sundry particulars hereafter 4. The Church is the proper object of Gods goodnesse Israel to whom this promise was made is put for the Church of God This is further evidenced by that great difference which is made between Jacob and Esau thus expressed I loved Jacob and I hated Esau This the Apostle applieth to Gods chosen children on the one side and all the other on the otherside Thus there is an especially put upon Gods mercy in relation to the members of the Church for he is said to be the Saviour of all men especially of those that believe 5. The best things are reserved for the last times The beginnings here mentioned comprising all former ages and times the great encrease of goodnesse here intended must needs be referred to the later times This a Prophet thus expresseth It shall come to passe in the last daies that the mountain of the Lords house shall be established in the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hils c. Time will not suffer me distinctly and fully to handle all these points neither indeed is it needfull for the last compriseth all the other under it which will the better appear if we do somewhat more largely expresse it thus The Lord hath provided his better things for the later times of his Church Here have we 1. The Person that is the fountain of goodnes expressed the Lord 2. The Act of goodnes flowing from him in this word provided 3. This comparison better things declareth the Increase of his goodnesse 4. The mention of his Church sheweth the proper Object or parties to whom his goodnes is extended 5. The times are here expresly set down in these words later times Thus in handling this Doctrine God hath provided his better things for the later times of his Church all the former will be handled and the proofs alleadged for this will prove all

Christ and the glorie that should follow Certainly the putting off the great blessing of the exhibition of Christ to the later times made it to be the more desired and the better esteemed When he was exhibited the Angel that brought the first tidings thereof thus expresseth it Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people And the blessed Virgin so soon as she conceived him in her womb thus breaks out My soul doth magnifie the Lord and my spirit hath rejoyced in God my Saviour And good old Zacharie when the fore-runner of Christ was born thus in great joy breaks out Blessed be the Lord God of Israel c. And another good old man having embraced Christ when he was but a little infant sweetly sings forth this Swan-like song Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace for mine eyes have seen thy salvation Their long expectation of Christ thus affected them when at length their longing was satisfied 3. God put off his best things to the last times because in his unsearchable wisdom he ordained that his Sonne should be sent into the world in the later age thereof that thereby he might be known to be the best of Gods gifts and to excell all other gifts that were before conferred upon the Church He is said to be sent forth when the fullnesse of time was come The Church had been as a breeding woman She began first to conceive when God made the promise of the womans seed She grew bigger and bigger through many other promises prophecies types and figures whereby her hope in the Messiah was nourished At the fullnesse of time she travelled and brought forth this long expected man-childe The better things which were now brought to passe in this fullnesse of time added much to the honour of him that was then born then was the fulnesse of Gods grace and goodnesse manifested so as this God thus ordered even for the honour of his Son Hitherto of the Doctrinall part of my Text It is time to come to the Application thereof The Uses of Gods providence in reserving better things to the later times are of manifold and singular Use For 1. It affords a Demonstration of the detestablenesse of the Romish religion which hath directly perverted the fore-mentioned course of Gods providence to his Church For where God provides better for the later times they make these later times to be farre the worse As they handle the matter their Church under the Gospel is many waies in a worse case then the state of the Church was under the Law Among many other instances I will note only four 1. Their publike reading of Gods Word administring the Sacraments praying and performing other divine services in an unknown tongue make the mysteries of the Gospel lesse intelligible more obscure and every way lesse edifying then all the rites types and shadows under the Law did Except ye utter by the tongue words easie to be understood how shall it be known what is spoken for ye shall speak into the air saith the Apostle And again If I know not the meaning of the voice I shall be unto him that speaketh a Barbarian and he that speaketh shall be a Barbarian unto me 2. Their unbloudy Sacrifice as they stile it of a feigned transubstantiated body is farre worse then if they had such Sacrifices of beasts and fowls as were under the Law Those sacrifices at that time did set out the vertue of Christs death and nourish their faith and hope in the benefits thereof But the fore-said Popish sacrifice would take away the vertue and efficacy of Christs sacrifice if it could be taken away For I demand whether the sacrifice that they pretend to offer up be the very same that Christ himself offered upon the crosse If they say the same what need is there that it should be offered up again Was not Christs once offering of it up sufficient The Apostle doth assuredly intend as much by his frequent mention of this word once which is exclusively to be taken once for all and not to be reiterated If it be another sacrifice then the sacrifice of Christ was not perfect For hereby the Apostle proveth the Priesthood of the Law to be unperfect because another was to succeed in the room of it Whereas some say that their offering up of the body of Christ is but by way of application that seems to contradict their own position for they teach that the fore-mentioned transubstantiated body offered up by a Priest is a true reall propitiatory sacrifice for the quick and dead Besides the end of Christs intercession and the vertue thereof is made void by that which is avouched of the applicatory vertue of their sacrifice For the continuall application of Christs own sacrifice is the end of Christs intercession They think to evade all these absurdities by a distinction betwixt a bloody and unbloody sacrifice saying that the sacrifice which Christ himself offered up was a bloudy sacrifice but that which they offer up unbloody To this distinction I answer 1. It 's without any warrant or ground from Scripture 2. It being applied according to their position to one and the same thing for they say that the body of Christ which their Priest offereth up is the very same that Christ offered upon the crosse it implieth contradictory terms namely that the same thing should be bloody and unbloody 3. According to their own position their sacrifice cannot be unbloody for they hold that the wine is transubstantiated into blood as well as the bread into a body and both make one sacrifice How can that be unbloody which consists of bloud Yea of blood poured out as their wine is into the chalice and out of the chalice into the Priests mouth 4. If it be unbloody it hath no vertue for the taking away of sin For without shedding of blood is no remission 3. The third instance of their making the state of the Christian Church worse then of the Jewish is their unwarrantable and inhumane penance which oft they enjoyn to their penitents for satisfaction and other barbarous courses whereunto they perswademen upon pretence of merit and perfection They have in these cases some whom they stile Eremites who live in remote places from all society and feed upon such fruit roots and other things that the earth bringeth forth lodging in Caves Dens or Cellars digged out of the ground Others they call Anchorites who live enclosed betwixt walls and on the Sabbath receive their sustenance for the whole week Others they either enjoy or perswade to whip their naked backs with scourges of cords wyers and sharp rundals till the blood run down and skin and flesh be torn from their backs Others must lie in shirts of hair cloth Others go bare foot and bare legged to such and such shrines Others undertake long pilgrimages to