Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	love_v	zeal_n	zealous_a	54	3	9.2332	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A02182	Propositions containing answers to certaine demaunds in divers spirituall matters specially concerning the conscience oppressed with the griefe of sinne. With an epistle against hardnes of heat, made by that woorthie preacher of the Gospell of Christ, M. R. Greenham pastor of Drayton	Greenham, Richard.	1597 (1597)	STC 12323; ESTC S120335	28,959	82

PROPOSITIONS CONTAINING ANSWERS TO CERTAINE demaunds in divers spirituall matters specially concerning the Conscience oppressed with the griefe of sinne WITH AN EPISTLE AGAINST hardnes of heart made by that woorthie Preacher of the Gospell of Christ M. R. GREENHAM Pastor of Drayton MATTH 11. 28. Come vnto mee all ye that labour and are loaded and I will ease you c. EDINBVRGH PRINTED BY ROBERT Waldegraue Printer to the Kings Majestie ANNO 1597. Cum Privilegio Regio CERTAINE DEMAVNDS answered by M. GREENHAM a learned man 1 IT is harder to beleeue in the abundance of worldly meanes than it is in the wante of them for they as it were are vailes set betwixt God and vs they stay our sight in them that it cannot pearce to God 2 Heathen men were humbled by their dreames wee are not humbled by the worde they that will not profite by Gods judgments in other shal feel themselues we haue no claime to Gods mercie offered in the Gospell vntill wee be humbled by his threatning in the Lawe 3 If wee go on still in sinne God will go on still in judgment but if our hearts relent from sinne God will release his sentence of punishment 4 As the Gospell first began by simple Fisher-men to bee preached but afterward being received in loue grewe to the other more learned sorte so for not receiving the worde in loue but hauing our eares tickling to newe doctrine heresies and sects beginning now amongst vs but in the simpler sort and ignorant men of the cuntrie are like to invade the best learned And God purposing to punish the coldnes of our age can aswell now send an hereticall spirite not onelie into the common people but into 400. learned Preachers as he did in times past send a lying spirit into 400. Prophets 5 If we think wee may speak wee will speak toe soone if we may keep silence wee will hold our peace toe long when we much loue the persons to whome we speake wee flack our zeale in rebuking of sinne if we be zealous against sinne we flack our loue to the person 6 As in marriage though the parties met in the flesh without any sanctified means to assure themselues to be joyned of the Lord yet if God afterwarde giue them grace to liue holilie in their meetings he sheweth not only that their corrupt meeting is pardoned but that nowe their meeting is blessed So if entring into a calling for want of guifts and affections we haue no assurance at the first of a warrantable calling yet if GOD afterwards furnish vs with able gifts and sanctifie vs with pure mindes hee doth not onely shewe vs that our former sinne is pardoned but also that he is well pleased with this calling wherevnto he hath blessed vs. 7 Sathan vnder the colour of repentance bringeth many into an extreame sadnes and stricktnes in vsing the creatures of God againe vnder pretence of Christian libertie and delivering of men from extreme griefes hee allureth them to an vnmoderate and an vnsanctified mirth and intemperate vse of the creatures of God so blinding judgment hee after corrupteth affection 8 The best art of memorie is to bee humbled at Gods threatning and comforted at his promises for sure it is that exceeding griefes or exceeding joyes leaue great impressions in vs. 9 The best art of Logick is to reason E converso out of that saying of PAVL There is no Temptation hath overtaken you but it hath overtaken others And to say thus There hath no temptation overtaken others but the same may overtake vs This will teach vs to speak charitablie and profitably of other mens infirmities 10 We may not go to see vngodlines to breed a greater detestation of it in vs for first in respect of our selues for presuming o● a thing not warranted it is the just judgment of God that wee should learne to fall into that sinne whereof before we were ignorant Secondly in respect of our brethren it is vnlawfull for if they be strong we offend them if they be weake we mis-lead them Thirdly in regard of Gods glorie it is vnlawfull for such should be our zeale therevnto if not having hereticall spirits by the motions of Gods spirit to speak against it yet that we should not once see such a thing 11 As natural men vse Gods creatures to stirre vp a naturall comfort so spiritual men should vse them to stir vp some spiritual comfort and to stir vp godly joyes in themselues for as Sathan seeing men of a sanguine complexion and sanctified laboureth to mix with their spirituall joy a carnall joy so seeing some of a malancholick complexion sanctified to haue spirituall sorrowes hee striveth to bring vpon them carnall sorrowes 12 If you desire to heare the worde with profit obserue these things before you go to the Church humble your selfe in praier to God that hee may prepare your vnderstanding affection and memorie to receiue and that the Preacher may speake to your conscience 13 After in hearing with some short praier apply the severall thretnings promises and instructions to your owne estate when you are come home from hearing change all that you remember into a praier and desire God that you may remember it most when you shuld practise it and vse to teach others and to conferre of all things remembred It is a good thing to remember a thing diligently and the reason of it 14 Let vs not complaine of the want of Discipline but be thankful for the discipline we haue it is the Lords wil even in this want of Discipline to advance his owne glory in taking that to himselfe which otherwise we would attribute to Discipline for besides that he doth that by his word and praier which may bee done by Discipline it may be discipline wold hide many hypocrites which now are discovered and cover many christian true hearts which now are knowne for they that are godly nowe are godly of a conscience being a discipline to themselues but many may seeme godly in discipline which doe it of feare and not of loue 15 No trouble shoulde hinder vs in our calling vnlesse it be in cace of meare vngodlines for if for every troble or for many troubles a man may forsake his calling he should be out of any calling forasmuch as every calling hath his lettes and troubles 16 Though all exercises of pure Religion purelie vsed doe strengthen judgment and whet vp affection yet reading hearing and conferring do most strengthen judgment and in part whet on affection But praying singing and meditation do most chiefly whet vp affection but in part strengthen judgment and vnderstanding 17 As a loving husband will not take away his loue from his wife for some particular wants so long as shee keepeth her loue wholly and truly vnto him So the Lord will not cast off his loving kindnes to vs for speciall wants or frailtie in particular commandements so long as we generally labour to please him 18 One being

of pride when hee will make vs equal in dignity with the highest of Gods Saintes but vnequall in duetie with them then he perswadeth vs God is as good to vs as hee hath beene to others but he keepeth vs from vsing those meanes whereby they had and we shuld haue the goodnesse of God convaied vnto vs wherefore as we must not distrust God that we shall obtaine the like mercies with other if we vse the same means so wee must not dreame that wee shall haue the like fruites with them except wee haue also the like faith with them though not in quantitie yet in qualitie 92 Many dispaire of helpe because of their owne vnworthines as though there were no hope of Gods mercie vnlesse we bring in our guift and pawne in our handes to him but this were to discredite the Lordes mercies and to bring in credite our merites and rather to binde the Lord to vs than vs vnto him but if our sinnes be great our redemption is greater though our merits be beggerlie Gods mercie is a riche mercie If our cace bee not desperate and wee past hope of recoverie our redemption should not bee so plentifull but when all seemes to go one way when Heaven and Earth the Sunne the Moone and the Starres goe against vs then to ransome vs and to make a perfect restitution is to drawe something out of nothing even as in sicknesse to haue either little daunger or in greate daunger deliverance by present meanes is nothing but in extreame perrell when Phisick can doe nothing and nothing maketh for vs but the Graue then to bee rescued from the graue and to recover our life from the pitte is Redemption 93 There is nothing so pretious as Gods grace which changeth the face of Heaven and Earth and nothing so vile as sinne who openeth hell and staineth the Earth and shutteth vp Heaven 94 There are two working of Gods Spirite in vs the one inferiour which bringeth but certaine fruites of the Spirite without any speciall fruite of grace the other superiour and more certaine when the spirit worketh an infallible sanctification the first may totally be darkned and fully quenched the other hath but particular Eclypse and in measure may be dimned as it was in DAVID Psal. 51. But this is not finallie quenched As God made man so that hee might fall though afterwards he had mercie vpon him so he regenerateth vs so that wee may fall though afterwards he may raise vs vp againe and will And it is fearefull ynough that there may bee such particular decayes of it in vs as to feel lesse comfort in the word lesse feare of sinne lesse care of well doing lesse zeale in praying lesse fruites in the meanes so that all our actions are turned to bee bitter which were sweeter vnto vs than any worldlie increase to the worldlie man or honie can be to them that loue it these are evident tokens of the sanctifying spirite to loue good because it is good and to hate sinne because it is sinne the more wee growe in guifts the more to hunger the more to complaine of our vnworthiness the more to be humbled in our selues the more meeklie to judge of others when we are most quiet with all things then to think our selues least quiet then most to feare out selues so to feele the graces of God in vs and yet our sence and feeling of sinne is not lessened and to feare and quake at the first degrees and motions of sinne not lest they fully quench but lest they coole the heate of the spirite in vs. 95 They whose knowledge is in swelling wordes and painted eloquence of humane wisdome being but a doctrine of the letter in their death they are as if they knewe nothing of Christ crucified and whereof comes it that there is soe much preaching and so little learning but because men preach and delight to heare plausible novelties to please the eare rather than the simple power of the worde to pearce the heart they take the bone and refuse the marowe they are content with the shell but want the kernell and not onely the Lawe killeth but even the Gospell also that is the letter of the Gospell being ministred without the spirite Aske the wounded conscience what comfort it is to hear that Christ died for our sinnes nay ask if this gall not as much as the Lawe it selfe so long as it is rather conceived by reason than received by faith 96 As of all guifts the guift of Gods spirite is the dearest so the losse of it is most dangerous for besides that wee know how few taste of it and with what paine they that haue gotten it keepe it and with what hard brunts they that lose the graces of it recover them againe wee may conjecture the greatnes of the losse by our experience in other things they that haue beene in reputation for their riches and are become bankrupts are grieved and ashamed how much more then should their griefe be who by the riches of Gods graces haue beene comfortable to themselues and honourable amongst others and now by the decaye of those guifts haue lost both the sweete peace and joye in themselues and their credite with God and in the conscience of the godlie 97 Wee must bee like Children in three things chiefly First in respect little babes Secondly in regard of innocents Thirdly in respect of thē that are growing from child-hood First babes are neuer quiet except the pappe bee in their mouth or else having late beene at it they are well fedde so ought wee still to desire to lye at the foode of our soules and to finde vnquietnes in our soules if wee be long from it Secondly wained children though they are not without naturall corruption yet this corruption doeth rather shewe it selfe by imitation than by action and if they doe any evill it is rather violent than permanent Thus should wee be Not making an occupation of sinne but are occupated of sinne not forecasting patterns of sin but bend our minds how we may not sin we are violently drawne therevnto by another rather than voluntarilie commit it our selues Thirdly they that grow out of child-hood do things beseming manhood rather than childishnes so though babish things both in life doctrine become vs being babes yet having passed our child-hood the Lord looks for more manly ripenes both in knowledg godlines of life thogh our perfect age be not consummated before the resurrection 98 As litle children whether in teachablenes to good or reformablenes from sinne are either woone by afaire worde or allured by a trifling benefite or awed by a check or feared by a frowning look or stilled by seeing another beaten before them or else quieted with the rod So if we be children either the promises of God must affect vs or the mercies of God must allure vs or his threatnings in his word must awe vs or his angry countenance must feare vs or his