Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	point_n	young_a	youth_n	20	3	8.1266	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A56305	The church of Christ in Bristol recovering her vail out of the hands of them that have smitten and wounded her, and taken it away. Being, a just and necessary vindication, from a false and scandalous imputation cast upon her by Dennis Hollister, formerly a member of her, but now an apostate from, and an opposer of those waies, truths, and people, which once he seemed zealous for. As appears by a late pamphlet put forth by him, called, The skirts of the whore discovered. With some particular words, from some particular persons whom he hath by name abused and reproached. Likewise a word by Thomas Ewen, unto what concerns him in the said pamphlet, and also to the later part of another book, called, Satan enthroned in his chair of pestilence.	Purnell, Robert, d. 1666. aut	1657 (1657)	Wing P4232; ESTC R213966	65,602	90

that blessed Spirit of the Lord Jesus in any of its Offices operations effects or different administrations in and among the People or Church of God I say I should advise them to take heed lest when God sets the solitary in families the rebellious dwell in a dry land and whilst some are like trees planted by the waters never ceasing to yeild their fruit others be like the Heath in the Desart that should not see when God cometh but inhabite the parched places in the wilderness For all the Trees of the field shall know that the Lord can bring down the high Tree and exalt the low Tree he can dry up the green Tree and make the dry Tree to flourish yea and by the pouring forth of the Spirit from on high can make the Wilderness become a fruitful Field and the fruitful Field to be counted for a Forrest as Ezek. 17. 24. Isa 32. 15. He layes it upon some as a reproach page 62. That we teach by the Spirit c. I desire humbly to acknowledge and attribute it unto the blessed Spirit of Christ that I have at any time been or now am enabled in any measure to speak or publish any truth of God either to the conversion of sinners or to the edification or consolation of the Saints and People of God and truly if this man do not lean and depend upon the help of the Spirit in his work of preaching I shall not much wonder if his Ministry prove as I have sometimes said or feared many mens have done as a miscarrying Womb and dry breasts notwithstanding all their great learning of which they seem to boast He further demands page 62. whether all that have the Spirit can teach publickly c. First if by teaching publickly he mean preaching and publishing what God hath done for them and likewise declaring to others what the Lord hath taught them c. Then I answer it is the duty of all Christians so to do 1 Pet. 4. 10. As every man hath received the gift so let him minister the same c. as Eldad and Medad did Numb 11. though one man envitd and another complained as some do now yet Moses the man of God he approved of it c. But secondly if by preaching publickly he mean a publick and solemn undertaking the work of preaching c. Then I answer I do not think that every one that hath the Spirit of Christ in him or the work of grace in his soul is fit to be a publick Preacher for there are diversities of gifts and differences of administrations as appears 1 Cor. 12. 4. to the 11. Yet where the Spirit of God hath fitted any and the People of God that know them well do see them fit and judge them fit and approve of them publickly calling them thereunto these may be fit to teach publickly at lest to their own Nation as the 70 Disciples were Luke 10. 1. though they had no gifts of Tongues as we read of no more than the twelve Apostles had during the time of their preaching to their own Nation before the Assention of Christ and that they were to preach to all Nations according to their second Commission Matt. 28. Mark 16. yet I do not in the least slight despise or undervalue learning nor learned men that have grace with it and do not scornfully trample upon them that want it but to say that no man may preach without it is to make a law where Christ hath made none for the seventy Disciples and twelve Apostles did preach long before the day of Pentecost c. He likewise demands who will step forth and tell him and not lie that the Spirit doth teach them to understand the meaning of the word Justification or Adoption c. I answer if none but such as can speak Greek and Latin can understand what Justification and Adoption is c. how then can any that have not Greek or Latin believe they are justified or adopted seeing that it is another Maxim in the Schools that no man can believe more than he doth understand But surely those Souls that have been first enlightened by the Word and Spirit of Christ to see and know their lost condition while under sense of condemnation and hath also been led by the same Spirit through the Word of grace to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ with all ther hearts and by his pretious blood to see themselves freed from condemnation and in his righteousness to be made righteous aod so to find the comfort of it in some measure in their own souls they can speak of it to the praise of God and to the edification of others and that by the help and assistance of the same blessed Spirit yea perhaps more sensibly feelingly plainly and profitably than the most learned Doctor in the world that knows it onely speculatively by learning reading and studying As for that scornful word unlettered which he doth so often use and cast as a reproach upon some men c. I answer truly some of us do know our Letters as well and can put them together into Syllables and Sentences as right and pronounce them as distinct and plain perhaps as himself but I shall not ad to this onely conclude with Prov. 3. 34. Surely the Lord scorneth the scorner and giveth grace to the lowly And I desire seriously to weigh and to commend to all sober Christians those words of the Apostle 1 Cor. 1. from 19. to 29. and Chap. 2. from 1. to 15. and Chap. 3. 18 19 20. by all which it appears the great Apostle of Christ was of another mind than this man seems to be He demands page 65. what an unlettered Teacher or Ignoramus would say if he were to discourse with a Papist or an Adversary about Justification c. Truly I would say this if any should out of pride curiosity and vain confidence run without a call to discourse with an Adversary Papists or others about that or any other point of Christianity c. he might expect that the Lord might justly leave him to himself and so he might betray or shame the truth and so might it be with the most learned Teacher in the world But secondly if a godly man were providentially or clearly called to maintain or defend that or any other truth of God against an Adversary Papist or others he going in the fear of the Lord and in a sense of self-insufficiency in faith and hope of the presence and assistance of the grace and Spirit of Christ he might expect according to his promise Matt. 10. 9. Take no thought for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak And verse 20. For it is not ye which speak but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you And how truly was this fulfilled in the Martyrs both in plain Country-men and also Women yea young Youths and Mayds who discoursing about points of Christian Religion

and disputing with men of as profound Learning as some are now who boast so much of it namely the Popish Bishops and Doctors and how those poor Martyrs did by the help of the blessed Spirit without Latin or Greek confound those enemies of truth and assert and maintain both the Doctrin of Justification and other points of Christian Religion as the History of Acts and Monuments do sufficiently declare and though we have no cause to presume yet we have good ground to hope and believe that the same God will by the same Spirit give in the same supplies to his Servants in the same case if he should again call them to it or if he should call any of us to assert and maintain the bles●● Doctrin of Justification or to despute the glorious privilege of Adoption And whereas he saith page 56. That we give out our selves to be gifted Brethren and so fit for the work of the Ministry c. For my own part I do not know that ever I gave out such a word and the Lord knows that I have lower and meaner thoughts of my self and truly had not the importunity and perswasions of some prevailed with me beyond what I thought of my self I think I had never been an eye-sore to this man in Bristol nor a trouble to any others in the work of preaching and if he or any other can make it appear to me that it is the will of God that I should give over my present work I trust it is not all the Gold and Silver in Bristol that should hire me to continue in it but truly as other things so the violent opposition that I meet with from men of divers sorts do much confirm that it is the will of God that I should continue in my work of preaching c. And so long though I should meet with greater difficulties than over I have yet done I trust I shall go on with it expecting the presence of Christ with me and his blessing upon me therein I do not at all reflect upon those godly men that he quotes page 66 67. though I cannot but wonder that a man should express so much bitterness against Anabaptists as he doth in his Book and yet seem so to applaud a baptized man that is a person of honor c. Likewise how a man can speak so contemptuously against Separation and separated Churches and yet seem so to applaud that eminent Dr. Owen who is a man so eminently for the Congregational way that some men call Independency or Separation which makes me to think that if all the people in England and Bristol which are called Independents or Anabaptists were great or in high places he would love them or make them believe so c. But thirdly for that godly man Mr. Baxter whose face I never saw yet do I highly honor esteem for some of his works and for what good I hear of him yet I see no ground why I should so understand Mr. Baxter or the other two as this man seems to force their meaning for admit it be true that an ungodly learned man may know as much or more of the literal and grammatical sense 〈◊〉 Scripture than a gracious man may do which is all that they affirm doth it therefore follow that a godly unlearned man if it were proper to call any so may not understand and know publish and declare the truth of Christ to their own comfort and the edification of others for my own part I cannot see this to be an infallible consequence and I am confident that two of those men are otherwise minded and if godly Mr. Baxter should mean so yet I know there are many others of like eminency both for Learning and Godliness that are of another mind in this particular as I might abundantly shew from their works that are extant as likewise that experience God hath given us in this later age of his owning blessing and prospering such in the preaching of the Gospel to the conversion of many souls both in England and Wales c. But what I have here written may be sufficient to disprove what he doth falsly assert page 67. that the pretence of preaching by the Spirit is but a pious fraud to set up our selves in the hearts and consciences and consequently in the purses of people c which thing he again mentions pag 51 52 where he jeers at my contribution calling it a Feeling argument c. wherein he seems to compare me to the Lawyers who account a good Fee to be a feeling argument in their Clyents cause But I shall not answer him onely as the Proverb is It is the property of a covetous Man to think every thing too much that another hath But he draws up the result of all pag. 68. and concludes that the in-let and out-let the fore-door and back-door of all our miseries is an ignorant unlettered and contemptible Ministery If by the word Our he mean our misery in Bristoll then I answer Surely it is strange that so great a flood of evill and misery should come in at so narrow a door there being but one unlettered uncalled Minister in Bristoll in his sense all the rest be they what they will are learned and called constituted and established Ministers as he mentions again pag. 60 c. No doubt but the Princes of Israel through the instigation of the Prophets thought the like of Jeremiah when they were wroth with him smote him and put him in prison and when they said unto the King We beseech thee let this man be Jer. 37. 15. 38. 4 put to death for he seeketh not the welfare of this people but the hurt So likewise Amaziah the Priest of Bethel when he sent to Jeroboam King of Israel saying Amos hath conspired against Amos 7. 10. 14 thee c. Poor Amos he had not indeed been bred a Prophet neither was he the son of a Prophet but a Herdsman and a gatherer of Summer fruit and now he must be banished the Kings Chappel as a conspirator this was hard measure but God provided better for him Reader I do not compare my self with Jeremiah and Amos but onely to let thee see that as Solomon saith That which hath been is now and there is no new thing under the Sun But secondly if by the word Our misery he mean the misery and calamity of England first or last truly then I shall grant and say as he doth that the in let and out let fore-door and back-door of much of Englands misery and consequently of Bristols is an ignorant ungodly ●asie proud scandalous soul murdering Ministery who have made themselves contemptible and base in the eyes of all good men and in the consciences of many bad And though as I have heard there were two thousand of them petitioned against in the time of the long Parliament and many of them then pluckt up by the roots both in England and Wales besides what