Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	pure_a	zeal_n	zealous_a	46	3	8.9598	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09383	A commentarie or exposition, vpon the fiue first chapters of the Epistle to the Galatians: penned by the godly, learned, and iudiciall diuine, Mr. W. Perkins. Now published for the benefit of the Church, and continued with a supplement vpon the sixt chapter, by Rafe Cudworth Bachelour of Diuinitie	Perkins, William, 1558-1602.; Cudworth, Ralph, 1617-1688.	1604 (1604)	STC 19680; ESTC S114465	595,047	756

see the fidelitie of Paul if he had sought himselfe his honour profit or pleasure he would not haue taught any doctrine that should haue caused persecution The like minde must be in all teachers nay in all beleeuers who are to receiue the Gospel for it selfe without respect to honour profit or pleasure Paul addes further in way of defence that the scandall of the crosse was not abolished Hence it followes that the Gospel must be preached though all men be offended God must not be displeased though all men be displeased Act. 5. 29. Indeede Christ pronounceth 〈◊〉 woe against them by whome offences come but that is meant of offences giuen and not of offences taken of which Christ hath an other rule Matth. 15. 14. Let them alone they are the blind leaders of the blind Againe by the offence of the Iewes we see the mind of men who cannot be content with the death and passion of Christ vnlesse they may adde workes or something els of their owne for their iustification and saluation Thus doe the Papists at this day and the like doe many of the ignorant people among vs that will be saued by their good dealing and their good seruing of God Touching the imprecation in the 12. verse three questions are to be propounded The first is whether Paul did well thus to curse his enemies I answer yea for first we must put a difference betweene the priuate cause of man and the cause of God Now Paul accurseth the false Apostles not in respect of his owne cause but in respect of the cause of God and not as his owne enemies but as the enemies of God Secondly we must distinguish the persons of euill men Some are curable and some againe are incurable of whose saluation there is no hope Now Paul directs his imprecation against persons incurable And he knew them to be incurable by some extraordinarie inspiration or instinct as the Prophets and the rest of the Apostles did in sundrie cases and hereupon he curseth sometime euen particular persons as Alexander the copper-smith 2. Tim. 4. 14. Thirdly we must distinguish the affections of men Some are carnall as rash anger hatred desire of reuenge c. some againe are more spirituall and diuine as a zeale of Gods glorie and of the s●●tie of Gods church Now Paul in pronouncing the curse is not carried with a carnall affection but with a pure zeale of Gods glorie and with the same spirit by which he penned this Epistle The second question is whether we may not curse our enemies as Paul did Ans. No for we haue not the like spirit to discerne the persons of men what they are and our zeale of Gods glorie is mixed with many corrupt affections and therefore to be suspected We in our ordinary dealings haue an other rule to follow Matth. 5. blesse and curse not If we dare goe beyond the limitts of this rule we must heare the speach of Christ ye know not of what spirit ye are Luc. 9. 55. The third question is how we should vse the imprecations that are in the psalmes of Dauid as Psal. 109. and in other places of scripture Ans. they are to be directed generally against the kingdome of the deuill and they are further to be vsed as Prophecies of the holy ghost comforting his Church and procuring a finall sentence vpon the enemies of God The word which is translated disquiet is to be considered for it signifies to put men out of their estate and to driue them out of house and home as enemies doe when they sacke and spoile a towne By this we se that the doctrine of iustification by workes or by the law is a doctrine full of danger and peril because it puts men out of their estate in Christ and ber●aues them of their saluation in heauen Therefore let all men flie from the religion of the Papist as if they would flie from an armie of Spaniards or Turkes Contrariwise they that would prouide well for themselues and their posteritie and plant themselues in a good estate must take this course They must cōsider that there is a citie of God in heauen the gates and suburbes whereof be vpon earth in the assemblies of the Church that this citie hath many roomes and habitations many liberties that the law wherby this citie is ruled is the whole word of God specially the doctrine of the Gospell In this citie is all happines and out of it there is nothing but woe and misery Enter therfore into the suburbes of this citie of God as ye professe the Gospell so subiect your mindes and consciences and all your affections to it and be doers of it in the exercise of faith repentance new obedience Thus shall you haue a good estate in Christ ioyfull habitation in heauen 13. For brethren ye haue bin called to libertie only vse not your libertie as an occasion to the flesh but by loue serue one another The first part of the Epistle touching the faith of the Galatians is ended and here beginnes the second part touching good life and it continues from this verse to the 11. verse of the sixt chapter In it Paul doth 2. things first he propounds the summe of his doctrine then after makes a particular declaration of it The summe of all is propounded in this 13. v. in which Paul first setts downe the ground of all good duties and then 2. maine rules of good life The ground is in these wordes brethren ye haue bin called to libertie And it must be noted that as these wordes are the foundation of that which followes so are they also the reason of that which goes before and therefore Paul saith for brethren c. The 2. rules are in the words following One in these vse not your libertie as an occasion to the flesh the other in these doe seruice one to another by loue In the ground of all good duties namely the calling to libertie 4. things are to be considered 1. who calls 2. who are called 3. what is the calling of God 4. why it is here mentioned by Paul To the first who calles I answer God the father in Christ by the spirit for he is absolute Lord of all his creatures therfore he may call out of the kingdome of darknes into his owne kingdome whome he will And it is God alone that calleth the things that are not as though they were Rom. 4. 17. The second is who are called Ans. All they that any waie answer the calling of God for Paul saith indifferently of all the Galatians that they were called Now men answer the calling of God some in profession some in heart some in both And all these are said to be called yet with some difference The calling of God is directed first of all and principally to the Elect and then in the second place it pertaines to them which are not Elect because they are mixed in societie with the Elect. And hence

is this Commonly men liue as it were without the lawe and thinke it sufficient if they doe not grossely offend not considering that the lawe of God is a lawe to our thoughtes and affections and all the circumstances of our actions That we may hereafter make good proceedings in our religion we must remember 3. caueats One that we must indeuour to see and feele in our selues the smalenes of our faith repentance feare of God c. And the great masse of corruptions that is in vs. Thus with the beggar we shall be alwaies peecing and mending our garment The second that as trauellers we must forget things past and goe on to doe more good Psal 3. 14. The third that we must set before vs the crowne of eternall glorie seeke to apprehend it 1. Tim. 6. 11. thus did Moses Heb. 11. In Pauls profiting two things must be considered the measure and the thing in which he profited The measure in that he profited aboue many others Hence we learne that in matters of religion there should be an holy Emulation and contention among vs and our fault is that we contend who shall haue the most riches and honour or goe in the finest apparell and striue not to goe one beyond another in good things Againe Pauls modestie must here be obserued He doth not say that he profited more then all but more then many and he saith not more then his superiors but more then his equalls for time and he saith not more then all the world but more then they of his owne nation This modestie of his must be learned of vs for it is the ornament of our faith and therefore must be ioyned with our faith The matter or the thing in which Paul profited is that he was aboundantly zealous for the traditions of the fathers Here I consider three points I. What zeale is Answ. It is a certen feruencie of spirit arising of a mixture of loue and anger causing men earnestly to maintaine the worship of God and all things pertaining thereto and moouing them to griefe and anger when God is any way dishonoured II. For what is Paul zealous Answer For the outward obseruation of the law and withall for Pharisicall vnwritten Traditions which therefore he cals the Traditions of his fathers III. What is the fault of his zeale for he condemnes it in himselfe Answer He had the zeale of God but not according to knowledge For his zeale was against the word in that it tended to maintaine vnwritten Traditions and iustification by the workes of the lawe out of Christ Rom. 10. 2. Hence we learne sundrie things For that which Paul did in his religion are we to doe in the profession of the Gospell First we are to addict and set our selues earnestly to maintaine the trueth and the practise of the Gospel Christ was euen consumed with the zeale of Gods house Ioh. 2. The angell of the Church of Laodicea is blamed because he is neither hotte nor cold Rev. 3. He is accursed of God that doeth the worke of God negligently Ierem. 48. Secondly we are to be angrie in our selues and grieued when God is dishonoured and his word disobeyed When the Israelites worshipped the golden calfe Moses in holy anger brust the tables of stone Dauid wept and Paul was humbled for the sinnes of other men Psal. 119. 136. 2. Cor. 12. 21. Thirdly we are here taught not to giue libertie to the best of our naturall affections as to zeale but to mortifie them and to rule them by the word Numb 15. 39. otherwise they will cause vs to runne out of order like wild beasts as here we see in Paul Lastly let it be obserued that Paul here condemnes zeale for the maintenance of vnwritten Traditions And let the Papists consider this 15. But when it pleased God which had seperated me from my mothers wombe and called me by his grace 16. To reueale his sonne in me or to me that I should preach him among the Gentiles immediately I communicated not with flesh and blood 17. Neither came I to Hierusalem to them which were Apostles before me but I went into Arabia and turned againe to Damascus Paul before prooued that he learned not the Gospell of any man before his conuersion here he further prooues that he learned it of no man after his conuersion And the substance of his reason is this because immediately vpon his conuersion he conferred with no man but went and preached in Arabia and Damascus In the words I consider foure things First the causes of Pauls conuersion And here he sets down three degrees of causes depending one vpon another The first is the good pleasure of God whereby he doth whatsoeuer he will in heauen earth in these words when it pleased The second is his seperation from the wombe which is an acte of Gods counsell whereby he sets men apart to be members of Christ and to be his seruants in this or that office This separation is said to be from the wombe not because it began then for it was appointed by God before all times euen from eternitie as all his counsels are But the H. Ghost hereby signifies that all our goodnesse and all our dexteritie to this or that office is meerely from God because we are sanctified dedicated and set apart in the Counsell of God from all eternitie and therefore from the wombe or from our first conception and beginning The third cause is vocation by grace the accomplishment of both the former in the time which God hath appointed The second thing is the manner of forme of Pauls vocation in these words to reueale his sonne to me The third is the end of his vocation to preach Christ among the Gentiles The last is his obedience to the calling of God in the 16. and 17. verses To begin with the efficient causes of Pauls conuersion here we see the order and dependance of causes in the conuersion and saluation of euery sinner The beginning of our saluation is in the good pleasure of God then followes separation or election to eternall life then vocation by the word and spirit then obedience to the calling of god after obedience euerlasting life This order Paul here sets down and the consideratiō of it is of great vse Hence it appeares to be a doctrine erronious which beginnes our saluation in the preuision of mans faith and good workes For in Paul order workes haue the last place And it must be Gods pleasure that man shall doe a good worke before he can doe it And if seperation to eternall life should be according to faith or workes then we should make seperation of our selues as well as God And vocation is not for workes but that we might doe good workes Eph. 1. 4. Secondly by this order it appeares that the saluation of them that beleeue is more sure then the whole frame of heauen and earth because it is founded in the vocation of God which is

Thirdly this doctrine serues to beate downe a point of naturall Atheisme in the heart of man which makes many thinke it a vaine thing to serue God and to heare his word Iob. 21. 15. Mala. 3. 14. Dauid was troubled with this corruption Psal. 73. 15. Many of them which professe the name of Christ will not be brought to keep the Sabbath daie and in their dealings they vse fraud and lying as other men doe and all is because they thinke they cannot liue by their religion Fourthly the onely way to establish a kingdome or common wealth is to plant the Gospell there for this makes an happie people And this is the maine cause of our happinesse and successe in this church and land And the obedience of the Gospel is it that makes euery man in his trade office and calling whatsoeuer it be to prosper Read Psal. 1. 3. 5. On the contrarie they are wretched and miserable that liue without the Gospell Prou. 29. 18. 2. Cor. 4. 3. 2. Tim. 3. 7. 6. To receiue the doctrine of the Apostles is an vnfallible marke of the Church of God For this is it that makes a people blessed and happie 7. We may not despise the preaching of the word 1. Thes. 5. 20. If we doe we despise our owne happinesse If it be said Preachers sometime are deceiued Answ. Marke the addition of Paul Prooue all things hold that which is good 2. Thess. 5. Touching the speciall loue of the Galatians to Paul First it may be demanded what was the cause of it Answ. The very Ministerie of the Apostle whose office it was to make Disciples Math. 28. 19. and so to plant the Church of the new Testament And for this cause he had a priuiledge to preach the truth so as he could not erre in things which he deliuered to the church 2. He preached with authority as hauing power to correct rebellious offenders 2. Cor. 106. and 1. Cor. 4. 3. he preached with vnspeakeablle diligence Read Act. 20. 31. 4. He had a prerogatiue as the rest of the Apostles had after he had made disciples by imposition of hands to giue vnto them the extraordinary giftes of the Holy Ghost Act. 8. 17. And these are the meanes whereby this speciall loue was procured Secondly it may be demanded whether the Galatians did not more then keepe the law when they would haue plucked out their owne eyes and haue giuen them to Paul for thus they loue him more then their owne selues Ans. The commandement Thou shalt loue thy neighbour as thy selfe doth not prescribe that we must in the first place loue our selues and then in the second loue our neighbour but it setts downe the right manner of louing our neighbour and that is to loue him as hartely and vnfainedly as our owne selues The measure of loue is expressed when Christ saith we must loue on another as Christ loued vs. Ioh. 13. 34. There is a certen case in which we must consider our neighbour not only as a neighbour but also as a speciall instrument of God and thus are we in some respectes to loue and to preferre him before our selues Thus a subiect is more to loue the life of his prince then his own life Thus Paul was content to be accursed for the Israelites Rom. 9. 1. And the Galatians would haue giuen their eies to Paul that was so worthy an instrument of the grace of God In their example we are taught to be willing to forsake the dearest things in the world for the Gospell of Christ euen our eies hands feete yea and our life Vers. 16. Because I tell you the trueth We must after Pauls example speake the truth to all men Eph. 4. 25. Am I therefore your enemie the conclusion of the Apostles argument Here we see a corruption of nature which makes vs that we cannot abide to heare the truth in things that are against vs. We hate them that speake the truth selfe loue makes vs conceiue the best things of our selues Here then learne 1. To search thy heart and life that thou maiest know the very worst by thy selfe If thou wilt not know it now thou shalt know it to thy shame in the day of iudgement 2. Be vile and base in thine owne opinion Iob. 34. last 17. They are iealous ouer you amisse yea they would exclude you that ye should altogether loue them 18 But it is good to loue earnestly alwaies in a good cause and not onely when I am present with you The word zeale hath many significations here it is fittely translated ielousie Ye are ielous hereby much is signified that there is a spirituall marriage betweene Christ and his Church that the Church is the Bride Christ the bridegroome or husband the Gospel an instrument drawne touching the marriage the sacraments as seales the graces of the spirit as loue-tokens the Ministers of Christ as friends of the bridegroome and suters for him In this respect they put on the affection of Christ and are zealous for him This Ielousie is twofold pretended ielousie and true ielousie Pretended ielousie is when men falsely pretend the loue of the Church for Christs sake Thus Paul saith They are ielous that is they pretend a loue vnto you for Christs sake but indeede they doe it amisse And the reason follows They would exclude you namely from louing of me Others read the wordes thus they would exclude 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vs the difference in the Original is onely in one letter and the sense is the same that the false Apostles would exclude Paul from the loue of the Galatians that they onely might be honoured and loued Jt is good These words may be vnderstood either of the Galatians or of Paul I rather choose to applie them to Paul that for ielousie he may make an opposition betweene himselfe and the false teachers The sense is this that ielousie is a good thing if it be in a good cause that is if it be indeede for Christs sake and be alwaies the same And Paul addes further that this kind of ielousie is in himselfe because he is ielous ouer the Galatians not onely when he is present with them but also when he is absent and this he further confirmes in the two next verses The scope In these wordes Paul meetes with a conceit of the Galatians for they might happely say that their new Teachers loued them exceedingly and were zealous for their saluation Paul therefore answers by a comparison thus they are ielous ouer you but it is amisse nay ielousie for you is good The first part of the comparison is in the 17. verse the second in the 18. The vse When Paul saith that the false Apostles were ielous ouer the Galatians amisse he sets out the fashion of men in the world which is to doe things which are good in their kind but to doe them for wrong ends It is an excellent office to preach the word but some doe it of enuie and