Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	scripture_n	speak_v	truth_n	7,071	5	5.8060	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A84015	The English hermite, or, Wonder of this age. Being a relation of the life of Roger Crab, living neer Uxbridg, taken from his own mouth, shewing his strange reserved and unparallel'd kind of life, who counteth it a sin against his body and soule to eate any sort of flesh, fish, or living creature, or to drinke any wine, ale, or beere. He can live with three farthings a week. His constant food is roots and hearbs, as cabbage, turneps, carrets, dock-leaves, and grasse; also bread and bran, without butter or cheese: his cloathing is sack-cloath. He left the Army, and kept a shop at Chesham, and hath now left off that, and sold a considerable estate to give to the poore, shewing his reasons from the Scripture, Mark. 10. 21. Jer. 35.	Crab, Roger, 1621?-1680.	1655 (1655)	Wing E3089; Thomason E826_1; ESTC R25357	16,709	21

that Scripture in Matth. 15.11 where he saith these words That which goeth into the mouth defileth not the man but that which cometh out of the mouth that defileth the man which is murthers adulteries fornications thefts false testimonies slanders c. If this be meant that any thing put into the mouth cannot defile the body then no man can can be poysoned but there hath been many a man poysoned by taking things into the mouth If so then nothing ought to be taken but that which is nourishable to pure nature except they have faith and power of sanctification to exclude the venom so in short my judgment is of every place of Scripture which speaks any thing of this nature that to him that believeth all things are lawfull as in relation to Christ in the Spirit but some things not expedient Now to those that will not unlink themselves from the world as to deny father and mother wife children lands and livings and all for Christs sake in the Spirituall essence but will rather serve him according to the flesh in the ten Commandements Now this is the wonderfull and admirable love of God that hee will give them a reward also according to that dispensation they are under for he hath promised them a blessing in basket and in store their children long life in the Land for their obedience to their Parents in the flesh but no more then fleshly rewards can be given for fleshly obedience for hee that dyeth with fleshly desires fleshly inclinations and fleshly satisfactions this being a composure of the spirits of darknesse in this body must rise again in the same nature and must be taken into the centre of Mars the god of flesh blood and fire so that every man shall receive the things which are done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or evill 2 Cor. 5.10 Then how happy are they that takes Christ and the Prophets for their example Christ being an innocent pattern to the whole world exposed himself to all danger and difficulty not for his owne ends in the flesh but for others sakes even them that persecuted him and violated him with terms of ignomie calling him a Glutton and a wine-bibber blasphemer and a Devill and at length killed him out-right and hanged him shamefully upon the Crosse the persons that did it were the Priests Councellors Lawyers and the rude multitude instructed by them filled all with envy against innocency but all this worketh together for the best to them that fear God in humblenesse and meeknesse together with love and charity where envy cannot be but some glimps of the spirituall light which discerneth all things even the deep things of God according to the Scriptures 1 Cor. 2.10 But reason it selfe will discover a glimps of Gods proceedings in these our dayes he hath tryed almost every sort of men and every sort of sects according to their Pedgree in our Land 1. The King and Bishops were exalted next to Christ 2. The Parliament who found fault with them not pulling the beame of Covetousnesse out of their owne eyes and their Sects depending were all exalted in stead of the other 3. The Army with their Trades and Sects depending upon the same account became exalted So the Gentlemen and Farmers have had their turn in Offices and dearth of Corn and now they will try inferiour Trades as Journey-men and Day-labourers and their associates depending even to the Orphan and Alms-man and now giveth them the fulnesse of bread and cloathing and silver and all according to their respective place and capability they are in So that now we look over all their proceedings and judg by their fruits and it will be a hard matter for a low capacity to judge which of all these parties hath been most just but I being of the lowest sort and unlearned being amongst day-labourers and journey have judged my selfe with them the worst of all these parties in pride gluttony drunkenesse lying desembling swearing cursing covetousnesse disobedient to Parents breeding up children to disobedience and all other abhominations Were not the most High wonderfull and mercifull to us one of these sinnes are enough to bring judgement and terrors upon the whole Land namely the sinne of drunkennesse being explained will prove it when the allseing eye looks into every Ale-house of this Nation and seeth of which sort are most there and they will appear to be labouring poor men which in times of scarcity pine and murmure for want of bread cursing the rich behinde his back and before his face cap and knee and a whining countenance and some are cholerick and discontented and will not speak at all neither of them considering what they did in the time of plenty when they drank in one day as much as a bushell of barly will make which will keep two ordinary families a whole week in bread this two men will doe twice or three times a week and when Sunday cometh they will hear two sermons and have their child christened by the vertue of his faith and receive the Sacrament at Easter and then all is well his conscience being seared up he returns to his companions and falls on as before to drunkenesse and gluttony spoiling backbiting his neighbours swearing and cursing and reviling against the Higher powers for oppressing him making a good construction of his fellowdrunkard which is drunk three or four dayes in the week they will say he is an honest fellow and no foe but his own although both he and they that so do are the greatest oppressors under the Sunne and the greatest enemies to the poor fatherlesse orphans widdows and strangers which are below them for by their drunkennesse and gluttony Corn is made dear and Corne being dear Land is made dear so that the Farmer must give a great rent for his Farme and is constrained to hire many more Acres By this means cattle and Corne hath been at a high rate the Farmer being coveteous minded to uphold his wife and children in pompe and pride feasting and gluttony at Christnings and Banquettings by which means surfets and diseases drives them to the Physitians who wait for their prey to get their money to purchase Lands and houses that they may let it out to them againe Thus you see that the body of England is become a Monster God hath created eyes in us that are the feet to discover her nakednesse as far as the middle we have a little light of her armes and her head which keeps her pomp by sword and violence but our fight being weake and most work to do at home and most convenient for every man to pull the beame out of his own eye according to the Scriptures Mat. 7.3 that we may see clearer and justly judge the tree by his fruits we shall try the inferiour and lower sort of feasting among women called by the name of Christnings which are these First to exchange upon some body

Towns or Cities that shall defraud his brethren and shall advance themselves in pride by oppression and tyranny imitating Sodome and Gomorrah in all manner of abhominations if any see this imitated in England it 's high time for we or they that so see to become imitators of Christ and the Prophets first in order of the Prophets that came before Christ who were ordered by their practice to shew Israel their transgressions in drinking water by measure and in making bread for Ezekiel took of wheat barly and beans and lentiles and millet and fitches and put them in a vessel and made bread thereof and insteed of butter and spice he was to take cows dung insteed of mens dung to prepare his bread with and he was to have his portion by weight Ezek. 4.9 Thus the Prophet was to shew them their error in matter of food and for clothing you may see in Isa. 20. Who was a Prophet of God ordered not onely to weare sack-cloth but to go naked and without shoes three years If these Scriptures are written for our learning imitation and practice then we are to judge which are the Prophets of God by this practice in Scripture and if so where shall we finde Prophets of God But some will say we are to follow Christ and the Apostles in the New Testament and if you will have it so then we must exactly see what orders they had in their Commission that we may know them from hirelings We finde in the Commission that they were to go and preach without mony or scrips or shoes on their feet but to bee shod with sandalls Marke 6.8 So we may doubt whether we shall finde any Apostles too if we shall judge by Christs Commission but if you will not own these Scriptures neither let us try them that mark out the false Apostles and Teachers namely John 10. where he saith the hireling is not his Shepherd and Mat. 7. where he saith ye shall know them by their fruits inwardly they are ravening wolves Many more Scriptures to this purpose there are but if you have a minde to your hirelings still you will belive no Scripture that is against him neither is there any for him so that all the true practicall part of Scriptures must bee layd aside onely talk of it and dispute of it a little and pick out of it a few places to preach out off and to write to get some mony to uphold their pride and honour in this world to please the old man in the flesh Surely if John the Baptist should come forth againe and call himself Leveller and take such food as the wildernesse yeelded and such cloathing and Preach up his former Doctrine He that had two coats should give away one of them and he that hath food should doe likewise How scornfully would our proud Gentlemen and Gallants look of him that hath gotten three or four Coats with great gold and silver buttons and halfe a score dainty dishes at his Table besides his gallant house and his furniture therein therefore this Scripture must be interpreted some other way or else denied and this is our condition if the Scripture will not serve for our own ends to fulfill selfeish desires to uphold the old man in his fleshly honour which belongeth to the Magistrate onely who God hath made a Minister for thy wealths sake and doth not at all belong to innocency nor Christ in the Spirit for there is small signe of the olde mans dying or putting off whilst he smites his fellows for the liberty of his fleshly desires and this is our condition that loveth the world in whom the love of God cannot be 1 John 2.15 16. Love not the world neither the things of the world If any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him for all that is in the world as the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world These Scriptures have I endeavored formerly to interpret some other way by absurdities and consequences how that if we should not weare superfluous things thousands of people would starve for want of Trading and so by consequence bring greater evill upon us So I being not willing to loose my pride and worldly pomp I questioned the truth of the Scriptures and even God himselfe and all for want of some glimps of spirituall light which my naturall eyes in reason could not discerne Therefore the most high was pleased to convince me with naturall formes namely birds of the Aire which every day brought me intelligence according to my worldly occasions for almost three years space I have observed them for they would foretell me of any danger or crosse or any joy from friends I mean any danger or dishonour to my person or losse of cattell or corne or any other disadvantage to my advancement in the world and this cleerly convinced me that there was a power above man Then I considered the wise mans saying Eccles. 10.10 Curse not the King no not in thy thought neither curse the rich in thy bed chamber for the fouls of the heaven shall carry the voice and that which hath wings shall declare the matter Also I considered that God made use of a bird to feed Elias the Prophet by this I saw that he made use of naturall causes to fulfill naturall desires so I came to know God in nature Moreover I considered the Scrptures where the Lord speaks against the Sooth-sayers and against Astrologers Sorcerers and wizzards all these I found to be the spirits of darknesse and will reach no further then the old man in the flesh yet very necessary to be known that we may avoid the evill thereof Christ and the Prophets knew all these things or else they would never have spoken against them but we in the old man have often spoken against things that we knew not out of blinde zeale but not according to knowledge Therefore let the Scripture rule us that wee judge no mans heart which belongeth to God only in the Spirit but our judgement must be externall of every tree according to their fruits For by their fruits we ought to know them So to reprove every man his Neighbour to his face leave off backbiting and slandering one another and making up our laughter in deriding the actions of others which we cannot do unlesse we think our selves wiser then they This sad thing have I observed in many Families when they have hapned in any discourse it seldom or never ended without backbiting or deriding one another behind their backs with their tongues which causeth envy and sets on fire every man that useth it against his Neighbor according to the Scripture Jam. 3. and this cometh for want of mortifying the old man in the flesh Rom. 8.13 These and many other helps there are in the Scriptures if we will believe it to overcome the flesh for Christ saith

for before the old man fought with his steel sword with his fleshly power against old men and that envy in him begat envy in them and both of the Devill in pretence of liberty and peace it is easily judged of by the events for our sighting to regulate government in the Old men we see it still as bad if not worse then it was before Therefore let us put off the old man with his fleshly Laws which reached no farther then the government of earthly bodies so that every one for their obedience to God in this fleshly Law receiveth a reward to uphold his fleshly body here upon Earth and would go no further then reason could reach in the organs of flesh Therefore this Law could never give life in the spirituall Christ but the practificers thereof were the greatest enemies to Christ as you shall see fully in their calling of Christ Devill and putting of him to death Mat. 10. Luke 23. Far worse then bloody Butchers for they destroy their fellow creatures for gaine and to feed their bodies but these destroyed that innocent Lamb of God meerly out of devillish zeale and envy against innocency this moves the Butcher to the question to know why I would forbeare eating of flesh To which I answer First I do it exemplary from the Prophet Daniel Chap. 1. which saith The Kings meate defileth his body and beseecheth that he might eate pulse and drinke water This first we ought to believe because the Scripture saith so 2. I believe it from experience 3. From reason 1. I have experience that God hath enlightned my understanding in a great measure more then before I tooke this course So that all the Tithe-mongers and selfe-ended people professing Religion are afraid to meet me in any publique dispute hut lest I should judg my selfe wiser in my own conceit then my understanding will beare me out I am here ready to be tryed by any person or persons whatsoever and so much for Experience Now I shall shew some reasons My first Reason is That God never accepted of any Creature for a Sacrifice of flesh that would destroy a body of flesh to feed on and also forbid his people the Jewes to feed on them for it is a practice of Dogs and Wolves Bears and Lyons Hogs and Ravens Kites and Hawks and many such like devourers of flesh and all or any of these have no need to fear their lives but from or of some of that same kind no innocent creature need never feare his life from an innocent creature If all birds would take the Dove for an example 〈◊〉 all beasts take the Lamb for their example and all men 〈◊〉 Christ for their example then Mars and Saturn the two 〈◊〉 Devills would be trampled under feet Such a time is 〈◊〉 but nor yet but God waiteth with long patience upon the vessels of wrath whilst they prepare themselves by thirsting after flesh and blood which are thereby made fit to destroy each other Therefore hearken to the Doctrine of Christ in Matth. Chap. 5. 6. Deny your selves humble your selves undo your selves of all righteousness of the flesh Become as little children like Lambs like Doves then Christ is ours and we are his Few words to the wise is sufficient I shall return to the reasonable part of the Law in this Nation which excludes Butchers from being Jury-men of life and death Surely if they are judged uncapable of being of a Jury because they kill the creatures they that buy it with their money to devour it cannot be clear for we alwayes count the Receiver more subtil and worse then the Thiefe so that the buyer is worse then the Butcher but Mars being the god of War is the governour of these destroyers and while he can get flesh to feed on he will encrease his desires to destroy flesh so that Mars being servant to the most high God breeds them up with flesh untill they are full of corruption Then he raiseth up Trangressor against Transgressor to destroy each other as you have it in Isa. 21.2 where it saith A grievous vision was shewed unto me the transgressor against the transgressor and the destroyer against the destroyer Goe up Elam besiege Media c. Had my parents been so innocent as to have taught me this Doctrine in the time of my youth I had saved my skull from being cloven to the braine in the late War for the Parliament against the King and also saved my selfe from the Parliaments two years imprisonment which they gave me for my paines and from my sentence to death in the Field by my Lord Protector but all those things wrought together for the best to me and in my estimation are of more value then an office of five hundred pounds a year for I in some measure know my selfe and before I neither knew God nor Devill nor my selfe but now having found out that my body was governed by the inclination of my Constitution from the starry heavens having tryed it with many sorts of food and with much fasting and praying according to the Scripure which gave me light to the constitutions of others and enabled me to administer physick to others so that I have had a hundred or sixe score Patients at once this gave me a great light of the evil that came by eating of flesh If my Patients were any of them wounded or feaverish I sayd eating flesh or drinking strong beere would inflame their blood venom their wounds and encrease their disease so there is no proof like experience So that eating of flesh is an absolute enemy to pure nature pure nature being the workmanship of a pure God and corrupt nature under the custody of the Devill Now for the objection in 1 Tim. 4. v. 3. where it saith thus Forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meates which God hath created to be received with giving thanks of them which believe and know the truth And vers. 4. it saith For every creature of God is good and nothing ought to be refused if it be received with thankesgiving This Scripture being very usefull for the purpose and will give much light to the adhearers to this opinion and conform them of sound principles within themselves for whosoever shall forbeare marrying or abstain from meate from the commandement of men which pretends his commands to be of God all that are obedient hereunto will serve the Devill and must needs be without the spirit of sanctification neither are they believers neither obey the Truth so that if they should eate of every creature there would a hundred be poysoned at a meale for want of the spirit of power and sanctification which Paul and others had by the promise which promised them if they drank any deadly poyson it should not hurt them and could take away Serpents and if they layd their hands on the sicke they should recover as you may see in Mar. 16. vers. 18. Another Objection is alledged from