Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	year_n	young_a	zeal_n	36	3	7.3710	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A00414	A methode vnto mortification: called heretofore, the contempt of the world, and the vanitie thereof Written at the first in the Spanish, afterward translated into the Italian, English, and Latine tongues: now last of all perused at the request of some of his godly friends, and as may bee most for the benefite of this Church, reformed and published by Thomas Rogers. Allowed by authoritie.; Vanidad del mundo. English	Estella, Diego de, 1524-1578.; Rogers, Thomas, d. 1616.	1608 (1608)	STC 10543; ESTC S114515	174,792	500

God Doe you not remember how vpon the sudden the father receaued his prodigall son into fauor againe vpon his returne made a great feast for him and receaued him with all tokens of ioy insomuch that the elder sonne was angrie and said that although many yeeres hee had serued him yet did he neuer receiue so much as a kid from him to make merry with his friends Which his anger and indignation was altogether vndiscreet because the prodigall sonne after his fall returned most zealously vnto his father requiring pardon for his offences whereas the elder son was luke-warme not so zelously affectioned to his Fatherward There bee some young men more zelously giuen in the seruice of God than many old men And therefore the multitude of yeeres is not so to bee regarded as the zeale of the spirite Hee that is neither hote nor colde in Gods matters may easily bee seduced to offend the Lord. God saith I would thou werest colde or hote Therfore because thou art luke warme and neither colde nor hote it will come to passe that I shall spewe thee out of my mouth Of warmnesse there be two kinds one which goeth from heate vnto colde which is nought another which forsaketh the colde and draweth towardes the heate and this is good Hee that hath beene naught and beginneth now to drawe neere vnto God is not to bee rebuked but encouraged and inflamed but hee that was feruent and is now neither hote nor colde deserueth reprehension because hee declineth from the heate of the spirite vnto the colde of wickednesse This is that luke-warmnesse which the Lord so findeth fault with and vpon iust cause For it is vnmeete that hee should so coldly bee serued who with such a feruencie of loue hath giuen himselfe to serue thee Our Lorde and Sauiour Christ at his last supper saide vnto Iudas the traitor That thou doest doe quickly he burned so with desire to die for vs miserable sinners The glorious virgine Mary shee went into the hil country with hast to visite her cousen Elizabeth in which acte of hers thou maiest perceiue the great zeale of her affection Doe we not read in like sort that the Passeouer was commaunded to bee eaten In haste And did not the Patriarch Abraham runne to meete strangers that he might entertaine and receiue them into his inhabitation If thou wert to receaue a peece of mony about the euening the day beeing alreadie well spente and thou hauing some good way to goe wouldest thou not set the best legge formost and make speede that you bee not disappointed Remember my good friend what a pretious treasure thou art to receiue how far it is to the place where thou must take it vp and how short the time is limited for the attaining the same make haste therefore and loose no time least thou loose all to thine vtter vndoing O that thou couldest with the Prophet say I will runne the way of thy commaundements Thou oughtest to bee as swift and ready in the seruice of God euen as though within one houre thou shouldest leaue this world A certaine wise man thus spake his mind of Phisicke The life is short the art is long and practise may deceaue this said hee not to terrifie his Disciples from giuing their minds vnto the studie of Physicke but that with more diligence they should studie the same inasmuch as our life is short and the science very hard Be thou therefore earnest in the seruice of God because thy life is short and many things there be in the same which thou hast to doe CHAP. 28. We must not rashly resolue our selues in any thing BEleeue not euery spirit but try the spirits whether they are of God saith S. Iohn Before thou set vpon a worke consider first the qualitie thereof and thine owne strength least like a blind man thou rush vpon a thing and take a fall Many beginne the worke euen of God with great zeale but with little discretion and so in the end loose all their labour for when they should should bring it vnto perfection they faint and so repente them of their paines taken God will not that wee should bee rash in determining any matter but to doe thinges with wisedome and discretion and that before we enterprise any worke that we aduisedly premeditate The virgine mother of our Sauiour being saluted of the Angel before shee made any answere vnto the Angel Gabriel she thought what manner of salutation that should be If thou dost not consider with prudence afore hand thou must runne blindly in the darke and so the more forciblie thou fallest the greater shall be thy bruise Thinke that by howe much thy zeale is greater by so much should thy wisedome bee greater than other mens It is written to the reproach of the Iewes that they are a nation voide of counsell neither is there any vnderstanding in them Dauid in giuing too light credite vnto the false reports of Z●ba gaue an vniust sentence against Mephibosheth which faults diuers Princes and Prelates doe fall into by beleeuing hand ouer head that which is told them whereby manie a good man is vndone before his cause bee heard and many a poore man suffereth great wrong before hee euer know who were causers of the same The Prophet Nathan did not well in aduising Dauid to build an house for the Lorde before hee had asked counsel touching the same of God Our Sauiour Christ being chosen to be a iudge in the cause of the adultresse suspended his iudgement for a while writing first with his finger on the ground Giue not credite rashly to euery man for Hee that is hastie to giue credite is light minded and he that quickly beleeueth shal repēt at leisure Bee not moued with euerie winde neither walke thou by euery way The Apostle saith Take heede therefore that yee walke circumspectly not as fooles but as wise that yee fall not into daunger Christ saith vnto his Disciples I haue giuen you an example that yee should doe euen as I haue done vnto you Againe he saith Learne of me that I am meeke and lowly in heart Christ would that we should follow him not onely in doing well but also in the manner of well dooing for otherwise a worke morally good may bee vnprofitable for want of wisedome Greatly is Abraham commended in the Scripture for dooing with wisedome that which was enioyned him of the Lord. God commanded him to offer his onely sonne Izaacke whom hee loued for a burnt offering and he for the better performing of that which was commaunded him tooke his sonne early in the morning least his wise should haue hindered his purpose and left his seruants a farre off with the asse that they might bee no let vnto him at all insomuch that hee had put that in execution in deede had not an Angell of the Lorde called

Satan doe by thee as often as hee seeketh to make the breake thy silence that so hee maye robbe thee and make spoyle of the temple of thy conscience and bring thy soule prisoner into the Babylon of hell it selfe Set therefore a good watch about these least thou bee robed and spoyled of thine enemies HHAP 21 The seruant of God must auoid not onely ill but also idle talke BVt I say vnto you saith our Sauiour Christ that of euery idle worde that men shall speake they shall giue account thereof at the day of iudgement Our heart is like vnto waxe that with cold groweth to bee harde and by heat waxeth softe and tender againe and being once soft it receiueth the print euen of a King or any other great man Thou must stoppe thine eares from vaine and idle talke for they coole and harden thine heart If thou keepe not thy selfe from either vsing or hearing the same little shalt thou profite in the seruice of God Holy and spirituall comunication it doeth inflāe the hart with heauenly good motions On the day of our Sauiors resurrection the two disciples that went traueling by the way towardes Emmaus talking with our Sauiour Christ had their hearts inflamed within them as they did after say betweene themselues Did not our hearts burne within vs while hee talkedwith vs by thy way and when hee opened to vs the Scripturs Thine heart wil bee well disposed to receiue the impression of the eternall King if thou warme and mollifie the same with the heat of Gods worde With great diligence and care should the seruante of God avoide idle wordes and to reprehend others that vse them If thou bridle not thy tongue in vaine dost thou labour take paines to profite in the seruice of God The Apostle saith the seruant of God must not striue nor bee troblesome one to another by contentions and clamorous speech Las●iuious and wanton wordes are many times odious and oftensiue euen to those which make no profession of religion how much then should they bee abhorred of Christians indeede Be circumspect therfore in thy words and let thy speech bee such as well may beseeme the seruant of Iesus Christ. Of euill wordes much euill doth arise The Apostle saith Euil speakinges corrupt good manners For ●ll wordes wee goe vnto ill deeds As the ship saileth according as the winde doth blows so our soule sailing forward with the prosperous winde of good speech it shall ioyfully attaine vnto the hauen of rest As on the other side if dissolute and wicked wordes bee once blowen into the sailes of thine eares they will carrie thy soule with a contrary wind into the large sea of infinite confusion The wise man doth say Let thy talke hee with the wise and all thy communication in the law of the most high Good wordes doe inflame the hart kindle thy will edifie thy neighbour and encrease the loue of God in thee Idle and vaine wordes on the other side thee distract the spirite quench the zeale diminish deuotion and offend the hearers Mettall is knowne by his sound If golde haue not the sound it shoulde it is reputed for brasse Wordes bee as it were the sounde of the soule If the wordes be clamarous vaine and idle they are but copper and not gold but if they bee graue and good then doe they shew the soule to bee as perfect gold An empty vessell maketh a loude sounde so hee that is most voide of goodnesse is vainest in his speech Bet if thou bee graue and sober in thy wordes euery man will take thee for a staid and stable man It is written of Iudas Maccabeus that hee armed the Iewes not with the assurance of shieldes speares but with wholesome wordes and exhortations Godly wordes and wise are a notable armor but idle speech is very hurthurtfull If the clocke haue his wheele distempered within the bell without will sound false but if they goe true within then will the bell without strike truely and tell the right houre of the day by thy disordinate words thy disordered conscience doth appeare As Peter was warming himselfe in the hall of the hie Priest they that stood by said againe to Peter Surely thou art one of them for thou art of Galile and thy speech is like And else-where in the Gospel it is sayd Of thine owne mouth will I iudge thee O euill seruant By his speech wee know of what countrie a stranger is With what conscience wouldest thou be counted an honest man when thy speech is vaine and altogether dissolute By the breaking out and parting of the flesh in the mouth and tongue the ague is discerned so thine infirmitie is knowen by the words which breake out at thy lips and mouth Before thou vtter any word vse premeditation because men regard not the heart but the speech For by thy wordes thou shalt be iustified and by thy wordes thou shalt be condemned A word once vttered can neuer be reuoked againe And therefore before thou speake ought aduise thy selfe that alterward thou say not I had not thought for so to say is not the part of a wise man But afore all thinges haue alwaies in remembrance that in the day of iudgement thy Lord God will take a straight accompt of all thy wordes and sayinges CHAP. 22 The seruants of God must beware of murmuring backbiting slandering NEither murmur yee as some of them also murmured and were destoied of the destroyer saith the Apostle The tongue of the murmurer is worse than hell for hell is hurtfull onlie to the wicked but the tongue of the murmurer it afflicteth as well the good as the bad yea commonly it is incensed more against the vertuous than against the wicked Hee that snuffeth the candle with his bare fingers though hee defile his fingers yet hee causeth the candle to burne the brighter thereby so hee that defameth and speaketh il of good men defileth his owne soule and conscience but maketh such as are defamed a great deale the more glorious So the Pharisie that murmured about that which the good woman did vnto our Sauiour Christ hee was rebuked but the woman w●s most highly magnified and commended The murmurers doe more hurte themselues than other men themselues they kill but other men they profit Miriam and Aaron they murred against Moses and was not Miriam therefore punished with a lothsom leprosse and both Miriam and Aaron rebuked of the Lord of hoste and Moses glorie the greater by the same A good name is to be chosen aboue great riches and a louing fauor is about siluer and aboue gold Lesse doth he offend that taketh away our goods than he which taketh away our good name By the hand the bodie is strucken but by the tongue the soule is wounded the handes can hurt but such as are nigh but the tongue spareth no man be he nigh or far off All other

is good and will yeelde fruit but if it be drie it affordeth none at all If the though bee good it ministreth good matter vnto the will to take holde of which beeing maintained and holpen forwarde with vnderstanding doth bring forth good desires from which good workes doth proceede Thou must not continue in euell thoughts which the Lord cannot abide as appeareth by the prophet Ieremiah How long shall thy wicked thoughtes remaine within thee So long as the Gentiles were mixed and remained with the people of Israell so long was God absent from them and would not speake vnto them at all So God hee will forsake thee if thou allow any place for euill cogitations in thine heart When a litle sparke of an euill thought doth catch hold in thy mind thou must not blow on it to kindle it thereby least afterward it grow into a fire vnquenchable to consume thee withall The silke wormes bee at the first but little graines like vnto Mustarde-seede but by the carrying of them about in womens bosomes they doe gather an heate whereby they come vnto life and so proue wormes Pewa●e that thou sow not the seedes of sensuality in thy corrupted imagination least by the heate of naturall concupiscence they proue wormes to gnaw thy conscience into peeces Nourish not thine euill thoughtes with the heate of worldly loue neither let thy consent yeeld vnto them least thou be deceiued and perish with au euil death CHAP. 26. Idlenesse is the enimie vnto godlinesse IDlenesse bringeth much euell saith the wise man Aboue all thinges shunne thou idlenesse as the mother of vices the stepdame of vertue Idlenesse it is nought else but the death and graue of a liuing man If God would not that man at the first beeing created in originall righteousnesse and endued with so many excellent graces should lead his life in idlenesse thinkest thou that thou art Idlely to passe-away thy time beeing enuironed with so many enemies The Lord tooke Adam and put him into the Garden of Eden that hee might dresse it and keepe it But Adam euen in that estate of his was foyled through the malice and subtiltie of Satan and thinkest thou a weake and wicked man liuing idlely in pleasures to be safe Man is borne vnto trauell as the sparkes fly vpward as Iob saith c As God hath giuen the birde two winges to flie with-all so hath ●●e giuen thee two handes to worke withall The birder will not shoot at a bird while shee flieth but when she si●t●th still The Diuell then seeketh to oppugne and ouerthrow thee not when thou art occupied but when thou art idle Bee alwaies there fore doing of some good least when thou art idle thou bee ouertaken The vessell that is employed to some vse and full already it can receiue no more into it and the minde that is full fraught already with good thinges hath no roome in the same for idle wicked cogitations Vnlesse it be empty either wholy or in part the enimie of mankind Satan can put nothing thereunto The running water it bringeth forth the best fishes but the standing water as marrishes lakes and such like they engeder froggs and serpentes and the fish that is within them is vnsauory and daungerous to bee eaten So long as thou art idles what bringest thou forth but idle or dishonest and euil cogitations Shunne thou idlenesse as thou wouldest the plague vnlesse thou wouldest be taken prisoner by a number of sinnes So long as Dauid was kept occupied by the persecutions of Saule hee committed none adultery but when hee sate qu●etly and idlely in his pallace he then defiled himselfe with the wife of another man Solomon also so long as hee emploied his time in building of the temple hee abstained from many thinges but beeing idle from great affaires hee fell and was foiled with outragious wickednesse The Children of Dan they destroyed the citie Laish with fire and smote the people with the edge of the sworde while they sate quietly gaue themseleus vnto idlenesse Idlenesse it is the nourisher of carnall vices Shunne thou idlenesse and thou shalt easely destroy many a dishonest motion in the minde in cutting of all entrance of idle thoughts by godly businesse When the righteous Iaakob fled because of his brothers wrath wisedome she led him the right waie shewed him the kingdome of God gaue him knowlede of holy thinges made him rich in his labors and made her pains profitable saide the wise man The way vnto heauen is ful of trauaile and continuall occupations of holinesse and vertuous exercises If thou hadest in remembrance that one day thou shalt giue a straight account of all the time thou now mis-spendest thou wouldest endeuour with might and maine to loose no time at all The spirit of God sheweth it selfe to all men where that is there if none idlenesse Solomon praiseth a good 〈◊〉 wife among other thinges because she eateth not the bread of idlenesse By idlenesse time is lost which is a most precious thing Gather the Manna in the week daies that thou maiest rest when the Sabaoth day doth come take paines and trauaile while thou art in this life that thou maiest rest and take thine ease while the great day of of that eternall Saboath shall appeare The slothfull will not plowe because of winter wherefore shall he begge in s●mmer but haue nothing If thou passe thy time heere in idlenesse looke to famin for foode and be the meate of Satan in the infernall pit Idle persons that stood still and did not worke bee reproued in the Gospell The land that lieth idle and is not tilled husbanded it bringeth forth thistles and thornes as by experience wee doe see Beware of idlenesse if thou doe not thou wilt bring forth no goodnesse but much euell to t●● dishonour of God and hurt of 〈◊〉 I wil thou shouldest affirme that they which haue beleeued in God might bee careful to shew forth good workes saith the Apostle And I must worke the workes of him that sent me while it is day saith our Sauiour Christ Employ therefore the ground o● thine heart vnto holy and good exercises that in the ende thou mayest reape the worthy fruite of thy labours CHAP. 27. Good words are not onely to be done but they must also zealouslie be done BE not slouthfull to doe seruice be feruent in Spirite seruing the Lorde saith the Apostle God requireth feruencie in good workes More account doth God make of one houre spent in godly zeale than of a thousand coldly consumed in his seruice For GOD regardeth more the zeale than the time in working whereby thou maiest perceaue that in a little time thou maiest gaine much The theefe which did hang on the crosse by our Sauiour Christ if you consider time serued God but a moment as it were and yet in that short time he came into the euerlasting fauor of