Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	believe_v	faith_n	life_n	4,645	5	4.9113	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A28519	A consolatory treatise of the four complexions, that is, an instruction in the time of temptation for a sad and assaulted heart shewing where-from sadness naturally ariseth, and how the assaulting happeneth : hereto are annexed some consolatory speeches exceeding profitable for the assaulted hearts & souls, written ... March 1621 / by the Teutonicall philosopher, Jacob Behmen.; Trost-Schrift von vier Complexionen. English	Böhme, Jakob, 1575-1624.; Hotham, Charles, 1615-1672?	1654 (1654)	Wing B3402; ESTC R19729	29,679	98

her sad condition thinks God will have none of her when she cannot palpably feel his presence She sees other men that walk along with her in the way of Gods fear that yet are cheerfull enough and supposing this cheerfulness of theirs proceeds only from a divine fountain of love and light in their souls is conceited that she is not accepted with God but rather rejected by him because she does not presently upon her conversion which she expected feel in her heart the like comfortable effects of the refreshing presence of God Before the time of my enlightning it went even thus with me I stood out a hard conflict before I obtain'd my precious Crown of victory and then did I first learn out this experimental knowledge that God dwells not in the outward fleshy heart but in the souls center in himself then was I also first aware of it that 't was God which had laid hold on me and drawn me to him in my first desire which before I was ignorant of thinking the good desire had been my own property and that God was indeed far from me But afterwards I saw him and rejoyc'd at the unspeakable grace and love of God and now write the same for a caveat that they by no meanes faint or despair when the comforter delayes his comming but rather think of that of David Heaviness may endure for a night but joy commeth in the morning Thus hath it far'd with many of the chiefest saints of God they were forc'd to strive a long time for their Crown of Victory nor indeed is any man crown'd therewith till he hath passed as a Conqueror through the combat T is indeed deposited neer the soul but in the second principle the soul stands fixt upon the first principle and therefore if she will have the Crown set upon her head in the time of this life she must earnestly fight and contend for it And then if she go not so far as to obtain it in this world yet she obtains it after this life in the laying down of this earthly tabernacle For Christ saith Be of a good comfort I have overcome the world and in the world you have sorrow but in me peace The precious pearl lies in many an assaulted and troubled spirit much neerer than in them that think they have already comprehended it but it hides it self for where it lies richest and most noble there will it not easily discover it self but rather wraps it self close up as if it would never be communicated therefore let no soul be hereby terrified or amazed She therefore hides herself that the desire of the soul being the more earnestly enflamed after her may in the comprehension drink deep to assuage her thirst and meanwhile knock unweariedly at her gates till it be opened unto him For sayes Christ Seek and ye shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you And My Father will give the Holy Spirit to them that pray to him for it Have a certain assured confidence upon Gods promise and however thy misgiving heart say no yet let not this affright thee For to believe is not to be fill'd with joy in the fleshly heart and outward complexion that the fleshly mind and Spirit be so jocund that the very heart and reines leap for joy this is not faith but these are only some love emanations from the Holy Ghost within a divine lightning which hath no stability but after a short resplendence disappeares For God dwells not in the outward heart or complexion but in himself in the second center in the Jewell of the noble Image of Gods likeness which is hidden in this outward world But the true Faith is that the Spirit of the Soul with its will and desire goes into and thirsts after that it neither sees nor feeles here understand that of the soul in it self precisely considered stands not in this time yet she sends in the subtill spirit of the will which hath its original from her fire-life and in this spirit of the will is the pretious pearle received so that the souls-fire now remaines in the desire For so as the pearl remaines in the spirit of the will so long does the desire remain in the soul For this pearl is a spark of the Divine love t is the engin with which the Father drawes the soul unto him in his love the soul must therefore stand fast in her desire even when the outward reason out of the dark Complexion speaks a flat contradiction and denies Gods presence there Were not God present there could be no desire or will after him in the estranged soul For where God is not in the Spirit of the will the soul is as wholly blind and dead as to God desires not God at all nor hath any want or breathing after him but lives and disports himself in the heaven of his own natural light and self-pleasing imaginations only is a more subtil piercing understanding than the other beast of the field his souls natural essence being of a higher gradation than theirs Therefore by no means let any troubled soul suffer the complexion to fasten such an imagination as this upon his heart that God is not present with her will have none of her other wise the soul feeding upon such imagination becomes exceeding heavy It s a very great sin for the mind to shape out such a fancy in the heart for by this means the soul which is a noble creature out of Gods Nature falls into great anxiety and the Phantasy kindles the souls fire with this fewell and causes it to burn in the painfull principle Dear soul think no other when the anxious property of thy complexion thus kindled by the starrs begins to move but that thou then standest as a labourer in Gods vineyard thou must not stand idle but be working thou dost God herein a great and very considerable piece of service And thy labour is this that thou overcome the temptation by an unmoveable faith however no comfort in the outward heart appear to support it Be not deceived T is not faith to give assent to what I see and feel but this is faith to trust the hidden Spirit and believe the truth of its words maugre all the contradiction of blind nature and this so firmly that I chuse sooner to lose my natural life than distrust his promise this is a faith which wrastles rightly with God as old Jacob did the whole night which though it neither sees nor feels the least atome of the thing hop'd for yet rests firm upon the word of promise this faith does indeed overcome God as 't was said to Jacob thou hast wrastled with God and Man and half got the upper hand If thou ask what word of promise I mean I answer 't is this My Father will give the holy Spirit to them that humbly and fervently beg it of him And this is that which the mouth of Christ it self hath further delivered When he

cometh he will lead you into all truth for he will take of mine and will make it known to you Now that thou mayest undoubtedly know that this temptation and terrour comes from the complexion I will lay before thee an example of that which happens especially to the Cholerick or firy and melancholy complexions When thou wakest by night in a dark room thou art seiz'd on with a strange kind of amazement and terror of mind and art subject to imagine that there is somewhat in the dark that affrights thee Whence now proceeds this fear Is the flesh affraid of any danger to it self no sure it would not without the force of blows be made to enter as an Oxe to the slaughter-house into that place of terror But t is the poor soul a prisoner in the flesh that is afraid in this darkness is ever sollicitous and fearfull lest the Devill should lay hold on her for she knowes that his dwelling is in the darkness and therfore fears he will be catching at her whence t is easy to be seen the fear proceeds from the imagination of the soul Thus goes it with a poor soul perpetually mur'd up in the dark chamber of the complexion she is so extremely out of heart that her thoughts cannot clear up but must grope in the dark ever fearing because of the Devill and the wrath of God Therefore should not a soul that is lockt up in the dark chamber of a melancholy complexion dwell long or scarce at all in speculations about the wrath of God nor give it self much to solitude but rather spend its time in godly conferences For so the matter of those friendly and profitable yeelding sufficient entertainment to the working phancy t is by this means handsomely diverted from her torturing cogitations For no deep speculation is in this state profitable for her which seeing she cannot turn it to her souls health and comfort its better she let it alone Such a man must also take heed of reading such books as teach the doctrines of a partial and personal election and Predestination of men to salvation or damnation They all teach with misunderstanding and do not explain the doctrin aright according to the sense and declaration of the mysticall language of the Holy Ghost of which I have given a further and better explanation in my other writings Neither is it good for him to perplex his thoughts with the reading of many books but rather to adhere solely to the Scriptures in which he shall find durable and steddy comfort But if God hath given him naturally a deep-searching understanding in which the soul cannot cease her perpetual diving to the bottom of the deep mystery let him in Gods fear be take himself in continual prayer to God for the opening to him the center of Nature in the finding whereof the soul will be at rest For there she sees the corner-stone on which the grand fabrick of human souls is bottom'd and so all fear and sadness quickly vanishes away of which I am able to say by experience with soul chearing and establisht light is attaind by him that hath found this center But no self-seeking or self-opinionated understanding is able by his deepest searching to find it out Yet does not God willingly shut it up from any man but it must be sought and found out in the fear of God by a constant importunity in prayer for t is the greatest treasure in this world he that finds it hath an easy egress out of Babel The Melancholy Complexion should also with great care avoid drunkenness that the soul be not overladen and press'd down by the power of the earth For when the body thus loads it self with drink the earthy fumes of the strong liquor presently take possession of the complexion chamber then does the soul entring therein with the imagination to her great hurt feed upon the earthly property kindles her fire therewith and for a short time rejoyces in it but the earthy floating fumes of the drink which danc't those merry Anticks in his brain must ere long vanish into air and he like a man warm'd by a wisp of straw returns a prisoner to his old frozen Melancholy which hath contracted it self in a heavy and darker consistency by the antiperistasis a of false light of this momentany refection Then stands the poor soul as most desolate and more than ever forsaken of God for she loses in the overflowing of the earthly property the divine imagination and desire for the Spirit of God will not have his dwelling in the earthly imagination Then ariseth in the Soul a sad dispairing repentance as if she were accursed of God The wrath of God does then set it self against her as if it would root her up from her very center and throw her into the bottomless pit of darkness then falls the man into great heaviness and it may be for an easement of his grief again associates himself with his pot-companions to refresh himself with them in their sottish joviality Thus do these foolish drunkards whose company he is now linkt in add one day of sin to another and plunge his and their own souls almost irrecoverably into the earthly darkness and the wrath of God I speak it as a most certain truth which I have a well-grounded knowledge of in the Center of Nature and deepest principle of life Let the Melancholy soul beware also of inflaming it self with anger For wrath is her greatest poyson and drives her to madness which is cleerly seen in the Center For the complexion-Chamber is rude and unpolisht like the wild and uncultivated earth to which t is best resembled t is also as the earth was in the beginning of the Creation of it self without form and void and hath but a very slender hold on the great wheel of nature Whence it falls out that upon a too vehement excitation of the fire of anger the wheel of nature whirles about with such a tumultuous noise that it makes the body of the angry man even visibly to tremble Now then the complexion-chamber being so empty and void of substance the broken wheel cannot so easily cement again nor the thoughts be reduc'd to an orderly consistency or composedness but all runs about in a hurly burly fierce firy driving of wrath and fury so that the mind cannot fix the thoughts in any steddy posture of cogitation as in mad men is most apparently seen Nor is he knowing of what he does but as the disorder'd wheel of the inward Nature moves so are the tumultuous motions of the outward members of the body the Devill also slily delights to fish in these troubled waters insinuates his imagination therewith aggravates the madness yet more and makes it his instrument to work much mischief This wheel well becometh the outward Spirit but then the poor soul also layes hold on it and causeth it to make impressions of great horrour upon her Spirit Yet let no man pronounce any soul

damned during the time of this life for the heavenly sign of the Cross remains yet upon which the door of grace standeth wide open The soul shut up in the Melancholy-chamber must likewise carefully preserve herself cleer from covetousness yea with the greatest diligence for it is a thing no less banefull to her than anger For Covetousness is an earthly desire the complexion is also earthly and this chamber being as was said empty and void its desire does naturally attract the earthly substance into its empty mansion and fills it with such dark matter wherein the meer wrath of God with all unrighteousness and falshood lies enclosed with much other evil of the nature of the terrene property which make the complexion being it self an earthly desire yet stronglier and faster tied to the earth than before Upon which earthly matter the soul-feeding with her imagination feeles afterwards upon the awakening of conscience the fierce judgement of God burning in her firy Vehicle who is inflam'd and made hot by that evill fewell of falshood and unrighteousness which covetousness had pil'd up in store Now the poor soul finding herself thus burning in Gods wrath and encompassed only with that vast congeries of that evill earthly matter of falshood and unrighteousness when this fire is still more and more kindled cannot but fall into an excess of doubting and despair of the grace of God Know therefore of a truth That for the Melancholy spirit there is nothing better than to lead a simple retir'd life in a mean condition where there is no temptation to pride and where he live soberly and temperately not having his mind charged with multiplicity of worldly cares which if he be necessitated to sometimes he must begin and end all in the fear of God and constant exercise of prayer which will carry him on with profit thorough all his emploiments For the Melancholy chamber thus prepar'd is an excellent Councellhouse it hath a door open Heaven-ward while it keeps it self in a watchfull posture of sobriety It pierces every whit as deep as the Sanguine but without Gods fear it obtains nothing beyond the shallow comprehension of the natural reason if she stand open and have her nativity in a signe of which ♄ is Lord she layes a foundation of the great mischief which hath plagued mankind almost from the beginning of the world for she builds Babel and all deception to himself and others of that nature to which with her native austerity she gains power and reverence among the sons of men Therefore let a man that is thus complexiond however knowing as he thinks of that he hath in hand attempt nothing without prayer Let him alwayes in the first place commend his heart thoughts mind will and actions into the holy hands of the highest God to be directed by his wisedom to the performance of his good pleasure and pray earnestly that he will be the sole regent in all his desires and undertakings so may the complexion freed from its delusions by the in-dwelling wisedom of God be in his hand a serviceable instrument of much good Without this none thus complexiond can in the publick office perform ought that 's good and well-pleasing to God Of the other three Complexions A generall Looking-glass wherein their severall natures and properties are represented to the discerning eye very briefly describ'd as it was out of the light of Gods grace set before the eyes of my understanding in the Spirit 1. Of the Cholerick THe man that hath his best treasure the noble Soul in habiting in the Cholerick Complexion must above all things exercise himself in humility els he stands in very great danger he must powre this water of humility and meekness into his fire that his noble Image be not therewith inflam'd above measure for she is full of pride severity and sudden anger and is therefore of all men fear'd and highly extoll'd but truly loved by few except the Divine water from heaven viz. The noble humility descend down and incorporate with her fire then doth her fire break forth into a glorious mild and harmless flame which gives light and warmth and attracts to it the affections of all men For this chamber hath a native lustre of its own in it self in the outward nature but is commonly void of mildness and humility except she have Jupiter or Venus Lord of the ascendent of her Nativity Yet hath she invelop'd under Venus his soft mantle her Devill which tortures her day and night with strong temptations to unchastity and I tell it now for a warning that there is great danger in this complexion yea much greater than in the melancholy For here comes the Devill in his Angells visard of light which as the natural proceed of the fire of the complexion tickles the souls with the pleasing sense of her native light whence she growes highminded he represents all things to her imaginations as slightly to be regarded and so she swallows down glibly and without any remorse of conscience all his poysoned baites of sin as swearing cursing light and lascivious talking so that to despite and unhallow the holy Name of God in the soul is a thing usually practis'd in this chamber the wrathful firy essence bears up the minde that it can very hardly especially in a right repentant abstinence sink it self down into a divine temper of true spiritual love and meekness It rather adheres rigidly to its wrathfull principle will subdue all by terror and make all stand in awe of him If withall its nativity happn'd to be in an earthy signe there is then small good that may tend to Gods honour to be naturally hop'd for from this complexion He therfore that hath his pretiousest treasure lockt up in this storehouse had need be very circumspect both over his inward life and outward actions For the poor deluded soul fixes her imagination thereupon and thence rejoycing in the slight comfort of that natural light takes no notice that she hath still her residence in Gods wrath in the hellish fire till either it awaken it self in her or till she come to be bereft of her outward firelustre by the death of this body Then appeares she in her native colours a proud angry Devill and must have her abode in the eternal darkness Therefore is it good for such a soul not to labour to purchase to it self any high degree of worldly power and honour but if in the way of divine providence they fall to her lot then not to please her imagination with reflecting upon the thoughts of her greatness For she hath naturally a proud fire-eye easy to be inflam'd An earnest and humble casting down of herself in prayer before God is her best security This kind of soul is easily by her firy complexion into the false complexion of a triumphant natural joy which she oft mistakes for the lively emanations of Gods Spirit but t is a gross error the approaches of the Spirit