Selected quad for the lemma: love_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
love_n	aaron_n	call_v	moses_n	35	3	6.4149	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A42781	Demonologia sacra, or, A treatise of Satan's temptations in three parts / by Richard Gilpin.	Gilpin, Richard, 1625-1700.	1677 (1677)	Wing G777; ESTC R8221	552,054	651

the high flown straines of it Montanus as vile as he was had the confidence to call himself the Comforter Novatus and his Brother would be no less than Moses and Aaron The Gnosticks called themselves the Illuminati The Swinkfieildians assumed the title of the Confessors of the Glory of Christ The Family of Love had their Evangelium Regni the Gospel of the Kingdom The Fratricelli distinguished themselves from others by the term Spiritual Muntzer asserted That all of his Opinion were Gods Elect and that all the Children of their Religion were to be called the Children of God and that all others were ungodly and designed to Damnation H. Nicholas affirms That there was no knowledg of Christ nor Scripture but in his Family To this purpose most of them speak that forsake the wayes of Truth and though these swellings are but wind and vapour yet those heights are very serviceable to the Devils purposes who by this means confirms those whom he hath already Conquered and then fits them out with the greater confidence to allure others and Men are apt enough to be drawn by fair shews and confident boastings But I proceed The third Stratagem of Satan for promoting Errour is to astonish Men with strange Language and affected expressions It was an old device of Satan to coyn an unintelligible gibberish as the proper vehicle of strange Enthusiasticks Doctrine and this he artificially suits to his pretended Mysteries without this his rare Discoveries would be too flat and dull to gain upon any Man of competent understanding For if these Dotages were cloathed in plain words they would either appear to be direct non-sence or ridiculous folly It concerns him when he hath any feats of Delusion in hand to set them off with a canting speech as juglers use their hard words of Ailif Casyl Zaze Presto Millat c. to put their ignorant Admirers into a belief of some unknown power by which they do their Wonders And this is in some sort necessary extraordinary matters are above expression and such wild expressions put Men into an expectation of things sublime This knack Satan hath constantly used Montanus had his strange Speeches And all along downward to our times we may observe That Errour hath had this gaudy dress the Familists especially abound with it you may read whole Books full of such a kind of speaking as the Book called Theologia Germanica or German Divinity the Books of Jacob Behmen The bright Morning Star c. Neither are the Papists free one of late hath taken the paines to shew them this and other follies among them you may find such talk as this of being beclosed in the mid-head of God and in his meek-head of being substantially united to God of being oned to God as also of the abstractedness of Life of passive Vnions of the Deiform fund of the Soul of a state of introversion of a Super-essential life a state of nothingness c. Just like the raveings of H. Nicholas David George and others who confidently discourse of being godded with God of being consubstantiated with the Deity and of Gods being manned with them I have oft considered what reason might be given for the takeingness of such expressions and have been forced to satisfie my self with these First Many mistake the knowledge of words for the knowledge of things And well may poor ignorant Men believe they have attained no man knows what by this device when among Learned Men the Knowledg of words is esteemed so great a pitch of Learning and they nourish a great many Controversies that are only verbal Secondly Some are pleased to be accounted Vnderstanders by others and rest in such high words as a badge of Knowledge Thirdly Some are delighted with such an hard Language upon an hope That it will lead them to the knowledg of the things at last they think strange expressions are a sign of deep Mysteries I knew one that set himself to the reading of Jacob Behmens Books though at present he confessed he was scarce able to make common sense of three lines together upon a secret enticement that he had from the Language to come to some excellent discovery by much pains and reading Fourthly Some that have their Fancies heated have by this means broken confused impressions of strange things in their imaginations and conceive themselves to know things beyond what common Language can express as if with Paul rapt up into the third Heaven they hear and see Wonders unutterable But what reason soever prevails with Men to take up such a way of speaking Satan makes them believe that it containes a rich Mine or Treasury not of common Truths but of extraordinary Profundities Fourthly In stead of Argument to confirm an Errour sometimes we have only bold Assertions that it is Truth and a confident condemning the contrary as an Errour urging the danger of Mens rejecting it backed with threatning of Hell and Damnation and all this in the words of Scripture To be sure they are right and all other Men are wrong This kind of confidence and fierceness hath been still the complexion of any remarkable way of Delusion for that commonly confines their Charity to their own Party which is a great token of an Errour not only may you observe in such extraordinary Proclamations of Wrath against those that will not believe them a practice used by the Mad Fanaticks of Munster who as our Quakers were wont to do go up and down the streets crying Wo wo Repent repent come out of Babylon the heavy Wrath of God the Axe is laid to the root of the Tree But in their more setled Teaching they pronounce all to be Antichrist and of the carnal Church that do oppose them Take for this H. Nicholas his words all Knowledg besides his is but witchery and blindness and all other Teachers and Learners are a false Christianity and the Devils Synagogue a nest of Devils and wicked Spirits a false Being the Antichrist the Kingdom of Hell the Majesty of the Devil c. This piece of Art not only our Quakers to whom nothing is more familiar than to say to any opposer Thou art Damn'd thou art in the Gall of bitterness the Lake of fire and brimstone is prepared for thee c. but also the Papists commonly practise who shut all out of Heaven that are not of their Church and when they would affright any from Protestanism they make not nice to tell him That there is no possibility of Salvation but in their way The Reasons of this Policy are these 1 The Heart is apt to be startled with threatnings and moved by commands especially those that are of a more tender and frightful Spirit and though they know nothing by themselves yet these beget fears which may secretly betray Reason and make Men leave the right way because of affrightment 2 The confidence of the Assertors of such things hath also its prevalency for Men are apt to think that

frightful thoughts about it so that we judg of it according to our fears and make it frightful to our selves as if it would be to no purpose rather a mischief than an advantage 2. Sometime our satisfaction ariseth from some special token of Favour which our indulgent Father le ts fall upon us while we are in his work As when he gives us more than ordinary assistance or puts Joy and Comfort into our Hearts And this he often doth to make us come again and to engage afresh in the same or other services as having tasted and seen that the Lord is gracious and that there is a blessedness in waiting for him As in our Bodies he so orders it that the concocted juices become a successive Ferment to those that succeed from our daily Meat and Drink So from Duties performed doth he beget and continue Spiritual Appetite to new undertakings But O how sadly is all this hindered by the disquiet of the Heart The Graces of Faith and Love are usually obstructed if not in their Exercise yet in their delightful Fruits and if God offer a kindness inward sorrow hinders the perception As when Moses told the Israelites of their deliverance they hearkned not for hard bondage If a message of Peace present it self in a Promise or some consideration of Gods merciful disposition yet usually this is not credited Job confesseth so much of himself Job 19. 16. If I had called and he had answered me yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my Voice David also doth the like Psal 77. 2 3. My Soul refuseth to be comforted I remember God and was troubled Matter of greatest comfort is often so far from giving ease that it augments the trouble However the Heart is so hurried with its fears and discomposed with grief that it cannot hearken to nor consider nor believe any kind offer made to it By all these ways doth the Devil through the disquiet of Mind unfit the Lord's People for Duty and what a sad advantage this is against us cannot easily be told By this means he may widen the distance betwixt God and us keep our Wounds open make us a reproach to Religion And what not But 3. By these disquiets he pusheth us on to reject all duties for when he hath tyred us out by wearisom endeavours under so great indispositions and unfitness he hath a fair advantage to tempt us to lay all aside Our present posture doth furnish him with arguments he forgeth his Javelings upon our Anvil and they are commonly these three 1. That duties are difficult And this is easily proved from our own experience while we are broken or bowed down with sorrows we make many attempts for duty and are oft beat off with loss our greatest toil helps us but to very inconsiderable performances hence he infers 'T is foolishness to attempt that which is above our strength better sit still then toil for nothing 2. That they are unfruitful and this is our own complaint for troubled Spirits have commonly great expectations from duties at first and they run to them as the impotent and sick people to the Pool of Bethesda with thoughts of immediate ease as soon as they shall step into them but when they have tryed and waited a while siretching themselves upon duty as Elisha's Servant laid the Staff upon the Face of the Shunamites Son and yet there is no voice nor hearing no answer from God no peace then are they presently disatisfied reflecting on the Promises of God and the Counsels of good Men with this Where is all the pleasantness you speak of what advantage is it that we have thus run and laboured when we have got nothing and then 't is easy for the Devil to add And why do you wait on the Lord any longer 3. His last and most dangerous argument is that they are sinful Unfitness for Duty produceth many distractions much deadness wandering thoughts great interruptions and pittiful performances Hence the troubled Soul comes off from duty wounded and halting more distressed when he hath done than when he began upon these considerations that all his service was sin a mocking of God a taking his name in vain nay a very blasphemous affront to a divine Majesty Upon this the Devil starts the question to his Heart whether it be not better to forbear all Duty and to do nothing Thus doth Satan improve the trouble of the mind and often with the designed success For a dejected Spirit doth not only afford the materials of these Weapons which the Devil frames against it but is much prepared to receive them into its own Bowels The grounds of these Arguments it grants and the inferences are commonly consented to so that ordinarily duty is neglected either 1. Through sottishness of Heart or 2. Through frightful fears Or 3. Through desperateness bringing a Man to the very precipice of that Atheistical determination I have cleansed my hands in vain 4. Satan makes use of the troubles of Gods Children as a stumbling-block to others 'T is no small advantage to him that he hath hereby an occasion to render the ways of God unlovely to those that are beginning to look Heaven-ward he sets before them the Sighs Groans Complaints and restless Out-cries of the wounded in Spirit to scare them off from all seriousness in Religion and whispers this to them Will you chuse a Life of Bitterness and Sorrow can you eat Ashes for Bread and mingle your Drink with Tears will you exchange the comforts and contents of Life for a melancholly Heart and a dejected countenance how like you to go Mourning all the day and at night to be scared with Dreams and terrified with Visions will you chuse a Life that is worse than Death and a condition which will make you a terrour to your selves and a burthen to others can you be in love with an heart loaden with grief and perpetual fears almost to distraction while you see others in the mean time enjoy themselves in a contented peace Thus he follows young beginners with his suggestions making them believe that they cannot be serious in Religion but at last they will be brought to this and that 't is a very dangerous thing to be religious overmuch and the high way to dispair So that if they must have a Religion he readily directs them to use no more of it than may consist with the pleasures of Sin and the World and to make an easy business of it not to let Sin lye over-near their Heart lest it disquiet them nor over-much to concern themselves with Study Reading Prayer or hearing of threatning awakening Sermons lest it make them Mad nor to affect the sublimities of Communion with God exercises of Faith and Divine Love lest it discompose them and dash their worldly Jollities out of Countenance A Counsel that is readily enough embraced by those that are almost perswaded to be Christians and the more to confirm them in it he