Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	ghost_n	holy_a	joy_n	5,983	5	6.9330	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61456	Ad magistratum three sermons preached before the justices of assize, at Bury-St.-Edmunds in the countie of Suffolk : with sacred hymns upon the Gospels for the hyemal quarter / by Tho. Stephens.	Stephens, Thomas, fl. 1648-1677.	1661 (1661)	Wing S5456; ESTC R26257	67,843	154

distinguish between them some that get into the train and the retinue of Godliness as hatred to our brother attends upon zeal to Gods honour vain glory waits upon hospitable charity So that when we open to entertain the one the other too often creeps in with it which make a Christians life checquer'd Sables and Argent are quartered together Seeing then that malum est ex quolibet defectu bonum non nisi ex causis integris whatsoever is good must be intirely so when any evil circumstance is enough to deprave an action and weaken the power of Godliness no marvail if throughout the world we see so much sh●w and so little substance And truly most men make it their work to live up to opinion not to reality They come unto thee as my people cometh says the Prophet Ezek. 33. 31. and they sit before thee as my people and they hear thy words but they will not do them They come and sit and hear here 's formality enough and thus far we are for them And yet they are not Gods people And would to God all would follow them thus far There are too many amongst us that will not sit as Gods people sit with reverence and adoration and fear before the Lord their King Marlorat interprets the Formalists in my text by a Metaphor fetch'd from images and idols which have the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the resemblance but want the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the life of what they represent which have eyes and see not which have ears and hear not But these do sit and hear that is the voyce of man with the ears of their body not the voyce of God with the ears of their soul. Indeed we live in age when 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the whole body of devotion and religion is hearing like Pliny's monsters whose ears cover all their bodies It is worth observing here that the Prophets complaint is not they kneel and pray but they sit and hear although I know there is too much formality even in our devotions too yet because Gods house is emphatically called an house of prayer a devout deportment of our body there carries much of good example with it were it they sit and pray they would finde too many followers amongst us who dare present themselves before God in our most sacred and mysterious parts of publick worship in that unmannerly posture Our Saviour forwarning us of the practise of Hypocrites which are chiefly designed here in reference to the duty of prayer Mat. 6. 5. describes them by two notable circumstances The first is peculiar to them they pray standing in the Synagogues or publick assemblies The second they borrow from the heathen in using vain repetitions and many words And hath not this age justified their practise where kneeling in the Church of God hath been changed to standing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in comitiis in assemblies and committees where tautologies of Lord Lord have been repeated as long as Baals worshippers cried out O Baal hear us 1 King 18. 27. from morning unto noon Mistake me not I know a devout repetition in publick prayers does inflame our devotion but to lay hold of the sacred name of God till they can take surer footing and know what to speak next if this be not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I confess I know notthemeaning of the phrase The next duty w ch our Saviour pitches upon is that of fasting ver 16. and although the adjunct to Hypocrites there 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of a sad countenance be fully made up in our 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 our fierce men as I lately interpreted the word yet Isaiah leavs these religious duties more directly at our doors Chap. 58. ver 4. ye fast says he for strife and debate and to strike with the fist of wickedness We may all remember what horrid murthers and prodigious rapines have been ushered in by this religious pageantry so that if once they came to an in nomine Domini a seeking of the Lord the people were taught to expect an inundation of mischief overwhelming them It were no difficulty to run a parallel between Hypocrites practises and our own in all those circumstances mentioned by our Saviour But in one we do apparently fall short of this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of this shew of Godliness even of the Pharisees themselves For they hold it as a tradition of the Elders not to eat nor drink nor sacrifice with unwash'd hands which was so general a practise among the heathen that I finde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 washing the hands in Lycophron put for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for sacrificing But God knows we do too often approach Gods altars without washing our hands in innocency nay 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Poets language besmear'd with gore and blood as if we were going to lay a bloody sacrifice upon Gods altar And indeed so great enemies to innocency are we grown of late that we cannot indure any thing that is a badge of it A Surplice affrights us more then garments rolled in blood And if any Minister now should 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a custome says the learned Grotius among all nations for those that officiate in holy offices to be clothed in white I say if any should appear like the angel at our Saviours sepulchre Mat. 28. 3. with raiment white as snow we are ready to cast durt upon it and make it as black by our reviling as the Prince of darkness as if the power of Godliness consisted in opposing all shews and appearance of it The ambition of Satan at first was to be like God Now although he hath lost his happiness yet he retains his vice still he is as ambitious as ever to appear to be like God The sons of God cannot present themselves before the Lord but Satan will crowd in amongst them Iob 2. 1. And this Prince of darkness will work as wonderously in his new lights as Manoahs angel did in the flame Iudg. 13. 19. Eusebius tells us that Simon Magus the first Antichrist appear'd in all power and signes and lying wonders 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doing strange miraculous works by the power of the Devil So that he was reputed a God and had a statue erected to him by Claudius in Rome with this inscription Simoni magno deo to the great god Simon And no wonder that superstitious Rome should do this when even in Samaria where a Church was now planted he was called the great power of God Act. 8. 11. Nay 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 says Eusebius the principal God as his strumpet Helena was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the first cogitation the first Minerva of this Iupiter This great Impostor to make his inchantments gain credit without control makes a shew of Christianity was baptized by Philip desires to buy from the Apostles the power of the Holy Ghost Nay boasted says Irenaeus quod in gētibus quasi spiritus sanctus adventaverit that he had appeared as the Son amongst the Iews that in Samaria he appeared as the Father and in other nations came as the Holy Ghost And truly although the works of the spirit differ from the works of the flesh as much as heaven and hell as much as light and darkness yet many times they are drest up in such properties that they aremistaken one for another How often doth sensual lust mask it self under a pretext of love voluptuousness be reputed joy carnal