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	saint_n	6,082	5	5.8116	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A95679	Gainsayer convinced: or, An answer to a certain scandalous paper, subscribed and sent by certain seduced and seditious people to a minister in the countrey: in which the calling of the ministry of the Church of England, the nature of a visible church, the power of the magistrate under the gospel, the right of tithes, with many other points now in controversie, are briefly, fully and plainly cleared, to the satisfaction of those that are wavering; also much of the spirit and many of the errours of the Anabaptists of these daies (who call themselves saints) discovered and confuted. / By T.T. Preacher of the word at Kemble in Wiltshire.	Thache, Thomas, b. 1616 or 17.	1649 (1649)	Wing T827; Thomason E568_1; ESTC R206240	79,821	83

Spirit If you call this a disowning of the Saints meetings to communicate to each other the things of God a discouraging of others from them and discountenancing of Saints practise we leave it to God Angels and men to judge betwixt you and us And truly seeing these are those last times in which there are many Antichrists abroad as St. John 1 Ep 2. Ch 18. I know not any counsell that can be more seasonable to you your selves then this if the Lord would give you hearts to receive and embrace it Your 12th branch is very large a great deal of Riffraff raked up together to make one dunghill much of the same stuffe that hath been spoken to before the fruits of that spirit that reigns in the Saints of these times I shall passe by and turn over as I promised you all your raylings and revilings and shall endeavour to answer a●l that deserves an Answer Paper In the beginning you cannot but wonder you say at our contradictions in that we would make the world beleeve that we are like to suffer the losse of all and to be brought to prisons nay stakes for our consciences by the Sectaries and yet condemne them at the same time for endeavouring a prodigious tolleration of all Religions what a strange contradiction is here say you Ans Have ye not read the story in 1 King 12. 13. how Jeroboam suffered all the people of Israel to go a whoring after the Calves which he erected at Dan and Bethel and that when the man of God came out of Judah to cry against his Altar upon which he offered to his Calves Jeroboam stretched out his hand against him and cryed out Lay hold on him We need not use many arguments to make the world beleeve that we are like to suffer the losse of all to be brought to Prisons and Stakes and that for our consciences The world sees it sufficiently that some of us have already been brought to prisons and some are now in prison and this not without losse and all have been threatned if not with stakes yet with as cruell deaths and all this onely for our consciences Again on the other fide that there is a Tolleration of all Religions endeavoured Heaven and Earth do see and surely this is prodigious and we may here cry out as the Lord by the mouth of the Prophet Jerem 2. 12. Be astonished Oye heavens at this and be ye horribly afraid be ye very desolate saith the Lord. Now if you will wonder wonder not that we speak of such contradictions when ye see such contradictions acted wonder at these things Paper But you undertake in the next place to justifie these proceedings where you positively say that we are indeed of no religion and so not to be tollerated by them Ans Doth this sound like the charity of Saints you are of no Religion let me a little look upon your names that have subscribed this Thomas Clutterbuck William Burge Giles Handcox Thomas Sheapheard Caleb Self c. one while you say we are Antichristian here we are of no Religion neither we nor our people nor our Churches can in this estate be judged to be so much as Christians What can any Devill in Hell say worse against us then this if we denyed the true God and whom he hath sent Jesus Christ if we denied every Article of the Christian Faith if we were the most damned Hereticks under Heaven what could you say more of us then this that we are indeed of no Religion you Thomas or William or Giles will you make this good to any one of us that we are of no Religion Certainly this uncharitablenesse is above all example monstrous Calumnies invented by Pagans against Christians have not been so horrible It could hardly have been imagined that the Devil himself had been able to have led any reasonable creatures into such an excesse of impudency and slander unto such unchristian-like reproaches yet these men would fain be accounted The Saints Well take heed lest while you run on in these wayes you hear old Jacobs words Cursed be their wrath for it was feirce and their rage for it was cruell Paper Again you are of no Religion which indeed is true Ans Freinds have ye not heard of nor read the stories of John of Leyden Kinpperdollin and David George Those famous or rather infamous Anabaptists and of the pranks they play'd in Germany and whither the Lord suffered Satan to lead those proud hypocrites who in their own eyes were such holy Saints as they could not but in the tendernesse of their consciences separate from the best reformed Churches of Christ as being of no Religion how they apostatized from that religion and service which the Scripture prescribed how they did put away baptisme the Lords Supper and the preaching of the Word and perswaded many poore ignorant people to follow their pernicious wayes to their destruction drawing them along after the directions of these new Prophets have ye not heard of these things whether or no the same spirit which was the author of that Anabaptisme and under that of all other their prodigious and horrible impieties in Germany doth not now make his appearance in England and walk amongst us I leave to all to judge who have but half an eye open and are any whit acquainted with those stories out of pitie and compassion and meer love to your souls the Lord knows I beg and pray for you that you be not taken captive in those snares Paper Again you are of no Religion which indeed is true Ans Of no Religion we acknowledge the onely true God Father Son and holy Ghost for our God and he hath acknowledged us to be his people he hath taken us into Covenant with him we beleeve that he hath given his Son Jesus Christ to dye for our sins and that he is risen again for our justification we enjoy union and communion with him in grace here being spiritually and mystically yet really and inseparably joyned to Christ as our Head and Husband we pertake of the virtue of his mediation in our justification adoption sanctification we live in expectation of everlasting communion with our head Christ Jesus in that glory of heaven the first fruits of which glory with Christ is communicated to us in this life as we are members of him our head and so in him are interessed in that glory which he is fully possest of And as an earnest thereof we enjoy the sence of Gods love peace of conscience joy in the holy Ghost and hope of glory and whilest we continue here in this life in the communion of Saints the Lord hath given us the presence the help and support of his own Spirit to teach guide direct and enable us to and to support us in his worship fear and service which we desire and endeavour to perform according to that rule which he hath given us for our faith and obedience in his holy Word All

THE GAINSAYER CONVINCED OR An Answer to a certain scandalous Paper subscribed and sent by certain seduced and seditious People to a Minister in the Countrey IN WHICH The Calling of the Ministry of the Church of England the Nature of a visible Church the Power of the Magistrate under the Gospel the right of Tithes with many other Points now in controversie are briefly fully and plainly cleared to the satisfaction of those that are wavering also much of the spirit and many of the Errours of the Anabaptists of these daies who call themselves Saints discovered and confuted By T. T. Preacher of the Word at Kemble in Wiltshire 1 JOHN 2. 26. These things have I written unto you concerning those that seduce you 1 COR 14. 37 38. If any man think himself to be a Prophet or spirituall let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. But if any be ignorant let him be ignorant 1 TIM 6. 3 4 5. If any man teach otherwise and consent not to wholsome words even the words of our Lord Iesus Christ and to the doctrine which is according to godlinesse He is proud knowing nothing ●●t doting about questions and strifes of words whereof cometh envy stri●e railings evil surmisings Perverse disputings of men of corrupt mindes and destitute of the truth supposing that gain in godlinesse From such withdraw thy self LONDON Printed for Tho. Vnderhill at the Bible in Woodstreet 1649. TO the Inhabitants of the Town of CIRENCESTER Grace Mercy Peace and Love be multiplied through the knowledge of God and our Lord Jesus Christ Beloved THese are the last and perillous times which the Apostle speaks of wherein 2 Tim. 3. 1 2 3. men do abound in all clo●ked corruptions having a form and shew of godlinesse but denying the truth and power of it many give Christ but Iudas kisse saying Hall Gospel but doe betray it There is a Scylla and Charibdis two gul●s that are almost full to the brim of the bloud of souls On one hand ignorance impiety prophanesse drunkennesse chambering and wantonnesse strife and envy c. These open vices like a floud carry down to hell multitudes of souls on the other hand there is a more subtle device of Satan whereby many thousands are destroied heresies errours blasphemies schisms under the colour of truth and more then ordinary devotion eat like a gangreen and canker and run like a plague from city to city town to town family to family person to person to the overspreading of the 2 Tim. ●● whole land and that without any remedy Now the losse of so many thousand souls which prophanesse and errours do daily destroy will cry for judgement to heaven against those who use not all their endeavours to stop these mischiefs and to apply what remedy lies in them to these heavy evils Those in the state that regard it not may in due time finde the civill inconvenience of the toleration of or conniving at these things But the Lord forbid that any of the Lords Watchmen should be Gallios in this to care for none of these things that the losse of souls and the flourishing of Satans kingdome should not touch their hearts For my own part I must seriously confesse I am so conscious to my self of my many wants and infirmities that I was very willing to content myself to approve my doctrine to God and the consciences of my d●ar people committed to me for whom I daily be●ge of the Lord that he would preserve them as blest be his holy Name he hath done hitherto from the infection of these times But being invited by your pious painfull worthy and faithfull Minister and by many of you to bestow my pains sometimes amongst you on your lecture day I could not refuse And being very sensible and apprehensive of your perill by reason of some that are crept in amongst you and have already drawn away some of your town from your Minister and indeed as appears in their following paper which you may hereafter reade from Ministry and publike Ordinances I could not but doe what did lie in the fathom of my power to prevent the imminent danger of your souls by endeavouring to discover some of their deceits I endeavoured with what clearnesse I was able to speak a word in season to every soul and to hold forth to you from the Lamps of the Word some r●ies of divine light for your direction in these dark and misty daies wherein 't is as hard for many poor souls to finde out duty as to vanquish difficulty You were my witnesses with God that I delivered rothing but the words of truth and sobernesse but 't is hard for whosome doctrines and seasonable reproofs to finde an open and obedient eat in these daies wherein there are so many itching ears abroad for you may reade in the following paper sent to me how many have charged me which rayling faction sedition c. and yet I am confident most of them never heard me in those Sermons But had the paper charged or asper●ed me only I should have endeavoured with patience and silence to have put up any thing but finding the truth so charged as you shall finde it in their paper by them I thought it might be my sinne to be silent and to sit down and not contend for that Therefore I was willing to set pen to paper and to take a little pains to vindicate and clear both the truth and my self from those false aspersions and scandals cast upon it and me I was resolved to have sent them in my answer in writing only privately and the Lord knows how unwilling I was to appear in publick but being overperswaded by many godly judicious friends and brethren who had the perusall both of their paper and my answer that the publishing of it might conduce much to the clearing of the truth to many poor sons who are in these daies miserably pusled by seducers in the things herein objected against us and answered to the glory of God and the good of the Church of Christ in directing and informing some convincing others and pulling others out of the snares of Satan in which they lay captive being I say upon these ground● importuned by them I could not deny the printing of it And if it may by Gods blessing have any of these eff●cts upon any though some may scoff and scorn yet I shall not repent the publishing Now because the occasion of this work was given amongst you because the gainsayers herein answered do live among you and are your neighbours with whom you have daily converse and hereby your souls are in much danger of being 〈…〉 infected with the same errours with which they are carried away so he●dlong In compassion to your souls I desire to dedicate this my answer and labour to you for the preserving of you from further infection and enabling you to resist those tempters you may meet with

among you Your loving acceptance of my former pains and labours in preaching amongst you assures me that this also will with the same love be accepted and received by you as 't is in love presented to you from me I shall speak no more to you at present but the rest I shall speak to God for you that he would sanctifie all means both preaching and printing for the converting of those that are unconverted amongst you for the preserving those that are yet sound for the recalling and restering those that are gone astray and are seduced to live in errour and for the performing of that good work which is begun in any of you that the God of all grace would make you perfect stablish strengthen and settle you and preserve you by his own Pet. 5. 10. power through faith unto salvation If your souls reap any benefit by any of my poor endeavours let the Lord alone receive all the glory and praise all that I shall desire of you is that which Paul so earnestly desired of the Romans I beseech you Brethren 〈◊〉 15. 30. for the Lord Jesus Christ his sake and for the love of the Spirit that ye strive together with me in your praiers to God for me And let me be known to you as one whose desires praiers and endeavouss have been are and by Gods grace shall be to the the utmost in my sphaear for the making up of the divisions that are amongst you and the building up of your souls in your most holy faith Ever resting The Churches and your servant though the weakest and unworthiest of all in the work of the Gospel Th. Th. To the Reader Friendly Reader SEeing divine Providence hath made it my lot and a calling hath induced me who am lesse then the least of all the servants of Christ to appear among others in the cloud of publike witnesses to the truth of Iesus Christ I desire for thy better satisfaction to give thee a word or two of the occasion of these sheets coming abroad Whosoever thou art thou canst not but know that we live in times wherein diversities of opinions are blown with all license by the spirit of errour over all the land to the great dishonour of God and the indangering of mens salvation And that there are many Simons abroad who though they are but sorcerers doyet give out of themselves that they are some great ones and many people give heed to them as to the great power of God though indeed as Paul said of his Galatians they are but bewitcht by them that they should not obey the truth By these men the way of truth is evill spoken of the Ministers of Christ brought into contempt and despight the Ordinances of God slieghted and cast off all the truths of the Gospet miserably invaded by them and the sons of thousands poisoned and perverted This is certainly an hour of darknesse wherein all sorts of devils are crept out of their dens and walk familiarly amongst us and hinc lachrimae O that we could weep tears of bloud and sigh to the breaking of our loins for this that we could smite with the hand and stamp with the foot and cry out Alas for this that there are no Orders nor Acts made no new Laws made nor old Laws execu●ed for the restraining punishing preventing of the spreading of the most cursed heresies errours and blasphemies that ever bell hatcht or heaven or ear●h heard of But that under a cursed pretence of conscience and liberty our poor Church and Kingdome should be a quiet habitation for all the devils in bell Surely these are dales wherein the saith of Gods people needs all props that either praier or preaching pulott or presse publike or private instructions or admonitions can afford them And nothing is more necessary in these times then a spirit of discerning whereby we may be enabled to know chaff from wheat gold from drosse a serpent from a Saint A●●ichrist from Christ And surely it errours were set out In their true clear and live●y shape that they might be seen as they are in themselves without any di●guise their bare and unmasked face would be very ugly and abominable to judicious and intelligent mindes Now in the ensuing pages thou shall finde First Satan appearing as an Angel of l●ght whilst he is in a great shew of zeal ralling against the truth And in the answer thou host his mask so far taken off that thou maist plainly perceive him to be the Prince of darknesse The Occasion both of that Paper and my answer was this Being cald to preach in the Lecture at ●ir●●●ester where with grief of soul I think of it and speak it Satan hath been suffered exceedingly to prevail of late with many to the sucking in of most grievous errours The Paper which thou wilt see here subscribed by no lesse then ten being a sad Testimony of this I being directed by Providence to preach upon the latter part of the 2 d verse of the 2 d chapter of the Revelation viz Thou hast tried them which say they are Apostles and are not and hast found them lyars The prosecution of the severall doctrines raised from the words some seemed to be offended at as 〈◊〉 I had preached untruths persecuted the Saints c. I hearing of this offence taken though none given when God brought me to preach among them again in my next turn I preacht upon the same text again and publikely desired the Congregation that if I had or should deliver any thing in which they were not fully satisfied that they would either speak there or come to me ere I went out of the town and I shou'd in all love and willingnesse endeavour to satisfie them not one of them ever come to me but continued still to revile and slander me and those truths that had been delivered I being enformed of this by their worthy Minister Mr Gregory could do no lesse but write to one of them who seem'd to be somewhat offended and made often complaints to their Minister about it which Letter I had here in the first place given you but that I had no copy of it and I know not how to gain it out of their hands again But I appeal to God and to their own conscien●es whether it was not written in expressions of sobernesse love and meeknesse and whether there were any passage in that which might justly give any offence to any of Gods people I desired him to whom I wrote in that Letter to set down under his hand seeing be refused to come in person to me what or wherein the offence was which they had taken or what it was that so much troubled them And I there engaged my self to endeavour a sati●faction and a clearing of all their doubts to the utmost of my power in a loving and brotherly way This M. Rudge for to him I wrote communicated this Letter to some others of that faction who as it

according to the Institution of Jesus Christ and his Apostles this I shall do when I hear what you have to say against it and if you have any shame left in you which you professe to have I hope the Lord will then help you to be ashamed of and confounded for all the abominable slanders you have cast upon it and to be ashamed and confounded in your selves for that you have so causlesly and sinfully separated from it and have fallen from the Ordinances and Institutions of Christ to the practise of those new ones that never had ground or being other then in the vain and foolish speculations of some newly inspired men Paper As for your tenth branch which is nothing but sinfull raylings and revilings I shall not look upon that as worth times and words to answer You call us men of blinde zeal you say we are desperate and damnable in opinions and practises That most of our own cloth and calling are Malignants Prelaticall drunkards swearers lyars hypocrites that we are most against those that are most conscientious and greatest friends to prophanenesse and prophane ones c. a roll of Shemei's and Rabshekah's language the Lord help you to see your wickednesse in it and to repent that your iniquity may be pardoned and forgiven by the Lord for my part I forgive you freely Ans I shall onely ask you how you would take it to have your Argument turned upon you Thus Some new Lights Separatists and Independents are raylers revilers slanderers swearers drunkards lyars follow all abominations if one should say such are some of you therefore you are all such and to be condemned for such how would you like the conclusion Now remember Christs rule Whatsoever you would that men should do unto you even so do you unto them for this is the Law and the Prophets Onely I shall speak one word to that which you call to witnesse some of us to be lyars openly in Pulpits because that will turn the lye upon your selves That is Dry Baptisme that was once publickly mentioned in a Pulpit to be amongst you Now pray tell me if you may not give it that name what name do you give to this ordinance practised amongst you instead of baptizing an Infant to pray over it onely and to give it a name without the use of any water either by dipping or sprinkling tell me I say I shall be glad to be informed by you what do you call this ordinance where is your ground for it your primitive institution which you professe to stick to Is this orderly or disorderly walking I dare be so bold to say that this hath no ground in Scripture either from rule or practice precept or president from Christ or his Apostles nor in any of the Churches of Christ till these late times which every day like Africa bring forth some new Monster yet that this hath been lately practised amongst you will be made good to your faces by those who were eye and ear witnesses and therefore you need not to take so much snuff at this Paper In your 11 th place you say you cannot but dislike our disowning of the Saints meeting to communicate to each other of the things of God being as clear a command of Christs under the Gospel as any other but you say we discountenance the practice that we may keep men in ignorance c. Ans Here 's another grosse slander when will this mouth of lyes be stopped did you ever hear any of us dislike or disown the meeting of Saints to communicate to each other the things of God when or where did we ever discountenance such a practice who * See I am 4 11 12. are you that you dare judge other men thus as to say it is our endeavour and practice to keep men in ignorance and blindnesse can you answer this to God The Lord will one day judge you for this judging and you will have the same measure meted to you are you the men that call your meetings the meetings of Saints look upon every branch of your rayling Paper and deal truly with your own souls judge your selves that ye may not be condemned doth any part of it savour of a Saints spirit or of the things of God if this be Saintship the Devil is a Saint he is a lyar a rayler a false accuser the accuser of the brethren and whether there be not much of these things in your invective I leave it to God and to the world to judge ye make it appear to the world in it what spirit ye are of and what Saints ye are Again for the meeting of Saints for those ends you speak of I here tell you again that we do own it countenance it exhort to it commend it practise it but what we dislike and must disown and discourage our people from that I likewise tell you viz The following after those who having a form of godlinesse creep into houses and lead captive silly women laden with sins and led away with divers lusts 2 Tim. 3. 5 6. Again we call to them to mark those which cause divisions and offences contrary to the Doctrine which they have learned and to avoid them For they that are such serve not the Lord Jesus but their own bellies and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple Rom. 16. 17 18. Again we call to them to remember Christs words and to take his counsell If any man shall come unto you and say Lo here is Christ or there beleeve it not For there shall arise false Christs and false Prophets and shall shew great signes and wonders in so much that if it were possible they shall deceive the very elect Wherefore if they shall say unto you Behold he is in the desart go not forth Behold he is in the secret chambers beleeve it not Matth. 24. 23 24. 26. We call to our people to remember the Apostle Peters words who tels us that as there were false Prophets amongst the Jews there shall be false teachers amongst us which shall bring in damnable heresies that many shall follow their pernicious wayes by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evill spoken of And through covetousnesse shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you These he describes to be such as despise government Prosumptu us are they self-willed they are not afraid to speak evill of dignities 2 Pet. 2. 1 2 3 and 10. verses Again we desire them to remember the counsell and direction of St. Jude who exhorts the Saints to contend earnestly for the faith that was once de●ivered to the Saints For he saith there are certain men crept in unawares who were before of old ordained to this condemnation He likewise does describe them to be men that despise dominion and speak evill of dignities that they are wanding starres that they are mockers and these are they saith he that separate themselves sensuall having not the