A92141:1439
Influences of the life of grace
Influences of the life of grace. Or, A practical treatise concerning the way, manner, and means of having and improving of spiritual dispositions, and quickening influences from Christ the resurrection and the life. By Samuel Rutherfurd, Professor of Divinity in the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.Influences of the life of grace. Or, A practical treatise concerning the way, manner, and means of having and improving of spiritual dispositions, and quickning influences from Christ the resurrection and the life. By Samuel Rutherfurd, Professor of Divinity in the Vniversity of St. Andrews in Scotland.
London: printed by T.C. for Andrew Crook, 1659
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
5. The fifth Class of impediments come from these two. 1. Despair and anger.
What workings and saving impulsions in the spirit can be in Cain, Saul, and Judas, is not conceivable. Hope ⟨p. 422⟩that makes not ashamed, Rom. 5. as is said, dwells sweetly with the spirit.
2. The violence of the passion of anger overclouds the soul,1 so that Elisha is not capable to receive prophetical influences, and to prophesy, he was so incensed against wicked Jehoram, 2 Kings 3. But when the minstrel played, the hand of the Lord came upon him, and he prophesied. Theodoret saith, with the sweetness of the harmony of the Psalms the mind of Elisha was calmed and composed from the storm of anger. 2The sound of music (saith Cajetan) makes an inward contracting and gathering together of the actings of the mind, and so an elevating of the heart to God. Here it is, as when blood runs out at mouth or nose, the cutting of a vein in the arm makes a diversion of the blood, and causes it run in its right channel. The sweetness of music draws the soul to a bended attention to consider the harmony, that it may the more greedily drink in delectation. Peter Martyr on the place saith, As David by singing a spiritual song chased away the evil spirit from Saul, so would Elisha waken up the good spirit by heavenly Psalms, as the sounding of a Trumpet hath influences upon the mind of soldiers to valorous and heroic acts in war. Now music spiritual, the matter being Psalms to God (and it's like Elisha called for some of the Levites who could sing psalms on the harp, as they were used in public worship) can withdraw the soul in anger from acts of revenge to acts of spiritual attention music.