Selected quad for the lemma: act_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
act_n	john_n	luke_n	mark_v	4,432	5	10.4916	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A40738	The worlds honour detected, and, for the unprofitableness thereof, rejected, and the honour which comes from God alone, asserted, and reduced to practice, or, Some reasons why the people of God called Quakers, do deny the accustomary honour and salutations of the world ... by a friend to truth, who is no respector or regarder of persons, called a Quaker, B.F.	Furly, Benjamin, 1636-1714.	1663 (1663)	Wing F2541; ESTC R8091	54,243	70

respect used towards each other as certain signs and tokens of the esteem we have in our hearts towards each other which we do hereby express and so the whole is but an indifferent thing which doth not once in the least touch or concern the Conscience or Religion c. Answ. If it be not OF AND FROM GOD call it what you will and do it for what end you will it matters not it is OF AND FROM THE DEVIL for more than two fountains roots or originals from whence all Actions proceed can no man find there is no Third or Mean betwixt Good or of God which is one and evil or of the Devil which is the other it is either a fruit of the Spirit well-pleasing to God or a work of the flesh satisfying the carnal mind either it is of the good root of Faith or of the evil root of Sin For whatsoever is not of Faith IS Sin There 's no middle-place nor middle-nature betwixt these two Is not the very plowing of the wicked sin yea his prayers abomination Or is there indeed any thing else truly considered amongst all the actions of the children of men so indifferent as that they touch not the conscience or concern not the honour and glory or service of God But though I thus enquire yet to this I know its commonly said Yea yea there is nothing more ready and common amongst men than to say to us in this case What do you talk of this of Conscience in these things 't is folly there 's no matter of Conscience in it they are indifferent things putting off the Hat and bowing is but a civil matter in which there is nothing of Religion But I say this is no less than the Antichrist who exalteth himself above all that is called God The very Lucifer that would dissolve the continual everlasting Bond betwixt God and Man and would absolve the creature Man of his Obedience to God his Creator and duty of continually minding the Lord and setting him alwayes before his eyes at least in some things which he termeth indifferent But it was the judgment of one who I believe knew God better than these men That a man ought in all his actions to obey God and not to do any thing but as unto him nay not so much as eat or drink things as indifferent if there were place for such indifferency as any can be and far more indifferent than these baubles of wagging the Hat c. being absolutely necessary to the ordinary conservation of life and being which these idle things cannot once pretend to His Judgment you may read as well as I he is one of sufficient Antiquity and Authority enough even to merit credit with the greatest contenders for and pretenders to Antiquity the Roman Catholicks and may not be slighted by any that have any esteem for Antient Authors His Judgment then I find recorded in a Letter of his written and addressed to his dear Friends the Saints or Church of God at Corinth which being since by the industry of some divided into chapters and verses and there you may read it in his first Letter written to the Corinthians from Philippi chap. 10. ver 31. Whether therefore ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye DO if there can be any thing imagined more indifferent than these things yet do it even that also yea DO all to the glory of God And again in another Epistle of the same Author a faithful Servant Minister and Apostle of Christ written from Rome to the Colossians chap. 3. v. 17. as it is now divided he saith also to them Whatsoever ye do in word or deed do all in the Name of the Lord Iesus c. who spake on this wise to all that would profess his Name If any man will follow me let him deny himself and take up his Cross Daily and follow me as ye may reade it in the history of his life words and actions penned by Matthew chap. 16.24 Mark 10.21 and Luke 9.23 which three Histories with that of Iohn the Acts of the Apostles and the several Letters or Epistles of Paul Peter Iames Iohn Iude and the Revelation are with the Books of the old Testament bound together and called the Law of God and Rule for all Christians to walk by But Oh! that they were found walking in those paths of Holiness there declared of and imbracing from their hearts the Doctrines in them delivered and excelling in the Virtues therein recorded would it not be otherwise with them Surely yea But to this they can never come while estranged from that Spirit who wrought all these things in the Saints for as no Prophecy of old came by the will of man so neither the fulfilling of any of these things in man But to return to the Present case Who can say that he doth thus put off his Hat c. to the honour of God in the Name of the Lord Jesus as a follower of Christ in a cross to himself c. Object But your selves say We must honour all men if so How shall we shew it or what shall be the demonstration thereof A man may tell me that he honours me in his heart when perhaps he hates me how shall I know it unless he shews it forth in his outward man Answ. True a man may pretend honour while envy and hatred is in his heart and no man knoweth what is in the heart of man save the Spirit of man that is in him and 't is not the Hat that doth or can discover man's heart but the Spirit of God We must not therefore set up things for Demonstration which demonstrate nothing at all for a man may make as great a shew of honour with his Hat and his fawning flattering tongue by Titles Complements many Good-morrows and Good-nights c. when he not onely not honours thee but hates thee in his heart and intends thee a mischief and only covers himself under this cloak as the German Proverb hath it Mehr Feind Mehr Ehr. The greater Enemy the more Worship or Honour But let no man trouble himself about the demonstration of Honour for where the true Honour is in the heart it will shew it self enough no fear and where it is not why should any desire a shew of it seeing it can be no more but a bare shew indeed And why any should delight in or desire a shew without substance I know not unless to verifie the Proverb Populus vult decipi People love to be deceived Obj. But may we then use no external actions or gestures to demonstrate this honour by Answ. Yea but it must then be by such things or actions as proceed from the true honour are agreeable to it and inseparable from it which may bring clear demonstration with them else 't is but in vain for as good not at all as to no purpose He that useth a thing to this or that end which cannot answer the end intended labours in

his Disciples to inform them that their Salutations or the demonstration of their Love Honour or Respect Esteem and Good-will to men which was to hold forth the Peace of God to men to do good to all to bless and pray for them c. ought to extend beyond their empty Salutations to their Friends only to All to Enemies to those that hated and persecuted them for their love and good-will and herein stood or consisted their Perfection above all other men their likeness to their heavenly Father and not in such fond manners as the Pharisees and Publicans and the modern Salutations and Complements Of which there would be no end if by these words every man were bound to put off his Hat and bid Good-morrow and Good-night Sir or Mistris to every man or woman he should meet betwixt Aldgate in London and Whitehall in Westminster for all that he meets are either Friends and Brethren or not But Friends Christ did not only say to his Apostles Salute but he also taught them how when who where and upon what occasions they should salute So we shall now try and compare your Salutations to the Apostles Salutations that so you may see how unreasonably you infer your self-invented Salutations from the Salutation of the Apostles 1. Then The Apostles saluted by command from the Lord with a Salutation which had no correspondence with that manner of Salutation then used by the world Therefore ye salute with a Salutation contrary to the Command of the Lord which is wel-pleasing to the world yea their own invention 2. The Apostles when they came into a City or Village were to enquire who were worthy and to salute such only Therefore ye salute all good and bad worthy and unworthy if not too poor 3. The Apostles saluted that worthy house when they entered into it but were expresly forbidden to salute any man upon the way Therefore ye salute upon the way Streets Markets or any other publick place And though Christ reproved it in the Pharisees that 's no matter 4. The Apostles entring into that worthy house and saluting it saluted it thus saying Peace be to this house See Mat. 10.13 Luke 10.5 Therefore ye salute any man upon the Street or Market by bowing doffing the Hat and saying Good-morrow Sir Good-night Madam Your Servant or humble Servant Madam every man according to the mode he judgeth best What fine consequences are these O ye unchristian wresters Christ commanded his Apostles to salute and expresly informed them how and gave them their Salutation which was perfectly abstracted from all honouring or worshipping of mens persons far removed from all shew of worldly pomp estate and respect of persons flat contrary to the worlds customs and manners and a cross to them and ye reject that and set up another manner of Salutation every way correspondent with the worlds manners and wel-pleasing to their vain minds yea the very device of their own brain And herein all Sects agree to follow the worlds manners and traditions though they call the Scripture their Rule But would the Bishops approve of this Argument from the Papists Christ said Go teach all Nations baptizing them c. Therefore we besides Water use Salt Spittle and the Chrism making three Crosses one in the Name of the Father one in the Name of the Son and a third in the Name of the Holy Ghost O nay we should then assuredly hear that Christ had not only commanded to baptize but he had taught wherewith viz. with fair Water only Now would the Presbyterian admit of that as proof for the Episcopal Priests crossing the Infant in the forehead nor the Baptist for the Presbyterian or Independents sprinkling water in the face of an Infant and calling it the Baptism of Christ Nay nay then and in this case they would say Christ did not only command his Disciples to baptize but he told them who viz. Believers not Infants wherewith viz. with or rather in water alone and how viz. by dipping or plunging the body under water and not by sprinkling a little water in the face But they are also mistaken for this neither is nor ever was the Baptism of Christ no more than the Circumcision outward was Christ's he was Minister of another Circumcision and Author of another Baptism he baptizeth in another Water which washeth not away the filth of the flesh outward but washeth and cleanseth the inward parts and circumciseth or cutteth off the foreskin of the heart of which the outward Circumcision and Baptism were in their times figures and types the one by Moses the other by Iohn the Baptist both Servants but this is the Lord from Heaven and as he is so is his Ministration and Operation heavenly spiritual and invisible and so is his Kingdom and not of this world He that is wise will understand these things but fools will despise knowledge But to return to the Salutation I say in this all parties can satisfie them in the practice of a thing for Salutation and urge the Scripture and Command of Christ for it when as amongst the Apostles and Disciples of old such practices were never used as their Salutation who always walked in a cross to the wayes manners and customs of the world And then also use it towards people whom the Apostles were not to salute for they saluted none in any City or Village where they entered with Peace save onely such as were represented to them upon enquiry as worthy But ye all bid Good-morow Good-night c. to every one of your acquaintance worthy or unworthy Gamsters Drunkards Adulterers Harlots Proud Covetous Ambitious persons such as live in pleasures who are not worthy the Name of Christians yea there is none so unworthy but he is worthy enough to receive your Salutation from which there is no other bar but Poverty Obj. But say some The Primitive Christians did not salute as ye pretend by vertue of a particular command to each of them as the Apostles had but it was a custom amongst them so to do as appears from the second Epistle of John to the elect Lady and her children saying If any man cometh unto you and bringeth not this Doctrine the Doctrine of Christ receive him not into your house neither bid him God speed or salute him not as the same word is rendred in Acts 15. and James 1. By which say they it appears they saluted by custom without waiting for a command or motion to it Answ. The contrary appears from the very words that they were expresly forbidden to salute any by custom as you do but to try before they saluted so that their Salutation stood not in a custom of saluting all they met or all that came to them but only such as abode in the unity of the Spirit of Christ and brought his Doctrine so that their Salutation stood in the unity of the Spirit and Life to such as were in it but as for such as came