Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	curse_a	law_n	write_v	2,739	5	6.5763	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85140	The heart opened by Christ; or, The conditions of a troubled soul that could find no true rest, peace, comfort, nor satisfaction in any thing below the divine power and glory of God, breaking forth and appearing in several operations and manifestations, by the blessed spirit of the Lord Jesus, the Saviour of the soul, God manifesting himself in flesh, that he may glorified in spirit. With, a word to those that are for the approbation of ministers; and something to those that scruple about the receiving or not receiving that which they call a sacrament and communion of saints, at Easter, Penticost, Christmas, so called, and other festival and set daies, or any other time when it is to be administered by those priests that profess themselves to be ministers of Christ. Written in the year 1654. in the third moneth, commonly called May, by R.F.	R. F. (Richard Farnworth), d. 1666.	1654 (1654)	Wing F485; Thomason E745_7; ESTC R207062	17,335	24

my earth was disquieted and did mourn and I lamented but no eye pittied for they were to me as Jobs miserable comforters and instead of healing they wounded and set me to act and do in my will as I had done and bad me repent and believe and the like but never told me neither how to repent nor believe by experience and so I was still as far from peace and rest as I was before and the righteous Law was set up in me which did condemn me for all my self-actings and wearied me out of all and the curses rung in my ears cursed cursed cursed art thou for thou dost not continue in all things that are written in the book of the Law to do them and the pure was stirred up in me and wounded the Serpent time after time yet not meeting with any true shepherd that could direct to walk by the footsteps of the flock to come where the fold was I wandred to and fro from mountain to mountain in cloudes and thick darkness and the hireling shepherds instead of seeking a poor lost sheep that wandred and wanted life and refreshment they drove me off and set their dogs on me and chaced me away from them and so fulfilled the Prophesie of Ezekiel the 34 Chapter For when I could not find any rest peace comfort or satisfaction in any thing that I could do and durst not but go to hear some of them when I came there none spake to my condition but all was confused what they builded up in the forepart of their Sermons Isa 56.10 11 Phil. 3.1 2 3. Rev. 22.14 15. they threw it down again in the hinder part and began to rail and bark like doggs and cryed out of Hereticks and Schismaticks and the like I could not bear it because that when I asked them the ground of error Schism and Heresie and would have had them not to cry out of those things but lay them open and make them known to the people to be avoided but they still kept barking and snarling at my heels or behind my back but not to my face and they set the curs to bark and javver in the streets and they would rayl upon me and others that walked in any tenderness of conscience Souldiers and others that then feared God and if we had been speaking two or three together they would have called us Tub-Preachers and Sectaries and Independants and the like and railed on us wagging their heads as the wicked did at David and so they fulfilled the saying of the Lord by the Prophet My sheep wandred upon all the mountains and upon every high hill yea my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth and none did search or seek after them Ezek. 34. 6. and saith the Lord to the hireling Shepherds that eat the fat and cloath themselves with the wool who feed themselves and feed not the flock the diseased have ye not strengthened neither have ye healed that which was sick neither have ye bound up that which was broken neither have ye brought again that which was driven away neither have ye sought that which was lost but with force and cruelty have ye ruled them and so have they fulfilled the saying of the Lord by his Prophet Ezek. 34 3 4. but still my soul longed to see the salvation of the Lord and many a day did I weep and cry and looked upon my self to be the miserablest creature that was upon the face of the earth and I could not rest till I left off for going to the Steeplehouse which was by them called a Church and this promise of the Lord came in I will teach thee freely my self and all the children of the Lord shall be taught of the Lord and in righteousness shall they be established Isa 54.13 14. Ezek. 34.11 12 c. But when I left off and did not go to Church as they called it and had been so diligent to hear repeat and write Sermons and pray and perform duty and the like then came some professing people that I had been very intimate with and they perswaded me to go to the Church again and said I should give great occasion of offence to many if I left off that had been so as I had been and the like so that they prevailed with me to go sometimes but great trouble was upon me when I was there hearing them lie as they did and there was much pressings in my spirit to speak to them openly but I was hindred and rose up and went out and left them with resolutions never to hear them more come on me what will come and then stayed away till some came to me and wept over me to entreat me to go again and could not prevail and some that had command of me in the outward would have come and threatned me what they would do if that I would not go to the Church as they called it and it was their duty they s●id to cause me to observe them in their commands To the which I answered and said that in any outward affairs that I could do they should command me and I would be subject to them but as touching the worship of God they were not to command me contrary to my conscience for they were but earthly minded people though they were great in the world and of a great profession and the natural man knew not the things of God because they were spiritually to be discerned so I desired them to pardon me in that thing 1 Cor. 2.14 for I could not go with them to the house of Rimmon to worship I should be willing to die rather then to offend my conscience in what I was convinced of and offend my God to serve mens wils whether is it better to obey God or man judge ye for I cannot be subject in that thing So I was made to deny the Priests and their way of worship Luke 9.23 Mat. 10.38 16 24 and deny all that which I had gathered together under them and wait upon God for teaching counsel and direction in all things according to his promise which he hath fulfilled and in waiting upon the Lord in the light of the spirit of truth I found much inward peace Rom. 7.9 10 11 12 Rom. 8.2 3 4. Hagga 2.6 7. 1 Pet. 1.25 Jam. 1.21 Rom. 10. 6 7 8. Heb. 4.12 Col. 3.16 Job 28.7 8 9 10 11. 1 Cor. 1. 26 to 29 1 Cor. 2.12 13. Phil. 3. 2 Cor. 4.8 9 10 11 Gal. 1.11 12 15 16 verse Eph. 4.4.5 1 Pet 1.22 23. Joh. 6.51 1 Pet. 2.2 3 4 5. Joh. 14.16 17. Rom. 8.14 15 16 17. Joh. 14.26 Col. 1 25 26 27. joy comfort and satisfaction to my soul and the righteous law of the spirit of life set up within convincing of sin and the righteous judgement of God condemning all unrighteousnesse as the light and law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus did discover it in me and the eternal

Temples for the holy Ghost to dwell in as God hath said 2 Cor. 6.17 18. Then was I convinced by the light of Christ in my conscience that the Priests were very formal in that which they called prayer and that they kept in a form of words and knew before hand what to speak Mat. 6.7 Mar. 6.5 1 Cor. 14 15. Rom. 8.26.27 Zac. 8.21 Mar. 26.41 Act. 12.5 Rom. 12.12 Jude 20. Jam. 5.15 16. when to begin and when to end any natural man might do so that had but a quick wit and memory and I could have done that my self till I was convinced that either to get prayers out of a book or to pray by a book was carnal and formal and not by the spirit and this was a second error that I lived in till the Lord did convince me of it by his spirit and I had received that by tradition from the Priests and as the light of God did arise in me I could not be satisfied with such carnality and so likewise their Preaching became but as the telling of a Tale or a boy that saith over his weeks work at the School what he hath learned all the week he saith over at once or one time and so did the Priests they studied out of books and writ down in papers and knew where to begin and where to end and any natural man might do so but the natural man knoweth not the things of God for they are spiritually discerned And this is another error that I did live in till I was convinced of it by the pure light of God in my conscience Isa 9.16 Isa 3 12. Hos 4 9. for the Priests neither Preached nor prayed by the Spirit and so there was little or no reformation at all wrought by it for people that had been proud did continue so and the Priests led them on in it and made them covers for it and so on in covetousness sports or pleasures and the like for looking at the Priest for an example Eph. 5.4.4 5 6 1 Cor. 12 12 13 Rom. 6.3.4 5. Gal. 3.27 and seeing him given to pride covetousness and the like the people say in their hearts that if it were not right he would not do it and if he do it they may do it for he knoweth more then they do and so they follow him for their example and become light and vain and that Scripture is fulfilled by them The Leaders of the people cause them to err And a fourth error that was discovered to me that the Priests led into was sprinkling infants calling it Baptism and entring them into ovenant with Christ and Christ never sprinkling any infant nor the Apostles never sprinkled any for that is carnal and they have no Scripture-rule for it for by one spirit did and were they baptized into one body in the Church of Christ and made to drink into one spirit But the Priests of England walk clear contrary to the Saints rule and order in the true Church and they observed foolish heathenish customs in the Steeplehouses in Yorkshire at the sprinkling of infants they were to have Godfathers and Godmothers for the child and God hath neither father nor mother and all that are born of water and the spirit and baptized with the holy Ghost do deny those Popish Ceremonies and a foolish thing was there upheld at the sprinkling of infants If a young man did not kiss the young woman there openly he was to forfeit a pair of gloves and the Priest did suffer such things as these unreproved and I was convinced of the error of them and made to testifie against them and could not sing Davids conditions in Rime and Meeter with them because I could not experience those conditions in my self to be fulfilled Ro. 12.2 Eph. 5.6 to the 19 verse and what I could not witness was not mine then was I hated and reproached and called Independent Brownist Seperate and the like and was content to bear their reproaches for the testimony of the truth in what I knew 1 Pet. 4.14 For in reading the Scriptures I did see that there never was any such things practized amongst Christians 1 Pet. 3.18 19 20 21. Acts 1.5.6 Mat. 3. and that all that were baptized with water which was the figure were such as did bring forth fruits of amendment of life as in Luke 3. and were believers and not infants and though Christ did say Suffer little children to come and forbid them not for of such is the Kingdom of God Mark 9.33 to the end Mark 10. chap. 13 14 15 16. Yet he did not baptize them for he baptized none himself but his Disciples John 4.2 they did not baptize any but believers yes say they the Goaler and his houshold and others and their houshold and then consequently say they there must be infants in an houshold Now that was their carnal reason and consequence that led them out into the imaginations of their own hearts for no infant is mentioned and they might be such places as their children were grown up to believe in Christ for the word was preached to them before they were baptized and when the Goaler asked what should be done that salvation might follow it was answered Believe and be baptized but had there been infants they had not been capable of faith and the preaching of the word by the holy Ghost which gave power with the thing done to make it effectual Acts 16.32 33 34. Acts 18.7 8 9 10 11. And secondly as for infants being in those Families there is not any mention of them and there might as well be no child at all for in several Families in Yorkshire and for instance that where I then lived they never had child and if all the Family had been in the faith there and baptized there would not have been one infant And Christs suffering little children to come unto him was to bless them and heal them of their diseases which was the work he was about at that time and not baptizing with water for he baptized none but with the holy Ghost Mat. 3.11 And herein the error of the Priests was discovered that they did not act by the spirit of the Lord but followed the imagination of their own hearts and lead people into error and delusion and do things without warrant from the Spirit of the living God and so are ignorant of the Gospel for the Ministers of the Gospel are the Ministers of the spirit Eph. 3.2 3 to the 13. 2 Cor. 3.1 2 3 4 5 6. 2 Cor. 4. to the 14 verse Gal. 1.11 12. Col. 1 25. to the end Another thing the Priests led me to observe and that they called a Sacrament and Communion of Saints and told me it was a sacrifice acceptable and well pleasing to God for the purging out of sin and assuring the soul of Gods love and favour and a sealing soul-saving Ordinance and the like And one came to the house where