Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	according_a	judgement_n	law_n	1,753	5	4.9910	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A86665	The immediate call to the ministry of the Gospel, witnessed by the spirit: vvith a true declaration of the persecution and suffering of Richard Hubberthorne, James Parnell, Ann Blayling, by Will. Pickering, who is Mayor of Cambridge. Also an answer to divers letters and mittimusses, against the said prisoners, answered; by them who are sufferers for the truth, and for the testimony of Jesus, Richard Hubberthorn, James Parnell.	Hubberthorn, Richard, 1628-1662.; Parnell, James, 1637?-1656.	1654 (1654)	Wing H3225; Thomason E812_13; ESTC R207636	16,317	15

they might keep the peace which all the world hath broken by disobedience to the light of Christ in the conscience and so for declaring the truth and publishing it forth in writing publickly is imprisoned and no breach of the Law proved against him and so they both remain in prison under this pretence of bringing in sureties for good behaviour when as they are not guilty nor no mis-behaviour proved against them but all who suffer as Christians in the obedience to the will of God need not be ashamed And under the same tyranny and law made in the will of man doe I now suffer onely because that at the command of Will Pickering Mayor of Cambridge I did not goe out of the Town to fulfill his will and so have disobeyed the command of the Lord did he send me to the dungeon and commanded the Jaylor that none should be suffered to come to me nor bring any thing unto me nor that I should have any thing but what I earned and since I was first cast into this hole there is severall reproaches and 〈◊〉 and false accusations cast upon me and the rest of my brethren and I am not suffered to have my accusors face to face that the law may take hold upon the guilty and that the truth might be cleared and my accusors known for since I was first put into this place there are three several papers of lies and slanders published forth by Will Pickering Mayor under his own hand the first dated August 23. the second Aug. 28. the third Aug. 29. 1. Accusation That we are idle wandering persons and rogues living upon poor silly people which some of them are now kept by the parish themselves I answer this Accusation is false for from the Lord are we sent to declare against all deceipt and unrighteousnesse of men and against all those who lay heavie burthens upon the poor by deceipt and oppression and against all who live in pride and idlenesse and fulnesse of bread by whom the creation is devoured and many made poor by your meanes and you who are rich who live at ease and in pleasure you live upon the labours of the poor and lay heavie burthens upon them grievous to be born and you may the poor complain of but they who doe receive our testimony there is the heavie burthens taken off and the poor is cased and whosoever do receive the truth in the love of it which we freely declare from the Lord and hath this worlds good he cannot see the poor in need nor want nor beg their bread but the truth where it is received opens the bowels of compassion and takes off oppression and the heavie burthen which the poor groans under but we are not chargeable nor our Gospel not to the rich nor to the poor neither doth any who have received us complain nor is chargeable to the parish is neither kept nor maintained by it Therefore in the presence of the living God I doe charge thee to cease from falsly accusing the innocent who can neither prove us to be rogues nor deceivers as the fruit of our ministery shall bear witnesse in them who have received it who can witnesse that they are led out of much deceipt and ungodlinesse which before they lived in and we have not been burthensome nor chargeable unto them through idlenesse God is our witnesse we have coveted no mans gold nor silver nor meat nor drink nor apparell and here we are falsly accused for the Name of Christ and for the Gospel sake which we freely doe declare as we have freely received it 2. Accusation The Mayor saith that the Law makes idle wandering persons to be rogues those that will not work if they have not any thing of their own to live upon those that use deceipt full wayes to get maintenance by these by the Laws of the Land are all rogues and such are these in my judgement and in my soul and conscience I am troubled that I have done no more to them then I have done to rid the Town of them I answer here thou hast shewed thy judgement and made it manifest that this persecuting will is thy law and hast acted contrary which thou hast here declared to be the Law of the Land concerning rogues who doth keep us here in prison in the dungeon under the pretence of rogues and hath not proved any of these things against us which thou sayest makes rogues not to be idle wandering persons nor hast not proved us to have nothing of our own to live upon nor hast not proved that we have used any deceiptful wayes to get maintenance by and here by the Lawes of the Land we are cleared who are not guilty of any of those things ●…d so the Lawes of the Land will take hold upon thee and all our accusers who hath imprisoned us for rogues when there is no witnesse against us to prove the breach of any Law of the Land for by the Law of justice and equity we desire to be judged And thou who sayest in thy soul and conscience thou art troubled that thou hast done no more to us then thou hast done that in thy conscience shall witnesse against thee for what thou hast already done and will let thee see that thou hast acted contrary to that in the conscience the light of Christ and that in thy conscience will condemn thee and hast acted contrary to the Law of the Land as by that in thy conscience thou shalt be judged which will let thee see that thou art not a doer of the Law of God nor a Minister of the Law of the Nation but a maker of lawes according to thy judgements and acting them upon the righteous whom the Law was not made for that thou mayest rid the Town of those who come to witnesse the Law of God to be fulfilled in them and to establish righteousnesse in the earth and to bring people from under the transgression of all Lawes to witnesse one Law giver Jesus Christ who is our Law giver 3 Accusation The Mayor saith that one of us told him when he desired him to goe out of the Town that he would not for he was sent to destroy the Town I answer this Accusation is false for there was not such a word spoken neither can any such thing be proved for we came not to destroy men lives but to saye them and to preach Jesus Christ the Saviour of the world and doe speak from the Lord to that in the conscience of every one the light of Christ which will let every one in particular see that his destruction is of himself and by the light of Christ unto which we are made manifest in every mans conscience are we cleared from all such slanders and reproaches which are falsly cast upon us for the Name of Christ who was reproached as we are and his reproaches we bear daily and are not ashamed of as the Scripture saith which by us is

custody and him safely keep that he may be forth coming to answer the premises the next Sessions fail not at your perill Given under my hand 3d July 1654. Will. Pickering Mayor A Reply to the foresaid Mittimus AS for my coming before thee it was by thy Authority for I was in a friends house called Justice Blackley and there was a man called a Constable in a shop over against the house waiting for my coming forth and as I was going over the way with some writings in my hand which concerned the truth of God the Constable so called came and met me and told me I must goe with him and I said if he had authority I should goe with him and he said he had and so in obedience to the Authority I went along and he brought me before thee and thou came violently and took off my hat and cast it upon the earth calling me rogue and other such like termes which was in thy will and not in thy law and therefore thou art not fit to be a Magistrate for he that is guided by his own will is not fit to be a Magistrate for he makes his will a law and the law is not to be made by the will of man and then thou came and caused my pockets to be searched and thou took my writings from me and said there might be some treason in them and I said if there was any thing under the Law let me suffer by the Law and thou came violently once or twice as if thou wouldest have smote me calling me rogue and witch and the like and I said if thou couldest prove me either a rogue or a witch let me suffer as a rogue or a witch but whether this be in thy law or no I know not so I shall leave it to those who knowes the Law to judge of it but I am sure it is contrary to the Law of God and so to that thou art a transgressour and by him thou must be judged And then thou asked me why I came to the Town to make division And I said Christ came for the same to set at variance father against son and son against father as the Scripture makes it appear Mat. 10. 35. and I witnessethe same fulfilled and this thou sets as an article against me Now let any one consider if thou wouldest not imprisoned Christ if he was personally here but in as much as thou doest it to one of his thou doest it to him Mat. 25 45. and here thou hast manifested thy self to be a Tyrant who imprisons the Servants of Jesus Christ for confessing him who begins the warre wheresoever he comes his first appearance is with the sword to that which is for the sword and bring peace and deliverance to the captives and to lead captivity captive Luke 4. 8. and this we witnesse fulfilled and for this end are we come to the Town of Cambridge which is one of the devils strongest holds from whence he sends forth his messengers into the world to deceive the Nations but the Lord is come to beat up his quarters and now the warre is begun and the devil hath cast some of us into prison but still the warre goeth on and the Lamb will get the victory and the Beast and the false Prophet and all that have the mark of the Beast must be cast into the lake that burneth c. Rev. 20. 10 to the end Rev. 19. 20. And then thou examined me if I owned a paper which thou shewed me and I said I did and thou set that down as an article against me for putting up a paper which thou sayest is against the Ministers and Magistrates of Cambridge and here thou accuseth the Ministers and Magistrates of Cambridge to be corrupt and heathenish for the paper onely declared against corrupt Magistrates and heathenish Priests wheresoever they are and so if there be any Law transgressed here it is thou that hast transgressed it and so for these things thou sent me to prison and thou sayest for other misdemeanours and not one of the Town of Cambridge can tax me for any misdemeanour for I am redeemed out of the generation of misdemeanours and was bound to good behaviour by a stronger bond than man can make before I came at the Town of Cambridge but let any who hath understanding judge whether thy behaviour or mine was the more like misdemeanour but for this cause thou sent me to prison but I know not by what Law but thou sayest in the name of the Lord Protector of England but I believe him whom thou callest Lord Protector would deny to own it for if he should own it he would own tyranny and oppression and would shew himself to be an oppressour of the truth of God and a Protector of tyranny and oppression and the Lord Protector of heaven and earth would cut him off and if he wink at such Tyrants as thou art the Lord will smite him with his sword and will cut him off from off the face of the earth and set another in his room as he hath had examples before him And thou bragged to me of a tyranny done by thee and said thou caused two of my sisters to be whipped the third day 1653. but I tell thee the Lord God of all power will whip thee with a rod of vengeance and him too whom thou callest Lord Protector of England who hath the power of England in his hand if he uphold or suffer such tyranny or any punishment to be acted against or upon any tender consciences contrary to the Law of God and so I leave him without excuse in the presence of the Lord and judgement at thy door who callest thy self WILL PICKERING A Reply to some Speeches objected against Ann Blacklane called Quaker in Touleboth by one Phillip Johnson calling himself a Minister of the World and calls these sayings dangers and damnable doctrines errors and heresies Object 1. THat she said the Scriptures written by the Prophets and Apostles are not the Word of God but Christ and that the Scriptures are not sufficient light and meanes to find Christ and for us to rely upon contrary to these places of Scripture Mat. 1 24. 2 Pet 1. 17. Thou enemy of all righteousnesse how darest thou call thy self a Minister of the Word and art ignorant of the letter which witnesseth with the Word and saith the Word became flesh which is Christ and in the beginning was the Word and the Word was God John 1. 1 14. and this the Prophets and Apostles witnessed and thou who sets thy self to witnesse the contrary art no Minister of the Word nor of the letter which witnesseth with the Word but art shut out from both and art for condemnation by the Word And thou that callest this damnable doctrine callest the doctrine of the Apostles damnable who preached Christ the Word and here I openly declare against thee to be a blasphemer of the Truth of God and the

witnessed daily and the Laws of the Land being executed in justice and equity will take hold upon our accusers and clear us 4. Accusation That we have left our honest Callings one being a Husbandmanservant and another a Shooemaker and now living upon the labours of other men I answer we are in our Callings whereunto the Lord hath called us and doe abide in our Calling and he that doth abide in his Calling abides with God and this I witnesse who am called from father and mother lands and livings and from the cutward imployment which I lived honestly in but was never servant to any man in that Calling that accusation is false and my call is to the work of the Lord to labour in his vineyard who once had a vineyard without to labour in as you have who live in your earthly possessions and habitations and that calling was lawfull in its place and I did abide in it till the Word of the Lord came and called me from it into his work who now cares for me and provides for me without taking thought or care what to eat or what to drink or wherewith to be clothed for after all these things doe the heathens seek who knowes not God and my call is from God immediately not from man and in the Scripture I have a cloud of witnesses who were all called by God and left their callings Elisha was called from the plough as he was following the plough 1 Kings 9. 10. and David was called from keeping the sheep who was a Shepherd 1 Sam. 16. 11 12. and by the Word of the Lord was Jeremiah called to be a Prophet who said he was a child and could not speak but the Lord said that he would put his Word in his mouth and that he should goe whithersoever the Lord commanded him and that he should not fear the faces of men for he would deliver him and that he should speak whatsoever he commanded him Jer. 1. 5 6 7 8 9 10. And by the same Word was Amos called as he was following the flock who was a herdsmand and a gatherer of Sicamore fruit Amos 7. 14 15 16 And the Apostles were fisher-men and trades-men and Paul a Tentmaker ●hose all left their honest callings to do whatsoever the Lord commanded them some to prophesie and some to preach the Gospel and the same Word of God and the same Call and the same Spiri● I doe witnesse by which I am called from my outward calling and by the same Law by which I am accused for leaving my honest calling and commanded to it again by the same would Elisha be accused and commanded to goe to the plough again and Amos for leaving the flock and vineyard to goe to prophesie in the Kings Chappel at Bethell but Amasiah the Priest was offended at Amos for leaving his calling and for prophesying at Bethell and commanded him to goe away that he should neither prophesie nor eat bread there though he was commanded of the Lord And the same Spirit doth appear in you both Priests and Magistrates in Cambridge with them who are sent of the Lord and commanded as Amos was And you say this is the Unversity and you have Teachers enough of your own but none of them can witnesse that the Lord ever called them or commanded them but they who are called and commanded by the Lord and in obedience to him do come them you command to goe cut of the Town to follow their callings again and so by the same Law command the Prophets to their callings again and the Apostles to their netts again and Paul to make Tents again and Mathew to the receipt of Customes again which they were all called from but Amos did not goe to Bethell to be a herdsman but to declare the Word of the Lord nor the Apostles did not goe to fish and to their netts again to get their living but they were made fishers of men And were persecuted from City to City and threatned and straitly charged to speak no more in that Name and to depart their Coasts as I am commanded to depart from Cambridge to teach in my own Country but they obeyed God rather than man and were not idle wandering rogues though they had left their lawfull callings and had no certain dwelling place but did goe whithersoever the Lord commanded them to preach the Gospel to every creature and to all nations and took no thought what to eat or what to drink nor wherewith to be cloathed and did eat no mans bread for nought and the same I witnesse and the Prophets nor the Apostles when they were put into prisons and dungeons you doe not read that they were forced to work to fulfill the will of their persecutors nor that ever Paul nor the rest of the Apostles nor Servants of Jesus Christ when they were cast into prison or dungeons that for the testimony of Jesus that ever they were charged or commanded to beat hemp or else not eat as the Task-master of Cambridge doth command but their labour and work was to beget into the truth and some were begotten in their bonds as Paul witnessed in the Epistle to Philemon 10. vers. and the Apostle Paul suffered trouble as an evill doer even unto bonds but the Word of God was not bound 2 Tim. 2. 9. This is a faithful saying If we suffer with him we shall also raign with him if we deny him he also will deny us And for his sake who hath called me doe I suffer all things and endure all things and am not ashamed of his sufferings but in obedience to the will of God doe I deny the will of man and suffer by the will of man God is my witnesse and my conscience also bearing me witnesse in the presence of God And this of the Lord I was moved to publish forth that the truth may be cleared from scandals and the persecution and tyranny of unreasonable men made manifest to all sorts of people who come to see and to read with understanding and here have cleared my conscience being free from the guilt of the bloud of all men and have laid thesin to the charge and to the door of those who are guilty From a Servant and a Prisoner of Jesus Christ in Cambridge RICHARD HUBBERTHORNE A Coppy of a Mittimus made in the will of the Mayor of Cambridge To the Keepers of the Touleboth in Cambridge VVHereas James Parnell hath been brought before me and hath been examined and hath confessed that he was sent to this Town to set dissention in this Town in many particulars as by his examination may fully appear and further hath confessed that he set up a paper in the Market the last market day in this Town which is a Libell against the Ministers and Magistrates of the said Town and further misdemeanours is proved against him these are therefore in the name of the Lord Protector of England that you receive him into your