Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	faith_n	good_a	shipwreck_n	6,868	5	12.4968	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A39308	A seasonable disswasive from persecution humbly and modestly, yet with Christian freedom and plainness of speech, offered to the consideration of all concern'd therein, on behalf generally of all that suffer for conscience sake, particularly of the people called Quakers / by Thomas Ellwood.	Ellwood, Thomas, 1639-1713.	1683 (1683)	Wing E626; ESTC R24955	8,778	14

A Seasonable DISSWASIVE FROM PERSECUTION HUMBLY And Modestly yet with Christian Freedom and Plainness of Speech offered to the Consideration of all concern'd therein on behalf generally of all that suffer for Conscience sake particularly of the People called QUAKERS By one of them THOMAS ELLWOOD I will punish all that oppress them Jer. 30. 20. I will contend with him that contendeth with thee and I will save thy Children And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own Flesh and they shall be drunken with their own Blood as with sweet Wine And all Flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer the mighty one of Jacob Isa. 49. 25 26. And now I say unto you refrain from these Men and let them alone least haply ye be found even to fight against God Acts 5. 38 39. LONDON Printed for William Skeate and are to be Sold in George-yard in Lombard-street 1683. King Charles I. IN HIS 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 THOU seest O God how much Cruelty among Christians is acted under the colour of Religion as if we could not be Christians unless we crucifie one another Sect. 12. 'T is thought by many wise men that the preposterous Rigour and unreasonable Severity which some men carried before them in England was not the least incentive that kindled and blew up into those horrid Flames the Sparks of Discontent which wanted not predisposed fuel of Rebellion in Ireland They saw themselves apparently threatened by the covetous Zeal and uncharitable Fury of some men who think it a great argument of the truth of their Religion to endure no other but their own Ibid. They confess their known weakness as to Truth and Iustice who chuse rather to contend by Arms than by Argument Sect. 9. It argues rather those men to be conscious of their defects of Reason and convincing Arguments who call in assistance of meer force to carry on the weakness of their Counsels and Proposals Sect. 6. A DISSWASIVE FROM Persecution c PERSECUTION is a Word of so harsh a sound and so generally distasteful to English Ears that scarce any of those who are most forward and active in that Work are willing to have their actions called by that Name That none therefore who have set an hand to that Work or whose minds are any whit inclining thereunto may from the dislike they have to the Word Persecution reject this Diswasive as a thing wherein they are not concerned I think it needful here to declare what it is I mean by Persecution By Persecution then I intend a forcing or compelling any by pains or penalties Bodily or Pecuniary to relinquish or forsake that Exercise of Religion or way of Worship which they believe to be the right Way of Worship and the true and acceptable Exercise of Religion which God hath required of them And to receive embrace conform to and perform some other exercise of Religion and way of Worship which they who are so compelled are either firmly perswaded is not the Right or at least have no belief that it is the Right This in short is that which I call Persecution And this is that I diswade from whatever other Name the Actors of it may please themselves in calling it by I. To begin now with the first of these viz. the forcing or compelling any to forsake and leave that exercise of Religion or way of Worship which they believe to be the right way of Worship and the true exercise of Religion which God requireth of them The Reasons by which I shall endeavour to diswade all men from such an undertaking are these 1. You may for ought you know be found Fighters against God You are not you cannot be upon your own principles infallibly sure that that way of Worship which you thus endeavour to force us from is not the true Worship of God We know it is so you do not know it is not so If in the end it prove to be so how sad will your condition be who have thus bent your force to hinder the true Worship of God and set your selves to restrain us from performing that which God hath required of us I pray consider Saul was as confident as you can be and had as good ground for his confidence as you can have and thereupon he went smartly on for a while as some of you have done making Havock of the Church entring into every House and haling Men and Women committed them to Prison Acts 8. 3. I Persecuted saies he this way unto the Death binding and delivering into Prisons both Men and Women Chap. 22. 4. Many of the Saints did he shut up in Prison and when they were put to Death he gave his voice against them Chap. 26. 10. He punisht them oft in every Synagogue and compelled them to Blaspheme And being exceedingly mad against them he Persecuted them even unto strange Cities vers 11. And this he verily thought with himself that he ought to do vers 9. Yet all this while he was out of his Thoughts for in all this he was wrong and they were right whom he thus Persecuted And may it not be so with you why then will you run so great an hazard 2. By endeavouring to force us from that way of worship which we believe the Lord hath led us into and requireth of us you endeavour to force us to make Shipwrack of Faith We have solemnly and sincerly declared unto you that we firmly believe and are fully perswaded and satisfied in our Consciences that God hath led us into this way of Worship wherein we serve him and that he requireth our perseverance therein This is our Faith in this particular Now so far as you endeavour by Threats by Terrors by Penalties and Cruelties to force any of us from this way of Worship so far you endeavour to force us to make Shipwrack of Faith and of good Conscience too which if through your means any should do the Guilt thereof will lie heavy upon you 3. In endeavouring by force and cruelty to restrain us from worshiping God according as we are fully perswaded he hath taught us and doth require us you go out of the Path of the Righteous and tread in the steps of the Wicked and Ungodly It was the Egyptians that dealt thus with the Israelites not the Israelites that dealt so with the Egyptians as you may read from the 7th Chap. of Exodus to the 15. It was the Heathen who knew not God that dealt thus with Daniel not Daniel that dealt so with them Dan. 6. It was the hard hearted unbelieving Jews and unconverted Gentiles that dealt thus with the Apostles and Primitive Christians not the Christians that dealt so with them Acts. 4. 17 18. 5. 28. 14. 2. 17. 5. It was the Blood-thirsty Papists that dealt thus with the Protestants in Queen Maries Daies And can you bring a greater Odium upon your selves than by imitating these to make Folks