Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A41047
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An epistle for the strengthening and confirming of friends in their most holy faith
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Fell, Leonard, 1624-1700 or 1701.
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1670
(1670)
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Wing F624; ESTC R17853
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3,706
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8
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An EPISTLE FOR THE Strengthening and Confirming OF FRIENDS in their Most Holy Faith FRIENDS ALL abroad every where think it not strange concerning the fiery Tryal which is but to try you for is it not written Every man's work must be try'd neither think the time long neither look at Sufferings nor at the Potentness of those that cause you to suffer but look to the Lord that is able to deliver Did the Lord ever leave or forsake his People in a suffering Condition that stood for his Name or gave up themselves freely to whatever the Persecutors could do For there were Informers and Laws and Decrees made in Ahasuerus's time but the Lord frustrated them those that stood for the Name of the Lord came over all at last when the Lord saw their Faithfulness and the tryal of their Faith Haman was an Informer and said unto King Ahasuerus There is a certain People scatter'd abroad and dispis'd among the People in all the Provinces of thy Kingdom and their Laws are divers from all people's neither keep they the King's Laws therefore it is noâ— for the King's profit to suffer them so if it please the King let them be destroy'd and he would give so much Money as you may read in Esther 3. 9. and this was but for want of poor Mordecai's bowing to him So the King granted this great Informer's Request to destroy all the seed of the Jews that were within his Provinces But read on in the third and fourth Chapters of Esther and see what came to pass in a little time the Jews were deliver'd and the Informer went to the Gallows Now if Haman had been quiet it is a question if he had been destroy'd or not for the Adversaries lifting up themselves against the Lord's Remnant never lengthens their dayes For when the Faithfulness of his People and Uprightness of their Hearts to him are seen he soon brings Deliverance they need not find the Lord a way out to deliver Therefore all Friends every where give up all you are and have and wait to find a Godly Resolution springing up within you and say The God whom we serve is able to deliver us if not we are resolv'd to Serve and Worship the Lord. In Nebuchadnezer's time as you may read in the 3d of Daniel how there were Informers in the 8th verse Certain Caldeans came to accuse the Jews in the 10th verse Thou O King made a Decree That they that would not fall down and worship the Image at the sound of the Musick should be cast into the Burning-Fiery-Furnace and so they go on and tell the King There were such three Men which regarded him not neither served his Gods nor worshipped the Image that he had set up Then the King in his Rage aud Fury commanded the men to be brought before him and he asked If these things were true That they serv'd not his Gods nor worshipp'd the Golden Image which he had set up now if so be they would be ready at the sound of the Musick to fall down and worship the said Image that he had made but if not in the same Hour they should be cast into the mid'st of the Burning-Fiery Furnace Now their Answer was The God whom they serv'd was able to deliver them but if not we will not Bow And he did dâ—liver them to his own Praise and Glory but they that cast them into the Fire were slain with the Flame but Shadrah Mâ—shach and Abednego came out of the Furnace without harm which did astonish the King and he blessed the God of Shadrach Meshech and Abednego Now Friends if such a Work should be brought forth through your Faithfulness would it not make your hearts glad that God should be so honour'd by your Faithfulness For if these men had shrunk and bow'd the Lord's Power had not been so manifested For the Faithfulness of Friends puts an opportunity into the Lord's Hand to make his Power known For Did not the Lord raise up Pharoah to make his Power known when Moses led the Children of Israel out of Egypt Pharoâ—h with his Host follow'd in great haste and pursu'd them to the Red-Sea thinking to have destroy'd them â—ll and some began to Murmer against Moses why he would bring them thither to be destroy'd yet Moses his Faith was in God and he bid them but Stand still and see the Salvation of God and the Egyptians whom they had seen that day they should never see again and so it came to pass for Israel had a Way through the Sea but Pharoah and his Host were drown'd and not a man escap'd Now Friends if those that were with Moses should have drawn back to Pharoah in this seeming Distress thinking to go to Moses again when the Danger was over had they not run from their Safety to their Destruction So now Friends none to draw back again neither to be slack in keeping your Meetings For he that draws back the Lords Soul has no Pleasure in him and the Back-slider in heart shall be fill'd with his own wayes And therefore Friends be of a Noble Mind and Valliant for the Truth upon the Earth the Noble Seed brings to be of a Noble Mind And Friends it is convenient that Tryals come that the Chaff may be seperated from the Wheat for they who are of this noble Seed will not be Treacherous nor False-hearted but have a faithful Respect to the Honour of God forever And observe in Daniel's day how that they could not bring him to suffer but concerning the Worship of his God so they can find nothing against us but concerning the Worship of our God for which Blessed be the Name of the Lord forever so a Decree was made that whosoever ask'd a Petition either of God or Man for thirty dayes save of the King should be cast into the Den of Lyons and Daniel was constant to pray to the Lord three times a day with his Window open towards Jerusalem as his manner was Now Daniel might have shut his Window and forbore to pray to his God for so many dayes but then how could the Lord have appear'd in his Deliverance if he had not kept to his Worship as his manner was by which the Name of the Lord came to be exalted And he that made the Decree Commanded all to call upon the God of Daniel So that you may see alwayes it was Faithfulness and Constancy that brought Honour to God and Deliverance to themselves and Destruction upon the Adversaries So Friends stand in the Fear and Dread of God and you will become a Dread to all Nations what need you fear any but the Lord God that made Heaven and Earth What will a Living Man be afraid of a Dead Man So you thâ—t are alive in Christ Jesus what need you fear them that are dead in Adam in Sin and Transgression a body of Sin and a body of Death What need a living Body be afraid of a dead Body So Fâ—iends be of a valliant Mind they who are of the noble Birth will be of a valliant Mind and I know will give their Appearance for God who hath appear'd for us and in us and among us Many comfortable and peaceable Meetings we have enjoy'd wherein we have been refreshed together and satisfied together and our Hearts made glad together in the enâ—oyment of the Goodness of our God which is I know not wanting in this suffeâ—ing Time Now in the consideration of these things Friends hold up your heads for God he will be our Deliverer I dare be bold to speak in the Name of the Lord That the Lord will bring a Calm for was the Old World so rude and cruel as this Generation they let Noah build the Ark and did not go about to make a Spoil of his Work though they were against him and call'd him Old Fool yet they let him alone with his Work But this Generation will not let the Lord's People work the Works of God nor Worship Him whom the Ark was a Type of And if the Lord overthrew the old World for their Wickedness and their slighting of Noah's warning of them what will he do to this Generation that not only rejects the Warnings of them that are call'd and chosen of God to work his Works but seek to destroy them I say how can the Lord hold his Hand but let it fall heavy upon those that have dealt thus cruelly with his People seeing he overthrew those that never dealt so cruelly So Friends let your confidence be in the Lord God that made Heaven and Earth trust in his Arm let him be your Shield he will set up a Standard for you that all Nations of the Earth shall never be able to pull down for the Lord never leaves nor forsakes his Heritage Or where was there ever any that suffer'd for God but their Enemies fell before them Though they sought to ruin the Lord's People yet the Pit they had digg'd for others themselves fell inâ—o it and it wiâ—l never fall otherwise to them that think to destroy the Lord's Heritage Friends let none think that the Beast's worship shall spread again neither shall People wonder after him as they have done neither shall the great Whore spread her Skirts over Nations as she has done neither shâ—ll she be heard to make her boast for the Lord hath and will confound her with those that have committed Fornication with her And his own Name and Power and Kingdom he will set up over all the Names and Kingdoms upon the Earth Two things the great Whore has boasted should never come upon her yet she shall meet with them both that is loss of Children and Widdowhood It is observed in the North part of the Nation what sort of men they are that are Infomers the most part of them are either High-way-men or such as have been a raigned for Fellony or such as are come out of Goals or idle Fellows that have spent their Estates if they had any and now would live upon the spoil of other honest Men's Estates Now it is thought strange that Justices of Peace and Wise men of the Country should disobliege the sober People to gratifie such men as are here mentioned it is not for their Honour I am sure Written the 10th of the 11th Moneth 1670. Leonard Fell THE END