Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	jesus_n	law_n	spirit_n	7,842	5	6.0757	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96693	An humble request, to the ministers of both Universities, and to all lawyers in every Inns-a-Court To consider of the scriptures and points of law herein mentioned, and to give a rational and christian answer, whereby the difference may be composed in peace, between the poor men of England, who have begun to digge, plow, and build upon the common land, claiming it their own, by right of creation. And the lords of mannours that trouble them, who have no other claiming to Commons, then the Kings will, or from the power of the conquest, and if neither minister nor lawyer, will undertake a reconciliation in this case, for the beauty of our Common-Wealth. Then we appeale, to the stones, timber, and dust of the earth you tread upon, to hold forth the light of this business, questioning not, but that power that dwells every where, will cause light to spring out of darkness, and freedom out of bondage. By Gerard Winstanley.	Winstanley, Gerrard, b. 1609.	1650 (1650)	Wing W3044; ESTC R233004	13,389	20

them Jesus Christ was slandred beaten reviled and at last put to death for no cause yet hee reviled not againe but suffered all patiently that he might honour his Father The spirit of Righteousness this shewes the resurrection of the spirit from under darknesse and a growing up of freedome and light This spirit of Love Patience Humility and Righteousnesse is called the light of the world and the salt of the earth which brings mankind into a moderate meeke Loving and seasonable condition It is the restoring spirit teaching all men to doe as they would be done by He that hath this spirit will never strive to be a Lord of Mannor or a divider of Land for he will quietly suffer every one to enjoy the freedome of his creation This spirit destroyes all enmitie This is the Gospel This is Christ appearing to be the joy of all Nations which the Ministers of Christ must preach if they be faithfull to Christ This is the spirit of poverty that hath been a servant in the world a long time but now is appearing and rising up to draw all men after him This poore man is hee that saves Man-kinde from utter ruine and yet he is despised by Ignorance This poore man spread abroad in sonnes and daughters shall inherit the Earth This is he that will give Man-kind a full freedome in the earth and take off all bondages therefore he is called the blessing of the earth But the power of covetousnesse which is the divider of land is called the curse of the Earth and murtherer Jesus Christ bid the young man sell all that hee had and give to the poore This speech extends to all men as well as to that selfe-conceited young man When Christ appeares in glory in the day of his power hee will make crooked wayes streight and ruffe wayes smooth throw downe the Mountaines and fill up the Valleyes This declares the universall restoration of Man-kind to the law of righteousness from whence he fell for when once the Law of Love and truth is written in the heart of Man-kinde they will never quarrell one with another about the earth who shall have it and who not for it is the birth-right and Inheritance of all For saith Christ though the Gentles seeke Dominion and Lordship one over another yet saith Christ it shall not be so among you who are my followers Now these of the Parliament Armie Clergy Lawyers and people of England that professes to follow Christ and yet exercises Lord-ship over their brethren not suffering their brethren quietly to live by them on the Earth they doe deceive themselves and are hypocrites Therefore woe woe woe to you Rich men and Lords of Mannors howle and weepe The oppressor shall fall and he that takes the sword and rules by it over brethren shall perish by it He that hedges himselfe into the earth and hedges out his brother not suffering his brother to enjoy the benefit of his creation That man is a Thiefe and a Murtherer and an Enemie to Christ And here I conclude that these fore-mentioned Scriptures being but a gleaning of the Bible gives a full warrant to all poore men to build them houses and plant corne upon the Commons and unnurtured land for their comfortable livelihood as they are part of Man-kind being the right of their creation And whosoever denies or hinders them of this freedome doth deny God Christ and Scriptures and overthrows true and pure undefiled religion True Religion and undefiled is to let every one quietly have earth to manure that they may live in freedome by their labours for it is earth that every one seekes after that they may liue in peace let them say what they will The practise of the Gentry is to have the Earth to themselves It is that the Armie fights for It is that the Clergy preaches for for if you deny him Tithes or a Maintenance you shall not heare of him Nay is it not the bottome of all National lawes to dispose of the Earth and does not this appear to be true by the practise of Lords of Mannors and the Gentrie that cannot be at rest for vexing and fretting because poore men begins to see their creation-freedome and begins to build upon and plant the Commons And men that in other cases are mild and seemingly loving are like Lions and Devils ready to kill and destroy these poore diggers and not only the Gentry but the Clergy generally are mad against this worke Well the power of darknesse and the fall rules in these men for if the restoring spirit Christ were in them they would doe as they would be done by And seeing the Scriptures confirms this creation Right to whole man-kind then in the next place it followes That all the Title and Power which Lords of Mannors have to the Common land whereby they beate the people off from this their freedome Is no other but the will of Kings who were Conquerours and ruled successively by swordly power inslaving the creation Man-kind in England First then consider That King CHASLES and his Lawes was the Successor of the person and power of William the Conquerour for he did not rule by the law of creation suffering every one to enjoy their creation-right on the earth But by the lawes of a Conquest which intitles some to the earth and shuts out others Secondly That K. Charles and that Kingly Lordly conquering government is cast out of England by the victory of the Armie over him and by words and Acts of Parliament If they doe not againe lose this their honour and peace too by their selfe-love and covetousnesse suffering the enemie to cheate them by policy and thereby being in Kingly power again who could not overcome them in the Field And seeing Kingly and Lordly power is declared against both by Army and Parliament the people wants nothing now but possession of the Common-wealths freedome for our freedome must not lye within the clasps of a Booke in words that may be read nor in the bare title of a Victory but it must be freedome really enjoyed or else it will do us no good The first Parliament law which encourages the poore Commoners of England to plant the Commons and wast land is this wherein they declare England to be a free Common-wealth This Law breakes in pieces the Kingly yoake and the lawes of the Conquerour and gives a common freedome to every English-man to have a comfortable livelihood in this their own Land or else it cannot be a common-wealth Secondly The Parliament did make this law presently after the Kings head was cut off That they would establish all the old ancient fundamentall lawes wherein the Lives Liberties persons and estates of the people of England without exception were concerned By this they give a common freedome to every English-man to have and enjoy the land for their comfortable livelihood by their labours without restraint of any For

And at this time I went to Mr. Plat and spoke with him about our freedom in the Commons he answered me if I could make it good by Scriptures he would never trouble us more but let us build and plant Nay he said he would cast in all his estate and become one with the diggers The next week after I carried him this writing afore printed being Munday in Easter week and upon our discourse he seemed to consent to many things and was very moderate and promised me to read it over and to give me an Answer moreover he promised me that if the diggers would not cut the wood upon the Common he would not pull down their houses And the diggers resolved for peace sake to let the wood alone till people did understand their freedom a little more And upon Fryday in Easter week he came and brought his answer which was this He came accompanied with about 50. men and had hired 4. or 5. of them to fire down the diggers houses some that stood by said do not fire them the wood will do some good his answer was no no fire them to the ground that these Heathens who know not God may not build them again for if you let the wood alone they will build again Thereupon at the Command of this Parson Plat they set fire to six houses and burned them down and burned likewise some of their housholdstuffe and wearing Clothes throwing their beds stooles and housholdstuffe up and down the Common not pittying the cries of many little Children and their frighted Mothers which are Parishioners borne in the Parish And yet some of these hired men lives not in the Parish and some are strangers newly come into the Parish and so were bewitched by the covetous make bate Priests to do this heathenish turkish act The poor diggers being thus suddainly cast out of their houses by fire both they their wives and Children were forced to lie upon the open Common all night yet the rage of Parson Plat and his Company rested not here but in the night time some of them came again upon the Commons while the diggers were quiet and some of them in bed and said we have Authority from our Master that is Mr. Plat to kill you and burn the rest of your goods if you will not be gone thereupon Sir Anthony Vincents Servant called Davy struck at one and cut some of their Chaires and other Goods to peeces frighting the women and Children again And some of the Diggers asked them why they would do thus cruelly by them they answered because you do not know God nor will not come to Church Surely if the God of these men by their going to Church teach both their preacher and they to do such cruel deedes we will neither come to Church nor serve their God Mr. Plat in his Sermons can say live in peace with all men and love your Enemies therefore if the Diggers were enemies he ought to love them in action but it is a true badge of an hypocrite to say and not to do Let every Mans actions be tryed and see who serves God They or the Diggers Mr. Plat and the Gentlemen so would be called that were with him were full of rage and gnashed their tongues with vexation but the Diggers are patient chearfull quiet in spirit loving to those that have burned their houses Therefore the poor Diggers have got the Crown and weare it and the Priests and Gentry have lost their Crown The poor have striven with them 12. moneths with love and patience The Gentlemen have answered them all the time with fury they would have the Earth and all freedom but they will not suffer the poor to have either earth or freedom but what they hire of them But though the Devill be let loose to swell against us in these Gentry that rule over us by Kingly Power or Law of Norman Conquest notwithstanding they have taken the Engagement to cast out Kingly Power yet his time to be chained up drawes nigh and then we are assured this righteous work of earthly community shall have a most glorious resurrection out of his ashes Nay farther if this satisfies not Mr. Plat but he Tho Sutton of Cobham have hired three men to attend both night and day to beat the Diggers and to pull down their tents or houses if they make any more and if they make Caves in the earth they threaten to murther them there so that they will not suffer the poor Diggers to live neither above nor below ground if they beg they whip them by their Law for vagrants if they steal they hang them and if they set themselves to plant the Common for a livelihood that they may neither beg nor steale and whereby England is inriched yet they will not suffer them to do this neither And so hereby these Gentlemen take away both creation-right and Common-wealths right from the poor Diggers for they command the poor enslaved Tenants and Neighbors likewise not to suffer any of the Diggers to have any lodging in their houses nor to sell them any meat for their money And thus the fury of Parson Plat exceedes the fury of any other Lord of Mannor The chief setters on to burn these houses and to abuse the Diggers was Parson Plat Sir Anthony Vincent his Tenants and Servants were most of them there likewise Thomas Sutton and William Star these are they that say the Commons belong to the poor and yet these rich men are agrieved to see the poor make use of the Commons the actors in this Turkish designe were furious beyond the fury of the Beasts but many of those that came were threatned by Vincent his chief men to be turned out of their Livings if they came not so that this is not an act of the tenants by free consent but the Gentlemen hired others to do it These men do so powerfully act the Image of the Beast that they will neither buy nor sell with any freely nor let any have land houses or work under them but such as have the mark of the Beast that is such as are filled with fear of them and are obedient to their beastly Power And some of them say they do God good service if they can destroy or kill the Diggers Thus the Scriptures are fulfilled Rev. 13. 17. And now they cry out the Diggers are routed and they rang bells for joy but stay Gentlemen your selves are routed and you have lost your Crown and the poor Diggers have won the Crown of glory For first you have not routed them by Law for you durst not suffer the Diggers plead their own cause so that it never came to any tryal and you have no Law to warrant your Lordly power in beating of the Diggers but the will of Kingly swordly power which is self-will and Club-law Secondly You have not routed the Diggers by dispute for your impatient covetous and proud swelling heart would not suffer you to plead rationally with them Neither thirdly have you routed them by Scriptures but the Diggers have routed you by your own Law by reason by Scriptures and patient suffering all your abuses and now your name shall rot and your own power shall destroy you When the Scribes and Pharisees of old these Lords of Mannors Ancestors had put Jesus Christ to death they rejoyced and sent gifts one to another and made merry and in such like words said they had routed him And so now these English Pharisees because they have acted the power of the Beast and to the eye of the Beast seeme to stand uppermost for a time they say they have routed the Diggers But they are mistaken for the Diggers keep the field of patience quietness joy and sweet rest in their hearts and are filled with love to their enemies but the Gentlemen are so impatient they cannot rest for fretting jearing rayling and gnashing their tongues with vexation They wil not suffer the Diggers to look to the Corne which is planted upon the Commons being about eleven Acres neither will they look to it themselves but let the Cattle spoile it that they may say see their labor comes to nothing Are not these men the curse of England that wil not suffer others to live by the● and will rather spoile corne in these dear times then let the poor enjoy their own righteous labors upon the Commons This work of digging being freedom or the appearance of Christ in the earth hath tried the Priests and professors to the uttermost and hath ripped up the bottom of their Religion and proves it meere witchcraft and cosonage for self love and covetousnesse is their God or ruling power They have chosen the sword and they refuse love when the Lamb turnes into the Lion they will remember what they have done and mourne And thus I have faithfully declared all the businesses and though the power of their covetousnesse self-loving flesh hath for the present trod our weak flesh down yet the strength of our inward man hath overcome them and is the Lord God Almighty above that power that rules in them We have declared our Testimony and now let freedom and bondage strive who shall rule in Mankind the weapons of the Sonnes of bondage being carnall as fire club and sword the weapons of the Sonnes of freedom being spiritual a● love patience and righteousnesse FINIS Gen. 1. 26. Ver. 27. Ver. 29 Psal. 24. 1. Dan. 7. 25. Jam. 4. 1. 2 Cor. 4. 4. Gen. 9. 9. Jer. 45. 5. Gen. 17. 8. Psal. 49. 12 Rev. 19. 19. 20. Rev. 12. 14. Dan. 7. 25. Gen. 4. 3. Deut. 5. Cha. 18. 18 Gen. 23. 4. Gal. 4. 29. Jam. 4. 1. Isa. 33. 1. Gen. 3. 15. Gal. 3. 8. 2 Thes. 2. 8. Heb. 8. 10. 1 Joh. 2. 27. Joh. 6. 45. Mat. 7. 12. Isa. 2. 4. Chap. 11. Ezek. 36. 34. 35. Joel 2. 21. Psal. 107. 34. Zachar. 8. Rom. 8. 20. Rom. 7. 24. Math 7. 12. Rev. 11. 15. Dan. 7. 27. Eph. 2. 15. Psal. 37. 9 10. Luk. 3. 5 6. Matth. 20. 25. Jam. 5. 1. Isa. 16. 4. Matth. 26. 52. Exod. 20. 13. 15.

beene suffered to reigne for a time times and dividing of time When Mankind lives in the unity of the one Spirit of Righteousnesse he lives in the light and the light lives in him which is Christ in him the light of the Father or the restoring Power But when Mankind lives in division contention and covetousnesse one part of Mankind hedging themselves into the earth by force and sword as experience shewes the strongest sword rules over the weakest and thereby shutting out another part of Mankind making them slaves Now Mankind lives under the power of the Fall In darknesse and darknesse lives in him And this darknesse is the Devill or sonne of bondage which causes all division and sorrow This same Creation-Right or common freedome in the earth among Brethren was confirmed by Covenant from God to Noah and his Seed without limitation or respect of persons So that we see when that Almighty power did work a restoration in the earth he gave the earth still to be in common shutting out none from enjoying the benefit of his Creation But when Mankind began to quarrell about the earth and some would have all and shut out others forcing them to be servants This was Mans fall it is the ruling of the curse and is the cause of all divisions wars and pluckings up This same Creation-Right or Universall Freedome in the earth was confirmed by Covenant to Abraham and his Seed not limiting or restraining any part Now in this Covenant to Abraham God points out the work of restoration by Christ the restoring Power who shall be the joy and blessing of all Nations So that in the work of restoration God brings Mankind to this universall freedome in the Earth without respect of persons according to the righteous Law of the first creation of all things In the next place the Scriptures declare the Fall of Mankind from this righteous Law of Creation And the fall of Man is declared in these words Mankind being in honour abideth not that is he being made the Lords of the Earth and had dominion over the Fish Fowle and Beasts and was free in himselfe yet he abode not in that honour For one part of Mankind seeking to enslave another part setting up one to be a King or Lord casting another at his foot-stoole the stronger part hedging himselfe into the Earth by Armies and Selfe-will Lawes and thereby hedged out others did hereby become like the Beasts that perishes And how is that even as the beasts that pushes one another with their hornes so does Mankind so that Mankind in their Actings each to other is become a Beast And this Beastly Power was to reigne for a time times and dividing of times Therefore whosoever upholds this Beastly Power and yet saies they are the Sons of Christ or restoring power they lie they deceive themselves and the truth is not in them The Scriptures likewise declares the actings of Mankind under the fall or in darknesse Cain rose up in discontent and killed his brother Abel The quarrell rise about the Earth for Abels industry made the earth more fruitfull then Cain thereupon Cain would take away Abels labour from him by force These two Brothers did type out or fore-run all the acting betweene man and man from that time to this being a plaine declaration of that darknesse into which Mankind is falne Moses Law of equity was but the moderation or the curbing in of the Fall of Mankind for his Law was not the restorer but saith he there is one comes after me mightier then I and him ye shall heare which is Christ the restoring Spirit All the wars and divisions in Israels time and since and all buying and selling of Land and the fruits of the earth which is the art of cheating one another is but the actings of Mankind in darknesse under the power of the fall for both Kings Rulers and all people have had their checks from God for their unrighteous walking or cruelty against Abels plain-hearted Spirit And all the great combustions that hath been and yet is in the world is but politick covetous murdering Cain holding Abel or the honest plaine dealing heart under him or the son of bondage persecuting the son of freedome Now in the Third Particular The Scriptures declares the restoration of Mankind to his Creation-righteousnesse or that the Sonne of Righteousnesse shall rise up and expell the darknesse And there are 3 degrees of this First the Scriptures declares promises of restoration as in these words The Seed of the Woman shall bruise the Serpents head Abraham's Seed shall be the joy and blessing of all Nations The bright appearing of Christ the restoring Power shall destroy Anti-Christ or that darknesse in man called the Mystery of iniquity that rules in and enslaved Mankind And in the latter dayes they shall be all taught of God and the Spirit of truth shall lead them into all truth And such like Now these and such like promises declares the restoring of Mankind to his originall righteousnesse and that they shall be brought to be of one heart and of one mind and that they shall be freely willing to let each other enjoy their Creation-rights without restraining or molesting one another but every one doing as they would be done by Secondly the Scriptures declares Prophecies foretelling the restoration in such words as these The Swords shall be beaten into Plow-shares and Spears into pruning-hooks and Nations shal learn war no more but the Lion and the Lamb shall feed together the wast places shall be builded and the desolate land shall be tilled whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by This shewes that the Commons Heaths and waste land that hath lain barren by reason of the unrighteousnesse of Kings and Lords of Mannors that would not suffer the enslaved poore to till and manure it shall in the day of Christs Power be manunured and be made fruitfull that there may be no beggery nor misery among Mankind but that every body may freely enjoy their creation rights Thirdly the Scriptures declares the resurrection of the spirit of freedome within Man-kind As in these words The whole creation groaneth and travelleth in pain waiting for a restoration And Oh wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of sinne That is who will deliver mee from my covetousnesse pride envy uncleannesse selfe-love and this great power of darkness in me that hinders me that I cannot doe to others as I would have them doe to me And that enslaves mee within so that I cannot quietly suffer others to enjoy their creation rights in the earth The Apostles were hated slandered persecuted and bore all patiently rather then strive againe that they might hold forth the righteous law of creation This shewes the resurrection of the spirit of Love in