Selected quad for the lemma: doctrine_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
doctrine_n	church_n	government_n	reform_a	2,718	5	10.4681	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A66947	The dead-man's testament: or, A letter written, to all the saints of God in Scotland fellow-heirs of the blessing with those in England: for a view of the present work of God against the mystery of iniquity and for unity and love amonst themselves, in this day of the Lord's mercifull dispensation, and of the judgement of the whore. By Thomas Wood, sometimes inhabitant of Leith, lately departed this present life. And supplied by one of his own countrey-men, a lover of the true spirituall Beautie of Zion. Published by authoritie.	Wood, Thomas, of Leith.	1651 (1651)	Wing W3413; ESTC R221198	10,313	19

THE DEAD-MAN TESTAMENT OR A LETTER WRITTEN To all the Saints of GOD in Scotland Fellow-Heirs of the Blessing with those in England For a view of the present Work of GOD against the Mystery of Iniquity and for Unity and Love amongst themselves in this day of the Lord 's mercifull dispensation and of the judgement of the Whore BY THOMAS WOOD Sometimes Inhabitant of Leith lately departed this present life A●d supplied by one of his own Countrey-men a lover of the true spirituall Beautie of Zion Published by Authoritie Printed at Leith by Evan Tyler 1651. HAving perused this Book Intituled The Dead Mans Testament I do finde it to be Orthodox and sound and likewise usefull for the Lords People namely those to whom it is directed I do therefore allow it forthwith to be Printed and Published Given under my hand at Leith Novemb. 25. 1651. TIMO VVILKS A LETTER WRITTEN To all the Saints of GOD in Scotland Fellow-Heirs of the Blessing with those in England Grace peace and love with a rich Increase of all spirituall and heavenly gifts be plentifully multiplied upon all you the Israel of God for ever I Desire to write to you dearly beloved not in any considence of mine own ability being so unworthy but in the love and light of his Spirit who is our wisdome our righteousnes our sanctification and redemption I desire to say something to you the sons and daughters of GOD as the Lord himself hath named you 2. Cor. 6. For I know beloved even by experience in my self that in this day of the fierce wrath of GOD upon this Land the working of his Divine Providence in much love and mercy toward you may be too much looked upon even by you his precious People with the dark eye of naturall reason and sense rather then in the clear light of the Spirit of Truth as his love is constant with you in Jesus Because of the great distress upon this Nation and wrath over this People and because of your own sufferings in your bodily condition with the rest of the Nation as also because the outward glory of this National Church and beautifull appearance of holiness and worship therein is now much defaced Therefore even ye the freely Beloved of GOD are in danger looking naturally upon these things to conceive hard and dishonourable thoughts of your kind and mercifull Lord as if he were not fully pacified nor well pleased with you in his dearly beloved Son but were yet pleading a Controversie with you in his displeasure for your Iniquities as he is doing indeed with all the ungodly of the Land But Beloved although ye suffer in your bodily condition with the rest of the Nation yet your spirituall condition is nothing impaired thereby nor the free love of your Welbeloved any whit diminished For those sufferings which in the Justice of God are curses to the wicked are in the mercies of your God turned unto blessings to you They are the fatherly chastisements of your gracious Lords Hand upon you in abundance of love for teaching you more of himself in the Spirit and of his Heavenly Consolations and therefore they can do you no evill but good Your Fathers wisedome and love make all things work for your good He hath delivered you out of the power of evill and darknes and translated you into the Kingdome of his dear Son Col. 1. 13. where ye have your life hid with Christ in God above the teach of either temporall or eternall evills for by one offering your Lord hath perfected for ever all you that are sanctified Heb. 10. And therefore rejoyce evermore in the comfortable assurance of his free love even with strong consolation for your Lord called you to have free accesse alwayes even with boldnesse unto the most Holy Place within the Vale of his Flesh and hath covenanted with you to remember your sins no more Heb. 10. 18 19 20. What reason then Beloved have your hearts to be troubled or afaid for any outward shadow of evils for ye have your abiding in the shadow of the Almighty And as for the decay of the glory of this Nationall Church and Formality of Worship wherein naturally we did too much glory as did the Jewes in the Temple I trust Beloved your GOD will let you see that in all this great and terrible Work both he and his Instruments have had thoughts of love toward you his dear People and is only pleading with all the prophane in the Land for the abuse of his holy Things and purging all you his Saints who are his true Church indeed in whom he taketh delight to dwell from much corruption and deformity of the multitude that so yee may shine as Light amongst a perverse Generation for the beauty of this Nationall Church Beloved hath not been that purely spiritual and holy beauty of the Immaculat Spouse of Christ and Kings Daughter all lovely and fair within Psal 45. And therefore be not ye offended dear People although your Lord for his own glory and your comfort cast down or pluck up that which not himself by his Spirit but men by humane wisdome or policy had builded or planted Neither mistake ye the working of his Divine Hand as if he were robbing you his People of any of his own spirituall or heavenly Ornaments of free love which himself hath put upon you for his gifts toward you in these things are without repentance But as he is renting his holy Things from the prophane multitude of the Land to whom men had blindly cast them and who carelesly trod them under foot so is he in much love purging you his peculiar People from these Nationall Whoorish or Babylonish Ornaments of worldly power and glory humane wisedome and policy and counterfeit holines and worship wherewith ye were fallen in love and much defiled for the Mystery of Iniquity hath been very depthly and deceitfully working in this Nationall Church both in regard of her constitution or Members being builded by the Policy of men rather then by the Spirit of our Lord Jesus of all the prophane multitude of ignorant Atheists Witches Blasphemers Drunkards Scolders and Mockers of Godlines in the Land under the name of a true Reformed Church of Christ and a communion of the Faithful and in regard of that confused mixed Power and Goverment under the name of a true Spirituall Church-power and Government of Christ wherewith this Multitude was ruled and governed And lastly in regard of that confused or mixed Doctrine and Worship wherewith this Multitude was taught and wherewith they prophanely worshipped or rather highly provoked the Lord to anger for alac● beloved this beauty of this National Church hath consisted more in Multitudes of People Humane Power and Policy and forms of godlines in Worship then in any reall beauty or work of the Spirit of the Lord Jesus For the Office-bearers of this Church not contenting themselves as did the Apostles with such a number of you the

Saint to t●e Members of their Church-Communion or Body as it pleased the Lord Jesus to separate out of the worldly Multitude and call into a Church Communion by the power of his own Word and Spirit neither with that alone spirituall and divine power of him who is our Noble Ruler left us in his Testament wherewith to govern his own Spouse in spirituall and holy beauty as separate from the World but that the Church might have some appearance of glory in the eyes of the Multitude and that their persons might be holden in admiration by all men because of advantage these Office-bearers thought fit to have all the whole Nation to be Members of their Church And because it was impossible for them as the Lord's Ministers to rule those by the power of the Word who had never found the power of the Word or to govern the ignorant Multitude as Members of the Church by the spiritual or Church-power of Christ whom he himself had never brought into be Members by his spirituall power therefore they were necessitate otherwise the Church could not stand in a Nationall Constitution to joyn to their Ecclesiasticall or Church-power the Temporall power of the Civill Magistrate for governing the Church and compelling all the multitude of Fornicators Whoremongers Drunkards Blasphemers Brawlers Scolders and Calumniators Fighters excepted as not belonging to Church-censures to appear before their Sessions and Synods for giving satisfaction although not to GOD who approveth no compelled service yet to the Church or Ministery by extorted verball acknowledgment of sin making their repentance upon the Pillar severall Sabbaths before the Congregation which few or none would perform till they were compelled thereto And so making a confused mixture of both Powers Spirituall and Temporall imploying the Civil Power in the government of the Church and the Ministeriall or Church-power in the government of the State what they could not do by the Word they performed by the Sword for confining all to their iudgment and for ordering all the whole unreformed Multitude in one Church communion and Body casting the holy things of the House of GOD prophanely and confusedly unto all And so beloved whereas GOD hath proclaimed a perpetuall enmity between the Seed of the Woman and the Seed of the Serpent these men would make agreement betwixt them But what communion hath Light with Darknes the beleever with the unbeleever or the Temple of GOD with Idols 2. Cor. 6. And these things being considered dearly beloved it may appear to all you who are spiritually minded that this Nationall Church-government and power whereby it was acted over all People hath not been the purely Spirituall and Divine Power of our Lord Jesus which he himself upon whose shoulders is the Government hath left us in his Testament or New Covenant whereby to rule his own Church but hath rather been worldly o● nationall or like that detestable counterfeit mixed Power of that many-headed Beast or Man of sin who by taking to himself the power of both Swords Spirituall and Temporall hath by that false power under pretence of Religion and the Work of GOD subjected all Nations to his obedience tyrannized over consciences persecuted the Saints compelled all to his judgement and to receive his Mark and so ordered all as one communion or body under the name of the Catholick Church and under that colour hath deceived the whole Inhabitants of the World ruling ambitiously over Peoples and multitudes and Nations and Tongues Rev. 17. Which power and government with all his false doctrine and worship The Lord Jesus who cometh to be glorified in his Saints and to be admired in all you that believe is now to consume by the Spirit of his mouth and by the brightnesse of his comming 2 Thess 2. And as there hath been a detestable confusion and adulterous like mixture of the civil and Ecclesiasticall power in the government of this Church which hath maintained a confused mixture in her Members so hath there been the like confusion also in her Doctrine for by the doctrine that hath been publickly maintained that this Church so constitute of all people and so governed by a mixed Power hath been a Church most gloriously reformed and worthy to be a Patern to all others and that there ought to be in her no separation but all to be continued in one Communion And although the meetings of all people upon civile occasions were lawfull and expedient yet by this Doctrine the meetings of you the Lords People upon occasion of mutuall conference mutuall edification and comfort were taught to be unlawfull and unexpedient and that the civile power might suffer none to enjoy their liberty in the Nation but such as were compelled to the judgement of the Church Whereupon severall of the Saints out of Conscience refusing in some things to conform have been exposed to sufferings and in the more substantial Point the Preaching of Christ Jesus and free Justification by Faith in him hath been much obscured and darkened by the doctrine of works free Grace and the everlasting love of God without and before all good Works hath been so sparingly and darkly taught that almost it could not be perceived but the doctrine of the Law and Works of Reformation so largely and frequently holden forth that almost nothing els could be heard or known In which confused mixture of the Law Gospel Faith and Works in the point of Justification and acceptance with God the mistery of iniquity hath wrought very deeply and obscurely without being perceived as it did in the time of the Appostles for the comforts of the Word have been applyed to all the multitude upon their performance of dueties and the threatnings of the Word likewise unto all the multitude Beleevers and unbeleevers upon their failings in these performances So that neither the miserable condition of the wicked hath been clearly holden forth for casting them down neither the glorious condition of you the Saints of God for building you up in the Faith and increasing your strength and comfort For whereas the whole prophane multitude should have been plainly informed of the Law and curse in the full extent thereof that they evidenced themselves to be yet lying in bondage in the estate of wrath and condemnation under the power of the devill and sin and therefore could not be esteemed members of the reformed Church of Christ nor of the number of Gods people but by the contrary the whole prophane multitude who evidenced themselves to be open blasphemers of God and mockers of you his people and of all sincerity and Godlinesse hath been taught and denominat by this doctrine to be Covenanted people of God faithfull Brethren faithfull Sisters members of the true reformed Church of Christ and of the Communion of Saints to whom the Seals of the Covenant arightly appertained And as the condition of the wicked hath not been holden forth but a crying Peace Peace to whom there was no peace so