Selected quad for the lemma: enemy_n
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A26410
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A fannaticks addresse humbly presented to the King and his peers, and also to his people in their representative, the Commons House of Parliament ... discovering to them, the innocency of his actings in the midst of the late revolutions of governments in this nation ... / by Henry Adis ...
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Adis, Henry.
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1661
(1661)
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Wing A577; ESTC R20288
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14,003
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17
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Saint John the which Verily Verily had it been an Evil or if it had come of that Evil one and he himself speaking it had been his Evil to have tied us from it as an Evil and yet Acted it himself and so he would have layed himself under a guilt the which to say I really believe is no less then Blasphemy So that he tieth us as I judge not to the circumstance of the words but to the substance of the Matter and that without Swearing in saying Swear not at all So that though we cannot Swear to King Charles yet we can and shall be freely willing to promise to King Charles what we can safely and upon a Scripture Account promise And as we are not our selves free to plot contrive nor by force of Armes to undermine Him nor His Government so to prevent the shedding of Blood and the breach of the Peace of the three Nations we shall and will be ready and willing to discover all Plots Conspiracies or any thing that by force of Arms we shall know of against Him to some Justices of the Peace or other His Ministers within 24. Hours after the knowledge of such Plot or force Intended and shall resolve the Lord assisting us to be as true and faithful in our Yeas and Nays whether Promisary or Testimonial to King Charles and his Subjects of what Rank or Quality soever they be as our Brethren of Holland are to their States and to their fellow Citizens and Townsmen And we hope our performances therein will be found far more Real then the Multitudes either are or have been who have been ready to Swear for his to Day and against it to Morrow whose own Interests generally cause their mouthes to open in such Swearings and Forswearings more then Conscience The which we dare not do lest we be found Transgressing the Law of our Saviour and his faithful servant who say Swear not and Swear not at all Mat. 5. 34. Jam. 5. 12. Fifthly We look upon it to be our Duties to be a peaceable a quiet a harmless and an Innocent People and to keep our selves from all Manner of Acts of War Uiolence and Hostility Because to kill Inslave bring under ruine or destroy our Friends were most Inhumane And to do so to our Enemies we dare not because our Law-giver by his faithful servant Rom. 12. 17. c. requireth us to Recompence to no man Evil for Evil But that we Provide things honest in the fight of all men And that if possible as much as in us lyeth we should live peaceably with all men who requireth us not to avenge our selves but rather to give place unto wrath because it is written Vengeance is mine and I will repay it saith the Lord Therefore saith he if thine Enemy hunger feed him if he thirst give him drink for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head And be not overcome with Evil but overcome Evil with good yea and so saith our Saviour himself Mat. 5. 44. But I say unto you Love your Enemies Blesse them that curse you do good to them that hate you and pray for them that despitefully use you that you may be or that you may Evidence your selves to be the Children of your Father which is in Heaven for he maketh his Sun to rise on the Evil and on the Good and his Rain to fall on the Just and on the Unjust for if you love them which love you what reward have ye Do not even the Publicans the same And if ye salute your Brethren onely what do ye more then others do not even the Publicans the same Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect And we look upon it to be our Duties to follow our Lord and Master who left himself a Pattern for us to follow who saith Mat. 11. 29. Learn of me for I am lowly and Meek and ye shall find rest for your Souls who saith the Apostle 1 Pet. 2. 21. 23. When he was reviled reviled not again when he Suffered he threatned not but committed himself to him who judgeth Righteously Much more might be said to their particular the which for brevity sake I shall omit And shall thus affirm That for this cause and such Requirements as these are we dare not have to do with Weapons of War nor that the Acts of Violence in any case be found in our hands no not for the best things and to advance or promote either the Gospel or Kingdom of Christ by any such way or means we dare not in the least have so much as a thought but look upon it to be our Duties Patiently to wait and earnestly according to that other Requirement of Christ to Pray That his Kingdom may come that so his Will may be done on Earth as it is in Heaven Mat. 6. 10. And as we have declared in the said Declaration in 1659. That we could not hold Society with nor own those that were in the same Faith and Order with us and from whom we then stood at a distance that Acted with the Carnal Weapon Weapons of War and Acts of Hostility then so still we look upon it to be our Bounden Duty so to do because it is so frequently forbidden in Scripture and also because it bringeth such an Odium upon the Truth and also upon the peaceable Peâ—ple of God that are in Gospel Order and walk close to the Appointments of Christ in all his Ordinances and in Church-fellowship as it is at this day And therefore we cannot have to do with any such as do so Act or that look upon it to be their Liberties or Priviledges so to Act And shall have as little to do with them now as then or with any one that hath so acted unless they shall freely relinquish the same and shall acknowledge their failing and Evil in their so acting whether it be either against or for King Charles the first or King Charles the second It being so cleerly made out to us and also to several of them that formerly so acted from the Holy Scriptures to be contrary to the qualifications of a Gospel Disciple to have to do with the Weapons of War or the Sword of slaughter whose Weapon onely ought to be the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God to cut down kill and slay wound and bring under every Imagination and every high thought that Exalteth it Self against the Knowledge of Jesus Christ and to bring every Soul to the Obedience of Christ in all his Lawes Statutes Ordinances and Appointments In order whereunto Sixthly We look upon it to be agreeble to the pure Will and Mind of God thâ—t there be a free Toleration for Men and Women to Worship God without either Constraint or Restraint And that no Acts of Violence be used against them therein to force the Conscience of any no not of the meanest of the Sons and Daughters of Men of
contrary to the true Spirit of God whose Fruit is Love Joy Peace long Suffering Gentleness Goodness Meekhess and Temperance against which there is no Law no Law of God although there be now some Lawes of man intended to be made against them O that this were taking upon your spirits that now sit at the Stern Was not your Loyalty to King Charles the first and King Charles the second a great cause of your Hardships most of you How fared it with you you that were continually in England Was not those that boâ—e sway in England your continual Tormentors your fear and dayly dread And those that were away Did not they feel the smart of it Did you not all both abroad and at home cry out of Oppression Cruelty and Tyranny Did you cry out of them and think you that others will not cry out of you if you be found such Actors to others Was it evil in them to use you so for your Loyalty to King Charles And can you be so cruel to those that are Loyal to King Jesus and never acted any thing against King Charles the first nor King Charles the second or against the meanest of you nor ever took part with them that did Did the hand of God follow them for their cruel and unjust Actings to you and the King as most of you do say it did And can you be the same to others for their Loyalty to Him who hath righted you of them and brought you your own again and that against some of them too that never got the worth of one â—arâ—â—ing by all their Pillagings Plunderings or Sales neither of Goods nor Lands Can you be contented to enjoy your own And are you not willing that those that never harmed you should enjoy theirs Are you glad that you are brought into the Land of your Nativity again And would you now most cruelly justle others out Are you now setting up that Worship that you judge to be agreeable to the mind of God And will you now force others to forsake what they are perswaded to Oh! tâ—at you would but consider what your own Oppressions were and who you are now about to Oppress Let not your fury nor revenge fall heavy upon the Innocent Why should Iniquity and Injustice be found in your hands Oh! Consider with your selves apart and discourse it each with other seriously what such a Judgment as I in the singleness of my soul have laid before you can or ever did do you harm who never did any Acts of Violence for nor against you or the King nor ever shall resolve to do who have not gone with a defensive Weapon so much as to defend my self with above this fifteen years and am of the same Judgment with our Brethren of Holland whose innocent and harmless behaviour confident I am many of you in that time of your absence from this Land of your Nativity are well acquainted with the which I am confident the strictest of you have no just exception against either for endeavouring to undermine Government or to pull down Governours or by fraud or force to have to do with any mans Possession Goods or Estate who am willing to do by another as I would have another do by me and am as willing another should Live as my Self whose Indeavour in all my Teachings have been to perswade Persons to forsake and avoid all acts of Violence and Oppression and to cleave to God with purpose of heart and to perswade those that have Owned God in his Own way to continue stedfast in the same and to prove Faithful to him whose Lawes teach the best Loyalty to our Earthly Princes and purest Love to all yea to our very Enemies who with single-heartedness to all and without either Fawning or Flattery have and shall still resolve to tell every one with whom I have to do the worst of their Condition and shew them the danger they are in by reason of their misactings with an earnest desire that in order to their Eternal well-being they would refuse the Evil and choose the Good And so I have at this time done with you the great Council of the Nation and if for my plainness of speech either as to the matter or manner of it you shall become mine Enemy because I deal so plainly with you I shall let you know that notwithstanding I shall in the singleness of my Soul pray for you and for your Convertion not in the least Indeavouring or Plotting your Confusion And now I shall earnestly desire both the King his People and you their Representative to judge with Equity our Innocent Cause that so when you shall your selves be Summoned at that great Session before that great Tribunal and Righteous Judge who shall give to every man according as his work shall be that then you be found Innocent and without Blame as to your actings against the peaceable Ones of Christs Flock whose Sentence of either Come ye Blessed Inherit the Kingdom or Go ye Cursed into Everlasting Fire will be of an Eternal Extent and that upon the account of Mens actings to his People either for doing them good or for refusing to do them that good they might have done them who looketh upon what is either neglected or done to them to be done unto himself And hence it is that he uttered that from Heaven saying Saul Saul why Persecutest thou me I am Jesus whom thou Persecutest Acts 9. 3 4. And after the same manner will be his Sentence at that great Day of account even Go ye Cursed into Everlasting Fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels for when I was Hungry ye fed me not and naked ye clothed me not Sick and in Prison and ye visited me not For inasmuch as ye did it not to one of these little Ones ye did it not unto me O then I beseech thee whoever thou be that art of a Persecuting spirit I say again I would Beg thee seriously to consider O Persecuting spirit that if the Lord Christ will thus severely punish the neglecting the doing good to his People when Hungry Naked Sick and Imprisoned What then will be the Portion of those that cause them to come into such difficulties and straits as Imprisonments Hungrings Nakedness and Sickness And cause them to be thrown as it were on heapes one upon another as some of the Baptists lately have been in one Room some 9. Foot broad and 14. Foot long in New Gate And much after the same way in several other Gaols and Prisons in the Nation Enough to breed Infections and Diseases had not the God whom we serve appeared mightily in our Behalfes And seeing the Eternal Sentence will be so severe against such Violent Actors In love to their Souls I cannot choose but give them a timely Caution and in their behalfes with that servant of the Lord Deut. 32. 29. Cry out and say O that they were wise that they would understand this that they would