Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	believe_v	faith_n	testimony_n	1,573	5	8.5071	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A90391	An examination of the grounds or causes, which are said to induce the court of Boston in New-England to make that order or law of banishment upon pain of death against the Quakers; as also of the grounds and considerations by them produced to manifest the warrantableness and justness both of their making and executing the same, which they now stand deeply engaged to defend, having already thereupon put two of them to death. As also of some further grounds for justifying of the same, in an appendix to John Norton's book ... whereto he is said to be appointed by the General Court. And likewise of the arguments briefly hinted in that which is called, A true relation of the proceedings against the Quakers, &c. Whereunto somewhat is added about the authority and government which Christ excluded out of his Church ... By Isaac Penington, the younger.	Penington, Isaac, 1616-1679.	1660 (1660)	Wing P1166; Thomason E1020_5; ESTC R203130	87,615	103

alwayes to last but is one of the fashions of this world which is to pass away how long a time soever it hath had and God may call his people from it at his pleasure and if he call from it they must leave it off though the earthly nature and powers be never so angry thereat The Lord hath let man have a long day wherein man hath been lifted up and appeared great by receiving that honour which is of the earth not of the faith but at length the Lord will bring forth his day wherein he will be great and have every knee bow to him and every tongue confess to him and then man shall be little and his honour fall and the Lord alone be exalted Isa 2.17 2. Doth not the image of God grow up into the likeness of God Doth God respect mens persons Did Christ regard any mans person Did not James say If ye have respect to persons ye commit sin and are convinced of the law as transgressors James 2.9 Of what law Of the law of faith which exalteth the new birth and layeth flat the creature in its transgressing nature estate and honour For saith Christ who received not honour from men nor gave honour to men how can ye believe which receive honour one of another John 5.44 That which receiveth earthly honour is of the earth and cannot believe and that which giveth earthly honour is of the earth and so not of the faith The faith is a denying of the earth a taking up of the cross to the earthly honour which is as a block in the way of faith How can ye believe when ye cherish that part in you which is against the faith The immortal seed of life in the day of the Gospel grows up out of the earth leaving it with its customes fashions honours yea and its nature and worships too behind it So that look into the ground of the thing with the eye which seeth over the transgressing state and over all things which have sprung up from the transgressing part and which please that part which is out of the faith out of the life and power drawn from God into the earth and it wil be manifest that earthly honour hath its root foundation and service there but falleth off like a shackle from mans spirit as the life riseth in him and as he is redeemed out of the earth Now as for Abrahams and Jacobs bowings c. Those things had their season under the law which made nothing perfect as other things had but now God calleth every man to bow to the Son and will not permit so much as bowing to an Angel who is far more honourable than any Magistrate And the Son calleth to honour the Father and to seek the honour which cometh from God only and he that will be his Disciple must take up his cross to the earthly part and follow him who neither gave earthly honour nor received earthly honour but condemned it John 5.44 Therefore let men consider the ground of the thing and the different state between Jews under the law and Christians under the Gospel and not think the bringing of instances from them of old time can dispence with us in following Christ according to the law of faith who gave us this pattern of not receiving or giving honour to mens persons and let not the weight of our plea it having so great impression on our hearts be despised by any that pretend relation to our Lord and Master which I shall briefly thus recite 1. It is the single and sincere desire of our hearts to give all the honour and obedience to Magistrates which is due unto them according to the Scriptures 2. It is manifest that we are careful of observing all just laws and patient in suffering through unjust laws or where the Magistrate doth persecute us without or against law 3. This kind of honour of pulling off the hat and bowing to the person we do not find commanded in Scripture but we find Christs command against it who saith follow me who both denyed to receive it and did not give it but condemned it And we find its rise to be from the earthly part and to the earthly part it is given which it pleaseth being given to it or is offended at being denyed it and this part we are taught by the Lord to crucifie in our selves and not to cherish in others 4. The bowing of persons under the law which was an earthly state wherein many things were permitted which are not permitted under the Gospel doth not bind Christians under the Gospel nor doth not limit the Spirit of God from taking of any one or more or all of his people from giving that which the earthly part calleth honour to that which is of the earth 5. We do appeal to the Lord our God who is our judge and law-giver that he hath laid this upon our Spirits and hath smitten several of us when there hath arisen so much as a desire in us to please men in this particular and in the fear of his name and in obedience to him do we forbear it and not either in contempt of authority or of the persons in authority 6. We find by much experience that the forbearing of this is a service to our Lord and Master and an hurt to his enemy It offendeth the passionate it offendeth the rough it offendeth the proud and lofty that spirit is soon touched and stirred by it but that which is low that which is meek that which is humble that which is gentle that is easily drawn from valuing and minding of it and findeth an advantage therein And of a truth the earthly spirit knows and feels that God is taking the honour from it and giving it to the meek and humble which makes it muster up its forces and arguments to hold it as long as it can Now what moderate man much more any Christian could not forgo the putting off of an hat or bowing of the knee upon so solemn and weighty an account as this If this were thine own case wouldst thou be forced imprisoned fined or have this made an argument against thee to banish thee or put thee to death Thou dost not know how the Lord may visit thee by his Spirit and what he may require of thee He may call thee also to give forth thy testimony and to fight under the banner of his Spirit against all the fashions customes honours yea and worships of this World That which is born of God is not of this World and as it groweth up in any earthen vessel so it draweth the vessel also more and more out of this World Ye are not of the World but called out of the World therefore the World hates you That which can please the World that which can bow to it and honour it that the World loves but the immortal seed which cannot bow but testifies against the Worlds honours that they are not of the Father

them The natural man understandeth not the things of the spirit of God the spirit of the Lord alone understandeth the meaning of his own words and he alone gives the understanding of them which he gives not to the wise Searcher and Disputer nor to the prudent professor Mat. 11.25 but to the babe which he begets to which he gives the kingdom and opens the words which the Scripture speaks concerning the kingdome The wisdom of the flesh is enmity against God and if that search into the Scriptures it will gather only a knowledge suitable to its enmity Thus the Jews were great enemies and strong enemies by the knowledge which they had gathered out of the Scriptures written to them and the same spirit hath also wound it self into the Scriptures written since And as then that spirit fought against Christ and his Apostles with those very Scriptures which the spirit of Christ had formerly written so the same spirit fights now against the Lambs and witnesses of Christ with the Scriptures which were written since Yea the great strong hold of Antichrist at this day is Scripture interpreted by the fleshly wisdome for Antichrist comes not in a direct denial of Christ or Scriptures he is too cunning to be found there but bends them aside by the fleshly wisdom to serve the fleshly will and thus undermines the spirit and exalts the flesh by a fleshly understanding and interpretation of those very Scriptures which were written by the spirit against the flesh And through this mistake it is that some innocently cry up things practised at the first springing up of truth not seeing of what nature they were and upon what account they were done and what of them were cast off by the same spirit which before had led to the use of them though the Scripture expresly testifieth thereof For Rev. 11.1 2. there was the measuring of the building which Gods own spirit had built part whereof was reserved for God part given to the Gentiles or uncircumcised in heart who are now the Gentiles since the breaking down of the former distinction betwixt Jew and Gentile That which God reserved for himself was the Altar the Temple the worshippers therein all these are inward The outward Court was given to the Gentiles to those who would be worshippers under the Gospel and yet had not the circumcision of the Gospel to them the Court which is without the Temple is given and this they get and cry up and then tread under foot the Holy City trampling upon the inward and undervaluing it Christ within the Spirit within the Law within the power within becomes a reproach and this they have power to do even to keep down the inward and cry up the outward all the time of the forty two months and to persecute and slay the witnesses whom God raised up to testifie for the inward and against the outward as it is now in the Gentiles hands and made use of by them to keep down the inward and so the building being thus taken down the Church flies out of it into the wilderness where she had a place prepared of God for her Rev. 12.6 Mark she is not where she was before that building was measured taken down and disposed of by God but she hath been and is all the time of the 42. months or 1260 daies in another place prepared by the spirit of God for her whither she fled and where she was nourished from the face of the Serpent who was seeking after her and making war with the remnant of her seed ver 14. c. And they that seek for her now in her former building will miss of her and may meet with another woman which in several appearances and disguises and practising of ordinances appertaining to the outward Court blasphemes the holy City the true Temple Altar and Worshippers Happy is he that can read this for it is the mystery of this book sealed from all the Gentiles and Worshippers in the outward Court Many sorts cry up the Scriptures for their rule but which of them is taught by the spirit to keep the carnal part out of the Scriptures Which of them keeps out their own will and understanding receiving their knowledge of Scriptures from that Spirit which wrote them Do not men rather gather a knowledge in the flesh and then grow strong and wise and able to dispute and confident in their own way and become feirce despisers of those who cannot own their interpretation of these Scriptures and thus the mind of God the true meaning of the Scriptures is not their rule but an image which they have formed out of it a meaning which their wit hath strongly imagined and fenced with arguments and the real mind and intent of the spirit is hid from them So by this means many both deceive their own souls and help to deceive the souls of others missing of the plainness and simplicity of the spirit and gathering sences in the wit and subtilty of the fleshly part where the serpentine wisdom lodgeth and twines about the tree of knowledge Now what do these men do whom do they serve and whither do they run themselves and lead many other poor souls whom they pretend to be helpful to save 3. Consider whether ye did not flee from the Cross in your transplanting into New-England and so let up that part in you there which should have been kept down by the Cross here and gave advantage to that spirit to get ground in you which ye outwardly fled from The safety is in standing in Gods counsel in bearing the Cross in suffering for the testimony of his truth but if at any time there be a fleeing of the Cross whether the inward or the outward without Gods direction the evil Spirit is thereby let in his part strengthened and the life weakned That Spirit which would save it self from the cross is the same with that which would persecute that which will not save it self Mark how sharply Christ speaks to Peter upon this account when he would have tempted him to avoid the cross get thee behind me Satan thou art an offence unto me for thou savorest not the things of God c. Mat. 16.23 The seed offers up all to God in his service will suffer any thing for his names sake even the loss of liberty goods yea life it self for the testimony to the least truth now that which sayes to the seed when sufferings come for the testimony of truth avoid it save thy self let not this be unto thee or the like that 's Satan and if Satan be not cast behind but that counsel hearkned unto which leadeth from the cross Satan is followed And if ye fled your proper cross in your removal from hence unto New-England though ye might meet with many others there yet hereby ye lost your proper advantage of serving and honouring God in your generation yea ye lost that which would have kept your Spirits tender and