Selected quad for the lemma: judgement_n
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A93412
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A testimony for the truth and against deceit and deceivers with a reproof unto those who are not faithful to the truth which they are convinced of / By Stephen Smith.
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Smith, Stephen, 1623-1678.
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1668
(1668)
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Wing S4215; ESTC R184378
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12,419
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15
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A TESTIMONY FOR THE TRUTH And against DECEIT and DECEIVERS WITH A Reproof unto those who are not Faithful to the Truth which they are convinced of By Stephen Smith Isaiah 26.11 Lord when thy hand is lifted up they will not see but they shall see and be ashamed for their Envy at the People Verse 12. Lord thou wilt ordain Peace for us for thou hast wrought all our works in us Printed in the Year 1668. A Testimony for the TRUTH and against Deceit and Deceivers with a Reproof unto those who are not faithfull to the Truth which they are Convinced of FOr as much as it hath pleased the Lord in his great love and tender mercy to visit many who have been long covered with Darkness and drawn by the Subtilty of the Serpent working in a Mystery within and without in his Instruments from enjoying that Love and great Riches which is declared of in the Scriptures of Truth which should be revealed in the latter dayes in his Everlasting and Unchangable Covenant which Promise of the Lord many who had true breathing after him and could not be satisfied with feeding with Swine upon Husks but truly breathed after Living Refreshment and after that Bread which nourisheth that Birth which is Eternal and have delighted in the righteous Judgments of the Lord over the Enemy and Oppressor of Mans Soul through which Judgments the Love of God hath greatly been manifest having thereby brought to the knowledge of his Everlasting and Unchangable Truth to the exceeding great refreshment and satisfaction of the Souls of many thousands who have earnestly desired the same before the World and all its glory and having received the same in the Love of it and known Freedom by it in the Injoyment of the same do meet together as the manner and practice was of those who lived in the Fear and Dread of the Lord in the Primitive times so now in the pure Fear and Obedience to the just and equal requirings of their Creator whose Wayes are Equal Right and Just meets together to wait on him to the end they may be refreshed and fed with the same Bread of Life that so the Plant which the Lord hath planted may grow that so they may be changed from glory to glory till at length they may come to bear the Image of the Heavenly whereas formerly they have born the Image of the Earthly and those who so meet in the Spirit of Truth can truely say they never waited on the Lord in vain but do witness true refreshment from the God of Love whether a word be spoken in their Meetings or no so that they can truly sing in their Spirits of Mercy and of Judgements forasmuch as the Lord hath mixed Mercy with Judgments and hath not executed Judgment without Mercy in which hath greatly appeared his wonderfull Love to lost Mankind of which great and unspeakable Love there are this day to the Glory and Praise of his great Name even from his own Works thousands of Living Witnesses and hundreds have laid down their Lives in Nasty Holes and Stinking Prisons and many have been Banished and many have suffered cruel Mockings many thousands the Spoiling of their Goods whose Righteous Testimony through the Eternal Spirit of Love and Truth they have gladly born in this Day of Gods Power to the exceeding Comfort and Refreshment of all that are faithfull Followers of the Lamb but is and shall be to the astonishment of all who persist in their Disobedience against the Spirit of Truth and continue in their Rebellion against it and this righteous Testimony through all who are true Worshippers in the Spirit and Truth who are led and guided in all their wayes by the Spirit of truth being Sons and Daughters of the Living God so greatly beloved by him so that those that touch them in a wrongfull manner do touch the Apple of his Eye who created all things for his Glory and though his Mercy is great in not executing Judgement speedily but gives space and time of Repentance yet if they mind it not but let the Day of Gods Love pass over their heads that Terrible Voice they shall hear My Spirit shall strive no more let Flesh know that it s but Grass when the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it it shall fade as a Flower and that in a moment when his Anger is kindled which may be when the Worker of Iniquity is in the height of his vain glory and greatest boasting so as that righteous Testimony through all who are in the true Innocent Seed unto which all the Blessings and the Promises of the Lord are doth stand as a true Witness of the Lords great Love in this day wherein he is making known his great Power against all Workers of Iniquity and unrighteous Actions and deceitfull Workers who can feign and flatter with all sorts of debauched Persons and all dissembling Hypocrites Persons of unstable minds joyning with the cunning twisting twining Serpent in all its appearances in their earthly sensual and devillish wisdom being in the Adulterous whorish spirit degenerated from the Spirit of Truth holding a Profession of the Faith of our Lord Jesus Christ with respect of Persons receiving honour and giving honour according to the Customs and vain Traditions of the World by which means they have no knowledge of that Honour which is from Above yet notwithstanding these great Abominations which they commit in the sight of the Lord and all them which lives in their faithful Testimony against them yet they lean upon the Lord and thinks there shall come no evil upon them but except such do speedily repent and turn from their Abominations and bow to the righteous Testimony of God in them which shews them the deceitfulness of their heares to the end they may above and before all desire a clean heart and a right Spirit that so they may be single hearted toward their Creator and all men which except that be known the Lord will send a day upon them wherein shall be weeping and howling and bitter Lamentation and their Torment shall be so great that in the Morning they shall wish it were Night and at Night they shall wish for Morning and many shall desire Death rather then Life So I greatly desire that all People would mind in coolness how it stands between them and their Creator and deal impartially with themselves for of a certain God will not be mocked but such as they sow such they must reap So all mind the Fear of the Lord which is to depart from Evil that so the Curse of the Lord may be done away and his Blessing known and received And those that comes amongst the Possessors of Truth who have heard the sound of it and so a belief is raised in their hearts that God is found by them that diligently seek him in the Way of Truth many there be that are thus perswaded and so frequent Meetings together with them
their Mouthes is opened there is little need to speak of that these being Sayers but not Doers so not accepted of God these are they which run and are not sent which speaks a divination of their own Brain so not like to profit the people you may read of them at large Ezekiel the thirteenth read the Chapter from such Priests and Prophets as these is Profaneness gone forth in all the Land read Jeremiah the twenty third so they are sufficiently markt out in the Scriptures of Truth But some say we know all the Priests now adayes are bad enough and the smoothest of them preaches for filthy lucre sake but they speak good words so we may do as they say and not as they do O foolish People is it not because you love such easie Prophets who speaks peace to you in your Sins that you thus speak have you not heard what the Scriptures of Truth sayes Do men gather Grapes of therns or Figs of Thistles By their Fruits you may know them Should we not count him a very Fool that should go look for Figs on Thistles or sweet water out of a bitter Fountain What if they should say the Lord lives that is a true saying to them which knows it in themselves but it s a Lye to them who say it and knows the contrary in them but these Priests which Peach for Hire cry Peace to men whilst they put into their Mouthes to the end their god may be supplyed which causes and constrains their Mouthes to be open but in case you deny to put into their Mouthes then Demetrius like prepares War crying out we have a Law and if you wont pay we will make you pay But by the way what compulsive Law of man doth Christs Ministers use or were they to use prove any such thing in the Scriptures of Truth that they were to compel any man to give to them now if God hath appointed no such Maintenance by his Righteous Covenant and Law Is it not stealth in his sight to compel and take that by mans Law which God hath not appointed in his Law Look about you Priests for the Righteous Judge will sit in Judgment and to the Lambs Bar to give an account you must come and then the twisting Serpent will stand you in no stead but all things will be laid bare before you what esteem you have had of your god which is your Belly for the serving of which how have you yeelded unto the lying Spirit and so like Ahabs Prophets perswaded instigated many to go on in Persecution though to their destruction Have you not told the Magistrates that the Quakers are Ring-Leaders of Faction though you never come to their Meetings nor never examined the cause why they dissented from you nor never heard that they went about to disturb or molest any of their outward injoyments but barely because they bore a faithfull Testimony against the twisting twining Serpent the great Enemy of mans Soul which Spirit of Error your god cannot be served without so a great stir and ado you make in being Instruments of casting into Prison haling and tearing away the Goods and the like from those who lives in the Fear and Dread of the Lord God Almighty and in peace with men though in enmity with the Serpent the Enemy of mans Soul so the innocent blood which hath been shed in Nasty Holes and Stinking Prisons cries aloud unto the Righteous Judge of Heaven and Earth who is Lord of all who created all at his pleasure and can destroy all in the same those that be innocent out of the revengefull spirit have committed themselves and so cannot use any compulsive way with Weapons that are Carnal but in plain Demonstration and Power of the Spirit of Truth and their innocent Cause to the Judge of all they have committed to be cleared in his will and time who will assuredly do it But further to clear that you are the Ministers of Antichrist if notwithstanding what is declared any yet be in doubt Hearken what Christ saith to the Wicked I was an hungred and ye gave me no meat I was thirsty and ye gave me no drink I was a stranger and ye took me not in naked and ye cloathed me not sick and in prison and visited me not Then shall they also answer him saying Lord when saw we thee an hungred or thirsty or a stranger or sick or in prison and did not minister unto thee Then shall he answer them saying Verily I say unto you inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these ye did it not to me and these shall go away into everlasting punishment Matth. 25. In the same Chapter he shews the Righteous mans love and his reward and how did they express their love to Christ Did they do it in speaking great words of his Name No as you may read they visited his Brethren in their necessities so mark by the way there were Righteous men and now are though the Ministers of Antichrist for their gods sake would have all err and stray again from the Lords way but the Pearl for which they have sold all and bought is of more value then so but since Christ hath Brethren are not they them which are led by the Spirit of Truth and if people be given up to obey it will it not lead them out of the Spirit of Error If so then must they not depart from your wayes who are in the Revengefull Spirit Well then since those that are led by the Spirit are Sons of God as the Scriptures of Truth declare Rom. 8. and Heirs with Christ for he that sanctifieth and them that are sanctified are all of one wherefore he is not ashamed to call them Brethen now since there is such a unity between Christ and his Followers Shall it avail them any thing who call upon Christ yet persecute so near Relations as his Brethren And since those that visited them not in their necessities received such condemnation what will become of you And you Generation of wicked Doers who have been the cause of the Imprisoning so many of Christs Relations where several hundreds have laid down their lives for their faithfull Testimony against you because of your Adultery from the Lord and his Worship which is to be performed in Spirit and Truth and have set up worships according to your own hearts Lust and because of the Lords Patience and Long-suffering and great Mercy how do you harden your hearts against Reproofs and for good return evil and so go on scoffing and mocking well though the Lord hath exercised a great deal of patience it s my belief it will not last long but he will execute Righteous Judgment and plead the Cause of the Innocent who hath committed all to him with Praises and Glory from his own Works for ever The 21th day of the 11th Moneth 1667. Stephen Smith THE END