Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n
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A50858
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A beame of light darted thorough [sic] the clouds, or, Truth breaking forth from under a veil by Joshua Miller.
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Miller, Joshua, 17th cent.
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1650
(1650)
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Wing M2062; ESTC R35047
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30,283
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75
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find to prevent this mischiefe that may justly come upon us I advise all that professe the name of the Lord in sincerity however they are called or distinguished by the corrupt man that they would love all that be are their fathers image though it be small not for form sake but for godlinesse sake love the truth as it is in Jesus not as this man or the other man speaks it and untill this be for my part I believe divisions will increase which is the rode way to persecution Mark the words of James Pure Religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this To visite the fatherlesse children and widdowes and to keep your selves unspotted from the world J am 1.27 CHAP. IX Whether we may not expect a glorious rest before this finall appearing and what rest it will be GLorious things are spoken of this last age and divers opinions there are about it some conceive a personall reign of Christ as Rev. 20.3.4 They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years but I understand this spiritually that he shall reign in them not as he was upon earth as some dream for Acts 3.21 saith the heavens must retain him til the time of restitution of all things Some thinke this thousand years began at his birth others at his Resurrection there being books extant on this subject shall not speak more of this for to me I find not the least ground of a personall reign of Christ when he went away he never said I will come a gaine personally but I will send my Spirit that shall lead you into all truth not that I will come again in flesh upon earth and live a thousand years but in Spirit and in that place it is said they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years but it saith not upon earth for there is no such word But I must truly say there will be a glorious rest for the Saints in divers particulars As first in powring out the Spirit Joel 2.8 Acts 2.17 In those dayes I will powre out my Spirit on all flesh your sons and daughters shall prophecie you shall not say one to another know the Lord for you shall be all taught of God this promise in my judgement hath this meaning in it that we shall no longer rest in men ye shall not need that any man teach you man with his principles parts learning you shall no longer say to this man or that man teach us for ye shall all be taught of God you shall be brought off from that sottish opinion in the world that think none but men learned in Arts can teach no my Spirit that shall teach you ye shall then come to acknowledge Gods teaching in all for ye shall be made to confesse that it is not Paul Apollo nor Cephas but Christ in ail that teacheth this promise doth not overthorw the preaching of the Gospell as some men may judge but is a comparative speech signifying what knowledge shall be in these last times and no man shall therefore believe a thing true because the Minister saith so but they shall have a spirit of understanding given to know things as 1 Joh. 2.27 declares to us that as the same anoynting teacheth us so we shall judge whether it be God or man that speaks and those weak words shall be laid aside as we now say such and such a man taught me this is a destroying thy Maker therefore thou shalt say It was the Lord and I knew it not I have many times admired why Christians get so little by hearing and I find the cause to be this they go to hear men and not God and so they divide if you be not taught of God to love another you can never learn it of men Alas man is but the cane in which sugars lies the trunk through which God speaks man is but John Baptist a voice and no more this will be a blessed time when we shall give every thing its due not say such a man can teach me more then another this is a calling upon Malcham to make some King or Ruler over thee besides the true God Call no man therefore your Master or Teacher but one even God 2. Secondly there will be much love and quietnesse amongst people the Lion shall eat straw like the Oxe the Wolf shall dwell with the Lamb they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain These are metaphoricall expressions to note God will mightily restraine the spirits of men what a wonder is it to see a Wolfe lie quiet with a Lamb so it will be all Lion-like devouring tyrannizing prosecuting spirits shall be as a Lamb made still and stirre nor God will turn Lions into Lambs great abominable sinners into gracious Saints Knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the Sea that is comparatively to former times Men shall be filled with this divine wisdome the fool shall condemn the wise the weak the mighty Isai 2.4 They shall beat their Swords into plow shares what ever was as a sword to kill destroy lives liberties of one another that sword shall be turned into a plow share it shall now worke for the good of all this notes to us abundance of peace that will be in mens spirits no more cries or persections shall be heard in our streets the time is coming that persecution shall cease Mic. 4.5 All people will walk every one in the name of his God and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God all such Lion and Wolvish spirits shall be taken a-away 3. Thirdly for an outward peace how far that will extend take a few hints That certainly tyranny shall be abated much and justice shall run down like a river Esa 32.18 The people shall dwell in quiet habitations and shall sit every man under his vine and his fig tree and none shall make them afraid Mic. 4.4 No power outward or inward shall dismay them for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it the abundance of corrupt Lawyers shall be pulled down and when that is done then rejoyce O ye inhabitants of the earth for Babylon or confusion and deceit is falling and untill this be done we must expect no fulfilling of justice to run as a river we have some streames already but those deceivers stop the currents they are such as darken caunsell Luke 11.52 keep the key of Knowledge and by that gaine wedges of gold to themselves and Diana must down in all To performe this worke God faith Isai 1.26 I will restore unto you Rulers as at the first and Judges as at the beginning God sits now a refining and gives us great hopes of Judges and Rulers hating covetousnesse and selfe-ends there must be such as are like Melchisedeke to know no kindred or friend when in Authority forget all relations but doe justice to all without respect to this or that friend Levit. 24.22 There shall be one manner of Law as well for the
not be restored for every creature in its kind doth conduce to the life of man as might be made easily to appeare For whatever concurres to life may be called food and cloathing so that if any creature may be excluded from this liberty by the former opinion then all may But doth not that place testifie that all shall not be restored Isai 60.19 The Sun shall be no more light by day nor the Moon give light unto thee but the Lord shall be thy everlasting light I might give a spirituall sense of these words but shall only answer as to the question it seems by this place that the Sun and Moon shall be destroyed I answer The Prophet speaking of the glorious appearing of God intimates all such lights shall be darkened as we have walked in without himselfe But if it may be litterally understood then mark the words he saith not the Sun and Moon shall be no more but they shall give light no more that is to say their light shall be no more in respect of that profit man hath had by them for God shall be our light our state will be beyond the creatures perfection much lesse shall we want their light Yet they may be though we have no benefit by them as no man is so blind in judgment as to say the Sun is not because it is under a cloud and as the greater light swallowes up the lesse so this testifies onely that the light of God will swallow the light and lustre of all excellencies as to our advantage yet they may still be So then I judge there will be a restauration of all things and those words witnesse it Rom. 8.21 The creature it self was made subject to vanity and it shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God Now then the bondage of the creature what is it but a subjection to corruption Look then what liberty the sons of God expect the same all creatures are to have but it is in suo modo in their kind or according to their nature I say not a part of the creation but the whole creation or every creature groans for the manifestation of the sons of God And although they have not a sense of liberty yet they have of misery so Acts 3.21 mentions a time when there must be a restitution of all things Now if the whole creation hope for that which they should never attain to why are those Scriptures mentioned so fully to this point Therefore I conclude that there will be a generall restauration but whether they shall be restored to the state in Adam or more glorious I will not fully determine yet suppose it will be a more glorious perfection CHAP. VII When or about what time will this change be THis question being more difficult then necessary I may not search into the time holding it godly wisdome to be ignorant of it yet many men have weakly betrayed their wisdome in spending much time upon this particular I will onely hint at some probabilities that divers have supposed about it First there were many Jewes got an opinion from one Elias a man eminent amongst them who said that as the world was made in six dayes and the seventh God rested so the world should stand six thousand years and no longer and strengthened his opinion upon 2 Pet. 3.8 One day with God is a thousand years and a thousand years one day and thus taking a day for a thousand years six dayes make six thousand but alas he considered not the ground of this expression which Peter onely useth to confute the sleepers of those dayes that thought God was far enough off he condemns their security and informes them time is nothing to eternity A second sort were such as by Arethmetical numbers as by a witty invention calculated the time as one did out of two words ConfLagratIo MVnDl finding so many numeral letters in these words as make up 1657. from thence concluded that in that year the world must end and to hold up this opinion they say Noahs flood was in 1657. So others as Picus Mirandula said it should end in 1905. And formerly in Germany divers went about saying in such a year it must end As I have read one Thoda a woman in Germany in 848. went about streets and told people that she had it from an Angell that the world should end that yeare whereby many became prodigall of their goods fearing they should not spend them in so short a time Others more moderately divide the world into six Ages and say the seventh Age the end must be the Ages are thus divided First from the Creation to the Flood Second from the Flood to Abraham Third from Abraham to David Fourth from David to the Captivity Fifth from the Captivity to Christ Last from Christ to the end of the world so that the beginning of the seventh age will be the full restauration And as Enoch was the seventh from Adam and was translated for God took him so this may be a figure of this state that the seventh Age God shall be fully manifest This opinion my judgement leads me to believe nearest to truth for certainly this is the last age as Heb. 1.2 witnesseth Now to such as will descant upon time to shew their learning I will leave them to learne what those words meant Mark 13.32 But of that day and hour knoweth no man no not the Son save the Father CHAP. VIII What sure ground we have to believe this change is nigh ALthough I am against such as prefix a time to this change yet as great men send Harbingers before them to give notice of their coming so God hath divers messengers that proclaime this coming 1. First is the unsealing of the Scriptures God reveals not all at once as time shuts up truth opens God hath truth for severall ages Daniel was bid to seale up the book till the end Dan. 12.4 the nearer the end is the more open will such truths be as concerne the end God will not draw his curtains fully open not shew all at once men shall run to and fro and knowledge shall increase First this intimates an inquisition in people after the Lord they shall inquire the way to Zion with their faces that way as snow gathers by rowling so truth shall mightily increase by going to and fro the nearer the Iudge is the more the people run and inquire when he comes Secondly to and fro notes the sweetnesse of fellowship amongst brethren they shall run to and fro backwards as well as forwards not to this friend or that friend but to back friends as well as bosome-friends there will be no respect of persons in this sense this notes his coming nigh who is himselfe no respecter of persons The poor and the rich will be one with a knowing soule the language will not be I will go to the rich mans house no the rich hath many