Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n
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A40181
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An exhortation to all that profess themselves Christians and say the scripture is their rule for their life doctrine and practice / by George Fox.
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Fox, George, 1624-1691.
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1680
(1680)
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Wing F1816; ESTC R30369
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10,101
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20
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upon your Steeple house-Walls and print that Six dayes men must Labour as in the Ten Commandments the Lord commands and yet do not you in the same places your Steeple-houses give notice or warn all people to keep and observe the Day of the Birth or the Day of the Death of such a Saint And tell people that they must keep Christ's Nativity-Day or St. John's Day and Peter and Paul and Steven's Dayes c. and yet say Six Dayes you must Labour Is not this Contradiction and contrary to the Command of God and no Command of Christ nor his Apostles And this your Practice you cannot make good neither out of the old nor new Testament c. And therefore be not offended with us if we search the Scriptures which you say is your Rule for your Life Doctrine and Practice for therein we cannot find that they do maintain or hold forth either your Life Doctrine or Practice in these things Therefore be not offended at us because we cannot follow you in the Observation of those things which you have no Warrant for in the Scriptures of the old or new Testament 2dly Where did ever any of the Patriarchs Fathers Prophets or Apostles in the old Testament either before the Flood or before the Law or in the time of the old Law and Covenant call any of their Meeting-houses Synagogues Tabernacles Sanctuaries Temple after any of the Patriarchs Fathers Prophets or the Holy Men or Women's Names You that say the Scripture is your Rule for your Practice and Life shew one Example for your so doing in all the old Testament where ever they called any of their Meeting-houses Synagogues Tabernacles Temple Sanctuaries after any of the Patriarchs or Prophets Names who say the Scripture is your Rule for Life Doctrine and Practice as is before said Or in the dayes of the new Testament where did ever Christ or any of the Apostles or Disciples call any of their Meeting-houses or Places where Christ and his Disciples met in whilst he was with them in the dayes of his Flesh or after when he was risen as long as the Apostles and Disciples of Christ lived upon the Earth where did they call any of the Houses they met in by Christ's Name or the Virgin Mary's Name or any of the Apostles or Saints Names For it is said Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired House and received all that came unto him teaching those things that concerned the Lord Jesus Christ Now here Paul made his own hired House a Meeting-house to preach in he doth not call his Meeting-house by the Name of St. Peter or St. Paul's House or St. John's or St. James or St. Bartholomew or St. Thomas or the like And the Apostle Paul in Rom. 16. greeteth his Follow-helpers in Christ Jesus Priscilla and Aquila and the Church that was in their House Now the Apostle doth not call their House the Church but the People that were in it he calls the Church neither doth he call their House St. Peter or St. Paul's Church or St. Priscilla or Aquila's Church Likewise in the 1 Cor. 16. the Apostle salutes the Church which is in their House he doth not call it St. Andrew's or St. Margaret's or St. Katherines or St. Mary's or the like And Paul writes to the Colossians and saith Luke the beloved Physician greeteth you salute the Brethren in Laodicea and Nymphas and the Church which is in his House Here he gives it not the Title of St. Matthew's or St. Mark 's or St. Luke's or St. Andrew's or the like And the Apostle writes to Philemon to Aphia and to Archippus and to the Church in his House Here he doth not call the House the Church but the Church was the People which were in their House And the Apostle doth not give the Title of St. Thomas or St. Peter or St. Paul to the House And John writes to the seven Churches in Asia and he doth not name them by St. Peter or St. Andrew or St. Paul or St. Mary or St. Margrets but to the Seven Churches or Seven Congregations of the Saints And now you say the Scripture is your Rule for your Life Practice and Doctrine and have been offended at us the People of God in Scorn called Quakers because we cannot give those Titles to Houses which you have builded as you and your Fore-Fathers have done For we like the Noble Bereans have searched the Scriptures and cannot find neither in the old nor new Testament that ever the Patriarchs Prophets Christ the Apostles or Disciples did ever give such Titles to their Meeting-houses as before-mentioned as you have done to yours And therefore be not angry with us because we cannot follow you in your Practices which you cannot make good by the Scripture of the old and new Testament And you that call your selves Christians had you not better mind the Lives of the Saints and the Life of Christ Jesus in his Grace and Truth Light Power and Spirit in your Hearts and teach all your People to do the same rather than to observe the Dayes of their Birth or Death and to give such Titles to Houses which Christ nor his Apostles never did So that they and you may come to Christ's Eternal Day and in him to know the Rest and Sabbath and to keep that Holy Eternal Day in his Eternal Light and Spirit to the Glory of the Eternal God and his Son Christ Jesus Amen 3dly And in Malachy 3. he saith Will a Man Rob God yet ye have robbed me saith the Lord. But ye say Wherein have we robbed thee In Tythes and Offerings ye are cursed with a Curse For ye have robbed me even this whole Nation Bring ye therefore all the Tythes into the Store-House that there may be Meat in my House and prove me now therewith saith the Lord of Hosts if I will not open to you the Windows of Heaven and pour you out a Blessing c. Now mark this was in the old Covenant and old Testament when Tythes and Offerings were commanded for here they were both joyned together These Tythes and Offerings were to be carryed into the Store-house that there might be Meat in the House for the Priests and Levites and Widows and Fatherless For the Priests and Levites had no Lot of the Land but the Tythes and part of the Offerings was their Portion for the Tythes were the Lord's and the Levites were the Lord's and he gave the Tythes or Tenths of the other Tribes to them and the Tenths of the Tenths were to be offered up to the High Priest So it was reckoned a Robbing of God by such as did not bring in their Tythes which were the Lord's which he gave unto the Levites and Priests yea the whole Nation of the Jews robbed God because they did not bring in their Tythes and Offerings into the Store-house and therefore they were cursed with a Curse and that was their Punishment and Punishment it was
AN EXHORTATION To all them that Profess Themselves CHRISTIANS AND SAY The Scripture is their Rule for their Life Doctrine and Practice By George Fox Christ is become of none effect unto you Whosoever of you are justified by the Law are fallen from Grace Gal. 5.4 How turn you again to the Weak beggarly Elements whereunto you desire again to be in Bondage ye observe Dayes and Moneths and Times and Years I am afraid of you lest I have bestowed upon you Labour in vain Gal. 4.9 10 11. The Bereans were Noble and searched the Scriptures daily to see whether those things were so as the Apostles preached Acts 17.11 Let no man judge you therefore in Meats or Drinks or in Respect of an Holy Day or of New Moons or of the Sabbath-dayes which are a Shadow of things to come but the Body is of Christ Col. 2.16 17. Printed in the Year 1680. Here you may see in this little Book as followeth First THat none of the Holy Men of God in the Old Covenant did call an Outward Tabernacle or Temple or Synagogue after the Name of any Saint 2dly And that also in the New Covenant Christ and the Apostles did not call any of their Meeting-houses or Meeting-places after their Own Names or other Saints Names 3dly That Christ and the Apostles did not set up Holy Dayes and their own Birth-Dayes and other Saints Dayes and set up Courts and compelled people to keep them 4thly And likewise How Christ and his Apostles did not call an Outward House a Church and Congregation 5thly How that neither Christ nor the Apostles nor the Holy Men of God did give the many Names to the Moneths and Dayes as them called Christians do now 6thly And also How that a Curse was pronounced upon them that did not bring their Tythes to the Store-house in the Old Covenant And how the Priests and Teachers that call themselves Christians have exceeded that Curse in the Old Covenant in casting many into Prison and keeping some therein till Death because they could not give them Tythes and Maintenance in the New Covenant knowing that Christ hath changed the Priesthood and the Law and Commandment that gave Tythes and took Tythes and said to his Disciples Freely you have received Freely give 7thly And likewise concerning such as say The Scripture is their Rule to walk by but how contrary to Scripture they have walked An Exhortation to all them that Profess themselves Christians and say The Scripture is their Rule for their Life Doctrine and Practice First WHERE did ever any in the old World before the Flood or from Noah's time to Abraham Isaac and Jacob keep and observe the Dayes of their Birth or the Dayes of the Death of their Progenitors and call them Holy Dayes Or where did any in the dayes of the old Covenant or the old Testament unto the dayes of Christ throughout all the Fathers and Prophets and Holy Men of God keep either the dayes of the Birth or Death of any of the Patriarchs Fathers or Prophets and call them Holy Days or had their Courts or Paritors to trouble People for working upon the dayes of the Birth or dayes of the Death of any of the Patriarchs or Fathers call them Holy dayes But on the contrary is it not said and commanded by the Lord Six Days shalt thou labour and do all thy Work that thou hast to do Ex. 20.9 And in Ex. 23. it is said Six Dayes shalt thou do thy Work And doth not the Scripture say in many other places There are six days wherein men ought to work c And now if you do profess the new Covenant and that you are Christians and though there was no such Practice of Observing the dayes of the Birth or Death of any of the Fathers or Prophets either in the old World before the Flood or after in the days of the old Covenant nor in the dayes of Christ and the Apostles in the new Covenant then how can you that profess the Scriptures to be your Rule for Life and Doctrine prove your Practice for these things by the Scriptures c. For where did ever Christ or the Apostles command that their Followers should observe and keep the days of their Birth or the days of their Death or bid to call them Holy Dayes and set up Courts or Paritors to summon people into their Courts fine them or imprison them for working upon any of the dayes of their Birth or of their Death Or did Christ ever give a Command that any should keep the day of his Birth or Ascension or the day of the Purification of Mary his Mother Or did Christ give a Command that any should observe and keep the day of John Baptist's Birth or Death Or did the Apostles ever give a Command that any should keep the dayes of Steven or James's Birth or Death who were Martyred in their dayes before their decease Or did ever Peter and John and Matthew and Luke and Mark and the rest of the Apostles give a Command that the Christians after their decease should observe their dayes of Birth or Death Or did ever Paul write to Timothy or Titus which were Elders or Bishops and the rest of the Apostles and Elders in all their Councels which gave out their Decrees to the Churches in all their Decrees and Councils did they give forth any such Order Command or Decree in all their Epistles and Writings in the Bible that any should observe and keep the dayes of the Birth or Death of any of the Apostles or Disciples or Evangelists or Pastors and Teachers and to call them Holy Days and set up Courts and cite all that should work on those dayes and that they should be called after the Names of the Saints or Prophets and Apostles and that they should be summoned to their Courts and there fined for not observing and keeping the dayes of their Birth or Death Nay is not God and Christ more dishonoured upon those dayes which you call Holy Dayes than any other dayes of the Week by Loosness Drunkenness Vain Sports Playes Pleasures Wantonness and almost all manner of Evil committed upon those dayes which you call Holy Dayes And the Apostle saith to the Galatians But now after that ye have known God or rather are known of God how turn you again to the Weak and Beggarly Elements whereunto ye desire again to be in Bondage ye observe Dayes and Moneths and Times and Years I am afraid lest I have bestowed upon you Labour in vain c. Now is not the Labour of the Apostles bestowed in vain upon you who run into the Observation of Dayes Times Moneths and Years and not only so but set up your Courts and Paritors to cite and summon People to them that do not observe your Holy Dayes as you call them and trouble and fine people about it rather to get Money from them than to â—ring them into Truth And you say and set forth