Selected quad for the lemma: nature_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
nature_n	death_n	sin_n	sin_v	3,797	5	9.4651	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A94717	The foot out of the snare. Or, A restoration of the inhabitants of Zion into their place, after their bewildered and lost estate by the operation of a violent power, and authority, wrought in the author by the Prince of Darkness, under an appearance of the brightest light. Being a brief declaration of his entrance into that sect, called (by the name of) Quakers. With a short discourse relating what judgment he was learned in, by the ministry of those people. Together with the revelation of a spirit in himself. Also, what desperate delusions he was led into by yielding a subjection to the teachings of a seducing spirit in him under a shadow of the true light; and how this body of deceipt came to be destroyed. With the manner of his separation from them. / By me John Toldervy, then servant to Col. Webb.	Toldervy, John.	1655 (1655)	Wing T1767; Thomason E861_13; ESTC R206654	40,712	60

in the way the Instruments by whom this Redemption was to be wrought how it was to be done and where which was in the man c. Also that the Scripture was not the Word of God but it was what was spoken from the Word by the Word was meant Life and the Scriptures were a Declaration from this Word of Life the Word was the substance from whence it was spoken and this substance the Word of Life was the measure of God manifested in man the gift of the Holy Spirit manifested in flesh made known in all that thereby they might be guided to profit in that obedience required of God also by which all the disorder in the Creation of man made by the flouds poured forth in man in that time of God's displeasure occasioned by his fall from God into the Lust was to be put into the same order they were at the first which was good by which Word the mountains were to be leveled all hills were to be cast down and the valleys were to be exalted crooked places were to be made strait and rough wayes to be made smooth every thing was to stand in awe before him the lofty minde was to be pulled down and all high thoughts and imaginations were to be burned up and these things being not done by the Word in you the pure Witnesses of God lie slain in your streets the house of darkness the house of bondage those Cities which spiritually have a relation to Sodom and Egypt and I was sent by God to declare against that in you by which you are blinded and so the Witnesses kept slain expressing with a firm confidence that searching of the Scripture was not the way to finde out the knowledge of Christ but the turning the minde to within there to be taught by the measure of God the Law written in the heart and so standing in obedience to it in time death being passed over all that sinned Christ would be brought forth which sin reigned from Adam till Moses even over all that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression Adam the earthly nature in man which prevailed with him to be earthly minded to love the Mammon of unrighteousness which death reigned over the whole man till Moses the servant of God which gave the Law to the children of Israel the seed of the Faithful by which they were to be guided to the Angel of the Covenant Christ and so witness the perfection which to know saith God is life vvhich life was manifested in him and he savv it the onely Begotten of God and from vvhat he had seen felt heard and understood in himself that vve also might have fellovvship did he declare these things concluding with a strict Charge in the Name of the living God that we turn to him the Rock whence we were hewn as we respected our eternal peace bearing record that he the God of life stood waiting ready to receive all that turn to him and having your faces Sion-ward go on bearing your Crosses joyfully for his reward is with him and his work before him So after about an hours discourse in things of this nature all spoken with a firm confidence mighty powerfully declared with so much scriousness that possible could be supposed to be far beyond whatever I saw by any man and using those words Thee and Thou barren of any Complement or whatever might be taken in them to please man they departed Now upon the consideration of divers things also the strong Ingagement laid upon us as we tendered our eternal happiness together with that bold undaunted confidence he had in the Truth of what was spoken all my former Knowledge my former Belief my former Hope being struck with a great Fear was immediately dashed in pieces they being taken to be earthen Vessels made by the Wisdom which was begotten of the * Self for the justifying of Self earthly Man and then coming to understand that they were of those People called by the name of Quakers together with what formerly I knew of them I became strongly affected with them divers also of the same Meeting at the same time being possess'd with the like perswasions Whereupon much love acted me to follow them very zealously but in order to a more perfect clearing of my understanding I remained a time before I complied with them or made my self known to any one of them in which time meeting with one whom I formerly knew to be a very serious true-hearted Man who was converted to their Belief and also subjected to their Obedience who gave me to understand that they were sent forth to preach the Gospel by the same Christ that the Apostles were and that the Person that Son of God which died at Ierusalem was not the Redeemer of Man from Sin but the Redeemer was in every particular Man that Light by which he was given to see Sin and enabled by it if obeyed to be redeemed from Sin which Christ had redeemed them perfect and now lived in them Lord of all things by which they were made the Sons of God and so what was manifested unto them by that substance from that substance were they moved to speak which was the same Holy Ghost by which the Apostles were endued sent forth enabled to preach the Gospel and declaring of them much to admiration how that sometimes in the night they were immediately commanded by the eternal Spirit to go forth and preach the Gospel also by the like command some of them were limited to fast from Food as I remember about twenty or more dayes together * And afterwards I knew some who fasted 30 or 40 days which was intended to make them willing and pliable to the will of God in the travel of their Spirit before they came to the Land of Canaan the rest of the new created Being or Work of God in them So he gave me to understand the next day of their meeting and the place where with earnest invitation to be there Now that I might have the Counsel of God in what I did as touching my uniting with them when I came home I went to Prayers and being mightily carried forth in that Duty very often before the time of their meeting I looked upon it as a sign which did make manifest the good pleasure of God in my closing with them so at that meeting three of the chiefest of them being Speakers whose matter and manner of preaching was more taking unto me than all the former but especially the powerful operation of their Prayer all which effectually wrought upon me whereupon my minde being established I was moved to make a confession of my self concluding with the owning of them in the presence of all the people upon which I became subject to the teachings of a Spirit in my self the which being believed to be the Christ of God the Redeemer from sin I was fully perswaded that if denying any thing in the least

because of the tenderness that I had towards the Pure in me for in regard of the desparate case I was in I was tender of every thing that I speak or acted So the following day about the evening immediately there sprang forth of me thoughts so fast as one could follow the other without the least moving by me to think any thing then began the destruction of the body of sin and so those thoughts remained flying abroad in the Air every moment so fast as could be while about two or three dayes and then immediately as before concerning Thoughts there arose a speaking in my minde so fast as one word could be expressed after another so those Thoughts and Speaking in my minde continued every moment of time as I remember about two months and all along as time went away that Being which thought and spake sink'd deeper in my minde till in the end they were swallowed up in victory but from that time of a about two months they began to cease a little about one or two hours at divers times in a day and so as time came on they ceased by degrees while at last I could have remained an hour or two together without any thing in my Minde or the least Thought and in the end sometimes a whole day with very few Thoughts or any thing in my Minde then came I to witness a Redeemer from that body of sin that lived in me Now in the whole time of this speaking in my Minde and flying abroad of my Thoughts I laboured according to the teaching of my own Spirit to keep in my Minde for the destroying of these Thoughts and Speaking so by the power of that which was low in the Mind the Meek the Humble like as a Lamb and a Lion gentle and strong was the strength of this sin subdued and by that Light which saw it was there a fire kindled by which it was destroyed and burned up and the ashes blown away like chaff before the winde In all this time of the war every Member were Enemies against me whatever my Minde was taken with either in seeing in hearing in smelling in tasting in feeling what was minded by any of my Sences this evil One in me would be raising of Thoughts in things of the like Nature So almost a years time having been spent amongst these people with exceeding zeal in their way acted forth from such a Love that may not be expressed and very strict in the performance of every of these Ceremonies before spoken when being through rich Grace abundant Mercy in some measure restored unto the like enjoyment I had before I knew any thing of them through a great providence the Lord was pleased to enlighten my Understanding by the manifestation of what was according to himself in me compared with what was given forth from himself recorded in his Scripture the manner of which is declared following so that weakness which ruled and reigned in me and by which I was subjected to the performance of those Ceremonial Practises being made known by the Truth which abides for ever I was freed from the former Obedience by which as a slave I was kept in bondage through much deceit covered with a voluntary Humility worshipping therein I knew not what Whereupon there was occasioned a bitter envy in them against me so that with greatest violence they took to themselves that power of judging me to be a Judas a Betrayer of the innocent and that wherein I was separated from them therein was I joyned unto an Harlot which Harlot they denied giving me to know That the Plagues of God would continually follow me which Condemnation I must own for I was turned out to among the wilde Beasts in the broad way which way did lead unto eternal Death These and many such-like terrible judging Expressions were made known unto me by a noise from a Chief of them but forasmuch as the same Nature lived in me for a time by which I was not onely acted to judge all men that were not of us to be reprobated from the knowledge of the Truth and so accursed from God with what judgment followeth those who are in such a condition but I abhorred the very sight of Men so that I knew the ground in him from whence this judging of me did arise Wherefore I was minded to let pass what was spoken judging better things of him and that through the weakness of his Understanding out of a simplicity of Love to the Truth and good intents towards me was he thus moved to speak of me Now all this time of my being amongst this people I durst not declare any thing of my minde unto any but those of us or hearken unto any thing spoken by any which bear Testimony against any thing practised by us so that I came not to see what might be offered from any as an Objection against those Ceremonies looked upon as substantials in performances But afterwards seeing a Friend at the Meeting which was of us whom I had not seen for a time whose understanding was enlightned touching many things which formerly he was subjected unto though not known unto me So after some passages between us he began to speak somthing concerning those words Thee and Thou intending to bring me to understand what that was in me by which I was guided to the performance of them and being wary lest I should apprehend in him a dislike touching the using of them and so occasion a disturbance in me he brought his Discourse so about that it was required I should give an Information of what was manifested in me touching the Evil that lay in the not performance of them though not by way of Question So having examined with my self I gave him Answer That the word You did respect more than One But the words Thee and Thou were the true English words so that that minde by which the words were removed out of their places was the pride in Man which Nature stood in the Fall and therefore it was not to be fed but as though in a pretence of holding a contrary Argument He Discoursed with me for the word You and not the words Thee and Thou especially in some cases One ground of his Argument was Give no offence to Iew nor Gentile nor the Church of God all which kept the Peace to those that could bear them the words Thee and Thou but to those that could not the word You. So after some time of Discourse upon these words he spake in the same kind as though by contraries concerning taking off the Hat and civil Respect between man and man with the rest of those things refused by us but there being not a sufficiency in me to Answer what was spoken by him I told him That I was Convinced in my self and so I was moved from the Lord in what I did but could not make out to his understanding what was my Convincement Then he gave me to