Selected quad for the lemma: sin_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sin_n	forgive_v	lord_n	trespass_n	3,175	5	10.9711	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A57303	The good old way and truth which the ancient Christians many ages and generations ago witnessed unto in the world from age to age, even from the dayes of Christ unto this very time, wherein the same doctrine, life and practice is witnessed unto by us who are in contempt called Quakers, through many tribulations, which our ancestors, the most ancient and true Christians that ever were upon the earth, sealed unto, with the loss of their lives and liberties, by which, in short, is fully manifested, in what is treated of herein, that the doctrine of the Quakers, in denying to swear any oath, and their refusing to pay tythes, and many other things they practise, was the doctrine and practise of the most famous and renowned Christians, both testified of in the Scriptures of truth, and the books of martyrs : also, a brief discovery of the ground and rise and tythes, manifesting them no Gospel-maintenance, but was testified against by the best and most ancient Christians many ages ago / written by ... Ambros Rigge.	Rigge, Ambrose, 1635?-1705.; R. T. (Rebecca Travers), 1609-1688.	1669 (1669)	Wing R1483; ESTC R17133	29,214	42

Law saith the Book Prescription Statute Custom may not prevail and if any be brought against it they are void and against Justice c. If so then let all who hath the least spark of reason left in them judge whether it is not high presumption against God and his unlimitted Prerogative and Royal-Law written in the hearts of his people according to his Promise by the mouth of his holy Prophet Jerimiah Jer 31. 33. to set up mans Law above it and force the execution thereof against it for in the Second Covenant wherein God promised to write his Law in his peoples hearts Tythes and their Law were abolished as is said before therefore Prescription Statute and Custom that is brought against the aforesaid Royal-Law of God written in the heart is void and against Justice by the aforesaid Law-Book of England which will not admit of Jure Humano to prevail against Jure Divino Here followeth several Presidents of the Ancient Christians some in the Apostles dayes and some since who had no Tythes from the People who gave Testimony against them that did require them IN the Churches of Antioch Galatia and Corinth the Saints possessed every man his own estate where the Apostle ordained a weekly offering of the Saints that every man might offer freely of what God had blessed him withal which was put in the hands of Deacons for the maintenance of the poor and other necessary uses Acts 11. 29. for Christ having in Luke 10. allotted their Ministers their Maintenance they were contented with it and when they returned to him again they could say they had no want but then they lived not in pride nor fulness of bread nor went in long Robes nor maintained their Wives in pride and excess as the men of our Age do for such Christ never sent in any Age for they were not Lord Bishops nor call'd of men Masters but were Patterns and Examples to the Flock and and said to the Disciples and Brethren Be ye Followers of us even as we are of Christ but now if people should follow none but they that are Followers of Christ the Tythe-mongers would have none at all But the aforesaid contribution continned amongst the Ancient Christians about Three hundred years till the great Persecution under Maximinian and Dioclesian as Eusebius witnesseth and so doth Turtulian Origen Cyprian and others here was not Tythes so much as spoken to of the Christian Ministers but they did abide in the Doctrine of Christ and having food and rayment they were therewith content After which time some Lands were given to the Church but Origen saith It is not lawfull for any Minister to possess Lands given to the Church to his own use Cyprian Bishop of Carthage also testified the same and sheweth how the Church maintaineth many poor and that her own expences was full of frugality and her diet sparing and plain Cyprian Epist 27 34 36. Prosper also saith That a Minister able to live of himself ought not to desire any thing of the people and he that receiveth it doth it not without great sin And the Bohemians in their fruitfull and Christian Exhortation to Kings and Princes to stir them up to zeal for the Gospel in many Articles against the Clergy of their Antichristian Practises In the fifteenth Article against them they say thus c. That they receive Tythes of men and will of right have them and preach and say that men are bound to give them Tythes and therein they say falsly for they cannot prove by the New-Testament that our Lord Jesus Christ commanded it and his Disciples warned no man so to do neither did themselves so receive them but although in the Old-Testament it were commanded to give Tythes yet it cannot thereby be proved that Christian men are bound thereunto for this precept of the Old-Testament had an end in the first year of our Lord Jesus Christ like as the precept of Circumcision wherefore Beloved consider and see how your Bishops seduce you with things that have no proof Christ said in the 11th of Luke Give Alms of those things that remain but he said not Give the Tenth of the Goods ye possess c. Acts and Mon. vol. 1. fol. 860. Col. 2. in Hen. 5. dayes But the first that restrained peoples freedom in this kind was the Council under Pope Alexander the third Anno 1180. by whose time much Wickedness and Idolatry was crept in among them as History relates But the most strictest decree was made at the Council of Trent under Pope Pius the fourth about the year 1560. they commanded Tythes to be paid under the penalties of Excommunication About the years 800 900 and 1000. and after Tythes were called the Lord's Goods So here was the rise of Priests Tythes which for many hundred years they held Jure Divino as they said which ever since they have exacted against the Law of God and right reason and have not only robbed God but the poor also and therefore is every Parish forced to keep the poor from starving unto whom if any the Tythes do most properly belong and yet though the Priests go away with the Tythes it is very hard in many places to get them to contribute any thing to the Poor-Tax manifesting their Charity far short of the Levitical Priests who formerly out of the Tythes maintained the Widows and Fatherless c. and consequently far beneath the Ministers of the Gospel And furthermore did ever any either of the Levites or Ministers of the Gospel sue any people at Law that separated from them for Maintenance nay was ever such inhumane actions known from the worst of the Merchants of Babylon let History testifie as to tear four or five times so much as they pretend their due from them who do not like their Wares and troubles them for nothing nay Baalam though he loved the wages of unrighteousness yet he durst not take it but these are not contented with three times so much which modesty would blush to appear in if these be not the greedy dumb Dogs which Isaiah spoke of which can never have enough I know not where they are Isa 56. 10 11 12. The with-holding of these pretended dues at farthest is but a ●●●spass against them and it is their manner often to pray to the ●●●d to forgive them their trespasses as they forgive them that 〈◊〉 against them c. Now let the honest hearted judge 〈◊〉 they forgive such as trespass against them when they 〈◊〉 the utmost rigour of the Law against such as trespass against then yea or nay How do these men think to be forgiven of the Lord For saith Christ if ye forgive men their trespasses your Heavenly Father will forgive you your trespasses but if ye forgive not men their trespasses neither will your Heavenly Father forgive you your trespasses Matth. 6. 14 15. And Peter said Lord how often shall my Brother sin against me and I forgive him till seven

times Jesus said unto him I say not unto thee until seven times but until seventy times seven Matth. 18. 21 22. So if these Priests could really prove that Tythe was their due the with-holding of them is but a trespass committed against them once a year at farthest now if Christ would not allow of Peter's forgiving his Brother seven times but would have him forgive him seventy times seven which is Four hundred and ninety times what kind of Christians are they who take treble revenge at least and oftentimes five times for every trespass against them this is so far from Christianism that Jews and Turks would blush at it Thus far it was laid upon me to give this short Testimony against this abominable Oppression under which many groans at this day that if possible the ears of people might be opened and that they may see how they have been blinded with things that have no Foundation nor colour from the Scripture and they who pretend the Scripture to be their Rule may see that they walk beside their pretended Rule in either paying or receiving Tythes as any Gospel-right therefore are they justly condemned and reproved by their own Rule which will for ever stand a witness against them both in that and all other ungodly practices by them upheld at this day for which they have not the least colour of Scripture to vindicate them therein Ambros Rigge Postscript I Could not let this little Book pass without annexing hereunto some few of the Bonner like practises of Leonard Letchford Priest of Hurst-Pierpoint who calls himself a Gospel-Minister which within this seven years last past he hath done against Ambros Rigge for his obedience unto the Commands of Christ as before is expressed And secondly of the proceedings of the aforesaid Letchford against Ambros's wife because she could not in conscience pay him Tythe for the causes aforesaid as knowing it no Gospel right To the first it alwayes hath been the practice of the spirit of Antichrist the better to effect its mischievous purposes to destroy and root out the Flock of Christ's Fold first to clothe them with Wolves skins and then to set the Dogs and Lions to devour and tear them to pieces Now in the year 1662 and since this spirit hath manifestly appeared in the aforesaid Letchford for when by the spiritual Weapon he could not at all defend himself as a Minister of Christ ought to do he stirred up the Rulers in Hurst aforesaid as knowing aforehand that for Conscience the said Ambros could not swear to tender him the Oath of Allegiance on purpose to insnare him for the refusal of which he was committed to Horsham Goal the 28th day of the 3d Moneth aforesaid after the said Letchford had effected this he with George Vinter Priest of Cove-old cloathed the said Ambros with a reproach as though he had run away from his Wife and Children in Lincolnshire and had left them to the Parish which when this report was spread it was asked George Vinter who formerly was said to be a Lincolnshire man out of what Town the said Ambros run away who before witness said out of the Town of Eagle which after Examination proved an abominable Lye for the best part of twenty persons of the Town of Eagle in Loncolnshire with several Officers both of their Church and others who had lived in the said Town some twenty some forty some fifty years and never knew any such man as Ambros Rigge live there in all their time as may appear by a Certificate given under their hands yet to be seen yet these two Priests by these and other abominable Lyes and aggravations got the Judge at the Assizes following to condemn the said Ambros in a praemunire at which Assizes Letchford appeared in person as one of the fiercest of Ambros's Accusars saying he would aggravate the matter at which words the Judge reproved him and stopt his mouth so after he had got what he then saw was possible against Ambros he afterwards stirred up the Magistrates and the Goaler to add as much affliction to his Bonds as he could by the which R. Luckin then Goaler to whom he wrote many threatning Letters if he would not be severe towards Ambros and keep him close so that the said Luckin said that they would hang Ambros if they could and seeing it his opportunity to act his will upon him and several others in prison with him for Conscience sake called them into the Wards and begun in the first place to deny them small Beer unless they would give six shillings a Kilderkin for that which was sometimes worse then water and because Ambros and others could not uphold that Oppression was forced to drink water well nigh a year and a half to try Ambros further Luckins turned him into the low Goal among the Fellons and there kept him his own pleasure and in the Winter following when the Frost and Snow lay thick upon the ground the Goaler shut up Ambros again in the middle Ward and took away his Bed and forced him to lie upon the Boords for many weeks together being close lockt up and would hardly suffer his Friends to bring him food and as difficult many times for him to get water to drink in all which trials and exercises the Lords presence was not wanting to him which made all these trials seem joyous unto him it was not long after but the said Goaler died After him came John Moorcock to have some rule though but a Servant in the Prison unto whom L. Letchford wrote a Letter to stir him up against the said Ambros giving the flattering titles of Master Moorcock who being of as bad and wicked spirit as himself was easily induced by him to cruelty in answer to which the said Moorcock about the 8th hour at night in the depth of the next Winter made a mutiny in the Town of Horsham pretending the Quakers had broke out of Prison and raised a great Company with Clubs and Staves and brought them up to the upper Ward where Ambros was at work and without any occasion given them they seised upon him pulling and haling him down stairs into the lower Ward among the Fellons where Moorcock himself put great Irons upon him and left him in that condition many dayes and nights which continued so long as the said Moorcock continued in any Office in the Prison and when Letchford saw that would not do his business he writ a grievous Letter to the Sheriff against Ambros and spurr'd up the Magistrates against him who were more wise then to give much ear unto him though he could never justly lay any thing to Ambros's charge that he had either wronged the King or any man upon the earth but only because he would not break the Command of Christ to Swear whom the said Letchford often threatned with the Gallows both in word and writing and sought many wayes to bring it to pass but hitherto the Lord hath