Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	aaron_n	call_v	scripture_n	61	3	5.4811	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A91809	A looking glasse for the Anabaptists and the rest of the separatists: wherein they may clearly behold a brief confutation of a certain un-licensed, scandelous pamphlet, intituled, The remonstrance of the Anabaptists, by way of vindication of their separation. The impertinancies, incongruities, non-consequences, falsities, and obstinacy of William Kiffen, the author, and grand ring leader of that seduced sect is discovered and laid open to the view of every indifferent eyed reader that will not shut his eyes against the truth. With certaine queries, vindicated from Anabaptisticall glosses, together with others propounded, for the information and conviction, (if possible) the reformation of the said William Kiffen and his prosylites. / By Josiah Ricraft, a well willer to the truth. Published by authority.	Ricraft, Josiah, fl. 1645-1679.	1645 (1645)	Wing R1430; Thomason E299_9; ESTC R200250	22,283	33

in these two things 1. By their ravenous disposition and 2. By their often snarling with their teeth So you shall sinde false Prophets in Sheeps clothing they are alwayes raveming after honours and therefore like Dogs creep into Kings houses that they may be looked upon as followers with the best of the Kings houshould-Servants and ravening after riches to feede in the fairest pastures of a Kingdome crying Give give and therefore run from living to living where they may have the greatest injoyments of the world and 2 ly they will be alwayes snarling with their teeth that is ready to devoure and persecute all that shall in a way that is more holy then their own derogate from their honours and names and fat injoyments in the world I cease to apply this but desire the Lord to give you discerning eyes to see between light and darknesse Thus at present have I given you a breif Answer to your Queries leaving them to the tryall of Truth and you in the perusall of them to the direction of him that leads into all truth ever resting Yours so far as be shall know his duty William Kiffen The Reply FOr your Answer to this my sixt Querie you labour and indeavour to put off from your selfe and the rest of your Teachers those Characters expressed in those Scriptures quoted by passing by all save one and insisting a little upon that by a glosse of your owne and the truth is all the other Scriptures doe so fully decipher you that the verie reading of them without anie comment at all shewes you to be one of those men meant in those Scriptures And if the Reader will take the paines to turne to them he will confesse as much I will but point at two or thrée of them Acts 20.30 Rom. 16.17.18 and 2 Pet 2.1 2 3 17 18 19. For how evident is it that you make it your worke to draw disciples after you and that you serve your owne bely when you could not live on your owne trade contentedly but you must take this course to serve your belly And for your owne description of true Prophets from false which you say Christ compared true Prophets to Sheepe and that it is the nature of Sheepe to feed in the shortest commons It is evident that you and your faction are not silent under your sufferings nor contented with the meanest imployments and shortest commons of this world but seeke to get the best you can and are capable of and that you are not silent under your sufferings witnesse your master whom you served John L●lborne whose railings and revilings against the high Court of Parliament and the Assembly and those two pious and worthie Gentlemen Master Prin and Doctor Bastwicke And for further conviction of you that you are like false Prophets according to your owne description in ravening after honour and riches call to minde the examples of your predecessors recorded so much in many histories as of John of Leyden Munster c. and though some of you now pretend that you will suffer and that you are contented with a meane condition just as the Fox loves no grapes but it is onely then when he cannot reach them but there is alreadie so much discovered of your faction in this kingdome that if they could get anie power in their hands it is evident they would be ravening wolves after the lives and estates of those that are not of their way even as they now raven after the seducing of soules Thus I have done with your replies to my six Queries wherein I have beene the larger that I might give you and your mis-led disciples the more full satisfaction with all the rest of your poore mis-led Anabaptists in England and in so doing it is for truth and not for victorie and I pray God both you and they may more séek peace and love truth then erroneous crueltie I shall advise all of you to studie conscience more then controversies that are above your reach he that hewes above his head makes the chips fall into his owne eies and more to busie your selves at home then abroad in faulting your owne soules rather then the Church of Christ in studying a true constitution or grace in your own hearts rather then in quarrelling at the constitution of our visible Churches so shall you doe lesse harme to others more good to your selves ANd now to shur up all though you have given no satisfaction at all to any one of my six Queries propounded as I have made it to appeare to an capable and impartiall judgement yet that I may bring you to some conviction of your errour and apprehension of the truth I desire you to bestow your most serious and composed thoughts upon these further Queries ensuing and to give me if you are able A bri●fe per●inent rationall resolution to the same without vagaries invectives and improper circumlocutions such as may become a man that hath the use of reason the feare of God and familiar acquaintance with the holy Scriptures Querie 1. Vpon what Scripture ground can you satisfie your conscience that you did not greatly sinne against Christ the Church and your owne soule in leaping from your private secular vocation into a publike Ecclesiasticall office Querie 2. By what authoritie doe you take the honour to your selfe to become Pastor of a Church without proportionall qualifications for that office and regular vocation to that function seeing none may take such honour to himselfe except he be called as was Aaron nor did Iesus Christ glorifie himselfe to be made a High Priest without unction from the Father Heb. 5.4 5 6. Querie 3. How can you chuse but broach errours deceive soules pervert the Scriptures belie the Spirit of God and build abundance of hay stubble and such like trash upon Gods foundation whilest you presume to expound the Scriptures to others your selfe wanting the necessarie helpes of the Originall Tongues wherein the Scripture was written and of the Liberall Arts requisite for the interpreting of everie line in Scripture without which you wholy preach and your followers beléeve by an implicit faith Querie 4. Whether doe not you contract upon your selfe the dreadfull guilt of the blood of all those soules which you have seduced unto or abetted in you Anabaptisticall and schismaticall errors and when Iesus Christ the great Shepheard of the Sheepe shall appeare what will you answer him Querie 5. How can you make it appeare by anie probable colour of Scripture that either our Ministers are false and Antichristian or our Churches false and unchristian as your partie are often vaunting Quetie 6. Whether have not you and the rest of the separation more really and perniciously opposed and retarded the reforming of our Church which you crie downe for her corruption then all the Prelaticall Papisticall Atheisticall opposites of the Antichristian faction and is not this a high offence against the Church of God for which you ought to be déeply humbled Querie 7. By what light of Scripture or sound reason can you oppose the supreme Parliamentarie authoritie in restraining of prophanenesse schisme and heresie in punishing of incorrigible obstinacie in reforming a Church corrupted in protecting a Church reformed and in conveening of an Assemblie of godly Orthodor Ministers to draw up their advice according to the ●ord of God for such ends and purposes and strengthning their determinations with their civill sanction Querie 8. Whether is not the government and discipline of the Church according to the dependant Presbyterian way undoubtedly held forth in the Word of God as Christs New Lestament-government and all other governments méere humane invention or what can you produce out of the Scripture to the contrary Querie 9. What Scripture can you produce which either in expresse termes or by cléere infallible consequence disallowes the baptizing of Infants of one or both faith-professing parents and by what warrant dare you presume to rebaptize any persons whose Infant-baptisme no Scripture condemnes whose rebaptizing no Scripture allowes Querie 10. By what Scripture grounds can you prove that stinted formes of Praise and Prayer to God are simply and absolutely in themselves unlawfull and if they bee not in themselves intrinsecally evill why may not Christians sometimes comfortably use them according to Christian prudence and liberty Love the truth and peace Zach. 8.19 Doe nothing against the truth but for the truth 2 Cor. 13.8 It is the advice of him who although he abhorres your errours yet wisheth well to your soules Iosiah Ricraft FINIS

townéere a hin to wicked Sanbalat and Tobias Neh. 4.1 2 3. who mocked at the beginning of the building of Jerusalem and we may iustly against the whole sect of you Anabaptists make that prayer of Nehemiah Neb. 4.4 Heare O our God for we are dupised and turne their reproach upon their own heads for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders and I may speak the words of Zac. 4.10 For who hath despised the day of small things And know that however your eyes are blind and you drunke with your own conceits and will not sée what the great change is of Episcopacy into Presbytry and the Book of common prayer into a Directory yet all the Reformed Churches sée it and wonder at it and blesse GOD for it yea they looke upon that you count Reformation as a Deformation who instead of Ministers gifted and called by GOD to dispence the Word and Sacraments have Jeroboams Priests of the lowest and basest of men to be your Priests and such whom God Himselfe rejects for want of knowledge And whereas you thinke you are sled out of Babilon you are come into Babell of confusion and errours and your churches ministers and people are like a Bedlam sit to receive none but brainsick distracted santastick persons and wholly unsuietable for all sober godly and conscientious Christians I shall conclude my Reply to your discourse upon this Querie in reference to your Seperate méettings with that prayer of good old Jacob in another ●ase Gen. 49.6 O my soule come not thou into their secrets unto their Assemblies my honour be not thou anited QUERIE III. VVHat warrant have you either to be a Member much lesse a Minister of any such separate Congregation Kiff Ans This Querie as I conceive is added more for number then for waight for who can be so ignorant as to think a congregation can be without members therefore that we can prove our congregations true our membership must needs be true I would not speak any more to this Querie but that I see you pinch so hard upon our seperation in foure of your Queries to which I shall give a more full answer to prove our seperation true from your assemblyes and first it cannot be denyed but Iesus Christ is of the Father Anoynred to be the head of the Church which is his body Eph 1.20.22.23 Coll 1.18 and that we are commanded only to here him Deut 18.15 Acts 3.22 and 7.37 Math 17 5 Pet 1 17 and that whosoever will not heare and obey him the Lord will require it at his hands Deut 18 19. Acts 3 27. Math 7.26.27 and hereby we know we love God and he loves us when we keepe his Commandements 1. Iob 2.3 5.2 3. now then that we can not keep faith and a good Consciencein obeying all the Commands of CHRIST so long as we assemble our selves with you then are we necessitated to seperate our selves from you btu that we cannot keep faith a good conscience so with you these scriptures prove compared with your practice 2 Thess 3 6. 1 Cor 5 11 2 Tim. 2 21 3 5 Eph. 5 1. to the 14. with many other scriptures but in the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses every trueth shall stand now then so long as you deny to follow the rule of Iesus Christ and are not obedient to his comands reject the word of God which is given by Christ for the separating of wicked from the godly seperating the pretious from the vile as Mat 18.15.16.17 1 Cor 5.4.5.11.13 we are bound in obedience to Iesus Christ to leave you whilest you remaine obstina●e to him and as it is with a naturall body which receives in all and wants power to voyde the excrements must needs become a rotten filthy uncleane body even so it is with all false spirituall states who by power and authority given to them by the civill magistrate they command all both rich and poor to subject to their worship whether their consciences be brought over to see it a truth or no or else they may not live amongst them or use any traffique with them Rev 13 16 17 and so become the hold of all soule spirits and a cage for every uncleane birde Rev 18 7. now I would but appeale to any reasonable religious men whether England hath not at this time in her as hatefull birds as any nation whatsoever and whether there be not at this day an authority to force in al to worship the d●ily experience of this may be seene by the practice of those which would be counted the most knowing learned men of our times who will have men to worship with them against their wills and soe makes them as the formall hipocrites and therefore when these things doe so appear is it not high time to harken to the voyce of the Apostle Acts 2 40. to save our selves from such a generation and to come out from them Rev 18 4. now that these spoken of with many other which might be brought as the quenching of the spirit and despising prophesie so that no man may speake in your publicke exercises but one that hath the same call and power as those whom you now have cast off contrary to these scriptures 1 Pet 4 10. Heb 10 25. Coll. 3 16. Eph 4 15 16. 1 Cor 12 7 8 14 24 26 31 39. as also all superstitious consecrations to the great deluding of poor ignorant people inraging them against those which worship any where save in your high places contrary to these expresse texts of Scripture Iob 4 20 24. As also continuing of tithes offerings of the people as that Christ were not come in the flesh as that the Clergie of the Kingdome were the tenth parte of the Kingdome for number when as they themselves will tell God in their praiers that the harvest is great but the laborers are but few an act so unjust by them to bee demanded that reason would abhor that a few men in a Kingdome should have the tenth part of the riches of the Kingdome and yet so eagerly persued by them that though the paying of it bee the undoing of men they will have it and therefore pursue men in au●hority at bed and board in pulpit and privat chamber to have power put into their hands to that end as likewise their cruelty in refusing a place of Buriall in their consecrated ground except they have so much mony as perhaps the parties have not in all the world to give them all which considered wi●h many more I desire you to consider of and that yet it be not a sufficient ground to you for the confirmation of our Iust separation yet know it is to us and unlesse you can show us that Christ Iesus is not to be harkened to as well in these Scriptures given for the establishment of the new testament as Moses was in the establishment of the ould and under the penalty of the same

and not suffer you and such like to goe on in your Schismes and Heresies they doe no more then they may lawfully doe yea then what is their duty to doe and this is so farre from being any lawfull ground of forsaking our Church that on the contrary the not suppressing of Sects and Schisms by their power and authority were a juster ground of separation For it is apparent by the example of the godly kings and Magistrates as Asa Josiah and others that they looke to it that the worship and house of God were reformed according to the word and commanded and caused all the people to stand to it 2 Chron. 34.31 32. As for your third ground brought to justifie your separating from us in that we quench the Spirit and despise Prophesie know it is your ignorance in not understanding the Scripture makes you say so for your selves will be found to be the men that quench the Spirit and despise Prophesie in despising the publike Ministery of the word and you could not have quoted a place against your selves more then that is for by the interpretation of learned men upon that Scripture 1. Thess 5.20 is meant the publique ministery of the word as being the great Ordinance of God against the quenching of the Spirit and your Sect of all others is knowne to be a despiser of the publique ministery And as for a fourth ground brought by you to name no more they being so frivolous The maintenance of Ministers by Tithes I wish you to consider of that Scripture 1 Cor. 9.13 14. where the Apostle shews that they that minister about holy things live of the things of the Temple and they that wait upon the Altar are partakers of the Altar which is meant of Tithes And the Apostle speaking of the maintenance of the Ministers under the Gospel saith Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel Now observe the Apostles words he doth not say The Lord hath ordained but even so the Lord hath ordained how so but as he speakes in the 13. vers namely of Tithes and Offerings as you call it if you say not by Tithes and by Offerings then it concernes you to make it appeare either out of the old or New Testament where ever God hath ordained that they that preach the Gospel should have any other fixed maintenance but Tithes And it is certaine by this place that God hath somewhere in the word ordained their maintenance And for conclusion to your Answer to my Third Querie supposing that through want of discipline we had not nor should not have a purging of the wicked from the godly yet for private persons to forsake our Churches were not justifiable neither the want of prophesying take it in your own sense suppose it were a defect of something of an Ordinance yet it would not justifie your separation and so I might say of all the rest And were it not that I had beene so large already I might shew you how that the suffering of evill persons in the Church yea the neglect of somewhat commanded being an affirmative duty could no way warrant your becomming a member much lesse a Minister of any such separate congregation And let me make it your owne case whether your suffering of many of your members to live in disobedience as wives to their husbands children to their parents and servants to their masters lawfull commands and further living in backbiting railing and reviling not of private persons only as they have some of them to their shame beene convicted of but also of the high Court of Parliament of England with our Brethren of Scotland with the Ministery of both Kingdomes and all the Reformed Churches which sinnes are as great as drunkennesse and are put by the Holy Ghost in the Catalogue of vilest sinnes Rom. 1.30 backbiters disobedient to parents And in the 1 Cor. 5.11 the plact brought by you for not comming to the Lords Supper in our Churches because of drunkards doth as expresly forbid to eat with railers which you and your members are notorious enough for and this by your rule were a sufficient ground for your members to forsake your Churches and set up new in their roomes QUERIE IV. WHat warrant have you to admit into your separate Congregations silly seduced servants children or people Kiff Ans I see our separated Congregations stick very hard upon your stomacks therefore as I have laboured to helpe you to digest our separation so I hope I shall give you something from the word of truth that may remove your imbitterednesse of spirit against our Congregations And first know this that infinite love which hath redeemed a people to God out of Nations Tongues and Kindred hath also made them Kings and Priests unto God to reigne with him in his spirituall Kingdome here on the earth Rev. 5.9 10. and that all those which are begotten by the immortall seed 1 Pet. 1.23 even those new borne Babes that have tasted of the Lords bounty and come to that living and precious stone the Lord Jesus being themselves living stones are built up a spirituall house being made a holy Priesthood to offer up spirituall sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ 1 Pet 2.1 to the 11. verse and being quickned by Christ are raised with him to sit together in heavenly places Eph. 2.5.6 being by one spirit baptized into one body 1 Cor. 12 13. the old man being buried with him Rom. 6.4 and the new man put on Gal. 3.27 Col. 3.10 thus having an entrance to the Father the building being thus coupled together by the same spirit groweth to an holy Temple and so becomes an habitation to the Lord Eph. 2.18 to 22. which assembly we are not to forsake Hebr. 10.25 but to exhort one another daily Hebr. 3.12 13. having received gifts by the same spirit we are to dispence them for edification 1 Cor. 12.47 1 Pet. 5.10 Rom. 12.3 to 9. to these congregations hath Christ promised his presence Mat. 28.19.20 and 18.19 20. Rev. 7.13 14 15. and 21.2 3. and 22.13 Now then that we can prove our selves to be such congregations as are before spoken of or at least wise such as doe sincerely and truly strive according to that light wee have to be such then I hope you will be so farre from despising such gatherings of the Saints together as that you will not deny them to receive in members and to dispence such gifts for the edifying one of another as the Lord hath given us and this I shall labour to doe in the answere to your next Querie and wheras you demand what warrant we have to receive sillie seduced servants c. we answer it is well knowne to you we receive in none as members with us but such as has beene members of your Church at the least 16 20 or 30. yeers and that they be sillie when they are received members among us surely they