Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	according_a	cross_n	great_a	39	3	2.1554	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A60440	Man driven out of the earth and darkness, by the light, life, and mighty hand of God where in plain and simple truths are brought to light, that so the cause of stumbling may be taken from before the eyes of the rulars ... / written ... from their friend ... called of men Humphery Smith.	Smith, Humphrey, d. 1663.	1658 (1658)	Wing S4068_VARIANT; ESTC R33842	15,846	16

was afraid that this power of God in me would soon come to an end or fail from me and that then I might return to my outward Imployment with great shame and losse and that then instead of doing service for God I might bring a reproach upon his Blessed Name and my self thereby be a hissing stock to all men and they say I began to build and not able to finish and this also kept me back very much but such was the everlasting love of the Lord who is known in the wayes of his judgments that his hand was heavy upon me and his judgments increased in me that there was no way for me to escape but I must be obedient and bow under it or be cut off for every by it so that my bowels were often pained in me and it is like for many weeks had little sleep or bodily rest and sometimes knew not my wife and children that I seeled and heard breath in the bed by me but thought they were people that I should not be with and therefore one time after it was day I was rising and putting on my clothes in a sober manner and in meekness said surely I should not be here and my wife then laying hand on me easily perswaded me but I said I know not who I am with neither did I know her voyce at that time and sometime after having endured much I told she and my family with heaviness and tears that I was not able to endure it any longer and that I had abode with them in the way of the world so long as possibly I could and that I must give up my life to serve the Lord desiring them with tears to be content and in what I could I should be as careful for their good as ever I was and this is true and but little of what might be written For another time formerly the light of Christ in me which then I knew not did so condemne me and judge and trouble me in secret that it brought sickness upon me and thereby being weak expecting I should die I was then much troubled it lay much upon my conscience at that time that I had not in the time of my health gone to the steeple-house and in the fear of the Lord warned all people to repent and I was then much grieved because I thought I should die and not first in that thing discharge my conscience And so though I might write much by what is written may appear to the meek and sober minded that the Lord did not onely call but also thrust me forth of the world into his harvest and this was of God and the operation of his powerful word which called me out of the world and hundreds since by the word of his power through me have been gathered out of the way of the world and received the earnest of the rest eternal and many converted unto Cod and wo be unto them vvho openly oppose me in this the Lords work I now am in which he hath thus called me unto and let none think that I did wilfully neglect my outward imployment neither let any one think that I left my family as not regarding them nor that I stay much out of that countrey for any by end for the words are true a Prophet is not without honour save in his own countrey and in his own house and those that did since seek to stop my mouth did not well Concerning my publike preaching and something of what followed That none may stumble thereat and say we called Quakers are such who change from one thing to another and so what we hold nor to be regarded but I say those that have no changes are not come into the fear of God Psal 55.19 and the fear of the Lord is to depart from evil and they that departeth from evil are become a prey but such were clensed and changed from glory to glory 2 Cor. 3.18 and grew in grace and knowledge in the Lord Jesus Christ and what I did or said then was in a great zeal and real intent to do good neither did I covet mens silver for it neither was it my end to make a gain thereby though much was freely offered me more then I intend to make mention though I received it not so that therein I was not much found in covetousness but when judgment came upon me as before mentioned I gave up that preaching and said at the last meeting I had then which was at Stoke-bliss that my mouth was stopt at that present but if ever the Lord should open my mouth again I should preach indeed and it is so prayses to the Lord for ever who hath indeed opened my mouth and since I was no longer rebellious and the living truth of J●sus Christ do I declare and bear testimony to his name where ever I come as his spirit moveth me And let none hereby think that I now glory in what was then my shame for though I had a great zeal then for God it being not according to knowledge on the Cross of Christ which crucifies to the world and all its vain customes the which cross being then left behind which is the power of God so the love of the world which is enmity to God remained in me and the root of iniquity not then removed out of my heart therefore fruits of disobedience in secret were still brought forth which the world took little notice of but I had one neer me which did let me see all that ever I did and reproved me for vain glory and having the praise of men and the love of the world and so my preaching did not bring souls home to God though I informed their minds of many things vvhich many ignorant people knevv not before and so though much love vvas in many yet this brought not forth fruits of obedience unto God and so all came to little for the people remained in their sins and received not power to come out of it neither came they out of the fashions and customes of the world not to be seperated from the unclean neith●r did they come to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ which purifies the heart stands in the pure conscience and respects no mans person for unto that I was not then come my self and so their faith and mind was vain being then in our sins Therefore let none think that I now justifie any deceit hypocrisie or secret evil that then was in me or practised by me for in the presence of the Lord God I do openly declare against it all and that spirit that acted me therein but I own that simple thing which then encouraged me to do good out of an honest intent and that kept me out of covetousness and from receiving of gifts And I openly declare against all cruel unj●st and ungodly actions and words and all that filth which I wallowed in before I was a zealous professor as it is known to many

MAN Driven out of the Earth and Darkness By the Light life and mighty hand of God Where in plain and simple truths are brought to light that so the cause of stumbling may be taken from before the eyes of the Rulars and all sorts of professors in Herefordshire that out of their minds such things may be removed which hinder them from the love of the truth and that their understandings may be opened and receive the truth which makes free and believe in the light Wherein is something related of the wonderful power of God in the work of redemption and restauration with a plain self denial by him that takes up the dayly Cross Written as a visitation of free and tender love to the captivated seed of God in them who to him are not yet restored from their friend who is now a servant of Jesus Christ and suffers for the testimony of a pure conscience in this filthy stincking wicked abominable Prison being the Common Gole and house of Correction at Winchester called of men Humphery Smith London Printed in the 11 th month 1658. Behold the Lord worketh wonderfully every morning he bringeth his judgments to light he hath brought me back from the grave and saved my soul from hell and set my feet upon a Rock THe living truth of the Lord God which he hath revealed in me by the mighty operation of his word of life which living eternal truth being my life and shall last for evermore and be as a standard of the most high lifted up to all the scattered weary soules that they may flow unto it and have it to be unto them a place of refuge defence to fly unto in the day of distress and by it come to be made free and in it worship the God of the spirits of all flesh and feel it in the inward parts according as the Lord requireth by which truth man comes to be sanctified for the word that liveth and abideth for ever is truth which comes to be ingrafted into them who believe in the light and in it wait for the promise of the Father even that spirit of truth which the world cannot receive for they know it not it being in Gods wisdome hid from the wisdome of the world who know not him that may be felt after and found who is neer unto every one of you whose measure of light in you is it you are all to know by it to come to know the eternal power and godhead as they did who had not Scriptures Rom. 1.19 For the light of Christ in you is that which is to give the knowledge of God 2 Cor. 4.6 who hath asuredly revealed his son in me and led me in the straight way to life eternal and the injoyment of the truth which is immortal the which being to me a pearl of great price and more precious then a thousand Rivers of Oyle And that none may be hindred from receiving of this which I have most assuredly found to be more excellent then the royalty of Diadems or the excellency of the most purest Gold or the most renownedst glory beauty or riches that the natural eye can behold and that all who breaths after divine refreshings and the rest that never shall be shaken and the attaining to the covenant of life and peace may come to be gathered into the one fold of blessed happiness and rest upon the rock of ages and never more be moved henceforth and for ever And that if possible all murmurings and reasonings concerning me or what I was may be taken out of the minds of all people of all sorts and that all jelousies whisperings and heart burnings in the wrathful nature may be passified and cooled with the overspreading stremes of Gods free love which truely is shed and groweth in my heart and stremeth forth as a well-spring of life toward the seed that is yet oppressed in them among whom sometime I walked in darkness and wallowed in unrighteousness afterwards stood up as a tall Cedar in the height of profession preaching great high things dayly unto others where by the I was admired by many hundreds who thereby came not to receive power to overcome their sins neither yet attain to that which the souls of many of the thirsted after whom since I have often mourned over in pitty and in the bowels of my fathers love to the seed in bondage in them from whom I have been long and far absent in body And that none of them by looking and wondring at me or any thing tat hath befallen me may stumble thereby at the light or truth it self or be thereby kept from receiving the living truth or from giving heed to that which all the wise master-builders refuse nor that they by looking at what I was before I received and lived in the truth and at that which justly came upon me for my former rebellion against the light nor at the judgements of God that come upon me within or without because of my unwillingness to follow him who said I am the light follow me and said He that will not leave father and mother wife and children goods or lands for my sake is not worthy of me and he that will not deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me is not worthy of me and what a cross it was for me to leave what I did let that of God in all that then knew me judge but I say that none of them who were Colonels Captains Justices Professors nor people by looking out at any thing concerning me may not be withheld from receiving the truth and so kept from that which is the way to the father and the door to the rest for evermore Therefore hath it lay long of late years and often upon me and that from the hand of the Lord to lay something before your eyes O ye rulers professors and people of Herefordshire and thereabout endeavouring thereby to remove any cause of stumbling by reason of what I was or of any false reports raised upon me whereby the whole truth of God might be evil spoken of And this have I waited long to declare among you either in words writing or print though thereby shame might come upon my former course of life when I lived in all manner of sinne and iniquity except it were actual adultery fornication and murther and though also hereby contempt may come upon all that great profession I was in when I preached dayly in the Sinagogue or upon all that I then spoke or preacht out of the innocent life of God or if hereby at present sufter I reproch as it is like I may by many yet the reproch of Christ is greater riches to me then the treasuer-glory and preferment of England And first concerning my call out of the world or my going out from my house countrey and outward imployment The light of Christ which condemns the evil deeds comes from him who calleth his out of the world