Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	adoption_n	cry_v	father_n	9,732	5	5.0154	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A45901	The innocent cause of the people called Quakers in the north of Scotland, who are under great sufferings, laid open and presented to the King and his council in Scotland, and to all inferiour magistrates, judges, and rulers, who have a hand in our present sufferings.		1677 (1677)	Wing I205; ESTC R215418	5,624	1

The Innocent Cause of the People called Quakers in the North of Scotland who are under great Sufferings laid open and Presented to the King and His Council in Scotland and to all Inferiour Magistrates Judges and Rulers who have a hand in our present Sufferings WHereas we the People called in scorn Quakers in the North of Scotland especially in the Shires of Aberden and Merns are under great sufferings both of long Imprisonment and spoiling our Goods which if continued upon us may turn to the utter ruine of our Families for many of us have now suffered above ten Months Imprisonment several of which are poor Labourers and Tradesmen and our Goods spoiled and taken away from most of us to the double and from divers of us to the treble of the Fines imposed upon us And in the Cold Winter season our Prison cannot admit of any Fire and is destitute of many other necessary accommodations not to mention many other severities and hardships we have and do daily meet with from the fury and prejudice of inferiour Magistrates and Keepers Therefore we have found it our duty to lay before you especially the King and His Counsel our innocent cause and so to leave it with you before the Lord for whom we suffer and to whose good and holy Will we are resigned and freely given up to endure whatever he shall be pleased to permit to come upon us as most certainly believing it shall work for his Glory the prosperity of his truth and the comfort of our Immortal Souls The alledged grounds and reasons of our present sufferings are because we join not with the National Worship and Ministry and that we meet together among our selves and some of us do speak and pray at sometimes in these Meetings without a Licence from the Bishop of the Diocess which is contrary as is alledged to divers Acts of Parliament To this we have answered and do at present answer that we do not understand our selves to be transgressors of these Acts for none of these Acts although made since we were a gathered People in this Nation do mention us nor doth the ground and reason of these Acts reach us being made to prevent all sedition plotting and insurrection against the present Government and for preserving the outward peace of the Nation whereas it is abundantly known that our principles and practices universally are most peaceable and tend to nothing but the universal peace and quiet of the Nation for as to our principles in relation to the King as the supream Magistrate we hold it our duty to live in all godliness and quietness under him to pray for him and to give him what is his as Christ did teach saying Give unto Caesar what is Caesars and to God what Gods And we are of the same Faith that the primitive Christians were of both in the Apostles days and long after that we ought not to resist the Magistrate by force of Arms or any Military resistance not in our own defence but in the patient and meek spirit of the Gospel to suffer the wrath of men even when we are innocent and have done nothing worthy of punishment and our practice always since we were a people hath answered most agreeably to our principle So that nothing hath ever been found among us either in this Nation or any other Nation where the Lord hath raised us up to give the least ground of jealousie as if we were not peaceable or were obnoxious to the present Government And it being thus with us as towards the Magistrate we acdnowledging the King to be supream and that active or passive Obedience is to be given to his Commands by all his Subjects universally why should any seek to incroach upon the peaceable exercise of our tender Consciences or to limit the Spirit of God and his divine movings and workings in our Souls And we earnestly wish in true love and good-will both to the King himself and to all that are in Authority under him that they may not incroach upon the things that are Gods to seek to hinder us from giving unto God the things which are Gods to wit his true Worship in spirit and in truth and to answer the pure holy and peaceable movings of his spirit in assembling our selves frequently together and to preach pray and give thanks as he doth move and command us seeing our being thus excused tends only to Righteousness and Peace and our Meetings are not seditious Conventicles but Schools of Virtue and open unto all to hear and see what is said or taught among us where nothing is heard but what maketh courteous meek shamefast modest chast and tending to good Neighbourhood as was said concerning the Meetings of the Primitive Christians and as was confessed by the very Pagans themselves that they were a Sect troublesome to none the same can all sober and impartial people that know us and converse with us declare concerning us as we can appeal to all our Neighbours every where among whom we live Whom did we ever prejudice or injury and let all sober and impartial people who have ben present at any time in our Meetings declare if the very nature end and service of our Meetings be not the common good of mankind to turn People from Darkness to Light and from the power of Satan unto God And seeing we are perswaded by the spirit of God in our hearts that the National Worship is not the true way of Worship that is in Spirit and in Truth and that we do not refrain from it in any contempt of Authority as God is our witness why should any seek to force or compell us to join thereunto for the witness of God in our Consciences teacheth us as also it doth teach all men that no forced or constrained Worship or Religion is acceptable unto God to which also the testimony of the Scriptures do fully agree for the Lord will have a willing People to serve him whose own Divine power alone doth and only can make truly willing and no other power can do it And the Lord hath said My Son give me thy heart but if we should Worship contrary to the perswasion of our hearts then we should not give our heart unto God and all constrained and forced Worship by outward power and force is expresly against the very nature of the Gospel Worship and Obedience for under the Gospel we do not receive the spirit of Bondage again to fear but the spirit of Adoption whereby we cry Abba Father Therefore we exhort you in tender love and good-will not to encroach upon the things of God nor to meddle with the prerogative of Christ Jesus nor seek to stop and limit his Soveraign Power Will and Authority in and over the Consciences of his People let him set up his Kingdom among you which will not destroy any just Kingdom or Government of men but will indeed establish and confirm it His Kingdom is not of this