Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	affliction_n	bring_v	zion_n	27	3	9.4654	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A89860	What the possession of the living faith is, and the fruits thereof and wherein it hath been found to differ from the dead faith of the world, in the learning and following of Christ in the regeneration. With an opening of Light to all sorts of people that waits for the Kingdom of God; and a candle lighted to give the sight of the good old way of God, from the wayes that now ensnares the simple. Written by James Naylor in the time of his imprisonment, and now published by a friend.	Naylor, James, 1617?-1660.	1659 (1659)	Wing N328; ESTC R205424	58,748	72

also in power to suffer for his Name long and hard Tryals with much patience and meekness in all which they became signs to the world and lively witnesses of God to his own in every Conscience whereby the Seed of God in many gathered strength to arise out of darkness and come to Judgement and by their sufferings waxed confident in the Faith that it was the eternal God that they had seen preached and that was in them who thus suffered and did not receive their words as the words of men but of God who was with them and in them in all And this his Way was not onely to receive such as came to him but with danger of life went in to their Assemblies and publick places to bring them out of the claws of the Devil who beat some in their Synagogues hailed some before Rulers cast some into Prison who suffered great afflictions to bring souls from under this dark power and in all this God was afflicted with them and by his own Spirit brought them out and this was his way of ransoming and redeeming and of bringing to Zion as you may read of old and thus by his Spirit and by his working in them did he work wonders and signes and was a witnesse against the whole Body of sin overturning false wayes and worships by a way they knew not nor did the World know it was he until he had brought to pass his work upon them having thus gathered out his Seed from amongst them who then sought to stop his way as you do at this day and what was their end And in this way was the Churches of Christ gathered even by blood and sufferings and tumults and beatings and mockings and whipings and all manner of cruel usage fighting with beasts after the manner of men and by the patient sufferings of Christ in them were many recovered out of the snares of the Devil which had he not sought them in this way they had lived and died in blindnesse and this was the way in which God gathered the Churches which you who oppose this way would imitate and in this way was the mistery of Godlinesse and the mistery of iniquity revealed and the Kingdom of Christ known upon earth and in this way came the Scriptures of the Apostles and Prophets of which you talk and would turn to oppose this way like them who read his coming in the Prophets and would have stopt his coming in Christ and the Apostles so do you ever resist the way of the Holy One and yet in words you pray for his coming but having erred in your hearts from that light which should give the knowledge of him you know not his wayes but have in your imaginations set a new way for his appearance every one in his own form but all think you are doing him service to stop his old way by force Ah foolish people and full of wit will you call on him to come to judgement and stop his way with cruelty is not the day of the Lord darkness to you who deny the light Gods wayes are not yours nor his thoughts yours who are vain therein will you hedge up his way against him will you set Briars and Thorns before him and shall not the light of Israel kindle a fire amongst you shall not he go through and tread you down and with your own tear you as a Lyon from whom none shall deliver Was it not thus with Israel when they builded Temples and increased their Altars and multiplied their Sacrifices and what was the end was it not all to sin for thereby they strengthened themselves against the way of the Lord in his Prophets and blessed themselves in their worships said no evil should come upon them for they made many prayers but their hands were full of blood for the best of them were become as a Bryar in the way of the Innocent and the most upright as a Thron-hedge in the way of his Servants in whom he appeard against their back-sliding evils and false worships but they were not so to their own Teachers for them they fed fat and gave gifts rewards and hire to them so having got Prophets of their own in their way then they joyned together and one cryed peace to another and when God came to break that peace in his way and to tell them it was not his peace then they all joyned to hedge him out and made a wall against him of their own righteousnesse which they daubed up with their increase of Sacrifices and false worships so they said they were innocent people said so and Priest and Prophets and Rulers said so for they had trimed their own wayes so they said they should have peace and he that told them truth then became their troubler So having covered themselves with this garment they could shed Innocent blood boldly which was found in the skirts thereof not by secret search and what became of all this did their own wayes save them in the end did not innocent blood out-cry the multitude of their Altars till there was no remedy so he beame their enemy whom they called their Redeemer So now read your wayes at this day and measure them in Truth and see what it is you are hedging out who it is and what is his message against and what is his manner of coming and your manner of opposing that so if it were possible you might come to see a glimps of the old way and of your own work is it not he that comes to cry out against that which is wicked in your streets and false in your worships that 's become your enemy and breaks your peace whom your hedge cannot stop nor your wall keep out how many bryars and Thorns are set against him at this day to take hold of him if he do but open his mouth in your streets what Law new and old there is to make him an offender for a word in your Temples how is he beat in your Synagogues haled before Rulers and cast into Prisons how is the Scriptures fulfilled upon you and his witnesse doubled against you manifold over above all your forefathers of whom you read and yet you say you are innocent you are no persecutors but for liberty of Conscience they were persecutors that so used him in the Prophets and in the Apostles and in Queen Maries dayes that so used Martyrs c. but cannot see your work of the same nature which Queen Maries Laws are far too short for you to accomplish but with many additions thereto are you in much fury driving on to destruction yet having trimed your own way say you we are Christians and have a Gospel Ministry of godly men c. But what Christians did ever Christians count it a breach of their Peace to reprove sin in the Gate or where ever it is committed did Christians ever cast into prison or count it disorder to dispute in their Synagogues in the time of their