Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	age_n	year_n	young_a	352	4	5.7811	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A92906	A Sad caveat to all Quakers. Not to boast any more that they have God Almighty by the hand, when they have the devil by the toe. Containing a true narration of one William Pool an apprentice, & a known Quaker neer Worcester, who on Friday, in last Febr. the 20. boasting that he had that day Christ by the hand, and must according to appointment go to him again, did on that evening by the temptation and impulsion of the devil drown himself in the river. Together with the judgement of the coroner and jury, who found him guilty of self-murder. As also the most barbarous usage of some Quakers who digged him out of his grave. And the most unparaleled presumption of one Mrs. Susan Peirson, who undertook to raise him again to life, with the whole manner of it, and the words that at that time she uttered; the like whereof never heard in Christendome.		1657 (1657)	Wing S251; Thomason E1645_5; ESTC R209085	5,362	16

A Sad Caveat to all QUAKERS Not to boast any more that they have God Almighty by the hand when they have the Devil by the toe Containing a true Narration of one William Pool an Apprentice a known Quaker neer Worcester who on Friday in last Febr. the 20. boasting that he had that day Christ by the hand and must according to appointment go to him again did on that evening by the temptation and impulsion of the Devil drown himself in the River Together with the Judgement of the Coroner and Jury who found him guilty of self-Murder As also the most barbarous usage of some Quakers who digged him out of his Grave And the most unparaleled presumption of one Mrs Susan Peirson who undertook to raise him again to life with the whole manner of it and the words that at that time she uttered The like whereof never heard in Christendome London Printed for W. Gilbertson in Giltspur street without Newgate 1657. A sad Caveat to all Quakers THe Church of God hath oftentimes found many opposers but never more then in this Age. The word of God was never more powerfully preached and the Devil never more busy to sowe his tares then at this present And in this the policy of the Devil is very remarkable which is to overthrow the Gospel by the Gospel that is by perverting the sence of the Gospel by making many false glosses and Comments and Interpretations on it nay by making the Gospel to appeare but as a dead letter compared to the light which they pretend to have within them Although the Devil I say in all ages hath raysed up many Enemies against the Gospel yet his malice did never worke more prevalently then now it worketh the more prevalently because it worketh with so much subtilty and deceit and because it is disguised with so much sanctity surely the Devil did never so often transforme himselfe into an Angell of light by holding forth false lights then in these days Had they bin Iews who had blasphemed the Gospel we could have discovered and aveyded them Had they bin Mahometans or Turks we could with more confidence have confuted them Had they bin Athists we could either have convinced or have punished them but they are a Generation of men sprang up amongst us who do carry an infection with them an infection which is the more dangerous because it over-runs every part preservatiues into the rankest poyson The zeale of these men is but dissimulation their prayers are an abhominatione their Doctrine but prophanes and the whole Conversation of their lives a Labyrinth wherein they lose themselves in the many errours and turnings of spiritual pride I shall not need to make any large discovery of them every day produceth one remarkable example or another I shal only represent unto you a Narration of one of them who boasting that he had Christ by the hand it proved sadly afterwards by the sequele that he had the Devil by the toe His Name was William Pool he was an Apprentice to one Georg Knight of the Parish of Clains in the City of Worcester his Master heretofore lived in a good Fame by a good trade had he not driven at the last a bad trade by keeping convenation with the Quakers with whose Principles he was so strongly possessed that from being a Brother in Christ he would now become Christ in a Brother The Quakers are not ashamed to affirme that Christ is parsonally in them by which wild assertion if we should umpe with them in that beleife it would come to passe that there would be as many Christs as there are Christians and alluding to the opinion of the Papists in their point of predestination the Body of Christ would at one and at the same time being several bodyes and in severall places which is absolutly repugnant unto sence and reason This man had heretofore bin accounted a sincere Professour but now he began to conc●ive himself to be above all Ordinances and to be a despiser of that truth which he before professed He was sometimes esteemed to be a very honest neighbour but now he looked upon them with a scornful and censorious eye as if they were not worthy of his countenance yet he would be familiar with his Apprentice William Pool they was of the same mind which made them outwardly to agree so well together and yet this compliance was not so extraordinary but it sometimes carried with it some tokens of distast On a time the father of William Pool comming to see him he found his Master and him very earnest in disputation together the Apprentice did thou his Master at every word the Father of the Apprentice did much admire at the incivility of his son and that the older he grew he was every day more unmannerly then other He therefore did reprove him for it but both Master and man did satisfie him concerning that particular and did assure him that his Son in those words did expresse himself punctually and that it was not his rudeness but his Religion the old man departed and the Apprentice and his Master did live together with a mutuall concurrence and harmony of affection It did so fall out as commonly it is seen that the rankest weeds grow thickest and highest that the City of Worcster and places thereabouts did begin to be over-spread with Quakers many persons who before pretended much unto Religion being seduced and carried away by this violent torrent and those who were esteemed to be most zealous for the truth did suffer themselvs to fall into this errour such a face of sanctimony and humility did these seducers put on them Amongst these William Pool began to be very well known and as some who suffered not long since did pretend they were Christ so this young man did affirm that he did shake hands with Christ to be thus familiar with Christ did swell him up into a great presumption when alas he was altogether ignorant what a desperate Familiar he had gotten he now believs himself to be lifted up into the Heavens and to be above the condition of other men when he is in the lowest and most lamentable condition in the world the pride of heart and the temptations of the devil do increase together It séems that the Prince of darkness had appeared to him in the shape of some goodly personage and this credulous young man was apt to believe that it was Christ poor man he was not much above two and twenty years of age an age apt to be seduced and carried away especially when it is attended with a spirit that entertaineth an extraordinary conceit of it self and would appear higher and holier then o●hers On Friday the twentieth of February about three of the clock in the afternoon he did walk forth from his masters house into the Garden where having made some stay longer then ordinary he was demanded where he had bin he made answer that he had bin with Christ

and that Christ had taken him by the hand and that he had appointed him to come to him again and that he must go unto him This was a strong temptation of the Devil that was upon this poor man and it is most apparent that it was a temptation of the Divel for all other temptations that do procéed from a mans self do side with nature but for a man to be tempted to destroy himselfe is absolutely against nature and must be a meere temptation of the Devil You Sir know by what spirit this Quaker did act you shall now see what he doth act This poore young man goes forth againe but to returne no more what were the apparitions which he saw may we concerne were the temptations that were upon him When the night began to grow old he is missed and no man can jmmagine what is become of him for he was never knowne to stay out late before the night is drawn out betwixt feare and hope and the morning appearing Messingers are sent to enquire him out but they return with a Nonestinventus and which make it the more strange none of his acquaintance or kindred can posibly direct them where to find him In these perplexities they continue all Saturday and Saturday night and no tidings could be heard of him On Sunday morning there were many more at leasure to seeke after him and some walking one way and some another one of them at last had discovered some Cloathes which lay by the Rivers side they were the Cloathes of the young man whom so long they looked for and casting his eye up and down and observing at last the dead body floting on the water he had not the leasure to take it up but making hast to some acquaintance they came al in together being all amazed at so sadde a spectacle they took the dead body out of the River and covering it with a Cloath they brought it to his Masters house Immediately the Towne was full of sorrow and Complaint especially against the Quakers and some women of Note thereabouts who being seduced themselves did contribute their utmost Indeavours to seduce others This was much seconded by the Ministers sermon that afternoon who taking an occasion to discourse upon this subject did represent what advantage the Devil did take to improve his temptations and how neere of kinne is spirituall pride to Hell Sermon being ended the Coroner was sent for and a Iury impanneled and it was easily found that the Quaker who had drowned himself was guilty of self-murder nevertheless they were so full of pitty as to exempt the dead body from that sentence to which those who do destroy themselves are lyable for he was not buried in the High-way he had no stake plated with Iron thrust through his body to terrifie all passengers from committing such a black and desperate act but on the Monday following about four of the clock in the morning he was civilly buried in the Parish of Clains The mercy of the parish where he lived did quietly commit him to the Grave but the barbarous boldnes and presumtion of the Quakers with whom he conversed would not suffer him to rest quiet in his Grave but on the same morning about eleven of the clock they digged him up again to show a wonder upon him which being one of the most daring and presumptuous deeds that was ever known in Christendom To show you of what spirit these Quakers are I will be carefull in these following lines to give you a true account thereof The most presumptuous attemt of Mrs. Susan Peirson and other Quakers who who commanded the dead body of this their deceased friend to be taken out of the Grave madly and vainly promising his Mother that they would restore it unto life again I Made mention a little before that there were some women of note who suffering themselvs to be seduced by these great Deceivers did use their utmost endeavours to seduce others In this number was one Mistris Susan Peirson who by reason of her quality and great abilities adding some Authority to her Illusions did wonderfully serve to increase the number of the Deceived she was heretofore very much beloved for the many good parts that were eminent in her she appeared to be a great lover of the Gospel a strict and constant observer of the Sabbath a diligent hearer of the Word but being overcome by hyp crisies and the pretended sanctity of this sect of the Quakers she turned from being a lo●er of Ordinances to be a despiser of Ordinances and briefly to act utter any thing that a prophane and an unruly rage could prompt her to She entertained a belief that to derogate from the Authority of the Ministers was to encrease her own she therefore did moke it her practice to come into the Churches wher the Ministers were preaching and interrupting them as well praying as preaching she would demand of them what Authority they could show to prove themselvs Ministers and whethei they could justifie themselvs to be Ministers by the working of miracles quite forgetting or disdaining the Doctrine of Saint Paul That a woman ought to be silent and not to speak in the Congregation The Mother of this young Quaker that thus desperately drowned himself being extraordinarily perplexed for the loss of her son in so strange a manner and almost refusing to be comforted Mistris Susan Peirson doth make her hasty addresses to her she reproves her superfluous tears and assureth her that she would restore unto her her son agen by a quickning Miracle that she would work upon him The Miracle indeed was that the Devil should so much blind her as to undertake so great an impossibility to the utter disgracing of a creature that had been so usefull to him and may serve to represent unto us what a difference there is in the disposition of their ways detwixt the eye of providence and the spirit of darknes but the sad Mother at the first was obstinate and could not be indured to give any ear unto her It was almost as great a wonder to work in her the belief of the wonder as to work the wonder i● self she was too sure that her son was drown'd and she did weep so bitterly for him as if she would drown him again in her tears nevertheless at the last she condescended to the importunity of her friends and she came unto the Grave rather to observe then to enjoy the Miracle The busie Spades of the Quakers had now opened the Grave and the body of the young man being digged up and laid upon she ground the shrowd was taken off when Mistris Peirson drawing nigh unto it did rub his face and his breast wi h her hand and laying her face upon his face and her hands upon his hands she did command him to arise The eyes of the multitude at those words were all sixed upon the dad body being intent to observe what the event would be it came also into their minds that the Prophet Elisha had in the same manner raised a young man to life who had been dead and that our Saviour Christ had raised Lazarus four days buried which made them the more earnest to press neer unto her and with a curious diligence to observe what passed But the Body not moving at all and neither voyce nor sneezing being observed to proceed from it she kneeled down and prayed over it and did command him in the Name of the Living God to rise up and walk At these words a little pausa was made and theople were full of silence and expectation but the body not stirring at all and neither life nor any hope of life appearing Mistris Peirson commanded them to put it into the Grave again excusing her self that it had not been duried four dayes and speaking those words she departed being ashamed at the heart at the ill success of the frantick enterprize she undertook since which time to their perpetual disgrace the Arrogancy of the generation of the Quakers in general and the shame and sorrow and retiredness of Mistris Peirson in particular is become the daily discourse and laughter of the City of Worcester and of all the Countrey round about it The End