Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	antichrist_n	church_n	zion_n	33	3	8.9919	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65249	Lamentation over England from a true sight, and suffering sense, of the lamentable wickedness of such rulers, priests, and people, that are erred, and strayed from the way of God, and follow too much the devices and desires of their own hearts, offending against his holy laws ... : whereby all persecutors may (in pity to their souls) truly consider what way they are in, and whether it leads, and whose work they are doing, and what the Scripture saith will be the reward of oppression and cruelty / by M.W.	Watkins, Morgan, fl. 1653-1670.	1664 (1664)	Wing W1066; ESTC R38958	45,267	54

such are now that the Scripture may be fulfilled for such are not of the world but of God for said they the whole world lyeth in wickednesse and they were with sound Doctrine and a holy Conversation to beget unto God out of the world and if you who are called Lords spiritual did exercise your authority over none but they that you had begotten to God out of the world you would have but a very small flock if any at all but instead of gathering a flock out of the world you take the world for your flock and so exercise Lordship over them as Christ said Luke 22.25 The kings of the Gentiles exercise Lordship over them the example of those you follow and not Christ for there is many thousands by the year to be gotten by them and so rule by your outward power and Lordlinesse like the false Prophets of old and many of the world love to have it so and so let them have it But the flock of Christ the Church in God cannot own these things nor love to have it so but must stand witnesses against these things even to the death if the Lord require them And therein you come to be tried and made manifest what nature you are of and also their faith and patience is made manifest and the nature of the Lamb shewed forth that overcomes but the contrary nature as I have said is to be overcome that which persecutes and imprisons and would force the conscience and so slay the soul or else kill the body this was ever of the Devil and so it is now and a mark of Antichrist the false Church the Whore that is adulterated from the Spirit and alienated from the Lambs nature that overcomes in patience and obtains the victory and is made perfect through suffering but on the contrary the Whore the false Church is said to drink the blood of the Saints and the Scripture bears testimony that all the bloud is sound in Babylon then Sion is clear of bloud Mark that and the name Babylon comes thus to be written in the forehead of every persecutor who is of Cains stock that slew his brother because his worship was in truth but his in the murthering nature Mark he that was slain was in the truth from the beginning and he that slew was in the deceit and so we see it hath been all along unto this very day And that nature which slew our Lord Christ when he was upon the earth is the same that now persecutes and slayes his Disciples and followers because they are redeemed from the earth and cannot submit to their vain traditions customes and fashions and commands that are contrary to God therefore are sufferers by the world but the sons of Sion are such who are redeemed with judgment and that nature which is at enmity to God being condemned is crucified and cast out and the Lambs nature being raised up converts to righteousnesse and righteousnesse being brought forth glorifies God And we being called and gathered cut of the vain conversation and also from the vain worship which teacheth for Doctrine the commands and traditions of men by the mighty power and out-stretched arm of God are kept in faithfulnesse to him that we cannot bow or submit to that which the Lord hath shewed us to be evil for fear of men or their threats who are but dust being accompanied in our sufferings and persecutions with the power and presence of the eternal God that made heaven and earth And be it known unto you persecutors of the holy seed you shall never prevail to overcome us as we are kept in the power of Life which hath gathered us out of your dead forms to serve the God of Life in the newness of his spirit in which he is worshipped by the true worshippers out of the way sight and understanding of all that are not come to receive the true light who are all in a false worship erred from the spirit blind in the dark and stumble at the truth and fight against the life that is hid with Christ in God out of the sight of the vulterous eye and out of the way of the venomous beast where the lions whelp treads not and where the devourer cannot come and that which God hath hid in the spirit all the natural learning in the world could never find out nor ever shall for being hid from the wise and prudent of this world is revealed to such as are babes who hunger and thirst after righteousness and not after preferment in the world who cannot be satisfied with the bread that perisheth but with the sincere milk of the word of life they grow which word is nigh them and is the word of faith in their hearts that begets life in them and this life pints and breaths after nourishment from that which hath begotten it and cannot be satisfied with words but with the immortal word of life that was in the beginning that quickeneth that again that in Adam we were dead to and this is the quickning spirit that ministers life which we having obeyed do live and the life we now live is by the mighty power of God which our souls are made subject to and we cannot but obey that which quickned us and is the immortal life in us the second Adam that the children of the first persecute because they are born of that which cannot reveal the second and so being in the darknesse of death see him not nor know him But alas for you it is in vain for you to think that you can prevail over us by your carnal weapon for the sword of the spirit is with us which hath slain and cut down that nature in us that your strength stands in to make War against us for the strong man the enemy of our souls being overcome by the power of life that is stronger comes to be cast out who is the Captain that leads all persecutors and all destroyers of mens lives for Conscience sake that is he that would destroy us being cast out from within and cannot destroy our souls would revenge himself upon our bodies but we know that he that hath given life to our souls can preserve our bodies if he please if not his will be done but this I say to all persecuters We have overcome your Captain-general and he that is in us is greater then he that is in the world as we have said and you shall know who is the Captain of our salvation that suffered by the world and overcome the world and therefore know this that as our Captain hath overcome the world in us so with us and in us will he overcome the world by us but this the world seeth not therefore cannot receive it so if all the world rise up against us as one man for the obedience of the spirit of truth we know it is that they may be overcome And how can you expect that we should submit to that in others

world that both Priests and People live in with the filthy unclean lusts of the flesh that they may keep Gods holy will and Commandements that the Priests and people for the most part say they can never keep here and walk in the same all the dayes of their lives and if this ought to be done as you say and is possible to be done by the power of God as I say then let the Priests bring forth one out of all the Parishes in England that they by their ministry have taught and brought into this perfect life which they have made the people promise and vow that the Children shall perform when they come to age Now if they have and still do make the people promise and vow That the Children shall do that which all the Priests in England cannot do then in all just reason the people should have the Tithes but if the people do not performe this vow and bring forth this life and the Priests and Bishops to help them then what is all your Religion worth that have not God a bridle for your tongues that promise and break it that vow solemnly before the Lord and not perform it You may very well say you are a generation of miserable offenders and there is none of you doth good as it doth appear no not one And yet you Priests would have a reward for teaching the people to profit when you cannot bring one of all your Flock that hath done that which you say and they promise and vow they ought to do First you ought to do your Work before you require your Wages but you take the reward first so you are herein more cunning then Balaam for you are sure of the reward though you never do the work and most of you are not ashamed to say it can never be done here yet you still take the Wages Can this be any other than the wages of unrighteousness to be paid for deceiving the people keeping them ever learning and never able to bring them to the knowledge of the truth but ever would be paid though never do the work therefore you are unprofitable servants and no Ministers of Christ and therefore we cannot follow you who deny the light of Christ within and so you choose the darkness for that will not reprove you for your unprofitable works and they which walk there cannot see your deceit therefore you love the darknesse more than the light and the wages of unrighteousnesse more than the truth which is the perfect gift of God given to profit withall and this is the reason you cannot profit the people because you have not received the perfect gift of God that the Apostles and Ministers of Christ did receive and do receive which was given for the perfecting of the Saints for the edifying of the body of Christ and they I believe spake truth when it was said by Paul that he spake wisdome among those that were perfect and that they that were sanctified were perfected for ever and the Scripture bears testimony of some that were sanctified So these could shew the fruits of their Ministry that they did perform that which they received the gift of God to do these did not receive the tenths of mens labours yet they did their work but you receive the tenth and say the work can never be done here if the work be to be done in another world what have you to do to take wages here but indeed you are like to have none of us in this world except you can do your work in this world but the Apostles and Ministers of Christ through the power of their gift brought men to the keeping of the commands of Christ who said Matth. 5.48 Be ye therefore perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect and you priests make the people vow and promise to perform and is it not his will that this command should be kept on this side the grave if not why do you make the people promise to do it for he that forsakes the Devil and all his works and keeps Gods holy will and commandments shews forth and witnesseth a perfect life But if you have taught the people to promise and vow that which they nor you can never perform then you have led the people into errour and if it be not errour then you are erred from the spirit the gift of God by which the people should be perfected and the body of Christ edified being that your Ministry hath brought forth no such fruit and its like never will Therefore consider with your selves what cause those that love your souls have to warn you and deal plainly with you that if it be possible you may see your error and come to that spirit that leads into all truth for it s not possible for you to cover your selves but the eye which God hath opened in the children of Light doth see you and the woful sad miserable lamentable estate that you are in woe woe unto you weep and howl for the misery that is coming upon you what an account can you give to the Lord for all the souls that have perished under your cure who have not made with all your wisdome and skill one soul perfectly whole but still have laboured to keep them ever learning where they can never be able to come to the knowledge of the truth Woe woe unto you that ever you were born to be an occasion of such a great destruction in undertaking that which you have no spiritual skill in had you received the word of Life from the Lord the word would have healed them so there would have been some fruit to God if some had perished who had refused to hear or have been instructed by you you might have been clear of their bloud but the people have heard you and do hear you and if they come not you punish them and yet alas all spotted with Leprofie and there is as you and they say no foundness in you but all over polluted with wounds and putrified sores are not you judged out of your own mouths by your own confession before the people and then to cover your shame and errour you make the people believe it is not ever possible to be otherwise here Oh miserable comforters to a sick soul If the people did but see your deceit what would become of you but the Lord God of Life is making your deceit manifest daily by the light which you hate and all the children of Light see it who are taught by his spirit and therefore cannot but pity your poor miserable souls Alas what will you do when none shall buy your Medicine any more how will you look the people in the face in that day which hastens exceedingly for Sions sake you must sly to the rocks the mountains to cover you but they shall not be able for the mountains shall tremble in that day and the hills shall melt before the Lord and the glory of his

which is laid up for all those that continue faithful to the end Woe woe from the Lord is the portion of all that oppresse Jacob and that spoil Israel who exercise rule and authority over the blessed seed in the cursed nature and so being Gentiles by nature are ignorant of the Laws Statutes and Ordinances of Sions King and of his spiritual Israel who are of the heavenly birth that is blessed and cannot bow to Esau's Lordship who is of the first birth that is hated which cannot please God being in the unbelief and under the curse and yet doth exercise authority and oppresse the birth that doth Mark He that is in the flesh cannot please God thus saith the Scripture Gal. 4.29 And he that persecutes is of that birth as it is written He that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the spirit Even so it is now then mark how can that birth that pleaseth God submit to that birth which pleaseth him not It could not do so of old both in the Prophets and Apostles it cannot do so now in Disciples and Believers and because it cannot do so now the birth of the flesh would force them by inflicting punishment upon their bodies and spoiling of their goods but he that gave them bodies is a Spirit and gives them spiritual power to overcome that spirit of darknesse in giving up their bodies that they may not bring guilt upon their souls And from this birth that cannot please God doth the enmity arise in all ages from the first that was Cain to the last that is Antichrist For the seed that bruiseth the heele rules in that birth that persecutes in all ages and is but one though it change its name yet its nature is to devour and destroy the life in which the seed rules that is blessed which is the Heir that the sons of Belial in all ages have combined to kill under the name of a deceiver or a blasphemer for old Cains Nature having put on Christe Name professeth him in Words but denyeth him in Works as saith the Scriptures by its testimony under the several appearances and dispensations of God it alwayes and in all ages testified against that nature For as in the time of the Law old Cain covered himself with a profession of it and with the strictest would Tithe Mint and Cummin but neglected the weightier Judgment and Mercy And when the Heir appeared in a body of flesh to do his Fathers will mark he could not own Cains Religion although he profest his fathers Law Then the old enmity said Come let us kill him this is the Heir but what saith the old enmity now in our age Come let us make a Law to Banish them to spoil their goods and hang them as Fellons and what not is the old enmity grown worse that it rages so much it knows who is appeared in his mighty power and that its time is but short for the Heir is again appeared and appearing in the bodies of his people to do his Fathers will and these cannot own Cains Religion now no more then their Lord Christ owned it then for the Heir of life know Cains nature then and so he doth now notwithstanding his taking the Law of God into his mouth yet he was from it in his heart for there was the murtherer in the heart where the Law should have been so the Heir of life the light of the world that manifests the deeds of darkness now said then to those Rabbies that went in long robes and for a pretence made long prayers yet devoured the poor Woe be to you hypocrites for ye shut up the kingdome of Heaven against men for you neither go in your selves neither suffer ye them that are entring to go in Mat h. 23.13 Mark how the old enmity wrought then he that came to do the will of God they killed for having told them before that their Religion was vain and that they were of their father the Devil and his works they did yet they believed not but persecuted to the death so despised the day of their visitation and him that told them the truth both hated and slew Therefore was their house left unto them desolate and the things that belonged to their everlasting peace was hid from their eyes So it being sea for an example in the following ages that persecution is punished with desolation and that spirit that seeks not after truth and peace with all men the peace of God is hid from its eyes and that is the fugative and vagabond spirit that slew his brother because he pleased God and this is that spirit that reigns and rules in great Babylon that drinks the blood of the Saints and Martyrs of Jesus and this is the spirit that is Head in the false Church or Scarlet coloured Whore that calls her selfe the Spouse of Christ and covers her self with his Name being erred from his spirit dwels in enmity to his nature this is that spirit of Antichrist that is come into the world with which the great men of the earth have been led to commit fornication with and drawn their hearts from the measure of his good spirit in them which would have guided their feet into the way of peace but that spirit of enmity being received guids their feet into the way of Cain to kill and slay their brother that cannot sacrifice with them nor own their Worship in that nature which cannot please God and for this cause have the holy men of God suffered in all ages as at this present day And because of this our Lord Christ suffered who could not own that nature in the zealous professing Jews notwithstanding they seemed to justifie themselves in words to his face as if they were the children of God saying We have one father even God Joh. 8.41 Mark his answer and Character of the children of God If God were your father ye would love me Love to the truth Christ the light is the work of a child of God hatred to the truth Christ the light and those that be in it is the work of a child of the Devil thus their works makes them manifest in all ages hatred against the appearance of God comes from the cursed nature that slew the Lamb. And to the Professors of the Law of God that were in that nature his Son said and doth say Ye seek to kill me and what it the reason because my word hath no place in you This is the cause of persecution and enmity against the truth from the first to the last the word of truth not being hearkened to in the heart in the mouth truth comes not to be beloved in the inward parts and by such it comes to be hated in others without If ye continue in my word then art ye my Disciples indeed So mark this if the word of truth that which speaks the truth in you hearts and shews your evil deeds in secret and telleth you