Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A30561
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A visitation and presentation of love unto the King, and those call'd Royallists
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Burrough, Edward, 1634-1662.
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1660
(1660)
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Wing B6054; ESTC R14966
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32,299
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40
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Lord God against the King and his Government to destroy them both Therefore to reduce the Government of the Church into the State as it stood under the Bishops in his Fathers dayes and to prohibit all others that may differ in Judgment from that this is not the way for Peace and happiness in these Nations nor the way that will be blessed to the Government neither can the Bishops and Prelates justly themselves desire it that only they and their Church-Government should be Imposed and Tollerated and all besides Prohibited for this is not doing to others as they would be done unto and I may hope that their Suffering this divers years may have taught them the worth of Liberty to themselves and so that they will allow to others if it be in their power the same which they have desired themselves in their time of Suffering and they having tasted of some Subjection in Adversity they know the better how to behave themselves in time of prosperity and they may compare others with their own states and may judge that others will as much desire Liberty and from as good Principles in their Worship and Faith as themselves would have enjoyned it in times past and they may have learned to be good to others in that case for which themselves have Suffered and not cause others to suffer for that thing about wch themselves have suffered And I do conclude that he may justly with more safty happiness to his Government Tollerate and Allow LIBERTY of CONSCIENCE in the Exercise of Faith and Worship towards God in all Spiritual Matters even to al sorts of People in this Nation and let him defend their Persons Estates from the wrong one of another by wholsome Laws and let each sort defend themselves in their Faith and Worship in their Church and Ministry by their soundest Arguments and the best Spiritual weapons they have and thus should it be blessed to the Government And whatsoever sort or Sect of People are not contented with this that is to say to Allow the same Liberty to others in Faith and Worship which they do desire themselves are not worthy themselves to be allowed Liberty unto and this every reasonable man may judge Quer. 7. Lastly What is your Iudgement if ye dare declare it concerning the Times and Seasons and the present motions of them And what are your Observations of the present proceedings Are the present Times and Seasons and the proceedings and transfactions in Mercy or in Iudgment to the King and his Subjects If in Mercy to whom is it Mercy And if in Iudgment who are they to whom these things are so If ye be not faint-hearted declare your minds now in your last daies as many think for many say that your ruin is nigh come and if it be not so many are deceived Answ. Yes we dare declare our Iudgment concerning the Times and Seasons for we have received the Iudgment of Truth in our Spirits and never have been nor are we afraid to declare the Truth so far as Truth is necessary to be declared and we say the Times and Seasons are in the hand of the Lord and the motions of them are very swift and the Lord gives to whom and takes from whom Times and Seasons as he pleaseth even as it were in an instant doth the Lord give and change and alter Times Authorities and Things and mortal man ought not to glory in Times or Seasons as if they were certain and unchangable to him for behold the Motions of Times flyeth away and Seasons removeth their course and the most confident of men have no certainty thereof and that because they are in the hand of the Lord that turneth them about and often contrary to mens will and pleasure and therefore let every man be good in his time and fulfill the will of the Lord in his Season before Time and Season be no more but removed from them And as for our Observations they are very many of the present proceedings and transactions first we do observe that there is not any thing of all these transactions that are come to pass but there is a secret hand of the Lord God through them and in them either doing of them or suffering of them to be done and either as the cause by secret purpose or as the means of their accomplishment it is not without him that these things cometh to pass but his eye his hand is over them that man is only blesed which hath respect unto him in all these things that he may do or suffer for the Lord and that he may not rebell against him in what is brought to pass by him Secondly we observe how that the Lord hath given unto many Men a Day and a Time and tryed them what they would do for him and whether they would rule in Righteousness and in Equity but many have proved deceitful and not answered to the Lord what he expected from them and therefore the Lord hath confounded them in their Counsels and suffered them to Clash one against another and made them overthrow one another and one self-seeking man hath been the ruin of another as bad as himself and even many by their own proceedings have prepared a rod and judgment even for themselves and through their blindness of heart which they have been given up to because of their wickedness they have destroyed themselves and given their very enemies advantage over them to afflict them and this we have observed of present proceedings Thirdly We observe that there is a rude prophane spirit highly abounding throughout this Nation that brings forth much bad fruit as drunkenness and wickedness in a great measure which may justly provoke the Lord to wrath and indignation against the Land if it be not forsaken though it be lifted up in this wonderful rudeness in a pretence of glorying on the behalf of the King and his Government yet it vexeth the Lord and it works Sorrow in the hearts of many Sober People who are pondering what the End of this Government may be that is thus rude and prophane in its beginning saying in their hearts how shall the Lord blesse these proceedings and make the end of them happy which are thus void of the fear of God in the first part of them and if a stop be not put and a limitation upon the Spirit it will provoke the Lord to work sudden destruction and overthrown the Nation Fourthly We observe that many Hypocrites and dubble minded men are afraid and terror hath Surprized them who have taken the profession of such or such a Religion on them for a Cloak and hath been in the shew of Righteousness for earthly ends such are afraid and their ends are frustrated and they are turned into confussion and a prophane Spirit abounding over their Hypocrisie and such will deny their Principles and their Faith and will fawn slatter to save themselves this is abominable but men
High in this World thorow your Sufferings and between such as have acted against you for self ends and have insulted over you and have made themselves Great and Rich in this world thorow your Afflictions and Sufferings for they who have walked in that way are hereof guilty they havenot acted Righteously nor walked in good Conscience if such Suffer by you for that cause it cannot be called Persecution nor is it for the Name of Christ nor can such have Peace with God But we being clear from the sin of such we cannot suffer as such but if we suffer by you it is Persecution and our sufferings will be upon you Quer. 5. Whether the great Afflictions and Sufferings sustain'd by him this divers years from the Subjects if his own Nation and the guilt thereof do lie upon all the Subjects in general Or whether upon any or some paâ—icular Sects and Sorts of people many which now are arisen and if upon any particular Sect and Sort who are such more than others distinguish them from others and clear your selves if you can from the guilt of his Sufferings Answ. As for the Afflictions and Sufferings sustained by him so far as they were Iust and Righteous Iudgment from God because of iniquity can no man be charged with but that is on Gods account who was pleased to chastise with Afflictions and Sufferings and no man can be blamed with Injustice for that Affliction which cometh from the Hand of God upon whom Injustice may not be charged by any one whatsoever and so far as his Sufferings were unjust the guilt thereof doth not lie upon all the Subjects in general nor upon every particular sort of people alike but upon some more than others and such are easie to be distinguished from others if it be considered who they are that first raised the War in this Nation against the King And who was it that first Preached and Prayed up the War and prosecuted it against his Father And who is it that cast out the Bishops and Prelates from their places and took their Revenues and Benefices and are become men as Corrupted as Covetous and Self-seeking as Proud and Ambitious as Unjust Persecutors as ever the men were which they cast out And the guilt is partly upon such who cast out others in pretence of Refarmation but did it not And who is it that hath gotten great Estates in this Nation and Worldly Honour and raised themselves from nothing by the Wars and by your Suffering and became ambitious and insulting over others though they first began the War in this Nation and pretended great Reformation in the Civil State as well as the other had done in Church State And who get the Estates Titles of their Enemies pretended to free this Nation from all Oppressions but have not done it but have continued the old Oppressions and have been striving among themselves who should Rule and who should be great but have not Ruled for God nor in Iustice and Equity though they first Warred against the King and carryed it on and removed the King and Lords and that Government and all this in pretence of Ruling better and in a better Government and yet kept not Engagements nor Promises made in that case Upon such is the guilt of the Suffering of the King so far as his Sufferings are unjust even upon Hypocrites who have â—alked in these steps who as I have said first made war against the King and got great Estates and quite forgotten the cause once pretended by them and now in flattery Cries up King and Kingly Government again though this many years they have seemed to be opposite against it upon such as these may the guilt aforesaid in measure be charged And though there are risen many Sects and Sorts of People since the beginning of the Wars yet in the beginning there was but one sort that were in a capacity to raise and prosecute War against the King and upon such there is guilt to be charged in the sight of God who have foregone their Principles and been deceitful both to God and men And as for Us who are called Quakers we are clear from the guilt of all his Sufferings and in the present Capacity wherein we now stand and under the actings of that Spirit which now we are of we have no part in the guilt of these Iniquities we have not cast out others and taken their places of great Benefices neither have we made war with carnal weapons against any never since we were a People mark neither have we broken Oaths and Engagements nor promised freedome and deliverance and for self ends and Earthly Riches betrayed as others have done what we pretended to and in many particulars it doth appear that we are clear from his Sufferings for we have been a Suffering People as well as they by the same Spirit which caused them to suffer which hath been much more Cruel Wicked and Unjust towards us than it hath been towards them though our Persecution hath been in another manner but what they have done against us we can freely forgive them and we would have you to follow the same example and if you could accuse them in many things so could we but this is not a time to accuse one another but to forgive one another and so to overcome your Enemies or else you will appear in the same Spirit that so he that condemns them cannot justifie you though we do condemn as well as you them that have pretended Reformation and Warred against you upon that account And when they had gotten victory did not reform but became Oppressors themselves as well as others and became Cruel towards others that would not say and do as they and for this Cause the Lord hath brought them down and may justly suffer others to deal with them as they have dealt with others yet notwithstanding I must still say and it is my judgment that there was very great Oppressions and Vexations under the Government of the late King and Bishops under his power which the Lord was offended with and many good People Oppressed by for which cause the Lord might and did justly raise up some to oppose and strive against Oppressions and Injustice and to intend and press after Reformation in all things and that principle of Sincerity which God did raise in many in the beginning of the Wars which in some things acted them forth and carryed them on in opposing Oppressions and pressing after Reformation this Principle I can never deny but acknowledge to it though many soon lost it and became Self-seekers forgetting and foregoing the Cause pretended to having lost Sincerity and became corrupted in their way and Injustice and Oppression abounded by them and because hereof are they condemned in the sight of the Lord and not by me Iustified because they have lost Sincerity and turned the War and all the Proceedings into Self-seeking and therefore is God