Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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B05871
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The voyce of the just uttered: his passing out of Ægypt through the Red Sea, through the wildernesse to the promised land, where rest and peace is enjoyed. / By him who is known to the world by the name of Thomas Symonds.
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Simonds, Thomas, d. 1666.
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1656
(1656)
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Wing S3804; ESTC R184170
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9,406
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8
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love grace mercy and light is free but this must goe with it abide in his-love in his mercy in his grace and light and here is something to doe contrary to the will of man and this answers Christs words who saith if ye abide in the vine c. he further exhorting them abide in me and I in you as the branch cannot beare fruit of it selfe except it abide in the vine no more can ye except ye abide in me which man to owne I now see he must deny himselfe and take up the Crosse and deny that liberty which all the professors of the world are pleading for who are out of the life and enemies to the light so these things above mentioned being in the time of my ignorance blindnesse and darkenesse received into my understanding the worke of God was stopt and the witnesse his light in me quenched then carelesnesse and wildnesse and unstaiednesse with me increased and I could be merry and sport my selfe in the day time and so grew sottish darke and dull and my profession withered and my zeale abated and my stayednesse and sobernesse was turned into wantonesse and laughter and could plead for it that it was the liberty of the Saints to be merry and cheerly in the world else it might dishonour the Gospel and discourage others and in this condition I was for some yeares after I had taken a wise and fell to trading and much buying and selling and great acquaintance with man I began to have and to increase in my estate as to the outward then I grew tall and great in my thoughts and began to thinke the Lot of my inheritance was in a good place then with my fellow tradesmen I delighted often to be in Taverns Inns and drinking houses and often times and money I spent that way and thought it my liberty so to dee and some small covering of profession was still with me which hid me from the world as praying and reading in my family and going to the chiefest places of worship so counted but all this would not hide nor cover me from the wrath of the Lambe and now my fellow tradesmen and sometimes companions in wickednesse in excesse of drinking eating and wicked singing and idle jestings and foolish laughter in the day time and often in the night season be warned to flee and shun all foolish laughter and wantonesse and idle communication which corrupts the good manners and wait in the light of Christ which convinceth you of sinne and of your ungodly deeds to know the living God who somtimes you will talke of and in words professe him but in workes deny him for all workes of darknesse are contrary to the pure God who if ever you come to know you must know him a consuming fire to all your idle filthy foolish uncleane corrupt communications and to all your lusts and pleasures which yee at present take delight and live in poor hearts there is a tendernesse in me towards you and all men consider your estates your living carelesly as to your eternall estate your bodyes growing far with ease and fulnesse but enter in to your owne closers and let the dore be shut and be quiet and still in your spirits and with the light of Christ diligently search and see the leanesse and starvedness of your souls and how faint and feeble they are that the pantings and breathings after God from the innocent in you which lyeth oppressed you may come to know and your present conditions come to see in the light for really when you come to be searched and sound out with eternall light of God Christ Jesus then woe to you that laugh now for yee shall mourne and lament and your joy and gladnesse will be turned into sighing and bitter weeping for the life of sinne and wickednesse you have lived in and still take delight in this I now know and see in the eternall light of God that it is your present states and conditions for it is not long since I was in that state with you which was pleasing to my fleshly minde though while I was with you in that mirth and delight to the sinfull minde yet the Lord was present to condemne me with his light and this if you will deal plainely with your own hearts in particular with the light of Christ you may come to see the Lord condemning you in the midst of all your mirth and witnessing with his light in you against your ungodly deeds in the midst of your sportings and riotings thus it was with me whilst I with you in wickedness did joyn which was untill neer the time called Michaelmas in the year 1654. I then journying towards Cambridge purposing to take my delight at that place called Sturbidg faire hearing of a people in Cambridge called Quakers I had a great desire to see them altho they were counted as the off scouring of the world some of the people being then prisoners after my stay one night in that place I went to prison to see the despised one of the world named Anne Blackely who is a mother in Israel I seeing her sober stayed countenance after some little space began to aske her some questions which she in discreet and wise manner answered with much tendernesse to me she seeing in the eternall light of God my condition spake as she was moved to the witnesse of God in me which did soone answer the soundnesse of her words and I was brought into much tendernesse and many were the teares that then fell from mine eyes and really such a condition I was then in as I was never made sensible of before in all the time of my profession for I was pierced and wounded and made sensible of my condition and exhorted where to wait which exhortation tooke deepe root in me it not parting from me day nor night but to the light of Christ in my conscience I was kept which brought me into sobernesse and stayednesse so the inten ded evill of my journey I was kept from and soone after departed out of that towne towards my outward being which was at Norwich where I had and have a wife and tender babes who were and are deare unto me in their places but the forme of my countenance being changed from laughter and foolish jesting into sobernesse and stayednesse caused a change in my wife at that time she weeping and crying out and asking me often what I ayled for long I lay under Judgement mourning sighing and groaning the innocent in me to be delivered and pangs tooke hold on me for the delivering of the man child and then grones and sighs I came really to know which could not nor cannot be uttered and then the ministrations of condemnation which is glorious in its time I came to know and when under the greatest condemnation judgment I was brought sensible of a spirit of burning in me then had the innocent one in me which never consented to sin
THE VOYCE of the JUST Uttered His passing out of Aegypt through the Red Sea through the Wildernesse to the Promised Land where rest and peace is enjoyed By him who is known to the World by the Name of THOMAS SYMONDS Many false Spirits are entred into the World who are seen tryed and found out with the light of Christ although it they oppose and seek to darken with all their dark powers Yet Christs Voyce a torment is to the unclean Spirits known of them but not followed his sheep hear his voyce and they follow him in the strait and narrow way through tribulations trialls and persecutions which is embraced of all those that dwell in the light and so come to the inheritance the Crown of life I Being quiet and still in my habitation feeding upon the bread of life knowne and enjoyed in the light of life the former dealings of the Lord was brought to my remembrance and in love to the souls of men and women I am made to publish and make knowne these things which follow which cannot be hid for the command to me is what is revealed to thee in secret that preach thou on the house tops and what is made knowne unto thee in thy closet that publish abroad and let my secrets to thee be no longer hid the candle of the Lord being lighted in me searching me from the beginning and shewing me the sins of my you h and now knowing that when I had committed sinne in my youth the light of Christ in my conscience discovered it and reproved me ever since the time of my being a child but I not knowing where to wait ran from place to place from one man to another who had the greatest name in godliness and profession of holinesse but Phisitians they were of no value sometimes I found them daubing as it were with untempered morter and would have healed that which was to be cut and wounded and bruised the head of the serpent while it stood acted I was in wickednesse and so from day to day I went under a wounded spirit which made me cry day and night by prayer to the Lord as I thought to be at a distance from me and Christ that had enlightned me with his light which was then prsent with me to let me see my condition and wounded Estate that I would not own for my guide this condition I continued in till about eighteene years of age and then much calling and crying out there was of the priests of those times whom I delighted to hear to goe forth into the war hearkning to their cry I entred into the war without me thinking thereby to be beloved of God for my forwardnesse in that work and the war within me did somwhat cease but not wholly for I sound the searcher of all hearts the light of Christ in me condemning reproving me in secret and often when I have been to engage with my enemies without me my sins have been set in order before me which hath made me even to faint before them but the resolvednesse in me and the justnesse of my cause as I thought carried me on to encounter but this brought not my enemies within me to the slaughter but strength they got by it I reasoning thus with my selfe I had fought the Lords battell and henceforth there was layd up a sure reward for me and this sometimes did quiet me till the Lord uttered his voice in his habitation then came I to see with the light of Christ that my iniquities were not yet blotted out then sorrow would sease upon me and sadnesse palenesse of face so that I was long kept to the admiring of many and when at any time I had been drawne out to receive the creature to the abusing of my body which I see overtooke me I not being kept dilligent and watchfull the severe Judgments of God would follow me and rest depart from me then mourning and lamenting was my portion and sorrowing and sighing with much heavinesse of spirit from the oppressed in me did proceed then such perswasion there was in me that I should joyne with those people called Annabaptists and did contend much when I came with those that did oppose me for water baptisme taking Scriptures to prove the necessity of it but in a short time I came to see the emptinesse and huskinesse of it and so became dead to it and the witnesse of God the light arising in me though the power of it I little knew my condition in measure I was brought to know and to see my selfe naked and wretched then to reading of Scriptures and praying I did much give my selfe and at times much tears and weeping I was brought into then looking upon them as tears of repentance there would be some quietnesse in my spirit and a calme for sometime but that remaining in me strong and uncrucified the Lust from whence warres did proceed peace would not long continue the light of Christ in my conscience being sinned against for the vertue and strength of it I was then ignorant of but in this my time of ignorance the Lords working power in me his light was not put out though often quenched and sinned against and this was the Lords love to my soule to waken and quicken me morning by morning and in the night season call me to an account with his light of life and power with it I now see he hath enlightned every one that cometh into the world and that with his light Christ Jesus hath and doth and shall leave all men without excuse eternally before the pure God who is light and in him is no darknesse at all but all who have and doth and shall abide in his light have and doth and shall know that in it is life and power and it is able to cleanse and purifie the heart and abiding in it the heart Soule and body is kept cleane in the sight of the pure God and so the peace of God come to be knowne of all those that abide in his light which shines in all consciences though darknesse comprehend it not yet light comprehend and discover it in man allthough man by his strange inventions seeke to darken the glorious light as when I was afflicted and tossed too and fro with the slight and cunning of mens inventions for when many conditions I had passed through as before mentioned and stil the Lord in his love was searching me with his light and with it I did see sinne standing which caused trouble and restlessnesse then the docctine of free grace so called was preached to me that Christ had suffered for sinners and his suffering was free his mercy free his love his grace free so there was nothing for me to doe but to believe these things which Doctrine was soone received by me for it was pleasing to the fleshly minde as it was then held forth and declared by the blinde guides of the world and now I know that his