Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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A48935
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The good order of truth justified wherein our womens meetings and order of marriage (by some more especially opposed) are proved agreeable to Scripture and sound reason / by an old and true friend to liberty of conscience, but not to disorder, William Loddington.
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Loddington, William, 1626?-1711.
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1685
(1685)
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Wing L2803; ESTC R21478
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11,744
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15
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and will certainly devour their strength unawares if they do not return speedily to the Lord Hos 7.9 I would not be supposed by writing this to be more zealous for the Form than for the Power of Godliness my daily Watch is against it And I pray God I and all that love the Truth may not only grow in Words to speak for it but also in unfeigned Love to the Brethren and that the very Spirit of our Minds may daily feel strength renewed to withstand all the fiery Darts and all the guilded Baits of the Enemy I do in this matter as the Apostles did about Faith and Works and as all Christians ought to do viz. to countermine where we feel the Enemy undermining When the Romans began an early beginning to be tainted with a Belief That Works without Faith would save them Paul zealously writes for Faith Rom. 4. But when James perceived the scattered Tribes inclinable to err on the other hand he writes as fervently for Works chap. 2. So a concern is upon my Heart to vindicate even the Form of Godliness because I feel the Serpent designing to bring us to Disorder and Confusion under the fair pretences of Liberty as before mentioned And if it be true as I heard one no small Opposer and for whom I greatly sorrow say That the Worm which spoils the Shell breeds in the Kernel then there is much more cause to examine their Pretences to Power than many apprehend For by this Argument all their talk of Power and seeming Power is to be suspected as wrong because no Worm can breed in the true living Power of God that will spoil the Shell or Form of Godliness Obj. There is one thing more with me to add concerning Judgment It hath sometimes been returned upon me in conference about these things That I judged none to be Friends by these Arguments but such as were conformable to our Order and Forms and this was judging according to outward Appearances and that I must not judge lest I be judged and such like Answ There is thick Darkness in this Objection especially being made by one in some things conformable to Truth whereby the World judges him to be a Quaker Now he must either own or disown this Judgment If he own it be contradicts himself in saying No judgment is to be made by outward Appearance If he disown it he condemns himself of Hypocrisie in appearing to be what he is not But further let such pretending Friends who thus object consider whether they themselves do not in their own Thoughts daily as they walk the streets make a judgment of People according to outward Appearances I do not mean as to their eternal state but do they not judge such to be no Quakers who are dressed in the World's Fashions So by the same Rule as they judge them to be no Quakers which have not the visible dress or habit of Quakers must they justifie me in judging them to be no Members of our Meetings whose Behaviour there is not orderly and agreeable to our Principles He is not of a right Spirit who is not as watchful not to offend those he pretends to own as a Church of Christ as not to offend â—â—…w or Gentile And if he believe us not to be a Church of Christ why doth he frequent our Assembly and there sit as in Unity with our Worship Qu. But what then is forbidden by these two Scriptures Mat. 7.1 John 7.24 Answ In Mat. 7.1 Christ forbids judging so of others as we would not be judged our selves Wherefore he adds For with what Judgment ye judge ye shall be judged He that judges without Mercy shall have Judgment without Mercy So this takes not away all but only partial and unjust Judgment 2. In John 7.24 That judgment is forbid which the Jews made according to the appearance of Letter of the Law When the literal Sence or Letter is a Figure we must not judge by that sence The fore-going Verses clear this The Jews were angry because Christ made a man whole on the Sabbath day He convinced them it was no Breach of their Sabbath by their own practice of Circumcision upon that day in case of necessity For that day was but a Figure of future Rest Exod. 31.17 So it was made for Man not Man for it that is it was to be subject to man not man to it Mark 2.27 And tho' the Letter of the Law was In it thou shalt not do any Work yet if they judged righteously this did not forbid good Works as necessity called for as Circumcision or saving the Life of a Beast themselves being Judges much more doing good to men Wherefore he reproves them for judging after the Appearance or Letter of the Law and not according to the Equity or Righteousness of it in his case as well as in their own Great is that blindness and ignorance which wrests these Scriptures to silence all judging and condemning what in Truth ought to be judged and condemned So I shall conclude with referring to what the Apostle Paul saith concerning our Bodies 1 Cor. 3.17 If any man defile the Temple of God him shall God destroy This Temple in chap. 6.19 he expounds to be our Bodies Now as the Body is a Temple for the Soul so I own the Form to be but as a Temple for the Power Yet if any man wound this living Temple this living Form the Life Spirit and Power within it will cry out and testifie against him THE END
mind relating to these things I have observed that such as oppose the Order of Truth under pretence for Truth do frequently in their writings and speakings call upon us To keep to that which first convinced us Good Counsel Would they themselves were obedient to it But they abuse it by applying it to a wrong end For when they bid us keep to that which first convinced and withal tell us of the blessed Appearance of the Lord among Friends in the beginning their sence is we should keep to that Order and Discipline which was then among Friends Which I grant to be good and suitable for that day and time But by directing to that now they secretly insinuate a Reproof of what ever is more than was at first as if set up by Man's Wisdom as Womens Meetings Monethly Quarterly and Yearly Meetings our present Order of Marriage c. And so such Friends as now walk in this Order being thereunto led and guided by the same Spirit which convinced them in the beginning are by these pretending Friends cryed down as men of Form Apostates Innovators c. And now to shew that this is their design and sence mark but the scope and drift of W. R's Book against the Apostate Quaker as he calls them because in his meaning fallen from what they were in the beginning which he dates to be about twenty six years then last past pag. 3. 1st part But more briefly this may be seen in Anne Docwrays Paper later printed wherein there is some Rhyme but not a word of Reason to convince that what she scoffingly calls Formalities and Directories have any Evils or Absurdities in them W. R. and She exclaim much against Imposition which we disown more than they But mark how she concludes after many fine words against Forms outward Rules Contrivances c. thus But God is bringing back again his People to their first Principles and Practice whereby they were gathered into Community with him and with one another in his Life and Power By this it s as clear as the Sun that she misapplies this Doctrine as before noted Many such Instances might be given Had this Woman lived in the Apostles days might she not as readily have charged them with Apostacy when they left oft having all things common and set up Property among them Might she not have said to Paul Keep to that which first convinced thee and tell not us of ordaining Elders or Overseers in Churches Tit. 15. 1 Tim. 3. Away with thy form of sound Words 2 Tim. 1.13 That Light which met thee going to Damascus spake nothing then to thee of these things Thou art now got into an aspiring Mind and seekest Preheminence over others Thou art setting up Forms and Directories outward Rules and Prescriptions which will be but Baits for the Enemy to with-draw mens Minds from the inward Teachings of the Grace of God into Contention After this rate A. D. runs on in her Paper against the Truth of God now which may as well be applied to the Primitive Times as ours But now let us consider whether these who cry out so much of Apostacy are not themselves the Apostates Whom the Lord convinceth and converts them he adds to his Church Acts 2.47 Whom he adds to his Church them he teaches to be obedient to the Discipline therein Heb. 13.17 This is plain Scripture And the true Light in us if we keep to it will certainly satisfie us in the truth of this spiritual Rule and Government and the strength of it over our Spirits we shall as sensibly feel as outwardly we may feel the strength of another mans Body over ours by trying it But as stubborn Bodies will not yield to stronger Bodies though they dye for it so stubborn forward Spirits will despise this spiritual Government till they loose their spiritual Life 2 Pet. 2.10 A false Birth may cry but not for the Breasts That which is born of God first breathes after him and then after the Flocks of his Companions Cant. 1.7 Tell me O thou whom my Soul loveth where thou feedest where thou makest thy Flocks to rest at Neon For why should I be as one that turneth aside from the Flocks of thy Companious Love to Christ and to his Flock cannnot be seperated So though I joyn to this Flock it s not because they are a Flock but because they are Christ's Companions And although I believe as they believe yet I can faithfully say it s not because they believe or practise this or that but because that Power which brought me from the barren Mountains blessed be his Name gave me the same Faith and led me into the same fruitful Vallies where they were feeding So by this I know and dare be bold in Truth to say not to upbraid but in Love to inform our Opposers pretending Friend ship That either they mistook at first their Opinions were not right-they took that for the Lords Anointing which was not or else they are really fallen off or to speak most moderately turned aside from the Works of the Lord Oh! that they may return with greater Zeal than ever to serve the Truth in this their day before eternal Night come over them It is very sad to see any that were first to be last but more to feel them in danger to be lost Obj. If any should Reply That our Meetings are fallen from their first Faith and have set up Formalities contrary to Scripture and Reason and therefore it s as lawful now for any one as it was for Luther formerly to oppose a whole Body when so corrupted Ans Blessed be the Lord this is not our case I do not find nor did I ever meet any impartial Friend or friendly Man that would say These our Opposers have proved any one of our Principles or any part of our Order guilty of any Errors or Evils or any way contrary to Scripture or sound Reason Neither did I ever hear they propounded a better Order or Discipline But the burden of all their Books and Papers I meet with is either against particular Persons or for Liberty Liberty against Forms Orders outward Rules c. which if they would speak plain English is as much as to say We would have a Religion like the Earth in its Chaos without Form void of Order Gen. 1. We would be a Garden but not inclosed like that in Cant. 4.12 We would be fellow Citizens with you provided there may be no Walls or Gates about your City We are for Salvation for Walls in that sence which allows no means of Salvation though lawful and honest We are for liberty of go in and out of the City which way and when we please In short they say in effect as Israel of old We would have liberty for every one to do what is right in his own Eyes Thus strange confused Notions have entred under pretence of keeping to the Light within a true Doctrine and have deceived many