Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	father_n	truth_n	worship_v	16,055	5	9.8540	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A54066	Some things relating to religion, proposed to the consideration of the Royal Society, (so termed) to wit, concerning the right ground of certainty therein, concerning tenderness of spirit, and persecution, a query concerning separation, concerning washing away sin from the conscience, and the garment of salvation, and what it is that is covered therewith : likewise, some questions and answers concerning the church of the New-Covenant, the rock of foundation whereon it is built, and its preservation by and upon the rock : with some queries concerning the scattered and hidden estate of the church, and concerning that church which got up in the view of the world, instead thereof, and was acknowledged by the world as if she had been the true church, though indeed and truth she was not so : whereunto are added, some queries to professors, who speak of high attainments, &c. / written by ... Isaac Penington.	Penington, Isaac, 1616-1679.	1668 (1668)	Wing P1205; ESTC R13142	15,290	26

Mercy of God to warn the Churches of these things in the Book of the Revelations And whether he can be safe in these respects who either doth not understand or not observe the warnings given by the Spirit of the Lord therein How often is it therein said He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit of God saith to the Churches It is also said Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophesie and keep those things which are written therein For the time is at hand He then that readeth not that hath not an ear to hear the words of this Prophesie how can he keep what is written therein How can he beware of and avoid the seeming Beauty and Glory of the false Church or suffer with the Faithful Witnesses of God in their Testimony against her And if he do not thus but is entangled by the false Church with her Golden Cup of Fornications Rev. 17. 4. he misseth of the blessing and ah what is he to meet with instead thereof My heart hath often melted within me and my bowels rowled at the consideration and deep sense which the Lord hath given me of these things and this I say therein to those that desire Life and Peace from God O wait on him for the eye which sees in his Light for the ear which hears his Voice and for the heart which understands the words and messages of his Spirit that ye may feel his gathering guidance and preservation out of that to which his wrath is for ever and against which his wrath is to be made more manifest and poured out more fully and abundantly than ever it yet was For the Lord will empty his Love and his Life into Sion and empty the very dregs and thick mixtures of the Cups of his Indignation into the very heart and bowels of Babylon and her sickness misery woe death and destruction will be exceeding dreadful and unutterable Therefore wait on the Lord in fear and singleness of Spirit crying and mourning to him to discover to you the extent and limits of this false Church this false Building this building in a form and outward order without the Life and Power of the Spirit and then fly as fast out of her and from her and as far as the Spirit of the Lord leads even till ye come to the Holy building which is of him and the Heavenly places which are prepared there by him for every one of his according to their growth and stature in his Son that ye may sit down in him Some Queries to Professors who speak of high attainments and experiences in Religion and yet do not witness nor can acknowledg the truth as the Lord hath now revealed it and done great things by it in the Spirits of his People but look upon it as a poor mean and low thing Q. 1. Have ye known the great and terrible day of the Lord wherein he ariseth to shake terribly the Earth And have ye known that shaken down in you which must be shaken down and removed as a Cottage before the everlasting kingdom can be estableshed in you Q. 2. Do ye know the Living Powerful Eternal Word which is quick and piercing sharper than any two-edged Sword dividing between Thought and Thought Grace and Grace as I may so speak Light and Light Life and Life Spirit and Spirit Power and Power c Have ye known it an Hammer a Fire an Axe laid to the Root of the corrupt Tree and do ye know the corrupt Tree Root Branches Leaves and Fruit so cut down by it as to cumber the ground no more Q. 3. Do ye know the Paradice of God and the Tree of Life there Do ye indeed feed thereon Have you passed through the Flaming Sword to the Tree of Life and is the Flaming Sword which once fenced from Life and the Power thereof set now to fence up the way to the Tree of Knowledg that ye may feed no more thereon and dye but feed only on that which is Life and gives Life and so live for ever Q. 4. Have ye witnessed the effects of the great and terrible day of the Lord in your Spirits Is Antichrist destroyed the Whore burnt Flesh consumed Man ceased from both within and without Is the Loftiness of Man bowed down in you the Mighty removed out of his seat and the Meek Holy Humble seed raised up to rule in Righteousness in your hearts Is every high Tower battered down and every fenced Wall laid flat are all your imaginations and conceivings and fleshly apprehendings upon Scriptures yea every pleasant Picture and Image of the things in Heaven formed in your minds brought to an end and the pure living truth of the Father waited for received from him and lived in Yea is the Lord alone exalted in your Spirits and all other Dominion Authority Rule and Lordship put under Q. 5. Do ye know the Mountain of the Lord's House and the Lord's House built and established by his own Holy Spirit and Power upon his own Holy Mountain and do ye worship the Lord alone therein Do ye come up to the New-Jerusalem to offer your sacrifices there according to the institution of the Gospel And do ye worship the Lord there on his own Day which he hath spiritually made And do ye bear no burthen kindle no fire do no work on that his Day Do ye never warm your selves at any fire or by any sparks of your own kindling Or are ye yet worshipping upon some of the many Mountains and Hills which the Lord hath not formed nor established but have been formed and set up by Man in the Night of Darkness before the everlasting Light of the Day brake forth Q. 6. Do ye know the Wilderness through which the passage is from Egypt to Canaan and have ye faithfully travelled in the leadings of God's Spirit therethrough and are ye entred into the pure rest thereof Are ye not under the Law but under Grace Not under the Enemy's power but under the Spirit 's power out of the other's reach so that the wicked one cannot touch you Have ye gone through the exercises and tryals of the Wilderness Have ye fed on the Manna dropt down from Heaven upon your Spirits therein Have ye drunk of the Water of the Rock Have ye seen the Serpent lifted up and felt the healing thereby Have ye witnessed the Pillar of Cloud by Day and the Pillar of Fire by Night to be your Defence and Leader And have ye now at length received the Kingdom of Life and sit under the shadow of it drinking Water out of your own Cistern and eating under your own Vine and Figtree the Fruits of the good Land after the shaking of that which was to be shaken now being come to and enjoying the Kingdom which cannot be shaken Have ye really felt these things or have ye been in the Dreams and Imaginings about them Q. 7. Do ye walk in the Light of the Lord as the Spiritual House of Jacob is to do Have ye received the Spirit Do ye live in the Spirit are ye truly united so as to become one Spirit with the Lord Are all the walls of partition broken down and is there nothing now between you but of two are ye made one in that which uniteth If it be thus with you then hold forth the right hand of fellowship to those whom the Lord hath brought hither and know and acknowledg that whereby the Lord hath wrought it in them But if ye be not really in the thing it self but only in the apprehensions and conceivings about it ye can never so be witnesses concerning these things nor concerning the truth whereby God works these things and ye will find there is a great gulf between you and us which ye cannot possibly pass over till ye meet with our Principle and Guide and Faithfully travel with him in the footsteps of the Flock that ye may come to the Shepherds Tents even the Tents which the Shepherd pitcheth and which no man can pitch and may know the true Tabernacle Sanctuary and Temple whereof he is the Minister THE END But this is not the state of them that sin wilfully after they have received the knowledg of the truth

SOME THINGS Relating to RELIGION Proposed to the consideration of the Royal Society So termed to wit Concerning the right Ground of Certainty therein Concerning Tenderness of Spirit and Persecution A Query Concerning Separation Concerning washing away Sin from the Conscience and the Garment of Salvation and what it is that is covered therewith Likewise Some Questions and Answers concerning the Church of the New-Covenant the Rock or Foundation whereon it is built and its preservation by and upon the Rock With some Queries concerning the scattered and hidden estate of the Church and concerning that Church which got up in the view of the world instead thereof and was acknowledged by the world as if she had been the true Church though indeed and truth she was not so Whereunto are added Some QUERIES to Professors who speak of high Attainments c. Written by one whom it hath pleased the Lord of his great goodness and tender mercy to lead out of the darkness into his marvellous Light known among men by the name of ISAAC PENINGTON Printed in the Year 1668. To the Royal Society so termed FRIENDS I Have heard that ye are seeking after the excellency of Nature and Learning I am not for discouraging any Man in endeavouring after that which is good useful and excellent in its kind and place But it is the advantage of everything to know and abide in its place and to honour and serve him from whom all good Gifts and Endowments come Man hath but a moment in this world and he is here no more and then the spirit returneth to God that gave it to give an account of the Talent which he gave it and its improvement thereof to the Glory of him that gave it and to the salvation of its own soul Now this Talent is of an higher kind than Nature and will lead higher than Nature giving a man to partake of that wisdom from which Nature came and teaching him to order all that is natural to its right end For God is not an Enemy to Nature but to the corruption and disorder of Nature I desire ye might know and partake of the true wisdom and feel union with God in the principle of his own Life and in the incorruptible and Heavenly seed of God receive dominion over the earthly and corruptible For this end singly in the love springing up in my heart towards you as it often doth both towards particular persons and Societies For I am a friend to all and a lover of all sincerely desiring the good of all and the right guidance of their souls to happiness have I proposed these things following more particularly to your view though they concern others also that ye thereby might be awakened to search after that which is most excellent in you and be acquainted with the vertue and precious effects thereof to the full satisfaction and compleat joy of your souls in that which alone is able fully to satisfie and give them ground of durable joy and rejoycing in that which is not of a perishing nature but which was and is and will be the same for ever From a friend to the everlasting Peace of your souls and a desirer of your welfare and prosperity in this world ISAAC PENINGTON Of Certainty and rightly grounded Assurance in matters of Religion THERE is a Witness of and from God in every Conscience which in his Light Power and Authority witnesseth for him and against that which is contrary to him as he pleaseth to move upon it visiting and drawing the hearts of the sons of men by it From this Witness proceeds the true and well-grounded Religion in the mind towards God For this Witness both testifieth and demonstrateth that there is a God and also inclineth the mind to desire and seek after the right knowledg and true worship of him And such who keep to this Witness and wait upon God therein are taught by it the true spiritual worshp the true and pure fear of the Most High the Faith which he giveth to his Saints the Love which is chast and unseigned the Hope which purifieth the mind and Anchors it on the eternal Rock the meeknesse patience gentleness humility c. which is not of man's nature but the gift of God and the Nature of the Heavenly Giver And then for exercises of Religion as praying to the Father of Spirits hearing the Heavenly voice reading in the Spirit and with the renewed Understanding Singing and making melody in the heart and also with the voice to the Lord as his life is felt and the spiritual blessings and treasure received all these and whatever else is judged necessary for the soul are taught by this Witness of God in the Conscience as the Soul groweth up in the Light Spirit Nature and Holy Power thereof But now when the Lord reacheth to his Witness in men and is teaching their hearts by it then the Enemy the other Spirit whose seat is in the other part keepeth a noise there to overbear the voice of the Witness and to make men take up Religion in another part which is shallow and reacheth not to the depth and weight of truth which is in the Witness of God and which the Witness of God gives to them that come thither Thus the Enemy stirreth up Reasonings Imaginations and Consultations about God and his Worship wherein he raiseth up the vain shallow mind forging and bringing forth somewhat pleasing and suitable to the earthly understanding taking up the mind therewith and engaging the heart in some such practises therefrom as may quiet and satisfie that part in men For the wayes that men take up in their reasonings and understandings satisfie their reasonings and understandings and so they walk in the light of the sparks and warm themselves by the fire of their own kindling But all this answers not the Witness of God in them nor will be approved by his Light in their own Consciences when it comes again to be revealed and made manifest in them This was the ground of the error both of the Jews and Gentiles The Gentiles were enlightned by God with his true light what might be known of God suitable to their state and capacity being manifested in them insomuch as it is witnessed concerning them in the Scriptures which are a true record and testimony That they knew God But when they knew him they glorified him not as God but became vain in their imaginations and so their foolish heart was darkned concerning him and they worshipped him not as the Witness taught them he was to be worshipped not according to the manifestation of his Light in them but according to their own foolish imaginations and reasonings which taught them to make Images of him and so to worship him in and through creatures according to their own inventions which is not the true worship Rom. 1. 21 22 23. So likewise the Jewes not keeping to the manifestation of his Light within them to the Word or

even the chosen Minister to them of the circumcision as Paul was to the Gentiles But he knew that Christ was the only Rock or Foundation as well as Paul and that Christ alone was able to bear the weight of that building and to defend it against the Gates of Hell and he never had commission nor can it be proved that ever he preached himself the Rock but he preached Christ the Foundation-Stone the Rock of Offence the Rock of Defence c. see 1 Pet. 2. 4. and v. 6 7 8. And if an Angel from Heaven or any Man or Church on Earth so interpret any Scripture as to hold forth any such thing that any else besides Christ is the Rock they plainly shew that they are erred from the truth and that their interpretation is of their own private Spirit and not that publick Spirit which all the Prophets of God and Apostles and Truly-Holy men were guided by Qu. 6. Was the Church alwaies to be a gathered Company or was there a possibility of their being scattered An. There was a possibility of their being scattered yea a certainty if they grew corrupt in Doctrine and Practise and kept not the Faith Rom. 11. For the Lord God intended a pure building a spiritual building fit to offer the spiritual Sacrifices 1 Pet. 2. 5. An Holy People separated from the World 2 Cor. 6. 17. In which he might dwell and walk ver 16. If therefore any Church depart from the Spirit and Life and Power of the Apostles and mix again with the World losing their own proper pale which fenced from the World they soon lose that which maketh them a Church of God and so become a Synagoge of Satan Now it is in my heart also to propound a few Queries concerning the scattered and hidden estate and condition of the Church and concerning that Church which got up in the view of the World and was acknowledged by the World instead thereof afterwards Q. 1. Whether the true Church did retain her Ministry outwardly and her outward Ordinances and way of worship of the outward Court after her scattering or whether the false Church which appeared in her room as if she had been the true caught up and appeared in the outwardness of these The grounds of this Querie are these following 1. Because upon God's measuring of his Temple and Worshippers the outward Court consider well what that is and how far it extends was left out of God's measure so that he intended to reckon it no longer as his but given by him to the Gentile-Christians such as were Christians or Jews in Name but Gentiles in Spirit and Nature Rev. 11. 2. Because in the Last days when that strange Generation of Christians was to spring up who should be Lovers of their own selves covetous boasters proud blasphemers disobedient to parents unthankful unholy without natural affection truce-breakers false-accusers incontinent fierce despisers of those that are good traitors heady high-minded Lovers of pleasures more than Lovers of God Yet these should have a form of Godliness but deny the power thereof 2 Tim. 3. 1 to 6. Now mind The Temple wherein was the Power God had removed with the true Worshippers but the outward Court wherein was the appearance or some kind of a form of Church Ministry and Ordinances those had got and were found worshipping in it in the midst of all this great wickedness and abomination of spirit 3. Because the Jews who were the type while they were in captivity in Babylon could not sing the Songs of Sion nor had the Worship of the outward Jerusalem there And can the spiritual Jews sing the spiritual Songs of spiritual Sion in mysterie Babylon No there they are but witnesses to that Life and Power which the true Church enjoyed and flourished with in her built estate Q. 2. Whether this is not an infallible mark and most certain demonstration of the false Church her sitting upon many Waters which Waters are Peoples Multitudes Nations and Tongues Did not the Spirit of the Lord thus mark her out to John Rev. 17. 15. Did the true Church ever sit upon many Waters Was not the Church a gathering out of the Nations into the Power and Life which the Nations persecuted But the false Church sits over the Nations with a form of Godliness but without the true Power thereof Then if this be a mark that God hath set upon her let every one wait to read it aright that he may know thereby which is she and praise the name of the Lord for discovering her to him Q. 3. Whether this false Church be not rightly called Babylon even an heap of confusion in a mystery as to God's eye though to man's eye her appearance may be orderly and decent And whether she be not justly termed by the Spirit of the Lord the Great Whore both for largeness in bulk and for the greatness of her fornications having whored from the bed of the Husband and entred into the bed of a Stranger and having taught and compelled others to acknowledg and worship in her forms which thus held forth and maintained by her are not only without but also against the true Power Q. 4. Whether Antichrist be not entred into and become the head of this false Church and whether he doth not sit there ruling in it even as Christ was Head of the True and sate ruling in the True And whether Antichrist doth not keep his hold of this Church and possess his seat in it for many Ages and Generations even from the time he got in after the days of the Apostles till the very coming of Christ in his Power and Brightness 2 Thes 2. Q. 5. Whether the great Plagues Woes terrible Thunders and Cups of God's Indignation spoken of in the Book of the Revelations are not to be poured in their several orders and degrees upon this false Church and upon Antichrist her beloved Head and King even till she be stripped naked made desolate and her Flesh burnt with Fire and her Head bruised and destroyed by Christ the true Head and King of the true Church Q. 6. Whether the people of God such as feel somewhat of the Power and bow to the Lord in Spirit and Truth in some measure yet these if they mind not his call out of this Babylon and come not fully out of her but abide in any part of her observing any of her wayes or worships till the time of God's controversie with her and judging of her whether they also shall not partake of her Plagues Rev. 18. 4. Q. 7. Whether all people have not great reason to fear before the Lord and to look to their wayes and worships lest they be found in any thing therein which is not of him but contrary to him and so bring upon their Souls and Bodies that wrath and sore Judgment from God which they are not able to bear Rev. 14. 9 10 11. Q. 8. Whether it was not the great Love and