Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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A42007
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A general epistle to the whole flock of God wheresoever scattered upon the face of the earth who are among men called Quakers, whether in prisons or sentenced for transportation or in any other tryals or temptations whatsoever unto you and for your sakes ... / Thomas Green.
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Greene, Thomas, 1634?-1699.
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1665
(1665)
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Wing G1843; ESTC R28046
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10,984
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18
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A GENERAL EPISTLE To the Whole Flock of God Wheresoever scattered upon the face of the Earth who are among Men called QUAKERS whether in Prisons or Sentenced for Transportation or in any other Tryals or Temptations whatsoever unto you and for your sakes this is given forth by the compassionate life in perfect love to you all who are the Children of the most high God through one that wisheth Grace Mercy and Peace may always abound among you and that the glory of the Lord may always rest upon you By him who is one with you all in Tribulations and also in Rejoycings Your Brother in the Truth that never changeth Thomas Green If I forget thee O Jerusalem let my right hand forget its cunning Psal 137. 5. Epaphras who is one of you a servant of Christ soluteth you alwaies labouring frequently for you in prayers that you may stand perfect and compleat in all the will of God Col. 4. 12. I thank God whom I serve from my fore-fathâ—rs wâ—th pure conscience that without ceasing I have remembrance of you in my praiers night and day 2 Tim. 13. Printed in the Year 1665. DEarly beloved of the Lord my love is with you and my life reacheth unto you and with it I salute you all who are gathered and chosen from amongst the families of the earth to be a people to the praise of our God who created and formed us in the womb and hath brought us forth in this present age and hath made us witnesses of his eternal power and as spectators of his heavenly and glorious appearance in this his blessed day and all this and more then can be by word declared hath the Lord to many of us made known since the day we first received the light of his Son Christ Jesus which he caused to shine in our hearts and consciences by which we have been brought into true fellowship and unity with God the Father even we who once were strangers unto him as were our fathers all and as Pilgrims in a strange land and as Captives in a far Country and as Mourners without true faith or hope being tossed to and fro with every wind of Doctrine by the slight and cunning craftiness of men And thus were we tossed not knowing an Anchor to stay us yet there was a cry in us as was in the Spouse in the days of old who said Tell me O thou whom my soul loveth where thou feedest and where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions In this state did the Lord find us even lost as in a way-less weary Wilderness without the true knowledg of him though there was something cryed in us for want of his presence not knowing the Messenger of peace was so near even he that did shew us our wants and our present state but of that we could not learn not knowing from whence it came neither could we understand the end of its cry at which cry we were many times troubled but where that should be manifest that should satisfie it we knew not O then then was the time of the Lords infinite endless love extended unto us even when we sate in darkness overshadowed with death and the life in us was buried then did the Lord cause his Word to be heard and did utter his voice as the noise of Thunders and as the sound of many Trumpets which Voice the dead heard and the Lord breathed upon the slain and said to the earth in our hearing Thou shalt no longer cover my Royal Seed whose Nature is heavenly for now will I manifest my power and make known my mighty strength by raising up my seed even the seed of Abraham my servant unto whom the Gospel was Preached by my Spirit in his day That in his Seed should all the kindreds of the earth be blessed and this will I perform for my Name and Glory sake saith the Lord God Almighty who changeth not And when the Lord did bring us out of the many wayes into the truth the immortal seed in which the blessings are manifest then did he open our understandings by his light that did before shine in our dark hearts but we rather choosing darkness could not comprehend the light but was alwayes willing and ready to entertain any thing and from any one that would deny or lightly esteem that which did judg us in our hearts and conscience And from this we would have hid our selves many a time and would endeavour to heal the wound that this would give us but this was privy to all our actions whether they were good or evil and in due time it was manifest That that which reproved in the conscience for sin and iniquity was the way of life and above all things to be minded and it being believed in and turned to and received of a little remnant the good effect of it was soon known and that which was heard in the ear was preached as upon the house top and that which was known of the work of the Lord in the heart was uttered forth in the demonstration of the spirit of God by which many were turned from darknesse to light and from Satans power unto the power of the true and living God and so was brought to the beginning of the work of the Lord in our own particulars for we had been too long keeping others vineyards and our own we did not keep neither knew the vine-dresser but now are brought to a waiting in the light by which secret things are made known and hidden things revealed but when we first received the light the truth the spirit of God oh then what a striving was there in our hearts even with they two in the womb the seed which was elected before the world began and that seed whose kingdome is of this world whereby the creature in whom this war and combat was came into a great straight and much trouble and watching till they or he knew the election to obtain and the seed of Jacob to arise over all as a valiant Prince who wrestle with God till the promise was obtained This is the royal seed at this day and this is the light of life by which the hidden things of Esau are searched out and his rough and prophane nature known And no sooner were we turned to the light and were joyned unto it in it to be one with the heavenly seed which was elected before the world began but the Dragon Beast and false Prophets were in a great rage and began to do their utmost in casting out their flouds of cruelty and persecution to make an end of us even as Herod in the time of Christs birth according to the flesh so was this generation at his appearance in his people and his leading of us by his spirit who as Gog and Magog and as Goliah the Philistim and as Balak king of Moab consulted against Israel have
they violently rose up against us or rather against the appearance of the Lord in us and have defied us because of our littleness and because of the Lords work in us they have scorned us doing their utmost to destroy us many times that we might not have a being upon the face of the earth And notwithstanding they have the honour of the world outwardly yet they like proud Haman are troubled and are not satisfied to have a true Jew live in their countrey Surely the Lord hath beheld them and the Almighty hath taken notice and his bowels have yearned for his peoples sake who have been termed desolate and forsaken Oh! us hath he chosen and and hath often filled us with new wine and hath been strength unto us in our greatest weaknesse and a shelter to us and a rescuer for us when the Dragon hath pursued us and the false Prophets and hirelings made a prey of us then hath the Lord brought the hearts of the faithful into such a frame and they have waited till it was so even to suffer the spoiling of their goods with joy having an earnest in themselves of that durable treasure that the moth cannot corrupt nor thieves steal away Therefore ye children of the Lord who are brought to the knowledge of this and are gathered into the everlasting covenant of endless life my love is drawn out to you and I knowing my life is among you I am constrained in my spirit even to write to you even as the dearly beloved of my father and as children brought up with me we having drank together in the one pure spirit of the water which hath flowed from the living fountain according to the determinate counsel of our God which hath been in us as a well of living water springing up to the Lord our God the eternal life And friends thus far hath the Lord brought us and to this day he hath been with us even when our enemies have rose up against us who have encamped about us on every side even as at this day Therefore lift up your heads for now is the Lord opening the everlasting gates that the righteous nation may enter in who keepeth the truth and are born of the royal seed for the Kingdome which cannot be shaken they are the heirs of and they shall enjoy it saith the Lord that lives for ever though unto it they come through great tribulations yet in them they shall learn patience and experience and witness that living hope of which they shall never be ashamed Therefore thou weakling and tender mournful one who sometimes fears thou shalt not hold out to the end thy tryals are so many for thy sake I am enlarged thy mournings thy sighings thy faintings the sence thereof lieth as a weight upon me and I cannot pass by thee as if it was nothing to me to see thee in sorrow and grief saying within thy self didst thou ever see such a weak one undertake such a journey and the true birth in thee saith the Lord knows my heart I would fain run to the end that my God might be glorified who hath regarded my low estate and hath vouchsafed to keep me unto this day but my enemies are so many on every side and I think I shall one day fall my strength is so little that I can cry surely there is none like me and yet I have not wanted supplies from my God till this day Oh! thou child thou tender one who cannot forget the day of thy visitation thy God beholds thee and if he cause thee to do a mans work he will give thee a mans strength and thou shalt know that all power is from him therefore cast thy care upon him and wait that thy mind may be kept out of all visible things in the poverty of spirit joyning to the spirits cry turning thy back upon all questionings so wilt thou have access to the Lord and know thy approaching in the spirits life to the throne of his grace with boldness where thou shalt receive grace for grace and into his arms will the Lord gather thee and give thee of the milk of the word that the little one in thee may grow as the willows by the water brooks and though thy enemies be as the tall Cedar and strong as the mighty oak yet will thy God bring them under and make thee more than a conquerour through his son Jesus that thou shalt say with gladness of heart salvation is come to my house and shalt feel the spirit of the son to rule in thee whereby thou shalt cry Abba Father And whoever thou art who hath begun in the spirit thou knowest thou canst not be made perfect in the flesh therefore wait to be led by the spirit of the Lord so thou mayest come to the knowledge of the sonship and heirship in the everlasting covenant the light So look not at thy weakness for in that will the Lord ordain strength and out of the mouth of the babes will he perfect his praise and for thy sake that 's faithful to him he will cause the mountains to be removed and the hills to melt away and will make a straight path for thy seet and will lead thee in the way everlasting where thy peace shall be extended as a river and his loving kindness to thee as the waves of the sea that instead of mourning thou shalt rejoyce and instead of sighing thou shalt sing and instead of fainting thou shalt be strong and in the strength of thy God thou shalt praise him and in the feeling of his heavenly virtue thou shalt magnifie him and say My lot is fallen in a good ground on which the showers from heaven fall yea even as the former and the latter rain in its season And now thou shalt see thy God hath not forgotten thee neither is the Almighty changed but he keepeth covenant for ever with his people and man cannot disanul it for saith the Lord the holy one of Israel if they could break my Covenant with the day that there should not be night and day in their season then might they break my Covenant with my people Israel and the seed of Jacob my chosen Therefore thou least of the Flock be not cast down but look thou steadfastly to the Lord whose mercies endure for ever and his loving kindness to his own seed from generation to generation So whatever thy tryals temptations or exercises are let thy mind be joyned to the light by which thou maist behold the Antient of dayes as thou dwellest in the pure fear of him so wilt thou be kept out of the tossings whirlings and imaginations in the truth in which is stability in which thou wilt feel the springs of life running to refresh thy soul flowing from the Lord who is fulness it self who doth all things freely yet will he be waited upon by his people Israel and in their waiting upon him he doth and will renew their strength mounting up in