Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A85263
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The wandring bird's wings clipt: or, A reply to Benjamin Bird Catholick his pagan designs.
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Field, John, 1652-1723.
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1695
(1695)
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Wing F867A; ESTC R177047
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6,147
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8
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offended the Quakers should be friendly dealt with though by a Roman-Catholick which he once owned head of that Church he pretends to and defender of the Faith which the Quakers never did but because he was not unfriendly to the Quakers as B. B. and too many of his Brethren have been he is offended and must Publish this unto the World as one of his crasie Conclusions viz. That its a sign the Papists know us better than we know our selves Shall I return this on B. B. and say When King James came first to the Crown in England he promised to maintain the Church of England as by Law Establish'd It s a sign that the Papists knew the Church of England better than they knew themselves that he made this promise to the Church of England only This would not be well taken altho' I account there is as much Reason for this as t'other for we are as far from Popery as they B. B. Saith We had Ordination in the Church of England before Rome departed from the Faith VI. And was that a Protestant Church of England that you had Ordination in before Rome departed from the Faith or a Popish one Come B. B. don't Prevaricate nor Evade let 's understand what Church of England this was and as to thy Question whence had we our Ordination I answer from God and Jesus Christ that only have power to make Ministers of the Gospel and ordain them to that Work Page 3. He saith And do you call upon all to come off from the Teachings of Men and to know the Teachings of God and Jesus Christ by his Grace and Spirit in their Hearts when they are without it and therefore he is not in them VII Yea because God's Grace and Christ's Spirit appears and is given to all for that end but by this arguing all are Reprobates but I would have him know that Christ is the true Light that lighteth every Man that cometh into the World and that he shines by his Light and appears by his Spirit in them to shew what 's Good and reprove for Evil altho' all are not in him yet he is on this wise in every Man that hath not sinned out the day of his Visitation otherwise how should any know and do those things that belong to their peace So though many are out of him and without a sense of him in their Hearts by reason of their Sin and Unbelief Yet he is so near as at the Door and if receiv'd by Faith will come in and bind the strong Man armed spoil his Goods cast him out purge the Flour and make clean the inside that the outside may be clean also B. B. Saith You begrudge us a Maintenance which God and Man allows us VIII I may say Nusquam sine querela aegra tanguntur Sore things are not touched without complaint Howbeit this I deny and charge on him as false But how agreeable a forc'd Maintenance for Christ's Ministers is to his Precept who said Freely ye have receivâ—d freely give I shall leave those that impartially search the Holy Scriptures to judge Also how unlike it is to the practise of Christ's Primitive and present Ministers to sue at Law Imprison and Seize the Goods of those that do not own them to be his Ministers and how contrary it is to the New Testament for Gospel-Ministers to take Tythes which are Jewish let the truly wise Judge And altho' its true what B. B. saith Joseph gave the Heathen Priests or Princes what Pharoh allowed them yet we read not that they took that allowance from any that were not of them And let them that own B. B's Ministry give him what they will I shall not bereave him of it nor â—ob his Church or Barn and if he would let others be as quiet with what they have and labour for and not Molest Persecute Sue Imprison nor seize their Goods that for good Conscience sake towards God cannot pay him it would be to his Commendation more than the contrary B. B. Hath one thing more to tell and that is that the Gospel accepts the will for the deed and yet saith that we make our humble Supplications unto God that he would work in us both to will and to do IX Now observe if the Gospel accepts the will for the deed what need is there to make Supplication to do the deed if willing only will serve We read that its said Mat. 7. 24. Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doth them I will like him to a wise Man that built his House upon a Rock and he said to the Woman that said Blessed is the Womb that bare thee and the Paps that gave thâ—â—â—uck that they were rather blessed that heard the word of God and do it So it s not enough to think well unless there be a doing well and therefore it s said Depart from evil and do good and live for evermore and its said Glory Honour and Peace to every Man that worketh â—ood to the Jew first and also to the Gentiles for not the hearers of the Law are just before God but the doers of the Law shall be justified yet it s not for the doing sake that we are justified nor by works of Righteous that we have done that we are saved but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of Regeneration and Renewing of the Holy Ghost which he sheds on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour and by that Faith which works by Love and purifies the Heart and gives victory over the World There is one thing more which B. B. falsly insinuates against me in these words Let me desire thee to cease reviling Protestant Ministers who are the Servants of the most High God that shew unto us the way of Salvation X. I answer his desire herein is needless and his insinuation hase for I love and honour the Servants of the most High God that shew unto us the way of Salvation Altho' I esteem not B. B. such an one but the worst I wish him is that he was and that he may forsake his false speaking and misrepresenting me my Friends and our Doctrines and come to an amendment of his ways and acknowledge to the truth that it may be well with him in his latter end But there is something farther to observe that is his Complaint Page 3. where he saith to me Thou callest me Episcopalian Priest Officious Scribler and Priest Bird by which its easie to know you lighted your Candle at Lucifer's Torch and t is his Light within you boast of and would Blasphemously Entitle Christ to What a Rage is this Man in Doth not he verifie the Phrase Saepe ad nos ira venit sapius nos ad illam Anger often cometh unto us we oftner to it For must I for calling him as the common-Common-Prayer calls him be thus judged For in the morning-Morning-Prayer he is called Priest for the Priest is to say Oh God make clean our Hearts within us and take not thy Holy Spirit from us Now if this Man did pray in Faith and so experience his Heart made clean within him such foul things would not come out of him such Rage and Bitterness would not appear for my terming him Episcopalian Priest I did not call him Hireling greedy Dumb Dog nor Turn-Coat yet I must be falsly told I lighted my Candle at Lucifer's Torch and 't is his Light within that I boast of and would Blasphemously Entitle to Christ What strange false untrue and unscriptural Expressions are these What Light within hath the Devil But let him and all know its Jesus Christ the Beloved Son of God that came from the Bosom of the Father that I do believe in who is the Light of the Word and the true Light that lighteth every Man that cometh into the World by whose Light we have come to see our own States and also therein to see how directly contrary the Works and Fruits of too many professing to be his Ministers are to those that were and are really his which freely give what they receive and seek not People's goods but their eternal good and to gather them not to themselves but to Christ and to know his Teachings by that Grace that came by him and not to set themselves nor one another as Teachers over them to make a Gain and Profit of them nor to cause them to spend their Money for that which is not Bread and their Labour for that which satisfieth not but direct them to hear the voice of Christ that their Souls might live and they become the Sheep of Christ's Pastor and experience the Living God to be their Shepherd that they might want no good thing And as to my terming B. B. Officious Scribler I have shewn in my former and may now a little that he appears so by interposing officiously in a Controversie between Joseph Nott call'd a Quaker and the Presbyterians in his writing a Book relating thereto and Dedicating it to his worthy Friend William Clap who or some other clapt a Title Page to it without B. B's privity as he now saith Page 1. What I did was in a private Letter to a Friend saith B. B. upon whose Request it was Printed without my privity and the Title Page is not mine and B. Bird is meerly drawn in to bring up the Rear Page 2. Poor B. B. I may say to thee Invalidum omne natura querulum est All weak things are full of Complaint However thou may'st the better make thy retreat and learn to be wiser the next time than meddle with that which don't belong to thee and do not trust any Body with thy Scrible lest it should be Printed again and thy Folly and Ignorance exposed without thy privity But remember that a Fool when he holdeth his peace is counted Wise And he that shutteth his Lips is esteemed a Man of Understanding Prov. 17. 28. And only by Pride cometh Contention but with the well advised is Wisdom the which by the fear of the Lord and departing from Iniquity thou may'st come to have is the desire of him That wisheth and prayeth for the good of all Men. I. Feild FINIS