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A65833 The accuser of our brethren cast down in righteous judgment against that spirit of hellish jealousie vented in a great confused book, falsly entituled, The Christian-Quaker distinguished from the apostate and innovator, in five parts ; the fallacy and force whereof being herein clearly detected & justly repelled. Whitehead, George, 1636?-1723. 1681 (1681) Wing W1887; ESTC R19917 128,311 327

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be feared many do Eye more the Orders from thee than they Eye the Lord in them accusing and judging all out of Truth that Practice not with all speed from them using all FORCE they can devise according to the Power they have to Compell all to them Censuring all Friends out of the Unity that come not to Practice with them which is the greatest Penalty and Persecution they can Inflict for WANT OF OUTWARD POWER Compared with the following Passage pag. 78 79. viz. For the Enemy of Truth hath taken occasion from thy Orders to beget a false Birth in many And Angry Proceedings about them of late declare which was not before in our Age neither did Heads nor Horns of the Dragon appear to cast down the holy People by lying against them saying that they oppose the holy Orders and by approving of such Proceedings is Satan let loose in our Time to deceive and all that see his Transformings he casts Floods out of his Mouth against them to carry them away and cast such to the Earth wanting nothing to effect his Design but the OUTWARD POWER to carry them on to KILL for his Wrath is against them that keep the Testimony of Jesus Christ and such he accuseth of fleshly Liberty and loose Walking Observe We look upon these unkind and bitter Passages and Insinuations to be very Pernitious and as proceeding from a wrong Conception and Birth of Cruel Jealousies under the pretence of fear concerning many and not from the Spirit of Christ and the Construction made of some's Censuring some out of the Unity for their Opposition to such Orders or orderly proceedings as they account good and wholsome as the greatest Penalty and Persecution they can Inflict and that they would Inflict greater if they had but outward Power this appears very Uncharitable even the same that our open professed Adversaries have often Insinuated against us and greatly tends to stir up Persecution against us as do also the following words viz. WANTING NOTHING TO EFFECT HIS DESIGN BUT THE OUTWARD POWER TO CARRY THEM ON TO KILL Here John thou hast severely prejudged many which we are assured thou hast no Proof for but thy own Jealousie Remember how thy Friend and Advocate W. R. hath severely censured such kind of Prejudicate Proceedings as the censuring and judging Persons without a Hearing or Proof of Matter of Fact but hast thou heard any Friends ever grant they want only the outward Power to carry them on more severely to Persecute and Kill you Oh John we are perswaded thou must meet with an Hour of Tribulation for this Prejudicial and Uncharitable Dealing Were ever worse things exposed in Print against us before And wouldst thou be thus dealt by We pray God to give thee a sight of the Danger of these things and tender thy Heart unto Repentance and a Return to thy first Love for thou hast known better things than these thy Printed Letters bespeak which if thou gavest way to the Printing them thou wast not aware how they would and assuredly do make against thy Interest and your Cause which W. R. Pleads and Advocates for And we would seriously ask Whether such bitter Invectives and Infamies cast upon G. F. and others in thy Letters do not rather shew forth the Heads and Horns of the Dragon than the Zeal of any Friends doth in testifying for good Order and Government in the Church of Christ and against fleshly Liberty and loose Walking which if any such have exceeded in their zeal or their zeal at any time hath not been so prudently and warily mannaged in thy or your account as should have been yet to judge them as so far possessed with the Wrath of the Dragon as that by them he accuseth such as keep the Testimony of Jesus with fleshly Living and loose Walking this we think is very Hard and Uncharitable and we pray thee consider these things And let it be observed also that in W. R's Letter to G. F. part 4. pag. 97. is this passage viz. Therefore is the zeal of the Lord of Hosts kindled against that ungodly insinuating Spirit that makes it its business to bespatter J. S. and J. W. whereby the Simple-hearted may be in danger to be turned out of the Way Upon which we must needs note how Zealous he is for these two Persons and what a great stress he layes upon them their Reputations as if to write or speak what reflects upon them might indanger the turning the Simple-hearted out of the Way and why so We may suppose 't is because he thinks that many Simple-hearted have a good Opinion of them though we would tell him not so many since VV. R. became such a furious Advocate for them as before a great many are offended at his Book and at him for suffering it to come forth and him to go on in their defence without shewing publick and absolute dislike thereof The truth on 't is whatever J. S. and J. W. may think of W. R. he has been Instrumental extreamly to lessen their Esteem though we do not approve of any making it their business to bespatter them neither do we know of any Friends that so do However W. R. has made it a great part of his business to Bespatter and Revile many of the Servants of Christ whom many simple-hearted Ones has a good belief and esteem of He has taken but little care to prevent their being turned out of the way by his bespattering such and that by Name in Print wherein his great Partiality and Injustice is the more evident Disaffect LII W. R. third part pag. 28. I now appeal to God's Witness in all Consciences whether the outward establishment of outward Government under the Notion of Christ's Government doth not seem to square more with the Principles of such who look for his second coming in some outward Bodily Appearance than with the Principles of those who conclude his second coming to be by his Spiritual Appearance in the Heart Observe Under pretence of this solemn Appeal here is a perverse Insinuation and false Comparison to represent us as squaring with as we take it he means the Principle of Christ's Personal Reign i. e. by himself alone in outward Power and Dominion This compared with J. W's words before-cited about wanting the outward Power c. tends to make us Offensive still and to expose us to Suffering Why will he admit of no outward Government in the Church called Christ's Government Is not this to account all outward Government Antichrist's And doth not this square with such whom he compares us to Surely William Rogers has known otherwise and better things of US that is of the People called QUAKERS who own Christ's Second Coming to be by his Spirit in the Heart Principally and Immediately to set up His Government there and to bring forth true Judgment Righteousness and good Order in his Church and People which extends and appears even Outwardly Christ Rules both Inwardly
propose their Intentions of Marriage to a Meeting shall pretend a Scruple of Conscience whether from themselves or as they are prepossest by others for not proposing it a Second Time and some pretending to sit as Overseers in the Meeting take part with them abet and plead for such Liberty therein against coming a Second Time and against the Sence of a great part of the Meeting who are Tenderly and Conscientiously concerned for that good and needfull Order of proposing the Marriage Twice they that oppose this and plead a Liberty to come but Once are therein Unsociable and what they stand for is not in Reality Tender Conscience but Flesh and Fleshly Will it looks not like the pure Spirit but Flesh nor like Tender Conscience but Self-Will and Humour What! a Tender Conscience against so much Patience Temperance and due Order as to forbear Consumnating the Marriage until laid before the Meeting a Second Time and that both for Example to others and Satisfaction of the Meeting touching the Parties Clearness there can be no Honest Pretence of Conscience for such Irregularity Hasty and Abrupt Procedure Let all things be done Decently and in due Order our God is the God of Order and they that fear him love good Order Now 't is evident our present Controversie lies not with Persons that being weak in the Faith scruple Meats and Esteem one day above another nor with such as do Conscientiously scruple to proceed with us in some Outward Matters of Order or Discipline and desire only to wait in quietness until satisfied by inward Light and Conviction but with some few Persons that think themselves Strong and Wiser than all their Brethren besides and thereupon are Restless and Turbulent in their Opposition and Gainsaying Spirit So that the Case in Controversie or Difference may be in General thus stated viz. They cry out Imposition too much Severity Urging with Severity c. We complain of OPPOSITION against things in themselves Innocent and Needfull for due Order and against drawing back into a Libertine Spirit Contempt and Gain-saying in W. R. and a few that are his Abettors They cry against outward Forms Methods and Order Visible Form of Church-Government and Discipline pretending a fear of getting too much into the Form going from the Power Inward Teacher c. We may rather plead a fear of the other Extream i. e. that by opposing Forms due Order and Methods they 'l be so in Form confused and void of good Order due Methods and Discipline that they are in danger to let up a Libertine Spirit Looseness Ranterism Wilfulness and Contempt in Youth against the godly Care Oversight good Government and Order in the Church of Christ that through their neglect of true Judgment due Care and Order they 'l let in Ranterism and Confusion and the Spirit and Anarchy of the Ranters over them This is our serious Sence and State of the Case which we recommend to God's faithful Witness inward and to the Consciences of all sincere tender-hearted Friends who are zealous for God's Glory and the Honour of his holy Name and Truth Disaffect XLV Preface pag. 11 12 13. W. R. on G. F ' s words in a Letter from Amsterdam the 14th of the 7th Moneth 1677. he thus cites G. F's words viz. And you that have given your Testimony against that Spirit stand in your Testimony till they answer by Condemnation And do not strive and make Bargains with That which is out of the Truth Against which W. R. proceeds thus viz. Clearly shews a design of Imposition and that so far as in him lies to obstruct Friends from Bargaining with such whom he condemns By which if his meaning be that he would not have Friends to discourse with such nor yet to agree about any orderly Conference in order to a Reconciliation or hearing of Differences then his own Practice afterward condemns his own Direction in submiting to a limitted Meeting with me within the City of Bristol in the 12th Moneth 1677. Gainsayers were to be convinced by sound Doctrine And whether 't is not Rational to conclude that G. F. who endeavours that others should avoid such Conferences doth not give just cause of Jealousie that he is of that Number whom the Apostle reputed Ungodly Vain Talkers and Deceivers But if otherwise his meaning be that such whom he condemns have no right to Bargain Buy or Sell until they answer by Condemnation then I may justly term that to be a Mark of the Beast spoken of Rev. 13. 17. where 't is thus said No Man might buy nor sell save he that had the Mark or Name of the Beast Let the Reader take either of these two Meanings for a third I cannot think of And 't is the Mark of a Deceiver of such as dwell on the Earth which are the Terms wherein John Rev. 13. 14. described the Beast He that hath an Ear to hear let him hear Observe He gives a Positive Judgment against G. F. as a Deceiver upon his own Uncertain Suppositions of his meaning And that because he cannot think of a Third he supposes doubtfully G. F's Meaning two wayes that is if his meaning By not making Bargains be that he would not have Friends discourse with such or not buy or sell with them concluding it must be the one or the other of these by bidding the Reader take either of these two Meanings and 't is the Mark of a Deceiver the Mark of the Beast c. He has falsly supposed two Meanings or two If 's and thereupon given his Positive Judgment to render G. F. a Deceiver comparing Him with the Beast and as causing others to receive his Mark c. And what for but for Exhorting Friends to keep to their Testimony against that Spirit to wit the Spirit of Division and Seperation and not to strive and make Bargains with that which is out of the Truth The true Intent whereof was not to make Peace with that Spirit in its own Terms nor to come under it contrary to Truth 's Testimony but W. R. turns the words from Spirit to Persons whereas G. F's meaning could not be to forbid Friends having any Discourse or orderly Conference for the Convincement of the Persons mistaken thereby nor yet to forbid Friends buying and selling or Trading with any of them therefore W. R's supposed Meanings are both False Dark and Silly and his positive Judgment Wicked and Malicious void of all Sincerity as well as of Reason or good Argument and if it be accounted plain Forgery materially to alter the Sence of another Mans words as W. R. confesseth 5th part p. 84. then is he himself guilty of plain Forgery in this case for he hath so materially altered the Sense and Meaning of G. F's words And W. R's Comparison betwixt G. F. and the Beast and between answering by Condemnation and the Mark of the Beast are Absurd Malicious and Wicked as if he had told us That G. F. in advising