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spirit_n let_v lord_n sin_n 6,239 5 4.5925 3 false
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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A60440 Man driven out of the earth and darkness, by the light, life, and mighty hand of God where in plain and simple truths are brought to light, that so the cause of stumbling may be taken from before the eyes of the rulars ... / written ... from their friend ... called of men Humphery Smith. Smith, Humphrey, d. 1663. 1658 (1658) Wing S4068_VARIANT; ESTC R33842 15,846 16

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was afraid that this power of God in me would soon come to an end or fail from me and that then I might return to my outward Imployment with great shame and losse and that then instead of doing service for God I might bring a reproach upon his Blessed Name and my self thereby be a hissing stock to all men and they say I began to build and not able to finish and this also kept me back very much but such was the everlasting love of the Lord who is known in the wayes of his judgments that his hand was heavy upon me and his judgments increased in me that there was no way for me to escape but I must be obedient and bow under it or be cut off for every by it so that my bowels were often pained in me and it is like for many weeks had little sleep or bodily rest and sometimes knew not my wife and children that I seeled and heard breath in the bed by me but thought they were people that I should not be with and therefore one time after it was day I was rising and putting on my clothes in a sober manner and in meekness said surely I should not be here and my wife then laying hand on me easily perswaded me but I said I know not who I am with neither did I know her voyce at that time and sometime after having endured much I told she and my family with heaviness and tears that I was not able to endure it any longer and that I had abode with them in the way of the world so long as possibly I could and that I must give up my life to serve the Lord desiring them with tears to be content and in what I could I should be as careful for their good as ever I was and this is true and but little of what might be written For another time formerly the light of Christ in me which then I knew not did so condemne me and judge and trouble me in secret that it brought sickness upon me and thereby being weak expecting I should die I was then much troubled it lay much upon my conscience at that time that I had not in the time of my health gone to the steeple-house and in the fear of the Lord warned all people to repent and I was then much grieved because I thought I should die and not first in that thing discharge my conscience And so though I might write much by what is written may appear to the meek and sober minded that the Lord did not onely call but also thrust me forth of the world into his harvest and this was of God and the operation of his powerful word which called me out of the world and hundreds since by the word of his power through me have been gathered out of the way of the world and received the earnest of the rest eternal and many converted unto Cod and wo be unto them vvho openly oppose me in this the Lords work I now am in which he hath thus called me unto and let none think that I did wilfully neglect my outward imployment neither let any one think that I left my family as not regarding them nor that I stay much out of that countrey for any by end for the words are true a Prophet is not without honour save in his own countrey and in his own house and those that did since seek to stop my mouth did not well Concerning my publike preaching and something of what followed That none may stumble thereat and say we called Quakers are such who change from one thing to another and so what we hold nor to be regarded but I say those that have no changes are not come into the fear of God Psal 55.19 and the fear of the Lord is to depart from evil and they that departeth from evil are become a prey but such were clensed and changed from glory to glory 2 Cor. 3.18 and grew in grace and knowledge in the Lord Jesus Christ and what I did or said then was in a great zeal and real intent to do good neither did I covet mens silver for it neither was it my end to make a gain thereby though much was freely offered me more then I intend to make mention though I received it not so that therein I was not much found in covetousness but when judgment came upon me as before mentioned I gave up that preaching and said at the last meeting I had then which was at Stoke-bliss that my mouth was stopt at that present but if ever the Lord should open my mouth again I should preach indeed and it is so prayses to the Lord for ever who hath indeed opened my mouth and since I was no longer rebellious and the living truth of J●sus Christ do I declare and bear testimony to his name where ever I come as his spirit moveth me And let none hereby think that I now glory in what was then my shame for though I had a great zeal then for God it being not according to knowledge on the Cross of Christ which crucifies to the world and all its vain customes the which cross being then left behind which is the power of God so the love of the world which is enmity to God remained in me and the root of iniquity not then removed out of my heart therefore fruits of disobedience in secret were still brought forth which the world took little notice of but I had one neer me which did let me see all that ever I did and reproved me for vain glory and having the praise of men and the love of the world and so my preaching did not bring souls home to God though I informed their minds of many things vvhich many ignorant people knevv not before and so though much love vvas in many yet this brought not forth fruits of obedience unto God and so all came to little for the people remained in their sins and received not power to come out of it neither came they out of the fashions and customes of the world not to be seperated from the unclean neith●r did they come to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ which purifies the heart stands in the pure conscience and respects no mans person for unto that I was not then come my self and so their faith and mind was vain being then in our sins Therefore let none think that I now justifie any deceit hypocrisie or secret evil that then was in me or practised by me for in the presence of the Lord God I do openly declare against it all and that spirit that acted me therein but I own that simple thing which then encouraged me to do good out of an honest intent and that kept me out of covetousness and from receiving of gifts And I openly declare against all cruel unj●st and ungodly actions and words and all that filth which I wallowed in before I was a zealous professor as it is known to many
before the eyes of all people and others also might then vvith me therein fall short whereby some to this day may stumble at the vvhole truth of God looking at what hapned among us in that time when the judgements of God vvas often on us by which judgement his Sion is now Redeemed and so they looking at that and vvatch ever since for evill may be kept thereby from receiving the precious tryed Stone which the wise Master builders also refuse though we now knovv he is laid in Sion redeemed with judgement for a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence even to both the houses of Israel But let all take heed of stumbling at the stumbling stone the light of Christ for other causes of stumblings Especially by me I have hereby endeavoured to remove out of the way and mindes of all that are willing to receive the Truth or beleeve in the Light John 12.36 And as for Edmond Skipp if ever he come again to that vvhich convinced him of evil and made him in publike deny his preaching for hire and tithes though after he started aside and stumbled in the darke before the Light of life which once he honestly desired after was sprung up in him to which light if he return and love the witnesse of God in him which hath ever since stood a witnesse for me and have let him see his barrennesse and without a true eternall rest and if he to that be obedient vvhich is manifest of God in him and by it be led into meeknesse and plainnesse without prejudice he may come to receive the living Truth of Jesus Christ for which this day I suffer bonds for I did never yet look upon him to be so utterly reprobate as not possible to receive the faith that purifies the heart and respects no mans person for truly my love hath been to the seed oppressed in him though that which hath exercised him in rashnesse against the truth of God I do deny for ever and there is neither him nor any Priest Preacher professor or profane that can have any good ground or reason to envy me for declaring openly against all that in them which I declare against in my self when it ruled in me when I was as they yet are I being by severall long unjust Imprisonments detained from liberty to declare in words those and other things therefore for this very end have I written this in short that Gods truth might stand clear and not suffer in any thing done or said by me before Gods pure wisdome was born up in me and that also the ground of all other things against the truth if occasioned by me may be removed out of the mindes of all that are willing to receive the truth if they knew it for I would not if possible that any thing whatsoever which concerned me should so remain in the minde of any one as that thereby he should be hindred from receiving the living truth which I have found so precious without which none can be saved and if by the appearing of the shame of my former nakednesse an inlet for the truth may be made into the mindes and hearts of any therein will be my joy and the eternall comfort of all them who by receiving and sanctification of the truth and faithfulnesse in the light do come to rest in the kingdom of joy and eternall peace for ever and ever Thus at present in tender love to the soules of you Rulers and Professors in Herefordshire to whom I say beleeve in the Light and minde Gods witnesse in you and be not rigid bitter nor persecutors of the children of Light who by them in the dark are called Quakers among whom I have chosen to suffer reproaches for Christs sake and whippings long imprisonments and dungeon and now in the house of correction all which declares me to be as you may read 2 Cor. 6.3 to the 11. Who am a friend to the soules of all mankinde a servant of Jesus Christ not by the will of men to whom I am known by the name Humphry Smith Written upon the 18th and 19th dayes of the 6th Moneth 58. being in outward bonds at Winchester Concerning the Sons of God and the Daughters of Men. VVEre it not the sons of God that looked upon the beauty of the daughters of men and so took them to Wife because they were fair And was it not even then when that the Lord said My Spirit shall not alway strive And is it not just for the Spirit to cease striving when way is given to the eye to go forth from beholding the glory of God within to look at the fairness of the daughters of men without and also to take that into the heart and be married to that And was it not suddenly after this that the Lord resolved to bring the flood upon them and their Wives And were not these suddenly overwhelmed in the deep Waters who were before called the sons of God And did not they sink in the deep under Gods wrath and perish with the profane who before had felt the strivings of his Spirit which being loved obeyed and kept in maketh sons and are not the sons to keep faithful to the Maker themselves to be the Spouse of Christ who redeems out of the lust and so to know the Maker to be the husband and they as chaste wise Virgins feeling the oyl And were it not those that stood before the Throne in white then not among the world in filth who had not onely washed their Robes in the blood of the Lamb but also kept themselves from being defiled with Women and did not that which beheld the fair daughters of men let in that which defiled the sons of God and so grieved his Spirit and was not her first-born a Murtherer who looked out at and so let in that which was fair pleasant and desireable to that eye and did not she who was deceived by that which was fair without say of her first-born I have gotten a man from the Lord it was from the Spirit and was not he a Vagabond in the earth from the presence of God that she from the Lord had gotten and are not they from the Lord who are marrying and given in marriage now the Son of Man who is the Bridegroom is coming to be revealed with power and great glo●y in his people that waited for him and are not those also to be swept away as they were who thus before the flood caused the Spirit of God to cease striving And did not Christ say it should be so at his coming as in the dayes of Noah eating and drinking marrying and giving in marriage and is it not so Have not some even felt his coming near unto th●m and yet not keep in the fear until he was come and revealed in power through the death of that which had power over him from whence that went forth which in the minde conceived a desire to the other glory and so let that in which then took place in the heart in stead of the glory of God who will not give his glory to another But do I forbid marriage nay Marriage is honourable but that which maketh honourable keepeth out that which doth defile and that which maketh honourable is Humility walking with God and is to go before and keepeth to God and they that are joyned to him are one Spirit but that which leadeth from that which maketh honourable is out of the marriage in that which doth defile and such God will judge and co●●●mn them by his witness in them for should not man first seek the Kingdom and come into the dominion Did not Adam know his Wife and beget that in his own likeness which murthe●ed th● Righteous and yet did not Enoch walk with God and beget sons and daugh●ers but this becomes hid from them who follow that which leads from the thing which was to joyn them to God to follow that which looks at the fair daughters of men and so take them to Wife and be married to that and know that as the first Adam did who are his sons in his likeness to whom I say who after the manner of men have a Wife that of late years they who are married are as if they were not the Resurrection and the Life being come and the things of this world passeth away But woe to them from whom that passeth away which is not of the world which once from God they had received and strived with and in them who were once inlightned and tasted of the heavenly gift who may consider that those who had Wives were not to come at them that they might be sanctified before they came near to hear the voice of the Lord and the voice of the mighty thunderings was it that said The marriage of the Lamb is come And Paul spoke a great Mystery concerning Christ and his Church H. S. And this thing I desire of you in Herefordshire when you have read this Book to let any other people have it to reade And such as desire more may speak to Henry Bedford for them THE END