Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	truth_n	worship_n	worshipper_n	5,370	5	12.3554	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A62900	The principles of the Papists by which their leaders put them upon bloody and treacherous practices, plainly demonstrated by the Scriptures to be most erroneous and wicked. And a few better principles briefly laid down, for them (or others) to meditate on, tending to a peaceable life among men, &c. And also a few quæries left them last of all, to satisfie their consciences in. Partly for the sakes of those among them whose consciences have some tenderness in them, and are not quite feared: partly also for those who through ignorance are too much inclining to them. Also there may be some service of these things to others. By a lover of truth, mercifulness, plain-heartedness, humility and fidelity, W. T.	Tomlinson, William.	1679 (1679)	Wing T1850; ESTC R221759	49,364	105

to God to devotion to himself to serve his own turn And 2. he thereby robs people of their deliverance from the power of Satan who rules in darkness as God rules in light And so 3. and consequently he robs people of receiving forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in Christ Jesus for that 's the end of turning men from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God namely that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among God's sanctified ones But this will not stand with the Interest of him who seeks the glory and greatness of this World and an uncontroulable Kingdom over all without questioning what he doth and therefore Ignorance must be the nourisher of blind obedience to him which he blasphemously calls devotion to God And in this work now though he seek to be as high as Lucifer yet hath he made himself a slave to the Rulers of the darkness of this World whose principal drudge he is in labouring to keep men in darkness where Satan's power is We find in Scripture that darkness is the perishing state out of which God calls his people Eph. 5.8 Ye were sometime darkness but now are ye light in the Lord walk as children of the light 1 Pet. 2.9 Ye are a chosen generation that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light Col. 1.12 13. Giving thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light who hath delivered us from the power of darkness And therefore to abide in darkness and to abide in a perishing state is all one in Scripture-language as also to be rejected of the Lord is expressed by being cast out into outer darkness 1 Joh. 2.9 10 11. He that hateth his brother is in darkness and walketh in darkness and knoweth not whither he goeth because that darkness hath blinded his eyes And Darkness is the place where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth Mat. 8.12 and 22.13 Now then it is easie for any to judge whose Minister he is that hides light from men to keep them in the darkness and whose work he doth He is none of Christ's Minister nor doth his work to promote his Kingdom which is a Kingdom of light but he doth the work of the Rulers of the darkness of this World and his own work to keep men in slavery to him who seeks the glory of this World And this now is one of the stratagems of the mystery of iniquity and one principal prop of Antichrist's Kingdom and a chief guard about the Pope to let him sleep at quiet Thus the Sword or carnal Weapons of Cruelty and Ignorance and such like means are the props and guards of this Kingdom which the Papists are Subjects to and not the pure and uncorrupted Truth recorded in Scripture And therefore that some of them may deliver themselves from that mystery of iniquity if the Lord please to open their eyes is the end of my writing these things And though some expressions in this Treatise may perhaps seem too harsh to some of them yet having to deal with such bad Principles in persons who pretend to be invested with authority and power derived from Christ in the work of his Ministry and in his service I could not use easier language than I have done And as I have here manifested the destructive Principles of the Papists to be most erroneous and wicked I say the same against the destructive zeal of any professors of Christianity upon what Principles soever they go and under what Name soever they stand and likewise affirm That no destructive zeal is renewed after the image of him that hath created us and made us new creatures for as God sent not his Son into the world to destroy so he came not a destroyer but a Saviour to save mens lives Therefore would he not suffer James and John to destroy nor Peter when he drew his Sword and cut off Malchus his Ear but bid him put it up and then heal'd the Ear again which he had cut off and hath left it upon record that his Servants shall not go about that Work to root out the tares out of the field that is the World that 's a Work reserved for the Angels at the end of the World I shall now for conclusion leave a few Queries for the Papists to satisfie their own Consciences in rather than to expect an Answer to them and I desire them to be impartial while they consider them 1. Whether the Lord hath taken up an outward Succession again since he laid aside Abraham's natural Succession 2. Whether any be a true Successor of Peter or of the rest of the Apostles who doth not walk in the same Spirit and Doctrine 3. Whether Christ hath substituted a Patron of Lying Perjury Plots Conspiracies Cruelty and Murders to be his Vicar to represent him upon Earth and to be the Head of his Church and an example to the Flock And whether it be not great blasphemy to affirm it 4. Whether he be a friend or an enemy to Christ who opposes the main ends of his Coming As namely in these particulars 1. In point of Enlightning 2. In point of Innocency 3. In point of Worship First Because Christ came to enlighten the World and to bring them out of darkness but the Popes stop the light and keep men in darkness Secondly Christ came to raise up a harmless inoffensive quiet innocent people and of them a Kingdom of Peace where nothing should hurt nor destroy but the Popes bring forth a people quite contrary harmful offensive unquiet disturbers of the Civil Peace by Plots Conspiracies Murders c. Thirdly Christ came to bring forth a people that should worship God in spirit and in truth such as the Father seeks to worship him but the Pope requires such Worshippers as will stoop to his Superstitions and idolatrous Worships after the Formality that he prescribes or else they must expect an Inquisition or some other usage as bad Now consider whether he that thus opposes the Ends of Christ's Coming be not an Enemy 5. Whether he that knoweth sin aforehand and yet entices or encourages his Children into it by promising them pardon and indempnity if they do it doth not very aptly follow the steps of that old Serpent that deceived Eve who told her Ye shall not die though ye eat 6. Whether those Roman Casuists do err that say It 's no sin to swear a falshood if they have a Reserve in their mind to salve it with Or it 's the Pope that errs in promising Pardons for such Oaths so making them sins For Pardons are Relatives to Sins 7. Whether Equivocations and mental Reserves will stand as a good plea for Lying and Perjury at that day when the righteous Judge of all the World shall judge every man according to

Cruelty I say accompanied with such things as I have named is one of their main guards or supports of their Religion It is like a wall of fire round about them so that if any among them shall but attempt to get out from them what can they look for but Fire and Faggot or a most hellish Inquisition if they catch them And what tortures and torments are acted there may sufficiently affright and terrifie such as think of deserting them This Cruelty is innate to their Religion for finding themselves defective of truth to uphold it they make it up with cruelty and with lyes when they have done to hide it That horrid piece of Cruelty intended by the Gunpowder-Plot and carried on so far as it went by their Creatures though those Actors in that work of darkness be honoured by them at Rome yet they would have you believe that it was only a trick of State so impudently shameless are they in forging lyes They would also make you believe that the Book of Martyrs is full of lyes and no better than a Fable because it records the abominable Butcheries and Cruelties which by them were acted upon conscientious people And all the ground they have to belye it is from hence that there was a mistake or two in it which Fox himself who was the Composer of that Book first discovered having had some wrong information given him in those particulars Thus they are not ashamed to act Cruclties but are ashamed to be apprehended therein for indeed their actions are so barbarous that even humane nature may blush to be found guilty thereof And yet they are fain to fly to this refuge of defence to uphold their Religion and also for the propagating of it For indeed to speak properly it is not the Kingdom of God and of Christ having truth for its foundation which they uphold but it 's a Kingdom of pride luxury and wantonness and debauchery which wants a foundation in truth therefore fly they to Cruelty for their support And their Cruelty so rings over the World that all but themselves and their slaves dread to come under their power For there is no mercy in them to old or young male or female to innocent Babes or Women with Child Oh the tortures and the invented devices of Cruelty that they put people to in Ireland since our memory in the year 1642. driving them into Rivers by droves and keeping them therein from getting-forth till they were drowned This was the easiest death they put them to Some they hanged some they ript open and let out their bowels some they starved to death some they buried alive ript up Women with Child dashed the heads of Infants against the stones commonly stript Men and Women naked and caused them to perish with cold and hunger many most beastly and barbarous tortures they put both Men and Women to And this now is their way of defending and propagating their Religion which their God who was a Murderer from the beginning acts them violently forward in Time was when they were something more moderate in their bloody ways when they cited people into their Courts and gave them a Tryal at their Laws and suffered them to argue for their Religion But now they are become violently savage and bruitish beyond all humane modesty whereby we may take notice of two things 1. That they are Seducers and that we need not doubt of because they wax worse and worse according to the Character which the Apostle gives of Seducers 2 Tim. 3.13 Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse deceiving and being deceived 2. We may hence also have strong hopes that they have but a short time to reign and rage in the World for therefore Satan is come down among them with great rage knowing that he hath but a short time This their Cruelty now and not Truth is one of the grand pillars by which their Kingdom is upheld Secondly Another pillar upon which their Irreligion as I may call it or Kingdom of Darkness stands is Ignorance They take away the Key of Knowledge from men and keep them in blindness that so they may be led by them as they please And to colour this piece of policy they would perswade their people that Ignorance is the Mother of Devotion and that the Scriptures make men Hereticks as some of them in the Massacre in Ireland got an English Bible and trampling upon it in the dirt as is informed cursed it saying that that was the cause or ground of all the Difference and therefore it is a thing not to be born with by them that any of their Lay-people as they term them should have the Bible or Testament except it be as they have corrupted it So they keep them from that that they may keep them in ignorance and they keep them in ignorance that they may rule them as they please and the people being deluded by them are willing to have it so for they see not the Serpent's subtilty that lyes hidden under that Maxime That Ignorance is the Mother of Devotion It is indeed the Mother of Devotion but to whom Not to God I testifie but to the Pope and his superstitious and idolatrous Worship Ignorance keeps men devout to him and his will-will-Worship but Christ Jesus came to raise up a people that should worship God in spirit and in truth and his Spirit is the Spirit of a sound mind not a Spirit of blindness and ignorance The devoutest men upon Earth have always been a knowing understanding people witness Noah Daniel and Job Samuel David and the rest of the Worthies renowned in Scripture yea and the Son of God himself who was filled with wisdom and truth who sometime spent the night in prayer to God and he that is born again is in his measure renewed in knowledge after his image Col. 3.9 10. Lye not one to another seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds and have put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him Mind this that the new man is renewed in knowledge he is not kept in darkness and ignorance to make him devout to God When Paul came to Athens and beheld their blind devotion in their ignorance to rectifie this their devotion he endeavours to bring them to true knowledge not to keep them still in ignorance for that was his work as also the work of the rest of the Apostles and Ministers of Christ to turn men from darkness to the light and so from the power of Satan whose Kingdom is in darkness unto God who is light that so they might receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith in Christ Jesus Act. 26.18 Now he that stops up the light from men must needs be a Thief and a Robber which comes to steal 1. To steal away the hearts of men from Christ to himself and from devotion

man who had need to repent and pray God that the thought of his own heart may be forgiven him Argument 2. I come now to a second Argument against the Pope and to shew that he is no true Successor to Peter which I prove by shewing that he is not of Abraham's spiritual seed which of necessity every one must be that succeeds either Peter or any of the holy Apostles of Christ Jesus To make this clear let us take notice of these two things 1. What manner of Succession is cut off 2. What manner of Succession doth remain First What manner of Succession is cut off There was a Succession once which was lineal in the same seed outwardly and so from Abraham to Christ they succeeded one another as the Son succeeds the Father But this was cut off as the Scripture plainly sheweth Rom. 2.28 29. For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly but he is a Jew which is one inwardly Again Rom. 9.8 The Children of Promise are counted for the seed So also Gal. 3.7 They which are of faith the same are the Children of Abraham And again the Apostle speaking of the cutting off of the Jews through their unbelief shews that we who are of the Gentiles are grafted in into Abraham's stock only by faith and so by faith we stand Rom. 11.20 Well because of unbelief they were broken off and thou standest by faith be not high-minded but fear So then you see that outward succession in Abraham's line was cut off through unbelief Hence I argue thus If God hath laid aside that outward succession in Abraham's line who was called the Friend of God he will not take up any outward succession again to entail his promises upon and if succession be cut off from that natural seed for want of faith then all outward succession as from place or any other outward thing whatsoever will not hold where true faith is wanting but will fail him that depends upon it as well as it failed the Jews So then whosoever pretends a succession in Abraham's seed without which he cannot be a Successor to Peter he must establish his Succession in another thing than either in an outward seed or in place or any such like outward thing Therefore secondly let us now take further notice what manner of Succession that is which abides and wherein that is established which makes one a Successor in the seed of Abraham This doth not stand in any outward thing but in that faith which follows the steps of Abraham Rom. 4.11 12. Faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness before he was circumcised as the foregoing words do shew That he might be the Father of all them that believe though they be not circumcised that righteousness might be imported unto them And the Father of Circumcision to them who are not of the Circumcision only but also walk in the steps of that faith of our Father Abraham which he had being yet uncircumessed Here you may see plainly who are Abraham's Children now and so Christ's namely they that walk in the steps of that faith of our Father Abraham and they only For it 's said Rom. 11.20 Thou standest by faith he not high-minded but fear Ver. 21. For if God spared not the natural branches take heed lest he also spare not thee Ver. 22. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God on them which fell severity but towards thee goodness if thou continue in his goodness otherwise thou also shalt be cut off So here you may see it 's plainly exprest what cuts a man off from the seed of Abraham and so from Christ and also what establishes him in that seed It is walking in the steps of that faith of Abraham and continuing in the goodness of God that establishes a man and he that continues not therein shall be cut off Now examine and apply these things to the Pope Doth he walk in the steps of the faith of Abraham Surely his works loudly proclaim the contrary If ye were the Children of Abraham ye would do the works of Abraham saith Christ Jesus Joh. 8.39 c. But now ye seek to kill me this did not Abraham Ye are of your Father the Devil and the lusts of your Father ye will do He was a Murtherer from the beginning and abode not in the truth That the Pope is in this murthering spirit many Nations have felt it and the Earth rings of it How many Massacres how many bloody and inhumane Butcheries have been acted under him How many private Murders and secret Conspiracies to destroy mens Lives How many stabbings and poisonings of persons of all degrees many Countreys can witness Is this to walk in the steps of the faith of Abraham Is this to continue in the goodness of God who lets his Sun shine on the good and on the bad and sends rain on the just and on the unjust The Pope doth hereby clearly manifest himself to be cut off from walking in the steps of the faith of Abraham for thus did not Abraham Or doth he continue in the goodness of God who walks in the steps of him that was a murderer from the beginning I desire you poor captiv'd Souls to consider it who are under his yoke and deceive not your selves in trusting to him for you may plainly see by his works what Spirit your Pope is ingrafted into namely into his Spirit who was a murderer from the beginning and not into his Spirit who came not to destroy mens lives but to save They who have been ingrafted into Abraham's faith and so into Christ the true seed were never such murderers and bloody creatures but merciful and tender-hearted Nay if we go no further than the common Body of the Protestants they never were so bloody to you as your Pope hath taught you to be to them When did they commit any such Massacres upon you though you have highly provoked them as you have done to them even without provocation And still you hold on to attempt the like and repent not of your wickedness which shews plainly that they have more of the true spirit and faith of Abraham among them than you have and you partake more of the spirit of him that was a murderer from the beginning which is infused into you with the Principles that you suck in from your Pope and his Church I will tell you who your Pope is by the fruits he brings forth He is a great Agent of that Apollyon that is Destroyer spoken of Rev. 9.11 Who is King over them that have power to hurt men and he is the outward head of that mystery of iniquity which was to arise and you cannot find another like him to act such horrid wickedness and yet under the pretence of Christianity as if Christ that innocent Lamb of God who came not to destroy mens lives but to save were now become a Patron to devouring Wolves Here is the mystery of wickedness shrowding it self under