Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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B20877
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A declaration of the people of God in scorn called Quakers, to all magistrates and people.
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Crook, John, 1617-1699.
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1659
(1659)
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Wing C7201; Interim Tract Supplement Guide 855.f.3[43]; ESTC R202165
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5,420
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8
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which the Judges and Justices and others call the Rule for Christians to walk by to put off the hat in a Court or before a Magistrate And if it should yet be stood upon The putting off the hat as a thing indifferent It is answered He that is offended when the hat is not put off when he expects it or requires it to him and in his account it is not a thing indifferent For then is a thing truly indifferent to a man when a man regardeth not whether be have the thing done to him or not And others of us have been imprisoned for speaking that which was to us revealed and required of us by the Lord God the highest power unto a man called a Minister or to a people in a Steeple-house or Temple made with hands wherein God dwelleth not but in his people whose bodies are his Temple God doth dwell and is known in his Sanctuary where his voice is heard and his will and word obeyed rather then men who would limit the Spirit of God to times places and persons but their neither was nor is any such custom amongst the Churches of Christ where If any thing was or is revealed to him that sits by the 〈…〉 to hold his peace and so all may prophesie one by one for the 〈◊〉 of the Prophets is subject to the Prophets Again many of us have suffered many wayes for no other cause then meeting together in the fear of the Lord to wait upon him and to worship him upon the first dayes of the week Others of us have been turned forth of our imployments in the Nation both civil and military and rendred uncapable of such 〈…〉 imployment in a Common-wealth upon no other account but because we were Quakers so called or could not deny the people called Quakers although we had in faithfulness served this present Parliament our Countrey in our several imployments whilst we were permitted to continue in them And of late in the great Assembly and Counsels of this Nation we have been represented by some to be a people not onely to have unchristian'd but also unman'd our selves as if we had made our selves uncapable of any imployment wherein we might be serviceable in the Nation thereby endeavouring to render us not onely odious but also useless in a Common-wealth But for the clearing of the truth of God as it is in Jesus and for the manifesting of the secret deceits of our enemies and pretended friends in humility and meekness of mind we do declare unto all That by the receiving the gift of God the Light 〈…〉 Jesus it obeying in our hearts which giveth knowledge and understanding to the simple we are not thereby made uncapable nor unwilling to serve our Country and Country-men in the lowest employments and places that are any ways tending to the thing that is just and to the suppression of that which is evil or to the procuring good unto our Countrey Countrey-men and Neighbours amongst whom we sojourn Neither do we deny but bear our witness too and of the Scriptures of truth and the Church of God and the Worship of God which is in the Spirit and in the Truth and the Ministers of Christ we own and their maintenance which is free and the Ordinances of Christ they are established amongst us all which are known by the Light of Christ that shineth in the heart and the higher powers we are subject unto for Conscience sake and Magistrates and Rulers who are not a terrour to good works but to the evil are by us owned and honoured in the Lord which honour stands not in flattering titles or bowing the knee and putting off the hat but in due and ready subjection to all just Commands according to the Apostles Doctrine Honour all men in the Lord and submit your selves to every Ordinance of man for the Lord sake Now that which stands in the Lord and is done for the Lords sake must be in that which is good and not in that which is evil for evil is not in the Lord for he that doth evil he hates the Light which is good and he that hates that which is good doth nothing for Christs sake and by the Light of Christ which shineth in our hearts we are taught of God to love as Brethren to obey our Parents after the flesh husbands are taught to dwell with their wives according to knowledge and wives to submit themselves unto their husbands as unto the Lord servants to be obedient to them that are their Masters and all to submit themselves one unto another in the fear of God Neither do we desire that to our selves which we do not freely give and allow unto others to wit Liberty of Conscience knowing that every man must give an accompt unto God for himself yet we desire the good of all men which we know cannot be enjoyed by any man whilst he lives in sin and wickedness Neither dare we practise nor allow that in our selves which we witness to be evil in others Neither do we with-draw our shoulders from the yoke or lay burthens upon others to ease our selves but are made free in the Lord and in our spirits to serve our Countrey and Countrey-men in all things that are Just in the things that are honest in the things that are equal and in the things that are of good report amongst those that truly fear God so we are not straitned in our selves by the Spirit of the Lord nor limited by the truth from being serviceable in our generations but we are straitned by unreasonable men and limited by that spirit that rules by unrighteous lawes popish customs and mens own wills which stands upon oaths hats cringings and against plainness of speech and will not suffer the servants of God to exercise their gifts and reprove sin in the gate So it is not we that have either lost our reason unman'd or unchristian'd our selves being known in our Countreys to be men having reason and understanding though we have laid aside childish things living and walking in a good conversation as men and Christians by whose example many have been turned unto God and have blessed God for us in the day of their visitation Therefore let all tongues be silent before the Lord and his people who are no oppressors nor imposers upon mens Consciences nor devourers of Gods creatures upon our lusts nor time servers nor men pleasers neither for advantage do we admire mens persons nor after earthly honours or preferment do we covet which whil'st some have coveted alter they have made shipwrack of Faith and of a good conscience But the good of all people do we seek after and truth and justice and sincerity and a holy conversation and a pure Religion and Worship of God which is in the Spirit and in the Truth which the Devil and will-will-worshippers are out of and in that we are to glorifie God and serve our generation And all in justice and oppression and oppressours unrighteousness and ungodliness of men and all false wayes and false worships and false ministers false maintenance false churches false tongues we utterly deny and bear our Testimony against with one accord mouth and spirit and all persecutors who abuse the power of God which is for the praise of them that do well and turns the sword backward strengthening the hands of the evil-doers such were alwayes blind and were suddenly ouerthrown by the hand of God which comes upon them when they are high and proud and in their ambition forgets God the Lord by his hand suddenly overturns such and layes them low with the valleys and sets the valleys above them Read this in this Nation and do not forget the hand for who doth by that hand will be laid low again But they that rule and stand in the power of God they answer the just principle of God in every man Subscribed in the behalf of our selves and the rest of our friends who are of one heart and mind with us John Crook Edward Byllynge Dennys Hollister Will. Gandy Rich. Ward Antho. Pearson John Hodson Robert Duncon Amor Stoddart Tho. Moor. Richard Hodden Geo. Benson Geo. Watkinson Tho. Aldam John Pennyman John Fry THE END LONDON Printed for Thomas Simmons at the Bull and Mouth near Aldersgate 1659.
A DECLARATION of the people of GOD in scorn called QUAKERS TO ALL MAGISTRATES AND PEOPLE FOrasmuch as it hath pleased God in his wisdome which is Infinite and by his power which is mighty by a way to the world unknown within these few years to raise up redeem to himself in this Nation a people to serve him in his own way and according to his own will that amongst them he might make his Name known and do for them great and terrible things amongst the Nation where they should come their Laws Worship Manners and Language being diverse from the laws worship manners and language of other people By reason whereof and of the false reports which the enemy of God the lying spirit which is in the mouth of the false prophets and ministers of unrighteousnesse they have been rendred odious unto the people and loaded with reproaches and false accusations as that they denied the Scriptures of Truth the Church of God the Woâ—ship of God the Ministers of Christ and the maintenance belonging to the Ministers of the Gospel the Ordinances of Christ the Magistracy and Magistrates and would destroy all government and civil relations amongst men with many such false aspersions yea so far did that lying spirit for a time prevail with many that they thought if they killed us they did God service yea so far hath it prevailed with many in places of authority both Civil and Military that they have counted us the off-scouring of the World not sit for any thing except it were to be the subjects upon whom they might exercise their cruelty as our many cruel sufferings in this Nation and others adjacent do manifestly declare nothing almost befalling us in most Cities Towns Villages and Steeple-houses where we have come but bonds abuses and imprisonments insomuch that scarce any Goal within this Nation into which some of us have not been cast besides our being haled before Magistraces and Rulers and our being drawn before the Judgement-Seats in this Nation by whom we have suffered the imprisonment of our bodies many till death and the spoiling of our goods in such an excessive manner as scarce hath been heard of before And much of this suffering hath been occasioned by those men called Ministers of Christ which their fruits have nâ—w made them manifest not to be the Ministers of Christ but of Antichrist And for Tithes a Popish institution brought in by the Apostates in the Apostacy since the dayes of Christ and his Apostles set up as more largely hath been in several papers published and declared for the good of all people whose hearts and desires are after truth And these things have we suffered in our Native Country by our country men not by Bishops and high commission courts but by from such as had a hand in putting down those as enemies to the peoples liberties as men and as Christians and since have set up themselves and one another in high places but the Lord hath made them as slipperie to them as they were to the persecutors before them neither have their things before mentioned been done unto us for any evil we did unto them but for conscience sake have we thus suffered not for any transgression of the Law of God neither in truth of any wholsome law of this Nation as may appear by the things for which in the general we have suffered that is to say many of us have suffered imprisonment and other abuses for appearing in the Courts of this Nation in our own persons being thereunto commanded by Writs out of the said Courts upon a great pain to wit 100. l. a man and because we could not with freedom appear by an attorney many more of us have been are imprisoned in this Nation for no other cause then in truth our obedience to the command of Christ who saith Mat. 5.34.35.36.37 Swear not at all neither by Heaven for it is Gods throne nor by the earth for it is his footstool neither by Jerusalem for it is the City of the great King neither shalt thou swear by thy head because thou can not make one hair white or black but let your yea be yea and your nay nay for whatsoever is more then these cometh of evil And Mat. 23.22 it is said He that sweareth by Heaven sweareth by the throne of God and that sitteth thereon Now it is God that sitteth in Heaven which is his Throne therefore Christ Jesus forbiding to swear by Heaven which is Gods Throne forbideth to swear by God or any other oath then such judges or others that 〈◊〉 persons to swear are in plain contradiction to command of Christ and in so doing they do not judge for God but for men Neither have those called Barons of the 〈…〉 any known Law of this Nation to warrant such their actings there being no law of this Nation that requires any man to give his answer upon oath to what his accuser shall lay to his charge neither is there any known Law in this Nation that doth give that Court of Exchequer any cognizance of such causes as are for detention of Tithes For it is said No plea shall be holden or pleaded in the Exchequer except it do specially concern us and our Ministers of the Exchequer The statute of Rutland made May 14. Anno decimo Edw. And whereas it is alleadged that it is the Rule or Custom of that Court that people must answer upon oath It is answered that that Rule or custom which is contrary to Law is void and amongst the Churches of Christ there is no such custom as swearing and therefore must needs be a Heathenish custom which is vain being contrary to the command of Christ and another from the Law of the Nation or that maxim which saith No man is bound to accuse himself Many others of us have been unreasonably fined imprisoned and otherwayes persecuted for that is persecution when any man doth suffer for doing that which is good in obedience to God and for refraining from that which is evil for keeping their hats on their heads in a Court or before a man called a Justice Now there is no Law of God or of this Nation requireth such a thing as the putting off the hat at the command of a Judge or Justice for the hat as well as a cap is a covering for the head not onely for the woman but for the man also and where there is no Law there is no transgression And if it be said It is due to the Magistrate by custom or usage of the Nation It is answered The customs of the Nations or people are vain 〈◊〉 and Israel was commanded of God not to learn the customs or manners of the Nations or Heathen whom the Lord cast out of Canaan before them and all customs or usages which are contrary to reason are void in Law and amongst the Churches of Christ there was never such a custom neither is it according to the Scripture