Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	according_a	rule_n	scripture_n	1,767	5	5.9499	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51567	The spirit of the hat, or, The government of the Quakers among themselves as it hath been exercised of late years by George Fox, and other leading-men, in their Monday, or second-days meeting at Devonshire-House, brought to light : in a bemoaning letter of a by G.I.	Mucklow, William, 1631-1713.	1700 (1700)	Wing M3035_VARIANT; ESTC R32093	22,482	45

lay it before the Body and as they judge he must submit Is not this an Arbitrary Government bounded by no Law but what G. F. and a few more please Herein the ground of our Liberties is taken from us to wit To live act and judge according to the Law within In this is the distribution of Justice and he that is overawed by a power without stifles and strangles true Judgment which ariseth in himself by this is Justice and true Judgment obstructed and violated It 's the highest usurpation of our just Liberties For when such Principles are established they are not easily laid down they have encroached Jurisdiction where none was taking upon them a Power to judge and domineer over the Innocent over the Consciencious over the tender in Spirit by new Laws which the Spirit never gave forth nor hath unity withal nor many of the Body which through fear oppose not these things They go higher they say Their Judgment is God's and their Acts are as binding as God's it proceeding from the Spirit of the Lord in the Body Their Judgments are so positive from God and for God and their Censure so severe which causeth a faint-heartedness in the weaker to speak according to their measure lest they should displease the Body and be brought to Judgment It is a dangerous evil for any Man Men or Councel to make him or them Lords or Lawgivers in the Church Christ himself being the immediate Lawgiver and Judge in this the Day of his Power Men have commonly thought that to preserve the Church in Peace is to suppress Error whereas to preserve them in Faith and Love with the Father Word and Spirit this is rather to preserve the Church How many persons under pretence of healing the Body wound it still deeper and under pretence of preserving its Peace hurry it into endless Dissentions or reduce People to a Formal Faith Doth not the abovesaid Body practise the same Yea. Ah! How do they build up that which they once pulled down and do that themselves which they have condemned in others Ah! That they would suffer the Word only to be the Rule in the Kingdom and the Light thereof alone to shine there and not to walk in the light of their own Fire and in the Sparks which they themselves have kindled whereby they may lie down in sorrow whilst they neglect the true Light which lighteth every man that comes into the World In the true Church Unity stands in diversities But in the false Unity will not stand without Uniformity And it is greatly to be lamented how that very many will do nothing without the Authority of the Body tho' it be never so clear in them and this sets up the Body above Christ And because a further dispensation is not relished by the Elders the which they hide from the Inferiours lest their glory should be Eclipsed and draw the rest from a dependence upon them They content themselves with this limited Ministration and set up Tabernacles here for their Residence which is above and beside the Spirit of the Lord 's teaching which leads us on to know and follow the Lord. These are they that stop Israel's travel out of all appearances which his Spirit leads not to These are they that lay stumbling-blocks in the way in their Journey These are they that will not have the Lord's People Prophets that their Persons may be still had in Admiration for advantage sake else what meaneth it that certain Persons are appointed to spend the whole time in speaking in every Meeting and all the rest to come as Hearers neglecting the Gift in themselves only waiting upon their Lips When as oftentimes fresh Springs arise in particulars to make glad and comfort the Hearts of others But through the long Declarations and Discouragement withal the Springs are stopt and the tender nipt Ah! God will visit you for these things And certainly if this Babylonish practice had not been exercised his precious Truths had been publish'd in the mouths of thousands more and 10000 more to the knowledge thereof would have been brought a greater growth in the Truth witnessed and the Mind and Will of the Lord more revealed a greater discovery of the Man of Sin within and without us by the transcendent brightness of the Everlasting Day which will again break forth and recover the ground which hath been lost open the Mysteries which are yet hidden break the Serpent's head and wound the Leviathan Amen Halelujah Moreover as others before them set up the Scriptures above the Spirit in having that to be the Tryal Touch-stone Standard of Doctrine Worship and of all Spirits so do they greatly err in setting up the Body above the Spirit in having the Spirit tried by the Body the one saith The Scripture is the Rule but in truth the Meanings they make the Rule The other saith The Spirit and not the Scripture is the Rule but the Dictates of the Body they make the Rule For if I walk according to my Measure and my Measure is my Rule and it differs from the judgment of the Body by their Rule I am to deny my Motion because it answers not the Mind of the Body for they lay down this as an infallible Rule That the Body will have a true sense feeling and understanding of Motions Visions Revelations Doctrines c. and therefore safest to make Her my Touch-stone in all things relating to God Ah! that she would return from whence she is fallen and repent that the Crown may again be set upon Her head The same Arguments which the Pope c. makes use of to support himself the Body useth and severe judgment is denounced against him that shall speak a word against the Authority of the Body as it is against him that shall speak against the Power and Authority of Rome And as it was and is a common practice for the Pope to esteem Drunkards Whoremongers c. far better than Non-conformists even so it is with the Body at Devonshire-House If a Non-conformist endeavours to bring to light the viciousness of the Priests they will have ways to prevent him either to raise some Accusations or some other cunning Evasion The Body practiseth the same as I could instance and may when occasion offers I have heard from a credible hand what a solemn Meeting there was appointed by G.F. and others of the Elders to Judge and Condemn several Men and Women of good report and shelter cover and hide the wanton practices of others and the more effectually to discourage persons from discovering these wanton and unclean Ministers to some they would say Let it fall bad Spirits will get it and reflect upon good Friends to others Thou art an unclean Spirit raking in Mire and Dirt to lay open the Miscarriages of others By which means the Adulterer goes free only perhaps private reproof passeth upon him Consider O Friends Is it right to cover the Whoredoms of the wanton

within us that we needed not to go forth out of our own Houses having an Holy Anointing within us to supply the wants of our Souls and lead us into all Truth And the Lord did daily add unto the Church and raised up many to go forth in the Power to Preach the Everlasting Gospel whereby the Church multiply'd and encreased to the astonishment of the Nations How low and humble were they in their Spirits how few were they in Words Their yea was yea and their nay nay Ah! let me take up a Lamentation How are the Mighty fallen How have the Stars ceased to give their Light How are the Poor distressed and the Young Ones bruised by the High Mountains and Lofty Cedars whose Habitations were once in Heaven but now upon the High Places of the Earth to impose upon the Conscience and to Establish an Arbitrary Power by a Law these are the armed Beasts and the many Antichrists which break the Unity in Spirit and the Bond of Peace This brings in Divisions causeth Differences contentions and Emulations It roots up the good and eats as doth a Canker whereby the Unity is divided and the Peace broken But the Unity that the Lord approves of is for every one to act according to his measure and growth in the Truth All are not strong therefore all cannot be in the same Exercise no more than a Child can be found in the Exercise of a Man So that the disuniting-Spirit doth not barely lie in being of another Mind and Judgment but in the imposing of its Judgment and Practice which appears plainly by Paul who clearly judged that the ground of the Differences in the Church lay very much in the judging one another in Meats and Drinks c. It 's the great Promise of the Father in these latter Days That he will write his Laws in our Hearts and put his Spirit into our inward Parts to lead us into all Truth and out of all appearances which his Spirit manifests in us to be in the Imitation and after the Traditions of Men. Is it then reasonable for the Spiritual Man to be found in the practice of doing before a Law written but rather wait at the Feet of Jesus till God Reveals And he that walks according to this Rule shall know his Doctrine and be led to behold his Glory and Witness an Unity in Spirit with his Brother though in a different Exercise How doth this differ from the World's and the Foxoman-Unity which is to yield subjection to the Order of the Body so called though no manifestation within And this Unity they glory in by this is their Kingdom upheld from this they are able to boast Who is able to make War with us Who can stand before us Do not all fall that have risen up against us Are not these the high swelling Words of proud Babel whose towri g thoughts must be abased Whose practice hath been to Crush the Tender Ones in their Bodies Souls and Spirits This Language hath mine Ears heard this practice hath mine Eyes seen to the grief and wounding of my Soul This combined Unity I have no pleasure in its Nature is known by its Image its Birth by the exercise of its Power My Friend Observe What difference is there in these things between George Fox and the Papists The one saith No Liberty out of the Church The other No Liberty out of the Power Saith the Papist What Liberty to the Sectary No What Liberty to the Heretick No. And George Fox saith What Liberty to the Presbyter No What Liberty to the Independant No What Liberty to the Baptist No. Liberty saith he is in the Truth The difference lies only here The one hath greater Power to compel than the other The Papists say Believe as the Church Believes So likewise saith G. Fox But I say Nay I am not to believe a thing barely because the Church believes it but because it 's manifested in me else I am to wait till God Reveals it I was told the abovesaid by two there present The Church of Rome claims a Power of Excommunication of them that will not submit to their decent and comely Order though in it self the thing be meerly Circumstantial Ceremonial or as they term it indifferent and their reason is It Judgeth the Power and smites at the Authority and say they it 's an Inlet to Division and thereby is Unity violated Behold a resemblance thereof it hath been often said unto me The Hat is nothing but it is out of the comely Order it judgeth Friends who are in the Power who testifie against it and it breaks the Unity and therefore we cannot suffer such to Marry or Bury nor to partake of any Priviledge as a Member of the Body and this is in the substance Excommunication For Excommunication chiefly lies in a Man's being deprived of the Benefits and put out of the Protection of the Law as also from being a Member of the Church The Severity is the same with us for where could I Marry or Bury if we were an intire Nation Or how can I take a Wife without a Witness Or how can I have a Witness if to be one is lyable to the same Misery Selected Bodies ought to be found in the Exercise of Moderation Tenderness and Mercy as if they were a Nation I always find when once such put forth their Hands to afflict for Conscience sake as their Power groweth strong so doth their Oppression But perhaps they would say We do not eject for Conscience sake but because of an obstinate Will which opposeth Friends The Papists justifie themselves by saying of the same I remember a Judge likewise made the same reply when a Friend mentioned Conscience Certainly it cannot be an Evil in one and Right in the other no more than it is Cruelty in the Papists Persecutions and Just in the Protestants It will be a noble Example in those that stand upon the Advantage-ground to Act in Moderation Tenderness and Mercy And although it is the Policy of the World's Churches c. under a pretence for Unity not to hear the tender Conscience yet the Church of Truth will and where they are found will account them as Brethren and not to think it a sufficient ground to refuse them after Admonition if they persist but to wait till God perswades them And this is the Royal Law of Liberty the other is the Yoke of Bondage from which we are not to be entangled after the Traditions of Men. This great Charter of Liberty is violated and greatly broken in many particulars If I have a Cause before the Elders but especially if I am a Dissenter it 's frequently urg'd give it to Friends if I do not a farther Snare is offered namely Dost thou believe Vs to be in the Power of God If I say Yea then What wilt thou not leave it to the Power of God in Friends Thou art in confusion to believe Vs to be in the Power

and yet durst not trust to the Judgment of the Power To my knowledge this is a capital Crime accounted What greater Usurpation can there be than this to claim my Right from me into their Breasts For though the Elders may be preserved in the Power this Year or Season they may apostatize from the Truth and yet claim the same Prerogative over my Propriety hereby a Tyranny may be entail'd upon my self by laying of such a Foundation A most incomparable Instance is the Church of Rome who was in the Power and Glory of God howbeit through Pride she lost it yet gain'd through Subtilty the Prerogative before mentioned to give up unto her Judgment and to believe as she believes to the Destruction of many thousands So that it clearly appears the Spirit that claims such a Power under pretence of being in the Power is the Spirit of Exaltation and I know that those Persons that have been most confident in the claim under the same pretence have committed great mistakes and thereby Truth hath been depressed and Error cherished I suppose I may affirm that in all Ages Truth hath not been persecuted as Truth but as Error I could instance that many in the great Assemblies in London have not only been dissatisfied with the rest of their Brethrens Actings though they made use of the Name of the Lord. Both these cannot be right yet both claim the same Power in Judgment Otherwhiles submit through fear unto the Judgment of the more eminent though it doth not at all correspond with their understandings If one part of the Body be liable to mistakes why not the other And if the Spirit as they are a Body is to be Judge and Determiner of Things by what Spirit shall I know which is in the right How needful is it therefore to be joyned to our own in the particular considering how lyable man is to err yea in petty Matters And I know an Oppressive Act done by a Select Body having Power is by very few clearly discerned but when done by a private Person every weak-sighted Man can then discover it to be an Oppressive Act And so the evil Actions of Great Ones are judged less Criminal and the Persons less Faulty than in Justice they ought to be The Churches of Men are still setting up themselves one above another but the Assemblies of the true Church are all equal having Christ the Light equally present with and in them and therefore Friends of one place cannot say they have Power over Friends in another place seeing all may be liable to have Christ the Light alike in and among them else Christ his Spirit in several places should be above and under themselves But Christ in each Assembly of the Faithful is their Head and this Head they do not leave to set up a fleshly Head to themselves whether it consists of one or many of them seeing Antichrist doth as strongly invade Christ's Headship in many as in one Man in a Councel as in a Pope in George Fox and the Body as either This Spirit of Antichrist in G. Fox c. would wrest from me what I am not willing to part withal to wit my Conscience under no less Penalty than Excommunication which is as far as in them lies the loss both of Heaven and Earth of Heaven by Excommunication of Earth by Deprivation and this without Redemption unless complying with his or their Will and Pleasure and for no other cause than for the omittance of a very small Ceremony which they hold necessary to Salvation like the Circumcision of old who Preached Vnless they were Circumcised they could not be Saved But perhaps they will say We do not Excommunicate thee yet we cannot own thee in thy Error I answer It 's one thing not to own a Man in a particular and another thing so to disown him as wholly to exclude him from Protection For if I am once accepted of as a Member and after cast off as not being a Member I shall leave it to the Sober what to call it Perhaps they will say This casting off was not for the thing as indeed it hath been said unto me but for the contempt I may rather say Sure the greater the cruelty to lay an Injunction upon so small a matter that draweth after it so deep a Censure as to cast a man out of the Church Suppose a Magistrate did command a trivial matter some Ceremony or other under pain of Treason and should proc ed against the Infringers of this Command as Traitors it were much to be doubted whether the Command did not partake more of Cruelty than the Disobedience of Contempt For where Authority shall so far lose it self as to lay so great a weight upon so small a matter it rendreth it self contemptible and then it 's no marvel if it be contemned having made it self contemptible What will our Lord do unto these that shall be found beating their Fellow-servants and driving them from their Dwellings Again whosoever squares his Actions in things religious by the Spirit 's requirings he is a bad spirit c. Whosoever would be governed by the great Law To do as he would be done unto he is out of the Truth He that will not do what others would have him to do he is wilful stubborn and obstinate If the Body saith It is to be so or not so tho' two thirds of them are otherwise minded yet are silent and if it shall happen for one to oppose the thing with much moderation and the said two thirds shall in their spirits unite with him yet notwithstanding a few of the combined Elders will bring him to the Bar and unle s he will own Condemnation Judgment shall pass against him with such an imperious Authority that the others dare not open their mouths so that their arbitrary Commands they can impose upon their Fellow-Members They proceed further saying He that will not submit to the Body opposeth God and his Truth And they make the Body the Touch-stone saying This is according or not according to Truth as the Body hath Unity or not Unity with it and so by this practice the Spirit of the Lord is to be tryed and judged by the Body This hath two parts to deprive us of the Law of the Spirit and to bring in a tyrannical Government it would lead us from the Rule within to subject us to a Rule without It is asserted in Print that if I believe the Light within me directs me to a thing and the Body shall not have unity with it it is safer for me to rely upon the judgment of the Body I remember about a dozen of the great ones subscribed a Paper to this effect and sent it to Hartford but it was there much disliked There was this also in it That if any person had as he thought a command from God to do a thing or to put forth a thing in Print he must first come and