Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	bear_v	spirit_n	witness_v	1,996	5	9.3129	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A62156	Righteous judgment placed upon the heads of malicious opposers and persecuting apostates in some brief animadversions upon Francis Buggs book, entitled, De Christiana libertate, in which his great weakness and gross wickedness is detected, his foul defamations and uncivil reflections are reprehended : with a seasonable warning to him and the rest of his abettors in their mischievous work of opposition to and separation from, the Lord and his people / by a lover of peace, Robert Sandilands : together with an Ingredient by another hand.	Sandilands, Robert.; Richardson, Richard, 1623?-1689. Another ingredient against the venom in F.B.'s book.	1683 (1683)	Wing S661; ESTC R32326	57,765	142

us and brought us from under the Egyptian Bondage and Darkness and since the day that the Lord Visited us by his mighty Hand and out-stretched Arm and gathered us to be a People to himself as in these now who under the Profession of the same Truth have it seems even made a Covenant with Hell Death and the Devil and proclaimed a Confederacy together to War against the Lord and his People by their open Opposition to and disdainful slighting of the comely and commendable Practices in the Church of Christ especially considering which greatly aggravates their guilt the singular advantages they have had above many people what understanding I believe divers of them came unto concerning the work of Truth their great knowledg they had attained of the Principles of the true Religion and some of them its like once enjoyed experimental nearness to the Lord and Fellowship with him and his People and yet for such to become as Absolute Stour Resolute Enemies to oppose both as everany yea by many degrees are farworse and as it were in the superlative endeavours to exceed their former Predecessors I mean the old dry Apostates was there ever such a deed done or seen And that notwithstanding the Lord hath been so graciously pleased both signally to appear by his Heavenly and Divine power as well for the preservation as the vindication of his chosen faithful ones who have stood in his Counsel and in the uprightness of their Hearts could appeal their Innocency to him and also hath evidently manifested and apparently discovered his Wrath and fierce Indignation against his and their Enemies on every hand in so much that those who in their time rose up with a high lofty and imperious Mind proud and exalted Spirit abusing and villisying the Innocent Servants of the Lord amongst whom our ancient faithful Friend G. F. has not been one of the least concern'd both then and at this present juncture of Controversie I say where are these now with all their confused stuff of Janglings and Contentions What came all their Noises and Bustlings to We clearly see the Devil and all his cursed Agents could not produce what they designed thereby and why The Lord Iehova the mighty God of Heaven and Earth appeared as a terrible Enemy against them Now 〈◊〉 it ●o 〈◊〉 Admiration to me to see thee treading on in the very Foot-stepts of those old Back-sliders from the Holy Commandment of Life delivered to them who from the same perverse Spirit to the same end and much after the same method Opposed the Truth and abused Friends thereof as thou dost but thou and W. R. c. go some steps beyond them and did not they as well as thou F. B. print divers Scandalous Pamphlets amongst which there was one called Liberty of Conscience asserted against Imposition if I be not much mistaken wherein they endeavoured to misrepresent Friends to the World as Apostates and Innovators and such as were setting up a Romish Hierarchy and bringing in Arbitrary Jurisdiction over tender Consciences so that now its clear as the Sun shines their false charge thou and thy Adherents have revived their way you have followed their Cause you have undertaken evidently demonstrates you to be in the same work of wickedness and one with these in the very root of bitterness How comes it Francis that thou art so benumbed stupified hardned and be●o●●ed yea and befooled by the Devil But alass What shall I say He eve● the God of this Wo●d hath lulled thee into a deep Lethargy or sleep and so blinded thy Eyes again if ever they were once opened that thou and such as thou art cannot see nor apprehend what you are running and hurrying head-long into till the Flames of Eternal Judgment and the fury of that fiery Indignation make you sensible what your wicked devillish Work has been But O! the earnest Prayer of my Soul is to the God of infinite Mercy and unspeakable Compassions That you may prevent such an awakning and that you in time now may be roused up and allarm'd by his Righteous Judgments in your Hearts by lying under the same and by bowing to the Indignation of the Almighty you may obtain mercy from him to your poor Immortal souls before the day of mercy be quite shut against you that though you then may cry yet you will not be heard CHAP. II. IN p. 21. I find F. B. say But if G. F. and his party shall stifly stand to it that the womens meetings it of Divine Institution c. and then brings in an impertinent needless Query Whether Christ was deficient either in his Delivering to that honoured Auditory or in his Memory Answ I say he was in neither but according to the Capacities of the People amongst whom he conversed it was that he spoke delivered and opened things to them And F. B. scoffingly interrogates And who did he constitute in his room to supply that defect whether a visible head namely G. F. c. We do know very well whom he did appoint in his room when he was to be removed bodily he encouraged his Disciples with a sweet promise I will not leave you comfortless but the Comforter which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in my Name Obs The true force of the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is Advocate one called to sent for invited to come upon what occasions or for what end soever see 1 John he shall teach you and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you and although he gave forth and spoke much unto them yet they were not able to bear all things therefore he says I have yet many things to say unto you but you cannot bear them now howbeit when the Spirit of Truth is come he will guide you into all Truth for he will not speak of himself but whatsoever he shall hear that shall he speak and he will shew you things to come he shall receive of mins and shall shew it unto you From which we may observe that there is large room left for the Spirit of Truth who should receive of Christ's and shew unto his followers to instruct and lead to never contrary but agreeable with the Scriptures of Truth that which is needful proper and profitable in the Church for the preservation of the Members thereof in the comely commendable gospel of Order that thereby the lovely sweet Unity Concord and Heavenly Harmony may be retained amongst them to their mutual joy comfort and edification and to the praise of his glory who hath called us to be his peculiar people zealous of good works and hath preserved us against the malice violence and rage of the Devil and all his Instruments under every appearance or transformation Now whereas this angry peevish Man makes such a noise against and bustlings about the Lawfulness of Womens Meetings because he cannot find Chapter and verse expresly set down in the Scripture for

Airy Mind abuses them comparing them to the Papists great Idol viz. the Roob of Grace to Graceless as well as Lifeless Image see p. 8. and 47. will not only descry Womens Preaching as some of them have done already but also at last would overturn our Mens Meetings and so would bring all things topsiturvey These are indeed the Babel Builders upside down into a meer Chaos Disorder and Confusion again and here would be which the Devil would be at and mainly seeks an open door for Libertinism Ranterism Atheism Profanity and all maner of Debauchery But God Almighty will overthrow all these devilish Designs and hellish Imaginations and Truth and Righteousness hath he decreed to establish in the Earth everlastingly magnified be his holy Name for ever for he is worthy over all to be feared served and obeyed by all the Sons and Daughters of Men. CHAP. III. NOw I come to the first Chapter of F. Bugg's Book p. 24. in the which he pretends to treat of Principles of Truth received and believed in the beginning c. wherein there is but little of weight to be noticed being but a slender imperfect Relation thereof and that too with a crafty subttle Design to strike against Friends of Truth maliciously thereby insinuating to the World How it was so and so with them in the beginning and now otherwise This living Testimony I have to bear to the contrary that blessed be the name of the Lord the same foundation principle and corner stone that was laid in the beginning for the building of Gods Spiritual House is as precious to us now as ever and is of as great esteem and we do preach the same and no other even the saving sufficient Divine Light of Christ Iesus and the Spiritual appearance thereof and it is our work and labour to direct and turn the minds of people to be inward and retired thereunto as unto the more sure word of Prophecy and that there is sufficiency in it being obeyed to lead to salvation and as we are come to the experience of the holy Unction and feel and taste of the sweetness excellency and vertue thereof in our own particulars so we declare thereof unto others that they might be stirred up to wait upon the Lord with us in his heavenly Gift and have the same sense and experience in themselves and so see and taste for themselves and blessed be God our love one to another doth abound and our zeal for his ●oly name doth encrease and a heavenly harmony of life sounds in our Assemblies as in the beginning in which stands our Unity Fellowship and there are many who are living witnesses by how much the more we are spiritually minded and seriously exercised in the inward Testimony or Law of the Spirit of Life and the more we take delight to meditate therein Night and Day by so much the more the Lord is pleased to maifest his Love unto us and to reveal his pure Power amongst us and is our Hedge and Wall to this Day and gives us favour in the sight of the People glorified be his pure name for ever And we do testifie in a holy fresh zeal against all such Formalities Will worships Church-Authorities Ceremonies Orders Institutions as are neither useful decent nor comely in the sight of God and our Testimony lives remains as in the beginning everlasting praise to the Almighty against all that Trash and Trumpery of the Whore of Babylon brought in and set up in the dark Night of Apostacy and we do testifie That Christ his Kingdom is to be known within not in any Observation or Profession that is Visible without the possession and inward enjoyment of him and he even the second Adam the Lord from Heaven is head of and Lawgiver to our Church on whose shoulders the Government and Authority thereof is laid And we know that though in the World there are Faiths many and Lords many yet unto us there is but one Faith and one Lord Jesus Christ who is the Author of that Faith And we have an honourable esteem of the Scriptures of Truth and they are very good and useful in their place and they are by us believed and a great comfort and blessing to us but still the spirit of God is the first Principle the Pale and only Head of the true Church and Sanctified people of God and is likewise the Rule of our Life and Practice and always hath the preheminence in our Testimony as ever from the beginning this we have declared and do declare on all occasions to all People Professor and Prophane c. and such as are faithful to the Lord will not question the truth of this as it is at present witnessed Everlasting praises to the Lord over all And these need not go for proof thereof as thou saist pag. 28. to such and such Testimonies of those good faithful Servants of the Lord who did bear a Noble Testimony against all Apostates and Back-sliders as the Reader may see in a Book of our worthy Friend Isaac Penington whom F.B. mentions concerning Church Government For we have a certain evidence and many clear tokens of the powerful divine and refreshing presence of the Almighty God attending us in our holy Services and Christian Practises both in our Men and Womens Meetings which shall stand and in Glory remain when thou and all such clashing jarring jangling and perverse prating spirits shall vanish and be no more seen in this World And indeed I know for certain and many times it hath livingly and with unspeakable comfort opened in mé when I have had occasion to be under any sad Exercise by any of this Opposite Party that their wild and hasty furious Contentions and malicious Endeavours against the Gospel Order in the Church of Christ is but another smoak though one of the blackest and thickest that is come up or may be may hereaftercome up from the Bottomless Pit And the breath of the Lord God Almighty is scattering of it and will blow it quite away so that it as we have seen other smoaks shall utterly disappear And the wise prudent Reader may observe that many of the Epistles of Advice and Counsels to Friends from their Meetings nothing now more than in the beginning implies any imposition or force thereunto and they are so worded as that Christian liberty is preserved and the people not imposed upon beyond their freedom and that it is so I shall prove in the next Chapter And so we plainly see that the Devil and his Agents have but befooled themselves by falsely insinuating to any as this F.B. doth in page 31. That we exercise Dominion Gentile-like and with Lording over Gods Heritage for the same Christian Confession discension and true moderation appears amongst us as in the beginning CHAP. IV. IN page 32. F. B. says I am now to manifest the alteration and the cause of Divisions amongst us about Matters of Faith and the