Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	doctrine_n	scripture_n	tradition_n	1,683	5	8.8849	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51565	A bemoaning letter of an ingenious Quaker to a friend of his wherein the government of the Quakers among themselves (as hath been exercised by George Fox, and others of their ring-leaders) brought to light : wherein their tyrannical and persecuting practices are detected and redargued [sic] : also a preface to the reader, giving an account how the said letter came to the hand of the publisher / by G.I.	Mucklow, William, 1631-1713.; J. G.	1700 (1700)	Wing M3033; ESTC R41268	23,318	45

thing and the Body shall not have unity with it it is safer for me to re●●● upon the judgment of the Body I remember abo●● a dozen of the great ones subscribed a Paper to the effect and sent it to Hartford but it was the●● much disliked There was this also in it That 〈◊〉 any person had as he thought a command from God to do a thing or to put forth a thing in Print 〈◊〉 must first come and lay it before the Body and they judge he must submit Is not this an Arb●trary 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 T● live act and judge according to the Law withi● 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 ●ew Laws which the Spirit never gave forth nor hath unity withal nor many of the Body which ●●rough fear oppose not these things They go ●igher they say Their Judgment is God's and their Acts are as binding as God's it procceding from the Spirit of the Lord in the Body Their ●udgments are so positive from God and for God ●nd their Censure so severe which causeth a ●●aint-heartedness in the weaker to speak according to their measure lest they should displease the Body and be brought to Judgment ●t 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 ●ea 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 lightet● every man that comes into the World In the true Church Unity stands in diversities But in the false Unity will not stand without Unity formity 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 the●● 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 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 often times 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 ●is 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 ●ranscendent brightness of the Everlasting Day which will again break forth and recover the ●round which hath been lost open the Mysteries which are yet hidden break the Serpent's head and ●ound 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 〈◊〉 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 Devonshi● House If a Non-conformist endeavours to bring to lig●● the vicionsness of the Priests they will have way to prevent him either to raise some Accusations or some other cunning Evasion The Body practise● 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

was wonderfully with them in this Dispensation that very many came off from the barren Mountains and out of the sandy Deserts and were here refreshed without Money without Price and the Bread was broken freely to the Hungry and Water given freely to the Thirsty And not only so but likewise our Vessels were filled with the same whereby our Hearts were made glad and caused the Springs of Life to break forth out of our Bellies and the Bread of Life to dwell 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 a●● 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 Spirit● 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 ac●ording to his measure and growth in the Truth All are not strong therefore all cannot be in the ●●me Exercise no more than a Child can be found 〈◊〉 the Exercise of a Man So that the disuniting-Spi●it doth not barely lie in being of another Mind ●nd Judgment but in the imposing of its Judg●ent and Practice which appears plainly by Paul ●●o clearly judged that the ground of the Diffe●●nces in the Church lay very much in the judging ●●e another in Meats and Drinks c. It 's the great Promise of the Father in these latter ●ays That he will write his Laws in our Hearts ●●d put his Spirit into our inward Parts to lead us ●●to all Truth and out of all appearances which ●●s Spirit manifests in us to be in the Imitation ●nd after the Traditions of Men. Is it then reasonable for the Spiritual Man to be ●ound in the practice of doing before a Law writ●en but rather wait at the Feet of Jesus till God ●eveals And he that walks according to this Rule 〈◊〉 all know his Doctrine and be led to behold his ●lory and Witness an Unity in Spirit with his ●rother though in a different Exercise How doth this differ from the World's and the ●●xoman-Unity which is to yield subjection to 〈◊〉 Order of the Body so called though no ●anifestation within And this Unity they glory 〈◊〉 by this is their Kingdom upheld from this they ●●e able to boast Who is able to make War with 〈◊〉 Who can stand before us Do not all fall that ●●ve risen up against us Are not these the high ●elling Words of proud Babel whose towring thoughts must be abased Whose practice hath been to Crush the Tender Ones in their Bodies Souls and Spirits This Language hath min● 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 〈◊〉 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 ●ould 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