Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	great_a	spirit_n	word_n	3,910	5	3.9744	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A48938	A salutation to the church of God the spouse of Christ coming out of the wilderness leaning upon her beloved And more particularly to the young and tender members of her body. By one who travels in spirit for the preservation of peace and love, and unity among the children of God, William Loddington.	Loddington, William, 1626?-1711.	1682 (1682)	Wing L2806; ESTC R216896	9,178	27

A SALUTATION TO THE CHURCH OF GOD The Spouse of CHRIST Coming out of the Wilderness leaning upon Her BELOVED And more particularly to the Young and Tender Members of Her Body By one who travels in Spirit for the Preservation of Peace and Love and Unity among the Children of God William Loddington LONDON Printed for Tho. Cooke MDCLXXXII A Salutation to the Church of God the Spouse of Christ coming out of the Wilderness leaning upon Her Beloved Righteous Houshold of God built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Jesus Christ himself being the chief Corner stone The Lord thy God which hath gathered thee from the barren Mountains and fitly framed thee into an holy Building hath in free Love and mercy been pleased Blessed be his name to let me see in my latter dayes a glimps of thy Beauty and to tast of thy Heavenly bread and living Water sealed up from impure Hearts and inclosed as a Garden from the wild Beasts of the Forrests THis Morning being the 4 of the 2 Mo. in the year 1682. even by break of day The sence of my Mercies and thy Sorrows and Exercises O Woman cloathed with the Sun came so powerfully within me that they kindled a Desire to salute thee and thy tender Children on this wise before I put off this my Earthly Tabernacle which in course of nature cannot be long But as I write an inward kind of shame and dejectedness arises from the thought of my former unkindness to thee and would as it were cloud the Light and stop my Spirit from this manifestation of my Love Not that I ever openly persecuted thee in railing Words or violent Actions No I may rather say I was as many now are among the Number of thy more subtil and dangerous opposers who under pretence of Gospel Ordinances Christs Commands and Scripture Examples do the more hurt and grieve thy Spirit more than a profane Enemy I verily thought in my young Zeal for God thirty years ago that I might have done some things against thee for I feared then thy chief and Principal Members were Deceivers I could not relish their Doctrine of beating swords into Plow shares and Pikes into pruning Hooks in that day But I obtained mercy because I disputed and argued Ignorantly against thee being covered with that vail which is this day over the Hearts of many in reading the Writings of Christ and his Apostles as it was over the Hearts of many of old in reading Moses and the Prophets But the Lord thy God glory to his name hath rent much of the vail and in mercy given mea sence of another kind of war-fare and other Weapons which would the Beast-like Nature and carnal Spirit incurably Now I feel thy Wisdom and my own Weakness thy Wisdom or rather the Wisdom given thee from aboye is first pure and can by no means defend or contend for any unjust or unholy thing for profit Honour or affections sake It is also peacable loving and kind even to its Enemies not rendring Evil for Evil but Blessing for railings O little flock Thou art easy to be entreated Some of thy own professed Friends know it to be true How tender have I seen thee in admonishing intreating and reproving when an airy conceited unruly Spirit has entred them O thou beloved of the Lord Thou art beautiful within And thy order is comly wrought by the heavenly Wisdom and not of Fragments and shreads of mans Invention How do thy envious and subtile Adversaries fret and chafe to see thee travelling in good order even as an Army with Banners Yea there is a fear seizeth them to see thee walk wisely 1 Sam. 18.15 Hence arise so many endeavours so many devises to disorder thy Camp and so to weaken thy Hands in thy Spiritual Warfare Sometimes profane high Spirits assault and carry away thy outward Substance abuse thy Friends and Imprison them often unto Death But when this roaring Lyon sees he cannot hurt thee then he craftily transforms himself into an Angel of Light And here I feel my Heart and Life concern'd for thy young and tender Babes whose years in this World as well as in Truth have been but few These are in greater danger than those of full Age who by reason of use have their sences exercised to discern both good and evil Heb. 5.14 These are soonest allured with fine Words especially when spoken by such as call themselves the Christian Friends and can be as bold as Hannaniah Jer. 28.3 saying Thus saith the Lord God of Israel when he saies no such matter and under pretence of breaking the Yoke of Babilon in a heat endeavour to break off the Yoke of Christ thy Husband Dear young Sons and Daughters of New Jerusalem now coming down from God out of Heaven having no need of Sun or Moon for the Lord God is the Light thereof keep to this Light and it will keep you within the walls of this holy City I know there is a deceitful voice abroad calling you out while it bids you look within promising Liberty it self being a Servant of corruption crying out against you Elder Brethren and Sisters sometimes as Babel Builders it self being in my understanding but a Painted Virgin Daughter of Babilon Isa 47.1 And sometimes as Apostates while it self is introducing an Apostacy from the first Principles of Truth seeking to limit the holy one of Israel under colour of keeping to that which first convinced you It may not be unservicable to tell you my own experiences of Gods Love in this very particular I had fell into the Snare if the Lord had not stay'd me Let high Spirits esteem it a reproach to acknowledge any weakness There is great peace in doing it Psal 32.3 Provided it be not done for any fear or favour of Man but in a true sence of mercy in the deliverance When I first heard Some among us of no mean gifts as I thought and for whom I had more than common affection cry out against Impositions Innovations and formalities I confess it made a great impression upon me having an old fixed Zeal in me against all Persecution for Conscience sake So the Testimonies against Forms Persecution generally springing from dead Forms was so taking and pleasant that I did not in the least mistrust any such Snake as Anarchy lay hid under these flowers of Truth wherefore in true affection to a true Christian Liberty I writ to some Friends among whom I observed some things that I mistrusted had a tendency to Imposition and I worded it high with them to prevent all Appearances of that Evil. And though I can truly say this was the utmost of my Intention yet some began to fear I was running into Separation and Confusion But I was in peace mistrusting Nothing till I felt a wrong Spirit catching at it and about to make a further use of it yea and applying in Print unknown to me some things against Friends which I had writ

against Popery then I began to doubt some wrong thing was at work in me also and that I was not well informed And then I began more narrowly to mind and observe the Spirits on both sides and in the Light and Measure of Gods Wisdom given to me to search to the Root of the Matter laying aside personal charges and discharges and was satisfied So the Lord will by degrees enlighten and satisfie all whose hearts in Simplicity are singly bent to honour him and will keep them from wandering either to the right hand or the left The left hand Tryalls viz. Persecutions of open Enemies to bring you back to weak disanull'd Forms and Elements I do not much fear The right hand Snares take most These are laid by such as pretend to be in the right way for God for Christ for Scripture yea for the Doctrin of our Day The Light within And here the Enemy of your Peace and Vnity has crept in under a specious pretence against Forms Orders and Impositions to divide and lay wast by opposing good Order and Government But dear Friends know there was never any gathering of People though into the Power of Godliness but they had also a form or Order though many have had the form without the Power It 's true the form to the Power may be valued but as the shell to the Kernell Yet we know the shell is servicable in its place and therefore not to be neglected or spoiled The leaves of the tree of life have a service though not so much as the fruit Stand fast therefore in the living Power and form of Godliness which you are already convinced of And if any thing as yet be hid from you the Lord in due time will reveal it if you keep Faithful quiet meek and tender under your own Do nothing in bare Imitation I know it will hardly stand a Tryal for a little profit much less a Fiery Tryal Wait to feel a real service for God in what you do There is no insignificant needless things in the house of God though some things may seem to be so at the first Veiw to many as they did to me Hence arises the great cry against Innovations that is making new orders forms and changes But though the design in this Cry is to reproach Truth Yet Wisdom ever was and will be justified of her Children They know that the Spirit of the Lord may now as well as formerly make Circumstances of Order and Government suitable to the present Occasions and Services of Truth And Submision to these things cannot properly be called Submisions to men there lies the Common mistake but to the Spirit of the Lord in them And this is Christs Spiritual Government or Government by his Spirit over the Spirits of his People Here is no ruling by outward force and violence but by an inward power and Authority which the Lord gives to some according to his own Will as it is written some to be Apostles some Prophets some Teachers some helps and Governments Helpers in Governing and all for edifying the Body of Christ Eph. 4.12 1 Cor. 12. Were this Government well understood all would be contented in their Places the Lord hath set them in all whisperings and evil surmisings would cease There would be an universal bearing one anothers Burdens and so fulfilling the Law of Christ Little Children it arises in me to remind you of what is written 1 John 2.19 That such as go from us are not off us for if they had been of us they would no doubt have continued with us I can never believe such have a right Spirit renewed within them that prefer not Jerusalem above their chief Joy Psal 137.6 If they had had but any true sence of the publique Scandals of open Enemies of the private mournings and heart-breaking Sorrows of their dear tender Friends of the stumbling Block in the way of Friends sober inquiring People all which certainly follows and fallsheavv upon Seperation they durst never have acted and Printed what I have read Away with all Pretenders to Truth that are not tender of its Honor. But what is the Substance if any of you should inquire of all these Ont-cries and Complaints In short men are exalted and women are exalted In true Love I desire every such Complainers to search narrowly into himself to see if there be nothing in him that thinks it self not high enough esteemed and therefore pecks at others Surely no Professor of our blessed self denying Principle dare like Herostrotus fire a Temple to get a Name Yet formerly I as little thought such as threw down Lordly power would have made themselves Lords as some now will be men of War who in derision call others G. F's men of War But how are men and women exalted By meeting apart By having General Meetings to look to the well ordering of things among particular Meetings What hurt can be in all this As to the first consider which Women are most exalted and as it were eclipse the Head-ship of the man Whether those that desire to sit and are taken in to sit in equal power and freedom to speak and act Pro and Con among the men in all Businesses Or those Women who meet by themselves ordering all matters among themselves suitable and proper for them according to the Wisdom of God given to them and all in Submision to and with the consent and unity of the mens Meetings Methinks this very Consideration is enough to satisfie any rational impartial Man And as to the General Meeting What Evil has it done Nay have not Friends generally had great both Spiritual and Temporal Advantages thereby Pure Reason and Scripture teach that the more Counsel the greater safety even as the more Lights gathered together make the greater Light I know no visible thing not liable to corruption but methinks they that disliked this order at first should and would if they had been of a right Spirit have kept their place and proposed another more servicable to Truth and less liable to be tainted and then no doubt others would have felt unity with them But it plainly argues a Contentious Spirit to find fault with what it cannot mend I know the matters pretended to be in Controversy relating to Order are but as mint and Cummin if compared to the great and weighty Concerns of Truth which ought especially to be done yet the other not to be left undone In Math. 23.23 Judgment Mercy and Faith are recorded for the weighty things of the law Now put these to tryal How can he say he is for Judgment that dispises the Judgment of his Brethren assembled in the Power and Wisdom of God to give it How is he for mercy that for a thing indifferent according to his own Opinion will Sacrifice Truth it self and expose all its Friends to the rage of an Ignorant violent Enemy What Faith is that which would live in a latitude to temporize with all