Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	heart_n	spirit_n	word_n	8,255	5	4.2520	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A39355	A letter to the author of a book, entituled, An answer to W.P.'s key, about the Quakers light within, &c. by Edmund Elys ...	Elys, Edmund, ca. 1634-ca. 1707.	1695 (1695)	Wing E677; ESTC R41117	2,538	5

A LETTER TO THE Author of a Book ENTITULED An Answer to W. P's KEY About the Quakers LIGHT WITHIN c. By Edmund Elys a Servant of Jesus Christ SIR I Consider that the Controversie that you and I are ingaged in is of infinitely greater concern to all Men than all the Contests of all the Kings and other Potentates in the World about Temporal Power and Dominion For the Nations are as a drop of a Bucket and are counted as the small Dust of the Balance But THE TRUE LIGHT concerning whose Influence upon the Souls of Men we are now to Dispute is The High and Lofty One that inhabiteth Eternity Lord of Lords and King of Kings I beseech you therefore to consider that you must give account at the Day of Judgment of every word you shall return in Answer to what I shall here say in vindication of the Truth concerning The Light within Asserted by W. P. in his small Treatise Entituled The Key c. You say p. 12. Never was any Nation or any Generation or any one Man instructed by that Light that is in the Conscience of every Man that there ever was such a one as Jesus of Nazareth much less that he was the Lord and least of all what he required of his Servants and Attendants Therefore no light within common to all Mankind can be the Rule of the Christian Religion So that the notorious Experience of all Men confutes the pretence of the Quakers since it was never possible for any Man to learn the least part of the Christian Religion by the Light within that is in every Man's Conscience Answ Whoever did not Rebel against the Light which is in the Conscience of every Man did believe that there was such a one as Jesus of Nazareth as soon as this Truth was Declar'd unto him by Christ or His Apostles or any other that had receiv'd Authority from CHRIST to Preach the Gospel In a sincere Conformity to the Law of GOD written in the Heart is implyed a Virtual Assent to all Truth You say p. 26. That Our Conscience is an inward Sense perceiving immediately nothing but our own Thoughts which thoughts are therefore its Notices and the Minds perceptive Power presenting these in it self is the Light in the Conscience of every Man Answ CONSCIENCE is the KNOWLEDGE of the Law of God in Conjunction with the KNOWLEDGE of the Conformity or Difformity of our own Actions or Omissions thereunto By Knowledge here I mean the Inward Man or the Heart consider'd as Knowing the Law of God c. The Truth of what I say is evident from these Texts of Scripture Rom. 2.15 1 John 3.20 21. This is a gross Falshood that Conscience perceives nothing immediately but our own Thoughts For it immediately perceives the Law of God viz. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart and with all thy Soul and thy Neighbour as thy self after that it perceives the Conformity or Difformity of our own Actions or Omissions thereunto In the Law of God written in the Heart is manifestly imployed the Idea of God for we cannot have any Perception of the Law of God without some Perception Notion or Idea of His Existence This Innate Idea Notion or Perception of the Divine Being the one being absolutely infinite is that peculiar Participation of Eternal REASON The WORD which was in the beginning with God and which was God with which our Blessed Creator the Fountain of all Goodness has endued all Rational Souls This I suppose is that which W. P. means by His own Light viz. the immediate Emanation of the WORD or REASON ESSENTIAL upon All Rational Souls 'T is excellently observ'd by W. P. Key p. 2. that This Light is something else than the bare Vnderstanding Man hath as a Rational Creature For as such Man cannot be a Light to himself but has only a capacity of seeing by means of the Light with which Christ the Word enlighteneth him The Humane Intellect or Vnderstanding is called Reason because it is the power or faculty of perceiving the Emanations of the Essential Reason the Fountain of all Truth and Goodness You tell us that The Mind 's perceptive Power presenting these our Thoughts in it self is the Light in the Conscience of every Man I suppose upon second thoughts you will retract this What! is the Power or Faculty perceptive of Light or Truth the Light it self I 'le grant that the Humane Understanding or Intellectual preceptive Faculty being the Eye of the Soul may be called the Light that is in us not because we are conscious of our Thoughts but because we are capable of perceiving the TRUE LIGHT in our own Souls You say This light is the Deity it self and then the Soul of every Man will be Deified thereby Answ Not so but the Soul of every Man that Walks in this Light that adheres to it as the Principle of all his Actions may truly be said to be made Partaker of the Divine Nature 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It is a most horrid Error if not plain Blasphemy to say as you do that It was never possible to learn the least part of the Christian Religion by the Light within that is in every Man's Conscience For by the Light within we understand CHRIST himself and that Light which immediately Flows from Him the Fountain of Light the Sun of Righteousness which we are called to Reflect upon and Conform our Will and Affections thereunto by all the Notices that GOD gives of himself by any of his WORDS or WORKS Whatever knowledge a Man can have of the sense or signification of any Texts of Scripture without this Reflexion or immediate Application of the Will and Vnderstanding to Christ himself the Fountain of Light in his own Soul such Knowledge is rather the Picture Form or Image of Knowledge than True Divine Knowledge 'T is that Knowledge which puffeth up and renders Men more like the Devil the Father of Lies 'T is only by obeying the Light within or by our adherence to the Spirit of Truth in our own Hearts that we can ever attain to the knowledge of the Truth as it is in JESVS that is as it saves those that have any apprehension of it from their Sins p. 21. you have these words God is Light and God is within other things as well as Men is then God a Light within to every Tree or Beast or Star Answ GOD being the ONE absolutely infinite is in every Creature but He is a Light only to those Creatures which he has endued with a Capacity of having some sight or perceivance of Him I desire you wou'd Peruse all those Papers which have been or shall be Publisht for Me by Thomas Northcott in George-Yard in Lumbard-street If you shall attempt the Confutation of this Paper or of any thing else that I have Publisht I desire you wou'd not write one Line without this Consideration That we shall all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ and that our Life is but a Vapour c. Totness in Devon July 12. ●●95 I am Your Servant in the Love of the Truth Edmund Elys LONDON Printed for Thomas Northcott in George-Yard in Lombard-street MDCXCV