Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	life_n	spirit_n	worship_v	1,905	5	8.8109	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A94750	A vvord of reproof to the priests or ministers, who boast of their ministery and ordinances, and yet live in pride, disdain, persecution, &c. Shevving what such are; and how little cause they have to exclaim against those who separate from them. As also a word to the papists discovering their foundation to be carnal and sandie. In a letter sent to some supposed priests or Jesuites in the north, by William Tomlinson.	Tomlinson, William.	1653 (1653)	Wing T1855; Thomason E691_9; ESTC R206966	29,084	49

given to all his members namely Ye may all prophecie one by one that all may learn and all may be comforted You disown every gift that would bring to nought the magnificence of your Diana But what you can form to profit your selves withall that you retain And can adde also other things to make Merchandize of them which have no shadow of any footstep in the practises of the true Messengers of Christ as namely Your Marrying of Persons for mony your buryings for mony and your most absurd Mortuaries or stipend which you challenge for the dead Your funeral sermons for mony also I am weary with raking in these filthy puddles which are fit for nothing but swine to wallow in And thus though you both adde and diminish from the things of Christ and Counterfeit other things which you uphold for your gain yet all that separate from you must be cried against as Hereticks Sectarists Schismaticks Separatists Indeed there is a separation which I do not here plead for and that 's a separation upon conceit of ones own holiness because they are devout in some outward observations of worship more then other men such as are spoken of Isa 65.5 Stand by thy self come not near to me for I am holier then thou These are a smoke in my nose a fire that burneth all the day and these were devout in holding up Ordinances rather then they would have no sacrifice they would sacrifice in Gardens and rather then they would have no incense they would offer it upon Altars of Brick vers 3. They are charged to be a people who walk after their own thoughts vers 2. Such also were the Pharisees who stood glorying in their own outside painted holiness and thanked God that they were not as other men and even as this Publicane when as within they were full of rottenness and all uncleanness full of envy wrath malice persecution disdain covetousness pride and such like And all these they retained under a shew of godliness and outward observation of Ceremonies and traditions of their Fathers They were strict in washing off the defilement which they had any way contracted if water would have done it They bare great reverence to the sacrifices upon the Altar which were Ordinances then in force They made conscience of paying tithe of all they had even of Mint and Annise and Cummin They were not wanting in prayers and fastings to the Lord and their prayers were no short ones which gave all to think that they were not weary of serving the Lord. Yea they compassed Sea and Land too to beget people to the Lord to make proselites thus they appeared righteous unto men But yet for all that they were but whited Sepulchres full of Hypocrisie and iniquity when that light came which was able to discover them and to uncover their hearts by their works Even by their covetousness and hard heartedness to the poor Widowes by their love of honor by their neglect of the weightier matters of the Law Judgement Mercy Faith as also by that persecuting spirit which was in them and such like and yet these men added one thing more to glosse all the rest over the better they abhorred to be companions to Publicanes and sinners and blamed Christ for eating and drinking with such Yea they made it matter of thankfulness to God acknowledging it to be his work that they were not such and thus they said in their hearts Stand by thy self for I am holier then thou There were some also spoken of in the Epistle of Jude ungodly men walking after their own lusts sensuall not having the Spirit ver 19. These separated themselves from the fellowship of those Saints who stood in the pure truth turning the grace of God into lasciviousness the pure Love into wantonness They crept in unawares and drew an image of the pure Love and grace of God shed abroad upon the Saints and in their carnall hearts it became wantonness and lasciviousness and so they withdrew themselves again and separated from that holy fellow-ship to follow their ungodly lusts of uncleanness covetousness gluttony and such like Now I say such separations as these I do not plead for But I own and defend that separation from the inventions and traditions and Formalities of men which is commanded in Scripture under the name Babylon Rev. 18.4 Jer. 50.8 Ch. 51.6 45. The whole chapters speak much thereof Oh ye Priests ye Merchants of Babylon out of the North there arised up a Nation against you which shall make your Land desolate Ch. 50.3 ch 51.48 It is time to separate from your Babylonish inventions for the hewers are already entered into your forrest Oh thou that dwellest upon many waters thine end is come and the measure of thy covetousness Jer. 51.13 Thy strength faileth the mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight they have remained in their holds they are become as women Jer. 51.30 If my application fail it will not fail long Babylon the great is fallen is fallen and is becom the habitation of Devils and the hold of every foul spirit and a Cage of every unclean and hatefull bird All Nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornications and the Kings of the earth have committed fornication with her and the Merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies Rev. 18.2 3. And for this cause is she fallen Because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication Rev. 14.8 Therefore to obey that voice from Heaven which hath said in the hearts of many come out of her my people that ye be not partakers of her sins that ye receive not of her plague I say to obey this voice is not Heresie Schisme and such a separation as you have made it Heresie and Schisme and Separation and Sects rightly taken is this To separate divide or make a rent and breach from the truth and from them that dwell therein as namely from the Spirit and life of our Lord Jesus Christ and from such Apostles and servants of his as have walked or do walk in that spirit and in that life and from them in that thing wherein there is truth But you cannot be said to be such you are far enough from the pathes and spirit too that dwelt in them And therefore I leave it to the daylight which shall arise in mens consciences to discover whether you your selves be not Grand Hereticks grand Schismaticks grand Seperatists swarving from the Life and Spirit of them whom you cry up in words And such grand Schismaticks and Hereticks you are that you would stop up the way for ever if it were in your power to keep men from returning back again into the purity and Simplicity of that truth from which you are separated crying out to the people to take heed of Heresie and Schisme and separation scaring them with these termes when as you your selves are the

of them and yet men cry them up for the Ordinances of Jesus Christ the Spirit of the Lord arises up in indignation against them as they are so abused If you say where are those gifts of singing which are spoken off there 's no such thing to be found I Answer you They are not to be found with you you are the Land of Captivity you are Babylon we may sit down by the Rivers of Babylon weeping in remembrance of Zion while we are held captive by you for how should any sing the Lords songs in a strange Land The shadowes are not yet fled away the winter is not yet over and gone and therefore we cannot say to you that the time of singing is come we cannot tell you that the voice of the Turtle is to be heard in your Land It may be it is heard somewhere though you hear it not Lastly you have that among some of you which you call Communion But where that Communion lies I cannot tell If it were Communion with God and Christ then the Nature of God and Christ which they have communion with at that Supper as you call it though it be a dinner would put forth it self in the partakers of it They would walk as children of light and not as children of darkness in the works of darkness If any man say he hath fellowship or Communion with God and walk in darkness he lies and doth not the Truth 1 Joh. 1.6 But your Communion shewes forth no such thing accompanying it For men come to it proud and they go away proud They come covetous and they go away covetous They come persecutors and they go away persecutors They come worldly minded ones and they go away worldly minded Now they who are such know neither the the Father nor the Son nor have Communion or fellowship with them Yea it may be they come Extortioners Oppressors hard hearted task masters of Egypt liars cheaters Over-reachers defrauders drunkards swearers whore-mongers full of malice and revenge and such like Thus they come and thus they go as they came having no participation or Communion of the Divine nature in their Spirits to alter them But thus come and go in their sinfull nature having Communion with the spirit of darkness and unrighteousness while they pretend Communion with God and thus go on eating and drinking unworthily they know not what and you suffer them to do so and do it with them eating and drinking judgement to your selves while you thus take the Name of God and Christ in vain 1 Cor. 11.29 This is not to eat the Lords Supper This is not to eat the flesh of Christ and drink his blood for then would ye become dead to this world with him and Christ would live again in you Take notice of the words which Paul the servant of the Lord spake 1 Cor. 10.16 The Cup of Blessing which we bless is it not the Communion of the blood of Christ The bread which we break is it not the Communion of the Body of Christ Now the right Communicants are one bread and one Body being all made partakers of that one bread vers 17. which bread is Christ But ye cannot be partakers of this bread nor have Communion with it so long as you are in your Gentilisme or heathenish Nature living in Pride Covetousness Persecution oppressing over-reaching uncleanness lies and such like For saith Paul v. 21. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of Devils ye cannot be partakers of the Lords Table and of the table of devils Now the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to Devils and not to God vers 20. Gentiles are every one in their Gentilising nature and what ever they sacrifice that is what ever worship they offer in pretence as to God it is to Devils and not to God Though they say it is to God as the Athenians did Act. 17.23 Yet God ownes it not such as worship him in Spirit and in Truth those are they whom he seekes to worship him As for those who walk in the works of darkness he hath not Communion with them nor they with him For what Communion hath light with darkness 2 Cor. 6.14 Further you have not so much as Communion one with another in that which you call Communion for which of you imparts to the rest of the Communicants as every one hath need You are so far from Community in these outward things that you will go to Law for your propriety one with another if you apprehend your selves but a little wronged therein contrary to the minde and counsell of Christ Mat. 5.40 Thus it is apparent for all your boasting of the Ordinances of Christ I say it is apparent that you have but a counterfeit image of the form of some of them and not the very true image of those which you have If you had the very expresse image of all the outward forms of Ordinances of Christ or practises of the Apostles and Beleevers yet these were poor things to boast of and to be exalted with Laodicean-like for if you had all these in form nearer then they are among any people in this Nation yet if your spirits fall downwards and become earthly the Lord would leave them and slip away from you to another people who arise in their spirits casting off every weight and the sins which beset them or hinder them that they might run with patience the race set before them Yea let me tell you that if you had not onely a true image and form of Ordinances but also a form of godliness in words and sayings of Christ and the Apostles alwayes in your mouthes Yet all this could not binde or hold the Lord with you But still he would slip away from under all these leaving these as huskes and chaffe for you who are disobedient and earthly to feed upon and boast your selves in while in the mean time another people should enjoy his presence for it is not any form of godliness that the Lord takes pleasure in but the Power the Truth the life the spirit And therefore he doth not binde us his servants to abide in Communion with any that live in any form of godliness without the Power But commands us by his Apostle to turn away from such 2 Tim. 3.5 And this is no unwarrantable Schisme or separation So that whether we look at the form of Ordinances or at the Power of godliness we have warrant enough to turn away from you and to have no fellowship in your holy things For as I said you have but an image of some Ordinances onely and that without the life and Power of them Others traditions of Christ you do altogether disown for they will not stand with your profit as namely to deny your selves to take up his Crosse daily and follow Christ which is a great Ordinance of Christ for without this one cannot be his Disciple Again you disown the liberty which Christ hath