Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
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A57306
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A premonition to the bishops and priests of England &c. with twenty reasons why the people of God in scorn called Quakers do refuse to hear them.
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Rigge, Ambrose, 1635?-1705.
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1676
(1676)
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Wing R1488; ESTC R17045
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10,145
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16
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are fed by Christ the true Shepherd therefore is the Hand of the Lord turned against you and he will wipe you as a man wipeth a Dish turning it upside down Reas 6. You have born Rule by your Means and have been called Lords and Masters and them who could not give you those flattering Titles you have hated and persecuted and you have loved and strove for the chiefest Places in the Assemblies and the uppermost Rooms at Feasts and have gone in long Robes and for a Pretence have made long Prayers being directly such as Christ cryed Wo against Mat. 23. Reas 7. You have come to People in Sheeps Cloathing and through your Good VVords and Fair Sperches have deceived the Hearts of the Simple but inwardly are Ravening Wolves you are known to the whole Nation by your Fruits being written in great Characters upon your Foreheads viz. Pride Covetousness Luxury Drunkenness Whoredom Lying Swearing the Abominations of the Heathen and therefore are Evil Trees which have no Promise but to be hewen down Reas 8. You have cried Peace to every one that would put into your Mouths and feed you with Tythes Gifts and Rewards but they who have denied you these you like ravening Wolves have devoured many Widows Houses and tender Lambs and have far exceeded in making Spoil of Peoples Goods who have received nothing from you all the false Prophets that ever I heard or read of either in the Scriptures or any History since the Foundation of the World and therefore we cannot own you as true Shepherds but as ravening Wolves Reas 9. You have not been content with Christ's Wages to his Ministers viz. into whatsoever House ye enter eat and drink such things as they set before you for the Labourer is worthy of his Meat Luke 10. therefore never truly sent forth by him but have gone in the Way of Cain and after the Error of Balaam Jude 11. who erred from the Spirit of God and then was more blind then the Ass he rode on Reas 10. You have followed your own Spirits and have mocked and derided those that possess the infallible Spirit of Truth and therefore are Ministers of the Letter which killeth and not of the Spirit which giveth Life for the least Measure of the Spirit of Truth is infallible and never deceived any who were guided by it but the whole Body of the Spirit of Error is fallible and worketh with all Deceivableness of Unrighteousness its Fruits being such as are mentioned in the nine foregoing Reasons why the Quakers deny the Priesthood of England Reas 11. You when you have seen the Wolf come have fled and left your Flocks to be devoured by him when the Arm of Flesh turned against you and therefore are you manifest Hirelings and not of the true Shepherd who laid down his Life for his Flock John 10.12 13. Reas 12. You have not turned People from Darkness to the true Light wherewith Christ Jesus hath enlightned every man that cometh into the World John 1.9 nor from the Power of Satan to the Power of God whereby they might witness Remission of Sins contrary to the Doctrine and Practise of Christ and the true Ministers of the Gospel Acts 26.16 17 18. but you have kept people in Darkness and under the power of Satan and have preached and made people believe they must remain under Satan's power all the Dayes of their Lives and consequently have made the Death Suffering and Blood of Christ of none Effect and the Second Covenant of no more Force nor Virtue then the First nor the Blood of Christ no better then the Blood of Bulls and Goats which could not cleanse from Sin and therefore you and they dye in your Sins as Christ said to the Jews John 8.21 Reas 13. You creep into the Idolatrous Houses which were built by the Papists and consecrated to Idolatry and there lead silly men and women captive laden with Sin and divers Lusts ever learning and never able to come to the Knowledge of the Truth which is Christ the Light of the World and so Freedom from Sin and Eternal Life in Christ is hid from your Eyes and the Way of Peace neither the Leaders nor they who are led know and therefore we call you blind Leaders of the blind as Christ did those who walked in your Steps Mat. 15.14 Reas 14. You have a shew of Godliness but deny hate and persecute the Power of Godliness in all in whom it is brought forth and for this Reason also we turn away from you according to the Apostle's Doctrine 2 Tim. 3.2 3 4 5 6 7. Reas 15. You are Wells without Water Clouds carried about with a Tempest for when the Storm came and beat upon your Houses which you upon the Sand had built they fell and you fled at their Fall and great was their Fall so you are Hearers and not Doers deceiving your own Souls Mat. 7.26 27. Reas 16. You dip or sprinkle Infants and cause men and women to promise and vow that they shall forsake the Devil and all his works the pomps and vanities of this world and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh which you nor they can never perform here you are grievous Covenant-Breakers for neither you nor they in that state you stand in can keep God's Holy Will nor his Commandments one Day in all your Lives and so lay heavy Burdens upon others which you will not touch with one of your Fingers and cause many to break their solemn Covenant with God which will be charged to you in the Day of Account and so are the Covenant-Breakers spoken of 2 Tim. 3.3 Reas 17. You deny Perfection and Freedom from Sin in this Life contrary to the Doctrine of Christ and his Ministers Mat. 5.48 Rom. 6.18 19 20 21 22 23. Phil. 3.15 1 John 4.17 and so make void the Gifts given by Christ at his Ascension which were for the perfecting of the Saints Ephes 4.12.13 Reas 18. You have kept people in Doubt of their Salvation in telling them they must have a Body of Sin as long as they live and not resolving them where this Body of sin must be done away seeing the Scripture saith There is no Remembrance of God in Death and in the Grave who shall give him Thanks Psal 6.5 And again Isaiah saith The Grave cannot praise the Lord nor Death celebrate him and they that go down to the Pit cannot hope for his Truth Isaiah 38.18 So unless you tell People where or when they shall be made free from Sin and prove the same by plain Scripture you will be seen of all to be manifest Deceivers seeing no Unclean Thing shall enter into the Kingdom of Righteousness Reas 19. You deny Immediate Revelation and Inspiration by the Spirit of God at this day through which the things of God's Kingdom both is and ever was known Deut. 29.29 Job 32.8 Mat. 16.17 Mat. 11. 27. 1 Cor. 2.10 11. And thereby do keep People from the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent whom to know is Life eternal John 17.3 this again shews you in Doctrine to be contrary to the Apostles and Primitive Christians who were Sons and Daughters of God and led by the Spirit of God Rom. 8.14 So for this Reason also we deny you and turn away from you as being Ministers of the Letter that killeth and not of the Spirit that giveth Life 2 Cor. 3.6 Reas 20. You love to be called Lord-Bishops and your Priests Master such a one and Master such a one contrary to the Scriptures and the Titles of the Holy men of God therein recorded for we do not read of Lord Timothy nor Lord Titus though Bishops nor of Master Paul nor Master Peter c. This again shews you to be more like the Gentiles who exercised Lordship over their Brethren then Ministers of Christ but Christ said it should not be so among his Ministers but He that would be greatest should be Servant to all Mark 10.43 Southwark the 24th of the 9th Moneth 1676. Your Friend A. R. THE END
of their Friends and loving Neighbours Oh! the Cry of these things is loud was this ever Christ or the Apostles way and manner towards them who opposed them did not Christ command his to bless their very Persecutors And did not the Apostle forbid the Saints to Curse Rom. 12.14 And did not the Apostle James say that out of one Mouth should not come blessing and curssing James 3.10 And was ever any forbidden to buy or sell or have Society amongst men but only by the Power of the Beast spoken of by John Revelation 13.16 17. who made War with the Lamb and the Saints now let the wise Judge who is your example in your Court-proceedings whether Christ or Antichrist according to your professed Rule viz. the Scriptures And if you prevail upon any who through Fear of your Whip do outwardly conform to your Worship contrary to the Perswasions of their own Hearts do not you thereby make them Hypocrites and twofold more the Children of the Devil then before God hath turned the Hearts of many from you and hath commanded them to offer a Sacrifice to him out of the Borders of Egypt even in the Wilderness which is towards the Red Sea in the Way to the Land of Canaan and your Pursuit of them here will be to your own overthrow as it was Pharaoh's Oh consider what you are a doing by your Courts and Proceedings is it not to draw them into Egypt again whom God by the Cords of his infinite Love hath drawn into the Land of Goshen where they enjoy and possess Light in their Dwellings and have forever turned their Backs of Egypt's Land having set their Faces Zion-ward and are come to the Father's House i e. The true Light where they have Bread enough yea of the living Bread which is come down from Heaven by which they are nourished up to Eternal Life so that your Husk they utterly refuse which you sell at a costly Rate with which no weary Soul can ever be nor never was satisfied Therefore touch them not I charge you by the God of Heaven nor offend the least among them for they are near and dear unto the Lord and he tenders them as the Apple of his Eye and no Weapon formed against them shall ever prosper are you still so blind as not to consider your ill Success in this Undertaking this many Years methinks you should have as much Wisdom as Gamaliel had to say Let them alone if they be of God they will stand if not he will overthrow them lest hapily you be found Fighters against God Acts 5.34 35 36 37 38 39. And you should consider the Parable of the Wheat and Tares how that the Lord of the Houshold of Faith would not suffer his Servants to pluck up the Tares but commanded that they should grow among the Wheat to the End of the world though he declared them to be the Children of the wicked one Mat. 13.18 to the 44th verse He was not of your Mind to root them out from the Earth though he infallibly knew them to be sown by the Enemy which you do not pretend unto and therefore cannot discern between the Children of God and the Chidren of the Devil but call Good Evil and Evil Good and put Light for Darkness and Darkness for Light as your Fore-Fathers did in the Dayes of old But if you fall upon that Rock you have so long stembled at you will be broken but upon whomsoever it falls it will grind him to Powder Therefore dread the Majesty of the great God of Heaven at whose Rebuke all the Mountains of the Earth tremble and are moved and howl all ye idle Vine-dressers whose Vineyards are overgrown with Weeds the Lord of the Vineyard is come to look for Fruit and behold there is little among you but bitter four and ill-tasted Fruits your Vine is the Vine of Sodom and your Grapes the Grapes of Gomorrah and the Lord of the Vineyard will cast you out as unprofitable Servants and idle Shepherds unless you weed out all the Bryars and Thorns and then which of you can escape for the best among you who are guilty of Persecution are as a Bryar and sharper then a Thorn-Hedge from which no pleasant Grapes can be expected so that by your Fruits you are known and not by your Words Mat. 7.2 3. for you have got the good Words the fair Speeches by which you deceive the Hearts of the simple and if Covetousness be Idolatry which none questions then who are greater Idolaters then your selves of whose covetous Practices the whole Nation is full having a Cloud of Witnesses in every parish And how can you call your selves spiritual Persons when you so much resist the Spirit of Truth and contemn those who own and witness it to be their Guide and Leader into all Truth for none can truly be spiritual Persons but who by the spirit of Truth are made so for all men naturally are carnal sold under Sin and none can judge for God but they who are led by his Spirit Now if you were led by the Spirit of God you would let People alone to be perswaded by it in things relating to another world whose Fruits have no bad Aspect on the affairs of this and especially they who desire nothing more then to live a quiet and peaceable Life in all Godliness and Honesty but by oppressing such you not only seek the Destruction of their Souls but of their Bodies also and if such be not ravening wolves there was never any in the world And as your Fore Fathers did so do ye begin at the wrong End instead of being a Terror to Evil doers you make your selves such to them that do well and let Drunkards Lyars Swearers Whoremongers and Adulterers go free which God will judge and because of these and many mroe Abominations the Land now mourns and there is but a small Remnant that fighs and mourns for all the Abominations that are committed therein but the great Number lives wantonly upon the Earth and kill the just one and cruifie afresh the Lord of Glory putting him to open Shame and give Occasion to the Adulterers of Forreign Nations to blaspheme the Name of the God of Israel which he will require at your Hands And why do you suffer Forreign and other Cheats to come in and set up Stage-playes in open Streets of Cities and Towns whereby the Name of God is dreadfully blasphemed youth and old ge wofully corrupted and debauched Oh! what will you do or where will you appear when God ariseth to take Vengeance for these things My Soul is even bowed down at the Consideration of these things and often mourns in secret for the Abomination of Desolation which now stands where it ought not therefore let him that reads understand And Nation is now appearing against Nation Kingdom against Kingdom Famins Pestilences terrible Earth quakes in divers places yea many Signs in Heaven and Wonders