Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
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A65943
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To Queen Mary: the humble salutation, and faithful greeting of the widow Whitrowe With a vvarning to the rulers of the earth, before the Day of the Lord breaks forth, that shall burn as an oven, and all the wicked, and all the ungodly shall be as stubble: the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
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Whitrowe, Joan.
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1690
(1690)
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Wing W2037; ESTC R220184
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12,082
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20
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acquainted with Griefs and after he came into the World in the Holy History of his Life of temptations and miseries he saith I am the Way the Truth and the Life none can come to the Father but by Me and he that climbs up another way is a Thief and a Robber Another Way O Queen Then through his bitter Sufferings a Way indeed that at the first Entrance his Visage seems black and his Form to be without Comliness yet is he the Beloved of our Souls and the Chiefest among Thousands to them that have followed Him through the many Tribulations and have washed their long-suffering Robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb These shall walk with me saith He in White for they are worthy for because you have suffered with me therefore shall you Reign with me for evermore saith he that is Holy and True But at the first you know the Learning of any Language or lawful Art it cannot be attained but with great Industry and hard Labour so this inward Exercise of the Soul at the first saith the Prophet She meanng Wisdom will walk with him by crooked ways and bring him into fear and dread and torment him with her Discripline until she have tryed his Soul and hath proved him by her Judgments Then will she return the strait way unto him and comsort him and shew him her secrets and heap upon him the Treasures of Wisdom and the Vnderstanding of Righteousness Oh! This was an experienced Man in the Work of GOD on the Soul this I bear Record is the way of the LORD which He takes to redeem Mankind to Himself out of his fallen State But saith the Prophet if he goes wrong she will forsake him and give him over to his Destruction Therefore O Queen live for ever in the holy and self-denying Life of Christ for be it known to the Queen when I heard of the vain Pastimes and sinful Pleasures with the Excess of Finery in Richness of Apparel that was at the Court on the Kings Birth Day which was Reported by one of the Ladies at Court to a Lady a near Relation of hers which told me that there was never seen such costly Apparel at the Court. After I heard this and that the Queen went to Plays Oh how was my Soul bowed down before the LORD crying bitterly to the LORD that He would be pleased to forgive the Queens Transgression as hoping it was not in the Queens Inclination but overcome by the Perswasions of others Oh Queen Is this to return Thanks to the most High GOD according to the great Benefits she hath received Is this to Answer the end of her Creation and the King 's safe Return from Ireland Must all the Goodness of GOD and his manifold Favours end here in the Excess of Vanities the Abominations of England as Plays and Dancings the Two grand In-lets to all other Abominations I knew it once to my Sorrow as I could give a large Account thereof the Influence those cursed Vanities as Pride Plays Dancing and Singing had upon me when I was young but in my Youth the LORD had Mercy on me and called me to himself out of all those sinful Pleasures into the Pleasure of Waiting and Attending upon Him who is alone Worthy to have all our precious Time Love and Delights whose Right it is and for that end it was given us to return it with that Increase of Grace that shall never have an end For O Queen Wherein should Youth take pleasure But in seeking a Measure Of Wisdoms saving Treasure And saith Christ seek and ye shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you But this know O Queen it must be a Heart-breaking seeking that must find the LORD an inward seeking yea more inward than our most inward Parts We must often retire alone as Christ did from the Multitude and inwardly into our own Souls to the Spirit of GOD in us waiting upon the Spirit to receive Power to do the Will of GOD in all things constantly watching against the Out goings of the Mind to any thing but to GOD alone This is waiting at Jerusalem to receive the Promise of the FATHER And in my seeking I have found this to be the Way in which GOD will be found in Here I have found and do sind the Spirit of Prayer and Supplications poured into my Soul here I find my Heart and Mind taken off from all Visibles and set upon GOD alone here I find my heart united to the LORD here I find the height and depth of His Love that hath so fastned me to Him as a Nail is fastned in the sure place so that height nor depth things present or to come shall ever be able to separate me from the Love of GOD which I have received in Christ my LORD who hath given me the Victory over Death Hell and the Grave so that here I can do as my Saviour hath commanded me Love my Enemies and Pray for them that hate me and so not to be overcome with Evil but to overcome the Evil with the Good Glory for ever be given to Thee my Soveraign LORD and to Thy Glorious Power from a Heart rended to pieces before Thee in the sence of Thy Gracious Goodness and boundless Favours Oh! When shall it be that my Tongue shall never cease praising Thee And this was the Way that all the People of the LORD ever sound him in as the Queen may be pleased to search the Scriptures and she shall find what that Holy Prophet Isaiah saith With my Soul have I desired Thee in the night and with my Spirit within me will I seek Thee in the Morning O LORD we have waited for Thee in the Way of thy Judgments The Desires of our Souls is to Thee and unto thy Name Like as a Woman with Child that draweth near to the Time of her Travail is in sorrow and cryeth in her Pains so have we been in thy sight O LORD And David saith The sorrows of Hell hath compassed me about I eat Ashes as my Bread and mingled my Drink with my Tears Besides Time would fail to Mention all the Travels of the Souls of the Righteous But Queen Hesther that Honourable Queen who was worthy of the Dignity she was brought to for that very Act of deep Humiliation who with a holy Zeal and couragious Spirit Commanded Mordecai saying Go and assemble all the Jews in Shushan and fast ye for me and eat not nor drink in three days day nor night I and my Maids will do the same and so will I go to the King which is not according to the Law and if I perish I perish Now see the Effect of this holy Act for it prevailed both with GOD and Man It had Power to change King Ahashuerus's heart from a Lyon's to a Lambs For this kind saith Christ to his Disciples can come out no other way but by Fasting and Prayer And thus shall it be with
and Mighty above all transitory Things The Queen being of His Spirit will be the same She 'll scorn the Pomps and Pleasures of a poor dirty perishing World She 'll place her Delights upon more high and excellent things than the Pomps and Vanities of this wicked World wherein the worst of Heathens takes delight but for the best of them they mind more Divine and Heavenly things As Socrates that Divine Philosopher Fine and rich Cloaths saith he are only fit for Commedians and being demanded from what things Men and Women ought to refrain From Pleasures said he temperate Persons become the most Excellent they eat that which neither hurts the Body nor Mind and that which is easy to be got The only and best way saith he to Worship GOD is to mind and obey whatsoever He Commands that the Souls of Men and Women may pertake of the Divine Nature that GOD is seen of the Vertuous Mind that by waiting upon Him they are United unto Him in an accessible place of Purity and Happiness GOD hath asserted them always to be near unto Him These are they that were worthy of the Name of Christians because they imitate Him in their Lives who were Plain Humble and Self-denying like Christ their LORD who said Learn of me Learn of me saith he that was GOD over all Blessed for ever yet humbled himself to the Death yea the Death of the Cross before whom let all Kings Queens and Potentates of the Earth lick the Dust before Him who is LORD and Governor of all things from whom the greatest Monarch in the Earth hath his Breath and He can take it away at his pleasure therefore who shall not sear Him the Everlasting before whom all Nations are as a drop of a Bucket Yea let the Heavens and Earth tremble before Him who shall lay all Flesh in the Dust and then Where shall its Glory be Therefore O Queen live for ever in this plain innocent and humble Life of Jesus who made Himself of no reputation and said He to his Disciples when they were striving for the Mastership one over the other The Gentiles which bear Rule exercise Lordship one over the other but with you it must not be so but he that is chiefest among you let him be Servant to all And this did He in Practice as well as Doctrine when He washed His Disciples feet and so left them and all His followers an Example to follow His Steps He did not say follow this Man or that Man no nor the footsteps of the Flock no for He knew that all Men might Err therefore he charged and commanded saying Learn of me for I am meek and lowly and you shall find rest for your Souls Oh! the Treasure of Treasures the Pearl of great Price that whosoever hath it will Sell all for it all their perishing Glories with all their fading Delights and count it all but dung and dross for the Excellency of this Life in Christ Therefore hear O Princesses and give Ear ye Ladies of the perishing Honours of this World Did Christ Jesus the LORD and only Saviour the Immaculate Lamb of GOD that takes away the Sins of the World Consecrate a Way for you through His Agonies of Sorrows and Griefs bitter Death and bloody Passion for you to live a Life of Vanities and Pleasures the Pomps and Pride of Life the Lust of the Flesh and the Lust of the Eye Was all his strong Cries Groans Sighs and Sobs Watchings and Fastings cruel Mockings and Scourgings exposing Himself to all the Malice that Men or Devils could Invent Was all these Miseries to End here Or was this to be the End of all to fasten you to your cursed Plays with your whole Life of sinful Pleasures Ye careless Daughters ye Women that are at Ease be astonished pluck off your Gorgious Attire put on Sackcloth and cover your Heads with Ashes and sit on the Ground and from thence take up a deep and heavy Lamentation for the miseries that are coming upon you when your Songs shall be turned into Howlings your Joys into Heaviness and bitter Lamentations which shall be the Reward of all your vain and wicked Pastimes that hath been spent in vain and wicked Recreations of which precious time the least moment thereof upon a dying Bed is more than the Gold of Ophir Then shall you call said the LORD but I will not answer You shall seek Me early but you shall not find Me. And why Because you hated Knowledge and did not chuse the Fear of the LORD You would have none of my Counsel but despised all my Corrections therefore shall you Eat of the Fruit of your own ways and be filled with your own Devices For Ease slayeth the foolish and the Prosperity of Fools destroyeth them but they that obey Me saith the LORD shall dwell safely and be quiet from the fear of Evil Prov. 1. Chap. Therefore consider these things all you that forget GOD least I tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver you saith the LORD But O Queen live for ever The way for the Queen to obtain this Everlasting and Eternal Life is to watch against the Evil of her own Heart for so the LORD commands saying Watch Watch Watch which He fulfill'd before He gave it out to others when He was led into the Wilderness and there thrice tempted as the Apostle said He was in all things tempted as we are yet without sin that He might be able to succour us that are tempted For this know O Queen it is no sin to be tempted but the sin is to yield to the temptation as saith the Prophet When sinners inticeth thee consent not thou unto them therefore the LORD commanded to make the Defence strong double your VVatch yea treble your VVatch and saith the Prophet A threefold Cord cannot easily be broken O how good is the LORD to give us these Heavenly Precepts and not only so but to be our Strength in weakness Thou hast covered our Heads in the Day of Battle when the Enemy hath come in like a Flood Thou hast lifted up Thy Standard against him Glory he unto Thee for ever Thus hath the LORD stood by them that fear him in all Ages to be their Preserver from the Snares and Temptations of the Devil but then they must be found in His VVay otherwise He is not engaged to preserve them The VVay of Christ is His daily CROSS You cannot be my Disciples siath He Except you deny your selves and take up My Cross and follow Me VVhether must we follow Him Through all the Travels of his Soul as Isaiah the Prophet prophesied of him saying He shall see of the Travel of his Soul His righteous Soul shall be satisfied and in vain is all your Preaching Hearing Praying and Praising out of his Holy Pure and Incorruptible Life And further of his Life you may read in Isaiah's Prophesy of Him how He was a Man of Sorrows and was well