Selected quad for the lemma: virtue_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
virtue_n	darkness_n	light_n	shine_v	1,307	5	9.6147	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A54052	The scattered sheep sought after 1. In a lamentation over the general losse of the powerful presence of God in his people, since the dayes of the apostles, with a particular bewailing of the withering and death of those precious buddings forth of life, which appeared in many at the beginning of the late troubles in these nations, with the proper way of recovery for such, 2. In some propositions concerning the only way of salvation, where is an answer given to that great objection, that the light which convinceth of sin, is the light of a natural conscience, and a brief account rendred of the ground of mens misunderstanding Scriptures, 3. In exposing to view the fundamental principle of the Gospel, upon which the redeemed spirit is built, 4. And in some questions and answers, by way of catechism, for the sake of the simple hearted, directing to that principle, and fixing in it / by Isaac Penington.	Penington, Isaac, 1616-1679.	1665 (1665)	Wing P1188; ESTC R18193	27,955	34

A. Letting in the light which convinceth of and warreth against sin the life stirs and is felt and the life leads to the word which was in the beginning and gives the feeling of that also And in the word the righteousnesse the peace the wisdom the power the love is felt and he is made all these to those who are led into and kept in the light And when the powers of darknesse appear with mighty dread and there is no strength to withstand them this lifts up a standard against them and calms all the tempests and cures all the wounds and diseases of the soul anointing it with the everlasting oil so that now I can sensibly and with clear understanding call it my Saviour the Captain of my salvation my Christ or anointed my Husband my King my Lord my God Q. Where doth this light shine A. In the darknesse at first but when it hath vanquished expelled and dispersed the darknesse it shines out of it Q. What is that darkness wherein the light shines A. Man mans heart mans conscience mans spirit This is the world which Christ the Sun of righteousnesse is the light of in every part whereof he causeth the rayes or beams of his light to shine at his pleasure though in no part the darknesse can comprehend the least shining of his light Q. How then can it ever be converted thereby A. The darknesse is not to be converted Every man in this state is reprobated and the wrath abideth on him So that the darknesse is rejected and man in the darknesse but man touched by the light made sensible of it and following it in the life and power which it begets is drawn out of the horrible pit and saved Q How may I do to find the light in the midst of the da●kness of my heart which is so great and this seed so small A. By its discovering and warring against the darknesse There is somewhat which discovereth both the open and secret iniquity of the corrupt heart following it under all its coverings of zeal holinesse and all manner of voluntary humility and self righteousnesse with which the true light ●●ver had unity and sometimes may cause secret misgivings that all is not well but there may be a flaw found in this covering and in the end it may prove too narrow for the soul This which thus warreth against the darknesse to bring people off from all false foundations to the true and living foundation this is the light and thus thou maist find it at some time or other at work in thy heart if thou mind it Q. Having found the light how may I come to feel the saving vertue and power of it A. By believing in it For the vertue and power springs up in the heart that believes in it Q. How can I believe in it am not I dead A. There is a creating a quickning power in the light which begets a little life and that can answer the voice of the living power Q. Yea If I could finde any such thing begotten in me then I might be drawn to assent that that though never so small might believe but surely my dead heart never can A. Hast thou never found a true honest breathing towards God hast thou never found sin not an imaginary but a real burthen This was from life there was somewhat begotten of God in thee which felt this It was not flesh blood in thee but somwhat from above And if this had known the spring of its life and not been deceived from it by the subtilty it would have fed upon and have grown up in the vertue and power of the spring from whence its life came Q. Why then by this all men have power to believe A. In the light which shines in all and visits all there is the power and this power strives with the creature to work it self into the creature and where there hath been the least breathing after life there hath been a taste of the power for this came from it But the great deceiver of souls lifts up mens mind in the imagination to look for some great appearance of power and so they slight and overlook the day of small things and neglect receiving the beginnings of that which in the issue would be the thing they look for Waiting in that which is low and little in the heart the power enters the seed grows the Kingdom is felt and daily more and more revealed in the power And this is the true way and door to the thing take heed of climbing over it Q. What is it to believe in the light A. To receive its testimony either concerning good or evil and so either to turn towards or from in the will and power which the light begets in the heart Q. How will this save me A. By this means that in thee which destroys thee and separates thee from the living God is daily wrought out and the heart daily changed into the Image of him who is light and brought into unity and fellowship with the light possessing of it and being possessed by it and this is Salvation Q. We thought salvation had been a thing to be bestowed hereafter after the death of the body but if it be thus then salvation is wrought out here A. So it is even in all that are saved for there is no working of it out hereafter but here it is wrought out with fear and trembling and the believer who is truly in unity with the life daily changed from glory to glory as by the Spirit of the Lord. Q. But shew more particularly how Faith or believing in the light worketh out the Salvation A. First it causeth a fear and trembling to seize upon the sinner The Lord God Almighty by the rising of his light in the heart causeth the powers of darknesse to shake the earth to tremble the hills and mountains to melt and the goodly fruit-Trees to cast their fruit And then the plant of the Lord springs up out of the dry and barren ground which by the dews and showers from above thrives grows and spreads till it fills Gods earth 2. In this fear and trembling the work of true repentantance and conversion is begun and carried on There is a turning of the Soul from the darknesse to the light from the dark power to the power of light from the spirit of deceit to the Spirit of truth from all false appearances and imaginations about holiness to that which the eternal light manifesteth to be truly so And now is a time of mourning of deep mourning while the separtion is working while the enemies strength is not broken and subdued and while the heart is now and then feeling it self still hankering after its old lovers 3. In the belief of the light and in the fear placed in the heart there springs up an hope a living hope in the living principle which hath manifested it self and begun to work For the Soul truly turning to

the light the everlasting Arm the living power is felt and the Anchor being felt it staies the soul in all the tossings troubles storms and tempests it meets with afterwards which are many yea very many 4. Faith through the hope works righteousnesse and teaches the true wisdom and now the benefit of all the former trouble anguish and misery begins to be felt and the work goes on sweetly All unrighteousness is in the darknesse in the unbelief in the false hope faith in the light works out the unrighteousnesse and works in the righteousnesse of God in Christ And it makes truly wise wise in the living power even wise against the evil and to the good which no man can learn elsewhere 5. In the righteousnesse and in the true wisdome which is received in the light there springs up a love and an unity and fellowship with God the Father of lights and with all who are children of the light Being begotten by Christ the light into the nature of the light and brought forth in the Image there is an unity soon felt with God the Father and with those who are born of the same womb and partake of the same nature And here is a willingnesse and power felt in this love to lay down the life even for the least truth of Christs or for the brethren 6. Belief in the light works patience meeknesse gentlenesse tendernesse and long suffering It will bear any thing for God any thing for mens souls sake It will wait quietly and stilly for the carrying on of the work of God in its own soul and for the manifestation of Gods love and mercy to others It will bear the contradiction and reproach of sinners seeking their good even while they are plotting contriving and hatching mischief laying many subtil snares and longing thereby to entrap the innocent 7. It brings peace joy and glory Faith in the light breaks down the wall of darknesse the wall of Partition that which separates from the peace that which causeth the anguish and trouble upon the soul and so brings into peace Christ is the skilful Physitian he cures the disease by removing the cause The unskilful Physitians they heale deceitfully crying peace peace while there is no peace while that which breaks the peace is standing but Christ doth not so but slaies the enmity in the heart by the blood of his crosse so making peace And this is true peace certain peace Now finding the clods of earth removed the enemy the disturber the peace-breaker trodden down the sin taken away the life power present the soul brought into the peace here 's joy unspeakable joy joy which the world cannot see or touch nor the powers of darknesse come neer to interrupt Here 's now no more crying out O wretched man and who shall deliver c. but a rejoycing in him who hath given victory and made the soul a conqueror yea more then a conqueror Wait to feel that thou who art now groaning and oppressed by the mercilesse powers of darknesse And this joy is full of glory which glory increaseth daily more and more by the daily sight and feeling of the living vertue and power in Christ the light whereby the soul is continually transformed and changed more and more out of the corruptible into the incorruptible out of the uncircumcision the shame the reproach into the circumcision the life the glory Q. Doth the light do all this A. Yea in them that turn towards it give up to it and abide in it In them it cleanseth out the thicknesse and darknesse and daily transformeth them into the image purity and perfection of the light And this nothing can do but the light alone Q. What makes men generally so averse from the light A. Their unity with the darknesse which the light is an enemy to discovering and disturbing it Q. But wise men knowing men men who are looked upon as having most light they also are enemies to this light and speak hardly of it A. Was it not alwayes so Did any of the Rulers or wise Scribes and Teachers of the Law believe in him formerly and is it any wonder if such believe not in him now Q. What may be the reason why the wise men formerly have not and now cannot believe in the light A. There are two great reasons for it 1. Because they cannot comprehend it They can comprehend the knowledg which they can gather out of the book of Nature or out of the books of the Law and Prophets or out of the books of the Evangelists and Apostles but they cannot comprehend the light which all these testifie of so that such a kind of knowledg they can receive but the light they cannot for it is not to be comprehended but gathereth into it self and comprehendeth 2. Because it is an utter enemy to them It will not wink at the closest of their evils nor speak peace to them therein Their own gathered knowledg may speak peace to them but this will not Thus the Jews could speak peace to themselves from their Temple Ordinances and Sactifices though they walked in the stubborness and uncircumcision of their hearts resisting the checks and motions of the holy spirit there thus the Christians can speak peace to themselvs from a belief and hope through Christs dying at Jerusalem though they know not him in them and are at a distance and not one with that in their hearts which is of Christ and in his power and authority checks and reproves for sin but the light will not speak peace so but only where the vertue of the living blood is felt cleansing away the sin Q. But there are many professors strict professors who without doubt have once tasted of the living virtue what makes them such enemies to the light for there are none speaks more against it then they A. 1. Because they are fallen from what they once had for if they were in that living principle which once gave them a true taste of life through the Scriptures they could not but know own the light which was the thing which gave them the taste and would have preserved their relish had they known how to turn to it and abide in it 2. The light is a witnesse against all their knowledg and religious practises imitations from the Scripture which they hold practise out of the light in the unrighteousnesse even in that part which is not to know or be the worshipper And can ye blame them that when the light is so great an enemy to them that they also turn head against it How is it possible that having slain and murdered the just one in themselves they should acknowledg and give him his due honour in others Q. But have the strict professors who pretend great things in honour of Christ murthered him in themselves A. Yea verily as really as the Scribes Pharisees and people of the Jews put him to death at Jerusalem for what they do