Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	good_a	heart_n	receive_v	1,780	5	5.7127	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30858	The Banners of grace and love displayed in the farther conversion of the Indians in New-England held forth in sundry letters from divers ministers to the corporation established by Parliament, for promoting the Gospel amongst the heathen in New-England : and farther attested by Edm. Callamy, Simon Ashe, VVill Spurstow, Lazarus Seaman, George Griffith, [brace] [brace] Phil Nye, VVilliam Bridge, Henry VVhitfield, Joseph Carryll, Ralph Venning.		1657 (1657)	Wing B674; ESTC R38715	37,188	57

the best ground did fully perswade my heart of your faithfullnesse therein and of an inward blessing from God upon us thereby although I should never have seene a returne in outward supplies as now through mercy I have as an acceptable and very helpfull fruit of Christian goodnes and bounty received from your selfe and Christian Friends that the Lord hath stirred up both to pray earnestly and contribute freely for the promoting of the worke of the Lord in my hand amongst the poore Indians Sir assure your selfe and let all our beloved Friends know that what is done by you together in this behalfe doth not onely strengthen my hands and give me advantage to be more helpful to the Indians but also is a further encouragement unto my heart from the Lord to doe to the utmost of my power in this service he hath called me unto and wherein he hath afforded me his gracious presence unto this day and not onely in supporting me therein but also in some remarkeable passages of his power and mercy amongst the Indians those miserable Captives something whereof your selfe have been an eye witness unto and have already heard yet now being further advantaged through the grace of God appearing with us and knowing it will be acceptable to your selfe and our dearely beloved Christian Friends that long for and rejoyce in the gracious appearance of Jesus Christ in his Kingly Soveraigntie and power where he hath not formerly been knowne I shall by the helpe of God certifie you how the Lord hath carried on his own worke with us since your departure from us It pleased the Lord who had drawne the Indians from the Pawwaws to worship himselfe whereat the Pawwaws were much discontented yet now to perswade two of themselves to run after those that followed hard after God desiring that they might goe with them in the wayes of that God whose name is Jehovah and they came much convinced of their sinnes that they had lived in and especially of their Pawwawing saying I throw it from mee with hatred of it being sorry that ever I medled with it And now I have heard of Jehovah by his helpe I put it under my feete and hope to trample it downe in the dust with the Devill and Pawwawnomas or imps I throw it into the fire and burne it Thus they fully made knowne unto all both by word and gesture and by more such like expressions they then used not onely their indignation against it but that they would never make use of it more One of them did then discover the bottome of his witchcraft confessing that at first he came to be a Pawwaw by Diabolicall Dreames wherein he saw the Devill in the likenesse of foure living Creatures one was like a man which he saw in the Ayre and this told him that he did know all things upon the Island and what was to be done and this he said had its residence over his whole body Another was like a Crow and did looke out sharply to discover mischiefes coming towards him and had its residence in his head The third was like to a Pidgeon and had its place in his breast and was very cunning about any businesse The fourth was like a Serpent very subtile to doe mischiefe and also to doe great cures and these he said were meere Devills and such as he had trusted to for safetie and did labour to raise up for the accomplishment of any thing in his diabolicall craft but now he saith that he did desire that the Lord would free him from them and that he did repent in his heart because of his sinne The other said his Conscience was much troubled for his sinne and they both desired the Lord would teach them his wayes have mercy upon them and pardon their sinnes for Jesus Christ his sake and truely it did give to us who were present a great occasion of praising the Lord to see those poore naked sonnes of Adam and slaves to the Devill from their birth to come toward the Lord as they did with their joynts shaking and their bowells trembling their spirits troubled and their voyces with much fervency uttering words of sore displeasure against sin and Satan which they had imbraced from their Childhood with so much delight accounting it also now their sinne that they had not the knowledge of God Secondly that they had served the Devill the Enemy both of God and Man Thirdly that they were so hurtfull in their lives and were also thankfull that now through the blessing of God they had an opportunitie to be delivered out of that dangerous Condition The Indians did all much rejoyce to see the Pawwaws turne from their wicked wayes to serve the Lord. Not long after the Pawwaws had forsaken their old way on a Lecture day after Exercise diverse Indians desired to become the servants of the Lord amongst whom was a Pawwaw called Tequanonim who was of great esteeme and very notorious for he as they said and in their ignorance conceived never did hurt to any but alwayes good endeavouring the good and preservation of the Indians whereunto also he was accompted by them to be strongly provided And as himselfe said he had been possessed from the Crowne of the head to the soal of the foote with Pawwawnomas not onely in the shape of living Creatures as Fowles Fishes and creeping things but Brasse Iron and Stone It was therefore the more to be acknowledged the worke of God that he should forsake this way his friends his gaine to follow the Lord whose wayes are so despiseable in the eyes of devillish minded men This Pawwaw declaring by what meanes the Lord tooke him off this devillish Trade said that he had heard some things from my Father who tooke occasion to discourse with him about the way of true happinesse that he should never forget blessed be God his Counsell had so good an effect as I hope it hath on many others It pleased the Lord who will have all the gods of the earth to be terrible unto him For he meeting Mumanequem in the wood by accident told him that he was glad he had an opportunitie to speake his minde unto him for he had many searchings of heart about his Pawwawing and did thinke it was not a good way and that God was angry with him for it for said he my wife hath been a long time sicke and the more I Pawwaw for her the sicker she is And this doth agree with an observation of the Indians of this Island viz. that since the Word of God hath been taught unto them in this place the Pawwaws have been much foyled in their devillish taskes and that instead of curing have rather killed many but in a word the fruit of this and all other meanes was a publique manifestation of hatred to his former wayes wondering he was yet alive who was so sinfull and that he desired to be better and to believe in Christ for whose sake onely he

of Faith in such Fifthly Two of them I deale withall particularly for personall evills by name for the sinne of Fornication which they were carried away into which my Indian acquainting my selfe with after our exercise I spake unto shewing them the evills of this sinne and aggravating of it by the knowledge they now had of God c. and exhorting them to Repentance and to seeke mercy in Christ whereupon one of them fell into bitter weeping presently the other though his heart was shut up at present yet not long after and with longer continuance sayd I have observed in others a sence of temptations spirituall bondage which they expressed naturally thus one saith that he and the Devill were all one Souldiers and this in sadnesse of spirit and speech another laying his hands upon his knees and hammes complaines he was as a man tyed in Cords and prayes to God to be unloosed and in generall they are observed divers of them to pray with much affection mourning in so much that they are in this respect a wonderment to their Companions who enquired what is the matter why they doe so c. A fourth encouragement to mee is this I finde the Devill bestirring himselfe and betaking of himselfe to his wonted practice of stirring up oppositions against this worke by his Instruments as fearing the ruine of his Kingdome their Countrymen manifesting their hatred threatning they shall not plant hunt c. as before yea the Controversie or enmitie rather arises between Parents and Children c. Lastly and not long before I was last with you in the Bay upon a second day in the morning before they went away there came to me to the number of twentie of them voluntarily professing one by one their desire to feare God promising that they would leave their sins some intermixing acknowledgements of their sins and ignorance and one that English and Indians knew shee had been very wicked hereunto calling Jehovah to witnes and this to doe all their dayes as long as they live some bringing their Children and causing them to make the like profession whereupon I was the more stirred towards them in my spirit though I acknowledge I was loath to make an absolute engagement to promise them I would endevour to be as helpfull to them as I could in teaching them which when I had done they gave mee thankes publiquely and since this they living some seaven miles from us have built a Wigwam of purpose neere our Towne to receive them when they come on the Lords dayes and truely Sir they are so attentive in hearing that it grieves me I cannot speake to them as I desire they seeming to be hungry and I wanting bread for them And thus Sir you have a naked Narration of our proceedings with the events fallen out by Gods providence within not many moneths It is I believe a day of small things and so lookt at by our English many of them who surely would have perished in their darknesse if all others should have contemned them as they these I pray God they perish not in the light however I am resolved to bable to them as I may considering that out of the mouthes of babes God ordaines praise and found strength to still the enemie c. the beginnings of Gods great works are often in great obscuritie where he appoints the end to be glorious Also I remember one sowes and another reaps which where ever they be such as are faithfull shall rejoyce together I doubt not Sir of your fervent prayers which I doe further beg of you and others that know how to pitty lost ones for my selfe and poore Indians that the Lord will prosper our endeavours this way and water them with his abundant blessings in Jesus Christ that the day-spring from on high may visit such poore soules as are in darknesse and the shadow of death and bring them to life in Jesus Christ William Leverich Sandwich this 22th of the 7th 1651. The next Letter is a testimoniall from a private hand of what Mr Leverich mentions in his to Mr Wilson where we may see some fruits of his labours testified by a neighbour of his at Sandwich which is fiftie miles from that place where Mr Eliot hath taught other Indians for divers years but we doe not a little rejoyce to heare that Mr Leverich is engaged in this worke because he is a grave learned knowing and a prudent Christian one indeed from whom by Gods blessing we may expect much good COncerning the Indians I have seene and heard more this Sommer then ever I did before I have seene some Indians crave a blessing before meate and returne thankes after meate pray morning and evening some of them doe frequent our meetings they come constantly eight or tenne miles every Saturday and the Monday they returne home againe while our Exercise doth last they doe attend diligently but understand but little but when that is done Mr Leverich and they doe put questions one to another and Mr Leverich hath an Indian that speakes good English and he is Interpreter There is a man that lives neere us that comes from an Island that is called Martins Vineyard where is a Minister that speakes good Indian he doth preach to them every weeke he hath told me that that Minister told him that there are some of them Indians that are able to give a better reason of their Faith then some of the Members of their Church some of them will preach and they have private meeting and keepe very good orders Anthoney Bessey Sandwich 21th September 1651. The next Letter we present thee withall good Reader is one from Mr Mayhew whom God hath honoured with abundant successe in making his labours the instrumentall meanes to turne many of the Heathen from their evill wayes to the Lord our God This he not onely wrote to Mr John Whitfield who is a Minister in Winchester but also to a Member of our Corporation being the same Narrative word for word for ought we discerne wherein appeareth a mighty progresse in godlines since our last Treatise published by Mr Henry Whitfield upon his comming hither from New England God not onely daily adding to their number such as in Charity we conceive appertain to his Election but stirred them up being neere two hundred persons to enter into a more close way of the Gospel declaring themselves to be the worshippers of the everliving God With many other things ministring much consolation to every Christian heart to see these very Powwawes fall off from the worship of Devills and embrace the glad tydings of Salvation Reverend and dearly beloved in Christ Jesus SIR WHat you have done in the Indian busines and concerning my selfe in particular doe give good testimony of your holy desires to further the worke of the Lord amongst them The good providence of God in bringing you unto us and the free engaging of your selfe in this worke of the Lord and that upon