Selected quad for the lemma: kingdom_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A40299
|
To the ministers, teachers, and priests (so called and so stileing your selves) in Barbadoes by George Fox.
|
Fox, George, 1624-1691.
|
1672
(1672)
|
Wing F1957; ESTC R36426
|
49,015
|
79
|
force People to observe dayes came not this Power and Wisdom first from the Pope and not from the Apostles nor from Christ Jesus if you have it from Christ Jesus and the Apostles let us see where it is convince us with Scripture And where I say do you find in Scriptures that Christ or his Apostles did ordain the day you call Christ-Mass and the rest of the dayes attending it which you call Holy-dayes But to say the Truth you may rather term them Unholy by reason of the Ungodly and Debaucht Heathenish Practice So that whereas you pretend to Honour the Lord Jesus in and by them you do no other indeed but dishonour him and do Persecute others that will not do as you do and so break the Command of God who saith Six dayes shalt thou labour c. and here your Command is that they must play more then Six Dayes Now tell me if you can how many hundred of years after Christ and the Apostles were these days first observed as Holy-dayes and set apart to be kept as you do now keep them O! the Whoredoms and Debauchery and Drunkenness the Excess Sensual Pleasures Carnal Delights Carding Diceing Dancing that these dayes are filled up with so that the Devil hath more Work done him in these dayes then in many other dayes before or after So let the Witness of God in your Consciences answer Yea or Nay and let all Sober People judge whether or no I speak not Truth when I say God is more dishonoured and his Name prophanened and taken in vain and blasphemed more in the twelve Holy Dayes so called then in three times the number of them let I say your Consciences and all sober people judge So here you may see how the Apostle judged them that did observe days But consider whether or no doth the Kingdom of God stand in Meats and Drinks and Washings and in Days Nay nay it stands only in Righteousness and in Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost which Kingdom all people are in the first place to seek after And then concerning your Fasts in Lent c. the Lord will say Who required these things at your Hands as it is in Isa 58.3 4. Wherefore have we fasted and thou seest or regardest not c. Behold saith the Lord in the day of your Fasts you find Pleasures and exact all your Labours ye fast for Strife and Debate and to smite with the Fist of Wickedness Ye shall not fast as ye do this day to make your Voices to be heard on high Is it such a Fast as I have chosen a Day for a man to Afflict his Soul Is it to bow down his Head like a Bull-Rush And wilt thou call this a Fast see the Contents of the Chapter above where it is reproved for Hypocrisie But is not this the Fast that I have chosen saith the Lord To loose the Bands of Wickedness to undo the heavy Burdens to let the Oppressed go free and that they break every Yoak Is it not to deal thy Bread to the Hungry c. Now whether your Fast be such yea or nay let your own Consciences judge And the Apostle commands us to pray every-where lifting up holy hands without Wrath or Doubting 1. Tim. 2.8 Now consider this are not your hands like those fists of Wickedness and are you not full of Wrath and Doubting or are your Hands Clean and Holy Let the Witness in your Consciences judge and see if those Actions and Practices be not found among you as was amongst them whom the Prophet speaks of here which is called Hypocrisie as was said before And did not Judas carry the bag who was a Thief who betray'd his Master And are not they for his Bag and Money to hold it by intayle even all who are the Betrayers of Christ now in this day where he is made manifest in his People I say do they not betray him now and seek to crucifie him in his members or his members for his sake And is it not the Son of Perdition spoken of 2 Thess 23. who exalts himself above all that is called God whom Christ will destroy with the breath of his mouth and the brightness of his coming Look into your selves and read this if you can But are not such now worse then Judas who carried the Bag for we never read that Judas persecuted any for not putting into his bag as too too many now a dayes do and have done who will not go without the bag And are not all such Transgressors of Christ's Command who bids them go without a bag or Scrip and Freely you have received Freely give How will such answer Christ think you at the day of Judgment when they are brought before his Throne and before him at his Judgment Seat who then will say unto them Depart you Cursed c. but to his Sheep on his right hand Come ye Blessed of my Father c. and so enter thou into the Joy of the Lord and the other into everlasting Punishment who have been persecuting others for Worshipping the living God in Spirit and in Truth which Worship Christ Jesus set up above 1600. years since as you may read in John 4.23 24. Now Friends to look into your Families and into your own Practices are not we to see that first you are to be approved before you do minister both you and your Families For are we not to try all things and to follow you no farther then you follow Christ And were not thâ—â—ereans accounted Noble in that they searcht the Scriptures to see whether or no that which the Apostle had delivered them were according to the Law and the Prophets And must we be more ignoble then they think you and now to try whether you are in the steps of the true Prophets and of Christ and of the Apostles or in the steps of those False Prophets they cryed out against must we not try here by the Scripture viz. by the Prophets words and by Christ's and his Apostles Words Then for the Trying you the Apostle saith in 1 Tim. 3.1 2 3 c. A Bishop must be Blameless the Husband of One Wife Vigilant Sober of Good behaviour given to Hospitality apt to teach not given to Wine no Striker not Greedy of filthy Lucre but Patient not a Brawler nor Covetous one that ruleth well his own House having his Children in subjection with all Cravity Now are you Blameless are you Sober of Good behaviour and are you given to Hospitality are you apt to teach 'T is Storied of one Parson Gray of this Island being at a Feast the custom was for the Cups to be often handed about one of Brandy the other of Sack but as for the Sack the Parson cared not much for it having had enough of that Liquor whereupon said the pretended Reverend Parson when he saw the Cup of Sack come about again which he cared not for Lord saith he If thou wilt let this Cup
And had not he your Originals and was not he an Orthodox man and yet could not see Christ And did not the Priests and the Jews speak Hebrew naturally And the Grecians was not Greek their Natural Language and yet they could not see Christ nor could any of the Priests open Scriptures to the People but incensed them against Christ as you may see John 19. And is it not said in the Revelations That the Beast and the Whore had Power over the Tongues Rev. 13.7 And doth not the Apostle there call the Tongues Waters Chap. 17.15 And in 1 Cor. 13.8 Doth he not say That Tongues shall cease And where are your Originals then Now the Original viz. the Word is not that it that makes Divines for was not John the Divine a Fisher-man and who made him a Divine was it not Christ the Word that made him so For they had no Colledges nor Universities nor Schools to serve Seven Years in as Mechanick Men do and when they are out of their Time then they set up where they can have the best Trading And was not Paul a Tent-Maker and Aquila and Priscilla Tent-Makers and was not Luke a Physitian and was not Mathew called from the Custom and Peter and others of the Apostles were they not Fisher-men and yet were they not Preachers And were not Abraham and Noah Husbandmen and Isaac a Husbandman and a Grazier and was not Lot a Grazier and an Husbandman and were not Moses and David Shepherds and did not Moses keep his Father's Sheep in the Wilderness and David his Father's and was not Jacob a Shepherd twenty years with Laban his Uncle whom he faithfully served and was not Elisha a Plowman and Amos a Herdsman a Keeper of Cattel and a Gatherer of Fruits and what were the rest of them And so were not these Lay-men as you term them and these Mechanick-men that gave forth the Scriptures And can you make a Trade of Lay-men's and Mechanick-men's words whom you allow and approve of and yet will not suffer Lay-men and Mechanick-men to Preach and Teach and Speak now adayes I pray you consider and read the Scriptures and read your selves Did any of these serve Seven years at the School before they went to preach and learn the Seven Liberal Arts or Sciences whereof Musick is one are not they accounted by you University men as the Seven Seals of that Book spoken of in the Revelations and so is the Arms of your University at Oxford which is as much as to say That you are the only Persons that are fit to open those Seals and is not this to give John the Lye who said None was found worthy to open the Seals of the Book but the Lamb the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah Rev. 5.1 2 3 4 5. But what Parsonages or Vicaridges and Benefices had these Lay-men these Mechanicks these Husbandmen these Graziers Shepherds Customers Plowmen Herdsmen and other Tradsmen for Preaching and giving forth these Scriptures or what had Paul and his Fellow-Teat-Makers or Peter and his Fellow-Fisher-Men I pray you let 's see some Scripture for your Revenues and Parsonages Christ saith They shall take no Scrip nor Purse no Money with them and they should be contented to eat such things as are set before them And is there any thing more in the whole World got by any Trade now adayes by all them that serve Seven years or by the Husbandmen before mentioned now in the World that get more by their Callings than you do who call your selves and are called Priests and Ministers all Christendom over both amongst Papists and Protestants than you do I say by these Shepherds words and Plowmen Fishermen and Tent-makers words who never served seven years at your Colledges which were given freely forth at first by which you now get such great Revenues that you will not suffer any others neither Shepherds Plowmen nor Husbandmen nor Fishermen nor Tole-Gatherers hardly to meddle with their Fellow-Fishermen Fellow Plowmen Fellow-Husbandmen Fellow-Shepherds words I pray take the right Measure and the right Weights and measure your selves and see whether you would be so served your selves And do you think that you can open such men's words before mention'd with your Tongues and Languages now Whereas Pilate and the Jews and the Grecians could not open them then and are there better Tools think you to open them now then there were then not a whit It was said by one of your acknowledg'd and own'd Fathers St. Augustine so called upon that verse The Kingdom of Heaven suffers Violence c. saith he to this purpose A company of poor Mechanick and Tradesmen Tinkers Weavers and Cobblers c. do take the Kingdom of Heaven by Violence when such great Doctors and Learned as we are thrown down to Hell But further Is it not written in Isa 54.13 c. All thy Children shall be taught of the Lord and great shall be the Peace of thy Children In Righteousness shalt thou be Established c. And many shall gather together amongst them but not by me saith the Lord. Whosoever shall so gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake and no Weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper and every Tongue that shall rise up against thee in Judgment thou shalt condemn c. Now mark Is not this fulfill'd now adayes upon them that are Taught of God yea by you Ministers so called And in John 6.45 where Christ speaking to the Jews saith he It is written in the Prophets They shall be all taught of God every man therefore that hath heard and learnt of the Father cometh unto me Now this we witness this day and therefore it is that there is so much murmuring against us And in Rom. 10. The Word of God is nigh thee even in thy Mouth and in thy Heart That is the Word which we Preach saith the Apostle which every one is to Hear and to Obey And the Apostle relates in Acts 2. when the professing Jews mockt the Apostle saying They were drunk with New Wine Peter answering told them it was the third Hour of the Day and so not likely to be in Drink But this is that which was spoken of by the Prophet Joel And it shall come to pass in the last dayes saith the Lord I will pour out of my Spirit upon all Flesh and your Sons and your Daughters shall Prophesie and your young Men shall see Visions and your old Men shall dream Dreams and on my Servants and on my Hand-maids I will pour out in those days of my Spirit and they shall Prophesie Now this same we witness in our days as the Apostles did in their days And we see your Sun is turned into Darkness and your Moon into Blood verse 20. and your Sun is gone down and your Stars are fallen from Heaven as was prophesied in the Revelations And in Heb. 1.1 2. God at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the