Selected quad for the lemma: life_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A64513
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The Third part of The cry of the innocent for justice briefly relating the proceedings of the Court of Sessions at Old Baley, the 11, 12, and 13 dayes of the sixth moneth towards the people of God called Quakers, and particularly concerning the tryal and sentence of Edward Burroughs with about thrity persons more : also relating the proceedings of the Court ... towards about fifty of the said people ... : with divers other things of concernment about the people aforesaid.
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1662
(1662)
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Wing T914; ESTC R25160
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45,353
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114
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the Spirits of men and was of savour and sound judgment though in weaknesse of the man-hood expressed for he answered not mens Wisdom in excellent stile of words but the witnesse of God in sincerity of speech he was a Person of sound judgment in divine Mysteries and of good experience in the operations of the power of God and knew the passing through divers conditions of the inward man and was able to speak to many estates of man passing under the dispensations of the Grace of God he could well inform the mind of a person in an afflicted and tossed state of terrour and judgment and his Ministry was often savoury and seasonable and felt in the pure life though his words were plain and homely and no beauty in them to mans Wisdom and God made him and his service a blessing to many who shall speak for him in their own Consciences He was of a loving gentle and good disposition and acceptable was his Company to them that knew him and were like-minded a good Companion in all Conditions not soon moved into passion of either grief in Adversity or of joy in Prosperity nor had he a Spirit taking offences upon light occasions against any but watched for Good over all and not for Evil He was a man of peace and loved it and walked peaceably among his brethren in honest kind familiarity And I am perswaded in my Soul according to the experience I had of him for many years he abhorred dissention and strife among Friends and was never the real occasion intendedly by himself of any difference and dissention among brethren and what further is Truth of him I leave it to the just God whose testimony is true and never fails Among many others that were taken from Meetings and sent to Newgate according as ye have heard This same Person of whom I am now treating was in like manner rudely and violently taken on the 22th day of the 4th Month last out of a Meeting in the Bull at Aldersgate and carried before Rich. Brown who used violence to him with his own hands in pulling his Hat down upon his head so that he brought his head near the ground and then he Committed him to Newgate where he remained till the Sessions and was then Indicted among the rest for being at an unlawful Meeting c. as it is said and he being throng'd up in Prison among the rest of us it pleased the Lord to visite him with sicknesse of body and in 10 dayes space alwayes growing weaker and weaker in that time he disceased and laid down his body in peace About two dayes before his departure some of his dearest Friends went to visite him and sat by him a space and spoke somewhat to him and asked him if any thing was upon his Spirit he might now speak it to his Friends His answer was That there was no need to dispute matters for he knew the ground of his Salvation and was satisfied for ever in his peace with the Lord God and we know said he one another well and what each of us can say about those things and spoke no further And the 17th day of the 6th Month he departed this life and was gathered up to his Fathers the Generation of the Just and though he be gone in that bodily appearance and his person removed from us yet is his new-Name written among us and his Memory can never die for his Spirit still lives to praise the Lord and the life which breathed forth through that vessel cannot be removed far away for it is the Infinite Immortal Eternal Life which dwells in Sons and Daughters now upon the Earth and though his outward man be put off yet he lives alwayes in Spirit for he was a Servant of the living God upon Earth in his day In about six Weeks time there died of the Prisoners that suffered for Conscience sake in Newgate these Persons named as follows who were honest sincere men of truth that loved the Lord and served him with their upright hearts and gave up their lives for the Testimony of Jesus as faithful Martyrs and Witnesses for him And 't is verily believed their close and throng'd Imprisonment in the Summer Season was the occasion of their sicknesse and violent distemper and so consequently of their Death which amounts to innocent blood being men whose lives were destroyed causelesly by reason of the wickednesse and Persecution of ungodly men and their Death will be inquired into by the Lord when he comes to judge all men according to their deeds and gives unto them after the fruit of their own doings John Stanton Thomas Kirby Richard Hubberthorne Anthony Skellington John Giles William Watson John Shutt William Eldredge Richard Bradley And Humphrey Bache and Humphery Brewster died in a short time after their Release These men laid down their lives for the Testimony of Jesus Christ and suffered for Conscience sake till death and left good Testimonies behind them spoken on their death-beds One of them said This body of mine must go for the Truth this body must be laid down for the Testimony of Jesus Christ as a Witnesse against this persecuting Generation and he rejoyced in the same at the point of death Another of them said The terrible day of vengeance is at hand upon the wicked Wo unto the persecuting Rulers of this City the Lord is nigh unto them in the stroak of his Judgements c. Another on his death-bed Exhorted earnestly all Friends to be faithful to be bold and valiant for the Truth of God and to suffer patiently to the end till deliverance come which the Lord will bring unto his people in dispight of all their enemies c. These and such like Testimonies were given by these Servants of God on their death-beds which will be fulfilled in the Lords season for the words of dying men are serious and certain Oh! that this City would take notice of the same That the Rulers and People thereof would Repent and turn unto the Lord ere his wrath break forth against them for their wickednesse which is great this day in the fight of the Lord and before him for which his wrath is kindled to burn as a flame and it will reach unto the high and lofty and all flesh shall feel the indignation of the most high Oh! that men would remember the long-suffering of the Lord and Repent and return before it be too late for nothing can save this City and her People from the Wrath of the Lord except speedy and true Repentance and returning with all the Heart and with all the Soul wherefore let the people become Meek and Humble Lowly and Poor Holy and Just before the Lord let them break off their sins by Repentance The day of the Lords sore Judgements are at hand and Breaking and Destruction and Misery will surprize the Workers of Iniquity Concerning the Imprisonment and proceedings of the Court and release of above fifty of our
Priviledges in our callings and to follow our employments as we are men nor yet our liberties as Christians in the exercise of our Christians duties according to the perswasions of our Consciences and example of Scriptures but are imprisoned and persecuted and all our rights both as we are men and Christians violated and taken from us Seing it is thus how can it in common equity and reason be put upon us or expected from us that we should be charged with any such service and duty or perform the same either in our persons or estates there is no equity nor reason in it that men should be charged with a service for the good of the City as this is professed to be and yet not permitted to enjoy any portion of the end of such a professed service but quite the contrary imposed and this is our case It is professed that the Trained Bands are raised and goes out for the good and peace of the City and we are commanded to joyn with them for that good end and yet we are debarred and restrained of every part of that end and quite the contrary end is made our portion and therefore it is unequal and unreasonable in our selves as well as in them that expect it from us that we should joyn in such duty and service like as if a person should adventure to Sea such a sum of mony in the hand of a Merchant trusting him with the improvement of it for the end to bring in gain and at the return the Merchant keeps both Principle and Produce from the Adventurer and not only so but he makes use of the said mony to put the man to as much more needless charge and expences Would not all men say it were contrary to both equity and reason that such Adventurer should ever credit such Merchant more and much more unreasonable that such Merchant should put such Adventurer in Prison because he will not give him credite and trust him with more stock This Parable shews the truth of our Case and proves the truth of both the Reasons aforegoing First That it is contrary to the Law and Principle of Nature Secondly It is contrary to common Equity and Reason as the case standeth for us to go out our selves or send men on the occasion mentioned and for these Reasons we do refuse to do it Also let it be rightly considered how unreasonable this thing is that we should now Suffer for not going forth in Arms yet divers of our houses have been searched for Arms and taken away from us where any were found and we threatned to be sent to Prison for having any Arms in our houses if but an old Sword and yet now must Suffer because we will not keep Arms and go out in a War-like way with them Also how unequal it is that we are sometimes threatned to persecution because we are feared to fight and at other times threatned and made to suffer because we will not go out with carnal weapons to fight and thus are we made to suffer on the one hand and on the other and afflictions are our portion on every side from the men of this Generation and many are our Troubles till the Lord deliver us out of them all 3. Because we are true Christians and Redeemed and Restored and Sanctified by the Lord Jesus Christ and are men of Peace and Love and good Will towards all men and lives in it and seeks after it and are not men for War and Strife and Debate but are Redeemed out of that Spirit which is in the fall from God and delivered from the working of such works and now we cannot war with carnal Weapons our selves nor uphold it in others but do give witnesse against it by such our refusal to rise up and go out with Carnal Weapons for all such things are in the fall from that estate in which God placed man in the beginning and wars and fighting are in the enmity and Spirit of Iniquity which is contrary to God as saith the Apostle Wars and fightings do arise from the lust that wars in the members Jam. 4. 1. and from that estate of enmity in the fall and out of these works are we Redeemed and Sanctified by the Lord Jesus Christ and do walk in his Doctrine who hath exhorted us to love our Enemies to do good for evil and to reward no man evil for evil but when we are smitten on the one cheek to turn the other and to be reconciled with our Neighbours these and many such exhortations we have in the Scriptures to the true Christians which we desire to be found walking in and therefore we do deny to go out with Carnal Weapons to war against any much lesse against our own selves and our Friends as this case is as before is shewed And we are come to the Spirit of Christ Jesus and to the Son ship to be heirs of God and Joynt-heirs with Jesus Christ Which State is greater then the State of the Kings of Israel who sometimes went out to war and were Righteous men and justified of God in so doing yet that State was short of the State of Christ who was the Heir of God to which State in measure we are come and so are Redeemed from wars and fightings with Carnal Weapons not onely in their worst State but in the best Estate of such Wars not onely in an evil and wrongful quarrel we cannot war but in the best kind of quarrel we refuse out of Conscience to war our selves or to send others for us to war with Carnal weapons and that because we are true Christians and believes in Christ Jesus and abides in his Doctrine and loves peace with all men and can do good to them that hate us and are come to the end of wars and would have mens lives saved and not destroyed and are of the Spirit of Christ Jesus which warred with Spiritual Weapons against the evil lusts and evil affections within and against that spirit of transgression in mens hearts that he might kill and destroy that Spirit and save the Bodies and Souls alive and such war do we make this day with the Weapons of the Spirit of God that sin may be slain and unrighteousnesse destroyed in mens hearts and that Body and Soul may live but other kind of war we cannot make for the Reasons aforesaid therefore we are excusable in the sight of the Lord in refusing to go out with carnal Weapons though yet we suffer Imprisonment and are persecuted because of the same If from hence it be Objected by any That this principle and practise of denying to fight at all is dangerous and of evil consequence and if all were of this principle and practise then we might be exposed to ruine and destruction by other Nations who would come upon us and take our Country from us and enslave us and all this while we deny to fight against them and will not defend our selves by