Selected quad for the lemma: life_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
life_n	blood_n	drink_v	flesh_n	36,140	5	8.2247	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A54107	A brief account of the rise and progress of the people called Quakers in which their fundamental principle, doctrines, worship, ministry and discipline are plainly declared to prevent the mistakes and perversions that ignorance and prejudice may make to abuse the credulous : with a summary relation of the former dispensations of God in the world by way of introduction / by W. Penn.	Penn, William, 1644-1718.	1694 (1694)	Wing P1257; ESTC R30091	50,798	131

deliver Man from his Power And which in a signal manner by the Dispensation of the Son of God in the Flesh in the fullness of Time was Personally and Fully accomplished by him and in him as Man's Saviour and Redeemer But his Power was not limitted in the Manifestation of it to that time for both before and since his blessed Manifestation in the Flesh he has been the Light and Life the Rock and Strength of all that ever feared God Was present with them in their Temptations followed them in their Travels and Afflictions and supported and carried them through and over the Difficulties that have attended them in their Earthly Pilgrimage By this Abel's heart excelled Cain's and Seth obtained the preheminence and Enoch walked with God It was this that strove with the Old World and which they rebelled against and which sanctified and instructed Noah to Salvation But the outward Dispensation that followed the benighted State of Man after his Fall especially among the Patriarchs was generally that of Angels as the Scriptures of the Old Testament do in many places express as to Abraham Jacob c. The next was that of the Law by Moses which was also delivered by Angels as the Apostle tells us This Dispensation was much outward and suited to a low and servile State called therefore by the Apostle Paul that of a School-Master which was to point out and prepare that People to look and long for the Messiah who would deliver them from the servitude of a Ceremonious and imperfect Dispensation by knowing the Realities of those Mysterious Representations in themselves In this time the Law was written on Stone the Temple built with Hands attended with an Outward Priesthood and External Rites and Ceremonies that were Shadows of the Good Things that were to come and were only to serve till the Seed came or the more excellent and general manifestation of Christ to whom was the Promise and to all Men only in him in whom it was Yea and Amen even Life from Death Immortality and Eternal Life This the Prophets foresaw and comforted the believing Jews in the certainty of it which was the Top of the Mosaical Dispensation and which ended in John's Ministry the Forerunner of the Messiah as John's was finished in him the Fullness of all And then God that at sundry Times and in divers manners had spoken to the Fathers by his Servants the Prophets Spoke to Men by his Son Christ Jesus Who is Heir of all things being the Gospel-day which is the Dispensation of Sonship Bringing in thereby a nearer Testament and a better hope even the Beginning of the Glory of the latter days and of the Restitution of all things yea the Restoration of the Kingdom unto Israel Now the Spirit that was more sparingly communicated in former Dispensations began to be Poured forth upon all Flesh according to the Prophet Joel and the Light that shined in Darkness or but dimly before the most gracious God caused to Shine out of Darkness and the Day-star began to arise in the Hearts of Believers giving unto them the knowledge of God in the Face or Appearance of his Son Christ Jesus Now the Poor in Spirit the Meek the true Mourners the Hungry and Thirsty after Righteousness the Peace-makers the Pure in Heart the Merciful and Persecuted came more especially in Remembrance before the Lord and were sought out and blessed by Israel's True Shepherd Old Jerusalem with her Children grew out of Date and the New Jerusalem into Request the Mother of the Sons of the Gospel-Day Wherefore no more at Old Jerusalem nor at the Mountain of Samaria will God be worshipped above other places for behold he is by his own Son declared and preached a Spirit and that he will be known as such and worshipped in the Spirit and in the Truth He will now come nearer than of old time and he will write his Law in the Heart and put his Fear and Spirit in the inward parts according to his promise Then Signs Types and Shadows flew away the Day having discovered their Insufficiency in not reaching to the inside of the Cup to the cleansing of the Conscience and all Elementary services were expired in and by him that is the substance of all And to this Great and Blessed End of the Dispensation of the Son of God did the Apostles Testifie whom he had chosen and anointed by his Spirit to turn the Jews from their Prejudice and Superstition and the Gentiles from their Vanity and Idolatry to Christ's Light and Spirit that shined in them that they might be quickned from the Sins and Trespasses in which they were Dead to serve the Living God in the Newness of the Spirit of Life and walk as Children of the Light and of the Day even the Day of Holiness For such put on Christ the Light of the World and make no more Provision for the Flesh to fulfil the Lusts thereof So that the Light Spirit and Grace that come by Christ and appear in Man were that divine Principle the Apostles ministred from and turned Peoples Minds unto and in which they gathered and built up the Churches of Christ in their Day For which cause they advise them not to quench the Spirit but to wait for the Spirit and Speak by the Spirit and Pray by the Spirit and Walk in the Spirit too as that which approved them the truly begotten Children of God Born not of Flesh and Blood or of the will of Man but of the will of God by doing his will and denying their own by drinking of Christ's Cup and being Baptized with his Baptism of Self-denial the Way and Path that all the Heirs of Life have ever trod to Blessedness But alas even in the Apostles Days those bright Stars of the first Magnitude of the Gospel-Light some Clouds foretelling an Eclipse of this Primitive Glory began to appear and several of them gave early Caution of it to the Christians of their Time that even then there was and yet would be more and more a falling away from the Power of Godliness and the Purity of that Spiritual Dispensation by such as sought to make a fair shew in the Flesh but with whom the offence of the Cross ceased Yet with this comfortable Conclusion that they saw beyond it a more glorious Time than ever to the true Church Their sight was true and what they foretold to the Churches gathered by them in the Name and Power of Jesus came to pass For Christians degenerated a-pace into outsides as Days and Meats and divers other Ceremonies And which was worse they fell into Strife and Contention about them separating one from another then Envying and as they had Power Persecuting one another to the shame and scandal of their common Christianity and grievous stumbling and offence of the Heathen among whom the Lord had so long and so marvellously preserved them And having got at last the Worldly Power into their Hands by Kings and

Emperors embracing the Christian Profession they changed what they could the Kingdom of Christ which is not of this World into a Worldly Kingdom or at least stiled the Worldly Kingdom that was in their Hands the Kingdom of Christ and so they became Worldly and not true Christians Then Humane Inventions and Novelties both in Doctrine and worship crouded fast into the Church a Door being opened thereunto by the Grossness and Carnality that appeared then among the generality of Christians who had long since left the Guidance of God's meek and heavenly Spirit and given themselves up to Superstition Will-worship and Voluntary Humility And as Superstition is Blind so it is Heady and Furious for all must stoop to its blind and boundless Zeal or Perish by it In the Name of the Spirit persecuting the very appearance of the Spirit of God in others and opposing that in others which they resisted in themselves viz. the Light Groce and Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ But always under the Notion of Innovation Heresie Schism or some such plausible Name Though Christianity allows of no Name or Pretence whatever for persecuting of any Man for matters of meer Religion being in its very Nature Meek Gentle and Forbearing and consists of Faith Hope and Charity which no Persecutor can have whilst he remains a Persecutor in that a Man cannot believe well or hope well or have a Charitable or tender regard to another whilst he would violate his mind or persecute his Body for matters of Faith or Worship towards his God Thus the False Church sprang up and mounted the Chair But though she lost her Nature she would needs keep her good Name of the Lambs-bride the True Church and Mother of the Faithful Constraining all to receive her Mark either in their Forehead or Right hand that is publickly or privately But Indeed and in Truth she was Mystery Babylon the Mother of Harlots Mother of those that with all their show and outside of Religion were adulterated and gone from the Spirit Nature and Life of Christ and grown Vain Worldly Ambitious Covetous Cruel c. which are the Fruits of the Flesh and not of the Spirit Now it was that the True Church fled into the Wilderness That is from Superstition and Violence to a Retired Solitary and Lonely State hidden and as it were out of Sight of Men though not out of the World Which shows that her wonted Visibility was not Essential to the being of a True Church in the Judgment of the Holy Ghost she being as True a Church in the Wilderness though not as Visible and Lustrious as when she was in her former Splendor of Profession In this State many Attempts She made to return but the Waters were yet too High and her way blocked up and many of her excellent Children in several Nations and Centuries fell by the Cruelty of Superstition because they would not fall from their Faithfulness to the Truth The last Age did set some steps towards it both as to Doctrine Worship and Practice But Practice quickly failed for Wickedness flowed in a little time as well among the Professors of the Reformation as those they reformed from so that by the Fruits of Conversation they were not to be distinguished And the Children of the Reformers if not the Reformers themselves betook themselves very early to Earthly Policy and Power to uphold and carry on their Reformation that had been begun with Spiritual Weapons which I have often thought has been one of the greatest reasons the Reformation made no better Progress as to the Life and Soul of Religion For whilst the Reformers were Lowly and Spiritually Minded and trusted in God and lookt to Him and lived in his Fear and consulted not with Flesh and Blood nor sought Deliverance in their own way there were daily added to the Church such as one might reasonably say should be saved For they were not so careful to be safe from Persecution as to be Faithful and Inoffensive under it Being more concerned to spread the Truth by their Faith and Patience in Tribulation than to get the worldly Power out of their Hands that inflicted those Sufferings upon them And it will be well if the Lord suffer them not to fall by the very same way they took to stand In Doctrine they were in some things short in other things to avoid one extream they run into another And for Worship there was for the generality more of man in it than of God They owned the Spirit Inspiration and Revelation indeed and grounded their Separation and Reformation upon the Sence and Vnderstanding they received from it in the Reading of the Scriptures of Truth And this was their Plea The Scripture is the Text the Spirit the Interpreter and that to every one for himself But yet there was too much of humane Invention Tradition and Art that remained both in Praying and Preaching and of worldly Authority and worldly Greatness in their Ministers especially in this Kingdom Sweden Denmark and some Parts of Germany God was therefore pleased in England to shift us from Vessel to Vessel And the next remove humbled the Ministry so that they were more Strict in Preaching Devout in Praying and Zealous for keeping the Lord's Day and Catechizing of Children and Servants and Repeating at Home in their Families what they had heard in publick But even as these grew into Power they were not only for Whipping some out but others into the Temple And they appeared Rigid in their Spirits rather than Severe in their Lives and more for a Party than for Piety Which brought forth another People that were yet more retired and select They would not communicate at Large or in common with others but formed Churches among themselves of such as could give some account of their Conversion at least of very promising experiences of the Work of God's Grace upon their Hearts and under mutual Agreements and Covenants of fellowship they kept together These People were somewhat of a Softer Temper and seemed to recommend Religion by the Charms of its Love Mercy and Goodness rather than by the Terrours of its Judgments and Punishment by which the former Party would have awed People into Religion They also allowed greater liberty to Prophecy than those before them for they admitted any Member to Speak or Pray as well as their Pastor whom they always Chose and not the Civil Magistrate If such found any thing pressing upon them to either Duty even without the Distinction of Clergy or Laity Persons of any Trade had their Liberty be it never so Low and Mechanical But alas even these People suffered great loss For tasting of Worldly Empire and the favour of Princes and the Gain that ensued they degenerated but too much For though they had cryed down National Churches and Ministry and Maintenance too some of them when it was their own turn to be Tryed fell under the Weight of Worldly Honour and Advantage got