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mercy_n heart_n jesus_n lord_n 6,085 5 3.6368 3 true
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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A41424 A cry of the just against oppression Goodaire, Thomas, d. 1693. 1660 (1660) Wing G1087; ESTC R28246 9,147 10

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A CRY of the just against OPPRESSION I the prisoner of the Lord who am now in outward bonds for conscience sake in the common goal at Oxford and another was put in with me for the same thing now it lieth upon me to acquaint and publish to the whole Nation the reason and cause of our imprisonment and why we suffer these hardships and all this cruel usage that now we do and I shall leave it to that pure principle of God in every sober minded man to judge whether we be not cruelly used and unjustly dealt withal contrary to the righteous law of God which is that every one should do unto all men as they would be done unto themselves IT hath pleased God of his infinite Love Mercy and Goodnesse to my poor soul to visit me in his tender love when I was an enemie and a stranger to him by wicked works And now the Lord Jesus hath appeared in me by his Light and Spirit and hath shewed and discovered unto me the deceit which lodged in my heart and the evil of my wayes which I lived in and he hath called me to repentance and amendment of life and I have owned the Call of God and by believing obeying and following the Light and Spirit of Christ I have received Power from him who is the Light and Life of men and by his light I am led out of darknesse and out of my evil wayes words and actions which once I lived in before I knew the Pure appearance of the Lord Jesus by his Spirit in me and by his own Power he hath brought me out of uncleannesse into holinesse and out of the broad way wherein I was walking going headlong to destruction into the strait and narrow way that leads to Life and Peace which few finds And by his own free grace which hath appeared in me which is his free gift and hath appeared unto all men which was and is the Saints Teacher am I taught to deny my self and all ungodlinesse and worldly lusts and to live soberly justly and righteously in this present evil world and to do unto all men as I would be done by and Christ by his own Spirit working in me hath destroyed the works of the Devil which was in my heart and hath taken away my sins and purified my heart and reconciled me to himself and I have true peace joy and comfort in God and enjoyes his pure love and presence now in my outward suffering and cruel usage which carries me above it and makes it easie unto me and this I do acknowledge in the fear of the Lord and to his praise that it is the onely work of God which he hath wrought in my heart and in many more of his dear servants and chidren by his own spirit for which I do in all humility return and give unto the Lord all honour and glory praise thanks and obedience for his everlasting love mercy and goodnesse both to me and many others and to him onely it doth belong now and for evermore And now the same light which shewed unto me the evil of my wayes lets me see that the whole World now lyeth in wickedness from the highest to the lowest and is out of the fear and Council of God and in the broad way that leads to destruction and is not yet come to true Repentance but rather goes further from God and groweth worse and worse and more wicked and dark then they have been formerly and the reason is because they hare and despise the light within them which Christ hath enlightned them withal and cals it a natural light and so counts it a thing of nought and this is the condemnation of all the wicked and ungodly that light is come into the world and shines in their hearts and lets them see the evil of their wayes and doings and smites and reproves them in their hearts and consciences but they do not believe in it neither do they obey nor follow it but lives in disobedience and unbelief and loves darknesse and their evil deeds better then the Light of Christ which shews them their evil deeds for every one that doth evil hates the light and because people receives not the Truth in the love of it but hates and rejects it for these causes God hath given them over to strong delusions to believe lyes that they all may be damned who believe not the Truth but takes pleasure in unrighteousnesse 2 Thes 2. 10 11 12. Now the Lord of his infinite love hath redeemed me to himself out of the World and the vain conversation of it to serve him and do his will and not my own and he hath required me to leave my native country house land and other things and Relations whatsoever as to the outward who am a York-shire man and to go abroad into his work and service where he shall lead and direct me by his Spirit and in obedience to the Lord whom I love above all other things I have left all and am come into his work and service and he hath sent me forth as he did many of his servants in the dayes of old as he hath done many of his servants now at this day to turn people from darknesse unto light and from the power of Satan to the Power of God that they may receive forgivenesse of their sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith which is in Christ and by the foolishness of preaching which is counted so by the wise and learned of the world it hath pleased God to convert many thousands which the wise and learned by their preaching hath not done but on the contrary both they that are preachers and they that are their hearers sins daily and hourly and brings Scriptures to plead for sin so long as they live upon the earth but blessed be the Name of our God for ever who hath turned many thousands from darknesse to his light within and from the power of Satan unto his power since he hath sent forth many of his Servants called Quakers and by believing obeying and following the light within they have received power from God and by the power of God are they led out of their ungodly wayes and out of the vain conversation of the world and from under the dominion of Satan and are brought into the life and power of Truth and can witness their sins forgiven by the Lord and hath assurance of an Inheritance which is incorruptible and shall never fade away which all the Children of darknesse who hates the light of Christ within and sayes it is a naturall light and do not believe obey nor follow it shall never witnesse their sins forgiven by the Lord neither can they have any assurance of their eternall Inheritance so long as they continue in their sins and in disobedience hating and disobeying the light of Christ within and not believing in it and in obedience to the Lord and according to his
wickedness spending your precious time in Pride Pleasures and Vanity satisfying the lusts of the flesh and take counsel of that wicked spirit which works in a mystery in your hearts and in all the hearts of the children of disobedience and so make laws or put any unjust lawes in execution whereby to destroy the Innocent then will you be found guilty before the Lord of their blood which will lie heavy upon you And so by doing these things you will provoke the Lord to anger and he will appear against you and bring his fierce judgments upon you and cut you off suddenly from off the face of the earth and give you your portion with the wicked and ungodly where there will be weeping and and wailing and gnashing of teeth Therefore as you tender the good of your own souls and the glory of God let Gods people have their libertie to worship him in spirit and in truth and to exercise a good conscience towards the Lord and do not go about to limmit the holy One but let the Spirit of truth have its free liberty to declare through the Lords Servants and Prophets and do not persecute them that do you no wrong nor harm nei●her in your persons nor estates but desires the good and welfare both of your souls and bodies and the good of all men But we cannot for conscience sake give flattering titles to man least for so doing our Maker soon take us away Job 32. 21 22 Neither can we respect mens persons for if we do we deny the faith of Christ and become transgressors of the righteous Law of God Jam. 2. Neither can we satisfie the wills and mindes of men contrary to the will and mind of God and where God commands one thing and a man another we shall chuse rather to obey God then man now if you persecute us for these things before mentioned we shall suffer unjustly by you and we shall have peace with the Lord in our sufferings and we shall be justified in his sight when you will be condemned by Gods witnesse in your own consciences for so acting against us therefore repent and fear the Lord and deny your selves and your own honour and glory and rule for God and aim at his honour and glory only and turn to him with all your hearts and cease to do evil and learn to do well seek judgment relieve the oppressed and take off their heavie burdens that God may have mercy upon your poor souls and remember your latter ends for you must all give an account to the just God for the deeds you do in your life time and every one must be rewarded according to your deeds without respect of persons and for every idle word that men shall speak they shall give account in the day of Judgment and see now that for the time to come ye walk more circumspectly then you do or have done not as fools but as wise men guided by the wisdom of God in all things that so you may redeem your precious time which formerly you have spent in pride and vanity and in satisfying the lusts of the flesh to the great dishonour of God Ephe. 5. 15 16 17 18. and now begin to bring forth the fruits of Holinesse and Righteousnesse and do justly love mercy and walk humbly before the Lord that God Almighty may be honoured and glorified by you and in you and this the Lord requires of every one of you from the highest to the lowest and if you do not do these things you do not answer the end for which you are created and brought into the world And now while you have time prize it for this is the day of your visitation and do not despise and reject the Counsel of the Lord through his poor despised servant for if you do and count it a thing of nought and continue in your evill wayes and persecuting the Servants of the Lord verily I declare unto you by the Spirit of Truth that God will despise and reject both you and your prayers and all the prayers of them that pray for you and he will not hear them and you cannot escape the wrath of the Almighty so long as your hands are full of blood and your hearts full of Iniquity Isaiah 1. 15 16 17. Written in the Common Goal at Oxford the 20th day of the 7th Month 1660. From one who desires the good and welfare of all and not the destruction of any in their sins but rather that they may come to repentance and live who am known by the name Thomas Goodaire The End LONDON Printed for Thomas Simmons at the signe of the Bull and Mouth near Aldersgate 1660.