Joyfull tidings to the begotten of God in all with a few words of counsel unto Friends concerning marriage / W.S. Smith, William, d. 1673. 1664 Approx. 19 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 5 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2005-12 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A60637 Wing S4309 ESTC R16526 13153418 ocm 13153418 98125 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A60637) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 98125) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 751:33) Joyfull tidings to the begotten of God in all with a few words of counsel unto Friends concerning marriage / W.S. Smith, William, d. 1673. 8 p. s.n.], [London? : 1664. Dated at end: The 5 day of the 11 moneth, 1663. Attributed to William Smith. Cf. NUC pre-1956. Reproduction of original in Duke University Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Society of Friends -- Doctrines. Marriage -- Religious aspects -- Society of Friends. 2005-04 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2005-05 Aptara Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2005-06 Mona Logarbo Sampled and proofread 2005-06 Mona Logarbo Text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-10 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion JOYFULL TIDINGS TO THE Begotten of God in all . WITH A few words of Counsel unto FRIENDS Concerning MARRIAGE . W. S. Printed in the Year 1664. Joyful Tydings , &c. THe Deliverer is come , let all that mourn wait for him , and let all lamps be truly trimmed , and let all stand so prepared as that he may be known in his coming , and be received and followed into the kingdome , for they that slumber are in danger to misse him , and they that are hasty cannot finde him , & on these hands the kingdome is lost : therefore thou that mourns for him , and waits to be delivered by him , keep thou in the faith , and in the patience stand thou still , and joyn not with the carelesse , or with the forward spirits , but be quiet in thy place , and keep thy eye in that which lets thee see thou wants him , and the necessity to be delivered by him , and there thou standing still in the watchfulnesse , he will come in an hour that thou knowest not of , for there is not a groan that rises from the innocent in thee , but he hath great regard unto it , and his compassion breaks in the same hour , but for the time of deliverance thou art to wait , because that hour no man must know : therefore let all be still , and eye the Lord , for his hand is at work , and they that keep their own hands quiet , will know his work to prosper , and in the stillnesse will feel his faithfulnesse to his own begotten , for where doth the Father leave or forsake his own child , and in what place is it beset , and he helps it not ; and where is it in bondage , and he delivers it not : if the faith be kept , and the patience continued in , he fails not in his work until he hath performed the counsel of his own will , for in his will the babe is begotten , and in his will in due time it is born , and none can adde unto his work ; and therefore all are to be still and quiet in the light , and therein watch and wait for his own hour , so will he draw nigh unto thee that mourns for him , and with his arms of mercy he will embrace thee , and take thee up , and heal thee , and carry thee forth of the land of thy captivity , then shalt thou return with ioy indeed , when thou art inclosed in the arms of thy beloved , and this is his own hour which none can know until he come , and in this hour he binds up the broken-hearted , and saith to the weak , I am thy strength ; and to the poor , I am thy helper ; and to the mourner , I am thy comforter ; and to the captive , I am thy deliverer ; this is my hour , and I am come to set the free , thou hast patiently waited , and hast not grudged ; thou hast been still , and hast not repined ; and in thy lowest state my arm hath reached to thee , and in all thy distresses I have drawn nigh to succour thee : but this is the hour in which I am come to deliver thee . O thou patient mourner , this is the voice of thy beloved , hearken not unto another , for his word is sure , and all his promises faithful , and behold he speaks comfortably to thee , and brings thee joyful tydings of deliverance : turn not th● face from him as if he was a stranger , for it is he , and it is his hour , he hath seen thy travail since the day he begat thee , and in all thy afflictions he hath been af●icted with thee , and he hath not delayed his coming though thou hast thought him long , and in the depth of thy misery hast secretly cried , why doth he not make hast to help me , and why are my afflictions so continued upon me , hath he not in that hour been near unto thee , and hath he not in that time been thy comforter , and hath he not secretly relieved thee , though thou hast not known it , and here he hath been thy support , that thou might not faint untill his own hour came to deliver thee . O that any who have been visited should misse of this hour , either by carelesnesse or forwardnesse ; for that which saith he delayes his coming that is the carelesse spirit , and that which saith , Behold he cometh , let us go forth to meet him , ( mark ) let us go forth that is the hasty forward spirit , it leads forth of the faith , forth of the patience , forth of the stayednesse , forth of the contentednesse , and so from waiting in the pure and perfect measure of light which cometh from him , and in which he cometh in his hour , and neither of these births are delivered in a right hour , but are both born out of due time , and the carelesse proves heavy and dies , and the forward proves a vapour , which in its rise was something , but suddenly mounts into the air , and after a while is no more seen ; but the still quiet babe that waits in the true patience , it is safely delivered in the time appointed , and in the hour determined , and though it hath been long bruised , yet it hath patiently endured , and though it hath long sitten mourning , yet it hath been contented , and in the deepest of its misery , it hath fled for refuge to the throne of mercy , and hath not been without some secret faith and hope in God , yea in the very time when it could not see which way any relief should come , yet it hath breathed unto the Father , and hath put its whole trust and confidence in him , and so by a dependancie upon the life of its generation , it hath lien under the arm of preservation , it hath not said he delayes his coming , and I am weary of waiting , neither hath it said , behold he cometh , I will go forth to meet him , but here I lye bruised , and my mourning is not hid from him , and here I will wait for the hour of his coming , I have no strength to move untill he come and help me ; and therefore he must find me where I am , and do all for me that is to be done , or here I must lye and mourn out my days . I dare not slumber least I should misse his coming , nor I dare not go forth to meet him , least I should not find him , but here will I sit and wait for his own hour . O thou babe of tendernesse , that watchest for thy beloved with diligence , thou art the object of the Fathers pity , and he is not forgetfull of thee , neither indeed can he , for thou art his natural child , a babe of his own begetting , and in thy travail he is with thee , and in all thy distresses he comforts thee , and in thy deep afflictions he is a support unto thee ; thou art the bruised , and he is come to heal thee ; the mourner , and he is come to comfort thee ; the captive , and he is come to deliver thee ; this is his hour , though the powers of darknesse be strong , Oh thou innocent babe , thou art deeper in feeling then words can expresse , there is none knows thy travail but who are of the same life with thee , neither can any eye truly pity thee but the eye which only hath compassion on thee , thou art the babe which in all thy afflictions lives by faith , and though thou hast not deliverance in thy view , yet through thy faith thou art stayed in him that loves thee , and in his strength thou standest in the time of thy adversity , and he in all things worketh for thee because thou art nothing in thy self , and whereever thou art his power defends thee , and in thy poverty his pleasure and delight is in thee , for his covenant stands sure with thee for ever . Oh thou glorious birth of immortality , thou art well-beloved and highly favoured of God , yea in the womb he loves thee and favours thee , and from the day of his deliverance , and the hour of thy birth he delights to honour thee , for out of all earthly families he hath chosen thee , and from all false births he separates thee , and the Gentiles glory he will give unto thee , and the high places of the earth he will make thy foot-stool , the glory of thy rising vanish●th the night , the appearance of thy beauty makes a perfect day , all clouds scatter before thee , and all earthly fogs and mists clears up at thy presence , the lights of heaven withdraws at thy rising , for the lustre of thy brightnesse excells all borrowed lights , and thou swallowest them up into thy glorious body , and with the splendour of thy own breakings forth thou covers them as if they were not ; there is no mixture in thee , no dross nor tin cleavs unto thee , for the furnace hath separated all earthly matter from thee , that thy life may shine forth in perfect purity , and thou alone may rule the day which belongs unto thee ; Oh thou art the precious Jewel in which is unity , none can be bound up but in thee , none can inherit the Kingdome besides thee , for the Father hath prepared it only for thee , & there thou must dwell alone , & not be numbred with transgressours any more , thy glory goes over the earth , and thy renown ascends above the Heavens , and both earth and Heaven must give up unto thee , for thou art the Son , and all must worship thee , all below thee is earthly , all above thee is airy , but in thy life is perfect temperance , and everlasting substance , and there is nothing endures or remains besides thee , all the Virgins are in love with thee , the sweet savour of thy ointment draws them after thee , and they cannot deny thee , nor forsake thee , but where ever thou goest they are constrained to follow thee , and in thy love they rejoice in union with thee , and sings thy praise in the heavenly harmony . Oh Sion ! put on thy strength , and cast thy mourning garments from thee , for the most high Remembers thee in everlasting mercy , he hath seen the time of thy widowhood , and the dayes of thy long captivity , he hath beheld thy solitary places , and the years of thy great adversity , and now he is drawing nigh to work deliverance for thee , and to gather thee out of all places , where thou hast been scattered , and from amongst all strangers by whom thou hast been oppressed , and to advance thy holy hill over all the earthly glory , that he alone may dwell in thee and delight himself in thy lovely beauty , therefore let thy mourning be turned into joy , and thy sorrow into songs of praises , for thy deliverer is come , and he smiles upon thee with a lovely countenance , and the praise of the whole earth shalt thou be , saith the Lord , who doth all these things . Let the tongue of the dumb be unloosed , and read the joyful tydings within , where the Lord is redeeming his chosen , and raising up his Seed which obtains evelasting blessings . A few words of Counsel unto Friends , concerning Marriage . THe Honourable Marriage is in the Seed of God , Male and Female in the seed are one , and lies down together in the bed undefiled , where God blesseth them and their Seeds Seed for ever , therefore let all friends eye the Lord in this his day , and keep faithfull to the leadings of his power , lest the sons and daughters of strangers entice any of your minds to join with them , and so you goe into the defiled bed and loose the honour ; and be watchful that you run not forth in a hasty eager mind among your selves , but waite that ye may have clearnesse in the counsel of the Lord , that so ye may understand that it is of God in the beginning , for if you keep not stayed in the light , with the light to be guided ; you may either look at the world or at the party , as the first thing upon which you fix your eye , and so may labour to compasse the party either for the love of the worlds riches which they may possesse , or to satisfie your affections with the outward beauty or comelinesse of the person , and so the drawings and leadings of God will not be regarded ; but the worlds riches , or the persons comlinesse , or both , will be the object of your eye , and whoever begins in this ground , the Lord will blast it , and if any come to feel that they have a real moving in the truth and in simplicity one to another , and that in the beginning they look singly at the begotten of God one in another , then wait to be preserved and kept in Gods fear and counsel ; for here the enemy will stand to present some temptation to entice and entangle the minds , and if ever you open your eye into the world , and begin to look at the glory and honour of it , that part will presently over ballance the real simplicity , and then the eye being fixed upon the worlds riches and glory , the enemy hatches a secret design which way to compasse it , and attain it , and then the temptation becomes a cloud and a vail over the excellent glory of the beautiful seed , and if that eye which looks into the world , and lusts to compasse it , be not answered in its desire , then the love which hath been professed will decay , & cool , and die , but and if that end can be obtained which the eye looketh after , then the love will seemingly increase to a joining in the Covenant of Marriage , and this is not honourable though outwardly it may be brought to passe and effected , and whosoever goes together in this ground , they will suffer losse in the truth , though they may gain the worlds substance , and death will surprize them in the earth where they center , and how are many tossed about and cannot find where to settle , nor where to come into a liking to satisfie their wandering eye , but sometimes will draw a conclusion one way , and instantly turn from it again , and presently joyn with some new presentation which in its appearance seems to shew fairer unto their liking ; and thus many staggers up and down in the multitude of their own thoughts , and never waits to feel the Lords power to order them , but through the wiles of the enemy are hurried in a restlesse state and looses their conditions in the truth , and doth not well perceive it , for if either strangers be joyned unto , or the world or beauty be first looke● at , or the world catch the mind from the real movings in the simplicity , or whatsoever end any layes to themselves in this matter , they through the same will come to great losse in the truth , whether the thing which they aim at be effected or not effected , for if the mind be drawn into any visible appearance as to have a lust after it , and to prescribe waies and ends to accomplish what is intended , there cannot be a clear standing in the truth , where the mind is exercised about the attaining or effecting any such things , for they all stand in the liberty of the will , and not in in the power of God which crosseth it . Therefore this is the counsel of the Lord God unto all friends , look not at the sons or daughters of strangers , lest you become one with them , neither look at the worlds riches amongst your selves , but wait low in Gods fear to receive his counsel in every such motion , & feel his hand to open the way for you , & when you feel a clear way opened of the Lord , & that in his eternal power & wisdom you can reach the Seed one in another , then wait for his time to make you up as one in the counsel of his own will , & when thus you feel his hand at work , then do not you begin to say , we have clearness from the Lord in this matter , but now we would know how it must be as to an outward portion or estate , and so begin to look into the earth , and conferre one with another about the things of this life , for if any do so , the Lord will draw back his hand , and hide his counsel from you , and will leave you in the dark to grope in your own way , & though you may obtain those things which your eye in that place looks after , and may effect the thing which you aim at , yet there you cannot obtain the Lords favour and blessing , not that the world or the riches of it is hereby denied in their places , for if the Lord join any together in the Seed , and that the things of this life be enjoyed by either party as an outward portion , there they may prove serviceable as in God● wisdom they are used , & the encrease will be blessed , but where the world is chiefly looked at , & that the joining or not joining depende●● upon it , in that place it is denied and not otherwise , and let not any Friends make way one for another by speaking to any party , except they feele a necessity layed upon them from the Lord , for thereby some may be wronged in their simplicity , by giving up their beliefe unto another , but let all wait to feele their own movings in Gods counsell and leadings , and so to manifest their own mind in his fear and wisdome , that it may be felt on both sides to be of the Lord , & then lay it before some weighty friends that are endued with heavenly wisdom , that the ground of the motion may be ballanced in sound judgment , & so to wait for the Lords hand to carry it on & finish it in his pleasure , & where it thus comes to pass in a single heart to God & one another , there will be true contentment with what the world affords on either part , & whether it be more or less , it will be enjoyed in its place with comfort & peace ; & though parties may differ much in age , or in outward substance , yet the marriage is equal , because it is of the Lord , for equality stands not in age or wealth according to the worlds account , but in the prosperity of the seed , in which both age and youth becomes one flesh , & is made to flourish in one perfect beauty , & hath an equal portion of wealth in the enduring substance , and who are thus joined together of the Lord , & abides faithful with him , his blessing rests upon them every way , & he preserves them fresh and living in his truth , for where death runs over any in that state , it is because the thing is not brought to pass in Gods counsel , or otherwise not abiding faithful with him when it is effected by him , & so the world becomes a trap & a snare to entangle , & fond affections becomes a hinderance for following the Lord fully . Therefore let all friends be exceeding carefull in this weighty matter , which in the ground lies beyond the reach of the earthly wisedom , and can never be effected by it , to the glory of God , or the honour of his truth , nor to the peace and happinesse of such as so obtains it , but where it is begun and finished in the counsel and will of God , and that there be an abiding faithfull with him , he hath the glory in it , and his peace and blessing remains with such as a continual portion of endlesse joy . Oh this is the day wherein the lamb espouses the undefiled virgin which hath followed him through great tribulations , and is washed white in his precious bloud . The 5. day of the 11. moneth , 1663. THE END .