forth the Scriptures are such as follows their own spirits and useth their tongues and gets the good words the sheeps cloathing deceives the hearts of the simple and tels them the Spirit is in the Letter which never did none of the experienced Saints say the spirit dwelt in the Letter But did conclude the spirit dwelt in their hearts the faith in their hearts the light in their hearts the word in their hearts the anointing within them God dwelt within them Christ within them the Law in their hearts the witnesse within them the ingrafted word that saved their soules the gift within the hidden man in the heart strength in the inward man the holy Ghost moved them the spirit of the Father spoke in them this led them to speak forth Scriptures And these never said the spirit was in the Letter as all the filthy dreamers say who are in the sensuall separation from the spirit of God and in Cains Cores and Balaams way turning the grace of God into wantonnesse ravened from the spirit of God inwardly but wolves in sheeps cloathing These are such as have got the good words but deceives the hearts of the simple makes a trade of them tells people the Spirit is in the Letter and that is them that ravened from the spirit of God in their own particulars and so they deceive people and keep them from the spirit of God in their particulars But the spirit that gave forth Scriptures is witnessed by which that is known they cannot deceive any longer who are reprobates concerning the faith which crept into houses before the Apostles decease which have kept people always learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth led away with divers lusts So have kept people in spirituall Aegypt and Sodome and Gomorrah and have been guarded with Magistrates and powers of the earth all over the world But now is the Light breaking forth and shining that ye are all discovered And so they have set up other Gospels and lost the Faith that tels people the Spirit is in the Letter when the spirit and the faith was in them that gave it forth and is to be in all them that knows it again and knows God the giver of it Pr. He saith He that is borne of the Spirit is borne of the holy Word written page 257. Answ He that is borne of the spirit is borne of that which gave forth the Scriptures of the Word which was before the Scriptures was given forth which lets them see the end of the words so cometh to dwell in God of whom they learned that gave forth Scriptures Pr. He saith If setting the Scripture in the heart of every man be nothing else but telling people they have a light of conscience within them and stirring up that light which every man hath that cometh into the world They delude poor people who never heard that light called Scripture before page 257. Answ Them that never heard the Scripture outwardly the light that every man hath that cometh into the world being turned to it with that they will see Christ with that they will know Scripture with that they will be led out of all delusion come into covenant with God with which they will come to worship God in the spirit and serve him and that is more then conscience Pr. He saith The light which John speaks of which doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world is a dim light and it is a piece of the mystery of Iniquity as subtile as any Antichrist to say that the light shines in the darknesse and shineth out of darknesse the light of Christ for salvation page 261 262. He saith Christ in you the light in every man is a poor base beggerly scrap Page 264. Answ And the ligâ—t which doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world is Christ the substance the righteousnesse of God and not beggerly but all the beggarly they be out of the light and it is not dim but all be in the dim that be out of him the Light that with which he hath enlightned them And all be in the mystery of iniquity and are Antichrists that seeth not the light that doth enlighten every one that cometh into the world where it shines and where it shineth out of the darknesse This the true Ministers who be in the spirit that gave forth the Scriptures Ministers of Christ within witnessed and saw And John was not antichrist nor Paul who said Light shined in darknesse and who said light shined out of darknesse and who said this was the true light that lighteth every one that cometh into the world Now ye are all ignorant of the Prophets before John who said I will give him for a Covenant for a light unto the Gentiles and a new Covenant to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah mark here was every man and John the greatest Prophet born of a woman saith this is the true light that lighteth every one c. Christ Jesus him by whom the world was made before it was made in whom is life and the life was the light of men and the light shined in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not Pr. The law written in every mans heart doth not condemn all sin nor the branches of it not originall sin nor unbelief pag. 266. He saith To say that every man in his first state is naturall and every man in his first state is as a beast is a contradiction And I every where deny the naturall light of every man but I deny the highest degree of light to be here attainable And the Saints light is not to be seen while we are under the Sun And he saith he knows he is more brutish then a man and hath not the knowledge of the holy pag. 272. And the light that shineth in the Scriptures I professe my selfe to know nothing the least degree of it is above the highest degree of the light that every one that cometh into the world is enlightned withal pag. 273. Answ The light which every one that cometh into the world is enlightned withall was before degreâ—s and ends degrees and is not natural for it was before the naturall was made or created and this bears not witnesse against the naturall the Sun Moon and Stars but ownes them in their places And the light which every one that cometh into the world is enlightned withall which comes from Christ the Son they not believing in it it is their condemnation And that which doth make manifest sin is light and doth reprove is light yea all sin branches and roots and originall and unbelief that which doth make it manifest is light and where this light is that makes all this manifest there is the law in the heart and new Covenant written the law and the spirit of life that makes free from the law of sin and death And the light which every man is enlightned withall they
Christ and the Apostles and the Scriptures are owned by them in scorn called Quakers and the light it speaks of who out of the apostacy are come and so from among the apostates And as for the lyes and slanders in his Book that are not worth mentioning but they shall turn upon his own head whose immodesty hath discovered them Pr. In his Preface to the Reader He saith It is an expression of a darke deluded minde to say that God is not distinguished from the Saints Ans But God and Christ is in the Saints and dwell in them and walk in them and he is a Reprobate and out of the Apostles doctrine Pr He saith We have broken the everlasting Covenant of God Answ Because we own the teaching of God by his spirit and the light which doth enlighten every one that that cometh into the world which is the covenant of God Pr. He saith The Scriptures is the rule of life See page 4. Answ Contrary to Christ who said the spirit should lead them into all truth And they that are the sons of God are led by the spirit of God And the Churches was to hear what the spirit saith for the spirit led them to speak forth Scripture Pr. Again he saith It is a contradiction and a confused sencelesse thing to preach the word of faith in the mouth and in the heart see page 6. Again he saith Most senseless is this profession of Christ in the mouth and believing in him with the heart God that made all things These are his words page 8. Ans It is not a senselesse profession to preach the word of Faith in the heart and in the mouth and to say God will dwell in you and the word is in the heart and in the mouth The word is God and thou art senselesse and fallen in confusion in the contradiction out of the Apostles doctrine and the Apostle saith Christ in you and with the mouth confession is made to salvation Pr. And he calls it a Notion to say that Christ lighteth all and therefore the light is Christ. Ans So here he is kicking and spurning against the light Christ that lighteth every man that cometh into the world which is the Rock the foundation of God the corner-stone which is fallen upon thy head and all be in the notion that be out of it Pr. He scoffs at the Quakers because they say they have the word of God in them Ans Christ his name is called the word of God Pr. He saith God blessing or blasting his owne Word to some according to the different ends intended by himselfe see page 9. Ans Now the Word of God is not blasted God never blasts his own Word but it is they that are blasted that disobey the Word For the Word of God doth its service and accomplisheth the end which it goeth forth for and doth not return in vain And it is the sword of the spirit and that is not blasted It is a hammer and a fire and it lives and doth endure for ever So thou art blasted who saith the Word of God he blasts and art to be cut down by the word of God for thy blasphemy Pr. He saith the Quakers are deceivers because we say that Christ is not in outward observations and formes And John Bunyan saith that he is distinct from the Saints and would have him in the forms c. see page 13. Ans And we say he hath triumphed over the Ordinances and blotted them out and they are not to be touched and the Saints have Christ in them who is the end of outward forms and thou art deceived who thinks to finde the living among the dead and Bunyan is deceived who said he is distinct from the Saints and so you are a company of pittiful Teachers Pr. He saith Every true Christian doth believe that the holy Scriptures alone is to be the object of faith c. page 17. Ans So he hath thrown out God the giver of it and Christ the Author of it for many have the Scriptures and deny Christ the Author of faith and object Pr. He asketh Did you ever read of law and testimony in the heart c see page 18. Ans Yea God saith I will write my law in their hearts The law was in Davids heart the law was in the Apostles heart The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy and that is in the heart See Heb. 8. Rev. Pr. He saith The covenant of God is not to all in the Church of Christ see page 19. Ans Which is contrary to the Scriptures for where the Church is there is the Covenant the head Christ Jesus And God saith I will give him for a covenant to the Gentiles those are the heathen And I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah and these are called the people of God And therefore thou art in the fall in ignorance and a man without understanding and affirms thou dost not know what and silence would become thee better then to publish thy shame in print for they are not in the Church of God that be not in the covenant of God Pr. And he saith The Scriptures is the sure and perfect rule page 20. Ans And the Scripture saith Christ is the Bishop of the soule and God hath all souls in his hand And many have Scriptures but their soules the Bishop of them they know not but they remain in death and the life they want that gave it forth and so are all on heaps about the Scripture one with another and calling them the rule and the spirit And the spirit of God that led them forth to speak forth the Scripture was the rule to the Saints and holy men of God but they that be in the transgression will kill one another about their words and the spirit leads to see them again and brings them into unity with them and God Pr. He saith It is blasphemy to say that Christ is in them as God and man c. see page 23. Ans How are they of his flesh and bone And doth not the Scripture say Christ in you and God will dwell in you and walk in you And are not the Saints of his flesh and of his bone And are they not partakers of the divine nature Pr. He saith It is a fancy to say the eternall word of God is in them see page 26. Ans Thou art in the fancy that the eternal word is not in and witnessed and under the fire and sword and hammer to be hammered down And so art corrected by the Apostle who saith Let the word of God dwell in you richly The ingrafted word which is able to save your souls and immortal word which is immortal Pr. He saith The Scriptures is the only rule of knowing God c. See page 26. Ans Christ saith none knoweth the father but the Son who spoke among them that had the Scripture and so he
hath thrown out the Son the rule of knowing the Father who reveals him For many had Scriptures who knew not the Father nor knew the Son nor heard his voyce as in John 5. Pr. He saith All those that be without the Scriptures are without all comfort and hope and God See page 26. Answ Here then is thy Doctrine that none have comfort none hope none have God but who have Scriptures Abraham will tell thee otherwise and Enoch for those knew God and walked with him and knew hope and comfort and Joseph and Jacob and God was with them before the Scriptures was written And Christ was promised before the Scriptures was written and many have the Scriptures and not the comfort nor the hope but stand against him as the Jewes did against Christ And many may have the comfort and not read Scriptures Pr. He saith The onely judge of all errour is the Scriptures c. see page 37. Ans So he hath thrown out Christ and thrown out the spirit and the spirituall man and the Saints and God the judge of all who was the Author of the Scripture Pr. He saith The Apostle doth not say that God in these last dayes doth speak or will speak unto us by his Son but God hath already in time past spoke by his Son and that speaking is to these last dayes and we are not to look for any other speaking or revelation c. page 39. Ans And so by this thou hast denyed the scriptures and the authority of them which is Christ Jesus and denyed the Apostles doctrine and the new covenant where the law is writ in the heart and minde and all taught of God Thou hast thrown down and laid waste Christs commands who saith Learn of me And the command of God who saith This is my beloved Son heare ye him And so art ignorant of the scriptures and the power of God Pr. He saith It is abhorred dotage they are bewitched with to say they witnesse forgivenesse within c. See page 41. Answ Thou shews thou never knew a Saints life and that which cleanseth from all sin and the testimony within of forgiveness of sin for where it is forgiven it is within The Apostle saith If Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin And many may speak of Christ without them and the body of sin not dead And so the Wolfe may get the form of godlinesse and the Devill may confess the son of God in words Pr. He saith It matters not much if the sense be in the Scriptures where the words be there or no See page 47. Ans And yet he saith the Scriptures is the rule and it is the word and so by that means have all men run into their senses into confusion from the words of the Scriptures which is not to be added to nor taken from nor can it be broken nor is it of any private interpretation and the Scriptures are the words of God and Christ is the word and in him they end and the spirit is the rule Pr. He saith Doth not Christ approve of the Jewes opinion in thinking that in the Scripture they should have eternal life And he saith Christ refers them to the Scriptures to finde life See page 48. Answ When as Christ said They would not come unto him that that they might have life and bid them believe in him whom God had sent who was the end of the Scriptures And Christ did not approve of them that thought to have eternall life in the Scriptures Pr. He saith to say that the light of Christ is not received from the Scriptures it is an abominable thing to be asserted Ans But the light is received from Christ and many had the Scriptures as the Jewes but stood against the Light as you do now and did not receive it that had the Scriptures which testified of it And the Light cannot be blotted out but it doth condemn and it leads to the knowledge of God and to eternal life Pr. He calls it a fancy of an idle brain to witnesse the law of God written in the heart that is different from the morall law c. see page 61. Ans The Scripture saith I will write my law in their hearts and put it in their inward parts and I will make a new Covenant with the house of Israel not according to the old And this is the Covenant with Israel not according to the old and so they be in the fancy and idle brain that be out of the new Covenant of light Christ both Jews and Gentiles and all false Christians Pr. He saith This I do deny that the perfection of the whole law of God is writ in mans heart so as to know it and do it as it is written in the Prophets and Apostles c. See page 64. Answ Here thou hast discovered thy selfe to be in the unbelief and limits the Holy One that God is not the same Christ is not the same yesterday to day and for ever And none knows the Prophets and Apostles but who have the same covenant as they had and the same law and same spirit And whereas thou art opposing those as say the Word is within them and the Light is within them and the Spirit is within And because they say those be in unity and be one which makes thee appear one offended who must be ignorant still He that is ignorant let him be ignorant still but the light in thee shall see they are one Pr. He saith That none have ever had such attainments of Christ a Redeemer without the help of the Scriptures c. see page 65. Answ Now Abraham and Enoch and Noah and Adam had the promise of Christ before Scripture was written And the Gospel is the power of God and many may have the forme and not the power and eternall life is not in them nor the power of God For Christ is the power of God who saith Yee will not come to me that yee may have life who was afore Scripture was and all the Attainments is in him the Scripture speaks of and he is not attained to without life Pr. He saith Where did ever any say that they went through the Law to Christ This he judgeth and saith that they be strangers to the life of God that say so c. See page 71. Ans Contrary to the Apostle who saith I through the law am dead to the law but alive unto God And the law was our Schoolmaster to bring us to Christ And again he saith The righteousnesse of the law is fulfilled in us Pr. He saith All notionall light is from Christ whatsoever c. see page 72. Ans Now notional is imaginations and that is not properly called light and therefore thou mistakest for light is not notion but is the thing it selfe that is from Christ Pr. Here again he denies that Christ hath enlightned every man that cometh into the world with light sufficient if
but at things which are not seen For the things that are seen are temporall but the things that are not seen are eternall and that which is to savation is eternall and is not external Pr. He saith Whâ—t word did Paul and Barnabas preach in the synagogues but the Prophets c See page 19. Ans Nay they preached Christ the end of the Prophets Pr. He calls that a monstrous opinion for to compare them to the Heathen who had not known there had been a God but by the Scriptures and have no more knowledge but by it c. page 20. Ans For the Pharisees had Scriptures and here heathen men may get Scriptures but know not the true God for none knows the true God but by the spirit of God and the Son of God reveals the Father though they may have all the Scriptures and the light that shines in the heart gives the knowledge of him and this the Apostle spoke to them that had the Scriptures and who are of faith are of Abraham and in the knowledge of him that knew God before the Scripture was written Pr. And he saith That the Law and the Testimony is Moses and the Prophets c. See page 21. Ans Contrary to the rest of the Priests which say it is the Old and New Testament and he and the rest of the Priests are contrary to the Apostle which saith The law and testimony is the light and spirit of prophecy which many may have the Old and New Testament yet deny the light and spirit of prophecy as Priests and professors do now who say prophecy is ceased There they deny the practice of the Church where edification learning and comforting is prophecying all one by one such they prison and persecute and they are not like to own prophesie when they deny the light which doth enlighten every man that comes into the world who is the end of prophesie and none owns Christ who owns not prophesie A Prophet is a Seer and them that deny Prophets are all blinde and in the dark and are such as have ravened from the spirit of God and have killed the Prophets Prin. He saith The Prophets are more certaine then any other Revelation See page 21. Answ Was not the Son of God revealed the end of the Prophets Did not God reveal him which came in the volume of the Book to do the will of God And so the Prophets and the Law and types and shadows which they that had the Prophets and the Law and types and shadows knew not the Son of God that was revealed that was their end spoken of in the Prophets and Epistles who is now revealed Pr. He saith The Patriarks and Prophets were justified by conceiving Christ without c. See page 24. Ans Now the Patriarks and Prophets had the spirit that did give them an evidence of him and by faith they saw him which is beyond a conceiving by which they were justified Pr. He saith Justification by works and inherent grace we call Christ c. See page 25. Ans We say Christ is the end the substance and who believes in him hath ceased from his own works he is the end of gifts and graces and mans own inherenting and no one knows justification but who receives the grace that brings salvation Pr. He saith This justification by a righteousnesse within us is mans grand Idoll and Christs arch enemy c. See page 25. Ans We are justified by faith in Christ Jesus and that is in us in the heart this he calls an Idoll and Christs enemy which he is the author of So what doctrine this man teacheth contrary to the Apostle erred from the Apostles and faith it is that purifies the heart by which we are justified by faith and not by works which throws down all Idols and the enemies of Christ which thou art one and none owneth justification but who witnesseth justification within faith in the heart and Christ being within there is justification Pr. He saith We miserably wrest the Scripture because we say he that respecteth persons commits sin c. Ans Now let all read that in James the Apostle how that he that respects persons commits sin and is convinced by the Law as a transgressor so teaching men to transgresse the commands of God contrary to the Apostles who teach men to keep them Pr. He saith Popery and vain philosophy is the foundation of the Quakers Religion c. See page 30. Ans Whose foundation is the light of Christ which lighteth every man that cometh into the world which was before Popery or Philosophy was which you are in as your books naming of days and Colledges and Steeple-houses makes it appear Pr. He saith And to believe or thinke our Justification is by something wrought in us is that Antichrist whose name is mystery Babylon the great the mother of Harlots c. See page 32. Ans And the Apostle saith we are justified by the faith of Christ Jesus Gal. 2. And faith purifies the heart and is a mystery held in a pure conscience This Justification is by the faith of Christ within and this thou calls Antichrist and the mystery of Babylon who art there thy selfe that be out of this faith that purifies the heart For all the holy men of God were justified by their faith and the faith is in the heart And thy belief that is without thee and faith in Christ is like unto the Jewes who stood against him when he was come True faith gives victory over Mysticall Babylon and the world in which men please God in which is unity Ralph Halls Booke called The Quakers Principles Quaking In it his Principles follows and lies upon himselfe turned whose works are for the Fire and to be burned Pr. HE saith It is delusion to give up to the light within to be the Judge c. which is Christ and calls it an obscure kinde of chymistry c. Answ Which the Apostle commands to judge themselves which they cannot judge themselves but with the Light by which they may see themselves Pr. He saith doth the Light of nature as he calls it give liberty to women to teach And so that he concludes and calls grosse and palpable darkness c. Ans Contrary to the Apostles Doctrine and the mind of God and the Prophets who said God will pour out his Spirit upon all flesh and his sons and daughters should prophesie So he is a limitter of the holy one and a quencher of the Spirit and in the darkness and this is above the Light of nature Pr. He saith the Quakers blame every thing and convinceth of nothing c. Ans Are ye not all convinced of your hirelings of your covetousness of your respecting mens persons for advantage and your teaching for filthy Lucre and your gain from your quarters and your love of money Are not ye all convinced Have not the Quakers convinced you all of those things and of your pride and
Parishioners because for conscience sake they cannot put in their mouthes Therefore are they worrying of them like Wolves and destroying of them for their dishonest gain which they do no work for And do not the Ministers of God the Apostles rebuke such as went to law before the unjust one among another and bids them set up the least in the Church to Judge such things and told them they should Judge the world yea Angels and not to go to Law one among another about such things Then where art thou and thy generation that saith it is a sin if they do not go to Law if the Ministers do not sue for outward things let the least in the Church Judge thee How unlike the Apostles you are who kept the Gospel without charge and coveted no mans silver nor gold who Preached the Gospel the end of the Law and brought people from under it And you bring people into it and your inventions but the day is come that you are seen and the night is past to many and none can you deceive but who be in the night but the Judgement is gone over your heads the Judge of the world is come Pr. He saith it was imputed to Abraham for righteousness his Faith and doubtless Job was a perfect man in Gods account and Christs righteousness is imputed to us c. Ans Yet thou sâ—itâ— none â—oth good no not one and brings that Scripture in the Rom. comparing them that were in the Faith withall them that were gone astray both Jewes and Gentiles See page 21. Now let all try and Judge thee here and see thy false measure art thou a man fit to speak of the Saints and their Faith who puts them that be a stray Jews and Gentiles Amongst them that believe putting no difference betwixt the precious and the vile and so art not a man capable of true reason Pr. He saith Gods furnace is the grave where all the remainder of corruption shall be consumed c. See page 22. Ans Now what differs this from the Papists who hold a Purgatory And the Saints witnessed and said Now they were washed now they were cleansed c. while they were upon earth and they were sanctified through the obeâ—ience of the spirit they were justified and sate in heavenly places on this side the grave whiles they were upon earth and were made free from sin and was perfect Pr. He saith That Paul disclaimed perfection in himselfe c. page 23. Ans Who said as many of us as are perfect be thus minded which wrongs Pauls words And again he saith We speak wisdome among them that are perfect Pr. He saith If a man were free from sin he would be free from temporall punishment and afflictions c. see page 23. Ans Christ was free from sin and the Saints and yet he was not free from temporall punishment and affliction And so here he doth not divide the word aright neither Pr. He saith If we attain to perfection here we should attain to a rest here and brings the Apostles words who saith doubtlesse there remains a rest to the people of God c. See page 24. Ans And the Apostle saith there He that doth believe hath entered into his rest and so he doth not divide the word aright to know what state and condition it was spoken to And the Apostle said they were perfect the Ministers of Christ and he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified and so thou art not a sanctified one and hath denyed the offering that hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified and so hath denyed the Covenant that blots out sin and transgression and the blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin Pr. But he saith That doth not follow that he that is dead to sin is freed from sin See page 24. Ans So he is contrary to the Apostle who saith so He that is dead to sin is freed from sin and can live no longer therein Pr. He saith The law of God is a standing rule to the worlds end c. And thou that saith the Law is a standing rule hath denyed Christ the end of it See page 25. Answ But the Scripture and Christ saith the Law must be fulfilled who is the everlasting covenant in the heart Christ and in the minde the end of the Law which was before the Scripture was written glorified with the Father before the world began which many have the Scriptures and yet from the Law of God written in the heart and neglect that which brings into Covenant with God by which the Scriptures is fulfilled and so here again thou dost not divide the word aright and brings not people into that which doth fulfill Scripture Pr. He saith Because this light doth not lead us to close with Gods Ordinances the Sacraments he looks upon it as a delusion of Satan page 26. Answ The Scriptures mentions no such word and the light was before your invented Sacraments was and cannot joyn with them but condemns them but it owns the Scripture and the Ordinances of God Richard Baxter's Booke called A Second Sheet to the Ministry justifying our Call against the QUAKERS c. His Principles follow Because the Children of God cannot satisfie his ungodly lusts therefore he is complaining to the Magistrates So he is one of the Complainers and Murmurers Pr. HE saith That Timothy was not to hold fast that which he had immediately received from God but that which he had received from Paul c. See page 5. Answ In this thou art contrary to the Apostle who bid stir up the gift that was in him and keep the faith which Christ was the author of and that would not contradict the Apostles words that was in the faith and that which Timothy received from God he was to hold fast in which he had unity with the Apostle Pr. He saith The holy Ghost is to help us in keeping that which is committed to us and not to reveal more See page 4. Answ Timothy could not know doctrine but by revelation and doing the will of Christ How art thou exalted and would put lyes upon the Apostle and limit the holy one and set bounds to the Just and be a Teacher of the holy Ghost what it must not reveal How art thou exalted in this above all that is called God and sits in the Temple of God blasphemously who would be a teacher of the holy Ghost who must be the Teacher and who tells what it must reveal and what it must not reveal Thou must be stopt for thy presumption If ye have nothing but what the holy Ghost hath given forth the form of words the Church of Rome hath the same and all the false Prophets upon the earth and Antichrists and Seducers and the Devils they get the Scriptures given forth from the holy Ghost and holdeth these words in the unrighteousnesse and stop and resist the holy Ghost and say it must reveal no more
never finde him And as for the rest of thy lyes and slanders in thy Book and unsavoury expressions which are not worthy mentioning upon thy own head they will come one day and thy own words shall be thy burthen Jeremiah Ives his Booke called Innocency above Impudency or the strength of Righteousnesse exalted above the QVAKERS Weaknesse and Wickednesse His Principles are as followeth Pr. HE saith It is a rare thing to see any of the seed of the Devill grown up to that degree of impudence to charge a man that he hath done that which he never did do c. Answ The seed of the Devill always said that which was not true so not a rare thing to finde them for the Devill and his seed is out of the truth and when he speaks a lye he speaks of himselfe and so speaks a thing that is not and there thou art Pr. He saith The Apostle in his Catalogue of the evils of the times c. page 1. Ans Is it not better to call the Scripture a declaration as they call themselves then to call them a Catalogue and some of you vvill say it is a History and some a Catalogue and again ye vvill say it is the Word of God which the Scriptures of truth is words and God is the Word and thou art in the evill time out of the good and thy time and day is evill Pr. He saith The Quakers give that name as quaking to themselves and others do not give it them as a Nick-name c. See page 2. Answ The first that ever I did hear them called Quakers and the name given to them of Quakers was one Gervase Bennet in Darby a persecutor called a Justice of Peace though many years before the power of the Lord was witnessed yet I never heard them have that name of Quakers given before that corrupt Justice gave it them and misnamed them so and in scorn called them so and thou art one of his Scholers and Quaking and trembling we own though they in scorn calls us so and the salvation wrought out with fear and trembling we witness Pr. He saith The Devill speaks truth sometimes c. page 2. Ans Christ saith he was a lyar from the beginning and when he speaks a lye he speaks of himselfe and hath no truth in him and so he cannot speak truth as it is in him And the greatest professors upon the earth are there of the Devill that speaketh the words of truth but not as they are in it as so saith Christ to the Jewes they were of their father the Devill they speak of themselves So they that speak the Scriptures not by the spirit as was by them that spake them forth they speak of themselves as the Devill doth that abode not in the truth but a lyar from the beginning and thus the truth comprehended it For it is one thing to speak the truth in the truth and to be in it for he speaks not of himself but the truth in him but the other all speaks of themselves and there thou art and so doth the Devill and truth is not in him nor them and there with truth they are comprehended Pr. He chargeth us Whether ever any gave worse words to us then we did to others c. page 9. A. To speak truth is not to give bad words to tell a Cain he is a Cain or an Esau or an Ishmael to be an Ishmael or a Wolfe he is a Wolfe and say the evil Beasts are the evil Beasts that are worse then the common beasts And to say the greedy dogs that can never have enough are worse then the common dogs that are biting and tearing and are worse then the common beasts that feed in peace and eates their meate in peace Now to speak such words and names as these are to them that are not so that is a giving of bad names wrong names But the spirit that gave forth the Scriptures it gave such names to such as was found in those steps It le ts see now and the whole Nation may witness that friends may answer to his Challenge and the Gaols and the Courts doth shew the greedinesse of such and their persecution and their malice against the Lambs and so the Saints in the spirit doth give them their proper names to properties in their places among which names thou art found Prin. He saith Much of the Scriptures may be understood without the spirit c. page 12. Ans The Scriptures was given forth from the spirit of God and they are the things of God and the words of God and they are not known nor understood but by the spirit of God again for there is a spirituall understanding Neither can they understand any of the Scripture of truth which cannot be broken but by the spirit of God within that gave them forth which is of God of whom they were learned Pr. He saith Christ was not a Minister of the circumcision c. See page 14. Ans And the Apostle said they were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands and the putting off the body of sin of the flesh they were circumcised with the spirit but who was the Minister of this Circumcision For the Apostle saith it was the circumcision of Christ Coll. 2.11 And again the Apostle saith We are the circumcision that worship God in spirit and have no confidence in the flesh Pr. He saith What man in his right wits would say a wildernesse was a City c. page 14. Ans When the people have transgressed the Law of God they are erred from his wayes they are become a Wildernesse and bears the fruit of brambles and bryars and not seeing any way to get out till the Lords mercy be manifest to them which is further then the Law of justice And thou hast not seen thy wits end yet nor seen the Wildernesse in thy heart fenced though a City and the children of Israel were called a wildernesse in trangression though in Cities Pr. He saith He can tell things to come without the spirit of God And thou saith the Pharisees could tell by the skies what should be the weather and the dayes should bring forth and this without the spirit of God c. page 15. Ans That which gives to understand the Creation and the altering and changing of the Creation either in weather or dayes It is the wisdome of God and his spirit by which all things was made that knows these things in the truth who counts the Stars and numbers them in their kinde who sets the Sun to rule the day and the Moon to rule the night Now who understands these things it is by the spirit of wisdome who understands them aright and there may be a wilfull rejecting and a having these things in the form yet not a knowing these things in truth and so Christ calls them hypocrites And a man may know things by the spirit and go in the errour from the spirit
not the Apostle bring people off of circumcision and off of the signes and shadowes the Sabbath days and told them the body was Christ And was not Offerings and Sacrifices the commands of God Now they that love God keep his commands and those are believers that have passed from death to life and hath come to the end of the Law and the Prophets And the Angell in the Revelations makes no mention of a Sabbath there but many are come to witnesse him to whom the Angels must bow down to and saw the end of time and the beginning of time and the supper of the Lord and the Rest and the Temple of God with them and heavenly Jerusalem come down from above Pr. Thou saist It cannot be but Gods people must bethink themselves of this Doctrine delivered by Stephen to the sanctification of the Lord of the Sabbath Answ Stephen no where mentions the Sabbath day in his Examination though he judged the Jewes for not keeping the Law vvhich they had received but persecuted the Just one so he preached the substance Christ the end of the Lavv and said they had not kept the Lavv but turned against the Just and persecuted him he did not establish the Jewes in their Ceremonies signes and types But Stephen brings them to the substance and so God that gave forth the Law vvith types and figures and shadovvs in it to the vveak capacity of people in their transgression sent his Son to redeem them from it and to end the types figures and shadovvs in the first Covenant vvho is in the nevv and living vvay vvhich is no changing and shadovvs no variablenesse nor altering no turning Pr. And thou sayes Sin is double on the Sabbath-day And thou saith I conceive a Sabbath dayes journey is so farre as a person may ride to go without toyl to a meeting So where there 's no law there 's no transgression and the extent is left to the conscience Answ Hovv novv must the Beast bear a burthen Where doth the Scripture say that thou vvas to ride upon the Sabbath day Do the Beasts vvork then He sayes Thou shalt do no manner of work But sixe dayes shalt thou labour and do all thou hast to do And you that make Sabbaths and set the up old Sabbaths and do not keep it according to the Law of God with the Law of God are you judged and condemned if ye do not fulfill it in every point and they that believe Christ is the end of the Law to them he is the body which is the end of the shadow Pr. Thou sayes That the Jewes that were not to make a fire on the Sabbath day this was mentioned of the Ceremoniall Law and so concerns not Christians and so not in danger of stoning The revealed will of God that we should not turne our foot to the defiling the Sabbath When the sixe dayes is done be sure thou do not turne thy foote to pollute the Sabbath A. And dost not thee confound thy selfe in this and turne thy foot to pollute it and sayes it is the Ceremonial Law that commands it and they that gathered sticks and made a fire were stoned to death Did not they pollute it And doth not thou say it doth not concern the Christians they was not in danger of stoning And so hast not thou taught them to break the Law and the Sabbath both and pollute it and so hath overthrown all thy doctrine in thy Book and confounded thy selfe And doth not he that goes out and gathers sticks and makes a fire turn his foot from the Sabbath For he that went out to gather sticks broke the Sabbath day and was cursed and stoned to death For no fire no meâ—t no burthens was to be borne on that day of rest a figure of the everlasting rest wherein no meat is gathered no fire is made no burthen is born and there is no turning the foot but all walking in rest and peace and so I finde thee neither in Law nor Gospel Pr. Thou sayst But to be sure the Law was made for Christs Disciples Whosoever boasts of a Light within and speaks against this Law of the Sabbath hath no light in him And thou saith Quakers will not admit of this Royall Law as a rule of righteousnesse but perverts the Scriptures which sayes The Law was not made for a righteous man Answ The Disciples of Christ the Law was not made for them that came to witnesse Christ the end of the Law for they said plainly the Law was not made for the righteous And Christ is the end of the Law to them that believe for righteousnesse sake And the Quakers witnesse Christ the end of the Law for their rule of righteousness and do not pervert the Scriptures but are the believers in him who ends the Law and before it was and is the body which ends types shadowes and figures and they that draw people under the Law and the types and shadowes and figures from the light within doth not know Law nor Gospel for the Law is light and the Gospel is the power of God and such as witness Christ the end of the Law witness the end of the Sabbath Pr. Thou sayes among all Gods Lawes none sets the soul more at liberty then the fourth lively Oracle Answ And yet thou sayes men may make a fire and not be stoned and so thou teaches to break it and thy Horse may bear a burden and so dost not thou pollute it here and destroy thy own soul by thy own Judgement but I tell thee Christ is the Bishop of the soul who ends the Law and brings the Law within into the mind and heart so now the soul being subject to the Higher power the power by which all the changeable things is held up by that power remaines when all the changeable fails and decayes and ends and the soul witnesses that and the body of Christ the power stands Pr. The Sabbath was intended to righteous Stephen and all his followers and is designed to all persons to whom the Supper is joyned the Sabbath is a precept ancient and universal both for Adam a publike person and for all his posteritie but none can sanctifie the Sabbath saving Christs disciples Answ Stephen suffered death for witnessing against the shadowes and witnessing the substance and the Apostle no where joyns the Sabbath with the Supper but Stephen saw Christ the body in whom was the rest in whom he entered and the Saints that come to sup with the Lord and is supping with him comes into the body which is the end of all types and shadowes and signes which are Sabbaths and hath seen them flee away and are come to the beginning before the world was made him who was before signes shadowes and types was The Sabbath was not given to Adam in the beginning who had the dominion over all creatures living but given to Adams posteritie in the fall a sign when they came to receive
knowledge to know him which is eternal life and wisdom to walk in his waies which are perfect where Gods dwelling is in Saints there is light and they have fellowship one with an other in it and with the Son and the Father Pr That although the essence of God be within yet it no way conducts to the happinesse of man Ans Man feels not the happinesse but as he is in the power of God in which he hath communion with him and thou speaks thou dost not know what Pr. Iohn said he had heard and handled Christ and looked upon him but your Idoll Christ your light and everlasting word you say is within so that you nor any man else can say what it is except whimsies Ans Thou that hast not handled seen nor heard Christ nor felt him within art in the Idols whimsies and blasphemy for we witnesse that Christ and hath handled him and seen him and heard him and knowes the everlasting word and him within which torments thee and thy ground and thy seed because he cannot reign but Christ is come to take possession to dostroy him and his works and reigne and none sees this buâ— they that own the light within which comes from Christ the King Pr. By letters and witnesse without we will oppose your lying light within there to maintaine against the best men whatsoever your light within is a lye for you say the light within is Christ I deny the scriptures are a witnesse to beare to your light within which is your Idol and this word of God within to be no more nor less then a lye Ans The scripture beares witnesse to the light within for I know that 's thy work and the devils which is out of the light which is the truth to oppose it who rules in the Children of disobedience but cannot rule in the children of light and the scriptures saith Christ in you and God will dwell in you he is light and they are light the light that shines in your hearts to give you the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus and this the Scripture bears witness to as in Cor. 2.4.2.13 and the word is nigh thee in thy hâ—â—rt and in thy mouth Rom. 10. and as for all the rest of thy stuff confused parsell of ignorance in thy book as this before mentioned which is not worth setting pen to paper but for the simple ones sake it is given forth for the day is appeared that all your works are seen and come to light praises and glory to the Lord God the Highest for ever in the day of thy fulness thou hast been in the mischief of iniquity but in the day of thy poverty when the witness of God stirs and rises in thee and judgement enters upon thee then remember when thy works burn and thou in the fire what thou didst in the world in thy life time against the Saints and the elect and spoke of things thou couldst not know nor weigh but were too heavy for thee and how thou actest against the light of Christ within which would have led thee to salvation Enoch Howet of Lincolne His Principles in his Book as followeth as he cals the Doctrine of the Light within Pr. I Have taken upon me as my duty to forewarn all men of the Doctrine that teach men to look at the Light within them Answ We do believe thee here thou art not only Ante-Christ but Anti-Apostle that 's against him who taught people to look to the light within them and told them that the light that shined in their hearts to give them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus and this is the Doctrine which thou forwarnest all men of and said it is thy duty so thou mayest see whom thou servest that turns men from light and warns people of the Apostles Doctrine in that all may Judge what thou turns them to and whose duty thou art doing and whose messenger and Minister thou art them that be in the fear of God see thee Pr. To look to the light within is to look at his deceitful heart and it will offer thee darkness for light and its evident if thou look to that which thou cals the light within he brings thee to take councel of a corrupt heart the prince of the Aire the prince of darkness Answ The light that shines in the heart that thy darkness cannot comprehend it is not the Prince of darkness nor the Prince of the air nor the deceitful corrupt heart but by the light within is all discovered and made manifest for its the light within that discovers a mans thoughts a mans councels of his heart And Christ within is light and that the Apostle bid the Corinthians examine themselves and prove themselves and know not they their own selves how that Jesus Christ was in them except they were Reprobates Now where Christ is within there is light now Reprobates cannot endure to hear it talkt of within but cals it blasphemy corrupt heart and deceitful heart and so forth and the Apostle told the Saints that God would write his Law in their hearts and put them in their minds the law is light and God would dwell in them and walk in them and where God is there is light and in him is no darkness and the Saints are his Temple and this Doctrine the light within it s thy work and Ministry to teach and warn all men against Pr. To look at the light within leads men to look at a judgement here in this life and to take off men from eternal judgement Answ There 's none sees the judgement in this life nor the eternal judgement but with the light within for the light makes manifest what must be judged and what must not O that thou shouldst be so blind and who judge themselves shall not be judged Pr. The people which depended upon light within fell into shameful enormities and when they pretended the light within they pretended an Angel of light which cozens us which at the best is but a broken cistern the Ephesians were sometimes darkness Answ They are the broken Cisterns that cannot hold the water of life and they are under the pretended Angel of light that deny the light of Christ within and shameful enormities that be from the light which makes manifest all those things and though the Ephesians were darkness yet the light shined in the darkness and the darkness could not comprehend it John 1. Pr. The light within drawes from the expecting of the assurance of Christ by working in our hearts the children of disobedience so that we wait not upon God for assurance but to trust to the light within Answ None comes to assurance of Christ Jesus but who comes to the light that shines in his heart which Christ Jesus hath enlightened him withall who is the way to him none comes from under the power
the Almighty covereth us and it goeth before us and compasseth us about and the Lord is working a work in the Earth mighty and wonderful he is gathering the scattered and binding up the broken hearted and his people shall dwell in safety and none shall make them afraid and no weapon that is formed against them shall prosper nor no hand that is lifted up shall prevail For Sion shall arise out of the dust her beautiful garments shall be put on and mourning and sorrow shall flee away and her light is risen that is everlasting and the Sun shall never go down but his day shall remain for ever and the night shall not again cover her brightness nor the Sun set upon her habitations the City that hath long laid waste shall again be builded and the dwelling that hath long been without inhabitant shal be replenished for the numberles seed of Jacob is coming out of Egypt that will replenish the whole Earth and the seed of Esau shall become bondmen and wherefore are you gathered together and to what purpose have the wicked spent their strength to oppose what the Lord is bringing to passe shall not all our Enemies be broken to pieces and will not the Lord grinde them to powder will he not marr their beauty and stain their pride will he not bring down their crownes and corrupt their glory and stain it with his fire of wrath and make them ashamed of their wayes and Doctrines Hear this ye Priests and howl and lament for the misery that is coming upon you the Lord hath laid you naked and made you bare and you are seen as you are and the Elect is risen amongst us which ye cannot deceive but alass wo is me how have you caused the people to erre and how have you led the blind out of the way and how is truth fallen in your streets and you have daubed falsely with untempered morter and have cried peace to the wicked and condemned the righteous and all this hath vexed the righteous soul and the Lord will now arise and is risen and you shall not resist and escape the stroak of his hand which will come upon you and bruise you as a milstone for you have caused the wicked to rejoyce and the righteous to mourn and you have made sad his heart whom God hath not made sad have not you fed your selves with the fat and clothed with the wooll and hath not the peoples souls been starved and leanness been upon them all your plants aâ—â— dry and barren trees that brings forth no good fruit and your pâ—â—ple are like a wilderness that is untilled and unploughed and undressed and your flocks are like wild asses upon the mountains that is untamed as rude as the Horse and mule that knows no bridle and now it is seen what the end of your Ministry is and what fruit it hath brought sorth the Lord hath taken notice and he hath beheld how you have loytered and laid idle and the Nations lies yet like fallow ground that bears no fruit and mens hearts are untouched with absence of Gods word and there is no sound true and perfect sence amongst your people of the dealings of the Lord nor of the operation of his spirit but they remain in great blindness and ignorance void of the knowledge of God for ye have not caused them to hear his word but you have told your dreams and your false visions and you have spoken imaginations of your hearts and not from the mouth of the Lord neither have you stood in his Counsel nor hearkened to his voyce and therefore people remains unprofited but what they and you know it s naturally and not by the spirit of the Father but as dry trees you are not taught of the Father and as rough goats in the nature of swine that is polluted in the filth of the world and in the nature of dogs and Lyons devouring another and biting one another and killing one another which things were not in the Churches of Christ and we have a great controversie with you and that from the Lord we have tried you searched you and disovered your foundation and it s not found nor will not stand in the triall we have fetcht your Line from the first original and we have found out your beginning and we find yours of that Race which Christ prophesied of that should come which should deceive many having the sheeps cloathing but inwardly ravening and which Iohn saw was come and went out from the Apostles and true Churches which went from the truth and went into the world and had the forme of godlinesse without the power here began the Race in the Apostacie of the Churches and when they Apostatized from the true faith then came your original up and the world went after them and all that dwelt upon the earth worshiped the beast that hath reigned through all this time of Apostacie which hath been since the daies of the Apostles and we find your original goe no further then to the false bretheren and false Apostles which went out from the true Apostles and run for gifts and rewards and preached for filthie lucre and through covetousnesse made merchandize of souls seeking monie and gain to themselves I say we find your Original begins there and your Line goes no further and never came your first rise so far as the true Apostles you were not in your beginning of their life nor birth nor cannot be reckoned from their Original for you succeed not them but you truely succeed the false Apostles and fals bretheren which Christ prophesied should come after his daies Iohn saw was come and coming in his daies and we find you of this stock and generation and now you are discovered to be contrarie to the true Apostles and agreeing with the false Apostles in call in practice in maintenance and in all things and the Line of true judgement is laid upon you all and you are measured and found too short and weighed and found too light and we wil deale truely with you in judgement first we do hold controversie with you as concerning your call your Ministery it agreeth not with but is contrarie to what the Apostles call was they were called by power from on high and were made Ministers by the gift of the holy spirit received from God and their Ministrie was an absolute gift from God and not to be bought and sold for monie and they were anointed of the Father by his spirit of promise and to preach the Gospel but your call is at schools and Colledges in such and such orders which are attained through naturall industerie such and such arts and sciences and degrees having been so many years brought up in studying naturall arts and naturall Languages this is your ordination and your call having no respect to receive or to wait for the gift of the holy spirit to be made Ministers thereby and this is different from the Apostles
the Scriptures the words of God and properly to call Christ his name the Word of God and the Word that became flesh that is proper Scripture And they that had not the Scriptures worshipped God before the Scriptures was written as Abraham and Enoch and others and they attained to eternall life And if people have all the Scriptures and not the Spirit which was before they was given forth they want the standing rule they cannot know the Scriptures they cannot worship God aright they cannot finde eternall life they have not unity with God neither do they worship God aright but who be in the spirit that gave them forth And we do believe you that immediate revelations now by the holy spirit of God revealing things to you im-immediately ye have not and you say it is not the work of Gods spirit now nor the way of God now c. You that have ravened from the spirit of God inwardly have been the Wolves which Christ said should come which John saw was come which the world hath gone after you and yee have burst into Names and Heads Horns and Sects And the power was given to the Beast and the false Prophets and the great Whore hath corrupted the earth All Nations have drunk her cup of fornications and the Kings of the Earth So they have flown to the Kings for help against the Saints and against the Lamb but the Lamb and the Saints shall have the victory And so when you have been ravened from the spirit of God it hath not been like yee should attain to immediate Revelation by the spirit of God But now who are come to the Lamb are come to that ye ravened from they witnesse immediate Revelation They are come to that the Apostles was in the spirit of Christ the spirit of God they witnesse immediate Revelation Who are come into the feare of God the things of God is revealed unto them who are come into the spirit of God it reveals to them the deep things of God So you that deny immediate revelation by Gods holy spirit now and discovering things to you immediately you have shewed your spirits to be the false spirits unclean spirits that be in the earth like the Frogs that go out of the mouth of the Beast and the false Prophet which was discovered by John and revealed to John discovered and made manifest which now with the same holy spirit of God are you all apostates revealed and discovered to the children of the Light to the Lambs and the Saints who witnesse the spirit of God which reveales the things of God to them and immediate revelation As ever the false Prophets false Apostles false Teachers in their false prophesies and teachings did who had gotten the form and denyed the power immediate Revelation by Gods holy spirit And was it not they then that cryed to the powers of the earth for help against the Saints in all ages which was discovered and judged by the spirit of God and must go into the fire Pr. He saith The Scriptures are able to make wise unto salvation and they are a more sure word of prophecy then any voyce that we can hear from heaven page 6. And we will call them the Word of God whether the Quakers will or no and we are to go to the Law and Testimony page 7. Ans In this ye are contrary to the Ministers of the Word who calls the Scriptures the words of God and Christ the Word and calls the Scriptures a Declaration and a Treatise which Christ the Word came to fulfill And the Law and Testimony which ye say is the Old and New Testament which many may have and yet stand against the Law which is light as saith Solomon and stand against the testimony of Jesus which is the spirit of prophecy and crucifie them that be in it in the Law and Testimony they that have the Old and New Testament as witnesse the ravening Wolves that have had the sheeps cloathing but inwardly ravened from the spirit which Christ said should come John saw was come went out from the Apostles which since the world have gone after them And many may have the Scripture and stand against the voyce from heaven as the Jewes did him that spoke from heaven which was more sure him that spoke from heaven who was the end of the Scripures and comes to fulfill them And the Scriptures are not able to make wise unto salvation as you say who leave out the Faith but through faith they are Pr. Let the Quakers shew where ever Christ or the Apostles bid people looke to the light within them And the Quakers say they write from the spirit of the Lord and speake from God immediately and infallibly as did the Apostles and doth not this bring them under the curse in the Revelations page 8. And say the Letter is a dead and killing letter these he calls wicked errours And to say the light within is sufficient an old Popish argument Answ The light which every man that cometh into the world is enlightened withall is the salvation to the ends of the earth and sufficient for he that believes in it shall have the light of life and come to witnesse the Law of God in his minde and in his heart and the new Covenant which he shall not need to say Know the Lord. And the letter of Scripture paper and inke is a dead letter And thou and you all that speak and write and not from God immediately and infallibly as the Apostles did and Prophets and Christ but onely have gotten the words you are all under the Curse in another spirit ravened from the spirit that was in the Apostles onely have had the sheeps cloathing inwardly ravening wolves so deceived the World and the Nations and have been held up by the powers of the world the powers of the earth And the Kings of the earth have drunk the cup of fornication and they were like to maintain that which they have drunk And so power hath been given to the Beast over all Kindreds Tongues and Nations and they should make war against the Lamb and the Saints and continue it till the words of God was fulfilled And the Apostles told the Corinthians that light that shined in their hearts would give them the light of the knowledg of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus And so all people upon the earth that have gotten a knowledge and if the light that shineth in their hearts hath not given it them what they know they know naturally in these things they corrupt themselves And so thou and you that be ignorant of the Apostles doctrine the light that gives people the knowledge and the immediate infallible spirit that the Apostle was in and that the Scriptures was given forth from are and the Pope together in another fallible spirit then the Apostles were in comprehended with the spirit that gave forth Scriptures Pr. And what a dreadful Judgement
of the light and so out of unity and seeth not the Saviour the Redeemer the substance of all types figures Parables the end of the Law that goes upon the man of strife And so being out of the light out of the unity out of the Covenant with God In the light is the Covenant of God Pr. He saith the whole soul and body of Saints and every faculty of the soul and member of the body there is some presence of sin in them all their dayes Page 113. Ans The Saints are sanctified and washed and cleansed body soul and spirit and they are made free from sin and then can live no longer therein and the body of sin is put off And they witnessed the darkness was past so then the works of the true light shined and the day was come and they was of one soul And they witnessed as he was so was they in this present world And he that is in Christ is a new creature And where Christ is within the body is dead because of sin And he that is born of God doth not commit sin And the Saints was upon the earth when they was made free from sin and not all their dayes sin in them as thou speakes of Prin. He saith sin dwells in the Saints if any Saint think otherwise he knowes not himself and if he be one really sanctified he is under a strong delusion and drousie dream Page 119. Answ He that is sanctified is sanctified from sin and washed and cleansed and he that is out of this sanctification is in the drowsie dream For who are in sanctification are in Christ the righteousness of God and they are awakened to righteousness out of the fall in the second Adam and drowsiness and dreames and delusions that come in the first Adam And sin and drowsie dreams and delusions dwells in them that pretend that they are sanctified ones and not really Pr. He saith it is a Popish Tennent that sanctification is wrought within men and Justification or a believers being justified from sin and ungodliness and not in it but the mystery of iniquity lies in this qualification pag. 120. And they that are justified by their sanctification it is a falshood And that none are justified but Saints perfect in holiness is a notorious contradiction Page 121. Answ He that is the sanctification is the justification and so by their sanctification are they justified it is one and the same that which sanctifies justifies And every man that cometh into the world having a light that cometh from Christ the sanctification redemption justification but them that be not in the light are with it condemned And such as be in the light they come into perfect holiness and their sins are not imputed to them But them that doth not believe in the light the spirit of truth that leads the believer into all truth reproves them for their unbelief and their righteousness and their judgement and so doth not justifie them but reprove them And the justification within roots out all Popery and all contradiction But to speak of justification and sanctification without and not manifest within ye are yet in the first Adam in the Popery where ye must have a Puratory to cleanse and not the righteousness of Christ within and sanctification within and Justification So such be reproved that can talk of it without sanctification without so there is the old Adam in the sin and transgression And all falshood is among them that can talk of justification without them and not witnesse it within them For who witnesse Christ within them they witnesse justification there and sanctification for Abraham believed and it was imâ—uted to him for righteousness and his belief was within and he saw Christ his glory And such as believe they come to witness the imputation But such as come again to witnesse that they are nearer then when they did believe and to witness that they have received Christ within is the end of their belief there they witness the righteousness it self without imputation which is the substance that which the promise ends in and all the fathers hoped for who stood in the imputation and all the believers in him But Christ being come the end of mans belief the righteousness it self here is a justification alone without the imputation Christ the righteousness of Gods blessing and glory for ever And a believer that is jâ—stified he is a new Creature and is past from the death which came by the sin comes to enter into his rest where sin is not And all the falshood and the contradiction is without the possession of justification and sanctification which reprobates talk of it in the mystery of iniquity and unbelievers in the mystery of iniquity which have the sheepes cloathing the outside the clothing of the Saints yet ravened from the spirit inwardly These have not been like to own justification within or sanctification there that inwardly ravened from the spirit of God which all must come to that which they ravened from and they themselves before they feel the justification sanctification Christ within them and have received the substance the thing the Scripture speakes of which not believing in the Light and going from it though they get all the sheeps cloathing yet are they not thereby justified though they get all the good words and the forme of godlinesse and obey not the Gospell the power of God for none obeys the Gospell but whâ— obeys the Light within And who are justified it is by the faith of Christ Jesus and without faith they cannot please him And who are in the Faith are the believers in the Light and so the Justification and the Faith doth qualifie from their old nature and mindes Pr. He saith They are not justified because they are new borne nor for their believing page 122. And I can say I am crucified with Christ and yet I have a corrupt rotten heart and an old lying heart as before he saith and Christ lives in him and there is a body of sin and death dwels in him And the life that he now lives in the flesh is by the faith of the Son of God Page 124. Answ Where Christ is within the body is dead because of sin and where the saith of the Son of God is lived in it gives victory over sin And the life of Christ is out of Adam in the Fall in sin and transgression And the Circumcision comes to be witnessed that puts off the body of sin And where the life of Christ is lived in the new Covenant is there the new heart rotten corrupt lying is put off the old man and his deeds with his deceitful lusts And he that believes is borne of God is justified and he comes into the faith by which he pleaseth God and he that doth not believe is out of the faith and it is impossible he should please God and is out of that which should justifie him Pr. He saith Christs
and Verse he can finde it again this is not like them which gave forth Scriptures which be learned of God and what they had received of God afterwards recorded which now you and the Priests fall out about and are in heaps and have no unity with it nor God nor one with another and would tear one anoâ—hers flesh to pieces about it and here your spirits are tryed William Greenhill Priest of Stepny who makes a trade of the Scripture his principle as followeth Pr. THe scripture is the Divine word and wisdome of God Ans Thou hast thrown out Christ in this and put scripture in his place and given the scripture his name who is the Word as in the Revelation Whose name is called the word of God who is the wisdome of God and this the scripture testifies of as in the Corinthians Iohn and the Revelations Pr. William Stanly a Tutor to children said That some had a priveledge to sin and yet were free from the condemnation of the Law by the sufferings of Jesus Ans But none have a priveledge to sin from God but from the devill for it is contrary to the Law of God for the Law doth not tolerate any such thing nor the Son of God who was made manifest to destroy the Devill and his works and to condemn sin in the flesh so no one hath a priveledge to commit sin but from the Devill and it is no priveledge to sin from God A book called the Relation of the Quakers shaking those whose names are at it are Iohn Gilpin Thomas Craster Thomas Sands Iohn Archer Edw. Turner Priest Walker WHo are like unto Jannes and Jambres who resist the truth being men of corrupt mindes who blaze abroad in the Nation to make truth odious and to posess the hearts of people by some that turne from truth first Iohn Gilpin who by truth was made to confesse his sin and had openings and then turned from it again and turned to the persecutors and this Gilpin was these mens convert which was most of them all the greatest persecuters in the North which after Iohn Gilpin had turned from these people called Quakers to these men whose names are to the book he turned drunkard being drunk a warrant was granted out for him by a justice of peace and yet these men whose names are at this book stiled this man one of their high converts but according to their works their reward will be Iohn Gilpin said While he was with the Quakers he never found such effects among the Ministers of England as he did amongst the Quakeres of the discovery of his sin in perticular of his Covetousnes which had a great long root in him And this all these men whose names are in the book tearms it to be of the Devill and this is their judgement because Iohn Gilpen run out in his imaginations therefore that which discovers to a man all his sins and his covetousnesse that is of the Devil too O! no my friends you have wrong judged and you will fail at last whom you have judged and what you have justified that which discovers your sin and filth and covetousnesse that which discovers the Devill which is the author of it that is the light and life of Jesus Christ and so in stead of saying the Quakers are shaking you are shaking yourselves and your foundation made knowne not to be the foundation of Jesus Christ And the light that discovers sin and when the true thing did convince and work in Iohn Gilpin then his imaginations run out and you and he calls it delusion to hearken to the voice within and yet you and Iohn Gilpin saith that he was in some measure raised to believe that God would deliver him and yet it is delusion to hearken to the voice within Ans What confusion is here amongst you and your convert doth any believe or come to deliverance or faith but who heares the light within and who heares the voice within and beares witnesse within doth not he that believes hearken to the witnesse in himselfe and hath he not it there and is not faith in the heart and any deliverance is it knowne but what is known from that within and thus you poor deluded creatures are glad to trust in lyes and make them your refuge Pr. He saith He began to consider how he had offended God by his neglect of the use of externall meanes reading hearing and prayer and rejecting the revealed will of God in his word and hearkening to the voice of God only within Ans Is reading and praying in the spirit externall meanes is this your judgement all you Priests and teachers and great professors found in this book can any pray but in the spirit and Read the scriptures and know them againe but in the spirit and is not that eternall can any man know the revealed will of God and his word but it must be by the spirit is not the word in God is not Christ the word his name is called the word of God and can any know these things but by the voice within which voice is the spirit the spirit of the Father speaking in believers the saints which led them to speak forth Scriptures so when that voice was neglected then was Iohn confused as you are all now that speak against it that whatsoever filth and durt you run into you will father it upon the voice within or the light and Christ within but you are comprehended and seen who are now flown to your external meanes you tell people of and your prayers and Reading are external we do believe you who be all out of the spirit but if ever any of you come to know God and true praying in the spirit you will deny your principle and we do believe your meanes is external and your prayers externall without the spirit of God and this Gilpin who had been thus covetous grievous sinner whom the Lord smote that he came to be almost a distracted man after he had got a little ease from under the judgement his flight being in the winter he goes to the Priests and professors which be here mentioned in this book enemies of all righteousnesse and presently turns a drunkard and a Justice of the peace granted a warrant to set him in the stocks and so he passed away about thirty miles off to Cacebie and this is Gilpins Lord who was convicted by the truth of his covetousnesse and his sin who run into his imaginations whose latter end is worse then his beginning And this is the convert of this many persecuting professors and teachers who to their shame have published it which comes a top of their own heads and truth is cleare and filth is wiped away and wiping and the refuge of lies is flying away that people shall not make them their refuge and those persecuting professors and Priests take occasion to speak of one James Miler in whom the Lord did open true prophesies and mighty
regard and receive but if one come in the Name of the Lord him you put out so you will not have the Lord nor his Christ to reign neither his servants to labour in his Vineyard Pr. Ministery is like a mighty tree whose fruit the Lord hath appointed for the healing of the Nations Answ But your Ministers and the Papists hath been them got up since the days of the Apostles that brings Nations all into heaps and into blood and doth not heale the Nations but wounds and burthens and kills and casts into prison as this your fruit declares it who casts into prison such as you doe no work for Pr. To the Law and to the Testimony pray to the Father of lights that he would enlighten us with his truth and shew us the way that he would have us to walke in and pray for us who watch for your soules as those that must give account Answ The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy And the Law is light and the Law and Testimony was before Matthew Marke Luke and Iohn and the Epistles were written and the Revelations which outward Books you call Law and Testimony which the Scripture saith the testimony of Iesus is the spirit of prophesie and the Law is light Prov. 6. Are you them that are the makers of Ministers and Ministers who watch for the soules of people and yet do you bid people pray to the Father that he would enlighten you with his truth and shew you the way that you may walke in it How can you present soules to God that doth not know the way and are yet to be enlightned and yet to have the way shewed so you that you might walke in it Is this your conclusion of all you Ministers in Ireland Now I say Christ hath enlightned every man which comes into the world which is the way and though your darknesse cannot comprehend it and yet you pray that he would enlighten you When John saith he doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world and that is the true light Have you the light to seek and the way to seek and truth to seek and yet watchers for souls And the soule you that are called Ministers saith it is humane yea the soule of Christ the soule of man is appetite and lust and pleasure and humane from the earth from the ground Is Christs soule from the ground and appetite lust and pleasure wars against the soul in them that be in the unreasonablenesse You that have the light to seek truth to seek and way to seek are in the earth and so gives the soule the name of that which comes from the ground Now the soule is immortall God breathed into man the breath of life and he became a living soule It is that which came out from God who hath all souls in his hand that 's his power which hand goes against him that doth evill And Christ the power of God which is immortall is the souls Bishop which is immortall from whence it hath its nourishment and the immortall which is able to save the immortal soul And as for all the rest of your ignorance and non-sence in your Book which comes from your confused earthly spirit who are found in the nature spirit and stock of your Father the Pope who hath apostatized since the dayes of the Apostles with all the rest of your stuffe which is but fuel for the fire in that day of your account the witnesse in all your consciences shall answer it John Stillom his Book called Margent Notes His Principles as followeth Pr. HEe calls it the Quakers adoring their own light magnifying the light of nature The Church is ashamed of your doctrine and walking saith he Ans The Quakers light is Christ the truth in whom they worship God which light was before naturall lights were and this the Church owns and is not ashamed of in which stands the Doctrine by which light the Church is gathered up unto God the Father of light but the imitated Churches in the Apostacy are ashamed of it Pr. Not any man knows him speaking of Christ to be God till he finde him in Scripture and saith as deep things as the spirit hath revealed they are all in the Scripture Ans Many knew God and knew Christ and yet had not written Scripture to tell them of those things as Enoch and Abel and many again hath Scripture speaking of God and Christ and yet doth not know God and Christ and doth not finde him in Scripture As instance the Pharisees knew not God and Christ which had the Scripture and had not life untill they came to Christ the Scripture speaks of and many things the spirit did reveal which was not written in the Scriptures and was spoken to the Saints Pr. John meaneth not that there was any substantiall truth necessary to be known to salvation which is not revealed in the written Word but the spirit that ordered the Copies and mysteries of the Gospell to be contracted within a narrow compass of lines Answ Many knew their salvation as in the dayes of Noah Enoch and David which had not the written Scriptures And though people have the Copies that speaks of the Gospel of the mysteries of the Gospel put together and compassed and contracted into lines yet they do not know the Gospell nor the mysteries of it nor the Word though they testifie of these things and the Pharisees did not that had Scripture which Scripture doth not tell us of written words but that the Word is Christ and God which was in the beginning before words were given forth And Gospell and salvation and the mysteries of it is known by the Spirit and the Light which come from Christ Jesus which none knows it but by that Pr. Stillom adds not onely heart rising prophesie nâ—r breast-prophesie in the minde but written downe in books The Apostle excludes not heart-prophesie so he includes Scripture-prophesie but till the day-star did arise in their mindes by the reading and heeding of the Scriptures that is plain meaning Answ The Scriptures were given forth by prophesie and the spirit of it and no man knows but by the same spirit and the Apostle did not exclude heart-prophesie and the Day-star doth not rise in the heart by mens reading and heeding the Scriptures in their own wills and having them in books written down but as men do come to the life and spirit as they were in that gave them forth and heed that with that they heed Scripture and knows Scripture and with that they know the Day-star and Christ who is the end of them and so men must come to take heed of the light that shines in a dark place before they know the Day-star arise For the Jewes had Scripture and did not heed that for the spirit within of prophesie doth not deny any tittle of the Scripture without And in thy Principle thou hast confounded thy selfe who saith Not heart-prophesie heart-rising
never knew the minde of the Lord discovering by any of his servants neither under the old nor new Covenant And these dreamers go to a place and doth not know what to say till they come to the place Answ Philip was sent to a place and then it was told him what to say when he came to it And he was not a dreamer but thou art who goes without a command from God and runs when he never sent thee and follows thy own spirit And they that speak as the spirit gives them utterance and moves them and takes no thought but it is given them in the same hour and thou that art out of this art in the glosses It was the minde of the Lord for Isaiah to go naked and to strip himselfe in Aegypt and Aethiopia as many are moved of the Lord to go naked among you spirituall Aegypt and Ethiopians and to put off their cloaths which is a figure to you that the sheeps cloathing must be taken off of your ravening wolves backs Pr. Thou saist For the present thou dost not apprehend any thing more but that the Devill shall transforme himselfe into an Angel of light And there are hardly a people to be found that cry out more against sin and the appearance of sin and unrighteousness then they do as far as I know or have heard to declare them to be carried forth as Ministers of righteousnesâ— Answ Thy apprehension is vaine and judgement false for the Devill transformed himselfe into an Angell of Light before the Apostles deceased and so is transformed into you who have the words but out of the life for the Devill could not transforme into the Apostles while they were in the life and you are Antichrist that are crying out against sin and unrighteousness and lives in it but the Quakers are the sins enemie and the soules friend which are the Ministers of righteousnesse and declared so to be in all your consciences to be in the life of all the Prophets Apostles and Christ and do see that you be transformed into their words but out of the life with that judged Pr. I am perswaded the Quakers do not tell a lye that Satan he will either choose to do some things as healing some infirmity and turning water into wine and the like this is a deceitfull way enough that all the belly-gods in England may become Quakers this labour of mine may make thousands to refuse their errours and delusions because it can be done through a great light that is in Antichrist Answ The Quakers are in the truth and out of the lie and see you are in it for Antichrist is turned from the light and the Devil is not he that turns water into wine and heals the sick and infirmities nor Antichrist but the true Christ where did you read that they turned water into wine or heal the sick therefore thou and you by your delusions and errours your labour is to deceive thousands And thou hast cleared the Quaker from being in the errour or delusion for thou sayest they dare not lie then they are not of the Devil who is the ground of all error and delusion and you Priests are the greatest belly-gods in the Nation for you devour up the tenthes of the Nâ—tion of poor husband-men and so you cannot endure the power that makes to tremble so cannot endure the salvation Pr. What if one of these Quakers should be sent to a blind leader of the people and a man is not able to reply a word and it may be a good Scholar Answ Them in scorn you call Quakers hath been moved by the power of the Lord God to come against such as thou art leaders of the blind and though you have been great Scholars and when you have not been able to resist their spirit but found naked from the spirit of the Lord you have cryed to your Rulers and Magistrates to help take them away cast them into prison and there hath been your weapons and Antichrists Court and Fort and the wolves in the sheepes cloathing strong against them that be in the Apostles and Christs power and life and doctrine and now you are discovered Pr. The crucifying the Son of God a-fresh that is Christ without or else in the heart of another not in his own that doth it and thou saith thou ingages thy affections to the seekers because of their attainments Answ He that crucifies Christ a-fresh to himself first crucifies him in his own heart before he crucifies him in anothers heart without him and it is the affections that thou art joyned withall to people and not with the spirit to the notional attainments for hadst thou been in the spirit thou wouldst not have writ such a book as this is against the truth or affections above or answered the principle of God in the seekers or minded the life in them or in thy own particular in which you might have lived in unity with God and Scripture but whither art thou turned now to thy great fat Benefice and didst steal some words from the seekers and sell them to poor people to make a trade of them Pr. Thou sayest thou wouldst have all people take a right way in opposing the Quakers with a strong understanding in the Scriptures to reason with them Answ All your understanding and your reasoning if you get all these Scriptures in it yet you are not able being out of the life that gave forth Scriptures not to resist the spirit of the Quakers which is that which was in them that gave forth Scriptures though you may gain-say and oppose like Cain Core and Baalam but wo unto you Pr. I shall give my consent if the Quakers transgresse our Lawes they might have double punishment and if you will not believe the truth that comes from them I hope you will believe it as it comes from the mouth of God with speed forsake the Quakers society wholly publike and private Answ Here is thy confession again and judgement and thy unjustice wouldst thou have double punishment inflected upon them that breakes the Law and dost thou say that the Quakers are the mouth of God and if you will not believe the truth as it comes from them believe it comes from the mouth of God and yet must people wholly forsake the societie of the Quakers publike and private and call this overcoming strong questions This is the strengthening of strong questions overcoming you that be in the deceit who are to be Judged Pr. That God is all and in all Answ The Scripture saith so God is all and in all and through you all and over you all blessed for ever and this is not to justifie any prophanness nor wicked actions but it is you that would not have the Lord to have no Roome in your hearts that would not have him to be in people nor have him there to Reign Pr. I have sometime told the Quakers that I did conceive the design of Antichrist