THE Doctrine of Perfection VINDICATED By way of Answer to some objecting Reasons frequently used by them that plead for Sin in this life And that Freedom from Sin is to be attained in this life or never plainly shewed herein and how they that deny it are one with the false Prophets and Antichristian Seducers spoken of in the Scriptures With some Wholsome EXHORTATION given forth as the Spirit gave utterance tending to provoke all that make a profession of God to press on after the same Shewing plainly how it is agreeable with what is signified in the Scripture and the Light within both of which bears witness for the said Doctrine and against all Sin Something likewayes expressed concerning BREAD and WINE Also some wholsome DIRECTIONS to stir up young People to seek after their Creator in the dayes of their youth Written by one who breathes to God for the Redemption of the Seed that lies yet in the house of bondage bound by the Cords of Iniquity J. Whitehouse LONDON Printed for R. Wilson 1663. TO THE READERS FRIENDS THe eternal invisible Fountain of Wisdom Life Love and everlasting Mercy who is the Creator and Upholder of all things by the Word of his powerful Spirit who is God over all blessed for ever who when I was young and tender in years did beget a sincere desire in my soul which hath caused me even to this day secretly to seek after the knowledge of and acquaintance with him that I might know his Will and receive Power from him to do the same 's the which desires he in his endless Love to my poor breathing soul which hath no true peace nor satisfaction but in doing his Will and enjoying his Presence which is of more value to me than any outward thing yea than Life it self in this world hath far more abundantly satisfied than many now can or than I my self once could believe when I was in the darkness which comprehends not the Light of his Son which shines in the hearts of the sons and daughters of men letting them see the evil of their wayes which I testifie as one who hath made proof of the same is sufficient to give them the knowledge of God and to lead them into all Truth if they would but give up to follow the leadings of it by the leadings of which in my seeking estate have I been drawn from one sort of People to another still to associate my self with those who did most sincerely press on after God in a holy life being willing to run with the formost that I might obtain with them the prize which is to say in this life only a perfect freedom from all sin even to put off the old man with all his deeds which is sin and a putting on the new which is created after God in perfect and true Holiness which the Lord God hath given me by his Spirit to believe and see a possibility of attaining to in which only stands the certain assurance of the full Prize and the eternal Weight and Crown of Glory which in the Life to come is to be fully enjoyed the which this first is but as an Earnest of without which the true certainty of the second cannot be obtained And since I have received this Faith power thereby hath been given me far more than before when I rejected the Light of his Son by which only I witness it is received And now this Faith which is from above even the perfect gift of God I find to be the chiefest thing for the effecting and compleating of an holy life in man through the power of God in them which believe being received into the heart of obtaining a perfect life becomes as a root therein which is pure that causeth the branches to be holy and keeps the creature circumspect and sincere to God still minding what a holy Calling and Mark is set before it and so the Faith being sound and clean the fruits thereof are Holiness which becomes the House of the Lord God And verily whosoever comes to sup with him without this comely pure covering of Holiness they shall in no wayes enter with the Lamb into the Marriage-Chamber but be shut out the which I see this day to the burthening of my soul and grief of my spirit is abundantly wanting amongst most People professing God and Christ for they having not this purifying Faith count it Blasphemy and Error and so rest and believe in the contrary which is to say they must live in sin whilst in this life being taught so by their blind guides who could not themselves cease therefrom and so Prophaneness is gone forth from the Priests over all the Land as in the ancient dayes which giveth way to much loosness and sin the which if any in the Spirit of meekness and fear of God reprove them for then presently they flee to the Scripture and with the same spirit that leads them to sin rake together all the Saints failings to plead for sin term of life the which those things were never written for so that in stead of resisting the Devil in the pure Faith which stands in the Power of God rather gives place to him and pleads for their so doing so that the Devil hath not his Kingdom by force onely but by consent they having granted him a place in them while they have a place in this life which grieves the Spirit of God their Creator who alone should have the Rule and Government of their bodies souls and spirits which are his in the sense of which I am moved to write these following lines by way of Answer to some Questions or objecting Reasons which are frequently used by them that plead for sin and against the Doctrine of Perfection that if possible it may be a help to stir them up to the Witness of God in them that their Understandings by it may be opened who are not wilfully blind but rather through ignorance stand against the thing being beguiled by the subtilty of the Serpent as Eve in her innocency was who told her though she did eat of the forbidden fruit she should not surely dye and that is his lying voice at this day whether in Teachers or others that tells people though they live in some sin they shall be saved from the condemning power thereof So I shall proceed in order as before-mentioned as the Lord shall assist me by his Spirit with what else may be given me in thereby even as the Spirit shall give to express in what signification God shall please for the good of all that desire after him to whom this may come the which I commit to the Light in all Consciences to answer to the truth hereof desiring all that know me in the outward not to slight it because of the meanness of the outward vessel that wrote it but with care to weigh it over that God's Witness in you may answer for God hath made the poor in this world rich in
who wait therein upon him wherefore let not your minds run after vain things but above all mind the Fear of the Lord and seek after your Creator in your youthful dayes before the evil seed hath gotten too deep a root in your hearts for then it will be hard to get it out yea ever the longer you put the day of the Lord off so much the harder will it be for you to return and become conformable to his Will even as it is hard to make an old crooked tree streight and fit it for the building which is not done without much hewing so will it be with you if you go on till old age in the crooked perversness of sin but if you take up the Cross while you are young then shall you grow up as the pleasant plants of a Garden in whom the Husbandman is well-pleased who will make it the delight of his soul to water you with the distilling Dews of his Love which is better than Wine or Oyl or any earthly thing O then after Him seek ye with your whole hearts then shall you find Him and be satisfied in the fulness of his Love whose Life will rest upon you and make you like unto himself whose Image of Love you are to bear forth to all men who causeth his Sun to shine upon his Enemies aswel as his Friends but yet you are to bear a faithful Testimony against all Unrighteousness hating the evil of all but the persons of none and in all conditions watch over your own spirits with diligence for the greatest enemy you have to deal with is in your own house which will be drawing your minds into something or other in the Creation below that so he might cause you to forget God your Creator which if you be crossed in and cannot have your wills satisfied nor accomplish the desire of your minds murmur not for God seeth what will be best for your good and his glory O therefore let not your minds run after Gold nor Silver Houses nor Lands Wives nor Husbands neither the Friendship of the World nor the Fashions thereof which will all pass away and come to nothing but above all these seek ye first the Kingdom of God and the Righteousness thereof and in it be content with what shall be of God added unto you who will not suffer those that fear him to want any good thing who have chosen the one thing needful above all other things even the good part and have refused the evil and the many things whereby comes the offence such have made a good choice for the Lord is their Inheritance and Portion and their Lot is fallen in a good ground Wherefore all come turn in and cleave to the one good thing even that which never consented to any evil for that is the Seed of the Kingdom which is likened to a little Leaven which the woman hid in the Meal and it leavened the whole Lump even so is that Seed the Righteous Leaven hid in your hearts to leaven you into its nature which is of the Nature of God O then let all your hearts be united thereunto and in obedience give up to the vvorkings of it and then it vvill vvork out all that is contrary to God in you and make you like unto it self vvhich is meek and lowly harmless pure and undefiled and therefore it condemns you while you are in the lofty hurtful filthy nature which leads you into sin Which if it follow you with Torment Condemnation giving you no peace in your evil vvayes then this I testifie as one who have had experience thereof That it is the Love of God unto you for then is he seeking after you and striving with you by his Spirit that he might draw you to Himself who would not that you should perish in your sin but turn to him and receive the reproof of his Instruction which is the Way of Life O therefore turn ye turn ye and kiss the Rod that smites you and it will be a staff of strength unto you with which you shall walk and not be weary and with it shall you smite down your Enemy who would stop you in the way and when you are faint you shall lean thereon and be strengthened and then that which was your Condemner will become your Justifier and that which spoke trouble will speak peace unto you Wherefore let the time past be sufficient which you have spent in vanity and for time to come see that you hearken to that which calls to Repentance even the Light of Jesus which is the more sure Word of Prophecy nigh in your hearts and in your mouthes which is the Word of Faith which the Apostle preached which will purifie your hearts from sin and cleanse your spirits from iniquity So while the Lord calls see that you answer for his Spirit will not alwayes strive with men And now my Friends you who are in any measure turned to this or hereafter may turn and by it come to see many vanities of the World and foolish customs of men which you must forsake or you cannot have peace with God which will be a cross unto you this is my Counsel unto you That you reason not with flesh and blood which must not God's Kingdom inherit but give up freely and look not at your own weakness neither flee the Cross for if you do then you save alive the Enemy of your own peace which is the carnal mind which must be crucified upon the Cross which is spiritual So stay your minds only in the Light and there you will find the Power of God to crucifie your carnal minds in which the weakness stands and will give you power over all vvithin and vvithout for this I can truly say for your encouragement Are you weak and fearful so was I but the Lord hah made me in many things strong and bold for that which is good glory to his Name for ever in whom I will make my boast for he it is who worketh all my works in me and for me so that I am nothing but He is all who if He should forsake me I should surely fall So whatever he may shew you or do for you or with you yet still keep you in the sense of your own nothingness lest the boasting mind get up in you to rob Him of his Glory So be not high-minded but fear and make it your greatest care to be diligent and hearken to his Voice that you may be prepared for the glorious Manifestation which is to be revealed in you by the Son of God who is arisen higher in his Beauty than in the dayes past wherein the cloud of Ezer and thick darkness was over many by which they were vailed but the day is at hand wherein the light of the Moon shall become as the light of the Sun and the light of the Sun as the light of seven dayes and the eyes of many shall be opened to see
are of God then that which is of the Devil is done away So here perfection in part will not stand nor agree with this Doctrine for it is manifest if we are in Christ Jam. 1.4 then the intireness is known where nothing is wanting because all things are of God who is perfect but this work is not by self neither by man's own willing â—or running but of God that shews mercy Col. 1.27 1 Cor. 1.30 2 Cor. 4.7 which mercy is Christ the Light in all that receive him the hope of Glory who is made unto them wisdom and power to mortifie and justifie to kill and to make alive even to work all their works in them and for them which was the treasure that the Apostles had in their earthen vessels that the excellency of the Power might be of God and not of them the which work must be witnessed in this life for after the departure hence Heb. 3.7 8. there is no putting off the old man with his deeds Therefore while it is called to day harden not your hearts but arise and awake to Righteousness and hearken to that which knocks at the door of your hearts calling to repentance Rev. 3.20.21.27 for nothing that defiles or is defiled must enter with the Lamb into the Kingdom of Glory And if your heads lie down in sin and in it you end your race even so will your rest be in your old garments you will be found which the Lord who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity hath no pleasure in neither will receive you unless your garments are made white in the blood of the Lamb which clenseth all who walk in his Light from sin which was witnessed by the Apostles who walked therein in this world which made them bold against the day of Judgment because as he was even so were they which is agreeable to Christ's own words who said He that is perfect shall be as his Master the which if you witness not before you go hence all your hopes of it hereafter wil be as a dream wherein a man thinks he is drinking but when he awakens lo he is dry Even so all your dreams of entring into Holiness with Christ or having his Righteousness imputed for yours whilst you have lived in unrighteousness will all pass away as a vision of the night or as a dream which cometh to nothing And for the further proof of this point in hand the Doctrine of Perfection Joh. 1.1 give ear a little to the Light of Christ the faithful and true Witness even the Word that was in the beginning before sin was brought forth Rom. 10 8. which in the Scripture is called the Word nigh in the heart and in the mouth which Paul preached Joh. 15.26 and the Spirit of Truth which convinceth the world of sin which is infallible and cannot change nor err but keeps its unity with God of whose nature it is Behold I bear a Testimony against all sin saith the Light whatever is reproved is made manifest by me and in righteous Judgment I seal the Condemnation upon every soul of man that doth evil for I never consented to any sin since the day that man transgressed against me in the beginning but have kept my Unity with my Father in purity though man fell yet not me I spare no sin great nor small but by me it is condemned all neither speak I peace to any therein telling them they shall be saved from the Wrath to come though they live in some sin though man's ear which should have heard my Voice hath been stopped by the Devil and his eye kept blind by the god of the world so that he hath not known my Voice nor seen my Shape and though I have knockt at the door of his heart yet he would not open to me but loved the voice of the Serpent better who hath taught many to teach this for Truth That he must have some part in their hearts as long as they live on the earth and yet notwithstanding they shall be saved but behold they shall find it a lie and I will make them to know it was never spoken by me in the day when I shall judge the secrets of all hearts when none shall be able to stop my Mouth nor hinder my Voice Then will I kindle a Fire that shall never go out and quicken a Worm which shall gnaw eternally then shall they remember how I shewed them the evil of their wayes and set their sins in order before them but they would not hearken unto me neither regard reproof but stopped their hears at my Voice and closed their eye-lids at the shining of my Light John 3.19 20. loving the darkness rather because their deeds are evil therefore the wages of sin shall be their portion in the pit of death for ever Wherefore thus saith the Light that shines in darkness Come all ye workers of iniquity and stand in your ranks together and let me reason with you a little O ye Murderers and envious ones ye Thieves and covetous of other mens goods ye Swearers Lyars and false-witness-bearers Cozeners Cheaters and users of any dissimulation whatsoever with all you proud lustful ones and all you Gamesters and vain boasters Singers and rejoycers in that which your own vain minds have invented and all foolish jesters and speakers of idle words whatsoever even all from the greatest sinners to the least Do not I the Light in all your Consciences reprove and condemn you for all these things as well the least as the greatest Did I ever give you leave to live in any of these things but contrariwise have I often wooed and entreated you to come out of them telling and shewing you plainly if you lived in any of these things you should never inherit the Kingdom of God And also O you Professors who have had a form of Godliness but not the holy power thereof who in an outward show have made many Prayers with other outside shews of Holiness while your hearts were full of Iniquity and the in-side all Deceit have not I the Light often smitten you for these things Mat. 7.20 21 22 23. shewing you that the Lord looked not at the outward appearance but only requireth the heart and though you may say you have prophesied in my Name yea and cast out Devils with many wonderful works yet will I profess I never knew you unless you receive me that I may cleanse you from all iniquity Wherefore cleanse your hands ye Publicans and purifie your hearts ye Pharisees for so long as you are in sin neither of you are justified by me Deny me in any of these things before-mentioned if you can for which if I condemn you think you to find mercy with my Father Nay Joh. 5.22 nay my Father and I are both one and he hath committed all Judgment unto me and that you will find one day to your utter condemnation
his purpose is to satisfie it if you would joyn with him with whom all things are possible in that which shews you your conditions in that state where you are and makes it loathsome unto you that you might consent unto him and be willing to come forth who is calling in the freeness of his Love this day to all that are weary and heavy laden with sin Matth. 11.28 29 30. and have no delight in it that they might come to him who is meek and lowly in their hearts and take his yoke upon them which I testifie is easie to all the honest-hearted and his burden is very light wherefore O ye sincere breathers after God who hunger truly after him and his Righteousness lift up your heads for the Blessing of God is unto you therefore doubt you not but turn to the Light that tells you all that ever you did and look ye only at him and not at your own weakness then will you find him to be a Saviour who will open your eyes and enlighten your hearts and will bring you to the Fountain of Life where you shall draw Water out of the Well of Salvation Joh. 4.14 whereof you shall drink and be satisfied which shall spring in you up to everlasting Life Oh therefore come away for the Day of all dayes is dawned and the black clouds of the dark night which were over the Sun of the morning are fleeing away and the stone is rouled from the mouth of the Sepulcher and the Lamb is arisen from thence therefore arise come away my Beloved why seek ye the living amongst the dead For lo the fulness of him is not at all to be found in the observation of any outward things as Bread and Wine or the like Col. 2.20 21 22 23. which perish with the using therefore is leanness of soul upon all who stick in outward shadows and a complaint heard in all their habitations mourning in all their streets Wherefore arise arise this is not your Rest for it is polluted and the Lord is departed from thence and is turning away the backside of his Glory that you may behold him in the perfection of beauty even face to face therefore his bowels yearn towards you that he might come in and sup with you that he may make his abode with and in you knowing right well that your souls satisfaction depends onely of the enjoyment of his pure living presence which only quickens and raises them out of death to life which no external thing can do Rev. 3.20 Jer. 23.29 Rom. 10.8 therefore is he come home to the door of your hearts Oh then come down and feel to the knocks of the hammer of his Word which is nigh you even in your hearts and mouthes that your rocky and stony hearts may be softned and broken thereby then shall you feel the Water of Life which will spring from the Light therein the which when you have felt and tasted of you will never go more to the muddy waters which are fouled by the feet of the beasts of the field which satisfieth not the appetite of that which hungers after God for the sake whereof my soul breathes after you and to the Lord also in your behalf and in the yearning bowels of endless and unutterable Love am I drawn forth thus to write unto you in this day wherein the Lord hath shewed me how he is seeking you to himself who by the right-hand of his out-stretched Arm will bring you into the Fold of true Rest if you resist him not in the way of his own workings wherein he is drawing near unto you even to reveal himself in your hearts that he might guide you with the Light of his Eye and be unto you an Everlasting Teacher Therefore this must I signifie unto you that it is in his Love to you for good to suffer your Teachers to be removed into corners this day and to premit such in their places wherein your souls have no delight that so he may draw you home to his own house wherein there is bread enough that so you may come to wait to receive at his hand and not at the hands and lips of men who have fed you with that which died of it self and quickened not unto God neither will stand you in any stead in this day which is come as a tryal to shew you the emptiness of all outward things whereof you have been feeding in them thinking to have life and have denied the Light within in which the Life is only and have been idolizing men who spoke unto you in the wisdom of words and not in the power of God by setting them up in your hearts and running in your minds upon them more than you should have done and while you enjoyed their presence you made slight of the little appearance of Christ's Light in your Consciences the which many of them taught you to do telling you it was a natural thing which grieved the Lord therefore did he often warn the Teachers and Professors by his Servants and Prophets both by words and signs what a day he would bring upon them for these things except they repented and turned from the evil of their wayes to his Light but they would not hear nor regard therefore in righteous Judgments is it now come and coming to be fulfilled but yet in mercy that so he might bring you down to himself whose Love is yet to many of you freely held forth in the Light of his Son whom I exhort you all to bow unto Psal 2.12 and kiss him lest he be angry and in his Wrath withdraw from you shutting the door of mercy because when he called you would not answer but O my spirit yet breathes towards you saying Oh that you would cease hunting without like Esau for so you miss of the blessing but turn in home to the Light of Christ and like Jacob keep at home and there you will meet with the Blessing which will satisfie your souls Col. 2.16 17. where you will feel the ingrafted Word of Life to be the full sum and substance of all outward shadows and far exceeding all Types or Representations that can ever be made of it the which when you come indeed to know and find your hearts will be overjoyed insomuch that you will be ready to call to your neighbours and friends to rejoyce with you even like the woman who had lost her groat in her own house Luk. 15 8 9. and went abroad to seek it but at last turned home and in sweeping and making clean her own house found it there This is your state therefore be still and see the Salvation of God which is nigh unto you and believe not those who draw you without saying Lo here or there for the Kingdom of God is within you which your souls breath after Luk. 17 21 23. Therefore hew no more broken cisterns that can hold no water to