so to be and that a charitable Construction cannot be safely and sincerely put upon them but that they do contradict the holy Scriptures and the wholsom Doctrine therein delivered by the holy Prophets and Apostles we do sincerely deny and disown them and declare our being ready with all possible sincerity to disown them upon due notice and advertisment for though we affirm That the Spirit of God in us and all Belieâ—ers in every discovery it gives is infallible yet we have never judged our selves absolutely infallible nor did we ever place or fix an absolute Infallibility upon any Man or Number of â—â—â—iety of Men since the Apostles dayes but through Gods mercy 〈◊〉 are sensible of our danger of being liable to Mistakes as well as â—â—her men if we be not duely humble watchful and careful to keep â—lose and chaste to the pure openings teachings and leadings of the infallible Spirit of Truth And we readily grant the great benefit we have by the holy Scriptures as being instrumental by and with â—he immediate working of the Spirit to preserve us from Error or if any be overtaken in an Error and beguiled by the Enemy to Recover and Restore them there-from therefore it is that in all respects we prefer the Scriptures both to our own and all other Writings and if any Doctrine or Practice be found contrary thereunto upon due and impartial Examination we say it ought to be disowned and denyed for the Scriptures of Truth and the Spirit of Truth that gave them forth can never contradict the one to the other CHAP. II. IT cannot with any colour of Justice be expected by Cot. Mather that I should give a particular Reply to all things in his Book called An Address said or alledged against the People called Quakers in general or me in particular until such time that he give a distinct particular Answer to my former Book called The pretended Antidote proved Poyson c. particularly directed to him and his Brethren and to the several Chapters and Sections thereof which he hath not so much as essayed wherein notwithstanding almost the whole matter he doth muster up against us in his late Address is sufficiently and solidly answered and therefore until he give a full and distinct particular Answer to the said Book I judge not my self obliged so much as to notice many things contained in his said Address being filled with manifest falshoods perversions and abuses sufficiently already Replyed unto partly by others and partly by me but containing no new matter against us excepting his Personal Reflections against me which yet I think not to spend much Time or Paper to answer most of them being so manifestly false and foolish that of themselves they fall and evanish only I intend to give a short glance or hint at some of the most considerable Abuses and Perversions he musteret◠〈◊〉 against us Pag. 3. He saith If I have one spark of Light in me Quakerism 〈◊〉 but a profound and deadly pit of Darkness Answ This Assertion doâ—â— not come from any true Light in him but from his Darkness Pag. 4. Quakerism under pretence of advancing the spiritual Objeâ—â— of Religion goes to annihilate all the Sensible Ans False Again pag. 4. There is hardly any one Fundamental Article of thâ— reformed Religion whereby we look to be saved that is not undermined by Quakerism Ans But of this he has not given one true instance And as to what he alledgeth that some of us have said The Letter is not the Word of God to wit properly and without a figure he himself hath said as much see pag. 59. And that some of us have call'd their Books Light risen out of Darkness Shields of Truth c. they understood it not but metaphorically or figuratively by some Metonymy as is common in all Titles of Books but we have alwayes preferred the Scriptures to our Writings And that the Scriptures may be call'd the Word of God in a figurative Speech and also that the True Sense signified in them is the Word of God I have acknowledged and so I do still but that the inward Testimony of God in our Hearts is more properly and immediately the Word of God than the outward Testimony of the Scripture I still affirm with Augustine and other antient Writers As for his citing William Penn's words agruing against that same Numerical Body its rising at the Resurrection it is clear that he understandeth the same exact Number of the small Particles or Dusts neither more nor less than what is commonly buried and what hurt is there in that doth not C.M. and his Brethren generally say as well as W. Penn That at the Resurrection all shall rise Men and not Infants nor lame nor defective in any part and yet how many Thousands dye Infants and defective in some Bodily Members That some have denyed the Saints as such to be miserable Sinners it ought to be considered that according to the common stile of Scripture Saints and Sinners are distinguished and the unconverted are called Sinners for the denomination of a thing is taken chiefly from that which is the greatest part but â—ecause in all Saints even the weakeâ—â— Grace and Holiness is the chief and gâ—eatest part therefore from that they receive their Denomination and are said to â—e righteous and clean and not to do Iniquity That one said The Scripâ—â—â—â—â—s not the means by which Faith is wrought it can receive a candid â—â—â—â—â—pretation as to say the only means excluding the inward Grace 〈◊〉 Operation of the Spirit as some say Medicine is not the means of 〈◊〉 Cure though a Means it is understood not the only means â—nd whereas he querieth If their Primmer hath yet been corrected 〈◊〉 they read False Teachers preach Christ without and bid People 〈◊〉 in him as he is in Heaven If he mean William Smith's Primmer 〈◊〉 I believe he doth I Answer Yea it hath been Corrected in the 〈◊〉 Edition of his other Treatises joyned with it as is plainly to be 〈◊〉 thus That false Teachers preach Christ only without but true â—â—eachers preach Christ both without us and also within us And what William Penn argueth as concerning Three Persons he â—nly argueth against the invented Names Persons as Calvin doth â—cknowledge them as above-said which in all proper Language doth signifie Substances and not meer Properties or relative Attributes which W.P. will not deny to be in God Nor are W. P's words so to be understood concerning Justification as if he excluded Christ's Righteousness which he fulfilled in his own Person but only he denyeth that any can be justified by that alone without Faith and Repentance c. As for Bodily Tremblings that they are not so common among these called Quakers as formerly as good or better Reason can be given as that these or the like unusual Motions that seized on the Bodies of some Presbyterians in Scotland about fifty Years ago are not now so common among them
so assume that Man to wit the Seed of Abraham as the rest of the Saints but much more excellently and sublimely and God dwelleth in the Man Christ so as there is no Mediator betwixt God and Christ but God dwelleth in us by and through Christ our alone Mediator and foâ— hiâ—â—ake receiveth us to be so 〈…〉 him that both the Fatâ—er and the Son and also the holy Spirit dwelleth in all the Saints yet the matter of Union caâ—led by sâ—me of the Antients the Hypostatical or 〈◊〉 Vnion and manner of Inhâ—bitation in the Manhood of Christ 〈…〉 and bâ—yond all humane unâ—erâ—â—anding excelling the maâ—â—er of Gods dwelling in all the Saints 〈…〉 the Man Christ only and none other Man nor Creatur is both God and Man and is the Object of divine Worship and Adoration together with the Father and the Spirit and none else And for Hicks quoting some words of mine out of my Book of Immediate Revelation recited by C.M. p. 44. on James 5.6 〈◊〉 have killed the just One that is Christ Jesus in their Hearts him they crucified To this I answer This I never understood otherwise but figuratively as when the Scripture saith That Apostates and Wicked Men crucifie◠〈◊〉 Son of God afresh for I affirm expresly in my said Book of Immediaâ—â— Revelation That the Life of Christ in mens hearts can never be kâ—lled or crucified in it self see my Book of Immed Rev. 2d Edition pag. 75 â—â— pag 253 254 255. at great length but men by Disobedience may deprive themselves of the Comfort and Benefit of it as well as of Christs Sufferings on the Tree of the Cross and so in that figurative sence according to Scripture stile may be said to kill him even as we are all to look to him whom we have pierced according to Zachariah's Prophecy concerning Christs outward Suffering on the Crosâ— and to mourn bitterly because of our sins which he did bearâ—â— on him when he was pierced and because Christ cannot as to himself properly and strictly in a strict litteral sence be killed nor crucified in men therefore I do not believe that he can be said to be in us that Sacrifice of Attonement and Propitiatâ—on that was necessary to be offered up for the Remission of our sins and appeasing the Wrath of God to us and if any think so I am far otherwise â—inded for it derogates from the great worth and value of Christs Sacrifice without us upon the Tree of the Cross for the Body that Christ was to suffer in as a Sacrifice for the sins of the World behoved to 〈…〉 and holy Body as it was as a Lamb without Sâ—ot and the Death behoved to be a real Death and not metaphorical or figurative and therefore Christ as in us could not be that Sacrifice oâ— Attoâ—â—mâ—â—â— for at this rate not only Christ had outwardly dyed in vain 〈…〉 had offered up himself for a Sacrifice of Attonement as 〈…〉 were Saints to live in the World and as many Saints as many 〈◊〉 all which is most absurd to imagine But yet it mâ—st 〈…〉 that the Life of Christ in the Saints is as sweet 〈…〉 God and is a Sacrifice in another sence seeing even th◠〈…〉 said to offer up themselves through 〈◊〉 a 〈…〉 God and also the Life and Spirit of Christ 〈…〉 Saints to apply Christ's Suffering Death and â—â—ood 〈…〉 on that outward Cross to them doth bring them into perfect Peace with God so that his Wrath is wholly appeased quenched towards them only for the sake and in virtue of the great Sufferings of Christ on the outward Cross and if this be the sence of W.S. his words and that they can be so construed it is well for that is my upright 〈◊〉 and is of many hundreds more yea of all my faithful Breâ—â—â—â—â— call'd Quakers And concerning what I.P. and some others 〈◊〉 writ of Christs heavenly Flesh and Blood and how the Saints fed upon it in all Ages Christ being that noble Vine Tree unto them that yeilded them his Grapes for Meat and the Blood of them for Drink as Wine is called the Blood of the Grape and being their Apple Tree their Fig Tree yea their Corn Bread Milk and Wine their Wool and Flax their Feast of fat things full of Marrow c. All these are highly Mystical and Figurative or Metaphorical Expressions and are not to be litterally or carnally understood yet so as the Metaphors hold forth that these outward things by which these inward Mysteries are signified are but the Figures and the spiritual things are not the Figures of the natural but the natural are Figures of the spiritual as the outward Light is bu the Figure of Christ the spiritual Light the true Light of the Soul but the spiritual Light is not the Figure of the natural which is quite otherwise than in vulgar Metaphors and Figures and therefore by Christs heavenly Flesh and Blood that he had from the beginning is not to be understood any created material Body but the living Word it self according to its divine Emanations metaphorically only so called according to Scripture stile feeding and refreshing the Souls of the Saints in all ages with unspeakable Refreshment And therefore by Metaphors and Allegories they have given it such Names according to its various Operations But that Christ is as much or after the same manner in the Quakers or any Saints as in the Manhood and Body of Christ that suffered on the Cross or that Christ hath left behind him thâ—t Body that suffered on the Cross was buried as if that were the Quakers Doctrine as Faldo alledgeth and C.M. from him is aâ—ominably false I am sure no Quaker that doth rightly understand the Quakers Principles and Doctrine will ever say so or ever did although I shall not deny but some ignorant Persons that may go under the designation of a Quaker may have at times spoke very ignorantly and offensively in that and other 〈◊〉 to the Scandal of our holy Profession and to the stumbling of the weak that could not rightly discern betwixt our true and faithful Brethren and others falsly so called but such there are among all Societies and Professions that do not rightly understand the Principles of that Profession they pretend to belong unto yea how many Presbyterians and Independents so called to my certain knowledge understand not their own Principles notwithstanding of their publick Confessions and so possibly some among uâ— notwithstanding our publick Confessions well owned by the generality of our Friends as especially that noted Treatise by John Crook called Truths Principles c. that hath had a very general Reception by us and with which my Doctrine in all particulars doth well agree so far as I know as also with other faithful and sound Friends and Brethren In his Fifth Argument which he grounds upon my supposed marvelous Giddyness Ignorance and Falshood he sheweth himself marvelously not only ignorant but perverse and after he
〈…〉 10.3 And that he saith it s descended into all 〈…〉 iâ— false for as I am informed it is not used in 〈…〉 other Countries in the World And for his â—â—â—ing 〈…〉 some of us saying Thou writes Thou 〈…〉 Case of the Second Person to a Verb of the 〈…〉 It is not so much the Incongruity with a 〈…〉 fault in using You 〈◊〉 one as the 〈…〉 and the gratifying a proud Spirit and bowing to 〈…〉 be pleased with Thou altho' they give it to God in Prayer◠〈…〉 or other that they despise also to say You to 〈…〉 more in company maketh Confusion in the sence 〈…〉 uncertain whether one or more are intended but to say Thou 〈◊〉 hath no such inconveniency nor argueth no vain Respect oâ— Personâ— Nor hath he any better Argument for Salâ—â—ing with the Hat 〈◊〉 Custom but seeing uncovering the Head as well as bowing the 〈◊〉 are Religious significations of our Reverence to God in Prayers we should not give them to the Creature for it is very proper that some what of Distinction be made externally betwixt our Reverence to our Maker and our Reâ—â—â—ct to Magistrates Parents Kindred or Neighbours But he conâ—â—â—deth with a rare way to deal with us at last viz. To throw their Caps 〈◊〉 us which bespeaketh a very airy and frothy Spirit very unbecoming a Minister of Christ yea not well becoming any Colledge-Boy of New-England When the Preachers are thus light and vain what may be expected but that in Jeremiah is fulfilled Jer. 23.32 They cause thy People to Err by their Lyes and by their Lightness c. And another Instance of his Lightness and Airyness is as because one of us said as he doth alledge in a Catechism Let none reason about us for there they can never know us nor com unto us that is in Reason But nothing but a meer Spirit of Perversion would turn the sence of this as if the Quakers did renounce all true Reason whereas the sence that is obvious to all impartial men is Reason falsly so called or carnal Reason that is certainty a great Enemy to all true divine and spiritual Knowledge for what is the Wisdom of the World that is foolishness with God as the Scripture declareth but carnal Reason Reasonings and therefore saâ—â—â— the Scripture If any will be Wise let him be a Fool and again 〈◊〉 â—ot to thy own Vnderstanding And C.M. might as well mock at 〈…〉 saying Cor. 10. 4 5. The Weapons of our Warfare are not 〈…〉 Mighty and to throw down Reasonings the Greek word being 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is plain that tho Paul expresseth no distinction betwixt Reasonings and Reasonings more than that Catechism yet he doth not mean all Reasoning of all sort as to exclude or destroy the use of it even in divine Matters for Paul maketh most excellent use of it in proving Justification by Faith in Christ Jesus and the Resurrection of the Dead and other divine things also Christ and the Prophets did make most excellent use of true and right Reason to wit 〈◊〉 enlightned by the divine Spirit and governed thereby and in due 〈…〉 thereto and this use of it the People called Quakers approve and according to their measure have made and do make good use of even in divine matters and through Gods Mercy many can say their Reason or reasonable Understanding as men is greatly improv'd and perfected by their acquaintance with that divine Light of Christ in them and no wise impaired But if C.M. think that bare humane Reason alone without all divine internal Illumination can enable a man to understand divine Things and Mysteries he is more a Socinian than Presbyterian or Independent And the like silly and airy Jest he slingeth at Isaac Pennington withal grosly perverting his words pag. 45. as because I.P. would have them stript of all their fleshly knowledge of the Scripture which according to Paul he calleth Knowledge after the Flesh or to be wise after the Flesh which 〈◊〉 Death Rom. 8.6 That therefore he would have them stript of the Scriptures All which Perversions and many more in his Book with many gross Lyes that C.M. useth show plainly how weak he is when he has no better Weapons to defend himself and render us odious And whereas he would in the Conclusion fix it upon G.F. That he thought himself equal with God and that the Soul of man were God or a part of him But seeing he bringeth not this from G.F. but from Faldo a most partial and envious Adversary it is not to be regarded and VV. Penn hath sufficiently vindicated G.F. and also G.F. hath cleared it in his Book That he did witness both the Son and the holy Spirit revealed in him who as he taketh notice by the Westminster Confessions acknowledgment are equal to God the Father And what G.F. speaketh of the Soul its being a part but more properly a measure of the Spirit of God he doth not understand it of the Soul of many that is essential to man but of the divine Soul or Spirit in man or to speak with the Scripture the Soul of God as it is written If 〈…〉 back â—â—ith God my Soul shall have no pleasure in him And again Shall not my Soul be avenged c. and though part or portion with respect to God be not so proper yet by a tollerable Catachresis even in Scripture it is used Job 26.14 How little a portion is heard of him But to speak properly God has no parts or portions as he hath no Bodily Members which yet by a figure in Scripture are assigned to him in condescention to our low Capacity But for his saying That Souls that can digest Quakerism serve but as the Salt of the Flesh they live in showeth sufficiently he has no Salt in him to savour with the things of God Indeed if Quakerism were such a thing as he doth represent it to be and would fain have People believe it to be or that the 20th part that he saith of it were true it were most abominable and such who hold it would be most unworthy and not fit to be esteemed Men for less Christians but blessed be God our Religion is not that which he would make it to be nor are we such as he describeth and it is a great Questions to me if he doâ—h really think these things that he saith of us to be true either in general or in great part and if he doth not think so the greater is his sin The other things in the last two or three Pages of his Book are so notoriously false as that The main design of Quakerism is to advance and exalt Man and that they do in effect every one make himself a Christ and such like Lying stuff I shall not need to Refute seeing every one that hath the least knowledge of us knoweth them to be scandalous â—yes And for the advancing man into Pride or vain Glory it is so far
Capacities I shall let pass only minding the Reader That the nature of a Contradiction is difficult many times to understand even in Natural things so that it is reckoned the subtâ—lest part in Logick or Metaphyâ—â—â—â—â— to understand throughly what are alwayes Contradictions and 〈…〉 and therefore much more hard it is to understand in 〈…〉 that contain many seeming Contradictions for tho' 〈…〉 â—cripture containeth no real Contradiâ—â—ons coming from 〈…〉 Spirit of Truth yet it containeth 〈…〉 seeming which 〈…〉 and Scoffers use to object His comparing me to Julian the Apostate favoureth of the like Spirit of Envy as formerly when with no more ground he accused me of being guilty of the Vnpardonable Sin It is a part of my Blessing that being reviled and fully accused I can patiently bear it by the Grace of Christ in whom I believe and to whom I confess even to the Crucified Jesus that was nailed to the Cross for my Sins whom my Soul loveth and whom Julian openly denyed But Cotton Mather will gain no credit nor esteem either to himself or his Cause by 〈…〉 and Extraordinary Revilings rarely to be parallelled among the greatest Readers His Fourth Argument hath as weak and sandy Foundation as any of the rest as namely as he saith That I renounce both the Religion and the Saviour which the Saints have hitherto ventured their Souls upon c. to wit Christ Jesus And this he undertaketh to prove Sathan like by wresting my words and omitting some of them in the very Sentence he citeth that were altogether essential to make up the intire period and sence for I said in my Book Your Visible Churches 〈◊〉 true Churches of Christ for the Religion ye profess is not the true Religion of Christ Jesus yea in Fundamentals and in the very Foundation it self which is Christ Jesus on which the true Church is 〈◊〉 and every Member thereof but ye who say note my following words p. 137. all inward divine Revelation is ceased ye to wit your visible Church build not on Christ but on a meer Hear-say and Historical Report of him for how can ye build on him when ye have no belief that Christ is nearer unto you than in some remote place beyond the Skyes Where the Impartial Reader may see first That my words expresly mention their visible Church that doth not build really on Christ but on a Profession of him even by Cotton Mather's Confession 〈◊〉 nothing is required to make up the Members of a visible Church but a Profession of him and of the true Religion But every judicious leâ—son will say it is one thing to profess Christ in words or show and another thing really to build on Christ that everlasting Rock for by Christs Doctrine none buildeth on the Rock which is Christ 〈…〉 that heareth Christ's Sayings and doth them and that is much 〈◊〉 than barely to profess him But yet I did not question nor â—o but that according to my Christian Câ—arity moving me so to believe divers among all sorts Societies call'd Christian in Christendom that hold the Fundamentals as many do do really build on Châ—ist thâ—â—â—â—e Foundation and because they so do in due time the Wood Hay and Stubble of their Errors in other things while they build on the true Foundation will be burnt up by the divine Fire of the living Word and living Spirit of God in them and their Lord Jesus Christ iâ— mine and mine is theirs and I could be glad that I could entertain that Charity to C.M. but however I have not that uncharitable judgment of him as bad as he is that he hath committed that unpardonable Sin for though he hath reproached the precious workings and operations of the holy Spirit both in my faithful Brethren and me calling them Delâ—sions of Satan yet because I judge he doth it ignorantly therefore his sin is pardonable upon Repentance which I pray God may be given him for that and all his haâ—d Speechâ—â— and all other sins before it be too late But because he cannot fix his â—â—â—se Charge upon me of denying Christ he essayeth 〈◊〉 but with 〈…〉 success to fix it upon my Brethren as dear Isaac Pennington whom I well knew to be a true Believer in the Lord Jesuâ— Christ and a sincere Lover of him even the crucified Jesus and whose Souâ— I believe is in test in Christ in heavenly Glory And as to his words We can never eat the Bodily Garment Christ but that wâ—ich appeaâ—ed and dwelt in â—he Body it is easie to put a fair and charitable construction on it as wâ—â—l as on Christs words when he said He that 〈…〉 seen 〈◊〉 hath seeâ— the Father and yet many saw Christ's body of Flesh that never saw the Father But to clear the thing I 〈◊〉 speaâ—eâ—h â—hâ—s in opposition to Socinians and oâ—hers tincturâ—d with 〈…〉 as if â—he Manhood of Christ that was born of the Viâ—gin exâ—â—ndâ—â—g the 〈◊〉 Word was the only and whole Christ whereas 〈◊〉 was 〈…〉 his Body of Flesh therefore he is said to have come in the Flesh and to have taken Flesh And if we consider Christ as he was before the World was by whom all things were created and in respect of his Godhead the Body was not that but the Garment of it when he assumed it But when we consider Christ as Man as every other man 〈◊〉 both Soul body belonging to his essential Constitution as Man 〈◊〉 and Christ and still hath a moâ—â— gâ—orious Soul and Body and we 〈◊〉 not but according to Scripture 〈◊〉 Christ Manhood yea and his Body iâ— called Christ as when the Scripture saith that he was buried nailed to the Cross buâ—â—ited and even his Body was and is a part of his Manhood and his Soul the other and more Noble part most wonderfully and incomparably united with the Godhead and most incomparably filled with all fullness of the Godhead and of Grace and Truth out of whose fullness we all receive and Grace foâ— Grace and yet we do not judge that the Godhead is circumscribed within the Body of Christ for the Godhead is Omnipresent as well as Omnipotent and Omniscient And whereas he querieth saying Let Keith tell us honestly whether he does not count his own Body to be the Body of Christ in the same sence that the visible tangible Flesh which hung upon the Cross was the Body of our Lord I Answer honestly Nay by no means as I have sufficiently formerly declared in my printed Books and Testimonies on all occasions for as the Body of the Head is of far more Dignity than the Body of the inferiour Members and hath the Soul or Spirit and Life of man otherwise dwelling in it than the inferiour Members so much more the Soul and Body of Christ hath the eternal Word living and dwelling in the same than any other and that incomparably as Augustine well demonstrateth lib. de agonâ— Christianâ— cap. 20. thus concluding And therefoâ—e tâ—e Word doth not
hath perverted my words and belyed me in many things then he cryeth out Ignorance and other things that are Scripture Truths he calleth my Ignorance whereas it is but his Ignorance that doth not understand better And I doubt not but Judicious and Impartial Readers who compare his Books and mine will have another Judgment concerning me and acknowledge to Gods Praise the Gifts both of sound Knowledge and Expression with his manifold other Mercies bestowed on me for which I desire to praise him forever And for my saying That Light being used as a Name of God is no Figurative or Tropical Expression I have already above explained my sense of it That the Natural Light is the Figure of God that Divine Light but the Divine Light is not the Figure of the Natural as Figures of Metaphors and Tropes in Natural things commonly are quite otherwise And Augustine De Genes ad Lit. lib. 4. cap. 28. expresly affirmeth That Christ is Properly and not Figuratively called Light and yet who will say that Augustine was not a more knowing Man than Cotton Mather and who can deny but Light is immediate though it comes through a Medium of the Air to our Eyes and through the medium of the Eye to the sense of sight for do we not as immediately see a Candle as we see a Man and yet the species or image of both come to our Eyes through the medium of the Air So that in this as in many other things he showeth his own extream Ignorance that 's not worth time to mention And that he reckoneth it my Ignorance that I say Christ commanded not these words to be used in Baptism In the Name of the Father and of the Son c. commonly called the words of Institution As he can neâ—er prove any such Institution so he hath Zuinglius whom he maketh his President in another case against him for Zuinglius saith expresly Lib. de Bapt. pag. 66. tom 2. Christus Jesus Baptism formulam qua uteremur his verbis non Instituit quem ad modum Theologi bactenus falso Tradiderunt i. e. Christ Jesus did not institute the form of Baptism in these words to be used as the Theologues have heretofore falsly delivered And he is intoxicated with a Spirit of Ignorance and not I as he falsly alledgeth on me to assert That Exod. 20.8 9. so commandeth one day of seven as that it may be First as well as the Seventh Whereas if Natural dayes be meant it cannot be the First but the Seventh for it is not said Remember to keep the First Day for Rest and after that labour Six dayes And that he denyeth and mocketh at an inward and spiritual Day showeth him extreamly Ignorant of spiritual Things as well as his Scoffing showeth his frothy airy Spirit scarcely to be parallell'd Is not the Day of Gods Power Psal 110. an inward and spiritual Day And where it is said Let us walk honestly as in the Day Rom. 13.13 and until the Day dawn and the Day-star arise in your hearts 2 Pet. 1.19 And is not this an inward Day And that he reproacheth me with Giddiness for saying The Sabbath is Christ to wit the thing figured by the Jews Sabbath In this he reproacheth as well his pretendedly much esteemed Calvin who saith expresly the same lib. 2. cap. 8. n. 32. of his Institutes where he saith Christ is the Truth at whose Presence all the Figures evanish the Body by whose sight the Shadows are left He I say is the fullfilling of the true Sabbath And a little after he chargeth it as Superstition upon them that would make the Observation of the First Day of the Week for a Sabbath to be a Divine Institution and doth fully agree with us That it is to be kept by choice for good Order and assembling together for divine Worship and other good Reasons but not by divine Precept injoyning the strictness of the Jewish Sabbath As for that silly Jest of Baxters that C.M. pleaseth his airy mind with telling the Quakers That their to wit Presbyterian Bells are not carnal else they would not sound so high he might have used it as much against Paul for saying Our Weapons are not carnal as implying that the Sword was a carnal Weapon but according to Rich. Baxter there can be no carnal Sword for then it could not cut whereas things are called Carnal from the hand that useth them as for other causes and the Levitical Laws were called Carnal Ordinances in Scripture And whereas he saith None preach the most intimate Vnion and Communion with the Lord Jesus Christ more than he and his Brethren is a most bold and impudent Untruth seeing 1 st they say expresly That Christ is not at all within us but only without us in Heaven and no wise in us but by â—is Operations as if he and his operations could be divided 2 dly That they deny the Working or Operations of the Spirit of God in the Saints to be Objective or that the Spirit worketh as any sensible Object upon the inward and spiritual Senses of the Saints Hence with Jesuits and Papists from whom they have borrowed that Distinction as I can prove as namely from Sacroboscus a Jesuit Def. decret trident p. 93 94. they say The Spirit worketh Effectively and Subjectively but not Objectively And therefore do they not one whit more preach any nearer Union and Communion with Christ than the darkest Papists yea some Papists that own sensible Workings of the Spirit as some do go far beyond them viz. C. Mather and some of his Brethren in that particular But that I have slandered the Assembly in their saying The Souls of the Righteous are not perfected in Holiness till after Death which C.M. hath twice cast upon me I desire the Reader for his Satisfaction and my Vindication but to read the place that I cited viz. cap. 32. n. 1. where they say expresly thus The Bodies oâ— men after Death return to Dust and see Corruption but their Souls which neither dye nor sleep having an Immortal Subsistence immediately return to God who gave them the Souls of the Righteous being THEN made perfect in Holinss c. Where it is plain that the Adverb of Time Then refers to the word in the first line viz. After Death yea and as would seem then when the Bodies return to Dust and see Corruption that sometimes is a considerable time after Death where dead Bodies are Embalmed but this last part I suppose is an oversight in them And seeing they plead for sin for term of Life yea to the last instant what difference there is that they can make betwixt dying in their sins and living in their sins for Term of Life is not intelligible for in Scripture-phrase Not to have Iniquity purged away till men dye and to dye in Iniquity is all one for the instant of Death is quick as a Thought That I said Notoriously Scandalous Persons Lyars Deceivers Drunkards
to give any one instance wherein I have not faithfully quoted the Antient Writers named by me whether in my former Book called The pretended Antidote c. or in this in each particular And were I so minded and saw a service in it to the People of New-England I could easily produce sufficient plain Testimonies from Antient Fathers so called and Writers both Greek and Latine to confirm the Doctrine of the People call'd Quakers in all the principal and most material things wherein they differ from C.M. and his Brethren but the Scripture Authority being that of greatest weight in respect of any outward Testimony I have chosen rather to make use of that Nor will it serve to justifie C. Matâ—er his Exclamations against me that seeing the Quakers hold all these Doctrines which Baxter and some other Protestant Writers hold to be Fundamental that therefore I should not have so charged them as I have done in my first Book called The Presbyterian and Independent visible Churches brought to the Test for if they and we agree in Fundamentals then why are we so uncharitable to them as not to judge them a true Church To which I Answer Although we hold all their Fundamentals according to what Baxter has delivered as I have above showed yet they hold not all our Fundamentals so it is a Fundamental Doctrine and Principle held by us to wit The inward Revelation of Christ in all true Believers and That God teacheth all true Believers by his inward Voice Word and Teachings or inward divine Inspiration and Revelation properly so called that is as well Objective as Effective and by way of Object working sensibly and infallibly upon the inward and spiritual Senses of their Souls and which their Souls and Minds if onely and fitly disposed and qualified do infallibly apprehend but yet this Fundamental held by us is plainly denyed by C.M. and his Brethren and it is a Fundamental Error in them who hold it as the generality of their visible Church Members do That all sâ—ch divine inward Objective Revelation and Inspiration is ceased and from this Fundamental Error divers other very great Errors flow as so many unclean streams from an unclean Fountain for if all true and saving Knowledge of God and Christ and all saving Faith require true divine inward Revelation and inspiration properly so called and the true and real inspeaking of God and his internal Word and Voice that doth as sensibly and perceptibly operate by way of Object upon the inward and spiritual heaâ—ing or discerning Faculty of the Soul as any outward Voice or Woâ—d of a man doth upon the outward Hearing then if that be ceasâ—d all true and saving Knowledge and Faith are ceased and all true Love Hope and Repentance and all other Fruits and Virtues of the Spirit because all these have a necessary connexion with the true saving Knowledge and Faith also all true Preaching Praying and Worship and all true Obedience and Service unto God and all real and true Religion all depending upon the inward Principle of inward divine Revelation and Inspiration properly so called and yet we do readily acknowledge a distinction betwixt these extraordinary divine Revelations and Inspirations that the Apostles and Prophets had 〈◊〉 they were Apostles and Prophets and these other that they had common â—o them and ordinary with all Christians and for the latter we contend that were and are ordinary and common to all Saints in all Ages of the World but not for the former that were extraordinary whereby they not only wrought Miracles and spoke with Tongues but had Doctrinal things of Faith revealed to them without all outward teaching of Men or Books whereas we do not say any peculiar Doctrine of the Christian Faith is made known to us without all outward Teaching but by it Instrumentally and by the immediate Revelation and Inspiration of the Spirit Principally and we are sufficiently charitable that we judge there are true Believers among them though we cannot own their visible Church that either hold not these Errors with them or if some hold them in words or Notion and Theory yet as in respect of their Experience and inward sence and feeling hold them not but the contrary and such have better Hearts than Notions and though they err in holding an unsound form of Words through too much relying upon their Teachers yet their inward sence and experience doth contradict them And in all these twelve Particulars I first charged upon them I still affirm they do grosly err and they are such great matters of Difference betwixt them and us although they are not all Fundamentals that no Society holding such Errors deserve to be esteemed the visible Church of Christ restored to that purity of Doctrine that the visible Church ought to have and had in the primitive Times and yet will have as she cometh to be fully restored to her primitive Purity And though it seem a strange and new Doctrine to C.M. and his Brethren to distinguish betwixt the Scripture called by some the external or outward Word and the inward living Word of God that proceedeth from the Mouth of God immediately as every mans word that proceedeth from his Mouth and goeth into the Ears of the Hearers is his immediate Word yet not only antient Writers and Fathers so called did so distinguish but even these called the Reformed who began the Reformation from gross Propâ—ry And for the antient Writers I shall give but one though I could give divers besides to wit Augustine of great esteem and fame with Protestants and particularly with Calvin whose Authority he more useth in his Institutions than any of all the Antients In his 5th Book de Trinitate cap. 11. Augustine saith expresly Proinde Verbum quod foras sonat signum est verbi quod intus lucet cuj magis verbi competit nomen nam illud quod prosertur caruis ore vox verbi est verbumq et ipsum dicitar propter illud a quo ut foris appareret assamptum est In English thus Therefore the Word that soundeth outwardly is a sign of the Word that shineth inwardly to which the Name of the Word doth more agree for that which is pronounced with the fleshly Moâ—th is the Voice of the Word and it is called the Word because of that from which it is taken that it might outwardly appear Where I desire the Reader to Note these two things 1 st That Augustine doth acknowledge the Word within or internal Word 2 dly That the Name of the Word doth more belong to the internal Word than to that which outwardly soundeth in our fleshly Ears in both which he doth contradict C.M. and his Brethren who do not acknowledge any inward Word in the Saints since the Apostles dayes and hold That the Scripture is the only Word that is the Object and Rule of our Faith And that famous Reformer Zuinglius whom 〈◊〉 the rather cite because C.M. maketh him his
the whole Godhead is perfect and infinite in Being and Power and Wisdom and Goodness in which all his Attributes are comprehended but yet a distinct Vnderstanding of them all is not of absolute necessity to Salvation That this God is the Creator Preserver and Disposer of all things and the Owner and Ruler of Mankind most Just and Merciful that as he is the beginning of all so he is the ultimate end and the chief good of Man which before all things else must be loved and Sought Concerning the Son we must moreover believe That he is the same God with the Father the second Person in Trinity Incarnate and so became Man by a Personal Vnion of the Godhead and Manhood He omitteth his being conceived of the holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary which was needful to have been exprest it being a great Article of our Christian Faith That he was without Original or Actual Sin having a sinless Nature and a sinless Life That he fullfilled all Righteousness and was put to Death as a Sacrifice for our sins and gave himself a Ransom for us and being buried he rose again from the dead and afterward ascended into Heaven where he is Lord of all and interceedeth for Believers That he will come again and raise the dead and judge the World the Righteous to Everlastâ—â—â— Life and the Wicked to Everlasting Punishment That this is the onâ— Redeemer the Way the Truth and the Life neither is there access to thâ— Father but by him nor Salvation in any other Concerning the Holy Ghost we must believe That he is the same one God the third Person in Trinity sent by the Father and the Son to inspire the Prophets and Apostles and thaâ— the Doctâ—ine inspired and miraculously attested by him is true that he iâ— the Sanctifier of these that shall be saved renewing them after the Image of God in Holiness and Righteoâ—sness giving them true Repentance Faith Hope Love and sincere Obedience causing them to overcome the Flesh the World and the Devil thus gathering a holy Church on Earth to Christ who have by his Blood the Pardon of all their sins and shall have Everlasting Blâ—ssâ—dness with God This saith Richard Baxter is the Essence of the Christian Faith as to the Matter of it And now as concerning that judged by Richard Baxter the Essence of the Christian Faith as to the Matter of it I declare sincerely without all Equivocation or mental Reservation in the true and genuine sence of the Words that I have transcribed out of his said Treatise that I know not wherein I or my Brethren of my Faith and Perswasion differ from him in any one particular as to the matter of it or substance therein contained the only exception we have is against that unscriptural Term or Phrase of Three Persons or a Trinity of Persons but we own sincerely That our Faith ought to be and is in God the Father the Son and the holy Ghost and that these Names are Names of Relation respecting the Relations as well as the Relative Offices and Works of those Three and this being granted by us in the sincerity of our Hearts we are excused or cleared by John Calvin for whose Memory I suppose C. Mather hath as full and great esteem as for R. Baxter for in his first Book of Institutions cap. 13. n. 5. he saith expresly Vtinam quidem sepulta essent se inventâ— Nomina as he expresly calleth them Trium Personarum constaret modo hec inter omnes Fides Patrem et Filium et Spiritum esse unum Deum nec tamen aut Filium esse Patrem aut Spiritum Filium sed proprietate quadam esse distinctos neque enim tam precisa sum austeritate ut obnudas voculas digladiari sustineam In English thus I wish saith he the invented Names viz. of Three Persons were buried providing this Faith were manifest among all that the Father the Son and the Spirit is one God and yet that the Son is not the Father nor that the Spirit is the Son but that they are distinct by a certain Property to wit in their â—â—lative Attributes as that the Father did beget the Son and the â—on was begotten of the Father and that the holy Spirit did proceed â—â—om both for I am not of such precise Austerity said Calvin that â—or bare small Words I would contend and withall he confesseth That the Orthodox antiently did not agree about these Terms or invented Words â—â—at he acknowledgeth were invented since the Apostles dayes to guard â—gainst the Arrian Sabellian and other Heresies And therefore since we are altogether free of these Heresies and that we detest them from our very Souls no sober Christian will judge uncharitably of us in that respect And as for the word Distinct if some of our Friends taking it to signifie distant or seperated asunder one from another as in remote and distant places have refused it in this and other matters as indeed sometimes at least vulgarly it doth so signifie as when we say America is distinguished from Europe by a great spacious Sea interveening they ought not to be accused for so doing seeing in that other sence of the word Distinct that is more in use among Schollars as when we say Things are distinct when the one is not the other they own a Distinction as that the Father is not the Son the Son is not the Father though he is our Father and is expresly call'd in Scripture the Everlasting Father and Christ's Manhood and Body is not the Godhead and yet one Christ as the Body of a Man is not his Soul and yet Body and Soul is one Man and in this second sence we do allow the word distinct And as to the Manner of receiving the Christian Faith we grant with him first That it must not only be received as true into our Understanding by a special divine Illumination that is supernatural but must be imbraced by the Will Heart and Affections as good yea exceeding good and worthy of all acceptation by a special divine Motion and working of the holy Spirit that is supernatural in upon the Will Heart and Affections 2 dly That as touching all the peculiar Mysteries and Doctrines of Faith the Scriptures have been Instrumental by and together with the immediate working of the Spirit to beget in us the true Faith of them But in this we differ I suppose from him as well as from C. Mather and his Brethren of New-England that whereas they hold That the Spirit of God worketh in Believers Effectively but not Objectively or by way of sensible Object or sensibly and perceptibly by its own Self-Evidence and Demonstration to mens Hearts and Souls We affirm That the Spirit of God worketh in Believers both Effectively 〈◊〉 also Objectively or by way of sensible Object or sensibly and â—â—â—ceptibly by its own Evidence and Demonstration to mens Heaâ—â—â— and Souls And this divers call'd Protestants have
show according to that Latine Verse Fabula narratur mutato Nomine de te i.e. Change the Name and the Tale is told truly of thy thy self CHAP. III. IN his first Argument he accuseth me to be guilty of a Lye in matter of Fact and that I pretend to an assurance for it from the Spirit of God and the Lye he alledgeth in matter of Fact is That I charge their Confession of Faith for holding that the Scriptures ought to be believed for their own outward Evidence and Testimony and not for the inward Evidence and Testimony of the holy Spirit in mens Hearts And to prove this to be a Lye he citeth some words of that Confession which saith Our full perswasion and assurance of the infallible Truth and divine Authority of the holy Scriptures is from the Inward Work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our Hearts And for a further Confirmation he alledgeth John Owen saying That the Scripture be received as the Word of God there is a twofold Efficacy of the Spirit c. withal affirming That I cover Lye with Lye To which I Answer Cotton Mather and not I is guilty of two gross Lyes or Falshoods in this Charge first That I pretend to an assurance from the Spirit in matter of Fact concerning what they hold is a manifest Perversion for I bring my assurance in matter of Fact not from the Spirit but from their Confession of Faith which I have diligently examined but the knowledge I have that their Doctrine in that particular is false I bring from the Spirit of God that hath given me the understanding thereof and is Truth and no Lye 2 dly That he saith Their Confession doth grant that the Scriptures are to be believed for the inward Evidence and Testimony of the holy Spirit in mens hearts but this it doth not say nor can it be gathered by any just consequence to be their sence seeing they deny with C.M. and his Brethren all inward objective immediate Testimony and Revelation of the Spirit And whereas the Confession mentioneth the inward Work of the holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word viz. the Scripture in our Hearts This doth sufficiently prove That their Confession doth not mean or intend any inward Testimony of the Spirit reallâ— and properly so called as having a standing Evidence of its own bâ—â— only borrowed from the Scripture and therefore is no true and proper Evidence at all but only and altogether improper yea as improper as if I should say when I hear but one man give Evidence to the Truth of a thing and that I read it also in wâ—it from his hand that three Evidences or Witnesses have given their Evidence to that Truth as 1 st the Maâ— â— dly my Ear that heard him 3 dly my Eye that hath reâ—d his writ But what sober Man will say these are three Witnesses or Evidences And would it not be a great Cheat to say That whereas the Law requireth two Witnesses and there is but one man that giveth witness to Cotton Mathers hearing that C.M. should alledge his Ears are other two Witnesses because they have heard him and so they are three in all And as great a Cheat and Fallacy is it to call the witness of the Scripture the inward Witness of the Spirit when they confess the inward Work of the Spirit is only Effective to open the Ear to hear the outward Witness of the Scripture but not to speak by any distinct Witness to the inward Ear And it is like that other Fallacy as if James being required to give his Witness he giveth it not by himself but by John and John being required to give his Witness he giveth it by James but neither of them by himself or at least the one not by himself for when they are asked By what do they know the Scriptures to be the Word of God they answer By the Spirit And again By what do they know the Spirit they answer By the Scripture And thus the Fallacy and Falshood both of the Confession and of C.M. is detected and G.K. is cleared from being no wise guilty of any Lye in the case And what I said of John Owen is true for the Title and design of his Book is concerning The Self-Evidencing Authority of the holy Scriptures only he confesseth the Spirits inward Work is necessary to let men see or know it but that is no proper Witness more than a mans hearing is one Witness and the thing heard is another I do therefore Appeal to all sober impartial and judicious Readers Whether not I but Cotton Mather be not convicted of gross Lying or Falshood and whether the Society he belongs unto ought not to bring him to Repentance for such Crimes to use some of his own words His Second Argument is That I am guilty of having committed most horrible Blasphemy against the holy Spirit of God which is the unpardonable Sin And though he doth charge this one while positively yet another while If I have not the certain yet fearful Marks of it and my Sin is very like that Sin and yet again charging it positively on me That I have taken part with the Pharisees in dorg that impardonable Injury to the Eternal Spirit of God But how doth he prove any thing of this to have the lest show or shadow of truth Why because as he alledgeth I called his and his Brethrens Prayers more than once a Conjuring of the Devil and do put on them the stile of Charms and Spells by which Prayers he alledgeth he and his Brethren did cast out the Devil that did Bodily possess some Young People and that therefore their Prayers were the special Operations of the holy Ghost which I blaspheme and that therefore I have committed the Vnpardonable Sin But I Answer 1 st As I said in my Book called A Refutation c. I am little concerned whether or not these Young People were bewitched or had a Diabolical Possession further than to take notice That C.M. will have it to be so to make the simple believe that his and his Brethrens Prayers did conjure the Devil and cast him out by which it is most clearly apparent to every one of common sence that I did not mean that his or his Brethrens Prayers were done by any Diabolical Art or Craft of Conjuration for I do not think them to be Conjurers but that they would have People believe that by some divine Power of Exorcism as was frequent in the primitive Church they did conjure the Devil which is as widely different from his Perversion as East from West Now I cannot believe that they had this divine Gift of Exorcism which was a Miraculous Gift in those primitive Times that Popish Priests do also pretend to have and many strongly affirm they have cured many by their Prayers because they commonly say That Immediate Revelaiion with the Gifts of Miracles are ceased How then can
Preâ—â—dent for his zeal against the Quakers in the end of his Address in his Commentary De vera et falsa Relig. de Verbo Dei cap. de Ecclesia contra Emserum saith Qui in Ecclesia Scripturam Caelestis Verbi explicari audit c. In English thus Who in the Church heareth the Scripture of the heavenly Word explained judgeth what he heareth but that which is heard is not the Word it self whereby to wit chiefly we believe for if we did believe by that Word which is heard or read then all should become Believers and after he saith It is therefore manifest that we are made faithful by that Word which the heavenly Father preacheth in our hearts whereby he doth also enlighten us that we may understand and draweth that we may follow And again Who are instrusted with that Word judge the Word that soundeth in the Preaching and striketh the Ears but yet the Word of Faith which is seated in the Minds of the faithful is judged by none but by it the external Word is judged which God hath appointed to be preached although Faith cometh not to wit chiefly by the external Word Both which Testimonies of Augustine and Zuinglius do manifestly confirm the Quakers Doctrine against C.M. and his Brethren who acknowledge no inward Word in the hearts of the faithful by which their Faith is wrought and will have the Word of Faith to be only the written or outward Word contrary both to Paul and Zuinglius who give the preheminence to the inward Word and call it the Word of Faith And as Zuinglius holdeth for the Quakers in asserting the inward Word against C.M. and his Brethren so in that called Original Sin for thus he saith expresly lib. de Baptismo Paul cap. 3. to the Romans saith That the knowledge of sin cometh by the Law where therefore there is no knowledge of the Law as in Infants there can be no knowledge of sin but where no knowledge of sin is there is no Prevarication and so Damnation cannot be And after Because Paul saith That Death is come upon all men because all have sinned Theologues from these words judge That that Disease and Contagion that is Hereditary unto us all and is naturally lodged in us is sin that bringeth to us Damnation but they Err the whole Heavens wide Where it is to be noted That Zuinglius doth acknowledge That there is a sinful Disease and Contagion conveyed from Parents to Children but yet it is not imputed unto them to bring Damnation upon any Infants plain contrary to C.M. and his Brethren who affirm That many Infants both of unbelieving and believing Parents are eternaly Reprobated and Damned only for Adams Sin imputed to them Which is most horid Uncharitableness and horridly reflecting upoâ— the Mercy of God And the same Zuinglius in his Chapter of the Eucharist plainly asserteth That Christ by his Flesh and Blood with which he feedeth the Souls of the faithful doth understand a spiritual thing which only the Spirit giveth and not any Flesh consisting of Veins and Nerves withal affirming with Origine and Augustine That Christs Flesh and Blood which he feedeth the Saints with is called so by an Allegory and 〈◊〉 but is really the Word it self called also by an Allegory Bread Wine Milk Honey Marrow Fatness c. Again the same Zuingâ—ius in his Commentary de vera falsa Relig. doth thus comment on Pauls words Rom. 1.19 The knowledge of God is manifest in them so doth he translate the place so doth the old English Translation for God hath showed it unto them We see here openly saith he that 〈◊〉 knowledge concerning God is of God which we ascribe to I know man what Nature for he saith God hath manifested it and what other thing is Nature but a continuing and perpetual operation of God and disposition of all things And again in his Cap. of God he saith If any of the Philosophers have spoken truly of God somethings it was from the Mouth of God who hath scattered some Seeds of his Knowledge even among the Gentiles although more sparingly and more obscurely So that Zuinglius had far more Charity towards honest and conscientious Gentiles than C.M. who differeth fâ—om him very widely as in the 〈◊〉 particulars mentioned so in this last that he affirmeth That what knowledge of God the Gentiles have ought to be attributed to God and not to Nature and therefore not to mans Reason as C.M. would have it which is nothing but a natural Faculty of the Soul And Thomas Shepherd that had been a Preacher at Cambridge in New-England in his Exposition of the Parable of the Ten Virgins saith plainly That that inward Law given to the Heathens is falsly called the Law of Nature for it is of God and so saith Buchannan in his Book De jure Regni apud Scotos and a large Volumn might be printed of Testimonies both out of antient and latter Authors all of good esteem for Piety and Learning yea and even divers Protestants that do acknowledge That the Illumination that is generally in men that teacheth them that there is a God and showeth them good and evil is a Principle above Humane Reason As among English Protestants Henry Moore cited by Increase Mather against the Quakers and praised by Baxter as above who saith expresly in his Moral Cabbala cap. 1. v. 1 2. of Genesis By the Will of God every man living on the face of the Earth hath these two Principles in him Heaven and Earth Divinity and Annimality Spirit and Flesh but that which is Annimal or Natural operates first the spiritual or heavenly Life being for a while closed up at rest in its own Principle c. but by the Will of God it is that afterwards the Day light appears though not in so vigorous Measure out of the heavenly or spiritual Principle And carrying on the Process of Gods work in mens hearts by way of Analogy from the First Day to the Seventh concerning the Seventh he saith Gen. cap. 2. v. 3. of his Mor. Cabb So the divine Wisdom in the humane Nature celebrated her Sabbath having now wrought through the Toil of all the six dayes Travel and the divine Wisdom looked upon the Seventh Day as blessed and sacred a Day of Righteousness Rest and Joy in the holy Ghost And thus if C.M. had but some ordinary Reading in English Writers and did but understand what he reads he might have found an inward and spiritual Sabbath or Day of Rest not only in the Scriptures and the Quakers Books but in Henry Moore a man of far more Sense and Learning than I suppose C.M. will pretend unto Also he might have found it in Calvin lib. 2. Instit cap. 8. n. 30. So that he showeth his Ignorance sufficiently in comparing the finding of a spiritual or inward Seventh Day to the difficulty of finding the Quadrature of the Circle which if it were found it is probable the Penury
of his Learning would not suffer him to understand And what H. Moore saith of the spiritual or heavenly Life lying for a while closed or shut up at rest in its own Principle is but the same in other Terms with what we say That the Life of Christ is crucified in Vnbelievers viz. not in it self but to them And why should C.M. find so great fault with this manner of Expression that is according to Scripture when his reverend Baxter as he designeth him writeth in a phrase that must have a charitable Construction put upon it otherwise it would look as odd as any thing C.M has quoted out of any of the Quakers for R. Baxter â—aiâ—h concerning God in his Treatise above-said called Directions to the Converted motive 12. pag. 34. Doth it not wound you to think that even there He viz. God should be so straitned and tâ— râ—st into Corners by a 〈◊〉 Enâ—my as if that simple Habitation were too much for him and 〈…〉 were too good for him meaning the heart defiled with sin Now if any should accuse Baxter with Blasphemy heâ—e in saying 〈◊〉 câ—n be straitned thrust into Corners by a hellish Enemy would noâ— C.M. excuse him and say it is a Catachrestical or improper manner of Speech and is not to be strictly taken and then if he were not very partial why doth he not excuse such Expressions in the Quakers Writings that are capable of the same charitable Construction And it were an easie thing to gather may Phrases and Expressions out of Presbyterian Independent Books that might seem very offensive to a degree of Blasphemy if they were not charitably consâ—rued yea I find an Expression in Calvin which if C.M. could have found in a Quakers Book we should have had him cry out aloud Blasphemy for he saith expresly lib. 3. cap. 2. n. 24. Quia Christus non extra nos est sed in nobis habitat In English thus Because Christ is not without us but dwelleth in us but if Cotton Mather say Calviâ—s 〈◊〉 is That Christ is not only or wholly without us but also dwelleth in 〈◊〉 as this is a charitable Construction so let it be given to such or the like words that may be found in the Quakers Books unless he could find that their words could not bear such a favourable Construcâ—ion But since C. M. findeth so much fault with me for saying That not only Conscientious Gentiles but 〈…〉 Chriâ—tians shall know more of 〈◊〉 and Christ after Death which is the general Expectation and Consolation of all Saints who know now but in part but then shall know fully and thereupon suâ—mizeth That a Quâ—kers new Purgatory 〈…〉 be erected what saith he to his much esteemed Calvin 〈◊〉 on these words of Peter 1 Pet. 3.19 By which also he went and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Spiâ—iâ—s in Prison c. plainly affirmeth concerning the Souls of the deceased before the Death of Christ Indeed I willingly grant saith Calvin that Christ did shine unto them by the Virtue of his Spirt that they might know that the Grace which oft they had only tasted was then given unto the World and by a probable Reason that place of Peter 1 Pet. 3.19 may be applyed to this where it saith That Christ came and preached to the Spirits which were in Custody or place of Expectation the commonly translate it Prison for even the Context leadeth us thither that the faithful who before that time were deceased were made partakers of the same Grace with us because he doth amplifie the Power of the Death oâ— Christ from thence that it â—id penetrate even to the dead while pious Soâ—Iâ— did enjoy the present sight of that Grace which they earnestly expected and on the other hand it was made more manifest to the Reprobate â—â—at they were excluded from all Salvation But if C.M. think that Calvin words doth not infer a Purgatory why should he surmize any such thing from mine And though C.M. ignorantly in his airy fantastical Mind mocked at some called Quakers for calling the Flesh by way of Allegory the Woman that should not speak in the Church although we deny not but Women are there also to be understood litterally but yet not all Women nor in all respects alledging That the Devil is the Fleshes Husband yet if he had been well read in Origine or Augustine he might have found a better account but not to go so far backward let his Reverend Baxter answer him who saith in the Preface to his Directions to the Converted In a weak Christian the Spirit is Master but the Flesh is Mistriss And notwithstanding that the said R. Baxter is too uncharitable to the People called Quakers yet I find in the said Book he is much more charitable to them than C.M. is who will not allow them the lowest degree among true Christians Because as he will have it they deny almost all the Fundamentals of the Christian Faith for thus Rich. Baxter expresly writeth concerning Quakers Bâ—hmenists and some of the Religious Orders of the Papist in his 23d Character of a confirmed Christian pag. 66. But those of them that place their chiefest Happiness in the Love of God and the eternal Fruition of him in Heaven and seek this sincerely according to their Helps and Power though they are misled into some superstitious Errors I hope I may number with those that are sincere for all their Errors and the ill Effects of them And truly I have that Charity for Rich. Baxter that if he had known the Quakers better and had had that occasion of some more inward acquaintances with them he would have been still more charitable to them in his judgment of them for the things he hath judged to be Errors in them either they do not hold them or they are not Errors but sound things of Truth and many of them possibly owned by himself but in other Terms It is the great Calamity of these Age that men are oft confounded in their Languages and contradict one another in Words and Terms when they agree in one Sense of the same things It may be hoped and is earnestly to be prayed for unto Almighty God that all that are sincere Lovers of the Truth in all Societies in Christendom may have more Charity one towards another and they may acknowledge whatever is of Truth and Virtue one in another and this would prepare the way to bring them all to one Sheep sold and to have one Shepherd as the Lord hath promised and which he will in due time fullfill and that Time is at hand Amen CHAP. IV. ANd thus having sufficiently answered what was needful to the First Part of his Address which is the largest I shall answer some things but very briefly to his latter part partly because almost the whole of it is answered in my former printed Books directed to the People in New-England and partly because very much of it is answered in the fore going Sheets In
the latter part of his Address he hath greatly changed the matter of Debate betwixt us in most things wrongly stating things and calling things our Principles which are not whereas he should have kept to the Twelve Articles I charged them with eleven of which they did fairly own and the Twelfth I have sufficiently proved to belong to them as much as the eleven and he should have given an Answer to my former Book called The pretended Antidote proved Poyson which he hath not so much as essayed but instead thereof he goeth to chaâ—ge the matter of Debate betwixt us in the things I had chaâ—ged them with in most particulars and by most gross Perversions of our Friends words would fix on them Principles which they do no wise hold And in this New 〈◊〉 he sets down Sixteen Assertions wherein he pretendeth to contradict our Principles but in most of them he doth prevaricate and goeth from the 〈◊〉 of the Question as in the First where he granteth That he doth not mean that the Paper or Letter of the Scripture but the heavenly Matter of it is the Word of God and thus he doth not contradict us for I have told him and his Brethren more than once Thas we readily grant the heavenly Matter and true divine Sence of the holy Scripture is the Word of God But the true state of the Controversie is Whether the Scripture is either princâ—paâ—y or only the Word of God excluding any inward Word or Voice of God in mens hearts we say there is an Inward Word and Voice of God in mens hearts which as it doth not contradict the Scripture but agreeth with it so it is another thâ—â—g and is of the greatest Efficacy and giveth or seâ—â—eâ—h to us the assurance that the Scriptures are of God and divinely inspired 〈…〉 2â— Assertion he doth no less prevaricate and 〈…〉 the 〈…〉 â—or I did grant in both my former book◠〈…〉 Exâ—â—aâ—rdinary and Oâ—â—â—nary Revelations and 〈…〉 our Lord and that we did not say tâ—at 〈…〉 had tâ—eâ—e Extraordinary but the Ordinary that were common to them with all Saints the which ordinary are nevertheless true divine Inspirations and Revelations And as to what I said out of some antient Writers tending to open the Distinction of Extraordinary and Ordinary Revelations the extraordinary being of a more high and sublime Nature as proceeding from a more high and excellent measure of the divine Light or Spirit that is well warranted in holy Scripture and well approved by Christian Writers of great esteem for Piety and Learning that he and his Brethren call Rabbinical Fopperies in that they show their great Ignorance in good Learning for it is generally acknowledged by Christians as well as Jews yea and by Protestants of good Note That the Hebrew Names of God mentioned in Scripture being various some of them are greater than others and the greater Names do answer to the greater Measures of the divine Light and that Name commonly pronounced Jehovah which the most learned in the Hebrew Language among Christians do confess they know not how to pronounce it consisting of quiescent Letters and having no proper Vowels of its own as is acknowledged by the most learned and as Buxtoâ— in his Hebrew Lexicon saith the first that presumed to pronounce it was Petruâ— Galatinus â—one of all the Greek and Latine Fathers so 〈◊〉 did presume to pronounce it or read it for theâ—e is no Tract of it in any of their Writings though divers of them were well skilled in the Hebrew Language is generally acknowledged to be one of the greatest Names of God by which God made himself known to Moses Exod. 6.3 but not to Abraham Isaac and Jacob and though it be granted that the Letters of that Name are recorded by Moses in many places of Genesis and is to be found in Hebrew Gen. 2.4 and that possibly and very probably Abraham might have known the outward Letters or Sound of that Name yet that doth not infer that either Abraham or any of these Fathers knew the inward force and efficacy signified by that Name and that so high Revelation belonging to it that Moses did know for that would contradict Exod. 6.3 And though I do no wise approve Rabbinical Fopperies or Jewish Fictions or Fables yet what I find either in Jewish or Gentile VVriters that doth well accord with the divine Oracles of the holy Scripture I do well receive it and relish it In his 3 d Assertion he doth no less mis-state the Question for we deny not but affirm That the will of God expressed in the Scripture is a perfect Rule for the Belief and Practice of every Christian as to all Doctrinals and Practicals of Religion in general but we say it is not the only Rule nor the principal for the Will of God and his Law is writ in the fleshly Tables of the Hearts of all the faithful and as so writ is greater and of greater virtue and efficacy than to have it writ in Paper and though no new Doctrinals or Morals are to be revealed to us but what are sufficiently declared in the Scriptures yet that doth not hinder but that particular Calls to Places Persons and Nations and particular Prophesies or Predictions of things to come may be newly revealed as is granted by divers Protestants and by For in his Book of Martyrs yea even Presbyterians and Calvin doth acknowledge That even in his Time God did raise up extraordinary Oâ—â—â—cers to restore the Church if not Apostles yet at least Evangelists lib. against cap. 3. â— 4. And true Believers may have it witnessed to them as many have had and daily have by the inward Testimony of Gods Spirit That their sins are forgiven them and that they belong unto God and that without all logical and argumentative way of Syllogisms that as many faithful Souls have not skill to form so many Hypocrites deceive themselves with such a way of arguing themselves to be sincere But some Presbyterians have acknowledged That there is another far more evident clear and satisfactory way that some have whereby to be assured that their sins are forgiven without any such way of Syllogysm as particularly my Country-man William Guthergy in his his printed Book concerning Personal Covenanting with God and he calleth it A felt Arms full of the holy God filling the Soul with God as he is Love Life and Liberty and though it is no audible Voice viz. to the outward Ear yet it doth countervail that of God to Daniel O Man greatly beloved and is like to that which passed from Christ to Mary when he said Mary and she answered Rabboni And surely here was no way of syllogising In his 4 th Assertion he doth also fail in stating the Question for first we grant That the Day of Salvation is expired towards many men now alive and they are left without any saving Light in them 2 dly we grant That the clear and bright Day of Salvation
place though no Quakers did punish her as I was informed with Imprisonment which the Quakers I believe in general that heard of it did judge was too little and that she deserved much more In his 6 th Assertion he doth not fairly state the Question and upon his unfair â—â—ating it doth seek to fix upon us Blasâ—hâ—mies and then cryeth out 〈…〉 such Blasphemies as 〈◊〉 that according to us The Counsel or Decree of God and consequently the very Essence of God being one therewith doth depend on the free will of man Which is a most gross and wretched Perversion for we say the Decree and Counsel of God doth extend to all evil Actions of men permissively but not effectively i. e. so as not to be the Cause and Determiner of them and Gods Decree and Counsel hath no Cause to depend upon without God himself as he doth falsly insinuate against us Nor is Gods Permission as concerning Evil Actions as Judas betraying Christ and the Jews crucifying him a bare Permission as if God only did look on as an idle Spectator which is most absurd to imagine but he most justly most wisely and most soveraignly bounds and limits all evil Actions of men that they neither do nor can do any thing but what is for the glory of God and the good of his chosen as it is written The Wrath of Man shall praise thee and the remainder of it thou wilt restrain But C.M. and his brethren are too guilty of Blasphemy that affirm That all evil Actions of Men and Devils come to pass by the Effective Decree of God that doth infallibly and inevitably determine and move them to the same and so say the Ranters fathering all their wicked Actions upon God And it is a gross Contradiction in C.M. to himself to say That God doth determine all evil Actions by his effective Decree and yet is not the Author of them for to effect a thing so that it mâ—st be done and to be the Author of it is all one to all of common sense In his 7 th Assertion he proceedeth in the like gross Perversion and mis-stating of things and as to the first part of it fighteth against his own shadow and not my Assertion for I granted That God hath chosen all the Heirs of Salvation unto Faith and Holiness as the means and unto Eternal Salvation and Glory as the end in Christ Jesus before the Foundation of the World and also I have granted That all are not elected nor are any elected who perish finally and yet this doth not infer eternal Reprobation because Elected and Reprobated are not Contradictory Terms as I have formerly declared and yet he hath not proved that they are but maketh a noise strongly asserting what he doth not prove Nor doth it follow that Reprobation is before the Foundation of the World because Gods Decree and Purpose to destroy all finally Impenitent Sinners is before the Foundation of the World for though Gods Decree be before all Time yet it doth respect all Reprobates as it doth consider them in Time having refused all the tender Offers of Gods Grace and Mercy unto the very last And as Gods Decree of creating men doth not infer that men were created from Eternity or that mens Creation is co-evous with Gods Decree so nor doth it follow that the Reprobation of men finally Impenitent is co-evous with Gods Decree for Reprobation is not the Decree of God as C.M. doth strongly assert but doth no wise prove And if some should say as I know some do say That Election though in being before the Foundation of the World in Christ is not simply or only the Decree of God as it is an Immanent Act of God but is some-what by way of an Effect resulting or flowing from Gods Decree existing in Christ the Head and Mediator of all Gods Elect before the Foundation of the World For as C.M. cannot disprove it as contrary to Scripture so it is not inconsistent with what divers soâ—er Protestants have favoured to wit That Christ was Mediator from the beginning and consequently had somthing to be as a cloathing to his Godhead altogether necessary to his being Mediator from the beginning although he was not incarnate or cloathed with flesh until the fullness of time that he took flesh in the Virgins Womb and if Christ was Mediator from the beginning partly invested with his Mediatory Nature though not with Flesh till the fullness of Time came it is both very easie and very comfortable to the Saints to understand how they were elected in Christ their Head before the Foundation of the World and that this Election had its being as the Effect of Gods eternal Love and Counsel in Christ the head of his Elect Members In his 8 th Assertion he is wholly idle and impertinent for we own as much as he That there is in God the Father the Son and the Spirit and that they are One in Being and Three in relative Attributes and Properties and we dislike nothing but the unscriptural invented Names of Three Persons for which Calvin hath sufficiently excused us as I have above showed In his 9 th Assertion he wholly fighteth with his own shadow and giveth up the Cause acknowledging That the Price paid by our Lord in his Death was indeed sufficient for all Mankind and that the benefit of it is tendered and proffered unto all Indefinitely if they will believe but he should have told us how the benefit of it is tendered unto all seeing many Millions of men never had it outwardly preached to them nor ever had any outward Testimony of it by men and if he would stand to this the Controversie in this Particular would be at an end But for his Inferences and Consequences which he would fix upon us most perversly we utterly deny them to flow justly from our innocent Faith according to Scripture which is That Christ dyed for all men c. As that First The Virtue and Success of our Lords Death depends upon the Free VVill of Man 2dly That man in the principal in his own Salvation 3dly That the Number of Persons interested in our Lords Death is not certain for we say none have a true and real Interest in Christ or in his Death but sincere Believers 4thly That Simon Peter was no more beholden to the Merit of our Lord than Simon Magus or any that perish Though it will be hard for C.M. to prove that Simon Magus was a Reprobate And 5thly That God in sending his blessed Son to dye had as full a purpose to save them that Perish as them that shall be saved These and the like absurd and Illogical or unreasonable Consequences we altogether deny they being only C. M's Perversion In his 10 th Assertion he doth as grosly pervert the state of the Question as in any of the former for we deny not but affirm That our Justification is by the Righteousness or Obedience of the Lord
which the Author of The fulfilling of the Scriptures doth plainly acknowledge was about that time among them and indeed many of these Tremblings and extraordinary Motions that seized on the Bodies of some Presbyterians many call'd Quakers in these dayes did proceed in great part from the small experience of and little acquaintance that these Persons had at first with that sensible manner of the working of Gods Spirit and that there were but few at first that could well advise them to bear with more composure and quiet of Body that manner of workings whereas by more frequent Experience many did and do at this day witness and feel sensibly not only as great but oft greater inward Workings of the Spirit of God on all accounts and yet can bear them and most willingly and gladly submit to them with little or no Observation of any Bodily Trembling for as in going to War and heariâ—◠〈◊〉 dreadful Sound of Guns Trumpets and Drums the young Soulâ—â—â—â—â— are oft afraid even to a degree of Bodily Trembling yet aâ—â—â—â—wards having more Experience they feel not either that Bodâ—â—â— Trembling nor such fear that is the cause of it and as Water aâ—â— Fire at its first breaking forth is more violent and yet afterwarâ— is fully as effectual without such Violence so at the first hearinâ— of Thunder and seeing the terrible Flashes of Lightning Persoâ—â— are much more afraid than after when they are more acquainteâ— with it by frequency thereof so it might be and was so that the Power and Spirit of God did work in former dayes with a more seeming Force upon many and yet since doth work as effectually now and sometimes more without it so as not to come under such frequent Observation and yet even Bodily Tremblings are still witnessed proceeding from the inward working of Gods Spirit among us as the Apostle saith Knowing the Terrors of the Lord we perswade men Pag. 12. For the words of Humphry Norton alledged by C.M. I have made inquiry at divers but can find no intelligence of any such words in any Book of his but if any such have dropt from him or any other tending to deny the Faith of Christ's being in Heaven in his glorified Body of Man without us we shall be far from excusing them for we zealously believe That the Man Christ is in Heaven without us in his glorified Body of Man the same for Being he had on Earth but wonderfully changed in Manner and Condition as is clearly and fully expressed in that late Treatise given forth by our Friends in Rhode-Island called The Christian Faith c. Vindicated c. But yet we cannot approve of the too carnal Conceptions of many carnal and ignorant Professors that have too carnal Imagination of Christ and confine him altogether to such a Remoteness that they wiâ—â— not allow any Measure of him to dwell in Believers plain contrary to the Scripture Pag. 12. And whereas he saith If they own those Principles why won't they give us leave to own them I Answer We blame you not for owning them providing ye did own them as ye ought to do in the true and right Faith of them that proceedeth from the Spirits inward Inspiration and Revelation sensibly working by way of sensible Object upon the inward and spiritual Senses of mens Souls but this ye deny and therefore it is not the matter but manner of your ownâ—â—â— them that we commonly blame even as some said that the Lord â—â—â—ed yet they swore falsly because they did it hypocritically not â—nowing him to live in them but yet sometimes in these very things ye err also in the matter Pag. 15. That the Quakers adore G.K. either for his outward Learning and make him their Head or for any other thing is false nor doth he seek any such false Honour it sufficeth him to be loved by his Friends and neither he nor his Friends make any other account of outward Learning but to be the foot-stool of Christ and subservient to his Truth and as the Spoils of the Aegyptians were made serviceable to the Israelites And that he saith This Keith it is who has given the greatest advantages to Quakerism and that with no little Alterations How this is consistent with his representing me as if I were Mad pag. 44. and extreamly Ignorant doth not appear And as for Alterations great or small that I have made in the Quakers Principles as rightly understood delivered by our most Antient Friends of best account in general he hath not proved He calleth my late Catechism A wily Catechism wherein Quakerism is so disguised as that one would almost suspect him a real Protestant and yet he will needs have it that the Juice of Toads is as wholsom a Potion But it is strange that such a Wily Catechism and so politically contrived should proceed from a Mad-man and extreamly Ignorant as he would have me to be But however I say that Catechism is writ and given forth in true sincerity without any disguise and doth as really bespeak me a true Protestant as all true Quakers are as it doth seem to represent me to be and will be found to have nothing that 's hurtful in it but profitable and wholsom I hope upon impartial Examination That the inward excusing or condemning Principle as he chargeth on us p. 15. which all men are born with is the Man Christ Jesus is not asserted by any called Quakers that I know unless by a figure called Synecdoche of giving the Name of the whole to the measure and by a Metonyme as where in Scripture the second Adam is called the quickening Spirit and the Light of the World but the Quakers so called generally acknowledge that the Spirit Light and Life dwelleth in all fullness only in the glorified Body of the Man Christ Jesus without them and the measures of it not seperated from the Fullness more or less as he is pleased to give in Believers Nor do the Quakers saâ—â— that men bring with them into the World these inward Illumination and Convictions and other Operations of the Light or Spirit whether common or special that men feel by experience in them when at Age although none can come into the World but as the Almighty Power and Arm of God who formed them in the Mothers Womb doth bring them and as that eternal Word without which nothing is made doth appoint them in their several Ages and Generations And for Christian Lodowicks Challenge against our Friends in Rhode-Island it is already answered and they are cleared from his Calumnies and our Christian Religion sufficiently distinguished from either Paganism Judaism or Mahumatism And the Exceptions he makes against my Catechism are soon answered if his Perversions were but detected 1 st That some who are left without either the help of the holy Scriptures or holy Men do yet so rightly improve the inward help of Christs Light as to be accepted with God This he saith is altogether contrary
to Rom. 1.21 22. but in this as mostly every where he perverteth my words and sense for he hath left out my following words according to the present state And what I mean by them I show a little after That such who have a measure of sincerity in their Gentile state but having no Faith in Christ crucified are but Servants and not Sons of the free Woman but are under the Law and though accepted so far as sincere in the Servants state as I proved from Acts 10.1 2 34 35. yet not thereby justified as Sons for I have acknowledged that without the Faith of Christ crucified and raised again without us none are or can be so justified yet they are as the Kings Prisoners and as the Man-slayer was in the City of Refuge under the Law till he heard of the Death of the High-Priest and such are shut up under the Safeguard of the Law as Beza translates it unto the Faith that is afterwards to be revealed Gal. 3.23 So there is a place of Refuge although C.M. know it not Nor doth Rom. 1.21 22. contradict it for that place speaketh not of all Gentiles but these of the worst of them 2 dly That some may be saved without outward hearing or preaching is granted by the Westminster Confession in the case of Infants and Deaf and Dumb Persons and therefore how devout and Conscientious Gentiles can be saved hath not the least shadow of greater difficulty to understand And that none are eternally saved wiâ—hout the Faith of Christ I have granted in my Catechism and other Treatises and do still grant see Sect. 4. Quest. 10. but how this Faith it wrought in such is best to leave it until God be pleased further to open it seeing as the Westminster Confession saith God worketh by his Spirit when where and how he pleaseth and as Christ said The Spirit bloweth where it listeth the greek word can well be translated Spirit and is so by some Translators 3 dly That the Principle of the New-Covenant is in all Men is not contradicted by Ephes 2.12 but is confirmed by Rom. 10.8 9 10. compared with Deut. 30.14 and Christs Parable of the Seed sown in four grounds And why may not the Seed of the New Covenant lie in the hearts of unregenerate Men for a Season as the Seed of Wheat may lie not having root in the cold dry ground for a Season till it be moistened warmed with the Showers Sun's warmth in the Spring 4 thly That having more Wives than one was unlawful under the Law is not contrary to Mat. 19.45 48. for altho' Man had but one wife given him at the beginning yet the Law that permitted such a thing to men as the like in the case of Divorce came in afterwards And it is absurd to think that Abraham sinned against the Law in his Conscience writ in his very Nature and therefore commonly call'd the Law of Nature in having two Wives at once for all sins against the Law of Nature are hainous sins and of great aggravation as the Westminster Confession acknowledgeth But seeing no such sin is charged on Abraham and that he was in great favour with God at that very time it cannot be said to be against that Law writ in his Nature though it be against the Law of the New-Covenant now under the Gospel 5 thly That we are to wait in Silence for some aid and assistance of the Spirit to help us to pray doth not contradict Acts 8.22 for as Peter commanded Simon Magus to pray so he bid him Repent and Pray and that he had not the Spirit was his own fault as it is the fault of all others who have it not to assist them both to wait and pray also Nor doth mens want of the Spirit because they depart from it and resist the gentle Motions thereof excuse their neglect of Prayer no more than a mans want of Money excuseth him to pay a just Debt yet he must not go to pay his debt with falsâ— Coyn no more should a man pray with a Hypocritical Spirit Nor 6 thly doth Rom. 3.28 prove that Repentance as well as Faith is not a necessary Condition and Instrument of our Justification for true Gospel Repentance is not the Work of the Law but of Faith and his Reverend R. Baxter doth hold with the Quakers against him That Faith and sincere Obedience are necessary Conditions and Instruments of Justification and to teach so he doth not think Popish as doth sufficiently appear by what he hath printed on that subject see his Aphorisms of Justification pag. 80. where he saith Some Ignorant Wretches gnash their Teeth at this very Doctrine as if it were flat Popery viz. That Men are justified by Faith as it is an inward Obedience Nor 7 thly doth Rom. 9.11 prove that Esau was a Reprobate before he was born or at any time afterwards yea Cotton Mather with his Boston Brethren in their former Book dare not affirm That Esau was a Reprobate and that men are not born Reprobates though some are preferred to others before they are born but become Reprobates after they have nothing good left in them is clear from Scripture that calleth reprobate men Dross after the precious Mettle is extracted from it and Chaff that hath no grain of Wheat in it Nor 8 thly doth Acts 8.38 prove that Christs Baptism is with Water for as the Practice of Circumcision after Christs Resurrection doth not prove it a Gospel-Precept no more doth the practise of Water Baptism but both Christ and John did teach That Christs Baptism was with Fire and the holy Ghost but no where is it said that Christ baptizeth with Water Nor 9 thly doth 1 Cor. 11.26 prove That Believers may not feed upon Christ by Faith and so sup with him and he with them as well when they eat not as when they do eat together outwardly remembring the Lords Death with Solemn Prayer and Thanks-giving which we grant is good frequently to be done And thus I have fully answer'd all his frivolous and weak Objections against my Catechism so that he hath not discovered the least grain of Error in it nor doth any thing that I have said in my other printed Treatises contradict the Doctrine of my Catechism as he doth falsly alledge perverting my words in most things to a sence contrary to my mind or to what they can bear so far is he from that Candor of giving them a favourable Construction But I intend not to follow him in his manifold Impertinences to weary either my Reader or my self and shall come to give a brief and plain Answer to his Five Arguments whereby he would perswade the People in New-England to turn away from hearing me the which Arguments savour more of bitter Prejudice and extream Folly and Rashness than of â—â—y Wit or Judgment and hath nothing of Truth in them and might be easily retorted upon himself where they have the best seeming