written Lines of the Prophets are called the Word of the Lord and Joh. 15. 25. there we find the Word written 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. the written Word which was a short Sentence written in one of the Psalms but G. F. denyeth them to be the written Word G. M. p. 68 319. When Paul bid Timothy preach the Word it cannot be justly thought that he would have him only preach the inward Word or the essential Word or Light within but by the Word he meant the whole Doctrine of the Gospel The Quakers but trifle when they argue the Scriptures are Words and it is a Lye to call Words the Word which is not a Lye but a common Speech used by themselves who call an Epistle a Letter that yet contains many Letters And they do no less trifle when they argue to say the Scripture is the Word is to say the Scripture is Christ as if the Name Word did only belong to Christ whereas the Name Word as well as the Name Light is given both to Christ and other things Christ said to the Disciples Ye are the Light of the World and so said Christ of himself doth it therefore follow that they were Christ They say they call the Scriptures what they call themselves A Treatise but not the Word quoting Acts 1. the former Treatise but in the Greek it is Word the same in Joh. 1. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. the former Word where it is plain he calls all the Words written in the Gospel according to St. Luke the Word as each Oration in Isocrates or Demosthenes is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. the Word Proofs that the Scriptures are not the Rule but the Spirit or Light within as is common to all Mankind G. F. G. M. p. 39 120. and in his G. M. p. 302. he saith The Spirit is the Rule that leads into all Truth so saith Christ Note Here he belyes and wrongs Christ's Words Christ did not say the Spirit is the Rule the Spirit is the Leader who leads us into all Truth by the Line or Rule of the holy Scriptures we not having those extraordinary Leading that the Apostles had Nor is this a meer Strife of Words but a most necessary Controversie which is the Foundation of their Deism and their overthrowing Christiany and yet this very Year they have reprinted W. P's Discourse concerning the general Rule of Faith and Practice who brings fourteen Arguments to prove that the Scriptures are not the general Rule of Faith and Practice to which I have answered in my late Book in Print called The Deism of W. P. c. Three of which Arguments of his are 1. From their Imperfection Switch pag. 46. 2. Their Uncertainty 3. Their Obscurity Yea Jos Wyeth in his Switch chargeth the Scriptures with Vncertainty This is a most dangerous Heresie for by this Principle they are not obliged to believe one intire Doctrine in the Apostles Creed as indeed I could easily prove by their Principles they do not believe one intire Article in that called The Apostles Creed G. F. G. M. saith The Apostle doth not tell us of a Creed but the Pope's Canon Book p. 355. yet the Quakers now say they believe that called The Apostles Creed For seeing by denying the Scriptures to be either the Medium or Rule of their Faith what account can they give for their Faith to believe one peculiar Article of Christianity If they say they have a peculiar Inspiration from the Light within to believe these peculiar Doctrines this in the first place throws down the common Illumination from being the universal Rule for common and peculiar are differing things But next It is a meer Fiction if they should say they have such a peculiar Inspiration without Scripture viz. to believe that Christ was born of a Virgin died for our Sins rose again the third Day W. P. grants the Light within doth not reveal these things to them nor is it needful and he grants the Scriptures are an historical Rule but he will not allow that the Belief of the History of Christ's Birth Death c. is necessary to our Salvation It is none of the absolute Necessaries he saith But they have not only denied the Scriptures to be the Word the Rule the external Medium of Faith but have given them Names of Contempt particularly G. F. who has called them earthly and carnal Death Ink and Paper Dust and Serpents Meat G. F's Truth 's Defence p. 14 102. See several Papers given forth c. p. 45 46. So Dust is the Serpents Meat their Original is but Dust which is but the Letter which is Death so these Serpents feed upon Dust which feed upon all these carnal things and their Gospel is Dust Matthew Mark Luke and John which is the Letter The cursed Serpent is in the Letter R. Hub's Words Truth 's Def. p. 102. Is not this to fright People from reading the Letter to tell them the cursed Serpent i. e. the Devil is in it Their common Defence is that G. F. meant all this of the Ink and Paper but none of all whom he calls Serpents that is the Protestant Churches did ever say that the Ink and Paper was the Gospel they meant the Doctrines and Truths declared by what is writ or printed with Ink on Paper As for the Switch Quotations out of G. M. to prove that some of his Opponents had said The Scripture is God yea the Letter of the Scripture is God Switch p. 15. and for Proof of this he quotes G. Fox G. M. p. 261. who affirmed that one Roger Atkinson affirmed That the Scripture is God but had this been so will that justifie G. F. â—his giving them such opprobrious Names if one or two Particulars did run into one Extream Will this justifie G. F. his running into the other Extream The bending a crooked Plant the contrary way will not serve his turn in this case But that G. Fox his Evidence is not to be trusted in his quoting his Opponents I shall clearly prove G. F. in his Great Mystery p. 247. quotes C. Wade for the same Trespass that he quotes Roger Atkinson for namely that Christopher Wade should affirm That the Scripture Letter was God and Christ for this he quotes his Book called Quakery Slain but no such Passage is to be found in all that Book and C. Wade in another Book of his entituled To all those called Quakers he charges G. F. with a Hellish Lye and Slander for affirming that he called the Letter God and Christ see this last Book of C. Wade p. 7. and compare it with his Quakery slain p. 16. and his Words in that p. 16. being That the Letter of the New Testament or Gospel containeth in it the mediate inspired teaching written VVord of Christ the VVord that was and is God which saith C. VVade is flat contrary to thy Lye And in his last cited Book the said C.
ever Again a little after So Isay the Devil false Prophets Antichrists Deceivers Beast Mother of Harlots none of these can witness an infallible Spirit But being out of the Spirit that Christ the Prophets and Apostles was in that gave forth Scriptures they are not infallible as they were but with that they are all judged out II. Great Mystery pag. 98. And thou and you all that speak and write and not from God immediately and infallibly as the Apostles did and Prophets and Christ but only have gotten the Words you are all under the Curse in another Spirit ravenned from the Spirit that was in the Apostles Saul 's Errand to Damascus pag. 7. They are Conjurers and Diviners and their Teaching is from Conjuration which is not spoken from the Mouth of the Lord and the Lord is against all such and who are of God are against all such Truth defended by G. F. and Rich. Hubb p. 104. Our giving forth Papers or printed Books it is from the immediate eternal Spirit of God to the shewing forth the filthy Practices of the World's Teachers c. George Whitehead Voice of Wisdom pag 33. his Opponent Th. Danson having said As for our Want of Infallibility 't is no valid Plea against our Ministry G.W. answers His Falshood here appears plainly for they that want Infallibility and have not the Spirit of Christ they are out of the Truth and are fallible and their ministry is not of the Spirit seeing they speak not from the Spirit but from their own Hearts which are deceitful where they want Infallibility so out of the Abundance of the Heart the Mouth speaketh Note Jos Wyeth in his Switch for the Snake p. 87. states the Question concerning their Infallibility fallaciously in three several Particulars 1. That the holy Spirit of God is infallible c. This is no Part of the Controversie 2. That the holy Spirit leads all such who obey him infallibly into all Truth necessary to Salvation This is wrongly stated the true State of the Question being Whether the Holy Spirit leads us into all Truth necessary to Salvation without the external Doctrine externally delivered in the holy Scriptures by preaching and reading and without all external means This they affirm as shall hereafter be proved but this all sound Christians deny who yet grant that all the Faithful are infallibly led into all Truth necessary to Salvation by the infallible Spirit in the Use of the holy Scriptures which contain the infallible Truths of the Gospel 3. That the Ministers who are sent forth in the Work of the Ministry have or may have if they diligently attend to the Voice of the infallible Spirit speaking in them a certain infallible Knowledge and Assurance of the Truth of what they so deliver This also is wrongly stated the true State is not what they have or may have but what they really have in all they preach and write as is clear from the above given Quotations of G. F. and G. W. their great Leaders To say they may have implies that they may not have and in that case they are fallible and so by their own Verdict are under the Curse Conjurers Deceivers Note that their great Teachers and Leaders G. F. and G. W. have taught that the infallible teaching of the Spirit is not by the medium or external Means of the Scriptures and that Faith is not given by the external Word doth appear from their Books 1. G.F. Gr. Myst pag. 350. Ye tell People of an outward ordinary means by which Christ communicates the Benefit of Redemption The means of Salvation is not ordinary nor outward but Christ is the Salvation who is eternal 2. Gr. M. p. 133. His Opponent T. Moor having said The Scripture is the absolute Rule and Medium of our Faith In pag. 134. he answereth The Scriptures is not the Author nor the Means of it nor the Rule but Christ who gives it and he encreaseth it 3. Gr. Myst pag. 243. And the things of the Gospel and of the Spirit are not attained by an external means 4. Gr. Myst pag. 320. His Opponents having said God works Faith in us inwardly by his Spirit and outwardly by his Word He answers Here thou goest about to make the Spirit and the Word not one is not the Word Spiritual and Christ called the Word Gr. Myst p. 168. Them that never heard the Scripture outwardly the Light that every Man hath that cometh into the World being turned to it with that they will see Christ with that they will know Scripture with that they will be led out of all Delusion come into Covenant with God with which they will come to worship God in the Spirit and serve him Note the Quakers that say they are turned to the Light yet are not led out of all Delusion but many of them are under great Delusions and Error concerning the great Truths of the Gospel as doth evidently appear by these and the following Quotations A Quotation being brought out of Gr. Myst in the Snake of the Grass G. Myst p. 213. Switch pag. 79. Thou cast not know the Scriptures but by the same Degree of the Spirit that the Prophets and Apostles had Jos Wyeth saith in his Switch By the Error of the Press the Word ALL is left out For which he quotes Gr. Myst pag. 212. In answer to this hear what G. F. saith in Gr. M. pag. 120. And he that hath found the true Record the Spirit of God with that he shall know ALL the Scriptures and is come within the Book where all things are written and which writes all things forth the Spirit Note G. F. no doubt and G. W. did think they had found the true Record the Spirit c. and therefore they knew ALL Scripture and had the same Degree that the Prophets and Apostles had G. F. G. M. p. 222. The Light c. is the Substance of all Scriptures opens all Scriptures and that all Scriptures ends in Le ts see all Scripture But that the Quotation of the Switch G. M. p. 212. is lamely made the following Words prove that some of the Quakers at least did understand as they thought ALL Scripture The Passage is this But they cannot know all Scriptures but as they vttain to the full Measure of the Spirit of the Prophets and Apostles and to the Measure and Stature and Fullness of Christ And if they do not attain to all this they are not able to know all the Scriptures and the Work of the Ministers of God was to bring People to this to the Measure and Stature and Fullness of Christ. Note that they thought their Ministry had brought some of the Quakers to this we shall see hereafter and no doubt they judged they were come to it viz. G. F. and G. W Gr. M. p. 47. The Light which every one hath that cometh into the World is sufficient to Salvation without the Help of any other Means or Discovery But which
is much more than that of Degrees G. F. tells of them that were come to that which is above Degrees Gr. Myst pag. 281. And the Blood of the Seed it cleanseth from Sin the Power and Stain of it and then the Guilt is gone of it and where this is known the Seed that destroys Death and him that hath the Power of it which is the Devil the Fullness is known which is above Degrees that which Degrees ends in Again G. Myst pag. 318. For who comes to the Spirit and to Christ comes to that which is perfect who comes to the Kingdom of Heaven in them comes to be perfect yea to a perfect Man and that is above any Degree Note by this it appears G. F. thought himself and some others of the Quakers come above any Degree and that is beyond and above the Apostles themselves who were but in the Degrees but they were come to the Fulness it self that is to be equal with Christ himself But let us next hear G. Whitehead 's Excuse of G F's Saying None can understand Scripture but by the same Degree of the Spirit the Prophets and Apostles had In his late Book called Truth and Innocency pag. 19. But if any true Knowledge of the Scripture be received that must be by a Degree of the same Spirit as I suppose the Words before-cited should be so transposed and so intended Note If this Liberty be allowed to transpose Words in a Sentence the falsest Assertions may be made true and the truest made false as Acts 12. It 's said Herod killed James by transposing James killed Herod Is not this a rare Evidence of G. W's Truth and Innocency or rather of his shameful Sophistry But whereas he saith the Words were so intended the above Quotations prove that G. F's Intention was that some of the Quakers and to be sure HE for one were come to the same Degree yea which is more to the Fullness and that is above any Degree But it 's no wonder G. F. thought he was come to such Height of Perfection when he said in his Battle-door All Languages are to me no more than Dust who was before Languages were This Passage Jos Wyeth quotes lamely Switch pag. 149. leaving out the Words which were chiefly offensive who was before Languages were What saith Jos Wyeth to this Snake pag. 85. And why did he not fully quote it as it was objected in the Snake It seems he found Difficulty to give a plain Answer to it therefore made a lame Quotation The like or rather more blasphemous Assertion is in a Book of J. Parnel called The Watcher p. 37. But to the end of all Disputes and Arguments I am come for before they was I am and in the Light do them comprehend and judge to be out of the Light in Babylon c. But here again let us note that the Author of the Switch acts the dull Sophister very manifestly Switch p. 453 465. when on the one hand he seems to be highly pleased with the Doctrine of the Church of England in the Point of Inspiration and saith He is glad that so essential a Truth as is the Inspiration of the holy Spirit is owned by her And on the other hand for blaming the Author of the Snake for his contradicting himself by his approving the Inspirations owned by the Church of England and yet faulting the Quakers Pretences to Inspirations The Author of the Snake had sufficiently cleared this in his Book called the Snake c. pag. 322. what sort of Inspiration the Church of England owned which is that of sanctifying and saving Graces but for the extraordinary and miraculous Inspirations of Prophecy and Tongues she doth not pretend to nor teach that they are commonly given or that they are to be sought there being no need of them The manner of prophetical Inspirations which the Prophets and Apostles had was such as they had given them by the Spirit without all outward teaching of Men or Books and beside this they had the ordinary Inspirations of the Spirit given in the use of the external means in God's ordinary way to wit the sanctifying and saving Graces of the Spirit inspired into them Here is a plain Difference betwixt the Inspirations which the Quakers pretend to given them without the external means of hearing reading c. and the Inspirations given in the use of the ordinary means of the written Word both preached and read that the Church of England lays claim unto which makes the Sophistry of the Author of the Switch very manifest and also his great Injustice to the Author of the Snake so to charge him without ground But let us hear what great matters the Author of the Switch pretends that the Inspirations of the Light within Switch pag. 38. will teach them who attend upon it It will saith he fully teach them their Duty to God and enable them to perform it It will discover to them a System of Principles truly Orthodox with more Certainty than Counsel or Synod can not taught by it for be is indeed a wonderful Counseller It will first fully and truly beyond any Casuist shew unto Man what is his Sin and if Man despile not this Discovery but close with it it will beget in him a Loathing of his Sin and then proceed to work in him a Repentance from dead Works which if unfeigned you see he is very cautious but why If unfeigned Can the Light within work any other Repentance but that which is unfeigned It will go on to sanctifie him and when Man by this Light Spirit or Grace is sanctified it will then witness to his Spirit that he is justified so will Man come truly to be redeemed This he saith in short is the Substance of what hath been by us declared concerning this Divine Light Christ in Man and which is not more than is witnessed of it in the Holy Scriptures Note By this plain Confession we see what sort of System of Divinity the Inspiration the Quakers plead for doth or will give them who attend upon it to wit a-Scheme of Deism or refined Paganism In all this Substance of his whole System not one word of Faith in Christ as he outwardly dyed for our Sins his being the great Sacrifice for the Remission of our Sins by Faith in his Blood outwardly shed But the Inspirations of the holy Prophets and Apostles taught them this Faith and the necessity of it as well as of Repentance for the Remission of Sins And seeing the Quakers Inspiration teacheth them nothing of such a Faith and the necessity of it it is a plain case tho the Quakers pretend to the same Inspirations that the Prophets and Apostles had yet they have them not nay nor the ordinary Inspirations that common true Believers have in and by the means of the external Doctrine contained in the holy Scriptures that lead them to regard Christ outwardly as he was crucified and raised
as the following Words expresly declare But how could Christ in them be disobedient not only Spirits but disobedient Spirits This is that Apostle of the Quakers of whom VV. P. saith in his Preface to G. F's Journal He had an extraordinary Gift in opening the Scripture he would go to the Marrow of things saith VV. P. Is not this a rare Instance of it Upon the reading these Places Samuel Jobson one of the Quakers Elders said George doth not the Scriptures say that some crucifie Christ a-fresh I answered It is said in Scripture they crucifie him to themselves but it is not said they crucifie him to himself or in himself by crucifying him there is understood their rendring themselves guilty of his Death and depriving themselves by their unworthy Life and Practises of the Salvation purchased by him I asked him did he believe that wicked Men by their Sins do really wound Christ in them and kill him and let out his Blood in them and that that Blood is the Blood of Atonement He said The Scripture saith If we walk in the Light c. the Blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all Sin I asked him Whether that Blood was the Blood of Christ without us that was shed on the Cross He said The Blood was the Life But I asked again Was it the Blood without us or the Blood within us He said It was spiritual Blood But being much pressed not only by me but some Ministers present to answer whether it was Blood without him or Blood within him He waved any direct Answer and I shewing the Auditory that the Notion of G. F. and other Teachers of the Quakers who had learned it of him was That the Blood by which we are cleansed from Sin is the Blood within which he calls The Blood of the Seed as is more fully afterwards to be proved and this Seed is Christ and is not a Creature Another Quaker said Is not the Seed Christ and is not Christ within the Seed of the Woman that bruiseth the Head of the Serpent At this some of the Hearers said Here is Proof enough of their Error The Seed of the Woman it the Seed within them I answered Christ is called the Seed of the Woman and the Seed of Abraham as he came in the Flesh without us and was made of a Woman and was the Son of Abraham And though I own Christ within by his Godhead Presence and by his common Illumination in all Men and by his special Presence and special Illuminations in the faithful yet I deny that the Seed of God in Men is either Christ or God I own that there is a Seed of God in the faithful but I deny G. F. his Notion of it That it is not a Creature I asked Daniel Philips what he said to my former Question Did Men by their Sins really wound God in them as some of their Teachers have affirmed After some Demur he said he would not give a positive Answer but take it into further Consideration whereupon some of the Auditory did commend him I said it was better so to do than to assert such a vile Error however by this it appeared how uncertain they were and how little agreed about some of their chief Principles Having thus given an Account of G. W's wild Notions concerning Christ the Seed within that the Power takes hold of and raises up I will proceed to shew the like by some new Quotations out of G. F. referring to other Quotations given in my third Narrative especially on the same Subject See my third Narrative p. 25. G. F. in his G. M. p. 324. quotes his Opponent saying That the Seed to whom the Promise of Salvation is made is or hath been Sinners Ans The Promise of God is to the Seed which hath been laden as a Cart with Shaves by the Sinner which Seed is the Hope Christ that purifies even as God is pure and here is the Creature come to know its Liberty among the Sons of God and the Seed Christ never sinned in the Male nor in the Female in the Jew nor in the Gentiles And of this Mystery was the great High Professors ignorant of that stood at a Distance from the Gentiles that Christ had no room among them though they talked of him but in the Stable in the Manger and in their Mouths to talk of him with their Lips and such Christ calls Graves and Sepulchres and whited Walls and the Wall is not the Seed but the Seed is Christ and not the Sepulchre nor the Grave so this Promise is not unto Seeds as many but to one the Seed which is Christ. Note these gross Perversions of Scripture Again p. 171. G. M. Now they feel not the Comfort nor the Benefit but by the Faith of Christ Jesus the one Offering in which God is pleased with all which is acceptable which is Christ's Offering his Sacrifice his Flesh his Blood his Life his Word must be manifest and received within before they come to Justification Sanctification and Redemption P. 173. And where Jesus Christ is within the Word is there and God is there and this is the great Mistery of Godliness Again G. M. p. 158. Of this Body which is that by which Christ reconciles unto God are all the Professors Protestants and Papists ignorant of this Seed that breaks the Enmity P. 159. And by Faith is every one justified in the Blood of the Seed the Flesh of Christ the Lord from Heaven shed for the Sins of the whole World The Blood of the Seed which is the Life that cleanseth and this Blood is felt within for it purgeth the Conscience from dead VVorks to serve the living God and here is the great Mistery of God and the VVisdom of God Note This Flesh and Blood that he saith is the great Mistery which neither Papists nor Protestants know is that Flesh which was crucified in Adam when Adam sinned and the Blood that was then shed in which is the Belief that takes away the Sin as I have shewed in a large Quotation out of another Book of his in my third Narrative p. 25. For a Close upon this Head I shall quote a Passage of G. F. in that called Several Papers given forth c. by G. F. who is there called Minister of the eternal VVord of God p. 47. Now to all dear ones and dear Hearts I speak the same Seed which it Christ the same Spirit takes upon it now as ever yea the same Temptations the same Devil and the same VVorship of the VVorld is winding into another Form and Colour but Jesus Christ is the Way the Truth and the Life And the same Seed passing into the Wilderness and there is tempted to lust after the Creature you that are in the Wilderness witness this with me and the same Tentations even to Despair and make themselves away Note here all along from the Passages above quoted out of G. F. and G. W. and many
the places above-quoted and is the Blood of Atonement 7. This Light is first a Seed then a new born Child and lastly the Mighty God see W. P.'s and W. B.'s words above-quoted 8. This Light within being God c. teacheth the Quakers immediately and infallibly as it did the Prophets and Apostles and they Speak and Write from the same Prophetical Illumination and Inspiration that the Prophets and Apostles had yea from the same degree at least some of them and G. F. was come to the same Fulness that was in Christ and the Works of their Ministry is to bring People to the same Fulness that was in Christ that it may be in them i. e. to make them all equal to Christ and God as above-quoted 9. The Light within teacheth them what they Preach and Write without the Scriptures being the means or a means to help or assist them in so Preaching and Writing hence it is that E. B. upbraids all Protestant Ministers Coll. p. 126. saying Their Prophecy and Preaching would soon be ended if they had not the Scripture which is other Men's Words and that which was spoken to others to speak their imaginations from 10. That this Light within every Man is the Gospel the Power of God unto Salvation to every one that believeth in it and is the alone Object of Faith as above-quoted and that Prophet whom God promised to raise up 11. That the Light within every Man is the Rule of Faith and Life to all Men as above-quoted yea a full Rule to lead to Salvation where it is obeyed The Glory of Christ's Light within by G. W. and others p. 32. and p. 28. from the Light of Christ within they i. e. all Men have so much of the Instructions or Precepts therein in Scripture contained as are necessary to Salvation Note This is to teach People to be saved by a meer Covenant of Works Do and live which none ever yet fulfilled but Christ for all have sinned Rom. 3. 12. This Light within them is whole Christ God and Man Flesh and Spirit G. F. G. M. p. 246. 249. and G. E. is so much for the Flesh Body Blood and Bones of Christ within that he denyeth that Christ has any Body that is absent from his People and is now in the presence of his Father G. M. p. 211. 13. It is the Flesh and Bone of Christ a measure in one and a measure in another Note This is to make the whole to be the part and the part or G. M. 246. measure to be the whole 14. The Saints eat his Flesh and they that eat this Flesh hath it within them G. M. p. 322. Thus arguing most grosly from a Metaphorical eating to a Literal 15. The Light within is the Urim and Thummim as G. W. says Truth and Inno. p. 16. which not only the Quakers have but all Men Heathens and Infidels as really as they 16. Christ within is the Doctrine of Salvation which IS ONLY necessary to be Preached and he is a deceiver that exhorts People for Salvation to any other thing than the Light of Christ as he hath enlightned them within Note This evidently appears from those passages in E. B.'s The true Faith of the Gospel of Peace p. 29. 30. quoted in that called Some account from Colchester signed by Seven Quakers above mentioned the whole of which account is in the several heads of this Narrative fully replyed unto which these Seven Quakers are so far from Censuring that they have justified them p. 16. 17. But to hide their deceit in their reply they transpose the Words of E. B. in his Q. 12. which were the Light of Christ to Christ who is that true Light whereas it is manifest that by Christ that true Light they meant the same which E. B. viz. ONLY the Light within Again in their p. 17 18. they justify G. W. 's saying They that want infallibility and have not the Spirit of Christ they are out of the truth and are fallible and their Ministry is not of the Spirit Note Here they not only disown such Ministers who have not the Spirit but who are fallible in any case for that 's the true state of the Controverse as stated betwixt G. W. and T. D. Voice of Wisdom p. 33. Want of infallibility is a valid Plea against the Ministry let the intelligent therefore judge whether G. W.'s fallibility sufficiently proved in this Narrative as well as that of his Brethren by his Argument has not manifestly discovered him and them to be no Ministers of Christ Note Their faulting so much some small Errors of the Press no wise materal as by the Original manuscript yet extant and ready to be produced if required is to be seen shows their quibling Humour straining at a Gnat and swallowing down a Camel as also their querying if this or that of the Quotations brought against them be against the Foundation of the Christian Religion as was said in the Title-Page of the Sheet to which they have made a pretended reply but are they so ignorant as not to know that every Error is against the Foundation in some degrees though every Error is not Fundamental so as to destroy the Foundation 2. That Errors as well as other ill things receive their denomination from the greater and worse part as indeed the far greatest part of all therein contained is destructive to the very Foundation of Christian Religion as is on the several Heads plainly shown And as to the Printed Testimony of John Gledhill Nonconformist Minister which they have prefixed to their Some Account it avails them nothing for he grants that he did witness to the truth of the Quotations and no more was desired from him The Printing of his Name without his knowledge and consent reflects no blame on the Person who desired him to set his hand to it even tho' he told him that that Paper was not designed for the Press for that Person did not put it to the Press but it was Printed without his leave or consent and the Person who put it to the Press was under no tye to hinder him from so doing but judged it would be of Service to the Truth to make it publick as he still so judgeth and it is no dishonour to J. Gledhill nor his Brethren but commendable to have their Names in Print to attest to the great Truths of the Gospel in opposition to the Quakers great Errors that do so manifestly contradict them And it would be yet more commendable in him and them to bear a more full and zealous Testimony against them to stop the gangrene of the Quakers vile Errors that have so much prevailed in Colchester as in many other places of the Nation Note By this and all the foregoing Quotations it is sufficiently evident that the Light within not as taught by the Scriptures but as taught by the Quakers hath led them into manifold Blasphemies and vile Errors as the Norfolk
as much Charity not only to Judaising Christians that would practise outward Circumcision but to Insidels Jews and Mahometans yea and the most Superstitious and Idolatrous Papists for no doubt many of them practise what they believe is their Duty when they pray to the Virgin Mary and other Saints and adore the Bread in the Mass being misled by an erring Conscience to believe it is the real Body of Christ But they falsely infer that because unworthy Persons do partake of the outward Supper that therefore it is the Table of Devils and the Cup of Devils Paul did not say he that Eats and Drinks unworthily Eats at the Table of Devils But he that eats this Bread and drinks this Cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord 1 Cor. 11. 27. Thus we see that according to Scripture that Cup which the unworthy drink is the Cup of the Lord and not the Cup of Devils and that Bread which they eat is the Bread of the Lord as Augustine said the unworthy they eat Panem Domini but not Panem Dominum the Bread of the Lord but not the Bread which is the Lord Some of the Quakers said George seeing thou art for the outward Baptism and the Supper why dost thou not practise them To this I gave the following account which many declared was satisfactory unto them that not having an outward Call I ought not to administer them to others upon the pretence of an inward extraordinary Call which too many pretend to have And for my Speaking at Turners-Hall and elsewhere as I had occasion I do not pretend to any extraordinary Call in so doing but what I did was what a private Christian who has a Spiritual Gift and Ability given him of God especially to oppose Heresie may and ought to do to teach his Neighbours Catechistically not to set up any Sect or make any Schism as Origine taught in Christian Assemblies when a Lay-man before he received Ordination and so did others as Eusebius showeth in his Church-History And as to Baptism I was satisfied with what I had received in Infancy being Born of Christian Parents for I believe That Baptism being a Seal of God's Covenant of Grace doth as really belong to Infant Chirdren of Believers under the New Testament as Circumcision did to Infant Children of Believers under the Old Testament Next as concerning the Lord's-Supper after it pleased God to convince me that it is an Institution of Christ and let me see my Error and Sin in rejecting it for which I have been humbled before God and asked his Forgiveness and which I hope God for Christ's sake has given me I had some considerable time of hesitation about the lawful and due Administrator and after I had clearness in that I delay'd for some time for the sake of some others lest my forwardness should be an hindrance and offence to them but through Mercy that being much removed I became uneasie to delay it longer so that I declar'd I did intend God willing with the first opportunity to receive it And whereas my Adversaries among the Quakers did object against me that I am a Member of no visible Society and on that pretence refuse to have any publick Dispute or Conference with me To this I answer'd first Supposing it were so why should that be made a Crime in me which W. P. in his Preface to G. Fox's Journal esteem'd so great a Virtue in G. Fox viz. That he was of no particular Society but secondly I told them I was a Member of the Catholick Church of Christ and I did own the Church of England to be a part of the Catholick Church and other Protestant Churches to be other parts of the same In the close of the Meeting I told the Auditory I was ready by God's Assistance to prove against my Adversaries the Chief Leaders and Teachers of the Quakers particularly George Whitehead Jos Wyeth and them of the Second-Days-Meeting at London who have approv'd the Quakers Books That they do not believe One Article of that call'd the Apostles Creed in the true sense of Scripture and of all true and Orthodox Christians throughout the World and I desir'd the Quakers present to acquaint their Brethren with my said Proposal I also told the Auditory that the false pretences of the Quakers Teachers to extraordinary prophetical Inspirations gave them the just Character of false Prophets and all such who had the like false pretences with them and that none could justly be so called however otherwise unsound or mistaken that had not those high pretences That it was some of the most crying Sins committed in this Land that so many false Prophets should abound in it speaking Lyes in the Name of the Lord and saying Thus saith the Lord pretending the fame Immediate Message and Authority that the true Prophets had whenas they can give no proof of it but many undeniable proofs can be given to the contrary as particularly their vile Antichristian Errors publish'd in their Books and that lewd Swearing and open Prophanation of the Name of God are not greater Sins nor so great nor dangerous in many respects as their speaking Lyes in the Name of the Lord and entituling their vile Errors and Blasphemies to the Spirit of God as they commonly do POST-SCRIPT FOR an Evidence of my owning the Church of England to be a part of the true Catholick Church of Christ I did with great inward Peace and Satisfaction I bless God receive the Lord's-Supper by D. Bedford in his Church in Buttolph-lane with others of that Congregation the first Lord's Day of the Month of February 1699 and since again in the same place by the same Person the first Lord's Day of this Instant Month of March 1699. On which same day Robert Bridgeman and Margaret Everard and some other of my Friends formerly under the profession of Quakers and in great repute among that People whom God in his great Mercy hath of late times enlightned to see their former Error and to renounce it did receive the Lord's-Supper in Huntington and have declar'd that they receiv'd it with great inward Peace and Satisfaction the account whereof I have from the said Robert Bridgeman by his Letter to me bearing Date the 5th of this Instant in which Letter he also informs me and in another of a former Date of about Ten of my Friends in Huntington and Godmanchester and there-about who formerly were Quakers all of good repute who now go to Church there and that Margaret Everard has had her youngest Son and three Daughters lately Baptized Also by Letters from Bedford I have an account that some both in the Town and County of Bedford are come off from the Quakers and gone to Church particularly W. Mather and his Wife also at Reading divers who were formerly Quakers and were so Educated have gone to Church and have been Baptized and some there have brought their Children to be
again and is at the Right Hand of God in our Nature as the great Object of their Faith But this the Inspirations of the chief Teachers of the Quakers have led them not to regard In the whole System of his Orthodox Principles the Substance whereof he tells us he has given there is not one intire Article of the Creed commonly called the Apostles Creed mentioned nay nor so much as implyed And indeed he cannot nor any of his Brethren by any real Evidence convince any Man that their Inspirations have taught them so much as one intire Article of that Creed in the true Sense generally received by true Christians and according to their Principles they must not say that the Spirit has given or wrought the Faith of the Articles of the Creed in them by the medium or means of the outward Word for that is contrary to G. Fox's Doctrine above delivered and as expresly contrary to the Doctrine of G. Whitehead in his Brief Discovery of the dangerous Principles of John Horne G. W's brief Discovery p. 18. pag. 18. who blames J. Horne and T. Moor for having affirmed that the Scriptures are the medium of Faith i. e. the means by which Faith is wrought in Believers There is no such Scripture saith G.W. as saith the Scriptures are the Medium of Faith Note seeing the Quakers have not the Faith of Christ as he was outwardly crucified and died for our Sins and rose again neither by the Light within them nor by the medium of the Scriptures as the Instrument of the holy Spirit as other true Christians have it it is a plain case they have no Faith of it at all other than a meer historical Faith as they have of any common History and indeed many of them have not that G. Whitehead in his Quakers Plainness p. 70. brings a quibbling Distinction betwixt a means and the means he grants The Bible may be a means instrumentally as God bestows a Blessing upon or accompanies the serious reading thereof as it directs to Christ Jesus or to his Light and Spirit which openeth the Vnderstanding in the holy Scriptures And a little before he saith Mark the Difference betwixt a means and the means as between the Bible and Christ that may be a means which is not the means Christ being the absolute way and means by way of Eminency for Man to come to know God But to shew the Fallacy of this Quibble By the means are generally understood the instrumental and subordinate Causes to the principal Agent and Efficient which ought not to be confounded Christ is the Author and principal Efficient of our Knowledge of God and the Bible i.e. the divine Oracles and Testimonies contained therein are the means and to say the means or a means is equivalent among all that know true English as when we say Food and Raiment are the means to preserve our natural Life or a means the Sense is the same But it is proved already out of G. F's Gr. Myst p. 243. that G. F. denyed that the things of the Gospel and of the Spirit are attained by an external means will G. W's Distinction here serve him Will he again distinguish betwixt a means and an external means But let us apply this subtile Distinction of G.W. to the Words of G. F. in Saul's Errand p. 6. who being charged that he said He was the eternal Judge of the World he confesseth it and brings several Proofs as he thinks to prove it as that the spiritual Man judgeth all things and the Saints shall judge the World Now seeing G. W. will needs have a Distinction betwixt a means and the means why not also betwixt a Judge of the World and the Judge yea the eternal Judge of the World as he professeth himself to be It was not enough that G. F. should be a Judge of the World but the Judge yea the eternal Judge of the World and by G. W's Logick G. F. was not a Judge but the Judge by way of Eminency yea the eternal Judge of the World But G. F. after his manner of frequently corrupting the Words of Scripture as well as his Opponents Words doth corruptly and falsly argue from that Scripture 1 Cor. 6. 2. Do ye not know that the Saints shall judge the World Note the Words shall judge in the future which G. F. corruptly applyeth to himself in the present or preterit Tense that he was or is the Judge yea the eternal Judge of the World Lastly To come yet more closely to G. W. himself I will shew you how he denyeth the Scriptures to be a means for the Conversion of Jews and Heathens to the true Faith in Truth defending the Quakers by G. W. qu. 35. pag. 51. And what is that the Gospel must be preached to in the Heathens that will receive it And whether they that preach to Turks and Heathens ought to preach out of a Text and prove their Doctrine by Scripture to them as the Priests do in England yea or nay Note By this Query he not only excludes the Scripture from being the means but a means for converting Turks and Heathens nor will his common Excuse of saying it was but a Query help him This sort of querying being the strongest way of denying or affirming both in Scripture and all other Writings Next let us hear W. Penn 's Confession concerning means in his Key printed 1699. p. 12. pervers 8. The Quakers assert the Spirit of God to be the immediate Teacher and that there is no other means now to be used as Ministry Ordinances c. He answereth They never spake such Language ... for they never denied the use of means but to this Day from the Beginning they have been in the use of them but then they are such means as are used in the Life and Power of God Note with what presumptuous Confidence W. P. dareth to say they never spake such Language when G. F. their great Apostle had plainly said as above-quoted that the things of the Gospel are not attained by AN external means That they have been all along in the use of some means as preaching writing and reading is but to say their Practice contradicts their Principles which is very common to them But to cover their Error their way is to mistate the Question as W. P. doth here which is not whether outward means can truly profit without the inward Aid and Assistance of the Spirit for this is generally granted that they cannot which is equivalent to his Phrase that the means then only profit when used in the Life and Power of God And in very deed their holding the Light within every Man sufficient to Salvation without any thing else as they do commonly teach destroyeth all necessary use of outward means as who should say a Man has that within him that is sufficient to carry him to America without any thing else as Boat or Ship should be understood to say he can walk
on the Sea or flie in the Air to that remote Place The next thing in reference to their Infallibility is their Pretence to the infallible discerning of Mens Hearts without respect to their Works good or bad This is differently stated by them and wherein we shall find a real Contradiction among them G. F. in his Gr. Myst pag. 89. had said Here thou hast shewed that the Quakers have a Spirit given to them beyond all the Forefathers which we do witness since the Days of the Apostles in the Apostacy and they can discern who are Saints who are Devils and who are Apostates without speaking ever a VVord they that be in the Power and the Life of Truth This discerning of Mens Hearts G. VVhitehead had formerly placed upon outward Signs in the Countenances of wicked Men or Women which he still justifieth in his Antitode pag. 69. Proud and haughty Looks wanton and scornful Eyes envious and fallen Countenances are rendred in Scripture as outward Signs or Marks of such wicked Hearts which also the Gift of discerning perceiveth and gives to see many times through such outward mediums Note G. VV. here layeth a great Stress upon outward Signs in the Countenance which he owneth to be outward mediums through which the Spirit of discerning perceiveth and giveth to see Mens Hearts but yet he will not allow the Scriptures to be the medium of Faith so preferreth outward Signs in the Countenance to the Scriptures but then he much throweth down this sort of discerning by Mens Countenances by saying many times for this leaveth their discerning to be many times fallible and though the Scripture and common Experience proveth that the Countenances of some openly vicious and extreamly wicked are Signs of their wicked Hearts yet the Scripture giveth no universal Rule in the Case but giveth us the Command of Christ Isaiah 11. 3. John 7. 24. Judge not according to Appearance but judge righteous Judgment and it was said of Christ He shall not judge after the Sight of his Eyes nor reprove after the hearing of his Ears But G. VV. will not take Christ in the case for his Example but he pleads further That the Gift of discerning of Spirits is given to some Members especially and still is continued in the true Church and from which discerning Satan cannot be hid however he transforms himself Here is another minching of their Infallibility of discerning that it 's given to some Members especially but he doth not allow it to all Members however he seems to plead for all the Ministers having it Truth and Inn. p. 12. for he makes it an Evidence of great Darkness in his Opponents to hold that a Minister that is fallible is in the Spirit a Minister of Christ and yet cannot discern another Man's State or Condition so as to give an infallible Character of him And he contends so earnestly for this infallible discerning in the Church that he saith If there must be no discerning of Spirits no infallible or certain Character to be given of other Men's States or Conditions by an inward Sense or discerning of Spirits then Christ's Sheep may follow Strangers VVolves Dogs c. and so be devoured contrary to his own Doctrine and below the Sense and Instinct of the very Sheep which leads them to shun Dogs and VVolves when they make at them whether they bark or howl or be mute Note By this manner of G. VV's arguing not only the Teachers but all and every one of the People if they be Sheep must have this infallible discerning whereas he pleads for the Ministers having it or some Members so it seems the People must rely on the Ministers discerning by an implicit Faith or if not be in danger of perishing But in plain Contradiction to this Doctrine of G.VV. who pleads for the infallible discerning of Men's Hearts to every Minister let us hear Jos VVyeth who saith Switch p. 95. But though this holy Spirit can discover unto one the Heart and Thoughts of another as of Ananias to Peter Acts 5. yet as that is not usual so neither is it necessary nor is it that which we pretend to nor hath G.F. in the fore-quoted Places pretended to it referring to the above-quoted Passage where he makes this Observation Switch p. 90. VVhich does very plainly shew that G. F. did not attribute this Knowledge or Discerning to the Quakers or any Man but to the Power and Life of Truth where it is manifested This Gloss as it is directly contradictory to G. Fox's Words which say They i.e. the Quakers that be in the Power and Life of Truth can discern so to the Words of G. W. who doth affirm That some of the Members especially have it But both G. F. and G. VV. hath carried this discerning farther than by the outward medium of Men's Looks and Glances so that they can know the inward States of their Hearers without looking to their Faces yea though their Backs be toward them and not only what they are at present but what they have been and shall be from Eternity to Eternity For Proof of this G. F. Gr. M. quotes his Opponents G. M. p. 229. saying VVill a discerning of the Gospel Mysteries prove a Power to discern the State and Condition of Souls what it shall be to all Eternity And after some Words he answers And so who are come into the Bishop Christ they are one Soul they know the Hand of God which the Soul lives in which is the Power and so knows it from Eternity to Eternity And so ye Priests which do not discern the Soul and its State to Eternity and from Eternity ye are not in the Mystery of the Gospel which gives Liberty to it neither have ye it And you five Priests have shamed your selves that do not know the Soul from Eternity to Eternity and on this horrid Presumption that they knew the State of Men's Souls from Eternity to Eternity Rich. Hubberth passes this severe Sentence on his Opponent Truth 's def pag. 92. Thou art ordained of old for Condemnation and for Perdition among the ungodly ones and art a Reprobate And p. 93. So here thou art cursed and cast out eternally Note this was only for his asking What is original Sin And here he speaks of the several States of the Soul as when the Soul is in Death and when it liveth and God hath Pleasure in it By which Soul he must needs understand the Soul of Man for of the Souls of Men his Opponents did speak Next G. VV. in his Truth defending the Quakers hath gone as far as G. F. with respect to his Infallibility in knowing Men's Hearts The Question being put to him in Truth def p. 24. qu. 54. Do not you G. W. blasphemously take to your self an Attribute of God while you pretend ordinarily to know the Hearts of Men. And tell Mr. Townsend of Norwich in the second Page of your Ishmael That the Light of God is
us and by the Power of thy divine Life and Spirit raise us up over all Tentations and indue us with a Measure of the same Patience and Resignation that dwelt so fully in thee and which thou didst so abundantly manifest in all thy Sufferings in the Days of thy Flesh Thou art the same that thou wert thy Heart is the same towards thy Servants as when thou wert outwardly present with them in the Flesh Thou art our Advocate and Mediator in Heaven with the Father Our merciful High Priest who is not untouched with the feeling of our Infirmities Thou even thou blessed Jesus thou knowest our most secret Desires and Breathings which we offer up unto thee in the Enablings of the blessed Life and Spirit that thou mayest present them unto thy Father and our Father that in thee we may be accepted and our Services also and for thy sake our Defects and short Comings our Sins and Transgressions that we have committed may be forgiven us The Prayer being read divers Ministers and others said it was a good Prayer but they never heard that any such Prayer was used in any of the Quakers Meetings A Quaker called Daniel Philips standing by near where I stood said that Book was approved by the second Days Meeting at London which was a great Untruth I told how I wrote that Book in Scotland and from Scotland sent it to a Correspondent in Holland who printed it there and when it came over to London in the Year 1678. it met with great Opposition from divers of the Preachers of the Quakers at London as Stephen Crisp William Shewen William Mede and Samuel Newton and one of the chief things they blamed in my Book was this very Prayer and especially that Part of it Jesus Son of David have mercy on us Some of them said it was half Popery for though G. K. would not pray to Mary the Mother of Jesus as the Papists do yet he was for praying to the Son of Mary Others said it was Common Prayer A larger Account of things relating to the Opposition I met with from the Quakers for that Prayer and some other things in that Book ye will find in the late Book called A Defence of the Snake in that called A Collection from p. 16. to 38. I further shewed that what I had delivered in that Book and others of my Books in former times when I was reckoned in Unity with the Quakers did plainly evidence that I held the Faith of the Fundamentals of Christianity with all true Christians though in some lesser Matters I was biassed and misled by them into divers Errors particularly in rejecting the Sacraments of Baptism and the Supper which I have since retracted and for my holding the fundamental Doctrines of the Christian Faith as appears by that Book and other Books of mine All the Time of my Quakerism a Quaker in Ponsylvania who was a Justice of Peace his Name was Arthur Cook said unto me George thou never was a right Quaker all thy Days but an old rotten Presbyterian The reading of that Passage in my Book containing the Prayer aforesaid which the Quaker brought to make against me had a far contrary Effect to what he intended for many some Ministers and others present said This makes for G. K. not against him let the Quakers bring any such Passage out of their Books to prove they were of that Faith with him Some of the Quakers that objected against that Prayer in my Book asked me in one of the Meetings that were appointed to hear the Objections against my Book and my Answers Where did I ever hear any English Friend of the Ministry pray after that manner Possibly said they some Scots Friends who were thy Proselytes thou hast heard to pray so I confess they guessed right they were some Scots Friends whom I had heard to pray so and so I had prayed and being at a stand to instance any English Friend that I had heard so pray W. Penn told them he had so prayed and that not long ago but he said It was in private G. W. said Let the Scripture decide it whereupon he calls for the Bible and reads in 1 Cor. 1. 2. What say ye to this Friends said G. W Ye see that Paul did approve the Corinthians that called upon the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ Their Answer was Paul was dark and ignorant in that thing as G. K. is for our Parts we know better Here note the Fallacy both of G. W. and W. P. who for all this seemingly owning Faith in the Man Christ Jesus by confessing they were to pray to him yet in their printed Books have opposed that Faith without any Retractation Proofs on the third Head First That the Scriptures according to the Dictates of their greatest Teachers are not the Word of God THat the Scripture is not the written Word see G. Myst p. 68 75. The Word not contained in Scripture p. 232. The Scriptures not the Word of Reconciliation but Christ p. 186. The Scriptures not infallible nor divine but humane p. 302. He chargeth C. Wade with Blasphemy for affirming the Scriptures are the Word of God G. M. p. 246 247. Thus the Church of England and all Protestants are guilty of Blasphemy by his Assertion Note This Controversie betwixt all true Protestants and the Quakers whether the Scriptures are the Word of God which the Quakers have formerly most earnestly denyed and fiercely disputed against though some now begin to acknowledge it and yet they are still the same infallible Men is not a meer Strife of Words but a most material and important Controversie for when many Places of Scripture are brought to prove that God's Spirit doth inwardly teach us by means of the Word and that Faith comes by the Word of God outwardly heard or read that we are born of the Word and sanctified by it and all spiritual Effects that are attributed in Scripture to God Christ and the Spirit as the principal Agent and to the Word as instrumental they will not allow of any instrumental external Word but makes the Word to be the Spirit to be Christ and God which is in effect to render them of no use to us at all seeing by denying them to be the Word they deny them also to be the external Means or Medium whereby the Spirit teaceth us by his inward Operation in our Hearts and works any saving Knowledge and Faith in us and this also they have denyed viz. that the Scriptures are the Means or Medium But that the Scriptures are the Word of God and the Word most frequently so called in Scripture is clear from abundant Places to wit the external Doctrine contained in the Scriptures Our Gospel came unto you said Paul to the Thessalonians 1 Thess 1. 5. not in Word only by Word here is meant Doctrine Isaiah 28. 13. The Word of the Lord was unto them Precept upon Precept Line upon Line Here the Precepts and
VVade mentions no less than twelve particular Lyes wherewith G. F. had belyed him in matter of fact as to his Quotations all which I have considered and so may others if they have the Books and will find them indeed to be abusive Perversions and Lies of G. F. upon this C. VVade but I shall give only two Instances more that out of the Mouth of two or three Witnesses that is plain matter of fact G. F. is guilty of false Quotations and belying the Innocent and yet these impudent Men will defend his Infallibility one of them is that G. F. in his G. M. p. 246. chargeth C. VVade to say O Luciferian Pride to save Souls to this C. VVade fully and effectually answereth and plainly detects the Lie and Perversion in his second Book where he shews out of the seventh and eighth Page of his Quakery slain that his Words were His crying out against James Milner ' s Luciferian Pride to save Souls as Christ did C. Wade's second Book p. 4. because he pretended himself to be Christ and audaciously took upon him to save Souls as Christ did by his suffering Death and hereupon James Milner did in a juggling manner die and in a juggling inchanting manner with a Knife and a Bason he pretended his Blood was shed to save the Souls of two VVomen this manner of saving Souls only C. Wade blames which G. F. either justifies or renders himself a Lyer by blaming C. Wade See the Places themselves The other Lye and Slander which G. F. is guilty of against C. Wade is that in his G. M. p. 247. he makes C. Wade to say God limits the Supreme Holy One by the inspired Writings of the Apostles but C. Wade's Words were That the Devil limits the Supreme Holy One see C. Wade's second Book p. 5. compared with p. 13. of Quakery slain Note If either the Switch or G. Whitehead could prove the like Perversions and Lies against the Author of the Snake as C. Wade hath here proved against G. F. how would they have sentenced him as indeed they have for things of small moment in comparison of what is here justly proved against their infallible Apostle as they pretend he was G. F But I do not know one Quotation of the Author of the Snake out of their Books wherein he hath in a substantial matter wronged him as G. F. here hath wronged C. Wade not only in these three but many more There yet remains two Quotations out of G. W's own Book called Truth defending the Quakers which he most fallaciously and sophistically endeavours to justifie The Question being put Whether the Quakers did esteem their Speakings to be of as great Authority as any Chapter in the Bible Truth and Inn. p. 16. 'T is answered That which is spoken from the Spirit of Truth in any is of as great Authority as the Scriptures and Chapters are and greater This same Quotation is objected in a late printed Sheet called An Account from Colchester where the following Words are set down that G. W. blames the Norfolk Priests for leaving out which he calls the annexed explanatory Words and they are these As Christ's VVords were of greater Authority when he spoke than the Pharises reading the Letter and they in whom that Spirit speaks not are out of the Authority of the Scriptures and their speaking we deny But first These Words are not explanatory but a sophistical Argument to prove the former Assertion for G. VV. argues That because Christ's preaching was of greater Authority than the Pharisees reading the Scriptures that therefore what the Spirit speaks in the Quakers and by them is of greater Authority than the Scriptures which is both a false and foolish Consequence for it supposes that the Spirit of God speaks in the Quakers when they preach or speak in Meetings as it did in Christ and in the Apostles viz. by the same divine Inspiration in kind and manner immediately and infallibly which cannot be granted and the Falsehood of it appears by the many false things that they speak and write contrary to the Scriptures And though he mentions not Quakers yet that he does understand them and none else is clear from his own Words He saith They in whom that Spirit speaks not their speaking we deny This supposeth he grants that the Spirit spoke in some which they did not deny and who were these but the Ministers among the Quakers seeing they deny the Ministry of all others in our Days Next he has an impertinent Question as to the Division of Chapters and Verses Can these Men say that was done by Divine Authority But this is wholly from the purpose Another Evasion is That the Spirit of Truth immediately ministring in Man or by any spiritual Minister is of greater Authority Power or Efficacy than the Chapters are simply considered as without the Spirit But simply considered as without the Spirit is wholly remote from the Question and is no ways to be allowed for any true Vindication because the Spirit doth as truly and frequently accompany the Scriptures when read as when preached or whatever is preached by the Spirit 's Assistance if the Hearers in reading be as sincere as the Hearers in preaching But if the Hearers be careless suppose Men preach by the Spirit it doth not follow that carnal and careless Hearers hear by the Spirit more than that they read or hear what is read by the Spirit But if he will needs have the Words simply and abstractly considered without the Spirit be added to reading let them by the like reason be added to preaching what he adds of Christ and the Apostles living and powerful preaching being of greater Efficacy Power and Authority than the outward Writing or Scripture it self simply or abstractly considered as distinct from the Spirit As it was no Part of the Question nor Answer given by him in Truth 's Defence so it is altogether impertinent But he equivocates upon the Word Authority taking it for the effect it hath on the Hearers but that was not the Sense of the Word Authority in the Question asked but its Sense as it 's generally among all that treat of Scripture Authority above other Writings so taken the Obligation or Right that doth oblige or induce us to believe the Truth of them and that they are of divine Inspiration This is quite another thing than the Effect or Impression that Men feel in reading or hearing them read as well as when preached upon by way of expounding for whether the Effect or Influence and Impression be great or little as it is sometimes great and sometimes little and sometimes perhaps none upon hardned Hearts yet their Authority is still the same neither greater nor less at one time than another The other Quotation is taken out of his Truth defending and is objected against in that called An Account from Colchester to which a pretended Answer is given in that called Some Account from Colchester signed
are sprung forth of the corrupt Tree which now is to be burned and its Fruit rejected Now these are all the Books and Catechisms published by any others but themselves Again in p. 23. they say And though some have known him viz. Christ after the Flesh yet henceforth know they him so no more as say the Scriptures of Truth Note Here they pervert the true Sence of Paul's Words as they commonly do in their Books and Preachings giving Paul's Words for a Reason why they do not preach Faith in Christ as he came in the Flesh died and rose again c as necessary to Salvation because say they VVe are no more to know Christ after the Flesh whereas it was the great Subject both of Paul's Preaching and of all the Apostles to wit Jesus Christ as he came in the Flesh died for our Sins and rose again and ascended c. insomuch that they did with one Accord declare That the Gift of the Holy Ghost with all the saving and sanctifying Graces of the Spirit do come to Men by Christ through Faith in him as he came in the Flesh died rose and ascended and that this Faith was wrought in Men by hearing the VVord outwardly preached Again in p. 23. they say Now Children the Scriptures of Truth do declare of God and Christ and the Spirit of Truth which are one but the Scriptures cannot bring you to know God and Christ and the Spirit of Truth And yet they say concerning this Primmer and the Contents of it p. 2. That they are very useful for Children and others to Learn that they may be turned unto the Light which is the Gift of God Here they seem to prefer their Primmer to the Scriptures for they say of the Contents of their Primmer That they are very useful for Children and others to Learn To learn what Surely some Knowledge of God and Christ they will say and yet they will not allow so much to the Scripture and on a diligent Search I find not in all this Primmer one simple Direction to Children and others to read the Scriptures and what they have quoted of Scripture in it is but little and much even of that grosly perverted and misapplied as in p. 44 45. they say They that hear the Light that is in all Men and common to all Men they hear God for God is Light and they that hear God they hear Christ also for God and Christ are one as saith the Scripture and they that hear Christ hear the Author of the true Faith and so hear the Saviour of their Souls and the Light is that Prophet which all that hear not him are to be cut off Here we see how grosly they pervert that Place of Scripture Deut. 18. 15. Acts 3. 22. 7. 37. which is not to be understood of the common Illumination given to all Mankind but of the Man Christ as he outwardly came in the Flesh and did execute his prophetical Office on Earth by preaching and teaching and as he doth now still execute his prophetical Office in his Church by his Word outwardly preached and his Spirit inwardly accompanying it to make it effectual Again p. 82. they run into the same wild Notion that others Familists and mad Enthusiasts run into of the Blood of Christ within them For say they and all wait together in the Light viz. as it is common to all Mankind Infidels Jews Mahumetans Heathens for so they understand it and believe in it that ye may be the Children of the Light and therein watch unto Prayer and one over another and this will beget ye into unfeigned Love and walk in the Light ye will have true Vnity and Fellowship one with another and the Blood which is the Life of Jesus Christ ye will feel cleansing you from all Sin and so ye will come into Vnity with God Note By this it is evident as will more fully appear on a particular Head following that by the Blood which they call the Life of Jesus Christ they meant not his Blood outwardly shed or his Life that he outwardly laid down viz. the Life of his Manhood without us for the Remission of our Sins and cleansing therefrom But according to their usual Cant and Phrase The Blood that is the Life and the Life is the Light within So that they make the Blood the Life and the Light within them to be one and the same thing but neither in this Primmer nor in any other of their Books do I find the least Direction to Faith in the Blood of Christ as it was outwardly shed on the Cross therefore in this Primmer and in their other Books they give Poison to poor Children to suck or receive instead of wholesome Food George Keith's Fourth Narrative OF HIS Proceedings at Turners-Hall 1699. For the Detecting the QUAKERS ERRORS PART II. Containing the Proofs out of the Quakers Books on the fifth Head concerning Christ his Incarnation his Soul Body and Blood And on the sixth Head concerning the Souls of Men. Read at the second Meeting at Turners-Hall January 19. 1699. W. P. in Serious Apology p. 146. saith That the outward Person which suffered was properly the Son of God we utterly deny This is expresly contrary to many Texts of Scripture and to a great Fundamental Article of our Christian Creed yea in a manner it overthrows the whole Christian Creed See the following Scriptures Mat. 16. 13 16. Luke 1. 32. Mat. 14. 33. Mark 1. 1. John 1. 14 34. John 9. 35. 10. 36. Acts 8. 37. Rom. 1. 4. Mat. 27. 54. G.W. in his Truth and Inn. p. 52. excuseth W. P ' s Words thus Here I take him to mean the Son of God in respect to his Divine Being as he is of one Substance with the Father which his Body that suffered Death was not though he was truly the Son of God as he took upon him that Body and as made of a Woman Gal. 4. 4. Being conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary The Fallacy of this is easily detected the Question in Debate betwixt W. P. and his Opponents who were Presbyterian Ministers in Ireland was not whether the Body was the Son of God abstractly considered from the Soul of Christ and his Godhead for no Presbyterian ever held that neither will any Socinian that denyeth the Godhead of Christ say that that meer Body without his created Soul was the Christ or Son of God But the true State of the Question was and is whether he that outwardly suffered Death without the Gates of Jerusalem whom W. P. calls that outward Person in Distinction from the Light within which the Quakers will have to be the whole Christ according to G. Fox's Doctrine was and is not properly the Son of God which all sound Christians say according to Scripture he was and is being both God and Man and yet one Person one Christ one Son of God having his Godhead-Nature and his Manhood-Nature so united as
The Son is an Example of Imitation or Caution for the Father to follow it had been more agreeable to have said The Father is an Example of the Son for the Son to follow than to say The Son is an Example for the Father to follow seeing Christ said I can do nothing of my self for what I see the Father do that do I. But to give an Instance what an Ambidexter G.W. is in twisting and twining and bending the Scripture In his Antidote p. 191. he saith That He spoke for Christ's Divinity as he was the Brightness of the Father's Glory and the express Image of his divine Substance in Answer to T. Danson Here he forsaketh his former Translation which was Figure and taketh the Translation in our English Bible which is Image But how will this prove the Divinity of Christ so as to be one Substance with the Father if the express Image signifie our Example of Imitation as G.W. doth argue in his Truth and Innocency His being an Example of our Imitation is no sufficient Argument to prove his being one Substance with the Father for the Socinians will grant him to be a very excellent Example of our Imitation yet this is no sufficient Argument to convince them That he is one Substance with the Father from his being an Example of Imitation Is it not plain from all this shuffling and shifting that G.W. rather than he will confess his former Errors will wrong his own Conscience and bring the most nonsensical Excuses that ever were heard of to defend his Infallibility than give Glory to God by a plain and free Confession of his Errors Next let us hear G. W's Defence of that Saying of W. P's One outward thing cannot be the proper Figure or Representation of another the outward Lamb shews forth the inward Lamb. He labours to vindicate W. P's Saying by thus arguing How will these Men saith he prove that the outward Paschal Lamb was the proper Figure or Representation of Christ's outward Person Pray what proper Resemblance had they Was not rather the Lamb in respect of its Innocency a proper Figure of Christ's Innocency as the Lamb of God once offered for Sin I answer And was not the Lamb's Innocency an outward thing i.e. without Men and also Christ's Innocency as he lived and walked among Men and was not his outward Person innocent But had not G.W. been extreamly blind and ignorant he had never argued nor asked so foolishly what proper Resemblance had they viz. the Paschal Lamb and Christ's outward Person for the Generality of Christians know that as by God's Appointment the Paschal Lamb and Sacrifices were proper Types and Figures of Christ's outward Person as he was to be slain for the Sins of the World so the Resemblance was not only in Innocency but in many other Respects the Lamb was to be killed so was Christ the Lamb was to be without Blemish so was Christ the Lamb was to be of the Flock so was Christ to be of his Brethren the Blood of the Lamb sprinkled on the Door-posts and Lintels of the Israelites saved them from the Wrath of the destroying Angel so the Blood of Christ that was outwardly shed applyed by Faith saveth true Believers from Wrath the Lamb was to be eaten wholly so we are to receive Christ wholly in all his Offices These and many other Resemblances there are betwixt the Paschal Lamb and Christ known in general to Christians yea to many Children which yet G.W. here declares himself to seem wholly ignorant of Godwin in his Book called Moses and Aaron numbers at least twelve Particulars of Resemblance betwixt the Paschal Lamb and Christ without us and yet this G.W. more like a Heathen than a Christian queries Pray what proper Resemblance had they But to return his Question Pray what proper Resemblance had the Paschal Lamb to the inward Blood Christ which G.W. saith is the Life and Light and Spirit of God within and the Holy Ghost Was ever the Holy Ghost or the Godhead slain in Men Or is there an inward spiritual Blood of Christ slain in Men that is not the Godhead But we shall come anon to treat more fully of this And how is that fulfilled in Christ within A Bone of him shall not be broken Whether Christ without us as he died and rose again is the Object of Faith c. G.VV. Truth and Inn. p. 54. defends a most Antichristian Saying of his in his Light and Life and to cloak it the more he gives the Quotation lame The Quakers at Colchester in their late printed Paper called Some Account gives it more fully But in the Book Light and Life p. 38. it is thus Bapt. Now the Quakers would be so far from directing Men to go to the material Temple that they make it but a vain thing to look to Jerusalem to the Antitype of that Temple viz. to Jesus as he was there crucified or to that Blood that was there shed for Justification His Answer is The Quakers see no need of directing Men to the Type for the Antitype viz. neither to the outward Temple nor yet to Jerusalem either to Jesus Christ or his Blood knowing that neither the Righteousness of Faith nor the Word of it does so direct Rom 10. And is it the Baptists Doctrine to direct Men to the material Temple and Jerusalem the Type for the Antitype What Nonsense and Darkness is this And where do the Scriptures say That the Blood was there shed for Justification and that Men must be directed to Jerusalem whereas that Blood shed is not in being p. 40. But the true Apostles directed them to the Light which was so much opposed by the Baptists to walk in the Light for the Blood of Christ to cleanse them from all Sin Now let us hear his Defence Truth and Inn. p. 54. I ask these Men saith he where the Scripture doth so direct Men to go to the outward Temple at Jerusalem for Jesus Christ Nay doth it not contrarywise direct them See plain Scripture Deut. 30. 12 13 14. Rom. 10. 6 7 8. The same Answer in effect but in more Words quoting at full length Deut. 30. 12 13 14. and Rom. 10. 6 7 8. we find in that called Some Account from Colchester signed by seven Quakers there but likely enough to have been drawn up by G.W. himself though whether it was or not is not material to the case and on the Margin they say Must they then go on Pilgrimage Note This is a most shameful Evasion to cloak their vile Heresie of which yet to this very Day G. W. hath not plainly cleared himself nor ever can till he retract this and his many other Errors Can it be supposed that W. Burnet who was the Baptist that thus objected against the Quakers was for having the Quakers or any others go on Pilgrimage or on Feet to Jerusalem for Jesus Christ or his Blood G.W. knoweth in his Conscience the contrary yea in the
mean Jesus of Nazareth who is both God and Man the Word made Flesh as is clear from the foregoing Words even Christ crucified as being the Author of those Graces Blessings and Virtues unto all sincere Believers in him by bestowing on them his holy Spirit to indue them with Wisdom and Sanctification and freely imputing his Righteousness that he wrought in his own Person without them for their Justification and Redemption Also David in calling the Lord his Light and Salvation had a Respect to God in Christ even the Man Christ who was to come out of his Loins as the Object of his Faith for Redemption and Salvation But the whole Tendency of W. P's Discourse in that Passage and in other Passages going before and following is to perswade that Men are Christians if they have these moral Virtues without Faith in Christ as he was outwardly crucified for in the Enumeration of these Virtues he has not the least Word of Faith in Christ crucified as necessary to Christianity but pleads for a false Notion of the Christian Faith p. 118. At he that believes in Christ believes in God so he that believes in God believes in Christ Thus making Faith in Christ to be nothing else but a Belief in God as a Creator without any Respect to Christ crucified And p. 119. a little after that scandalous Passage above quoted he saith Christians ought to be distinguished by their Likeness to Christ and not their Notions of Christ which is likewise scandalous as implyâ— That Men may be like Christ without true Notions of him and Faith in him 〈◊〉 Christ Jesus of Nazareth that died and rose again yea he pleads p. 118. That a meer just Man ought not to be excluded the Communion of Christians and that to exclude him is partial and cruel And at this rate professed Infidel Jews and Mahumetans if they be but meer just Men are to be received into Christian Society as good Christians indeed good enough to be Members of the Quakers Church But now let us see how the following scandalous Passages quoted out of G. VV's own Books are defended by the Colchester Quakers in that they call Some Account from Colchester Some Account from Colchester p. 11. When you tell us you have Faith in Christ do you mean Christ whose Person is now ascended into Heaven above the Clouds or do you mean only a Christ within you Ans saith G.VV. Here thou would make two Christs a Christ whose Person is above the Clouds and a Christ within but how provest thou two such Christs VVe have Faith in that Christ that descended from the Father who is the same that ascended far above all Heavens and this Christ we witness in us who is not divided Note in their Vindication of this Passage they say This Answer appears pertinent to detect and reprehend an impertinent and foolish Question which whether it does not imply two Christs let the serious judge from the natural Import and Sense of the Question in the disjunctive Part of it or do you only mean a Christ within you Here their pretended Grammatical Skill of the Term disjunctive fails them To ask the Question disjunctively implies no more two Christs than it implies two George VVhiteheads to ask Is George VVhitehead a Londoner born or a North Country Man born in the North of England this doth not imply two G. Whiteheads But if one should say George Whitehead was born in the North of England some 64 Years ago and since that was born in London this would import two G. Whiteheads very plainly And no less indeed do the Quakers wild Notions that many of them have printed even the Men of great Note among them import not only two Christs but many Christs even thousands and they have no way to extricate themselves of this Difficulty but sophistical Evasions for if ye ask them Was that the true Christ who was born at Bethlehem of a Virgin called Mary above 1600 Years ago and do they believe in that Christ They will tell you yea but they have this sophistical Sense that he was the Light within that Person that was outwardly born who is by a Metonimy called Christ the thing containing for the thing contained See W. Penn's Rejoinder p. 304 305. But that that outward Person was properly the Son of God we utterly deny said W.P. as above quoted But the most true and proper Christ is the Christ born in them and growing up in them from a holy thing or Seed to a Child born and then to the Mighty God which three Steps are orderly set down by W.B. in his printed Collection p. 291. See third narrative p. 37. And he tells who is the Virgin in whom this Child is born not the Virgin Mary but every Quaker who is converted to the Light within And because this Child is not born in them all at once but at different times as they witness the Work of Regeneration and as many as come to witness Regeneration as many regenerated Persons there are in the World as many times Christ is born and though they say Christ is one in all and would defend their so saying by Scripture yet they mean not as the Scripture means for Christ as he is God is the same in all and as he dwells in all the faithful by his Spirit and by Faith yet not so as that Christ is really and truly begotten and born in regenerate Persons without any Alleâ—â—â—y as they hold for they make Christ as both without the Figure and Allâ—â—â—â—â— and Christ as born within c. the Substance and on Supposition that the◠〈◊〉 so many real Births of Christ it is impossible they could be one Christ otherwise than specifically one though consisting of many Individuals as many Individuals of Men are called Man but they are not one numerical Man no more can Christ be one numerical Christ but many if he were really begotten and born in many as they say he is It 's true the Scripture speaks of Christ being formed in Believers but this is a metaphorical Expression and allegory even as the Image of Caesar on Gold or Silver is called Caesar so the true lively Image of Christ is called Christ in true Believers and that is the meaning of Christ formed in Believers so that if they would be content with the allegorical Sense of the Word Christ formed within begotten and born within as sound and sober Christians understand it none would blame them and that they laid no more Stress upon it than they should but the contrary they do so as to make the Christ thus born within the greater Reality and Mystery than Christ born without and to make that inward Birth to have no Dependence on Christ as born without us and as he died for our Sins and rose and ascended into Heaven in the true intire Nature of Man consisting of a created Soul and Body and so as to witness the inward Work of Regeneration to
convince him that the reasonable Soul in Men did not sin What is that Soul that the wicked cannot kill Surely by this Query George Fox meant the Soul that the wicked cannot kill was not the Soul that could sin wherein he sheweth his great Ignorance for though the wicked cannot kill the sinful Souls of Men yet as Christ said in the following Words He is to be feared to wit God that can cast both Soul and Body into Hell Fire Now what Soul can be cast into Hell Fire but the Soul that sinneth But lastly By George Fox's Argument That if the sinful Soul be reasonable and the unsinful Soul be reasonable also then they are one in Unity which he would have to be a great Absurdity thus he hath plainly disclosed the Mistery of his profound Doctrine that is a Branch of Ranterism viz. that there are but two Principles one good in Man that never sinneth or doth evil the other bad that sinneth and never doeth good the one is God or a Part of God the other the Devil or a Part of the Devil And his denying that one and the same Soul doth sin at one Time and doth well at another Time clearly proveth that according to him there is not any Soul of Man but what is either a Part of God or of the Devil And he discovereth his great Ignorance in denying that the reasonable Soul is sinful the contrary whereof is true that no Soul but a reasonable Soul is or can be sinful for what is it that makes the Beasts uncapable of sinning but that they are not reasonable And whereas his Opponent had very well argued that the evil Spirits are both sinful and reasonable George Fox answereth This is a Lie for reasonable is not sinful unreasonable is sinful quoting 2 Thess 3. 2. And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked Men for all Men have not Faith But this doth nothing favour his Manichean Notion he was so ignorant as not to distinguish betwixt the Faculty of Reason and the Act of Reason when Men that are reasonable and have reasonable Souls act contrary to Reason they are said to be unreasonable to wit in Act but still the Soul that sinneth is reasonable with respect to the rational Faculty nor could evil Spirits sin if they were not reasonable i. e. indued with rational Faculties Besides the Greek Word in 2 Thess 3. 2. is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and is not so properly translated Unreasonable but as it is on the Margin Absurd i. e. such who though they have Reason yet will not give place to Reason but act contrary to it and George Fox had he had the right Use of his Reason might have seen that it is no more an Argument against the Soul of Man being reasonable that it acts unreasonably than it is an Argument that the Soul is not enlightened by the Light within because it often acts contrary to the Dictates of it Again for a further Confirmation of George Fox's Doctrine That the Soul that sinneth is not the Soul that is to be saved and that therefore the Soul that is saved or is to be saved is only Christ the Seed within Men Hear what George Fox saith Great Mistery page 324. he quotes his Opponent saying That the Seed to whom the Promise of Salvation is made is or hath been Sinners This he opposeth saying The Promise of God is to the Seed which hath been laden as a Cart with Shaves by the Sinner which Seed is the Hope Christ that purifies even as God is pure So this Promise is not to Seeds as many but to one the Seed which is Christ Note In the same Paragraph he saith So here is the Creature come to know its Liberty amongst the Sons of God and the Seed Christ never sinned in the Male nor in the Female Note what he means by the Creature that comes to know its Liberty which hath not sinned and hath the Promise of Salvation seems not intelligible for he denieth that the Seed is a Creature and yet it is that to which the Promise of Salvation is to wit the Seed Christ in the Male and in the Female that never sinned but he grosly perverts that Place in Gal. 3. 16. for by the Seed Christ is there meant Christ as he came outwardly according to the Flesh out of Abraham's Loins to whom the Promise was that in him all Nations of the Earth should be blessed but this was not to a Seed within that needed Salvation Like to this is what he saith in Great Mistery p. 15. having quoted his Opponent saying There is nothing in Man to be spoken to but Man To this he thus opposeth How then Ministred the Apostle to the Spirit and Christ spake to the Spirits in Prison and Timothy was to stir up the Gift that was in him and the Spirit of the Father speaks within them and the Light it shines in the Heart Here the Scriptures are for Correction of thee and Reproof of thee who said there is nothing to speak to in Man but Man Again In Great Mystery p. 187 he quotes his Opponent saying It would be good News if the Quakers should go and preach to the Spirits in Hell To this he answers The Quakers have been among the Prisoners that be in Hell and ministred to that and the CORRUPTIONS shall go into the Fire that hath no End and they that do wickedly and forget God shall go into Hell and Death and Hell shall go into the Lake of Fire and there is more in these Words yet than thou canst receive for God is the Salvation of all Men but specially them that believe Note thus we see he is very charitable and the Quakers Ministers are very charitable that they have been among the Prisoners in Hell and preached to that But how is this great Charity consistent with his saying That that which sinneth is not saved unless he mean that Sin is not saved though the Creature is The very same Doctrine concerning the Soul I find asserted by Edward Burrough in his Works Coll. page 27. Thou sayest one of us told thee That that which sinned could not be saved I answer saith Edward Burrough It is out of the Reach of the Wisdom and thy vulturous Eye shall never see it I say as the Scripture saith The Soul that sinneth must die and every Man must die for his own Iniquity If thou hast an Ear thou mayst hear Thus we see the Agreement of these two great Teachers of the Quakers about the Souls that sin that they shall not be saved nor can be saved But how grosly doth Edward Burrough pervert those Scriptures to prove his most corrupt Doctrine that is plain Ranterism Because the Scripture saith The Soul that sinneth must die doth it therefore follow That it cannot afterwards be saved both from Death and Sin that is the Cause of it Indeed Sin hath brought a Spiritual Death
and Christ calleth himself the Vine and Believers in him the Branches yet by no means can the Spirit or influence thereof in Men be call'd the Blood shed for remission of Sin the Blood of Atonement that by way of Merit and Satisfaction to Divine Justice removes the guilt of Sin and makes Peace betwixt God and Men for whatever Sacrifice makes Atonement for Sin must be Slain and the Blood of the Sacrifice shed or poured forth as the Beasts that were offered for Sin under the Law behoved to be Slain and their Blood to be shed which were Types of Christ who was outwardly to be slain and his Blood outwardly shed for without shedding of Blood there is no remission as the Scripture testifieth the which sheding of Blood must be by the Death of that whose Body was to be Slain Now the pouring and shedding of the Spirit of Christ and his Graces and Gracious influences into the Hearts of the Faithful is the effect of Christ's Death without us as he was outwardly Slain and offered up for us by way of Merit and Purchase as it is also the effect of his Mediation and Intercession for us now in Heaven by way of impetration and actual dispensation having received power to give those gifts to Men as he is now at Gods Right Hand in Heaven in his glorified Humanity which he procured and purchased for them when he was upon Earth in his state of Humiliation by the proper Merit of his Obedience both Active and Passive who humbled himself and became obedient unto Death even the Death of the Cross wherefore God hath exalted him to be a Prince and a Saviour And therefore it is Coloss 1. 20. that the Blood of Christ by which he made peace for us is called the Blood of the Cross because it was shed and poured forth on the Cross and he is said to have reconciled us in his Body of Flesh through Death all which bespeaks that our Redemption and Reconciliation by way of Purchase and Merit was wholly done and transacted by Christ without us and could not be done within us by way of Sacrifice and Atonement for that required the Sacrifice to be Slain and the Blood thereof to be shed and poured forth But the Authors of this abominable Heresie which teacheth that Christ in Man by his Blood shed in them is the offering for Sin and the Blood thus shed in them is the Blood of Atonement yea the Blood of the Cross within them to make things seemingly consist and hang together they have invented an Inward Crucifixion and Killing of Christ in Men as well as an inward shedding of his Blood in them to answer by way of Analogy to the outward Killing of the Sacrifices under the old Testament But when this Crucifying or Killing of Christ in Men was beside many other questions about the manner of it they are put hard to it to resolve and indeed the resolution of it is impossible for it implys not only manifest contradictions to Scripture but to all true and right Reason as much as the Popish Transubstantiation doth For as nothing can be properly said to have been Killed but what was formerly alive If Christ has been Killed suppose in every Quaker he behoved to be first alive in them and as Christ in the Figure or Type as some of them call him was Born long before he was outwardly crucified for though when he was a Child Herod sought his Life yet by his being taken by his Mother into Egypt he was preserved and this very passage of Christ's being persecuted by Herod soon after he was Born the Quakers have made an Allegory not that the inward is the Allegory of the outward which were somewhat tolerable as some of the Ancients have so Allegorized though some went too far even so but the outward is the Allegory of the inward and as then there passed some considerable space of time betwixt Christ's typical Birth in the outward and his typical Crucifixion so that being about Twelve Years of Age he disputed with the Doctors and about Thirty he began his Ministry wherein he continued for about three Years and a half and then was Crucified after he was Betrayed by Judas denyed by Peter and Sentenced to Death by Pontius Pilate falsly Accused and cruelly Mocked by the Jews all which according to W. P. are so many Facile representations of what is to be accomplished in Men. And I have heard since the difference betwixt the Quakers and me began about Preaching Christ without some of their Preachers in their Publick Meetings Preach a great deal of the History of Christ's Birth Persecution by Herod and the Jews Betrayed by Judas denyed by Peter Sentenced to Death by Pilate and made it all an Allegory of what was to be witnessed within with an Exhortation to Friends to wait to have it all fulfilled and witnessed within them And particularly I heard Jacob Talner the Dutch-man above-mention'd Preach at a Publick Meeting in Philadelphia about the time our differences began there about Christ That Christ must be first Born in us and after that must be Crucified in us c. On which I asked some of their Preachers Were it not better after Christ is Born in Men using their Phrase that Men would not Crucifie him in them but rather that he might live in them For who can Crucifie Christ in Men but they themselves on supposition that he can be Crucified For the Devil cannot do it by himself without Men's consent and concurrence and being the main Actors But G. F. whom J. Wyeth calls the Apostle in this Age hath resolved this Question but whether effectually so as either consistent with Scripture or true and right Reason to which no true Revelation can contradict I leave to the intelligent Christian to judge in a Treatise of his call'd Several Papers given forth for the spreading of Truth one of them bearing this Title Concerning Christ's Flesh which was Offered p. 54. Christ the Lamb slain from the Foundation of the World when it began its Foundation then the Lamb was slain then the World was set up in Man's Heart that he did not see the beginning nor the ending of the Works of God Then came their Understandings to be darken'd and Christ ACCORDING TO THE FLESH CRUCIFIED the Lamb Slain that FLESH of his which is a Mystery and when the Jews did transgress the Law of God the Prophets told them they OPPRESSED the Seed as a Cart with Sheaves Note the word Oppressed tho' G. W. is so impudent in his Judgment Fixed p. 322. as to deny that the Seed is Christ and God that is Oppressed That they may come to a thing that 's lower and under and higher and over all and before all that is the Righteousness it self so in this lies the Belief so then in the Life and in the SUBSTANCE and in the end of all Types so through this Flesh he doth reconcile and by the
offering up his Body his Flesh that which hath been Slain from the Foundation of the World and yet never corrupted And this Flesh is a Mystery and in this Flesh is the Belief that takes away the Sin that never corrupted that is the Offering for Sin and the Blood of this Flesh clear seth from Sin so through this Offering is the Reconciliation through the Offering of his Flesh that never corrupted but takes away Corruptions and his Blood Cleanseth from Corrupâ—ions THE LIFE READ See the Quotation more at large in my Third Narrative p. 24 25. And it is observable that he saith with respect to Christ being thus inwardly Crucified for as he was God he did not die but whether he did suffer as he was God he doth not here determine tho' G. W. hath determined it as above-quoted That Christ as God doth suffer in Men by their Sins Note Whereas many of the Quakers particularly G. W. doth argue against Christ without us being the object of Faith Can saith he the object of Faith he divided from the Faith Which Argument has no more force than if he should argue Light and Life p. 45. The Sun cannot be the object or Foundation of his Sight because it is without him and at a great distance from him but his Sight is within him And he hath of late been heard several times to preach in the Quakers Meetings that Christ without us cannot be the object of our Faith doth not G. F. here propose an object of our Faith without us and such an object as is very difficult if not impossible to apprehend to wit the Flesh of Christ which was Crucified when Adam sinned and that Blood of his that was then shed or offered together with the Flesh And in this Flesh is the Belief saith he that takes away the Sin But possibly G. W. or some other will say the Flesh of Christ that was Crucified in Adam when he sinned is conveyed or transmitted from him into us If any of them will adventure to say so it will occasion such Intricacies and Niceties that the Quakers pretended plainness doth not suit with for G. W. in his Book call'd The Divine Light of Christ in Man p. 13. giveth this description of the People call'd Quakers That they are not only esteemed an illiterate People but are a plain simple innocent People who most affect plain Scripture-Language without any School-glosses or nice distinctions to deck adorn or illustrate their Christian Profession of Christ or his Divine Light in Men. And many thousands may not understand the terms Vehiculum Dei Intermediate Being nor is Jesus Christ preached among us under those terms but in Scripture terms The terms Vehiculum Dei had been used by R. Barclay in his Apology p. 83. and Intermediate Being by me in some of my former Writings concerning the Seed of God or principle of God's Grace in Men but which we carried not to that height nor had that sense of it to be the Flesh and Blood of Christ that is the Offering for Sin and makes the Atonement by way of Expiation to take away the guilt of Sin But is not G. W.'s Fallacy very plain in this Case Did not G. F. Preach Christ as he Writ and Printed concerning him and what though G. F. and none of the Quakers ever used the word VEHICULUM DEI or INTERMEDIATE BEING before R. B. and G. K. used them which they chiefly used to help the Quakers out of the Mire and render if possible the Quakers Notions about the Seed within intelligible but they carrying it far beyond whatever R. B. or I ever thought of particularly G. F. and G. W. as I have found by my late more exact search into their Books than ever formerly I made I find it not only difficult but impossible to reconcile them either with Scripture or right and true Reason and therefore I disown them and whatever I have formerly Writ that seemed in the least to justifie such Notions as I have found in the Quakers Writings particularly in the Writings of G. F. and G. W. let them be as void and null as if they had never been Writ See my late Book of Retractations Altho' as I have already said I carried them not so far so much as in my thoughts and I think no more did R. B. as they have done Now since G. W. professeth that the Quakers are such a plain simple People who most affect plain Scripture Language how is it that both G. W. himself and G. F. the chief Leaders and Teachers among them have gone so far from Scripture Language about Christ within that they have run into most wild and extravagant Notions that they sucked in from Familists and Ranters about Christ within Where do they find such Scripture Language That Christ according to the Flesh was crucified when Adam sinned and his Blood then shed and that that Flesh then crucified was the Offering for Sin and the Blood of that Flesh cleanseth away Sin and that the Belief or Faith is in that Offering the Flesh that was then Crucified And where doth G. W. find his wild Notion of a Blood of Christ within Men that cleanseth from Sin by way of Sacrifice and Atonement or of any other Blood of Christ than the Blood of his Humanity for tho' that place of Scripture Acts 20. 28. calls the Blood of Christ wherewith he purchased his Church the Blood of God yet it doth not say it was a Blood within Men or the Blood of the Godhead and not of Christ's Humanity it is call'd the Blood of God because Christ whose Blood it was was not a meer Man but both God and Man the Man Christ Jesus was God tho' his Godhead was not his Manhood But as to this Conveyance of Christ's Flesh conveyed or transmitted from Adam into his Posterity since his Fall what Scripture Language is this If any of them will dare so to affirm give us Chapter and Verse for any such Doctrine or Terms But yet further to discover the grossness of this wild Notion Is this Flesh of Christ conveyed or transmitted into his Posterity Crucified or Alive If they say Crucified it is scarcely intelligible how dead or crucified Flesh however so Spiritual can be conveyed or transmitted from Adam into us or how any crucified Seed or Principle can be so conveyed and seeing that as we are all descended of Noah and he was descended of Seth and Seth was descended of Adam by humane Generation long after Adam's Fall and the Seed of the Woman was promised to him it is most probable That if there was any crucified Flesh or Body of Christ in Adam when he Fell that crucified Body Seed or Principle was quickened and raised in him some time before he begot Seth and it will-therefore follow rather that such a Body Seed or Principle if conveyed or transmitted from Adam into his Posterity is conveyed alive and not dead Beside how can it be conveyed
by natural Generation Indeed many of the Quakers deny any conveyance of Original Sin by natural Generation as the Pelagians denyed of old because they cannot comprehend with their Reason how such a conveyance can be to be sure it is altogether remote from all rational Comprehension as well as from Scripture that such a Noble Principle as the Seed of God should come by natural Generation and so come to all Men even the Children of Heathens as well as the Children of Believers as the Quakers commonly Teach yea G. F. saith G. M. p. 209. Every Man AT HIS COMING INTO THE WORLD hath a Light from Christ him by whom the World was made which is more than Conscience But if every Man has that Light at his coming into the World then Heathen Infants have it and seeing they have it from Christ whether they have it Immediately conveyed or Mediately by natural Generation through their Parents as they have their natural Flesh If Immediately from Christ it is more rational to suppose it is not crucified nor killed at its first reception Beside how can it be a slain or dead Thing in them when it convinceth them of the sins of Lying Thieft and the like and speaketh to them in their Hearts and Consciences and teacheth them their whole duty to God and Man if they will obey it yea an entire Systeme of Orthodox Divinity If J. Wyeth can be believed how can it do all this and be a dead or crucified thing in them These are but some of the inexplicable and unintelligible Difficulties beside many more that might be mentioned which the wild Notions and Phrases of G. F. and G. W. especially as far from Scripture Language as Darkness is from Light have led them into and many others whom they have bewildred with them notwithstanding G. W.'s fallacious pretences of his Brethren and Himself being an innocent plain simple People that most affect Scripture Language when indeed no Society call'd Christians nay not the Church of Rome have so much deviated from Scripture Language as well as Scripture Doctrine and Sense as they have done But let none from this infer that I do not own the Doctrine and Faith of Christ within and of his Divine Teachings Inspirations and Illuminations for that I do withal my Heart as truly as ever I did and I hope rather better only I deny the Quakers wild extravagant and blasphemous Notions of Christ within and particularly of G. F. and G. W. above-mention'd who affirm that Christ is Crucified in all unregenerate Persons and that the Flesh of this crucified Christ in them is the Offering for Sin and the Belief is to be in this Flesh and the Blood of this Flesh cleanseth from all Sin Which Flesh was crucified in Adam when he Fell but how from Adam it came into them either crucified or alive is not intelligible and therefore no proper object of Faith but if they say it is alive in all Men at its first reception or at their first coming into the World then all Men are Born Sanctified and spiritually Regenerated Heathens as well as Christians for the great difference that the Quakers give betwixt Regenerated and Unregenerated Persons lies in this That the Seed Christ is alive in the Regenerated but crucified and dead in the Unregenerated But yet again to shew how much G. W. acts the Sophister in his late pretences to own the Merit of the Blood of Christ that was outwardly shed which yet he hath so plainly denied in his Light and Life and mightily opposed it That the shedding of that Blood upon the Cross was the meritorious cause of Man's Justification in p. 8. Of Light and Life he blames W. B. For laying a twofold stress upon that Blood 1. Merit to Salvation 2. Work to Sanctification and infers against W. B's twofold assertion That in his so doing he hath set it viz that Blood up above God for God could not save he saith and yet is not in being gross absurdity saith G. W. Here the force of G. W.'s Sophistical Argument against the Merit of Christ's Blood is very apparent To say that Blood is the Meritorious cause of our Salvation is to set it up above God which is a most absurd consequence and his proof of his consequence he grounds upon an absolute forgery whereby he manifestly wrongs his Opponent W. B. in his alledging on him that he said God could not save whereas W. B. did not say God could not save But that Christ as he was God without being Man he could not save Man See W. B.'s Capital Principles p. 35 36. which is almost Orthodox Doctrine rightly understood viz. Seeing God hath appointed to save Man after that manner G. VV.'s further opposition to the Blood of Christ as outwardly shed being the Meritorious cause of Man's Justification is evident from his words Light and Life p. 61. But mark how one while W. B. makes that Blood and the shedding of it his Justifier and Redeemer c. VVhich he has confessed is not in being Another while People must seek their Saviour above the Clouds and Firmament contrary to the righteousness of Faith Rom. 10. 6. Another while they must look to Jerusalem for Justification and to the Blood that was there shed contrary to Deut. 30. 13 14. And Rom. 10. And if Men should look to Jerusalem for that Blood it is not there to be found for it is not in being says W. B. The Seven Colchester Quakers in their Printed Paper called Some Account above mentioned p. 16. pretended to answer this passage by producing some words of G. VV. in his Light and Life which they think will justifie him but all in vain unless to detect his and their dull Sophistry VV. B. having said The shedding of the Blood upon the Cross that was let out by Virtue of the Spear being thrust into his side to be Meritorious or the Meritorious cause of Man's Justification To this G. W. Answereth The shedding of that Blood let out by the Spear was an act of a wicked Man and the Spear an Instrument of cruelty which to lay the Meritorious cause or stress of Justication upon is false Doctrine for there is a great difference between Christ's offering up himself by the eternal Spirit a Lamb without Spot to God and the acts of wicked Men inflicted upon him as it is said by wicked Hands they put him to Death And they conclude saying But the making the very act of shedding his Blood by the Spear to be the Meritorious cause of Man's Justification we therefore ask them if they really believe the same Here Note Both G. W.'s and the Seven Colchester Quakers fallacy thereby to cover G. W.'s vile Heresie He most unjustly chargeth it upon W. B. his Opponent that he laid the Meritorious cause or stress of Justification upon the Act of the wicked Man that thrust the Spear into our Saviour's Side but this is a piece of gross forgery in
the Light within is not sufficient to Salvation or not sufficient without something else the which Proposition seeing he blames as false he must hold the contradictory to be true That the Light within is sufficient to Salvation without any thing else yea G. W. hath granted in his Antidote p. 28. That Christ as outwardly considered is that something else which G. K. meant This is an evident proof beside many others above-given That it is G. W.'s and his Brethren's Principle That the Blood of Christ that was outwardly shed on the Cross is not a meritorious Cause of our Salvation nay not so much as in part and that Faith in that Blood is not necessary for our Justification expresly contrary to Scripture Rom. 3. 25. Hence it is that neither in their Books nor Preachings is any thing generally of this Doctrine Preached That Christ God-Man as without us as he Died for us c. is the object and foundation of our Faith for remission of Sin and for our Justification and eternal Salvation but there is much to be both read in their Books and heard in their daily Preachings against the necessity of any such Faith The farthest that they go at this day is to Preach a little of him Historically and as an Example but to Preach him as without us in the true nature of Man to be the great Object of our Faith Love and Adoration they think is hurtful as above-proved yea W. Smith in his Primmer gives it as a mark of distinction whereby to know true Ministers from false They that are false Preach Christ without and bid People believe in him as he is in Heaven above Jos Wyeth's excuse of this in his Switch p. 220. is extreamly fallacious he thinks he may supply the defect in W. Smith's Words by an Ellipsis telling us The Church hath given abundant encouragement to supply Elliptick defects by her example and practise in the holy Scriptures and what is so familiarly done with holy Writ surely me may do with our Friends Books But to detect this fallacy what Elliptical defects the Church has supplied in some places of the holy Scripture she had ground so to do from other places of Scripture more full that taught her to make that supply but the case is far otherwise here it being so far from being the Quakers way generally to preach Faith in Christ without Men for Salvation that they oppose it and call them Reprobates who profess any such Faith and this their great Apostle G. F. has taught them by his Example so to do in his G. M. p. 248. he saith to C. Wade The Devil was in thee and thou saith thou art saved by Christ without thee and so hath recorded thy self to be a Reprobate and ignorant of the Mystery of Christ within thee for without that thou dost not know Salvation And yet this same C. Wade hath fully owned the Mystery of Christ within Switch p. 205. as above-quoted Jos Wyeth's excuse for G. F.'s saying to C. VVade The Devil was in him He saith Was for his stuffing his Book with Lyes but of this he gives not one Proof though I have given several evident Proofs That G. F. did grosly bely him To the other part of G. F.'s charge Thou art saved by Christ without thee Jos VVyeth Answereth It doth plainly contradict the Doctrine of the Apostle Thus we see what value he and all his Brethren have in whose Name he writes for Christ without us that he saith it plainly contradicts the Doctrine of the Apostle but by his so saying he palpably bewrays his and his Brethrens Infidelity and Heathenism and hath prepared a Rod for his own Back instead of a Switch for the Author of the Snake To suppose that C. VVade meant that he was saved by Christ without him without the inward Operation of Christ by the holy Spirit to Sanctifie him is great injustice done to him for he hath sufficiently cleared himself of that charge as I have above-quoted him But that Faith in Christ without us as he Died for our Sins c. is no part of the Quakers Faith or Systeme of Doctrine is evident from Jos VVâ—â—h's plain confession as above-noted it is none of the Systeme of Principles truly Orthodox or Substance of the Doctrine which the Light within has taught them for he wholly passeth it by p. 38. and yet tells us he has given us the Substance of what the Light within has taught them Besides who will consider W. Smith's Primer out of which the above given Quotation is taken will find that his Words wanted no Ellipsis to explain his sense for he gives it very fully to be his sense that the Light within is the only Foundation and that there is not another see this more largely quoted in my Third Narrative p. 11. Proofs out of the Quakers Books on the following Heads viz. Christ's Coming to Judgment The Resurrection of the Body The Light Within Baptism and the Lord's Supper Eighthly Concerning Christ's last Coming to Judgment G. F. in his G. M. p. 9. quotes J. Bunyan saying That the Place where Christ shall come to Judgment is at the Mount of Olives at the East-side of Jerusalem to this he Answers Thou hast put him far enough off from thee and hast not yet judged thy self and Christ is come to Judgment and so art one of the false Prophets who bids People look for him beyond the Sea lo here lo there but who are come to Christ the Light the Life they need not go forth who abide here are sealed by the Spirit puts not off the good and evil Day Note Waving that Question over what place on Earth Christ shall appear at his last Coming we see here That G. F. opposeth not only to the place of his Coming but to any outward and personal Coming yet to be and chargeth J. B. to be one of the false Prophets for asserting it and saith Christ is come to Judgment as if there were no other for that 's the true state of the Controversie betwixt J. B. and him J. B. did not deny that Christ was inwardly Come to reprove and judge for Sin but he asserted his Coming personally to Judgment without us also G. W. in his Light and Life p. 40. 41. Disputing with W. B. about Christ's outward Coming in his Glorified Body to Judge the Quick and the Dead answereth to the several Scriptures that W. B. brought for Christ's outward Coming at the end of the World and carries them all to his inward Coming already fulfilled such as 1 Thess 4. 15 17. and Acts 1. 9 10 11. Acts 2 32 33 34. Matth. 24. 30. and Verse 26. 14. and opposeth W. B. in his understanding them of his outward Coming in Glory at the end of the World And as to that 1 Thess 4. 17. saith G. W. which W. B. brings to prove that Christ shall come in the latter end of the World from Heaven above the Clouds
Now in Ver. 15. it 's said That we which are alive and remain unto the Coming of the Lord. Now I ask saith he if they did live and remain to a personal Coming of Christ in the Clouds yea or nay Or can it be reasonably thought to be a Coming that is not yet that they lived and remained unto Note How G. W. here most weakly but very plainly to discover his Infidelity argues against Christ's Coming at the latter end of the World and whereas in my First Narrative I did show That when Paul said We which are alive and remain to the Coming of the Lord he spoke by an Enallage Personae We for They we which remain i.e. such of our Brethren who shall be found alive at Christ's last Coming c. To this T. E. Answers in his pretended Answer to my First Narrative p. 162. Why might not the Apostle speak in the first Person We as supposing that great and extraordinary Appearance and Coming of Christ the certain time of which no Man knew Matth. 24. 36. was so near at hand that it might probably fall out in his Life-time and for this sense he quotes Heb. 1. 2 9 26. 1 Pet. 1. 20. 1 Joh. 2. 18. 1 Cor. 10. 11. 1 Pet. 4. 7. as because the times after Christ came in the Flesh are called the last times that therefore the Apostles thought the end of the World was not far off i. e. in his sense That Paul and the other Apostles thought that Christ would come to Judge the Quick and the Dead before they dyed This gross and absurd sense as it is contrary to G. W.'s words so it renders Paul to have spoke an untruth even by Divine Inspiration for said Paul This we say unto you by the word of the Lord. J. Wyeth in his Switch p. 297 298. and his Brethren their common excuse here and elsewhere that these were but Queries signifie nothing to defend them the very import of these Queries implying a positive denyal See this Fallacy of T. E. more fully detected in Satan Disrob'd being a Reply to his pretended Answer to my First Narrative Again G. W. in Light and Life p. 41. saith But Three Comings of Christ not only that in the Flesh at Jerusalem and that in the Spirit but also another Coming in the Flesh yet to be expected we do not read of but of a Second Coming without Sin unto Salvation which in the Apostles days was looked for And these words of Paul The dead in Christ shall rise first he expounds of an inward Death To this G. W. Answers very fallaciously in his Truth and Innoc. p. 61. But is this to deny or oppose Christ's coming to Judge the Quick and the Dead 'T was never so intended And questioning some Men's carnal Expectations of a fleshly coming of Christ to be seen with their carnal Eyes was this to deny his coming in the Glory of his Father with his Angels to reward every Man according to his works quoting Matth 16. 27. Luke 9. 6. no sure for that 's confessed and undeniable Note His and his Brethren's common evasion to hide their Infidelity is to quibble about the Word FLESH as if their meaning were only to deny That Christ is to Come in a fleshly Body subject to the like Passions it had in his state of Humiliation when upon Earth as Hunger Thirst Pain Death c. But this is no part of the Controversie betwixt the Quakers and their Opponents But why may not Glorified Flesh be taken to signifie Spiritual Flesh as distinct from Mortal Flesh as well as Glorified Body signifies Spiritual Body without any change of Substance But it is evident that G. W. not only denyed that Christ would Come to Judge the World in a Body of natural and passible Flesh but that he would not Come in the same Substance of that Body he had on Earth which was a mortal and passible Body of the same Nature with ours for he makes it most absurd That an earthly Body and an heavenly Body can be the same Substance as above-quoted Now That he denyeth that Christ was in Heaven in a bodily Existence or would come to Judgment as the Son of Mary in a bodily Existence to wit having any thing of that Body which he had on Earth is evident from his Nature of Christianity p. 29. Dâ—st thou look for Christ as the Son of Mary to appear outwardly in a bodily Existence to save thee according to thy words p. 30. If thou dost thou may'st look until thy Eyes drop out before thou wilt see such an Appearance of him Note To excuse his great Infidelity he useth a gross Fallacy in his Truth and Innoc. p. 61. and giving a lame Quotation of his own words This is true in Fact saith he for those very Eyes decay and perish But this was no part of the Controversie betwixt G. W. and his Opponent who did not presume to say or think That Christ's coming to Judge the World in that bodily Existence would be before his Death but the thing earnestly asserted was That Christ as he was now really in Heaven in a bodily Existence at God's Right Hand so he would come in that very bodily Existence to Judge the World for which G. W. doth evidently oppose him as above-quoted The Phrase Thy Eyes will drop out before thou wilt see such an Appearance is equivalent to this Thou wilt never see such an Appearance nor any other Man sor thee as that common Phrase at the Greek Calends And whereas he adds And Christ's last Coming in Power and great Glory in his Glorious Body accompanied with his mighty Angels at the Resurrection must be seen with stronger clearer and more celestial Eyes than perishing Eyes Here he still hides his vile Error What are these more celestial Eyes seeing he will not have Christ's Coming to be without Men in a bodily Existence For in his Light and Life he quotes Matth. 16. 27 28. and Luke 9. 26 27. in plain opposition to Christ's outward Coming saying When was that Coming to be Is it now to be looked for outwardly and seeing he is not to Come outwardly but inwardly these celestial Eyes in his sense must be inward Eyes But then how shall the Wicked see him for the Scripture saith Every Eye shall see him even they who have pierced him must they have celestial Eyes wherewith to see him And tho' the Wicked shall not see him in the same manner that the Godly shall see him yet certainly according to Scripture and the Faith of all true Christians all that ever lived as well as they that shall be found alive in the Body at his Coming both good and bad shall see him as an object without them yea Christ told the Chief Priest and the Jews Mat. 26. 64. Hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven At which saying the High Priest rent