is upon them that leave the Scriptures to look to the light within them Page 9. And many deceivers should come into the world that confesse not Christ come in the flesh receive them not into your houses And the man Christ is testified against by the light Pag. 13. and he saith they publikely deny the resurrection of the dead body And he saith Christ in the flesh his sufferings was but an example and a figure Ans Christ ended all figures in suffering and examples and paterns yet he is the Saints patern and example as the Scripture witnesses and there is no other example nor patern to be heeded but Christ alone which they are to learn of but to say he is nothing but a figure for that thou and you all will be judged for he ended all figures and is the resurrection and the life both and thy dead body shall live with my dead body this is Scripture and they that said the resurrection was past in the dayes of the Apostles overthrew the faith of some That which overthrowes the faith denying the resurrection kept the seed in death where it hath been in you all since the dayes of the Apostles for who are of faith are of Abraham of Christ according to the flesh and so if the dead arise not their Preaching is vain and their faith is vain So I say mortal must put on immortality and corruption must put on incorruption the first man was made a living soul the second was made a quickening spirit there is earthly bodies and heavenly bodies and there Is a resurrection of the just and unjust the one to eternal life the other to condemnation And the Judge is the man Christ Jesus to Judge the quick and the dead who both dyed and rose again that he might be God of the dead and the living And the light which every man hath that cometh into the world doth not testifie against Christ And the light doth not bring to deny the Scriptures but to own them And none ownes them aright nor Christ but who are in the light which cometh from him And all that do deny the light that doth enlighten every man c. are the wolves and the false Prophets and Antichrists that have gotten the sheeps cloathing and such cannot be received into the houses of the Saints that are from the light which every man is enlightened withall And none confesseth Christ come in the flesh but who is in the light which Christ hath enlightened them withall And so now is all Professors and teachers upon the earth and Kings of the earth ravened inwardly from the light which Christ enlightened them all withall standing against the light and the Lamb and the Saints that be in it and are not to be received into the houses of the Saints neither to bid them God speed for they be out from God that be out of the Light which Christ the Son hath enlightened them withall Pr. And he saith Christ hath a humane reasonable soul Again Christ the Eternal Son of God distinct from the Father Eternally before he was made flesh his spirit was distinguished from the Father and the Son from Eternitie and not onely when he was manifested by descending on Christ in the likeness of a Dove or by falling upon the Apostles like cloven tongues c. page 17. Answ Christ saith he is in the Father and the Father is in him and he will send them the Spirit of Truth the Comforter that proceeds from the Father and the Son and Christ saith he was glorified with the Father before the world began and yet ye say the Son is distinguished from the Father from Eternity and the Son saith he is in the Father and the Father is in him and you say the spirit is distinguished from the Father and the Son from Eternity and Christ saith it proceeds from him and the Fathers and he is the God and Father of the spirits of all flesh and the substance of all things And is not a humane soul earthly for you say that Christ had a humane soul and is not humane earthly and hath a humane body and is not a humane body an earthly body Is not his body of the seed of Abraham according to the flesh and is not his body a glorified body was not the first man of the earth earthly and had an humane body the second man the Lord from heaven And is not the soul immortal which cometh out from God which is immortal and goes into God again and is not humane or earthly mortal And are there not three that bear record in heaven the Father the Word and the Spirit and are not they all one how then are they distinct and three that bear record in earth the spirit the water and the blood which agree in one And Christ saith I and my Father are one and I in the Father and the Father in me and he is in the Saints and so not distinct Pr. He saith it is impudency in the Quakers to deny the word Trinity and three Persons And the Church ever denyed such as denyes the Doctrine of the Trinity Page 18. 19. Ans As for the word Trinity and three Persons we have not read it in the Bible but in the Common-prayer Book or Masse-book which the Pope was the Author of but as for Unity we own and Christ being the brightness of the Fathers glory and the expresse Image of his substance of the Father we own That we own which agrees with the Scriptures and for that which the Scripture speakes not which men speak and teach for Doctrine their own words that the Scriptures speakes not nor teacheth such the Scriptures shut out and we deny Pr. He saith that is the weak ignorant dark and the wicked Sect of the Devil that maintains an equality with God the soul to be one being with God or part of God And saith the Quakers say there is no Scriptures speakes of a humane soul and the soul is taken up into God and God is all in all Answ The Assembly or Synod of Priests put forth a Catechisme and say that the Holy Ghost and the Son is equal with the Father in power and glory and this they put forth that people should learn it what then if any come to witness the Holy Ghost they come to witnes that which is equal in power and glory with the Father what if any come to witness the Son of God revealed in them which he that hath not him hath not life do they not come to witness him who is equal in power and glory with the Father this is your own Catechisme and is it blasphemy to confesse your own words that ye have given people to learn God breathed into man the breath of life and he became a living soul God who hath all souls in his hand And is not this that cometh out from God which is in Gods hand part of God of God and from God and to
These he calls Errours Ans All your Temples set up imitating the Temple of Solomon built since the dayes of the Apostles are Idols for God never commanded them And have not the Papists had them And have they not been Masse-houses Beast-houses and are they not Is God worshipped in Temples made with hands Is not he worshipped in the spirit and in the truth And the Scriptures are words of the Prophets and Apostles and Christ they are words and so called in the Scripture they are not called the written word but words and Christ the Word cometh to fulfill them And all you that doth not speak from the Word if your Declaration be not from it you are the spirits gone out into the world apostatized from the spirit that was in the Prophets Christ the Word and the Apostles that doth not speak from Christ the Word in you And the Letter written in paper and inke now paper and inke is not spirituall but that which it speaks of is spirituall And thou to a single and you to a single makes it appear that neither thou nor you never learned your Accidence yet neither are perfect of the Bible what it saith For neither the Bible nor the Accidence teacheth to speak any such language as you to a particular Therefore ye are pittifull men to go to instruct the Nations cannot endure sound righteous words and simplicity of speech but stumble at it And again God will dwell in you and walk in you and your bodies are Temples of the holy Ghost And Christ is in you except you be reprobates saith the Apostle And again God breathed into man the breath of life and he became a living soule For that which came out from God was the cause that man became alive a living soule and is not this of God And God who hath all soules in his hand and Christ the Bishop of the soule And is not that of God which comes out from God Is not that of his being the soule which he hath in his hand and so divine and is not Christ in man And doth not Christ say they must eate his flesh And so if they must eate his flesh is not his flesh in them and have they not the spirit And how can any eate Christs flesh if his flesh be not in them And doth not the Scriptures say that he was manifest in the Apostles flesh And how can ye call him Christ in man without the man be there And sprinkling Infants which the Scripture doth not hold forth but a thing got up since the dayes of the Apostles not witnessed by Scripture they cannot shew by the Apostles that it was one of his marks but a tradition of men an invention of men and then they may all see such as say they have not a command to do it if it be not a mark of that beastly spirit that is erred from the Apostles who is out of the power And Christ saith be not yee of men called Master it is his command for yee have one Master even Christ and ye are all brethren So thou that opposest the commands of Christ and teacheth men to practice the contrary thou and you are Antichrists and shew your spirit of errour from Christs spirit Now let all read and see if this man divides the word aright to people Pr. He saith They have an unction need not that any man teach them And waiting for the Spirit to come down upon them by inspiration and give them utterance And he saith they sit silent and not whisper among them And they do not own Davids Psalms to be sung See page 12 13. these are errours saith he A. Was it not the Apostles Doctrine that they need no man to teach them but as the same anointing teaching them that abide in it And was not they seducers that drew from it 1 Joh. 2. And did not the Apostles wait for the receiving the Holy Ghost the Comforter the Spirit of truth And did not the holy men of God speak as they were moved by the Holy Ghost and so the Gospel and the things of God was revealed to them what they had heard and seen and was revealed to them and spoke as the spirit gave them utterance and prayed for a door of utterance and others was to pray that they might have a door of utterance given to them when they was to Preach And to sing Davids Psalms without Davids spirit people sings not with the understanding now in all these things have not ye shewed and made manifest your spirits to be all the false spirits gone out into the world from the Apostles Spirit holy-mens spirit that spoke forth the Scriptures as they were moved and waited for the Spirit which led them into all truth and revealed to them the things of God so you that be out of this Revelation and Preach against this you have Preached up your spirits out from the Apostles and declared your folly to all the Nation And then because they wait in silence and not a whisper among them Is not that agreeable to the Apostles Doctrine and the Prophets Is there not a learning in silence And was not whispering forbidden by the Apostle And doth such things as these offend thee and so thou hast shewed thy spirit Pr. He saith they meet in the night and they make their object of their teaching of Ministers and Tithes and of the pure light that is in every man that cometh into the world And for any man for to know what is in him by looking at him or upon him or discern his soul this he suspects to be an evil eye And he saith that the learned men and Ministers and Physitians to be in the power of Satan c. page 16. 17. 18. Ans Here again ye have made manifest your power who are gone forth from the Apostles into the mystery of Iniquity which hath wrought long since their dayes And now is the power of God made manifest which breakes down the mystery of Iniquity and raiseth up the mystery of godliness that of this power neither the learned men Physitians or Ministers are able to Judge of it but as they do own Christ the power of God Formerly in the dayes past as the learned Rabbies Judged of Christ so do they Judge of the power now so not strange to us And the Saints met in the night yea till mid-night And we do deny the Ministry that takes Tythes and say the Priesthood is changed and the Law is changed by which is was made and the Commandment disanuled that gave tithes and the Priesthood changed that took them Heb. 7. And we say Christ is come a Priesthood after the order of Melchisedeck the similitude and likeness who ends the similitude and likeness in Christ is the end of similitudes and liknesses and wars in whom is peace So no tythes paid to the similitude and likeness But all is to come to the Son and to hear the Son and honor
seed of God and defiled the flesh and darkned the understanding the sense and reason and warred against the soule ye have shewed your ignorance of that power that throws all these down and that which defiles the spirit and the body whereby the body the soule and the spirit comes to be sanctified And before this be so ye must know a bodily trembling and shaking and he cries away with it before ever he came at it lest he should be tormented before his time who is one of them who ever was against the holy men of God but the power of the Lord God has overtaken thee and with that are ye comprehended and ye are in the presse and your cluster is full and the sickle is gone out Pr. He saith The Priest-hood is changed but not the Tythes abolished by the coming of any substance and they that keep back tythes of God he hath preferred his mammon before his God is guilty of the sin of Ananias And denying to pay tythes is weakning the hands of the Ministers and God in wisdome hath required by an outward Law in the absence of the inward for the maintenance of the Ministery by tythes or other maintenance and so they owe a tribute unto God and so they must pay tribute and custome to whom custome is due Again he saith custome tribute Tithes c. love will teach thee these things are due therefore covet not anothers portion Ans When the Apostle had spoken of tithes before the Law to Melchisedeck like unto the Son of God and spoken of Tithes to the Priesthood made by a Law had a command to take them he saith the Priesthood was changed the Law was changed the command was disanulled that gave them Tithes the Son of God was come the end of the similitude and the likeness before the Law Now saith he of the things for tythes were things before the Law and in the Law of the things which we have spoken this is the sum Christ a Minister of the Sanctuary which God hath pitched and not man So there is the sum of the things and the substance and the plentious Redemption that leads men out of the earth that brings them to lay down all at the feet of the Apostles which is beyond tenthes which was to the service of the Lord due Here the earth cometh to be known to be the Lords it is given up here and man Redeemed out of it of this glorious Gospel are ye all ignorant and so Tithes is not as Annanias to be compared with Annanias not now and not as a tribute but as a custome which since the dayes of the Apostles in the apostacy that the Nations have drunk the whores cup there have been Queens and Kings that have made Lawes that is gone out of the power of Christ which the Apostles was in into the beasts power and made Schools to make their Ministers and have set up Tenths So this custome of the sin hath taken away the sence of it that people have been hardened that they have torn people spoiled their goods and cast into prison and taken treble dammages and kept them in prison and haled them before Courts and Sessions Assizes and Benches which is not like the Ministers of Christ for the law is changed of God that gave tenths and since that was changed the Law in the heart and a new Covenant And since the apostacy from that men have got the sheepes cloathing ravened from the spirit wolves whose fruits declare it who have deceived Nations and the world and have got up a Law from man and a command from man the Pope being the Author and the Law of God is changed and the command of God is changed that gave tithes and they have got up this to take them the Law of man the command of man and the Law of God and his command is denyed spoken by the Apostle Heh 7. which all that be in the wisdom of God sees over these things and feels over them and Judges you all and executes Judgement and is in the power and Authority to execute Judgement and convince all and are in the honour of Saints So your Ministry if Tithes fall is weakened but the Ministry of Christ came in when Tithes fell and that Ministry fell that held up tithes and that Priesthood which the Priests lips was to preserve the peoples knowledge So by the fall of that Ministry that took Tithes the Ministry of Christ came in is the rise of this Ministry since the dayes of the Apostles in the apostacy that is made by Kings Bishops Popes Schools and Colledges in the fall this Ministry that takes tithes which Tithes falling say they and saith thou the hand is weakened of the Ministry it is not the power that strengthens the hand but the earthly Now I say in the fall of this maintenance which weakens this Ministry weakens you Ministers in the apostacy ye have shewed what ye are covered withall in the rise of the Lamb and his Ministry in the Preaching of the everlasting Gospel and the everlasting Gospel shall be Preached to them that dwell on the earth which is the power of God and though the Devil and the beast and the false Prophets and the Kings of the earth do make war against the Saints and the Lamb yet the Saints and the Lamb shall get the victory and that 's come to that the Apostles were in before you was and so in your fall this rises Pr. He saith Christ without the Church doth not comprehend all the Elect and we are not elected though we receive Christ because we are elected in him c. Page 80. Ans Thou art medling with things too weighty for thee Christ is the Elect who God upholds and the election obtains it the victory and Christ knowes his and said he had other sheep and he knew all the Elect and is the wisdom of the Father the Light the Life and the power of God the offering the sacrifice for the whole world the Redemption of man-kinde and who receives him and are in him are the Elect and out of their own works and have possessed him and his Image and glory and are come to the throne of grace who is in all and over all the salvation to the ends of the earth and who are elected receives Christ and are in him Pr. He saith thy denyal of sin and Satan and Antichrist to be where they are in power and part is the old trick of the evil one c. page 83. Ans Who are come into the Lambs power they are come out of the power of the beast sin and Satan into the City the midst of the Paradice of God where no unclean thing enters but the tree of life is the food and they are a top of sin Satan and Antichrist and all thy tricks and witness against all sin Pr. He saith when the dissolution comes he bids farwell to all the Saints of God pag. 94.
Apostles by the Beast and the false prophets and the great whore which have been in the power of the Devil that went out of truth and that the Saints was not subject to But now Christ is come to reign the Lamb and the Saints shall have the victory and the higher power is owned that is higher then all the transgressors upon earth that reaches to the soul and the transgressed principle of God in every man upon the earth for the Beasts power hath set up your Tythes Temples and Colledges and compeld men to worship which the Saints could not and therefore have suffered by it that have worshipped God in the spirit and truth that the devil is out of and such was in the higher power Pr. He saith there is a kinde of Infiniteness in the soul and it cannot be Infiniteness in it self Pag. 103. Ans Is not the soul without beginning coming from God returning into God again who hath it in his hand which hand goes against him that does evil which throwes down that which wars against it And Christ the power of God the Bishop of the soul which brings it up into God which came out from him hath this a beginning or ending And is not this infinite in it self and more then all the world Pr. He saith the soul is a creature and yet it is a noble power and an Essence and is the appetite fancy c. Again he saith he knowes that the soul is a spiritual thing and cannot be divided into parts and powers as being one single entire essence Page 107. Ans The soul being in the death in transgression so mans spirit there is not sanctified and the soul is in death And fancy and the appetite and anger and pleasure c. which thou saith is taken for the soul usually and called the soul are them that wars against it so thou divides the soul into parts which is one and art ignorant of it and yet thou said it cannot be divided So thou art in the Babylon and confusion So the living of the soul and the spirit sanctified that diligent hearkening is come to where the Counsel of God is stood in his voyce heard his hand felt that the soul comes up into that comes from him from God that 's living and Immortal and gives a Creature its feeling and sencibleness through things and so the Covenant of God comes to be received wherein the soul lives the Bishop of it which is immortal and then the new creature born is known whereby the spirit of man is sanctified whereby the God of the spirits of all flesh is known Now where the power and life guides up to God the Father of life that works down and directs the mind up to God where the soul hath the issue the immortal to the immortal whereby light springs in Christ is known the soul praiseth God the Saviour the low estate that God hath regarded and reached down to it Now where the light is hated that of God within transgressed that doth pertain to the righteous Law of God and answers it the spirit of man is not sanctified and mans understanding darkened the higher power is denyed the soul comes into death transgressing of the Law is known the witness buried which should guide the mind whereby the soul should live in the diligent hearkening thereby comes man to be defiled and his spirit and body and minde whereby he glorifies not God in his body and soul and spirit and glorifies not the God of the spirits of all flesh thereby he comes to be an alien and a stranger to the life of God and his wayes and Covenant and thou sayes the soul is a spiritual thing and yet a creature an appetite and fancy And every man that cometh into the world having a Light from Christ the second Adam though they be in the first Adam the Bishop of their souls So every one being turned to the Light which Christ the second Adam hath enlightened them withall they shall see the Bishop of their souls Christ the power of God which is immortal brings the immortal soul into the immortal God Christ their sanctification who sanctifies their spirits and bodies and brings the soul up into God from whence it came whereby they come to be one soul For in the lusts of the world and the affections of it is the war against it and there is the powers of wickedness the soul must be in the higher power higher then the flesh which stains the man spirit and body and powers of wickedness So the light being turned to he receiveth the spirit of God which sanctifies him the spirit of Sanctification in Christ Jesus the Sanctification and Redemption So every man that cometh into the world having a light from Christ Jesus the way out of the fall the second Adam receiving the light they receive their Redemption and Sanctification whereby their spirits bodies and souls are sanctified Pr. He saith The binding of Sathan shall not be by a personall reigne of Christ in a body He saith the Quaker denies the light written in Scripture And he saith when yee that pretend most love to Christ within and light within ye deny the Lord that bought yee And the high talke of a Light within goes out for ever into utter darkness Ans The Light within and Christ within who owns this and are come into it owns the Lord that bought them Christ and no other and they that receive not this within are Reprobates without him and deceives him yet talk of him as the Devils false Prophets and Deceivers And they that go from the Light within go into utter darknesse and stumble and do not know whether they go and wants the garments and the Lambs cloathing And so the Light within he that believes in it hath the witnesse in himselfe abides not in the darknesse nor in the condemnation but hath the light of life And the light within that shines in the heart gives the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus And who knows Satan bound and false Prophets and Antichrists and Beasts and mother of Harlots taken and cast into the fire and Christ reign and know his bodily presence they know his flesh and are of his flesh and of his bone and his spirit and minde and power who hath all power in heaven and earth given to him over the Devil over the Aâ—tichrists false Prophets Beast and mother of Harlots reigns above their power triumphs tramples above their power and this is known by the Light within And now doth Christ reign in his Saints and the Paradice of God is known and Eden where all things are sanctified and blessed and good where there is no curse but blessing and he that went out of this did transgresse and disobeyed which brought the death upon all his posterity earthly Adam But who are come in through the obedience of another the second Adam Christ Jesus who
for for their own bellies and these cause divisions among all people Do not these serve their bellies And are not people come to mark them what a division they have set among people yea for Tythes and maintenance and persecuting and prisoning for it and haling before Judges and Justices by Writs into Courts and at Assizes and Sessions Doth not these serve their bellies that makes all this division and not Christ but they deny the light which doth enlighten every man c. and so deny Christ the Lord that bought them And the light that every man hath that cometh into the world and the light that shines in the heart it gives the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus and brings all off from serving their bellies and leads out of the lusts in the fall which came by Adam in the transgression Pr. He saith To speak the Word of God immediately and that which I speak I speak it immediately I am strengthened against that and admonished by God to hold fast the form of sound words And that which is able to make men wise unto salvation through faith And Timothy was to stir up the gift of God that was in him mediately and the putting on of the hands and the neglecting not the gift that was in him And God hath published his last dispensation and nothing more to be added or altered page 15. Answ It thou art strengthened by God against speaking his Word immediately or if thou speaks immediately thou being strengthened by God against this as thou saith In this thou shews thou never knew him who ever is strengthened of God it is by his power and that is immediate who ever speaks his word that lives and endures for ever it is immediate In this thou and you all have shewed your selves to be Ministers of the Letter and not of the Word of God which is immediate which lives and abides and endures for ever and is immortall and fades not away and this thou and you speak not immediately and therefore have ye indeed put the Letter for it that be from the Word of God in your hearts not born again of the immortal seed the Word of God And whosoever stirs up the gift of God in them it is immediate and by the immediate And who ever holds fast the form of sound words the Scriptures they are made wise unto salvation by them through the faith they are in the immediate gift of God and gift which brought Timothy to lay on the hands upon the Presbytery and see and divide the word aright and kept him out of partiality it was immediate and the immediate Word of God that he was to preach in season and out of season And since the dayes of the Apostles from this have you all been apostatized and asleep in the night of apostacy in the great City though there hath been Pipers among you and sounding of Trumpets and the voyce of thâ— Bridâ—â—â—d the grinding of Mills and the light of Candles And the time is coming that Bâ—â—ylon shall fall and become the habitation of Devils and the Saints shall rejoyce and sing over her c. Pr. He saith It is not properly and absolute in a full sense that God is manifest or glorified in the flesh of his Saints page 29. Ans The Saints are the Temples of God and God dwels in them and walks in them and they come to witnesse the flesh of Christ and they glorifie him in their souls and bodies and the Lord is glorified in their bringing forth much fruit And they witnesse the seed the one offering for sin and transgression to be manifest within and such are not Reprobates yet witnesse the one offering Christ Jesus and them that have not him within they are Reprobates Pr. He saith The body is dead because of sin yea it is yet in it selfe is but a wretched vile body page 30. And Christ is in or among believers the hope of glory And that person Christ is personally absent from the believers And we do not possesse the glory of this glory Christ in us page 32. Answ I do believe you that are not come to the Light that doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world ye do not possesse the hope of glory in you ye are ab ent from Christ and do not feel him But the Saints in the light receive Christ the hope of glory and so he is not absent from them for they have unity with him and the Father and knows a change in them from glory to glory and witnesse Christ in them as believers in the light which walks not in darknesse that have the light of life And where the body of sin is destroyed and put off they glorifie God in their souls and bodies and spirit which is the Lords and those are not wretched Prin. He saith CHRIST is absent from us while wee are in the mortall body Answ Contrary to the Apostle who saith the life of Christ is manifest in their mortall flesh Pr. He saith Christ is in heaven with a spirituall body Answ And Priest Higginson saith he is in heaven with a carnall body And thus ye are confused and discerned who are from the Light and can speak of the body of Christ by the Letter and tell where he rose by the Letter as the Priests of old could tell Herod where he shâ—uld be born but Christs body is glorified Pr. He saith The first Resurrection we desire not to account our selves to have apprehended page 44. Such as magnifie their belly to be some eternall operation and making it withall deceivablenesse of unrighteousnesse in them that perish glorying in their shame minding sensuall earthly things All since the Apostle have not the Ministry of the Gospell immediately but mediately from the person of Christ in their believing through their word page 46. And the Text saith not the word of faith in the heart Answ Rom. 10. The word of Faith which they Preached was in their mouth and in their heart nigh them even in their heart And all since the dayes of the Apostles we do believe you have not received the Word immediately from Christ as the Apostles did who have erred and apostatized from them So none are Preachers of the Word in the Truth but who are Preachers of it immediately and such all are the false Apostles and such as serves not the Lord Jesus Christ but their own bellies which mind earthly things sensually and are in the deceivablenesse of unrighteousnesse deceiving the people with the good words forcing and taking maintenance of people they do no work for and keeping of them all from the immediate teachings of God they themselves being out of it and concluding all under their own dominion and shall all agree in one against the immediate teaching And they that be out of the immediate teaching is under the power of the Beast and Antichrist and the great whore the mother
the Father of spirits So who have not it the spirit have but Letters and are Ministers of the Letters and not of the Spirit And the Kingdome of heaven is within you saith Christ in Luke 17. to the Pharisees and thou saith with or among them And I say that is the Kingdome within them which never consented to sin and in you all which one day ye shall witnesse which the gazer and observer abroad his eye and eare is closed and stopt too which he must come to before he be as a little child and know the leven that levens up the new lump and knows the Kingdom which is like unto a grain of mustard-seed and where the diligent waiting is the soule comes to live and the everlasting Covenant felt And thou that brings souls to be prepared for death thou art more like to do that then to present them to God a slayer and executioner so not a servant to the Bishop of soules where the soule liveth and rejoyceth and comes out of death and magnifies God the Saviour And so all the Ministers of Christ their work is to prepare souls out of death for life Pr. He saith The Bible is the soules physick And people must depend upon the spirits speaking in the Scriptures He saith the person of Christ is not his man-hood and the naturall light the Quakers call Christ within and nature grace And he saith The body of sinne is in the believer till he lay down the body Epistle Answ The souls refreshment is Christ and Physitian Christ Many may have the Bible and not know it and the Scriptures as the Pharisees had The soules Physitian is that which the Scriptures speaks of which many may have the words the Bible and yet have not the thing it speaks of and they that have the thing it speaks of have both And many holy men had their souls Physitian before the Scriptures was written and printed and they that had the spirit that gave forth Scriptures they had the souls Physick and they know all the springs is in God and the Lord who in his hand was the souls And such as are in the spirit they depend upon that and they come to see the Scriptures by the spirit given forth from it and such comes into the unity of the spirit and the light which is Christ within by which all things was made and created was before the naturall Lights was and Nature For all the Naturalls that was made was made by the Light Christ Jesus the wisdome who is the wisdome of God by which all things was made with which wisdome we see over the naturall Lights and over Nature And the grace that comes from the Throne that brings salvation which is the Saints Teacher teacheth not to call Nature grace And he that believeth is borne of God and he overcometh the world and entereth into his rest and shall never dye And he that believeth hath victory yea while he is upon the earth he cometh to witnesse the Circumcision that puts off the body of sin and makes free from it which the synagogue of Satan cannot witnesse Pr. He saith The Scriptures are the Word of God page 4. And the Spirit is given by the Letter And he saith the spirit proceeds from that which is put within the Book or Bible page 5. And I judge them that pretend the spirit without the Scriptures And the Scripture is a more sure rule then visions and revelations pag. 7. And God that gave the letter gives the spirit with it and by it page 9. Answ God gave the spirit before he gave forth Scriptures And the Devill and wicked men may get Scriptures but they have not the spirit nor none have it but as they come to feel it given from God as it was given to them that gave forth Scriptures And so people are to finde the spirit of the Father speaking in them as it did in them that gave forth Scriptures then the spirit answers to the spirit that gave forth Scriptures then there is an unity with the words and with God of whom they learned which many may have the Bible and not know the spirit that spoke it forth but be erred from it And the Scriptures are the words of God of truth God spake all these words He that adds to these words the words of God is pure Christ is the Word his name is called the Word of God who was before the words were spoken forth who comes in the volume of the Booke to fulfill the words And the spirit was before the Scripture was given forth for it led them to speak it all forth the words of God as they had learned of God So the spirit comes not by the Letter but the Letter comes forth from the spirit And many had the Scriptures and knew not the Revelation and judged the Revelation of the Son of God and judged Christ who was come the end of the vision which was for an appointed time So therein thou hast concluded thy selfe to be among them that have the Scriptures and sets up that beyond the Revelation of the Son of God which is the end of Scriptures which none knows the father but the Son and he to whom the Son reveals him though they may have all the Scriptures And the things of God is revealed by the spirit of God Pr. And he saith The Scriptures is the rule and the guide of Saints And saith the old administration of the Covenant of grace is abolished page 13. He that understands Matth. 11.2 27. of immediate revelations onely shuts out all mediate revelation by the Scriptures and falsely accuseth the Lord of the Scripture page 14. And the Apostle saith not that the spirit reveals the deep things of God If we should deny the Scriptures to be the rule we should deny the Scriptures of God page 18. Answ The Saints rule was the spirit that gave forth Scriptures and the Word of God which fulfills the Scriptures without him they can do nothing if they have all Scriptures And the spirit of truth shall lead into all truth And none knows the Scriptures nor God nor can be a Minister of the spirit by a mediate Revelation but a Minister of the Letter for who are Ministers of the spirit are immediate and are in the immediate revelation of the Scriptures to them by the spirit that gave them forth and these ministers to the spirit and brings people to God the Father of spirits that they may know what to reveal to others they minister to And all they that have the Scriptures and not the spirit that gave them forth they are on heaps about words and wants the rule And the Covenant of grace which is the end of the old Covenant is witnessed and stablished and cannot be abolished which ends the decaying Covenant And as for abolishing the Covenant of grace thou dost not know what thou speaks of And the Apostle said the deep things of God was revealed
of the light and so out of unity and seeth not the Saviour the Redeemer the substance of all types figures Parables the end of the Law that goes upon the man of strife And so being out of the light out of the unity out of the Covenant with God In the light is the Covenant of God Pr. He saith the whole soul and body of Saints and every faculty of the soul and member of the body there is some presence of sin in them all their dayes Page 113. Ans The Saints are sanctified and washed and cleansed body soul and spirit and they are made free from sin and then can live no longer therein and the body of sin is put off And they witnessed the darkness was past so then the works of the true light shined and the day was come and they was of one soul And they witnessed as he was so was they in this present world And he that is in Christ is a new creature And where Christ is within the body is dead because of sin And he that is born of God doth not commit sin And the Saints was upon the earth when they was made free from sin and not all their dayes sin in them as thou speakes of Prin. He saith sin dwells in the Saints if any Saint think otherwise he knowes not himself and if he be one really sanctified he is under a strong delusion and drousie dream Page 119. Answ He that is sanctified is sanctified from sin and washed and cleansed and he that is out of this sanctification is in the drowsie dream For who are in sanctification are in Christ the righteousness of God and they are awakened to righteousness out of the fall in the second Adam and drowsiness and dreames and delusions that come in the first Adam And sin and drowsie dreams and delusions dwells in them that pretend that they are sanctified ones and not really Pr. He saith it is a Popish Tennent that sanctification is wrought within men and Justification or a believers being justified from sin and ungodliness and not in it but the mystery of iniquity lies in this qualification pag. 120. And they that are justified by their sanctification it is a falshood And that none are justified but Saints perfect in holiness is a notorious contradiction Page 121. Answ He that is the sanctification is the justification and so by their sanctification are they justified it is one and the same that which sanctifies justifies And every man that cometh into the world having a light that cometh from Christ the sanctification redemption justification but them that be not in the light are with it condemned And such as be in the light they come into perfect holiness and their sins are not imputed to them But them that doth not believe in the light the spirit of truth that leads the believer into all truth reproves them for their unbelief and their righteousness and their judgement and so doth not justifie them but reprove them And the justification within roots out all Popery and all contradiction But to speak of justification and sanctification without and not manifest within ye are yet in the first Adam in the Popery where ye must have a Puratory to cleanse and not the righteousness of Christ within and sanctification within and Justification So such be reproved that can talk of it without sanctification without so there is the old Adam in the sin and transgression And all falshood is among them that can talk of justification without them and not witnesse it within them For who witnesse Christ within them they witnesse justification there and sanctification for Abraham believed and it was imâ—uted to him for righteousness and his belief was within and he saw Christ his glory And such as believe they come to witness the imputation But such as come again to witnesse that they are nearer then when they did believe and to witness that they have received Christ within is the end of their belief there they witness the righteousness it self without imputation which is the substance that which the promise ends in and all the fathers hoped for who stood in the imputation and all the believers in him But Christ being come the end of mans belief the righteousness it self here is a justification alone without the imputation Christ the righteousness of Gods blessing and glory for ever And a believer that is jâ—stified he is a new Creature and is past from the death which came by the sin comes to enter into his rest where sin is not And all the falshood and the contradiction is without the possession of justification and sanctification which reprobates talk of it in the mystery of iniquity and unbelievers in the mystery of iniquity which have the sheepes cloathing the outside the clothing of the Saints yet ravened from the spirit inwardly These have not been like to own justification within or sanctification there that inwardly ravened from the spirit of God which all must come to that which they ravened from and they themselves before they feel the justification sanctification Christ within them and have received the substance the thing the Scripture speakes of which not believing in the Light and going from it though they get all the sheeps cloathing yet are they not thereby justified though they get all the good words and the forme of godlinesse and obey not the Gospell the power of God for none obeys the Gospell but whâ— obeys the Light within And who are justified it is by the faith of Christ Jesus and without faith they cannot please him And who are in the Faith are the believers in the Light and so the Justification and the Faith doth qualifie from their old nature and mindes Pr. He saith They are not justified because they are new borne nor for their believing page 122. And I can say I am crucified with Christ and yet I have a corrupt rotten heart and an old lying heart as before he saith and Christ lives in him and there is a body of sin and death dwels in him And the life that he now lives in the flesh is by the faith of the Son of God Page 124. Answ Where Christ is within the body is dead because of sin and where the saith of the Son of God is lived in it gives victory over sin And the life of Christ is out of Adam in the Fall in sin and transgression And the Circumcision comes to be witnessed that puts off the body of sin And where the life of Christ is lived in the new Covenant is there the new heart rotten corrupt lying is put off the old man and his deeds with his deceitful lusts And he that believes is borne of God is justified and he comes into the faith by which he pleaseth God and he that doth not believe is out of the faith and it is impossible he should please God and is out of that which should justifie him Pr. He saith Christs
degrees of obedience and conformity to it in this life before death hath drunk Antichrists cup. page 144. Answ The Saints after they witnessed the body of sin put off and made free from sin they glorified God in their bodies souls and spirits And so the body of fin is not the creature for that causeth the creature to groan before it cometh into the liberty of the Sons of God that causeth the body of sin the cloathing that comes upon the Creature the old man which cometh by transgression the first Adam that leads out of transgression brings the creature into the liberty of the sons of God and so who is in Christ is a new creature And old things passe away and the body is the Temple of God a holy Temple And the living soule is immortall yet many of thy generation say it is humane that is earthly yea that Christs soule was humane as ye may see in this Book in the rest of your Principles of them that call themselves Teachers and Pastors whose soules are in death and life And immortality not come to the Light through the power of God which is the Gospell and so have shâ—wed your ignorance of the soule And whosoever witnesse the perfect holinesse and preacheth up that they come from under Antichrists Kingdome They that preach up Imperfection they weare Antichrists livery and his colours and sounds the Trumpet of Antichrist and who be in the righteousnesse are in the perfection it selfe without a thing meritted by man in his will And who loves God keeps his Commandements and to him and them they are not grievous And this was the seed that kept the Commandements of God that Antichrist Beast mother of Harlots and false Prophets made war against as you may read in the Revelations But this seed is a burthensome stone unto yoâ— all tâ—at keeps the commands of God that loves God and they that be born of God doth not commit sin And the naturall body which is flesh blood and bone is not the body of sin it was never read so in the Scripture that that was the body which was to be put off for the Saints had bodies after they witnessed the body of sin put off and made free from sin Pr. He saith That R. F. is against the doctrine of sin continuing in the godly till death page 148. Answ That doctrine of Sin was never preached up by the Apostle that it should continue in the godly till death I say it continues not in the godly for the godly are like God out of sin it continues in the ungodly that is not like God And he that is in Christ is at the end of the Law and the Precepts and the Statutes and the Ordinances and the Commandements and is in the substance Gods righteteousnesse Pr. He saith The Letter is no dead letter and it hath life in it selfe And if there be but this letter or Ministry it is Christs two-edged sword page 153. 155. It serves unto his designe of searching hearts And the Apostle would take people off from the conceit of perfect attainments pag. 162. And may not filthy hearts transform themselves in the fancy of perfection as the Devill into an Angell of light Answ The Devill transforming himselfe into an Angell of Light or into a similitude is like unto all the filthy hearts who fancy perfection without them not within thâ—m and speaks of Christ without them not within them as the Devill did But the Doctrine of the Apostle who preached Christ the Covenant of God and brought people off of that which made nothing perfect to that which was perfect and bid them be perfect and of one minde and he spoke wisdome among them that were perfect so he did not bring the people from it but to it And the Letter it selfe is dead as it is of paper and inke And all Ministers of Letters and Books written in paper and ink and speaks from letters of paper and inke and have not received from God what they preach are Ministers of the Letter and they are the Ministers of death though they minister all the Letters written in the Scripture and have onely but the sheeps cloathing and begets not to God but only making Proselytes as the Ministers did in old time as the Jewes did But they that were Ministers of the Spirit that gave forth the Scriptures they have the sword of the Spirit which the Jewes the Ministers of the Letter had not Nor they that be out of the spirit though they have all the Scriptures given forth from it they that be out of the spirit be out of the spirituall weapons And that which searcheth the heart is that which gave forth the Scriptures which led all the holy men of God to speak them forth who is the Lord the searcher of the hearts which spirit owns all the words of the Scriptures of truth declared forth from the spirit but the spirit was before the Scripture was given forth Pr. He saith Men that are redeemed from all earthly worships perfectly justified before God sincere in their sanctification yet they are in concupiscence and blemishes and conflicts page 166. And the Word of God doth not abide in them that say they have no sinne page 179. Answ Who are redeemed out of all earthly worships and sanctified they are redeemed from the blemishes from the conflicts from the concupiscence and by their redemption they come to witnesse the Kingdome of God that stands in righteousnesse peace and joy in the holy Ghost out of the conflicts and who are in the spirit they are in that which mortifies sin And the Word of God it makes clean where it dwels they are sanctified by the Word and made clean It comes and finds the sin and takes it away and makes clean and hammers it down cuts it down burns it up reconciles to the Father which sin and iniquity separated from Pr. He saith Sacramentall water and sprinkling Baptisme and water c. shewes our being ingrafted into the body mysticall p. 176. 178. which consists of a signe of a thing signified Answ Sprinkling Infants is a signe of your own making and Sacramentall water which the Scripture doth not hold forth but it is a thing presumed above what it written And that signe a tradition doth not bring into the body mysticall but leads from it neither doth any elementary thing But that which baptizeth into the body is the spirit whereby all cometh to be one And that baptizeth not into an elementary body but into a glorious body the spirituall body For there is lying signes come since the dayes of the Apostles which is out of the Apostles practice You can shew nothing for your sprinkling with your Sacramentall water but the Baptisme that the Scripture declares of and the spirit is owned in its place Pr. He saith Bread and Wine are spirituall Institutions and is not carnall in a sense as set in opposition to spiritual Institution and that
is not meer carnal bread and wine after Christs institution to be used nor an ordinary bread and wine And he saith In the Lords Supper is Christs body and it is his blood page 188. And this is my body and blood the word of a Command do this page 191. And Christ fed not the soules with wheat bread and red wine c. Answ By all this what differ ye from the Papists have not ye laid their foundation and layd their ground Bread and wine is but bread and wine a temporall thing a thing seen and may turn to ashes but the body and blood of Christ will not do so And the bread is not spirituall and the wine is not spirituall but is a thing seen and visible And who eats the flesh of Christ and drinks his blood hungers no more and thirsts no more but who eats temporall bread and wine hungers more and thirsts more And Christ did say as often as ye do eat this bread drink this cup ye shew the Lords death till he come And that which the Apostle had received of the Lord he delivered to the Corinthians As often as they eate that and dranke that they were to do it in remembrance of him shewing the Lords death till he come But then saith the same Apostle to the same Corinthians in his last Epistle Examine your selves Know you not that Christ is in you except ye be reprobates And said while we looke not at the things which are seen for the things that are seen are temporall So bread and wine are things that are seen are things temporall but the things that are not seen are eternall Now bread and wine is but bread and wine not spiritual after consecration it is but the same bread as it was before and it is no nearer the body of Christ after they have consecrated it then it was before Who is in the life and power of God that gives every creature its being and causeth every creature to come forth is in the life and vertue of all creatures and the being of all creatures and the wisdome of all the Creation that is spiritual He giveth every creature its being and causeth every creature to come forth and gives the sense and feeling of all creatures that is spirituall And there comes up the soule to be known and the seed CHRIST his body and his blood Pr. He saith The worship of God in the spirit stands out of mans will and they must waite in the light to feele the Spirit but let all lost souls beware of this counsell And to bring people to the commands of the Spirit is opposite to the Scripture Letter page 204. Answ All true worshippers of God that he seeks to worship him is in the spirit in the truth that which the Devill is out of and in the spirit that gave forth the Scriptures that is that which mans will is out of where all poor souls comes to worship God aright and magnifie God and glorifie God and to pray in the spirit and to stand in the counsell of God For no prophecy of the Scriptures came by the will of man It was that which led them to speak forth Scriptures which was beyond mans will So mens will getting the Scriptures which no prophecy of it came by it they cannot worship God in the truth nor in the spirit but in their own wills But who be in the spirit and truth that led them to speak forth the Scriptures that learned of God the Father of spirits and God of all truth this is not will-worship Now will-worship is among them that have the Scriptures given forth by the spirit of God in their owne wills which no prophecy of it came by it and can sing pray preach read in their own wills and be out of the spirit that gave it forth they are in a will-worship out of the worship of God in the spirit And such are opposite to the Scriptures and cannot agree with the letter of the Scriptures that are fighting about words falls into sects and heaps about the words which the worship of God is in the spirit that gave forth Scriptures which learned of God the Father of spirits owns all the Scriptures in their places and nor opposite to it Pr. He saith Never was Psalms sung as they ought to be but had some musicall tune or Poetry page 205. And the holy Ghost made overseers and Elders over the Church but that was not immediate page 207. That no man can read out of Scripture that Paul was free from covetousness c. Answ Paul saith Let not covetousnesse be once named amongst you as it becometh Saints And no covetous one should enter into the kingdom and hee saith it is idolatry And the Apostle lived the life of the Son of God through the faith and witnessed he was made free from the body of sin and had victory over it thanks God and said there was no condemnation to them that were in Christ Jesus and Paul was in Christ where there was no condemnation which covetousnesse is out of And the holy Ghost is immediate that makes the officers in the Church It is the same as was in them that led them to speak forth Scriptures And the holy Ghost that leads men to speak forth the Scriptures and makes Elders and overseers in the Church these are not made by men but these see the fulfilling of the Scriptures and comes into that which fulfils it and are in it And your singing your Psalms and your Poetry and setting them in frame and a musicall way these are come up since the Pope as Tunes Organs since men have ravened from the spirit and gone from that they got up this Poetry and turned Davids conditions into a Meeter and given them to a people who are ignorant of Davids conditions And Psalms are spirituall songs and all are ignorant when they are from the spirit of God that led the holy men of God to speak forth the Scripture with which spirit of God all the Psalms and Spiritual Songs and Hymns are seen which from it was given forth and all the Scriptures and in that is the singing in the spirit And the Ministers maintenance which the Apostle said Have not I power to eat and power to drinks And as Christ said freely ye have received freely give This was not spoken to the Heathen nor Jewes nor Gentiles who were unconverted but spoken among the Saints who was a Vineyard and spirituall things sown and to such as they were made partakers of their hope which hirelings and those that taught for filthy lucre the love of money that minded earthly things that seek for their gain from their Quarter that beare rule by their means was all out from this judged with the Prophets Christ and the Apostles to be such spirits and have got the forme and taught for the earth and made the earth a Wildernesse and such got not out the Wheat nor plowed but
in vain which is the plowing of the wicked which is sin So there is a great difference between them that Preach the Gospel the glad-tidings to all nations which relieved the opprest for the opprest bâ—ing relieved immortality comes to the light and life through the Gospel the wheat was gotten out the spiritual things sowen the vineyard planted the flock was known the milk was known the corn gotten out among such some used their power to eat some did not mark that power that did not oppresse that did not hurt But all you that preacheth for Tythes and will take money of them that ye do no work for by a Law and cast into prison if they will not give it and take treble dammages you bring not the glad tydings to the Nations you are the oppressors of the Nations of the Juâ—t and are not helpers and relievers of the oppressed and so have made manifest your Apostacy and to be Apostates out of the Apostles Doctrine and out of the Gospel the power of God which the Apostle was in But now shall the Gospel be Preached that gives liberty to the oppressed and strikes down all the oppressors Pr. He saith God sends either mediately or immediately and he sends by mans Ministry mediately pag. 211. He saith they pretend to no such call of an Apostle an officer in every Church as Paul c. pag. 213 And some are converted mediately sent by man with their mediate call Page 214. Answ All who are converted are brought into the mediate and converted with the immediate there is none converted upon the earth but it is with the immediate Spirit of God that mortifies And all Ministry that is sent of God and from God and called of God where that speakes to them it is immediate for whosoever hears his voyce it is immediate and powerfull And all Ministry of man sent out by man which is mediate never converts any souls to God for the soul is immediate and mediate reacheth not to the immortal soul but the immediate Ministry reacheth to the immediate immortal soul and so Preacheth the immediate Gospel to it the power of God And all Ministers that are sent forth in the power of God who are moved of God to speak to any by the power of God and the eternal Spirit of God by the Holy-Ghost that is immediate and not of man and that begets unto God and converts them that is immediate not mediate and they do as the power of God moves them which is immediate and that is for God in that place And they shall feel the Spirit of God in them witnessing with that power and the Spirit of God in another that speakes to them And the power of God is eternal where it moves it is one and the spirit of the Prophets subject to Prophets And all you since the dayes of the Apostles that do not not pretend to such a call as the Apostles had and to be such officers as the Apostles in every Church which we do believe you have not you have shewed that the Holy-Ghost hath not made you overseers And you have declared your selves to the world to be such as inwardly ravened from the spirit of God and all to be but Ministers of the letter not of the spirit and so onely have the sheepes cloathing So ye are such as have brought people and Nations to be all on heapes and like waters not made overseers as the Apostles was not having the call as the Apostles had so not by the Holy-Ghost as the overseers was by not in the immediate power of God as the Apostles was called withall and was in and so not Preachers of the Gospel as the Apostles was who was immediate therefore these things have been wanting the Holy-Ghost to make you overseers and the spirit the Apostles was in which would cool and quiet all the spirits of the people For want of this are ye all on heapes about Scriptures But the Holy-Ghost opens it again to overseers And so ye that have ravened from the spirit of God inwardly there is no talk among you to have the call as the Apostles had and to be overseers as they were over your Churches that we do believe your fruits declares it But the spirit it is witnessed which the Apostles was in which hath discovered you and your Church glory be to the Lord God for ever Pr. He saith immediate teaching in the least degree of God immediately is contrary to Daniel 9. and Timothy And saith I am yet to learn the promise of immediate teaching of God pag. 216. And women are excluded from this kinde of prophesie 218. He saith Ministers pastors teachers having the grace of God gift of prophesie called out among Brethren to office to oversee a flock as Bishops of the Lords institution these are not so taught immediately Page 220. Answ All Bishops overseers officers are taught immediately that are of God by the the same spirit and the power that the Apostles was in and owned and allowed by them for the Holy-Ghost is immediate that gives them to oversee and all who feels the grace of God and turns it not into wantonness feels that which is immediate And such as have turned the grace of God into wantonness and walketh dispitefully against the spirit of grace and set up a heap of teachers after their own lusts they are gone from the immediate grace of God that brings salvation And all the teachings of God in the least degree is immediate which brings them to open Parables speak forth Parables to the nature that is a top of the witness that spirit is immediate though they take a mediate Parable or comparison yet that spirit is immediate that gives them to understand the Parable aright And the gift that was in Timothy that he was not to neglect was immediate whereby he came to discern on whom he was to lay on his hands and on whom he was not suddainly to lay upon any man that was immediate And that which brought Daniel to understand by writings in books was immediate and that which brings to understand the Scriptures is immediate I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh your sons and daughters shall prophesie and that is immediate and prophesie is not to be quenched in the daughter as well as in the son in the male and the female is one And we do believe thee and you all who are Apostatized from the Apostles Doctrine in the Apostacy ravened inwardly from the spirit of God ye are yet to learn the immediate teaching So are the Antichrists standing against the light which Christ Jesus hath enlightened every one withall that cometh into the world the Covenant of God in the heart with which all people shall come to know the Lord and be taught of God that they need not say know the Lord. Pr. He saith I conclude that immediate teaching did not onely furnish men for a teachers or Ministers function but mediate
mouth goes the unclean spirit But that is stirr'd and stirring and rising in people which ye all ravened from and went from with which ye are all comprehended And the judgement of the great Whore is come and her garments shall be plucked off and that which ye all ravened from high and low shall answer the judgement and it is set a top of you all For such as ravened from the spirit of God inwardly got the sheeps cloathing but turned against the Saints and the woman fled into the wildernesse but now the Lamb and the Saints shall get the victory Though now the Beast and false Prophets and mother of Harlots and the Devill and the Kings of the Earthâ—â—ake war against him He that was dead is alive and lives for evermore The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world who rides on conquering and to conquer who slayes with the sword and kills with the sword which is the words of his mouth Now wo to the Dragon and false Prophets Beast and mother of Harlots and them that worship the Beast the unclean Spirits Woes Vials Thunders Plagues Earth-quakes is come and coming upon you And he is manifest and come that treads the Wine-presse alone without the City who is the Wonderfull Counseller the Prince of Peace whose name is called the Word of God With him are the Saints singing victory over the Beast and the false Prophets great Whore mother of Harlots Babylon Antichrists Babylon is fallen the Lamb and the Saints shall have the victory The body of witch-craft in it thou art found that all that reads thy Book that be in the spirit of discerning may see whose body is redeemed and reigns over thine in the glory and victory Ralph Farmer his Booke called The great mystery of Godlinesse and Vngodlinesse In which these PRINCIPLES are following c. Pr. HE saith The soule is of an immortall and spirituall nature And GOD hath made man to serve him in an outward and visible way of worship Answ Christ saith God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth and is the Spirit without and visible the Spirit that makes all that is contrary to bend in that is God worshipped And others that say they are Teachers as ye may see in this Book say that the soule is humane yea the soule of Christ and thou saith the soule of man is immortal and a spiritual nature Now the soule that gives the sense and feeling of all things is spiritual and immortal as it comes out from God which is in Gods hand whom Christ is the Bishop of the noble Principle that guides it is the light and life Prin. He saith the eternal word enlighteneth all men with the common light of nature Answ The light which every man that cometh into the world is enlightened withall is not natural For the light was before any thing was made and all things that was made was made by it which lighteth every man that cometh into the world though he be in the first Adam in the sin and transgression which light to him doth make it manifest which cometh from Christ the second Adam the way to the Father who was glorified with the Father before the world began to restore that which the first lost and this is the obedient Son and the other the disobedient one which brings the death upon him and all his posterity and all his house So the sons of Adam in the transgression may say and do say that the light which Christ the second Adam the Redeemer and the Restorer the salvation to the ends of the earth doth enlighten every one that cometh into the world withall say this is natural And so that is to deceive people to keep them from the light with which they might all see their salvation and come to receive Christ by which they might have power to become the Sons of God Pr. The measure and degree it must be without thee And it is a cheating to tell people of God within and Christ within and a word within and they are without which he calls a mystery of meer confusion and emptiness Page 27. Answ The degrees and measures was in the Saints which spoke forth Scriptures and knew the Scriptures But those that have the Scriptures and are from their degree and measure in themselves are without them And Jesus Christ is within except ye be reprobates And where Jesus Christ is within the word is there and God is there And this is the great mystery of godliness And where the power of God is set the Crosse of Christ is felt for the Crosse is the power of God And if it be not the same Christ as did ascend it is Antichrist it is against him and false which now many hundreds and thousands do witness Christ within him the Apostles preached who have their Joy and reward who do possesse that which they long looked for And all that stands against Christ within and God within and the word within and the Crosse within the power of God they be reprobates and in the mystery of confusion Pr. The Apostle bid Timothy to Preach the word in season and out of season c. not immediate Revelation pag. 32. And the time will come they will not endure sound Doctrine but after their own lusts they will heap up to themselves teachers having itching ears turning to fables immediate Revelations Page 35. Answ There is none can Preach the word in truth but who Preach it immediately and by the immediate spirit and knowes immediate Revelations And all that be in the Faith as Timothy was they be in the immediate Revelations the gift of God But the Apostle seeing such as would not endure sound doctrine would get up teachers after their own lusts as covetous and minded earthly things and evil beasts that serve not the Lord Jesus Christ but their own bellies Such the Apostle bid Timothy and Titus examine before they Ministred prove them and lay hands on no man suddainly and keep himself clear not preferring one before another And such as went into their own lusts got up heaps of teachers lost the immediate Revelation and the immediate word of God and erred from the faith that purifies the heart and gives victory in which people have unity And such now that are got into the lusts that cannot endure sound doctrine lost the Revelation and speaking the word immediately have ruled and reigned of whose generation thou Farmer art And people have heaped to themselves teachers after their own lusts and that is the cause of all the strife and wars amongst them and teachers denying the immediate Revelation and Preaching the word of God immediately have declared your selves to be the false prophets openly to the Nation that never heard the voyce of God nor Christs voyce nor the voyce of the spirit nor Ministry of the spirit which all sâ—eak immediately And the Apostle saw them come up before
spirit of life The Devill may get Scripture and therefore hath he spirit and life who is out of it This is like the Pharisees that thought they had had life in the Scriptures but would not come to Christ the life which the Scripture testified of and the Scriptures are words of God but many have the words and deny the Word it selfe and none are justified that hath the Scriptures and out of the life that gave them forth Pr. He saith It 's a sottish Doctrine to direct people onely to the Light within and what an absurd thing it is to tell our children of the Light within their conscience and to bid them obey and follow it that light and word that 's in their hearts and mouths and so fully neglect the teaching of the Scriptures Answ Is not this Souls zeal kicking against the pricks who had Scripture And this is not the neglecting to teach the Scriptures nor the Apostles doctrine to bring people and children to the Light within and the word in their hearts and mouths to obey and do it which was the Apostles doctrine and they are sottish that be out of it and they were them that made Proselytes that brought not people to the word within nor to the light within but from it Pr. He saith The Apostle thought to do many things against the Church and thought he ought to do so and the light within did not inform his conscience Answ Did not Christ say it was hard for him to kick against that that prickt him and was not that within him that pricked him Pr. And thou sayst thou art too ignorant of the ways of God and witnessing the meaning of his spirit Ans We do believe thee therefore you had better have been silent and have hearkned to the Light within thee and the Word within thee and the word of faith and wisdome which none hears the word of faith but who comes to the light within Pr. Thou sayest thou art too much troubled with carnall thoughts and vain imaginations and addicted to the world Answ Those dictates are not like to own the light within word within It is not a strange thing that thy spirit should stand against the Apostles doctrine that is light within Cor. 2.4 Pr. Thou sayst It is a disparaging the Scriptures to direct people to the light within rather then the Scriptures to direct them to eternall life Ans The Scriptures many may have and be from the light and spirit of God that was in them that gave it forth which none hath eternall life but who comes to the light within and the spirit that was in them that gave forth the Scriptures and to you this is the word of the Lord. Pr. Thou sayst The light within is grosse darknesse and what darknesse and blindnesse is there where the Scriptures are not minded and known Ans The Apostle who did direct to the light within did not call that grosse darknesse nor blindnesse but turned people from darknesse to light from the power of Satan to God And Abraham and Enoch was not in grosse darknesse and ignorance who had not the Scripture to minde which was in the spirit and faith as they were in that gave forth the Scripture who comes to witnesse the same spirit as was in them that gave forth the Scriptures they shall come to witnesse the Covenant of God written in their hearts and shall not need say Know the Lord and cease from man whose breath is in his nostrils and they that comes into this owns the Scripture without and be in Abrahams faith Pr. He saith The elect may be deceived and fall from their own stedfastness for a time and come under the death and power of Satan Answ The elect seed is in the grave which it is not possible to deceive and the elect shall be brought from under all the deceivers and death and bonds and the gates of Hell they shall come over and on top of them although the seed hath been in captivity and it is not possible to deceive the Elect it is the world that is deceived that which hath led captive shall go into captivity Eve and the first Adam may be brought into transgression but Christ the second Adam the seed in you all you must know which is that which bruiseth the Serpents head and the ground of all deceiving and so the Elect may lye under for a time and suffer but the election shall obtain and not him that wills nor him that runs but come over to the crown of honour and glory Pr. He saith Satan deceives men into bringing them to a self-denying posture Answ It is not the Devill that brings men to be humble and to deny themselves that which teacheth self-denyall is Christ that which keeps out of self-denyall is the Devill for that he went into himselfe out of the truth Pr. He sayes They can never be clear of a degree of blasphemy that hath the spirit of God in them and speaks against Ministery Magistrates and Ordinances and bid people listen to the light within them and to the spirits teaching and that they are all taught of God Answ They that witnessed the spirit and light within were taught of God and were moved of the Lord to declare both against Ministers Magistrates and Ordinances that stood against Christ the power of God and these were called blasphemers which were not the Scripture declares it but owned the power that ended all changeable things which upon all the heads of the transgressors and blasphemers came which power was a praise to them that did well Pr. He saith That Scripture may be bought and sold they say and it doth not profit but the Light within is of an eternall nature an infallible guide So obeying it they shall be sure of perfection and eternall life Now he saith those that say so are the poor ignorant and unstable soules Answ Cannot yee buy and sell the Scriptures and your Sermons and Prayers And can any have the comfort of the Scriptures and an infallible guide perfection and eternall life and the soule established and come out of ignorance but who comes into the light and spirit of God within that gave forth the Scriptures with which they came to know God the Father of spirits of whom they learned that gave forth the Scriptures and so come into the spirit and the bond of peace and unity with the Scriptures with God and one with another And the spâ—rit of God doth not bring men to dislike of Scriptures nor Ministers of Christ But to see what estate and condition they were spoken forth too Pr. Thou sayest The measure of Christ must be so that you ought to lay downe your lives for the brethren and love one another much more to lay downe your estates Answ When was there a Priest in the Nation that did lay downe his estate for the love of Christ or his brethren but he had a selfish principle in another thing Or
to justification sanctification and righteousness Answ None comes to Justification to Righteousnesse who are out of the fear of God nor to receive his righteousnesse but who comes to the light within which comes from Christ the righteousnesse the wisdome the justification and sanctification and ye be in the errour that be not in this Light that leads too and le ts see it Pr. Perfection in holiness cannot be attained in this life for Adam was under such a Covenant he had no Mediator upon the breach of the command Ans God said to Adam the seed of the Woman should bruise the Serpents head Christ the Promise the Mediator made the way which was the way in again to God of mans redemption and got down the Serpents head which got up in transgression that Christ the head should bear rule that the seed of the woman should have dominion the second Adam the seed Christ Jesus the Lord from heaven Perfection is not to be attained to by the life ye live untill ye come to the principle of God in you but the life that David lived in saw an end of all perfection And all who come to Christ the second Adam they come to perfection and all who attain to him they attain to perfection in the life of God out of the first Adam but who deny the light that enlightneth every man that cometh into the world and rest in the first Adam the life they live in denies perfection and never owns it in the life they live in But who comes into perfection comes into Christ a new life out of Adam in the Fall in transgression All Physitians to sick men are to make them perfect And do yee say make none whole make none perfect make never a man perfect For being made whole they are made perfect for sin wounds for the Ministery of God was to bring people to the perfect man to present them perfect These were Physitians of value and of worth whereby the body soule spirit and all were cured and they glorified God in the body and spirit Now yee that say they shall not be perfect and that none shall be without sin upon the earth no perfection in the life we live in These are Physitians of no value yee are not worthy to have the name of Physitians Ministers nor Teachers Thomas Weld Richard Prideaux Samuel Hammond William Cole and William Durant for yee are pleading while men be upon earth they must have a body of sin and he that saith otherwayes is a deceiver and so ye keep them in their wounds and sores putrifying and imperfect and not makers up of the breach and binders up of the wound And the Lord saith Though their sins be as red as crimson I will make them as white as wool and will blot out sin and transgression And this tender love and kindnesse of the Lord and mercifulness to sinners transgressors hath the Lord made manifest amongst them which the world in scorn calls Quakers and it is not a strange thing that you would not have people to forsake the fashions of the world who are thus hung about with ribbons and cuffs and scarfs and your double Boot-hose-tops and more like unto Stage-players then Ministers Pr. Perfection is a fancy those were not words of true Physitians who brought men to a perfect man to the growth up in perfection amongst the perfect ones who speak wisdome They say It is no where said that the Law is fulfilled in any Saints in this life Answ They that love God keep his Commandements Christ is the end of the Law to every one that believes and who be in him be in the end of the Law And all that dwell in love dwell in God and love is the fulfilling of the commandement who are of the seed of God keep the words of God which the Beasts and false Prophets since the dayes of the Apostles who have inwardly ravened and turned against the royall seed of God and keep the Commandements of God and so none of you that raven from the spirit of God cannot keep Gods commandements though ye have all the Saints words for the Saints witnesse the end of the Law and witness perfection and a perfect man and spoke wisdome among them that were perfect and growing up to perfection Pr. That Christ gives to every man a saving light we utterly deny Answ He is the true light that doth enlighten every man that comes into the world saith John the Minister of God and he is salvation to the ends of the earth and they that hate the light neglect their salvation and turns the grace of God into wantonness and denies the Lord that bought them And every one that hath heard and learned of the Father cometh to the Sonne and none heareth or cometh to the Father that cometh not to the Son But who comes to the thing that is transgressed in them and the light that every man that cometh into the world is enlightened withall nor hears nor learns of the Father nor comes to the Son but by that and the light that lighteneth every one that cometh into the world is the salvation to him that believes and he that doth not it is his condemnation Pr. But how dare these men lift up themselves in their blasphemous pride to say they are pure as God Answ Doth not Christ say Be ye perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect is that blasphemy and to be holy as I am holy is that blasphemy whose Ministers are you is not this the work of Christ and the Apostle without Holiness ye shall never see God and as he is so are we in this present world Pr. The word of God is contained in the Scriptures Ans The Scripture saith God is the word and the heaven of heavens cannot contain him are ye not more like void of reason then Ministers whose ignorance thus appears of the Scriptures which saith God is the word and the Scripture is the words and Christ is the word who fulfills them Pr. The Scriptures were given forth some more darkly some plainer Answ They which gave forth Scripture and they that be in that in which it ends to them the Scripture is not dark but such as be from the Principle of God in their own selves they be darkness so darkness happens to them which blinds their minds and the Scriptures was not given forth darkly but in the light but you who be from the light be dark Pr. The Apostles ordained them elders by a mediate call and we are convinced clearly of a mediate call to the work of the ministry and of the word Answ That which made the Officers and overseers in the Church amongst the Saints before the Apostasie It was the Holy-Ghost which holy men spoke Scripture from that made them Overseers that was not mediate but immediate that did oversee in the Church of God And we do believe that you Elders and Members called Ministers are all mediate and
him by true faith Ans Salvation is purchased to all men that perished in Adam though they do not believe it for he is the Saviour of all men especially of them that do believe and an offering for the sin of the whole world mark the world and doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world that all through him might believe and he that believes not is condemned by Christ the light the life the sacrifice the offering that through death that which in them was the power of death the Devill he destroyed and his power and so entred into his glory all that believe in him have life and all that doth not and receive him not hath not life but are condemned through unbelief Now if if you say that in Adam all dyed I say yes and in Christ all shall be made alive to the Justification of life I say yes as in Adam all dyed as in Christ they come to be made alive so them that are the believers are the holy so the believers children a new creation a new generation new creatures out of Adam in the fall the believers passed from death to life that came by Adam and so in that is a cleane creation and holy generation Pr. All things contained in the Gospell is summed up in the Apostles Creed Ans The Apostles doth not tell us of a creed but the Popes Canon-book and common prayer book and many things the Apostles had to say which was not lawfull to utter and many things Christ had to say they could not beare but the Gospell is the power of God and that the scripture speakes of but doth not say the Epistles is it Pr. God hath manifested himselfe in his word that these three distinct persons are one Ans The word nor the scripture doth not tell us of three distinct persons but it tells us of Father and of Son and of Holy Ghost but indeed as I said before the Popes canon book and Masse-book doth so for the Holy Ghost is not distinct from the Son and the Son is not distinct from the Father but they are all in one Pr. Having our chief hope placed in God being assured that nothing may with draw us from his love Ans Yet you say you are not able to keep the commandements of God perfect then you are drawne from the living God and you are from the chiefest hope Christ for who loves God keepes his commandements and such have the chiefest hope Christ in which the commandement ends here the love goes forth out of the pure heart but is not riches your hope and doth not riches and the glory of the world and the fashions thereof drew your hearts away and your love and hope stand in them and hath taken up the possession of your hearts more then God therefore who keeps them not perfectly keeps them not at all Pr. You say Christ hath ransomed your bodies and your soules from sin and by that one sacrifice of his body he hath redeemed you Ans Are your bodies redeemed and your soules that are immortall and your spirits sanctified and do you glorifie God in your bodies soules and spirits which is the Lords and is there not sin in your bodies and are not your spirits corrupted now who witnesses redemption of the body and soule from sin these are out of the first Adams state and are the holy ones and these be in the end of the law and that which fulfills the Law Christ Jesus but now if you come to say that you have sin in your bodies and the fruits will shew it selfe to persecute or envy rage malice pride or such wickednesse this shewes not the fruits of Redemption Pr. You say That God in Christ hath put out the remembrance of your sins and of your corruptions within you wherein you must fight all your life time Ans Whilst the sins you are fighting withall are not blotted out in your own particulars this is not the life of the Saints they are not fighting all their life time but come to the kingdome of God witnessing sin and iniquity blotted out the everlasting covenant of peace and life with God Pr. You say You are righteous before God through faith though your consciences accuse you for your trespasses against the commands of God being prone to evil yet notwithstanding imbrace the benefits of Christ as if you never had committed any sin or corruption and this is as if you your selves had perfectly compleated the obedience Ans Where the conscience accuses it is impure and that the true faith is out of for the mystery of faith is held in a pure conscience and that is it that receives Christ and which is not prone to evil nor transgresseth the commands of God but you are out of the perfect obedience and out of the faith both and are in the corruption are not the lovers of God nor come to Christ the end of the commandements which is loved in a pure heart and whereas you talke of conscience accusing and yet faith that is your ignorance for faith is held in a pure conscience the conscience doth not accuse but the unsanctified Pr. Not that we please God through the worthinesse of our faith for our works the best of them are imperfect in this life defiled with sin Ans It is faith that brings men to please God which Faith comes from him and gives victory over that men have lived in and not pleased God so faith there is a worthinesse in it it is the gift of God by which men please God and have accesse to to him and they are justified and through it they overcome and subdue mountaines and raise the dead your best workes being imperfect and defiled with sin in this life then they are not wrought in God but out of him in the darknesse they are works of darknesse unperfect defiled with sin are not the workes of darknesse to be condemned for the fire and to be out of the Law and Gospell but the works the Saints works that are in the Faith wrought in love are perfect wrought in God created to good works these are distinct from the unperfect defiled with sin and these good workes the Saints witnessed when they were upon the earth which is the works of Faith which works by love Ans Infants that are baptized belong as well to the covenant and Church of God as they of full age they by baptism being grafted into the Church of God so discerned from the children of Infidels so this baptisme succeeds Circumcision Answ Then by this all Christendom that are baptized are the Church and grafted into the Church Papists and Protestants and all and how is it that your Church is so much in confusion then for you say they are grafted into the Church of God and in the Church of God there is no confusion it is the Pillar and ground of truth without spot or wrinkle and how is it there is such killing
Christ and the Apostles and the Scriptures are owned by them in scorn called Quakers and the light it speaks of who out of the apostacy are come and so from among the apostates And as for the lyes and slanders in his Book that are not worth mentioning but they shall turn upon his own head whose immodesty hath discovered them Pr. In his Preface to the Reader He saith It is an expression of a darke deluded minde to say that God is not distinguished from the Saints Ans But God and Christ is in the Saints and dwell in them and walk in them and he is a Reprobate and out of the Apostles doctrine Pr He saith We have broken the everlasting Covenant of God Answ Because we own the teaching of God by his spirit and the light which doth enlighten every one that that cometh into the world which is the covenant of God Pr. He saith The Scriptures is the rule of life See page 4. Answ Contrary to Christ who said the spirit should lead them into all truth And they that are the sons of God are led by the spirit of God And the Churches was to hear what the spirit saith for the spirit led them to speak forth Scripture Pr. Again he saith It is a contradiction and a confused sencelesse thing to preach the word of faith in the mouth and in the heart see page 6. Again he saith Most senseless is this profession of Christ in the mouth and believing in him with the heart God that made all things These are his words page 8. Ans It is not a senselesse profession to preach the word of Faith in the heart and in the mouth and to say God will dwell in you and the word is in the heart and in the mouth The word is God and thou art senselesse and fallen in confusion in the contradiction out of the Apostles doctrine and the Apostle saith Christ in you and with the mouth confession is made to salvation Pr. And he calls it a Notion to say that Christ lighteth all and therefore the light is Christ. Ans So here he is kicking and spurning against the light Christ that lighteth every man that cometh into the world which is the Rock the foundation of God the corner-stone which is fallen upon thy head and all be in the notion that be out of it Pr. He scoffs at the Quakers because they say they have the word of God in them Ans Christ his name is called the word of God Pr. He saith God blessing or blasting his owne Word to some according to the different ends intended by himselfe see page 9. Ans Now the Word of God is not blasted God never blasts his own Word but it is they that are blasted that disobey the Word For the Word of God doth its service and accomplisheth the end which it goeth forth for and doth not return in vain And it is the sword of the spirit and that is not blasted It is a hammer and a fire and it lives and doth endure for ever So thou art blasted who saith the Word of God he blasts and art to be cut down by the word of God for thy blasphemy Pr. He saith the Quakers are deceivers because we say that Christ is not in outward observations and formes And John Bunyan saith that he is distinct from the Saints and would have him in the forms c. see page 13. Ans And we say he hath triumphed over the Ordinances and blotted them out and they are not to be touched and the Saints have Christ in them who is the end of outward forms and thou art deceived who thinks to finde the living among the dead and Bunyan is deceived who said he is distinct from the Saints and so you are a company of pittiful Teachers Pr. He saith Every true Christian doth believe that the holy Scriptures alone is to be the object of faith c. page 17. Ans So he hath thrown out God the giver of it and Christ the Author of it for many have the Scriptures and deny Christ the Author of faith and object Pr. He asketh Did you ever read of law and testimony in the heart c see page 18. Ans Yea God saith I will write my law in their hearts The law was in Davids heart the law was in the Apostles heart The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy and that is in the heart See Heb. 8. Rev. Pr. He saith The covenant of God is not to all in the Church of Christ see page 19. Ans Which is contrary to the Scriptures for where the Church is there is the Covenant the head Christ Jesus And God saith I will give him for a covenant to the Gentiles those are the heathen And I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah and these are called the people of God And therefore thou art in the fall in ignorance and a man without understanding and affirms thou dost not know what and silence would become thee better then to publish thy shame in print for they are not in the Church of God that be not in the covenant of God Pr. And he saith The Scriptures is the sure and perfect rule page 20. Ans And the Scripture saith Christ is the Bishop of the soule and God hath all souls in his hand And many have Scriptures but their soules the Bishop of them they know not but they remain in death and the life they want that gave it forth and so are all on heaps about the Scripture one with another and calling them the rule and the spirit And the spirit of God that led them forth to speak forth the Scripture was the rule to the Saints and holy men of God but they that be in the transgression will kill one another about their words and the spirit leads to see them again and brings them into unity with them and God Pr. He saith It is blasphemy to say that Christ is in them as God and man c. see page 23. Ans How are they of his flesh and bone And doth not the Scripture say Christ in you and God will dwell in you and walk in you And are not the Saints of his flesh and of his bone And are they not partakers of the divine nature Pr. He saith It is a fancy to say the eternall word of God is in them see page 26. Ans Thou art in the fancy that the eternal word is not in and witnessed and under the fire and sword and hammer to be hammered down And so art corrected by the Apostle who saith Let the word of God dwell in you richly The ingrafted word which is able to save your souls and immortal word which is immortal Pr. He saith The Scriptures is the only rule of knowing God c. See page 26. Ans Christ saith none knoweth the father but the Son who spoke among them that had the Scripture and so he
Nay the power of God that woâ—ks out the salvation with fear and trembling brings off from the Covenant of works and brings above all the powers of wickedness and so that is it which brings the people of God to be persecuted and hated to live in the power and the seed of God and no one knowes salvation but who knowes fear and trembling Pr. It is a delusion with you for one to witness an Immediate call and others to witness with them that they are so called Ans Was not the Apoâ—tles and Saints written in one anothers hearts and one anothers Epistles there and called immediately and witnessed one another as it is now Pr. And ye say some of them go naked And another to come and say he had a call Immediately from heaven to take away the Priests hour glasse And of their mean apparrel And the forsaking the world though they neglect their families And they run up and down in places and streets or Steeple-houses to vent their Doctrine c. Ans These are the marks they give to us whereby they give to their books the name of perfect Pharisees And the Apostles Preached as they went up and down in Townes and Markets and Synagogues and those was not Pharisees but those was Pharisees that held up Synagogues and Tithes and Temple and Priests so ye have the mark of the perfect Pharisee The name is entered into your bowels and hearts And as for any being moved of the Lord to take away your glasse from you by the eternall power it is owned And to take away your limmit carnal limmit to your earthly spirits that are gone out into the world from the Apostles from the spirit And if any have been moved of the Lord to go a signe among you to put off their cloaths to shew you are naked and want the covering of the spirit And as for any going in mean apparell and forsaking the world and come off from cosâ—ly attire was not this the Apostles doctrine Are ye like unto the Apostles the messenâ—â—rs of Christ or the messengers of Satan crying up the world and its glory and costly attire And who are come to forsake the world are come out of the sinfull neglect of their families into the wisdome of God that preserves the creation and not destructive And as ye are speaking of Perfection so far as men are perfect they are perfect in glory and changed from glory to glory and witnesse perfection upon earth and see an end of it as David did who had out-stript all his teachers but among all yours that are kept under your teaching there is no talk of perfection among you nor your hearers so fall short of coming to see the end of it And the one offering and the blood of Christ and the new Covenant that perfects blots out and cleanseth from all sin And as for all the rest of your unsavoury and hard expressions in your Book the judgements and sorrow ye will feel for them and in the day you are judged the witnesse in you shall answer Thomas Pollard a member of the Church about Litchfield in his Book which he calls The Holy SCRIPTVRE clearing it selfe from Scandals His Principles follows Pr. HE saith It is a cavill to say thee and thou to a single person Ans Which shews that he never learned Accidence nor Bible the Language that the Saints spake one to another Pr. He saith It is wickednesse to call the letter of the Scripture and what is gotten from the Scripture to be brain knowledge page 4. Answ The letter paper and inke the letters are carnall and what is gotten from it is brain knowledge without the spirit But the Scripture the thing it speaks of is spirituall the Word is spirit c. Pr. He saith the Lord never said to us as he said to David that you are after his heart or any of your way or that ever went in your way and do not destroy all by your Doctrine page 7. Ans No David had out-stript all his Teachers so have we many of us who have trembled as David did witnessing the new covenant Christ Jesus in which we need not say know the Lord And who witnesseth this witnesseth the Tabernacle of David built Again our Doctrine destroys but mens and transgressors and doth not destroy the smoaking flax and bruised reed and we can say we are after his heart and God hath said we are after his heart Pr. He saith And how people may finde rest to their soules take the Law and Testimony See page 9. Answ They that had the Scriptures and have the Scriptures denyed the Light that doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world and say prophesie is ceased so then they may say the spirit is ceased it is all one For the law is light saith Solomon And the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophesie Now cries the world the Law and Testimony is the Old and New Testament which many may have the Old and New Testament and yet deny the Law and Testimony which is the light and spirit of prophesie for the Law and Testimony was before Matthew Mark Luke and John and the Epistles and Revelations was written in the dayes of Isaiah And so they that be not according to the Law and the Testimony they be out of the light and the spirit in the darknesse though they have all the Scriptures which the Law and Testimony ownes in their places And many may have the Scriptures given forth from the spirit of God and yet not have the comfort and rest to their souls till they come to Christ that the Scriptures testifies oâ— Pr. He saith Try the spirits whether they be of God for many false Prophets are gone out into the world page 11. And Satan transforming himselfe into an Angell of light and false Apostles and Ministers of unrighteousnesse transforming themselves as the Ministers of righteousness And he saith If they bring another Gospell and Doctrine then what is preached receive them not into your houses nor bid them God-speed Ans That which ye tell people is the Gospell now which ye preach is the 4 Books of Matthew Mark Luke and John you say c. As instance Priest Shaw of Aldingham in Lancashire said so Contrary to the Scriptures which saith the Gospell is the power of God And many may have the four Books of Matthew Mark Luke John c. the forme but deny the power and so deny the Gospel which is the power of God And so they that deny the power have put the four books for it and they that have not the Father and the Son are not to be received into their houses as saith the Apostle John for they would come in the form and deny the light as you do but he that hath the Son and the Father he is in the power the substance of the form Again the Devill transformed himself as an Angell of light before the Apostles
of God and are from the one way Christ the Light in which is unity Prin. He saith The Scriptures may be understood by the helpe of Tongues Page 12 Ans All Scriptures was given forth by inspiration and so without the same inspiration it is not understood again Pilate had the Tongues and yet did not understand the Scripture nor Christ the substance of it And this you have set up since the apostacy your Tongues ye raveners from the spirit Pr. Hâ— saith Tythes is not his infirmity the Lord hath given him Tythes And he doth take them as the Lord giving him maintenance and it is his liberty Ans Tythes to the first Priest-hood was allotted by God but Christ the second Priest-hood ended that Priest-hood and Tythes both and the Priests that took them made by Gods law and the commandment that gave them disannul'd And Christ is come the everlasting Priest-hood not after the order of Aaron but after the order of Melchisedeck the similitude in whom the similitude ends Christ the end the substance the end of Wâ—r So thou that takes Tythes art out of the substance of Melchisedeck and the first Priest-hood that took Tythes in the Transgression and in the Imitation and the veil is over thy heart and thy liberty is bondage in the unsanctified state But the sanctification is in the Son of God who ends types and similitudes And he it is that sanctifies And who preacheth the Gospell lives of the Gospell and the Pope hath given thee thy tythes by his command and not by the command of the Lord for Christ and his Apostles established them not Pr. He saith That the Scriptures are the sure Word of God and that the Scriptures are a precious light page 17. Again he saith The Son of God is the first principle of the pure Religion Answ The fulnesse of the God-head dwels in the Son and he is in the Father and he is the Author of the first principle and the end of the Law for he is all and in all for many may have something from him yet cannot say he is come but he that hath him hath life eternall hath the substance the end of things And the Scripture declares and testifies of the light which is Christ and many may have the Scriptures but stand against the light for they are them that testifie of me the light So Christ is the precious light and the Scriptures are the words of God which Christ the word was before they was given forth the word in whom these words of God endâ— So thou may see thy ignorance Pr. He saith While we stay in Sodome we crucifie the Lord of glory And Christ is buried in us c. Ans And John Bunyan a Teacher there fights against him and thus they are not onely against the Truth but one another But he must know the suffering of Christ in the spirituall Sodome in him and to see the seed that suffers there before it reign and he reign with Christ in glory Pr. He saith It comprehends our suffering in the flesh after his example Page 21. Ans At this doth the Priests of Newcastle and John Bunyan and many others of the Teachers of the Nation rage and here you are one against another but Christ saith why persecutest thou me And he was in prison and it is your work to put him in prison Pr. He saith He hath the tythes of two Parishes and it is the old man that minds the â—athly things page 23. Again he saith and those that take tythes are not Antichrists And the Scriptures is a choise vessell of the Lords Sanctuary and it is the letter and the history c. page 25. Answ Well may people be all in confusion when ye say the Scripture is a History a Declaration the Letter a Vessell the choice vessell of the Lords Sanctuary a light and yet the Word of God Now is not this to break people to pieces The Scriptures of Truth are the words of God and it is called a Declaration and a Treatise And the choise vâ—ssels were them that gave it forth of mercy and of honour and they that take tythes and pay them they be out of the substance Christ who is the end of Tythes for he is the sum of tythes and all other figures that did pertain to the first Priest-hood first Covenant and all similitudes so thou taking tythes of two Parishes it is the mark of the old man For the Apostles did preach up and down in many Synagogues where the Priests was yet they did not seek for the tythes that did belong to them that did pertain to the first Priest-hood They preached the Gospel and lived of the Gospel and said they were evill beasts that did minde earthly things amongst whose spirits ye are found judged by the Word which is Christ Pr. He saith He is called of men Master through mans courtesie and calls them blinde and sinfull and in errour that speaks against it Again he saith it is not oppression in him to take tythes of two Parishes c. page 28. 30. Ans Here under the woe of Christ art thou come who said woe unto them that was called of men Master and said be not you so unto his Disciples c. For ye have all one Master which is Christ and they abode in his Doctrine And we do not read of Mr. Paul Mr. Peter Timothy or Titus or Mr. James or John but among you the Apostates we read of such titles And to set up that which Christ him by whom the world was made before it was made came to fulfill and end in the world which typed him forth Christ the way to the Father out of the world and tythes in the first Priest-hood is not the way they are oppressors that cries them up and builders up of that which Christ ended so transgressors So have not the Son nor the Father and they bring not the glad tidings for the Gaols may witnesse in the Nation that glad tidings is not brought and the Courts and the oppressed Parishes of which ye take treble damages of many people ye do not work for and cast into prison and so this is not the Gospel this is not the glad tidings nor the Gospel Pr. He saith I finde not this power of binding Kings with chains and Nobles with fetters of iron which is the honour of the Saints this Scripture I finde not fulfilled c. page 35. Again he saith A Saint may be found in that which is sinfull though this man the Quaker will not allow of sin Again he saith the people of God are more then conquerours in the Lord which gives them rest and peace in the midst of their wars Again hope keeps the soul groaning and waiting all the while in the earthly tabernacle c. Ans I know the power and spirit and sword of the Saints that executes the judgments to binde and chain and fetter Kings and Nobles thou art out of it
so are hardned from the spirit they was in which said Christ is all in all which doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world And none seeth the person of Christ in heaven but who be in the Light that he hath enlightned them withall yea the Covenant of Light to the Gentiles and Heathens as well as Jewes and so God is not a respecter of persons And all that be from this Light are now making war against the Lamb and the Saints and the accuser of the Brethren is cast out and the light which doth enlighten every man which comes into the world is Christ Pr. They say It is a delusion for them that are in the light to see what mens inward states are before God page 29. Ans Have ye given your selves a name of the Church of Christ and is there not a spirit of discerning among you Have ye not manifested here that ye are harlotted from the Church of Christ the Apostles was of And how can ye minister or teach people if that ye do not discern their states how they stand before God How can you commend your selves to every mans conscience in Gods sight How can ye present the soules of men to God and see not their states how they are in his sight How come ye to have fellowship in the Spirit How can you or any Minister to the state and condition that people be in and see where they are and doth not know how they stand in Gods sight in this how have you shewed your ignorance of the Scriptures and the Epistles written to the Saints which speaks to the state and conditions the Saints were in How have ye a name but declared your selves dead from the life How have ye stained your own glory and marred your own beauty and sets your selves out of the steps and paths of the Church of Christ Pr. Simpson he saith If my heart deceive me not I could wish that God would recover you out of the Devils snare page 40. And ye speak of breaking of bread and Ordinances and the Lords Supper and Baptisme page 35. Ans The prayers of the faithfull are acceptable that are in the spirit but he that doubts he knows not his own heart and prayes without discerning being out of that which purifies it And for Baptisme and Ordinances and the Lords Supper and the bread that the Saints broke ye have all been ignorant of in this night of apostacy since the dayes of the Apostles who had spoken to the Corinthians what he had received of the Lord he delivered unto them And as oft as they did eate that bread and drinke that cup they did shew forth the Lords death till he come and they were to do it in remembrance of him And afterwards the Apostle writ again to the said Corinthians tells them the light that shined in their hearts would give them the light of the knowledg of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus And said while we look not at things that are seen but at things that are not seen For the things that are seen are temporal Bread Wine and Water are seen but the things that are not seen are eternall And bids them examine themselves and prove their own selves and said Know ye not that Christ Jesus is in you except you be reprobates Pr. He saith He hath been a Preacher of the Gospell at Bristoll and Wells and he hath not need to seek a proof of any man page 43. And he saith I am no Preacher to bid every man turn to the light within him neither did I ever read or hear that any of the Apostles or holy men of God preached such a Gospell And they said Sarah Latchet who was excommunicated who had been one of them it was fittest to send her to Bridewell Answ This was not the Ministers of the Gospels work to wrestle with flesh and blood which is yours And they in the sight of God had witnesses and they could seek them which thou saith thou needs not And they turned people from the darknesse to the light and Christ bid them believe in the light while they had it that they might become the chilldren of the Light And the Apostles doctrine was that the light that shined in their hearts would give them that light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus and this thou never heardest of as thou saist And thy Gospel that is not this and agrees not to the Apostles is another and so accursed And the Saints was one anothers Epistles written in one anothers hearts read and seen of all men And thou hast been a bad Preacher at Wells and Bristoll that knows not the Light Prin. They say A man may be a Christian a believer a converted soule he may be in Christ and yet not not have received the spirit of sealing and establishing page 53. Ans This is like to the rest of thy Doctrine who are out of it themselves they are not able to judge of the state of babes believers converted soules which are in Christ For they that are in Christ have the spirit and they that are converted are converted by the spirit And he that believeth cometh to be sealed with the spirit of promise Prin. They say The light in every man is a notion and yet they seeke God by prayer solemnly And they shut up the Kingdome of heaven against men that bid all men turne to the light within them and from the believing on the person of Jesus Christ page 60. Answ None opens the Kingdom of heaven to all men but who turns people to the light which Christ Jesus hath enlightned every man withall that cometh into the world Nor none believes in Christ but who believes in the light which Christ the light hath enlightned them withall and such have the witnesse in themselves and can set to their seales that God is true And they see their Sanctification Justification and Redemption and none ever prays the acceptable prayer of the Lord but who be in the light that cometh from Christ and such calls not the light a Notion for all notions be among such that be out of the Light which Christ doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world withall They are from the Rock the Foundation and Sanctification and see not Christ And this is not to deny Christ but receive him and believe in him And all upon the earth be Antichrists that denies the light that doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world and be from it Pr. And as for your speaking of judging and not to judge before the time untill the Lord do come c. Answ That was spoken to the Corinthians who will bring to light the hidden things of darknesse and make manifest the counsels of the heart Now the same Apostle said to the same Corinthians that God would dwell in them and walk in them and they were not to judge before
the time untill that he did come And he told them the Saints should judge the world and the world should be judged by them Now where the Lord is come such as have the Son and the Father and bring this Doctrine they are to be received and they know where sin and transgression is finished and where it is standing So if any man have an ear to hear this and can receive it let him And as for the rest of the things in your Book your silence might have covered your shame for every mans words shall be his burthen Therefore he that hath the word of God and speaks that that shall not be so which now comes to be richly known and is known among the Saints and Believers the true Church which is come out of the Apostacy since the dayes of the Apostles to that the Apostles was in Jonathan Clapham a labourer of the Gospell as he saith and William Jenkin Their Book called A Discovery of the the QUAKERS Doctrine to the PROTECTOR Their PRINCIPLES c. Pr. HE saith I dare not say that I am infallible as the Pope and the Quakers And the Magistrate in this externall politick Kingdome is a Mediator though he is no Officer nor Magistrate in the Spirituall Kingdome of his Church And if this be received by Magistrates that they have nothing to do with the worship of God Christ is little beholding to them Then they may protect the worship of Mahomet as well as Christs And yet yee say That the Magistrate is the Officer of Christ. See his Epistle to the Protector Answ How is it then if the Magistrate be no officer of the Church that you make use of Magistrates to prison to persecute to give you Tythes and to quench the spirit when any thing is revealed to another that sits by Was not the Magistrates in all ages stirred up by the blinde Priests and Prophets and Teachers to persecute and to prison such as they judged to be blasphemers And so did not all the Saints in all ages suffer not as for Truth but as for blasphemy yea by them that had the form covered with the sheeps cloathing Now the Magistrate that is in the power of Christ he is beyond an external Kingdom and sees over the Kingdoms of the world and that as he is a Help-Governour for Christ he is a member of the Church and he knows who worships God and who worships Idols And who worships God be in the power of God He is in that which sees over all externall Kingdomes that 's the higher power which the soul must be subject to and that 's the true Magistrate And thou not being infallible thou art not in the spirit and so art not a Minister and art not able to judge of powers that is not infallible nor Magistrates nor Kingdomes nor Churches For who is in the infallible is in the spirit that Christ was in and the Apostles and Prophets that gave forth Scriptures But we say that thou nor the Pope thy elder Brother in the apostacy from the Apostles are neither of ye infallible nor in the infallible spirit that the Apostles was in but ye are both erred from it in the apostacy as your fruits declares contrary to the Apostles Pr. They say The Magistrates are to protect the Church from the ravenous Wolves for yee to stop the freedome of the Quakers in your Dominions and their License and the Lord blesse your Highnesse See his Epistle to the Protector Answ Before thou saidst they were not Officers in the Spirituall Church and now wouldst thou have them to limit and quench the spirit and to be your Executioners by telling them the Quakers seduce people Ye have manifested your own spirits that yee have not the spirit to resist their spirits but are crying to the Magistrates And did John bid the Saints call to the Magistrates to the outward powers of the earth to try Seducers or did the Saints And have not you manifested your selves to be them that cry help men against Christ and the Saints and cries to the mountaines to cover you crying to the Magistrates Help men of Israel these are the men that will turne the world upside down and so go to the arm of flesh Have not ye here shewed your spirits to be them that should come who were inwardly ravened which John saw was come and to be the Wolves in the sheeps cloathing and the blasphemers such as you cannot tear your selves you would have the Magistrates to tear But the Lord hath opened an understanding among many of them that they see you Pr. He saith We dare not contest with the Quakers they teach men by minding the light in the conscience to attain a morall righteousness that is the highest and as if they had accomplished it wholly now and not to be fulfilled in another world See Epistle to the Protector Answ We do believe that you are not able to resist the Quakers who have appeared in that that cannot be shaken Therefore is it not a shame to you to say you are a Church and Ministers and to say the Magistrate is no Officer in the Spirituall Church And yet you to flye to the Magistrate and tell him you dare not contest with the Quakers and blesse him if he will but stop them Think ye not the Magistrate will see you in these things And the light which Christ the righteousnesse of God hath enlightned every man that cometh into the world withall leads man from the end of the righteousnesse of the Law that comes to be fulfilled in all its righteousnesse whatsoever and so the light is too heavy for thee and hard for thee and it is the precious stone thou stumbles at And things fulfilled in another world the Prophecies the Parables the Types the Figures the Shadows the Gifts the Revelations the Dispensations these things was in this world manifested And Christ who is the end of all who comes to him into the power of the world that hath no end What is there to fulfill there in the world that hath no end Things are to be fulfilled in this World that hath an end And thus thou hast shewed thy ignorance Pr. He saith The Scripture is the Word of God And he saith Christ is not properly the Word but figuratively page 3. And the Scripture is in more proper sense without figure called the Word of God He saith without the Scripture we do not know how to worship God aright and serve him and therein attain to eternall life Again they say God is not pleased to use this way of immediate Revelation now Neither indeed is it the worke of Gods holy Spirit to discover things unto us now immediately page 5. Ans Christs name is called the Word of God properly and not figuratively and more properly then the Scripture as in the Revelations And the Scriptures are the words of God and words which Christ fulfills the Word So it is properly to call
those got the sheeps cloathing and so with the good words and fair speeches deceive who was inwardly ravened from the light which doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world and such have good words and fair speeches but deceive the hearts of the simple And gather people into forms and heaps and sects and wayes and opinions one against another which are nothing but the Beast and his names and all against the light that doth enlighten every man c. and so are making war against the Saints of the Lamb but the Lamb and the Saints shall have the victory who will slay with his sword the words of his mouth And judgement is come through unto victory and set in the earth And so the Deceivers and Antichrists are telling people now is the last times now are they come and bidding them come to Matth. 7. Matth. 24. which indeed Christ did say they should come but John said they was come whereby they knew it was the last time And in the Revelations he saith That all Nations have drunk the Whores cup and the Kings of the earth have committed fornication with her and the Inhabitants of the earth are drunk with the wine of her fornication and the earth is corrupted as ye make it appear your fruits declare it And this is that which hath brought the Nations to waters and Peoples to waters and Tongues to waters and Multitudes to waters which ravened inwardly from the spirit of God yet have gotten the sheeps cloathing to deceive the Nations Such as drunk the blood of the Saints the Prophets and Martyrs did make war against the Saints and overcame them But now the Saints and the Lamb have the victory glory to the Highest And to that which they ravened from are people now come William Dell's Booke called A Stumbling Stone His PRINCIPLES followeth Pr. HE saith The carnall Church is a great enemy to Christs Church And they are offended at Christ because in him there was no humane nor earthly thing page 13. He saith It is the greatest errour that raigns under Antichrists Kingdom to affirme that the Vniversities is the foundation of Ministers And Peter undoubtedly taxeth the Vniversities with such men to be false Doctors false Prophets out of which proceeds all the Teachers in the world in their Towns and Cities under the whole Kingdome of Antichrist which have such Doctors and Teachers in the Vniversitie for the whole world page 27. Answ The rest of the Priests and Teachers which are come from the Universities and such as have set up themselves to be Teachers as in this book ye may see They say that Christ in heaven hath a humane body and others say that he hath a humane soule and thou saith there is no humane or earthly thing in him And for as much as thy saying it is the greatest errour under Antichrists Kingdom to say the Vniversities is the fountains of Ministers That is a true word it will be well for thee if thou be not catcht in this fountain among these errors maintaining of them for such are they that quench the spirit and speaketh the Scriptures in that spirit which came not by it And these are them that have deceived the whole world And all such as make Ministers in their wils quench the spirit limits the holy one despiseth prophecying makes a trade of Scriptures which came not by the will of man for the satisfying of their owne wils And happy would Dell have been if he had lived in what he spoke Gyles Fermin called Pastor of the Church at Shalfor in Essex his Book called Stablishing against Shaking His Principles are as followeth c. Pr. HE saith take away learning and England becomes a dunghill Ans Peter and John was unlearned men yet was no dunghill Pr. He saith true teachers pleads hard for their peoples ears The Quakers say we are not Ministers because we Preach for hire and are covetous and divine for mony and the Apostles took wages and maintenance and saith they eat and drunk c. and he saith the Lord did ever be teamâ— his Ministers honourable wages Pag. 5. and he saith the labourer is worthy of his hire Page 6. Answ When the Apostle speakes of taking wages of eating and drinking to them that examined him he speakes this among the Saints gathered out of the world from among Jewes and Gentiles This was not spoken to such as held up Temples Tythes and Priests but a gathered seperated people from them And the Gospel they Preached the power of God it opened the hearts of the people to give unto them and not by an outward Law And the great work of the Apostles was not to wrangle about their maintenance as it is the great work of the Ministers now in the world made by men in our age and such as do Divine for mony and prophesie for mony And hire was ever looked upon to be the false Prophets wages without the spirit of God that gave forth the Scriptures and the false spirits in the earth for the Spirit of God would never value equal or measure his gift with the earthly things And when the Apostle speaketh of the labourer is worthy of his hire he saith who goes a warfare at his own charge and they that was taught they was to communicate every good thing to them this still was spoken among the Saints this was not spoken in Temples and Synagogues and them that took Tythes for those was warred against by them that was in the substance and the warfare was to bring people to the substance out of the first Adam to the second and out of the shadowes And that whereby the Ministers had the double honour it was in the life and in the power such as measured not a gift with earthly things which brought them to lay down all their estates at the Apostles feet which was more then Tythes But this Gospel we see not among you nor this power the power of God neither Preachers nor hearers and the Apostles did not bid the Gentiles nor the Jewes that was in their forms and inventions and traditions that had Elders among them he did not bid the people obey them that had rule over them but they brought them from under those Rulers from those Elders to Christ the substance the Elder Brother and so who was in the life grown more then another was the Elder and he watched over the weak And it doth make it manifest that you never received the gift of God whose work is thus to Jangle for outward things For the gift of God which is perfect would break through the unperfect and raise up the witness to give freely Pr. He saith No man can be a good text man unlesse he have attained to the Languages which hath cost us so much and he cannot know the errours but by learning And he saith he may thus speak for the necessity of Arts without which men cannot be sufficient Ministers
which since their dayes they have had the reign over the world But now to that which they ravened from and into the truth the Devill abode not in is the Saints comâ— and the Lamb reigns that is the substance of the Scriptures the end of the Scriptures that hath dominâ—â—â— Glory in the highest for ever And as for all the reviles lyes slanders vilifyings hard expressions in thy Book they will fall upon thy selfe and to thee they will be sad and thou shalt feel every one of thy owne words shall be thy burthen and they shall come home unto thee cramed into thee again for thou must eat thy own dung and drink thy own pisse that comes from thee for all that in thy book is but dung in the day of thy Judgement the witnesse in thee shall answer All along thou hast shewed thy ignorance of the spirit that is poured upon all flesh that 's infallible for whosoever prayes or hath a humility or sings and not by the infallible spirit they sing not with the understanding nor pray not with the understanding And under the Judgement of God thou hast brought thy self and all thy generation Thomas Collier his Booke called a Dialogue between a Minister of the Gospel and an Enquiring Christian In it his Principles are as Followeth Pr. HE saith that the Scriptures is the absolute rule of Saints that are endued with the spirit and faith page 7. Answ Such as were endued with the spirit and faith before the written Scripture was they had a rule and they knew the seed and they knew the promises and they knew Christ more then the Pharisees that had the Scriptures nay more the the Apostates since the dayes of the Apostles that have the Scriptures and the Epistles and Revelations For by faith they saw the glory they was in the Foundation they saw Christ the everlasting Covenant and that is the foundation still Christ Jesus him by whom the world was made before it was made and all that have the Scriptures and have not him they can do nothing And that which ruled the Saints before the Scriptures was written is the Saints rule after the Scriptures is written to know the Scriptures what is written and to know God of whom they learned that gave it forth or writ it with that they know to what state and condition it was spoken And the spirit is the record and he that hath all the Scriptures and wants the true record which is the spirit he cannot know all things Pr. And the Scripture is the New Testament of the Saints rule and the rule of Judgement page 10. Answ The Scriptures given forth from the Spirit of God people knowes not to what state they were spoken but as they come into the spirit that gave them forth And besides the Epistles was written to the Saints in several conditions according to their growth and some of them grew higher then others for some of them the day-star was not risen in their hearts and some of them was children of the Day So that still was the rule that led them to give forth the Epistles and revealed to them the states and conditions of the Saints and to ages and to generations and to Nations and the condition the world was in and should come upon it that was the rule and is the rule by which all these words are seen again and there is the record of the Spirit of God 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 Pr. He saith the Scriptures is that word which makes the Devils to stand in aw and tremble The written word for after generations by which mens souls are brought to Christ pag. 14 15. again that the Scriptures is the sword of the spirit pag. 16. Answ The Pharisees had the Scriptures which Christ said was of the Devil and was swallowed up in his power and they stood against Christ the life the substance The Devil came with Scriptures who is out of the truth to tempt Christ the Word but the Word the substance of Scriptures hammerd down the devil and Pharisees that had got the Scriptures but were out of the life that gave them forth And they have the sword that have the word of God which was before the Scriptures was given forth and they be in that the Devils be out of So if the Devil and wicked men bring Scriptures they hammer them under and redeem the Scriptures out of their ungodly mouthes And the written word brings no soul to Christ the life but who comes to the life that the written words speak of and so it testifies of him the â—iâ—e that brings them to Christ that gave it forth Pr. God is willing that all should be saved but he worketh not all into a saving condition page 21. He saith it is true there is a spirit and life in the Scriptures pag. 22. Answ The spirit and life is not in the Scriptures but the spirit and life the Scriptures testifies of and the light Christ Jesus the salvation to the ends of the earth doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world with a saving light And the light which every man hath that cometh into the world is saving but many hating the light and not coming to it which hath enlightened them they neglect their salvation and slight their salvation and not believing in it they walk in darkness and come not to the light of life But they that believe in it come to the light of life and abide not in the darkness And the grace of God which brings salvation hath appeared to all men such as turns it into wantonness and walkes despitefully against the spirit of grace ownes it not for their teacher but sets up teachers according to their own lusts so turns against that which brings their salvation and walks despitefully against it and followes their own lusts and tramples upon the Covenant of grace and the blood of the new Covenant And all that see the Bishop of their souls Christ Jesus the Saviour of their souls it is with the light that cometh from him and God wils that all men should be saved Pr. He saith to use Christs name to catch souls when indeed it is but Jugling and to stab him and crucifie him a fresh pag. 42. If Christ doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world c. If this were truth then Christ died in vain and in vain hath Christ spoke of himself saying I am the way the truth the life the light c. pag. 45. Answ Such as do not believe that Christ doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world are such as mentions his name and haters of the light that cometh from him these be in the Jugling state deceivers of souls and people And none sees Christ the one offering but
cometh into the world that gives him the knowledg of the Son of God of the author of his faith and the taste of his fulness and to become a perfect man Pr. He saith The Scriptures is the meanes whereby the righteousnesse is revealed from faith to faith page 82. Answ The Pharisees had the Scriptures read every Sabbath and the form of godlinesse denyed the power and was reprobate concerning the Faith and the righteousnesse of Christ Jesus And God it is that reveals the faith and gives the faith and the righteousnesse and many have the words and yet not it who hath it hath the word in their hearts and the spirit that gave forth the Scriptures and seeth God the original of all good and the Scriptures cannot reveal it but they testifie of it and all must come into the spirit before they know revelation or know the Scriptures either Pr. He saith New Jerusalem is not come down from heaven and be will make all things new not hath made page 83. He saith The body is dead because of sin yet there is a remainder of the old man in the members page 84. Answ Where the body is dead because of sin and that put off by the Circumcision of the spirit If the root be holy the branches are holy also and such comes to glorifie the Lord in their bodies and soules which are the Lords who hath redeemed them out of the sin So they that are Christs have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts and all things are become new And the new Jerusalem is witnessed come down from heaven among the Saints for who witnesseth Christ and know Christ knows the Tabernacle of God and knows the new Jerusalem and knows the place where there is no curse And many knows their Mother now and that which had led captive is gone and going into captivity Pr. He saith The Apostles gave the last and full revelation of the Gospell to all Nations And Timothy learned Doctrine mediately and since none may expect to receive so immediately as Paul did but all mediately page 88 89. Again God now gives and teacheth mediately and spiritually by the testimony of him mediately page 90. It is a little necessary to shew the vanity of their pretence of immediate revelation from Gods spirit page 91. Answ All them be in a pretence and in vanity that are from the immediate revelation of the spirit of God And if all people have all Pauls Declaration and if they have it not immediately revealed to them by the spirit of God as Paul had they have not the comfort of Pauls words neither have they the comfort of the revelations And John saith the everlasting Gospell must be preached to them that dwell upon the earth since the apostacy from the Apostles mark that And that which Timothy preached who was in the faith the gift of God and spoke his word and divided it aright it was immediate But since the dayes of the Apostles hath the immediate been lost and I know yee cannot expect it in the state ye all stand in inwardly ravened from the spirit of God and truth But now is the Saints come to that which ye ravened from and the Apostles were in who witnessed the immediate teachings of God and Gods teaching is immediate and the testimony of Jesus is immediate which is the spirit of prophecy but many have that which testifies of him and be from the immediate spirit as was in them that gave forth the Scriptures And all upon the earth that be from the immediate spirit of God as was in them as gave forth Scriptures and their Ministry be but mediate and they be but in the mediate they are all Ministers but of the Letter made by man and what they have it is but from man and not from God immediately Such have nothing but the sheeps cloathing and inwardly ravened from the spirit of God in them And here is Babylon the mother of Harlots and the Beast and his names but over all have they victory that be in the immediate in that which the Apostles was in and answer that in them all which they ravened from Pr. He saith Even now in the dayes of their adversity while the person of the Lord the fountaine of their teaching for whom they waite is personally absent from them Page 92. Answ All they that hate the light sees not Christ the fountain of teaching and these be them that inwardly ravened Such have their teachers in corners and are in the dayes of adversity and eate not the flesh of Christ nor drink his blood and are not of his flesh and bone and receives not his spirit But all who wait in the Light which Christ Jesus hath enlightened every man that cometh into the world withall Every man that cometh into the world with which light he hath enlightned them their eyes shall see their Teacher that cannot be removed into a corner Salvation they shall see and dayes of adversity shall end and his guiding they shall know and come to be in unity with Christ and eate his flesh and drink his blood and be of his flesh and bone which thousands do witnesse this and the Prophet raised up the end of the Prophets and they that heare him not are to be cut off And none lifts up the Son of God but who be in the Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world and that brings him to understand the Scriptures and the substance of them Pr. He saith The grace of God that brings salvation it is a fancy to say it is stirred up in them but is a thing wrought in another for them And to say the Word of the Lord is within and the spirit within is mens following their own brain and visions of their own hearts And he saith whereas they imagine of a light within them all that knows God shewes the light in them to be darknesse it selfe See Post-script Answ All that knows God owns the Light within them to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus which light shines in their hearts And all that knows God owns the Light that doth â—â—lighten every man that cometh into the world Christ Jesus and believes in the Ligâ—â— and hath the witnesse in themselves And all that be from the Light within them be in the darknesse and stumbles which have been in this night of the apostacy from the Apostles Doctrine And all Gog and Magog and the Beast and false Prophets and the Kings of the Earth are making war against the Light that doth enlighten every man c. but the Light shall get the victory And all that be from the Word of God within in their hearts and their mouths though they speak of the Scriptures without yet they use their tongues and follow their own dreams and visions of their own hearts and brains and be from the Word of God that lives and abides
and endures for ever And all that ever witnesse the grace of God that brings salvation they feel it in their hearts stablishing of them and seasoning of their words and knows the throne of grace from which it cometh And this doth not deny what Christ hath done but owns him all along from the foundation of the world and what he wrought and what he did and what he said for us And all upon the earth that have the Scriptures and are out of the spirit that gave them forth they are all in a confusion here and on heaps about words And the Word of God within and spirit within it leads people from following their own dreams and following fancies of their own brains which all have done many hundreds of yeares past in the apostacy since the dayes of the Apostles And as for all thy lyes and confusion in thy Books they will be thy own burthen and the witnsse in thy conscience will answer in the day of thy judgement thou shalt feel a smart work thou hast to go through who art now in the pack and body of confusion buryed under the body of iniquity But thy folly is discovered sufficiently to the Nation and thy spirit is now tryed who art one of the heads risen up against the Lamb in his day and his Light but it is thy condemnation Matthew Caffinn In his Booke called The Deceiving QUAKER Discovered His Principles are as followeth c. Pr. HE saith Nothing will cure the soule but the knowledge of salvation which is made known by outward meanes because the will of the Lord in order to soules peace and rest was discovered by outward meanes page 4. Answ The Pharisees had outward meanes Reading praying and expounding and yet knew not the soules comfort and peace For Christ bid them come unto him that their soules might have râ—st all that was weary and heavy laden So if people have all the Scriptures upon the earth hearing and praying and all the outward meanes and be not in the power which is the Gospell which is immediate not outward they have not their souls comfort and rest And if they be not in the life that gave forth the Scriptures for the soule is in the hand of God and Christ the Bishop of it and the Minister of the spirit watcheth for it and they that hearkned what the Spirit said their souls lived and this was not outward But when men stop their ears and close their eyes to that of God in them as the Jewes did and all the inwardly raveners false Prophets and Antichrists in the apostacy since the dayes of the Apostles such hearken not diligently and their soules live not And all such as deny the light which doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world seeth not Christ the Bishop of their souls nor their salvation Pr. And he saith The Quakers cry wait upon the light within you and this is another report then that of the Scriptures And he saith I do not finde where it is spoke that God spoke in this people pag. 5. And tâ—â— Apostle which was to go to preach to all Nations did not turne the people to a teacher within tâ—em to teach them all things And the Apostle affirmes that they was to give them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God c. and not their teacher within them page 8. Answ It was the Lord that spoke in his Prophets by their mouths and in his Son and they were the mouth of the Lord. And where God dwels in his people he speaks And the Apostles were to go into all Nations to preach the Gospel and preached the Covenant of God which who came into it the thing they preached the Law written in their hearts needed not any man to teach them nor needed not to teach one another saying Know the Lord as it had been in the first Covenant people had been taught to know the Lord and the Priests lips was to preserve the peoples knowledge But who are come into the Covenant of God Christ Jesus the second Covenant they are come into the treasury of wisdome and knowledge And the Apostles told the Saints that the light which shined in their hearts would give them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus and this is not another report then the Scriptures but this is the Scriptures report And John told the Saints that the anointing which abideth in them would teach them all things and the word was in their hearts and in their mouths to obey it and do it and this was the Ministers work and to the hearing of Faith which Christ is the author of whereby they receive the spirit And the Apostle brought the people to their Teacher within them which is the Light and turned people from the darknesse to the Light and from the power of Satan unto God which light shining in their hearts it gives them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God c. See 2 Cor. 4. Chap. Now light shines in the darknesse they being turned from the darknesse to the light it gives knowledge So such come from under the power of Sathan unto God for while they be in the darknesse they be under the power of Sathan and nothing gives nor makes manifest the knowledge of the Saviour but the light which doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world which shines in the darknesse and they being turned from the darknesse and from the power of Sathan such the God of the world cannot blinde But they in whom this light shines and they in the darknesse the God of the World blindes and the light of the glorious Gospel they do not know Pr. Saith Antichrist If you will believe in the Light within you it will lead you to Christ To wait upon the teacher within there will be such an eternall light that will make known all things page 9. And the Quakers exhort all ignorant people in the world to depend upon a light within them Wherefore be counselled not to be carried away with strange doctrines page 11. Answ The light which doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world is not a strange Doctrine the light to the Gentiles the teacher of the Gentiles the salvation to the ends of the earth the new Covenant to the house of Israel and Judah And this was a strange Doctrine to the Jewes and to the Gentiles though to them is had been promised So this light shines in the darkness and the darknesse not comprehending it such are ungodly wicked men and they must be turned from the darknesse to the light before they come to retain God in their knowledge or come to that which must give them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus And all that come to witness their Teacher within Christ are possessors of the Prophet Christ Jesus raised up the teacher of
the Father is one the Father is in him and he is in the Father and the Father and the Son dwells in the Saints who are out of the transgression of his Doctrine and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life and he that hath the Son of God hath life eternall really in possession and such perverts not the right way of the Lord but such as have not the Son of God they are all in the first Adam in the crooked wayes and crooked by-paths in the world nâ— witnessing life but standing against the Light which shineth in the Darknesse which their darknesse cannot comprehend which are all the inwardly raveners since the dayes of the Apostles among whom hath been the apostacy and the Apostates from wâ—om the light of life hath been hid But he that followeth the Light he cometh to have the light of life And he that receiveth the light receiveth life eternall and to receive the Son of God And he that receiveth the Son of God hath eternall life in substance and possession Prin. He saith Death which hath passed over all men is not a spirituall Death page 51. Answ Thou and all you shall feel it as a spiritual Death before ye know life and immortality come to light and the spirituall wickedness wrestled against whose weapons are spirituall and not carnall that wrestles not against flesh and blood but spirituall wickeâ—nesses in high places And that is it which causeth the life of all creatures to groan and oppresseth it whereby life and immortality is hid from the eyes and the power transgressed whereby the spirit and soule of man must be sanctified before he witnesse thorow purification before he come from under the death and spirituall wickednesses For sin brings death and that is the spirituall wickednesses that is to be wrestled against and transgressing the pure Law of God the commands of God brings death And so he entertains the spirituall wickednesse which brings death upon his life so comes oppression on his body and on his spirit and his soule burthened and wearyed and unsanctified and polluted which Christ gives rest to who is the Sanctification and Redemption and Justification which the Law goes upon man agreeable to that of God in him but Christs body makes free from the Law and redeemes from under it So as the power of God the Gospel is known and Christ known the creature comes from under the bondage of corruption and life and immortality comes to the light through the Gospell whereby the death is known which who believes shall never dye and the life is known which shall never dye Pr. The Quakers deny Water-baptisme and slight it and call it a carnall thing Answ Outward water is not spirituall but it is a carnall thing as it is in it selfe and it is the spirit alone that baptizeth into the body which brings off of things that are seen which are temporall as the Apostle said while we look not at things that are seen for the things that are seen are temporall c. and water is seen Pr. He saith False Prophets and Antichrists should come in sheeps cloathing Answ These Christ said should come to his Apostles And before the Apostles decease they saw they were come And the Apostles saw before their decease the Devill transform himselfe into an Angell of light and Satans Messengers and Ministers come up such as had a feigned humility and will-worship got up and the abstaining from meats neglecting the body and such as Jannes and Jambres that crept into houses which had the sheeps cloathing the form of godlinesse and such were the seducing spirits the doctrine of Devills which ran into the strange delusions bringing in the damnable heresies which went in Cains Cores and Balaams way and they saw the coming of the man of sin and the Apostles all saw by the spirit of God before their decease which Christ said should come which inwardly ravened which since the dayes of the Apostles the world hath gone after them All this which Christ said should come which the Apostles saw was come and coming before the coming of the just One But the Just One now is come who hath revealed it the light which doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world Cain Core Balaam false Prophets Antichrists such as goes into strong delusions and brings in the damnable heresies and forbidding the eating of meats and Marriage these all inwardly ravened anâ— these all have been up since the dayes of the Apostles and these have been covered with the sheeps cloathing and the false Prophets and Antichrists they inwardly ravened and the Devill the man of sin he went out of the Truth and abode not in it which Truth which he went out of all they that have the sheeps cloathing and he and they all can get Scriptures but inwardly ravened and gone from the spirit of Truth in their own particulars such are the destroyers of the creatures and of the Creation But with that which they all ravened from are they all manifest and discovered which to that are now people come and coming which these inwardly raveners have had the sheeps cloathing which have been the Beast and false Prophets Devills messengers and Ministers out of the truth which have reigned since the dayes of the Apostles having had the sheeps cloathing which have long deceived the Nations But now the Devill Beast Antichrist and false Prophets are all discovered with the light and life which they all went from and the truth And the place is seen where there is no Curse and the Beast and the false Prophet is taken that they shall deceive the Nations no longer and is cast into the lake of fire under whose dominion thou art whose words shall be thy burthen Pr. He saith Let us minde the Law and Testimony Answ Then ye must all minde the Light for the law is light saith Solomon then ye must all minde the spirit for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy which many may have the Old and New Testament yet be from the Law and Testimony for the Law and Testimony was before Matthew Marke Luke John the Acts Epistles and Revelations was written as in the 8. of Isaiah which the Prophet minded And they that say the Old and new Testament is it shews themselves to be ignorant of the spirit and ignorant of the Law and Testimony And the Law and Testimony doth not deny the Scriptures but owns them in their place and sees the fulfilling of them with the Testimony of Jesus they see Jesus who was afore Scripture was and comes to fulfill it William Jefferies his Booke called ANTICHRIST made known In which these PRINCIPLES are following c. Pr. HE saith Men are mistaken in saying the Romish Whore of Babylon is Anti-christ And the chiefe City of this great Whore the mother of Harlots is the City of Rome the Pope Cardinals Bishops and Clergy And the spirit of Antichrist denies
works in us are not to be joyned with our faith in Christs works for that brings into the wildernesse page 131. And to say that men are justified no farther then they are sanctified is to deny Protestant doctrine c. Answ Men are justified by the believing and in the faith and by the faith and in believing they overcome and have victory and there is Mortification and Sanctification and Redemption and Justification all possessed together in the one which is Christ and this to the particular satisfaction And all Protestants or whatsoever that have a Justification and Sanctification and they in the unmortified state unsanctified they are out of the faith that purifies out of the belief that is born of God who hath past from death to life and so is out of the substance that justifies and is without Christ and so are reprobates but where Christ is within there is Justification Sanctification and Redemption And they are they that blaspheme the Tabernacle of God and them that dwell in Heaven that call good evill and evill good and leads into snares and into the wildernesse that go about to confound the Justification but split themselves upon the Rock that denies the Light and Christ is the offering for the sin of the whole world who doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world that all men might believe in him the offering and they are justified in him from all things which the Law could not do And here is the Covenant of God to the Jewes and Gentiles the light of the Gentiles the glory of Israel the new covenant to the Jewes the Law in the heart and in the minde by which the people should not need to say Know the Lord for all should know him from the least to the greatest the salvation to the ends of the earth where the way of redemption is the way for the ransomed to walke in in which the fools shall not erre in it in which way there is no wildernesse nor slippery places but the path of life the way of the Just and of holinesse and the way of Sanctification and the way of Redemption and Justification Pr. He saith Christ was a sinner by imputation page 132. A. The Scripture doth not speak such kind of words but that he knew no sin no guile was found in his mouth A Lamb without spot or blemish though it pleased the Father to lay the iniquity upon him by his stripes we are healed And by the one offering perfected for ever them that are sanctified made himselfe an offering for the sins of the whole world who breaks down the partition wall bewixt Jewes and Gentiles slayes the enmity among men reconciles in one unto the Father by his body his death upon the Crosse Of his body are all the Professors Protestants Papists upon the earth ignorant of this seed that breaks the enmity therefore be all in the enmity one among another having sheeps cloathing but the sheep in you is not put forth but the Wolfe is ravening abroad against the sheep tearing them where the seed is risen Pr. He that throws off imputed righteousnesse may go shift for his justification where he can get it and Christ shall profit him nothing though he be in faith or love and self-denyall page 133 And it is not the work of Christ in us that justifies and reconciles our persons I can detect this for an errour that Christs works in us is that which justifies our persons before God page 134. Answ Christ works in us Faith and is the Author of it 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 And this faith in this blood of the seed not of the first Adam nor the Beasts but the blood of the seed Christ the precious blood which is the life of Saints and his flesh which is the food of Saints which whosoever eats it and drinks it hath life in the Son of God and lives in him as he lives in the Father And this is wrought within and no one knows it but as it is wrought within by the faith in the blood of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world the great sacrifice for the sin of the whole world overthrew Death and Hell bruised the Serpents head Devill and sinne the sacrifice for the whole world the blood shed upon the Crosse 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 works to serve the living God And here is the great mystery of God and the wisdome of God which covers all the wisdome of the earth the knowledge and the wisdome of the understanding ones of the earth The seed and the blood of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world which sacrificed and offered up the body prepared who fulfilled all types figures offerings ends them and all other bloods whom Death and Grave could not hold dead raised again set at the right hand of God manifest in the Saints and in the midst of his Church singing praise was dead and is alive and lives for evermore manifest in the Saints And he that hath him hath life and he that hath not him hath not life And whosoever witnesseth Christ within they witnesse the end of Imputation they witnesse the thing it selfe the end of their belief and they possess the sanctification and such comes to know faith and love And such as may have all the Scriptures and preach of Justification and Sanctification without them and not within them be as the Jewes be as the Witches and Reprobates They are reprobate that witnesseth not Christ within them nor Sanctification there nor Justification there and so witnesseth not faith and love nor the faith that works by love and they be in the errour and shifts thou talks of and Babylonish and none comes to witnesse the reconciliation but who witnesse Christ within So out of Justification and Sanctification there if he be not within they cannot witnesse reconciliation If they be not believers in the Light of Christ they cannot witnesse justification but condemnation Bâ—t in the light in Christ Christ received in them justification sanctification reconciliation is received Christ Jesus the Light that which reconciles to the Father Pr. He saith The body of sin is the naturall body consisting of flesh and blood and bones and the living soule is immortall page 140. And sin will dwell in the house untill the house be pluckt down over its head which is the naturall body And there is not one Saint that is absolute free from the in-dwelling and working power of sin page 140. To plead for Perfection is inherent holinesse and to serve under Antichrists colours and to make voyd the suffering of Christ He that holds the Saints perfectly fulfilling all the Law in all
forth the Scriptures are such as follows their own spirits and useth their tongues and gets the good words the sheeps cloathing deceives the hearts of the simple and tels them the Spirit is in the Letter which never did none of the experienced Saints say the spirit dwelt in the Letter But did conclude the spirit dwelt in their hearts the faith in their hearts the light in their hearts the word in their hearts the anointing within them God dwelt within them Christ within them the Law in their hearts the witnesse within them the ingrafted word that saved their soules the gift within the hidden man in the heart strength in the inward man the holy Ghost moved them the spirit of the Father spoke in them this led them to speak forth Scriptures And these never said the spirit was in the Letter as all the filthy dreamers say who are in the sensuall separation from the spirit of God and in Cains Cores and Balaams way turning the grace of God into wantonnesse ravened from the spirit of God inwardly but wolves in sheeps cloathing These are such as have got the good words but deceives the hearts of the simple makes a trade of them tells people the Spirit is in the Letter and that is them that ravened from the spirit of God in their own particulars and so they deceive people and keep them from the spirit of God in their particulars But the spirit that gave forth Scriptures is witnessed by which that is known they cannot deceive any longer who are reprobates concerning the faith which crept into houses before the Apostles decease which have kept people always learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth led away with divers lusts So have kept people in spirituall Aegypt and Sodome and Gomorrah and have been guarded with Magistrates and powers of the earth all over the world But now is the Light breaking forth and shining that ye are all discovered And so they have set up other Gospels and lost the Faith that tels people the Spirit is in the Letter when the spirit and the faith was in them that gave it forth and is to be in all them that knows it again and knows God the giver of it Pr. He saith He that is borne of the Spirit is borne of the holy Word written page 257. Answ He that is borne of the spirit is borne of that which gave forth the Scriptures of the Word which was before the Scriptures was given forth which lets them see the end of the words so cometh to dwell in God of whom they learned that gave forth Scriptures Pr. He saith If setting the Scripture in the heart of every man be nothing else but telling people they have a light of conscience within them and stirring up that light which every man hath that cometh into the world They delude poor people who never heard that light called Scripture before page 257. Answ Them that never heard the Scripture outwardly the light that every man hath that cometh into the world being turned to it with that they will see Christ with that they will know Scripture with that they will be led out of all delusion come into covenant with God with which they will come to worship God in the spirit and serve him and that is more then conscience Pr. He saith The light which John speaks of which doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world is a dim light and it is a piece of the mystery of Iniquity as subtile as any Antichrist to say that the light shines in the darknesse and shineth out of darknesse the light of Christ for salvation page 261 262. He saith Christ in you the light in every man is a poor base beggerly scrap Page 264. Answ And the ligâ—t which doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world is Christ the substance the righteousnesse of God and not beggerly but all the beggarly they be out of the light and it is not dim but all be in the dim that be out of him the Light that with which he hath enlightned them And all be in the mystery of iniquity and are Antichrists that seeth not the light that doth enlighten every one that cometh into the world where it shines and where it shineth out of the darknesse This the true Ministers who be in the spirit that gave forth the Scriptures Ministers of Christ within witnessed and saw And John was not antichrist nor Paul who said Light shined in darknesse and who said light shined out of darknesse and who said this was the true light that lighteth every one that cometh into the world Now ye are all ignorant of the Prophets before John who said I will give him for a Covenant for a light unto the Gentiles and a new Covenant to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah mark here was every man and John the greatest Prophet born of a woman saith this is the true light that lighteth every one c. Christ Jesus him by whom the world was made before it was made in whom is life and the life was the light of men and the light shined in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not Pr. The law written in every mans heart doth not condemn all sin nor the branches of it not originall sin nor unbelief pag. 266. He saith To say that every man in his first state is naturall and every man in his first state is as a beast is a contradiction And I every where deny the naturall light of every man but I deny the highest degree of light to be here attainable And the Saints light is not to be seen while we are under the Sun And he saith he knows he is more brutish then a man and hath not the knowledge of the holy pag. 272. And the light that shineth in the Scriptures I professe my selfe to know nothing the least degree of it is above the highest degree of the light that every one that cometh into the world is enlightned withal pag. 273. Answ The light which every one that cometh into the world is enlightned withall was before degreâ—s and ends degrees and is not natural for it was before the naturall was made or created and this bears not witnesse against the naturall the Sun Moon and Stars but ownes them in their places And the light which every one that cometh into the world is enlightned withall which comes from Christ the Son they not believing in it it is their condemnation And that which doth make manifest sin is light and doth reprove is light yea all sin branches and roots and originall and unbelief that which doth make it manifest is light and where this light is that makes all this manifest there is the law in the heart and new Covenant written the law and the spirit of life that makes free from the law of sin and death And the light which every man is enlightned withall they
from the body which is Christ and so brings them into dayes and shadows and types where the vaile is over their hearts and the false Christian may run into signes and dayes that be out of Christs life and the Apostles But who be in the life of Christ and the Apostles that be in the body out of the signes and shadows and offers up the spirituall sacrifices such be in the rest and have the High Priest the everlasting Priest Christ Now if ye have the Sabbath ye must have the offerings the Priest to offer and your Altars and to offer upon that day which the Christians that witnessed the body Christ Jesus the one offering comes in the volume of the Book to do the will of God this substance that the shadow and signes and figures gave forth ends them all and brings people to see to the end of the shadow to Perfection Christ Jesus Pr. Thou sayes We should not grudge to give God every first day as an addition to Gods seventh-day-sabbath Answ The Priests call it a Sabbath and you call it a first day and you would have a Sabbath besides Now this is your cover but the life takes away all your shadows 'T is true the Saints did meet together every first day on the week And the Saints do so though they do not say it was a command And so the Apostles that brought people off their observing of dayes and times and told them the body was Christ and the Sabbath was a shadow of good things to come Thou mayst say the Apostle was the little Horne that changed times we finde no where he commands the Saints to observe it but brings people as you may read in the Romans from the Law being justified by the Law for if they keep the Sabbath they were justified it not they were condemned So Christ the body the end of types figures signes and shadows is the Justification without the works of the Law and the Sanctification it selfe and sanctifies man to God and so the Christians no where as you may read through the Epistles did observe the dayes the shadowes that was believers in Christs that ownes the body Prin. Thou sayes since the blessed Creator celebrated the seventh day Man thinks to be wiser then his Maker in altering and disobeying pretending spiritual observances poor worm dust and ashes who in expounding his own Law sums up all in this be ye therefore perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect that is in quality not in quantitie Answ He that is perfect as his heavenly Father is perfect is perfect as he is perfect if thou or any have an ear to hear let them hear and lay away thy qualities and quantities and take the words as they are and all that are come into Christ are come into life from the dust and ashes and are the spiritual men But him that talkes of celebrating dayes and Sabbaths are celebrating signes and shadowes and be in their own works from the body of Christ and keeping others and such if they do not all the works contained in the Law are accursed Pr. And thou sayes Christ confirms the seventh day Sabbath and assures us it shall continue every jot and title and Paul sayes he established the Law which cannot be ceremonial therefore let such as slight the seventh day Sabbath take warning and make sure work that it be not broken in no point of the Law which every jot and title is established by Christ and his Apostles when the Lord of the Sabbath and the Saints endeavoured to observe every jot and title of it to the â—â—d of the world and our Redeemer particularly ownes the Sabbath above all other dayes by his works and Miracles and great wonders on that day and God forbid that Saints should side with evil seducers and reproach our Saviour for putting on his glory on that day but rather let that Sabbath be celebrated Answ Christ came not to break the Law the Apostle said the Law was good in its place and he established it yet the Apostle sayes that the Sabbath was shadowes and the body was Christ and he brings them to the Law in the heart in the mind and there he established it and Christ did not come to break one jot or title of it but Mark to fulfill it and he said not one jot or tittle of the Law should be broken until fulfilled and Christ which is the rest to the Jew which had the Sabbath day a sign of rest Christ the rest give the people rest on that day often that was bound that was burthened or that was wearied of that day and Christ that did give them rest on that day and the Apostle which establishes the Law which was good in its place neither of them doth bid keep the Sabbath day he doth not say the Sabbath day must be kept after him the Apostle no where commands it but sayes it was a shadow and the body was Christ and so them that came to the body Christ in the dayes of the Apostles was come to the end of the shadowes in that age in their dayes and for example thou may see it for some did observe a day and some did not and they was not to judge one another about those things and Christ giving rest on that which the people was to rest on was a figure of the everlasting rest and of the Restauration who did the work of God on that day and gave rest to the burthened on that day that signifies an inward rest that Christ was the rest and Lord of the Sabbath and of rest both to the people of God and them that celebrate the Sabbath day must celebrate a sign and live in the shadow and keep them from the body and so from the Church which Christ is the head of and who are celebrating Sabbaths must also bring their offerings and then they must have the first Priesthood to offer and deny the body that doth the will of God the everlasting Priesthood and the one offering and holds with the first Covenant that must decay in which those things stood and deny the everlasting Covenant and he that blotted out Ordinances and ends types and shadowes and so Christ is the end of the Law to every one that believes in every jot and title and print in it and signes and shadowes that was held up by the Law Christ is the end of that yet the life of the Law the power remaines though the outward changing shadowes and things end the body is that that ends them all Pr. Thou sayes the Sabbath was honoured with the conversion of souls on this day and the day before did they break bread together Ans Was that the Sabbath day that Christ and his Disciples brake bread together on did the Apostles and the Saints establish the Sabbath day when they said it was but a shadow and brought them to the body which is Christ Pr. Thou sayes the Sabbath is mentioned with new
seemed to them as idle tales The first day was finished before they believed and so they could not have faith to do any such thing Answ The Scriptures speaks no such thing and tells us no such conceit that the Disciples did celebrate the first day to be the Sabbath but this is thine and your imaginations got up among you that owns not the body Christ that ends all signes types and shadows Christ who was before dayes was and who lives in him doth not celebrate dayes Pr. Thou saith John intends a single day it 's much like it was the Sabbath day and he speaks of the Lords day Iudgement-day and this he calls the day and this day he must shew unto John in the vision The ancient Christians who call it the Lords day did never terme it the Sabbath But religiously celebrated the 7th day with it Answ Iohn doth not call it the Sabbath-day nor the Christians did not celebrate the Sabbath with it but said the old was signes and shadows the body of them was Christ But since the dayes of the Apostles and the Apostacy ye have wanted the body Christ and yee have fell into the dayes for Christ saw those as should come up and draw people into the dayes And the day of the Lord is light and in the day of the Lord was Iohn Pr. Thou saith Old things are passed away and all things are become new Answ Then the Sabbath was a thing and it must passe away and it was a rest and must have a new rest and the Sabbath was in the old time given as a signe and a command and given by God to be kept since the Fall Pr. Thou saith There remains therefore the celebrating the Sabbath to the people of God Answ But the Scripture the New Testament doth not say so The Apostle sayes there remains therefore a rest for the people of God such as come off the signes to Christ the body the soules rest there remains in him a rest for the people And such as celebrate the Sabbath rest in the shadow and doth not come to the body Christ and such are not the Believers that do enter into the rest Christ And such as rest in the signe and shadow and there remains celebrating the Sabbath come not into the body Christ the rest of Gods people Pr. Thou sayes Christ rested or ceased from his great worke and entered into his rest and this is laid down as a Gospel-reason why the Sabbath remains to the people of God And hee layes the Believer under a double engagement to sanctifie the seventh-day-sabbath Answ Christ speaks no such thing nor the Apostles neither that they should sanctifie the seventh day he speaks no such thing to the believers But the Apostle brings them off of the shadows off the signs and shews them the body of all and he doth not mention a double engagement and the Sabbath the Jewes was to rest on which was death if not kept was a figure of the redemption Christ Iesus the rest who was put to death on the sixth day Man was made on the sixth day and he was put to death on the sixth day and he was crucified through the means of them that had the shadows the outward day the outward rest from which day they should have come from the signes and shadows to the body Christ who was the rest and restauration of the Creation Pr. And thou saith To hold forth the passage over of that rest which prevented the women of the application of their spices that was the Sabbath and I am satisfied the seventh day is the Sabbath day Answ Now though the women did rest on the Sabbath-day and came with their Spices on the first day there was many of them did question whether this was the man that should redeem Israel and so that 's no ground at all to hold up the Jewes types and shadowes for Peter denyed him therefore that 's no ground But what did they do after the Holy Ghost was come to endue them with power from on high And what sayes Paul he brings them off from the signes and shadowes to Christ the body though there 's much more to be said to this for while the questioning stands the questioning part doth pertain to the shadow and types which the body ends and with that is felt and seen there 's no changing nor shadow nor variableness nor altering and that overthrows the questioner unbeliever stumbler The great stumbler was the Jewes that's resting in the shadows types and signes they stood against the body Christ Jesus Pr. Whereas thou saith The seventh-day-sabbath is one of the lively Oracles Israel received from Sinai given to us O Christian Remember it and love it in thy bosome A. Here thou wouldst bring the Children from her Mother above which is Jerusalem to Jerusalem below and Sinai and so to Hagar into the shadow and the Christians witnessed the end of the shadows and Sabbaths and witnessed the body Christ Jesus and Ierusalem that 's above and come to Christ the end of the Law and into God by him from whence the Law came and so Christians cannot put signes in their bosomes no type shadow or figure in their bosome that have Christ within them and cannot touch the Doctrine Commandements Ordinances of men which have a shew of wisdome in the Will-worship and that which the Jew the outward Jew had types shadows and figures the Jew inward witnessed the substance which is the true Christian the Law in their hearts and circumcision there and the end of the Law comes into and enters into the rest Christ Jesus that is not an outward seventh day but entered into his rest ceased from his works as God did from his which man enters into his rest and ceased from their own works the type the figure the seventh-day-Sabbath Do no worke thou nor strangers nor the Cattell and so the Sabbath was a rest from all This was a type and God gave them the Sabbath for a signe who hath ceased from his own works enters into his rest a figure of the restauration of the creation of Christ the rest the Restorer Redeemer and Saviour that brings peace on earth And so they that believe hath entered into him into the rest Christ the rest to all wearied soules and helps all creatures upon the earth man and beast and destroys the cause of all oppression and so many is come from Hagar And though the seventh day the Law was a rule among the Jewes a true type yet the Apostle that preaches Christ the end of the Law brings people to the body Christ Pr. Thou saith Circumcision nor Vncircumcision but keeping the commands of God viz. of sanctifying GODS Sabbath And thou saith The seventh Angel sounded forth the Ancient of glory the Lords Sabbath swearing that time should be no longer Answ Circumcision was a command of God and so was the Sabbath and they that love God keep his Commandements And did
eight and that was before Matthew Mark Luke and John or any of the Epistles was written and as for the rest of thy lies slanders and hard speeches they shall fall upon thy self and be thy own burthen the witness in thy conscience shall answer me in the day of thy judgement And they that have not the Eternal Spirit are none of his Thomas Weld Richard Prideaux Samuel Hammond William Coles and William Durant their Book called A discovery of a generation of men called Quakers In it are their Principles as followeth Pr. FIrst That the soul is a part of the Divine Essence Asw That which comes from God which God hath in his hands which Christ is the Bishop of is of God and Divine and immortal which many of the Priests say is appetite lust and pleasure and the soul of Christ say they is humane which is earthy and so you that are come from one mother are not agreed here among your selves and people begins to see you the time hath been they knew not which of you to believe but now they believe in Christ who is the Bishop of their souls Pr. There lies a Mystery of iniquity for to say The world calls them so by such and such names or gives them their Christian name Answ There are names given by the heathen the heathen outwardly which men are called there is a new name which the world knowes not written in the Book of life here is the new man known after God in rigteousness created and true holinesse Now who is this new man and this new name the world may call him by the old So it is not a mystery of iniquity to say the world calls him so Pr. It is a sinful neglecting of their families to wander up and down And the forsaking of apparel changeable he calls it monkish holiness Answ When people runs into transgression from the life of God into the earth Then comes up the lusts of the eye the lusts of the world and the pride of life which leads them into all the fashions of the world which is not of the Father but of the world Now the lusts and the affections must be mortified which have outwardly transgressed the pure principle of God within whereby the minds hath gone out into the creatures and things without whereby it falls under the creatures and so comes to worship the creatures thereby more then the Creator who is God blessed for evermore being gone from the Principle of God in their own particulars that is it which mortifies the world when men turn to it and this brings off all the lusts of the world and excess and affections and professions whether they be such as thou cals monkish or notionists or whatsoever it brings into the possession into the life which mortifies for this which thou calls monkish holiness is like unto your own who have not the spirit as they lived in who gave forth the Scriptures so all holiness which stands out of that is self righteousness And the Apostles and the faithful in all ages that wandred up and down did the will of God spoke the word of God were commanded and moved of the Lord forsooke all for Christ Christ did not teach men sin And he that doth not forsake all is not worthy of him House Lands wife children whatsoever he that esteems any of those more then Christ he lives still below he lives still not given up he is not worthy of him and they that do not forsake all and come out of all are in the sinful neglect of the family of the Lord of heaven and earth and they stick below in their own cieled houses habitations nests holes and rocks falling into the mountains and there garnishing the Sepulchres and living in all fashions customes honours and pleasures of the world And the Priests work hath been this to teach the people to keep in the lust and not to forsake and come out of all their lusts to Christ who are not worthy of him and if any do they look upon them to be sinful neglecters of their family which wisdom was before all things were made and is the preserver and finisher of all things and not the destroyer but tha it rebukes and in this are men ordered to Gods glory Prin. The Quakers deny the imputed righteousness prayer baptisme Church-government Ministery Answ That ever ye five that are called Ministers should ever thus publish your lies to the Nation The higher powers the one government the Church the Pillar and ground of truth The Ministry that is in the spirit that Ministers to the spirit in the prison baptized with the spirit into the one body prayer in the spirit the Lords Supper who dwells in the Saints and walkes in them and Sups in them the Gospel the power of God imputed righteousness to the believer Abraham believed and it was accounted to him for righteousness and Christ come and Christ in you who is the end of the belief who is the justification it self and righteousness it self nigher then when they did believe And so here is justification it self without imputation the righteousness of God here the belief ends And all these things are owned according to the Scriptures but all such teachers that be in the earth and teaches for money and means we deny and baptiseth and sells your prayers and Preaching and Supper for mony we deny Pr. Will a discerning of the Gospel mysteries prove a power to discern the state and condition of souls what it shall be to all eternity is not this a large ignorance Answ The Ministers of the spirit did watch for the souls the Prophets and Apostles knew its state and knew Christ the Bishop of it and saw when the soul was in death and saw when God had pleasure in it when it lived and saw the soul in Gods hand for who have the mysteries of the Gospel which is the power of God which gives liberty to the captive to the soul and all that is imputed in man this is glad tydings to the Just this is a true work-man that divides his work aright and is not ashamed of his work of his building but presents the soul to God and knowes when it is in death and when it is living And so who are come up 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 knowes 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 for ye are stumbling at the light which enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world which comes from Christ the Bishop of the soul so your darkness cannot comprehend that and so what fellowship hath the light with darkness it is not a strange thing It hath no fellowship with it for
And the work of the Ministery and Pastors and Teachers you throw your selves out of who have received their gifts from Christ you who deny perfection while men be upon the earth or coming to a perfect man you are not with them that edifie the body of Christ but throw your selves out of that work and you are not them that are for the perfecting of the Saints for none are the Ministers of Christ and haled for his sake but who brings people to a perfection out of imperfection and to a perfect man and these are the Ministers that were haled by these Priests that had the Law and Tythes and Temples and Synagogues that made nothing perfect but your Temple and Tythes and Syagogues hath been invented by such that went forth from the Apostles whose successors you are that had the form of godliness but denyed the power and so they denyed that which was perfect and this you have held up since the Apostles in the Apostacy whose work and Ministry and Foundation is to be overthrown with the power of God which hath been that that hath drunk the blood of the Saints and Martyrs since the dayes oâ— the Apostles but in the rising of the Lamb and the Saints you are all overthrown and rejoyced over and slain with the sword which is the words of his mouth though you all beasts false prophets Antichrists may rise in battel against him the Lamb and the Saints shall have the victory you have been the Pillars that have held up Antichrists Kingdom in the usurped Authority out of the power and life the Apostles were in who were sent to Preach and Baptize whom you baptize and then Preach which is quite contrary to all reasonable men who have quite lost the true understanding For first they must be Preached to before they be Baptized Did not John rebuke the vipers asked them who had forewarned them to flie from the wrath to come and bid them bring forth fruits meet for repentance and think not to say you are of Abraham for God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham now where is your measure you Priests Pr. He saith I Send thee to open the eyes of the blinde and to turn them from darkness to light How many millions of souls would these wretches sweep away to hell if they had there will while thousands are in damnation for want of the Light Ans You all Priests and Teachers who cals your selves Ministers since the days of the Apostles who inwardly are ravened from the spirit of God are turning and have turned all people from the light to the darkness and so have kept thousands and millions of souls in damnation and turning them and keeping them in the path and way unto Hell who are Satans messengers and Ministers stopping the eyes of people from the Light and their ears from hearing of it and this hath been the work of your Ministry and hath been ever since the dayes of the Apostles as this day the people of the whole Nations have witnessed and may witness Now Christs Ministers were sent to turn people from darkness to light and to bring them to perfection to a perfect man out of that which was not perfect Satans Ministers who went out of Truth and so are his Ministers and messengers whom he sends out from his Authority is to turn people and keep people from the light to the darkness And this hath been your fruits and your works as your Pulpits and the Nations declares So brings not people into unity and fellowship one with another which is in the light but seâ—s people at enmity one with another and keeping them from the light who are with it condemned Pr. The enemies of the Ministers of Christ are playing the Papists game That it will be easier for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgement then for them to despise the Ministers of Christ Touch not mine anointed and do my Prophets no harm and the enemies do reproach the Ministers of Christ which is the Devils game and the Sects are against the Ministers of Christ and do the same work the Drunkard and Whoremongers doe c. Ans This thou hast brought upon thine and your own heads though thou art blinde and seest not thy self and all Dâ—unkards Whoremongers and Idolaters the proud and covetous joyned with you called Priests against them called Quakers the only Ministers of Christ not made by men but by the will of God Is not all Sects joyned with you against them Are you not reviling them and railing upon them in your Pulpits and is not this the Devils game you are doing And if any come amongst you to prove you either in season or out of season you are they that cannot endure sound doctrine nor able to resist their spirits or stand against them but cries take them away so they are beat and knockt down in your steeple-houses sent to stocks or prison are you not like Sodom and Gomorrah in this and like the Pharisees and the beast and the mother of Harlots and false prophets which John speaks of which takes the blood of the Saints doing their game Hath not the Lord reproved many of you yea and Magistrates both for harming his Prophets yet you go quite contrary to Scripture which saith Do my Prophets no harm And is not this the Papists game to prison and to persecute and was it not the Papists game to set up your Masse-houses which you call Churches and their game to call out and to persecute and make a Law and decree that none should speak to them in their time of Preaching reading or singing Mass and are not you quenching the spirit when any are moved of the Lord to speak to you was not this the Papists game which you are now doing Did ever the Apostles hale any out of the Synagogues but were so done unto themselves but the Jewes game and the Papists game and your game are like one another here Unlike the True Christians Christ and the Apostles who wrestled not with flesh and blood striking at the creatures but at the powers which captivated creatures to the intent that the creatures might come into the liberty of the Sons of God so you that are striking the creatures wrestling with flesh and blood are playing the Dâ—vils game like your mother from the beginning Was it not the Papists game to set up all your Schools and Colledges and give your names to them and your Houses and set them in the figure of the Temple and when altered you them Do you not go on in the Papists game was it not the Papists game to set up Tythes and are not you playing the same gaine in taking them was it not the Papists game to set up your hour-glasses and preach by the houre and marking with your Crosse and setting your God-fathers and God-mothers and are not many of you playing this game yet what game are you playing in your Steeple
regard and receive but if one come in the Name of the Lord him you put out so you will not have the Lord nor his Christ to reign neither his servants to labour in his Vineyard Pr. Ministery is like a mighty tree whose fruit the Lord hath appointed for the healing of the Nations Answ But your Ministers and the Papists hath been them got up since the days of the Apostles that brings Nations all into heaps and into blood and doth not heale the Nations but wounds and burthens and kills and casts into prison as this your fruit declares it who casts into prison such as you doe no work for Pr. To the Law and to the Testimony pray to the Father of lights that he would enlighten us with his truth and shew us the way that he would have us to walke in and pray for us who watch for your soules as those that must give account Answ The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy And the Law is light and the Law and Testimony was before Matthew Marke Luke and Iohn and the Epistles were written and the Revelations which outward Books you call Law and Testimony which the Scripture saith the testimony of Iesus is the spirit of prophesie and the Law is light Prov. 6. Are you them that are the makers of Ministers and Ministers who watch for the soules of people and yet do you bid people pray to the Father that he would enlighten you with his truth and shew you the way that you may walke in it How can you present soules to God that doth not know the way and are yet to be enlightned and yet to have the way shewed so you that you might walke in it Is this your conclusion of all you Ministers in Ireland Now I say Christ hath enlightned every man which comes into the world which is the way and though your darknesse cannot comprehend it and yet you pray that he would enlighten you When John saith he doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world and that is the true light Have you the light to seek and the way to seek and truth to seek and yet watchers for souls And the soule you that are called Ministers saith it is humane yea the soule of Christ the soule of man is appetite and lust and pleasure and humane from the earth from the ground Is Christs soule from the ground and appetite lust and pleasure wars against the soul in them that be in the unreasonablenesse You that have the light to seek truth to seek and way to seek are in the earth and so gives the soule the name of that which comes from the ground Now the soule is immortall God breathed into man the breath of life and he became a living soule It is that which came out from God who hath all souls in his hand that 's his power which hand goes against him that doth evill And Christ the power of God which is immortall is the souls Bishop which is immortall from whence it hath its nourishment and the immortall which is able to save the immortal soul And as for all the rest of your ignorance and non-sence in your Book which comes from your confused earthly spirit who are found in the nature spirit and stock of your Father the Pope who hath apostatized since the dayes of the Apostles with all the rest of your stuffe which is but fuel for the fire in that day of your account the witnesse in all your consciences shall answer it John Stillom his Book called Margent Notes His Principles as followeth Pr. HEe calls it the Quakers adoring their own light magnifying the light of nature The Church is ashamed of your doctrine and walking saith he Ans The Quakers light is Christ the truth in whom they worship God which light was before naturall lights were and this the Church owns and is not ashamed of in which stands the Doctrine by which light the Church is gathered up unto God the Father of light but the imitated Churches in the Apostacy are ashamed of it Pr. Not any man knows him speaking of Christ to be God till he finde him in Scripture and saith as deep things as the spirit hath revealed they are all in the Scripture Ans Many knew God and knew Christ and yet had not written Scripture to tell them of those things as Enoch and Abel and many again hath Scripture speaking of God and Christ and yet doth not know God and Christ and doth not finde him in Scripture As instance the Pharisees knew not God and Christ which had the Scripture and had not life untill they came to Christ the Scripture speaks of and many things the spirit did reveal which was not written in the Scriptures and was spoken to the Saints Pr. John meaneth not that there was any substantiall truth necessary to be known to salvation which is not revealed in the written Word but the spirit that ordered the Copies and mysteries of the Gospell to be contracted within a narrow compass of lines Answ Many knew their salvation as in the dayes of Noah Enoch and David which had not the written Scriptures And though people have the Copies that speaks of the Gospel of the mysteries of the Gospel put together and compassed and contracted into lines yet they do not know the Gospell nor the mysteries of it nor the Word though they testifie of these things and the Pharisees did not that had Scripture which Scripture doth not tell us of written words but that the Word is Christ and God which was in the beginning before words were given forth And Gospell and salvation and the mysteries of it is known by the Spirit and the Light which come from Christ Jesus which none knows it but by that Pr. Stillom adds not onely heart rising prophesie nâ—r breast-prophesie in the minde but written downe in books The Apostle excludes not heart-prophesie so he includes Scripture-prophesie but till the day-star did arise in their mindes by the reading and heeding of the Scriptures that is plain meaning Answ The Scriptures were given forth by prophesie and the spirit of it and no man knows but by the same spirit and the Apostle did not exclude heart-prophesie and the Day-star doth not rise in the heart by mens reading and heeding the Scriptures in their own wills and having them in books written down but as men do come to the life and spirit as they were in that gave them forth and heed that with that they heed Scripture and knows Scripture and with that they know the Day-star and Christ who is the end of them and so men must come to take heed of the light that shines in a dark place before they know the Day-star arise For the Jewes had Scripture and did not heed that for the spirit within of prophesie doth not deny any tittle of the Scripture without And in thy Principle thou hast confounded thy selfe who saith Not heart-prophesie heart-rising
Matthew Markell and the rest of the Priests present with him did Excommunicate those people called Quakers in the prâ—â—ence of many witnesses and he required his hearers to say Amen to every particulâ—r sentence JOHN HVMES Priest Pr. THey who have not the Scriptures knowes not the Attributes of God by the light of nature but the Scriptures declare the great mystery of the three persons in Trinity which they who want the Scriptures knowes not Answ Thy Principle is a lie and who had not the Scriptures knew God and Christ as Abraham and Enoch and the Scripture doth not declare of the three persons nor of the Trinity and the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God Pr. That the Scriptures reveal the great mystery of Election the great works of the Creation and the work of Redemption Answ There thou hast set up the Scripture in stead of God and before God and the Son for it is God that doth reveal to babes and sucklings Mat. 11.25 and God did reveal by his Spirit 1 Cor. 2.10 and God shall reveal Phil. 3.15 and the things of God are hid from the wise and prudent Mat. 11.25 that have the Scriptures the Jews had the Scriptures and God reveals his secrets to the Prophets his servants Amos 3.7 no man knows the Father saving to whom the Son shall reveal him Mat. 11.17 now the Son reveals and the Father reveals and the things of God are revealed by his Spirit 1 Cor. 2.10 the Jewes had the Scriptures and knew not the Son 1 Cor. 2.8 nor the Father as in John nor the things of God by a natural light as they call it the Iews had the Scriptures and did not know the Election Isa 24. because they were from the Spirit So it is God that reveals the Son and Redemption and Election and not the Scripture the Scripture was given forth from them that had the Revelation from God Pr. That we and the Papists and Jesuites and Priests do agree all together that the Scripture is the word of God that liveth and endureth for ever Ans I do believe that you and the Papists and Jesuits agree all in one but ye did not agree with the Apostles and Ministers of the word for the Ministers of the word calls the Scripture a Declaration as ye may read Luke 1. and ye do not agree with them that set forth the Acts that called it a Treatise Acts 1. likewise ye do not agree with some of your own who say the Scriptures signifies writings and writings will not endure for ever so ye are Babylon and do not agree with Christ and ye do not agree with Iohn Rev. 22. who saith the words nor with Moses nor God who spake all these words Exod. 20. In the beginning was the word and the word is God and the word liveth and abideth for ever but the Scripture is words and the Scripture cannot be broken John Nasmith Priest of Hambleton his Principles Pr. THat the soul of man is a reasonable sinful substance Ans How can that which is sinful be reasonable and if that which is unsinful be reasonable and sinful be reasonable both then they are one in unity The Lord will take the soul for an offering for sin doth the Lord take that which is sinfull for an offering Isai 53. see how thou and the Prophet agrees here But what is that soul that the wicked is not able to kill is it not that which God hath in his hand and this is a lie to say that which is reasonable is sinful of one that puts light for darkness God breathed into man the breath of life and he became a living soul who hath all souls in his hand and the soul is immortal and Christ the Bishop of it is immortal and God hath it in his hand which goeth against him that doth evil whose hand is immortal but man transgressing the commands of God the soul lies in death so Christ is the Bishop of the souls so they that came to know Christ their souls rejoyced in God their Saviour Luke 1. Pr. That the evil Spirits are both sinfull and reasonable Answ This is a lie for reasonable is not sinful and unreasonable is sinful 2 Thes 3. they have not the faith and if the evil Spirit be reasonable and the good reasonable they are both one who then is unreasonable If the evil Spirit be reasonable thou puts no difference between the precious and the vile thou hast the Mark of a blinde guide and a false Prophet in thy forehead Pr. That one of them Quakers is worse then the Devil This is a lie with his strange wonder for there is nothing worse then the Devil whose children you are for when he speaks a lie he speaks of himself and he is the Father of it Henry Foreside Priest of Lingiah in Dunbarton-shire His Doctrine and PRINCIPLES Pr. THat God commands all every where to repent to the end that they should not have it to say but they were warned but not that he would give them grace to repent Ans Here thou makes God that he does not intend that he speaks and so thou would make him unrighteous though the Lord commands all men every where to repent Acts 17.30 who hath made all Nations of men of one blood to dwell upon the Earth and all being concluded under sin and unbelief that he might have mercy upon all Rom. 3.9 For both Jews and Gentiles all were under sin and none of them did good no not one And Gods intent is that when he calls men to repentance they should repent when he calls them and many did repent and you are not fit men to be Ministers of Christ or God Now if God command all men every where to Repent and as thou sayst does not intend they should Repent thou and you go about to make God unjust First the Lord he desireth not the death of a sinner but that he should turn from his wickedness and live Exod. 33.11 Now in the turning from his wickedness he lives but in going on in his wickedness he dies so Repentance was Preached from dead works to serve the living God Heb. 6.1 and Christ came to call sinners to Repentance not the righteous for the whole needs not the Physitian but the sick Mat. 9.12 13. And as for saying God did not intend to give them grace though he calls them to repentance That is a lie and unrighteous doctrine for the grace of God hath appeared to all men which brings Salvation Titus 2.11 and so as he calls them to repentance he gives them grace that grace which brings salvation which men are justified by so it is saving grace that brings salvation and teacheth to deny ungodlinesse Now they that live ungodly turns the grace of God into wantonnes Jud. 4. and these are the wells without water in Cains way Balaams way Cores way Jud. 11. speaks the high words in hypocrisie and these are
comes the soul to be subject to the higher power that 's above the transgressor which all the Magistrates and Rulers upon the earth must give an account to and there is none upon the earth that comes to worship God in the spirit and in truth but who first come to own that of God in them and there is none upon the earth that are like to retain God in their knowledge nor his Covenant while their minds is reprobated from that of God in them There all may see the Covenant of grace to all men and the Covenant of light and life with the Father he gave him for a Covenant of light to the Gentiles to the Heathen I will make a new Covenant with the house of Israel and Judah the people of God I will write my Law in their hearts and their minds so saith Christ the Covenant of God I am the light of the world and doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world that all men through the light of the covenant of God might believe it is the covenant of God that every man that cometh into the world is enlightned withall and every one that hates the light wherewith they are enlightned withall hates the Covenant and the light condemns him and here all men may see the free grace of God that brings salvation hath appeared to all men The grace of God that brings the salvation the turning the grace of God into wantonness and walking despightfully against the spirit of grace they neglect their salvation and bring punishment and condemnation upon them as it s written in Jude Concerning election and what is elected the grace of God which brings salvation hath appeared to all men to the clearing Gods Justice and the fault is in man for his condemnation There is a precious thing in these Scots but there is a filthy beastly durty thing lyeth over A Book I have received out of Holland the Title of which is called A Catechism of Christian Religion Printed at Amsterdam by Iohn Frederick Stationer at the signe of the Hope 1639. The principles in it as followeth Pr. OUt of the Law they say they learne they should love the Lord God with all their strength and mind and soule and their Neigbour as themselves Ans Now these words are said but where these words are performed the commandement is knowne and God is loved and his Neighbour as himselfe so loves the Creation the work-manship of God but where these words are talked of and not done and they say they have not power then they be out of that state as the Jewes was in that came out of Egypt which had the power and ability to answer the law of God to which the Law was committed and God is equall and righteous and commands nothing but what is equall and just and measurable and reasonable according to that which men may performe and such as he gives the Law to he gives power but if men transgresse the Law they abuse the power and such were not justified and may say they had not power but that is false that is a lye Pr. They say They are not able to keep the word of God perfectly that is to say to love their Neighbours as themselves and love God for man is prone to evil-hatred by nature Ans That which brings men to keep the commandements of God is beyond nature to order nature and to rule nature and above nature and it is to subject that which is prone to evil and that nature that the law goes upon so he that lookes into the law and loves God is turned from the evill nature for the evill makes the nature corrupt man in the beginning which had the law of God within the commandement man in the fall had the commandement given to him and there he had power as man had in the beginning the Law and the power but they both transgressing abusing the power so became unrighteous not to make God unrighteous or a hard task-master to lay more upon a man then he can doe as the corrupt wills of men and the slothfull servants look upon God so to doe as to command them to do the thing they cannot so to make God unreasonable they that love the darknesse and the pleasures and the lust more then God and so have not regard to God and their Neighbour for man in the beginning lost his uprightnesse by transgressing the Law and so the Devils seed comes to be sowed in mankind and the Image of God lost and the Image of the devil is set up in man and so comes darknesse hardnesse mists dimnesse and blindnesse and death reigned from Adam to Moses so then came the Law by Moses that went over all transgressors answered the principle of God in all men that was transgressed and the Lord that gave man the Law gave him power and ability who saith his waies was equall and righteous and they then to love God with their strength and their souls and their neighbour as themselves and such were preservers of the creation and lovers of the workmanship of God but such as were transgressors was destroyers and defacers of the workmanship of God and not lovers of God nor their Neghbour Pr. That the anger of God is most dreadfull for the sins wherein they were borne Ans Then you are not the believers which were borne in the sin nor of believing parents if you do owne the Apostles doctrine for the unbelieving is sanctified by the believing else were their children unholy but now are they cleane saith the Apostle the Minister of God if you can believe his doctrine and beare it and receive it but if you do object and say borne in sin and transgression and all by nature the children of wrath yea I say this is the estate the Apostle speaks of among unbelievers Jewes and Gentiles gone astray from the life of God from the Covenant of promise but who came into the life of God and the covenant of promise are believers the believing wife or the believing husband sanctifies the unbelieving else were their children unholy but now are they cleane he that can receive this let him this was the Apostles Doctrine Pr. Because the Justice of God requires that the same nature of man which had sinned do it selfe make recompence for sin Ans All that makes the recompence for sin is he that never sinned Christ the second Adam and not the first so in this your blindnesse and darknesse hath appeared and it is not the same nature that hath sinned that destroyes it but it is Christ that cleanseth the nature of Man that had sinned and destroyes sin it selfe that is to say the Devill that hath defiled the nature of Man and so Christ is called the sanctification Justification redemption cleansing of mans nature blotting out of the sin and transgression Pr. Salvation is not offered to all men who perished in Adam but onely to those men who are grafted in