so every Evil doer hates this Light because his Deeds are Evil and the Light reproves him to his Face and in his Heart without respect to his Person And therefore none but they whose Deeds are wrought in God can willingly come to this Light with their Deeds or endure that this Light should pass Judgment on them for it 's the Righteous only that hath Praise in the Presence of this pure God the Light who lighteth every Man that cometh into the Word and is come a Light in the World that all through him might believe and come out of Darkness and the Deeds thereof and be saved So if any of you perish it is in your love of Darkness and your Destruction is of your selves for God would have you to be saved and to that purpose holds forth his Love in his Light to your Consciences daily that you might be warned and not perish And if this Gospel of his Love and Grace the Light be hid from you it is because the God of this World with his deceitful Allurements hath blinded your Eye Mark The God of this World hath blinded your Minds that Old Sepent who is called the Devil and Satan and Prince of the Power of the Air which works in the Hearts of all Disobedient ones hath captivated your Understanding if this Gospel of Light you perceive not to Love and Obey it And consider how the Power of Darkness deceives Man it begins with him betimes and works subtilly with him in his Mind when he is tender and young carrying him forth eagerly after Childish Vanities and Youthful Lusts if by the Light that secretly Checks for these things he be not resisted The World tells the Youth that by going forth into some Form of Religion and conforming to that is God's way by which Man may be helped against his Sin but God the Truth saith I have laid help upon One that is mighty Christ Jesus the Light who is to be known in Man a present help against Sin And by what means saith David may a young Man cleanse his way save only by taking heed according to the Word of God And the Word is nigh in the Heart saith Paul discerning the Thoughts and Intents thereof And the Light shineth in Darkness saith John in Man yea in every Man that cometh into the World making all things in secret manifest and who can bide their Deeds from it So if the young Men come not to this Light then they abide in Darkness and grow up in Darkness and covering themselves but not with the Spirit of God so long until there be no Remedy but the Wo and the Curse must needs come upon them But he that followeth me saith Christ the Light shall not abide in Darkness Sin nor Evil but shall have the Light of Life and shall not come into Condemnation So He that hath an ear let him hear and mind the Light of Christ in you that lets you see all that ever you have done and sets before you your Sins in order and brings Judgment and Condemnation upon your Souls for them And love the Light and its righteous Judgments for Zion must be redeemed through Judgment and bring all your Deeds Words and Thoughts to this Light of Christ and hide not any thing from it for he that hideth his Sins from the Lord shall not prosper But he that in this true Light sees his Sin and forsakes the Sin and turns to God in his Light and abides therein shall be Blessed But Wo is the Portion of such as turn not to him that Smites them but instead of owning the Pricks and Reproofs of Wisdom kick against them These are the Ungodly whose Sacrifice the Lord could never accept but they abiding in their Sins all their Prayers and Performances were still returned upon them from the pure God as Dung upon their Faces Therefore go not forth saith Christ for the Kingdom of Heaven which he compared to many little things is within you And when they shall say Lo here lo there saith Christ go not after them For those that draw People from the Light and Spirit of Christ that Holy Anointing within in Man were always Antichrists And in John the Apostle's Time many of these were come and they went out from us saith the same John the beloved Disciple of Jesus From us understand such as were in the Anointing of God which taught all things and they neeved not that any Man should teach them abiding in the Anointing wherewith their Souls and Spirits of God were anointed for that was true perfect and sufficient to lead them into all Truth according to the Promise it was in them a Spiritual Unction a Free Gift from the Holy One in Christ the promised Seed with whom through Faith the right Holy Faith they were become one Spirit and so became Heirs of the Promise and true Witnesses of the New and Everlasting Covenant which saith And they shall all be taught of God These are not outwardly anointed as those under thâ— Law the Figure were but these were and are Spiritually Anointed of God himself in Christ and so were and are true Heirs of the Gospel the Substance and true Children of the day walking in that Heavenly and Eternal Light wherein they could and do in truth say Our Fellowship is with the Father and the Son So here in this Holy Body there was no Antichrists but those that went out from these into the Worlds Ways Worships Customs Traditions and Inventions these were Antichrists And now being gone forth from the Lord and his Spirits Teaching they become one with the World using their Tongues to talk of the things of God in the Worlds Spirit without God And so they being of the World saith John herefore the World hears them 1 John 4.5 But he that is of God saith the same John heareth us even us that abide in the Holy Anointing of God in us And my Sheep hear my voice saith Christ and follow me but a Stranger they will not follow So there are two Spirits the Spirit of Christ and the Spirit of the evil World And two sorts of Teachers accordingly the one hears the Voice of God in Christ and in the strength of this Spirit goes forth with the Word of God and Gospel of Truth in their Heart and Mouth in Obedience to God and pure Love to the Soul of Man and not for filthy Lucre nor any worldly End whatsoever And these the true Seed God's Little Ones Lambs and Sheep hear love and are one with meerly for the Truths sake which is one and endures for ever But now contrariwise the other sort of Teachers who are rightly called Strangers because they are Strangers to the Life of God and Holy Motion of his Spirit they go forth in their own Wills according to the Motion of their own earthly Spirits without God for Self-ends in the allowance of the earthly Power Name and Authority not to build up the Body of
ascended far above all Heavens and out of all Figures and Shadows that he might fill all things with his Holy Substance And as in former Days he gave some Apostles some Prophets some Evangelists and some Pastors and Teachers for the Perfecting of the Saints for the Work of the Ministry for the Edifying of the Body of Christ till we all saith the Apostle to wit the Heavenly Body not the Body of Sinful Earthly Flesh come in the Vnity of the Faith and the Knowledge of the Son of God to a perfect Man unto the Measure of the Stature and Fulness of Christ Ephes 4.11 12 13. Even so the Lord is now giving forth of his Spirit to his Children Born of his Spirit for enabling them in this Day of Restoration for the Work of the Ministry for the perfecting of the Saints and fitting them for Glory and this now after a long Night of Darkness and Desolation is to the Praise of his Glory who hath made us in this his Blessed Day as he did his Faithful Followers in the Beginning accepted in the Beloved to shew forth his Praises to Ages to come whom he will also raise up by Christ Jesus together with us to magnifie his Mercies for Evermore But that the Parish Teachers of these Times who Preach for Hire and Divine for Money loving to be called of Men Master and like the Pharisees of old love to go in Long Robes and receive Honour one of another John 5. are such to wit so given of Christ and begifted from Heaven and fitted for so great a Work as to perfect the Saints as those before in Eph. 4. mentioned were I utterly deny and their Fruits as also the Fruits of their Hearers make manifest that they are of another Sort Seed and Generation even such as the Prophet Jeremiah speaks of and declares against who have run and God never sent them For why they waited not for the Word of God to speak in them and by them but stole the Words from their Neighbour and used their Tongues to say The Lord-saith when the Lord never spoke by them Ier. 23.30 and therefore saith the Lord these Teachers shall not profit the People at all Verse 32. For what are their Chaffy Words to the Word of God Verse 28. So the Teachers of the Parishes this day get into the Pulpit with the Words of the Prophets and Apostles in their Hand and Sin in their Hearts as those other did dreaming over them for Filthy Lucre and cry to the People BELOVED yea Beloved because they put into their Mouths Hear the Word of the Lord as you shall find it written in such a Chapter and such a Verse when the Lord never spoke to these Hirelings nor sent them thus to preach but they are Men made Ministers Men of the Evil World and great Lovers and Pleaders for it and therefore the World hears them 1 John 4.5 But â—â—e true Messenger of Christ saith for himself and his Brethren We are of God and the whole World lieth in Wickedness And saith Christ to his Disciples Ye are not of the World as I am not of the World for if you were of the World the World would love you for the World loves its own but now I have chosen you out of the World therefore the World hates you John 15.18 19. So all People fear the Lord God for the Name of Christians without the Nature of Christ will do you no good at all for the Lord is come to search all that called Christendom with Candles and to pull down the lofty Hearts and Looks of all amongst them called Christians first and then of all the World besides for now is the Lord exalting his great Name over all as in the Beginning before the Antichrist Beast False Prophet and Whore got up and who shall stop the Passage of this mighty Jehovah in the great Work of setting up his Kingdom over all the Kingdoms of the Man of Sin that the Kingdoms of this World may become the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ whose Right alone it is to Rule and Reign according to that Saying in the Prophet I will Overturn Overturn Overturn till he come to Rule whose Right it is And now Wo and Misery begins to take hold of all Hypocrites and all the Wicked because of the arising and appearing of the great God from Heaven this day who is on his Throne judging in Righteousness and in Righteousness making War whose Fiery Word his Two-edged Sword goes out of his Mouth not only to discover but also to destroy and consume the Man of Sin in all the Earth And now the Hireling Teachers of all sorts the Merchants of Mystery Babylon shall cry Alas alas that great City People begin to see us and they will not Trade with us nor buy our Merchandize as in former days but declare against it see Rev. 18.10 11. O yea it cannot be otherwise for now the Witnesses that lay slain in the Streets of the great City Sodom and Egypt Spiritually so called are arisen and stand upon their Feet praised be God And now Judgment is given to the Saints of the Most High God Dan. 7.12 25 26 27. So that though the great Antichrist under many Shapes and Appearances hath spoken great words against God his Truth and People and hath oppressed the Saints yet now the Judgment of God being set against him his Dominion shall be consumed and destroyed and the Saints of the Most High God shall have Dominion and Reign with Christ whose Kingdom is an Everlasting Kingdom and all Dominions shall serve and obey him to wit our Lord Jesus Christ for whose Blessed Name and Truth 's sake the Holy Tremblers who Tremble at his Word and follow him in the Regeneration do this day suffer it is so Thomas Taylor In the Year 1679. Something in Answer to some Passages in that Wicked Antichristian Book written Catechism-wise by some Popish Stickler for his Master the Pope the Romish Antichrist and his Followers Printed at Douay and Subscribed H. T. IN his second Chapter he saith Faith is necessary to Salvation and that Faith is firmly to believe Matters of Faith because God hath revealed them Then say I Not the Pope But saith he again It is not enough to believe all that is written in the Bible but we must believe also Apostolical Traditions citing 2 Thess 2.15 Now say I in answer hereto That through wresting and abusing of this Scripture have they made way for bringing in all their Filthy Popish Stuff whereby Thousands and Ten thousands of poor Peoples Souls both have been and are at this day miserably deluded for certainly the Traditions which the Apostle there tells of whether by Word or Epistle where all of one nature and not directly contrary or contradictory one to another But the Popish Traditions though they may falsly call them Apostolical are directly contrary to Holy Scripture But saith he The Apostles Creed is not in the
their own Members them of their own polluted Church who divers of them are left in Prison upon other accounts as well as over thee And so unless thou be provided for otherwise thou mayst remain there in Misery and Want or Perish there as well as they for any Care they will have of thee for thou must not look that they that hate their own Flesh can love thine But the Righteous cannot be forsaken for their Keeper is the Lord God of Truth and Love So O Prophet be content and wait in the Will of God in thy Condition for Blessed are they that Suffer for Righteousness sake and the Scripture must be fulfilled which saith They shall hawl you out of their Synagogues and many other ways evil intreat you yea some of you they shall put to Death and think therein they do God Service And so wait to see the Sins of Gilead full and then in the Judgment shalt thou O Prophet of God and all thy Suffering Brethren rejoyce and all the Workers of Iniquity be Confounded with all that Thirst for Blood and into the Holy City shall none such enter but the pure in Heart who have come through the great Tribulation and have washed their Garments white in the Blood of the Lamb shall only enter and alone inherit to the Glory of the eternal righteous God for evermore to whom all Honour and Glory is due for ever and ever Amen and Amen And now for the Use of these Doctrines oh Priests and People that make a Trade of talking of the Scripture of Truth and Uses from it now and then in your high Places but make none of walking in the Truth in your daily Conversation it is to let you see That there were Wolves in Sheeps Clothing formerly and so to find such now is no new or strange thing And That under a Profession of God People may be found Workers of Iniquity and full of Blood And That a whorish Spirit in a Teacher is a murtherous Spirit and will draw others from God into Wheredoms and Death and so by all means to be taken heed of And it is to let you see oh all People what evil use the Priests and Leaders of you the People in these days as formerly make of the Scripture for whereas as you may see here it was given forth by the Holy Men of God a Witness against the Enemies of God and for the Servants of God such People and Priests as formerly so now abuse and wrest it from its proper Mind Use and End going about what in them lieth to make it speak for Deceit and its Upholders and against Truth and its Followers as is manifest For whereas the Scripture speaks of no Worship now nor Worshippers to be acceptable to God and Christ but that which is in Spirit and Truth they wrest and force the Scripture for carrying on a Worship which stands in outward Ceremonies carnal Ordinances Types and Shadows and a Kingdom to come in outward Observations as Lo here lo there like the Jews which a Man of Flesh a Câ—in or an Ishmael or an Esau or a Haman or a Dives or a Judas may conform unto and be accepted with them just contrary to Scripture and so in effect deny Christ the Substance to be come and as the Scribes and Pharisees which came to Christ and said Why dost thou and thy Disciples break the Traditions of the Elders in eating with unwashen hands To whom Christ said Why do you make void the Law of God by your Traditions mentioning in particular their Corban So when the Priests the Teachers heaped up over the People in this Age say unto us whom God by his mighty Power and out-stretched Arm hath delivered out of Mystery Babylon yea Sodom and Egypt Spiritual where the Witnesses lay flain and where our Lord also was Crucified to worship him in Spirit and in Truth I say When they object and say unto us Why do you not observe but transgress the Tradition of the Elders in not bringing your Infants to Baptism in not frequenting the Meeting at the Steeple-house called the Church And why pay you not the Priest now called Minster his Tythes Easter-Reckonings and other like things called his Dues And why observe you not the Customs of the World in Swearing at Courts and bowing the Hat and Knee and giving flattering Titles to Men Job 32.21 22. and bidding God speed to the Wicked and the like 2 John v. 9 c. Our Answer to all such is Why do you break the Commands of God by your Traditions teaching for Doctrine these and the like things which are meerly your own Commandments and evil Customs and not the Commands of God For we put you all Teachers and People to prove by Scripture where we are commanded these things you put upon us to do and if you do not which we know you cannot then I say your gathering together in Companies and going about to establish such things by a Law for any People to observe which Christ hath not commanded See how you can free your selves from the Charge which the Prophet here lays upon the People of Gilead and the Priests thereof and therefore why may not the words be turned upon you and applied to your Condition with the Names only changed after this manner that is England is a Nation of them that work Iniquity and is polluted with Blood and as Troops of Robbers wait for a Man so the Company of Hireling Teachers called of Men Ministers and Masters murther in the way by consent for they commit Lewdness And therefore high time for you all People who love your Souls and would not be murthered to look about you and in the Light which-Christ hath lighted you with to watch and take heed that you be â—ot robbed and spoiled of the Heavenly Treasure by these Layers in wait as you would be careful to avoid a Troop of Robbers that wait for a Man so all having time prize it and come out from among them and know Christ in you to be your Teacher for he is the true Light that lighteth every Man that cometh into the World that all in him should believe and he is come to teach his People himself and to deliver them by his Power and Spirit from the Hands and Mouths of all such as have made and would still make a Prey upon them according as he promised of old by his Servants who spoke and wrote from his Mouth of these things as you may read in Scripture all abroad and namely in Deut. 18.15 c. Isa 54.13 Ezek. 34. throughout Jer. 31.33 34. Heb. 8. John 6.45 1 John 2.20 27. Rom. 8.14 Rev. 21. throughout And the Scripture cannot be broken For behold the days come saith the Lord that I will perform the good thing which I have promised to the House of Israel and to the House of Judah Jer. 33.14 Now all People know that these are the days of fulfilling these Scriptures
which sets the Soul free from all Sin for how should People ever come to the Knowledge of the Truth by following such Teachers as are out of the Truth For if the Blind lead the Blind must they not both fall into the Ditch Also seeing you profess the Scripture and not unwritten Traditions to be your Rule and would have People to believe that what you do is according to Scripture therefore it 's demanded in a few words further 1. What Scripture have you for your Sprinkling of Infants and Signing them with the Sign of the Cross and telling People That thereby they are made Members of Christ Children of God and Inheriters of the Kingdom of Heaven when in your own Catechism in Contradiction to your Practice you teach That Children by reason of their Infancy or tender Years then cannot perform the Requests of Baptism to uit Faith and Repentance 2. And what Scripture have you for your Sureties so called which you most unscripturally call the Childrens God fathers and God-mothers which you pretend to make up the Defect in the Infants by and for putting these Pretended Sureties upon such bold Undertakings and unadvised Promisings of that for the Child which they never yet did for themselves nor indeed have Faith to believe that so great Works can be done in any upon Earth to wit To forsake the Devil and all his Works c. seeing that such generally held That none can live without Sin Is not Sin the Devil's Work Yea yea And is there any Undertaker for Man to God-ward but Christ And was there any Surety betwixt God and Man but Christ only who saith Without me ye can do nothing So then this evil Custom of your undertaking being derogatory to the Honour of Christ Who can say that God hath required it at your Hands But if you will yet plead for it shew us your Scripture for it if you would be esteemed to act as Protestants and not as Papists and to own Scripture above Mens Inventions and Traditions 3. Also what Scripture have you for your Surplice Canonical Coats Typpets c. and for wearing Black rather than other Colours seeing the Apostle blamed such as placed Religion in Days Meats and the like surely he would not agree with such as place their Religion in Garments and Colours Blessed be the Lord whose Day is dawned which makes all things manifest and none will hate the Light of it but Evil-doers 4. And what Scripture have you for your Tithes Easter-Reckonings Mortuaries and the like now under the Gospel and for your Laws which you call Spiritual to compel the People to pay you them seeing Christ is come the End of that Levitical Priesthood under whiâ—h Tithes were payable by Law 5. What Scripture have you who profess your selves to be Christians for your Swearing Swearing in your Courts so called Swearing in your Spiritual Courts 〈◊〉 The poor People called Câ—uâ—eâ—-Wardâ—ns grâ—â—an under the Burden of this evil Custom O this is far from following Christ who said and saith unto his Swear not at all but you are grown to that pass that you cannot trust one another without Swearing no not in your Church-matters Is not this a Fruit of Apostacy and departing from that ancient Faith which was once delivered to the Saints 6. And what Scripture have you for giving David's Prayers Prophecyings Roarings Quakings Tremblings and Confessions in Rhyme and Meeter to the World to sing who are of another Spirit than David was and so utterly unacquainted with David's Conditions and so instead of singing with the Spirit and Understanding as the ancient Christians did you sing in a Form without the Power thereby not honouring but rather dishonouring the Lord who is a Spirit and will be worshipped in Spirit and Truth 7. And what Scripture have you for teaching People to worship one another and for your Ring in Marriage where you teach them to say With this Ring I thee Wed and with my Body I thee worship Is not God alone to be worshipped How then are such to be accounted Christian Ministers who abide not in Doctrine 2 John 9. And lastly seeing you pretend to be Christ's Ministers and so God's Free-men I ask you these few plain Questions further Gal. 1.10 viz. 1. Why do you limit your selves or suffer others to limit you to such and such Forms of Words and Gestures and Apparel as is in Use amongst you in all your Services Is it from any Excellency you see in those Words or Forms more than in any other Or is it because you are so weak of Judgment or brittle of Memory as that you can do little without Book Or is it not rather for filthy Lucre sake you are willing to be soâ—ty'd because you know that without Conformity to the Wills of the great Ones in this Matter you can get no Power to compel Peoples earthly things from them O what will not the Love of Money compel covetous-minded People unto 2 Tim. 6.10 11. 2. What is that makes you go to the Bishop rather than any other Man or Men for Ordination as you you call it Is it because you know or believe that he is more Holy than any other Or hath more Power to confer any Spiritual Gift upon you by Imposition of his Hands more than any other If you say he hath where had he it And wherein doth it appear Or is it not rather that you go now to the Bishop for Ordination as you or your Brethren went formerly to the Classical Presbytery so called in Oliver's time because this is the Way now as the other was formerly to impower you to come into Parishes and be their Teachers and command their earthly things from them by Force whether you do any Spiritual Work for them or no Yea from such as in the Lord's Light see you to be no Ministers of the Spirit and therefore not able to minister Spiritual things and therefore deny you Oh that ever such a thing should be among such as profess to be Gospel Ministers 3. Whether do you believe that all things in the Church ought to be done and spoken in the alone Power and Spirit of the Lord Jesus And if so then how can you expect but that God will overturn overturn all Things until he to wit the Lord Jesus Christ to whom all Power in Heaven and Earth is given comes to rule in all and over all to whom of Right it belongs So be it And what is the Cause that you are so dark in your Minds as concerning the Mystery of Christ's Kingdom and the Spiritual Saving Power thereof if it be not that mentioned in the third Chapter of Micah's Prophecy verse 5 6 7. where it is written Thus saith the Lord concerning the Prophets that make my People err that bite with their Teeth and cry Peace and he that putteth not into their Mouths they even prepare War against him therefore Night shall be unto you that you shall not have
For what one Sin O ye People Teacher or Hearer that you were guilty of Seven or more Years since is there which you are not actually in at this Day he that was Drunken or Proud or Covetous or Lustful or Pleasurable or Unjust or the like in times past is found so still no Amendment no Washing of Sin away by all your Doings from amongst you for indeed Words and outside Performances could never do away Sin And so in vain is your Worship whilst your Fear is taught by the Traditions of Men and not by the Power of the Spirit of God according to Scripture for the Kingdom of God stands not in Words but in Power And the Redeemed of the Lord Worship in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the Letter Heb. 7. Col. 1. for the Letter-Law made nothing perfect but the bringing in of the better Hope doth which is Christ in Man the hope of Glory And so you wanting the Humble Penitent and Obedient Heart your Confessions are in vain and are rather a Mock-service than any true Sacrifice to God And so for want of a pure Heart you can neither see God nor approach to the Throne of his Heavenly Grace but stand Self-condemned your own words being witness against you And so you go on saying after your blind Guides That you are all your Lives long Miserable Offenders following too much the Devices and Desires of your own Hearts Offending against God's Holy Laws doing what you should not do and leaving undone what you ought to do till you are so full of the Leprosie of Sin from Head to Foot that there is no Health nor Soundness in you And then thus continuing from Year to Year to the end of your Days what Sacrifice can God accept at your Hands for the very Prayers of the Wicked are Abomination to the Lord. And therefore whereas in this State you so often call God Father you lie and do not the Truth For he that doth Righteousness is born of God but he that committeth Sin is of the Devil both Christ and his Apostle John being Witnesses see John 8.44 and 1 Epistle of John Chap. 3. and Verses 6 7 8 c. And so for the Words of that called the Absolution which follows wherewith the deceitful Priest would doub himself and you over I declare for the Lord they are no 〈◊〉 fit to either of you whilst you continue in your Sins as it 's manifest o◠do yea those very Words in that same Absolution where it is said He Pardoneth and Absolveth all such and I may add none but such as do truly repent and unfeignedly believe his holy Gospel shuts you all out from the Benefit of God's Absolution and Pardon For such as truly repent and unfeignedly believe the Gospel are healed of the Sickness of Sin and so have Health and Soundness in them and are not Miserable Offenders as you are but blessed Believers yea a chosen Generation born of God as Scripture saith John 1.13 And he that 's born of God Sinneth not for his Seed remaineth in him and he cannot Sin because he is born of God 1 John 3.9 Then certainly such Holy Ones as these Live not in a Continual Breach of God's Commandments as you do And so for the Lord's Prayer it belongs not to you whilst you continue doing the Deeds of the Wicked One for it was taught the Disciples and Followers of Christ who had God indeed for their Heavenly Father because they were really Born of him even of the Immortal and Incorruptible Seed of his Living Word which abode in them and they in it and so were Disciples indeed But alack for you who instead of forgiving as you would be forgiven are seeking your own Revenges and are learning of the Men of this World who know not God nor his Kingdom no nor so much as the Door nor entrance into it For the Heavenly Kingdom is still uncome to such as believe not in the Light which Christ the Door hath Inlightned them withal but love Darkness more than Light because their Deeds are evil For such as love to be called of Men Master and are Proud and Covetous and live in the daily Breach of God's Commandments could never love the Light nor bring their Deeds to be tryed by it because it is an Everlasting Reprover of all such And therefore saith Christ the true Light Therefore doth the World hate me because I witness against their Deeds that they are Evil. And so your most Hypocritical Proceeding to say O Lord open thou our Lips and our Mouth shall shew forth thy Praise shews plainly you heed not what you do for both the Priest and you have opened your Sinful Lips times without number without God's Spirit of Regeneration opening them for that as yet you never waited for and therefore your Sinful Mouth could not nor cannot shew forth God's Praise for the Dead Praise him not For it 's only such as Live in Christ as the Saints do not in Sin as you do that Praises him Glory to his Name that hath Abolished Death from amongst his People and hath brought Life and Immortality to Light in them in this his Glorious Day wherein he is Judging the great Whore which hath defiled the Earth grievously with her Fornications and the Day of God is Glorious which thus brings forth all the hidden things of Darkness to Light And Blessed are they and they only that walk in the Light of God's Holy City into which no unclean thing can ever enter So all ye People of the Earth who are thus found only in the Confession but not in the Forsaking of Sin shut your Mouths and cease taking God's Name any more in vain For certainly the Lord will not hold such Guiltless as take his Name in vain And take heed of applying those Scriptures to your selves whilst you live in Sin which belong only to such as witness Redemption from Sin as those words in that 95th Psalm following do which say O come let us sing unto the Lord let us heartily rejoyce in the strength of our Salvation for he is the Lord our God and we are the People of his Pasture and Sheep of his hands c. O stand in awe of God O People and do no more so presumptuously for his Sheep you are not who are so Deaf to his Voice and so Rebellious to his Word as you have and do daily every way manifest your selves to be O what Salvation can such witness as are so deep in their Sins for Christ Saves his People from their Sins from their Disobedience from being miserable Offenders and is the Saving Health of his Heavenly Anointed ones he leaves them not in the Darkness where the Sin is committed but brings all his Followers to the Light of Life where the ever Blessed and Holy and perfect and acceptable Will of God is both known and done and then of such it is truly said They are
or audience in so much that the boasting Spirit began to get up in some of them as in this John Reynolds as though nothing should stop their passage and so would have all accounted Liars that had said to the Contrary But behold the Wisdom if God in suffering things so to come to pass that all things might be fully manifest And so an Act of Parliament must come out against them unless they will Conform And then lo behold this shower of Rain forces in their tender Heads as not being able to endure the sharpness of the Storm for want of the true Spiritual Armour For Words and Profession could never secure any from the Fiery Trials that are still ordered in the Wisdom of God for the manifesting of every Seed So if these ensuing answers may be serviceable unto any of these Zealous Hearts to provoke them to a further search of themselves and be a means now when they are something low to give them a sight of any thing wherein they have Sined against God and Erred from his way of Life and so to move them to Repentance it will be well and a gladding of my Heart and of my Brethren who cannot but desire and endeavour not only theirs but even the good of all Men yea of them that either in times past have or at this day do shew the greatest Enmity against us for we know they none of them understand aright the Innocency of our Hearts to them and the Fear and Love of our Souls to God and his Truth for if they did how could they forbear to Love us But Glory to God for ever that hath given us not only to believe but even as need is to suffer for his Name and Truths sake and to pass by great Offences done to us which in Love to the Soul we could desire might be also the Portion of all that name Truth Rests God Servant Thomas Taylor Ignorance and Error REPROVED c. JOHN REYNOLDS A Paper of Queries coming to my hand as seems from thee to John Finch and John Payton of Dudly and weighing it well I could not but in obedience to God write something to it not so much for the use of these two young men who by the Light that God hath raised in them do see thy deceit therein as for the sake of some simple people who are as yet admirers of thee and deceived by thee and such like who under a pretence of zeal for the letter of Scripture and things you have set up in your wills under the name of Ordinances not knowing nor considering that Christ is come the end of all things to them that believe Though you may sometimes unwillingly light on Scriptures that speaks the thing and so if by what here may be said the Truth may more appear and their simple Souls be helped God will be Glorified and that will be Reward sufficient But before the Queries themselves be answered something may be said to that which goes before them in that Paper and from that I have noted the nature of thy Fawning Flattering Self-contradicting and Confused Spirit but to hide that from the Light thou backs thy sayings with quotations of Scripture as though mentioning what the Holy Men of God spoke by the true Spirit could prove that to be a true Spirit which acts in thee Nay nay the day is dawned Praised be God and the Sheepskin no longer can hide the Wolves from being seen of the Lambs of Christ for such hear Christs Voice and follow him and so are Children of the Light but the Stranger they will not follow though he may Paint him self over never so cunningly with words but all your fair words in the beginning of your work ye Fair-sayers whether in Pulpit or in Press is but to make way for your sting that follows for you resemble the Scorpion whose sling is in his Tail mentioned in Revelations for the end of all thy fair words here is but to draw these young men from the simplicity that is in Christ and his Light that Lighteth every man that cometh into the World for the great Malice of thy Heart is against the sufficiency of Christs Light in every man and so would have something to be added to it from without that so thou may'st bring in thy own traditions but what condition shall one gather by thy words these two Men John Finch and John Payton were in at the writing of these Queries to them for one while thou seemest to apply Scriptures respecting the conditions of the unbelieving Jews to them and another while thou applies those that respect the condition of pretty well-grown Christians But however the sum of all is to perswade them from following the Light of Christ in them as not being sufficient and so thy love is not testified unto them in Deed and in Truth as thou say'st it is but in meer Hypocrisie and Deceit as may further appear But what is that Soul enlightning Commandment Psalm 29.8 Whereby thou seemest to desire they may be enlightned Is it this letter without or the Light of Christ within If thou say the letter as thou must say or else thwarts the whole current of thy Doctrine and then all that have Eyes may see thee to be an outward Jew only But if thou say with us it is the Light of Christ that shineth in Darkness John 1. which at the Commandment of God shineth out of Darkness 2 Cor. 4. to give the knowledge of Gods Glory to Man in the Face of Christ then the business about Sufficiency of the Light between us is at an end and the Truth stands over the from thy own words The next is when thou hearest the Scripture mentioned thy Windy Slightly Crafty Doctrine of Deceivers Ephes 4.14 then thou shoots thy Sting at the Innocent and would'st have People believe that is to be applyed to us who Preach Christ and his all-sufficiency in and for every one that can Receive Him who is near every Man and by his Light shineth to Conviction and Judgment in every Man who would have all Men to be saved and come to the knowledge of his Truth which is nigh in the Heart and in the Mouth but this was the Apostles Doctrine and so not to be condemned in us but thou goest on telling of two ways of Deceiving the one thou namest the upper way which thou say'st is by Philosophy the Traditions of Men Rudiments of the World and Sciences falsly so called And Praised be God thou art as it were forced by the Light in thy Conscience to acquit us from being of this Number but truly the Light in our conscience tells us expresly that thou John Reynolds art one of them that areiâ—n this upper way as thou callest it of deceit for of Philosophy Traditions of Men Worldly Rudiments and false Sciences is the Body of thy Divinity made up as well as other of thy Brethren the Hirelings â—â—ou would'st condemn for the difference