of God and these times are frequent and at such times the need of Scripture words and of all words that consist of Letters do cease as when a man eateth Bread and drinketh Wine and hath his taste well he needeth no words to tell him of the taste of it he tasteth it without all words that the mouth can utter and even so the Children of God at times yea frequently taste of the goodness and sweetness of Christ by an inward sensible taste without all Scripture words and without all present remembring of them yet if at such times the Spirit of God bringeth them to their remembrance they have a service at least tâ—â—ncrease the doctrinal and discursive knowledge of God in them and further to open the Mysteries of the Christian Doctrine which is a great gift blessing of God in its place Pag. 34. Ye alledge I introduce an Hypothesis that is a Castle in the Air that they say there is no sensible or intuitive knowledge of God in this Life But I say many or most of you expresly deny it I mean most of these call'd Presbyterians and Independents as I have had to do with them before now who have told me There is no sensible knowledge of God at â—â—ll no sight nor feeling nor taste of him and they give a reason for it viz. That only bodily things could be seen felt tasted but God being a Spirit could neither be felt nor tasted tho' the Scriâ—ture use these words of seeing tasting a aâ—d feâ—ling they say they are as improper and metaphorical as when it is said in Scripture God hath Eyes Hands and Feet c. Again though ye seem to affirm it yet it is in contradiction to your selves for it is an absolute Contradiction to say A man hath a sight of God and taste and feeling of him and yet hath no immediate discovery and knowledge of him as much as to say I see and taste Wine and yet I have no immediate discovery or knowledge of it All sensible knowledge is immediate in regard of their Objects P. 34. Ye blame me that I say ye preach altogether an absent Christ but ye wrong and pervert my words as your manner is my wordâ— are p. 36. They preach altogether an absenâ— Christ as some of them say Christ is not really and properly in his People or if present a Christ altogether dumb and silent c. So ye see my words are not positive but dis-junctive or alternative But if I did say so it is according to your own Doctrine though ye seem to contradict again for do ye not generally accuse the Quakers for setting up a false Christ because they preach him present and in his Saints yea and in all men in some respect and as Pardon Tillinghast and Benj. Keech calâ— Christ in the heart a false Christ so John Owen whom ye esteem your reverend Brother in his Latine Treatise against us answered by Sam. Fisher saith If Christ be in every Quaker there are as many Christ as Quakers So you may see I do not wrong you and your Assembly ye so much honour say It is blasphemy to say the Saints are partakers of the Godhead And this is to exclude Christ with a witness And if some of you say God and Christ are in the Saints yet ye deny all immediate discovery sight and revelation of them objective or by way of object which is as gâ—eat Non-sence as to say A Man converseth with his Wife in one House eateth drinketh lodgeth with her and hath fellowship with her and yet she hath no immediate sight nor knowledge of him which she must needs have if she be not blind sensless and stupid and it is a most palpable Contradiction in you to say Men have aâ— intuitive and sensible knowledge of God that is distinct in specie from discursive knowlâ—dge and yet God and his Spirit in all his inward operations giveth no self-evidence thereof but is medium incognitum assentiendi i. e an unknown mean or Principle of assenting as the School-men phrase it particularly Robert Baron Professor of Divinity at Aberdeen in his Book called Apodixis Catholica de formali objecto fidei against Jesuit Turnbul more particularly cited in my Book of Immediâ—te Revelation Pag. 37. The different degrees of Revelation well warranted by Scripture ye blasphemously and ignorantly call Rabbinical Fopperies That there is not only a gradual but specifical difference of divine Revelations I never denyed CAP. III. I Intend throughout principally to notice your gross Perversions and other gross Abuses and Mistakes which will in effect sufficiently answer all ye have said and leave my Book and the evidence of Truth held forth in it remaining in its full force and strength against you and the rather that the principal Controversies viz. That oâ— the Scriptures and That of inward divine Revelation and Inspiration iâ— the more fully already here handled for indeed these two are the Basis and Pillars of the following Controversies Pag. 36. Ye pervert my words as if I did affirm That the Scriptures only were a Rule to try Doctrines betwixt men and men But I neither mean nor say any such thing I believe they are a Rule in the hand and management of the Spirit to regulate our inward apprehensions and thoughts concerning all Christian Doctrines and yet the Spirits inward Witness is the greater Rule Pag. 39. Ye say To call the Spirit the Rule â— Non-sence I say to call the Spirit not abstractly but conjunctly with his inward witnessing and speaking is good sence to all but such as you who have not sence to understand it Ignatius as I have said above a more worthy man and precious Martyr of Jesus Ep. 14. to Ephes called the holy Spirit one Rule CAP. IV. PAg. 41. Ye own That natural and acquired Gifts of Letter Learning without a divine Inspiration are sufficient to qualifie a Gospel Minister and that Grace and true Piety is only accidental which ye confess may look black at first view It is so far well that since this is your Doctrine that we have it under your hand and it deserveth to be engraven in Capital Letters on the Doors of your Meetiâ—g Houses that the People may generally know it for very many to whom I have told it could not believe it to be your Doctrine but however now it is a good proof th t yâ— print it as yours Another saying of yours equally famous and which deserveth the same equal inscription in Capital Letters is that ye say It is no absurdity tâ—at a man may be a true Minister and not a true Câ—ristian But how then can he beget any unto God If he who is no true Christian can beget a true Christian by his Ministry it will as easily follow That he who is no man may beget a man for as in spiritual generation a man is but the Instrument so in the natural when a man begets a man child God
remote capacity of Holiness thâ—t is nothing else but a simple possibility of being made holy without having any inward Seed or Principle of Holiness lodged in the Soul I call not Holiness but because there is such a Seed and Principle of Holiness placed in all Children even Infants that is the purchase of Christ's Death and which God first promised to our first Parents and renewed to Noah saying And behold I establish my Covenant with thee and thy Seed after thee and yet again renewed to Abraham saying In thy Seed shall all Nations be blessed because of these three general Fathers which were as a holy Root the Branches are holy as I said not actually but in a capacity to become actually Holy through the holy Seed given unto them which before I called a near Capacity that iâ— more remote or near as that noble divine Seed and Principle is more or less clouded or vailed in them and ye show your selves more igâ—orant in Logick than ordinary School-Boyes who generally know that distinction betwixt a thing in actu primo and the same thing in actu secundo which is as much as to say in English betwixt a thing that is in a near capacity and readiness or tendency to be so and a â—hing that is actually and really or in fact so thus A field sown with Corn altho' the Seed is not sprung in it nor hath taken root if sown with Wheat we call it commonly Wheat if sown with Rye we call it Rye because the Seed of Wheat is sown in the one field and Rye in the other and if nothing hinder it may be expected that the one fiâ—lâ— shall bring good Wheat in due season and the other good Rye because the Seeds of Whâ—at and Rye are sown in these fields And how generally all Infants and Men because of Christ's Death and Purchase until they reject the Remedy are clean I proved from Acts 10.12 13 14 15. for by all manner oâ— four footed Beasts and wild Beasts and creeping things and Fowles of the Air all sorts of men are to be understood whom God hath after some sort cleaâ—sed by Christ's Death viz. by putting them in a near capacity to be cleansâ—d and sanctified by that divine Seed of Holiness put in them that is the purchase of Châ—ist who dyed for them But to this most weighty and demonstrative place of Scripture ye say nothing at all but pass it by with a dry foot as you phrase it lest if ye should have meddled with it your folly should have been manifest and this is your common way to pass by what ye cannot give some shadow of Answer unto and if ye give a shadow of Answer it is all Your easiest Answer is which ye have given upon this head viz. That our Doctrine in this iâ— a perâ—ect Arminian Principle and hath been enoâ—gh confuâ—ed by all that have written against them so ye might have spared your Paper and Pains with this one short answer to my whole Book That it hath been enough conâ—uted already by all that have written against us as T. Hicks J Faldo and J. Owen c. aâ—l which have been sufficiently answered But as for the Arminian Principle it is not our Principle nor do the Remonstrants or Jesâ—its hold the Doctrine of Universal Grace as we do as will be obviouâ— to any that will compare our Books and theirs for we say The divine Gospel Principle and Seed of Regeneration and Word of Faith is put by God as his free Gift in all men though it is not manifest or known to be such in aâ—l and this neither the Aâ—minians nor the Remonstrants nor Jesuits ever did affirm but aâ—e generally professed Adversaries to the inward Word and Spirit of God in men as much as your selves witness Bellarmine for the Jesuits who saith in his Treatise de Verbo externo That he is a mad-man who relieth upon the Testimony of a Spirit within him that is oft fallacious and ever uncertain And Arminius his followers are generally against the Doctrine of inward divine Inspiration and Revelation as is apparent from their printed Books It doth not follow as ye insinuate that the Condition of Pagans is better than that of Christians or thaâ— the Gospel opens a door to mans undoing which ye build on a false supposition That t e Pagans are incapable oâ— rejectiâ—g the Physitian who is neâ—er offered to them This ye assert without all proof and the contrary I have proved and is clear from Scripture that Faith is offered unto all men and the Gospel preached to every creature at one time or another before their end and all are called some at one hour and some at another Pag. 83. Ye most grosly traduce and abuse me by alledging and fathering upon me as mine which are not mine at all two assertions 1st That Grace is propagated by our natural Parents 2dly Tâ—at there is habitual Sanctification in all me by nature That both thâ—se are extream falsly alledged on me the Reader shall see by reading pâ—g 91 and 92. cited by them Yea on the contrary I say that Seed or Principle of Holiness put in Mâ—n and Infants is derived from Christ the second Adam and therefore not from the first Adam or our immediate Parents and I believe the Souls of all men have come from God by Creation and do not believe that the Souls of the Parents generate the Souls of the Children and if the Souls of the Children are not generated from the Souls of the Parents then surely the divine Seed and Principle is not derived by humane Generation as if the Soul of the Parent were the Author or Original of that divine Principle but on the contrary both the Soul and the dvine Seed and Principle in it come from God and Christ nor do my words give you the least occasion to think otherwise for although the Parents are not the Author of the divine Seed and Principle in the Souls of their Children yet according to Paul's Doctrine there is commonly a great diffrence betwixt the Children of Believers and Unbelievers the one he calleth Unclean and the other Clean or Holy and it is plain from Scripture that the Children of the faithfull Israelites were called the Holy Seed and had an excellency in them above the Children of the Moabites Amonites and Canaanites c. because the noble divine Seed and Principle was more clouded and vailed in these last and lay under more Rubbish and Impurity and therfore God forbid the People of Israel to joyn in Marriage with these unclean Nations lest their Seed should be defiled with them and a wrong mixture should happen as sometimes did and therefore the great Uncleanness of Parents commonly doth more vail and cloud the divine Principle and Seed in their Children than where that Uncleanness is not so great and that the Parents are true Believers And because I assert that there is a Seed of Holiness in all men
points at Christ as both God and Man that most excellent middle that unites God and Men together for in all the Creation we see how the wonderful Wisdom of God and his wonderful Power hath united extreams by certain means or middles and these do plainly point unto us how as the highest and lowest Creatures are united by a certain medium or mediating nature partaking of both extreams so God the Creator and most high over all is united with men the noblest of his visible Creatures by him that is both God and Man made like to us in all things but without siâ— and therefore behoved to dye and rise again to lay a Foundation for our Faith and Hope that though we dye we shall also rise again Nor is this my single Perswasion but that of very judicious and wise Men long before me and Paulus Ricius a Jew by Birth but who became a Christian in his Treatise de Coelesti Agricultura lib. 1. from pag. 40 to 52. showeth how there are many excellent Symboles in the Creation that as Types and Examples hold forth that great Mystery of Christ God Man that were to be united in one and that this man could be but one only single man in the intire nature of Man of Soul and Body in all essential parts who should be both God and Man and for this he citeth a saying in Aristotle which is this lib. 10. Metaph. In quolibet genere rerum daturmum maximum et omnium ahorum summum i. e. in every kind of things there is one the greatest and highest of all others And who is this but the Man Christ Jesus who only among all men is both God and Man and the Head of all mâ—n And by exceâ—lent Symboles and Examples he showeth how this one man was to dye for all otheâ— men rise again And therefore however strange it may seem unto you not only many things in the Creation but the whole Creation it self is a Book full of Symboles Vails and Figures pointing at Christ even the Man Christ who was to suffer Death and rise again for the Salvation of men and yet I do most freely acknowledge that the Books of Moses and the Prophets did moâ—e fully and distinctly hold forth this great Mystery But seeing ye grant That the Vails and Types of the Ceremonial Law did suffice to the Jews and People of Israel so far as outward helps and means were requisit to shadow and hold â—orth Christ unto them the same may be said as concerning the Gentiles that in some sort sufficient as in respect of outward helps and means for that day and time until more knowledge should come into the World was the Book of the outward Creation together with that knowledge they had that they were to sacrifice unto God as is above said And as God gave to the Jews and People of Israel his good spirit to instruct them in the signification of the Mosaical and Ceremonial Law and the Types and Shadows thereof so no doubt he gave a measure of his good Spirit to instruct the Gentiles what these Types and Figures legible in the Book of the whole Creation did signifie for as the Book of Wisdom saith The incorruptible Spirit of God is in all that is confirmed by Scripture for God gave his Spirit unto and by his Spirit strove with the People of the old World and it is the Light of Christ the Word and of the Spirit that convinceth and reproveth of sin that lighteth every man that cometh into the World which however ye call it only natural and humane we have good cause to believe it is divine and supernatural yet lightning the dark nature of Man and as it is absurd for any to hold a Book to a mans face in the dark and bid him read therein when he hath no sufficient light to read with so it were absurd that God hath set so excellent a Book as the whole Creation before the Eyes of men universally I mean the Eyes of their understanding and not give them sufficient Light in some measure to enable them to understand what is writ therein and seeing that Book contains true and real Types and Symboles Figures and Shadows of Christ as he was to come in the flesh and suffer death and rise again it followeth God hath given all men so much inward Light as whereby they might read and understand what is written therein concerning the Man Christ altho the express Hebrew and Greek Names Messiah and Christ be not known to them in such an obscure way and manner as might serve to that time but the great Glory and Light of the Mystery of God manifest in flesh which is Jesus Christ come in the Flesh who is both God and Man and yet one Christ doth incomparably surpass not only what all Vails Types either of the Law or outward Creation can discover but all declaration of words and cannot be perfectly known but by a very high degree of divine Revelation and no doubt the full discovery of it is reserved to the Life to come where it shall be matter of eternal Admiration and Adoration to Saints and Angels And lest you should say This is some new Fancy of mine and some other late Writers or apostate Hereticks as ye use to say I shall recite a Testimony of a very antient Writer who is judged to be either Ambrose or Prosper above twelve hundred Years ago in that famous and noted Treatise De vocatione Gentium i. e. of the calling of the Gentiles much esteemed and cited by Protestants of great note and particularly by Vossius and Grotius learned and judicious Protestants In the said Treatise de vocatione Gentium lib. 2. cap. 1. ad fin he saith in express words citing Acts 14. And indeed he left not himself without a Witness giving Rains from Heaven and fruitfull Seasons filling Your hearts with Food and Gladness But what is this Testimony that was alwayes serviceable to the Lord and never was silent of his Goodness and Power but the very indeclarable Beauty of the whole World and the rich and orderly largition oâ— his indeclarable benefits by which cretain Tables oâ— his eternal Law were given to the hearts of men that the common and publick Doctrine of divine Institution might be read in the pages of the Elements and in the Volumns or Books of the Times therefore the Heavens and all heavenly things Sea and Land and all things in them by the â—armonious Consent of their kind and order did attest the Glory of God and by a perpetual preaching did speak the Majesty oâ— their Author But this is not all he further saith And yet the greatest number of men who were permitted to follow the ways of their own will did not understand and did not follow this Law and the Savour of Life which breathed or inspired unto Life Note is not this in some degree Evangelical was made unto them the savour of Death
sence the seed is not in the ground though sown till it begin to take root but yet according to the more general sence he is in all men for his illumination and operation cannot be seperated from him Ye say I falsly render the place James 1.21 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Innate Word But ye only say it without proof it is composed of en in and phyo nascor therefore in tâ—ue English it is innate is so used by Plutarch a Greek Author who saith There is a Faith innate emphutos in every reasonable Creature living and dwelling in the Soul and never leaving the Soul destitute of Guidance and it is used in the same signification by Clemens Alexandrinus writing to the Gentiles where speaking of the inward Witness which was in Unbelievers he calleth it Emphuton Martyra testem innatum fide dignum The innate Witness worthy of Faith and I suppose ye judge not your selves better or so well skilled in the Greek language as Plutarch and Clemens Alexandrinus who were Greek Authors and Grecians by Birth Ye say If the Light be connate with men what needed G. K. make such a splutter about Immediate Revelations It may be said to be both innate and connate with men not as ye imagine Accidents or Qualities to be in a subject but seeing the eternal Word and Wisdom hath created all Souls of men after his Image therefore in a special way of presence that eternâ—l Word and Wisdom is in all Souls of men by a measure of it planted or if ye will grafted in all men for grafted and innate may be of the same signification and this eternal Word and Wisdom hath its operation and influence on the Understanding of the Souls of men generally to enlighten them gradually first with the more common and plain things of Religion and then as the former are learned with the more special and peculiar Mysteries of the Christian Religion yet not without the use of the holy Scriptures in Gods ordinary way so distinctly and perfectly as Christians know them who have the use of the Scriptures and all internal divine Illumination is properly Revelation P. 102. Ye find great fault that I conclude That the inward Dispensation that is among the Gentiles that have not Christ outwardly preached viz. by the Ministry of men and the holy Scriptures hath its glory and great service to those that are faithful in it and ye say This is to talk at liberty my self and to deny all others a liberty to judge But herein ye wrong me I allow all spiritual men a liberty to judge I question not but to all such who have a spiritual discerning and ability to judge what I have affirmed of the glory and great serviceableness of the inward divine Dispensation in the Gentiles will be approved and my Reasons and Proofs both from Scripture and other Authors found vallid And though ye seek to untye that ye call a knot that I judge is indissolvable p. 91. I judge so still that ye shall never be able to untye it as ye persist in your Doctrine But yet ye pervert my words in that ye call the Knot for I did thus argue That seeing Infants by your confession might be saved by Christ and regenerated by the Spirit of Christ that worketh when and where and how he pleaseth Therefore might the honest and faithful Gentiles be saved by the same regenerating Spirit of Christ who worketh when and where and how he pleaseth and by faith in Christ But that ye may with some seeming show appear to loose the Knot ye word my Argument quite another way I Infants may be saved by the working of the Spirit in them why may not the Gentiles be so by giving obedience to the Light in them And thus ye would make me appear to the ignorant as if I did plead that the Gentiles were or could be saved without faith in Christ and the regenerating Spirit of Christ only by obedience to the general dictates of the Light within but I say though none are saved but who are obedient to the Light in them yet no Obedience can save without faith in Christ and the Spirit of Christ regenerating them that is altogether necessary to every mans eternal Salvation Whereas I produced divers very convincing Arguments to prove That the Light in men that did accuse or reprove for sin could not be some natural faculty of mans Soul these Arguments some of them ye pass over very slightly answering by your bare Affirmations without proof and some ye give no answer unto at all nor take any notice of see my Book p. 119 120 121. which I again recommend to the Readers serious consideration I argued That since ye confess that man is wholly defiled and darkned so that he iâ— called Darkness in Scripture therefore the Light in natural men could not be any part or faculty of their Souls for that were to say Men are not fallen totally nor totally defiled but in part And I further argued That since your Confession saith All Sin is a Transgression against the Righteous Law of God and since the Heathen are sinners this righteous Law of God must be in them against which they transgress and this righteous Law cannot be any part oâ— faculty of the Soul which ye confess is wholly unrighteous and dâ—filed for a thing cannot be wholly unrighteous and defiled yet in part righteous holy and clean To this I find not that ye say any thing Ye say I mistake when I think ye reckon it any distinct Faculty but the Mistake is yours not mine I did not think that ye do reckon it any distinct Faculty but on the contrary I blame you for saying It is nothing else but the natural Conscience or some natural Faculty of mans Soul so that ye are wonderfully careless of what ye say see my Book pag. 119. and your Book pag. 98. And yet ye seem to make it now Not the natural Vnderstanding but something there imprinted Well let it be something there imprinted this evinceth that it is properly Gods Word for I hope ye will not deny but that which God writeth or printeth with his own Hand or Finger is Gods Word and doth as well or rather more deserve to be accounted the Word of God as that printed in the Bible seeing God is the immediate Printer of this without the Ministry of men but the Print of the Bible is the work of Men though the Truth there witnessed is immediately of God and therefore by your Confession there is an inward written or printed Word of God in Heathens and generally in all men and that immediately without the use or help of the Scriptures commonly called the outward Word Hence it clearly followeth that the Word without is not the whole Word of God nor the only Rule in contradiction to you who affirm it And seeing by your Confession the Word of God is in the Gentiles or Heathen who have not the
The Pretended ANTIDOE PROVED POYSON Or The true Principles of the Christian Protestant Religion Defended And the Four Counterfit Defenders thereof Detected and Discovered the Names of which are James Allen Joshuae Moodey Samuell Willard and Cotten Mather who call themselves Ministers of the Gospel in Boston in their pretended Answer to my Book called The Presbyterian Independent Visible Churches in New-England and elsewhere brought to the Test c. And G. K. cleared not to be guilty of any Calumnies against these called Teachers of New-England c. By George Keith With an Appendix by John Delavall by way of Animadversion on some Passages in a Discourse of Cotton Mathers before the general Court of Massachusets the 28th of the Third Moneth 1690. Philadelphia Printed by Will. Bradford 1690. Introduction To James Allen Joshua Moodey Samuell Willard and Cotten Mather Men and Neighbours I Have seen your pretended Answer to my Book which ye call The Principles of the Protestant Religion maintained c. which I have also read and well considered and I find that upon the matter ye have left the substance or principal matter of it wholly unanswered and that your said pretended Aâ—â—wer contains little else but Railing after an extraordinary and unusual manner of Speech scarcely to be paralell'd and many very gross Mistakes and Perversions of my words and some absolutely false Quotations and Recitations alledging Words and Sayings and Doctrines to be mine and delivered by me in my Book which are neither directly nor indirectly to be found there and which are neither my express words nor so much as the most remote true and just Consequence of them But it is altogether unfair and absurd to alledge any thing upon a man which are not either his express words or the plain and manifest sence of them obvious to every intelligent and impartial Reader For to alledge a consequential sense of a mans words which they will no wayes bear is most uncivil and inhumane and argueth at most a weak and desperate Cause when ye are put to use such mean and unlawful Arts to make your part seem fair And surely ye who pretend to find so great fault at the supposed Calumnies of G. K. should have at least upon some prudential consideration as men shown your selves not to be so deeply guilty of that Vice of Calumniating which ye only with great confidence alledge but can never prove against him I find ye are not a little vexed at my Book but since it containeth little else but Non-sence Tautologies Nauseous Repetitions Cavils and Sophisms as ye alledge why are ye so angry fretted why should Non-sence Tautologies Cavils and Sophisms vex you so very much what aileth you that ye come with such a company ye seem in great part to resemble Micah pursuing some of the Children of Dan to recover your lost gods and to answer with him after some manner Ye have taken away our gods which we made and our Priests and ye are gone away and what have we more And what is this that thou sayst unto us what aileth us But I assure you I intend to make no such usage of your gods as the Danites did of the gods of Micah nor have I robbed any of your gods or idols from you but as becoming a true Christian I have fairly and honestly laboured to convince you of your many evil and hurtful Errors which ye set up in your hearts as Idols and false Godds for ye may know that the Scripture telleth of fome that did set up Idols in their hearts yea whatever any men set up in their hearts in the room and place of the true God and his Precious holy and living Truth and the divine dictates and Testimonies thereof are but false gods and idols of mens making It is a most false and injurious Accusation ye insinuate against me as if I did seek to perswade any to part with an infinite and eternal God and having a created Soul blasphemously place in his Throne or to pâ—rt with the precious Bible viz. the holy Scriptures as a dead Letter and to have silent postures of their own in the room thereof or that I seek to perswade these called your Congregations to part with an inestimable Redeemer for a dim Light within them which may prove Darkness it self or to have the whole Gospel Baptism of Christ his Supper taken away from them and the glorious Doctrines of Election Justification Perseverance depraved with Opinions that make man to be all and Grace to have small or no share in the matters of Salvation All which are most false and injurious Accusations with many more of that sort which ye very unchristianly cast upon me as I hope will clearly appear in the sequel and doth sufficiently appear in my former Book My desire and earnest travail of soul is That ye and all others who remain ignorant of God may come to the true knowledge of him and of his Son Christ Jesus whom to know is Life eternal I assert no created Soul or thing to be plac'd in the room of God in his Throne but plead against you that as God and Christ dwell in Heaven so they dwell in the hearts of all the faithful and that not divided or seperaâ—ed from â—heir Operations and Influences but together with them and one with them tho' ye would divide and seperate them asunder and that the same God and Christ as they are one so their operation and influence of Light and Grace are one and that by some gracious operation influence they are pleased to visit the Souls of all men more or less and as God and Christ are every where present in all the Creatures so in a more special way and manner of manifestation beside that universal Omnipresence they are in all men and cannot be excluded from any of the Creatures and therefore it is a most injurious Calumny as if either I or any of my Friends did set up any thing in the room or throne of God for whatover illumination operation or influential Effect of God and Christ we assert to be in men we do not say that it is God or Christ for we do not confound the Cause the Effect nor the Worker and his work but we say God and Christ the Word by which all things were made are most inwardly present in all Creatures and if ye deny this ye and not we deny the true God and God and Christ are Light as the holy Scripture declareth and are no dim Light which is in you Blasphemy to assert but both your Eyes and the Eyes of many are dim yea and blind that ye cannot in this your blind state see the glory of God And for the holy Scriptures ye your selves say The MIND and true SENSE of the Scripture is the Scripture or Word and that was never called by us a dead Letter nor is the Scripture dead to any but to such who are dead and
past feeling we hold to Scripture phrase that saith the Letter killeth which we thus understand that whoever have not the inward quickning and living operation of the Spirit of God that doth usually attend and accompany the outward Testimony of the holy Scriptures to such the Letter of the Scripture is a killing Letter and the sober of your own Church I suppose will not deny it and so it proveth to all Infidels and Unbelievers while remaining such who are dead in their sins and Trespasses but to all who are made alive unto God the Scriptures Testimony is a living sweet and precious Testimony in all its parts and not at all either a dead Letter or a killing Letter And as for the Gospel Baptism of Christ and his Supper and the glorious Doctrines of Election Justification Perseverance of God's elect Saints and Children we own them with our souls and hearts and only disown your false glosses of all these things ye must not think to be both party and judge in these matters both ye and we have a most impartial and just Judge the great Lord of Heaven and Earth to judge and witness betwixt us and to his Witness Evidence and Testimony in all hearts I can and do freely leave these matters of difference betwixt us in the mean time ye are greatly mistaken to think that either I or my Friends decline all outward Evidences and Testimonies or just and equal Methods or Wayes of fair reasoning and argument touching the matters of dâ—â—ference betwixt us nay it s a great if not woful Mistake in you we shall never fear to deal with you in all fair and reasonable wayes of dispute either by express Scripture or by just rational Consequences therefrom and then to leave all to the impartial judgment of all such who are both spiritual and reasonable men for to be both spiritual and reasonable are well consistent Ye may be greatly ashamed if Shame be compatible unto you to use some of your own words in the beginning of your Preface to tell of Persecutors with Cain 's Club in their hands when ye have been so deeply guilty of using Cain's Club and continuing to justifie it in putting to death so many innocent Servants of the Lord. Ye are idle and impertinent to call me the Champion whom the American Quakers do so much admire I know none called a Quaker in America or else-where that doth admire me we admire and adore the glorious God and Creator but no man nor do I seek the honour and praise of men it is enough that I am loved by my Friends and Brethren and that I am acknowledged to have a part lot among the faithful Ye acknowledge ye pass over many assertions called by you unsound in my Book with a dry foot and so ye might have said ye have passed the substance and matter of the whole and the Arguments thereof without due notice and rather than wet your feet ye wiâ—â— go far aboâ—â— and digress or deviate from that which ye cannot fairly nor justly answer As for Cotton Mather's pretended Vindication of his Father Increase Mather his abuses against the People called Quakers I have fully answered to it in Print in a Book called A Refutation of three Opposers of Truth c. to which I refer and which I suppose is come to his hand long before this of yours came to me Ye express your fear of me as if my supposed Apostacy had rendred me incurable and else-where ye call me a fearful Apostate and insinuate as if I were not only Apostate and Heretick but grown beyond Admonition But how know ye this seeing ye pretend not to a Spirit of discerning or a divine Revelation in the case Suppose I err in some things as I have good assurance I do not in any oâ— these things ye charge me doth one or some few Errors or Mistakes not willfully held in matters that are not fundamental render me either Heretick or Apostate Ye or at least the more sober among you allow that men holding the fundamentals of the Christian Religion although they be in an Error or Mistake touching divers things that are not fundamental may be allowed to be true Christians and Members of Christs Church hence the moâ—e sober of Presbyterians have a charitable judgment of many not only of Baptists and the Episcopals but of Arminians and Lutherans yea and of many in the Church of Rome also â—nd I believe ye cannot give me one instance wherein ye can justly accuse me or my Friends of any fundamental Error in Christian Doctrine so acknowledged by the more sober part among you held by us It is high and extream Uncharitableness for you so to unchristian us but praised be God we can and have holy confidence to appeal from your false Judgment to the just God to whom we are known and whose Peace and Justification we have in our Bosoms that is Proof against all your false and injurious Accusations And I have not dealt so with you so to unchristian you in the whole lump or any one of you altogether meerly for Doctrine for I only did charge it upon you and I believe I have made good my charge That your visible Churches are not the true Church of Christ to wit not having that purity of Doctrine Ministry Worship Constitution Government c. that constitutes the true Church of Christ either as the Church was in the Apostles days or as she is yet to be restored and is now restoring after the great dark night of Apostacy yet I have freely and readi y granted that there are among you who belong to Christ his true Church and though you judge his a great inconsistency and contradiction yet ye are in a great mistake for my charge is as consistent to grant that some among you yea all who are sincere and faithful to what they do know and are really convinced of the Truth but in part that are among you belong to God and to his true Church as the Charity of many of the more sober among you is consistent to grant That the most sincere sort in the Church of Rome belong to God and his Church and are his People for God hath of his People in Babylon whom he calleth to come out of it and this was the judgment generally of these called the first Reformers and is the judgment generally of the more sober and judicious Protestants of all sorts at this day and was my charitable judgment when I was among the Presbyterians and remaineth now to be and yet such who have this charitable judgment of many in the Church of Rome do not call her nor own her for most part to be the true visible Church of Christ but call her a Whore and a false Church and Babylon and for this cause judge that their seperation is just from her And as the Protestants generally who are of the more sober moderate sort do excell these
called Papists or Roman Catholicks for their charitable judgment of many among them because scarce any Papist hath the least charitable judgment of any one Protestant of any sort so we the People called Quakers have the advantage over you in that we have a real Christian charitable judgment not only of all the sincere hearted among you but among all others that are sincere hearted who hold the fundamentaâ—s of Christian Religion that they belong to God and Christ and are our Christian Brethren though in many things dark weak and under great mistakes of judgment that doth greatly hinder their growth and endanger their Souls state and therefore we labour if possible to undeceive them but we can have no charity for Hypocrites and such who are not sincere in what they profess but having a form of Godliness deny the Power of it and are Proud Envious Malitious false Accusers Persecutors and of a persecuting Spirit who have killed the Martyrs of Jesus and justifie them who have so done as you do those who put to death our innocent and Christian Friends at Boston and though ye alledge they suffered for their crime That they came purposely to undermine the civil Government and yet it is known generally over almost the whole World where New-England and Boston is named and what they did in that matter that it was simply for their Conscience and for no crime in matter of fact at all but transgressing that unrighteous Law of not returning on pain of Death and if that be to subvert civil Government then all Persecutors are justified and all the many thousands of Gods faithful Martyrs and Witnesses are to be condemned for being subverters of the civil Government for they did generally transgress the unrighteous Laws of men under which they suffered yea Christ himself at this rate is guilty which is blasphemous to think for as the Jews said We have a Law and by our Law he ought to dye and he is no friend to Caesar but that any thing directly or indirectly was ever found in any of these our Friends put to Death at Boston that had any the least tendency against the civil Government ye can never prove nor give the least colouâ—able pretence nor did I ever hear that any such thing was articled against them except in so far as ye will call that a subversion of civil Government to transgress the unrighteous Laws ye made against the People called Quakers only for their Perswasions in matters of Conscience and their innocent and harmless Practises and Profession accordingly And if any of them have come at time to your publick Meetings of Worship to bear a Testimony against your Formality and Hypocrisie and false Doctrine it is but the like to what some of these well owned and esteemed as the Martyrs of Christ did in Q. Mary's dayes and in other times and places of Popery where they came openly and boldly into the Popish Assemblies and witnessed against them and their Practice is commended in Fox's Book of Martyrs and other Historians as Noble and Heroical yea how many Presbyterians have highly commended the Women for throwing their stools at the Bishop reading Common-Prayer in Edenburgh in Scotland above fifty years ago and judged it as a Noble and Heroical Act and some have imputed it to a divine Motion but as I do not justifie it yet it doth serve justly to stop your mouthes to make that a great crime in others only to witness by word of mouth against your false Way of Worship when many or most of you the Presbyterian sort justifie that Practice by violent hands first of Women thâ—owing their Stools at the Bishop in the Pulpit and then of men violently rising against him which is a well known Passage and there are yet alive in Scotland who can bear witness to it Ye say ye shall have no returns from me except those of Rage and Wrath which ye shall not count it worth the while to publish any Reply unto but what the Arch-Angel gave to a Railing Accusation But I hope through Gods help to disappoint you and to give you no returns of Rage and Wrath at all and tho' in my former Book I used some sharp words against you from love and zeal to the Truth and good will unto you and the People of New-England yet I am not conscious of any Rage and Wrath I used against you though ye charge me with Pride and Gall and Slandering and Calâ—mniating with bitter Invictives c. but I stand not to your judgment however as I retract nothing of what I then charged you with so at present I hope so far to disappoint you as not to give you any just cause to say I give you any Returns of Rage and Wrath for I shall most willingly and freely acknowledge your skill ability of using hard words and speeches doth far exceed my Capacity if I durst allow my self a liberty as I dare not to contend with you in that manner but I can say it singly I love rather to contend with strong and sollid Arguments than any hard words whatsoever and so far as it shall please God to give me leave I shall labour to refrain them to take away all occasion from you of making excuse not to answer only remember that ye confess in some passages ye have done your work cuttingly excuâ—ing youâ— selves that some are to be rebuked But what Apology can this be more to you than to me you must take all liberty imaginable yea exceed all bounds to answer me cuttingly and yet this is no Wrath or Rage in you but love and good will to me ye will say for I hope if I be judged your Enemy ye will say ye ought to love me but if I use but a small part of hard words towards you and withal expressing my love ye will needs construe it to be Pride Gall Rage and Wrath if this be not partial let all impartial Readers judge However though your words seem cutting yet since your Reasons and Defences by way of Argument are blunt and dull I feel no wound nor smart by any thing ye have done and am in no fear of any thing ye can do against me for the Truth which is the strongest of all is my defence against you and all your assaults Ye not only indulge your selves to use most hard and uncivil Language against me but against that Waâ— professed by me called by you the Contagion of Quakerism and the peculiar Plague of this Age saying in Quakerism ye see the vomit cast forth in the by-past Ages by whole Kennels of these Creatures for whom the Apostle has found a Name licked up again for a new Digestion and once more exposed for the Poyson of Mankind and it is especially say ye the more ignorant and unwary and envious part of Mankind which it is adepted unto and abundance more of this sort Which is a shame to hear or read such odd kind
or beeing unless ye will say That a Creature is any part or measure oâ— Gods Beeing or Substance And whereas ye say Graces are substantial things and are not meer Accidents but Adjuncts And thus ye seek to hide you from the ignorant in the Thicket of some Loicgal and School Terms and Phrases but when ye say Graces are substantial things ye do not tell whether ye call them so properly or metaphorically as when ye call God Light ye say it is not properly but metaphorically And for your distinction of Adjuncts and Accidents I suppose I learned that thing ye call Logick that ye seem to glory in as well as ye and do remember what is any wise useful in it as well as ye and I never understood that either Logicians or Philosophers so called did hold that the Soul of man had any Adjuncts that was neither the real Essence and Substance of the Soul nor yet Accidents and therefore if the Grace of God in the Soul be no Accident but the Adjunct of the Soul it must be the Soul it self and this is Pelaganism and Socinianism with a Witness for Pelagius and Socinus denyed the need of any inward Grace that was not thâ— Sâ—ul it self for the Attributes of every being and so of the Soul are such Adjuncts as are either essential to that being or accidental and for this I can and do appeal to all who have any ordinary taste of that called Logick or Metaphysick but I shall not insist on this School-nicity And for your Proof that Grace is a Creature or created Principle from Ephes 4.29 If you mean the virtues brought forth in the saints called the fruits of the Spirit as Faith Hope Love Temprance Righteousness c. we own them in the Scripture sence to be the new man which after God is created in Righteousness and true Holiness but that they are such a Created Principle as are neither the Soul it self nor Christ nor Accidents but a substance of another nature from all these is a novelty that I have not formerly heard of As for our Doctrine concerning Grace it is plain according to Scripture the Seed or Original Principle of Grace in the Soul is a measure of the Spirit and Life of Christ and is not Properly a Creature as commonly taken but a Pure divine Emanation and stream from Christ the Fountain and is of the same nature with the Fountain and is substantial and every Soul that is by a true and living Faith joyned to this Seed and Principle of Gods Grace is partaker of it Substantially and none else and is there by made fruitful to bring forth heavenly and divine Fruits as Love Joy Peace Meâ—kness Temperance Humility c. which are Divine Effects and may be said to be the New Creation or the Image of Christ formed and brought forth in us and where these effects are yea where that Seed is neither God nor Christ can be separated from the same Pag. 69. 70. Ye say Nor doth the Doctrine of Dr. Owen or Mr. Rutherford in the words of theirs which he cites at all run into the Quakers Blasphemy Ans Ye do then hold it Blasphemy for the Quakers to say that God and Christ dwell in the Saints and true Believers and therefore to avoid this Blasphemy ye will not own that God and Christ dwell in them and then surely ye preach an absent God and Christ for if Christ dwell not in Believers he is absent from them And yet ye contradict your selves herein as your manner is ye say The Person of the Holy Ghost dwells in us by his Operations And thus ye would falsly gloss upon the words of J. O. and S. R. for J. O. hâ—ld a peculiar Perswasion far differing from his Brethren the Presbyterians for which Cauldrey severely taxed him that whereas they held it that the holy Ghost dwelt not by himselâ— or personally as they phrase it in Believers but by his Operations Graces and Gifts J. O. in his Book of Perseverence useth many reasons and words to prove That the holy Ghost himself together with his Operations and Graces he as well as they dwelt in Believers and not the Graces without him and upon this he buildeth the Doctrine of Perseverance And S. R. said He will not have the Graces of Christ without Christ. But ye plead that the Graces of Christ are in the Saints but not Christ himself and therefore if our Doctrine be blasphemous ye must allow J. O. and S. R. equally guilty but the guilt of Blasphemy is yours who would exclude Christ from the Saints and divide the Graces of Christ from Christ which is impossible and is contrary to all sound Reason as well as Scripture to divide and seperate the Operator from his Operations Pag. 70. Ye do acknowledge That ye agree with the Ranters in that Principle viz. That God doth all and hath unchangeably ordered all things good and bad are we therefore Ranters say ye Answ Let impartial men judge seeing this is the fundamental Error of the Ranters and the Root and Base of all their other Ranting Principles and Practices Pag. 72. Ye most falsly charge me as if I were restoring Manicheâ—sm into the World as if there were two Principles or first Causes the one of Good the other of Evil for ye are very ignorant if ye know not that the Manichism Principle was That there was an Evil first Cause or Principle essentially evil uncreated eternal independent and equal to the good But we hold no such Doctrine there is one only first cause of all things originally that is essentially good and goodness and all things were originally good and all the Evil that came afterwards into the World was not any real Creation or Production of any substance for Evil in the abstract i. e. Sin is no substance but either a privation as the sin of Omission or some depraved mode or modification or alteration in the Crâ—ature that the Creature it self is the Author of and therefore Christ said The Devil was a Lyar and Murderer from the beginning and when he speaketh a Lye he speaketh of himself Pag. 73. Ye require me to tell you How God did fore-know all evil Actions that should be done in Time unless he had pre-determined them Answ The way and manner of Gods fore-knowledge surpasseth all creaturely Understanding and therefore it is too great boldness and presumption in you to imagin ye can tell it and it is yet worse to think yâ— can tell it by a way that contradicts the Scripture and the invvard sense of God in mens hearts as Because God pre-determines all evil Actions Thefts Murders Adulteries therefore he fore-knoweth them This is to make God equally the Author of Evil as of Good It is sufficiâ—nt to us to believe and know that the decâ—ee of God is Permissive but not Pre-determinative of evil Actions and as he knoweth evil Actions that are at preseâ—t brought foâ—th as they now are so
forth fruit but is thâ—t Talent that is taken away from the slâ—athful and evil Servant and given to him that had ten Talents accord ng to Christ's Doctrine which still I suppose iâ— a great Mystery unto you Pag. 89. Ye alledge I perversly interpret Christ to be the Word spoken oâ— Rom. 10.8 which is evident by the context to mean the Scriptures call'd the Word of Faith because it is an instrument of begetting it But this is your bare alledgance and your proof hath no weight nor solidity that because the Scriptuâ—e is the Instrumâ—nt whereby Faith is commonly wrought in men that therefore it is that Word of Faith Rom. 10. With as great probability ye may say the Scripture is the Spirit oâ— Faith but as the Spirit of God is called in Scripture the Spirit of Faith as being the Author and Object and Foundation of Faith so is Christ called the Word oâ— Faith aâ— bâ—ing the Author and Object and Foundation together with the holy Spirit of the same Faith and that â—hrist and not the Scripture is that Word oâ— Faith is clear from the câ—ntext v. 6 7 9. nor can it be the Scripture because little of the Scripture was writ when Moses spoke these words to the People oâ— Israel and the five Books of Moses were rather the Law than that Word of Faith and Moses told them this Word was nigh them in their hearts and moutâ—es as being of an internal or inward nature directing them to the heart where it was originally placed and not in the outward leaves of the Book or Scroles and he calleth it the Commandment in the Singular number to signifie the excellency of it that being one containeth all and that cannot be the Letter without Next what Moses said to Israel and Paul to the Romans may be said to every man in a day the Word is nigh thee in thy mouth viz. to eat it and in thy heart to believe in it that thou needest not to ascend nor descend nor go over the Seas to bring this Word and therfore it cannot b he Letter of Scriptuâ—â— which came over the seas from Judea to Rome and other places of the world Pag. 8â— â—d finâ— Ye most unchristianly and iâ—humanly wrest my woâ—ds to a â—uite contrary seâ—â—e saying â— interpâ—et that Word o Faith Rom. 10. â—oâ— Câ—rists coming in t e flesh both of Jewes and Gentiles â—nd to show your gross perveâ—sioâ— that seemeâ—h wilful in you I shall set down my words which are these Pag. 110. And because this great Mâ—stery viz. the Word of Faith which was in the Gentiles was much hid in the time of the Law and in all Ages of tâ—e world untill Christ came in the flesh both in Jewes and Gentiles as Paul called it the Mystery hid fâ—om Ages and Generations Where it is most clear to any that will not wilfully pervert the plain sence of my words that the words untill Christ came in the flesh doth not refer to his coming in the flesh in Jews and Gentiles as they wilfully pervert it but to his coming in the Body of his Flesh even in that prepared body that was born of the Virgin Mary c. in the fuâ—ness of time So that the words untill Christ came in the Flesh are insert only by way of Parenthesis although by some omissiâ—n either of the manuscript or print the sign or note of the Parenthesis was omitted that is no hing material for when men 〈◊〉 a Parenth◠〈…〉 no note 〈…〉 when ye must needs make the poor omission of a in my Book a ground to raise your chaâ—ge of Blasphemy or subverting the hopes of Salvation against me although in Contradiction to your selves ye clear me citing Pag. 59. that I did acknowledg that Christ came in the flesh but ye use a fig leaf cover saying ye know not when they own any thing And it was once the received Doctrine of the Quakers that there is no other Incarnation of Christ but only as he dwells in us But this is a most gross Calumny and falsehood which ye can never prove and because ye cannot prove it in the least therefore ye declare your selves to be of that Generation who make Lyeâ— your Refuge which God hath swept away and yet will more abundantly and ye will be seen what sort of men ye are that dare thus falsly accuse the Innocent The like poor shadow of advantage ye seek to catch at pag. 28. of your Book saying my Spirit mi-sinformed me when I cited Cant. 2.4 because of a mistake in the Manuscript or Print of the word and again for the word or in your so doing like thâ— Pharisees of old ye strain at a Gnat and swa low a Camel Pag. 90. Ye say The word Reprobate there used intends only that all Vnbelievers are at present unapproved by God and in a state of Perdition Ans be it so it no wise weakeneth my Argument for seeing all unbelievers by you are not finally reprobated but only at present unapproved and may pass from that state into a better viz. into a state of Faith that is approved this quite overthroweth your Doctrine of Absolute Reprobation that denyeth it possible that a Reprobate can be saved which here ye acknowledge And seeing these Unbelievers by your confession were not absolutely or finally reprobated but unapproved or disapproved what did so disapprove or judge them but Christ in them And therefore still it remaineth that Christ is in all but such who are finally Reprobates Ye say That Christ hath commanded that his Gospel be Preached to all Nations and he tells us that so it shall be before the end of the World is no proof of what it is brought for the many Generations past have no advantage by that being ended and gone before that time comes But this ye meerly begg and assert without all shadow of proof for that Christ told the Gospel shall be Preached to all the world before the end of the world is not surely to be understood that the preaching of it to all the world shall only be in the Last Age of the world yet to come but the Gospel that began to be preached from Adams fall immediately shall be preached to all men that ever lived in the World some time or other before the end of the world so that such who shall not live in the latter ages of the world have had it preached in the former Ages when they lived in the world and therefore the preaching the Gospel to all the World is the preaching of it to all Mankind that ever lived and shall live in the world in all Ages from the beginning to the end for all that part of mankind that is to live in the world in the Last Age or Ages of it yet to come are but a small or inconsiderable part of the world And though it may seem hard to demonstrate how this hath been and shall be effected in a general way and manner it
in men be they never so diligent to improve it that hath a real tendency to Salvation which we say it hath For though the Law be weak comparatively yet that proveth not that it hath no ability to work or beget any good thing in men A weak man or Child can do some good things and tho' mans corrupted Nature can of it self do no good thing yet this inward Law and Illumination even in its first appearance can and doth help the corrupt Nature of man partly if not wholly to cleanse it and being cleansed to enable it to do some good things which God doth not wholly reject but in part accept in and through Christ and indeed Paul as he useth divers Allegories and Figures whereby to hold forth the service and use of the Law to men before Faith came as that of a School-master and that of a first Husband so that of a Custody or place of Refuge like the City of Refuge that was appointed for the Man-slayer to hide himself in from the Avenger of Blood where he might remain as in Prison yet safe until the Death of the High-Priest as doth plainly appear from Gal. 3.23 But before Faith came we were kept under the Law which Beza a French Protestant tanslateth in his Latine Translation sub Legis presidie i. e. the safeguard or defence of the Law and the Greek doth well bear it shut up as within a custody unto the Faith that should afterwards be revealed And this is clear in the example of Cornelius and his Houshold who were in a good state and yet had not the â—â—th of Christ crucified and raised again as the Christians had it and as he neâ—ded to have it to â—eceive the holy Ghost and the knowledge of remission of sin that Peter preached to him through faith in the Name of the Man Châ—ist Jesuâ— Ye wiâ—â— not have Rom. 1.28 understood propeâ—ly of Reprobates but of such as were not approved of God at that time Which quite overâ—urneth your absurd Doctrine of Reprobation before the World begâ—n for if they were not Reprobates when â—aul wâ—ote coâ—cerning them Rom. 1.28 to be sure they were not Reprobates â—efore the beginning of the World as every School-Bâ—y may judge Moreover ye say That Law mentioned James 1.22 c. cannot be applied to Christ not by any tolerable Catacresis But ye say it and that is all why may not Christ be said to be the Object of our Obedience and Works as well as of our Words without any Catacresis When the Apostles preached Christ Christ was not their preaching or speech but the object or ground of it and yet they are said to preach him without any catacresis so â—hat Obedience that men give to Christ the living Word in their Hearts hath him to be the Object and Ground of it and therefore they may be said by a Metonimy to act Christ as well as to speak him as we use to say Such a man acteth the Pelagian or Socinian c. Ye do but trifle instead of disputing yea mens doing the Law is a Metonimy for their doing is not strictly the Law but a conformity unto it And because ye make such a Clamour in the Ears of an ignorant Multitude as if the Quakers Doctrine concerning Christs dying for all men and giving a measure of his Grace unto all were only the Doctrine of vile Hereticks Apostates Impostors and Blasphemers I shall cite some Testimonies of Augustine and Orosius and Chrysostom antient Christian Writers of great esteem who did hold the same Doctrine with us not mentioning many more which I could cite Augustin lib. 1. de genesâ—â—ontra Maâ—ich cap. 3. in English thus But that Light doth not feed the Eyes of unreasonable Creatures but the pure hearts of them who believe God and betake themselves from the love of visible and temporal things to keep his Commands which alâ— men can if they will because that Light enlighteneth every man that cometh iâ—to the World Orosius in his Apology against Pelagius saith This is alwayes my Perswasion and without doubâ— that God doth adminster not only in his Body which is the Church to whom he bestoweth speciâ—â— Gifts of Grace for the Faith of Believers but 〈◊〉 all Nations in this World his Long-suffering and eternal Clemency daily momenâ—ly and instantly to all and singular And again Thou hast as I judge a sufficient proof of the co-operating Grace in the Gentiles viz. who were not Christians Chrysostom on Joâ—n 1. If he enlighten every man that cometh into the World how is it that so many men remain without Light for all do not know Christ How there ore doth he enlighten every man surely he doth enlighten them so far as belongeth to him but if any willingly shutting their Eyes to the Beams oâ— this Light would not direct their sight unto it they have remained in Darkness not from the nature of the Light but their own Wickedness who willingly made themselves unworthy oâ— so great a Gift By all which Testimonies it plainly appeareth these worthy men had not such a mean esteâ—m of the inward Illumination common to all men as ye have but on the contrary did believe it was the Grace of God and such a Gift as being duly improved could give them the knowledge of Christ and enable them to keep Gods Commands And the Aâ—elatensian Synod about the Year 490. said Anathema to him who shall say Christ hath not dyed for all nor would have all men to be saved And again Anathema to him who saith That he who hath perished hath not received that he might be saved And not only antient Christian Writers but Protestants yea some Calvinists of great account as Amyraâ—d and Dalce have delivered it as their Perswasion That Christ hath dyed not only for all kinds and sorts of men but all and singulars of all kinds and have printed in defence of it And Testardus another French Protestant hath printed another large Book in Latine wherein he proveth That not only Christ hath dyed for all men whereby all may be saved but hath given inward Grace sufficient to save all men but that whoever are saved have some special Grace and Favour of God extended towards them Besides that the Arminians and Remonstrants who are as justly reckoned Protestants as many others that dissent from them are zealous for the universal Grace of God and Christ his dying for all men and yet no sober Protestant will say that all the fore-named are vile Hereticks and fearfull Apostates and Blasphemers and Denyers of the Fundamentals of the Christian Religion as ye most Uncharitably and Unchristianly judge us but your false Judgment will be your own burden CAP. VII I Need not be large on this or the following Chapters but take notice principally of your grossest Perversions and false Quotations recommending the substance of my former Book to the Readers remaining unanswered Pag. 104. Ye pervert my words as if I said Christ only adops
and work of Sanctification is before good Works outwardly wrought in order of cauâ—e as the good Tree is before the Fruit. Pag. 108. That Faith is used in Scripture not only to signifie Gospel Doctrine as ye grant but Gospel Holiness and Virtues by a synecdoche of the part for the whole is clear to any who are not partial for the just shall live by Faith and said Paul the Life that I now live I live by Faith and yet certainly his Life was not only the Life of Faith but of Love and other divine Virtues And whereas the Faith of the Elders is frequently mentioned Heb. 11. is it only their single Faith that is there commended or rather the whole Body of divine Virtues whereof the Root as it were is Faith as when we name a Tree by the Root we understand the Branches included and when we number men by the Head we understand the Body also and Gal. 3.5 after that Faith is come that was not the Doctrine only but the Grace of Faith together with all the other accompanying Graces and Virtues and as Unbelief is put in Scripture for all other sin that men generally are under Rom. 11.32 so Faith signifieth the whole Body of the Christian Graces and Virtues but of this ye take no notice but pass it with a dry foot because ye can give no sollid Answer to it though mentioned in my first Book And that it may appear I am not Popish in the Doctrine of Justification hear the Judgment of James Durham a Presbyterian Preacher in his Commentary on the Revelations in one of his Digressions where he saith Who only place Repentance Conversion and Holiness c. but as Conditions necessary to Justification and but equally necessary as Faith and in the same respect with Faith or in words to that effect the are not to be accounted Popish and therefore hitherto ye cannot nor shall find in what â—emaineth any Doctrine asserted by me that is either â—opery or Heresie but what is defended by as good Protestants and better than your selves and which hath the Scripture Authority to warrant it Ye say Ye understand not the meaning of my Rant about a Christ divided a Christ without and a Christ within a Christ in Heaven and a Christ in the Hâ—art we believe say ye that there is but one Câ—rist c. Here ye grosly misrepresent my words and pervert the sense of them as if I did divide Christ or hold two Christs one Christ in Heaven and another Christ in the Heart Let the Reader see my words in my Book and he will find that I am not for dividing Christ but blame them who do divide him either in his Offices or in himself nor do I use these words a Christ in Heaven and a Christ in the Heart as if they were two but I say it is one and the same Christ which is both in Heaven and also in the Hearts of his Children and seeing ye call this a Rant it is plain that ye do not own Christ at all in the Hearts of the Saints Let this be well remembred against you for ye call it a Rant to say Christ is both in the Heaven and in the Heart did not the Lord say He dwelleth in the High and Holy Places and also in the Hearts of them that are Contrite c Ye say He dwelleth in the Hearts of all his People by his Virtue Influence and Grace But I say his Virtue Influence and Grace cannot be in the heart without him and seperated from him for if by Grace ye mean Faith Hope Love they would fail wither and dye if he were not present to nourish preserve them And how sillily and foolishly do ye infer pag. 135. That I hold two Christs because I say That by the Spirit of Christ a man is joyned both to Christ in him and to Christ in Heaven and if two Vnions then two Christs say ye But ye fight against your own shadow I say nothing of two Unions nor do my words infer it more than when I say a Graft that is grafted into a Tree is united both to the Branch that it is grafted into and also to the whole Tree Doth it thence follow that there are here two Unions and two Trees or that the foot is both united to the Life or Soul in it and to the Life or Soul in the Head that therefore there are two Unions and two Heads This shallow way of your Reasoning showeth what learned Clarks ye are Pag. 108 109. Ye deny That Faith hath any assurance in the being and nature of it but only that which is Objective and not Subjective And thus with School-Terms and Phrases ye seek to cover your selves in the Clouds from Ignorant People But let me explain it in English what ye say which is this That Christ Hâ—â—piness hath the Assurance but the Faith hath no Assurance of Knowledge or Evidence in the Nature of it as who would say There is assuredly such a City as London or Paris but he who is going towards it hath no assurance he is in the true way that leads to it Ye say further This assurance may be had without extraordinary Revelation and so say I for it is ordinary to thousands of Gods Saints in all Ages but what is that to you who deny all Revelation both ordinary and extraordinary at present and say The former wayes of Gods revealing his will are ceased And yet many Protestants have acknowledged a Spirit of Prophecy in some of the Martyrs as in George Wisehart and others as is to be seen in Fox's Book of Martyrs which contradict the Confession of the Assembly espoused by you CAP. VIII PAg. 109. Ye commit a great Abuse when ye say I deny the Doctrine of Perseverance I own both the Doctrine and Grace of Perseverance to all to whom God doth give it and my earnest Prayer is frequent unto God for my self and Brethren every where yea all who love the â—ord in any measure is whatever Name they go uâ—der that he may be pleased to establish them in that which is good and crown them with that most noble Grace of Perseverance And upon this head ye and not I give a way the Cause though ye contradict your selves in so doing for ye grant That not only â—ommon and preparatory works that are wrought in men that work a Reformation in many things but also a Faith may be lost that is real and true and not false and hypocritical for ye say expresly Pag. 111. We must distinguish betwixt a false-Faith and one that is not saving So ye grant that Faith which is not false but true may be lost but whether it may be called saving is rather a strife of words than any thing else which I love nâ—t to contend about That it is not finâ—lly and eventually saving is certain otherwise it would have continued but yet that it had a preparatory service and use and began
of the Assembly is manifest from this thâ—t the far greatest part of them being Presbyterians and but few Independants in comparison of the â—ajor part the Presbyterian Church was then a National Church composed of the whole Body of the Nation both in England Scotland and Ireland as much as possible could be and the Presbyterian League and Covenant did not only take in all who were willing however many thousands of them were of a Scandalous Life but the Promoters of it forced them who were unwilling that either they must take the Covenant or suffer Banishment And it is manifest that the Presbyterian Church in England Scotland and Ireland was as National and consisting of as gross a mixture as the Episcopal or even as the Church of Rome it self as in respect of Scandalous Livers so that what Luther said of his followers in his day may be as much applyed to the Presbyterian Church whose Ministers did mostly compose that Assembly in the fore-cited Book called Mensalia cap. 22. â— 290 The manner of Life said Luther iâ— as Evil among us as among the Papists wherefore we strive not with them by reason of the manner of Life but for and about the Doctrine And it is manifest as the noon day that not only the far greatest part of the People composing the Presbyterian Church were of a dessolute and scandalous Life but too many of their Ministry and Elders which occasioned the breach betwixt the Independents and them that these called Independents thinking that the multitude of Presbyterian Professors were not duely qualified to be Church-Members as in respect of a strict life erected a new Model of Congregational Churches which are now again almost wholly degenerated if not altogether into a Presbyterian Laxeness and how can it be supposed that a National Church as such can have the multitude of its Professors to be free of a scandalous Life seeing no such instance can as yet be given for the Presbyterian National Church as well as the Episcopal and Church of Rome receiveth Men and Women to be Members of their Church either how soon born or by Infant Baptism and rarely if ever doth excommunicate any for their Vitious manner of living except in some extraordinary cases of Adultery Incest or Sodomy c. but if any dissent from them in Doctrine then nothing but dreadful Thunderings of Excommunication like the Popes Bulls against the primitive Protestants All which showeth that by Profession the Assâ—mbly understood much rather a meer verbal thing than the Practise of a holy Life or so much as the outward appearance thereof And ye may be ashamed to cite 2 Tim. 3.5 for that requireth us To turn away from s ch as having a foâ—m of Godliness dâ—ny the Power thereof and that is to be sure from all Hypocrites and such who have not real inward Piety and Holiness for who have not true piety deny the Power of Godliness And that either the Presbyterian or Independent Constitution of a Church require an uniform Practice of a Godly and Christian Life in all the necessary parts of it as of living Soberly Righteously and Godly and denying Ungodliness and worldly Lusts is no wise apparent from their Practise however it may be allowed that some external Practices in some things that Hypocrites may most easily perform yea and Scandalous Persons also may be and are required as particularly To present their Children to be sprinkled To break Bread twice or four times a year more or less c. together To come to Church as it is called once or twice a week To salute the Minister with a Haâ—l-Rabbi and a low Cringe in the streets and putting off the Hat and most especially as a most necessary practice To pay every one his share of the Preists Wages These and the like vâ—ry ordinary and superficial Practices are the moâ—t that I can find are required in your Church Members and what is there required of the Spirit of God or real inward Holiness in all this surely nothiâ—g by your own confession Nor ought ye to blame me for this Character of your Church Members seeing John Fox giveth me a President in his Book of Martyrs 1. volum Pag. 43. in the like cass where he dâ—fineth a Christian man after the Popes making by his practisiâ—g some outward things no wiâ—â— inâ—â—rring inward Holiness of Life and afteâ— concludeth with these expresâ— words Now look upon this Definition viz. that he hath given of a Member of the Popes Church and tell me good Reader what Faith or Spirit or what working of the holy Ghost in all this Doctrine is to be required Whereby it is most plain thâ—t John Fox a man of great Authority among Protestants agreeth with the People called Quakers against both Presbyterians and Independents in the true definition of a Member of the true Church visible viz. That every such Member should have the true Faith and Spirit and working of the holy Ghost which yet ye openly deny to qualifie them thereunto requiâ—ing only an outside Profession of words and at most some outward Practices that may be and are commonly practised by the greatest Hypocrites Pag. 132. Ye say I find fault with you for using an Hour-glass to know how the time spends and a Bell to gather your Assâ—mblies together But for the use of an Hour-glass simply to know the measure of Time I did find no fault with you but that ye commonly measure the Time of your preaching by the Hour-glass which showeth that none of you preach by the Spirit of God which is not limitted to any stinted measure of Time and the primitive Christian Preachers had no such thing as either Hour-Glass or Dial to measure the time of their Preaching nor are we against the civil use of Bells Clocks or Dials but the superstitions use of Bells hanging in high Steeples like the high places used by Idolators of Old and which ye follow the Papists in to call your Assembly together and the sound of which many ignorant and carnal People are vainly delighted with Hospimian de orig Templ saith Bells were not used for certain in the first five Centuries at most of Christianity when yet their Parishes or Church-Precincts were of a greater extent than the most diffused among us P. 133. Ye call the inward Gospel spiritual Bell ringing in the hearts of the faithful which is the living Word sounding in the hearts a Fancy more fabulous than any thing in Aesop Whereby ye show how carnal dark and ignorant ye are for hereby ye deny the inward Call Voice and Sound of Christ the Son of God in the hearts of the faithful which by a figure I call the Gospel Bell whereof Aarons Bells that did hang at his Garments were a Type and it is common in Scripture that the name of the Type is given to the thing typified by it But that Psal 89.15 intends the Silver Trumpets in the time of the Law ye barely alledge without
were once in a ready way to have broken up all the Good Order whether Civil or Sacred in the Infancy of this Plantation which occasioned the Authority whom they would have undermined then to turn a Sharp upon them by Laws not so severe as those in the Realm of England against their Fathers the Jesuites on the same Account yet those Troublesom Hereticks who had no Business here at all but the overthrowing of our whole Government would push themselves on the Swords point and tho' repeated Banishments with merciful Entreaties to be gone were first used unto them nevertheless two or three of them would rather Dye than leave the Plantation undisturbed Reply How or after what manner the Plantation in its infancy was in such danger our Author is silent in True it is that upwards of thirty Years past some of our Friends as faithful Servants in obedience to their Lord and Masters command the great God of heaven by the spirit of his Son in their hearts did visit N. England in true and tender Love to the Inhabitants thereof for whose Immortal Wellfare they earnestly travailed and were bowed down before the Lord being amongst them in much brokenness of Heart and contrition of Spirit they were grieved and weighted in their Souls with the Hypocrisie in New-England against which they witnessed sealing it with their Blood their hearts being filled with that Message the holy Apostle Paul in his day was imployed in Acts 26.17 18. To open their Eyes and to turn them from Darkness to Light and from the Power of Satan unto God directing them to the manifestation of the Spirit of God in them A Teacher not to be removed into a corner nor that would any ways deceive them or suffer them to be at ease in sin This High way of the Lord cast up in his Son Christ Jesus the Light of the World the Sound thereof offended the Ears of New-England's Teachers who not unlike Demetrius the Silver-smith Acts 19.24 proved notable Incendiaries against the Lords Servants left their craft should be in danger so far did they kindle the Rage and Fury of their bigotted Rulers that by cruel Usage and inhumane Laws they far exceeded any thing in the Realm of England against the Jesuites And whilst I am writing there livingly springs up in my heart to you the Inhabitants of Boston New-England a weighty Exhortation and that in tender Love That you would mind the Grace of God that bringeth Salvation and as the holy Scripture testifies hath appeared unto all men 2 Tit. 11. that in the same you may see your blind Guides for if the Blind lead the Blind both shall fall into the Ditch Beware that it be not your Condemnation that Light is come into the World and that you love Darkness rather than Light because your Deeds are Evil I have neither Envy nor Malice against the Priests or People of New-England but earnestly desire the Eternal Well-fare of both yet I cannot but lament the present state of New-England as well as its former whose Priests to the life are drawn out in the 3d of Micah v. 5. 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 Mouthes they even prepare War against him vers 11. The Heads thereof judge for Reward and the Priests thereof Teach for Hire and the Prophets thereof divine for Money yet will they lean upon the Lord and say Is not the Lord among us none Evil can come upon us O New-England New-England is not this your present state Are not your Priests crying Peace unto you as if no Evil could come upon you in the midst of these Cloudes of Dangers that are hanging over your heads some of them you have for more than a Twelve Moneth felt to wit A Bloody Cruel War with the Heathen the loss of so many Lives hath humbled me before the Lord and at this time the earnest Cry and Supplication of my Soul unto God is That you may by your speedy sincere Repentance unto him prevent his Judgments for the future That the Jesuits may be properly termed the Fathers of New-England Priests none can doubt if they differ not from their Brother John Cotton of Hampton who in a publick Dispute with G. K. owned To have received his Ministry by the Pope of Rome whose Emisaries they are Beside as they can never prove the Quakers guilty of any one Jesuitical Error yet we can prove these Priests of Boston guilty of many and more especially in their being Incendiaries against the Peace of the Government The further calumniating those who suffered Death to answer your Crucity is but a mean way to expiate the Crime of their innocent Blood which crys aloud for Vengeance and the Lord unto whom it belongs will repay it Thou Cotton Mather nor all thy Fraternity will never be able to prove these 4 Worthies troublesom Hereticks that patiently endured Martyrdom for the Testimony of Jesus by their crul Hands neither will thy poor Insinuation help That two or three of them would rather dye than leave the Plantation undisturbed They had no reason to hearken unto your Hypocritical entreaties to be gone it was their Birth-right as free-born Subjects of the Kingdom of England and so might claim it to inhabit N. England as well as any that there resided as not being forbid to them by either the Law of God or the Realm of England so that being innocent they feared not man that could only hurt the Body but feared him that could cast both Body and Soul into Hell Fire C. M. It is possible a Bedlam had been fitter for those Frantick People than what was inflicted on them and for my own part I must profess with regard unto such Hereticks Ad Judicium sanguinis Tardus sum nor have I the least inclinations to Hereticide as a fit way to suppress their Errors Reply Here our Author doth not a little impeach the Authority of N. England at that time who were accessary to the Death of those â— Worthies by him call'd Frantick People for if according to him a Bedlam had been fitter surely they greatly sinned in passing and executing Sentence of Death upon them the present Governour Simon Broadstead then a Magistrate is greatly concerned in this Charge which amounts to no less than the taking away four Lives by an unjust Judgment for how can that Sentence of Hanging be just against such for whom a Bedlam had been fitter Such as this Author renders our Friends to have been are by the Laws of England exempted from the punishment of Death as also it s reckoned amongst the Abuses of the common Law That such who kill People by false Judgment be not destroyed as other Murderers as may be seen in that noted Book called The Mirror of Justice C. 5. Sect. 108. in express words thus It is abuse that Justices and other Officers who kill People by false Judgment be not destroyed as other Murderers which K. Alfred cause to be done who caused forty four Judges in one Year to be hanged as Murderers for their false Judgments which in the said Book are particularly noted and in the 4th Case he instances how King Alfred hanged Cole because he judged Ive to death when he was a Mad-man Cotton Mather forgot his respect to the venerable Mordocai of his Country as he at other times terms him when he thus exposed him M. C.