doctrine It is not a strange thing to the Saints for these Priests and Teachers to question the light that doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world for the Jewes Priests and Levites stumbled at it in the dayes of John and it set them all up in an uproar as it does you and they examined John and questioned John and he said This is the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world that all men through him might believe Pr. He saith None were ever baptized into the name of the Father Son and holy Ghost that were not baptized with water c. page 52. Answ Where was Matthew or Mark or Luke or John baptized and many more which the Apostle said he thanked God he had not baptized c. which he had begotten many Baptizing is making disciples to the Lord Jesus and Baptizing them into his name that is his power and he telleth the Saints that they were Baptized with one spirit into one body such he tells that he thanks God he had Baptized but a few but he told of the spirits Baptisme and brought the Saints off from things that were seen and water is seen and its Baptisme And as for all thy rabble from thy contentious spirit and railings and unsavoury expressions they will turn home upon thy self and thy own words will be thy burthen and the witness in thy conscience will answer in the day of thy Judgement Francis Harris his Booke called his queries to the Quakers c. his Principles followes Pr. THou saith doth not these people that pretend to the light stumble at noon day as in the night and there be no Gospel Light we mean of the revealed and written Gospel Light in them c. page 9. Ans The Gospel Light is that which doth enlighten every man that cometh into world and who hates it neglects the Gospel Light and receives not the power from God which is the Gospel for that is the Gospel Light Christ Jesus that doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world The Light which every man that cometh into the world is enlightned withall is the Gospel light and they that walk in it stumble not They stumble that be out of the Light which every man that cometh into the world is lighted withall which Light is the way to the Father and many may have the written words yet out of the Gospel Light and the power of God which is the Gospel as Rom. 1. which brings people to where the sheep lies down at noon day Pr. He saith what did Christ mean when he bid people search the Scriptures or Peter when he called the Scriptures the sure word of prophesie the light shining in the dark place and yet Scripture without is a dead letter c. page 12. Ans And yet they call it the Light and the word which is a dead letter Christs bids the professors of Scriptures to search it that thought to have had life in it not that they should find life in it but that they should search it and see how it did testifie of him who was the life that was his end and those that was come to Christ the life they was come to him the Scriptures testified of as John 1. we have found him of whom Moses and the Prophets writ and those were them that was come from John the others were them that stuck in John and came not to the life but to the Scriptures to have had life in the Scriptures and came not to him the Scriptures testified of and persecuted that And Peter means as he speakes he tels them of the sure word of Prophesy and bids them take heed to it as unto a light that shines in a dark place until the day dawn and the day Star arise in their hearts He doth not say this is Scriptures without which thou saith it is a dead letter how can that shine Pr. He saith doth not this draw people to gross Idolatry to bid people to take heed to the light in you which you call the pure Light of God not the light of nature And whether you do not delude people by saying there is a pure Light of God and Christ in every man and woman by nature c. page 14. 17. Ans The light which doth enlighten every man c. leadeth from all Idolatry for all that be out of the Light that doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world they be in the Idolatry And every man that cometh into the light the light which they are enlightened withall be in that which was before any natural lights was and the the natural lights are the Sun the Moon and the Stars And they delude and deceive people that say the light which doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world is a natural light and they keep people in the Idolatry And so shut up the Kingdom against men and go not in themselves nor suffer others for all Idolatry is out of the Light Pr. He saith to be carryed up to the power and to the Spirit which resembles fire whether this be not Antichrist like a Lamb to call fire from heaven to come down in the sight of men And whether the power be from God or from Satan that brings people into a trembling and shaking like Belshazar c. See pag. 20. 21. Ans That power was not of Satan that broke down the head of gold the brests of silver neither was that power of Satan that made Belshazar to shake and quake and that power all must know before the most High rules in the Kingdoms of men and to be carryed up by the power and the Spirit of God is not Antichrist nor is not as the beast which with his lying wonders caused fire to come down from heaven for the power and the Spirit of God fathomes all such things and seeth those were the Spirits that were erred from the Apostles and the life they lived in that did so Pr. He saith the most righteous man falls seven times a day the Scripture tell us See page 22. Ans The Scripture doth not speak any such thing as seven times a day but it saith the Just man falleth seven times and riseth again but the wicked falls into mischief Pr. He saith such as have fasted till their neighbours who lived nigh them have not known them they have been as though they had been come out of the jawes of death whether this be not as the Pharisees and an occasion to Satan c. page 24. Ans What would ye have said to David in his dayes when that he fasted till he might number his bones and was a stranger to all his acquaintance was this an hypocrites fast and because some now by the same power are moved of the Lord so to do Is this now like unto the Pharisees that appears to do so Have not all Ministers and teachers shewed their ignorance of the Scriptures and the life that
Henoch Howet his book called the quaking principles dashed to pieces p. 14. Iohn Timpsons book called the Quakers Apostacy from the perfect rule of the Scriptures discovered p. 15. Richard Baxters book called the Quakers Catechism pa. 27. A book called the Quaking mountebanck c. pa. 31. Elis Bradshawes book called the Quakers whitest devil pa. 32. Francis Blakes book called choice collections of Scripture against the practice of the Quakers c. pa. 33 Luke Fawne Samuel Gellibrand Joshua Kirton Iohn Rothwel Thomas Underhil Nathaniel Web their book called a second Beacon fiered pa. 33. Iohn Toldervies book called the foot out of the snare p. 34. Thomas Colliers book called the looking-glasse for Quakers pa. 36. Iohn Deacons booke called a publike discovery of a secret deceit pa. 39. George Willington his book called the Gadding Tribe reproved p. 43. Joshua Millers book called Anti-christ in man the greatest Idol p. 45. Ralph Halls book called the Quakers principles quaking p. 49. Richard Baxters book called a second sheet to the Ministry justifying our call against the Quakers c. p. 52 Thomas Higginson his book called the Testimony of the true Jesus p 55 Jeremiah Ives his book called Innocency above impudency c. p. 61. Francis Harris his book called queries to the Quakers c. p. 65. Francis Higginson his book caled a brief relation of the Religion of the Northern Quakers p. 66. Francis Fulwood his book called a true relation of a dispute p. 72. Thomas Weld Rich. Prideaux Samuel Hammond William Cole Wil. Durant Ministers of New-castle their book called the perfect Pharisee p. 74. Thomas Pollard a member of the Church about Lichfield his book called the holy Scripture clearing it selfe from scandals p. 78. Ralph Farmers book called Satan enthroned in his Chear c. p. 82 Magnus Bine his book called the scornfull Quakers answered p. 83. Robert Simpson Robert Purnil Iohn Andrewes Thomas Ewen Brian Hanson Richard Moon their book called the Church of Christ in Bristol recovering her vail p. 92. Jonathan Clapham and William Jenkin their book called a discovery of the Quakers doctrine to the Protector p. 95. William Thomas of Ubly his book called a vindication of the scriptures and Ministers p. 104. Jeremiah Ives his book called the Quakers quaking p. 110. William Dells book called a stumbling-stone p. 113. Giles Firmin his book called stablishing against shaking p. 154. Thomas Collier his book called a Dialogue between a minister of the Gospel and an inquiring Christian p. 120. Iohn Billingsly his book called strong comforts for weak Christians p. 123. Immanuel Bourn his book called a defence of the scriptures and the holy spirit speaking in them p. 127. Priest Gifford of Bedford his principle answered p. 129. Tho. More his book called A defence against the poison of Satans design p 129 Thomas Mores book called an Antedote c. p. 132. Mathew Caffin his book called the deceiving Quaker discovered p. 139. William Jefferies his book called Antichrist made known p. 144. The agreement of 58. Ministers of Christ as they call them selves in the county of Worcester and parts adjacent p. 146. Iohn Stalham his book called the Reviler rebuked p. 150. Ralph Farmers book called the Great Mystery of godlinesse and ungodlinesse p. 172. Edward Boules his book called the duty danger of swearing opened p. 178. Samuel Hamond his book called the quakers house built on the sands p. 182. Priest Bennets Looking-glasse p. 187. Thomas Tillam his book called the seventh day Sabbath p. 190. Iohn Burton and Iohn Bunion their book called some Gospell truthes opened p. 205. W. P. His book intituled according to truth that Quakes not trembles not nor quailes p. 212. The Elders and Messengers of several Churches in Wales their book called an Antedote against the infection of the times p. 214. A book intituled the Quakers cause p. 216. Iohn Jacksons paper intituled strength in weaknesse p. 217. A book intituled Hosana to the Son of David p. 219. Ellis Bradshaw his book called the Quakers quaking p. 223. Thomas Weld Richard Prideaux Samuel Hamond Will. Coles William Durant their book called a discovery of a generation of men called Quakers p. 227. Worcester-shiers petition to the Parliament said to be six thousand p. 223. William Thomas of Ubly his book called railing rebuked or a defence of the Ministers p. 237. R. Sherloch his principles p. 242. Iohn Wallace Priest of Kendal William More Priest of Kellet and Priest Walker their principles p. 244. Gawen Eglesfield and Ambros Dickinson their principles answered p. 245. Christopher Wade his book called Quaking slain p. 246 Henry Haggers book called the holy scripture clearing it selfe p. 251. Thomas Leadger his book called a discourse p. 254. Thomas Leadgers Antiquakers assertions answered p. 257. A book called a serious reveiw of some principles of the Quakers p. 257. James Brown his book called Anti-christ in spirit p. 259. Philip Bennet Priest of Cartmel his principles answered p. 260. Adam Sands Roger Atkinson R. Stoakes their principles answered p. 261. G. Johnson James Morrison G. Larcum their principles answered p. 262. John Owen's Catechisme p. 263. S. Palmer and R. Hook their book called the form of sound words p. 264. Richard Baxters one sheet for the Ministers p. 266. John Cole his book answered p. 272. Alexander Rosse his book called a view of all Religions p. 272. Richard Mayo Priest of Kingston his Doctrine p. 274. Seth Bushel Priest of Whitley answered p. 279. Edward Price and Philip Langford their Principles p. 279. Enoch Howet and Thomas Hodges their Principles p. 280. Richard Heath and Daniel Gaudry their Principles p. 281. Philip Taverner his book called the Quakers Rounds p. 283. The Brownists Principles p. 284. John Turners Principles p. 285. The Ranters Principles answered p. 286. Francis Duke his book called the fulness and freeness of Gods grace p. 286. Enoch Howet his book called the Doctrine of the light within p. 290. Priest Fergison his Principles p. 292. Priest Jacus and Edward Briggs their Principles p. 294. Ellet and Crab and Priest Fowler their Principles p. 295. Lamb the Baptists teacher and some of his company their Principles p. 296. William Greenhill Priest of Stepny his principles p. 297. John Gilpin Thomas Craster Thomas Sands John Archer Edward Turner Priest Walker their book called a relation of the Quakers shaking 297 Thomas Collier Nathaniel Strange Thomas Glasseys their paper to all the Churches c. p. 299 Richard Baxter c. a paper called the judgement and advice of the Assembly of the Associated Ministers p. 301. The agreement and resolution of several of the Associated Ministers in the County of Corke p. 303. John Stillams book called margent notes p. 306. P. Taverner of West Drayton his book in reply to Edward Burrough p. 308. Edward Skip his book called the worlds wonder p. 311. Priest Baptist Tombes of Lemster his principles p. 317. A book called a form of sound c. p.
from them And is it not blasphemy for you to speak and preach that which ye have not received from heaven so ye have brought your selves under the curse and shewed another Gospel For whosoever receiveth the Gospel which is called the power of God it is immediate and by immediate revelation from God from heaven And so your Gospel which is of men and after men is another not the power of God received from God for whosoever receiveth the Gospel the power of God must receive it immediately for the power of God is immediate and that is the glad tidings to poor souls that sets the souls free which is immediate Pr. He saith We claim Tythes not by the Law of God but by the Law of the Land and Tythes seems to be Christs wages and Melchisedeck still liveth to receive Tythes in Christ c. Answ Christ is come the everlasting Priest-hood who ends the true commandement that gave tythes and the Priests that took them which ends in him Melchisedeck that received tythes of Abraham of whom Christ came according to the flesh And so Christ doth not any where to his Disciples who ended the true command that gave tythes give forth his Disciples an order to set up another Law in the Nations to give them tythes the tythes of mens estates and so you are none of the Order of Melchisedeck never come thither but of the order of them which Christ said should come who are inwardly ravened which John saw was come went forth from them the false spirit that went forth into the world into the earth and so ye have set up Tythes and Temples and Schools and Priests by the Popes authority Had yee not your Spiritual Courts not long since And was not the Pope the first author of your Tythes And are not you of that Order far off of that spirit that leads after the Order of Melchisedeck for ye are ravened from the spirit For none comes to the Priesthood after the Order of Melchisedeck but who comes to the spirit of Christ and these are Kings and Priests to God for ever So ye have received your Tythes after the order of that spirit that went forth from the Apostles into the world into the earth that inwardly ravened and went forth from the Apostles which the world have been after since the dayes of the Apostles and have had the sheeps cloathing but ravened and devoured the Lambs and worried the sheep Ministers Prophets and Saints So your Order will all men comprehend that be of the royall Priest-hood after the order of Melchizedeck to be come of the Popes stock for the Apostles and Christ did not set up Tythes Pr. He saith Baptisme comes in in the room of Circumcision and it is called the circumcision of Christ Again he saith that thee and thou is a custome So if any man be contentious we have no such custome in the Church of God Ans Circumcision is no where said to be a type of sprinkling Infants and that sprinkling Infants is no where said to be the circumcision of Christ But the circumcision without of men was a type of the circumcision within And that the Apostle witnessed the fulfilling of it in the spirit and so denies the outward And the baptisme of John was a type of that within And you to a particular which is your custome which the Scripture doth not declare to us that that custom was in the Church of God But the Apostle bid them keep to the form of sound words that could not be condemned Now you to a particular is not a found word as they can tell that have but read either the Bible or Accidence And there is no Heathenish customes comes into the Church of God that will spot or wrinkle it nor nothing cometh into it that is the pillar and ground of Truth that will be condemned Pr. And he tells us of a word Trinity And he saith the onely ordinary way to know Jesus Christ is outward Revelation and to attain to the knowledge of Christ is by the Scriptures and he may be a Minister of Christ though he be partly out of Christs doctrine and though he be called of men Master He saith the Scripture tells us plainly that Baptisme is a Christians circumcision Again He that saith that light which is in every man is sufficient to discover and lead men to Christ is under the darkness of his own fancy having so far left the true light the word of God Answ The light in every man which Christ hath enlightned him withall loving it and walking in it it is sufficient to discover Christ and salvation and they that be out of that be in the darknesse and fancy And as for the word Trinity that comes from the old stock the Pope the Scripture teacheth us no such word And none can know Christ by the Scriptures they testifie of him but none can know Christ but by Revelation flesh and blood had not revealed it to Peter and the Son was revealed in the Apostle and none can preach Christ that deny revelation in truth and they that are Ministers of Christ they be in his doctrine For when they are out of his Doctrine and his commands then they are wrong Ministers which ministers not for Christ but they preach themselves and are Antichrists transgressors And the Scripture doth not tell any where that Baptisme is a Christians circumcision as sprinkling Infants but Circumcision in the spirit and Baptisme in the spirit is all one in which the oâ—â—ward ends And as for all thy other silly expressions published to the Nation it bad been better thou had kept silent and all of you then to have published your shame to the Nation But your folly you must bring forth to make it manifest to all men whose eyes are opening Are not you in the Devils snare who are out of the discerning For you cannot tell what to bring people into alack for you who are hung about with rags and are not covered with the spirit of the Lord but are all from that which we are in and so hast kept people in darknesse and not turned them to the light being all ravened from it and so think there is life in the Scriptures which testifie of the life So I say search it and see if it do not testifie of the life And every one of your words that ye have all spoken that have not been from the life shall be your burthen the witnesse in thee shall answer it Thomas Weld Richard Prideaux Samuel Hammond William Coale and William Durant Ministers in Newcastle Their Booke called The perfect PHARISEE Their Principles as followeth Pr. THey say If they shall say that every man hath the knowledge of Christ by speciall revelation and that immediate by the spirit that which it quite contrary to the common knowledge of thousands Ans All that ever come to know Christ you and all the people upon the Earth it must be
would not endure sound Doctrine such as was given to fables and had the itching ears and heapes to themselves teachers and those forsook the faith which such have now since the dayes of the Apostles reigned whereby none among them comes to be out of all teaching that they need no man to teach them and that they need not say know the Lord and to see the glory of God None comes into the everlasting Covenant into the power out of the form and none cometh to know all things by the anointing in them but they are all on heapes about their heapes of teachers and itching ears and so cannot endure the sound Doctrin that any should come into the Covenant of God that they need not to say know the Lord. That is the sound Doctrine to come into the Covenant of God Christ Jesus the substance of all the Prophets glorified before the world began to learn of him who is the way to the Father the truth and the life and the heaps of teachers are all erred from him and the Apostles and so from the true teacher Christ Jesus who saith learn of me And there people would destroy one another about their teachers which Christ teacheth otherwise to love their enemies and so there is men following their imaginations and not the Lord and reprobates concerning the faith in which is the unity and there are you Pr. He saith Paul did not commit the Church to the light within them for he told them deceivers should come c. page 39. Answ Paul when that deceivers was come and false Apostles among the Church of the Corinthians he told the Corinthians that the light that shined in their hearts would give them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus and so hear thou shewes thy ignorance of Scriptures and of the Church and of Pauls Doctrine whose work was to bring them to the light within them when the deceivers was got up and so committed the Church to the light within them and told them that that would give them the knowledge c. So they that draw people from the light within are the false spirits that the Apostle speaks of that went out into the world before the Apostles decease which led the world after them by whom the way of truth came to be evil spoken of for the Apostle told them that the Light that shined in their hearts would give them the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus and not their teachers without them as you do who bring them from the Light within them and so act contrary to the Apostles Pr. He saith to bring people to the Light within is dispising the word again he saith the Light that is in a man is not able to lead him to happiness c. page 50. Answ No man cometh to happiness but who cometh to the Light within which cometh from Christ the happiness of all man kinde the Redeemer the restorer of man kinde out of the fall out of the first Adams state to God into the second Adams state who is the Covenant of God with man in which they have peace So in this Light stands every mans happiness and he that hath the happiness hath Christ the light within him and the peace with God And the light within which cometh from Christ the word is not against the word nor Scriptures which are the words but it ownes them and with them hath unity and no one sees the word but with the Light within And as for all the rest of thy unsavoury expressions and childish speeches is not worth mentioning And thou hadst better have let silence have covered thee then to have published thy nakedness to the Nation for thy words will be thy burthen in the time of thy necessity the witness shall answer in thee Ralph Farmers Booke called Satan enthroaned in his Chair c. His Principles follows Ans Which is a Title sutable to himselfe discovered by the children of the day who is his Seeds-man as to the Nation he hath declared But them that be in the Truth Love and Peace he doth not touch Pr. HE saith We do not pretend to infallibility as you do which is lying and hypocriticall c. Ans We do believe you that in the infallible spirit of God you are not but in the false fallible spirit gone out into the world that went forth from the Apostles who had the spirit of Christ And so how can you be Ministers of the Spirit and not the Letter if ye be not infallible For who be in the spirit are in that which is infallible This I say none be Ministers of the spirit nor none be in the spirit nor none have the spirit of Christ nor the holy Ghost nor the spirit of the Father speaking in them but who have that which is infallible and in that which is infallible And they be in the lying spirit and hypocrisie that be out of it and all the false spirits that is gone out into the world So ye do well to confesse that ye have not the infallible spirit yee are not infallible and so no Ministers of the spirit And how can they but delude people that are not infallible and are none of Christs which have not the spirit which is infallible and are not Ministers of the Gospell which is the power of God which is infallible Pr. He saith We are foretold that false Teachers that shall bring upon themselves swift destruction and evill men and seducers which wax worse and worse deceiving and being deceived should come And there should come false Christs and seducing spirits and the doctrine of Devills speaking lyes in hypocrisie such as deceive the hearts of the simple with their feigned speeches c. See page 39 40. Answ Hast not thou here brought forth thy ignorance of the Scriptures which saith the seducers and the false Christs and the false Apostles the Doctrine of Devils and the feigned words and fair speeches which deceived the hearts of people came up before the Apostles decease and doth not thou in this shew thy spirit to be that spirit that went out into the world not able to divide the word aright but art telling people they are now come when as the Apostles saw they was come before their decease which since the dayes of the Apostles all the confusion hath been among them and you that deny the light are in distraction And yet ye that be not infallible in the infallible spirit but fallible are crying to people they are come but now and so grow until ye are worse and worse And thee and the Priests of Newcastle and many of the rest of you are crying against such as say Christ is their example And yet many of you have published to the Nation in print that Christ is an example and the men are respected who speak them and not the words simply as they are in
which since their dayes they have had the reign over the world But now to that which they ravened from and into the truth the Devill abode not in is the Saints comâ— and the Lamb reigns that is the substance of the Scriptures the end of the Scriptures that hath dominâ—â—â— Glory in the highest for ever And as for all the reviles lyes slanders vilifyings hard expressions in thy Book they will fall upon thy selfe and to thee they will be sad and thou shalt feel every one of thy owne words shall be thy burthen and they shall come home unto thee cramed into thee again for thou must eat thy own dung and drink thy own pisse that comes from thee for all that in thy book is but dung in the day of thy Judgement the witnesse in thee shall answer All along thou hast shewed thy ignorance of the spirit that is poured upon all flesh that 's infallible for whosoever prayes or hath a humility or sings and not by the infallible spirit they sing not with the understanding nor pray not with the understanding And under the Judgement of God thou hast brought thy self and all thy generation Thomas Collier his Booke called a Dialogue between a Minister of the Gospel and an Enquiring Christian In it his Principles are as Followeth Pr. HE saith that the Scriptures is the absolute rule of Saints that are endued with the spirit and faith page 7. Answ Such as were endued with the spirit and faith before the written Scripture was they had a rule and they knew the seed and they knew the promises and they knew Christ more then the Pharisees that had the Scriptures nay more the the Apostates since the dayes of the Apostles that have the Scriptures and the Epistles and Revelations For by faith they saw the glory they was in the Foundation they saw Christ the everlasting Covenant and that is the foundation still Christ Jesus him by whom the world was made before it was made and all that have the Scriptures and have not him they can do nothing And that which ruled the Saints before the Scriptures was written is the Saints rule after the Scriptures is written to know the Scriptures what is written and to know God of whom they learned that gave it forth or writ it with that they know to what state and condition it was spoken And the spirit is the record and he that hath all the Scriptures and wants the true record which is the spirit he cannot know all things Pr. And the Scripture is the New Testament of the Saints rule and the rule of Judgement page 10. Answ The Scriptures given forth from the Spirit of God people knowes not to what state they were spoken but as they come into the spirit that gave them forth And besides the Epistles was written to the Saints in several conditions according to their growth and some of them grew higher then others for some of them the day-star was not risen in their hearts and some of them was children of the Day So that still was the rule that led them to give forth the Epistles and revealed to them the states and conditions of the Saints and to ages and to generations and to Nations and the condition the world was in and should come upon it that was the rule and is the rule by which all these words are seen again and there is the record of the Spirit of God And he that hath found the true record the Spirit of God with that he shall know all the Scriptures and is come within the book where all things are written and which writes all things forth the spirit Pr. He saith the Scriptures is that word which makes the Devils to stand in aw and tremble The written word for after generations by which mens souls are brought to Christ pag. 14 15. again that the Scriptures is the sword of the spirit pag. 16. Answ The Pharisees had the Scriptures which Christ said was of the Devil and was swallowed up in his power and they stood against Christ the life the substance The Devil came with Scriptures who is out of the truth to tempt Christ the Word but the Word the substance of Scriptures hammerd down the devil and Pharisees that had got the Scriptures but were out of the life that gave them forth And they have the sword that have the word of God which was before the Scriptures was given forth and they be in that the Devils be out of So if the Devil and wicked men bring Scriptures they hammer them under and redeem the Scriptures out of their ungodly mouthes And the written word brings no soul to Christ the life but who comes to the life that the written words speak of and so it testifies of him the â—iâ—e that brings them to Christ that gave it forth Pr. God is willing that all should be saved but he worketh not all into a saving condition page 21. He saith it is true there is a spirit and life in the Scriptures pag. 22. Answ The spirit and life is not in the Scriptures but the spirit and life the Scriptures testifies of and the light Christ Jesus the salvation to the ends of the earth doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world with a saving light And the light which every man hath that cometh into the world is saving but many hating the light and not coming to it which hath enlightened them they neglect their salvation and slight their salvation and not believing in it they walk in darkness and come not to the light of life But they that believe in it come to the light of life and abide not in the darkness And the grace of God which brings salvation hath appeared to all men such as turns it into wantonness and walkes despitefully against the spirit of grace ownes it not for their teacher but sets up teachers according to their own lusts so turns against that which brings their salvation and walks despitefully against it and followes their own lusts and tramples upon the Covenant of grace and the blood of the new Covenant And all that see the Bishop of their souls Christ Jesus the Saviour of their souls it is with the light that cometh from him and God wils that all men should be saved Pr. He saith to use Christs name to catch souls when indeed it is but Jugling and to stab him and crucifie him a fresh pag. 42. If Christ doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world c. If this were truth then Christ died in vain and in vain hath Christ spoke of himself saying I am the way the truth the life the light c. pag. 45. Answ Such as do not believe that Christ doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world are such as mentions his name and haters of the light that cometh from him these be in the Jugling state deceivers of souls and people And none sees Christ the one offering but
the Father of spirits So who have not it the spirit have but Letters and are Ministers of the Letters and not of the Spirit And the Kingdome of heaven is within you saith Christ in Luke 17. to the Pharisees and thou saith with or among them And I say that is the Kingdome within them which never consented to sin and in you all which one day ye shall witnesse which the gazer and observer abroad his eye and eare is closed and stopt too which he must come to before he be as a little child and know the leven that levens up the new lump and knows the Kingdom which is like unto a grain of mustard-seed and where the diligent waiting is the soule comes to live and the everlasting Covenant felt And thou that brings souls to be prepared for death thou art more like to do that then to present them to God a slayer and executioner so not a servant to the Bishop of soules where the soule liveth and rejoyceth and comes out of death and magnifies God the Saviour And so all the Ministers of Christ their work is to prepare souls out of death for life Pr. He saith The Bible is the soules physick And people must depend upon the spirits speaking in the Scriptures He saith the person of Christ is not his man-hood and the naturall light the Quakers call Christ within and nature grace And he saith The body of sinne is in the believer till he lay down the body Epistle Answ The souls refreshment is Christ and Physitian Christ Many may have the Bible and not know it and the Scriptures as the Pharisees had The soules Physitian is that which the Scriptures speaks of which many may have the words the Bible and yet have not the thing it speaks of and they that have the thing it speaks of have both And many holy men had their souls Physitian before the Scriptures was written and printed and they that had the spirit that gave forth Scriptures they had the souls Physick and they know all the springs is in God and the Lord who in his hand was the souls And such as are in the spirit they depend upon that and they come to see the Scriptures by the spirit given forth from it and such comes into the unity of the spirit and the light which is Christ within by which all things was made and created was before the naturall Lights was and Nature For all the Naturalls that was made was made by the Light Christ Jesus the wisdome who is the wisdome of God by which all things was made with which wisdome we see over the naturall Lights and over Nature And the grace that comes from the Throne that brings salvation which is the Saints Teacher teacheth not to call Nature grace And he that believeth is borne of God and he overcometh the world and entereth into his rest and shall never dye And he that believeth hath victory yea while he is upon the earth he cometh to witnesse the Circumcision that puts off the body of sin and makes free from it which the synagogue of Satan cannot witnesse Pr. He saith The Scriptures are the Word of God page 4. And the Spirit is given by the Letter And he saith the spirit proceeds from that which is put within the Book or Bible page 5. And I judge them that pretend the spirit without the Scriptures And the Scripture is a more sure rule then visions and revelations pag. 7. And God that gave the letter gives the spirit with it and by it page 9. Answ God gave the spirit before he gave forth Scriptures And the Devill and wicked men may get Scriptures but they have not the spirit nor none have it but as they come to feel it given from God as it was given to them that gave forth Scriptures And so people are to finde the spirit of the Father speaking in them as it did in them that gave forth Scriptures then the spirit answers to the spirit that gave forth Scriptures then there is an unity with the words and with God of whom they learned which many may have the Bible and not know the spirit that spoke it forth but be erred from it And the Scriptures are the words of God of truth God spake all these words He that adds to these words the words of God is pure Christ is the Word his name is called the Word of God who was before the words were spoken forth who comes in the volume of the Booke to fulfill the words And the spirit was before the Scripture was given forth for it led them to speak it all forth the words of God as they had learned of God So the spirit comes not by the Letter but the Letter comes forth from the spirit And many had the Scriptures and knew not the Revelation and judged the Revelation of the Son of God and judged Christ who was come the end of the vision which was for an appointed time So therein thou hast concluded thy selfe to be among them that have the Scriptures and sets up that beyond the Revelation of the Son of God which is the end of Scriptures which none knows the father but the Son and he to whom the Son reveals him though they may have all the Scriptures And the things of God is revealed by the spirit of God Pr. And he saith The Scriptures is the rule and the guide of Saints And saith the old administration of the Covenant of grace is abolished page 13. He that understands Matth. 11.2 27. of immediate revelations onely shuts out all mediate revelation by the Scriptures and falsely accuseth the Lord of the Scripture page 14. And the Apostle saith not that the spirit reveals the deep things of God If we should deny the Scriptures to be the rule we should deny the Scriptures of God page 18. Answ The Saints rule was the spirit that gave forth Scriptures and the Word of God which fulfills the Scriptures without him they can do nothing if they have all Scriptures And the spirit of truth shall lead into all truth And none knows the Scriptures nor God nor can be a Minister of the spirit by a mediate Revelation but a Minister of the Letter for who are Ministers of the spirit are immediate and are in the immediate revelation of the Scriptures to them by the spirit that gave them forth and these ministers to the spirit and brings people to God the Father of spirits that they may know what to reveal to others they minister to And all they that have the Scriptures and not the spirit that gave them forth they are on heaps about words and wants the rule And the Covenant of grace which is the end of the old Covenant is witnessed and stablished and cannot be abolished which ends the decaying Covenant And as for abolishing the Covenant of grace thou dost not know what thou speaks of And the Apostle said the deep things of God was revealed
But your swearing now is not like to the Jewes for they swore by the Lord not swore by the book of the Prophets writings neither did they swear by the Tables in which the Law was writen Neither did the Apostles nor the Saints swear by the Epistles nor Christs words after they were wriâ—ten and recorded Now this is worse then the Jewes for they were to swear by the Lord from whom the Law came they were to swear by the Lord of whom the Prophets learned and not by the Tables nor by the Prophets words Now the heathen was to swear by Moloch and to swear by Baal and kist Baal and the children of Israel to swear by the Lord not to swear by any Writings or Declarations of the Prophets or Moses Neither do we read that the Saints swore by the Epistles or the Revelations or Matthew Marks Luke or John and kist it For the true Christians that wiâ—nessed Christ the end of the Prophets the end of Moses a greater then Solomon Him by whom the world was made before it was made before Abraham was which reigns over the house of Joseph and Jacob to whom the Angels must bow saith swear not at all This is my beloved son saith God heare ye him Pr. He saith A believer hath both the rise and furtherance of his faith and evidence from what is written And if the Scripture be a dead letter and the word in the heart be one with the Scripture then that in the heart is dead page 246. Let them tell the world how the Scripture is the Declaration without contradiction and yet the word in the heart page 247. Answ The Scripture as it lies and is in it selfe is a dead letter but as the word is felt in the heart that gave it forth then it is its own words Now to them that be from the Word within the dead mind the dead letter And so the words themselves there gives not life to that but as the words is raised up within as it was in them that gave it forth and that is it which gives life and that sees the Scriptures and the fulfilling of them and then that knows the Scriptures that cannot be broken and in that the words ends the word Christ And that 's it that gives life to all people and saves the soule which the Letter doth not as it is in it selfe without one have that which gave it forth and that is not dead And a believer the author of his Faith is Christ and the giver of it And if he have all that is written and be not in the light Christ who is the author of his Faith he wants the foundation of God that stands sure Christ Jesus that all the Fathers and holy men of God rest in in the faith before any Scripture was written in him stood their faith the foundation of God Israels glory the light of the Gentiles this is that which fulfills all Scriptures and ends the faith the salvation And the Ministers of the Word that comes to fulfil the words those Ministers of the Word they took in hand to set forth in order a Declaration of the things wrought among them which had a perfect understanding from the very first of what Christ both said and did And so this Declaration was given forth to be read believed fulfilled and people to enjoy the thing it speaks of that which the Apostles preached to Jewes and Gentiles the new Covenant the one offering the blood of Jesus Christ him the end of the first Priesthood that Abraham saw and David saw and Moses had the type of the Prophets wrote of Now who enjoyes him that these all spoke of saw and preached they have the end the comfort of the Scriptures And here is the Declaration seen and known and here is the substance possest and here is the words of God and here is the Word of God that fulfills the words which word was before the words in which word the words end and are all sum'd up into Pr. For to say Christ and faith is not to be found in Scriptures He saith I hope no humble Saint will pin his faith upon this c. And they crying up thee and thou to a particular c. pag. 247. Answ Christ was before the Scripture was written and Christ is life not found in a dead letter nor faith and he is the end of the Scriptures and the substance of them and many had the Scriptures and could not finde faith in them nor Christ nor life And Christ told the Pharisees he was the life the Scripture testified of him but they would not come to him that they might have life who is the end and substance of the Scriptures by whom the world was made And as for the words thee and thou and you who are stumbling at it shews they have never learned their Accidence or Bible So short oâ— the language of the spirit that teacheth to speak sound words that cannot be condemned who are ignorant of the literall knowledge Pr. He saith The Scriptures was breathed forth by the spirit of God but we receive the spirit another way then they did as gave forth the Scriptures and the Scriptures was given forth immediately but thus the Scriptures comes not to us nor the understanding of them We have Books and Canons and printed Translations in the Mother Tongue page 248. Answ All your Books and Canons and if ye have all the Scriptures printed in all the Languages of the world and if ye have not the same immediate inspiration that gave them forth ye understand not the Scriptures And we do believe you that ye have not an immediate inspiration as they had nor do not receive the spirit as they did that gave forth the Scriptures who are ravened from it But who ever knows the Scriptures of truth it is by the same spirit as gave them forth with this and by this is the Scriptures of truth the excellent words known again to what state and condition they were spoken Pr. He saith The spirit is in the Letter or the whole Scripture Page 254. And they that writ forth the Scriptures were imperfectly holy but Gods Word was holy To conclude the spirit is in the Letter and given by it daily experience demonstrates it And they that owns not the spirits dwelling in the letter have lost their faith of the spirits presence and runs to other Gospels and Doctrines the spirit of errour is in all mens Doctrines that have not the spirit in them page 255. Answ The holy men of God that gave forth the Scriptures as they were moved by the holy Ghost but the Apostle said they were holy and we shall believe him before we believe any of you apostate Teachers which say they were not holy And the spirit was in them that gave forth the Scriptures received of God the Father of spirits and dwells in God And they that be from the spirit of God within which gave
for it is the earth shall help the woman Answ The courtesie the Saints received which was from them whose hearts was opened that the Lord had opened by his power that is not condemned But your taking Tythes of people you do not work for and casting into Prison till death for not giving it you How are you like the Apostles or like the Ministers of Christ or like the woman thou speaks of the Church that was persecuted Now you persecute this signifies she was persecuted And you persecute for meanes and hale up and down in Courts and Sessions and will take treble damages treble tythes of them you do no work for and so you will not stand to the courtesie of people nor wait for the power to open their hearts but are in a power that will take it by compulsion and by violence away from people So you have given judgment against your selves and are not of the number of them the Lord opened their hearts that ministred to their necessities and so unlike the Ministers of Christ that received the courtesies of the people whom the Lord opened their hearts Pr. Thou saith When people have no guide but what is within and that this principle be rooted it will turne all into Babel And thou questions whether it be not a principle of sedition to say that every man hath a light within him Answ All people in the world runs into Babel and Babylon and are building up and throwing down and so goes into confusion about Law and Gospel Prophets Christ and the Apostles words when they be from the spirit within of truth to lead them into all truth and up to God the Father of Truth of whom they learn that gave them forth and with that spirit are they seen in which spirit is unity which is the bond of peace And the light which doth enlighten every man that comes into the world leads all men out of sedition and they be in the sedition that denies it and sayes to the contrary and in darknesse and cannot comprehend it as John sayes which says this is the true light that enlightens every man that cometh into the world And Christ says Believe in the light And the Prophets said God gave him for a Covenant of light to the Gentiles and a new Covenant to the Jewes and he shall be the Leader of the people and salvation to the ends of the earth and every man that comes into the world is enenligtned He that believes is saved and he that believes not is condemned already Pr. Thou queries When the Act of the Commission for the Ministry was repealed since Christ said he would be with them to the end of world And thou saist It is not said simply they shall teach no more every man his neghbour but it is added Know the Lord. Thou saist that every man is enlightned onely with a naturall reason and the elect are enlightned with a saving knowledge Thou saist I bring John 4.23 to overthrow all outward worship Thou saist You can praise God with your bodies and spirits Answ The 7th of Matthew Matth. 24. Christ said false Prophets should come and should be inwardly ravening wolves having sheeps cloathing and John said they was come Chap. 2. Chap. 4. And in Revel All that dwelt upon the earth went after them and such killed the Saints When they had gotten a head they killed the Saints and the true Ministers and they that were of the false killed the true and since those dayes the false hath reigned which hath wrestled with flesh and blood prisoning killing the creatures and warring against them and not with the Principalities and spirituall wickednesses and powers of darknesse and such hath been out of the power the Gospell the Apostles were in hath killed them that kept the testimony of Jesus the spirit of Prophecy And it is said plainly Heb. 8. They shall not teach every man his neighbour nor every man his brother saying know the Lord for they shall all know me from the greatest to the least saith the Lord And so thou perverts the Scriptures and art judged by them for it that belies them And the light that doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world is the same Light that the Elect lives in which the world not believing in the Light Christ Jesus the Elect and covenant of light and life and peace promised to the world they are condemned already but he that believes in the Light is saved so that saving is sufficient And Christ sayes they that worship the Father must worship him in spirit and in truth Not at Jerusalem not at Samaria nor at the Mountain So say I not at your Masse-houses with a Crosse at the end of them which the Popes set up and you since the dayes of the Apostles So they that worship God must worship him in the spirit and in the truth Truth doth not change neither doth the Spirit and these be them the Father seeks to worship and hath found many And Christ overthrows the outward worship at Samaria and Jerusalem and the Mountain and so do we at your Papists Masse-houses and tell you God is worshipded in the spirit and in the truth and those are the true worshippers that God seeks to worship and that will stand when Masse-houses Samaria and Jerusalem is down the spirit and the truth that remains In the mouth of the wicked praises is not comely And as for your singing Davids conditions or the Saints conditions given forth from the spirit when you confesse you are not in the spirit as they was that gave them forth So then judged with it to be such whose mouths the praises are not comely that be in another state then they where that gave Scriptures forth And Adams state before the Fall thou knowest not but art found in the steps of the Pharisees and Papists As the Pharisees got words of the true Prophets and Moses out of the life so the Papists and you have got the words of Christ and the Apostles and be out of the life and persecuting them that be in the life as the Pharisees did and killing the just the just being imprisoned in your own particulars as it was in the Pharisees And you with your dark eyes have looked upon the Scriptures ever since the apostacy and ravened from the spirit of God the pure eye and so with that you are comprehended felt over and seen over and with that shall the principle of God in you all be answered that you are apostatized from the Apostles in life and power and doctrine and so are in heaps about their words out from that which is the ground of communion the bond of peace And all thy confusion in thy Book is thy own garments who with it is for the fire the witnesse in thy conscience in the day of thy condemnation shall witnesse it Thomas Tillam his Booke called The seventh-day-Sabbath His Principles answered as Followeth Pr. ALl
not worth mentioning but the Scriptures are owned And Iohn art thou finding fault because men wears no hatbands and eats and drinks bread and water and casts by their pride Now thou mayst see who thou hast taken part with and who is the scoffer and sheweth thy self and who is thy Master short of all good And as for all your bad names and misconstruing of Scriptures it will come upon your selves and thou hast shewed in all thy Book that thou art not able to divide the word aright nor an instructer of Babes Pr. And thou saith that Christ dyed for the sins of the elect Answ And the Scripture saith he was an offering for the sins of the whole world and who shall lay charge to Gods elect whom he justifies Pr. And thou speaks of God destroying men for their ignorance and they shall finde no favour in the day of judgement Answ Whereas the Scripture saith in the time of ignorance God winked at but now he commands all men every where to repent and every man that cometh into the world is enlightned And the spirit of truth shall reprove the world of sin of righteousnesse and of judgement which leads believers into all truth And the grace of God which brings salvation hath appeared to all men but they turne it into wantonnesse which is the Saints teacher And this shall make every tongue to confesse to the glory of God and every knee to bow at his name which is the Emanuel and so none shall plead ignorance as thou saist who art in the ignorance thy selfe but inexcusable because convicted and hast rejected the tender mercies who hast lifted up thy selfe against the Saints and the Lamb but a stone is set over thy head that shall grind thee to powder and the Saints shall have the victory and the Kingdome that is an everlasting Kingdome the witnesse in thy conscience shall witnesse against thee for all thy hard speeches and let thee know that you and thou had better have been silent then to fight against the Lord the Lamb and his Saints that 's the word of the Lord God to thee and you all When ye are judged the witnesse in all your consciences shall answer W. P. his Principles in his Book intituled according to truth that quakes not trembles not nor quailes Pr. THey say If the Apostles had been put to preach upon a short Text or methodically as by a long practice in the Church it is expected from us that they might oft times have studyed for it Answ In this you have shewed your spirits and made manifest you are voyd of the revelation from God and your ignorance of the Scriptures for the holy Ghost shall not speak of it selfe but take of his And the Apostles what they had seen and heard they declared And Christ what he had received of the Father he declared and the spirit that which speaks in the Church and it shews the fulfilling of the Scriptures and it keeps not people long in Texts as the world doth that wrests Scriptures up and down and keep people in sects and so there is the spirit leading into all truth and the spirit of the Father speaking within and the holy Ghost that moved men to give forth Scripture that teacheth to divide the word aright which is the spirit of prophecy in the Church not studying Pr. They say Every man that hath the spirit in some measure doth not attain to the great height and degree that they did that gave forth Scriptures that therefore may not lawfully and infallibly teach as they did Ans Every man that hath a measure of the spirit of God in the least measure or degree it is infallible and so far may they teach infallibly and know Scriptures but they cannot know all Scriptures but as they attain to the full measure of the spirit of the Prophets and Apostles and to the measure and stature and fulness of Christ and if they do not attain to all this they are not able to know all the Scriptures and the work of the Ministers of God was to bring people to this to the measure and stature and fulnesse of Christ and saith Let every one minister as he hath received the grace And take heed of any of you going beyond your measure and them that deny the grace of God appearing to all men cannot minister Pr. They say The greatest part of professors in the visible Church were and are always earthly minded nor can rightly value spirituall and heavenly things Ans In this you and your Ministers hath shewed your fruits like Balaams which withers and are earthly such as Jude speaks of that separateth themselves sensuall and had not the spirit but went forth from the Apostles that are got up since the days of the Apostles Church and Ministry like Priest like people and to be such as was coming up before the Apostles decease as he speaks on in Timothy which minded earthly things like Teacher like People that preach themselves thorow with many hurtfull lusts while they coveted after money they lost the faith and so came people to be all on heaps out of unity in the earth being out of the faith of Gods elect so this is all in the apostacy since the Apostles Pr. And he saith That he is not a hireling that takes wages The wages are allotted to him for his worke Ans But do not all you preach for hire and is it not for hire you preach Now the least in the truth may see you Is there ever a Priest in the Nation but he is hired to work or if he have it not he will not stay Now to prove that you do preach for hire where many Steeple-houses in many Parishes that hath no Priest thither you go not because there is but a little Benefice and they have soules as well as others and where there is agreement for so much a year thither you go is not this for hire and so the Prophets words fulfil'd the Priests preach for hire and all these great sums of money which has lifted you up and gathered a great deale of it out of poor mens labours this hath been the undoing of you all and Nations and many poor people because they cannot put into your mouths but now is God come to judgement upon you all in the apostacy apostates Pr. And thou calls the Steeple-house a Church Ans Which is the Church which is come up since the dayes of the Apostles in the apostacy for the Church is the people of God the elect seed which Christ is the head of who in the midst of this Church doth sing praises which is the pillar and ground of truth without spot or wrinkle Whereas the Steeple-house you call your Church will spot wrinkle and blemish and decay and fall down and wicked men may prevail against it but the gates of Hell cannot prevail against that Church which is built upon the rock Pr. And thou sayst Thou dost not
regard and receive but if one come in the Name of the Lord him you put out so you will not have the Lord nor his Christ to reign neither his servants to labour in his Vineyard Pr. Ministery is like a mighty tree whose fruit the Lord hath appointed for the healing of the Nations Answ But your Ministers and the Papists hath been them got up since the days of the Apostles that brings Nations all into heaps and into blood and doth not heale the Nations but wounds and burthens and kills and casts into prison as this your fruit declares it who casts into prison such as you doe no work for Pr. To the Law and to the Testimony pray to the Father of lights that he would enlighten us with his truth and shew us the way that he would have us to walke in and pray for us who watch for your soules as those that must give account Answ The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy And the Law is light and the Law and Testimony was before Matthew Marke Luke and Iohn and the Epistles were written and the Revelations which outward Books you call Law and Testimony which the Scripture saith the testimony of Iesus is the spirit of prophesie and the Law is light Prov. 6. Are you them that are the makers of Ministers and Ministers who watch for the soules of people and yet do you bid people pray to the Father that he would enlighten you with his truth and shew you the way that you may walke in it How can you present soules to God that doth not know the way and are yet to be enlightned and yet to have the way shewed so you that you might walke in it Is this your conclusion of all you Ministers in Ireland Now I say Christ hath enlightned every man which comes into the world which is the way and though your darknesse cannot comprehend it and yet you pray that he would enlighten you When John saith he doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world and that is the true light Have you the light to seek and the way to seek and truth to seek and yet watchers for souls And the soule you that are called Ministers saith it is humane yea the soule of Christ the soule of man is appetite and lust and pleasure and humane from the earth from the ground Is Christs soule from the ground and appetite lust and pleasure wars against the soul in them that be in the unreasonablenesse You that have the light to seek truth to seek and way to seek are in the earth and so gives the soule the name of that which comes from the ground Now the soule is immortall God breathed into man the breath of life and he became a living soule It is that which came out from God who hath all souls in his hand that 's his power which hand goes against him that doth evill And Christ the power of God which is immortall is the souls Bishop which is immortall from whence it hath its nourishment and the immortall which is able to save the immortal soul And as for all the rest of your ignorance and non-sence in your Book which comes from your confused earthly spirit who are found in the nature spirit and stock of your Father the Pope who hath apostatized since the dayes of the Apostles with all the rest of your stuffe which is but fuel for the fire in that day of your account the witnesse in all your consciences shall answer it John Stillom his Book called Margent Notes His Principles as followeth Pr. HEe calls it the Quakers adoring their own light magnifying the light of nature The Church is ashamed of your doctrine and walking saith he Ans The Quakers light is Christ the truth in whom they worship God which light was before naturall lights were and this the Church owns and is not ashamed of in which stands the Doctrine by which light the Church is gathered up unto God the Father of light but the imitated Churches in the Apostacy are ashamed of it Pr. Not any man knows him speaking of Christ to be God till he finde him in Scripture and saith as deep things as the spirit hath revealed they are all in the Scripture Ans Many knew God and knew Christ and yet had not written Scripture to tell them of those things as Enoch and Abel and many again hath Scripture speaking of God and Christ and yet doth not know God and Christ and doth not finde him in Scripture As instance the Pharisees knew not God and Christ which had the Scripture and had not life untill they came to Christ the Scripture speaks of and many things the spirit did reveal which was not written in the Scriptures and was spoken to the Saints Pr. John meaneth not that there was any substantiall truth necessary to be known to salvation which is not revealed in the written Word but the spirit that ordered the Copies and mysteries of the Gospell to be contracted within a narrow compass of lines Answ Many knew their salvation as in the dayes of Noah Enoch and David which had not the written Scriptures And though people have the Copies that speaks of the Gospel of the mysteries of the Gospel put together and compassed and contracted into lines yet they do not know the Gospell nor the mysteries of it nor the Word though they testifie of these things and the Pharisees did not that had Scripture which Scripture doth not tell us of written words but that the Word is Christ and God which was in the beginning before words were given forth And Gospell and salvation and the mysteries of it is known by the Spirit and the Light which come from Christ Jesus which none knows it but by that Pr. Stillom adds not onely heart rising prophesie nâ—r breast-prophesie in the minde but written downe in books The Apostle excludes not heart-prophesie so he includes Scripture-prophesie but till the day-star did arise in their mindes by the reading and heeding of the Scriptures that is plain meaning Answ The Scriptures were given forth by prophesie and the spirit of it and no man knows but by the same spirit and the Apostle did not exclude heart-prophesie and the Day-star doth not rise in the heart by mens reading and heeding the Scriptures in their own wills and having them in books written down but as men do come to the life and spirit as they were in that gave them forth and heed that with that they heed Scripture and knows Scripture and with that they know the Day-star and Christ who is the end of them and so men must come to take heed of the light that shines in a dark place before they know the Day-star arise For the Jewes had Scripture and did not heed that for the spirit within of prophesie doth not deny any tittle of the Scripture without And in thy Principle thou hast confounded thy selfe who saith Not heart-prophesie heart-rising
freedome thou speakest of one sitting and an other standing to serve at meat and put yonr selves among the Pharisees and doth not Christ serve the children at the table who is the Master but in the world there is the Lord-ship and exercising authority and doth not know their own brethren as Paul to Philmon but Masters and servants as the Scriptures declares is owned thou speaks of Cains and Abels offerings you who are the persecuters and slayers and prisoners of the just offerers up of the Earth and are the City got up since the true woman went into the wildernesse but the City of the living God is known againe and you are judged and your false Church Thou speakest of salutations and saluting enemies how do you salute those that you imprison till death for your Tithes what a salutation is that and cause them to be whipped and imprisoned for speaking to you this is like Judas salutation to Christ when he betrayed him and not the salutation of the saints Thou speaks of calling daies by other names then the first second c. yes you and your mother the Papists Church and the heathens contrary to the Jewes and true Apostles and true Christians call them Moonsday and Sunsday and Friday after the name of the great Idol in England and Wensday and Saturnsday and this is contrary to the scripture and the form of sound words and contrary to the Law of God which Judges the heathen and every day is the Lords and many names you give to your Moneths which the heathen is fain teach you thou speaks of Interpreting the word and giving sence and meanings and thus with your Interpretations and sences and meanings you have brought whole Christendom in heapes your fâ—uits declare it to be out of the Scriptures to be out of the Spirit that gave it forth so your own spirits give the meaning in which lodges the Envy and serve your own bellies but it is the spirit that leads into all truth and not you thou speakest of singular and plural as though thou neither knew Scripture nor accidence thou speakest of the Ministers going without gold and silver brasse or purse or scrip c. yet you will not go without augmentations tythes and gleab-lands amongst them you call brethren your baptized People and thou speakest of taking a purse and scrip and sword and selling his garment to buy one Christ did so to fulfill the Law and bids them put it up again and said it was enough who ends it so are out of the faith and patience of the Saints thou speakest of good men and calling them good yes I say such as be full of the Holy Ghost and of faith but wicked men wolves and beasts would have this title persecutors warriers and devourers in sheepes cloathing therefore is that angry which is exalted above all that is called God who sits in the Temple of God that man of sin in you all who cannot have that given to him which is given to God by them that is in the deserning Thou goest about to prove the word Land-Lord and would thrust that in the Scripture which the Scripture speaks no such word but the Law of righteousness which comes from God which is equall and just and the Prophets to do as you would be done by thou art speaking of the Angels that said nay they would tarry all night in the street and yet went in the Angels are servants and their time is not come and they may say nay and yet after see their time they must go in thou speakest of perfect and yet in your Doctrine say none shall be perfect while they are upon the earth and hath denyed the work of the Ministry so Profits People not at all and thou sayst who can understand the error of his wayes and that which thou dost thou allowest not and sin remains in a man then there the Devil hath a habitation and there is death but he that believes is passed from death and so from the sin and that which gives a man to understand his error turns him from his sin such as comes to know the annointing within them that teaches them that continues in the Son of God and in the Father these knowes all things but such as be in the transgression not denying themselves know not the error of their wayes as you may see your selves what you have run into whose fruits are come to Publike view Pr. Thou speaks of Christ speaking in the Synagogue and false Christs and false teachers in corners and chambers and Ministers must prove by Scripture for with that they convince the Jewes Ans Christ went into the Synagogues and the Apostles to shew the fulfilling and he who was come to fulfill that which they had in the Synagogues and the Apostles shewed them out of the Prophets and the Law that Jesus was the Christ and the Apostle was not a false Christ nor a false Teacher who Preached in his own hired house nor the Saints that met in several houses which were come off of the Jewes and Synagogue but they are the false Teachers and false Christs that deny the light that doth enlighten every man that is come into the world which Christ hath enlightned them withall and they are them that draw People into corners and Chambers and deserts and say lo Christ is here lo Christ is there that are gone and ravened from the light in their own selves that Christ hath enlightned them withall and such are the corrupt trees that cumbers the earth whose fruits hath sufficiently declared themselves who are to be thrown down into the fire who will be condemned with the light which they have ravened from in their own particulars and to you that is the word of the Lord in the day of thy visitation the witness in thy conscience shall answer it and as for all the rest of thy stuff to the Papists who would make People believe thou wast not found among them and their errors in this book first come out of the Papists work before thou find fault with them and cry against them art not thou one of them that kills and takes possession but the time is come you are all comprehended you and the Papists found in one bond one cord one City against the elect but he is over you all set and the Judgement of the great whore is come which is got up since the true women fled into the wilderness and the man-childe caught up to God but now is the man childe come again to rule the Nations with a rod of Iron and the Lamb the bride the Lambs wife is known and the mystery of iniquity is discovered and the mystery of godliness is revealed and the Saints shall have victory the beast and the false Prophet shall be taken and cast alive into the lake of fire and the old Dragon and the everlasting Gospel shall be Preached to them that dwell upon the earth to all Nations and
and we are well acquainted with griefs yet in all our trials and afflictions the Lord never forsook us but his wisdome love and life and presence increased in us and with us Then in the yeare 1654 as moved of the Lord we spread our selves South-ward and entred into these South parts and came the first of us into this City of London in the fift Moneth that year and laboured in the work of the Gospel in continuall sufferings and oppressions divers waies and were oppressed and gainsaid by the wise-men and by the learned and had in reproach and contempt by all the high and lofty and proud professors and we were set at nought and rejected by the fat beasts of the South and it is well known to thousands in this City and South countrie what opposition we have had from all sorts of people opposed in our own meetings and scorned and slandered by envious and reproachfull tongues publikely and privately encountered withall by the wisest of the City and country chalenged invited and ingaged to disputes by the high Priests and Church-members so called written against and printed against by the chiefest of men accounted wise and religious which of any sect and who of all the wisest in profession and the most zealous in practices of Religion so called have not at some time or other beset us and encountered with us in high disputes and controversie opposing of us to our faces and gain-saying our doctrines and practices and denying of us and resisting of us wholly and crying against us to be deceivers deluders and hereticks and blasphemers and such like and that our doctrines were deceivable error and factious and what not that our practises were destructive to men Lawes and Government these things in the worst nature have been spoken against us without ceasing by the wisest and men of greatest parts and most Religious falsely so accounted for this certain yeares in the South aswell as in the North besides what losse have we sustained other waies in the South by beatings and strikings and abuses and slanders and false reproaches and halings before Magistrates and imprisoning and all the like dealing from Priests Rulers and people as we did in the North yea the same hard dealing and cruelty from all sorts of people we have suffered and doe daily as we did in the North Insomuch we are now accustomed to the yoke and well acquainted with sorrowes and griefes from all sorts of people and were not the Lord on our side our enemies would swallow us up quick and we had been long since devoured by the teeth of the ungodly so that I may now call to witnesse all the Goales and prisons in the South as in the North and all the Magistrates and Judges and Rulers and all officers of the Law what suffâ—rings we have sustained and what cruell and heard dealing we have undergone and what injustice and unequal and false judgement hath been executed upon us in this five yeares time which of the Goals may appear free where some of us have not suffered the losse of our liberties unjustly and who of any Justice of the peace or any other officer from the Judge to the Constable that can clear themselves from guilt in this matter and that they have not had a hand in our unjust sufferings and to the witnesse of God in all people of all sorts through this whole Nation and some other I do appeal concerning this matter how we have been dealt withall what we have sustained in our persons and in our names how many acts and words of cruelty and in justice we have borne and suffered and these Priests been as the fountain and cause of all this and the formost in all this iniquity and injustice by all what they could do to incense the Rulers and people against us by Preaching and praying and writing and printing for the space of this seven yeares yet notwithstanding all this the mighty power and presence of the Lord have been with us and preserved us from dangers great and many and carried us through trials and perplexities and sufferings and not onely so but he hath increased us in number so that thousands and ten thousands have and may own us and the truth which we give witnesse of live therein for the eyes of all people are beginning to be opened and the deaf eare is unstopped and the way of life eternall is made manifest and the Lord is gathering his flock which hath been scattered in the cloudy and dark day whilst these false idle shepherds these Priests and Teachers I meane have fed themselves with the fat and cloathed themselves with the wool and laid down in slumber and not gathered the flock nor fed them but scattered them and driven them away and with force and with cruelty have they ruled over the heritage of the Lord woe woe unto these sheepherds saith the Lord God they shall be confounded and put to shame perpetually and they shall be broken down and never builded any more and the Lord will pluck them up by the roots and they shall never again be planted And besides all there Petitioning the Magistrates against us and Preaching and praying against us and all the evil wickedness in work word desire brought forth against us from time to time yet here sober Reader thou hast a Catalogue and whole number of books Printed written against us and abundance of their Doctrines uttered against us and in opposition to us gathered up in this volume in a sum with our answers to them and if thy heart and minde be single thou maist hereby understand in measure the difference in Doctrine between them and us and compare each of them with the Scriptures and see whether their Doctrines and Principles laid down as the subject of their books or our Doctrines and Principles laid down in answer to theirs be according and agree with the Scriptures and if thou be impartial in this business and single in this search and Judgement I doubt not but thou wilt in a great measure satisfie thy self and be resolved concerning their Priests and Professors of England and us who are called Quakers and then when thou thus hast done own and deny â—â—â—ther them or us as the Lord shall perswade thee for thou maist fully perceive we differ in Doctrines and Principles and the one thou must justifie and the other thou must condemn as being one clean contrary to the other in our Principles And I wish also thou wouldst measure us and compare us in lives and conversations and truely Judge whom of us whether they or we do the more follow Christ and his Apostles in practise and conversation And in all things lay us and them to the line of true Judgement and with an upright heart Judge accordingly for know this there is not any Principle we hold nor any work which we practice in our Religion and worship but we are willing and
319. Some of the Principles of the Priests of Bishoprick p. 321. Daniel Roberts teacher to the baptists in Reading his principles p. 323. Timothy Trevers his Principles p. 324. The Doctrines and Principles of the Priests of Scotland p. 327. The Principles of 15. Priests of the Isle of Weight p. 361. W. S. his book called the Parsons guide p. 369. Thomas Hodges of Soldren in Oxfordshire his book called a Scripture Catechisme p. 369. Several Scriptures Corrupted by the Translators p. 373. An ANSWER to many Principles held forth by some of those called Ministers Teachers and Professors in England taken out of their severall Books with their names at them And also several other Sayings and Writings of the Priests and Professors of this Nation gathered up together and Answered Samuel Eaton who calls himselfe a Teacher of the Church of Christ at Stockeport in Cheshire In his Book called THE QVAKERS Confuted sent to the Parliament SAITH in his Epistle to the Parliament then sitting at Westminster That they are not to judge of Saintship according to the large charity of some who are truly good c. Ans So here is another Doctrine then Christs was who said The tree is known by its fruits and by their fruits ye shall know them And the fruits of the Spirit is known from the fruits of the flesh Again in the conclusion of his aforesaid Epistle he begs a pardon of the Parliament for the thoughts of his heart that he hath spread before them and so puts them in the Popes place Likewise in his Epistle to the Reader because Richard Waller witnesseth his Teacher within and bids others to minde the Light within them and that he was come off of all other Teachers c. he judgeth this to be delusion Contrary to John the Apostle who saith Ye need no man to teach you but as the same anointing doth teach you which is truth and is no lye John 2.27 And again in Heb. 8. Ye shall not teach every man his neighbour and every man his brother saying Know the Lord for they shall all know him from the least to the greatest for the Lord will write his law in their hearts and put his spirit within them c. Prin. He saith he doth not believe that there is any substantiall essentiall or personall union betwixt the eternall Spirit and believers Answ Although the Scripture saith the spirit dwels in the Saints 1 Cor. 6. and he that is joyned to the Lord is one spirit 1 John 1. As though the Saints had not union with God which the scriptures saith they have Prin. He saith It is palpably false and blasphemy to say that Saints know all things and have power to work miracles to the glory of God Answ Contrary to the Minister of Christ John who saith But yee have anoynting from the holy one and know all things 1 John 2.20 And Christ said Greater things then these shall yee do that believe in me Prin. He saith Though we believe that the spirit of Christ dwells in the Saints yet we assert the spirit of Christ to be distinct from the Saints c. Answ How are they led by the spirit how are they led into all truth And how are they sanctified by the spirit and their unity in the spirit by which spirit they have unity with God by which spirit the Saints worship him And he that is joyned to the Lord is one spirit He that hath not the spirit of Christ is none of his And so they are distinct from it but they are not so that have it and be in unity with it and one with another with God Prin. He saith Although there be the same spirit in all the Saints that gave forth the Scriptures yet all Saints have not the same inspiration of the spirit that the Prophets and Apostles had so as that they should be able to give forth infallible truths and immediately discover the pure and clear will of God as the Prophets and Apostles did Answ In this his Ignorance of the spirit he hath shewed and of the holy Ghost And himself is the false spirit gone out into the world For the spirit of truth shall lead into all truth and bring to memory Christs words and doth inspire into them the things of God and doth reveal to every one according to their measure Pr. The Spirit doth not communicate according to the capacity in the creature Ans Then there is none can divide the word aright and God gives to every man as he will and reproves the world and leads the Saints into all truth Prin. He saith they had not known the signification of the words of Christ but by the Evangelists c. Ans I say he nor none knows the signification of Christs words by the Evangelists words but by the Evangelists spirit and the same inspiration which thou saist thou looks not for Pr. He saith The Scriptures do give their own sense and is a standing Rule c. And yet thou said a little before in page 4. They are darke and are left to you to give a sense Ans Here then thou confoundest thy selfe and the spirit of God is the standing rule which leads them to speak forth scripture and not others words and the Prophets and Apostles words did not lead to speak forth scripture but the spirit Pr. He saith They that have the anointing within them had not an infallible judgement c Ans And John saith They know all things and bid them try the spirits whether they were of God And said they had the spirit of God which spirit is infallible and gives an infallible judgement which spirit was to try the false Prophets that was gone out into the world Pr In some places thou said the Scriptures were dark and hard to be understood Ans And here thou saith it is plain and easily to be understood page 8. Mark thy confusion for the Scripture is not understood without the spirit Pr. He saith there is an infallible judgement which may be made from the Scriptures without the spirit page 9. Ans Who can judge infallibly without the spirit Christ told the Pharisees who had the Scriptures They were of the Devill and judgement they had neglected and he did not own their judgement to be infallible And the Apostle saith what they knew who are separate from the spirit they knew naturally as bruit beasts Jude 10. 19. â—hough they may speak high words in hypocrisie And there art thou with thy infallible judgement as thou said without the spirit which is proved fallible and there is no infallible judgement to be given that stands without the spirit they that judges without the spirit will judge amisse and not infallible as the Jewes did of Christ and as the naturall bruit beasts did which Jude speaks of there art thou Pr. And he further saith there in the same page That the Scripture is to be judge of the spirit and a light sufficient to
the Apostles And yet Paul judgeth him again and saith as many as are perfect are thus minded Pr. He saith there is a contradiction in the Letter speaking of the Scripture page 60. Ans Shewing that he doth not know to what condition iâ— was spoken for there is no contradiction in it but in them that be out of the spirit that gave it forth is the contradiction Pr. And he saith there is a Perfection that respects Justification and not Sanctification see page 61. Ans Now there is no Perfection but where there is Sanctification Pr. And he perverteth the Scripture of John that saith If we say we have no sin c. And he saith Whosoever saith he hath no sin deceives himself See pag. 62. Ans So he wrongs Johns words and puts he for we and is charging sin upon the Elect and so himself is found a Lyar. For there is a time for men to see they have sinned and a time to confesse and forsake sin and a time to witnesse the blood of Christ cleansing from all sin and he that is born of God doth not commit sinne And here the children of God are manifest from the children of the Devill And Eaton hast thou been preaching and praying all this while and never yet heard the voyce of God The night is upon thee thou hast no answer from God And as for the rest of Eatons lyes we let them rest upon his own head not being worth mentioning the witnesse of God in his conscience shall answer in the day of his Judgement John Bunyan Richard Spenceley John Burton and John Childe in their Book that they call A vindication of a Book called Some Gospel TRUTHS opened These Principles followes And as for his Lies and Slanders they will come upon himselfe they are his own Garments And for the Scriptures which he quotes they are owned but not to cover the WOLFE withall IN his Epistle to the Reader he saith The Quakers will own that salvation was obtained by Christ this is truth saith he And but a little before he saith They do deny that salvation that was obtained by him c. And thus he hath shamed his Father of confusion that taught him the father of lies who says and unsays for salvation is owned by Christ and God and no other Pr. Again in the same Epistle he denies Salvation is obtained by Christ within and saith the Scriptures doth not prove it and calls it fighting against the Truth c. Ans When as the Apostle saith work out your salvation with fear and trembling and that is within And the ingrafted word is able to save souls and that is within And the Apostle saith If Christ be not in you ye are reprobates And that is not opposite to Christ without them nor contrary to the Scriptures And no one knows salvation but who knows this Christ in you who is the salvation and where he is within there is salvation and so thou art one of the Reprobates that can talk of Christ without and denies him the salvation within Pr. He saith the Quakers own Christ Jesus revealed to them in spirit and calls it Delusion Ans And yet he saith others are carried away with errour for not receiving Christ revealed in the spirit and this is his patched up stuffe comprehended with the spirit and with it is judged who finds fault with them that have it and is against them that have it not Pr. He tells people of the history of the Word As he saith some have no other witness nor knowledge but the history of the Word and the relation of others c. Ans And yet he is against the Revelation of the spirit in the Quakers But he is one of the Beasts officers to fight against the Lamb but it is to no purpose who thus builds up and throws down Pr. Again Bunyan is railing against the Priests and runs up into the Pulpit himselfe Ans And so the Wolfe hath got the Sheeps cloathing and they can speak of Christ without who be reprobates who have him not within Pr. He saith The Lord Jesus Christ is afar off in his bodily presence Ans And yet he saith the Lord is at hand And the Apostle saith he was in them And Christ said he would dwell with them Pr. He saith They were sealed by Christs death at his offering upon the Crosse Ans And yet Christ must come to save them at the last day And the Saints witnessed their salvation while they were upon earth and said Christ was in them except they were reprobates And the Son of God was come and gave them an understanding Pr. He saith the Quakers witnesse the teaching within which he saith the Apostles witnesseth the contrary c. page 4. Ans Why dost thou wrong the Apostle and put thy lyes abroad when as the Apostle said and Christ said the spirit of the Father spoke in them And the Apostle said the Law and the Covenant of God was in their hearts and the anointing was within them to teach them But why fightest thou against the Apostles teaching the Apostles doctrine and Christs doctrine Dost thou not see thy weapon now fails thee Thou hast cast thy selfe without and hath not the Apostle and Christ corrected thee here now Pr. And to prove that the blood of Christ was shed before the world was he brings a Scripture which saith the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world c. An. Here all may see whether this be a fit man to teach or whether or no he be not one of the Novices I leave it to all to judg his measure who have a just measure for the Scripture saith since the world and thou saist before the world was Pr. He saith That the son of Mary God man is absent from his Church Ans Contrary to Christs words I in them and they in me And I will be with you to the end so one of the blinde Prophets contrary to John who saith we are in him and that is true and thou saist he is absent from his Church And the Apostle said he was the head of the Church but of your Church we believe he is not the head but will grinde you to powder And thy words and thy doctrine are corrected by Christ and the Scriptures And Christ said where two or three meet together in my name I will be amongst them and the Saints were flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone Pr. He saith To be justified by Christ is not to be justified by the spirit within and that Christ within doth not work out justification for the soule but must look out for salvation unto that man that is now absent from his Saints on earth these are his words Ans Corrected by the Apostle who saith he works all in us for us and yet thou saith that Christ is absent from his Saints on earth who is corrected again by the Apostle who saith Christ is in you and
before the Apostles decease they saw them that were false accusers and fierce despisers of them that were good They that had the forme of godlinesse but denyed the power that should be lovers of themselves and covetous and these were crept up before the Apostles decease and since the dayes of the Apostles the world have been after them That both covetous and heady and fierce despisers have rul'd they have been like Jannes and Jambres who withstood Moses when the children of Israel were to come out of Aegypt And so do you that crept up since the Apostles decease who are covetous and high-minded heady fierce despisers of them that are good have a forme of godlinesse but deny the power thereof which are to be turned away from and so keeps people in spirituall Aegypt and Sodome Are ye not all covetous and lovers of your selves And do not you all deny the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world Christ the power of God and so keeps people under your teachings all their life time laden with their sins divers lusts while they be upon the earth and the body of it and telling them that there is no perfection here That Ministry that tosseth people up and down with your slights and wiles and windy doctrine and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth which truth is the light that doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world Are not ye fierce despisers of them that are good Hath not all the blood which hath been shed since the days of the Apostles of the Martyrs and Saints been by the stock that you are in who are the false spirits erred from the true spirit that the Prophets and Apostles were in and gone out into the world from them as ye confesse ye have not the same infallible spirit as the Prophets Christ and the Apostles had and Eaton the Pastor saith And the Indians will not deny the Light nor Turks neither that convinceth them of sin for to the Turks and Indians was the Covenant promised as well as to the Jewes for they are Heathen and thus your ignorance appears of the Scripture of truth and Ministers of God and with them you are judged Pr. Priest Coale saith The light which he is justified by is a created light Page 56. Answ The Scriptures of Truth which the Saints declared and Christ never held forth such a light as was created as justified them for the Saints are justified by Christ the light by whom all things were created Light was not created that was the Saints justification Pr. He saith Who are washed from their sins by the blood of Christ and made Priests unto God and in this sense if they themselves do not once become Priests they will become companions of Devils for ever See page 56. Answ They that become Priests to God and are washed by the blood of Jesus Christ are come out of the Devils power and overcome him by the blood of the Lamb and owns the light to be their justification which thou denies Pr. He tells us of Pauls mediate call and his extraordinary call of it selfe had not been sufficient Answ The Scripture tells us no such thing of Pauls mediate call and Paul declares himselfe take Pauls owne words not of man nor by man but by the will of God and that was sufficient which call you are out of since his dayes by men are ye called Pr. He saith Christ doth not forbid not simply to be called of men Master c. page 62. Ans It was Christs command plainly to his Disciples Be not ye of men called Master for ye have one master even Christ And thus thou stands against Christs doctrine and commands and so a transgressor and an Antichrist Pr. He saith Christs humane nature c. Ans Where doth the Scripture speak of humane the word humane where is it written tell us that we may search for it Now we do not deny that Christ according to the flesh was of Abraham but not the word humane And Christs nature is not humane which is earthly for that is the first Adam Pr. Priest Coals principle He saith His justification is not done within him but without him in the Court of heaven Answ Reprobates may talk of Justification Did not Christ work Justification without them upon the earth for man kinde and brought righteousnesse And where there is Christ made manifest within is not their Justification wrought there from heaven within Where faith is witnessed within doth not that justifie and none knows Justification in truth but where it is wrought within See page 77 78. Pr. Again Priest Coal saith The life that he lives is a created life Ans So thou hast shewed thy selfe a naturall man not spirituall nor a son of God led by the spirit of God nor in the faith and dost not live by faith nor a living in the spirit so hast manifested vain glory Pr. He calls trembling and quaking the shaking of the soule Answ The power of the Lord God cometh to shake down that nature which prisons the soul c. and sets it free And as for all thy other Complaints Reviles Railings and Lies will turn upon thy selfe and they will be hard for thee to bear and thou shalt cry out with Cain when thou and you feel the burthen who are cut of Christs steps who is the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world In the day of thy judgement thou shalt witnesse and the witnesse in thy conscience shall answer Francis Fullwood His Booke called A True Relation of a DISPVTE His Principles follows Pr. HE saith The Scriptures are able to make wise unto salvation Again the Son in whom eternall life is is onely found in Scripture and they are they that testifie of him and therefore eternall life is found in Scripture Ans Many had the Scriptures but stood against the Son of God and many may have the Scriptures and not the Son of God The Son of God is not Writings Scriptures signifies writings And many may have the Scriptures and not have the Son of God and so not eternall life For the Devill hath Scripture but hath not eternall life for he that envyeth his brother hath not eternall life abiding in him So who have eternal life they have that which the Scripture speaks of testifies of it testifies of Christ the life of the spirit and so they are the words given forth by the spirit of God and so are to be fulfilled by the same spirit again And the Scriptures are able to make wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus For they were not wise unto salvation who had the spirit without the faith Pr. He saith We attain our Gospell another way then Paul did And it is blasphemy to tell us that what ye deliver is by revelation from heaven c. Answ You have received your Gospell another way then Paul did I do believe who are apostates
Nay the power of God that woâ—ks out the salvation with fear and trembling brings off from the Covenant of works and brings above all the powers of wickedness and so that is it which brings the people of God to be persecuted and hated to live in the power and the seed of God and no one knowes salvation but who knowes fear and trembling Pr. It is a delusion with you for one to witness an Immediate call and others to witness with them that they are so called Ans Was not the Apoâ—tles and Saints written in one anothers hearts and one anothers Epistles there and called immediately and witnessed one another as it is now Pr. And ye say some of them go naked And another to come and say he had a call Immediately from heaven to take away the Priests hour glasse And of their mean apparrel And the forsaking the world though they neglect their families And they run up and down in places and streets or Steeple-houses to vent their Doctrine c. Ans These are the marks they give to us whereby they give to their books the name of perfect Pharisees And the Apostles Preached as they went up and down in Townes and Markets and Synagogues and those was not Pharisees but those was Pharisees that held up Synagogues and Tithes and Temple and Priests so ye have the mark of the perfect Pharisee The name is entered into your bowels and hearts And as for any being moved of the Lord to take away your glasse from you by the eternall power it is owned And to take away your limmit carnal limmit to your earthly spirits that are gone out into the world from the Apostles from the spirit And if any have been moved of the Lord to go a signe among you to put off their cloaths to shew you are naked and want the covering of the spirit And as for any going in mean apparell and forsaking the world and come off from cosâ—ly attire was not this the Apostles doctrine Are ye like unto the Apostles the messenâ—â—rs of Christ or the messengers of Satan crying up the world and its glory and costly attire And who are come to forsake the world are come out of the sinfull neglect of their families into the wisdome of God that preserves the creation and not destructive And as ye are speaking of Perfection so far as men are perfect they are perfect in glory and changed from glory to glory and witnesse perfection upon earth and see an end of it as David did who had out-stript all his teachers but among all yours that are kept under your teaching there is no talk of perfection among you nor your hearers so fall short of coming to see the end of it And the one offering and the blood of Christ and the new Covenant that perfects blots out and cleanseth from all sin And as for all the rest of your unsavoury and hard expressions in your Book the judgements and sorrow ye will feel for them and in the day you are judged the witnesse in you shall answer Thomas Pollard a member of the Church about Litchfield in his Book which he calls The Holy SCRIPTVRE clearing it selfe from Scandals His Principles follows Pr. HE saith It is a cavill to say thee and thou to a single person Ans Which shews that he never learned Accidence nor Bible the Language that the Saints spake one to another Pr. He saith It is wickednesse to call the letter of the Scripture and what is gotten from the Scripture to be brain knowledge page 4. Answ The letter paper and inke the letters are carnall and what is gotten from it is brain knowledge without the spirit But the Scripture the thing it speaks of is spirituall the Word is spirit c. Pr. He saith the Lord never said to us as he said to David that you are after his heart or any of your way or that ever went in your way and do not destroy all by your Doctrine page 7. Ans No David had out-stript all his Teachers so have we many of us who have trembled as David did witnessing the new covenant Christ Jesus in which we need not say know the Lord And who witnesseth this witnesseth the Tabernacle of David built Again our Doctrine destroys but mens and transgressors and doth not destroy the smoaking flax and bruised reed and we can say we are after his heart and God hath said we are after his heart Pr. He saith And how people may finde rest to their soules take the Law and Testimony See page 9. Answ They that had the Scriptures and have the Scriptures denyed the Light that doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world and say prophesie is ceased so then they may say the spirit is ceased it is all one For the law is light saith Solomon And the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophesie Now cries the world the Law and Testimony is the Old and New Testament which many may have the Old and New Testament and yet deny the Law and Testimony which is the light and spirit of prophesie for the Law and Testimony was before Matthew Mark Luke and John and the Epistles and Revelations was written in the dayes of Isaiah And so they that be not according to the Law and the Testimony they be out of the light and the spirit in the darknesse though they have all the Scriptures which the Law and Testimony ownes in their places And many may have the Scriptures given forth from the spirit of God and yet not have the comfort and rest to their souls till they come to Christ that the Scriptures testifies oâ— Pr. He saith Try the spirits whether they be of God for many false Prophets are gone out into the world page 11. And Satan transforming himselfe into an Angell of light and false Apostles and Ministers of unrighteousnesse transforming themselves as the Ministers of righteousness And he saith If they bring another Gospell and Doctrine then what is preached receive them not into your houses nor bid them God-speed Ans That which ye tell people is the Gospell now which ye preach is the 4 Books of Matthew Mark Luke and John you say c. As instance Priest Shaw of Aldingham in Lancashire said so Contrary to the Scriptures which saith the Gospell is the power of God And many may have the four Books of Matthew Mark Luke John c. the forme but deny the power and so deny the Gospel which is the power of God And so they that deny the power have put the four books for it and they that have not the Father and the Son are not to be received into their houses as saith the Apostle John for they would come in the form and deny the light as you do but he that hath the Son and the Father he is in the power the substance of the form Again the Devill transformed himself as an Angell of light before the Apostles
degrees of obedience and conformity to it in this life before death hath drunk Antichrists cup. page 144. Answ The Saints after they witnessed the body of sin put off and made free from sin they glorified God in their bodies souls and spirits And so the body of fin is not the creature for that causeth the creature to groan before it cometh into the liberty of the Sons of God that causeth the body of sin the cloathing that comes upon the Creature the old man which cometh by transgression the first Adam that leads out of transgression brings the creature into the liberty of the sons of God and so who is in Christ is a new creature And old things passe away and the body is the Temple of God a holy Temple And the living soule is immortall yet many of thy generation say it is humane that is earthly yea that Christs soule was humane as ye may see in this Book in the rest of your Principles of them that call themselves Teachers and Pastors whose soules are in death and life And immortality not come to the Light through the power of God which is the Gospell and so have shâ—wed your ignorance of the soule And whosoever witnesse the perfect holinesse and preacheth up that they come from under Antichrists Kingdome They that preach up Imperfection they weare Antichrists livery and his colours and sounds the Trumpet of Antichrist and who be in the righteousnesse are in the perfection it selfe without a thing meritted by man in his will And who loves God keeps his Commandements and to him and them they are not grievous And this was the seed that kept the Commandements of God that Antichrist Beast mother of Harlots and false Prophets made war against as you may read in the Revelations But this seed is a burthensome stone unto yoâ— all tâ—at keeps the commands of God that loves God and they that be born of God doth not commit sin And the naturall body which is flesh blood and bone is not the body of sin it was never read so in the Scripture that that was the body which was to be put off for the Saints had bodies after they witnessed the body of sin put off and made free from sin Pr. He saith That R. F. is against the doctrine of sin continuing in the godly till death page 148. Answ That doctrine of Sin was never preached up by the Apostle that it should continue in the godly till death I say it continues not in the godly for the godly are like God out of sin it continues in the ungodly that is not like God And he that is in Christ is at the end of the Law and the Precepts and the Statutes and the Ordinances and the Commandements and is in the substance Gods righteteousnesse Pr. He saith The Letter is no dead letter and it hath life in it selfe And if there be but this letter or Ministry it is Christs two-edged sword page 153. 155. It serves unto his designe of searching hearts And the Apostle would take people off from the conceit of perfect attainments pag. 162. And may not filthy hearts transform themselves in the fancy of perfection as the Devill into an Angell of light Answ The Devill transforming himselfe into an Angell of Light or into a similitude is like unto all the filthy hearts who fancy perfection without them not within thâ—m and speaks of Christ without them not within them as the Devill did But the Doctrine of the Apostle who preached Christ the Covenant of God and brought people off of that which made nothing perfect to that which was perfect and bid them be perfect and of one minde and he spoke wisdome among them that were perfect so he did not bring the people from it but to it And the Letter it selfe is dead as it is of paper and inke And all Ministers of Letters and Books written in paper and ink and speaks from letters of paper and inke and have not received from God what they preach are Ministers of the Letter and they are the Ministers of death though they minister all the Letters written in the Scripture and have onely but the sheeps cloathing and begets not to God but only making Proselytes as the Ministers did in old time as the Jewes did But they that were Ministers of the Spirit that gave forth the Scriptures they have the sword of the Spirit which the Jewes the Ministers of the Letter had not Nor they that be out of the spirit though they have all the Scriptures given forth from it they that be out of the spirit be out of the spirituall weapons And that which searcheth the heart is that which gave forth the Scriptures which led all the holy men of God to speak them forth who is the Lord the searcher of the hearts which spirit owns all the words of the Scriptures of truth declared forth from the spirit but the spirit was before the Scripture was given forth Pr. He saith Men that are redeemed from all earthly worships perfectly justified before God sincere in their sanctification yet they are in concupiscence and blemishes and conflicts page 166. And the Word of God doth not abide in them that say they have no sinne page 179. Answ Who are redeemed out of all earthly worships and sanctified they are redeemed from the blemishes from the conflicts from the concupiscence and by their redemption they come to witnesse the Kingdome of God that stands in righteousnesse peace and joy in the holy Ghost out of the conflicts and who are in the spirit they are in that which mortifies sin And the Word of God it makes clean where it dwels they are sanctified by the Word and made clean It comes and finds the sin and takes it away and makes clean and hammers it down cuts it down burns it up reconciles to the Father which sin and iniquity separated from Pr. He saith Sacramentall water and sprinkling Baptisme and water c. shewes our being ingrafted into the body mysticall p. 176. 178. which consists of a signe of a thing signified Answ Sprinkling Infants is a signe of your own making and Sacramentall water which the Scripture doth not hold forth but it is a thing presumed above what it written And that signe a tradition doth not bring into the body mysticall but leads from it neither doth any elementary thing But that which baptizeth into the body is the spirit whereby all cometh to be one And that baptizeth not into an elementary body but into a glorious body the spirituall body For there is lying signes come since the dayes of the Apostles which is out of the Apostles practice You can shew nothing for your sprinkling with your Sacramentall water but the Baptisme that the Scripture declares of and the spirit is owned in its place Pr. He saith Bread and Wine are spirituall Institutions and is not carnall in a sense as set in opposition to spiritual Institution and that
speak in that degree of the holy Ghost as the Prophets and Apostles did that spoke forth Scriptures Answ Then thou must take heed of exalting thy self above thy measure for thou canst not know Scripture but by the same degree of the spirit the Prophets and Apostles had Pr. And he saith He hath no command in Scripture to sprinkle Infants and he holds it not absolutely necessary he hath no command in Scripture against it and he hath a commandement of the Governors and so he is subject to every Ordinance of man Answ An ordinance of man that is not of absolute necessity consider what it is and that which the Scripture no where commands nor thou hast no example for it consider what that is and to say the Scripture no where forbids it it forbids all the traditions and doctrines of men so that is judged by the spirit of God that is set up by men Pr. Thou saist The Lord may give with the outward washing the spirit to the childe Answ Can man receive the spirit of God by following traditions of men and outward things Was not they all from it and from the spirit and doth it not judge them for setting up such things God never commanded Pr. And he speaks of Davids Psalms given to the world sutably Answ The world must repent and be in the spirit for it lyes in wickednesse before they can know Davids singing for the Prophet saith their songs must be turned into howling and Davids condition is not the worlds Pr. He saith men may respect persons in their places Answ That 's contrary to the Apostle who said God was without respect of persons and that the Gentiles should be accepted as well as the Iewes He that doth righteousnesse is accepted with God who holds the faith of Christ it is without respect of persons it is in the unity and they that be out of that be out of the unity So thou hast pleaded for that which art out of his Doctrine He that respects persons commits sin and is convinced of the Law for a transgressor as saith the Apostle W. P. thy works are tryed and weighed and found too light and condemned for the fire the witnesse in thy conscience shall answer but now in thy security thou art asleep but the wrath of the Lamb shall finde thee out And as for all thy lies and slanders thou heaps up in thy Book they are not worth mentioning but will come upon thy own self for they are thine own covering which is judged the witnesse in thee shall answer The Elders and Messengers of the severall Churches of Ilston Abergevenny Tredingnoge Carmarthen Hereford Bredwerden Cledacke and Liangors Meeting at Brecknocke whose Book is Titled An ANTIDOTE against the Infections of the TIMES Which hath shewed your selves full of poison and such as infect the Times but with the spirit of Truth ye are comprehended and judged Your Principles are as Followeth Pr. YOu say you are conceived in sin and brought forth in iniquity Psal 51.1 Answ David doth not say you who were conceived in sinne but I and W. P. saith John was sanctified from the womb and the Scripture speaks of such as were sanctified from the womb and children that were clean And so you do not speak as Elders and Messengers of true Churches or men dividing the word aright but you are one against another though you are all against them you call Quakers that be in the truth Pr. They say They observe the designe of Satan to cast down the walls of Sion and to remove the living stones thereof from the sure foundation the rock of ages the Lord Jesus Christ and draw them to build upon the sands Answ Is this like that the Elect should be deceived living stones should be drawn from the sure foundation the rock of Ages the Lord Jesus Christ for these living stones to be built upon the sand and drawn from the Rock of Ages this Doctrine doth not sound like men of understanding For the living stones are the spirituall houshold and the royall Priest-hood and there 's the foundation that stands sure the Rock the Devill is out of and the gates of Hell cannot prevail against it you in your Notions let living stones alone for none can pluck them out of the Fathers hand Pr. And they say No man can redeem the soul of his brother Answ Solomon saith the fruits of the righteous â—s a tree of life and he that wins souls is wise And he that saves a man from his evill wayes saves a soule from a multitude of sins Again thou saist No man the greatest of men can redeem the soule of his brother Ye should not have left out Christ the Saviour the Redeemer the man Christ Jesus the elder Brother so you are a company of blinde Pastors contrary to them that gave forth Scriptures Pr. To say heaven and glory is in man which was before man was they are sottish and blinde Answ There 's none have a glory and a heaven but within them which was before man had a being Pr. Wherefore take heed of depending upon any righteousnesse within you or any righteousnesse done by you Answ This is a strange Doctrine that men must take heed of any righteousnesse done by them or within them This is contrary to Scripture which saith the kingdome of heaven is within that stands in righteousnesse peace and joy in the Holy Ghost and the fruits of the spirit is righteousnesse and goodness and this is that which ends the righteousness of the Law and he that doth righteousness is righteous and Christ the righteousness of God is with them Prin. Man hath received a light from Christ as a creature but not as a Redeemer Answ That 's false For whosoever hath received a light from Christ hath received a Redeemer and a Saviour and he that doth believe in it is saved and he that doth not is condemned Pr. And they say If you love your souls beware of such delusions least ye perish eternally that say it is the true light that enlightens every man that cometh into the world following it it is sufficient to bring men to heaven which light is natural reason and conscience Answ The light that every man that cometh into the world is enlightened withall cometh from the salvation Christ which is the way to the Father whose throne is in Heaven and Christ saith believe in the light that ye may become the children of the light and he that believes in the light shall not come into condemnation All men is enlighened that through the light they might believe so you are not able to divide the word aright and all that be from this light are lo here lo there and so are in the natural reason and conscience which the light is not the light was afore they was Pr. They say none should never have known a Justification nor a Sanctification if it bad not been written Answ I do believe you had not
eight and that was before Matthew Mark Luke and John or any of the Epistles was written and as for the rest of thy lies slanders and hard speeches they shall fall upon thy self and be thy own burthen the witness in thy conscience shall answer me in the day of thy judgement And they that have not the Eternal Spirit are none of his Thomas Weld Richard Prideaux Samuel Hammond William Coles and William Durant their Book called A discovery of a generation of men called Quakers In it are their Principles as followeth Pr. FIrst That the soul is a part of the Divine Essence Asw That which comes from God which God hath in his hands which Christ is the Bishop of is of God and Divine and immortal which many of the Priests say is appetite lust and pleasure and the soul of Christ say they is humane which is earthy and so you that are come from one mother are not agreed here among your selves and people begins to see you the time hath been they knew not which of you to believe but now they believe in Christ who is the Bishop of their souls Pr. There lies a Mystery of iniquity for to say The world calls them so by such and such names or gives them their Christian name Answ There are names given by the heathen the heathen outwardly which men are called there is a new name which the world knowes not written in the Book of life here is the new man known after God in rigteousness created and true holinesse Now who is this new man and this new name the world may call him by the old So it is not a mystery of iniquity to say the world calls him so Pr. It is a sinful neglecting of their families to wander up and down And the forsaking of apparel changeable he calls it monkish holiness Answ When people runs into transgression from the life of God into the earth Then comes up the lusts of the eye the lusts of the world and the pride of life which leads them into all the fashions of the world which is not of the Father but of the world Now the lusts and the affections must be mortified which have outwardly transgressed the pure principle of God within whereby the minds hath gone out into the creatures and things without whereby it falls under the creatures and so comes to worship the creatures thereby more then the Creator who is God blessed for evermore being gone from the Principle of God in their own particulars that is it which mortifies the world when men turn to it and this brings off all the lusts of the world and excess and affections and professions whether they be such as thou cals monkish or notionists or whatsoever it brings into the possession into the life which mortifies for this which thou calls monkish holiness is like unto your own who have not the spirit as they lived in who gave forth the Scriptures so all holiness which stands out of that is self righteousness And the Apostles and the faithful in all ages that wandred up and down did the will of God spoke the word of God were commanded and moved of the Lord forsooke all for Christ Christ did not teach men sin And he that doth not forsake all is not worthy of him House Lands wife children whatsoever he that esteems any of those more then Christ he lives still below he lives still not given up he is not worthy of him and they that do not forsake all and come out of all are in the sinful neglect of the family of the Lord of heaven and earth and they stick below in their own cieled houses habitations nests holes and rocks falling into the mountains and there garnishing the Sepulchres and living in all fashions customes honours and pleasures of the world And the Priests work hath been this to teach the people to keep in the lust and not to forsake and come out of all their lusts to Christ who are not worthy of him and if any do they look upon them to be sinful neglecters of their family which wisdom was before all things were made and is the preserver and finisher of all things and not the destroyer but tha it rebukes and in this are men ordered to Gods glory Prin. The Quakers deny the imputed righteousness prayer baptisme Church-government Ministery Answ That ever ye five that are called Ministers should ever thus publish your lies to the Nation The higher powers the one government the Church the Pillar and ground of truth The Ministry that is in the spirit that Ministers to the spirit in the prison baptized with the spirit into the one body prayer in the spirit the Lords Supper who dwells in the Saints and walkes in them and Sups in them the Gospel the power of God imputed righteousness to the believer Abraham believed and it was accounted to him for righteousness and Christ come and Christ in you who is the end of the belief who is the justification it self and righteousness it self nigher then when they did believe And so here is justification it self without imputation the righteousness of God here the belief ends And all these things are owned according to the Scriptures but all such teachers that be in the earth and teaches for money and means we deny and baptiseth and sells your prayers and Preaching and Supper for mony we deny Pr. Will a discerning of the Gospel mysteries prove a power to discern the state and condition of souls what it shall be to all eternity is not this a large ignorance Answ The Ministers of the spirit did watch for the souls the Prophets and Apostles knew its state and knew Christ the Bishop of it and saw when the soul was in death and saw when God had pleasure in it when it lived and saw the soul in Gods hand for who have the mysteries of the Gospel which is the power of God which gives liberty to the captive to the soul and all that is imputed in man this is glad tydings to the Just this is a true work-man that divides his work aright and is not ashamed of his work of his building but presents the soul to God and knowes when it is in death and when it is living And so who are come up into the Bishop Christ they are one soul they know the hand of God which the soul lives in which is the power and so knowes it from eternity to eternity And so ye Priests which do not discern the soul and its state to eternity and from eternity ye are not in the mystery of the Gospel which gives liberty to it neither have ye it for ye are stumbling at the light which enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world which comes from Christ the Bishop of the soul so your darkness cannot comprehend that and so what fellowship hath the light with darkness it is not a strange thing It hath no fellowship with it for
and David with sin which God justified and said Job did not sin with his mouth Though Paul did cry out of the body of sin yet he found victory over the body of sin and knew the redemption which the creatures waited for the liberty of the Sons of God and said they were made free from sin in Rom. 6. and they were justified from all things and by the one offering for ever he had sanctified Because the Quakers own the light Christ and are come into the spirit that gave forth Scriptures and heard the voyce of the Son of God and denies all them that sayes they have not heard the voyce of the Son of God and Christ to be in them Therefore he saith they have forsaken the truth because they deny them that have the forme and are out of the life and despises and denies the power that shakes that which is to be shaken for no one knows salvation but by the light Pr. He said God did not come in his spirituall Essence with his Son on the earth And he saith that God the Father was not in his spirit with his son upon the earth Answ And the Scripture said the fulnesse of the God-head dwelt in him bodily and the Father is in the Son and the Son is in the Father I in thee and thou in me so he was not alone but the Father was with him Pr. He saith The Quakers are lying deluders in saying the Kingdome of heaven is within them Answ That 's contrary to Luke 17. which saith the Kingdome of heaven is within you Pr. And he hath not heard of any other people in the world taught immediately by Christ but the Quakers Answ And the two witnesses which he calls them he brings against truth which opposed truth in London So shewing what he and all people are taught by a mediate use of the Scriptures all may judge where that is and the Devill rules such that be from the immediate and all that are not taught immediately are not taught by God nor by his spirit Pr. This sort of people that are for immediate Revelation and it is dangerous for any man to trust to immediate Revelations and preach Christ within man and the two Witnesses preached Christ without And this he saith is a hellish snare to please every mans pallate Answ And thus he may charge all the people of the Lord who were taught and are taught of the Lord And thus he fights against them that were taught immediately and his teachings and mans teachings are mediate and they are in the snare that be out of the immediate teaching and all that know God and the Son are taught immediate by the spirit that is immediate And so it is not a very strange thing that he should give forth so many ill-favoured railing expressions which his Book is stuffed full withall against the people of God whose work in it is to charge the Elect with sin but we say the Lord rebuke him Pr. And he saith The Saints are not any time without sin even when they were borne of God Ans So not knowing the creatures coming into the liberty of the sons of God nor the birth born of God Pr. And saith Sin is in the saints for their humiliation Ans Contrary to the Scripture which saith Christ is their humiliation and bears their sins and destroys it which humility is not like mans being brought down by sin for sin exalts Pr. That the inward man and the power of God in man never brings the outward man so subject as to be without sin Answ This we say God wrought salvation by Christ alone without mans works and who believes in him are saved and who doth not are condemned and the power of God and Christ subdues the sin in man and destroys it that man becomes the Temple of God His Query is Whether God could not have saved man without Christs dying Ans God can do what he will who was in Christ reconciling himselfe to the world and Christ did not save the world without God And thou hast shewed in thy Book stuffed with lyes how thou hast been tormented and of the filthy ayre come out of thee And the Devill was in thee and thou saith thou art saved by Christ without thee and so hath recorded thy selfe to be a Reprobate and ignorant of the mystery of Christ within thee for without that thou dost not know salvation And these before mentioned be thy Principles which thou to the Nation hath published in print and all sober people may judge thee as for thy lies they are not worthy mentioning neither are they worth reading of them but upon thy own head they will fall and a heavy weight and burden thou must bear who goes about to sow discord among the brethren but the accuser of the brethren is cast out but the witness shall answer me in the day of thy judgement Christopher Wades Principle in his book called Quakery slain irrecoverably who himself hath slain irrecoverably and the same judgement wherewith he judgeth us he hath brought upon himself and the Quakers are recovered out of his snare and hath taken him in his own and hath chained him and bound him Henry Hagger's Book called The holy Scripture clearing it self His Principles in it as followeth Pr. DAvid never boasted of perfection nor Paul nor John and such as say they are free from sin it is their whole work to carry away poor souls from truth Answ There is none comes into the truth nor no soul comes out of the deceived estate but who comes out of the sin and is made free from it as the Apostles speaks of to the Romans such as served God in a new life was made free from sin and God said Job was a perfect man and eschewed all evil mark all and David said he had seen the end of all perfection and Paul spoke wisdom among them that were peâ—fect and said the life that he lived was by the faith of the Son of God though the Apostle had cryed out of a body of sin ye the saith he was manifest in his flesh to condemn the sin in his flesh and through Christ he hath victory and witnessed the Circumcision that put off the body of sin and saw where there is no condemnation Pr. The Scripture is the sure word of prophesie and the Scripture will bring men to the knowledge of God Answ The spirit is the rule that gave forth the Scripture and the Word of God gave them to discern and to savour who spoke the word of the Lord and who stole their word from their neighbour when the Lord had never spoken to them where the spirit was in the prison where the spirit was out of prison with whom they had unity and who had the form of godliness but denyed the power and who was the false spirit that went out into the world and the Antichrists and the false prophets and such as was turned from the
breast-prophesie and yet thou sayest the Apostle doth not exclude heart-prophesie And thus thou with new names and thy words darkens counsell and knowledge but the children of light with truth sees thee Pr. The Father Word and spirit is to justifie the word Trinity not to make the holy Spirit and the Saints one person Answ The word Trinity is not in the scripture but in your old Fathers book the Canon book the Pope and the Father Son and Spirit are one and the Saints are in the spirit and who are joyned to the Lord are one spirit And the Scripture doth not tell us of three persons but as I said before the old Cannon book of thy Fathers the great Apostate the Pope Pr. The light that Adam was qualified with before the Fall which every man hath a sparke of since the fall was and is given from the Creation by things that are made Answ The light Adam had before the Fall did not come by the Creation nor by the things that are made If it were given from the Creation it comes by nature This word is contrary to Scripture for God made man in his image and placed him over all the creatures and gave him an understanding capable of his Law and to know dominion but when man lost his dommion he transgressed his Law and that light that he had before the fall was of God from him that made all things Pr. The Scripture is the meanes of regeneration If the blinde lead the blinde what will follow it is proof sufficient against absolute perfection in this life as Adam and the Angels Answ The Scriptures them that had them and out of the life that gave them forth were the blinde and what followed then And though Adam and the Angels fell who is in Christ the perfection of God he shall never fall as also saith the Apostle Pr. He saith It is ignorance that saith the light that makes manifest sinne condemns sin Answ That which makes manifest a mans sinne and he hates it that condemns him And he is ignorant that sees not Christs doctrine and believes not in it Pr. To deny that sinne dwelleth or remaineth in all the Saints upon earth hath been the Quakers doctrine the consequence whereof is to disclaim all godly sorrow for sin dwelling in them Answ It is the Quakers Doctrine to deny all sinne dwelling in the Saints upon the earth and to know Christ who destroys the Devill the author of all sin and the Saints comes to witnesse their joy and pleasures for evermore over their sin and the body of it put off and a Kingdome which stands in joy and peace in the holy Ghost and the godly sorrow before they come to this and they do know victory over their sin and Christ he had the godly sorrow who had no sin and that many of the Saints knows Pr. His Word is not his spirit Ans The Word and the Spirit are one which was before the written words were declared forth in which word they all end given forth by the spirit of God and the Word lives and abides and endures for ever and that is spirituall And so the mystery of Iniquity is found in thy Doctrine who art blinde and reads blindly not with the spirit which was in them that gave gave forth Scriptures And so thou art found a false Prophet in the steps of the Pharisees one of the Masters that Christ sets the woe on their heads who art ravening with the sheeps cloathing upon thy back to deceive but now the Lambs and the Sheep have discovered thee who is got up since the dayes of the Apostles into their words not into their life with that judged And whereas thou art offended because Edward Burrough speaks Chapter and Verse the spirit that gave forth Scriptures will lead to speak it all over again without offence but to the evill doers Pr. And if your teacher cannot but be publique how will you finde him in so private a place as your beds Answ The spirit that leads to speake forth publiquely or to minister to themselves and others the same is a private Teacher to them on their beds as he did David whom the Lord instructed in the night season And that which the Minister of the Spirit doth minister unto is a private Teacher to every particular in his owne particular And the annoynting which abideth in people John saith was their Teacher and they need no man to teach them but as it did teach them and they should continue in the Son of God and the Father And here was publique teaching and private which thou blind canst not see And as for all thy lyes and heap of confusion shall upon thy head stand which thou wouldst blinde people withall For the Son is risen and the mist is gone and going in the day of thy judgement the witnesse in thy conscience shall answer Philip Taverner of West Drayton in the County of Middlesex his Principles as follows in a Reply to to a Book to Edward Burrough whom he in scorn calls QVAKER Pr. WHo art thou that judgest another mans servant such who Lord it over the faith and consciences of their brethren a spirit wholly disowned by the Apostle Not that we have dominion over your faith and in this sin is that of Christ to be understood Call no man your Father upon earth neither be you called of men Master that is have no mens persons in admiration as to count them your Oracles in the things of faith Ans Such as serve the man of sin are to be judged that are the servants of sin that hath been servant to the man of sin We judge that man servant both and such as are spoken of in the Romans to judge another mans servant in the truth standing and falling to his Master every one in his measure such we do not judge but every one shall stand or fall to his Master who are scrupling about meates and drinkes and dayes that the life is leading them through such things and you that be called of men Master it s a great Oracle amongst the people so counted and you do both Lord it over mens faiths and consciences both therefore hath so much blood been shed through you and so many cast into prison by you who are Lording it over mens faiths and consciences Pharisee-like called of men Master who would have dominion over the Apostles faith as you who are called of men Master would have dominion over the Saints faith who are admiring mens persons because of advantage to help you And this people see since the dayes of the Apostles how you and the Papist have Lorded it over mens faiths your Jayles inquisition and prisons may witnes it how you would Lord it over mens faith and conscience that cannot give you Tythes you will cast them into prison are you not here Lording it over mens faiths doth not your practices shew it and so another spirit then the Apostles that
free from the Law and Christ is the light that condemns him that hates it that will not come to it because his deeds are evil nor believe in it and that is the condemnation of the world that light is come into it and men love darkness rather then light because their deeds are evil And he that believes in the light is justified from all things that the law could not justifie him and comes not into condemnation but lives in that which doth condemn so these are one and not directly opposite that doth condemn the unbeliever and justifie the believer And people are saved through faith and justified and faith is the gift of God and there is an excellency in it and a worth because it comes from Christ and God who is the Author of it in which faith men please God and are justified and are saved through faith and by faith as the Scripture witnesseth Pr. Faith doth not save nor justifie by its vertue but of the gracious good pleasure of God which hath appointed faith Answ That which God hath given to men which is his gift in that faith there is vertue and the grace is known with which men are justified and saved and there is vertue in the gift of God and so through this faith he knowes the purpose of the Lord and his counsel and Christ is the Author of this faith and no man is justified but through faith that is received nor wise unto salvation but through faith in Christ Jesus Pr. The Ministers in England in many places are no better then Wolves in sheeps cloathing and the ministers taking what the States allowes them of particular persons this is not preaching for hire divining for money Ans The Ministers which are so called in England hath gotten the name but are found the Ministers of unrighteousnesse and are wolves indeed in sheeps cloathing out of the lives of the Apostles for how are they tearing the lambs before courts and into prisons for speaking to them whom they doe no work for what greedy dumb dogs are these how do they whorry the people and where is there any one of them if the people doth not put into his mouth that hath the sheeps cloathing but he will teare them into his courts and dens his prisons how unlike the Apostle are these who would not use his power oâ—ten times to eate and thy selfe is found in the number of them and doth not the States and particular men set you out so much a year for your preaching and is not this preaching for hire and divining for money doe you not know how much a year you must have and is not this preaching for hire and if they doe not give you money you will not divine so much a yeare and yet will you make people believe that you are not diviners for mony and preachers for hire alack for yee you cannot be hid and are not you here judged with the life of Christ and his Apostles to be the hirelings that will fly whose sheep are none of your owne that care not for the sheep except you make a prey upon them to all people who are in the feare of God your lives are discovered contrary to the Saints let the states and the great men take away your maintenance and we shall find but a few diggers threshers and planters among you a company of idle men so the judgement of the Apostle is come upon yon that those that would not work should not eate Pr. Christ made use of the Scriptures to resist the devill Ans In Christ the scripture ends and the Devill who was out of the scriptures left out of the scriptures so Christ bruised his head who was before scripture was and as for all the rest of thy stuff in thy book it is not worth mentioning and it will come upon thy own head the witnesse in thy conscience shall answer it Edward Skip Teacher who said that he is a servant in the Gospel services his book called the Worlds wonder in it his principles as followeth Pr. WHo saith there shall be false Christs and false Prophets and shall shew you great signes and wonders in so much if it were possible they should deceive the very Elect. Ans Christ saith false Prophets should come Mat. 7.24 and John saw they were come 1 Iohn 2 and 4. cap. they went forth from them in the Rev. all that dwelt upon the earth went after them and when they had gotten a heads they killed the Saints then power was given to the beast over all tongues Kindreds and Nations and that which whored from the spirit of God sat upon the beast and all Nations drunk of her cup and she hath corrupted the earth and made the inhabitants drunke and the Kings of the earth hath committed fornication with her and the woman fled into the wildernesse and the man-child caught up unto God and she sits upon the waters and the waters are people and nations and multitudes and tongues and there hath been the mystery of Babylon with all their merchandize which hath decayed the nations by their lying signes and wonders and again the Judgement of the great Whore â—â—ould come the man-child should be brought forth into the world to rule the nations with a rod of Iron and shee should be taken and cast into the fire who hath sat as a Queen and had seen no sorrow and the beast should be taken and with him the false prophets that sets up the lying signes and wonders and wiâ—â— him the devill that deceived the Nations the man of sin that the Apostles saw coming up before his disease in the Thessal These should be taken and cast alive into the fire and the lamb and the Saints shall have the victory that they should deceive the nations no more for the elect it is impossible they should deceive with all their lying signes and wonders which they have got up since the daies of the Apostles And Christ said they should come which the Disciples saw was come before their decease which signes the world hath been after them which hath not been possible to deceive the Elect for the Elâ—ct over all that Reignes for Christ said they should come to his Desciples which desciples before their deease did see he was come amongst whom thou art found and over thee and them now hath the lamb and Saints victory and the Tabernacle of God is with men Pr. I have presented to thee my New-yeares gift and desire thy judgement towards it to me And thou saist The Lord who hath delivered thy soul from under those observances that thou mights stay and direct an unstabled soule of those horrible delusions and mysterious deceits for false Apostles translating themselves into Apostles of Christ deceitfull workers and Satans Ministers transforming into the Ministers of Righteousnesse Answ In this thou art among the false Apostles and ministers of unrighteousness deceitful workers false Apostles transforming your selves into the