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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	old_a	prophet_n	testament_n	5,085	5	8.1969	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65389	A further discovery of that generation of men called Qvakers by way of reply to an answer of James Nayler to The perfect Pharisee : wherein is more fully layd open their blasphemies, notorious equivocations, lyings, wrestings of the Scripture, raylings and other detestable principles and practices ... / published for the building up of the perseverance of the saints till they come to the end of their faith, even the salvation of their soules.	Weld, Thomas, 1590?-1662.	1654 (1654)	Wing W1268; ESTC R27879	78,750	103

justification by reason of the imputation of the obedience of him who is the Lord our righteousnesse This Reader is their great Idoll and Diana and therefore thou wilt pardon our tediousnesse and clearely see how blinde these men are as to Gospel righteousnesse Position 11. That every man in the world hath a light within him sufficient to guide him to salvation without the help of any outward light or discovery In his answer to this Position he denyes none of our proofs but addes his further profession of the same Principle in these words All the World shall witnesse against you that they have a light that lets them see when they sinne which if they did minde and obey would leade out of sinne unto Christ c. Except The maine part of his answer is by way of rayling all that he speaks to make good this Position is that Christ is the true light and that he enlightneth every man and that where he is there need no outward discovery Reply For the first that Christ is the true light is confessed on all hands but that Iesus Christ is in every man or gives a saving light to every man we utterly deny and we have plentifully proved in our answer to the fourth Position The first Text he proves it by is Iohn 1.9 He is the true light that lightneth every one We have fully opened this Text in our answer to the fourth Position and convincingly shewed it is not meant at all of any Gospel saving light where we desire the Reader to satisfie himselfe at large Io. 8.12 opened For his second Iohn 8.12 I am the light of the World he that followes me shall not walke in darkenesse This proves not that Christ doth give a saving light to the whole world no more then that Text 1 Iohn 2.2 doth prove that the whole world shall have the benefit of Christs propitiation Secondly the words immediately following might satisfie Nayler that he is thus a saving light onely to them that follow him who are Beleevers drawne by the power of the spirit of God Cant. 1.4 No man comes to me except the Father draw me Iohn 6.44.45 Every man that hath heard and learned of the Father commeth to me So that Christ is onely the light of those that have learned of the Father and have been drawne by the Father and follow him Here is a cleare restriction of Christs being a light onely to Beleevers to them that follow him c. Io. 1.4.5 opened The third Scripture Iohn 1.4 5. the light shined in darkenesse and the darkenesse comprehended it not is cleare against him For the Phrase of the light shined in darkenesse imports onely that Jesus Christ was Preached to them Christ came amongst them and Iohn Preached him to them Ver. 29. Behold the Lambe of God c. yet they were in darkenesse for want of light they could not so much as discover him nor receive him so farre were they from knowing Christ or the world from having Christ a light in them all that they could not apprehend him when he was Preached openly to them His fourth Text is Iohn 3.19 this is the condemnation that light is come into the world is as full against Nayler as the former for it speaks this that Jesus Christ is the true light was Preached to the World and discovered to them when he had before been a mistery hid from Ages and Generations Col. 1 28. yet they would not beleeve him but loved to continue in that darkenesse or ignorance of Christ which is in all by nature Now for the third branch of his answer that where this light of Christ is there need no outward discovery We answer 1. We have abundantly proved that Jesus Christ is not in all in out answer to his reply to the fourth Position 2. We have also proved That Iesus Christ neither is in all nor doth he enlighten all by giving every man a knowledge of the Gospel this we have done at large in the same place 3. We have fully proved that all men in the world doe need an outward light or discovery and that it is the way of Christ his making knowne himselfe by outward discovery and Preaching the Gospel in the Perfect Pharisee pag. 18.19 in six arguments to which Nayler answer nothing Necessity of outward reaching further proved All that he brings for it de novo in his answer is onely his bare word without either argument or text so that we need to say no more Yet ex abundanti we shal adde First It was the wisedome of the Father to have the Gospel Preached to every creature and therefore did he send men forth to publish it Marke 16.15 Mat. 28.19.30 2. It pleased the Father to owne Preaching of the Gospel with the conversion of soules Acts 2.41 1 Cor. 1.21 I● pleased God by the foolishnesse of Preaching to save them that beleeve 3. It pleased the Lord Iesus when he was ascended up to Heaven to give officers for the perfecting of the Saints Ephes 4.11.12 for the edifying of the body of Christ 4. It pleased him also to establish this as an everlasting Ordinance to continue till the end of all things Mat. 28 last Ephes 4 15. He that hath any sense of the wisedome of God and submission to it will not dare to say with Nayler that every man hath a light within him sufficient without the help of any outward discovery or to charge folly in doing all this upon him whose wisedome is admired infinite and acteth nothing needlessely and in vaine But what dare not these men doe who dare lift up themselves in their blasphemous pride to be as pure as God 2 Pet. 1.19 opence vindicated There is one Scripture 2 Peter 1.19 which is not brought by Nayler by way of proofe but is most ignorantly wrested by him to this their Idoll of light within We hinted how little the man had of any knowledge of Scripture by his so blinde and pittifull abusing this Text in that former Booke Perfect Pharisee p. 19. We see he is yet as confident as he was we shall onely say that which is there called the sure Word of Prophesie 2 Peter 1.19 is that word of Prophesie which in old time holy men of God spake c v. 21. and to this he bids them take heed viz. to the Doctrine of the Prophets where Peter doth not send them to the light within them but to the Bookes and Words of the Prophets as Christ sends the Iewes to the same Scriptures Iohn 3.39 Nay the Text is so farre from hinting any light within that the Apostle tells you these words of the Prophets were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a more sure Word then the voyce that came from Heaven ver 17. Thus the man hath still the weakenesse to produce Scripture that fully destroyes his owne Principle We shall adde no more but from these words of Naylers Where this light of Christ is

comming to her house she went to meet him and when Abigail saw David she hasted and lighted off the Asse and fell before David on her face and bowed her selfe by the ground Thus you see the practice of the saints in high-way salutes 3. Nay it was not onely the custome of the saints to salute by bodily gestures 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Salutes of Primitive times but by words also and words equivalent to what are used by the people of God in England in their salutations See 2 Iohn 10. where Iohn forbiddeth them to give the least countenance to the hereticall venters of false Doctrines commands them not so much as to bid them God-speed which clearely proves that that high-way salutation was a common thing in the Apostles dayes and not to be denyed to any but such wicked persons as the Apostle there speaks of in carrying on their wicked Principles If any man bring not this Doctrine receive him not into your house neither bid him God speed Hence Naylers colour of taking the name of God in vaine we fully declare against peoples using that Phrase without any sense of God upon their soules Yet looke upon salutes as a command of Christ and so wish all such as doe use the name of the blessed God in their salutes either to keep a due regard of that Majesty upon their spirits when they use his glorious name or else to use some other expression Excep 2 His next cavill is against that plaine Text Mat. 5.47 If yee salute your Brethren onely what doe you more then doe others doe not even the Publicans so Where in stead of submitting to the authority of the commands of Christ He sayes thus It is no command to them to salute all but a warning to them of their partiality Reply 1. He that hath but looked upon that Text Mat. 5.46.47 but with halfe an eye will clearely see that he must as well except that Christ doth not command to love all as to say that Christ doth not command to salute all when its apparant that the very phrase and reason in both commands is the very same 2. Sure this man doth not understand himselfe when he affirmes that this is a command against partiality in saluting and yet is not a command to salute all for what is partiality in saluting but this saluting some and not saluting all What a ridiculous cavill is this even to the contradicting of himselfe 3. As to his endeavouring by this ridiculous and selfe contradicting exposition to charge us with partiality as that we salute onely those whom we love and who are rich c. we say it is a malitious slander for t is sufficiently knowne we salute strangers whose face we never saw before and the poore of the people as well as the richest of them nay the very Quakers themselves also But how doth this againe fly in their Fa●es who for the most part carry with so much incivility to all but to people of their owne way Excep 3 3. There is a third exception which we must not passe over without serious observation it being a more then ordinary discovery of the spirit of the Quakers Where when we charge them for picking and choosing at the command of Christ such things in Scripture as doe most agree with their humors and fancies thus though they are forbid in the same place Luke 7.4 to carrie mony in their purses or to weare shooes on their feet as well as to salute any by the way yet we charge them in this because they stand upon the one command and not upon any of the rest and doe evidently bring themselves within the curse Rev. 22. Nayler thus replyes to it pag. 21. l. 4. c What we doe is not from the command that was to others ☞ but from command of the same power by which we are sent forth and if we were commanded to forbeare wearing shooes as well as we are commanded to forbeare your Heathenish customes c. we should be made willing to obey as some have done who have been commanded to goe naked c. Reply Now thou mayst see the mystery of iniquity that lyes in the Quakers layd open we can blesse the Lord that hath made them thus unvayle themselves and discover the rottennesse of their hearts as to the authority of the Scriptures which they have so long by their jugling endeavoured to conceale For here thou wi●t clearely see that the Quakers looke upon the commands of Christ in Scripture as having no soveraigne or binding authority over their consciences and practises further then agrees with their owne Principles and fancies For what means that expression What we doe is not from the command that was to others This without controversie is utterly to shake off the authority of the the Word For 1. Was not the whole Word written to others Did any now alive live in those dayes when the Prophets or Apostles writ their severall Bookes Were we of the Church of Corinth or Philippi Were we of the seven Churches of Asia or did we live in these dayes Alas there is no command in Scripture but was given to others long before the dayes of our Fathers and shall no command given to others be binding to us Let them Reade these convincing Texts Rom. 15.4 Whatsoever things were Written before time were Written for our learning where Paul makes the Books of the Old Testament binding to those who were not alive when they were Written for the Romans to whom he then Wrote were borne many hundred yeares after the writing of those Scriptures 1 Cor. 10 11. All these things happened unto them for examples and they were Written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come 2 Tim. 3.16 All Scripture to whomsoever Written or to what man soever the command was given before time yet all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for Doctrine reproofe correction instruction in righteousnesse So the 2 Peter 1.19 speaking of the Scriptures that sure Word of Prophesie sayes they doe well to take heed to them as to a light in a darke place though they were Prophesies and command● given forth to other persons many hundred yeares before Thus you see that commands in Scripture that were given forth to others are yet of universall concernment unto all to those that lived not in those dayes even such upon whom the ends of the world are come For that other expression of Naylers If we were commanded to forbeare to weare shooes c. what a wretched casting off is this of the yoke of Christ and a desperate picking and choosing in his commands onely what is agreeing to their owne fancies I● not this to breake his bonds asunder and cast his cords from them Psal 2.3 If we were commanded Is not the revealed will of Christ a command Is one part of the same verse a command see Luke 10.4 and not the other part Is