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A47194
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George Keith's vindication from the forgeries and abuses of T. Hick & W. Kiffin with the rest of his confederate brethren of the Barbican-Meeting held London the 28th of the 6th month, 1674.
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Keith, George, 1639?-1716.
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1674
(1674)
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Wing K229; ESTC R29451
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11,460
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28
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impudent Forgery One thing more I shall take notice of here and that is T. H's alledging That G. K. affirmed to him in the hearing of many credible Witnesses That the Book intituled Imm. Revelat. was written by the Immediate Inspiration of the Spirit of God But to what Purpose T. H. produceth this here granting that I had said these words is evident to wit That he may cast an Odium upon me it being a great Crime in his Esteem for any man in these dayes to pretend to the Immediate Inspiration of the Spirit of God But T. H. may in this be disappointed as in other his base Designs However he doth clear himself to give him his due sufficiently as to this Matter to wit That he is not guilty of the least Pretence to the Inspiration or In-breathing of the Spirit of God which Inspiration of tâ—e Almighty giveth Vnderstanding as the Scripture saith expresly and he who speaks or writes of the things of God without Inspiration he doth it without a true and right Understanding as is manifest in the scriblings of this Forger T. H. And surely he that writeth Lyes Perversions Forgeries and Slanders against any man or men it is easie to determine what Spirit hath inspired him so to do even the Spirit of him who was a Lyar and Murderer from the beginning And as to the Inspiration of the blessed Spirit of God it is that by which my Soul was first made alive unto God and by which it is preserved alive unto this day to serve him and give Honour and Glory to his Name And by the same did I receive a true Understanding from God of what I did write in that Book and had his Direction therein in some measure which Inspiration of the Spirit I do not appropriate to my self for I know that it is given in the several Measures of it according to the good Pleasure of God to every true Christian and every true Minister of Christ hath it to lead him and direct him what to Say Preach and Write for the Service of others and they who have it not and believe not such a thing but deny it and are Enemies to it I testifie for God they are neither true Ministers of Christ nor true Christians I remember a good Saying of Bernard concerning the Necessity of Inspiration unto Prayer Tepida est omnis oratio quam non prevenit inspiratio i. e. All Prayer is Luke-warm which doth not proceed from Inspiration And said Augustine Tractat. Ep. John 3. There is an inward Master who teacheth Christ teacheth his Inspiration teacheth where his Inspiration and his Vnction is not the Words outwardly make a Noise in vain Many other Places could I cite both out of Scripture and Antiquity concerning the Necessity of the Inspiration of God to be with his People in all Age. But when we speak of the Inspirations of God that are given to us of God in our waiting upon him and by which we are directed and helped what to Speak or Pray or Write we do not hereby Equal our Selves our Writings or Labours unto the Apostles and their Labours and Writings But a Measure of the same Spirit we have received which they had which Spirit is one and it is not idle or without Operation in them who receive it and its Operation is to breath or inspire Life Light Power Vertue Holiness and Righteousness Wisdom and Knowledge in them who attend unto the same Thus having cleared my self of the weightiest Abuse of T. H. I proceed to give the Reader a small Hint at other 2 or 3 Particulars which are also very abusive and gross One is that because I say in my Book of Immed Rev. pag. 4. That there is a Necessity for these under the New Covenant-Dispensation to have things revealed unto them from the Lord that are not Essentials of the Christian-Religion but things relating to our Conversation in the World see pag. 3. which are not to be found in Scripture particularly not so much as by Consequence T H. brings in these words as a Proof That according to the Quakers Principle they may excuse the Payment of a Just Debt under Pretence it is not revealed unto them Contin Dial. pag. 69. But surely had not Impudeâ—ce come to a wonderful Excess in T. H. he could never have committed such a gross Abuse on my words which are so far from giving the least seeming Colour for a Ground to build his Forgery on that in the same place I expresly say pag. 4. That the Spirit of the Lord never can nor doth command us to do things which are intrinsecally or in their own Nature Evil or contrary to the Scriptures But refusing to pay a just Debt is contrary to the Scriptures As also it is particularly found in the Scripture that we owe nothing to any Man but Love therefore we should pay our Debts This Consequence is clear and therefore none but such a wretched Forger as T. H. could have cast such a Groundless Calumny on my innocent words And like unto this is that other mentioned by T. H. of a Woman's casting off her relation unto her Husband as warranted by our Principle and my words before cited Contin Dialog p. 62. But that no such thing is to be done is particularly to be found in Scripture and therefore T. H. is an abusive Forger and Perverter Another Abuse of T. H. against me is that he doth quote me as a Proof That the Seed of God only in man is taught and nothing else Contin Dialog pag. 66. Also That God preacheth to himself and is obeyed only by himself Contin Dialog pag. 84. His alledged Proof is that I say The Great work of the Ministry is to point the Hearers to this that is the Seed in them Now let any of the weakest Capacity iudge if there be any thing in these words giving the least Colour of Proof that either the Seed only in man is taught or that God preacheth to himself Surely a Blush O Heavens and be astonished O Earth may very deservedly be given at the Wickedness of T. H. for his so gross Perversion Who but one of the most wretched Impudence would draw such a Conclusion The Work of the Ministers was to point and direct the Hearers to the Seed in them and to Christ in them and God in them Therefore only the Seed in them and only God and Christ in them is Taught whereas the plain contrary doth follow viz. That God and Christ in that pure and divine Seed in men is the Teacher and not the Taught and this is the very Aim and Design of my Book that God and Christ is the Immediate Teacher of his People in their Hearts Another of his Abuses is That because I say Jesus Christ is both the Seeds-man the Seed and also the Precious Fruit he alledgeth on me that I say The Work of Sanctification in us is Christ himself Contin Dialog pag. 57. Now when I say
the Righteousness of one the free Gift is come upon all to Justification of Life Here the Word One in both Propositions is used but in the one it signifieth the first Adam in the other it signifieth Christ the second Adam so by Lost in the first Proposition I mean Men who were lost or lost Sinners as also that pure Formation or Creation in Men which by Man's Fall came to be vailed and slain in him but not annihilated and by Lost in the second Proposition I understand God and Christ whom Men had lost and so all the true Ministers of Christ preached Men to God and Christ whom they had lost that they might find him to wit God and Christ who was near them in their own House that is in their own Hearts and so the plain and open Sense of my Words is this That as Jesus Christ came to seek and save the lost Souls of Men and to raise up and recover the Image of God in Men again so all the true Ministers of Christ preached People to God and Christ near them whom though Men had lost yet were near unto them to save them and to bring them again into the Enjoyment of him and Fellowship with him The second Part of T. H. his Forgery in this Particular is by diminishing from my Words and cutting off from a perfect Sentence the last Part of it which is explanatory of the first viz. from this perfect and intire Sentence That they may find a lost God a lost Christ whom they had lost and from whom they were separated by their Sins which Words whom they had lost and from whom they were separated by their Sins do clear me that I did not mean that God or Christ was in a lost Condition or that God had lost himself but that Men by their Sins had lost God and Christ And indeed that which gave me Occasion to use the Word Lost was the Parable of Christ concerning the Woman having lost her Pieee of Silver in her House Luke 15. 8 9. And she lighteth a Candle and sweepeth the House and seeketh diligently till she find it and when she findeth it she calleth her Friends and maketh merry with them through Joy that the lost Piece of Money is found And this House say I where the lost Piece of Money was lost and is found is Man's Heart it was lost by Adam's Fall yet it remained still in the House and in the House in Man's Heart it s to be found and the Candle is lighted in this House and it must be swept to find it By all which Christ Jesus points at this Principle his Kingdom or Appearance by his Light in Man's Heart and the Scope of all these Parables is to turn in Man's Mind to the Kingdom the Light of Christ in the Heart to find the Treasure the Pearl the lost Piece of Money there to find it where it was lost and is hid for there it is to be enjoyed and possessed no Man possesses more of God or Christ but what is revealed in himself See my Book Im. Rev. p. 75. Now of this twofold Abuse and Forgery I charge not only T. H. but W. K. and his Confederate Brethren of the Barbican-Meeting who in their Book called The Quakers Appeal Answered fall into the same Error with T. H. both adding and diminishing first adding as where they say This Christ came to seek and save and all his Ministers preached People to this the Lost in Man a Lost God a Lost Christ where they make the Word This relate to God and Christ this is an absolute Forgery for neither in p. 75. nor p. 76. do I use the Word This Christ came to seek and save far less do I apply it to God And secondly diminishing a lost God a lost Christ leaving out the last Part of the Sentence whom they had lost and from whom they were separate by their Sins In a Meeting with T. H. before many Witnesses I accused him of this Forgery telling him that if he would take this Liberty to add to and diminish from a Man's Words he might as well alledge from the Scripture that it saith There is not a God by leaving out the Words The Fool hath said in his Heart But to this T. H. answered three Things in that private Meeting I had with him which he there setteth down in the Book called The Quakers Appeal answered to all which three I did particularly answer whereof he saith nothing and in that hath dealt unfairly and cowardly But seeing he telleth them over again I shall now take them into Consideration First saith T. H. It 's true those Words were added viz. Whom they had lost yet they were no otherwise serviceable to him then as a Blind to deceive his unwary Reader for first by Lost in his whole Discourse in that Book cited is intended of God and Christ which he there calls the Principle Kingdom or Appearance of Christ by his Light in Man's Heart To this I answer If I had used these Words but as a Blind to deceive the unwary Reader as he alledgeth that is no Excuse for him to leave them out he ought to have set down the perfect Sentence and if there had been any Deceit in it to have shewn it but it is manifest that these Words were wilfully and deliberately clipt off by him because they do so apparently cross his naughty Design of abusing me But next I say it s but a sorry and unreasonable Allegance that I use these Words only as a Blind to deceive the unwary Reader his Reasons are too void and empty of Reason to prove any such Thing as first that by Lost in his whole Discourse in that Book cited is intended of God and Christ. I answer This is utterly false and a most gross Untruth for in several Places in my Book I speak expresly of lost Man and the Soul of Man as lost and saved for Proof of which see these following Quotations out of my Book of Immediate Revelation as p. 39. within two Lines of the End I say The Gospel is the preaching the glad Tidings of Salvation unto poor lost Man by Jesus Christ himself immediately in his Heart Mark here two Things first that I expresly speak of lost Man secondly that the Gospel is the preaching the Glad Tidings of Salvation unto poor lost Man whereas according to T. H. his Forgery it had been the preaching the glad Tidings of Salvation unto lost God which is Blasphemous Again see p. 13. line 35. where I say So that as the Lord remembreth Mercy unto lost Man in the midst of Wrath c. Mark again here I speak of lost Man Again in this same p. 13. lin 5 6 7 8. I speak expresly of the Salvation of the Soul and of its Delivery from the Bondage of Corruption line 13. Again in this same p. 13. about the middle of the Page I say Whereas the Mercy goeth forth in the Judgment