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A87658 The pretended antidoe [sic] proved poyson: or, The true principles of the Christian & Protestant religion defended, and the four counterfit defenders thereof detected and discovered the names of which are James Allen, Joshua Moodey, Samuell Willard and Cotton Mather, who call themselves ministers of the Gospel in Boston, in their pretended answer to my book, called, The Presbyterian & independent visible churches in New-England, and else-where, brought to the test, &c. And G.K. cleared not to be guilty of any calumnies against these called teachers of New-England, &c. By George Keith. With an appendix by John Delavall, by way of animadversion on some passages in a discourse of Cotton Mathers before the General Court of Massachusetts, the 28th of the third moneth, 1690. Keith, George, 1639?-1716.; Delavall, John, d. 1693. 1690 (1690) Wing K192A; ESTC W42984 110,748 234

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proof and that ye say Antient and Modern Interpreters agree therein y● show your rashness for ye name no antient Writer that saith so And Theodoretus a very antient Writer expoundeth that place Psal 89.15 in his Commentary on the Psalms of the J●bilation or joyful Sound in the Gentiles in Gospel-dayes who should believe in Christ and it is evident that the Psalm is a Prophecy of Christ and of the great blessings that should come to all Nations both Jews and Gentiles by him as both Theodoretus and other antient and modern Writers understand it as is clear from vers 25 26 27 28 29 c. that is not applicable to David but to Christ whereof David was a Type And that ye say The Quakers give notice of their Meetings we grant but yet we use neither Bell nor Drum to give such notice and find no need nor occasion for any such superstitious Custom Pag. 135. Ye query May ye not succeed the Apostles in their Ministry though not in their Apostleship I Answer Nay seeing ye deny that which qualifieth all true Ministers of Christ which is the Spirit and Power of Christ inwardly revealed and that ye require nothing of real inward Godliness necessary to constitute a Minister of Christ ye have no President for your Ministry that ye plead for without true piety from the true Apostles but from Judas the Apostate that betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ and in so doing fell from his Ministry yea ye are not ashamed to mention him and the Pharisees for your Presidents and Patrons to which I have formerly replyed And though the Apostles ordained Elders and Over-seers over gathered Churches yet it was by the direction of the holy Ghost and this ye deny that your Ordination was such Nor was it proper and peculiar only to the Apostles to travel through the Nations to preach the Gospel but was common to other Pastors and Teachers as to the Apostles as is clear from the Acts of the Apostles and from Christs Commission And every true Minister of Christ is to know his place and calling by the Spirit of the Lord how long he is to stay among a People whether all his Life time or for some season But if ye were indeed called of God to sit down all your dayes in one pl●ce how cometh it to be so usual among you to remove from one place to another and most commonly to some new place where ye can have a greater Benefice or some better outward Accomodation Pag. 136. Ye say I reflect a Scandal upon you in respect of the endeavours for the Conversion of the Indians for this ye refer to the printed Accounts But ye should have mentioned in particular what these printed acounts say that they might be examined whether true or false for we know many printed Accounts are false and it is most manifest that great Sums of Money have been sent out of Old England to encourage that work of preaching to the Indians and it is as manifest that much of that Money hath been ill bestowed and improved as the Country of New-England knoweth well enough and these called Christian Indians your pretended Converts are known generally to be worse than the poor Heathens CAP. X. PAg. 136. Ye say so little in defence of that ye call your Two Sacraments confessing withal That the Scripture saith nothing of the word Sacrament that I shall not spend Paper nor Time to answer all your Impertinencies considering that I have said enough that may suffice to answer you in my former Reply to Pardon Tillinghast for if Water-Baptism be no Gospel Precept then surely sprinkling Infants is none only I shall consider some of the grossest of them Pag. 137. As for sprinkling ye say ye plead not for it but for pouring Water not on the fore-head only but on the face This seemeth a learned distinction that may pass current among ignorant People what difference betwixt sprinkling and pouring seeing all the Water ye pour is neither gallon nor pint but so much as ye can hold in the hollow of your hand which cannot well wet the whole face and therefore is more sprinkling but still ye are to seek for a proof that either sprinkling or pouring Water on a childs fac● was ever commanded by Christ or practised by any of the Apostles or Ministers of Christ record●d in Scripture Ye say Origine and Cyprian tell us that the Apostles gave order for the baptizing of Infants withal citing Augustin but this is no Scripture-proof and Authority of antient Writers without Scripture ought to be of no weight among true Protestants The Church of Rome doth so argue for her unscriptural Traditions and is more ingenuous than ye that she doth confess There is no A●t●ority for Infant Baptism but only the Tradition of the Church and if ye have no better Authority than Tradition your cause is desperate and your Refuge to the Tradition of antient Writers proveth you more Popish than Protestant And as for Origine Cyprian and Augustine they lived long after the first Century and ye can give no evidence in Church History that Infant Baptism was practised until Cyprians time past two hundred years from Christs Resurrection and whereas while the practice of Water-Baptism continued in the Church it was required that before Baptism the Persons that were to be baptized should confess to the Truth and also that they did confess their sins and declare their Repentance and Faith which Infants could not do and therefore were incapable of Water-Baptism to supply which defect in after Ages the invention of God-fathers that should confess and vow for them was set up that hath no shadow of ground in Scripture Pag. 139. Ye say I fraudule●tly omit that clause citing Luke 18.15 16. For of such i● the Kingdom of God Answ I do not fraudulently omit it but saw no necessity to repeat it as having not the least seeming strength in it for Water-Baptism to Infants for granting that those Infants or such belonged to the Kingdom of God it doth not therefore follow that they were baptized with Water ye must show either Precept or Practice but ye do neither and that ye say It is above the capacity of Children to receive the Lords Supper so call'd ye give no instance wherein that is more above their capacity than to receive Infant Baptism by sprinkling or pouring seeing both ye say are signs of spiritual Mysteries and in Augustines time that call'd the Supper was given to Children or Infants if they be uncapable of understanding the thing signified by the one so are they of understanding the thing signified by the other Ye falsly alledge That Contra-distinguished signifieth two Contraryes the one to the other but I did not un●e●stand any c●ntrariety betwixt John's Baptism and Christ'● but only a diversity nor doth the word contra-distinguished import any other contrariety but as the Type hath to the Anti-type i. e. counter-type Pag. 140 141. Ye contend that Mat.
Bread Rain and Dew only for the efficacy o● it and not for the extent and plenty of it but for this we have your bare authority contrary bo●h to Scripture and Experience of thousands who witness the Word of God plentifully to dwell in them like to the drops of Rain and Dew for plenty of the divine droppings and showerings of it as well as for efficacy Ye grant The Scriptures are both by Metaphor and Metonyme called the Words and Word of God and in so doing ye give away your cause unto the Quakers for we say the same although the great out-cry hath been against us that we do not allow the Scriptures to be properly without all figure of metaphor or metonyme the words and word of God And since ye thus agree with us I see not how ye can call us Apostates for gain-saying you in this particular Pag. 21. Ye say I confound the Metonymie officientis with a Metonyme signi but I say ye prevaricate for I neither mention the one nor the other but the examples brought by me signifie both these kinds of Metonyme without confusion for Moses books are called Moses by the Metonyme Efficientis and Isaiah his book is called his vision by the Metonyme Signi CAP. II. I Shall briefly take notice of your Perversions and Omissions in this Chapter and so proceed to the end for it is but wasting time and paper both which are to be better bestowed than to follow you at large Ye disown the word Inspiration as given in our dayes Pag. 22. wherein as ye are singular so ye are inferior to the Church of England who for all your pretence to spirituality of Worship and Praying by the spirit yet are short of them for they in divers places of the Common Prayer pray for Inspiration and the Scots Confession of Faith in John Knox's dayes says expresly That Faith is the Inspiration of the holy Ghost And therefore your Ignorance and Prejudice doth here plainly appear and instead of defending the Protestant Religion ye but betray it and ●onounce it for sober Protestants both Epis●opal and Presbyterian do own Inspiration which ye plainly deny Pag. 23. The Scriptures that both ●he Assembly and ye cite That divine In●pirations and Revelations are ceased to wit of Antient Doctrine for we plead for no New Doctrines are wholly from your purpose as 2 Tim. 3.6 17. Heb. 1.1 2. Prov. 2.19 or any others for notwithstanding all these Scriptures divine Inspirations and new internal divine Revelations continued in the Church after all this in and with the Apostles But ye grosly pre●●ricate by your unfair way of answering That there was no New Revelation of any New Doctrine or New Doctrinal Truth And thus ye think to elude my Arguments before the Eyes of ignorant Readers But this mean Art of yours will not do for ye fight against your own Shadow and not against our Doctrine for we assent no New Revelation of any New Doctrine but of the Antient Doctrine abundantly delivered to the Prophets and Apostles but as their Faith could not save us so nor could their inward Inspiration and Revelation Pag. 27. Ye blame me for pleading for extraordinary Revelations such as the Apostles had which is a gross Perversion and plain Contradictory to my words for I told you that the distinction of Ordinary and Extraordinary Revelation may in a true fence well be admitted and the Prophets and Apostles had both ordinary and extraordinary we plead for the ordinary Revelations they had common to them with other Saints but not for the extraordinary they had whereas your Confession denyeth all sort of Revelation Again ye blame me for confounding Inspiration Revelation and Illumination but I say they are one and the same thing and it is great Non-sence to seperate or divide them and all the differences betwixt them that ye alledge are meerly begged and affirmed but not in the not least proved Ye should remember ye are not now in the pulpits where people take things on trust for your bare Authority but that your Book is gone abroad ye should bring better Proofs than bare Assertions 1st Ye say Ill●mination is common to all Believers Inspiration is peculiar to some But this last is denyed not only by us but by the Church of England and the Scots Confession of Faith in John Knox's days and by the general sence of antient Writers especially Augustine who frequently mentioneth Inspiration in his Works 2dly Ye say Illumination ordinarily accompanies the diligent use of the means Inspirations ye say usually come upon men without using any means for them But this second distinction is also meerly begged Illuminations and Inspirations come ●t times with the outward means and at times without them and yet not without all means very frequently even outward for both the Prophets and Apostles used means to prepare them to receive divine Inspirations and Revelations and in the use of means received them frequently for Acts 10. while Peter went up upon the house top to pray about the sixth hour he had a divine Revelation and when Peter preached to Cornelius and others the holy Ghost fell upon them and as they ministred to the Lord and fasted to wit certain Prophets and Teachers Acts 13.2 the holy Ghost said Seperate me Paul and Barnabas c. It is great ignorance and want of Experience in divine Mysteries to think that divine Inspirations and Revelations are without all means or tend to make either outward or inward means void and useless for commonly and generally all ordinary divine Revelations come in the use of some means or another as hearing reading prayer meditation watching and silent inward waiting all which are means and most especially and alwayes in the exercise of true Obedience unto God Your 3d Distinction is to as little purpose viz. That Illumination becomes habitual but Inspiration is transient for if by Habitual ye understand permanent and abiding Illuminations and Inspirations may be and are permanent of some sorts and of other sorts transient or passing Your 4th Distinction is also vain and idle as that illumination encreaseth grad●ally but not so Inspiration for they may and do increase or decrease according to the various kinds of them and he who is faithful to God may expect his Inspirations daily to be increased continued with him Lastly Ye say Illumination is alwayes understood whenas Inspirations sometimes are not understood but no more is Illumination alwayes und●rstood yea how many have a divine Illumination and yet understand it not and ye your selves deny that Illumination hath a Self-evidence so th●n it would be objective Revelation and fit to be the Rule of Faith and Life which ye deny saying the Scripture is the ONLY Rule Pag. 28. The Saint Experience of inwa●d enjoyments of God and Ch●ist beyond all words warranted from 1 Cor. 2.9 10. Ye call a Rapsody in commendation o● our silent Meetings but this is a poor evasion and answet
to so weighty a place of Scripture with divers others adjoyned But blind men cannot judge of Colours Pag. 29. My Comparison taken from the outward teaching of humane Sciences that presuppose some inward Principles of natural Knowledge in the Learners whereby to show the consistency and harmony of outward teaching of divine things and the inward teaching by the Spirit as presupposed in part and in the other part accompanying the outward Teaching ye understand it not and therefore ye call it Impertinent but impertinently talk against it for I do not intend by the same to hold forth any New Revelation of any new Doctrine as I have oft to●d you but a new Revelation of antient Doctrine and the comparison is proper and pertinent in this respect that as outward teaching of natural things require an inward Principle and light of Knowledge that is natural so the outward teaching of spiritual and divine things require an inward Principle of divine and spiritual Knowledge whereby to enable the Soul to perceive them otherwise a man could be no more capable to know divine and spiritual things than a Beast would be capable to know humane things for as the spirit of a man teacheth man things of men so the Spirit of God in men teacheth them who hearken thereto the things of God Pag. 31. Ye blame me for putting a scurrelous Title upon that ye call the reverend Assembly calling them Faith-makers who never pretended to any new Revelations of any article of Faith more than is contained in Scripture But as they pretend not to that so nor to any new Revelation or Inspiration of that Doctrine which is contained in Scripture and that is their great fault to deny all such Revelation even of that Doctrine there contained for without divine inward Revelation and Inspiration the true Faith of the Doctrines contained in Scripture canot be discovered no more than we can see to read what is printed in a Book without light and therefore their Faith is but a made Faith and also that in the ignorance and blindness of their minds they have made things Articles of Faith which are false and contrary to Scripture and therefore I am not to be blamed for so calling them Pag. 33. By your granting That there is a spiritual ●eeling and tasting and intuitive Knowledge of God and divine things ye give away your cause to the Quakers and contradict your grand Principle That there is no divine Immediate Revelation for intuitive knowledge is immediate and immediate knowledge must have an immediate Light and Revelation as when I see a picture of a man in a Table or read a discourse of him in a Book that knowledge of him is only abstractive and discursive as also when I see England only in a Map and that is but remote and mediate knowledge but when I see a man face to face in the clear light of the day and see the Land of England it self that Knowledge is Immediate and Intuitive But tell me in good earnest do ye indeed grant that there is an Intuitive Knowledge of God that is not discursive and abstractive that is certainly to see God and to hear him without a necessity of the interposition of words or other means I am sure this is Immediate Revelation and I am as sure that ye commonly deny it and tell People They shall no● hear God nor see him in this mortal Life for the vision of God is r●served to the future life as ye use to say But ye say and unsay the same thing a vice ye charge upon me but are guilty therein yourselves And granti●g it be so that we have no Intuitive Knowledge of any divine Truth whereof we had not a discursive Knowledge before this saith nothing against our Principle no more than that a man first hath a discursive knowledge of England before he see it We grant the discursive k●owledge is serviceable and commonly introductory to the intuitive and yet both may consist together though the intuitive excelleth the discursive as far as the sight of the Land of England excelleth the sight of the bare Map of it Discursive Knowledge cannot be without words or pictures of things and signs of them but Intuitive Knowledge can be without all words sign now if ye grant that men have a knowledge of God and Christ and divine Things without all words i. e. without the Scripture ye fairly give away your cause for if without Scripture then surely by Immediate Revelation for the Scriptures are the means ye say altogether necessary to obtain all the knowledge of God that any have or can have in this mortal Life But for the better Information of the Reader I say the Scriptures are the usual necessary means in God's ordinary way of working whereby men obtain the Doctr●nal and Disc●●sive Knowledge of the Christian Faith and Religion And seeing the doctrinal and discursive Knowledge is of great service to prepare the Souls of men for th● intuitive and sensible Knowledge o● God that cometh after that is an immediate enjoyment of him a taste and sight of him that he is good and gracious and also seeing this intuitive and sensible knowledge of God is gradual and is to encrease in the most advanced and that the doctrinal knowledge hath still a preparatory service to the same it followeth that the holy Scriptures have a preparatory service and use to Gods Saints while in the mortal Body yet in so far as the end of this preparatory service is answered by the Souls obtaining some degree of that intuitive and sensible knowledge of God by the sight and taste of him as inwardly revealed in and through Christ that immediate ●ervice and need of the Scripture ceaseth in respect of that degree of intuition sight taste and sensible knowledge of God that the Soul hath for that present time even as when a Husbandman useth many means instruments of Husbandry to procure Bread and other good Provisions for himself the use of these means and instruments are alwayes necessary at times and that frequently but there are times that he enjoyeth the fruits of his labours that he eateth and drinketh and is refreshed and when he sitteth down to eat and drink 〈◊〉 his Table he needeth not in those intervals of time to use his instruments of Husbandry as the Plow the Cart the Hoe c. nor so much as at that time to think of them And thus it is as touching the use and service of the Scriptures and other outward helps and means the use and service and profit of them is great to all the Saints and Children of God in this mortal life to the end of it even as the use of the Instruments of Husbandry is to the Husband-man but yet there are times of feeding in the House of God where the Souls of the faithful either together or apart eat of the heavenly Bread and drink of the heavenly Wine in the House and Kingdom