airy Spirit and so as your minds come to be staid in the measure of Gods Spirit and receive a word by the inspiration of the Almighty to declare for the edifying or building up the members of that body of which Christ is the head according as you receive mark it must be your own and onely your own not an others So ye are to minister as good stewards of the manifold gifts and graces of God and then let him be accursed that should it seek to quench For if one had the tongues of men and Angels and could speak all the mysteries of Kingdome of God in that mind which is not guided by the Spirit of Truth not in the life of truth that is but death and hell talking of the same of wisedom but a stranger as to the enjoying of the thing and must be silent and peradventure death reigning over him and not come so far as to the receiving of the righteous Law of God where the Thunders Voices and Earthquakes are felt seen and heard for so dreadfull was thy presence saith Moses that I exceedingly quake and tremble for where the Law is not received within death reigns and hath dominion and the day not yet known that makes the strong man to bow and the keepers of the house to tremble For I came not to destroy the Law saith Christ but to fulfill it and Heaven and Earth shall pass away but not one jot or one tittle of the Law shall pass away till all be fulfilled So all come to the Light and follow the Light which to the life will lead the Law for to fulfill The Law is Light saith Solomon and David said I delight to do thy will O God mark thy Law is in my heart and the mouth of the righteous speaketh wisedom his tongue talketh of judgement the Law of his God is in his heart Psal 37.30,31 Psal 40 8. Prov. 6.23 and Christ said I in them and thou in me that they all may be made perfect in one Jo 17.22,23 chap 16.13 and he that believeth on the Son of God 1 Jo. 5.10 hath the witness in himself And when John Peter wrote to the Churches concerning the seducers that would have seduced them from the anoynting of God within them they told them there were false Prophets amongst the people as there should be also amongst them who privily should bring in damnable heresies take notice ye that deny the Light and Spirit within even denying the Lord that bought them and many shall follow their pernicious ways by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil Spoken of I am the Way and the Truth saith Christ such were and are they that have mens persons in admiration because of advantage without naturall affection filthy dreamers which defile the flesh speaking evill of dignities despise dominion the higher power Christ the power of God unto whomall power in heaven earth is given who have eyes ful of adultery pleading animpossibility of being made free from sin on this side the grave living in pride and vanity lovivg pleasure eating and drinking and rising to play for which God slew twenty three thousand in one day 1 Cor. 10. and found in Cains way Core and Balaams way loving the wages of unrighteousness and cringing and bowing according to the fashions of the world which must pass away and worshiping and serving the Creature more than the Cteator Who is God blessed for ever Now in the Light of the son of God Examine your selves ye Baptists whether you are not guilty of these sins and tâ—ansgressing the doctrine and commands of Christ calling men master and are called master and swearing and pleading for it and seeking the favour and friendship of the world which is enmity against God and taking thought what to eat or what to drink and what to put on read Mat. 5.23 What then are you baptized unto And whereas some of you say That every one is not inlightned with saving Light Do you think it would stand with the justice of the Almighty seeing the Scripture hath concluded and testisteth That all men have sinned for to save some in sin and condemne others in sin I tell you nay therefore let every mouth which would so say be stopt before the impartiall God for he would not that any should perish for as all have sinned and come short of obedience to the spirit and grace of God in the first Adam in the fall the Lord is therefore calling all men every where to repentance and hath called some to repentance not to be repented of and hath given to every man a measure of his Spirit Light and Grace though it is not yet made manifest or known to every man and for the time of ignorance God winked and hath now sent forth and is sending his faithfull messengers which love not their lives to the death to the four quarters of the earth to preach his everlasting Gospell and repentance and remission of sins through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ and to turn mens minds from vanities and dumb idols to the Light of the living which he hath enlightned them withall he that believes and receives their testimony which is Christ the truth and it follows shall be saved but he that receives not nor obeys shal be condemned the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it and this will be the condemnation of the world to wit the Light in man which shews him his evill deeds of which the impartial God as I said before a measure hath given to every man on the face of the whole earth whom he would have to be saved and come to the knowledge and obedience of the truth this the witness of God in all consciences shal witness to be true Disobedience and Unbelief in Christ the Light within will be the cause of destruction to all that perish Neither do we as some imagine put creatures on works and duties according to the first Covenant for life and salvation The Law indeed saith do this and live but it is one thing to work for life c. and another thing to work or act in obedience to the life and power of God received For God hath first given a measure of his Spirit unto man before he requires ought of him and so his work is before him and his reward is with him even the presence of the Lord of Life which makes glad the hearts of the upright which follow him in the regeneration For saith David in the day of thy power thy people shall be a willing people So in the Light which from the life of Christ doth come and up to the life of Christ it leads all that follow it Is the power in man but not of man It is the gift of God unto it is man required to be obedient and what ever the Lord requires of man is a Cross to man in the fall and contrary to the will of man So that I say and
I demanded whether he meant Carnall sacrifices c. to wit the blood of bulls and goats c. as in the Leviticall Priesthood he answered Yea as in the former days of old and as in the years past Answ Here Joseph Parsons would go to make Christ the one offering by which he hath for ever perfected them that are sanctified to be of none effect by which one offering he changed both Law and Priesthood disannulled the Commandements which stood in meats and drinks and Carnall washings and the sacrificing and offering of the blood of bulls and goats c. which never made those that were the actors thereof clean or perfect as pertaining to the conscience which were but types and figures and stood in time and had a limitation of time to wit till the time of reformation Heb. 9.9.10 and though there was a time the Lord had regard unto those sacrifices c. And that they were as a sweet savour unto him and he delighted in them and in those that offered them Yet when their hearts went a whoring after other lovers And turned that which once the Lord required of them into Idolatry then the Lord loathed it and them and their solemnities-were a burden unto him and he sent his Prophets rising early to cry against them And by the mouth of the Prophets the Lord told them he had not required these things at their hands but it was abomination unto him Isa 1.11 to the 15. As saith the Lord I have not caused thee O Jacob to serve with offerings neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins as saith the Apostle Sacrifices and Carnall offerings thou wouldest not O God but a body hast thou prepared me c. So that when that body of Christ Jesus was offered up which came to do the will of God according as it was written in the Volume of the Book he mark for ever perfected and sanctified them which believed and followed him and changed that Law and Priesthood and is the end of it for righteousness sake c. And so I say if the work of Christ in this the mighty day of his Power and Judgement in which he is come and coming as a refiners fire to purge and purifie the Sons of Levy that they might offer an offering in righteousness c. I say if it were to offer Carnall Sacrifices as in the days of old it would be a building again that which he hath changed and I saith the Lord change not but the Apostles amongst whom that day of Judgement first began for one day is with the Lord as a thousand years c. they plainly shews what that offering was which the Prophet Mal. spoke of which should be pleasant unto the Lord as in the days of old and in former years c. for saith the Apostle to them which had tasted that the Lord was gracious ye also as Living stones are built up take notice of the offering that should bee pleasant c. a spirituall house an holy Priesthood to offer up spirituall sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ this was and is the everlasting offering that is offered up by the members of the Church and first fruits unto God since the long night of Apostancy who as living stones are built up a spirituall house a royall priesthood a holy nation a peculiar people that the Lord hath called out of darkness into the marvellous Light to shew forth his praise who hath lead and is leading through the judgment and the fire whereby blessing and glory glory to the Lord in the highest many are purged and purified even as fine gold through which they are come into the pure Life of Jesus from which an offering a sweet odour a savour acceptable unto the Lord as in the days of old and years past in righteousness is offered unto the Lord. So Joseph Parsons hath manifested himself to be amongst the Babylonish foolish builders and ignorant of the Scriptures not dividing the word aright The words of the Prophet Jeremiah are fulfilled in the Pastors for saith he the Pastors are become brutish and have not known the Lord in rightousness therefore they shall not prosper and all their flocks shall be scattered Jer. 10.21 And when the Prophet spoke of that day of the Lord in which the Lord would be and now is a swift witness against the forcerer the false prophet and false swearers adulterers and oppressors c. and also of the offering that should be pleasant c. He doth not speak there of the Carnall offerings of the Leviticall Priesthood but of the offerings of Judah c. Heb. 7.14 Mal. 3.4 And the Scripture saith it is evident that our Lord sprungout of Judah of which there was nothing spoke concerning Priesthood So this day that Scripture is fulfilled in your ears for the offering of Judah according to the Spirit and Jerusalem which is come down from God out of heaven and is free the mother of us all is pleasant unto the Lord as in the days of old and years past compare Mat. 3.4 1 Pet. 2.4 Gal. 4.25.26 Rev. 21.2 And they are not all Israel who are of Israel after the flesh but they are of the true Israel that are born of the immortall Word of God that lives and abides for ever in whose mouth is found no guile neither tells a lye and hee made all nations on the face of the whole earth of one flesh and blood Jo. 1.17 Rev. 14 5 Act. 17.26 and in Christ Jesus there is no difference whether Jew or Gentile male or female circumcision uncircumcision Barbarian Scythian bond or free for ye mark that are all one in Christ Jesus saith the Apostle Gal. 3.28 Col. 3.11 for Israel after the flesh stumbled at Christ the chief corner stone as many of the Pastors and Teachers now do at Christ the Light within so he is not a Jew who is one outwardly but he is a true Jew who is one inwardly following the Lamb in the regeneration whose praise is of God and not of man yet a bundantly will the Lord be glorified in the Jews according to the flesh the day of whose redemption draws near and their captivity hastneth to be at an end and that is the Word of the Lord God of hosts to the Jews 6 The rash Judgement of William Lee Baptist Teacher Governour of Waterford reproved and found false and so proved according to the Law and Testimony wherein also is a true testimony of the operation of the eternall power and Spirit of the Lord in the work of regeneration c. On the 4 day of the 6 month 1659. I being at And. Richets house then Mayor of Waterford about my releasing out of prison being then a prisoner for the testimony of Jesus And there being present he called Colenell William Lee and William Lamb a Baptist Pastor this did occasion some conference about the