substance he was created of in those words The Lord God also made the man of the dust of the earth after his own likeness yea in the Image of God created he him so that I say he made Adam of this dust below and therefore it is the body of man is natural so of a heavy gross substance viz. flesh blood and bone Reason How or which way was man framed in the image of God and so compleatly made in the similitude of the Creator seeing mans body is of such gross mortal substance and Gods body thou sayest is of a bright fiery glorious chrystall immortal substance what likeness or image can mans be like unto God then tell me Faith In the creating of man the Lord God onely spake the word onely unto the dust of the earth and immediately the vertue thereof brought forth a living man of pure flesh blood and bone like unto God himself as near as could be so that I say it was not the visiblility of their persons that differed in the least but the glory of them onely for this by Faith I know God was an infinite spiritual body in all parts perfectly holy and Adam was a finite natural body of perfect innocency resembling that Divine form of God that created him Reason What then was the nature or spirit of Adam Angelical or was it Divine Faith I say though Adams body was made of the dust and appointed for generation so natural yet this from an unerring spirit I know that his Soul was not natural but supernatural or Divine and that because it was formed according to the invisible glory of the Eternal Spirit Reason What then was not Adams nature Reason so a reasonable creature if not then Adâ—m was unreasonable so not like unto God Faith From the Lord of Glory I say that if the nature of Adam had been rational in his creation then it could not have been Divine but of Angelical desiring nature of unsatisfaction in its self but that Divine Soul of Adam which was created after the likeness of the Eternal God did consist of several Heavenly properties in its measure answerable unto those Divine qualifications in the glorious Creator above all measure for the Soul of man is not without its several properties and yet they are all in a Heavenly Harmony in that the joy of Soul that Adam did possess arose in him from one Divine Heavenly voice called the Spirit of Faith which was all satisfaction in himself with his present condition not having the least thought of further happiness then what he enjoyed already thus as the Divine nature of the Eternal Spirit was variety of infinite satisfaction in it self So likewise the Soul of Adam being composed of the same qualifications was variety of satisfaction in it self also according to its measure Now if the nature of Adams Soul had been as thou sayest rational in his creation then through want of the Divine nature of Faith Adam would alwayes have been desiring after something that he wanted like unto the Elect Angels for this I know the nature of Adams Soul could not possible have any reason in it and that because the very nature of reason is not onely as aforesaid but it is too serious in its consideration whether things be good or right that are propounded to its understanding when on the contrary that nature or breath of Faith which singly was intirely given to Adam without the least consideration perfectly knowing the excellency of a thing as soon as ever it is presented unto it and therefore Adams nature must needs be Divine as Gods is and supernatural though cloathed with pure nature onely Reason If it be as thou sayest that Gods nature is all Divine Heavenly Faith without pure reason at all and Adam was onely partaker of that nature which thou sayest is so immortal pure that it is all Divine Heavenly satisfaction in its self How came it then that Adam having that nature of Divine satisfaction in his own Soul did fall from that happy and innocent condition wherein he was created Faith From the revelation of faith in my soul I declare that in the nature of God there is not the least motion of the purest reason at all that being onely the angels nature as aforesaid neither is it possible there should be in that thou hast heard in that chapter treating of the angels creation that reason in the purest sense is but a meer desire of the enjoyment of something that is above it so no real satisfaction in its self therefore if the nature of God were pure reason as Papists Episcopal Presbyter Independent Anabaptist Ranter Quaker and all Atheistical opinions of thy seed affirm then I say the Creator that gave satisfaction to another is not satisfied in its self and so in thy reason would follow there is something above God that must give satisfaction to God which from an unerring spirit is cursed blasphemy when it is written In him all fulness dwells and Col 2. 9. he it is that filleth all in all And again it is written There is Isaiâ—h 43. 10. none like him above him or before him or that shall be after him for a spiritual body of all divine heavenly faith and therefore it is written the wonderful transendent vertues of faith in so much that there is not the least let or doubt but whatever it believeth shall come to pass and to faith there is nothing unpossible that its revelation moves it to do when on the contrary reason is such antiphathy that it is a body of meer imaginary desires and no reality cloathed with fear let and doubts of faiths eternal power Now though the soul of Adam through the divine purity of its nature was immortal and uncapable of any rebellion against the glorious spirit of its Creator yet because its body was natural and had its beginning of this dust below his immortal soul having its being in a piece of clay was become subject through temptation to be transmuted from its present condition of his created innocency for this faith knows though the soul of Adam was of a divine nature yet because it was a created nature distinct to it self it was become a Son or Servant yea subject to its divine God and that through deep temptation he was subject to be transmuted into a sinful condition through which both soul and body might not onely be subject to natural death but also full of fear of eternal death or casting out of the spiritual presence of a divine Majesty to bring forth his heavenly disign of a more transcendent eternal glory that he had prepared through suffering to be enjoyed by his divine image at the last day with himself face to face Reason I conceive if Adam had such divine immortal heaven life breathed into him which thou calls his soul that was of the same property and nature of the divine God he might by that life have withstood all
Faith Oh! senseless sot that I should thus spend my time with thee when thou neither believes Scripture nor can rightly interpret any Scripture when thou mayest read in the 36th and 37th verses these words Thou fool that which 1 Cor. 15. 36. thou sowest is not quickned except it dye and that which thou sowest not that body that shall be but bare grain it may chance of wheat or of some other grain Now consider is not the life of the wheat grain in the body of the wheat corn when it is sowed and doth it not in its season dissolve its body with its life into dust and there dye yea perfectly dead till such time as refreshing showres and the heat of the Sun beams which is the life of the earth quicken that life which then lay dead to a new life by which vertue it cloaths it self noâ— with that old body but a new body and so abides not alone but brings forth a new encrease of sixty seventy or an hundred fold Now let me speak freely to thee as it is with the grain of wheat so it is with the soul of man for that is buried with the body in the earth were both soul and body is corrupted to dust and there lyeth as the wheat grain perfectly dead till such time that quickning Spirit the Lord of all life do appear and quicken that mortal soul which then was become dust to an immortal soul which after shall become an immortal life by which quickning it is clothed with a spiritual immortal body all glorious like God himself so now having a body sutable to its nature a spiritual powerful swift body like unto its Soul is now able to ascend to meet his Redeemer in the Air and so return with him into glory so that from the Lord of all power I say if the soul were immortal in a mortal body and could not dye but ascend to glory then I say there would be no need of Resurrection in that this body shall not rise though the Grave and the Sea at that day shall give up their dead is not intended their dead bodies but their dead souls that hath been many years drowned or buried that shall arise whether out of water or earth their souls shall arise every seed his own body but this I say if the soul were in glory already without a body as it cannot be then it were in vain to raise a body out of the earth to meet a spiritual Soul in Heaven in that no body can be raised without its soul nor a soul be any thing without its body so that if thou wert not stone blind thou wouldst say with me that to believe thy soul should go to Heaven without its body neither God nor Angels could see it or take notice of it nor the soul it self know what or where it is and so in conclusion never be capable of glory at all CHAP. 10. Shewing what Heaven is and how many there are with the nature and form thereof Reason WHat Heaven is that or where is it that these believing souls shall go to at the last day of Resurrection Faith First I shall tell thee from an unerring Spirit how many Heavens there are and which of those three this Heaven is that all believing souls shall inherit eternal glory in the personal enjoyment of their God face to face I find but a threefold Heaven spoken of in Seripture whatever thy seed vainly imagine to the contrary The first that I shall infallibly speak of is the visible Firmamental I. Heaven which is adorned with maty majestical lights above us and a fixed earth beneath us beautiful in its season with variety of delights which is natures onely desired Heaven through the secret Decree of the most wise God to manifest the variety of his most infinite wisdom unto Elect men and Angels in creating such natural glory to perish with the Angelical merciless Rulers thereof after they have enjoyed their momentary glory as it is written Thou Lord in the beginning hast established the earth the Heavens are the works of thy hands they shall perish but thou dost remain they shall wax old as doth a garment this is that visible Heaven with the glory thereof Reason Which is then the next Heaven by Scripture proved that so if possible I may come to know that Heaven which is Eternal and shall never perish Faith As I do not set forth these Heavens in order so I say thou canst noâ— nor none of thy sed have any Faith in what I have or shall say but however the next Heaven I shall treat upon is that within the bodies of men or the first man Adam as it is written The Kingdom of Heaven is within you and Christ in you the hope of glory and know you not that Christ is in you except yâ—u be Reprobates Now this Heaven is that spiritual creation in natural bodies and within this perishing Globe that through its union with changable nature it might enter into mortality that so after a moments tasting of silent death as God himself did it might quicken again through death it self spiritual bodies full of Divine glories by which all the Elect as swift as thought ascend to meet their Lord in the Air and with his Divine person of bright burning glory enter into that prepared Throne of Eternal pleasures by which such a soul hath perfect peace with assurance here that it shall enjoy what it in this world believed Reason How is it possible any creature should give a description of the Kingdom of glory Which I perceive thou wilt say is the third and highest Heaven seeing it is a place that can by mortals cannot be seen therefore not known I conceive no mortal flesh is able to speak of it according to its form and nature Faith From the Lord of glory I say what is impossible to Reason is possible to Faith for by the Revelation of this Faith I can see and do know that the third Heaven is invisible yet visible ravishing glories which are Eternal this is that vast Kingdom where the persons of the mighty Angels and glorified bodies of Moses and Elias do now inhabit beholding the Face of that most Excellent Majesty whose Divine nature is Crowns of unuttâ—rable excellencies this is that habitation third Heaven Throne or Kingdom that the Pen of man is not able to write or his Tongue to speak However what by Revelation I have seen I shall here declare that the form of it is non-Globical insomuch that there is no end of the height of it nor circumference thereof insomuch that God his Saints and Angels may ascend ten thousand times ten thousand and yet no Globe to hinder so excellent glorious swift personal Majesty as God is and as for the nature of this Heaven it is so infinite that there is all manner of creatures for the contemplation of God his elected Saints and Angels Reason What dost thou believe
by the man how the Devil got into him nor how this Devil or Devils went out of him and got into the Herd of Swine nor what become of those Devils in the Sea whether drowned in the Sea or no but however so as I have said before so I say again that there is no Devil without a body that can torment another neither can that Devil if he were not generated in man either come in or go out of man but he must be seen otherwise he is no Devil at all as for instance the distemper of man cannot be cast out but it may be seen and felt in the foul and stinking body that poysoned and distempered the minde of man And how dost thou know that the Soul of man leaveth or goeth out of the body at the hour of death CHAP. 9. Shewing what the Soul is and what it is that dieth how that the Soul which is the life of the body can dye and nothing else but life that dieth Reason VVHY I believe the Soul cannot dye because I conceive it a thing impossible the Soul being an Eternal Spirit cannot be capable of death and besides Solomon saith Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was and the Spirit shall return unto God who gave it So that it is my believe the Soul cannot dye Faith Though this Principle be fully cleared in the Prophets Book called joyful news from Heaven yet I shall reveal the truth of it upon another account that the Soul is mortal so capable to dye otherwise it could not live Eternal for as nothing but life can dye and that life being dead shall be made capable to live a life Eternal Reason Before thou proceed any further let me but hear how that nothing but life can dye which it is conceived by all knowing men that life which thou callest the Soul is immortal and cannot dye Now that natural life that runs in the blood may dye and therefore it is confessed when a man is murthered or hanged his breath is stifled and so the natural mortal dies yet all this while as Salomon saith The Soul goeth to God that gave it Faith Having in our former writings made it appear that Solomon was the highest pitch of Reason that ever was so what he spake was onely knowledge in nature and not by the Revelation of Faith therefore no Scripture For Reason imagineth things that are not and things that cannot be understood by any sober man much less by a man in Revelation as to think that an immortal Soul or Spirit should be limited to a mortal body which is as possible as light and darkness to dwell together as an immortal Soul to live in a mortal body therefore I say that the Soul and body of man are one distinct living and dying essence for the Soul or Spirit in the womb by degrees congeals together into a rational fire of blood and water and so in due time become a compleat body of flesh blood and bone so that the life that is in man is not Divine but natural onely Reason This is strange that the Soul or Spirit of a child should conceive in the womb that being a breath or gift of God and not generated in or by the seed for I read that God breathed into Adam and he became a living Soul so his Soul was not immortal but mortal and so is all man-kind Faith However it is strange to thee yet I know it is a real truth to me that the Word by which God first created life in man that Word or Breath was immortal which by his fall became mortal as at large is cleared in the seventh Chapter and this know God never created but male and female and gave life but once and since every life in its kinde hath generated bearing seed in its self so that from my Revelation I say that the rational Soul or Spirit of man lyes secretely hid in his seed like unto a spark of fire which spark doth quicken it self into a living form like unto his nature and so having cloathed it self with flesh his Soul or Spirit runs invisibly through the whole body and so is one entire substance being both conceived into life in the womb togegether and both living together upon the earth their appointed time and being both polluted together with sin is it not requisite that they should dye together and turn to the dâ—st and nâ—n-being again until the general bodily Resurrection of all man-kind Reason I know no other but that every man hath in him a good Spirit and a bad spirit as it is written The spirit lusteth Gal. 5. 17. after the flesh and the flesh agaâ—nst the Spirit and these are contrary So that by the learned it is believed that there is a natural life and an Eternal life in one man otherwise the body and Soul are both one which in Scripture I never read that these were both one bâ—t two one fleshly and the other spiritual Faith Didst thou know the truth of what thou hast said then wouldst thou know as followeth that every man in his fallen spirit hath remaining a little light or motion in him to justifie all the righteous proceedings of the Creator in his Conscience at the last day yet mind what I say he hath but one Soul or Spirit in him for that which the Apostle calls spirit in this place was a Divine light of life received unto the dark understanding by vertue of a word speaking from the eternal Spirit of the Lord of glory and not the essence of the holy Spirit for I know that those who do expect a glory to come in the invisible Heavens do confess that the spirit of the Divine Majesty is inâ—â—nite unchangeable immortal eternal therefore how thinkest thou it possible for men or Angels to be capable of the indwelling of the 〈…〉 nce of his Eternal Spirit and that which the Apostle calls flesh was mans own Spirit which consists of nothing but confused lying imagination or cursed carnal reasoning against the Heavenly light aforesaid Now that I may answer the last clause of thy demand that the Soul and body is one it is written All the Souls that came with Jacob into Egypt which came Gen. 46. out of his loins were threescore and six â—ouls again it is written Thy Fathers went dowâ— into Egypt with seventy persons Deut. 10. So that it is plain man is sometimes called Soul and sometimes is called a body or person or Soul Body and Spirit and yet man is but one living essence or substance However the learned of thy seed pretend they know much of this when indeed they know the least of all as to separate a mortal soul from a mortal body or to unite an immortal Soul to a mortal body which is as possible to make light and darkness God and Devil one Reason This is strange that none but thou shouldst know or dâ—scerâ— the Soul immortal when
almost the whole world believes the Soul was never generated but the breathings of the Spirit of God which are immortal and cannot dye Faith From the Revelation of Faith I say those conceited wise men which through the ambition of Tongues and Languages have studied beyond all sober sense or reason to make all the world senseless sots as to think when the Seed is conceived in the womb that then God must come and give it a Soul be it a Bastard or Free-born the child can have no Soul till God give it so that thou makest God not onely a partner but a perfecter of mans basâ— lust in that filthy act But however thy thoughts are unseal'd concerning God yet this I know that all Souls since the fall of Adam are but mortal natural and must dye in the body being generated to live together must dye together in that they are both guilty of sin cannot ascend but rot in the grave together as it is written The Soul of man shall be cut off from the Land of the Living and the Soul that sins shall dye and that the pure Soul of Christ was poured forth unto death and the Lord hath said that Adam and Eve were but dust and to dust they should return again also it is written That David is both dead and buried and his Sepulchre is with us this day for David is not ascended into the Heavens Acts 2. c. Now what should ascend if not Davids Soul For it is written Not this body but such a body as pleaseth God to give it So not the body but the Soul thou sayest must ascend then know this Soul was in the dust and not ascended for David is not ascended as much as if it had been said Davids Soul is not ascended nor no Soul without a body can ascend and there can be no ascension till the Soul hath past through death it can never ascend to Eternal life Reason If the Soul at the hour of death did not ascend to glory or descend to misery how comes it then that John writes I sâ—w under the Altar the Souls of them that were slain for the Rev. 6. 10. Word of God and for the Testimony which they held and they cryed with a loud voice saying How lâ—ng O Lord holy and true dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth So that surely John saw many Souls in Heaven cying unto the Lord to avenge their blood on their enemies otherwise he had not declared it Faith Thy ignorance hath been great as now it is in this as for thee to imagine that John saw Souls in Heaven without bodies and their spirits without face mouth and tongue should cry How long holy and true c. When a Soul without a face and tongue cannot be seen nor speak therefore I tell thee there is a greater Mystery in those words then thou art aware of for from my Seed spring I say it is no more then the blood of Abels which cryed unto the Lord from the ground and so doth all the blood of the Saints From the blood â—f Righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias and so to the end of our Commission Do cry O Lord holy and true why dost thou not avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth This John saw by Revelation as Steven and Paul in another case did see the Heavens opened And so John saw a wonder in Heaven a Woman cloathed Rev. 12. â— with the Sun and the Moon under her feet and the 12 Stars upon her head Now when John saw this great wonder he was not in Heaven neither was this wonder done in Heaven but upon the earth so it was the blood of the Righteous Souls that were murthered in their bodies that John saw not in glory but upon this earth Now whereas thou art almost confident that at the hour of death the Souls go out of the body if so deal plainly with thy self and tell me whâ—â—â—t is like for surely the Soul must have some form â—â— sâ—ape and so cannot get out but it would be seen by some thâ—â— stâ—â—ds by for if a â—oul were of that form and fashion as White in his Chamber at Whithall shewed me the picture of a soul â—â— a Book a dark soul and a light soul in â—â—rm like a â—copeâ—ilâ— I say if the soul were as such wisâ— Head-pieces reports how comes it that it cannot be seen to gâ— out of the diseased For my part I have been at the death of some and yet could not discern any thing come frâ—m them but groans and flegm so that if thou with all thâ— seed were noâ— stone blinde thou wouldst clearly see the soul dyeth within the body for want of evaquation with the body Reason If iâ— be as thou sayest that all souls are dead in the dust and so become dust How or which way shall these souls be found out or raised at the last day Faith From the Lord of glory I speak it there is not any of thy seed that doth in the least understand how to answer this Argument therefore that Faith may be known to be Lord over thee and thy seed I declare that Christ Jesus being a quicâ—ning Spirit not onely as in relation to himself but all man kind as it is written The first man Adam was made a living Soul and the second man Adam was made a quickning Spirit I say his Soul being perfectly dead and buried in the grave yet in death he quickned himself to life without the help of any as in the second Chapter is clear so as it is written Your lâ—fe is hid in Christ with God so that when Christ who is our life shall appear then shall we also appear Col. 3. 3. 4. with him in glory therefore as he was able to qâ—icken his own Soul so at the general account he is far more able by the word of his mouth to quicken the Seed of Faith that now are dust to eternal glory also to quicken the seed of Reason to eternal misery yea and that from the first soul called Adam to the last soul dying he can and will in the twinkling of an eye raise all the Seed of Faith that hath layn so long in the dust to meet him in the Air with bodies sutable to their natures yea the very appearance of Christ who is all life will quicken that which is dead in the grave to hear his voice and immediately to come forth and meet him in the Air as it is written The hour is coming John 5. 28 in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice Reason That I understand is the raising of another body and not the soul for it is written it is sown a natural body and is raised a spiritual body so that I conceive it is not the soul but that body raised another that will be the work of the Lord at the day of Judgement
A PARADISICAL DIALOGUE BETWIXT FAITH and REASON DISPUTING The high mysterious Secrets of Eternity the like never extant in our Revelation As touching God in Eternity how he became time in flesh and how he dyed in the grave and ascended to his glory again ALSO What the Angels are in form and nature and how the Angel became a Devil and that Devil man and that this World was prepared for the Devil so this the Devils Kingdom and what the Soul is with the place of its glory and torment With a brief Narration what a Commission is and how many Commissions there are what the difference of their worships and how that the Law was given to the Devil with a brief discourse on the Catechism the Lords Prayer and the Creeds as also a Divine Prospect to the Elect of the Lord. Written by Law Claxton the onely true Bishop and faithful Messenger of Christ Jesus Creator of Heaven and earth London Printed for the Author and are to be sold by William Learner at the Blackmoor near Fleet-bridge 1660. INDEX Chap. 1. SHewing whether God be a Spirit without á body or that God is a body of flesh and bone glorified Chap. 2. Shewing whether the Father became not a Son which Son was Christ and by death became a Father to all Eternity now in heaven glorified Chap. 3. Shewing Christ is the onely God and Father Creator of Heaven and earth now it is to be revealed what God and Father that was and where he was that Christ so often called upon when he was upon earth Chap. 4. Shewing whether the Angels were the first that God created and of what he created them with their nature and form and what was the cause of the Angels fall above all the rest Chap. 5. Shewing whether this World was before the Angels or no and whether this World was made of something or nothing and how it came into form and being and whether it shall for ever thus remain Chap. 6. Shewing of what matter Adams body was created and what was his nature soul or spirit and by what means he came to lose that estate he was created in Chap. 7. Shewing who it was that tempted Eve and Adam whether it was the Angel aforesaid and if so why is he called a Serpent Beast or Tree c. and how and which way they were deceived and what effect it hath ever since produced Chap. 8. Shewing whether Cain was not the first Devil and who are his seed or children and what Devils those were so frequently spoken of in Scripture Chap. 9. Shewing what the soul is and what it is that dyes how that it is none but the soul which is the life of the body that can dye Chap. 10. Shewing what Heaven is and how many heavens there are what the nature and form thereof Chap. 11. Shewing what Hell is and where it is what the form and nature of its torment Chap. 12. Shewing what Authority a Commissioner hath in the vertue of his Commission what the effects and operations thereof Chap. 13. Shewing what the Law is at large and in short and whether any can keep the Law and when he is said to keep the Law and when not Chap. 14. Shewing whether that prayer doth not belong to all and whether by prayer we may come to the knowledge of God and whether it is our duty to make use of the Lords prayer Chap. 15. Shewing whether there be any truth in the faith of the Church of England expressed in the Creeds or Articles recorded Chap. 16. Shewing in eighteen Propositions the invincible mighty great Authority that is intrusted with a Divine Commissioner Also an eternal whip or scourge for the Quakers for belying the Holy Ghost A PARADISTICAL DIALOGUE BETWIXT Faith and Reason Disputing the high Mysterious Secrets of Eternity the like never yet extant in our Revelation CHAP. 1. Shewing whether God be a Spirit without a body or that God is a body of flesh and bone glorified Reason FRiend having such a convenient opportunity to have some conference with you my request is to know your judgement as touching the true God and that the more in this distracted age There are so many opinions concerning him That some holds him forth an Infinite Spirit c. others say Though God be a Spirit yet there are three Persons in the Godhead the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost and these three are one God the same in Substance equal in Power and Glory Now if thou please let me hear what thy judgement is of God Almighty Faith Notwithstanding this hodg-podg it matters not me what thou or all the wise men of the world hold For from the Spirit of Revelation I infallibly against men and Angels affirm That God the Creator of Heaven and earth is in the Person and Form of a man Reason How is it possible that God the Creator of all forms should admit of a form of his own Faith I say unless that Divine heavenly Faith or Nature had a Form or Person of his own he could not have created man after his own form image or likeness Reason Yea I grant God created man after his own image in righteousness and holiness but no otherwise Faith Ah pitiful Soul how thy riches choaks thee and thy wisdom blindes thee from believing in the true God that thou shouldst conceive that righteousness or holiness can be created without a form or didst thou ever read or hear of any holiness in any other creature but man onely so that thou canst not say this or that is holiness without a form and that the form of man above Reason What necessity or what ground can be shown that God who is the Creator of all forms should admit of a form of his own Faith It was the greatest ground of all for if God had not a form of his own it had been in vain to create either Angel or man in his form and that because he created them to behold his glorious person Reason Why cannot the glory of God be seen unless he admit of a Person and what matter of glory can be delighted onely in a single Person for I conceive him more glorious when he is a Spirit without a bosty for then he can fill Heaven and Earth wiâ—h his glory and every creature that he hath made then beholds iâ— in that they enjoy part of it Faith I say no glory can be seen without a Personal Substance nay it cannot bear the title of glory without a body for the glorious Spirit that ever was if it had not a body were nothing at all in that a Spirit cannot be seen so no delight in that which is not for what delight could man have with his wife if she had no person And whereas thou sayest God having a Person cannot fill Heaven and earth with his glory I say without his Person he could fill nothing at all As for instance what glory can there be in a
Spirit also and yet the Nature Soul or Spirit of either God Angel or Man cannot be worshipped without a body for there is no Spirit whether immortal or mortal celestial or terrestial but it hath its own body and that sutable to its own nature as if its Spirit be an immortal glorious Spirit so is his body immortal glorious also and if its Spirit be mortal earthly so is its body mortal earthly also and this I say all bodies whether of God Man or Beast are invisible and seeth that which is without yet it self cannot be seen by any outward sight For who seeth the Spirit of a man save he that hath it So that I say if God were a Spirit without body he could not be seen so not worshipped no more then a Kings Spirit without a body could be honouâ—ed and therefore God being a spiritual body must be worshipped in Spirit And where thou sayest Feel me for a Spirit hath no flesh and bone as ye see me have I say from those words of the Lord Jesus it doth not in the least conclude that a Spirit is not cloathed with flesh and bone for I affirm the Apostles as well as others were dark in many things till Christ was glorified they supposing that Spirits might be seen without bodies and that by the eye of nature therefore Christ walking uâ—on the Sea and appearing among them the Doors and Windows being shut was the main cause of their sudden fear supposing they had seen a Spirit so that for the future and clearer satisfaction Christ tells them a Spirit hath not flesh and bone as ye see me have though I be all Spirit yet feel me and behold my wounds and the print of my nails so that understand a Spirit without flesh and bone cannot be seen or felt unless a spiritual body so that against Angels and all thy Seed I affirm that God that Christ which said to the woman of Samaria God was a Spirit I say that self same Spirit was not in Heaven but in Christs body alone CHAP. 2. Shewing whether the Father became not a Son which which Son was Christ and by death became a Father to all Eternity now in Heaven glorified Reason THou hast told me all along that God hath a body in the form of a man and now thou sayest that the Spirit of God was in Christs body and not in the body of God the Father Where then was the body of God when his Spirit was in Christ Faith I shall affirm that as the Spirit of God was in Christ so the body of Christ was the body of God Creator of Heaven and Earth not two but one yea the very self-same body Reason Oh Friends this is a strange saying indeed that the body of God the Father should be the person of Christ If so how or which way came he down from Heaven to Earth it is so mysterious that it is beyond my reach or understanding Faith What is strange to thee is familiar with me for thou reads and understands not though it is frequently written in Scripture That Eternity was to become time yea immortality was to become mortal which is no less that the Father was to become a Son as it is written The seed of the Woman shall Gen. 3. bruise the head of the Serpent and to Esaiah it was revealed these saâ—ings For unto us a Child is born and unto us a Esay 9. 6. Son is given and his Name shall be called wonderful Counsellour the Mighty God the Everlasting Father the Prince of Peace and again it is written In the beginning was the Joh. 1. 1 2 Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God which Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst men So that I affirm the coming down of the immortal personal God was clouded in those sayings The holy Ghost stall come Luke 1. 35. upon thee and the Power of the Highest shall overshadow thee therefore also the holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God Reason I do not deny the truth of those sayings but do believe that Christ was the Son of God conceived by the holy Ghost but how or which way God was this Son I cannot tell neither do I believe that God did any more unto her then he did unto Adâ—m when he made him a living Soul the Scripture saith He breathed unto him and he became a living Soul So in the same manner I conceive God breathed into Mary and by that breath she conceived the Seed of God in her womb and so she not knowing of man called him the Son of God and not God for God was in Heaven when he was upon Earth Faith From my Seed-spring I say that the Childe that vvas conceived in the vvomb of Mary so called a Son Was the Mighty God the Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace yea that Babe in her vvomb vvas the very God For the Word was God and became flesh and who was the Rower of the Highest that overshadowed Mary but God Creator of Heaven and Earth take notice that the knovvledge of these sayings vvas not to be revealed to thy Seed for saith the Prophet Vnto us yea unto us Prâ—phets and the Messengers of the Lord a Son is given and a Child is born and therefore thou canst not tell hovv God the Creator should become a Son and Saviour but imagines God as he vvas a Spirit breathed into her vvomb as he breathed into Adam and so by that breath she conceived a man-child as touching this I tell thee there is great difference of a living and a dying Seed for by that breath Adam became life and by her overshadovving she vvas not made alive but had a conception in her living vvomb novv there can be no conception vvithout a Seed and that Seed must first dye before iâ— quicken to life again as it is vvritten Before the Wheat grain dye it abideth alone So that against Angels above and all their Seed belovv I affirm as from the Scriptures before is proved that God the Creator in the form of a man vvho is the onely Povver of the Highest did descend from his Throne and Kingdom as svvift as thought and his vvhole body pierced through her secrets in a Trance and in a momeâ—t dissolved into Seed and there died from an immortal Father and quickned there to a mortal Son of flesh blood and bone so called Christ Jesus the Saviour of the world Reason Oh admiration this is a report of astonishment that for my part I never never read or by the hearing of the ear ever heard till now that God in the form of a man should as thou sayest vvith that form descend from Heaven and for ought I knovv of as large proportion and bigness as thy self enter the vvomb of Mary and the greatest vvonder of all is that God vvith a body as big as thine should descend like lightning from Heaven and
pierce through her secrets as thou sayest in a moment and yet not be seen by any nor she stand amazed yea trembling in fear at so sudden appearance and dissolution of this svvift motional substance into her body for my part I cannot understand it neither vvill Scripture prove it so cannot believe it Faith Well may his dissolution into the vvomb cause admiration vvhen at his birth vvhich vvas no strange thing there should be such a multitude of Heavenly Host rejoicing vvith such Heavenly Harmonies that the Shepherd vvere amazed vvith fear yea a vvonder it vvas to them that heard of it far and near vvhich if there had not been a conception more than ordinary the birth of that conception had not caused such astonishment round about but novv God vvas become a Child yea Eternity become time and for a season to dvvell among his Creation and therefore if thou knevv that the body of God vâ—â—s of a bright glorious Chrystal soft thin transparent substance swifter than thought who at his Divine pleasure can transmute himself as high or as low and into as a straight a passage as can be thought on then thou wouldst cease reasoning and believe what I speak to thee that the body of God consisting of such Divine Spiritual and Heavenly matter as aforesaid could without the sight of any descend from Heaven to Mary And why or wherefore should she be amazed when she had tidings of what should be before Neither was his dissolution any prejudice at all to her but raptures of joy springing up in her Soul to her Eternal comfort Reason What then was all the God that created Heaven and Earth in the womb of Mary and was that the very God that was born in a Manger that was swadled suckled and dandled upon the knees and carried up and down the Countrey in the Armes of his Mother was this God the Father that created all things that now hath life in them that once could not go nor feed himself but be led and fed by its creature As unto this answer me plainly and really what is thy thought on this great mysterious Mystery Faith From the Spirit of Revelation I tell thee that was the very God that the Wise Men went to worship and that Herod did seek to kill was the very Godhead Spirit or Life of that Christ Jesus so that Pauls Revelation told him The fulness of the Godhead dwelt in Christs body and God Col. 2. 9. was in Christ reconciling the world with many such places and therefore the words that Christ spake was Spirit and Joh 8. 24. Life and again saith Christ Exept ye believe that I am he ye shall dye in your sins So that if the Eternal Godhead had not sprung up this Revelation he could not have uttered those sayings as his own Reason However thou hast quoted some certain places that confirm what thou sayest yet I cannot find but all along as I read God and Christ is two and not one so that there was a God in Heaven when Christ was upon earth and me thinks it is contrary to reason that God which created all Creatures should walk talk eat and drink with them and be affronted by them and as it were have his livelyhood by them that he created Faith Well Friend think of it what thou pleasest yet this I 'le assure thee that God and Christ is not two but one For what necessity was there for God to have a Son Surely if it were as thou sayest either God was in process of time to dye and so make his Son Heir or else he wanted a Companion to keep him Company if not so then the world was too great and so got a Son to assist him yet however I tell thee there never was but one God And surely then he that died for us must save us and if Christ be our Saviour then he must be our Creator and yet what striving here is for two Gods when in the beginning of Moses and the Prophets we read but of One as it is written Isaiah 4. 10 11. Before me there was no God formed neither shall there be after I even I am the Lord and besides me there is no Saviour and then confirms it saying Neither is there Salvation in â—8s 4. 12. any other for there is none other Name under Heaven given among men whereby we must saved and yet what a flutter thy seed makes about God and Christ so two Gods as though one God should Create and the other God should Save O for shame leave off these things and be silent in thy ignorance for thy seed is so various that some of you will have God a Spirit and Christ the Son a Person and others of you will have three persons and one God and the rest will have no Person at all but an infinite formless Spirit so that from my Revelation I tell thee and all thy seed with thee as by the Prophet Isaiah is proved there never was no God formed before Christ nor never shall be atfer him yet this I know there is three titles but one person which person ever was is and shall be Christ Jesus alone for Christ had the title of God the Father in the Law and the title of God the Son in the Gospel and now God the holy Ghost in this our last commission to which is onely revealed that Christ Jesus is the onely God Reason Then tell me what was that which died in Christ when he was crucified and said now it is finished and gave up the Ghost Faith That was he gave up his Soul to death which Soul was the Eternal Spirit or Godhead Father and therefore it is written He poured out his Soul to death and was offered Heb. 9 14. through the Eternal Spirit So died in mortality and was buried in the grave which Soul Spirit or Godhead in the twinkling of an eye quickned to immortality or spiritual form again Reason If the Creator of Heaven and Earth was that which died in Christ so that the God of all life being then become death How came he or by what means could he be quickned or raised to glory again Faith Yea it was the Soul Spirit that died and was perfectly dead that gave life to all and that life that died in a moment did quicken it self by its ever living Word of Faith spoken before his death that raised him to life saying Joh. 10. 18 I have power to lay down my life and I have power to take it again there being no let or doubt in Faith that could hinder it what it had purpose to do Reason Was all the Power that created Heaven and Earth dead and buried at the very same moment and no power left without Christ to quicken that which was dead within the body of Christ Jesus Faith No more than is in a grain of Wheat and yet that dies and in season quickens again so that there
was no God Spirit Power or Father vvithout the body of Christ to quicken that vvhich vvas vvithin the body of Christ but lay in its pure Seed onely Reason And did that pure Seed vvithout the help of any other povverful life vvithout quicken it self again Faith Yea vvithout the assistance of any without at all for let me tell thee there vvas no such povverful life vvithout the body of Christ as vvas dead vvithin the body of Christ therefore impossible that vvhich received life from Christ should quicken the life of Christ that created it no I say the povver of dying and living again lay in its ovvn nature only so that there vvas neither any infinite Spirit God or Father besides Christ that did quicken the Seed of Christ from death to life in the grave but his ever living Word of Faith spoken before his death I say that pure Heavenly Faith is death in life and life in death and this vvas that vvhich redeemed his Soul from the povver of the grave as it is vvritten O death I will be thy death O grave I will be thy destruction this Povver vvas dead and raised it self from Hos 13. 14 mortality vvith a spiritual body vvithout the help of any other to immortality again Reason Did he raise that same body that he vvas crucified in and buried vvith If not What became of that body and vvith vvhat body did he rise Faith I say Christ did rise vvith the very same body that he vvas Crucified in that same body vvas raised and no other Faith Hovv came it then from a moatal body to an immortal body seeing it was the same body which was capable to dye Hovv could that same body be made capable to live again a life Eternal Faith If the immortal body of God the Father had not died in the vvomb of Mary to a mortal Son of flesh blood and bone he had not been capable to live in this vvorld among his creatures and upon the Cross have died again as a mortal Son he had not been capable to live in that immortal glory from vvhence he came so that Christ as he vvas God tvvice passed through death viz from immortality to mortality and from mortality to immortality again Now to Ansvver hovv that body vvhich vvas made capable to dye vvas made capable to live in glory was thus That which was mortal viz. Water Earth and Air being dead I say that spark of Faith did kindle it self throughout the same form so raised the same body vvithout any of the gross Elements aforesaid so that novv it vvas a body without blood onely the same flesh and bone purified yea refined into a soft thin bright spiritual form swifter then thought so that now having raised it self to the same it was when it descended from Heaven to the womb of Mary now it was able to appear among his disciples as it did in the womb of a woman their windows and doors being shut yea able to ascend to his kingdom of glory from whence he came and so sate on the right hand of his Father or the right hand of the Majesty on high where now he will remain to all eternity CHAP. 3. Shewing Christ is the onely God and Father yea the Creator of heaven and earth now it is to be revealed what God and Father that was and where he was that Christ so often called upon when he was upon earth Reason FRom thy last Answer thou hast raised more objections which I would desire thou wouldest be free to answer and that is if thou canst reveal unto me what God or Father that was and where he was that forbid Joseph in a dream not to turn away his Wife saying That which was conceived in her womb was by the Holy Ghost and when Christ was born who it was that sent the angel with the whole host of heaven singing and praysing of God And when the wise men went to worship Christ that fore-warned them to go into their own countrey another way and told Joseph that he should take the childe with his mother and flee into Egypt and when Herod was dead commanded him to return back again And another time This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased these with many others I could relate which I desire thou wouldest answer seeing thou affirmest Christ was God the Father Faith Though I tell thee yet thou canst not believe me so that I may leave thee excuseless I am made free to speak unto thee and let thee know where it is written that Christ uttered a parable which was to this effect viz. There was a Mark 13. 34. certain man took his journy into a far countrey and set his house in order and gave authority to his servants and bid the Porter watch so that I affirm this parable was concerning his hard and sad journy he was then undertaking now the servants he intrusted with his divine Authority was Moses and Elias they were his porters that were to watch over Christ Jesus the Creator of heaven and earth for it is written before Christ became mortal flesh that there was Angels which Psalm â—1 11. should have charge concerning him which Angels were Moses and Elias and therefore it is written God buried Moses and took up Elias in a fiery chariot which none of the Prophets Exod. 20. 19 1 Kings 17. 2. 2 Kings cap. 1. was so suddenly transmuted into glory as they were and therfore it was for some great design more then ordinary otherwise there had been no necessity of raising them more then any other of the Prophets And then again thou mayest read there was none so much represented the Royal Prerogative Power of a God above as they did here below as at thy leisure read those Scriptures quoted in the Margent Reason Why could not God make use of some of the Angels then in glory to be as thou sayest his Steward or Deputy-father and to watch over his person the time he was upon earth they knowing him and was always obedient to him might as well officiate the place of trust and represented that authority as well as Moses and Elâ—as Faith Why or wherefore God was necessitated to take up Moses and Elias was as in these ensuing particulars will appear First because Elias was the Seed of Gods own nature and so are none of the Angels therefore not safe for God to trust a contrary Seed they being but pure reason when as the nature of Moses and Elias was Faith so that God knew it was impossible they should falsifie their trust committed to them Secondly if God had left the Angels to take care over him then had Christ in his infancy perished by the hands of Herod in that the Angels are not able to subsist one day without the revelation of the person of Christ therefore he being here below they would have brought all to confusion above as also Christ had not been preserved his
temptation whatsoever though it was in a house of clay Faith Again and again against all thy seed I affirm that the soul of Adam was onely of the divine nature in its creation yet because it was one essence with a body that was taken out of dust it was both probable and capable to be thought into a condition of entering dust again and that for these ensuing particulars First to fullfil these Scriptures saying In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt die the death And in the sweat of thy Gen. 3. 19. face thou shalt eat thy bread till thou return to the earth for out of it thou wast taken because thou art dust and to dust thou shalt return again Secondly if the body of Adam had been immortal in his creation as well as his soul he would not onely have been uncapable of natural generation but also he would have been uncapable of any transmutation whatsoever and where then had been the prerogative power of infinite wisdom and transcendent glory of the Creator ever been seen or known by angels or men And therefore it was Adam knew not whether he should stand or fall from his present state or no neither did he know what power he was indued withal in his created purity neither did he know any greater glory but what then at present he enjoyed so that if Adam had known that he had power in his own will to preserve himself in his present condition thou mayest be sure if he could have kept himself in that blessed state he would never have lost it for making use of all the power that was in him to have resisted a temptation unto rebellion in which he knew there was a threatning of a loss of that created glory he enjoyed as aforesaid CHAP. 7. Shewing who it was that tempted Adam and who it was that tempted Eve whether it was the Angel aforesaid and if so why he is called a Serpent a Tree c. and how and which way they were deceived and what effects it hath ever sinee produced Reason HOwever I cannot believe whatever thou hast related as touching these things yet tell me who it was and by what means Adam was deceived Faith I say though the Soul of Adam was Divine and free from all kinde of rationality so could not possibly have any desire in him after any carnal copulation with his Wife for I know that carnal pleasures were too low for a spiritual Soul whose nature was variety of Divine satisfaction in it self and therefore the woman Eve through the permission of God was first guilty of the transgression of lust and so tempted her innocent Husband to lye with her if possible to cover her folly And now from the Lord I say that the carnal I desire in her towards her Husband proceeded not from her Divine purity but from the rational nature of the unclean Serpent within her Reason Now I understand that thou makest Faith and Reason two contraries as fire and water so that from hence I understand that Seed thou callest Faith hath no desire but that all desire doth onely 〈◊〉 from Reason al he Faith Whether thou understand or â—o yet this I shall reveal to thee that God is now a body of flesh and bone glorified with all Divine spiritual Heavenly Faith and no Reason as aforesaid for â— so â— God himself woâ—ld be subject to transmutation as man and so full of unsatisfaction that all his transactions would be iâ—perfect and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Reason Seeing thou 〈◊〉 God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 iâ— him â—â— How comes it then that God saith Come now lets reason together saith the Lord c Now if there were no Reason in God Isaiah 1. How could he have reasoned with the Rulers of Israel Faith Oh! that thou could but see how thy ignorance blinds thee from the true understanding of any Scripture as to think that God in his person should Reason with them when thou reads it was none but the Prophet Isaiah who from the Revelation of Faith in his own Soul reasoned the cause with them as from the Lord for I tell thee and all blind Quakers Reason with thee that if God were not of a nature contrary to the nature of Angels and men there could have been nothing created nor preserved in their form and order as now they are and this I know that Faith can take up the words of Reason though not inherent in it as Reason to take the vvords of Faith though not experienced in it Reason What then was that Reason which deceived Eve or was it an Apple or a Serpent for the woman said the Serpent beguiled me and I did eat Now if thou canst tell me what it was that deceived Eve Faith Though I tell thee thou canst not believe yet thou mayest read That the great Dragon the old Serpent called the Devil and Satan which deceiveth the world he was cast out into the earth therefore it is written Wo unto the Inhabiters of Rev. 12. 12 13. the earth for the Devil is come down among you So that from my Seed-spring I say that Angelical Serpent which I have discoursed with thee in the 4th Chapter was that which deceived Eve Reason I cannot find in Scripture that was an Angel which deceived Eve though I confess the Scripture saith there was an Angel cast down but for what I know not for it is written Thou shalt not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and in another place it is said a Serpent beguiled her not in the least relating it was an Angel so that I believe it was one of the beasts of the field which the Lord God had made and the Devil was an invisible spirit vvhich entered into the body of the Serpent and spake those subtile expressions through his mouth and so caused the vvoman to eat of the fruit of a natural Tree vvhich the Lord God had forbidden and tempting her Husband to eat of the fruit vvith her it operated that venemous evil in them and all man-kinde Faith Oh! the gross darkness that lodgeth in the spirits of the learned and unlearned of thy seed not knovving the Scriptures are generally expressed in natural terms for the manifestation of spiritual things and yet the learned of thy seed vvould persvvade men exactly to understand them in the Letter because thou measurest the glorious things of Eternity by thy rational learning vvhen thou maist read that the seed of the Devil are sometimes called by the name of Devils Dragons Vipers Serpents fruitless Trees and such like so this Angelical reprobate by vvhom Eve vvas deceived vvas called the Dragon an old Serpent the Devil Satan the Deceiver or the Tree of knowledge of good and evil and such like names sutable to his cursed nature so in truth I say that Serpent that tempted Eve vvas that Angelical Dragon-Devil aforesaid vvhich God from the highest Heavens cast down to this lowest earth and it was his seeming Divine
for he that loveth anâ—ther hath fulfilled the Law And true it is when rightly considered the efficacy of spiritual love it is of so pure and holy a nature that it cannot possibly do any impure or unholy thing when it is moved to manifest it self according to its Divine Property it naturally produceth all Heavenly excellency in the Elect of the Lord Love delights to Lord over none but be servant to all and gives every one preheminence before it self and therefore it truly Honors its Parents Love is so far from envy that instead of killing of any it lieth down at envies feet to be killed of him yea it stayeth envy by its patience and meekness and therefore saith Paul Our weapons are not carnal 2 Cor. 10. 3 4. but spiritual Not a sword of steel but a sword of love Oh! the Revelation of faith teacheth his to flay none but with love nay love is that Divine balsom that it cureth all wounds made by envies weapons Love is so sincere That it will not do that to another that would not another should do to it And therefore it will not commit adultery nor wrong any though it might have many an opportunity to defraud and cozen another it will rather want before it will steal In this love there is no equivocation it will not backbite or stain anothers reputation as it is written Love worketh no Rom. 13. 9. ill to its neighbour and therefore would rather die then bear false witness against either friend or enemy Also this love is generous full of pâ—ty and mercie That it cloathes the naked feeds the hungry visiteth the sick in prison and out of prison Nay this love is so pure that it enjoys it self no longer then it is doing good to others and therefore it will not covet his neighbours house his neighbours wife his mâ—n servant or maid servant his ox or his ass or any thing that is his neighbours so that I tell thee there is none of thy seed but for want of this love breaks the Laws and in some things therein confirms it by authority so that by this I love my neighbor as my self Now my neighbours are the Believers of our Commission that hath faith in our Revelation as it is written Brethren Gal. 5 13. ye have been called unto liberty onely use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh but by love serve one another for all the Law is fulfilled in one word even in this Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self For love is the fruit of the Spirit so that all believers are neighbours and therefore it is vvritten Let brotherly love continue love the brotherhood love as brethren This loving our neighbour as our self is life in death as John saith We know that we have passed from death unto life because 1 John 3. 14. we love our neighbours or our brethren Novv the great Commandment is To love God with all thy heart and with all thy soul Novv if thou canst not love thy neighbour that thou hast seen hovv then canst thou love God thou never savvest For what I have seen and heard I declare unto thee that vvithout knovvledge their can be no love and yet vvhat vain repetitions thy Seed makes to a God ye knovv not As I said before so I say again Though some of thy Seed keeps some of the Commandments nay if possible keep all yet in that thou art ignorant of the true God and so Worship another God thou art guilty of all CHAP. 15. Shewing whether Prayer doth not belong to all and that by Prayer we may come to the knowledge of God and whether it is our duty to make use of the Lords Prayer or no. Reason THou seemest to say in thy last That without the knowledge of God no man can love God and so all that he doth is sin What then shall not a man that is ignorant of God pray unto God for knowledge of him otherwise how shall a soul love God and to that end there are many Exhortations Mat. 6. 9 to prayer and that especially the Lords prayer which there we are taught the form and manner thereof as it is written Our Father which art in Heaven hallowed be thy name thy Kingdom come thy will be done in earth Luk. 11. 2. as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever Amen As I have said before concerning the Sabbath That every Commission in its time and place is to be considered That according to their Revelation so was their Worship but I know the Revelation of the Apostles led them forth to prayer and therefore in their Commission it was requisite and their duty so to do Also the form of these words was directed to the Disciples but none of thy Seed whatsoever for I should blaspheme to say That Christ uttered these sayings for the instruction of thy Seed when he saith your Father is the Devil as it is written Ye are of your Father the Devil Joh. 8. 44. and the lust of your Father ye will do so that this Prayer belongs to none but the Disciples After this manner therefore Gal. 4. 6. pray ye yea ye the beloved of the Lord and sons of the Father as it is written Because ye are sons God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son by which you cry Abba Father Now were this set form to be used in these days as I cannot finde that to them to whom it was spoken never made use of that form after yet I say if it were it onely belongs to sons who are believers of a Commission so that I say it belonged to none but us in that by the Revelation of our faith we know the Father that is in Heaven both in form and nature and none but we and therefore as we are sons and not servants we can with joy and peace of conscience say Our Father which art in Heaven whereas your Seed being but servants and no sons may take shame and confusion of face as for a man of quality to have another mans childe in the market-place ask him blessing and call him Father What would his friends think of him judge thou So your Seed that are bastards and not sons when you come in your publique Worships what a babling you make thinking to be Isa 1. 15. heard for your much speaking when he hears you not nor knows you not neither doth he in the least take notice of your fasts nor your tears they are all vain repetitions of no more account then the barking of a Dog or the wallowing of the Sow in the mire From the Lord I speak it they are not Reason What then must we not pray at all though we use not those form of words Yet I believe as
occasion is offered and as we are moved in our hearts so we ought to pray To that end the Scripture holds forth a thousand examples of which I shall but instance one or two viz. Call upon me in Psa 50. 15 the day of trouble and I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorifie me Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are and Jam. 5. 17 he prayed earnestly that it might not rain and it rained not on the earth for the space of three years and six moneths Faith Ah blinde soul What a hodge podge thou makest of Scripture as to think that the sayings of David and the prophesie of Elâ—as and the Apostles belongs to thee when I know thee the son of Bâ—lial the Seed of the Serpent and they the true Prophets and Messengers of the Lord so had a command for what they did do but thou hast no command to declare the Statutes of the Lord or take his Covenant in thy mouth for all thy prayers are abomination and such as thee God will not hear and yet you cry that you are sent of the Lord and thus and thus saith the Lord when ye know not the Lord in his form and nature and yet you would have his Kingdom come when you neither know the nature of it nor where it is supposing his Kingdom is in this World and yet he saith My Kingdom is not of this World then you pray that his will may be done on earth as it is in heaven and yet what in you lieth you pray that his will may not be done for the will of God is that all the Seed of Reason shall be damned and none but the Seed of Faith saved and yet you pray that all may be saved when it is written He will Rom. 8. 13. have mercy on whom he will have mercy and whom he will he will damn So that you pray you know not for what and then you desire God to forgive you your trespasses as you do forgive them that trespass against you Oh friend were God as thou sayest and that he should hear thee then this I tell thee instead of forgiving thee he must of necessitie consume the best of you in a moment As do but observe the transactions of thy Seed in these daies you pray fast and weep that God would forgive you as you forgive another well according to your prayer so it shall be for instead of forgiving you backbite persecute imprison and put to death even so shall ye be dealt withal nay you are of such a cursed Seed that you will not shew mercie to them that have shewn mercie to you you will not give them libertie that when others had the day over you they gave you your libertie I speak this to the shame of thee and all thy Seed and then you pray and cheat you pray and tyrannize you pray with your tongues and murther with your hands and yet such Hypocrites as thy Seed are most professors and supposed most believers and most pretended Saints and most of you hopes to be saved and yet as I have said ye are all of the Seed of the damned and have no knowledge of the true God at all So that from my Seed-spring I speak it There is neither thou nor the wisest Gifted head-piece of thy Seed that can experimentallie say that God ever heard any of your prayers Isa 1. 15. recollect your thoughts either in publique or private that ever God gave thee an answer to any petition thou requested of him It may be thou hast found in thy soul more satisfaction one time then another insomuch that thou hast wept for joy but deal plainly didst thou ever hear God verbally speak with thee as he did to the two former Commissions and now in this our last sure I am thou never didst and therefore minde what I say all whisperings or inward movings of the Spirit as thou callest it are nothing else but Reasons imagination that God hears thee and answers thee for alas poor soul though I know it is the Seed of Faith at certain times springing up ravishing joys in believing the true God not within me but without me yet this I know God hears me not and sure I am if God ever heard any he would hear me but when I consider how vainly you are acted forth to make use of an Inâ—â—nite nothing to do all things for you it discovers what you are even blinde leaders of the blinde just as a horse in a mill goes round even so do ye bearing the aire as though ye had done something when indeed ye have done nothing at all as at the hour of death doth manifest What praying and crying out Lord save me when in your health ye pretended assurance of salvation and now at the point of death ye know not what shall become of your souls so that in truth I speak it you are ever praying and yet have never perfect assurance of what you pray for as it is written ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth Now though I never pray yet my faith being in continual prayer I have nothing to do at death but yield up my Soul to the power thereof for a moment knowing that when he appears I shall appear with him in endless Glory without the least let or doubt whatsoever at which time thou being in doubts and fears calls upon a God that is no God neither hast thou faith in what thou sayest but a meer tradition that moves thee when thou neither knowest what thou sayest nor to whom thou speakest but at the very time of prayer thy heart is either plotting mischief or coveting the riches honour and glory of this world and so contents thy self with vain lip-labour as it is written These people honour Isa 29. 13. me with their lips but their hearts is far from me CHAP. 16. Shewing whether there be any truth in the Faith of the Church of England expressed in the Creeds or Articles recorded Reason WHat dost thou conceive or what is thy thoughts concerning the Faith of the Church of England expressed in their Creeds but especially that of Athenasius Faith I shall in brief tell thee That they are a rapsido of non-sense yea that which thy Seed calls blasphemy as shall in these ensuing words appear And that I may not be over tedious I shall reduce them into three heads verbatim as they lie provided thou wilt from the first of them shew what is thy faith in them Reason My Faith is this That we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Vnity neither confounding the Persons nor dividing the Substance for there is one Person of the Father another of the Son another of the Holy Ghost yet the Godhead of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Ghost is all one the glory equal the majestie co-eternal such as the Father is such is the Son and such
there is no creature believing God a reasonable soul that shall have true peace here or glory hereafter as is confirmed in these Scriptures Being justified by faith we have Rom. 5 1. Hebr. 10 22. Heb. 11. 6. peace in God and again Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith and without faith it is unpossible to please God I say if God had but a reasonable soul vvhat matter for faith for by reason vve may have peace in God and in reasons belief thou mayest please God But alas poor blinde souls for vvant of this precious seed of faith thou canst not knovv God in form and nature so not believe him as he is 2. Secondly as there is no satisfaction so there is no povver in reason as there is in faith as it is vvritten I say unto you Maâ— 17. 20. if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed ye shall say unto this Mountaâ—n Remove hence to yonder place and it shall remove and nothing shall be unpossible to you By faith God framed the Worlds by faith Abels sacrifice was accepâ—ed with God by faith Noah was warned of God by faith Sarah belâ—eved by faith Abrâ—ham Hâ—b 11. offered up his son Isaac by faith Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh by faith fire was quenchâ—d the Lyons mouthes stopped the prison doors opened So by faith I knoâ— that Christ is the Everlasting Father by faith I knovv the soul of Christ is all faith and no reason by faith I knovv it vvas his pure Soul or Godhead Father in Christ that dyed and by his own power quickned himself again by faith I know that God in this our last Commission spake to John â—eeve as he spake to Moses and Paul O what a powerful Seed is faith that kills sin kills the Devil yea kills death nay what a high gloss doth the Lord of glory stamp upon faith and not so much as taking notice of reason at all and yet blinde reason the Devil will have God a reasonable soul O if not for fear yet for shame desist thy damned belief and from me observe the Soul of Christ is all Divine Heavenly faith which none shall know what God in his Form and Nature is but he whose faith is Lord over reason in this life Reason If the Soul or Nature of God be not pure reason how comes it then that God saith Come now let us reason together Isa 1. 18. saith the Lord c. which if his Nature as thou saith were all Divine Heavenly faith and not reason I conceive God could not have reasoned the case with them Faith O the gross darkness of reason that cannot understand that it was not the Lord from his own mouth that reasoned the case with them but the Prophet Isaiah for this by faith I know that God never reasoned with any but the Commissionate Prophets whose Seed is of his own Nature and in the vertue of that Commission are Ambassadors in Gods stead to reason the case with them for this I know that faith can take up the words of faith though faith speaks powerfully and infallibly when as reason speaks but dubiously and doubtfully Reason Is it not strange that reason should be the Governour of this World as thou hast formerly expressed and hath by its wisdom erected things in such a glorious form and order as now they are and yet should not be a Seed satisfactory in it self How comes it then that the Governours thereof taketh so much delight and pleasure in this World if man were not satisfied in the affairs of his life surely I cannot see but there is as much satisfaction in reason as in faith for I conceive men endued with reason have more content then men endued with faith Faith Now thou hast raised an Objection that thy experience may silence thee in the various transactions of this bloody World that the mutability thereof floweth from the nature of that Seed reason as instance the grand mutations of thy Kingdom When you had a King before you were not therewith satisfied but cryed out no Bishop no King and through much bloodshed you attained reasons desire for know this faith will shed no blood and therefore observe it is the Seed of reason divided against it self and then reason hunted the King like a Patridge till you had your desire accomplished and when you got victory over the Kings Army then the Bells rung and Bonfires made yea days of thanksgiving kept for joy and now you are unsatisfied for a King again and reason improved all its subtilty to attain its desire and then for joy of that which formerly it killed the bells rung the fire flamed oathes were sworn and healths were drunk till you could not stand to the destruction of your own souls and therefore I say there is no satisfaction in reason let it be never so rich or great in this its Kingdom that it is cloathed with crowns of Gold and deckt with Pearls and Diamonds and attendee with variety of Servants yet in all this reason is not satisfied but sometimes it would enjoy more honour and joys of this World and then it is afraid it shall lose all its honour pleasure and delight that it formerly enjoyed So that I say there is not from the King upon his Throne to the Beggar in the straw whose reason is Lord over faith that hath any true satisfaction at all For alas Solomon tâ—e greatest of all found no real content but cryed out all that he had enjoyed was vanity So that reason in the purest sense is compared to the bottomless pit that hath no end of its imagination and yet such Devils as thee will have God a reasonable Soul when in my Revelâ—tion thou hast heard there is no durable satisfaction at all in reason but faith alone for faith hath a foundation and can limit it self to a small compass yet be really contented without the glory of this World at all knowing this is but mortal and must perish in the desire thereof and therefore faith is satisfied in that it lays holds on that which is Immortal Eternal and shal never perish no more then God himself so that for all thy Kingdom with the glory here below my faith will have nothing to do with thy powers thy trading thy great joy and delight in that they must all vanish as the smoak in the ayre for the delight of my soul is in that glory and riches on the other side of death which is eternal and shall never perish world without end which neither thou nor none of thy Seed shall never see nor in the least measure enjoy But then 3. Thirdly Thou believest in the Holy Ghost the Lord and giver of life which proceedeth from the Father and the Son who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified c. As unto this I know thou hast no ground in Scripture to Answ prove the
though dead five thousand three hundred years ago yet at the day of our glorious Gods appearance each seed or soul shall arise with bodies suitable to their natures that soul or seed of faith that believed in our Commission shall ascend to meet its Saviour in the ayre and that soul or seed of Reason that despised our Commission shall arise a spiritual body upon this earth tormented to all Eternity 16. It is to be believed That the Kingdom of glory where Christ the onely God his Elect Saints and Angel doth and shall inhabit to all eternity is non-globical where God and his mighty Angels can at their pleasure with their bodies fly as swift as thought ten thousand miles in a moment and when he pleaseth God can stand sit lie in as narrow a compass as my self for none but our Revelation knows that there is an immortal Earth Sea Fish Fouls Beasts Hearbs Trees yea all things immortal glorious there as they are mortal deformed here and all this for the contemplation of God his Elect Saints and Angels to whom let all ye that have or shall have belief in our Commission so living and so dying in the truth of our Revelation sing praise glory and honour that ye shall see and enjoy what now ye do believe as touching our Commission 17. It is to be believed that certain men and women have and will seeingly come to the belief of our Commission insomuch that they have rejoyced in it contended for it yea have said they desired to depart this life in the belief of it and yet being according to birth the seed of Reason and not the seed of Faith in time of persecution riches glory and honour of this world fell away to their eternal perdition as I could name some but wo wo for as sure as Christ is God they shall never see that glorious Kingdom aforesaid 18. And lastly it is seriously by you to be observed That by believing the truth of what I write you will finde great satisfaction when I am taken from you that as this is the last Commission so the the the truth yea the onely truth that shall remain to the end of this bloody unbelieving world to reminde you of this one thing that it is not to be expected many to come to believe a Commission as to a notional dispensation for in the two former Commissions they cryed out Two of a Tribe one of a City so few in their Commissions that the Prophet Elâ—jah said I even I onely am left and they seek my life to take it aâ—ay and then saith Isaiah Who hath belâ—eved â—ur report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed So few that in the time of Christ at his sayings they were so hard to be understood that there fell away 70 at one time nay none stuck to him but the Apostles and a few more And then in the second Commission there was so few that really believed that sometimes Paul had but two or three stood by him in the faith And now in this our last they are so few that they are not worth the numbering among the multitude of notional Churches and therefore forget not that saying of Christ Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life and few there be that finde it But herein comfort your selves that those few of you that really enters in shall feel yea see and behold your God face to face yea sing out triumphing voyces of joy with eternal harmonies of divine musick for ever yea for ever in that glorious Kingdom aforesaid prepared for Christ your God and you his Elect Saints with the Elected Angels world without end so that ye shall sit stand lie walk go flie at your pleasure having nothing to say but glory here is the height of glory in the presence of our Saviour yea an endless glory without end These twenty particulars underneath asserted in the Quakers Downfal by Scripture proved and in that Revelation infallibly confirmed that Law Claxton the onely Bishop and true Messenger of our last Commission doth in the death of his soul seal them a real truth in confutation to the Quakers blinde Reasons imagination which are as followeth 1. That faith shall dye in the heel and reason in the head 2. That the Angel did descend into the womb of Eve 3. That a spirit cannot live without a body p 28. 4. That we and our God are cursed to all eternity p. 28. 5. That Christ or God is above the Stars with a body of flesh and bones 6. That God that Christ said was a spirit the meaning of his Revelation was that his invisible soul was that God or spirit abiding onely in his person p. â—9 7. Thaâ—â—eason is the seed of the Serpent 8. That by faith reason shall be kept in eternal death 9. That God gave Faith â—easâ—n and Sense but onâ—e 10. And that Faith Reason and Sense have in all generated in its kinde form and nature as in p 40. 11 That the Devâ—ls Kingdom and Reasons Kingdom are one 12. That God doth damn as well as save and that not for any evil thing done as he hath asserted in p. 58. 13. That we acknowledge no other God but what was within us 14. And that we conceive this God was an infinite nothing and so made all things of nothing 15. That the light in us is darkness 16. That an Infinite Spirit without a body is nothing 17. That we say God hath no form 18. That all the time Paul was cloathed with a corrupt persecuting spirit he was a vessel of honour in the account of God 19. That God is all Faith and no Reason and that Reason is of the Nature of the Devil p. 31. 20. That it was the wisdom of the flesh that made a chief Magistrate as in p. 36. In the next place I return as the Majestie of Christ the onely God in condemnation of your Diabolical perjâ—red lies against the holy Spirit of the nature of the most high God now revealed in us his last powerful infallible Prophets and Messengers of his eternal Majestie in the highest Heavens brought upon record in our Revelation as in your Reasons libel verbatim are asserted by that son of perdition J. Harwood 1. L. C. said He would prove God to be a man flesh and bones as we are Now ye the Believers of our Commission take notice that of which of these twelve particulars before quoted you by my pen finde silence we own as eternal truth but the rest that I set my pen against was not our words but Reason the Devil-lying imagination by those aforesaid Quakers as do but observe and thou mayest discern how I binde them hand and foot from their supposed light yet real darkness as seriously minde the first forged lie 3. L. C. said He had nothing of God in him and many other places nought of God in him Answ That you the blessed of the Lord may know