Jewish Church against sanctifying of the Lords Sabbath justifying his disciples in plucking ears of corn thereon whereas their fore-fathers the Jews were not so much as to gather Manna on that day against fasting and prayer for he justified his disciples in that they did not fast and pray as John did saying how could they while the bride-groom was with them Mat. 9.15 and consider which way the Jews in the state they stood could understand such an answer as this to rest sastified therewith 6. They excepted against his Miracles partly because he did them on the Sabbath day John 9.16 whereupon they concluded he could not be of God for if he had been of God he would have observed the day which God commanded if he wrought them not by the power of God by whose power then must he work them So they concluded He casteth out Devils through the Prince of Devils Mat. 9.34 he hath Belzebub and by the Prince of Devils casteth he out Devils Mark 3.32 and having thus concluded in themselves there was no ear open in them to hear any thing that might be said to the contrary And again partly because he did not answer their wils in giving them such a sign as they required for this was still their tone Master we would see a sign from thee Mat. 12.38 what sign shewest thou unto us seeing that thou dost these things John 2.18 and they more particularly express what sign they would have they would have a sign from heaven Luke 11.18 What sign shewest thou that we may see and beleeve thee John 6.30 We are ready to be convinced we are ready to beleeve If thou would give us sufficient ground of beleiving in thee As for all thy healing people and casting out Devils Belzebub the Prince of Devils may furnish thee with power therewith to deceive and bewitch us from the Law and Ordinances of Moses which we are sure are of God but shew us a sign from heaven or else blame us not for not leaving Moses to run after thee 7. They excepted at the Testimony which the Spirit of God in him gave concerning him When he spake the inward Testimony which the spirit of God gave from within saying I am the light of the world he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life John 8.13 they presently cried out thou bearest record of thy self thy record is not true verse 14. mark his answer It is written in your law that the Testimony of two men is true I am one that bear witness of my self and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me verse 17.18 How would such an answer pass now in these dayes though the same life should speak it would not the wise professors of this age even hoot at it yet the thing is known at this day even the life which the Father begets and the Fathers testifying of it and with it and thou that readest this mightest know it couldest thou wait in the loss of thine own life wisdome and knowledg for it 8. They excepted against his disciples and followers which were women Publicans and sinners the common people yea the meanest the poorest and most Ignorant in their account who were fittest to be deluded and led away Are ye also deceived Have any of the Rulers or of the Pharisees beleeved on him but this people who knoweth not the law are cursed John 7.47 48 49. the common people the ignorant people the unsetled people such as know not the law such as understand not the Scriptures they run after him and cry him up but which of the Setled ones which of the truly Zealous ones which of the Wise men in the knowledge of the Law and Prophets which of the orthodox Scribes and Pharisees who keep close to Moses which of these beleeve in him whom of them can he deceive As for the heady people who for want of knowledge of the Scriptures are ready to run after every new fangle they are not worth the minding they are accursed and therefore no marvel though God give them up to follow this deceiver to cry up his new Light and forsake the good old Light of Moses the Prophets 9. They excepted against him that he did not rebuke his disciples and the multitude spreading their garments cutting down branches from the trees and strowing them in the way with the children that cried Hosanna to him as he rode on the Asse Colt to Jerusalem but he rather justified them Luke 19.31 and Mat 21.15 16. what a ridiculous and vainglorious peice of pageantry would this seem to the fleshly wise eye 10. That he did not shew sufficient authority for what he did By what authority dost thou these things and who gave thee this authority c. Mark 11.28 Thou takest upon thee great authority over the people of God over their Teachers yea over Gods Temple Sabbath and Ordinances but where 's thy authority so to do Shew us that c. 11. They excepted when he spoke of his sufferings and death We have heard in our Law that Christ abideth for ever and how saist thou the Son of Man must be lift up Who is the son of man John 12.34 Sure he that is to be lift up cannot be the Christ which is to abide for ever and not to die So that here in one breath thou hast overthrown all that thou hast been setting up by thy Preaching and Miracles Now which way could they understand this thing Nay the very Disciples themselves could not swallow it but were startled at it and Christ was fain to hide it a long time from them And yet if there be any thing held forth now in these dayes by the same spirit as concerning light and perfection or other truths which are seen in the spirit because men cannot apprehend them with their carnal understanding and make them agree with their carnal knowledge of the Scriptures what liberty do they take to themselves to speak both against the truth it self and also against them who have seen these things in the spirit and speak them from the spirit Now whosoever becomes a Disciple must wait in the obedience to know the doctrine and not think to enter with that wisdome and carnal reasoning from Scriptures which the Scribes and Pharisees and Professors of that age were shut out with There were many other things which they could not but except against as at his answers to their questions to which sometimes he was silent and gave no answer at all At other times he answered not directly but in Parables and how offensive is this to mans wisdome who requires a positive and direct answer And sometimes his answers might seem quite from the thing as John 12.34 35. His not giving respect to persons for it was a known thing of him that he regarded not mens persons Mat. 22.16 could not be very pleasing to them who loved greetings and sought honor one of
him back to Pilate Luke 23.9 10 11. Pilate professed that he could not find him guilty of this second charge neither of perverting the people vers. 14. therefore chastising him he would release him vers. 16. But the people by the perswasion of the chief Priests and Elders cried all at once Away with this man and release unto us Barbas vers. 18. but let him be crucified crucifie him crucifie him vers. 21. c. Now when Pilate had scourged him and the Souldiers had stripped him and put on him a Scarlet Robe and had put a Crown of platted Thornes on his head and a Reed in his right hand and had bowed the knee to him in Mockery and spit on him and smote him with a Reed he brings him forth to them again hoping this might appease there malice and they might be content to spare his being crucified They tell him they have a Law and by their Law he ought to dye because he made himself the Son of God John 19. vers. 4. to 8. see how they turn and wind every way to make the innocent an offender and to make some Law of one kind or other take hold of him But when all their accusations would not prevail with Pilate but still from the sense of his innocency he had a mind to release him they use another subtile artifice telling him if he let this man go he was not Caesars friend John 19.12 This carries it with Pilate now he disputes no further but delivers him up to their will Luke 23.5 Now thou who readest this take heed of judging the Jews for all this wickedness while the same nature is alive in thee which did all this in them for assuredly thou in whom that nature which did it in them is not subdued wouldst have done the same thing hadst thou lived in those dayes Thou that disdainest and persecutest the appearance of Christ in this age whuldst have disdained have persecuted his appearance in that age do not deceive thy Soul The Jews did as little think that ever they should have put a Prophet or any good man to death much less the Messiah as thou canst yea they could blame their Fathers for killing the Prophets and say if they had lived in those dayes they would not have done it and yet dost thou not read what they did The persecuting Spirit was ever blind and could in no age read its evil and bitter nature and its enmity against the life and power Be not thou blind in thy day as they were in theirs and an enemy under pretence of being a friend 4. Another exception or argument against him about the time of his suffering death was that he did not put forth his power to save himself from the cross he saved others let him save himself if he be Christ the chosen of God Luke 23.35 Is it likely that this is the Son of God and that he did so many miracles by the power of God and cannot now save himself from the cross This his suffering death on the Cross did a little stumble some of the Disciples as may appear Luke 24.20 21. and was enough to have overturned the faith of any which stood not in the Spirit and in the power The Souldiers also could mock and manage this argument against him saying If thou be the King of the Jews save thy self Luke 23.37 And they that passed by reviled him wagging their heads and saying Thou that destroyest the Temple and buildest it in three dayes save thy self If thou be the Son of God come down from the Cross Mat. 27.39 40. Likewise the chief Priests with the Scribes and Elders mocked among themselves saying he saved others himself he cannot save Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the Cross that we may see and believe Mark 15.31 32. One of the Thieves also railed on him saying If thou be the Christ save thy self and us Luke 23.39 And when he cryed out to his God Eli Eli c. they derided him This man calleth for Elias let us see whether Elias will come to save him Mat. 27.47 49. And after he was dead the chief Priests and Pharisees spake of him as of a known deceiver vers. 63. And seem in a pious zeal for the Church to take care that there be no further occasion after his death for the reviving and spreading of his deceit and errors vers. 64. Thus the holy one the pure one the just and true one in whose heart and mouth was no guile found was numbred among transgressors accounted a deceiver and put to death as a blasphemer by the zealous priests and professors of that age who were so confident of the righteousness of their cause on the behalf of the Law of Moses and their Sabbaths Temple c. against him that when Pilate washed his hands as clear of his bloud all the people answered and said his bloud be on us and on our children Mat. 27.25 Now let men consider what the great exceptions are which they have against the living appearance of Christ in his Spirit now towards the close of the apostacy and against us his witnesses whom the Lord hath called forth to testifie to his name Many exceptions men have against our Persons our Doctrine our Practises for want of miracles c. Is this generation more wise or just in their exceptions then the former was Consider the main ones a little Their great exceptions against our Doctrine are 1. That we preach up a light within and that he that receiveth that light receiveth a perfect gift and growing up in it groweth up to perfection which in this life through faith and obedience to this light or perfect gift may be attained and the body of sin put off and the new man Christ put on Answ. Indeed we cannot but preach up the light within and declare unto men how great things it hath done for us even that which we could never by any means meet with from any light without And this is perfect and tends to make perfect carrying on its work daily Now he that feels its virtue cannot doubt of its power He that seeth the body of sin daily going off cannot doubt but he may be stripped Indeed if a man strive against sin in his own will and by his own gathered knowledg he cannot get much ground and so it is hard for him to believe perfection But he that feels unity with that which is perfect cannot but acknowledg that it is able to perfect him and in faith and patience is encouraged to hope and wait for it 2. That we deny that Christ which dyed at Jerusalem and his imputed righteousness and set up an inherent righteousness Answ. We know no other Christ then that which dyed at Jerusalem only we confess our cheif knowledg of him is in Spirit And as Christ said in the dayes of his flesh that the way to know his Father was to know him and that he that knew
your former faith ye have some kind of love gentleness and meekness yea but it is but a thing formed by the fleshly wisdome and reasoning but not natural from the living spring not such as ye once felt c. for the true and living eye being shut that which is then best or afterwards attained is held but in the dead part and serves but to feed death 4. The great work and design of the enemy of your Souls is not to steal away the bulk of your knowledg or to draw you from ordinances or duties but to steal the life out of your Spirits This I have experimented from my child-hood I might still have knowledg enough of any kind but that which I wanted was life and I was still sick under all the sorts of knowledge that ever I met with and under all ordinances and duties for want of life The Lord had given my soul a taste of true life whereby I became unsatisfied without it and no manner of knowledge or enjoyment could take me up by the way yea when through extremity I seemed willing to be content with any thing yet still my heart was sick after that one thing which alone could truly ease and satisfie it Now if the enemy can but prevail herein to blind the inward eye and steal away the life within he hath enough Then abound as much as thou wilt in knowledg in zeal in duties in ordinances in reading Scriptures praying meditating c. thou art the surer his hereby and so much the better servant to him for how much the richer thou art in knowledge experiences hopes and assurance without the life and power so much the more acceptable and honourable and useful art thou in his kingdome Therefore see where ye are Is the inward eye open in you do ye know the light within surely he that sees by a light within can hardly speak evil of it or hath the enemy by some of his artifices drawn a vail over that eye wherewith ye once saw in some measure O be not slight in a matter of so great weight O please not your selves with the eye of the perishing wisdome with deaths eye and with deaths knowledge of Scriptures and of the Son of God which speaks great words of the fame of true wisdome but is a stranger and enemy to the thing O life is pretious eternal life is pretious To have the word of God abiding in the heart and to feel the true light giving the true life who can set a value on this Ah do not loose your Souls for a trifle for a little such knowledge of Scriptures as the earthly part can gather This I cannot but exceedingly despise although the Scriptures I truly honour for their testimony of that whereby I live if ye see not the way of life by the inward light which alone can shew it ye loose your Souls If the God of the World hath blinded that eye in you what are all your treasures of wisdome and knowledg What are all your hopes and what will become of you All these sparks of your own kindling from Scripture will not secure you from the bed of sorrow O several sorts of professors why will ye dye with the uncircumcised why will ye go down into the pit among them that know not the Lord But what shall I say to this generation The spiritually-wise foreseeth the storm and hideth himself but the spiritually-foollish run on headily and are punished The cloudes have long been gathering but the sick eye cannot discern the signs and seasons of the times and so because judgment comes not as men expected they grow hard and wear off the the sense wherewith they were somewhat affected at the first threatning of it But assuredly both judgment and mercy hasten and they will come and will not tarry For the same Lord God Almighty which confounded the heathens Babel when their sins and vain confidence was ripe which they built to prevent any future floud For though they once had the true knowledg of God from an inward light Rom. 1.21 yet they soon left that not liking to retain God in their knowledge vers. 28. but running out into imaginations and so building a Babel whereby their foolish hearts became darkned to the light which God had made to shine in them which shewed what might be known of God unto them vers. 19. Yea the Lord God which overthrew the Jews Babel which they had built from their knowledg of the Laws and ordinances of Moses and the Scriptures written to them they running out into imaginations also whereby they likewise thought to prevent the overflowing scourge from coming near them Isa. 28.15 The same God will overthrow the Christians Babel which they have built from the Prophets and Apostles words by their own imaginations and conceivings in the high mindedness out of the fear whereby they think to escape the deluge of eternal wrath for their City also shall be thrown down with violence and shall be found no more at all Revel. 18.21 And the great work oâ— this day is to discover the rottenness of their wall and the untemperedness of the morter wherewith they have dawbed it He that readeth let him understand but the uncircumcised in heart and ears cannot THE END