Proposals for propagation of the GOSPEL Offered to the PARLIAMENT By Capt. ROBERT NORVVOOD THe occasion of my presentment of these at this time is my being charged of Blasphemy or being a Blasphemer at the Committee for propagation of the Gospel by M. Scot Chair-man thereof Quere Whether a Member of the same Committee be not guilty of the same Blasphemy if it be so adjudged Then whether there weer not as much reason for me to propose as for him to receive Proposals But if it shall not be found Blasphemy then Whether M. Scot ought not in Equity and good Coâ—science give open and publike satisfaction for so open and publike an Injury and Scandal That I do and ever did acknowledge both Heaven and Hell and these as distinct as light and darkness all who know me can witness and my Book dedicated to the Parliament intituled Parson Simpson's Excommunication excommunicated where that Subject with the other of the Soul is discoursed and to which I could not have answer to this day doth fully testifie A certain local limitted place being only by me denyed And to say that the Soul of man is of a Divine Essence or of the Essence of God is no more if rightly understood then to say that the Soul is Immortal or that it was breathed into man from God or that in him we live and move and have our Beings Hath Capt. Norwood been or is he an Oppressor or Violator a Slanderer Backbiter or Murderer of his Neighbor Hath he been or is he a Swearer Drunkard or Adulterer according to or after the flesh No of a truth he walks contrary to these Yet reckon I not my self justified herewith or hereby nor judg I any therefore What then Why he hath blasphemed the abominable Arrogancies and Usurpations of the Clergy who would sit in upon and over all mens Consciences Witness M. Shidrach Simpson in my case who have ever done and still would make the Civil Magistrate their whips and rods their Jaylors Butchers and what not The extreme desparate and vilde deceits of the Lawyers in the whole course or management of the Law in all the several Courts of Justice these indeed I have blasphemed and this hath been the only and alone cause of all my sufferings and being charged with Blasphemy against God which whether I am such I leave to the judgement of all who know me have seen or read my writings Being thus occasioned to make this presentment and having as I suppose equally with others the liberty of throwing in my mite and that with you whatever is proposed shall not finde the less or more acceptance in respect to the Proposers thereof because that were to have the truth in respect of persons contrary to the Scriptures command Do therefore humbly offer to be considered First What the Gospel of Christ in its very true and real nature property and end in very deed and in truth is The true and very knowledge whereof may give light and direction in for or to its propagation or promulgation The end wherefore I propose this is lest whilst we pretend or intend its propagation we do not in deed and in truth so much as in us lies work or bring forth its overthrow and destruction Secondly That which next I should offer to be considered is How far any man or men whatsoever are impowered constituted ordained and appointed by Christ thereunto or wherein the aptitude and fitness of any unto such a work may or doth consist The knowledge of or true information in the former will easily give us the understanding and sight of this latter That which I take to be the Gospel is Love Peace good Will towards men Luke 2.14 Be ye merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful who causes his rain to fall as upon the good so upon the bad as upon the just so upon the unjust Matth. 5.45 Love your Enemies do good to them that hate you Bless them that curse you Pray for them who despitefully use you Luke 6.27,28 In this are the children of God and the children of the Divel manifest Whosoever doth not Righteousness is not of God neither he that loveth not his Brother For this is the message we had from the beginning that we should love one another Not as Cain who was of that wicked 〈◊〉 and slew his Brother 1 John 3.10,11,12 Hereby have we perceived love that he laid down his life for us therefore we also ought to lay down our lives for the Brethren v. 16. Hereby we know we are translated from death to life because we love the Brethren He that loveth not his Brother abideth in death he who hateth his Brother is a man-slayer and you know no man-slayer hath eternal life abiding in him v. 14 15. Do good to all men especially to the houshold of faith Every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God he that loveth not knoweth not God for God is love And herein is the love of God manifest that whilst we were sinners Christ died for us 1 John 4.7,8 A new Commandment saith Christ give I unto you that ye love one another as I have loved you John 13.34 And we must know Christ and his commands are one and the same his Word and his command is not one thing and himself another And he came to save sinners the chief of sinners as Paul saith and himself also I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance for the whole need not the Physitian but those that are sick Again he saith For judgement I am come into this world that they which see not might see the following words will be very well worthy the consideration of most men which is and that they who see might be made blinde John 9.38 The Pharisees that heard him answer What are we blinde also Christ answers them If ye were blinde ye should have no sin but now you say we see therefore your sin remaineth God or Christ whose end it is as the Scriptures testifie to magnifie the exceeding greatness the richness the freeness and fulness the heights lengths bredths and depths of his mercy the wonderful glorious dimensions of it must suffer the greatest sinners that so he may publish himself his Gospel the greatest salvation preach the exceeding greatness of his power and so save and deliver them from their sins as Paul saith Sin hath therefore abounded that the grace of God might superabound yet I say as Paul also said Let us not therefore sin This then if I mistake not is the Gospel of Christ or rather Christ's Gospel This is the message and messenger God sent into the world for the message and messenger must be one and the same thing This is that Son of Righteousness or rather that righteous Son God sent into the world Christ he preaches what himself and his Father indeed and in truth are commands and promises what we should and must be and do if we receive
his message his promise and obey his command We see Christ did not speak and preach only but he did and appeared really in all things to be the same which he preached prays when they were putting him to death Father forgive them they know not what they do so doth Stephen also and heals his ear who came to apprehend him which Peter had cut off gives his life for his enemies And this is that Paul speaks of Love not in dead word but in deed and in truth in the life and power of it which love as the Scriptures testifie is God and which as Paul saith thinketh none ill but it beareth all things suffers all things endures all things Love it covereth all sins Prov. 10.12 Love it worketh none ill to his Neighbour Rom. 13.10 And this is that promised in Isa 2.2,3,4 And it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills and all Nations shall flow unto it And many people shall go and say Come ye and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths for out of Zion shall go forth a Law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem And he shall judge among the Nations and rebuke many people and they shall beat their swords into plow-shares and their spears into pruning hooks Nation shall not lift up sword against Nation neither shall they learn war any more and in Isa 11.6,7,8,9 The Wolf also shall dwell with the Lamb and the Leopard shall ly down with the Kid and the Calf and the young Lyon and the Fatling together and a little childe shall lead them And the Cow and the Bear shall feed their young ones shall ly down together and the Lyon shall eat straw like the Ox And the sucking Childe shall play on the hole of the Aspe and the weaned Childe shall put his hand on the Cockatrise den They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the Sea And in Jer. 31.31,32,33,34 Behold the days come saith the Lord that I will make a new Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah Not according to the Covenant that I made with their Fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt which my Covenant they brake although I was an husband unto them saith the Lord. But this shall be the Covenant which I will make with the house of Israel After those days saith the Lord I will put my Law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts and will be their God and they shall be my people And they shall teach no more every man his Neighbour and every man his brother saying Know the Lord for they shall all know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them saith the Lord for I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more There you have Christ promised as a living life dwelling and abiding in the soul or law written in the heart so that we shall not at all hang upon the lips of men or have any need or use of their teachings Whether this then be not in deed and in truth the very reall and true Gospe of Christ or Christ's Gospel God's Spell or good Spell is offered and left together with the several Scriptures quoted with many others coherent thereunto which for brevity sake I omit to your due inspection and serious consideration And if this be indeed and in truth Christ's Gospel God's Spel or good Spell as it 's supposed it will not by any be denied The next thing to be considered is How far any man or men whatsoever are impowered constituted ordained appointed fitted furnished enabled or anointed by Christ hereunto all these names signifying indeed but one and the same thing for he who is not fitted furnished enabled or anointed thereunto is not impowered constituted ordained or appointed by God or Christ thereunto the ordinations of men in this point will not do except they could give the thing also the inward anointing as well as the outward Therefore the Apostles although they had the promise yet they were not to stir they were not to go forth to preach the Gospel until themselves had received the Gospel the promise of the Father until they were indued with power from on high Luke 24.49 And behold I do send the promise of my Father upon you but tarry ye in the City of Jerusalem until ye be indued with power from on high Acts 1.8 Ye shall receive the holy Ghost Here 's a further confirmation of the promise but yet they stir not Acts 2.1.4 there it is said They were all filled with the holy Ghost Now have they the performance of the promise now and not before were they Commissioned ordained impowered or appointed because now and not before really and actually anoynted and then indeed were they anointed or baptised in with or unto the preaching of Christ's Gospel unto others and then they indeed do go forth preaching baptising healing all manner of diseases casting out divels and the like freely they had received and freely they were to give and so indeed they did as Peter said to the Cripple whom he healed Silver and Gold have I none but such as I have that give I unto you Rise up and walk And he lift him up by the hand healed him and he walked Thereby manifesting and declaring what the Gospel what the Anointing what the Missage or Message was they had received and accordingly did give forth the same as is declared And indeed nothing can give that which it hath not or more then it hath neither can any thing act beyond the power or ability it hath received If the power be of men the anointing of and by men why accordingly is and must needs be in its speakings and goings forth its actings and operations for no stream can run higher or above its head or spring That which is born of the flesh is flesh that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit If it be from men its living is and must needs be in and upon men and its returns unto men If of and from God its living is and will be only in and upon God and its returns only unto or into God Wherefore it is as Christ saith John 5.44 How can ye believe who receive Honour one from another and seek not the honour that cometh from God alone Whence I argue He that hath not himself received the Gospel in deed and in truth He that hath not received the message as is before declared that hath not received it in life and power that is not thus