obedience to it for the Witness is true and the testimony thereof doth stand against you and over it you cannot prevail and this is my rejoicing in it that I have the answer of a good conscience and peace with God though many of you may be hardened and set your selves against the Word of Truth and hates to be reformed by it yet truth is the same and you cannot change it with all your inventions And let all the simple-minded who are yet seeking rest and are not satisfied with what you are feeding upon O return unto the Lord and come again to that of God in you who will heal your backslidings and open your understandings where the right Way of the Lord will be made known unto you for it is man that doth deceive you and leads you in many Wayes that they have imagined and in their Wills sets up their own inventions for the Way of God when the Lord hath not required it at their hands and whilst you are 〈◊〉 bewitched with the Inchanters and Southsayers and 〈◊〉 your delight in their crooked pathes you will not find that wherein satisfaction is which some of you are truly seâ—-king after Therefore unto you is this moved from the living God who are tender hearted and in whom there is yet a true breathing after God who cannot be satisfied with those things that will perish but are seeking after the enjoyment of something that will abide hearken to the light of Christ and feel the Hand of Love and join your selves unto it that you may be acquainted with it and know the leadings of it this will bring you to the life from whence it comes as you yeild obedience to it there will you feel living springs opened freely to you and plentifully to refresh you where you will know the Water that faileth not which yeildeth satisfaction and pure refreshment and though many be set down with their hearts hardened and denies every motion of the Spirit in them and instead of being filled with the Spirit according to the Apostles Doctrine they are filled with envy and fury against it and every appearance of it and opens their mouths in blasphemy against it but they shall all know a day of Tryal in which a recompence of reward will be given from the righteous God who will bring every secret thing into Judgement and make all his Enemies his Footstool let not their hard heartedness be an occcasion to make your tender hearts stumble at the Way of Truth neither give your minds to harken to their Inchantments who hath so long bewitched you from obeying the truth but all be diligent to hearken to the light which is truly moving in many of you and doth couvince you that you are not walking in the right Way you see something amiss amongst you which you cannot have communion with and something which you are not come to live in and which you cannot deny but to be truth as it is brought forth from the Spirit of Truth in others Therefore do you weigh and consider vvisely vvhere you are that you may be no longer deceived but may come and knovv the right Way of the Lord So all in the light keepe your mindes stayed and hasten not but lye dovvn and patiently vvait that you may see salvation brought unto you as you are brought to stand still and so will the Lord work his own Work for you by the Arm of his power and make known his secrets and reveal his Son in you that you may not confer with flesh and blood So unto the light of Christ with which you are enlightened all give up your selves in obedience that every motion thereof you may be willing to follow that it may be your Leader guide you out of your own Ways and Words and Works and Thoughts and bring you into subjection to do the Fathers Will in all things and to obey his Teachings which by his Spirit he requireth and it will bring you to know truth in the inner parts which the Lord loveth and as you obey the light and follows it you will feel every motion thereof to be precious and bringing you nearer unto the life from vvhence it comes vvhere the pure openings of Gods love you vvill feel to satisfie you So all in Gods fear stand and sink down to the Corner-stone which in you is placed and know that to be your foundation and this will be a sure Way to come to Christ when you feel his Vertue to stay your Issue and this is the Grace of God that brings salvation and appeareth to all Men teacheth what to deny and what to vvalk in which if you take heed unto you will need no other Teacher but as the anointing teacheth you which is in you and is truth and no lye which will open your understandings to know the things of God and let you see things that differ and bring you to a true discerning betwixt the precious and the vile where mans Way and Gods Way will be plainly opened unto you For the Seeds sake this is declared Reject not counsel ye tender hearts but be willing to receive instruction that your minds may be informed where to wait for Gods loving kindness that the Hand of Love may lead you in the new and living Way that brings to the Father where the true Rest you will find and perfect peace Truth defended and cleared from the Lyes and Slanders declared by JONATHAN JOHNSON HAving observed the Envious Spirit to rage for a long season in Jonathan Johnson against the Truth as it hath been declared and published in the motion of the Spirit of Life and that as Books hath come to his hand which hath been so published he hath been set on work in his busie mind to write in the leaves thereof against the truth which hath been therein declared for which cause I having unity through the love of God with that truth so declared and being made a Witness thereof it was laid upon me as my duty to write unto him and declare against his secret working in which I offered this unto him in the fear of the Lord That he would set out his own Work and make it publike in print and also sent him some Queries for to answer publikely and thereby did let him know that I should not receive him upon any other account but as he made his Work publike having heard much of his contentious spirit unto which offer and queries he sent me a plain denial in Writing back again in which were many Words and false Accusations against the truth which I did not find my duty to reply to in Writing having before let him know that I should not receive him upon that account therefore my duty was now to let him know that it was my desire that Truth might appear and be seen where it was so was ordered to write to him again wherein I then offered in the fear of the Lord to
loveth and will stand above thee and all thy deceit though thou hast blasphemed him 4 Partic. That they steat Scriptures to deck their false Harlots with Proof Is proved in first calling the Scriptures dead and liveless to bring their false Harlot called light within into osteem and then fills their mouths with it to seem spiritualized and to make the world believe 't is from themselves and not from Scripture and this was proved against thes in thy Title Page of thy Book to H. H. Reply The light within is already proved from plain Scripture to be Christ the light of the world and the eternal truth and power of God and the Scriptures are dead and liveless unto thee who art at enmity with the light and life from which they were declared and unto which they bear testimony and therefore we deny thee though thy mouth may be somtimes filled with Scripture expressions and of which it is now empty but the Scriptures we own and have unity with them in the same Spirit from which they were given forth and knows them to be fulfilled in us who walk after the Spirit and what thou sayest was proved before to this matter against me is a proof which was of thy own inventions as these are which thou hast now offered to thy shame for ever not giving a Scripture expression nor naming a Scripture for what thou hast said but thy mouth is filled with Lyes instead of Scripture and that thou calls a proof 5. Partic. That they labour to have the Scriptures dead in mâ—ns estâ—mation Proof Is proved plainâ—y in telling men the Scriptures are a dead Letter and a liveless Book and saying it is a damnable Doctrine to say the Spirit is received by the hearing of Faith preached and beleeving according to the Scriptures and in calling the Doctrine and Ordinances of Christ in the Scriptures outward Forms and liveless Reply That which hath not life in it self is dead and thou cannot deny it and the Book hath not life in it self neither can the Letter thereof give life to any though they may read it and hear it all their life time and if ever thou come to know the Scriptures and the true use of them thou must come to the light which is the life of men without whom all things are dead and it is a damnable Doctrine to preach the Letter for Christ and set it above him which is not according to the Doctrine of those who were Ministers of the Spirit and not of the Letter and this doth the Letter declare and the Spirit is not received by hearing or reading the Letter but by the hearing of Faith preached in the heart by the Spirit that quickneth and the Doctrine of Christ and the Apostles which the Scriptures do declare and beleeving according to that Doctrine we own and in it walk by the same spirit which doth not lead any contrary who by it are guided but leads into the fulfilling of all and into the life where living vertue is received which from the beginning was ordained which is not dead nor formal but life and power but thou can sit down in thy own time to eat and drink in immitation of what thy imagination comprehends by reading the Scriptures that the Saints did and so thou glories in appearance and not in heart 6. Partic. That they deny the Scriptures Proof Is proved afore in which they are manifested to be the most audacious denyers of Scripture that ever hath been of all the Antich istian party Reply That which thou hast proved afore thou hast manifested thy self in to be a servant unto him who is an enemy to truth and every appearance of Righteousness which by the light is brought forth in the Children of Obedience that strikes at every work of darkness having no Communion with it and this makes him rage in Wrath and Fury in thee to speak great swelling words of vanity and offer them for a Proof that his Lyes might have a likeness of truth put upon them by which many are at this day deceived for the scriptures are owned and beleeved in and the Doctrine of Christ is obeyed and the light is walked in which gives us fellowship with the Father and with the Son where we have Communion with the life but Antichrist denyeth the Father and the Son and is at enmity with the divine Nature and fighting against every appearance of godliness which from the living vertue thereof is brought forth which thou makes thy great business to oppose and contend against 7. Partic. â—hat they are not guided by that light and spirit that gave forth the Scriptures Proof Is proved both by their denyal of those Scriptures and Commands gâ—vâ—n forth by the light and spirit of God in the Scriptures and also in their seâ—ting up a pretended light within contrary to any teachings of the spirit of God in the Scriptures Reply Thou art proved a Lyar by plain scripture in the Third Reply where it is proved that Christ is the light and it was in their hearts and this doth the teachings of Gods spirit in the scripture witness and we neither deny the teachings nor Commands given forth by the light and spirit of God in the scriptures but have unity with them and the sâ—me light and spirit teacheth us and unto the Commands thereof we wait to yield obedience but it is thy business to make Lyes thy Refuge and adds one to another without shame neither shewing what the Teachings and Commands are which thou sayest the scriptures teacheth and commandeth and what we deny nor what the light and spirit is nor where to be waited for which thou sayest we are not guided by but thou passeth all for Proof because thou sayest it 8. Par That they are evil dealers and fighters against God Proof Is proved in their evil dealing and fighting against the spirit of God speaking in the Scriptures and denying obedience thereunto and rayling against those that dâ— obey to exalt their lying spirit against it Reply What shall be done unto thee O thou false tongue who without fear uttereth such Lyes against the innocent who are guided by the spirit of truth out of all evil dealing or wrong doing but thou art in the depth of the bottomless pit and from thence foaming out thy own shame not fearing to speak any thing which the lying spirit puts into thy mouth and calls it a Proof when thou hast neither scripture ground nor reason to shew for what thou sayest but as the Devil hatcheth mischief in thy heart so with a ready mind thou serves him in what he will have thee to do and so falsely accuses the innocent who in all obedience serves the Lord and walks-after the spirit and yields all obedience to it and yet thou sayest they deny the spirit of God speaking in the scriptures but hast not shewed what those speakings are nor who they are that do obey that they rail against nor what
you your portion with hypocrites Consider all you vain people of the World who live in rioting and drunkenness chambering and wantonness strife and envying what will you do And what account will you make unto the righteous God who is Judge of all the Earth and will reâ—ard every man according to his deeds Run not so headily in the exercise of Wickedness but stand still and hearken to the still Voice in your conscience which tells you that is not the Way for death and destruction is before you and the pit is near unto you and many of you are come to the brink thereof be stayed in time before you fall therein from whence there will be no recovery and let the time past of your lives suffice that you have spent and lived so many years together in the lusts of the flesh against the light and love of God Therefore all in Gods fear stand and feel it placed in your hearts that from iniquity you may depart and â—in no more but all come into obedience to that of God in you which makes â—in manifest and there Gods power know to sanctifie and cleanse you by the washing of Water through the Word that a new life you may come into and walk in the regeneration He that hath an ear to hear let him hear For the love of Christ constraineth me to bear testimony of what is made manifest unto me in the light that you may all come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved and likewise knowing the terror of the Lord I cannot but perswade men to depart from the evil of their Ways which the Wrath of the Lord is revealed against and that you may all come to know that the long-suffering of the Lord is salvation and that his saving-strength is near at hand to help in the needful time and here you will find power to preserve you from the temptations which the enemy casts in and then labours to draw your minds to join unto for as obedience is given unto the light power is received that destroys the Devils Work and weakens his kingdom and then the Hand of Love is reached forth to take hold of you and to lead you out of darkness and from under his Government into the new and living Way and there gently guides you and orderâ— you and keepes you from all the assaults which the Enemy doth pursue withall and he who hath life in himself will give life unto you and make you able to stand and â—ight the good fight of Faith and here the Divine nature is felt and the glory of the onely begotten of the Father is beheld And this is the testimony of the Faithful Witness which from the Fathers Love is made manifest in the conscience of every man that you might believe in it and know the saving-strength of it working redemption for you and putting an end to sin and overturning the powers of darkness and bringing in everlasting righteousness and this is the Hand of Love reached forth unto you all to lead you out of the House of Bondagâ— into the glorious liberty of the â—ons of God where your understandings will be opened to know the Scriptures and the power of God for as you give obedience to the reachings of the Spirit so will the things of God be made known unto you and no man can know the things of God by any eâ—her way either by Art Study Learning or any industry of the natural part but as the spirit of God makes them known in the children of obedience who give up themselves to the teachings of it and by it are guided to know the Scriptures fulfilled in themselves this vvil bring you to a right understanding of the Scriptures as you receive the same spirit of Faith and walks in it as they received and walked in by whom the Scriptures were declared for he that was then light life and power unto all that did believe in him and gave them an understanding to know the things that were true he is the same now and changeth not but wicked men have changed his glory into shame and mindes earthly things yet is his light life and power the same unto all that believe and comes to have the spirit of their minds renewed by him and so the Scripture is truly owned and witnessed being fulfilled in all that walk after the Spirit and have the spirit of their mindes renewed by it as they had who hath declared it in Words which are written and so the same Spirit guiding brings into unity with the same Words which was given forth from its own movings in the hearts of those who by it was constrained to declare them and thus the children of obedience owns the Scriptures and hath unity with them in the same Spirit that gave them forth knows them fulfilled in themselves walking after the same Spirit Let this be wel weighed by you who are wise in your own eyes prudent in your own sight and in that Wisdom talks so much of what is written and gets the Words thereof and with them contend in your Wills and fights against the Lord and every appearance of righteousness brought forth in the motion of the Spirit which is the mysterie hid from your eyes and revealed unto the Babes who walk in the light which reveals secrets and makes them to be of understanding hearts to know the true God and eternal life and here is the door of hope for all you tender ones who are breathing after God come walk in the light that an entrance you may feel ministred unto you and â—n enjoyment of the possession of that which in the door of hope is opened for you where the Rivers of Gods good pleasure runneth freely with which he doth satisfie the poor of the flock who vvaits to be refreshed thereby vvhich he doth renevv their strength in to follovv him in the narrovv vvay in vvhich flesh and blood cannot walk nor no unclean thing must enter Therefore do not you hew broken Cisterns nor feed upon husks any longer but to the streams of life all come and feel how good the Lord is so all wait to know the hand of Love to lead you and the Spirit of truth to teach you which will not deceive you bnt teach you right things though such vvho are at enmity with it speak unadvisedly of it yet it is truth in it self and abides the same for ever and will overturn all who in the height of envy and fury do pursue it with swelling Words of vanity Therefore let all things be tryed and proved in the light and in it search your selves that you may come to the bottom and have all the dross purged out and the tinn taken away that your hearts may be purified in the light that so you may stand approved in the sight of the pure God And here is the right Way of the Lord opened and a Hand of Love reached forth to guide you out
for you to serve the lusts of the flesh which makes you one with the World again in Words and Practises where the Enemy hath taken you captive and leads you in earthly pleasures and covetous practices in which you are wanton and light-minded in foolish jesting and vain talking turning the Grace of God into wantonness and making shipwrack of Faith and a good Conscience being heightned in your imaginations in what you have taken up in the observation in which Satan hath transformed himself by his deceitful working in bringing forth a form in the imitation where you are set down and have taken up your rest and here he hath deceived you with a vain hope having setled you in a form without power and doth work a perswasion in your minds that it is the right Way and so sets you in enmity against the pure motion of the light of Christ in you having got your minds out to look abroad and have your expectation from something that is without and so he hath drawn your minds from that which is within that once did truly move in you and would have brought you into the power had you been faithful to the end but you are fallen short of that which they witnessed whose practice you pretend to follow and are turned against it and become the greatest Enemies unto it for he that hath prevailed over you and betrayed the simplicity in you seeks to pervert the right Way of the Lord by you and fills you with fury to cry out against those that walk in uprightness of their hearts before the Lord and in his fear are kept that they dare not sin against him but walks in righteousness and holiness in which the light leadeth them and which by his Grace he teacheth them from which you are erred and gone astray and walks after the imaginations of your own hearts where your own Wills leads you to take up a practice in imitation of what others have done who was by the Spirit of Truth guided and by it commanded and in which they performed all their services but unto this Spirit you are found Enemies and fighting against it in the strength of your own Wisdoms and so runs into error not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God but denies that which gives the understanding to know them and so never comes to the fulfilling of them nor to have unity with them but as they are Words declared and recorded for you stand not in obedience to the same spirit that in the inner man it might teach you and lead you to the Lord God who hath life in himself and gives life unto all that come unto him and believes in him by which all the children of obedience are refreshed and satisfied who lives by faith looking for and waiting to receive those things which are not seen but that which you take up your rest in and are satisfied with is visible and temporal which is seen and beheld with natural eyes and so you miss that which is spiritual and cannot be seen which is the substance and the end of all changeable things not living by Faith but by sight and contents your selves with created refreshments but that which the soul hungereth after and panteth for is living Bread that comes down from Heaven which whoso eats shall never dye for it is the Bread of life whose flesh is meat indeed and whose blood is drink indeed O pure refreshment from the Lords presence Blessed are all that are found worthy to sit down at this Table and to partake of this Bread and drink of this Cup which is the Communion of Christ's blood Be ye of an understanding heart O ye professors and consider if you have the substance and that you live in Christ and he in you and that you feel those things you feed upon to have life in themselves and to give life unto you if life be not in your Bread and Wine they are not the Communion of Christs body nor blood but bare Bread and Wine retaining their own quality and vertue as created refreshments and if you say this was their practice who enjoyed Christ and fed upon him and that the Bread which they brake was the Communion of Christs Body and the Cup which they drank was the Communion of Christs Blood but I say Examine your selves whether you be in the Faith least you eat and drink damnation to your selves not discerning the Lords body for that which they received and had Communion in who lived by Faith was not Bread of grain nor Wine in a silver Cup but the Bread which they brake was the Communion of Christ's body and the Cup which they drank was the Communion of Christ's Blood and you cannot prove any other thing without inventions and they being many was one Bread and one Body but the mystery is hid from your eyes who in your Earthly Wisdom would comprehend the things of God for you being run from the Guide which once did give you light and for a season you rejoiced in it you are departed from that which vvould have given you a true discerning of the Loâ—ds Body wrought Faith in you to have believed though you had not seen and if you had been obedient to have followed that of God vvhich once did truly move in you then you vvould have continued in the holy Commandments given of God and have walked in them as children of obedience and discerned the Lords Body and the Communion which they had in it who did eat and drink and fed upon it in their hearts by faith And this was the Bread which they did eat and the Cup which they drank and had their life in him who is the Bread of Life whose examples none can follow in truth but such as receive the same Spirit of Faith and walks in obedience to it which you are found fighting against with the Words which from it were declared which you say is more sure then it is in its movings What a Vail hath overspread you And what thick darkness hath covered you who denies the motion of the Spirit from which the Scriptures were declared Did not holy men of God speak as they were moved by the Holy Ghost Did it not first move within them and gave them a Divine inspiration by which they came to know the things of God made manifest in them and from the motion of the Spirit declared as it gave them utterance and so the Scriptures came to be given forth and a true Record it is of what they were made Witnesses of who had communion with the Spirit and tasted of the Word of life and the Scriptures are profitable where the manifestation of the Spirit is received and believed in by which the understanding is opened to know them and the power of God but not to set them above Christ not against him as you are doing who are your selves departed from him and yet uses your tongues to speak the Words which were
speak evil of the way of truth is not this thy great business to speak evil of Christ the light of the world who is the way and the truth which thou art speaking against so act out of the doctrine of Redemption not knowing thy Redeemer to live having not obeyed from thy heart the form of Christ doctrine so art not come to the work of Redemption which worketh by his own mighty power in all that beleeve in him saving from fin redeeming from all iniquity and making perfect for ever through the sanctification of the spirit which is his work within and yet without all men these things thou canst not reach unto in thy wisdom below 15. Partic. That they make the Word of God of none Authority Proof Is proved by their Traditions against the teachings of the Word of God which tells men that they who are without Faith are without Christ the true light Eph. 2. 12. But the Quakers tells men who are without faith that they have must look to Christ the true light within a flat contradiction to the divâ—nâ— Authority of the Word of God Reply All that knows the Word of God the teachings thereof do see thee to be in that state as they were who were without Christ the Apostle doth not say that Christ was not within them but that they were without Christ without God in the world therfore he calls them to awake arise from the dead 〈…〉 Christ might give them light which was not a light without â—nem for that they had whilst they were dead but to the light within them did he mind them which when they had received they were made light in the Lord knew him to be the Author of their Faith which he wrought in their â—eaâ—â—s by the Word of his power which is the Word of Faith preached stands in the divine authority of God that so it is the true doctrin which the Word of God teacheth without any contradiction that they who are without faith are without Christ yet who are without faith are to look unto Christ within them obey him there that he may work faith in their hearts which those who are at enmity with him doth not come to know so abides without him in the unbelief in the world having no comunion with his life though such be without him yet he is within them a faithful witness to reprove them in their own conscience for their transgression disobedience but the Book unto thee is sealed thou art unlearn'd thy heart hardened that thou wilt not beleeve truth though from the living Word of God it be declared 16. Partic. That they set their hearts against the Lords Teachings in the Scriptures Proof Is proved in their setting themselves in array against the teachings of Christ his Apostles in the scriptures which is the open manifestation of the true light calling men into the desart and secret place to look for light in the house of darkness Reply Christ said false Christs false Prophets should arise shew great figns and wonders insomuch that if it were possible they should deceive the very elect but saith he Behold I have told you before wherefore if they shall say unto you Behold he is in the desart go not forth Mat. 24. If thy understanding was opened to know the scriptures Christs own words declares theâ— plainly what thou art what signs wonders thou art shewing to deceive by saying Christ is without behold him there Christ saith Go not forth this is his own doctrine all believers obeys it that which they were not to go forth from was within them and when those false Prophets came vvhich Christ said should come John savv their deceit their seducing spirit in the same light in vvhich thou art novv made manifest he exhorted to bevvare of that vvhich did seduce to look unto that vvhich vvas vvithin them which is the anointing saith he that ye have received of him abideth in you you need not that any man teach you but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things and is truth and no lye Joh. 2 27. And thus the Scriptures comes to be known and witnessed in the unity of that Spirit which is but one in all Christ said false prophets should come Go 〈◊〉 forth John saw them when they did come and he said Abide in the anointing which is in 〈◊〉 and here is the pure Doctrine of Christ the Apostle declared in the unity of the Spirit which thou art at enmity with and so teacheth another Doctrine as all false Prophets deceivers do 17. Partic. That they set up their own traditions Proof Is proved in setting up their pretended light which is quite contrary to the light and teachings of Scripture Rep. Thou being in the state of darkness calls good evil and so falsly accuses the truth by thy lying spirit which to make way for thy lyes to be brought in cryes out against the truth to be contrary to the Scripture-teaching and under this Vail of thick darkness was the Lord of glory crucified by the wise Scripture-learned who cried out against him to teach contrary to what was written in the Law and the Prophets and so enviously set themselves against him who was the end of the Law and Prophets and falsly accused him as thou in that Wisdom art doing who is the light of the world 18. Partic. That they pull down the Oracle of God in the Scriptures Proof Is proved in their calling the Scriptures dead and lifeless and pulling their teachings from mens hearts and minds that they might receive their false Voice which is quite contrary to them Rep. Christ's sheep hear his voice and follows him and his voice they know from strangers and it is the true Voice which is uttered from Gods holy habitation which is sweet to all that love it and a terror to all that hate it unto which we mind all people to give diligence that with a ready performance they may obey and do whatsoever it doth command and this is the still voice which is behinde thee from which thou starts aside and will not abide the reproof thereof 19. Partic. That they set up their own Idol-Books as a living voice Proof Is proved in their setting up their Books for Teachers and calling the Scriptures dead and lifelefs which books compared with their denyal of the Scriptures teaching are set forth with blâ—sphemous Tities Rep. The Lord God who lives for ever pleads the cause of the innocent against thy false tongue and he that searcheth all hearts and judgeth right in every conscience knows that thou dost falsly accuse the righteous generation and that there is no guilt upon them as to what thou hast charged against them for they do not deny the Scriptures nor sets up their Books for Teachers neither are the