or Testimony at all for the Law is Spiritual and Inward and the Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophesie as saith Scripture Declaration and by that Spiritual Law Paul came to the knowledge of his Sin to Humiliation but while he was but a Professor of the Law in the Letter he was alive without Law but when the Commandment in Spirit came to be felt nigh in the Heart then Sin Revived and he Died And so will John Reynolds dye when the Law indeed he comes to feel but he is yet alive without Law and from that Ground comes all these Queries of his to stop if possible the Holy Seed from coming out of Egypt but the Lord will break all Bonds for his Elect sake so that in a few words take away from this John Reynolds the Letter and by his own words he is as blind as a Beetle for he Questions how a Man can either know the true Spirit or Sin or the Works or Fruits of either good Spirit or bad but by the Letter so that his Eye is in the outward Book and so no Letter no Preacher For John Reynolds did the Apostles hold forth a Letter without them to be an Eye to the World Nay nay they were to turn the People to the Light of Christ within them that thereby they might see the Light out of all Darkness and false Worships For in thy Light saith David we shall see Light O the Riches of the Grace of God that hath delivereâ— John Fince and John Payton from this Blind Guide John Reynolds whose Eye within is yet shut by the god of the World 2 Cor. 4.3 4. Qu. 4. Thou Queriest whether the Saints in your times are more perfect than Saints in Scripture times And the rest of this Query is to plead for Sin and against sinless Perfection and in the Conclusion of it thou say'st we cannot shew you one Man that ever attained it Answ Yea to this I say Through the Lord's great Love we are able to hold forth to thee and all the World one perfect Man yea such a One in whose Mouth there was and is no Guil who did and doth good and sinned not nor doth sin who was in a sinless Perfection and of such a Man will we glory not of Self nor of Flesh but in him who is made unto us of God Wisdom Righteousness Sanctification and Redemption who is more perfect than Thousands under the Law were Go to then to stop all Mouths the Gospel-day is Witnessed Praised be the Lord and in Perfection of Beauty do true Believers now Worship and the Righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in such who walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit so John Reynolds to thee and thy Company I say Arise stand up from the Dead come out of your own times where there is none perfect for your times pass away into nothing but for Scripture times that 's large it is not as thou would'st Insinuate ended yet for the Scripture is the Lord daily fulfilling and will do it until time shall be no more which he that hath an Ear to hear â—et him hear and not only they but a Hundred Forty Four Thousand sinless perfect Ones are mentioned Rev. 14.25 with many more see also Chap. 7. Vers 9.14 an Innumerable Number Qu. 5. And for thy fifth Query where thou say'st If those that are called Quakers esteem themselves the only true Christians in the World then would I know where hath been their Church this 1600 Years Answ To this I say here thou manifests thy self again what stumbling is here in thy dark Mind This is like the Papists Arguments to Protestants but to this may be easily answered that if it be manifest to the Conscience of any as Praised be God it is to many that we are of God such a one will never ask such a Question as this But now to you who cannot own the Light in your Consciences we cannot be manifest because the World knows us not and then ask where hath your Church been I say it hath been ever where it is at this day to wit the Church which is in God and Christ which when thou comest to the Light of Christ within thee then thou wilt see but till then we must be content to lye hid from thee and all Dark Minds and so to bear Christ's Reproach but to all my dear Brethren in Christ I say Behold what manner of Love the Father hath bestowed on us that we should be called the Sons of God Fellow-Citizens in the Heavenly Jerusalem with all the Church of God First-born of God whose Names are written in Heaven therefore the World knows us not because it knew not our Head first 1 John 3. Heb. 12. But as for thy telling of Esteeming Self and the name Quaker and the like thou may'st take those words in again from whence they came for Self and Names of Mens giving we deny and Glory in the Cross of Christ where the Name of God is known and as for the rest of thy Queries which tell of our unableness to give a Proof of such People as we before the last twenty Years or so who placed Religion in Thouing and Theeing and refusing to put off their Hats and wear Decent Ornaments in their Apparel and it is such frothy stuff that it Shames thee and thy Profession but thou may'st know that though you may do what you will that are without Law to God yet we are taught to fear the Lord and whatsoever is pure to mind that and so our Religion stands in Christ not in outward Appearances though the outward be all thou canst see and so stumbles at the meanness of it but what are those Decent Ornaments in Apparel thou tell'st on Is needless Points and Laces and Ribonds and such filth Then surely all Saints are one with us here but for that thou say'st we Rail against Priests Tythes Idols Temples and Idols Worship being such as yours I say though Railing we deny yet we can easily prove by Scripture that Holy Men Cried Vehemently against false Worships and Worshâ—ppers who were guided as you are in all Ages but as for that thou say'st We Rail against Baptism and the Lord's Supper and Singing of Psalms thou art found a great and false Slanderer in this for to let pass the word Railing we deny that we so much as speak against Christ's Baptism or Supper or his Singing or that we take upon our selves to condemn any to Hell but this we say That no Vnrighteous One or Hypocrite hath any Inheritance in the Kingdom of God or of Christ and he that is not with us is against us which Words will-be hard and heavy for many to bear and as for Christ's Baptism and Supper and Singing in and with the Spirit we dearly own but the Hypocrite and their Leaven we deny Qu. 6. The next Query is something to the former purpose and so that which is said may serve for
said before them all that he never heard any such Voice or Command And I ask'd him what he Preach'd to the People then and he made Answer and said His Experiences and I told him his Experiences might not reach to every Condition but he that had the Word of the Lord might Preach it whom God sent and that would Reach all Conditions who knows all Conditions And so the Lord's Word and Power struck him that he was Silent But the rest of the Priests were High and Opposed and came to nothing And Judge Fell wondered and was astonished at what he heard Thomas say that he had never heard the Voice of God nor Christ to Command him to Preach to any People and the said Thomas Taylor being look'd upon a High Priest and above the Common Priests and a Sober Man and Beloved among the outward Professors and so I went along with him that Day to a place called Newton in Lancashire where he used to Preach sometimes and he was very much down and sad and groaned that Night And the next Day we went to a Meeting which we had in the Steeple-house-yard but he would have gone into the Steeple-house but the Priest would not let us and I told him it was no matter And there came another Priest from Vnder-Barrow and several others and Thomas sitting still at last a tender Spring of Life Sprang up in him and he Spoke very well in it to the People both of his own Condition and the People's and where they had been and now how they must turn to the Lord Jesus Christ And the Vnder-Barrow-Priest and some other Professors were Offended and Opposed him but the Lord's Power came over them all For he was look'd upon in the time of his Priesthood above them And Thomas Taylor grew in the Grace and Truth of Christ and came to know the Word of the Lord and Preach Christ Freely as then he had Received Freely and forsook his Parish-steeple-house and his old Parish-wages and the rest of the Priests that Preach'd for Hire and he Travelled up and down in many parts of England Preaching the Word of the Lord and his Gospel freely as he was Commanded who had Received it freely And likwise his Brother Christopher Taylor who had been a Publick Preacher to a People was also Convinc'd and Preach'd Christ freely And many Disputes Thomas had with the Priests and Professors and continued still in his Confession to God and his Truth and People and what their Conditions were and had been formerly And so from that time he continued in the Truth and the Grace of God and grew mightily in it and boldly Preached it and saw where the Priests and Professors were and by whom they were made and sent not of God so that the Priests and Professors grew in a Rage against him and Persecuted him And he having been a Lecturer at Richmond in Yorkshire was made to go there and Turn his Back to the Priest and put his Hands to both his Ears and stop them as a Sign how God had stopt his Ears unto their Sacrifice and Service and Offering And then after he was cast into a Prison at Appleby in Westmoreland for the Truth 's Sake under a cruel Goaler and a very bad Prison being a sad smoky place by the Smoke that came out of other Rooms enough to Choke him But he continued Faithful in the Life and Power of the Lord and the Lord delivered him thence And afterwards he Travelled up and down Preaching to Priests and Professors and warning all both Small and Great to Repentance and Amendment of Life turning many to the Lord. He was after a while cast into Prison at York for Truth and after some time the Lord there delivered him And so when he was at Liberty he still continued Labouring in the Work and Service of the Lord Preaching the Everlasting Gospel and Turning People from Darkness to Light and from the Power of Satan to the Power of God And also his Life and Conversation Preached being a Man of a Sober Life and Sound Judgment and a good Understanding in the Truth And after he had Travelled much up and down in several parts of this Nation he coming into Staffordshire was there Imprisoned and Premunired for refusing to Swear in Obedience to the Command of Christ who says Swear not at all and there he was kept Prisoner Ten Years and a half in the Town of Stafford under cruel Goalers and a sore tedious Imprisonment he had and great Sufferings by those Magistrates as his Letters will Testifie and a wearisom Imprisonment he had through the wicked Prisoners which burdened and grieved his Righteous Soul And when he was at Liberty and Travelled up and down in the Power of the Lord in the Lord's Service being a Man of a Tender Spirit and Conscience sometimes he met with Bull-baiting Bear-baiting Plays and Shews and Cock-fightings and Mountebanks and Ringers of Bells c. which burdened and grieved his Righteous Soul that People should spend their pretious Time in Sports and Vanities and such as professed Christianity which were more like the Heathen-Romans than Christians who was made to Admonish such and Reprove them as his Letters Testifie and not to spend their time so Vainly The Lord was with him and did assist him who was an Elder indeed and Partaker of the Glory that is to be Revealed who sought to Establish such as he Convinced and were Convinced in the Truth and Gospel the Power of God who was Beloved of God and all his Faithful People And many bad Prisons or Goals he was cast into for the Lord Jesus Christ and his Truth 's Sake And he had a Dispute with Doctor Owen at Oxford and the very Scholars could say That Thomas was too hard for him for the Lord with his Eternal Arm and Power did Support him And he was a Faithful True Upright Man in the Lord's Truth to the last and turned many to the Lord Jesus Christ that they became Hearers and Followers of him who Speaks from Heaven And he loved the Government of Christ and his Spiritual Heavenly Order among his People And when he had fulfilled his Ministry and finished his Course who was a harmless and blameless Man in his Conversation he laid down his Head in Peace and Died in the Lord and is Blessed and his Works follow him Much might be writ of this Honest and Faithful Servant of God Thomas Taylor 's cruel Hardships and Sufferings that he went through for Christ and his Truth 's Sake He finish'd his Days at Stafford with his Wife in 1681. after he had been an able Preacher of the Gospel from about 1652. And is at Rest with the Lord And Blessed is he that Dies in the Lord yea saith the Spirit his Works follow him Precious 〈◊〉 in the sight of the Lord is the Death of all his Saints Psal 116.15 George Fox Edmonton in Middlesex the 24th of the First Month 1681.
Pulpit in that Profession before either he or they was clearly Convinced of or Come to the Eternal Truth and awakened by the Power of God And in as much as that while he was a Publick Priest he would not Baptize his Children at the Font nor Sign them with the Sign of the Cross so that the other Priests were offended at him and upon some Discourse about it they agreed upon a Dispute to be held at Kendall Parish Steeple-house where was a very great Auditory and Three Priests appeared against him to prove Baptizing of Infants by Scripture which they could not do and he came over them all and some of the Hearers run up Kendall-street crying Mr. Taylor hath got the Day Mr. Taylor hath got the Day which Outcry grieved the Priests This was in the Year 1650. And about Two Years after George Fox came into Westmoreland and Preached the Everlasting Gospel and Power of God in the Demonstration of the Spirit of Eternal Life and many of those called Puritans was Convinced and Broken by the Power of God And the said Thomas Taylor was almost left alone it being a very great Cross to become a Fool to the World and lose his Benefit his Wife being a pretty high Woman having Six young Children and nothing else to live on yet he gave up all laying aside all superfluity of Naughtiness and received with Meekness the Ingrafted Word which is able to save the Soul and sanctifie throughout in Body Soul and Spirit And shortly after Margaret his Wife was Convinced and laid aside all her finery of Apparel and trusted Providence for a Livelihood for her self and small Children and became a very good Friend and kept the Faith and laid down her Head in Peace in the Town of Stafford a Year or more after her Dear Husband Died who Died and was Buried in the same Town of Stafford So Thomas Taylor having received the Truth of God in the Love of it and denied himself in all things for the sake of it in a short time he had his Mouth opened by the Opening and Inspiration of the Word of Life by which his Soul was then quickened and he concerned in the Motion of God and Authority of his Name to describe the Darkness of the Parish Hirelings so that they rose up against him and by the Aid of the then Unbelieving Magistrates got him to Prison in Appleby Goal where he grew in the Knowledge of God and Government of Christ Jesus and after he was released out of Prison Travelled abroad and was a Living Instrument in the Hand of the Lord to the Convincing of many And he being a Man full of Zeal and Integrity and being filled with the Spirit was always in Truth 's Service that when he had been going on the Road he commonly had a Word of Caution to Professor and Prophane and some of his Old Hearers who did not receive Truth I have seen him speak to them on the Market-day in Kendall street and sometime go to their Houses to exhort admonish and reprove as the Lord directed or if he had been Travelling on the High-way and seeing Boys playing on the First Day in the Summer-time and their Barents or Old People sitting besides them he would Preach to them so that he was always concerned for God's Glory and Truth 's Praise and Propagating of his Glorious Gospel of Peace He was a Man I loved when he was a Priest and more abundantly when he was a Gospel Preacher He was a Comely Man of Person Fair and Ruddy his Hair Gray before he Died being of a Good Old Age. I was at his Funeral in the Town of Stafford where was divers Hundreds of People and I was concerned in Testimony in the Lord's Power among them And though it had been a dark Persecuting Town â—et divers of the Priest's Hearers being his Neighbours whose Children he had Taught in the Prison they did there give their Testimonies and said He was a good Man and his Words and Counsel they believed should never be forgot and further said They had not such another to Bury in the Town of Stafford And as he Lived Honestly he Died Honourably yea even in the Lord and his good Works follows him the Reward whereof he is in the Possession of a Life that 's Everlasting out of the reach of his Adversaries Robert Barrow London the 9th of the 11th Month 1690 â— William Fallowfield's TESTIMONY Concerning Thomas Taylor THis short Testimony is with me to give concerning Thomas Taylor having good knowledge of him that he was a Man of a harmless Life and Conversation in which he was a good Savour his Conversation confirming his Doctrine God had undoubtedly indued him with Patience and had committed to him a Dispensation of the Gospel which he was both a Preacher of and a great Sufferer for his Patience in his Sufferings manifested his Christianity he never sought his Liberty by any indirect Means but waited patiently till the Lord effected it and when at Liberty he Travelled much abroad and Laboured much for Truth 's Prosperity God that called him did in all things fit him for that Work in which he imployed him and his Labour therein was very Effectual both for the Comforting and Establishing those already Convinced as also for the Convincing of many as many Living Witnesses that he hath left behind can Testifie also the stopping of the Mouths of many Opposers He had a Word of Counsel to the Weak and Feeble and a sharp Reprover of Disobedient Loose-minded ones he was altogether Accomplished for that Work whereunto his Lord called him And what shall I say but that I have Dear Unity with that Spirit that he was acted by and doth see him in that which is Immutable his Bow was always bent and retained its strength his Arrows were sharp and often pierced the Uncircumcised and as one well skilled he mist not his Mark the Churches amongst whom he was Conversant wants him for he was a Faithful Labourer in his Day he sought not his own but others good walking according to the Example of him that called him in which he was fervent and diligent Preaching the Word both in Season and out of Season and though he be taken from us as to Visibility yet his Life and Memory lives with us several sweet Expressions came from him in the time of his Illness and was very sweetly kept in that time of his Weakness he lay ill not long though for a considerable time an Indisposition of Body did attend him yet his Love and Good-will was such to the Truth that as one striving against his Distemper he kept not his Chamber long but went to Meetings and visited Friends but at last it prevailed over him and brought him to his Bed where he Died the 18th of the First Month 1681. in the Sixty-fifth Year of â—is Age I had Dear Unity with him and with those good savoury Expressions that proceeded from him which tended
a Reformation is this If this be not amended surely God's Hand will be stretched out against you still But you present Parish-Teachers that practice this thing Answer this sober and necessary Question Do you believe this your own Doctrine and Practice to be good or you rather do it because this is the way to please the Times and so to get Money If the former then are you blind Guides indeed If the latter then are you Covetous indeed And Covetousness saith the Apostle is Idolatry And then let all judge whether either of these be fit to guide and teach others And next in their Marrying of People besides their manifold taking of God's Name in vain as in their other doings and besides their evil Custom of the Ring do not they teach the People to swear and commit Idolatry in saying With this Ring I thee Wed with my Body I thee Worship and with all my worldly Goods I thee Endow and at the conclusion of their Work must plight their Troth one to another Is this sound Doctrine These Priests use to say the Scripture is their Rule But no Scripture is there for certain for such doings as this but against it if this be an Oath for Christ saith Swear not at all but these Priests not only break this Commandment themselves but teach others so to do also and so as Christ saith are least in the Kingdom of Heaven And Christ saith Thou shalt Worship the Lord thy God only but these teach People to Worship one another And doth the Priest examine whether this be true which he teacheth the Man to say to the Woman With all my Worldly Goods I thee Endow Or they matter not what they do so as they can stubber over the business and get Money But that which makes all this the worse is that it must be declared to be done in the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost though never so unscriptural and corrupt And therefore will the Lord visit for this thing also But from the beginning of Genesis to the end of the Revelations I do not find that there is any Command from God either for Priests under the Law or Ministers under the Gospel to Marry People nor so much as an Example that they did it But the true Gospel Minister keeps himself pure to Christ out of the World 's Evil Customs and Self-Ends lest he come under Condemnation for partaking with them in their Sins For now is the Cry gone forth from the Lord Come out of Babylon my People lest partaking with her in her Sins ye partake also of her Plagues And therefore when People that pretend much run into things without the Heavenly Call it 's no wonder to see so much Evil attend their doings And Lastly when they come to Bury People having begun so badly they continue so to the end for having ushered in the dead Body in their Superstitious Surplice to the Grave they must say Earth to Earth Ashes to Ashes and Dust to Dust in sure and certain hope of Resurrection to Life Eternal of all they so Bury Is not this a sore Evil to conclude so directly against Christ's words who saith John 5.29 That some not all shall come forth to the Resurrection of Life and some to the Resurrection of Damnation But you say all at least all that come under your hands thus to be Buried though they live and dye never so badly Nay these Buriers profess that they have a sure and certain hope of it too though oftentimes it so falls out that they have no knowledge of the Party so Buried neither of the Person Life nor Death But what shall be said to such Priests and People whose Eyes are so blinded with Evil Custom and Covetousness that they heed not much what they say or do but heap up Wrath against the day of Wrath against their poor Souls But the true Spiritual Man the true Christian who is a new Creature in Christ Jesus sees all these things and judges them and avoids them And now as for the Sermons Prayings and Preachings of such corrupt Men as these what are they good for or what benefit hath or can your Souls O People expect to reap from them Can a corrupt Tree bring forth good Fruit can Chaff Feed Peoples Souls And he that hath not the Word it self which is Spirit and Life and as a Hammer and Fire though he may have and run with the Words that declare of it as the False Prophets of old did for filthy Lucre yet he is but a Dreamer and a Deceiver of his own and others Souls Jer. 23. And though for Witnessing against such as these do I suffer Imprisonment yet herein is my Joy that the Lord hath deliver'd my Soul from the trouble which they lye in and that I am accounted worthy to speak for God against Deceit So all People consider what you have to do for this is the day of the Revelation of all things reprovable and so whatever hath been hid in Darkness is now by the true Light to be made manifest And though the Wicked in their several dark Forms dig as deep as Hell and think to hide their Counsels and their Doings never so deep in the Dark yet to this Day of God which is already Dawned and in great Power arisen must they all come forth to be judged and to receive every one a Reward according to their Doigns without respect of Persons or Professions as testifies his good Spirit in and by his Servant Thomas Taylor And what also shall be said to that one thing amongst many in your Communion where it is said to the Receiver of the Bread and Wine when the Priest delivers it The Body or Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve thy Body and Soul unto Eternal or Everlasting Life Is this holding the Form of Scripture Words or of sound Words as the Apostle Exhorts Do you pray in Faith when you say these words O Priests or may it not be said rather to you who hath required this at your Hands And do you consider what Bodies and Souls these People have that you would have thus preserved are they clean are they pure perfect and Holy For such as are preserved unto everlasting Life must first be such because no unclean thing enters God's Kingdom And the Church that Christ presents to himself is such as are Sanctified and throughly Washed by his Word from all Spot and Stain of Sin Ephes 5.25 26 27. But what have you to do here you miserable Offenders who by your own daily and customary Confession have no Spiritual Health in you So as Israel's outward Lepers were shut out of the Camp by the Law so out of the Fellowship of God's Spiritual Israel must the inward and Spiritual Lepers be kept this day It is so To the Jury-Men of Appleby ALL ye of the Jury which is by Interpretation Swearers or Sworn-Men who are not yet come to Christ's Doctrine where the
which it is gone forth and by calling in all such Acts and Decrees as are gone forth either before or since its Writing whereby the pure Seed of God in these Islands either have been or may be imbondaged and the good Spirit of God limited For it is not fit that the Lord God of Glory should be stinted or limited in his Way For he is a free Spirit and will not be tyed or bound up to any outward Form whatsoever but will have his People Worship him in Spirit and Truth and to be acted forth in the World in such a form â—s he himself by his Holy Spirit pleaseth to order them unto And this is was and ever must be the order of the true Church in God built up of lively Stones Elect and Precious of Abraham's Seed 〈…〉 for ever By a Servant of Jesus Christ and a Well-wisher to th◠〈…〉 and all People upon Earth earnestly desiring the Welfare of all God's Creation that it may be delivered from the Bondage of Corruption and my Weapons are not Carnal but Spiritual For if my Enemy Hunger I am taught to feed him if he Thirst to give him Drink if he seek to do me any Evil to overcome his Evil with Goodness as the Lord hath dealt with me and not to avenge my self because it belongs to the Lord God for ever who is worthy of all pure Obedience for evermore Thomas Taylor This last part dated in the Fourth Month 1662. Against Lotteries IS it not sad O all People to see such wicked and deceitful Inventions as these Lotteries still on Foot and passing too and fro in the Land uncontrouled after all the late Manifestations of God's Anger against the Nation and People thereof O! when will People lay God's Judgments to Heart and cease to Cousen and Deceive one another Is there any so blind that they see not these filthy things called Lotteries to be one of those Abominations that have come out of the bottomless Pit to deceive the People withal and so to defile the Nations to the pulling down God's heavy Judments upon you O all People who are either the Inventers or Upholders of them so cease cease from all such sinful and ungodly Things whose Foundation is Covetousness the very Root of all Evil and mind the fear of the Lord God lest the day of his Patience pass away from you and you be shut up in that woful Darkness and Hell of Misery for all your Sins where is nothing but weeping and wailing and gnashing of Teeth for evermore Rests a Witness for God in his Power against the Sin of all People without respect of Persons and blessed are all who take warning betime for the Lord is arisen out of his Holy Place to ease him of all his Adversities Thomas Taylor To Stafford O Stafford Stafford thy Judgment lingreth not thy Condemnation slumbreth not thine Iniquity aboundeth and thy Transgressions are multiplied daily as the Sand of the Sea yea thou makes haste to fill up the measure of thine Iniquities that the Indignation when it cometh and behold it cometh swiftly and the Wrath of the Almighty whom thou hast grieved may be seen justly to come upon thee in the sight of all O the mighty Patience and Long sufferance of God hath been great towards thee in sparing thee hitherto 〈◊〉 but thou hast not at all answered the Goodness of God towards thee thou art a Stage for all manner of Sin and Sinners to act their Part in thee and thou a Partaker with the Ungodly in all their Ways and so must thou assuredly partake with them of their Plagues as sure as ever thou hast been of one Mind and Heart with them in their Sin O the haâ—d-heartedness of thine Inhabitants that could never Repent nor lay things to Heart for your good unto this Day nor say within your selves What have we done though the Lord hath made me a Warner and a Reprover unto you all this Fifteen Years both by Words and Writing in Love Truth and Faithfulness that your Souls might live and not dye shewing unto you the Evil of your Doings that you might Repent and turn from them but you would not hear nor amend your Lives to this Day but have increased your Sins as the Old World whom God destroyed with Water and Sodom whom the Lord consumed with Fire and like Jerusalem whom God gave into the hands of a cruel Enemy for all their mighty Sins over whom the Prophet Jeremiah lamented because they would not hear and over whom Christ wept because they would not believe And so my Soul hath long and yet shall weep in Secret for your Pride if you will not now at length before it be too late humble your selves and repent of all your unholy Ways and Worships whereby God's Soul is burden'd for you are most manifestly of those that say Lord Lord in a dead form of words out do not at all what he by his Spirit requires of you but the contrary and so you taking his Holy Name so manifoldly in vain he will not hold you guiltless in his Judgment Day so wo wo will unavoidable be your Portion from the Lord God and everlasting Banishment from his Holy Presence of Life except as is said ye speedily Repent in the deepest Humility and Godly Fear as saith his Spirit in his Servant Thomas Taylor To the Mayor of Stafford AND now to the Mayor of Stafford who so busieth and troubleâ—h himself without cause about the Harmless and Peaceable Meetings of the People of God in their own Houses if he would get true Praise with God and good Men and Comfort to his own Soul let him look into the Streets and open places of the Town and use his Authority to the restraining and hindering of that great Wickedness and abominable Debauchery and Heathenish Practices that are committed there at such times as these called Christmas i. e. in the face of the Sun And let him now stand up for God who is grieved and burthened with such things if he would find Mercy to his Soul for an Account to God must all give of their Stewardship For what bad Customs shall one find amongst the Heathens which at such times as these are not practiced by the People of England who in words profess Christ But alas what will such a Profession do where the Life and Power of Godliliness is wanting Rests God's Servant and all your Souls Friend Thomas Taylor For them that Rule in Stafford O Unrighteous People What will ye do in the Day of the Lord when the Just and Holy God who lives for Ever doth call you 20 Account for all your doings Do you judge it an Evil and punishable by the Law for one of us though never so truly moved of God to come amongst you when you are at your Worship to speak a few words in a peaceable manner for your good and yet can see no Evil in your selves to come in great Companies amongst us
or whatever else shall be as the Dust or Chaff before the Wind to be scattered as the Lord by his Spirit from the beginning has said and at this time speaketh in his Servant Thomas Taylor To People whose Hearts are turned from the Lord. O All People whose Hearts are gone away from the Lord out of his Pure and Holy Fear and are in the Broad Ways of the World at Liberty in the Flesh satisfying the Lusts and Desires thereof making Merry over God's Witness which lyes at present as dead amongst you in your Hearts and so because Judgment is not speedily and at present executed upon you therefore are your Hearts in you wholly set to do evil and so you grow up like noisom Weeds in your Vanity putting far from you the Evil Day And none layeth to Heart the Afflictions of Joseph nor considereth the Sufferings of the Seed of God that in this present Day and in these Nations are great and many but you Pipe and Dance and Feast and Drink and Revel and Fatten your Hearts as in a Day of Slaughter as if there were no such thing and mind not the time to come nor take notice of the present wherein God would gather you out of your Sins to himself and do you good for Ever but you will not therefore is your House left unto you desolate and your present Mirth will be all turned into Mourning when this thing you come to be made sensible of by the Just Judgments of God and his Hand upon you Yea and all your Temple-Songs will become Howlings also in that Day for what Pleasure O vain People can the Lord take in you or your Services for in that same Mind that all your fore-mentioned Evils are done are your Preachings Prayings and Singing Performed with the same Mouth you Bless or rather seem to Bless God withal with the same Mouth you Curse and Swear and Backbite and Slander and tell Lies and bear False Witness against Men and Sing your filthy Rhimes and all these things are Abomination to the pure God who is calling a People out from amongst you to Worship him in Spirit and in the Truth Because of Swearing Drunkenness Wantonness Pride Covetousness and Persecuting of the Just thou Land of England and of the whole World even Mourneth and Languisheth So rests God's Servant and Witness in outward Bonds Thomas Taylor To the Magistrates TO the Magistrates of the Town of Stafford who are angry with with me for coming amongst you whilst the Money-Sermon was in hand and think you do God Service in Persecuting me for it be it known unto you that I did not Rebuke the Man in mine own Will but the Lord by my Mouth did it for your Souls Sake that you might not always be deceived with such Men whose Mouths not the Lord but filthy Lucres opens for when the Rich Man Dies then comes the Sermon at his Buryal but the Poor Man is put into the Earth with little Noise and are ye so Ignorant as to think that the Lord takes not notice of such things and doth and will Reprove them Will you Punish me as those of old did the Prophets for doing God's Work and be Guiltless What Will you say with such evil Men that the Lord hath forsaken the Earth and is there Knowledge in the most High And will you say you have a Law and therefore I must suffer tho' spoke never so truly because not according to your Wills what think you of the Jews who said concerning Christ We have a Law and by our Law he ought to dye And why consider you not in your selves that it is fit for God by whom he will to call such down as he never set up as is come to pass in this present Business Whether you Prosecute me upon Mary's Act or upon the Oath you will be guilty of Evil in the sight of God in both for in the one you will but Imitate the Papists in Mary's Days who by that Law endeavoured to stop the Mouth of God's Witness against their Superstitious and Idolatrous Doings And by the other you will make your selves like them whom God had taken way before you who Persecuted me because I could not Swear and so break the Command of Christ who saith unto his Swear not at all So consider what you do for it is not me but the Truth of God in me that you have set your selves against for I would not have you destroy your selves by striving against Gods Truth for though I be as nothing and you may trample upon me as a Man yet God's Ever-blessed Truth which dwells in me and is with me and for me in this as in other of his Works you cannot overcome for Truth is stronger than all and hath ever been my help when Men of Evil Minds have risen up against me for Truth 's Sake I praise the Lord And so I have found by manifold Experience That Jerusalem the City of Truth hath been a burdensome Stone to all that have fought against it as saith Scripture Zechariah 12.3 So if you be wise you will Understand and provide for your Souls Peace by letting the Innocent go free and not keep him in Bondage for Pleasing your selves and the Hirelings whom God is against for it is not for their Sakes that the late wicked Popish Plot was discovered but for God's Ever-blessed Truth 's Sake which he is purposed to Exalt in these latter Days and for the sake of all such as love Truth in Sincerity Rests God's Suffering Servant and your Friend who am I praise God no more nor otherwise a disturber of your Peace or the Peoples than the Prophet Elias was in his Days of that Generation though so by them Accounted 1 Kings 18.17 18. And consider well in the cool of the Day what is the reason that things go so oddly on concerning those People called Papists who seek the hurt of all without Respect of Persons or Professions who cannot bow to their Idols Is it not your Sins O People and your keeping amongst you so much of the Popish Leaven yet Unpurged out from you as it was the Sins and Superstitions of Israel of old that gave the Babylonians so much advantage against them So buy of Christ Eye-salve and annoint your Eyes with it that you may see and then all things will be plain to you Thomas Taylor To the Generation of Fleshly Fallen Christians not worthy the Name of Christians CHrist Jesus came into the World to save his People from their Sins and to cleanse their Hearts and Lives from all Unrighteousness and not to keep up the Customs of the Heathen whose Religion stands in Eating and Drinking and Gameing and Sporting and every way serving the Lust of the Flesh and of the Mind which must Perish for Meats for the Belly and the Belly for Meats but God shall destroy both it and them saith the Apostle And so Christs Doctrine is not that People should make
against you and his Vials of Wrath is he pouring forth upon you and he will not fail nor be discouraged until his Judgments be brought forth to Victory over you And now to you the Magistrates and Powers who Rule in this Nation of England lend not your Power much less give it to this dead Image uphold not this Ministry which cannot profit you nor the People at all lest God plead with you in his Wrath for your Abuse of it for though they may perswade you that Christ is not against them yet such as God hath Redeemed from amongst them know them to be no Ministers of Christ but Hirelings who have run without Christ's sending and so not going Christ's Message they cannot be content with Christ's Maintenance but cry unto you Acts 21.28 O Magistrates help help the People will not Pay us their Tythes and the like lend us your Laws your Prisons c. O Rulers Consider consider what Teachers these are who instead of compelling People to Love and contribute to them by the Power of the Word are glad to run to the Worldly Magistrates Sword is not God against them that are thus against him O leave them Leave them to try and prove themselves to the Peoples Conscience to be true Ministers by a free and powerful Ministry of the Word not of Man but of God unto them or never own them for Christ's ancient and true Ministers had freely received and therefore could freely give and did Plant before they Eat Mat. 10.8 and Fed the Flock before they had the Milk thereof but these Buy their Words and therefore Sell them like Merchants of Babylon Ezok. 34. They eat the Fat and clothe with the Wooll and kill them that are fed as the Prophet speaks but God's Flock they feed not but persecute them calling them Hereticks and all that 's naught as the Old Jews who persecuted Christ and his Followers did Acts 24.14 But after the Way that they call Heresie so worship we the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ believing his Living Word which perfects us to himself and the Scriptures which testifie thereof Glory to his Name for Ever And all ye Peoplâ—y who are Lovers and Followers and Upholders of this false Ministry which keeps you always learning 2 Tim. 3.5 5 and never brings you to the Knowledge of the Truth as it is in Jesus which alone perfects to God cease from it and the Masterly Teachers in it and from them turn to God Jer. 23.28 29. for what are their Dreams to the Living and Eternal Word of God which is as a Hammer and a Fire in the Hearts of all that receive it Ezek. 18.23 Ezek. 32.11 And what are their Inventions to the Ordinances of Christ The Lord loves your Sâ—als he hath no Pleasure in your Death it is not his Will that your Precious Souls should be lost for the pleasing of vain Men and answering their ungodly Lusts Jer. 30.17 What is there no Bulm in Gilead Is there no Christ no Physician in England that the Breach which Sin hath made betwixt God and your Souls can never be made up Hos 4.2 but the Wound must stand open still like a Bloody-Issue running out the very Life of your Souls so that you have no Power no Victory over Sin but Sin stands still in its Strength and perfect Dominion over you O when O when will you come to the Light that your Eyes may be opened to see the dangerous Paths that you are in Rev. 3.18 by following these Blind Guides Mat. 23.13 who having shut up the Kingdom of God against Men will neither enter into it themselves nor suffer others Oh! why will ye Die ye People of England Exod. 10.21 22 23. Isa 11.10 Joh. 3.19 20 Gen. 31 4. Why will ye sit in Egypt's Darkness still and the Land of God's People so full of Light The Lord God hath listed up the Standard of his Truth in the midst of you but you chuse rather to Fight under the Banner of the Power of Darkness because of your Love to the World to your Hurt and so the Old Dragon who beguiled Eve leads you Captive at his Will who will not have Christ the true Light the good Shepherd and Bishop of the Soul to rule in you The Word of the Lord God unto you all both Priests Magistrates and People Awake Awake the great and mighty terrible Day of the Lord God is at Hand 2 Pet. 3.16 2 Thes 5.2 3. Prov. 1.27 Mal. 2.1 Rom. 1.18 is very nigh to come upon you like a Thief in the Night like an Armed Man like a terrible Tempest to scatter you to spoil you of your Glory to leave you neither Root nor Branch For now is the Lord Jesus Christ Mighty in Power arisen to plead with you in his Wrath because you have made void his Law and transgressed the Everlasting Covenant of his Gracious Light and instead thereof have set up a dead Image Rev. 13.14 a liveless Form of Man's devising the Image of Jealousie a Religion and Worship which makes nothing perfect to God your Root is seen and judged by the true Light Christ Jesus the Root and Off-spring of David It is so And if you still continue in your vain Thoughts thinking to please God with such a Life wherein you are daily doing what you ought not to do and leaving undone what God commands you and never come out of that wretched and miserably defiled State but think a customary Confession of Sins without forsaking of them is a Worship worthy the pure God who is of purer Eyes than to behold Iniquity I say if these Thoughts and this Heart continue in you Hos 1.6 9. the Lord will cast you off and will utterly forsake you and bring his sore Plagues upon you and you shall know in that Day that God will not be mocked but will be sanctified and exalted in his Judgments over all his Enemies especially over such as you who take his Name daily in your Mouths in vain saying Lord Lord and living in a continual Breach of his most Holy Commandments and who instead of waiting for his Holy Spirit to kindle a pure heavenly Zeal in you towards God and Christ Lev. 10.1 2. do offer the false Fire of your own Blind Zeal as Nadab and Abihu did whom God in his Jealousie consumed with a grievous Destruction And now unto you the two Mothers of these Priests of this Nation of England called Oxford and Cambridge Isa 1.4 fee what you have brought forth and nourished at your Breasts O! a sad Generation it is O! what a Generation of Evil-doers are your Children whom you have given Suck unto become How have you with your Heathenish Arts and Sciences strengthned them against the Simplicity of the Everlasting Gospel which Christ hath restored unto us in this his glorious Day Col. 2.8 Isa 1.26 Rev.
Scripture is fulfilled which saith They hated me without a Cause Thomas Taylor To the People at and about Stafford a Testimony for God and his Truth and against Deceit and Deceivers especially the Hireling Priests as a Warning Information and Instruction in Righteousness to them and all People elsewhere concerned by the Spirit of the Lord in his Suffering Servant Thomas Taylor Hear O People and Fear for the LORD hath spoken THE false Teacher the Hireling who hath run and God never sent him but Preaches for Hire and Divines for Money can never profit your Souls O People at all but with their selfe Dreams and lying Divinations and empty Sounds they deceive your poor Souls For what can the dead words of a dâ—â—d Man dead in Sins raise up your dead Souls from Death to Life No they cannot they have no Life in them and such who have no Spiritual Health nor Soundness by their own Confession in them but are Miserable Offenders can they minister any healthful or sound Doctrine to your Souls Nay these cannot for what is their Chaff to the Wheat their frothy Words to the powerful Word of God For sow a Field with Chaff and what a Crop can you expect But as the Prophet saith They sow the Wind and reap the Whirlwind So cease from them you that love God and your own Souls and turn to God for I Testifie for God That the True Ministry the Soul-saving Ministry of Christ Jesus is not with the Parish-Hirelings of these Days for neither their long Black Robes nor long White Surplices nor their Humane Learning nor the Ordination of Man Men of like Nature with themselves doth any more conduce to the making of them able Ministers of the New Covenant the Gospel of Christ the Everlasting Covenant of God than the Grey or Brown Coat of the Plow-man or Artificer or the Skill of the Husbandman in Husbandry or the Cunning of the Cunning Worker in Wood Brass or Iron doth furnish them for Gospel-service for the Vision of God's Kingdom to all the World this Day both Wise and Foolish is like a Book sealed as the Prophet saith which is given to the Worldly-wise to read and he cannot read it because it 's seal'd and to the Foolish and he cannot read it because he is unlearned Isa 29.10 11 12. so though in the World there is a difference betwixt the Wise and Foolish yet as to the Kingdom of God there is none for the Wisdom of this World is foolishness with God 1 Cor. 1.10 c. for that which lyeth hid from all Flesh God reveals to his by his Spirit for the Spirit searcheth all things yea the deep things of God 1 Cor. 2.6 7 8. And People the time of quickning and raising up of many that were dead in Sins is come again after a long Night of Darkness and the Dead this Day hear the Voice of the Son of God not of main Man and they that hear do live John 5.25 So People look to your Souls for though your Parish-Teachers who Preach for Hire and Divine for Money and love to go in their Long and White Robes do boast of their being come out of Popery yet upon the Popish Maintenance of Tythes Glebe-lands Easter-reckonings Mortuaries and Moneys for Preaching over and Burying the Dead and such like things they live and make a Prey upon not willing to come to Christ to this Day as the first Christians did for a thorough Reformation and so not a little but a great deal of the Old Soure Popish Leaven being yet found amongst them both in Doctrine and Practice how should their whole Lump but be very sour As appears by their Fruits and the Fruits of such as follow them And so for witnessing in Christ against them for these evil things 〈◊〉 suffer Imprisonment yet through God's Mercy inabling me thereunto I rejoice and can truly from my Heart praise the Lord that hath deliver'd my Soul from that horrible Pit that these ungodly Men yet remain in and will not be helped out of And ye People of Stafford for your sakes it was that the Lord by my Mouth rebuked the Hireling that you might not always be deceived and kept in Death with such Dreamers but that you might turn to the Lord God from all such to know his Word and Spirit that made you in you to teach you and to lead your Immortal Souls to the Springs of Living Waters for you have too long dwelt in the Wilderness of Sin Ignorance and Vnbelief and now it is high time for you to Repent and come to know the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and Fire which is Christ's proper Baptism Mat. 3.10 11 12. for alas you have but hitherto been carried on by the Pharisees in the outward Shadows and Figures of Things which reach not the Soul to purifie and perfect it unto God and therefore is the Lord come in Mighty Power this Day to break in sunder all the Graven Images of the People whether under the Profession of the Popish or Protestant Religion for the Lord is on his Throne to make all things new again as in the beginning when all the Sons of God in Holiness sung for Joy and rejoiced in the Lord for the Blessed Victory they had got through the Blood of the Lamb over all their Souls Enemies But Wo and Alas for you the Poor People of Stafford and of many other Places who are under the Teachings of Worldly-minded Men Miserable Offenders like your selves always doing what ye should not do and leaving undone what ye should do and so without all Spiritual Health in the Miserable Captivity of Sin my Soul mourns for you and my Sufferings are for you and my Soul prays for you that you may be recover'd out of the Snare of your Soul's Enemy by which ye are led Captive at his Will for many Days and Years hath my Soul mourned for you and been oppressed and the Lord hath called to you early and late to Repent and lay things to Heart but O the hardness of many of your Hearts and the carelesness of the rest O why will ye Die Why will ye linger and remain still in Spiritual Sodom and Egypt where the Witnesses lay slain Rev. 11. So whilst ye have time prize it left the Lord lay you upon a Bed of Sorrows where no Ease is and say unto you in his Wrath I gave them time to Repent and they Repenâ—ed not In the Year 1679. Thomas Taylor HEAR the Word of the Lord all you that fear to offend the Lord and who breathe after Righteousness in any measure and yet in your Ignorance are seeking the Living among the Dead the Living God in Dead Observations which by Tradition you have received one from another and not from the Lord Jesus The Day is come wherein by the Spirit of Jesus it is witnessed in and by his Living Members That he that was dead is now alive and lives for Evermore and is
coming in the Clouds of Heaven with Power and great Glory The Disciples in the beginning of this Chapter asked him What should be the Sign of his Coming And here he answers them Not a wooden Cross or any such thing but the fore-goings of Judgment terrible Judgments as is here mentioned which go immediately before this his appearing And for the outward Cross being a special Memorial of the Passion The Apostles had other ways of remembring Christ's Death than by outward Crosses of Wood Gold Silver or other Metal or Stone or so for they were buried with him into the likeness of his Death and they bore in their Bodies the Marks and Dying of the Lord Jesus and the Vertue of Christ's Passion they felt daily to Crucifie them to the World and the World with all its Evil to them And as they died and were dead to Sin they were made alive and lived to God and so Christ lived in them and they in him How could they forget one another And thus it was not only with the Apostles but with all the true and living Members of Jesus standing thus in the Faith in those Times as Scripture plentifully declares and neither need nor mention made of any outward Cross to put them in mind of Christ's Passion seeing they daily suffered and reigned with him But People retaining only the Name of Christians but falling from the Faith of Christ which the true Saints lived in then came up this Invention of outward Crosses and Pictures and such-like Smoak out of the Bottomless Pit for Memorials and Teachers to the poor Carnal-minded People which were out of the Faith and so at Enmity against God But Praises to the Lord saith my Soul for this day of his which after a long Night of Darkness is restoring to many the ancient everlasting Truth which all Holy Men of God lived by And now Mystery Babylon with all her Lovers must into the Lake prepared for her But says this Dreamer farther The Cross was that blessed Altar on which Christ offered his Bloody Sacrifice And to prove it brings Gal. 6.13 Phil. 3.18 Ezek. 9.4 In which last Scripture he says Such as were signed with the sign Tau which was a Picture or Figure of the Cross were saved from the exterminating Angel and only such Now to this I say it is meer Deceit And adding to the Scripture this Saying of his for there is mention made only of a Mark Vision-wise but nothing at all what Mark it was neither was it needful for to mark them there signifies God's special Care of his in time of Judgment and not an outward Cross as these Dreamers Dream And for those other Scriptures Gal. 6. Phil. 3. they speak not of the outward Cross of Wood or so but of the inward Spiritual Cross the Power of God 1 Cor. 1.17 18. But this Man by calling the Cross the Altar maketh it greater than Christ for saith Christ Matt. 23.19 Whether is greater the Gift than the Altar that Sanctifies it And thus it appears how near unto Blasphemy are all Superstitious and Idolatrous Minds In his Exposition of the Fifth Article of the Creed he saith That his descending into Hell meaneth That so soon as Christ was dead his blessed Soul descended into Limbo to free the Holy Fathers who were there And for proof brings Acts 2.2 24 27. and Eph. 4.8 And then asks Did he not also descend to Purgatory to free such as were there He answers It is most probable he did according to 1 Pet. 3.19 20. I Answer That these dark Imaginations are poor Grounds for People to place Faith and so Salvation on It is probable saith he that he descended to Purgatory And what is it more than probable that he went into Limbo Nay nay it is not so much as probable that he went into either for those Scriptures he brings speaks neither of Limbo nor Purgatory and so there being no such Place as either Limbo or Purgatory as Papists Dream how could he descend into either For the true Place of Purging is through Sanctification of the Spirit in the Belief of the Truth as it is in Jesus in this Life time and not afterwards And the Heil which Christ's Soul was not left in is understood when he said My God why hast thou forsaken me And for his Body it was raised out of the Grave and so the true Christ saw no Corruption as the Scripture there speaks But your imagined Breaden Christ will Corrupt But for this Man's Dream of Interpreting the Prison to be Purgatory which Christ by his Spirit went to Preach to them in in Noah's time that were Disobedient and that not till after he was Crucified is so gross that it needs little other Confutation than the very mentioning of it for Christ by his Spirit in Noah Preached to them in that Day when they were in the Prison of their Sins and by the Spirit that raised Jesus from the Dead have the Wicked been Warned and Preached unto in all Ages And he saith That the print of Christ's Feet are to be seen to this Day upon Mount Olivet from whence he was taken up I say what if it were will you go to Worship it as you do a Wood or Stone Cross But I do no more believe that there are such prints than I do your other Unscriptural Superstitious Imaginations and Inventions But to Discredit this I have very great ground considering that Christ said to Mary that she should not touch him in an outward natural manner or so because he was not yet ascended John 20.17 because there is danger in such things how much less would he leave prints of outward Feet for Superstitious Souls to Idolize And it 's probable for this very Cause was the Body of Moses hid from the Jews lest they should Idolize it Therefore saith Paul a Spiritual minded Man for himself and his Brethren Henceforth know we no Man after the Flesh yea though we have known Christ after the Flesh yet know we him henceforth so no more for he that is in Christ is a New Creature 2 Cor. 5.16 17. When will Christendom so called learn this Lesson And this Book saith That Christ as God is equal with the Father but as Man is in the highest Created Glory I answer the Scripture saith that Christ sitteth or sat down at the Right Hand of the Majesty on high Heb. 1.3 Is this Created And he asks Is there any Merit in our Works Yea saith he as in Apoc. 22.12 I say that Scripture doth not say for the Merit of Man's Work but only they shall receive according as their Work is But pure good Works are rather God's than ours and then where is the Merit And he saith The Place of the general Judgment shall be in the Valley of Jehosaphat betwixt Jerusalem and Mount Oliver I answer how knows he that How is it he mentions no Scripture for it So it is meer Imagination But what Must People
thee who wilt not have it to rule in thee the Lord hath no respect nor to thy Offering So prize your Time O all ye Strangers to the Life of God and make supplication to your Judge Christ Jesus that Lights every Man that comes into the World for this is the condemnation that Light is come into the World and Men Loved and do Love their evil deeds and hate the Light for every evil Doer hates the Light saith Christ yea it is so whatsoever the Hypocrite the Evil-Doer with his Mouth may say to the contrary And all ye Children of the Light walk in the Light and be thankful for the Lord is Arisen in Mighty Power to Crown you with his Glory his Glorious Righteous Wisdom Holiness and Salvation he is come indeed to fulfil all his Promises in you and for you to the Glorifying of the Arm of his own Power and for your Souls endless comfort and why should any of you be afraid of what Man can do against you seeing you fear God and love the Children of Men and you are not of them that seek to destroy Mens Lives but to save them as much as in you lieth Arise Arise break forth into singing ye Sons and Daughters of the Heavenly King the Lord our Righteousness for thy Light is come and the Glory of the Lord is risen upon thee And thou shalt no more be termed desolate for thy Maker is thy Husband and thy Land is married indeed And thy Plants grow and thy Gardens cast a Sweet Smell Oh! Happy are they who Believe in thy Light and walk in the clear Sun-shine of thy Day No Stumbling nor ocasion of Stumbling is on thy Mountain nor in thy Valleys but on the Dark Mountains whereon the Haters of Christ walk is all the Stumbling of this present World Thou who art come in at the true Door Christ Jesus the Light of the World thy Kingdom is not of this World but is a Kingdom without End which cannot be shaken wherein dwels Righteousness indeed and thy Pasture is Fresh and green all the Year bong being wet with the Dew of Heaven yea in thy Happy Lot are both the upper and nether Springs and Bread of Life for evermore where rests with thee in the Purest Love thy Brother in the Joys and Sufferings of the Gospel Thomas Taylor In the 12 of the 6th Month 1669. A Message of Truth to Professors WO to the Teachers of the People that daub with untemper'd Morter and cry Peace Peace when the Lord hath not spoken Peace For the Lord speaks Peace to none in their Sins but they Teach for Doctrine That none can Live out of Sin whil'st on this side the Grave and so they Minister for Antichrist the Man of Sin and not for Christ who is without Sin in Gods Righteousness And he that keepeth Christ's Commandments dwelleth in him and he in him and his Commandments are not Grievous saith John And again He that is Born of Christ Sinneth not for the Everlasting Father of the Vnspotted Generation it he And herein saith the same John and all the Living Members of Christ is our Love made Perfect that we may have Boldness in the Day of Judgment because as he is so are we in this World But the Masterly Teachers of this world cry out O the Commands of Christ who is God are hard none can keep them we must â—ive in Sin whilst on Earth no Perfection here no Victory over all while on this side the outward Grave These have their Eyes abroad and Judge after the Flesh and the things of Gods Spirit are Foolishness to them The Grave of Sir 〈◊〉 lie dead in and know not the Resurrection from it and so 〈◊〉 norant of Christ who is the Resurrection and the Life And the â—â—r in such is shut as yet that should hear the Sons Voice whose Vâ—â—â—e raiseth the Dead O Foolish and Slow of Heart to believe all that Christ and his Prophets have spoken Doth not Christ say The hour is coming and now is when the Dead shall hear the Voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall Live For as the Father hath Life in himself so hath he given to the Son to have Life in himself John 5.26 And in another place He that Liveth and Believeth in me shall never die for God is not the God of the Dead but of the Living for the Dead cannot Praise him And And I will Ransom them from the Power of the Grace I will Redeem them from Death O Death I will be thy Flagnes O Grave I will be thy Destruction Hos 13.14 And again Ezek. 27.12 c. Thus saith the Lord God Behold O my People I will open your Graves and cause you to come up out of your Graves and ye shall know that I am the Lord and I will Place my Sanctuary in the midst of you for evermore These Words are Faithful and True and the Israel of God who are risen with Christ know them and in the Birth Immortal being passed from Death to Life do set to their Seal That God is a Faithful Performer of his Promises this Day For Life and Immortality is brought to Light through the Gospel which is the Power of God to Salvation in all that believe in God and know his Christ in them who is the Death of Death and Destruction of Sin and Life Eternal to enjoy Glory to his Name for ever And against this Living Faith and Quickning Power the Gates of Hâ—ll shall never be able no prevail But as any said before Wo to the Teachers of the People who Daub with Untempâ—â—ed Morter who look outward and judge of things according to the Flesâ— and outward appearance of things and plead for the Life of Sin during the whole time of Mans being upon Earth and look at the Grave without and Death without and so lie Dead in Sin and Buried in the Grave of their Spiritual Wickedness themselves and so leâ—d about a People filly as Women in Matters Spiritual laden like themselves with divers Sins and Lusts always learning but never able to come to the Knowledge of the Truth For who know the Truth as it is in Jesus are set free by it For if you be set free by the Truth then are ye free indeed saith Christ This is more than all outward Knowledge and Profession to be so free as not to be under the Power of any Sin Lust Temptation Will of Man nor any of the Powers of Darkness whatsoever but Free as Christ is Free who is over all God Blessed forever But now that Christ is come to set up this his Holy Glorious Kingdom in the Hearts of the Children of Men where is this Faith to be found on Earth But the Multitudes of Earthly Professors cry the Kingdom of Heaven hereafter the Kingdom of Glory hereafter no Perfection on this side the outward Grave none can overcome or put off the Body of Sin whilst here and the