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A79837 A full discovery and confutation of the wicked and damnable doctrines of the Quakers. As also, a plain vindication and confirmation of sundry fundamental points of the Christian religion, denyed or corrupted by the enemies of the truth in these times. Published for the benefit of such weak Christians, who are not so able to discover and oppugne the dangerous doctrines of subtil seducers when coloured over with fair words and pretences, and so are more apt to be taken in their snares. Whereunto is annexed an excellent discourse proving that singing of Psalmes is not only lawful, but an ordinance of God. / By Jonathan Clapham, a servant of Christ in the work and labour of the Gospel at Wramplingham in Norff. Clapham, Jonathan. 1656 (1656) Wing C4407; Thomason E498_7; ESTC R206047 81,821 100

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1 Cor. 3.11 Zach 11.8 and affirms that some have not the Spirit of God in them Rom. 8.9 John 14.17 1 Cor. 2.14 therefore if they have no humane soul in them as Hubberthorn teaches in saying the Scriptures speak not of an humane soul they must have no soul at all for they have not the Spirit of God in them but enough for the confutation of this wretched doctrine It hath been objected to me by these people pleading for this abominable Tenet that Gen. 2.7 God is said to breath into man the breath of life and so man become a living soul whence they would infer the soul to be a part of the being of God infused into man Answ The Scripture holds forth no more but this that the soul was not created with the body of the earth as the souls of beasts were and so to perish with the body but that it was created by God a spiritual substance and so infused into the body it was of a more excellent and spiritual extract then the body was and therefore the original of mans spirit is set forth otherwise then the original of the souls of beasts it came indeed from God but was not of the being of God which is spiritual and indivisible this were to make men to be gods This was the heresie of the wicked Manichees whom Augustine sometimes confuted and vindicated this place which they had perverted Object But they argue much from these Scriptures that speak of the onenesse of beleevers with Christ and Gods dwelling in them and they in him for this thing Answ I shall therefore for the benefit of the weak open the manner of Christs in-being or in-dwelling in beleevers lest they not understanding it should stumble at these Scriptures This in-dwelling or in-being of Christ and onenesse with him is held forth in many Scriptures John 6 56. Gal. 2.20 Col. 1.29 2 Cor. 13.5 c. John 17.21 now how should we understand this what God to dwell in his Saints Christ to be and inhabit in beleevers how can this be the heaven of heavens cannot containe him how much lesse the strait heart of man Know First Negatively you must not understand this in-being or in-dwelling of Christ to be either 1. A corporeal inhabitation as if the body of Christ or his humane nature dwelt in us which was the grosse conceit of the Capernaites John 6. and is to this day the opinion of Papists and Vbiquitaries who imagine Christs body to have the properties of the divine nature communicated to it to be immense and to be in many places at once and this must be the conceit of the Quakers if they hold any man Christ at all for they deny any Man Christ but in us men This is a grosse mistake it overthrows the truth of Christs Man-hood and the Scriptures expresly say The heavens must containe him and this man Christ comes not till he descends to judge the world besides the Scriptures teach that Christs being in us is spiritual not bodily Rom. 8.9 10. 2. Nor is it an essential in-dwelling of the divine nature in Gods people as if the very being of God were communicated to us and dwelt in us though the Apostle Peter speaks of the divine nature being communicated to the Saints yet he expresses other where what he understands thereby namely the divine graces and vertues of the Spirit Indeed how can the being of God which is infinite and boundlesse be in one place or person more then in another though his graces may 3. Nor is it a Personal in-being as the soul lives in the body and is one subsistence with it thus the fulnesse of the God-head dwelt in Christ by personal or hypostatical union but thus God is not in his Saints then they should be gods as Christ was God this is the blasphemy of Familists who say they are godded and christed Secondly Affirmatively Christ dwelleth and is in his Saints according to the Scriptures two ways 1. By his special spiritual presence he is more especially present with and in the hearts of his Saints then with others by his gracious manifestations by his sweet influences and by his wonderful operatitions upon their hearts so God dwelt in the Temple formerly and so he dwells in heaven now in the Temple God said This is my rest here I will dwell he manifested himself to his people there he heard their prayers gave forth his oracles there they had communion with God in his Ordinances they saw his face in the Sanctuary c. and so now in heaven God is said to dwell there because he manifests his glorious presence there especially in that place the Saints shall have the vision and fruition of God eternally Thus in the same manner God dwells in his people now by special spiritual presence he makes such manifestations of himself to them as none besides have they see his face know more of his minde have more of his love-visits then others have John 14.21 Rev. 3.20 he refreshes them with his flaggons of wine and his hidden Mannah fills them with the comfort peace and joy of his Spirit He vouchsafes to them such divine influences of grace as others have not such quicknings and breathings of his Spirit as fills their hearts with spiritual vigour and life because he lives they live also And he doth such mighty works in them as in none else puts forth the same power that was put forth in raising Christ from the dead to mortifie corruptions in them to strengthen them to beleeve and to do the works of God to frame them according to the image of God c. Esay 26.12 Eph. 1.21 2. By mystical union and this is more then the former one may have a dwelling in an house but no union with it God dwelt in the Temple but was not one with it he dwells in the heavens but hath no union with them but he so dwells in beleevers as he is one with them 1 Cor. 6.16 1 Cor. 12.12 John 17.21 This onenesse is so near that it excels all the unions upon earth the Scripture uses the comparisons of husband and wife Eph. 5. of head and members 1 Cor. 12. of soul and body Gal. 2 20. of root and branches John 15. to set it forth by and yet all these be too short he addes the union betwixt the Father and Son John 17. to commend it further yet must not be so presumptuously wrested as to plead for an essential or personal union to make us gods All these comparisons are used in Scripture not because they suit in al things but that we may by these see what a comfortable relation we stand in to God and what blessings we may expect to be communicated to us by vertue thereof If any expect I should give some name to that union to expresse what it is further I shall presume to say no more but this it is a great mystery and cannot be fully comprehended by the Saints
David prays Open mine eyes that I may understand the wonderful things of thy Law give me understanding that I may keep thy precepts would not the Quakers correct David here and say why David look to the light within thee and that is sufficient what needest thou pray for more so Paul Eph. 1.17 18. prays for a Spirit of wisdom and revelation for the Ephesians though they had already the light in them and the outward preaching of the Gospel our doctrine therefore is more agreeable to the Scriptures then the Quakers doctrine we teach besides the light in the conscience which condemns grosse sins which we would not have men sin against but to study to keep a good conscience void of offence there is a necessity of the light of the Scriptures and the preaching of the Word to discover such things as the conscience cannot discover and of the sanctifying illumination of Gods Spirit also to open our blind eyes to see those discoveries and his grace to heal the enmity of our hearts that we may close with them did the Quakers believe the conversion and sanctification of the soul to be such a great work as we do they would see a necessity of an higher principle to produce it then this common light in all men Reader thou mayst sufficiently see what corrupters of the truth the Quakers be seeing in this main doctrine which is the sum of all their teaching they erre so grosly and are plain Papists and Pelagians II. The Quakers destroy the true doctrine of Sanctification in that they make it to consist in a few outward observances of casting off ribbons not putting off the hat vsing the expressions of thou yea nay c. as the Pharisees formerly placed holinesse in washing cups hands c. and the furthest they go is but to cry down grosse sinnes as pride drunkennesse covetousnesse c. whilest in the mean time they speak nothing of a work of regeneration and renovation in the heart for they teach there 's enough in men as they come into the world if they heed that and as concerning inward mortification of the seeds of evil in the heart and a spiritual work of God upon the soul in turning the whole frame of it to God to center in him again how silent are they in these great things did they look upon these as necessary they durst not proudly boast they are perfect and absolutely free from the being of sin but even as the Papists who say they are free from the being of sin and for that end deny concupiscence in the regenerate to be sin so must the Quakers look upon these things as nothing if they will defend their perfection But we on the contrary maintain the great work of Sanctification begins chiefly in the heart in creating a new heart infusing a new spirit Ezek. 36.26 27. which men have not as they come into the world at the first birth but at the second birth in making the tree good and then the fruit will be good afterwards Mat. 12.33 III. They destroy the proper end of Sanctification the end of God in Sanctifying his people is not that by setting up a righteousnesse in them they might thereby be justified before God for their justification stands in Gods free remitting of their sins and imputing to them the obedience and satisfaction of Christ their Surety wrought in his person for them as was before shewed in the Section of Justification but that being reconciled to God through Christ their natures being sanctified and the image of God repaired in them they might be fit to glorifie God and to enjoy communion with him for ever to make them fit for glory for without holinesse no man can see God Heb. 12.14 But now the Quakers make the great end of God in sanctifying his people and infusing righteousnesse into them to be that they might be justified before God and therefore ignorantly confound justification mortification and sanctification together see Nailer love to the lost p. 50. thus are they enemies to the doctrine of Christ crucified and justification by faith they are fallen from grace and seek to lead men from Christ to the Law again as the Apostle Paul shews in the Epistle to the Gallatians IV. They own not any for truly sanctified persons but such as are perfectly freed from the being of sinne and therefore reproach us who say with the Apostle Romans 7. we have sin dwelling in us as unsanctified persons whereas the Scriptures own such for Saints as are freed from the dominion of sinne though not yet from the being thereof and shew that in the best there is flesh as well as Spirit Gal. 5.17 V. They deny the grace of God infused into the Saints in Sanctification to be a created thing though the Scripture calls it the new creature 2 Corinth 5.17 Ephes 2.10 and hold it to be the uncreated being of God so Richard Hubberthorne and John Lawrence in a letter sent to me speak a most wretched and blasphemous doctrine for then should we be Gods if the uncreated being were communicated to us even as Christ was God the divine essence being eternally communicated to him besides this doctrine would make us meerly passive as stocks and stones in all duties of Sanctification the plain doctrine of the Libertines that being followed overthrows all holinesse having sometimes laid open the odiousnesse of this opinion to my people the person last named being ashamed of it did openly deny it before the Congregation but hath now owned it with his hand subscribing to it VI. They take away many great arguments inducing to Holinesse and Sanctification as the doctrine of the Resurrection last Judgement Heaven and Hell c. as was before shewed now to what purpose is it to raile against sinne when they take away those weapons that should destroy it and to speak of holinesse when they take away the greatest inducements thereunto If the dead rise not saith the Apostle 1 Corinth 15.22 then let us eat and drink for to morrow we die what need men be affrighted with the scar-crowes of Heaven Hell c These evil words will more corrupt good manners then all their other good words will promote holinesse VII They destroy all those helps to Sanctification and Godlinesse which God hath given us They deny the Ordinances of God as before was shewed which are the means of grace and Sanctification John 17.17 Eph. 5.26 Jam. 1.18 c. could the prelatical enemies of holinesse in former times take a more crafty course to suppresse holinesse then by silencing of Preaching Catechising Praying and restraining Christian communion c how gladly the Quakers would promote all this if they could and leave people only to the light in them which is meer darknesse I shewed before in the Section about Ordinances By this time the weakest Reader may perceive the Quakers to be but faint enemies to sinne though they speak aloud and give bigge words against it and