them because they are in the Bible only which runs against the Testimony of Scripture the Consent of Ages and the Writings and Judgment of the most Honest and Learn'd Protestants 2ly As if it were a like Evil Conscientiously to forbear Running Willing and Striving in Matters of Worship without the Spirit 's Conduct and scaredâ—y to plead for the Commission of Murder and Idolatry because Men of such Consciences bogle not at it though that is more then J. F. can prove I mean that they have no Stroak or Remorse 3ly As if we could Worship Preach gather Churches and administer Gospel-Ordinances aright without the Spirit 4ly That he is not convinced by any other Testimony then the Scripture without of any Transgression against God's Law 5ly It supposes that if Men stay'd till the Spirit mov'd they should stay long enough who vainly prate of Praying by the Spirit notwithstanding never considering that the Spirit standeth ready to Reveal it self to their Assistance and Assurance who wait for it and that all the Children of God are led by the Spirit of God which being our Position had it but been weighed by this Adversary he could not methinks be so unjust in his Aggravations 'T is true should we believe as he doth the Spirit is not to be waited for now adayes to lead us or that it is not ready to our Information when we wait for its Discoveries and Leadings our Assertion would look very absurd and loose for it were to let fall all Worship but not upon our own Principle as I said before for first all Worship to God ought to be performed by the Assistance of his holy Spirit for of our selves we can do nothing that is good And secondly God's Spirit is ready to assist instruct and comfort those that wait diligently and patiently for it yea God hath given it to the Rebellious that it may judge them if it do not lead them It is such Protestant Doctrine that I wonder Men should not know their admited Ancestors Faith when they meet it Oh great Degeneration into Hardness Ignorance Lastly There is the same to be said against him that pretends to ground all upon the Scripture that he objects against us who plead for the Conviction of Conscience which the Instance of the Jews Murder of our Lord Jesus Christ unanswerably proves There was a Law that Blasphemers should be put to Death by this Law they apprehended Jesus adjudged and got him to be executed These Men above any Age exalted the Scriptures as the Only Rule Where lyes the Mistake Not in the Scripture but in their blind and envious Application of it Now I ask if the only Way for them to have come to the true Sense and Knowledge of him and escaped that Wicked Murder and the deplorable Consequences of it had not been to have waited upon God for the Conviction Discoveries and Guidance of his holy Spirit since Flesh and Blood and the utmost Wit of Man with the Exactness of the meer Letter of the Scriptures could never give the certain discerning Knowledge and Savour of him unto that Generation whose very Words themselves were Spirit and Life It was by a Divine Touch Sense and Knowledge given from above that he was truly discern'd own'd and follow'd of those that believ'd in him and clear ved to him therefore said Christ No man cometh to me but whom my Father draweth Where was that Drawing but within Again Simon Peter Flesh and Blood hath not revealed what who I am but my Father that is in Heaven So that at last Men must come to this Spiritual Sense in themselves to understand and apply the very Commands of Scripture otherwise not Justice but detestable Murder may under the Name of it be confidently perpetrated Wherefore we Exhort all To have Recourse unto God's Spirit that illuminates certainly and gives to act unblameably by which the Scriptures are only understood as they should be People brought into the Possession of that Life of Righteousness they plentifully declare of Had it not been for this inward Discerning there had been no Ground for the Abolishment of the whole Jewish Service which followed some Years after Christ's Ascension And it is the same Eternal Spirit that is the great Rule and Judge now which God promised more particularly to shed abroad in the latter Dayes and is the great inseparable Priviledge from the New and Everlasting Covenant But to conclude Why should it seem so Heterodox in J. Faldo's Judgment since if Men believe the Scripture upon the Testimony of the Spirit they practise it by the Knowledge and Power of the same How else could Paul have decry'd Jewish Ceremonies or we know what to take and what to leave Or why do we omit any Command therein mentioned They Circumcised therefore must I Circumcise They Baptized must I therefore Baptize with forty more particular Cases wherein nothing can secure any from the Imitation of them set Conviction or Spiritual Discerning aside I will offer two or three Testimonies from approved Men in our Defence William Tindal that ancient faithful Protestant Martyr whom J. Fox that writ the Books of Martyrs calls the English Apostle speaks thus That it is impossible to understand in the Scripture more then a Turk for whosoever or any that hath not the Law of God writ in his Heart to fulfil it Again Without the Spirit it is impossible to understand them John Jewel Bishop of Salisbury in his excellent Book against the Papists writ above One Hundred Years ago says thus to our purpose The Spirit of God is bound neither to Sharpness of Wit nor to abundance of Learning Oftentimes the Unlearned see that thing that the Learned cannot see Christ saith I thank thee O Father Lord of Heaven and Earth that thou hast hid these things from the Wise and the Politick and hast revealed them unto the Little Ones Therefore Epiphanius saith Only to the Children of the Holy Ghost all the Holy Scriptures are plain and clear Again Flesh and Blood is not able to understand the Holy Will of God without SPECIAL Revelation Therefore Christ gave Thanks unto his Father and likewise opened the Hearts of his Disciples that they might understand the Scriptures Without this special Help and PROMTING of God's Holy Spirit the Word of God is unto the Reader be he never so wise or well learned as the Vision of a sealed Book Now unless Men are bound to do what they do not understand how to do then only are they to do them where they are Revealed or Discovered to them which being by the Spirit only according to their Doctrine the Testimony and Discoveries of the Spirit are requisite to our understanding of the Scriptures which implies and comprehends a Discriminating Knowledge or Certain Discerning of what we should practise from what is not obliging upon us to practise and consequently that we ought not to run head long without such knowledge T.
pretended Minister of the Gospel to have consulted before he had engaged himself upon so strange a Skirmish That this Injury done me may more distinctly appear I shall here set down once more I hope without Offence to the Reader the present Parson's Text not his Sermon that 's too tedious No Command in the Scripture is any further obliging upon any Man then as he finds a Conviction upon his Conscience It is Conviction that can only oblige to Obedience When any Man is convinced that what was commanded another is required of him then and not till then he is rightly authorized to perform it I omit to mention his Comment but every Thing that is vicious prophane and diabolical he makes to follow upon those Premises That my Reader may the better see whether my Matter and Design at large merits any such Constructions I chuse to insert and that as the best and briefest Way the 5th Chapter of my Rejoynder to J. Faldo which contains his Charge and Proof my Answer thus pared and patched by J. C. his Reply and my Rejoynder as a more compleat Defence of E. B's and my Assertion against the vile Interpretations of J. Faldo so dexterously followed by J. C. and therefore equally fit for him Here follows the 5th Chapter of my Rejoynder to J. F. containing a Vindication of my Doctrine from any such Evil Consequences as are by I. C. charged upon it with this further Advertisement that the Reader observe that those Lines of Capital Letters are the Passages quoted by I. C. and all the rest of my Answer in the Common Letter with Comma's on the sides herein recited and much more is wilfully omitted by my Adversary also the Reader is desired to consider of the Marginal Notes by which he will be help't to understand the Disingenuity of I. C. against me my Friends and our holy Profession Of Scripture-Commands what are binding and what not Our Adversary's Disingenuity observed BUt however he has fail'd in his last Chapter doubtless he thinks he has done my Business in this he begins like himself Rep. My Charge and Argument in this Chapter is The Quakers affirm the Doctrines Commands Promises holy Examples expressed in Scripture as such not to be at all binding to us such an Argument and so proved by me mark Reader as a Thousand Penns can never invalid it Rejoyn What can there be more conceited then this He must live very lonely and far from Neighbours that proclaims so much Praise to himself and have wonderful Confidence to bid Defiance so vainly to others Reader I beseech thee for the Truth 's sake on whose side soever thou shalt find it to be to examine with all Impartiallity his Charge our Answer his Reply and our Rejoynder If his Honesty Reason and Justice hold any Proportion to his great Confidence we yield But if upon an impartial Consideration he shall be found to clip and pervert our Matter and to shuffle with us in his own once do a poor People Right in giving Judgment against this horrible Injustice The Charge thou hast heard the Proof was this That is no Command of God to me what he commanded to another Did any of the Saints which we read of act by that Command which was to another not having the Command to themselve c. Now before I give my Answer as it was set down in my Book I shall insert his Quotation of my Answer Rep To this saith P. I answer briefly and plainly and he is as good as his word No Commands saith he in the Scripture are any further obliging upon any Man then as he finds a Conviction upon his Conscience otherwise men should be engaged without if not against Conviction a thing unreasonable in a Man Rejoyn He has a notable way of Contracting his Adversary's Answers I will set down what I writ faithfully plainly and briefly Edward Burroughs's Expression may be taken two wayes and both safe enough to the Honour and Credit of the Scripture though not to the Charity or Honesty of J. Faldo Now follows that part he cited NO COMMAND IN THE SCRIPTURE IS ANY FURTHER OBLIGING UPON ANY MAN THEN AS HE FINDS A CONVICTION UPON HIS CONSCIENCE otherwise Men should be engaged without if not against Conviction a thing Unreasonable in a Man Therefore the Apostle when he wrote to the Church exhorted them not to do those things whereof they were ashamed to shun what was manifested to be Evil and affirms that whatever might be known of God was manifested within for God had shown is unto them SO THAT CONVICTION CAN ONLY OBLIGE TO OBEDIENCE and since what works that Conviction is the manifesting Light universal Grace or quickning Spirit in the Heart of Mankind it follows that the principal Ground for our Faith in the Scriptures and Reason of our Obedience to the holy Precepts therein contained is the Manifestation Conviction and secret drawing of the Light or Spirit of God in the Conscience And thus E B's words are sound and scriptural for the Scriptures are chiefly believed to be true upon Conviction therefore every Practice therein AND WHEN ANY MAN IS CONVINCED THAT WHAT WAS COMMANDED ANOTHER IS REQUIRED OF HIM THEN AND NOT TILL THEN HE IS RIGHTLY AUTHORIZED TO PERFORM IT Again Such Commands either relate to Ordinary or Extraordinary Cases By Ordinary Cases I mean such as chiefly concern Faith and holy Life which are general permanent and indispensible and then I deny his Consequence By Extraordinary Cases I understand Moses 's going to Pharaoh the Prophets several manneres of Appearance to the Kings Priests and People of Israel with other Temporary Commands relating to outward services c. And so we say that what is commanded One Man is not binding as such upon another But when the Lord shall say If thou sinnest thou shalt dye If thou keepest my Commands thou shalt â—ive Be ye holy for I the Lord your God am holy For your selves KNOW YE NOT how ye ought to follow us c I say these Precepts and Examples are obliging upon all why because they more or less meet with a Conviction In the Consciences of all For I am perswaded none that has a reasonable Soul who has not out-lived his Day but would readily say These are true and weighty Sayings For Faith in God and a holy self-denying Life are necessary both to Temporal Eternal Happiness It was Reader to this sober Answer he slung out his foregoing Rant and makes this following Comment and Reply Viz. says J. Faldo Rep. They are no Commands unless we think so 'T is no sin to break all the Commands in the Bible if our Consciences can be so blind dead or hardened as not to tell us 't is a sin They who thought they did God good service in killing his Servants did not sin in the least because they were not convinced of a Command to the contrary To vindicate
Collier an Ancient and Eminent Man among the Western-Separatists of our Nation writeth thus For me to speak of God because another speaks of him and to be able to talk much of God as I read of him in Scripture NOT BEING MADE ONE IN THE SAME TRUTH I see and speak BUT WHAT ANOTHER HATH SPOKEN and so may speak truly sometimes of God but it is by Hear-say ANOTHER MAN's TRUTH BUT NOT MINE so I doubt many a Soul BOASTS IN ANOTHER MAN's LIGHT Again I see that external Actings according to a Rule without is nothing if not flowing from a Principle of Life and Love within Which is more then E. B. said of whom J. Faldo with unworthy Reflection and base Wrestings hath said so much Thus far goes my Rejoynder and I hope far enough to defeat our Skirmisher and rout all his false Consequences in the plain Field I will not abound in my own Sense but shall leave every impartial Reader to determine whether E. Burrough or W. Penn for him understood and intended those Passages to all the Commandments of God or those only that are of a pecuâ—iar and extraordinary Nature which are both by J. F. and J. C. so odiously relented and improved even to all Atheism and Impiety But for further Satisfaction to my Reader and to compleat this Adversary's Defeat I will suppose him making this Acknowledgment and Objection viz. I grant that both J. F. and my self have unworthily wrong'd E. B 's Words and Sense and W. Penn 's too as to the main scope of the Controversie believing they intended what they said not of all the Commands of God and I am willing to let go the last of the three Passages I cite in my Pamphlet viz. When any Man is convinced that what was commanded another is required of him then and not till then he is rightly authorized to perform it believing this related to extraordinary Cases but I am yet dissatisfied with the other two Passages still viz. No Command in the Scripture is any further obliging upon any Man then as he finds a Conviction upon his Conscience It is Conviction that can only oblige to Obedience I still believe that all those horrid Consequences I skirmisht him with are due to that Doctrine What more can J. C. say for himself then this Objection imports I shall now defend my Words as he hath laid them down from any such Inferences as he has given in their Name To make my Answer clear it is to be consider'd first What is that Conscience I mean next What the Conviction and by whom given which understood corrects his Folly to say no worse and ends the Debate with his Defeat To say nothing here of the various Definitions that are of Conscience nor is it so proper for the Question is about what Conscience I shall keep to the Distinction in Scripture the Scripture mentions two Sorts of Conscience a Good and an evil Conscience the Question will be which I meant if the last as sayes J. C. I am gone if the former he is routed not the latter say I for two Reasons the one because a wicked seared Conscience as such rejects all Conviction the other because I have particularly declared against I. F. that spoke not of any such Conscience nay I have excepted and made Provision against any such Construction in my very Answer so to take and render me then is injurious But if I meant it of a corrected rightly qualified Conscience such as the Apostle speaks of Rom. 2. 14 15. that bear Witness in the Gentiles to the Work of the Law of God writ in their Hearts then it will follow that this Skirmisher is beside the Saddle and hath shouldered himself out of the Point But next what is Conviction that obliegeth is it Imagination only or a Diabolical Suggestion to kill rob lye c. as sayes I. C. no such Matter but a clear Understanding and sound Judgment and upon right Conclusions from the Manifestation of the Light Grace or Spirit of God that attends all People whose Day is not over for their Conviction and Conversion to God this I do verbally provide for in my Answer and Rejoynder to I. Faldo yet hath J. C. so strangely rendered both me and my Assertions therein certainly this Man is the greatest of Novieâ—s in our Controversie and Religion or incomparably base for either he supposeth that we do not hold That all Men are enlightned with a measure of saving Light so as that Men cannot plead ignorance of what is fit for them to do which is our known Principle and he confesseth it p. 13. or that if he doth so know he must admit that this divine Light is idle and insufficient to convince People or lastly believing neither he doth very ill to tell the World in our Name that we make debauched and seared Consciences our Rules of Obedience to Salvation and subject the Laws of God and Man to the Acknowledgment of such depraved Consciences Again where there is no Law there is no Transgression and where the Law is not known there is no Law now I. C. would have us believe p. 8. 9. that the very Ten Commandments as well as the Sayings of Christ and Writings of his Apostles are so spiritual and mysterious that carnal Men as such cannot know them no not so much as to understand what God mans when he sayes Thou shalt not kill Now if this Tale be true what 's become of J. C. for if the Scrpiture sayes Where there is no Law there is no Transgression and Reason assures us that where a Law is not known there is no Law and that J. C. tells us that no Man that is not spiritual can know God's Law and Commands even when they are publisht and that the Spirit of God only gives the spiritual Knowledge of them will it not unavoidably follow That no Command obligeth without Conviction since no Command tyes without Knowledge which is Conviction sayes J. C. p. 3. yet again the whole Bible J. C. receives for Truth either by Authority or Revelation both which Wayes require Conviction for if he goes upon the Foot of Authority he must be satisfied in his Conscience that those who writ divulged preserved and recommended it have not put any Trick or Abuse upon him which is Credit upon a Sort of Conviction if he embraceth the Bible upon the Revelation and Testimony of the Spirit in himself the old Protestant Plea that is not possible without Conviction for Evidence is Knowledge Knowledge Conviction and if I must have the Conviction of God's Spirit for the whole I must have it for the Parts and therefore no Command in Scripture is any further obliging upon any Man then as he finds a Conviction upon his Conscience the contrary makes God a very hard Master for 't is to say that he reaps where he hath not sown that his Laws are not binding where they are not known and