was proper only to God and Christ why did John say he that comes after me shall Baptize with the Holy Ghost he did not say they who should come after me but he intimating none had that Power and Dignity but Christ who was God as well as Man and as he was God had this power belonging to him and which did belong to no Men nor Creature whatsoever and thus indeed the Baptisme with the Spirit is Christ's Baptisme not which he commanded Men to do but which he promised to do altho' the Water-Baptisme which he commanded his Apostles to practise in his Name is also his in a secondary sense as the Apostles teaching is his because commanded by him yet when we speak of Gods teaching according to the sense of that Scripture they shall all be taught of God it is not meant the outward teaching of Men but Gods inward teaching in Mens hearts As touching his third Reason to prove that Baptisme with the Holy Ghost is meant Matth. 28.19 The Baptisme which Christ commanded his Apostles was such that as many as were therewith baptized therewith did put on Christ but this is not true of Water-Baptisme Ans As concerning that place of Scripture Gal. 3.7 from which this Argument seems to be taken the place it self restricts it to the believing Galatians as v. 26. For yee are all the Children of God by faith in Christ Jesus and all such as beings Baptized with outward Water put him on by a publick Profession so by true Faith they inwardly put him on To make a publick Profession of Christ by Baptisme of Water is to put him on in a common Phrase of speech as when a Man is said to put on the Souldier the Magistrate by putting on the Garment of a Souldier or Magistrate in which sense Jerome said Romae Christum indui i.e. at Rome I put on Christ signifying that he was there baptized and it is to be noticed how Paul generally in his Epistles to the Churches he wrot to calls them Saints they being so by profession though there might have been Hypocrites among them and as by outward profession Men are said to be Saints so they may be said to have put on Christ when nothing by Word or Deed can appear to the contrary in a judgment of Charity As to his 4th Argument that Baptisme with Water was John's Baptisme I have above shewn that John's Water-Baptisme and the Water-Baptisme commanded to and practised by the Apostles after Christ's Resurrection diflered in many respects and tho' both required Repentance as a condition in order to receive the Water-Baptisme yet the later required Faith in Christ Crucified and Raised again as a condition in order to receive Baptisme but the former did not require that Faith Again his arguing from their not using that form of Baptism In the Name of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Ghost who did Baptize with Water in those days of the Apostles is as defective as his otherways of arguing on this Head But how doth he prove that they used not this Form Why because in all these places where Baptizing with Water is mentioned there is not a word of this Form and in two places Acts 8.16 and 19.5 that it is said of some that they were Baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus But it ought to be considered that oft in the Scriptures what is not exprest is understood yea that very Form expressed 8.16 is comprehensive of the other and if no more be expressed by him that is the Administrator if he be sound in the Faith and that the person to be Baptized hath a sound Faith that Form is sufficient it is not exprest that the Eunuch gave any other confession of his Faith before he was Baptized but that Jesus Christ is the Son of God but will it therefore follow that he believed no other Article of the Christian Faith but that and confessed no other In his further Essay to defend his assertion that Christ commanded the Apostles to Baptize with the Spirit he saith Baptisme with the Spirit tho' not wrought without Christ and his Grace is instrumentally done by men fitted of God for that purpose and therefore no absurdity follows that Baptisme with the Spirit should be expressed as the action of the Apostles for tho' it be Christ by his Grace that gives Spiritual Gifts yet the Apostle Rom. 1.11 speaks of his imparting to them Spiritual Gifts and he tells the Corinthians that he had begotten them thro' the Gospel 1 Cor. 4.15 To convert the heart is properly the work of Christ and yet the Scripture oftentimes ascribes it unto Men as being the Instruments and Paul 's commission was to turn Men from Darkness to Light Ans I acknowledge such like answers I had formerly given in some of my former Books to the like Objection but I am come to see the weakness and defect of it in order therefore to detect the fallacy of this assertion that the Apostles might be as well said to Baptize with the Spirit as to Beget to Convert to Impart some Spiritual Gift c. Let it be considered that Baptisme with the Holy Spirit is not only another thing than Conversion or imparting some Spiritual Gift c. that it is incomparably greater for Baptisme with the Spirit is equivalent to the mission of the Spirit and his Inhabitation in Believers and his being given to them all Spiritual Gifts of Faith Conversion Regeneration however so true and real are but works and effects of the Spirit with whom Men may be said Instrumentally to work but the giving the Holy Spirit to which Baptisme with the Holy Spirit is equivalent is of a higher Nature than any or all these Spiritual Gifts differing as much as the Giver differs from his Gifts For as to Create is only proper to God and Christ and the Holy Ghost to Redeem by way of Ransome and Satisfaction to Divine Justice is only proper to Christ without any concurrence of Men or Angels so to Baptize with the Holy Ghost or endue therewith or give or send the Holy Ghost is only proper to God or Christ and not to Men so much as Instrumentally there is no such Phrase to be found in all the Scripture as that any Man did Baptize with the Holy Ghost in any case or sense we ought not to allow such odd Phrases so forrain to Scripture otherwise the greatest absurdities might follow and a Power of Creating and Redeeming might be given to Men at this rate by adding the word Instrumentally but as we are to allow no Instrumental Creators or Redeemers so no Instrumental giver of the Holy Ghost or Baptizers with the same The Holy Ghost is God himself and it is too arrogant and wild to say that Men who in respect of God are as Worms can give their Creator and Maker The Scripture indeed tells us that the Holy Ghost was given thro' the laying on of the Apostles
he is very short and defective in his Expression they were both appointed and used in the beginning I mean from the time of Christ's Resurrection and Ascension to be Figures and Signs of Christ's outward Body that was broken for us on the Cross and his Blood that was outwardly shed In the first place and consequently of the inward Graces of the Spirit and Benefits coming to Believers by his outward Body and Blood and by the Man Christ wholly considered both in Soul and Body and whereas he saith 2. They were no longer to endure than till the Substance was come All this sheweth W. Penn's great Misunderstanding of the Nature of these Institutions both of Baptisme and the Supper as if they only signified some inward hidden Virtue which he calls a more hidden and spiritual Substance that was to come and so were only as he calls them in his Defence of his Key called a Reply to a pretended Answer c. Prenuniative and forerunning Signs but were not commemorative Signs as well of things past as of things present for this is utterly false that Water in that Baptisme which the Apostles used after Christ's Resurrection and Ascension was prenunciative and not commemorative for on the contrary it was not simply prenunciative but commemorative as commemorating and signifying the Blood of Christ that had been shed outwardly for the Remission of our Sins and the same commemoration and signification had the Wine in the practise of the Lord's Supper and the Bread that was broken in the Supper signified after Christ's Death and Resurrection his Body that was outwardly broken on the Cross and that outward practise was Instituted by Christ for a Memorial of his Death and Sufferings which all true Believers in Christ ought to have fresh and lively in their Minds to which the outward practise both of Baptisme and the Supper is of great use and the more frequent the practise of the Supper is being duly used as with Faith Reverence and Devotion the more profitable it is Therefore said Christ as oft as ye eat this bread c. As if one did say as oft as ye Pray with true Faith and Fervency it turns the more to your Spiritual Advantage And though the Spirit of Christ in true Believers is the great and principal rememberer unto them yet he oft doth remember them in the use of that outward Practise using it as a means and blessing it unto them even as the Spirit useth the frequent outward Institutions and Exhortations that Ministers give to Believers as a means and blesseth that outward means unto them also the more to quicken and enlighten them and as Peter said to stir up the pure mind in them by way of remembrance which was the end of his Epistles and also of Paul's Epistles unto the Churches and therefore it is but weakly and falsly argued by many of the People called Quakers and their Teachers the Spirit in them is their remembrancer and they have the more hidden and invisible substance in them and therefore there is no use of these outward Signs to them for this Argument has the same force against all outward Teaching and External Acts of Worship And indeed as I have oft observed and considered the chiefest Arguments used by these Men against these outward Practises of the outward Baptisme and the Supper may be as much brought against all outward Teaching and External Acts of Worship and against all use of Books yea of the Holy Scriptures themselves and the like may be said of these Arguments that are commonly in the Mouths of the People called Quakers that Bread and Wine and Water are carnal things and visible which may be touched tasted handled whereas the Scripture saith touch not tast not handle not which are all to perish with the using and the kingdom of God is not meat and drink but righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Ghost Again we look not at things seen for they are temporal but at the things unseen which are eternal and Col. 3. If ye be risen with Christ seek the things which are above and set your affection on things above not on things on the earth but Water Bread and Wine are things on earth and let no man judge you in meats and drinks Col. 2.17 which are a shadow of things to come but the body is of Christ All these and the like Scriptures I say may with as great show of reason be brought against all good Books and outward Teachings Instructions Exhortations yea against the Books of the Holy Scriptures which G. Fox hath called the Carnal and Earthly Letter that he touched and handled as much as Water Bread and Wine and is visible and consequently by their Argument is not to be look'd into nor is the Scripture nor the best of words uttered in Speech or Written the Kingdom of God or the hidden invisible Substance as neither Water Bread and Wine yet all these have their use when duly used on a Spiritual Account for as words signifie and hold forth Christ and the inward and spiritual Benefits that Believers have by him to the outward hearing so do these other hold forth Christ and his spiritual Blessings to their Sight Tast and Feeling for which reason antient Writers did call the outward Baptisme and Supper verbum visible i.e. the visible word God having so appointed it in his Wisdome that the Knowledge of Divine and Spiritual things after a sort should be given to us by outward Signs and Symbols that affect our Senses and by our Senses as by so many Doors and Windows should be let into our Souls by means whereof through the inward Operation of the Holy Spirit the inward and Spiritual Faculties of our Souls and Minds are awakened and enabled to apprehend the Spiritual things themselves whose Symbols and Emblems these outward Elementary things are And none of these Scriptures above mentioned have any relation to the outward Baptisme and Supper which were the Institutions of Christ but to such outward things the observations of which were after the Commandments and Doctrines of Men as not only the Jewish Rites but Gentile Customs and Traditions also were touching Meats and Drinks and other things which the Apostle calls Col. 2.20.21 22. the Rudiments of the World which as they are of a perishing nature so the use and service of them but so is not the use and service of the outward Baptisme and Supper which is a holy Commemoration of our Lord's Death and Sufferings and of the great benefits we have thereby tending to excite our ardent Love and Affections to him and to raise them up to ascend to him in Heaven therefore though true Believers at Christ's command use the outward things yet neither their Minds nor Affections are set on them but on him and the heavenly Blessings they have by him which holy Commemoration we should not let dye or perish in us but keep alive for our spiritual Benefit and Advantage
useful when the signification of them is understood for Example Water in Baptisme hath a nearer resemblance to the thing signified by it than any words whatsoever for words signifie only by humane Institution but visible Signs that are not words bear some Similitude and Analogy to the things signified and are as it were so many Hieroglyphicks of Divine Mysteries In short the difference betwixt the Judaick and the Christian Dispensation stands not as W. Penn would have it that the Judaick Dispensation was an outward Figurative and Shadowy Worship and Religion and that the Gospel hath nothing of outward in it nothing of Figure Sign or Shadowy for in both these Descriptions he is under a great mistake the Judaick Religion had Substance Life and Vertue and an inward Glory belonging to it as really as the Christian yea the very same in Nature and therefore it is not a fit Definition he gives of the Judaick Dispensation and Religion that it was an outward Figurative and Shadowy Worship and Religion the outward part of it was the Shell and Cabinet but it had an inward part that was as the Kirnel and Jewel as all the Faithful did know who were under that Dispensation while it stood in force Again it is as really an Error on the other hand to define the Christian Dispensation to be all inward all Life and Spirit and Substance that is too Chymical and Subtile and no wise Saits with a mortal State at least for as our natural Bodies cannot Eat and Drink all Spirit but require a Food more Bodily so our Christian Religion requireth a Bodily part as well as a Spiritual And such who through an ignorant Presumption throw away the Bodily part of the Christian Religion lose the Spiritual or rather never find it but in place of the true Spirit of Christianity embrace an inward Shadow and Imagination and oft an Antichristian Spirit and such I have known who had been once very Zealous in the Quakers way who upon such ignorant Presumption would come to no Meetings hear no outward Teaching nor joyn in any External Act of Worship alledging all was inward and they needed no outward thing and God was only to be Worshipped in the inward which are the true and proper Consequences of W. Penn's Reasonings here His Distinction of Prenunciative and Commemorative Signs I have above examined and shewed that Water-Baptisme and the outward Supper are not meerly Prenunciative but Commemorative as commanded to be practised after Christ's Resurrection The true distinction betwixt the Judaick and Christian Dispensation and Religion consists in these following Particulars That the Judaick Dispensation and Religion had much more of outward Figurative and Shadowy things than the Christian the former had much as best suited to that Time and State the latter had but little in comparison to the former As for Example the Figures and Shadows of the Law were indeed many perhaps some hundreds there were of the Mosaical Laws commonly called Ceremonial relating to Meats and Drinks Washings or Baptisms Persons Places and Times as Days Weeks Months and Years but the Symbols and Signs under the Gospel are but few as Water in Baptisme and Bread and Wine in the Supper kneeling or standing up in Prayers and the Men uncovering their Heads may be called Decent Religious Signs of our Worship Secondly The Typical and Mosaical Precepts were not only many but considerably chargeable and painful the multitude of their Sacrifices were a great charge and the Males coming there every year to Jerusalem very Laborious Circumcision of the Male Children painful but Water-Baptisme and the Supper very easie and with very little charge and little or no pain which chargeable and painful Service of the Law among other things occasioned Peter to call it a Yoak which neither they nor their Fathers were able to bear Acts 15.10 And God in his wisdom saw it meet to put that yoak upon them as suiting to that legal and typical state and our deliverance from that Yoak is a great blessing of God Thirdly These Signs and Shadows of the Law did not near so clearly and plainly hold forth Christ and the Spiritual Blessings of Remission of Sins Justification Adoption Sanctification and Glorification through Christ as these few plain Signs and Symbols of Water in Baptisme and Bread and Wine in the Supper do the words in the Form of Baptisme do plainly express that Great Mystery of the Father Son and Holy Ghost and how these three are concerned in the things signified by the outward Baptisme as namely in the Pardon of our Sins the Father giveth it the Son purchaseth it the Holy Spirit in our Hearts persuadeth us of it Again the form of words in the Institution of the Supper take eat this is my body c. and this cup is the new Testament in my blood shed for the remission of the sins of many drink ye all of it There are no such plain and clear Forms of Speech holding forth Christ and the spiritual Blessings we have by him that were annexed to or used with any of the Figures and Shadows of the Law Fourthly The Figures and Shadows of the Law in the use of them had not that Plenty of Grace and Divine and Spiritual Influence of the Holy Ghost accompanying them generally to Believers under the Law as doth generally accompany Believers under the Gospel for as Paul declareth it was reserved unto the days that were to come after the Judaical Dispensation was ended wherein God was to show the exceeding Riches of his Grace and in the latter Days viz. under the Gospel the Spirit was to be poured forth as was accordingly fulfilled and on these Accounts especially the two last it is that Baptisme with Water and the outward Supper ought not to be numbred among the Carnal Ordinances of the Judaick Dispensation for though the material things in some part be the same yet the manner so differing and the Grace and Spirit more plentiful abundantly as is above declared gives just cause that the outward Baptisme and the Supper when duly Administred as they ought to be and were in the Apostles Days should not be numbred among the Carnal Ordinances nor yet so called but rather Spiritual for things receive their denomination from the greater and better part Holy Men in Scripture are called Spiritual though having Bodies of Flesh and why may not things be called Holy and Spiritual that are used and practised by Holy Men wholly for a Holy End although the things themselves be Material and External All which being considered it will plainly appear how weakly and rawly both W. Penn and R.B. have argued in this Point and what an Impertinent Consequence W. Penn hath made to infer that to allow Water-Baptisme and the outward Supper to belong to the Gospel is to make the Gospel a State of Figures Types and Shadows which doth no more truly follow than to allow that because W. Penn hath a Body of Flesh
and Blood that therefore he is a Carnal and Bloody Man or because the Quakers have Flesh and Blood as other Men therefore there Church is a Carnal and Bloody Church and as raw and defective is R.B. his way of Reasoning p. 25 26 27. of the above said Treatise that where the Author is the same the Matter of Ordinances is the same and the end the same and having the same effect they are never accounted more or less Spiritual because of their different times For all this is not a sufficient enumeration to prove the one not to be more Spiritual than the other there are diverse other great Considerations or Arguments besides these mentioned by him so generally and overly as in the respects above mentioned relating to their Form and Manner and greater Efficacy because of the greater plenty of Grace accompanying the latter than the former and having greater and more excellent Effects for who that knows what a true Christian is but will say he is far beyond an ordinary Religious Jew that had some degree of Faith in the promised Messiah the Scripture comparing the Jew and the Christian as the Child and the Man And who but will say that the true Gospel way of Ministry as it was in the Apostles Days and wherein they were exercised in Preaching and Prayer did far excell the Ministry of the ordinary sincere Jewish Priests and Scribes although they had one Author and one Doctrine for Substance and one end in their Ministry at large and in general and also one effect in general and at large viz. to instruct in Righteousness such as heard them And though in one sense the Jewish Baptisms and that practised by the Apostles after Christ's Resurrection had one Author viz. God yet in another sense there was a considerable difference it being God or the word Incarnate or Christ God Man that was the Author of the latter but not of the former And though the Jewish Water-Baptisms and the Christian Water-Baptisme which is but one do agree in relation to their end in some sort yet there is a great difference in that very respect for tho' the remote end of the Jewish Baptisms was to signifie Remission of Sin through Faith in Christ yet the proximate or next end of those Baptisms was to make them legally clean so as to be allowed to come into the Congregation of the Jewish Church but the end of the Christian Water-Baptism even proximately and nextly considered is to signifie Remission of Sins and the spiritual Cleansing by Christ and also to indicate such Baptized Persons and recognize or acknowledge them to be Members of the Church of Christ that is more excellent and honourable as far as the Christian Dispensation excelled the Judaick But that they farther argue that Water-Baptism cannot reach the Conscience to cleanse it from Sin that therefore it ought not to be practised and because Bread and Wine in the Supper cannot nourish the Soul therefore ought it not to be used in the Supper they might as well have argued against the brazen Serpent that the Jews at God's command should not have looked to it when they were poisoned with the Serpents in the Wilderness because there was no inherent Virtue in that piece of Brass to effect any Cure and they might argue as well against Naaman's going to wash in Jordan to be cured of his Leprosie I know none that plead for Water-Baptism and the outward Supper that think there is any inherent Virtue in these outward things either to wash or feed the Soul the Virtue is wholly in Christ whose Grace Power and Spirit doth accompany the due and right use of these things as they are practised in Faith and in Obedience to Christ's command And the like way they might argue against all vocal Ministry which abounds among the Quakers for no words have any inherent Virtue in them to Cure or Cleanse the Soul or profit any more than Water or Bread and Wine it is only the Grace and Spirit of Christ when it goeth along and accompanieth these outward things whether Words or those outward Elements that is effectual and maketh the use of them effectual without which they are all but as empty Cisterns that can hold no Water SECT IX ANother Argument of W. Penn against the outward Baptism and Supper is that therefore they are to be rejected now the false Church has got them yea the Whore hath made Merchandize with them and under such Historical Shadowy and Figurative Christianity has she managed her Mistery of Iniquity unto the beguiling thousands whose simplicity the Lord will have a tender regard to Ans In this way of Arguing also he is very inconsiderate for his Reason is of equal force against the Holy Scriptures and all the Doctrinal and Historical part of Christ's coming in the Flesh his Death and Sufferings c. Why the false Church has got all this and makes Merchandize therewith and therefore the Bible and the whole Historical and Doctrinal part of Christ's coming in the Flesh and his Death and Sufferings must be rejected also all Preaching and Praying and Meeting together and all external Acts of Worship must be rejected for the same reason because the false Church has got them all Tho' I think it may be said the false Church has not got either Baptisme or the Supper in the true Administration of them but rather a false show and likeness of them But what hinders that the true Church may not Practise these things aright tho' the false Practise them amiss Should the abuse of any thing commanded by God take away the use of it Must Meat Drink and Cloathing be rejected because that many abuse them But he continueth to argue against them p. 110. Reason against Railing Let it be considered that no other Apostle recommends these things nor Paul himself to either the Romans the Corinthians in his first Epistle the Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians Thessalonians Hebrews nor to Timothy Titus and Philemon Ans If so it were that in none of these Epistles Paul had mentioned them nor any other of the Apostles which yet is not so for I have answered it at large what was objected from Peter 1 Pet. 3.21 as that Water-Baptisme is not there meant and in the Epistle to the Romans Galatians Ephesians and Colossians and in that to the Hebrews Baptisme is mentioned and he hath not proved that it is not Water-Baptisme that is there meant yet it will not follow that therefore they are to be rejected seeing other places of Scripture mention both the command and practice of them so that he cannot instance one professing Christianity that was not Baptized any where in the Scripture after the command of Baptism was given by Christ to the Apostles suppose there were but one Text in all the Scripture that clearly proveth some Doctrin of the Christian Faith were not that enough for its proof As that one Text that God is a Spirit
is betwixt the Husband and the Wife who are said to be one Flesh This is a great Mystery said Paul but I speak concerning Christ and the Church who according to Paul's Doctrine as they are one Spirit so they are one Flesh And as elsewhere he said we are of his Flesh and of his Bone and forasmuch as the Children were partakers of Flesh and Blood he took part of the same wherefore he is not ashamed to call them Brethren Now in this R.B. was in a great Error that by his thus excluding the Flesh of Christ's outward Body from being any means of the Saints Communion with God he excludes the said Body of Christ from being any necessary part of the Mediator and at this rate of his Arguing only the Divine Light or Seed in Men is the Mediator betwixt God and Men but according to the Doctrine of the Apostle Paul the Mediator of God and Men who is one is the Man Christ Jesus and by the Man Christ Jesus is understood in Scripture not the Spirit only nor the Soul of his Manhood only but the Body also together with the Soul even Jesus Christ made of the Seed of David according to the Flesh And as really as there is a Relative Union betwixt Brethren and near Kindred with respect to their Flesh and Blood on which account it is said Concerning Joseph Gen. 37.27 He is our Brother and our Flesh and 2 Sam. 5.1 The Tribes of Israel said unto David behold we are thy Bone and thy Flesh So believing Gentiles as well as believing Jews may say concerning the Man Christ who is the Seed of the Woman of whom to wit Eve we are all descended we are his Bone and Flesh and because he hath taken Flesh and Blood like unto us therefore in that very respect he is compleatly qualified and fitted to be our Mediator and High Priest with God by whom because of the true Nature of Man consisting of a true reasonable Soul and true and real Body of Man which the Eternal Word is united unto we have Communion with God His fourth and last Argument hath the like Defect with the former That which Feedeth upon it shall never Dye but the Bodies of all Men once Dye Ans Men are said in Scripture to Dye though the Soul Dyeth not yet Men are said to Dye because the Vital Union of the Soul with the Body is Dissolved which being but for a Time and that a very small Time as a Moment in respect of Eternity and after that their Bodies shall be raised up again and Vitally be United to their Souls therefore by the contrary Argument by the Flesh of Christ that the Saints Feed upon must be meant in part his outward Body of Flesh now Glorified which is a Glorious Spiritual Body because the Resurrection of Christ's Body is the Ground of the Saints Hope wrought in them by the Spirit of Christ that their Bodies shall be raised up and shall together with their Souls inherit Eternal Life And to conclude this whole Matter when Christ said it is the Spirit that Quickneth the Flesh profits nothing His meaning is that according to their Carnal and Fleshly Sense it doth not profit as if he had said it would profit you nothing to Eat my Flesh as ye imagin by the Bodily Mouth but to Eat it Spiritually and by Faith this doth profit but to take the Words the Flesh profits nothing in the Sense that some take them is most Blasphemous as to say Christ's outward Body of Flesh profits nothing to our Salvation for this would make his Coming and Death for us in the Flesh to have been in vain and also would render our Faith Vain that he did so come yea so necessary was Christ's coming in the Flesh for our Salvation that it is by his Flesh and Soul Constituting his Manhood that we have his Spirit the Man Christ is that Olive Tree consisting of Soul and Body United Personally to the Godhead of the Eternal Word which giveth us the Oyl of the Holy Spirit and poureth it into our Hearts and as in the Natural Olive Tree it is by its Body that we have of its Oyl or Spirit and when we Eat of its Oyl we are said to Eat of the Tree because the Tree yields us its Oyl even as when we Eat of an Apple or Drink the Fruit of it or of the Vine we may be said to Eat of the Apple-Tree and Vine-Tree the Fruit being what the Tree naturally yields so the Man Christ consisting of Soul and Body is that Precious Olive Tree and Vine-Tree that yields us the Oyl and Wine of the Holy Spirit and pours it into our Hearts who Believe in him and Love him and as Effectual as his Soul and Flesh of his Manhood is now to Believers for their receiving the Spirit by the same since he came in the Flesh no less Effectual it was to Believers before he came in the Flesh even from the beginning of the World according to B. Jewel's Words he was not come in the Flesh yet they Eat his Flesh to wit by Faith he had not Shed his Blood yet they Drank his Blood viz. by Faith and both his Flesh and his Blood before it had any visible Being or Existence together with his Soul was Effectual to Believers in all Ages for their Reception of the Spirit and all Spiritual Blessings of Justification and Sanctification c. as well before he came in the Flesh as since And thus he was the Lamb Slain from the Foundation of the World whose Death was of the same Efficacy from the beginning and will be to the end of the World to all that believe in him And as God is the giver of the Spirit and of all the Graces of the Spirit so he giveth it to Believers by and through Christ even the Man Christ who is both the Procurer and Dispenser of all that Grace that God giveth unto them and though Men most properly Eat the Meat and Drink the Drink that is bought with Money yet in ordinary Speech by a common Metonymy they are said to Eat and Drink the Money that buyeth it as the Poor Widows two Mites were called her Living so after some sort though the inward Life and Spirit of Christ be the most immediate Food of the Souls of Believers Yet because the Flesh of Christ as it was broken for us and his Blood as it was Shed for us is the Price and Purchase Money which hath procured to us the inward Life and Spirit of Christ with the various Graces and Gifts thereof therefore we are said to Eat his Flesh and Drink his Blood by the Like Metonymy But there is much more in this Great Mystery than can be demonstrated by these Similitudes and Examples or any others of the like Nature SECT IV. P. 77. R.B. chargeth it as another Error which he calleth a General Error wherein he saith they all agree viz. both Papists and
former part of it for Men may have a Power that is neither from the Apostles mediately nor immediately not mediately as he thinks he has proved nor yet immediately from the Apostles because not their immediate Successors But why may they not have a Power mediately from Christ after some true manner and yet in some sort immediate also If we consider the several significations of the Words mediate and immediate none of which are Scripture words any more or scarce so much as other words they reject because not Scripture words and because of the ambiguous and doubtful signification of the Words mediate and immediate they may be omitted and other Words used to as good or better effect But if we may be allowed to use the words mediate and immediate one Sense of the word immediate is a Call from Christ's Person speaking with an audible Voice to the outward Ear such as the twelve Apostles had and Paul also This I know none now pretends to Another Sense of the word immediate is a Call by the Holy Spirit in the Hearts of them who are so Called in the same way and manner as the Prophets were both taught their Prophecies and called to deliver them and commit them to Writing which was by a Prophetick Spirit that did Infallibly guide them in every Sentence and Word of their Message without the least possibility of Error or Mistake and as so Taught and Called without the need or use of any outward means whatsoever If some of the Teachers among the Quakers have pretended to any such Inward Teaching or Calling as it can be easily proved they have it can be as easily proved that they have not been so taught nor called because in too many things wherein they have pretended to such Teaching and Calling they have Bewrayed themselves miserably and laid themselves open to the Judgment of the weaker sort of Sincere Christians who have been able to prove that in too many things they have delivered as Divine Revelations they have contradicted the Holy Scriptures and so have grosly Erred A Third sort of immediate Teaching and Calling is by taking the Etymologie of the Word immediate to signifie not without all Means but in and with the Means as when it is generally acknowledged that there is an immediate Supernatural Divine Concurrence of the Spirit of God that assisteth the Faithful in all truly holy Actions yea in all holy Thoughts and Desires Words and Works yet not without the use of outward Means but in the due and frequent use of them as in Reading Hearing and Meditating upon what hath been Read or Heard Now this sort of inward Teaching and Calling by the Spirit as it is not without means altogether so is it not without all possibility of Erring or Mistake for though no Error can proceed from the Spirit of God nor can the Spirit Err yet a Man that has the Spirit of God working in his Heart both to illuminate his Understanding and move and incline his Will to good Things may through Humane Weakness and Inadvertency or by some Prejudice of Education or wrong Information of his Teachers misapply and misunderstand the Spirits inward Illuminations and Motions which he is the more likely to do if he do not duly and diligently apply his Mind as to the Spirits inward Illumination so to the Directions and Instructions given to us in the Holy Scriptures to examine and find the agreement of the inward with the outward for certainly if the Persuasions that any Man hath contradict the plain Directions and Institutions given in the Holy Scriptures they are not of the Spirit of God whatever appearance they may seem to have of Power or Evidence the joynt concurrence of the Spirit of Truth within and the instrumental and subordinate help of the Scripture without given us to help our weakness may be compared to the natural Light of the Sun or Candle that we read with in some sort though this and all other Similitudes fall short of a full Illustration for as we cannot Read without the Light though the Book lie open before us so when the Light Shines yet it will not teach us what is in the Book unless we look on it and also be taught to Read in it Even so the Light of the Holy Spirit shining upon the Ideas and Perceptions of our Minds as conveyed to us by what we have heard or read out of the Holy Scriptures opens to us the true hidden Sense and Truth of them with Life and Power and great inward Clearness and Evidence Joy and Satisfaction and thus if we find that the Spirits Illumination worketh in our Hearts and Minds an Assent to the Truth of what is Recorded in the Holy Scriptures we can with all readiness receive it But if what we suppose to be a Divine Illumination discord from the Truth of the Scriptures we ought to reject it and by no means to receive it for it is not Divine but Humane or which is worse Diabolical Now according to this last Sense of the Word immediate i.e. inward Teaching and Call of the Spirit in the use of outward Means and Helps and especially the Holy Scriptures I see not but it may be granted that Men may be found and are to be found that have a true immediate Call from the Spirit of Christ in their Hearts both to Preach and Administer these Divine Institutions of the outward Baptism and Supper and all this well consisting with the mediate orderly Call where there is a Constitute Church though not every way so rightly and duly Constitute as was in the Apostles Days and in the purest Times succeeding the Apostles There is ground to believe that God raised up many such in the beginning of the Reformation from Popery and though since that beginning too many Particulars have rather gone backward than forward yet the Success of the Ministry and excellent Books that have come forth time after time of many Worthy Persons however in some things mistaken and the truly Christian Lives and Conversations of many through all the Protestant Churches though in comparison of the great multitude that are Prophane and Scandalous they are but a few may be a good Ground of Evidence that God is truly among them and doth own the Remnant that are Sincere and their Ministry to whom an Allusion may be made of what was said to the Church of Sardis the Greek Word Sardis is in the Plural Number thou hast a few Names in Sardis who have not Defiled their Garments they shall walk with me in White for they are Worthy I know there are some who do more than make an Allusion in the Case and think that by the Church of Sardis is really meant the collective Body of the Protestant Churches throughout the several Parts of the World which I will not here be positive either to affirm or deny but either by way of Allusion or by Hypothesis let us conceive that the Collective Body
of Recommendation concerning him they both sent with him to Friends in Ireland contained in the said Manuscript unto you all saith Edward Burrough I do him recommend as a faithful Labourer to be received by you in the Name of him that sends him in tender pity for you all and the Blessing of the Lord upon his Faithfulness I doubt not c. Dated London 19. 3d. mo 1656. And saith Fr. Howgil receive Humphry Norton in the Lord whom the Lord hath moved to come unto you who is a Brother and Faithful in the Lord's Work and be Subject unto him in the Lord all unto him for I much desired that he might come unto you and so the Lord hath ordered it and as you receive him you receive me F. Howgil This Man Humphry Norton after his Arrival in Ireland in the year 1656 writ and spread about several Papers among the People call'd Baptists and others of which I have seen divers contained in a Manuscript all Writ by one Hand and having his Name to them His Argument against Baptism is in the following Words Q. 15. And now ye Baptists seeing that Christ is come and hath Baptized us and all Men come unto him tell me whether there be any Baptism but one seeing the Apostle saith one Lord one Faith one Baptism Eph. 4.5 6. And whether Baptism be not a Doctrin yea or nay If you say an Ordinance whether it be not Abolished yea or nay seeing the Scripture saith having abolished in his Flesh the Enmity even the Law of Commandments contained in Ordinances for to make in himself of Twain one new Man so making Peace Eph. 2.15 Ans That concerning one Baptism is fully Answered above To the latter concerning Ordinances the Word in the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is not properly Translated Ordinances but rather Opinions or Persuasions But let it be Translated Ordinances how doth this prove that therefore Water-Baptism is Abolished unless the Argument be built upon this Supposition that all Ordinances are Abolished and consequently Baptism with Water and at the same rate Preaching and Prayer must be Abolished which are no less Ordinances And in the same Parcel of Queries the fifth Querie is now Answer in plain Words From whence must this Christ ye wait for come and in what Generation and of what Family and out of what Country and of whom must he be Born that they may no longer be deceived by you who have kept them gazing after a false Christ well may it be called Gazing but leave it and mind these in white Apparel which Reproves you for it Acts 1.10 11. This Humphry Norton after some Years went into New England and after his Return Prints a Book at London which I find Quoted in another Printed Book having the like or the same Queries for Substance the Words are these Is not Christ God and is not God a Spirit you look for a Christ without you from what Coast or Country shall he come What Country-man is he You stand Gazing up in the Clouds after a Man but we stand by in White chiding of you Reader are not these dreadful Words enough to make all Christian Ears to tingle it is no wonder that they have so generally Construed these Words ye shew forth his Death until he come to be only his inward coming when the chiefest Teachers among them had no Faith of his outward coming to Judge the World And it is but too likely that E. Burrough and F. Howgil were as great Unbelievers as he in that great Fundamental Article of the Christian Religion and if they were not they were miserably deceived and did miserably deceive themselves by their supposed Gift of Discerning to give such high Recommendations and Praises of a Man that deserved not to be numbred among the lowest Rank of Christians who hath dared thus openly like one of the Heathen Opposers to Scoff at our Blessed Lord's coming without us to Judgment but never any Christian gave him occasion for such a Scoffing manner of Questioning it being universally believed by all Christians that our Lord will come from Heaven in the same Body wherein he Ascended and is not to be Born again of a Woman Again In another Paper that hath his Name to it there are these Words and whereas he Accused us for denying Christ's Merits I say that which can be Merited is of Self and that which is of Christ is freely given But such a word is not in Scripture as Christ's Merits but is fetch'd from the Whore a at Rome by them Behold the Man whom E. Burrough's called a Faithful Labourer and F. Howgil called a Brother Faithful in the Lord's Work to whom he would have all the Quakers in Ireland to be Subject How can they who follow such blind Guides but fall into the Ditch with them Is there any greater or so great Blindness to be found in the Blindest and most Ignorant of the Papists In a Book of mine called Truth 's Defence p. 140. I find an other Argument I have used against the Supper the Effect of which is contained in these following Words What Christ did at that time and bid his Disciples do until he come is no Gospel Ordinance because it was done in the Night or Evening of the old Covenant Dispensation and consequently was to come to an end with it Ans. I freely acknowledge this Argument is Weak and Unsound and the way to Answer it is by denying the Consequence to be True and Just for mostly what Christ Taught was in the Evening or latter part of the old Covenant but it doth not therefore follow that it was to end with it As also where I have said in my Book called Presbyterian and Independent Churches c. P. 185. That which ye now use is neither Substantial Dinner nor Supper being only a Crumb of Bread c. I acknowledge was unadvisedly said and as weakly Argued for the end of that outward Institution was not any outward Substantial Dinner or Supper as neither was that of the Paschal Lamb. And also where p. 184. of the same I have argued that the use of the outward Signs of Baptism and the Supper did suit most with the Ages and State of Children for they suit well enough with the most grown Christians while remaining in the Mortal Body SECT XII AND thus I have Answered to all the Arguments brought against the outward Baptism and the Supper by their several Writers and chief Teachers that I have found in their Books not omitting any to my best Remembrance of any Note where though I have brought in G. Fox among the last because I had not found the particular Book where his Arguments were until I had finished my Answer to the other four preceeding yet he was the first among the Quakers that led them as into divers other great Errors so into this of rejecting the outward Baptism and the Supper grounding all upon a pretended Divine Inspiration and as
by that Pretence he did throw down the Institutions of Christ leading many thousands into the Ditch with him So by the same pretended Authority he set up outward Orders and Ordinances of his own particularly that of Women's Meetings giving them Rule and Government in the Church and appointing all Marriages to come before the Women's Meetings before they could pass or be allowed by the Community which hath no Footstep or Warrant from the Holy Scripture And when it could not be proved from Scripture though Essayed by him and others miserably straining the Scriptures contrary to their true Sense the Result was that it was commanded by G. Fox and whoever did not Obey were judged by him and his Followers Apostates and Enemies to Truth In the next place I shall bring some clear Proofs from Scripture shewing that outward Baptism and the Supper are the Institutions of Christ under the Gospel And first as to Baptism with Water That is an Institution of Christ which he did command his Apostles and their Successors to Practise to the end of the World But he commanded them to Practise Baptism with Water c. Therefore That he commanded them to Practise Baptism with Water is proved from Matth. 28.19 And from what is above Discoursed in Answer to their Objections it is apparent that Water-Baptism is there meant And that the Apostles and all the Churches of Christ did understand that Water-Baptism was an Institution of Christ is clear from the universal Practice of Believers in the Apostles Days so that it cannot be instanced where any came under the Profession of Faith in Christ but they received Baptism with Water either by the Apostles or other Ministers of Christ Again That which is declared in Scripture to be a means of Grace and Salvation and which hath Gospel Promises annexed to it is a Divine Institution But so is Baptism with Water as the following Scriptures prove Mark 16.16 Acts 2.38 Acts 22.16 Rom. 6.3 Gal. 3.27 Col. 2.12 1 Pet. 3.21 And though these Quakers will not allow that the Scriptures above-mentioned are to be understood of Baptism with Water yet by what is above Discoursed in Answer to their Objections it is evident that they are to be understood of Baptism with Water the Sign being accompanied with the thing signified in all that duly received it Again That which is made a Ground of Unity among the Faithful together with Faith and Hope and Calling is a Divine Institution but one Baptism as well as one Faith one Hope one Calling is made a Ground of Unity among the Faithful Eph. 4.5 And that the one Baptism there is the Baptism with Water the thing signified going along with the Sign is above proved in the Answer to the foregoing Objections And thus much briefly for Proof of Water-Baptism its being an Institution of Christ under the Gospel to continue to the end of the World because he promised to be with his Ministers to the end of the World in their doing what he commanded them Next That the Supper by breaking of Bread and the use of the Cup is an Institution of Christ until his last coming is proved by the like Arguments that Water-Baptism is proved to be an Institution of Christ for first it was commanded by Christ Do this in remembrance of me as oft as you Eat this Bread and Drink this Cup ye shew forth the Lord's Death till he come And that this is his outward coming to Judge the World is above proved Secondly it is a Means of Grace the Bread which we break is it not the Communion of the Lord's Body The Cup which we bless is it not the Communion of his Blood That is are they not both Signs and Means exhibiting to us the Communion of his Body and Blood and the Spiritual Blessings that come to Believers thereby For indeed all the Signs that ever God appointed to his People were Means of Grace and not bare Signs or Symbols Thirdly the Bread and Wine in the Supper is made a ground of Unity among the Faithful as well as Baptism we being many are one Bread and all are made partakers of that one Bread The Objections made against the Sense of these and the like Scriptures are above fully Answered so that I see no occasion to say any more at present by way of Argument on this Subject An APPENDIX Containing some Observations upon some Passages in a Book of W. Penn call'd A Caveat against Popery and on some Passages of a Book of John Pennington call'd The Fig-Leaf Covering Discovered IN a Book of W. Penn called A Seasonable Caveat against Popery Printed in the Year 1670. I find the following Passage p. 18. But if there be some Virtue signified by the Wine more than by the Bread it is horrid Sacriledge to Rob the Sign much more the thing signified It is a Supper and at Supper there should be to Drink as well as to Eat there can be no Body without Blood and the Drinking of his Blood shews a Shedding of his Blood for the World and a Participation of it Besides the Sign is incompleat and the end of that Sacrament or Sign not fully Answered but plainly maimed and what God hath put together they have put asunder so that the Falseness and Inscriptural Practice of these Men are very manifest Obs Reader Wouldest thou not think by these Words that W. Penn was in good earnest Pleading for the Sacrament as he calls it or Sign of the Supper And hadst thou not known that W. Penn was the Author of that Book would'st thou not have concluded whoever was the Author was rightly Principl'd for the Supper compleatly Administred under both Signs by the Arguments he brings for it as first If there be some Virtue signified by the Wine more than by the Bread it is horrid Sacriledge to Rob the Sign c. The Antecedent is true by W. Penn otherwise his Argument is vain and therefore the Consequence must be true which is this It is horrid Sacriledge to Rob the Sign Now if it be horrid Sacriledge in the Popish Priests and Teachers to Rob the Sign of Wine in the Supper is it not as horrid or rather more horrid Sacriledge in W. Penn and the rest of the Teachers of the Quakers to have Robb'd both the Signs the Bread as well as the Wine and under the Guilt of this Robbery and Sacriledge they still continue I wish they may Repent of it that they may find Mercy and Forgiveness His second Argument is this It is a Supper and at Supper there should be to Drink as well as to Eat But how is it a Supper when there is neither to Eat nor to Drink If the Popish Teachers have maimed the Supper which he blames them for how much more is he and his Brethren Blameworthy who have quite Abolished it His third Argument for the Cup is the Drinking of his Blood shews a Shedding of his Blood but how doth it shew it