judging thy self consequently enjoying the other but that thou art not in any wise for howbeit by thy own confession there Sect. 16. Capellus grants thee that the full enjoyment of the saving Doctrine of the Scripture is yet to be had or obtained by such as look chiefly after that let the Letter be never so corrupted yet thou art at no hand content with this but piteously pinest after something else which is not this saving Doctrine of the Scripture nor the Doctrine in it but another thing from which this contained Doctrine is distinguished and that is the Scripture it self which thou judged thou hast not notwithstanding thou hast its Doctrine unless thou have the Letter or Writing also and that so exactly and entire without alteration and ablation that not a tittle of it nor 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be found lacking these are thy words Sect. 17. Nor is it enough to satisfie us that the Doctrines mentioned are preserved entire every tittle and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Scripture in that Writing see Sect. 13 in the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which we have must come under our care and consideration and to say the truth as thou putest a difference between the Scriptures of Truth and the Truth written of in the Scriptures sometimes as I ever do so it is the Scriptures of the Truth more then the Truth it self of which they are the Scriptures that thou mostly scrawlest for in those thy Scriptures for them which yet as is said above are not more for in shews and words then in deed and in truth they are against them nor is it the most substantial parts of that bare Letter that thou wranglest for so much as for the more accidental parts thereof viz. the points trivial tittles and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So then it is concluded hitherto on both hands First by thy self as well as â—ly by me that the Scripture and its Doctrine are not one but two several businesses whereof the First viz. the Scriptures are the subject matter so contended about between thee and the Quakers As for T.D. he draws his neck out of the Coller here and after he had engaged me to discourse it publickly with him whether the Scripture were the Word of God or not and at the dispute desiring to know what I held about it when he heard how I on the Quakers behalf declared what we meant by the Scriptures viz. the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Writing the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 viz. the Letter and that we onely deny that Denomination of the Word of God to that not to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Word or Doctrine or Truth of God written therein he gave us the Question without more ado saying thus You cannot believe us to be so simple surely as to affirm the Scriptures in that sense the Word of God but we mean the matter contained in the writing whether that be our Rule of Faith and Life P. 26. of his first Pamp. which subject matter or Doctrine and Truth contained in the Writing and testified to in it which was before ever the Writing was and is as to the substance of it eternally and unchangeably the same Christ the Word the Wisdom Righteousnesse of God the War Truth Life both yeaster-day to day and for ever we never denyed to be the Word and Rule and Foundation and what ever else I.O. and the whole School of our English Scribes do ignorantly and falsly say the Scripture is though we are mistaken by most as denying the holy Matter it Treats of so to be but the matter is not the Writing or the Scripture but that which is onely written oâ— in it but the outward written Letter or Scripture much more the Book in which the writing is which I.O. is so busy for and for every point written title and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this not onely we deny to be the Word of God but all our rash reproachers of us as denying the Scripture to be the Word when we come to their faces are fain to fall in and deny the same with us also so Christopher Fowler after a long hot Publick Dispute at Reading with E.B. and my self upon this question Whether the Scripture be the Word of God or no in which he contended a great while together it was at last confessed openly and plainly before all the People and Magistrates there present that the Scripture or Writing and I know not what else is properly and truly the Scripture but the Writing is not the Word of God after which concession of C.F. they would hear no longer dispute but the Quakers were driven out of doors But I.O. standeth stifly to it that the Word of God is the Proper Name of the Scripture and even of every tittle and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of it against the Quakers for that the Truth and Doctrine of it or of Christ declared in it is Spiritual Powerful saving Perfect so that Cursed will he be that adds to or detracts from it no Quaker will deny and to fight for the perfection and integrity of that with them is but to fight without an Adversary Howbeit I.O. when thy Brains as it were begin to crow as they often do like a man in a maze thou fetchest another turn back again upon the wheel and as inconsiderately as contradictorily to thy self thou blendest and confoundest these two sundry things that were before so severed by thy very self into one again so that as the two sticks aforesaid became one in the Prophets hands so these two that were sometime put asunder and with thy own hand inscribed with different Titles are joyned Indentically Intituled denominated each of other as Synonymous of two that stood divided made one individual of two sticks become one under thy own hand which writes of the writing and the thing written as of one and in its handling of them handles and feels no such matter of distinction between the Scripturam and the Scriptum the Literam Scriptam and the rem or Doctrinam or veritatem Scriptam the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Scriptiunculam Verbi de Verbo and the Verbum Scriptum the Letter or VVriting and the Doctrine or Truth written the Scripture of or concerning the Law Light Gospel and VVord of God and the Law Light Gospel and VVord of God it self of which the Scripture is but a true writing or Declration Yea whereas in that one single Section lastly cited Tr. 1. ch 1. S. 13. thou makes distinction in thy sound no lesse then four times between them first the VVritings and the Doctrine secondly the Writing and the Doctrine thirdly the Book and the Truth fourthly the Book and the Faith in the very Section immediately foregoing viz Sect. 12. which is as small as this thou all things well considered as they stand therein almost if not altogether as frequently dost confound them
and write as if with thee they were as one for besides thy stiling the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Writing or Scripture which is well-nigh the total Subject Treated on in that Section by these names viz. the Prophecy of Scripture the word of Prophesie the written VVord the Word of God and thy loud lying in saying that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is above fifty times in the New Testament put absolutely for the Word of God not proving it to be so put so much as once not being able sure I am to prove it to be half so often if thou couldest as I shall shew elsewhere prove it so to be put an hundred fifty times all that would prove nothing to thy chief purpose which utter untruth must be more talk't with in another place thou twice there makest one of them as explanatory onely of thy mind and of what thou meanest by the other in these Terms viz. the writing or written word the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it self or which or is there more conjunctive then disjunctive the Doctrine as written also thou makest the one but explicatory of the other in many other places viz. Ep. Ded. P. 20. Tr. 1. ch 4. S. 2. S. 19. and Ex. 1. S. 24. where thou writest of them not Sâ—orsim as of two but conjunctim as of one and the self same thing thus Scripturam sacram seu verbum Dei scriptum the Scripture or written Word of God sacred Letters the written Word Nâ— so incogiaant art thou as not onely both to divide into two and confound again into one these two distinct Subjects viz. the Scripture and the Word of God the writing and Doctrine of Christ therein declared within so small a compass as the space of two small Sections standing both together but thou both dividest and confoundest them within the little corner of one single sentence witnesse the last clause of the twelfth Section of the first chapter of thy Treatise above cited where thou expressest thy self thus viz. not onely the Doctrine in it but the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it self or the Doctrine as written is from God 1 as his Word for so thou meanest still by that term from God in the first part of which the Doctrine written in the Scripture and the Scripture it self are made two in the latter the Scripture the Doctrine written as written in it are made one which is the same Doctrine still as well when considered as written as when considered as not Written and is neither more nor lesse of God whether written or not written and under both these notions a distinct thing from the writing evermore If the Serpent can hansomly and fairly twine himself out here from the just censure of a self confounder let him scape scot-free this once and in this one thing for me but if he cannot do it without dawbing and dribling and shuffling and shifting and cutting and lying against the Light within then let him hang there for me in his Fetters of darknesse till he learn to speak without confusion for I know not how in a way of honesty to help him out or take him down CHAP. II. HAving shewed what truly and properly the Scripture is and what we the Quakers intend and I.O. also if we may take him as meaning what he mostly sayes by that Term Scripture when we deny it to be what thou contend'st it to be and pleadest against us for as its Proper Name viz. the Word of God c. I come next to those base abuses put upon us and false matters charged against us partly by T.D. in his first Pamphlet but principally by thee I.O. as concerning our carriage toward the Scriptures Principally in thy Latine Legend wherein thou lyest more at liberty then in thy two English pieces of emptinesse and the more securely by how much thou seemest to thy self at least to lye more hidden or more obscurely out of the reach of their rebuke whom thou reproachest in that Latine Language then in the other insomuch that by thy own speeches we may conclude that thy whole work as relating to the Quakers which is fronted but fronti nulla fides with Pro Scripturis Adversus Fanaticos for the Scriptures against the Fanaticks with which new nick-name the Quakers by many more besides thy self who Arbitrio Diabolico wast one of the first Imposers of it on that truly enlightned people begin now to be abusively branded seems to be designed more to the sporting thy own and thy School-fellowes leâ—d spightful Spirits by playing upon the Quakers in secret in your dark Divinity cels among your selves then either to convince them to their faces of such errors as thou erroneously accusest them of or by thy crude Theological Disputations Determinations tumultuarie sane fatis conscriptas as thou callest them ad lectorem to confute the Quakers plainly and openly before Plain-hearted people witnesse thy own saying to the like effect which I shall first enter at as it lies in thy little Latine Lecture Ad Lectorem J.O. The Fanaticks or with thee the Quak who are in these dayes most notable in their errors and foolishnesse we here Principally assault But no man could be deemed to dote so much as my self if I aimed at the convincing of them by what I here write sith they no more understand the speech we here use then we at any time can perceive that indigested sound of words void of all sound sense whereby they when they speak seem to noise it out to not onely one another but all others also Ex. 2. Sect. 23. They the Quakers are well nigh all unlearned and skild no further then their mother Tongue Rep The more shame for thee I.O. if the Quakers be all so unlearned and utterly unintelligent in the Latine Tongue as thou sayest that thou talkest therein against them as thou dost and chargest them with much more error in Doctrine and evil in life then will ever be made good against them by thy self or any of thine Abetrours or stand approved for Truth while the world stands among spiritually understanding and honest minded men when they come to be divested as hereby they are to be our of that disguise thou dressest them our in to thy Iunior Ieerers at Christs own Image which is seen upon them Was it not enough for thee to have belved them in English as no lesse then twice ore thou hast done in thy Epistle Dedicatory of thy Dean-like doings to thy Reverend Friends the Prebends and Students in Divinity in that Society so called of Ch. Church Col. in Oxford where thou wast lately Dean but quo jure divino I yet know not but thou must likewise needs lay at them and lye in ambush and talk and take on against them in a Tongue wherein if thy surmise of their Vniversal ignorance of thy Latine Lyes had been as sound as it seemed to be they
the Supream Iudge to which all should Appeal in all Cases and in whose Sentence all should rest and all Faith be finally Resolved and not coming in at the Compleating Consignation Bounding and Final Closing of the Canon should for ever Iure Ant-Ecclesiastico or Apostatico and in foro hominum forfeit that Originally Equal Title which in foro Dei Iure Christico and Apostolico they else had to be Canonized with their fellows Ah poor men It pities me to see how ye Dream together in the dark and mope up and down in your own misty Imaginations about your Original Texts and external Letter leaving the Original Truth it self which was before your Texts were ever talk'd on or had a being in the World turning your backs on that internal Light in the heart which all the Tendency of of your Letter is to turn men to and from which your Scripture Originally had its being It irks me to see how for want of betaking your selves to the measure of the Light that shines in your own Consciences that infallibly would lead you to that which is the end of all Scriptures and words spoken or written as from God viz. honesty and righteousnesse truth and acceptation with God and Holy men ye trace to and fro till ye tire your selves in the perplexing Cris-Cros Track and endlesse Round of your own meer Thoughts about a thing which the more ye try the more ye Tangle your selves about it and the more ye look after it and in it in the way ye look into your beloved Letter the more ye loose your selves in it and about it till at last you will eternally loose both it and your selves too by not looking to the Light at all even no lesse then altogether See Epist. Ded Pag. 30. I. O's Preaching on that Subject the Scripture and his publishing of it is said by him to be but his Thoughts so pag. 146 147. what he delivers about the Prolegomena and Appendix to the Biblia Polyglotta was but what his own Thoughts had suggested unto him sutable to other learned mens Apprehensions So Pag. 149. He runs the Hazard of giving his Thoughts on them Pag. 151. He discover his Thoughts on the things proposed by them So Pag. 163. What he gives out concerning the Purity of the present Copies of the Originals of the Scriptures he so Scribles for is but an account of his Apprehensions So Pag. 225. He purposes to manifest his Thoughts on the Epistle to the Hebrews So Pag. 278. He desired Dr. Ward to give his Thoughts on the difference of Apert Sounds and Vowels which he did accordingly And Pag. 177. He sayes when he shall Communicate his Thoughts to the World about an Vniversal Character it will doubtlesse yield much if not Vniversal Satisfaction unto learned and prudent men O ye Wise and Prudent Vain Thinkers and Senslesse Surmisers that sit down Universally Satisfied in the shadow of your own and one anothers shallow Thoughts When will you come to busie your selves about that which is infallibly clear and certain and let your deep infinite Disputings about dark and doubtful matters of small moment to you too altogether alone When will you wash your Hearts from that Dunghil of meer deemings and divinity Dreamings with the untempered Morter of which ye are all to be-dawbed so that one can discern little or nothing that savours of more then dubiousuesse and disputablenesse it self descending or flowing from your Well-heads and Fountains of Forgery and Fabulosity little or none from the Breasts of your Nursing Mothers of that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 plain purely reasonable sincere Milk of the Word whereby the growth is into the Life of God but such as is mangled and mingled with the Mire and Mudde of your putrid and puddlely Opinions and Opinations Will you never cease from Teaching for Doctrines your own Conceptions Apprehensions and Conjectural Conclusions of things for Truth taken from no surer Topick place then that self same that ye Condemn in Papists viz. the Traditions of men Will you never give over filling and feeding the vain World for filthy Lucre with such perishing Food as the thin froth and Foam of your own Fancies instead of the Bread that comes down from Heaven and that Meat which endures to Eternal Life Oh thou European Athens or Academical Minx thou manifold Mother with thy Children for whom t is as easie for the Blackmore to change his Skin and the Leopard his Spots as for thee who hast been accustomed to Apostarize from the Councel of God and erre from the Mind of Christ to with-hold thy foot from wandring after thy own Images and Imaginations wilt thou not be made clean When shall it once be How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee Now as to the Four wayes by way of Query above propounded which of them all I.O. means to Answer by who talks so much about the Closure Compleating Consignation and Bounding of the Standard and Scripture Canon ◠I cant well say But as for T.D. with whom I have somewhat to do and to deal alittle here he Replyes Affirmitively to the Third among them saying Pag. 26 of the First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians mentioned in that First of Ours and so consequently of all the several Scriptures that are not bound up in your Bibles which I asserted to be as much a Rule as those ye have that they were not intended as much for your Rule as those in your Books To whom when I Replyed at the Dispute with him as he there Relates Thus viz. If that Epistle was wriiten to the same end with those we have as it was viz. to Instruct the Corinthians how to carry themselves to grosse Sinners I Cor. 5.9 compared with vers II. I wrote unto you not to Company and now I have written unto you not to keep Company And the same was said of his First to the Ephesians i.e. that it was to the self same End as that we have Ephes. 3.3 As I wrote before that ye may understand my Knowledge in the Mistery of Christ so now then 't was intended as much for a Rule as the other But it was Written to the same End Ergo If one a Rule then the other T.D. Denies the Consequence Saying Sermons private Religious Discourses have the same common End with the written Scriptures yet the Later only are our standing Rule the former our Rule but so far as they agree with the Later in the Scripture Reply Which Reply of T. D's is so unreasonably ridiculcus that he is scarce Animal Rationale Risibile that receives and entertains it seriously as the Truth For First it supposes as if Pauls First writing to the Corinthians were not Written Scriptures as well as the Rest we have but an Orall Discourse Secondly It supposes Pau's First Epistle of all to that Church which was cited by himself in his Second as written to the same End and was written in the same Spirit
1. c. 2. s. 3. opened the manner of the Words coming forth from God to prove the Scriptures of the old and new Testament to be the VVord of God much of which makes against himself at large in a long Train of perplexive prittle prattle throughout his whole second third and fourth Chapters from the self-evidencing property and efficacy of the Scriptures which aforehand still he calls the VVord of God but to shut it all up together in short to this purpose viz. That which evidenceth it self to be the Word of God that is and is known assuredly to be the Word of God But the Word of God doth evidence it self unto us to be the Word of God therefore the Word of God is and is known assuredly to be the Word of God The minor in this Syllogisme none denieth it being true in those termes it here stands in◠yet it is false and sophistical as falling from him who by that term the Word of God in the sore part of the Proposition means the Scriptures the utter falshood of which minor and so consequently of the conclusion which is now true but aliud a negato would have too plainly appeared if he had not sophistically placed that subject i.e. the Word of God as it stand formost in both in the room of the right subject i.e. the Scriptures or if he had not changed his minor term but exprest himself thus viz. But the Scriptures do evidence themselves to be the Word of God therefore the Scriptures are and are known assuredly to be the Word of God And to prove that minor J.O. useth another medium viz. Gods magnifying his Word above all his Name by which à minore ad majus i.e. from the self-evidencing power of smaller matters as he counts them i.e. the Works of God and the Light in the conscience the Law written in the heart and the notions inlaid there with his own finger which he calls the voice of God in nature for these are low ◠darke obscure principles and means of revealing God and his will with J.O. in comparison of the writings and letters that are inlayed in parchment and paper with the finger of meer man which low principles yet are able to plead their own divine original and evince them to be of God he argues at large that the Word of God Scripture again he should have said doth much more evidence it self to be his Word and to put his lax and loose words into a narrower room and into a more Argumentative or Syllogistical posture thus viz. If those inferiour Names of God whereby he makes himself known even his works without and his Light his Law written in the heart and conscience to which there need be no other Witness that when they testifie God's Righteousness or Holynesse and call for moral obedience which is eternally and indispensably due to him they speak from God do evidence themselves to be what they are and to be of him then much more his Word the Scripture he should have said which God magnifies over all his Name must evidence it self to be his Word But those inferionr Names do evidence themselves and therefore much more doth the Word of God the Scriptures again he should have said evidence it self to be the Word of God Rep. What a strange story is here as if a man should tell a tale of two things a Cock and a Bull metamorphos'd into one whereof the one having been as confidently as untruly avowed to be assuredly known to be the other viz. The Cock to be a Bull is being denied as Ridiculously as Reasonlesly profer'd to be proved in this illegal and illogical way of Argumentation viz. That which evidenceth it self to be a Bull both is and is assuredly known to be a Bull but the Bull alias the Cock for so he means should say evidenceth himself to be a Bull Therefore the Bull or the Cock both is and is assuredly known to be a Bull. In this shameful manner and sorry sort doth I.O. having once audaciously avouch 't it go about to prove the Scriptures to be and to be assuredly known to be the VVord of God by Anticipation sophistically substituting that subject the Word of God in his disputation for it in the room of the legal subject i.e. the Scriptures taking it perforce from such as give it not for granted that it is so while to them-ward it s yet no more but the thing in Question and utterly unproved so to be which question I.O. not onely begs but also begs so unworthily and basely that I never saw the like to it but once before in all my life and the like to it can't likely be seen again unless a man should beg it on his knees little less then plainly confessing that unless it be aforehand granted him that the Scripture is the Word of God he cannot possibly prove it so to be What wise man that is as willing to do the Truth Right as thee I.O. no wrong can make any better construction of thy own words as they are to be read in the ◠sect of the 4. chap. of thy first Treatise where professing that in the remainder of thy Discourse thorowout that Treatise which is all in proof of the Scriptures being assuredly the word of God thou shalt endeavour to clear and vindicate the self evidencing efficacy of the Scripture and the grounds thereof by such common Mediums as shall as well reach the Reasons of such men as acknowledge not the Scripture to be the Word of God as of such as do thou desirest in effect onely to have thus much first granted thee that thou mayest have leave the Scripture being that out of which thy proofs for and grounds of this self-evidencing efficacy of the Scripture to be the Word of God are to be taken to consider the Scripture as 't is the written word of God or else all thy proofs will be weak and able to prove just nothing This onely quoth I.O. to recite his own words I shall desire to promise that whereas some grounds of this efficacy seem to be placed in the things themselves contained in the Scripture I shall not consider them abstractedly as such but under their formality of being the Scripture or written Word of God without which consideration and resolution the things mentioned would be left naked and utterly divested of their Authority and Efficacy pleaded for and be of no other nature and importance then the same things found in other Books Which is as much as to say Being by the Scripture to prove the Scripture or writing both to be and to evidence it self to be the Word written or the written Word of God let such as deny it deny that their denial of it and but first own it with me that the Scripture or writing formaliter is the written Word of God and let us but under that name nature notion and formality consider it and then let
himself as it seemed good to him wrote a story of certain Truths not upon the account of such a meer passive immediate reception thereof from God by inspiration of every Tittle into him as he wrote as thou doest without any conception of the things in his minde or retaining them in his memory or by any means before hand comprehending them but rather as it were at second hand as they were heard and beleeved and undeâ—stood by him as true matters of fact from the mouthes or writings of such as were eye witnesses thereof and did first deliver them and so to the confutation of thy vain figment not without a concurrence of his rational faculties in the receiving of what he wrote 3. What thinkest thou of those Proverbs of Solomon whose Proverbs were 3000. in all not 300. of which are contained in your Canon and his Songs a hundred and not five of which are come to your cognizance King 4 3.2.5 or those which stand in your Standard from the very first inserting of them there stand but at second hand at best as they were copied out of whether the first manuscript or some remote and more uncertain Transcript who can tellâ— by the men of Hezekiah some nine or ten Generations after him see Prov. 25.1 were these received by the Writers that affixed them to that ye call your Canon so immediately from God as thou dreamest without any but a passive concurrence as things not by any means comprehended by these men of Hezekiah before they wrote them 4. What thinkest thou of such parts and parcels of thy so called Canon as are each of them written in two several places or books of thy Bible one of which places and the Respective parcels whether Histories or Prophesies or Praises therein recited are at most but repetitions and meer transcriptions out of the other with some such Additions or Ablations or Alterations of more than Titles and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as is not unusually made among Transcribers of which sort for instance in a few I refer thee and all such as scrape so unskilfully as thou doest about the Scriptures being in every Title as it now stands in your Copies immediately written from God by inspiration and without meditation or any means of comprehending the things they wrote beforehand by the Writers thereof to consider and compare Psal. 14. with Psal. 53. and 2 Sam. 2.2 with Psal. 18. also 2 King 18.13 c. 19. c. 20. with Isa. 36. Isa. 37. Isa. 38. Isa 39. also 2 King 24 18. c. 25. throughout with Ier. 39. Ier. 52. by which places perused howbeit every word of this is asserted by J.O. to be written as immediately from Gods own mouth as any of it it is yet plain and evident that some of it was but copied and transcribed out of other some and such a useless Repetition of the same over and over again as neither need be nor would be if the Bible as consistent of neither more nor less than what is ordinarily bound up in it had beâ—n intended by either God or the holy Pen-men of the sundry parcels thereof to be the inalterable constant Canon and only steady Standard for all succeeding ages of men universally to the worlds end 5. Moreover what thinkest thou of such Scripture Prophesies and Epistles as were first written and pend not by the holy men themselves that were moved to give them forth by inspiration but by such as wrote them not mmediately from God but from the mouthes of such only as indited them as the spirit moved of which there are not a few but how many exactly who knows since evident it is that those men after whom they are denominated did not at first write all their own Prophesies and Epistles with their own hands witness much at least of Ieremiahs Prophesie that was written not by himself but Baruch his ordinary Scribe as Jeremiah dictated to him See Ier. 36.4.6.17 18 32. Baruch 6.1 c. Witness also Pauls Epistle to the Romans which though indited by him yet Tertius was the Pen-man thereof Rom. 16.22 which verse Tertius himself it seems added as he wrote Besides many if not most of his Epistles were sent not from Paul alone sigillatim but from himself and such other of his fellow-labourers as were with him at such times and places when and from whence they were sent viz. some from him and Timothy 2 Cor. 1.1 Col. 1.1 Philip. 1.1 Philem. 1.1 Some from him and Silas and Timothy 1 Thess. 1.1 2 Thes. 1.1 one from him and Sosthenes 1 Cor. 1.1 of which which of the two or the three was the Scribe though we beleeve Paul to be under God the chief Authour who knows one from him and all the brethren that were with him at the writing thereof Gal. 1.1 2. which is the only one to any whole Churches that we have clear evidence of that he wrote with his own hands of which he sayes Gal. 6.11 Yee see how large a letter I have written to you with mine ownhand and verse 17. Henceforth let no man trouble me which very expression of his verse 11. intimates that it was not very usual with him to write his letters to the Churches with his own hand but only signed them when others had wrote them for him therefore he often intimateâ— his love to them under his own hand and no more See 1 Cor. 16.21 Col. 4.18.1 and 3.17 The salutation of me Paul with mine own hand which is the token in every Epistle so I write now it being so were all the writings and things written received so immediately from God as thou imaginest by the first Pen-men with out retaining any thing in their memories of what they had learned or comprehending them by any means beforehand or without any but a meer passive concurrence of their rational faculties in the reception thereof what ignorance is this Besides whether with Pauls own hand or any others his Epistles were written some things therein were therein spoken to the Churches by himself as delivering his judgement by permission only and not by Commandement from God by him not the Lord To the rest quoth he speak I and not the Lord 1 Cor 7.6 12.40 which as it contradicts J. O's talk in the parcel above cited so also it overturns that talk and fabulous piece of praie as to some parts of it and shall here stand as an answer to it which he as ignorantly utters pag. 25 26 27. viz. They were carried out by the Holy Ghost to speake deliver write all that and nothing but that to a very tittle that was so brought unto them they only received the words from God himself Every aspect of the written word i.e. writing with J.O. is equally Divine and as immediately from God as the voice wherewith or whereby he spake to or in the Prophets and is therefore accompanied with the same Authority in it self and unto us What hath been spoken thus of the Scripture
affirm nor more nor less yet ye own and justifie your selves as owners and deny and judge us as deniers as of of the Scriptures Ye challenge us to dispute it against us that the Scripture is the Word of God the only Rule c. when we meet you before hundreds to that end you confess with us as Christopher Fowler did at Reading T.D. at Sandwich and I.O. doth in his Declartion or Latine Divinity Disputations that you mean not the Scripture formally considered the Letter or Text it self ye talk for not the Writing but the holy matter and doctrine contained held forth testified to therein the Word in the heart of which we say its a Light a Rule denying the letter only so to be yet the same truth when ye tell it is the truth when we tell it as a lye Ye venture upon the open stage against us a vile persons in our Tenets about the Scriptures when ye are there ye verefie the very self-same truth we vindicate against you and say with us the Scripture or Writing which is the formality of the Scripture quae dat esse Rei sormally considered is not the Word nor the Rule nor any thing but a dead letter only the matter and truth of the Text testified to is the Word Rule Light c. as we say it is only Yet when ye go away though from the first to the last ye give us the cause yet we must give you leave or else you will steal it to carry away the colours and boast and brag and vapour as the men that had the victory till by venting your lyes so fast to manifest the Qua. folly ye fling out your own folly to the view of all men T.D. But quoth T.D. p. 30.1 Pamph. All this while you go about to delude the simple as if you denied only this way of writing to have alwayes been the only way of conveyance and you magnifie the Spirit that with more security ye may throw down the letter of the Scripture and if you would speak out plainly that ye call the Spirit will be found to be the dictates of your consciences blinde and corrupt as they are the Lord knows and you are no further bound to obey the letter of the Scripture then you are willing to obey it Rep. As for thy lyes of the friends of truth that light stuff like the chaffe the winde will drive away The Lord knows whose consciences are blind and corrupt yours or ours and as to thy slighting the dictates of conscience which work I.O. is not behinde thee in flouting at what is dictated by the Light of God in it and by the light therein from it to men as Figment Fannaticism Enthusiasm and such like dirty denominations I need refer no further then too I.O. whose magnifications of the dictates of conscience otherwhiles may well serve to the contradiction and confutation of himself and thee too and stop both thy mouth and his own too who â—ayes pag. 42. â—3 44,45 of the conscience and the voice of God therein and the instinct of good and evil and self-judgement God hath placed and indeleably planted therein it declares it self to be from God by its own light and Authority there is no need to convince a man by substantial witnesses that what his conscience speaks it speaks from God whether it bear testimony to the righteousness of God or that obedience which is eternally and indispensably due to him it shews the work of the Law written in the heart and discovers its Author in whole name it speaks and much more to the like purpose so that he and thou too may with shame enough reflect upon your ignorant vilifications of it As for our obedience to the Letter we are by the Spirit so bound to that not so far only as we are willing as thou belieâ—t us but in a cross to our own wills that while we walk in the Spirit which is our Rule we cannot disobey the Letter but fulfill it while your selves who prate of your being bound to obey it walk at large after your own wills and lusts in the liberty of your flesh and through your boundless boasting of that ye as boundlesly break do dishonour both God and your selves As for our going about to deceive the simple we deny all Deceivers and Deceit teaching no other Doctrine nor Gospel then what Paul delivered then which whoever it is that brings or broaches another whether it be we who are hated as Devils or you who are honoured as Angels of light from heaven by such as dwell in the depths and darkness of hell I say with Paul let him be accursed but those are now marked and manifested plainly enough who cause the Divisions and offences contrary to the Doctrine the Saints learned of old by the children of the day are avoided also for they that are such serve not the Lord Iesus Christ but their own bellies and yet by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple Rom. 16.17 18. What T.D. sayes in his second Pamph. as to this question of the Scriptures being a Rule is no new thing but a Reference of men for an answer to G. Whiteheads Queries which he was shye of saying much to seeing he had not much to say to his old trite trivial Toy entituled the Qua. Folly the very book that G. Whitehead had Routed before and so dry is T.D. pumped that most of his two Butter-flyes excepting the wings it flyes with i. e. His Epistle and his Narrative consists of Repetitions of what he had uttered in the other that was Routed and new References of his Reader to that old one notwithstanding so much is added to to this head in p. 16. of his second Pamph. as more fully gives us the cause we contend for against him viz. That the Truth Doctrine Matter and not the Scripture Text or Letter is the Rule to men I must quoth he again refer the Reader for an answer to these Queries meaning G.Ws. to Qua. Folly in which yet none of them are answered and I adde the matter contained in the Scriptures is a Rule to all men so far as t is revealed to them and was so before it was put into writing and so much of it as is written upon the hearts of Heathens is a Rule to them Rep. Minde Reader how T.D. yeelds the Question to the Qua. again in his late last Lazy labours which Question between the Qua and the Priests is not about the holy Doctrine Truth and matter for the Qua. still own that to be as to the substantials before which the shadowy figurative part thereof flyes away everlastingly the same an inalterable fixt firm inward spiritual Word and Light which neither doth not can ever perish corrupt or pass away but about the outward Scripture Writing Text or Letter which uno ore with one voice all our Priests and people vote to be the Rule Touchstone Word c.
these What though he doth write that his writings were that the Saints might believe that Christ was the Son of God and believing might live through his Name and that their joy might be full i.e. That encrease might be to them of Faith and Joy see 1 Joh. 5.13 does their being useful and profitable and penn'd for the same common end as the Light is given for in the conscience conclude them by such an immediate consequence as J.O. conceives to be design'd and appointed by God to be canoniz'd and established into the onely Canon into the sole standing Rule and Standard for all things of Faith Manners and Worship to be tryed by so that nothing can or may safely be believed done or practised in obedience to God or acceptable to him without particular and expresse recourse first had unto the Scriptures If this be good and immediate consequence of J.O. viz. the Scriptures and Letter hath the same common end with the Spirit and Light and is useful and profitable comfortable and serviceable as the other is though not so much Therefore the Scripture or Letter is the onely most perfect standing-Rule universally for all truth to be tryed by the onely Canon for men to come to whereby to be rectified in Faith Life Worship and all Obedience Then at least must T.D. J. O's joint Antagonist against the Qua. and the Truth be judg'd a meer jugling Disputant and shufling Sophister if he own it as any other then a non sequittar unless he will rather chuse to join with me here against J. O. in denying of this consequence and against himself too as to his asserting the Scripture to be the Rule for as much as when 't was urged against him in the same kind at the Dispute but in a way of much more necessary consequence then J. O's crooked Conclusion comes in by to the defect of Scripture-Canon as they call it in its integrals on this wise If there were other inspired Scriptures that are not bound up in your Bibles as useful and profitable and written to the same end with those you have then they were as much a Rule as those ye have But there were c. in proof of which minor instance was given in the first Epistle to the Corinthians mentioned in the first we have 1 Cor. 5.9.11 Where Paul sayes I wrote unto you in an Epistle not to keep company with Fornicators c. and now have I written to you not to keep company c. By which it seems both Epistles one of which is not in the now Bible were written by the same Apostle to one and the same end T.D. Replyes to this effect see p. 26 27. of his first Pamph. I deny your Consequence Sermons Religious Discourses have the same common end with the written Scriptures yet the Letter onely are our standing Rule And p. 27. All that was written by holy men and preserved for our use is not therefore our standing Rule And two bald Reasons is rendred in the same page viz. Because God intended these that are bound up in our Bibles but not the rest neither such as are lost for had he intended those so lost Poovidence would have watcht over them as over the rest nor such as are by his providence preserved neither if not in our Bibles And pag. 17. of T. D's second Pamph. Suppose quoth he we had the signs faithfully recorded i. e. in our Bible where they are wanting yet were they not our Rule because God did not give order for them He hath assured us as much as is sufficient to create and encrease Faith And pag. 18. If you say as you seem to do if they all were done to the same end then being written they must reach the same end I deny your consequence quoth he the difference lyes in God's Arbitrary Dispensation Now if T.D. deny the consequence of the Qua. which is two fold clearer and more cogent then I. O's when they say all Scriptures written by inspiration and preserved for our use to this day are a Rule to us as much as any of them are whether bound up or not bound up by Stationers in our Bibles Then how much more must he side with me in denying J. O's far fetch 't consequence though J.O. calls it immediate unlesse he will be denied justly for a daubing deceiver when J.O. argues thus viz. The Scriptures are useful profitable and written to the same good ends and purposes as the Light Spirit and Word of God Therefore the Scriptures the Letter and not the inward Light Spirit Word or any internal Revelation at all are the only most perfect standing Rule of all things in matter of Faith Life Doctrine Worship c. But I have reason to suspect and fear that Night-Birds of a Feather however they clash and thwart one another and fall out among themselves in the dark yet will fall in flock and flye all together in the face of the Light rather then seem to side therewith against each other and that by some sillycome-senceless secundum quid or other they 'l seem to qualifie their more then seeming confusions if they can Nevertheless let them agree as they please I may safely make bold before all but partial prejudiced persons to deny J. O's consequence and put my self under T. D's Patronage in so doing who denyes the same save onely that its much more sound and cogent when used to him ward by the Qua. and indeed so it fares and falls out with my two Antagonists I.O. and T.D. that though they join to carry on the same Cause against the Qu. improving their Wits to-patch up what proofs they can in the points wherein they oppose them yet their witnesses agree so little with each other and within themselves that what either of them asserts is for the most part overturned if not by the individual party so asserting as it often is yet at least by the other of them one where or other in such wise that had some wiser man then my self had the management of this matter and work against them that is now under my hands I see so much though minding matter more then method I am carryed to the confutation of them into sundry other wayes of partly positive and partly polemical Discourse intermingled among my Animadversioâ—s Examinations and comparings of their sayings that he need go no further then T.D. and I.O. to fetch matter wherewith to conâ—ute I.O. and no further then J.O. and T.D. to confute T.D. I conclude then my Reply to the routing of the first Rank and cashiering the first Classe of J. O's Scriptures urged in proof of the Scriptures being the only most perfect standing Rule and it may serve for an answer to T.D. himself too in T. D's words to me mutatis mutaâ—dis p. 20. 1 Pamph. To make the business short suppose we grant the Scripture to be divinely inspired to be very useful and profitable as we do and to be
p. 9. the figment and imagination of whose hearts are the foundation of all they speak And this I as readily grant they are not to be deemed as thine T. Ds and some other mens are who in your private narrow conceptions and thoughts of things thrust out what yee tkinke feign and fancy still to be truth though nothing so about both the Scriptures and many other matters for they are true Scriptures of holy publick spirited men who wrote or caused to be written what was known and surely beleveed Luke 1.1 at least among Saints who were no liars if not all at the immediate motiâ—n of the Spirit they declared the things they had seen heard and witnessed within themselves to be the truth even when they wroâ—e from others in matter of Doctrine Prophesie or so and in Chronicle either immediately or from more credible testimony then I.O. and T.D. when they write at all adventure upon leastly hear-sayes from very goâ—d hands when the matters are in point of fact many if not most of them very lyes And in this sense thou strivest 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be taken which thou sayest some think is put for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 19 20. and one Copy read◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by an evident error or mistake without ground and much more ado then needs thou there makest to have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 denote the writing of the Scriptures to be by men that were moved by the publick Spirit of God and not by mans private Spirit nor at his will but Gods which I grant and a little more too whether 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifie so much or not viz. That it neither is to be interpreted now it is so given forth at the Will of man or by mans private spirit or by our own coâ—siâ—â—ration of its sense and meaning p. 21. which sense I see thou wouldest fain exclude 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from bearing or having in any tollerable sense affixed to it and I cannot blame thee as thy principles are for else thou who deniest the presence and guidance of the infallible Spirit to all men in these dayes must cut off thy self and fellow Doctors Divines and Expositors of the Scriptures from medling much by your own conceptions thoughts understandings and wills to interpret open or give your senses and fancies on them by which craft you have your wealth but only alone by the publick Spirit of God which gave them out and only knows his own minde and meaning and reveals it to those that walk therein and not after the flesh as ye do For we saith Paul of himself and those Ministers have the minde of Christ 1 Cor. 2. So I give thee thy sense and more then thou wouldest willingly have as concerning the intâ—rpreting of the Scripture which men in their private thoughts are not to expound nor yet to deem it as meer private mens Writings Howbeit none of all this comes out of this place so clearly as thou conceivest for it speaks not of the Letter and Writing so much as thou in thy private spirit interpretest it to do but of the Truth or holy things written for whereas thou who doest not see that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is one thing and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is another takest the Prophesie of Scripture it intends the Prophesie it self that was as to the summe of it written but not the Writing that is of it which Prophesie whether written by the hands or spoken by the mouthes of holy men of God who live in the Spirit was not to bee interpreted as the written or spoken Doctrines of private men that speak and write from the conceivings of their own narrow private spirits the figment and imagination of whose hearts is the fountain of all they utter write or speake but as the undoubted infallible eternal truth of the living God made manifest in them which they wrote and spoke forth as moved by Gods publick holy Spirit 3. That the Letter Scripture or Writing ' or Copies of the original Texts as ye have them at this day are that Word of God called there the Word of Prophesie v. 19. 4. That they are a more sure Word in their evidence to us at least though not in themselves then any voice from heaven whatever yea then Gods own if hee should speak to us from heaven or then that voice by which hee spake from Heaven which Peter James and John heard when they were with Christ on the holy Mount 5. That the said Letter of the Scripture is the light said there to shine in the dark place of mans hearts with an eminent advantage to its own discovery as well as unto the benefit of others All which three last Assertions I not only deny to follow from this Text as I did the two first which yet I deny not the Truth of but do as much deny them all three or any one of them to bee Truth at all as I do absolutely deny all or either of them to bee possibly by any sound reason to bee deduced or inferred from this place and likewise affirm that measure of the Light and Spirit of God and Christ in the hearts and consciences of men which we bear testimony unto to be the more sure word of Prophesie and Light here testified to by Peter And the grounds of my denial of the one of these viz. That the Letter is it and of my affirming the other viz. that the Light is it are clear from two or three clauses of the Text it self which are proper and the very import of the phrases and truly and plainly agreeable to the Light or Spirit or Word of God within but not a tall true or proper or in truth agreeable to the Letter without if predicated thereof for First it is as much as I.O. jeers at the verbum seu lumen internum said to be the Word and Light within and so the Letter without is not if it were either the Word or the Light therefore it cannot bee the Letter ad extra which I O. labours for against the Light and T.D. also who p. 45. of his 1 Pamph. cotâ—s this same Text 2 Pet. 1 19. affirming the Scripture to be the sure word of Prophesie intended here but the Light ad intra wee stand up for against them both that which is said to be within is not intended of a thing that is without only as the formal Letter or the Scripture is formally considered according to its proper name and nature as I.O. dreams or that proper essential form quae dat effeci per quam Scriptura est id quod est which gives to it that very being whereby it is what it is but of something that is really within as the Light only is which the Litera scripta or Letter without declares of And that not the Letter or Scripture formally considered but that Word of God only and Divine
the house then some light from the Sun must be within the said Room also so wee argue Retro from hence If the dark place where the day is to dawn as the lesser light therein is observed be the heart then the place wherein the lesser light shines which even therefore secundum vâ—s O ye bâ—nighted ones cannot be the Letter must be the heart also but verum prius c. the first is true therefore the latter We have a more sure word of Prophesie to which ye do well to give heed as to a light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn and the day-star arise in your hearts 2. The word of Prophesie or Prophetical word is a phrase that of it self seems to any but blinde Expositors to intend another thing than the outward Letter and to found forth no less then that more inward Word or immediate Testimony of Christ himself in the conscience elsewhere stiled the Words of Prophesie or Word of God and Witness or Testimony of Iesus or Spirit of Prophesie from which of which and to which the holy men that were internally illuminated thereby and made acquianted with Gods secrets bare Record or Testiminy without by Voice or Writings Rev. 1 2 3.19 10. the trâ—e and faithful words of the Lord himself inlightning such as wrote the Letter who having no need so to do the Lord and the Lamb being their light wrote not by though not against the Directory of I.Os. outward Candle Moon or Sun ad extra i.e. the external Text of others Writings Rev. 21.23 22.25.6 the Words of the Prophesie of this booke as Iohn calls it Rev. 22 8. i.e. the inward Spirit of Prophesie or Testimony of Iesus from which all Prophesie went forth whether by voice or writing which the Angels and Gods servants the Prophets had and kept Rev. 22 9 compared with Rev. 19.10 which book I.O. dreams 't is like was the outward Writing or Copy that Iohn gave forth the uncertain Copies of which to say nothing of the doubts of the old dimn sighted Doctors that were at oddes about the outward Book called the Revelation and some others even of those that are owned as Authentick whether they are not spurious yea or nay only are extant at this day little deeming that was an inward Book which I.O. tells us of too if he will own his own words p. 9. 25. which Iohn took in at first from which he gave out the the other and prophesied in the way of manual wiriting even the inner book of Gods secrets which are only with such as fear him revealed to Christ by the Father and by Christ to Iohn and opened by Christ to his servants at this day who eat it and prophesie out of it again before many Peoples Nations Tongues and Kings though sealed with 7 seals to the Scribes on the backside or outside of it on which backside or outward letter they are busily poring but they cannot read it neither learned nor unlearned because it is a Book sealed Rev. 5.3.10.2 9 10 11 12. Isa 29 9 ao 11 11. 3. That very Epethite which to the Word of Prophesie here spoken of is annexed doth even infallibly evidence it to be intended of that inner Word Spirit and light in the conscience which the Qua. call too and thou scoffest at and not at all of that fallible external Text which thou art so talkative for for it s called a sure permanent firm or stable Word which is more then can be saving all thy blinde bable about it asserted of the best and most original Copies of that Letter thou contendest for that are extant in the world in these dayes and not only so but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a more sure or stable word then that voice which Peter Iames and Iohn heard immediately from heaven out of the Fathers own mouth concerning his beloved Son Christ the light of the world given as a light to the Nations shining and shewing the will of God to them in every one 's own heart so Gods salvation to the ends of the earth saying unto them Hear ye him v. 17. comp with Mat. 27.5 which voice coming from the excellent glory which was infallibly sure to them no cunningly devised fable they heard when they were with Christ in the holy Mount Now the Word Spirit voice and light of Christ in the conscience is properly and truly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a more stable firm and permanent Word or standing Rule constant Canon and lasting light and so more sure to us ward then that voice to them not surer in respect of its evidence to the hearers of it or the security given by it that it was no fable nor fancy in which sense thou most foolshly fanciest p. 66. that the immediate voice above said absit absurdum was not so sure i.e. not so certainly evident to be Gods voice as the Letter is certainly evident to be Gods Word for in that sense the said voice was to them that heard it most infallibly sure or evident so as nothing can bee surer to be God and I.O. in saying as he dotingly doth p. 66. that comparatively we have greater security from and by that written Word meaning the Scriptures or Writing for that is the Word written with all along such is his illiterate language then they had in and by that miraculous voice as he calls it and that the Scripture is more sure in respect of its giving out of its evidence to us then that voice of God was doth thereby absit blasphemia render the very voice of God himself whereby he spake in and to the Prophets that wrote the Scriptures to us less sure and certain more doubtful and questionable whether it might not be a mistake or no then the outward Writing or Text they wrote as it is transferred to our hands at this day through the hands of such a mighty multitude of fallible Transcribers none at all of which no not the first were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 infallible or divinely inspired so that they could not in any thing mistake by his own confession p. 167. where I.O. confesses and grants also that it s known that failings have been among them from whence various lections of which it cannot be ascertained to men now which is right which wrong are arisen which so variously transcribed Scripture it is shame enough for I.O. to assert as he doth p. 10. under that term of Word by which he terms it and p. 153 under its own name of Scripture that it is come forth to us from God without the least mixture â—r intervenience of medium obnoxious to fallibility as is the wisdome truth integrity knowledge and memory of the best of all men or capable to give change or aâ—teration to the least Iota or syllable and more shame yet to say as hee doth p 27. that every Apex of it is equally Divine and as immediately from God as the voice wherewith or
Psalmist they can perswade others from what they have seen felt and handled of Gods Word and his Iudgements which are a gâ—eat deep yet to the rest that live alienated from the Light and by them have bâ—en purged from their filth and warned from the wickedness of their way and of simple been made wise of which precious uâ—e Gods Iudgements are to all that thus witness and know them as Psa. 19. Yea these are that Nation of Israel and not that which is now become a curse and perished out of what ever outwaâ—d Nation or People they are gathered into the one Light and Spirit of whom it s said Who is like unto thee O Isâ—ael â— a people saved by the Lord who rideth on the Hâ—avens for thy help And in that of these mens quoting Deuter. 4.8 What Nation is there so great that hath Statutes and Iudgements so righteous as all this Law which is set before them in the light their keeping and doing of which shall be their wisdome and understanding in the sight â—f those Nations which though now they count them fools shall at last see themselves to have been infatuaated and say of Gods now dispersed and despâ—sed Seed of Israel after the Spirit Surely this great Nation is a wise and understanding people And as for others though as R. B I. T. T. D. and ye all say God hath not dealth so richly with any as he does with them that receive the riches of his Grace and they have not known his Iudgements in such a measure as these know them yet all as they heed the Light in that may know them as in some degree the Heathen heeding the Light are said to do Rom. 1. and degrees never vary the nature of a case neither follows it that because some know not so much as some therefore many neither do nor for want of Light can know nothing of the Gospel or Saving Truth of God at all The 30th from Rom. 7.7 is thus The Light within neither did to Paul nor doth nor can discover sin even the sin of Lust without the Law therefore the Light within each person is not a sufficient guide of it self to lead to God and to warrant mens actions without the written Word i. e. Scripture with them Rep. Why not as well as before the Law was written in an outward Letter at all if by the Law ye will needs understand nothing but outward Scripture for some sure knew lust before Moses wrote the Law But in very deed how deeply soever ye dream in this as ye do in most things this Law without which the Lust is not well known is no other then the Light it self within for the Letter sayes lust is a sin but 't is the Light that shews thy lust to filth envy or any evil to be thy sin within thy self and that Law by which the knowledge of sin comes is that Law and Commandment which Prov. 6.23 is said to be the Light and the Lamp even the wâ—rd that David hid of him that he might see the way of covetouâ—ness that was eâ—sewise hid in his heart and so not sin against Gâ—d by which only the young man in whom lust is strong taking heed thereunto shall come to cleanse his way which is never clean while he hangs only on the lips of Letter-stealers and meer Letter-lauders who lauding the holy life they liâ—e not in are at best but lyars when they preach the Tâ—uth But this being elsewhere handled I shall need to say the less of it here So having done with these two mens thirty Arguments a few words more to their ten wâ—aâ— Reasâ—ns against the true Light in all men and then I have done with them as to that Reason 1. Because what each man conceives according to his Light within him cannot be right and â—rue for one mans conceits do sometimes contradict anothers Nor are thâ— Quak. all of one mind when they follow the Light within them Rep. This is one of your own croâ—ked odd conceits indeed but far from truth and good consequence that the Light or Rule it self cannot be true or right or a safe rule because mens conceits of things to be or not be according to it may be contradictory one to another and so not both true 'T is true contradictoâ—y conceivings abâ—ut one Rule cannâ—t be both true but he contradicts aâ—l truth and common reasâ—n who conceives the Rule or Light it self to be ere the worse or ere the less a true Rule or Light because of that Two men may have contradictâ—ry thâ—ughts and conceits whereof one must needs be false about a piece of Cloths agreeing or nor agreeing with the yaâ—d or measure but it follows nor therefore from any thing but these faithless mens false and foolish fancies that the Taâ—d is not a Yard or no good rule or measure and if this were good consequence R. B. and I. T. but that they are blind still might see it conclude more strongly against their Letters being as they plead it to be the only true Light or Rulâ— then against the Light since there 's as many silly senses misty meanings and contradictory conceits in the minds of them that are Ministers of it almost as they are Ministers of it For whereas they tell us of two Qua. contradicting one another I have told these four men I.O. T.D. R.B. I.T. of contradicting one another many times o're in their books against us and shall do yet a little more before this book I here write be at an end yea â—n truth as I have shewed already before and shall do more behind there 's little else then confusion and contradiction to themselves by our men called Clergy well nigh in all the Doctrines they have to do with besides this reaâ—on rendred by them is not at all against the Light of God but against mens meer conceits which we are more against then any men whatever calling men out of their own conceivings into Gods own Counsel the Light So quid hoc ad rem Reas. 2. Because that which unvariable and alterable cannot be a persons Rule for its the property of a Rule to be invariable and the same at all times Rules Measures Weights Dials Squares and what other things are made if they be varied câ—ase be Rules Rules should be fixt and certain but nothing more variable then mens light in them Rep. Igrant that 's no rule which is variable and alterable and therefore have above from hence concluded and do here again from your own premises conclude the Letter the Rule ye talk for more then walk by not to be that only Rule of Faith and Life as ye would have it but Gods Light in the heart which the Letter came from sith as I. O. teaches us in his Epistle though he will not learn the same lesson himself but teaches in his book as much against it as he does for it that the Letter in the very Original copies of it
your opposite Expositions and that in such very places which to any save such light haters as standing in their own light cannot see Wood for Trees are as plain as the Nose on a mans face If to claw it and call it Lydium lapidem a true undeceivable fixt sure and inalterable standing Touchstone and disown those as dishonourers of it who in words compare it to a Nose of Wax a Lesbyan Rule and yet in your own Works so to make it by bending and bowing it every one to his own blind Invention so as to cause it to stand Nine wayes at once and to propound not only how possibly but also how facile it is to wrest it into as many various Lections by the advantage of the Hebrew Character as can be in the most flexible Writing in the World or any Critick can invent as thou I.O. teachest in thy Epistle If to play Legerdemaine with it so as in a presence of valuing It to say great matters of it and then to depresse it so as to unsay them again and then to run the Rounds and say them again as thou I.O. often dost If to boyse it up into that honourable Title of the Living Word of God and again to hurle it down into that more temperate Term which yet ye will not endure others to Term it by of a Dead Letter and yet to go round again Horrendo percussis scotomate after that to say its Living and no where said to be Dead If to deal so worthily with it as to affirm it to be perfect as to its own end and fall out with such as deny it so to be as no Quakers do that I know of and then from the same Hand-writing that before affirmed it to deal so unworthily with it as to deny it so to be as if I.O. doth not my Eyes are out but if he do he will surely say his own were not well open when he did so If to say its profitable to its end and that its end is to make men perfect and yet to say no man is made perfect in this World in which only the Scripture is confessed to be of use nor till the world to come where it s granted to be of no use cannot profit at all If thus to tosse it to and again like a Tennis Ball in a confused self-contradictory kind of talk sometimes telling the Truth about it sometimes belying it sometimes giving both it and the Lyar himself the Lye who so belyed it sometimes yea often lying against and alwayes living beside the holy Truth and Doctrine itself declared by it If to exceed in setting forth its self evidencing Excellency in avouching its Divine Authority and Power to Command men in the Name of God as his Word and yet never to come under the Power of its Commands so as yield Obedience thereunto If to call it your Rule and yet never submit to be ruled by it If both to overvalue and to undervalue to lift up and cast down to honour and dishonour it be truly indeed to value exalt and honour the Scriptures If all the particulars above enumerated and many more of the same sort that might be instanced in by Induction be in heart word and deed so to do then I shall yield the Scripture to be as much so valued honoured and exalted in this ever-Reforming never-Reforming Nation of England as among Papists or any other Nation whatsoever and by our self separating sensual literal Antiscriptural Anti-spiritual high Notional Professors as well as by the best National Protestants that are therein and by I.O. himself and his Reverend Fellow Students if they study and value it at the same rates with himself as much as any I know Finally If this be very highly to value it to be alwayes charging challenging and calling out for the Allowance of large and liberal Maintenance Augmentation of Means by all means possible out of all mens possibilities for the Ministers not of the Spirit but of the Letter only as those of mens making are who steal words enough from thence cut of which together with what of their own they patch them up with into one or two hours piece of work in a week to pick out a Living by And if that be to value it or esteem it or prize it or rate it high or set much by it or make much of it to sell every Sermon so stole and made but on some one verse of it and yet some make so much of one verse as to make many Sermons on it stretching it out for ease-sake to hold out the running of many Glasses for 20 shillings a Sermon and more Money and to have and to hold some Hundreds at least one Hundred of pounds for at most one hundred of Sermons I say if this be to make much of the Scripture there is more made of it in one year by our Divines and Doctors of Divinity amongst whom I.O. was once none of the last nor least as to valuing and making much of it then ever was by all the Quakers in the World since that Nick-Name began who yet if to make much of it be to live in the Light as the Letter itself exhorts to do do make more of it that way in a year then all those Priests and Prophets that preach it for Hire and Divine out of it for Money or ever have done since the World began or ever will do while it hath a being So that howbeit thou I.O. in thy hostile mind representest the Quakers as hostes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 enemies and haters of the Scriptures there 's no such matter for if they be haters of it that hate to be reproved by it and cannot endure the sound Doctrine delivered in it which is according to Godlinesse the Letter hath no such haters of it as the very Ministers of the Letter are who are ever enmity against the Life Light and Spirit it calls to walk in And if they may be said to love it who are livers according to it the very Letter itself hath no such true lovers of it as the Quakers who are in thy blind zeal hated by thee as haters of it for living that Life it calls for As to thy Tale of our striving to thrust the Scripture from its own place in the Church of God it s as true a Tale as its fellow false ones for though we set Christ and his inward Light living Word and Life-giving Spirit only on the Throne in the Church yet we own and establish the Scripture which is but the meer Letter in its proper place wherein it is to stand since it had its being as so from the other as subservient and subordinate to the other which are its betters and its elders and not as such a Dominus fac Iotum as thou makest it as if those that gave being to it must now come under it so as to stand barely at the Bar before it to be tryed
my businesse with I.O. lyes into that Name of his Word and into the Authority of the Foundation of Faith the infallible Rule of Interpretation of itself of Tryal and Examination of Spirits Doctrines c. of the Supream Iudge also by which all Controversies of Religion are to be determined the only pure Authentical Standard unto which the Church is finally to Appeal in whose Sentence it is to Rest into which all Faith is finally to be Resolved so if such Synods of men either Antient or Modern as have shouldred out all those at once from sharing with the other Writings in what they can lay just claim to had been as Spiritually discerning as they were Spiritually blind shallow and undiscerning they would have seen cause to have joyned some at least of those Apocryhal Scriptures to an Equal Participation of that Plea of divine Original and inspiration with the rest as without Cause they justled them all out from it by their joynt Consent And though it be the declared Faith of that Assembly of Divines that both Houses of Parliament advised with 1648. and of the Congregational Churches in England whose Confession is put out this instant 1659. as to that Article about the Scriptures word for word in the same words with the other That the Books commonly called Apocrypha not being of divine Inspiration are no part of the Canon of the Scriptures and therefore are of no Authority in the Church of God nor to be any otherwise approved or made use of then other humane Writings yet this I declare to the whole World as my Faith concerning them that though I own neither them nor the best bare Wriing or outward Text or Letter of the other Scripture at so high a Rate as I.O. does who makes the naked Letter in all things equivolent to the holy matter yet whatever is truly to be praedicated of the one or can solidly be pleaded on the behalf of the one which ye call your Canon as to the divinity of their Original the same may be pleaded on the behalf of not a few of the other And as they all that in general are stilled Apocryphal can plead their Authority from long before the Apostles dayes and also the special Care and Providence of God which is an Argument of such weight with I.O. and T.D. pag. 27. as swayes them not a little into their frivolous Faith about the rest in the preservation of them to this very day So that all of them have been kept by the Church that kept the rest bound up and Translated into various Languages and as publickly allowed to be publickly Read as the rest and highly esteemed by Austin and other Fathers ye Divines cannot easily be ignorant And as for sundry of them ye are ignorant with a witnesse if ye see them to be as ye say they are not of divine Inspiration or see them not to be of as divine an Original as some or even any of the other which ye own so to be As for that Fourth Book of Esdras which is but the Second as it stands in the Apocrypha besides that it s acknowledged by Clem Alexandrinus Faber and many more men of Renown among you and by many Holy men in these latter times as well learned as your selves at least in the Wisdom of Gods Spirit to be written by his immediate Inspiration so is it such a plain Prophecy consistent of many Particular Praedictions of things to be fulfilled in these last Ages as the like to it or a least clearer is hardly to be found in all the Scripture besides it insomuch that he who reads it in the 11 12 13 16 Chapters of it and some other places and sees not the beams of a divine Majesty in it and sees not the Matters now managing upon the Stage in the World that are there foretold in it reads not in the Light of that Holy Spirit that moved in the Writing both of that and all other Holy Scripture and may come before he is well aware to feel ere long the dint of that divine displeasure that is denounced against the Sinners of the latter Ages and thereby come to be convinced of the Divinity and Truth of that Scripture which our Divines that usually see altogether by the lump and are loath to see any Truth Sigillatim till they are all made to see it whether they will or no will hardly yield to if they be their Old-wonted-selves till very Necessity forces and frights them into the Faith of it And the same may be said as to the divine Original of Ieremiahs Epistle which was written and sent to them that were to go Captive into Babylon and of Ecclesiasticus and the Wisdom of Solomon which favours so much of the Wisdom of the Spirit that he is yet in that Wisdom only which is from beneath which is Earthly Animal Deceitful who doth not acknowledge the finger of God writing those deep and precious Truths and Praedictions in the heart of him whose hand was the Committer of them to outward Writing which whether it were not Solomon after whom it was so Entituled Nil ultra quaero he uttered 3000 Proverbs whereof scarce 300 are extant in that Book of his Proverbs some of which as standing inserted there in the Hebrew Text are not the Original Copy but a Transcript only at best out of that or some Second hand Copies taken and Copied cut long after Solomons dayes by the men of Hezekiah 8 or 9 Generations from him Prov. 25 1. The 30 Chapter of which Book also are the Words of one Aguâ— the son of Iaketh but sure I am that Book of Wisdom was inspired or breathed into the Penman that expired or breathed it out from no lesse then that Wisdom which is from above The main Argument that ever I have seen against the divine Original of these Books are First Their being not written in the Hebrew Tongue which what a poor pedling piece of Disproof it is he is no wiser then he should be that does not see for what warrant is there that all that was not Pen'd in the Hebrew Tongue is no Scripture of divine Inspiration Or if there be is it not as conclusive against much of the Scripture which I.O. counts Canonical the whole of wch he reckons at random was wrote in the Hebrew Tongue since its evident that much of that Book of Hester 9 Chapters and 3 Verses of which are set among the Canonical Scripture and oh the Wisdom the other 6 Chapters and 10 Verses of the 10 Chapter by you self-will'd Choppers and Changers because written in Greek are reckoned and rank'd with the Apocryphal was written not in the Hebrew but in the Caldee as much of Ezra Nehemiah and Daniel also were And besides if being written Originally in the Hebrew will avail toward the evincing of them to be Canonical this will help some of your Apocrypha into your Canon since that of Tobit or Tobias is not
of God in which he lived and walk'd and out of whose movings he wrote no Epistles to the Churches was fit to stand in no other Account then the Sermons and private Religious Discourses of our Clergy-men and their Common Christians which must stand or fall as they square or not square with the Standard of Scripture And as if the Seniour Epistles of Paul to Corinth and Ephesus must like Prisoners at the Bar receive their Sentence of Guilty or not Guilty worthy or not worthy to be owned as a part of the Rule or Canon by their Iuniours or such as were sent after them to sit as Iudges of them at the Bench And so hereby his Reply is as it were an Affirmative Answer to the First of my Four Queries viz. That Pauls Writings were not all alike of Divine Original and Inspiration but some Epistles to the Churches of his were uttered as he was moved by the Holy Spirit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and others 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of private Interpretation or as private Mens Writings Credat Apella And when 't was urged by me that there was no more evidence or Character of these Epistles being a Rule which are then of those which are not in your Books Then T.D. seeing what he had Replyed that way would not hold Replyes by way of Answer to the Second of my Four last Queries affirming that Pauls first Writings to Corinth and Ephesus were lost when those we have are saved and so makes this distinction of the ones being perished the other preserved by Gods Providence watching over them when he did not over the other a signal Evidence that God intended the one for a standing Rule to us and not the other and herein he and I.O. Jump together and border pretty near one another sith I.O. insists exceedingly as an Argument of their being a Rule in the Church on this businesse of Gods preservation of every Tittle and Iota of divinely Inspired Scripture to this day whereby he implicitly denies all the afore-named that are not in your Bibles to be any of them of Divine Inspiration But with this Difference from T.D. that I.O. sayes not a Tittle of the Inspired Scripture is lost T.D. to the confuting of I.O. Confesses being I believe informed of some Holy Scripture at the Dispute which he knew not of before that not only Tittles and Iotaes but some whole Books of which he dares not say expresly though intimate it he doth in the Head next above spoken to that they were not Divinely Inspired are lost and perished out of the World So that the Preservation of what is Preserved is made a Signal Token that it s to be our Rule and the losse of what 's lost that that was not written for such an end To which Signal Token of Gods intending the One and not the O. her for A Rule when I Replyed as 't is transiently done above to I O. touching the Books called Apocrypha that there is more Antient Holy Writ remaining extant to this day preserved for our use by Gods Providence then ye own or honour with a standing in your Standard instancing in the Epistle of Paul to Laodicea then by and by T.D. who rides the Rounds not much lesse then I.O. and is never positive nor steady to any thing he Asserts so as to stand long to it without shifting Proteus like into another shape when he is ashamed to be seen longer in his old one comes out in a clear contrary Gelour and flatly contradicts himself and unsayes what he said but just before And whereas he had made the preserving of what was written and is preserved an Argument of its being designed of God for a Rule affirms That all that was written by Holy Men meaning Paul among the rest or else he speaks not at all to the purpose and preserved also for our use is not therefore our standing Rule Thus one while 't is so and one while no then neither yet both no and so Pauls Three Epistles viz. the Two to Corinth One to Ephesus that we have appear therefore to be our standing Rule because they are preserved to our use to this day but his first of all to Corinth and Ephesus therefore not so because not preserved there 's his first saying His very next of all is this Pauls Epistle to Laodicea though preserved for our use yet is not therefore to be our standing Rule to this day So what ever Pauls Epistles are yet I am sure Pauls Life and Example is no Rule that T. D's walks by nor I.O. neither for his yea was yea and his nay nay he did not use such lightnesse as they both very often do who say nay to that they said yea to just before neither did he speak so according to the Flesh as they with whom now there 's yea yea and anon to the same thing nay nay but as God is true and Christ is not yea and nay in his words and enjoynes us to be steady in our yea and nay so was Pauls word in what he spake And yet the Reason T.D. renders of his saying No to what he said not No but so just before is as Reasonlesse as his self Confutation is for mark then quoth he If what ere was written by Holy men alluding to Paul be therefore our standing Rule because preserved the Discourses of Holy Ministers in former and latter times should be our Rule which they are not but are to be brought to the written Word as our Rule and Test. In which if by Holy Ministers in former times he means Paul among the rest as he must else he misses the matter then some of Pauls Epistles are the Rule and Test which his other Epistles must stand bare before to be tryed by which is absurd If by latter Ministers he intend such as himself who Confesses his Ministry to be fallible I would have him to know and that he shall find more of anon that Pauls Ministry and every true Ministry that Ministers by word of Mouth or Writing as moved by the Holy Spirit which moves and leads none fallibly but all infallibly whom it leads was no such fallible Ministry as his false one is that it need be tryed by his other own holy Writings But now as to the Epistle of Laodicea instanced in T.D. was so hard of belief and difficult to he perswaded that there was any such at all that if one of Sandwich had not stood up and said he had the Book wherein we Asserted it to be Printed we should hardly have gained so much Credit among the Clergy then present such pro and con they made about it as to have been believed that there was such a thing in Being so ignorant are they of some present parts of that Scripture they call their Rule yet at last 't was yielded such a one was extant But for all that T.D. who has ever more wayes then one into the Wood where he loves to
Syllable or Tittle in any Book that varieth from the common received Copy though manifestly a mistake superfluous deficient consistent or inconsistent with the sense of the place yea Barbarous be imposed on us as such it being not every variety or difference in a Copy that should presently be cryed up for a various Reading p. 19â— 194. for that were to create a Temptation that nothing is left sound and entire in the word of God and so overthrow our Assertion which we stand so strictly to maintain and so to them tha rightly ponder things there will arise nothing at all to the prejudice of our Assertion p. 193. yea then 't will quickly appear p. 181. 201. 202. how small the number is of those varieties which may pretend unto any consideration under the state and Title of various Lections and of how very little Importance they are to weaken in any measure or impaire in the least the Truth of my former Assertion quoth he concerning the Care and Providence of God in the preservation of his Word that is the Scripture with I. O. and every Tittle and Letter thereof In all which sayings collectively considered I.O. had as good have said in short do but yield it that all the varieties mistakes corruptions barbarisms of what sort or notion soever fewer or more greater or lesser hurting or not hurting the sense of the place old or new by superfluity or defect of words crept in from Heriticks or however are not varieties c. and then our Assertion holds good and true viz that there is none at all or thus count not such as are of more and lesse importance prejudicing or not prejudicing the sense for corruptions and then there will be found few or no corruptions in our Copies at all or thus forasmuch as they onely deserve to be considered as various Lections where no mistake can be discovered as their cause and these not to be admitted as such which are occasioned but by mistakes take away all that were but mistakes from that Title of various Lections and all such too as were not mistakes but evidently intended as Expository of difficulties or supplyed purposely to make out the sense of the places p. 180. 181. 206. and then there will appear to be few or no various Lections or in a word excepting all those that are there 's none at all As if a man that owes but twenty shillings should say to his Creditor bate me but twenty shillings and I 'le pay you all But we must not let it go so I.O. by whole sale though as Lot pleaded for little Zoar to be spared that his soul might live so thou for sparing the imposition and imputation of little impurities to thy Copies that thy grand Assertion which else must dye may live which is that in the least Syllable Tittle Letter and Iota thy Transcripts are true and entire as the first Manuscripts yet we must not separate from our Anti-Assertion the mentioning of the mistakes in Iods and Vau's and Tittles and Iota's and Syllables and Vowels and single Letters and such like unlesse thou wilt remove from they Arch-Assertion thy strict positive affirmings that your 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Copies contain every Iota and Tittle that was in the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and that Haebraea volumina nec in uâ—â dictione corrupta inâ—enienda sunt and that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. not one Iot or Tittle of the Text passed from what ever was written by inspiration under the Law and that ye have all every Tittle without any losse or any change or alteration to the least Iota or Syllable and much more id genus p. 13. 153. 173. 317. and if thou recede from and recant that Reasonlesse Rigidity of thy Position about the truth of thy Text in Tittles we shall supersede from our reasonable Reply to thee concerning the corruption and mistranscription of thy Text in sundry Tittles in which it seems thou art forced to confesse to us that some Tittles are amisse for while thou standest so strictly upon the entirenesse of each Tittle as thou sayest of the Jewes p 240. so I of thee while thou keepest the Scripture we shall never want weapons out of thy own Armory for the destruction of thy haughty Assertion like the Philistine thou carryest the weapon that will serve to cut off thy own head for while I.O. asserts the Text to be entire to every Tittle wee 'l tell I.O. out of his own Book that I.O. tells an untruth in that for if I. O. be to be believed by himself he o're and o're confesses mistakes in Tittles Iots Vowels Syllables and single Letters But if I. O will agree to a cessation of Armes and Arguments about Tittles then we shall Restipulate with him there and because he doth little lesse then cry Peccavi in that and keeps such an imperious Begging and beseeching that all varieties in Tittles that are of no importance at all may not be reckoned on as various Lections I here 〈◊〉 him to wit that we can here also afford well enough to abate him all different places in meer Tittles and Accents that intrench not on the sense and yet have enough left to lay sure siege with against his Assertion if hee 'l hold it about matters of importance onely and such as are inconsistent with and intrench on the sense of the place and that no further off then I.Os. own Book which ever furnishes us wherewith to answer him out of his own Armory for in that p. 193 he writes thus of variety viz. those which are of importance have been already considered by others especially Glassius and thus p. 200. Let those be removed and not counted on that are deficient in words evidently necessary to the sense of their places it evidently imports no lesse then this that I.O. owns some varieties to be of importance and such as do intrench on the sense in their stations and so if we seclude all that are of lesse or no importance with him he stands still where he did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 condemned and confounded every way where ever he flyes or followes in the service of his Arch Assertion if he had no man to fight against him besides himself And if he say those of importance and that intrench on the sense are but few I say if any at all they are many enough upon his predicted principles to pluck up all the fabrick of his form of Religion faith about Truth and the very foundation it 's all framed upon by the roots as to any certainty that he hath of his standing while he stands leaning to no more but his naked Letter and can plead their Original no higher then from the ticklish Transcripts of his pretended Original Text. And that this may appear let what followes be serious considered by any who have not utterly lost their understanding 1. That the main Assertion I O. makes so much ado about the
me alone to prove it to them so to be or else I must acknowledge that all I have to say will be just nothing to the purpose and of no validity at all to the proof thereof Reply But stay a while I.O. and take thy answer from us along with thee though we love thee more then we are beloved by thee and are loath to deny thee in any Reasonable Request Yet for the Truth 's sake which we love and prefer before thee and which is not ours to give away we may not give way to thy Petition of the main Principle from us though thou crouch down to the ground to petition for it we must not give thee leave to run away with the Cause so as to consider the Writing the Scripture under the false formality of its being the Word of God written the Verbum Scriptum while thou art but in the meer way of proving it till thou hast as infallibly prov'd it so to be as 't is infallible to us that 't is impossible for thee to prove it For this is the thing sub judice whether the Scripture be formally the VVord of God or no And since thou confessest thou canst not prove it unless we upon thy begging of it yeild it to thee before-hand so to be thou wert better grant it to us that it is not so Nevertheless not unlike to thy Fore-fathers the Bishops and thy fellow-Clergy-men in other Cases so bold a Lord-Beggar thou art that if we give it not thou wilt take it by force though thou crack thy credit for it and get to thy self less of that earthly Honour thou so hastenest after with thy having it by stealth then thou wouldst gain of that heavenly Honour from above by an honest confession of thy former ignorance and a repentance to the future acknowledgement of the truth For upon that score thou resolvest so to go on in thy proof and accordingly dost run rashly on like him who as aforesaid proves a Cock to be a Bull or like one who because he thought so in the dark having ignorantly asserted an Horse to be a Man will rather then recant as impudently go on to prove it to all denyers of it by begging of them first to grant it and if they will not by beating what he can the belief of it into them by his often calling the Horse a Man and bearing them down that he is a man before he begins and under that very Name and formality of his being so begins and proves him to be evidently so in this following form viz. That which doth evidence it self to be a man is a man but a Man Horse he should say but then the naked untruth of this minor would be too manifest doth evidence himself to be a Man Therefore a man alias Horse doth evidence himself to be a man Risum tenoatis A-cade mici For my part if I were now as sometime formerly I have been Petulanti splene cachinno I should hardly hold from laughing at the nugacity of I. O.'s Arguments But now nucibus faciens quaecunque relictis being turn'd into that which leads into more sobriety and seriousness then so I shall dare to laugh no further then 't is allowed the saints to do at the proud Assyrian that haughtily exalteth his voice and lifteth his eyes on high against the holy one of Israel and his holy ones Isa. 37.22 23. But as for many of those juniors what the Seniors may do I know not or younger sort of Students and Gown-men in the Vniversity to whose use and instruction thou dedicatest part of thy Booke though thou being once a man of some Authority among them they may possibly not be so bold nor so loud as to laugh out at thy hum-drum doings and at thy Idem per Idems yet they will scarce forbear laughing at them in their sleeves Yet this is thy sophistry I.O. call'd among Schollars Petitio principij or a Begging of the Question before one begins to prove it a taking of that to be a Ground Principle or Foundation to build on which is not yet granted but to be debated nor another thing from the thing debated or inquired after but the self-same thing which is in controversie and as unknown as that that is disputed For the Question between thee and the Qua. is whether the Scripture be in essereali cognoscibili the Word of God or no we deny it thou being to prove it so to be wouldest have it first granted or at least takest it ungranted so to be and then out of it self it being granted thee so to be thou wilt undertake to prove it so without which concession consideration and resolution thou even grantest the things thou art to alledge will be naked and utterly inefficacious to that purpose out of which way of Sophistry it seems thou canst not prove it and in which way though de jure thou oughtest not yet de facto thou doest prove it as much and no whit more then as is said above the Cock is proved to be a Bull and a Horse a Man whilst thy Argumentation in many places is no better than this viz. that which is the Word of God doth evidence it self to be the Word of God But the Word of God Scripture or writing thou shouldest say but dost not every where lest thy nakedness too much appear is the Word of God Therefore the Word of God doth evidence it self to be the Word of God In which Syllogism which is thine if the long loyns of thy loose dispute and that stragling multitude of thy matter of proof be girded up close into its own mifigured form thy minor hath subjectum aliud à substrato a different subject from that which was of right to stand there and to be proved to be the VVord of God viz. the VVord of God which is Idem cum predicato the self-same with that which is predicated of it and thy conclusion infers aliud à negato quite another thing then that which is denied for that the VVord of God is by it self evidenced to be the VVord of God is as much undenied as it is undeniable by us but that the writing in which the VVord is but held forth and declared is the VVord of God that is held out and declared by it this I shall make as bold and as warrantably against any one to deny as I should against such a Sot as following a Foolshead of his own should assert such a thing that the Glass window thorough which the Sun shines and the Lanthorn thorough which the light of the candle shews it self are of a truth and in very deed respectively the very Sun it self or Candle-light it self that display themselves thorow the said Glass or Horn or that the Cup-glass by which the VVine gives its colour and is handed out that men may drink it is truly and properly the very wine itself that is given out to be drunk of and that sparkles and
the perfection of which say they stands in no other thing than in sufficiency to effect its proper end which is with them the most perfect instruction of men in the knowledg and worâ—hip of God so that they may obtain eternal salvation witness I.O. whose Kâ—unds and Contradictions to himself in that point I shal here see down in his own words Englished which were written by him in Latine J.O. God the Author of the Scripture being the most perfect Agent must necessarily act for some end therefore in the Declaratiâ—n of his wiâ—l in the Scripture 't is sure he had some propounded end but â—herâ—as the end is tâ—ofâ—ld â— Vâ—timaâ—e and â—emoâ—e 2. Next and immediate we state the ultimate supream and general end to be his own glory The immediate or next end of his giving the Scriptureâ— and so of the Scriptures themselves we conâ—end to be our direction in the knowledge of God and obedience to be yeelded to him that at length we doing his will may obtain eternal salvation and the enjoyment of himself for this is the end of the worker and of the work What God intends by the Scriptures that they to wiâ— morally and in the way of operation proper to them dâ— effect But when aâ— the perfection of every Discipline consists in relation to its end and that is to be held perfect wâ—ich is sufficent to its next end but that imperfect which cannot obtain it propâ—sed end the perfection of the Scriptures can consist in no other thing then in its sufficiency in respect to its proper end which is the instruction of men in the knowledge and worship of God that they may attain eternal salvation In this sense therefore we assert the Scripture to be the most perfect Rule of the whole worship of God and oâ—r obedience Reply Whether â—â—ere be not a more perfect way of our instructâ—on in the saving knowledge of God then the Scripture appears elsewhere where I shew no saving knowledge of God comes any way but the inward Revelation of himself in us by his Light and Spirit Here only obseâ—ve I O. confusiâ—ns and confutation of himself in this above by that which follows when the Quae. say the Scripture is perfect to its own proper end and its end being obtained it ceases Then quoth he It s most false that the Scripture obtains it whole end in respect of us while we are in the world therefore till heaven and earth pass away not one jâ—t or tittle of the Law i.e. Letter with him shall fail for not only the begetting of faith but also the building up in it while we live here is the end of the Scripture So then its end which is begetting to and building up in the faith is not effected by it here is it then in the world to comes 〈◊〉 no neither quoth he in the self-same Section the use of the Scripture shâ—â—â— cease then being accomodated only to our present state and faith also as founded on it â—â—â—ll be done aâ—ay Ex 3. s. 39. Here then is the round I.O. makes with a Cris-cross in the middle of it viz. The perfection of the Scripture which we plead and affirm and of every thing else is its sufficiency and efficacy to accomplish its own proper immediate end and what ever doth not so is imperfect The immediate end of the Scripture is its direction instruction of men in the saving knowledge of God his will worship their obedience and duty to him the ingeneration of faith and edification up in it to salvation This whole end of the Scripture its most false to affirm that it accomplishes till the world to come it must do it in this world or in the world to come in this world it cannot possibly do it for perfection in the faith in holiness freedom from sin here is not attainable in the world to come it cannot possibly for there both the Scripture it self and also the faith it seâ—f that is founded on it will cease to be of any use at all being of use only here â—nd shall be both done away Verbum sat sapients insipienti plura plus satis Never did I see such Rounds and crosses and confusions and contradictions such self-confutations and Net-works and Checker-work and Webs and Snares as I.O. makes and hangs hampered in himself when he hath done made and woven among any but our wofully benighted Divines all whose works are done in the darke Isa. 29.15 in all my dayes before Is the Scripture then the Power of God to salvation able mighty effectual available to its end that is to save the soul as I.O. sayes it is no quoth I.O. it is not it s most false to say it doth or can avail to its end in this world in the world to come its of no force so if it be the power of God as I.O. affirms it over and over again it is it must be in some world that is past away or some new found world or other for he himself sayes its neither in this present world nor that to come neither now nor hereafter neither here nor there But alas as the world it self wherein he fancies such a thing to be is none knows where but a meer Chimaera of his own coining hatcht no where but in his own head the Shop where and whence many more such like toyes are shapen sold and uttered among such as having sold the truth are willing rather to trade in utter untruths then in nothing at all and not receiving the love of the truth that they might be saved but taking pleasure in unrighteousness more then it are given over to strong delusion to beleeve lyes that they may be damned For seriously that the Letter or Scripture is the power of God to salvation or that Word of God which brings forth any good fruit to perfection among either the Seedsmen the Ministers of the Letter that sow nothing but their own senses and thoughts upon it or in the stony thorny common high-way ground of Parish peoples hearts in which they sow the Letter mingled with their own chaffy cogitations saying Hear the word of the Lord when yet they confess themselves neve heard his voice This however ye imagine Oh ye power less profitless Prophets is a meer no such matter for that is the Word or Seed that is sown by the Supreme Sowes the Son of Man himself in the same Field or World of mens hearts in which the World is where the Devil in the dark night while men sleep and watch not to the light sows Tares among the good Seed which where it lights on honest hearts that hear and heed the Word patiently continuing in the keeping of it brings forth abundantly in some Thirty some Sixty some â—n Hundred fold Indeed the Letter the Text or Scripture declares and bears witness to the Word which is absolutely necessary effectual perfect to the ends aforesaid which is the power of God
from it plead for it are proud of it yea who more busie about the Bible and in a more uncessant search of endless scraping for more the Scriptures then licentious luxurious lascivious ambitious unrighteous murderous envious maliciou lying persecuting Schollers and Bible-binders that hate light which reproves their evill deeds which those that love truth in the inward parts love and come to yea our professing Christians that say they are the Iews and are not but do lye and are the Synagogue of Satan are Iews in this pâ—iâ—t at least of searching Scripture and looking into the Letter for life which testifie of Christ as the life to whom they will not come in his own light that they may have it and of talking from the Letter of Christ the Son of God yet refusing to hear his voice when hee speaks to them in their own hearts and thereby leaves them without cloak for their sin and seeing and hating both Christ and his Father in the light that shews them as much as Christ and his children hate the Devil and his deeds Finally as the Text sayes every evill doer in the world hates the light but there are millions of evill doers that neither love nor hate the Letter nor the Bible which they never so much as saw or heard of therefore the Letter cannot be the light here spoken of men cannot hate that they have no way heard of as neither can they love or desire it for there is no odium toward that at all which is no way known at all neither savingly nor otherwise as there is ignoti null a cupido A word lastly to 2 Pet. 1.19 and then I have done at present with I. Os. whole dozen of his own chusing which agree altogether as one to give their Iudgement or juridical verdit against him As to this Text therefore which with the 20 and 21. vers is no less then nine or ten times over rehearsed one where or others in thy book I have had it so often under my eye that I have hardly forbore so long from talking with thee about it and there is yet a place behinde whereunto I thought I might have reserved the examination of it it being there urged with two more in the way thou callest Inartificial â—in proof of the Scriptures being the Word of God p. 65 66. But now I shall here consider it whilst it s under my hand where it s urged in vindication of the Letter to bee the Light which Letter if it be the Light there spoken of then I will yeeld it to be the Word of God there spoken of also for I shall grant its both of these if either and if it be not both thou must needs grant its neither the verse runs thus But we have a more sure word of Propesie or Prophetical word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to which ye do well to give heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place untill the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts And the two that follow it thus for no Prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation for the Prophesie came not at any time by the will of man but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the holy Spirit Rep. Thy often repetition of this Scripture upon every occasion imports the great stress thou puttest upon it and how great store thou settest by it as to the proof of the Scriptures being the Word of Prophesie and the light shining in the dark place of mens hearts here mentioned which Text with the Context both which thou improvest to the uttermost will sâ—rve us rather to reprove thy ignorance of Gods Word by and to prove thy heart to bee still a dark place then serve thee from which to prove the Scripture to bee the Word of God or to be the light here said to shine in the dark place there spoken of which is the heart Exitus acta probat From this Text considered together with the Context thou confidently concludest assertest and insistest on five things 1. That all the Scripture Letter or Writing in the original Texts of it which is now bound up in your Bibles and commonly called the Scriptures was written at fiâ—st by holy men as they were acted in it by the immediate inspiration of the Spirit of God and this I shall neither deny nor put thee to prove though if I should I see where thou wouldest falter and be foundred in it but to let that pass here this I am sure enough of that this place proves no such matter as that as t is above laid down neither in Terminis nor by Consequence for though it sayes holy men of God spake of old i.e. Prophesied as moved by the holy Spirit yet it from thence follows not that all that ever holy men of God wrote in point of History Chronicle c nor Prophesie neither was written by the same immmediate impulse of the Spirit on the spirits of the Penmen of all that is there for some was written from the mouth of such as were inspired by the hands of others that were not the men inspired nor moved to give forth the burden of the word of Prophesie that was on them as Baruch wrote from Ieremies mouth Tertius from Pauls and so others what they spake and was written by and from them was one thing and the Writing or Scripture of that true Word is another which yet I own to bee of God as far as ye can from it or any other rationally assert the Text to be even in matter of Chronicle or Story wherein men may possibly write true Scriptures of things done in their times and times before them from Records and other principles without that immediate inspiration or dictation of every Iota or Tittle to them as thou Tatlest somewhere from the holy Spirit of God And lest thou shouldest not take this for truth to me who am here in contest with thee being prejudiced against me hear what thy felâ—ow-fighter against the Qua. T.D. sayes for I can almost at any time as Paul did the Pharisees and Sadduces who when they were both upon the back of him threw a bone that set them together by the ears between themselves and so save himself add his testimony to the truth from them both Act. 23.6 7 8 9 10. set our Stribes Pharsees and Seducers at oddes within themselves and send them to learn the truth we tell and they will not take from us from the testimony of one another which T.D. saith it follows not that because Books are the Books of Prophets therefore they are divinely inspired for they might as well write from their own spirits or upon human credit as sometimes speak from their own spirits p 43. of his 1. Pamph. 2. That none of all the Scripture Letter or Writing aforesaid is of private interpretation that iâ— neither to be interpreted as meer private mens Writings written as other mens are
that if he were set to extoll and set forth Christ Jesus himself in all his Dignity Authority Dominion Might Majesty and Glory unless it be the express names of the only beloved and begotten Son of God King of Kings Lord of Lords Mighty God the Ever-Father the Prince of Peace and perhaps some few more I can scarcely suppose on a sudden that he could finde any other or at least any more eminent Titles to dignifie him by then those by which hee dignifies not to say Deifies his adored dead Transcript Text and Corps of the Greek and Hebrew Copies of the Scriptures which hee vermilions over with the honour and veneration as to sundry of the most excellent glorious Titles and properties hee attributes to it that is due either to God or Christ or his living VVord Light and Spirit alone For howbeit every such particular expression of VVonderful Councellor Leader and Commander to the people Redeemer Saviour Salvation c. that Christ is stiled by may possibly not bee used in I.Os. book to express the outer Scriptures by yet I beleeve there is but little asserted in honour of Christ the Spirit the living Light and VVord througout the Scripture which is not asserted if not in the same yet in Termes equivalent in honour of the Scripture it self Witness all those most high flown phrases and eminent strains he flyes out and strikes up in in way of ascribing little less then all Authority Dominion Exaltation Transaction self-evidencing efficacy Light Power Dignity and Glory here on earth at least unto the Scriptures as if the Father had sealed it and not his Son and Spirit to be the disposer and orderer of all things next and immediately under himself as supream Iudge Rule Ruler Head and Governour over the sons of men and the giver and dispenser of the meat that endureth to eternal life CHAP. IV. ANd now I return to take more notice of what more is urged in his Latine Theses as concerning the Scriptures being the only most perfect rule of faith life worship and knowledge of God as to salvation The second Argument in proof whereof is its perfect operation and efficacy Ex. 3. s. 29. omnia perficit necessaria c. it accomplishes all that is necessary to Gods glory and our salvation in vindication of which a whole Dozen of Scriptures are urged eleven of which are above answered and one onely remains to be a little spoken to viz. Isa. 55.10 11. And as to that of Isa. 55 10 11. I grant That the Word of God as the Rain and Snow comes down and returns not without watering the earth and causing it to bring forth and bud and give seed and food so it returns not void at any time without working that for which he sends it to any person or people and prospering to the accompliâ—â—ment of what he pleases but I am half amazed to see that thou I.O. shouldest bee so silly as to interpret that of the Scripture since it so expresly speaks de verbo oris sui of the Word of his mouth which is asserted immediately from himself with his own voice so shall my Word be that goeth out of my mouth which Word expressed by his own voice speaking who so upon second thoughts and serious consideration shall say the Scriptures are properly too as I.O. excusing his ignorance for as much as not for want of incogitancy I my self sometimes so thought while I ran as our National Ministry now doth making haste and saying he saith before himself had sent mee howbeit I wanted no sending of man or had spoke to me or I heard his voice I shall make bold to accuse him of arrant Absurdity miserable mistake wretched blindness and utter unâ—â—rthiness to bee denominated a Doctor in that thing which our Divines call Divinity Nevertheless not having so well minded the matter as upon occasion they may do in time to come being carried in times past by custome to take things and term and talk of them according to tradition more then true discerning of them in their proper natures the very preachers of this Nation as well as the poor people that have lived on their lips have been so habituated by common Metonymies to miscall the Scriptures by names not proper to their natures that they now stand up to depend them to be most properly denominated by those Metonymical and improper names so that howbeit we are never so willing to allow them to express themselves by such figurative phrases as are frequently found in the Scripture it self as Act. 13.27 the voices i.e. Scriptures of the Prophets are said to be read in the Iews Synagogues every Sabbath and that satisfies them not but the Qua. are deniers both of the Scriptures and of the Word of God and spoylers of them of their proper names if they yeeld not to their as absurd as arbitrary Appellations of them by those glorious Titles of Gods Words Gods Voice as their proper names yea in this dotish disquierness and peevish perversnes of his prejudiced spirit doth I O. quarrel with the Quakers as bereavers of the Scripture of its proper name because they own not his improperties in ignorantly and impudently imposing the names of the Word of God and the spiritual Light on the Letter as its Proper names which it chalâ—engeth to it self from its preheminent participation of the nature and properties of the Word of God and of Light viz. Life power to quicken and save and to shine to the evidencing of it self J.O. I am now to deal against the Qua. about the proper name of the Scripture for this sort of men are glad that the care of this business is committed to them by Satan that they may spoil the Scriptures of that glorious Title the Word of God This name doth the Scripture challenge to it self So p. 49.73 74 77. That the Scripture is light we shall see that is so or can be called so unless it hath this nature and properly to evidence it self as well as to give light to others cannot in any tolerable corespondency of speech be allowed Whether spiritual intellectual light regarding the minde or natural with respect to bodily sight be firstly or properly light I need not inquire both have the same properties it is spiritual moral intellectual light with all its mediums that hath the preheminence as to a participation of the nature and properties of light Now the Scripture the Word of God is Light a Light â—hining in a dark place 2 Pet. 1.19 with an eminent advantage for its own discovery c. a glorious shining Light an illuminating Light compared and preferred abâ—ve the light of the Sun Psal. 19.5 6 7. Rom. 10 18. The most glorious light in the world the most eminent reflexion of increased Light and Excellencies the Psalmist ascribeth light power stability and permanency like that of the Heavens and Sun in commutation of properties to the word i.e. Scripture with I.O.
business avouching that glorious Title of the Word of God and the Light to be the Nomen proprium Scripturae the proper name of the Scripture and that I wrong him not herein see his own stating the Question between himself and the Qua. Ex. 2. s. 1 2 3. de Scripturae nomine proprio nimirum Titulo illo glorioso Verbo Dei and p. 73. the Scripture is a light yet neiâ—her is nor can be called so unless it hath the nature and property of light p. 77. the Scripture a moral and spiritual not a natural Light p. 73 74. Light spiritual hath the preheminence as to a participation of the nature and properties of Light firstly and properly Light from whence the other i. e natural respecting bodily sight is by allusion so denominated in these places either expresly or eventually I.O. calls the Light and Word of God the proper names of Scripture or Letter and so consequently enâ—tails all the other glorious Titles to it as its Right due and proper names which they rob it of and deny it to be what it naturally and properly and really is who own it not properly both to be and be called the Word of God but it neither is actually testified so to be any whereby God nor by its self as I.O. p. 87. most lyingly falsely affirms it in so much that he who owns it not as so doth what in him lyes to make God a lyar And also p. 140. where he sayes If the Scripture be what it reveals it self to be it is then unquestionably the Word of the living God as p. 85. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the living Word of God Truth it self for that it professeth of it self quoth he frâ—m the beginning to the ending neither can it possibly be so stiled properly or unless it be by a figure as it no where is neither by it self that I know ofâ— by which the Image is called by the name of the Person which it properly is but a dead Picture and lifeless representation of the Lanthorn by the name of the Light that displayes it self more brightly when beheld without it which Lanthorn yet neither is the Light nor properly said so to be I am not ignorant of that Common Metonymy Continentis pro re contenta or figure whereby the thing contained is sometimes but never properly where it is exprest by the name of that which câ—ntains it and as well in that Scripture we talk of as in other Writings Matth. 26.43 and 1 Cor. 11.26 If this Cup may not pass away except I drink it As oft as ye dâ—ink of this Cup meaning properly not the Cups but the wine therâ—in viz. the one the bitter red wine of the wrath of the Almighty God the mixture whereof is powred out into the Cup of his indignation and of the fierceness of his Fathers fury which Christ drank deep of in the dayes of his flesh and humiliation to the drawing of supplications from him with strong crying and tears the other the wine of his blood shed for the remission of sins which such as walk in the light come at last to be cleansed by from no less then all sin neither of which Cups or sorts of wine thou hast yet drunk of or truly knowest what they are by all the skill thou yet hast in the Scriptures thou so scriblest for but shalt assuredly have thy part in the first before thou savingly know the second yea whether ever thou attain to witness the saving efficacy of the second yea or nay But what 's all this to the helping of I.O. in his crazy cause whose fighting is not all for figures or meer figurativâ— denominations but for the formal and true proper names of the Scripture which is the name of the Scripture and not the Word of God say we but is saith he that of the Word of God had he fought for no more then figures against the Qua. that stand for the Truth and said so too though in so fighting he had been foolish yet we could have born with him in that frivolous peece of â—olly and have lent him such a latitude as both by the Letter and Light may bee allowed to speak Metonimically and Metaphorically of Methaphorical matters and left him to his liberty without a check and let him alone in his figures to figure out things by other names then their own and to call them that which yet properly they are not to stile the Heusâ— they sit in by the name of the Parliament which it is not to stile the Picture by the name of the Person it is the image of the Voice by the name of the Word it is but the image of and the Scripture by that of the Word it is but the remote expression of and of the voice it is the more immediate image or expression of for vox est imago verbi Scriptura vocis immediata verbi quaedam mediata imago seu expressio and to signifie the Wine and the Light respectively by the names of this Cup this Glass this Lanthorn and the Word and Law by the name of a Scripture specially if by Scripture he mean that inward Writing of it by the Spirit of the living God in the fleshly tables of the heart where the Law of God is written though that writing and the Word written are not all one neither and we could bate him the impropriety of that figurative expression also though it be far further fetcht then the other whereby he should decypher that outward Letter by the name of the Law which it is but a bart Copy of and the written Word by the name of the Writing which yet in truth doth no more then declare of the Word Retro though I know not where in all the Scripture the Srripture is so much as by A figure denominated by that name the Word of God if the Word be any where so called by the name of Scripture as I.O. sayes at least fortyfold falsely that above fifty times in the New Testament the word Graphs or Scripture is put absolutely for the Word of God but if it were a hundred and fifty times so called it would not prove the high point in that height he takes on him to prove it in viz. that the Scripture is properly the Word of God and the Word of God its proper name any more then the Wine is called by the name of this Cup this Glass or the Light by the name of the Lanthorn Retro the Lanthorn by name of this Light which is all figurative not proper But this is not I.Os. case who runs up to the very highest peg and sings of the Scriptures a note above the Ela and quarrels with the Qua. as deniers of the Scripture unless they swerve aside with him in his silly suppâ—sitions and as well unsâ—holler-like as unsaint-like sensless sayings that the outwarâ— Scripture the Writing the Letter and every Letter and Tittle and Iota though but transcribed
on him to make an ill business good yet the utmost thou makest of it if well examined is as little as 't is nought toward the bettering of it and very much of it at least but very little better then what is urged above about the Lanthorn And when thou hast turned every stone and hast wrought a long time till thou hast tyred thy self with talking to have the Letter and every jot and Tittle of it to be the Word of God till thou canst scarcely go one jot further or adde one Tittle more to the countenancing of thy cause thou even givest out and lyest down and as T.D. had the wit to do at first and C.F. was forced to do at last in a manner givest it in and layest it down so very fairly to thy opposers that all thy after strugling for it again is to no purpose to prove thee any further a friend for all thy ample appearances pro Scripturis then the Qu. are with whom thou art fain to fall in one and say as they say in thy Ex. 1. s. 28. s. 40. and as thy fellow fighters with us about it do all confess that the Scripture no otherwiseâ—is nor is to be called the Word of God then Respectu subjectae materiae or divinae veritatis in earevelatae seu contentae non respectu literae scriptae non formaliter quatenns scripta in respect of the matter or Divine truth therein declared and contained only not in respect of the Writing or written Letter not formally as 't is Scripture and that in innumerit paene locis ubi verbum Dei dicitur c. in those well-nigh innumerable places of it where the Word of God is said to be preacht publisht multiplied and received the holy truth or matter of the Scriptures is intended but not the Scripture it self formally considered and when the Word is said to be nigh us in our hearts and in our mouths Rom. 10.8 and the Word of Christ to dwell in us t is confest by thee that that Word of faith is not litera Scripta is not the Writing but the Truth written which is another thing then the Scriptures neither do the Qua. say as thou there belyest them in thy lame laying down of their Argument which is of force to stop thy mouth however as thou rendrest it weakly much more if urged in its full strength that the VVord within is not Verbum Scriptum for it is the same word that is written but it is not the writing not the Scriptura not the litera scripta between which and the Verbum Scriptum thou art or wilt seem so silly as to make no distinction So then if the Scripture formaliter formally considered is not as secundum te it is not the VVord of God then however thou scruest it into that name and thing by secundum quid yet simpliciter really truly it s not so at all nor so properly to be called for forma dat esse rei and is that per quod res est id quod est and if it have not the form of the VVord of God then the Scripture hath not the being or true nature of the Word of God much less is the Word of God as thou improperly sayest it is its proper name CHAP. V. NOw as to I.Os. third Argument whereby to evince the Scripture to be the only most perfect Rule Standard absolutely sole sufficient way of Revelation of Gods will c. and so consequently the Word of God it s on this wise Ex. 3. s. 30. viz. J.O. The Spirit of God most heavily damns and rejects all additaments to the Word of the Scriptures i.e. the Scriptures with him of what sort soever and specially all those wayes and means of knowing God and communion with him boasted of by the Fanaticks chiefly conference with Angels Col. 2.18 Heb. 1.2 4. 1 Cor. 4.6 Luke 10 29. Revelations not only alienas containing different doctrines Gal. 1.8 but alias also 2 Pet. 1.19 other new Revelations of the same Doctrine then those individual Revelations of it that were made to them that wrote the Scripture Rev. 22.18 Heb. 1.2 1 Cor. 4.6 Col. 2.18 And Col. 2.18 And lastly that inward Spirit the Fanaticks talk of or internal light common to all 1 Joh. 4.1 Isa. 8.20.2 Pet. 2.18 Rep. Surely I.O. thou wast in some deep Divine dream when thou wrotest these thy Divinity Disputations or else thou wouldest never have divined out such a deal of darkness and falsehood at thou hast done or have lent such as thou wouldst have to own what thou writest for light and truth a little more of that thou eallest light even a little more of that Letter a of Scripture thou pleadest for to discry it by or something or whether thou deemest I will not say that men seeing a number of Scriptures quoted by the Dozen for so 't is here as 't is in sundry places above spoken to excepting that counting such as are twice over recited here is thirteen to the Dozen of which it might be said nos numeri sumus would make account of them by whole-sale to be all on thy side and take account of them not by weight but number without so much as looking otherwise on them then to see how many they are but not heed either what they say or whereof they affirm but some odde blinde business or other is i th' wind as the reason of it I know full well for there 's not any of all the Texts of thy own tumbling a top of one another that I meet with yet either in this Dozen or those before that hath the least tendency toward such a thing as thou intendest them to in thy meer Nomenclateral citation of them Thou intendest by all these to prove there is now no other way of knowing God of communion with him but the Scripture that there is now not only no other kinde of Revelation of the Gospel save such as was made of it to the Writers of the Scripture but also none of that same kinde of Revelation of it as was made to them to be expected or on pain of damnation and cursing pretended to by any person by any means whether Angels internal spirit that inward light the Qua. talk of or other medium whatsoever but only that very individual Revelation of it that is made in so much of the Letter as is now extant and bound in your Bibles is and must be the only Standard Rule and measure to which no Scripture must be added tho bounds of which no man for ever nor Angel is for ever to inlarge so as to write any more though of the self-same Doctrine or Gospel mark on so high a pretence as from the self-same true inward illumination vision in the same true light or immediate motion or inspiration of the same holy Spirit on pain or peril of utter rejection and execration Do the Texts set by thee in that Section even all of them together
to blow where it listed Ioh. 3. without looking at any light within without walking in any way or using any other means of knowing God of having or holding fellowship or communion with him which was wont to be only in the light 1 Ioh. 1. but that of the Scriptures on pain of rejection and heavy damnation from God own Spirit in the Scripture In a word That Law and Testimony which alone is to be consulted with in all doubtful cases to which God calls from our seeking and attending Pythonibus aut Aryolis qui pipiunt qui mussitant to Wizards and familiar spirits that peep and that mutter yea that very word there spoken of Isa. 8. which whoever speaks not according to these is no light to him I say the two Texts abovesaid are not only frequently cited and recited in evidence of these various and sundry particulars but also judged by J.O. to be such sure grounds Hercules pillars firm props and principles as are not only satisfactory to mens consciences but sufficient to stand that way he draws them against all mens objections so that relying thereon men have a sure bottome and foundation for their receiving all the other Scriptures so assuredly as the Word of God and consequently all that that it abovesaid that who even from thence even from these Text own them not in that manner as such are left inexcusable in their dammâ—ble 〈◊〉 p. 56. That therefore the utter in â—onsequence of J.Os. deductions from them which are meer non sequiâ—â—â—s may the more plainly appear I shall letting fall J.Os. other trifling Arguments and sidling Replies to what the Qua. urge on behalf of the light of inartificial Arguments as himself calls them draw them into the form of artificial ones and express the manner of his illegal inferences from them which is in such wiâ—e as here under follows We are by that Text in Isa. 8.19 20. sent to the Law and to the Testimony to try what evâ—y Churches or persons speak about the things of God his will worship or our obedience to him who if they speak not according to that Word there is no light in them Therefore 't is evident that the Scriptures are the Word of God and consequently all that that is abovesaid The second viz. Christ Luke 16.31 bids men attend not looking for Miracles to Moses and the Prophets the written Word as the best and most effectual means to bring to repentance and which all faith and repentance is immediately grounded upon Therefore the Scriptures are evidently the Word of God c. Rep. In which two Arguments thou reasonest in Print well nigh as ridiculously as he works in Paint who doth Humano capiti cervicem jungere equinam For the head of the corner is strait sound and sure the body of the building upon it corrupt and crooked weak and rotten That we are sent to the Law and Testimony to that Word there talkt of and intended and to Moses and the Prophets and that that Law Testimony and Word that Moses and the Prophets spake of in those two Texts is that Word that is the true touchstone of all truth a greater ground for faith and repentance to be founded on then that of Miracles and a more sure stable firm fixt stedfast or standing Word then the voice which came from heaven all this I do not in the least deny but that the bare outward Writing which thou falsely callest the Written word and the external 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as at first written much more the present transcribed Copies of that Letter much more yet every Letter Tittle and Iota of it which thou keepest such a tatling for to be no less then the Word of the living God is that Law Testimony Moses and the Prophets or written Word as thou callest it intended in those two Texts or that by these termes in those two places is meant the said outward Scriptures and lastly most of all that it follows by any good consequence from those two places by such sound deduction as will stand against all objections gives such assurance thereof that he is a damnable unbeleever that beâ—eeves not from thence that the said Letter and Letters are infallibly known to bee the Word of God and the rest above said which are the things by thee inferred from them all this I both do and dare deny For the Law that in Isaiah is spoken of is not the literal Copy nor outward legible Letter that thou pleadest for and divinest it is but another Law which I see by thee thou art not yet very much ver'st in nor used to read even that in the heart not the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Letter of a Law of carnal Commandements not the formal Letter or literal form of a writing without but an inwardly written spiritual Law or Light within which is the power of the endless life that Law in mens mindes which is warred against by that Law of sin and death that dwells in their members The Law in the Spirit lusting against that and lusted against by that flesh or evil spirit that is also in men lusting unto envy and all evill the Law of the Spirit of life which is by Christ Iesus that is powerful to that which the Letter or Copy thereof which is figuratively called the Law is weak to cannot do viz. to deliver such as take heed thereunto from that Law of sin aforesaid that leads men captive unto death The Commandement that is a Lamp and not a dark Lanthorn p. 6.23 the Law that is the Light it self that leads to the life it self for so that of the Spirit doth and not the dead Letter that is used instrumentally as a knife to kill but in any wise cannot quicken And that Testimony or Witness is that Testimony of Iesus which they have hear that keep the Commandements of God even the Light in the conscience as aforesaid This Testimony of Iesus who is the true and faithful Witness of God of whom also God himself testifieth and beareth witness is Jesus his own Witness or testimony for God born by his own voice and writing by his own Spirit and light immediately in the heart who there testifyeth what he hath seen and heard of the Father though few such a thou art receive not his Testimony whose light voice spirit speakings and counsel from heaven in their own hearts who so turns away from and hears not in all things is none of his sheep but shall be condemned and cut off from among his people and not the testimony or witness of men in outward Writings or Letters testifying though as moved by him what they have seen and heard from him not that Scripture thou so wâ—itest for and callest the witness of God for that of God is far greater the Testimony of Iesus is a Letter indeed a Writing and an Epistle Prophesie yet not the outward Writings Letter and Copies of the Epistles and Prophesies of
others out of their own private furniture and pag. 27. of his Epist. he grants that there are Corruptions mark and various lections in the Greek Copies of the Scripture and our grant quoth I. O. is founded on this experience that we evidently find various lections in the Greek Copies we enjoy and so grant that which ocular inspection evinces to be true And though I.O. having yielded the Greek Text to be corrupted which is enough to prove his foundation faulty and fallible if the Hebrew Text were to a tittle entire fills up that gap again with this fiddle-fadling defence viz. Tet there are none able to shew out of any Copies yet extant in the World or that they can make appear ever to have have been extent that ever there were any such various lections in the Originalls of the Old Testament Neverthelesse to go round again notwithstanding what hath been spoken quoth he p. 178. We grant that there are and have been various lections in the Old Testament and the New and so falls a shewing in many pages together many varieties in the Old Testament himself to save his Antagonists the labour of shewing what he tells them they are not able to shew some of which are not obscure and private as I. O. sayes they are but publick and open as I.O. sayes not as I. O sayes they are of no importance but of importance and inconsistent with the sence as I. O. sayes to go round again not novell and of late only as I. O. sayes they are but as I. O. sayes to go round again of longer standing of some good Antiquity Thus I. O. all this while gives and takes grants and begs back again abates exacts the whole again allows and pulls in again owns and denyes le ts go and commands home again his Assertion till by a little and a little he hath let it go and granted it all away and then to go round again fearing he hath let it go too far from serving his turn does what in him lyes though hoe a liquid nihil est by a little and a little to fetch it all in again to his first pretended purpose he goes on granting from ore shooes to ore boots till in the quagmire wherein he quavers too and fro in his quarrel for his quick-sandy foundation he sinks first up to the Ankles then up to the Knees anon up to the Loynes by and by up to the neck And Lastly fearing lest he hath gone so far in granting to the weakening of his own Assertion of the Texts integrity to a little that he shall hardly ever recover it to stand for truth in that ex sui site primitive posture wherein he at first exerted and propounded it unlesse he utter somwhat more like a man more to the purpose then all those childish pedling put offs I.O. urges a knocking Argument from the multitude of the Copies to the impossibility of the Texts being corrupted thus viz. p. 175. There was a multiplying of Copies to such a number that it was impossible any should corrupt them all willfully or by negligence which hath as much reason in it as his other confident conclusions have for Riddle me this ye Rabbies why might not the same fate fall out to one Copy of Scripture in its transcribing as to another and if the fate and fault of falsity and mistake to some why not to all Yet if it were never such a solid consequence we need not deny it I. O. who still saves us the labour of confuting I. O. knocks it down and confounds it himselfe while elsewhere he argues from the multitude of Copies to the impossibility of their escaping corruptions For To go round again That so many Transcriptions quoth he should be made without some variation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is impossible thus running out in hast to recover his lost Assertion he runs himselfe or'e head and eares in the Gulf of most irreconâ—ileable contradiction and irrecoverable confusion yea how many various Lections and various contradictions to himself are to be found yet here 's not all in I. Os. opposing of that one plain undeniable truth viz. That there are various Lections in the Copies of the very originall Texts of the Scripture which they call their Rule which though they say truly witnesse R. B. I. T p. 43. 51. That a Rule and grid should be certain which will not deceive and that which is variable and alterable cannot be a persons Rule for it is the property of a Rule to be invariable and the same at all times the Rules Measures Weights Dialls Squares and what other things are made if they be varyed they cease to be Rules for Rules should be sized and certain and confesse also withâ—us that Error minimus in principio fit major in medio maximus in fine the least errour in a foundation makes a thing not fit to be a foundation and so if the Scripture be not intire to a little so but vel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one jot or tittle fail and every letter be not preserved by Gods providence from being lost they must needs cry out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they have no footing nor foundation for their faith and see no means of being delivered from utter uncertainty in and about all sacred truth Witnesse I.O. Ep p. 25. and much more of that sort in his book as its more at large talkt with in the second of my four Exercitations and do confesse also the Scripture is not only flexible and lyable to be changed easily at every Criticks will and the Transcribers might and did fail and mistake so that various Sections are thence arisen witnesse I. O. p. 167. and Epist. p. 21 22 23 24. where he tells how many wayes its easie for a Critick to alter it Yet To go round again and face about half way at least they plead the said confessedly variable and much varied Text to be the only fixt firm foundation sure Basis stable Standard right Rule true Touchstone and such like Yea and to go the whole round and face quite about as they were that it is neither so varied nor variable by reason of the loving care and aspect of God over the Transcribers whom yet for all thaâ— he would not guid infallibly whose promise and providence which cannot fail are engaged to preserve the Hebrew Greek Texts in their integrity to a tittle but that its most fit to be own'd as the most perfect and only steady Rule and foundation Moreover how entirely true soever the Transcriptions are the Translations which is all the Rule the people have unlesse the Priests prattle must be their Rule are confessed to be most various and abominably and wofully corrupted Witnesse I. O. who is scarce more busie to evince the entirenesse of his Hebrew and Greek Text then in evidencing the erroneousnesse of all Translations some of which that are most a client and of most account among most
everlasting to everlasting is unchangeably Authoritative over all inviolably pure every way entire and absolutely perfect as God is whose Word it is and so we assault it not in its Name nor in the Thing as thou sayest for we know and never did yet deny unlesse 't were before we knew it and while we were the same with you who yet know it not nor never heard it from his own mouth the Word of God to be the Word of God And also though thou Scandalize us so grossely as to say Satan sets us on work to bereave the Scripture of the glorious Title of the Word of God as its own Proper Name That 2. is also false for at the Will of God and in service and obedience to him and not of Satan we strip the meer Letter of that Glory wherewith thou unduly dost invest it and take it down from that high Throne and Authority wherein Satan sets thee on work to set it up â—that men may do homage to it and so run a Whoring after it from the Word of Life it only points at as Israel did after the Brazen Serpent and dance about it in their Idolatrous hearts as the God that must save and deliver out of Egypt But 3. Were that true yet howbeit we own the Word of God to be as truly and properly called the Word of God as in truth it is so and give to that still its own due proper Name of the Word of God somewhat more then yourselves do who call that by the Name of and make that Title of the Word of God the very proper Name of another thing which is not it but as inferiour to it as the Effect is to the Cause it came from viz. the outward Letter or Scripture that came forth from it and is but a Copy and Declaration or Images of it as much in worth and dignity below it as the painted Picture of a fire or a man on a Wall is to the true fire or Person which they do but outwardly represent And 4. As for the Writing or Scripture which thou sayest we deprive of its proper Name because we call it not the Word of God and by all those glorious Titles and Epithites thou stilest it by which we confesse are due to the Word viz. Light Living powerful Quickning Foundaiton most Perfect Rule and many more as we shall see anon thou sayest most falsly in that for these are as truly due so properly due to and the Proper Names of the Word it self only of which the Writing is but a Writing or meer Scriptural Declaration and not the Proper Name nor Properties of the Scriptures I.O. Thou tellest Ep. pag. 30. That the whole truth about the Word of God which thou falsly Slanderest us as confusedly opposing thou hast endeavoured to comprize in thy Theses Reply Thy Asserting that the Scripture ought to be called the Word of God as its proper Name and that it is in esse reali cognoscibili the Word of God and known so to be and consequently the Light Foundation Rule and whatever else the Word is known to be which is the main matter thou affirmest and puzlest thy self to prove against us is so far from being the whole Truth about the Word of God that it hath no Truth at all in it but in plain Truth is wholly a Lye in esse reali cognoscibili also to all but such as know not as thy self dost not in this point either what they say or whereof they affirm J. O. Thou sayest thou compleatest in thy Theses the Doctrine of the Scripture concerning the Scripture Reply Thy Doctrine concerning the Scripture which is that it is the Word of God and known so to be and is to be called or else it s stript out of its own proper Name this is not the Doctrine of the Scripture concerning it self but thy own Doctrine which though thou dignifie it with the Title of Pro Scripturis in thy Latine Title Page is more Con Anti then either Cum or Pro yea much more against then either according to or for the Scriptures I.O. Thou speakst of the Quakers as altogether rejecting the Word of God i. e. with thee the Scripture as to its whole use of spoiling the holy Scriptures of All Vse Authority Perfection And as those who if things had succeded according to their desires would no doubt long since have have utterly rejected them Yea as those who wish them quite blotted out that all men might more attend to the Light within themselves Reply Though what Use Authority and Perfection the Scripture is owned by us to be of will appear more anon in its proper place yet that we deny it not to have an Authority and Perfection and precious Use I here declare to the undeceiving of such as are deceived by thy Deceits and Lyes much lesse do we reject as thou falsly objects against us the Word of God it self which is a greater matter and of more moment then the Scripture as to its whole Vse and in proof of it against thy self that we own the very Bible and Letter to be of use and do also much use it as occasion is I shall here Cite I O. to give account to I.O. of this Lye that against I.O. I O. himself hath forged Yea I shall go no further at present then to thy self who as in at least Twenty things more in thy self-confounding Fardel thou dost confutest thy self as to this Lye in those very parcels above quoted For mark Art not thou the man who as brisk as thou art in bedirting us with this Slander of rejecting the Scripture which thou falsly callest the Word of God as to all its use its whole use and that altogether could we have had our Wills yet to the Contradicting of thy self which is as ordinary with thee as to eat and drink confessest and Commendest us thus far before all as follows in thy Latine piece where thy words Englished are to this purpose Ex. 1. S. 7. That the Quakers professe the Holy Scriptures to contain a certain Revelation of Gods Will and so far to have come forth from God as it proceeded from that inward Light which was from Christ in those who wrote those Books which ye name the Scriptures And Ex. 5. S. 18. That the Quakers acknowledge the Scriptures to contain a Manifestation of the Will and Mind of God both in respect of those who wrote them and of those also to whom they were delivered from the beginning and that this Declaration therein held proceeded from the Spirit of Christ which was so with the Writers thereof that they could declare the infallible Truth and that the things written therein are an undoubtedly true Declaration of the Mind of God And dost thou not add thus much That thus far we are right and that none that own them thus far can altogether reject the Scriptures unlesse he will declare himself to be
self-condemned and that we will not easily yield to a Renouncing of this Confession Is all this then that thy self Confessest of us the Quakers whom thou Condemnest for utter rejecting the Scripture consistent with such an utter rejecting it as thou Chargest them with Dost not here clear the Quakers out of thy own mouth out of which thou Condemnest them for the same thou clearest them in to the Condemning of thy self to be one out of whose one and the same mouth comes to the same men Blessing and Cursing Excusing and Accusing for the same thing Doth any good Fountain send forth sweet Water and bitter at the same time Is not thy Tongue an unruly Member which thy self can'st tame no better then therewith to blesse God and men too that are made after Gods Image as owners of the Scriptures and yet to Curse them with thy Lyes as denyers thereof when thou hast done Art thou not herein right Baalam like who for the Preferments-sake from which God kept him would sain have Cursed Israel with his Divinations as thou dost with thy Divinity Disputations and yet was against his will forced to forbear and to his own shame to blesse them altogether Object Oh but quoth I.O. no matter what the Quakers confesse of the Scripture now no doubt had things fallen out accordinn to their desire and if People could have born the denyal of it who bore such respect to the Scripture that they would have flown with fury on the Quakers Pates if they should have seemed to deny it the Quakers from whom the fear of that more then the force of Truth forces that Confession Proculdubiò Jamdudum rejecissent had doubtlesly Rejected them utterly long ago Ex. 3. S. 19. Reply This is not so true not well-grunded a Surmise as this viz. No matter how the Priests fawn own the Kings Protectors Parliaments or Powers still that are in present Being to save their Standings in their present Places and Preferments No heed's to be given to their Crouchings Cringing and Humble Representations No doubt but as things fall out and succeed to the serving of their Interest they will turn still to what best serves their turns and have Exceptis excipiendis been generally known to have done so now long ago even from Henry the Eighths time to this very day As for the Quakers could they have dissembled so as ye do for fear of mans Fury they might have escaped many if not all those furious Fallings of your bloudy mad-brain'd Parish-Professors upon their Pares and have saved Oxford and Cambridge that labour pains they more like Fiends then Friends of Truth have been at to persecute them long since also Again I.O. Dost not thou say 't is evident enough that some of us Read the Holy Scripture in Private or at least Remember what we have Read or Heard out of it and for the most part carry the Holy Bible about with us and that in our Digladiations or Disputes we very often rehearse and urge the words of the Scriptures and that the reason why we own Translations is because being not learn'd farther then our Mother Tongue we shall then deprive our selves of all use of the Scriptures which we are loath to do Which of these two I O's must we believe Or if it be but one I.O. as no doubt it is divided against himself and telling two contrary Tales whereof but one can be true which of his two Testimonies must men give credit to That wherein he sayes we strive to bereave men of All Vse of the Scripture and count it odious and abominable to have Heresies Errour false Doctors and Doctrines Convicted and Confuted out of it Or that clean Contrary one wherein he tells all men that we use it so as to Read it in Private Remember what we Read or Hear of it Carry it about with us use it and urge out of it in our Disputes and are shy of denying it to be Translated into English for our use least we should be deprived of All that Vse of it our selves which we are willing to make For my part let others do what they will I have found I.O. telling so many Lyes when in his malice he talkes against the Quakers that I shall rather take that for Truth now which against his envious lying self he here talks for them for some Vse and that not a little himself here affirms we make of the Scriptures and in other places quotes many Scriptures out of which we argue against our Opposers and if it be never so little use it s enough to stop his mouth out of his own mouth who sayes we utterly reject the Scriptures as to All its Vse for he that rejects it as to its Whole use or All its use must be one that makes no use of it at all And if I. O's Testimony had been only that we deny many ill uses of it that himself and other Scribes make that spend and take up more time in scraping and scribling for it then take care to live the life of it and that wrest it to their own ruine he had said the Truth Or had he said we deny many of those good lifes that many make of it he had much lessened his Lye and his Folly in it but because we own it not as useful to all those extraordinary weighty and mighty lifes which he sayes falsly are to be made of it which indeed are to be made only of the Eternal Internal Spirit Word and Light it came from to say we deny all Vses of it as if it were good and profitable and useful and fit for nothing this renders his Lye the more lyable to all mens view and himself to be as blind as one that can see no difference between staring and stark mad What I. O. is that which is not said to be good for all things thereupon said to be good for nothing If I should say soft Wax is not useful to stop hot Ovens with must it straitway be thrown away and must it be taken for Granted that I say it s not good to Seal with or that its useful for nothing That may be good to Cut and Kill as a Knife that when it hath so done can't quicken nor heal nor save nor cure The Letter kills as an Executing Instrument but the Spirit only gives the Life And whereas thou sayest we wish it blotted out that men may come to the Light within in which is the life Nay stay I. O. no hast to hang true men we would have all come to the Light and Life within indeed no such hast yet of the Scriptures going hence though old it will wax once and wear away there 's many pretious Uses though not all the Eminent ones thou talkest of to be made of it before it go hence One whereof is that very thing upon the account of which thou falsly sayest we wish it blotted out viz. That men may come to the Light within which
of the Old Testament must be also affirmed of the New with this addition of advantage and preheminenâ—â— that it received its beginning of being spoken by the Lord himself 6. Seeing it is so as is abovesaid that all was not written by the hands of the inspired Authors themselves at the very first but much by such Scribes only as wrote from them as dictated to by them to whom God gave out this minde and so wrote not so immediately from God as thou dreamest but that they might mispell or mistake in more than Titles and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 most good men being but bad Schollers and Scribes as to inch more humane earthly skill as your Schollership lyes in how absolutely doth this overturn that other utter untruths that thou tellest twice over to the manifesting of thine own folly more fully in uttering twice such falshood not so much as once observing it viz. pag. 10 11. that the Word which with thee still is the Scripture is come forth unto us mark unto us from God without the least mixture or interveniency of any Medium obnoxious to fallibility as is the wisdome truth integrity knowledge and memory of the best of all men But if what I have shewed above did not contradict and give check to this saying of thine about the Scriptures coming out immediately from God unto us who live so many ages from the last person who received any part of it immediately from God thou whose great Masterpiece of business it is throughout thy whole book to say and unsay and contradict thy self and run in Rounds overturnest and statly contradictest it thy self saying pag. 30. that we have not the Scripture from God immediately our selves in which self-confutation and contradiction of pag. 10. by pag. 30. thou canst not to continue long neither but as one delighting to dance round and shew how well skill'd thou art in tracing to and fro about the Scripture thou to go round again returnest and reiteratest pag. 153. that falsity uttered by thee pag. 10. in this wise over again viz. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testament were immediately and entirely given out by God himself mark as if God himself had wrote it every tittle with his own finger whereas how little God himself wrote I have shewed above and how such as were immediately inspired the mediation of whose hand writing in what they also wrote comes between God and us did not write it all immediately with their own hands but men that took what they said from them in writing by the active improvement of their knowledge wisdome skill in writing memory and other rational faculties so far is the Text from coming immediately from God to the men of those Cities and places that lived where and when it was written but how much farther from being immediately and entirely without any medium obnoxious to fallibility from God to us who live so many Ages off unto whom that Text J.O. talks of is descended perhaps at the hundreth hand through the hands of who knows what unskilful careless forgetful Scribes or Transcribers the very best of which J.O. at best confesses to be but fallible and that it was possible they might and also did mistake so as that failings fell out among them p. 167. nevertheless on he goes thus concerning that Scripture or writings viz. That Gods minde is in them represented unto us without the least interveniency of such mediums and wayes as were capable of giving change or alteration to the least 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or syllable 7. Whereas thou sayest there was onely a passive concurrence of the rational faculties of the Writers without any such active obedience as by any Law they might be obliged to though I have shewed thee that all the first Writers were not inspired but some wrote from their lips that were so and so were though never so skilful obnoxious to fallibility yet as thou intendest it of such Prophets Apostles Evangelists as wrote their own Prophesies Epistles Histories Proverbs Psalms c. with their own hands as they were moved by the Spirit it s utterly untrue that thou affirmest for the holy men of God who either wrote their Scripture with their own hands or dictated to such as they required to pen it from their mouthes as themselves spake from the mouth of God out of which came all that wisdome knowledge and understanding that is thereby uttered forth were such as were not so meerly pasive as thou praiest in the reception of what they wrote without any active concurrence of their rational faculties but in order to their receiving the word and manifestation of the minde and will of God to them which was written had both then and long before also an active concurrence thereof and such an active obedience to God as all men are by the Law of God i.e. the light in the conscience obliged to whereby they were made and became first holy men before they were used by God in such an holy work as preaching and wrriting out his minde to others and were brought into the thing or life it self they spake and wrote of and were purged from lusts and defilements and iniquities and foolish and unlearned questions and such prophane and vain bablings as ye are yet exercised in at your Vniversities about the Bible as well as about other books of humane businesses that in comparison of that holy truth that is in the Bible handled are but meer Baubles which a man being purged from 2 Tim. 2.16 19 20 21 22 23. he shall be a vessel of honour sanctified and meet for the Masters use and prepared unto every good work Yea their Prophets that spake out that holy Doctrine and soul-saving truth that is declared in the Scriptures what ever some of them might be that were exercised in the copying out of sundry of those to us more unnecessary and unprofitable parts thereof viz. the endless Legal Genealogical Chronological Catalogues of mens names not so needful to us to know were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 holy men of God 2 Pet. 1. ult and such to whose souls knowledge and wisdome and the fear of God was pleasant who cried after it and lifted up their voices to God for it and were in such love with it as to wait on God for it out of whose mouth it comes and daily at the posts of wisdomes house which your Vniversities are not yet acquainted with and sought it as silver and searched for it as for hid treasure and though to Prophesie was a gift of God and such as have it are so passive as to receive it from the giver and none can receive any thing of it except it be given him from above Joh. 3. and though it is in no wise to be purchased by mens mony at Schools and Colledges as our Accademical Simon Magus's suppose who to obtain and buy all the gifts whereby they Prophesie to men for mony and sell them for mony