first lay down this proposition that all Ministers since the Apostles days are not called immediately by an extraordinary call as the Porphets and Apostles were but mediately in an ordinary way of calling Which calling is not the calling of men but the calling of the Holy Ghost because that calling which the Holy Ghost hath revealed in the Scripture and that I shall prove by Scripture for after that he was ascended into heaven Judas being faln from his Apostleship and another to be chosen in his room the Apostles being met together concluded from what was written in the Scripture that another should take his charge wherefore they presented two out of the number of those who was conversant among them from the Baptism of John and they prayed and gave forth their Lots and the Lot fell on Matthias and he was numbred with the eleven Apostles No man pretended that he had the Spirit and therefore that was a sufficient call neither did God call any by revelation or a Voyce from Heaven to that place of an Apostle in his room Also after the Apostles had gathered Churches they ordained Elders by election in every Church and the Apostle Paul saith that he left Titus in Creet that he should ordain Elders in every City and the Apostle writing to Timothy saith Despise not the gift that is in thee which was given thee by Prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery or Eldership And Paul directed him whom to make Bishops or Elders And also the Apostle doth not only direct him but also charge him among other things that he should lay hands suddenly on no man One of your Speakers or Praters at one of your meetings at VVilliam Bond 's house hearing some in the Street threaten to pull them out of the house cryed out lay hands suddenly on no man as if the Apostle had meant of striking men suddenly But the Apostle saith that a Bishop or Elder must be no striker By which you may see how you are mistaken in the meaning of Scripture who pretend to have the infallible Spirit by which the Scripture was written as I have heard some of your company say And Jona Dell in his Book called The Voyce from the Temple writeth But your Spirit of error in misapplying Scripture is plainly discerned by all that have the Spirit of discerning and now I pray mind these things to use your own phrase and consider of these Texts of Scripture here written and let the Light of the Scripture enlighten your dark minds to see that those who have an external call as well as an internal call are the lawful Ministers of the Gospel and such are our Ministers Can you believe that God hath appointed order and government in a Common-wealth and in a Family and hath appointed none in his Church Now is it a sufficient warrant for a man to execute the Office of a Justice of the Peace a Constable or any other office in the Common-wealth because he hath sufficient gifts and inward qualifications without an outward call by those who are in authority either by Commission or otherwise and it is lawful for any man to execute the the Office of a publick Minister without a lawful call from those who are in publick Authority But I know your opinions are against all order or offices in the Church and so much you write in your paper making it to be a great fault that our Teachers bear rule Now that I may show you your error mind these Scriptures that prove Ministers to be Officers and such officers as are to rule in the Church The Apostle Paul writing to Timothy saith If a man desire the Office of a Bishop or Elder he desireth a good work and shewing how he ought to be qualified saith he must be one that ruleth well his own house else how shall he take care of the Church And the Apostle writing to the Corinthians saith That God hath set some in the Church first Apostles Secondarily Prophets Thirdly Teachers helps to Government Also the Apostle writing to the Romans saith All Members have not the same Office Wherefore he that is a Minister let him wait on Ministering or he that Teacheth on Teaching he that ruleth with diligence Also the Apostle writing to the Hebrews saith Remember them that have the rule over you and who are they the Apostle saith such who have spoken unto you the Word of God and in the same Chapter Obey them that have the rule over you and submit your selves for they watch for your souls But though you are like Korah and his company who were many Two hundred and fifty Princes of the Assembly famous in the Congregation men of renown who gathered themselves together against Moses and Aaron and said as you Quakers do to other Ministers and Magistrates you take too much upon you seeing all the Congregation are holy and the Lord is among them So you say Have not we the same Spirit the Apostles had Are not we all holy wherefore do you Priests take so much upon you But what became of those men God caused the Earth to open and swallow them up and take heed lest God show some special Judgement upon you by delivering you up to blindnesse of mind and hardnesse of heart Korah and his company had the same prâ—â—ences that you have but know it is not the inward gifts and qualifications only that makes a publick Teacher as I have proved but the lawful ordaining a man to that office and a man that is so called although he want the power of that which he teacheth as the Sons of Ely were lawfull Priests because lawfully called though they were wicked men and the Pharises and Scribes Christ saith sit in Moses Seat all therefore whatsoever they bid you observed that observe and do but do not ye after their Works for they say and do not Now by their sitting in Moses Seat was that it was their office or calling to teach the Law and therefore Christ spake both to the Multitude and to his Disciples to hear them and Judas was a true Apostle and one that preached as the rest of the Apostles for it is said he had part in this Ministery But all those who are authorized for that work ought to be careful that they ordain none but such who are inwardly fitted and called and to that end the Apostle chargeth Timothy that he lay hands suddenly on no man but to try and examine both himself and others of his fitnesse and ability lest he be partaker of other mens sins Consider what I have here written in answer to your first Ground And now I shall answer your second Ground which is because they go to Oxford or Cambridge and learn Latine Hebrew or Greek To which I answer I know many Ministers that never went to these places to learn these languages and yet think
opinions And face doth not more answer face in a Glasse then you do answer each other as I can shew you in several of their opinions and practises compared with yours as their hearkning to a light within them and revelations which they followed contrary to the Scripture some of them running about the streets naked as many of you have done some of them burning their clothes as some of you have done although at their first springing up they seemed to be such meek humble Saints that they would suffer any thing yet after they had gotten a sufficient number and strength then they shewed themselves in their Colours for then it was revealed that John of Leyden may be a King and that all the wicked must be destroyed and King John and his Disciples must govern all and have all the goods of the wicked because they had no right to them to which end they fortified Munster against the Emperor perswading the people that God would feed them by a miracle it being so revealed to them by which the poor people were many of them starved and at last King John and his company taken himself and two more of his chief companions hanged and put in three Iron Cages and set on the top of the three high Towers or Steeples the rest banished two ships laden with them the Author saith came into Great Brittain where they first sowed those seeds of Heresie from which have spang up all those errors of Anabaptism Familism Antinomianism Adamites Seekers and Quarkers I hope you will be convinced by all that I have written that your Practise in denying the ordinance of Baptism is contrary to the example of Christ and his Apostles and therefore in that you are not perfect And now I come to a second particular in which I shall prove that you walk contrary to Christ command and example and the example of the Apostles and that is in that you deny the partaking of the Lords Supper and teach that it is abolished and not to be used in the Church of Christ as Jona Dell in his Book called A Voyce from the Temple writeth and several others Wherefore I shall briefly prove that it was Christs command and Example and the practise of the Apostles and all the reformed Churches ever since the Apostle days Now Christ before his Death did institute and appoint this ordinance as you may read in Matthew Mark and Luke And he took bread and gave thanks and brake it and gave unto them saying this is my body which is given for you this do remembrance of me Likewise also the Cup after Supper saying This Cup is the New Testament in my Blood which is shed for you Where we are to take notice that Christ saith this do in Remembrance of me which is a command for them to do as he had done and that it was Christs meaning to have them do the same after his Ascension is plain because the Apostles did practise the same afterwards which they would not have done had it not been Christs command and the Apostle Paul doth plainly prove it to be Christ command For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you and what was that but the Supper of the Lord as the words following shew but you will say how long was the practise of that to continue The Apostle doth tell you For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup ye do shew the Lords death till he come But you say Christ is come by his Spirit to every believer and that is the meaning of it till he come To which I answer that I wonder you Quakers are not ashamed to give such a sense of the words and had I not heard it from several of your Mouths and read it in several of your Books I should not have believed it Wherefore to convince you of your error pray tell me Whether Christ was not come to his Apostles by his Spirit and to all others that believed the Gospel of Christ If Christ was not come to the Apostles by his Spirit how did they write the Scriptures Besides the Scripture saith That the Apostles were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues and yet the Apostles practise was to break bread after that and therefore the meaning of the Apostle to eat this bread and to drink this cup for so often as you eat this bread and drink this cup ye do shew the Lords death till he comes must needs be meant of Christs second coming namely his coming at the end of the world when he cometh to Judgement when the Saints bodies shall be raised out of their Graves and those that are then alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the Clouds to meet the Lord in the Air and so shall we ever abide with the Lord where then we shall have no need nor use of Sacraments because faith then shall cease being swallowed up in vision But till then we have need of these outward ordinances to help strengthen our faith the Supper of the Lord being appointed by Christ himself to that end where we may see a representation of Christ crucified before our eyes to help strengthen our faith for the Apostles themselves had need of these ordinances the Apostle Paul saith VVe know in part For now we see through a glasse darkly But then face to face mind Now I know in part but then shall I know even as also I am known Now is it not a horrible pride in you to say you are more fuller of the Spirit than the Apostles that you have more knowledge and stronger faith than the Apostles for you see the Apostles made use of this ordinance to strengthen their saith and if you say you have no need of this partaking of ordinances do not you declare your selves to be more perfect than the Apostles But Jona Dell in his Voyce from the Temple doth affirm that you Quakers have such an infallible knowledge that you cannot erre but we can smell from whence you sucked in this poyson even from your Father the Pope the great Antichrist who only claimeth this infallible Spirit But this by the way Also Jona Dell in the said Book saith that this outward ordinance of the Lords Supper hath been much abused and therefore not to be used in the Church any longer as that Ceremony of the brasen Serpent after it was abused by the Israelites to Idolatry it was broken in pieces and not to be used any more and so he calleth it a Ceremony and shadow and all other ordinances which having been abused ought to be abolished For Answer to which I shall only mind you of the Example and practise of the Apostle Paul concerning the same in his Epistle to the Corinthians who had so abused the Supper of the Lord as I have not heard of greater nor the like for saith
been convinced and called out from among them and that by being reasoned with and reading some books written against their errors and who knoweth whether God hath not a purpose to call others out from amongst them and who knows what God may do by small weak means and if the Lord please to convince one soul I shall think my labour abundantly satisfied Secondly I say that there is some hopes of stablishing some that are wavering and that I have had experience of in some that have been ready to close with them that by reading and conference have been setled again in the Truth Thirdly I say That supposing neither of these prove yet I shall not think my labour lost because in Answering them I have written severall Fundamentall Truths in writing which I found much benefit to my self and it may be that some may receive some benefit in reading which shall be my Prayer to God and then I know my labour is not lost in writing being written at such leisure times as I could best spare from other Imployments And I hope that some may find some spare time which they may spend in reading as I did in writing Desiring all that read may lay aside all prejudicate Opinions and accept of the good will of him whose desire and Prayer is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ his Ministers and Ordinances may be defended and maintained and all Errour Heresie Superstition and Idolatry suppressed and destroyed J. G. To John Howard one of the Quakers Teachers and all such as plead for and maintain their erroneous opinions and practices HAving received thy Paper which thou didst read or cause to be read at your meeting in William Bond 's house at Cheeswick and finding in the same many false railing accusations against all the Ministers of the Gospel calling them Parish-hirelings Deceivers and false Prophets deceivers for money such as stand up in the strength of the Dragon against the Lamb and in the way of Balam Ministers of Antichrist such who keep people in their sin by teaching that none can be perfect and free from sin so long as they live in this world And for my self to whom you direct your black Paper you do write many false slanders and revileings saying that I came into your meeting in a raging envious manner uttering forth my malice and poyson against the truth barking like a Dog vomiting up my poysonous stuffe and venomous stuffe with many other the like But I may not expect to fare better than my Master for all that have read your Papers or heard your words know that you make it your chiefest studies to utter forth railing cursing revilings against all persons that are not of your opinions But for all such as are of your opinions you call them in your Letter the Servants and Children of the Lord God the innocent Lambs of Christ the holy seed the called the chosen of the Lord the witnesses the Saints the Children of the Light the perfect ones these are your words and many more and that the truth of this heavy charge against the Parish-teachers as you call them and my self may appear and the innocencie of your self and others Quakers may appear unto all that have the Spirit of discerning I shall by the help and assistance of Almighty God vindicate both the Ministers and my Self from your false accusations And that I may keep some Order and Method which you despise I shall first shew the occasion and manner of my coming into your Meeting and shall appeal to all that heard and saw me whether I writ not the truth I hearing thee prate into the next house and into the street that the grace of God did condemn man I came into the Room being much troubled at thy many false non-sensical speeches telling thee that thou didst talk of the Gospel and the grace of God but thou didst not know what the Gospel was nor the grace of God where I did prove that men are saved by the grace of God and that the Gospel is glad tidings bringing peace and that the Law was called the Ministery of condemnation and not the Gospel which thou couldst not gain-say when and where in a peaceable manner I demanded of thee by what Authority thou didst come there to teach thou saidst that God did send thee and that thou wast not sent by men as the Parish Priests were I replied that all Ministers that were lawfully called to Preach now are not only called inwardly by the Lord but by the Church our Office bearers of the Church which I then proved by plain Scriptures which I 've here writ the better to help your memory and the rather because it is one of your Objections that our Ministers as you call them are not lawfully called as the Ministers and Elders in the Primitive time were And that you may the better perswade and delude people that they are no lawfull Ministers of Christ but of Antichrist you do write many reasons to prove them as you think to be the Ministers of Antichrist all which reasons I shall set down in order and then give you the Answer to every perticular Your first Ground you alledge is that they are not called by the holy Spirit and made over-seers by the holy Ghost but by Men. Your second Ground is because they go to Oxford or Cambridge to learn Natural Arts and Languages Hebrew Greek and Latine Logick and Phylosophy Your third Ground because they study for what they say and get their lessons as a Scholar Your fourth Ground because they study old Authors the writings of those called the Antient Fathers Popish Writers as you call them Your fifth Ground is because they take money for Preaching by the year or Tithes or Glebelands or Augmentations Your sixth Ground is because they keep People in their sins teaching none can be perfect nor free from sin so long as they live upon the Earth Your seventh Ground is because of those fruits which do spring up among Teachers and People as pride and many other sins you name These are all your Grounds which I have gathered out of your confused Paper where the same things are often repeated as your manner is both in writing and speaking and now I shall answer your grounds in order which answer in writing is the same in fact which I have formerly spoken to your self and others of your company at your Meetings at VVill. Bond 's house and other places as many other persons which were then and there present can witnesse and I am the rather moved to take this labour of writing that other sober-minded people may judge whether those things spoken were poysonous venomous stuffe barking like a Dog as you write in your Paper and others of your company have spoken Your first ground is because the Parish Hierling-Teachers as you call them are called and made Ministers by men and not by the Spirit and holy Ghost For Answer to which I shall
of that Scripture contrary to that of the Apostle Peter Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost Besides if Paul had not the Spirit at that time then he had lost it unlesse you say he had not the Spirit while after he had written the seventh Chapter to the Romans Also the Apostle Paul complaineth in his Epistle to the Corinthians saying That a thorn in the flesh the messenger of Sathan to buffer me which is taken to be some corruption Also the Apostle writing to the Galathians saith For the Flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh and these are contrary the one to the other So that ye cannot do the things that ye would according to what he said of himself before Also the Apostle Peter that Pillar of the Church which the Papists your Fathers do so much boast of that he could not erre as you Quakers say of your selves To passe by his sin in denying Christ before Christ suffered you may read in the Epistle to the Galathians that the Apostle Paul withstood the Apostle Peter to the face because he was to be blamed Why for what the Apostle saith That before the Jews he dissembled fearing them of the Circumcision and that Barnabas was also carried away with their dissimulation But saith the Apostle When I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel Now this sin of theirs was not a sin of Ignorance but of Knowledge dissembled and now I am writing of Barrabas I call to minde that great strife that was between Paul and him that although they were put apart together for the ministery of the Gentiles had travelled through many regions and preached unto them the Gospel that then they should so fall out one with the other that they should parâ— asunder there must needs be a fault either in Paul or Barnabas and surely they both had the Spirit of Christ at the same time and were Justified and Sanctified Also this passion of theirs bringeth to minde what the Apostle James writeth concerning the Prophet Elias That he was a man subject to like passions as we are that you may read of him in the Book of Kings Now if Elias that was taken up into Heaven was a mah subject to passion and Paul and Barnabas dare you Quakers say you are more holier then they I the Apostle saith That in many things we offend all and was not the Apostle a true teacher because he taught such doctrine as you say our Ministers are not Also the Apostle John saith If we say we have no sin we deceive our selves and the truth is not in us Minde the Apostle doth not say if you but we putting himself within the nnmber Also he saith If we say that we have not sinned we make him a lyar and his word is not in us I marvel not that you Quakers do so often give Men the lye seeing you give God the lye for so saith the Apostle that knew better than you for you know not your own hearts if you did you durst not so speak you never yet knew the Spiritual meaning of the Law that the least evil thought or motion to sin though not acted is a breach of the pure Law of God if you did then would you say and pray as the Prophet David did Who can understand his errors cleanse thou me from secret faults or sins If the Prophet David who was a man after Gods own heart and a pen-man of holy Scripture confessed that who can which interrogation is a negation none can understand or know all the secret sins of his life prayed to God to pardon them Do you Quakers know more and are you more holy than he I know you are so in your own opinions But I shall have occasion hereafter to discover the falsenesse of your opinion in that particular Now to make this appear more plain consider that there is no need of Christ his mediatorship propitiation or intercession for if the Church and people of God do not sin why then doth the Apostle John say And if any man sin we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous And he is the propitiation for our sins Minde the Apostle saith We have an advocate and he is the propitiation for our sins the Apostle includeth himself within the number Also the Apostle Paul saith to the Romans Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods elect why Minde the Apostle doth not say for they have no sin But it is God that justifieth who is he that condemneth it is Christ that died yea rather that is risen again who is even at the right hand of God who also maketh intercession for us he includeth himself Also the Apostle to the Hebrews Wherefore he is able also to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by him seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them Now consider that this intercession of Christ is necessary for the Saints in regard of their best works For the Prophet Esay saith in the name of the whole Church But we are all as an unclean thing and all our Minde rigteousnesses are as filthy rags Also the Apostle Paul saith of himself Yea doubtlesse and I count all things but losse for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the losse all things and do count them but dung that that I may win Christ Now the Apostle counted his righteousnesse which is of the Law to be such that he might be found in Christ not having his own righteousnesse but that which is through the faith of Christ This intercession of Christ for the Saints for to take away the pollution of their best actions was typified by the High-priest Aaron was to have a plate of pure gold and engraven upon it holinesse to the Lord. And it shall be upon Aarons fore-head that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things that the Children of Israel may be accepted before the Lord. A Mans best works as they come from Man are unclean because there is corruption in the best men for all men are conceived and born in sin as David confesseth of himself Behold I was shaped in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me Now this original corruption is in the best Man what ever you say or think to the contrary Now as water that is pure and clean in the fountain if it run or come through a corrupt pipe or channel it will be foul and unclean even so the Spirit of God in Man being the fountain from whence all good cometh is pure and clean but passing through Mans corrupt nature becometh defiled And therefore you may read that the Angel stood at the Altar having a golden Censer and there was given unto him much Incense that he should offer it
before Christs coming in the flesh than we Christians in the dayes of the Gospel since his coming for to be out of the pale of the Church was counted an unholy unclean condition I they were counted Doggs by Christs own words It is not lawful to give Childrens bread unto Doggs and without are Doggs and if the children of the Church of the Jews were externally holy by being visible members of the Church and Christians children unholy because no visible members of the Church Are not our children in a worse condition than theirs and so we have lesse priviledge than they now the Scripture declareth that the Church and People of God in the dayes of the Gospel have far greater priviledges than the Church of the Jews and this Christ himself sheweth where he saith Verily I say unto you among them which are born of women arose there not a greater then John Baptist notwithstanding the least in the kingdome of Heaven is greater than he whereby Christ would teach us that John the Baptist was the greatest among all the Prophets that went before him because he had the presence of Christ pointing at him Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world and yet the least believer in the Kingdome of Grace is greater than he because Christ had not then actually suffered for sin nor was not risen from the dead but the least believer doth now by Faith see Christ hath actually taken away sin by his Death and Suffering and is risen again for our Justification Also Christ saith Blessed are your eyes for they see and your eares for they hear for verily I say unto you that many Prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which you see and have not seen them and to hear those things which you hear and have not heard them And are not these great priviledges Also the Apostle writing to the Hebrews in the eleventh Chapter writeth a Catalogue of the faithfull and in the end concludeth And all these having obtained a good report through Faith received not the Promise God having promised some better thing for us that they without us should not be made perfect The Apostle Peter also testifieth the same Teaching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signifie when it testified before hand the Sufferings of Christ Minde and the glory that should follow unto whom it was revealed that not unto themselves but unto us they did minister the things which are nâ—w reported unto you of which Salvation the Prophets have inquired and searched diligently who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you By which Texts of Scripture ye may plainly see that the Church and people of God in these times of the Gospel have greater priviledges then the Church of the Jews and therefore our Children as well as theirs have the priviledge of being outward visible Members of the Church which is only by Baptism But you Antibaptists and the Anabaptists say that although Believers have now greater priviledges then the Jews yet it doth not follow that our Children are to be admitted visible Members of the Church because there is no express command nor example for baptizing Children To which I answer that whatsoever may be proved from the Scripture by consequence to be the scope and meaning of the Scripture it is sufficient proof and that is already made good But seeing you do both stand to have express word of Command or express Example I shall desire you or either of you to shew me one command or example in Scripture for the baptizing of those that are grown up whose Parents one or both were Christians by professing the Gospel of Christ Now if you have no rule nor example in Scripture as I am sure you have not why do you condemn another when you Anabaptists are more guilty in that you baptise those that are of years whose Parents profess the Gospel of Christ and were formerly baptised in the name of Christ Unless you count all those that profess the Gospel of Christ to be Heathens that are not of your Churches which is a most uncharitable opinion But you farther object that the Apostles baptibaptized none but such as did beleive and make a profession of their Faith To which I answer that it is more then you can prove seeing the Apostle baptized Housholds and it is more then you can tell there were no Children in those Housholds unlesse you know it by revelation Secondly I say that those whom the Apostles baptized who were of years were such as were converted from Judaisme or Heathens and neither they nor their Parents ever professed the Gospel of Christ and did any of you or any other know any of our Ministers baptize any Jews Turks or Indians not professing the Gospel they have baptized some that have come from those parts after they have been converted and made a profession of their Faith according to the example of the Apostle Thirdly I answer that elect Infants may have the root or habit of Faith though not the act of Faith if you believe Christs words For Christ called a little Child unto him and set him in the midst of them and said who so shall receive one such little Child in my name receiveth me but whoso shall offend one of these little ones mind which believe in me By which words it doth appear that elect Infants may have the seeds of grace in their hearts we read that some have been sanctified from the womb and that must be by the Spirit for so the Text saith speaking of John Baptist And he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost mind even from his Mothers womb It is the opinion of many ancient and modern Ministers that elect Infants do ordinarily recieve the Spirit in or at their Baptism as Christ at his Baptism had the Holy Ghost descending like a Dove and lightning upon him Now Christ was full of the Holy Ghost before for in him dwelleth all the fulnesse of the God-head bodily And therefore the descending of the Holy Ghost at that time was to teach us to have a high esteem of that ordinance as most of our protestant Ministers do hold and teach and as Dr. Burges doth at large prove in his Book called Baptismal Regeneration Where this point of elect Infants ordinarily receiving the Spirit or seal of the Spirit in their Baptism is fully handled with all objections against it answered and I do the more press this point because the Baptism of Infants is so much slighted neglected and contemned by many in our days For I suppose that elect Infants being meer patients in the work of Regeneration are as capable of the Spirits sealing or applying the blood of Christ for the remission of their sins as those that are of Age for if there were a power in Adam by hâ—s sin
that ye be not judged saith Christ and in the fifth Verse sheweth that this rash judging is a note or character of an Hypocrite Thou Hypocrite first cast the beam out of thine own eye Also the Apostle Paul to the Romans Thou art inexcusable O man whosoever thou art that judgeth Judge nothing before the time untill the Lord come who both will bring to light the hidden things of Darknesse and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts But why dost thou judge thy Brother or why dost thou set at nought thy Brother for we shall all stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ Then every one of us shall give accompt for himself to God Let us not therefore judge one another Who art thou that judgest another mans servant he standeth or falleth to his own Master We are all the Lords servants and are all at his disposing and appointment and therefore what have we to do to judge any particular man or woman Much less to judge and condemn all the Churches that are not of your minds and judgements to be Antichristian and in the state of condemnation and that they know only the Letter and History of the Scripture and that you only know the mystery and meaning of the Scripture like the Pharisees that judged and condemned all that were not of their Sect. Thâ—â— people that know not the Law are cursed Now consider what a most horrid uncharitable thing it is to judge all the Protestant Churches before you sprang up to be false Heretical Churches for then Christ had no Church for sixteen hundred years for there were none of your opinions heard of while these late years and then Christ was a head without a body And is it not a most unchristian thing to judge and condemn all for Hereticks and the brood of Antichrist that are nâ—t of your wild opinions Surely you make the Church of Christ to be a very small remnant far lesse than Christ hath made them for though Christs flock be a little flock comparatively in regard of the great multitude of the world yet consider them apart in themselves they are a great multitude as you may read in the Revelation of St. John the Divine if the word Divine do not offend you And I heard the number of them which were sâ—aled and there were scaled an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the Children of Israel After this I beheld and lo a great multitude which no man could number of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues But if none but Quakers are of the number surely they might soon be numbered By all which you may see that your practise in judging and condemning all that are not of your opinions is contrary to the command and example of Christ and his Apostles and therefore you are not perfect and now I come to a seventh particular of your practise The seventh particular is your rayling and revyling against those that are against your opinions for proof whereof I need go no farther then your own Letter where you say my speaking was barking like a Dog that I vomited up my poysonous stuffe and you call all our Ministers Antichrists Ministers Hierlings such as recieve the wages of Balaam and are in the way of Cain and is it not the same Language you all use both in your writings and conferences Witnesse Naylors books and Fox his books and Burroughs and Tomlinson in which there is such rayling reviling Language as cannot be paralell'd from any differing from us in Religion calling our Ministers dumb dogs wolves sorcerers serpents wandering stars seducers deceivers false prophets Antichrist lyars and say all our preaching is an Idol with many other such like stuffe and for your words in reasoning with any that is contrary to your opinions I believe you can and do go beyond any Billingsgate Scolds I have had experience of your Language by what I have heard Thou Lyar thou great Whore of Babilon thou Serpent thou Divel thou Heathen with many other such like reviling speeches to my self and others Now I pray consider how contrary this is to the command and example of Christ and his Apostles Our Lord and Saviour when he was reviled reviled noe again See that none render evil for evil unto any man Speak not evil one of another He that speaketh evil of his brother and judgeth his brother speaketh evil of the Law Christ and his Apostles when they were brought before the Priests and Elders being falsly accused never used such reviling Language as you do use The Apostle Jude met with such spirits in his time these despise Dominion and speak evil of dignities Yet Michael the Arch-Angel when contending with the Devil about the body of Moses durst not bring against him a railing accusation But said The Lord rebuke thee But these speak evil of those things which they know not Michael the arch Angel durst not bring a railing accusation against the devil but you dare bring railing accusations against men I against good men against the Ministers of Christ and against Magistrates Christ commanded his Disciples to love their enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you but in stead of loving your enemies and praying for them you revile them and curse them with which I shall conclude this particular that you are not the perfect innocent Lambs of Christ as you call your sevles in your letter The eight particular practice used by you contrary to the command and example of Christ and his Apostles is your silent meetings which is a usual practice among you to come together and sit still hanging down your heads like so many dumb Idols liker then Christians Now when Christ did come with his Disciples he opened his mouth and taught them and when he was with his Disciples alone his practice was to teach and instruct them either by asking questions or instructing them but never read of his sitting still and being silent Also the Apostle exhorteth the Hebrewes Not forsaking the assembling of our selves together as the manner of some is but exhorting one another The Apostle never said assemble your selves together and be silent that ever I could read And the Apo. Jude saith these be they who separate themselves sensual having not the Spirit but ye beloved building up your selves on your most holy faith praying in the holy Ghost It seems that those who separated themselves as you do had not the Spirit and did probably when they met sit still and be silent and yet pretended to be the onely holy people but they did not build up themselves in the faith praying in the Holy Ghost but ye beloved building up your selves on your most holy faith in the Holy Ghost But if they sit still and be silent they doe
you went out from us And the Apostle Paul saith Antichrist sitteth in the Temple of God Now the thing that I am to prove is that you do deny the end of Christs coming in the flesh and to that end I shall first shew what was the end of Christs coming in the flesh The Apostle Paul to the Romans saith Through the Redemption that is in Christ Jesus Whom God hath set forth or sent to be a propitiation through faith in his Blood To declare their righteousness for the remission of sins To declare I say at this time his righteousness that he might be just and the Justifier of them which beleive in Jesus Where the Apostle sheweth that the end of God his sending Jesus Christ was that he might be a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare Christ his righteousnesse for the remission of sins that he might be just and the Justifier of all them that beleive in Jesus Now you deny this for E. B. saith that our Ministers tell people a Lie and why they tell him that Christ is his righteousnesse to justifie him which he denyeth for you teach that Christ did come to send a light into every man and by hearkning and obeying that light he shall be saved which is the old Popish Antichristian Doctrine Also the Apostle to the Hebrews saith to Christ Loe I come in the Volume of the Book it is written of me to do thy will O God By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified Having therefore bretheren boldnesse to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus By a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the vail that is his flesh By which words it is plain that the end of Christs coming in the flesh was to do the will of God by the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all And by that one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified But you deny that we are sanctified and perfected for ever by Christ his doing the will of God and through the offering of his body once for all and that we have boldnesse to enter into the holyest by the blood of Jesus a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through his flesh But you teach that you are sanctified and perfected by hearkning to a light within you and obeying the same by which you deny the end of Christs coming in the flesh and are of the Spirit of Antichrist Also you do some of you deny that Christ rose from the dead with his Body but his Spirit rose and deny that he ascended into Heaven with a Body and there remaineth with a Body by which you deny the Scripture and deny Christ 〈◊〉 Mediatorship For the Apostle saith There is one God and one Mediator between God and men mind The Man Christ Jesus Now if Christ have no Body how is he a Man Do not you make Christ a monster if he be a Man without a body what a Mediator do ye make And great is the Mystery of godliness God was manifest in the flesh received up into glory according to that Scripture in the Acts Ye men of Galilee why stand ye gazing up into Heaven this same Jesus which is taken up from you into Heaven shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into Heaven and that he shall so come Christ himself hath declared and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the Clouds of heaven with power and great glory Now those that deny these Articles of our Faith are not they of the spirit of Antichrist for they do invent a fantastical Christ in their brains But you say you have a Christ within you and by that Christ within you you shall be saved Christ in you the hope of Glory To which I answer that I deny that you or any man have a Christ within you you cannot have the body of Christ within you because the Heaven must contain it untill his second coming unless you be of the Papists opinion that say they receive Christs body into their mouths and then must Christ have many bodies or his body must be torn into many pieces Wherefore that I may if it may please God shew you your ignorance even in this particular I shall shew you how I do believe Christ is in every true Christian and that is by his Spirit These things have spoken unto you being yet present with you But the comforter which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in my name But now I go my way to him that sent me and it is expedient for you that I go away For if I go not away the comforter will not come unto you but if I depart I will send him unto you By which Christ sheweth that he must depart and go to the Father and that he must there abide But his Father should send that Comforter his Spirit which should abide in them But how doth Christ by his Spirit abide in a Christian Answ Not essentially as the Familists hold and aver to many Quakers but operatively by the operation and working of the same Because ye are Sons God hath sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts whereby you cry Abba Father In whom after ye believed ye were sealed with the holy Spirit of promise which is the earnest of our Inheritance to be strengthned by his Spirit in the Inner man that Christ may dwell in your hearts by Faith By which Scriptures and many more we may see how Christ is in us by his Spirit of Adoption by his Spirit sealing the promises of the Gospel by strengthning us in the inner man and Christ dwelleth in our hearts by faith and as Christ is said to be in us by his Spirit and by faith so we are said to be in Christ and to dwell in Christ which is by faith If any man be in Christ for ye are all one in Christ but of him ye are in Christ Jesus That we may present every one perfect in Christ Jesus And that Prayer of Christ That they all may be one as thou Father art in me and I in thee that they all may be one in us I in them and thou in me that they may he made perfect in one And as Christ is said to be in us by his Spirit and by faith and we are said to be in him by faith and by the Spirit because the same Spirit that dwells in Christ doth act and work in us So also we are said to be in Christ by Love and Christ to be in us by Love as Christ teacheth that the Love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them
salvation he hath covered me with the robe of righteousnesse And as this righteousnesse was typified prophesied of and promised in the Old Testament so did Christ accomplish the same for saith Christ It becometh us to fulfill all righteousnesse wherefore the Apostle Paul saith But of him are ye in Christ Jesus not in your selves who of God is made unto us wisdome and righteousnesse and sanctification and redemption He is made wisdome for our folly he is made righteousnesse for our unrighteousnesse and sanctification for the corruption of our conception birth and conversation and redemption for our bondage the same Apostle also to the Romans saith But now the righteousnesse of God without the Law is manifested being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets even the righteousnesse of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ The Apostle calleth it the righteousnesse of God because wrought by him that is God to shew the worth virtue and excellency of the same also the Apostle saith For if by one mans offence death reigned by one much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousnesse shall reign in life by one Jesus Christ Therefore as by one mans disobedience many were made sinners so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous Minde the Apostle saith as and so that is as by Adams sin or disobedience we were made sinners so by Christs obedience we are made rigteous this is the wedding garment without which we have no acceptance but are abominable and filthy in Gods sight as Christ saith to the Church of Laodicea Thou saist I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing and do not you Quakers say the same in effect for they thought they were rich by doing good works and had need of nothing do not you Quakers say you are so perfect by what you do and suffer that you have no need of any teaching or exhortation reproof or admonition But what said Christ to them and take it home to your selves And knowest not that thou art poor and wretched and miserable blinde naked because they were destitute of the true wisdome righteousness of Christ hasted to a wisdome righteousness in themselves But Christ saith I councel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire that thou maist be rich white raiment that thou maist be cloathed and that the shame of thy nakednesse do not appear which is the merits and obedience of Christ to put him on as the Apostle saith this is that righteousnesse that Christ said Except your righteousnesse shall exceed the rigteousnesse of the Scribes and Pharisees ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdome of Heaven The Pharisees thought themselves the only righteous people in the world as you do for said the Pharisee I thank God I am not as other men nor as this poor Publican for I do many good works like those Hypocrites spoken of by the Prophet Esay Stand farther off for I am holier than thee But they were ignorant of the righteousnesse of Christ as the Jewes were who went about to establish a righteousnesse of their own works for saith the Apostle They being ignorant of Gods righteousnesse and going about to establish their own righteousnesse have not submitted themselves unto the righteousnesse of God Again What shall we say then that the Gentiles which followed not after righteousnesse have attained to righteousnesse even the righteousnesse which is of faith But Israel which followed after the law of rigteousnesse hath not attained to the law of righteousness Wherefore because they sought it not by faith and this the Apostle knew by himself as may appear by his own words Touching the righteousnesse of the Law blamelesse But he was an enemy to this righteousnesse of Christ because he was ignorant of the same and are not you Quakers ignorant of this rigteousnesse Faith for some of your Speakers have said to me when I have spoken the same things among you that here with Hold thy peace and speak no more thy dirty puddle thy stinking stuff and some of you in your printed Pamphlets have written against this Doctrine of Justification by faith But may I not justly return the same unto you hold your peace and speak no more nor write no more your dirty dungy righteousnesse For if the Apostle Paul counted all his righteousnesse to be but dung in comparison of the righteousnesse which is of God by Faith well may I count and call yours so for while you pretend to be the only friends of Christ you are his greatest enemies I Traitors to Christ and his Gospel Traitors to his Church and Children and Traitors to your Bodies and Soules seeming great friends to all these but betraying every one of these with a Judas his kisse because you are enemies to this perfect righteousnesse of Christ by faith by which alone we are justified and saved But you maintain a perfection within you by the Spirit saying that you are freed from all corruption of sin Wherefore having at large proved that all believers are perfect by Justification I shall now prove that all those who are perfectly Justified are not perfectly freed from all sin and corruption in themselves and then I shall answer your objections against both And to make this appear to be true according to the Scriptures I shall first lay down this proposition That all Believers are Justified by the blood and righteousnesse of Christ are sanctified by the Spirit of Christ which Spirit of Christ doth remain and abide in them together with the body of sin which I shall plainly prove to that end know that this body of sin is sometimes in Scripture called Flesh sometimes Concupisence Now you do deny that there is both Flesh and Spirit in one person which is the thing that I undertake to prove by the Scripture Wherefore minde what Christ saith to his Disciples The Spirit is willing but the Flesh is weak The Apostle Paul saith It is no more I that do it but sin that dwelleth in me and after that When I would do good evill is present with me and yet in the next verse I delight in the Law of God after the inward man But saith he I see another Law in my members warring against the Law of my minde Now dare you say the Apostle had not the Spirit of Christ at that time seeing he saith he delighted in the Law of God which none can do that have not the Spirit of God Besides consider what a grosse error and absurdity will follow by denying the same which is this that if Paul had not the Spirit at that time then was not the Spirit the author