Acts above could be done rightly without Faith what hindred the Pharises acceptance For who did them better then they in the outward appearance But as our Righteousness is to exceed theirs so if those outward acts be done better by us then them they must be done in the Faith in the sense of Gods Presence and Power that workes both the will and deed that 's done to his Praise and this all Formalists as well as the Pharises wanted to do them in and they must needs want that Faith that gives acceptance with God who conclude those things are not acts of Religion and Conscience But to distinguish things into Civil and Religious for this purpose that we might perform what you are pleased to call Civil without taking notice of Conscience which being directly to please and humour you in your Opinions and Judgements what is clearer then that the Form you are setting up and striving for to the loss of Charity and good will is really to be and is a Form without Power Seeing according to your distinction it may very easily be performed without Faith and Conscience On this account pray consider if you may not as justly be withstood or turned from as those the Apostle speaks of We intreat you to be serious in this matter while Balm in Gilead may be had to heal our wounds and bruises that is to cure our Divisions and remove our Dissatisfaction But further You say did those things of difference require Faith or did they appertain to Worship as if you were obliged to Worship God only in some Place Time Gesture Raiment with such Words or Forms of speech c. your Plea and Objection was good page 4 Answer True Worship cannot be imposed for 't is a serving God according to his mind in which Mans prescriptions have no place because such the Father only seeks out to serve him and it appears that Gospel Worship ought to be constant for such as are Joyned unto the Lord are one Spirit and they that deny a constant Serving and Worshiping of God it is because they do not know this Union of being Joyned unto the Lord in one Spirit how ever the worship you mean and intend is constant or it is not for we would by no means mistake you if not constant it relates to our Publick Assemblies only and so to Preaching and Praying and such other Publick acts as is done and performed at those certain times and Places and because those things that is the present occasion of difference in a strict sense do not relate to those Publick acts for Worship in our Assemblies therefore in your sense there can be no Imposition upon Conscience by Imposing those things but then pray observe what follows and that is that there is no serving of God but in our Publick Assemblies nor if you please use of Conscience but when so met together On this account Pray why do you refuse to put off your Hats to use the word you to a single Person to pay Tithes and several sorts of Taxes for according to this Notion of Worship and Service those things are Civil and not Religious we do not mention those things as indifferent but to shew how by indeavouring to avoid one error you run into another But if we are to Worship and Serve God constantly as we say we are we ought to wait to know and be sensible of him every where and upon all occasions but we say this cannot be done without Faith for without Faith we cannot be sensible of his Presence as the Governour of our actions nor can our deeds be done or wrought in him without it well then if we are thus to serve God and this cannot be done without Faith then we say if the thing you contend for was really good we must if we serve God first know them to be good thus on this foot in your own sense our Plea and Objection is good because the Thing in Difference relates to the Service of God You explede in other Societies the impossing Time Gesture and Raiment in the Worship of God but pray consider if you are not doing something of the same Nature for you must grant that the Worship and Service of God ought to be constant or it ought not if it ought not to be constant you ty it to some certain times and Places and herein agree with those you reprehend but if you allow it constant the impossition of new things under this Notion of Civil is out of doors But further this Form that you 'r Imposing with all the reason and force you have is that to a Society that a Garment is to particular Persons it is true and as truly granted without any reserve that what is simple is needful in both cases for we can not be well without a Garment whilest cloathed with those Houses of Clay neither as we are particular Persons nor as a Religious Society but superfluity is dangerous on both hands for if ever the mind get out to think and conclude that it deserves honour and respect for the Garment for the Form's sake in comes those additions of superfluity from hence on a Religious score comes in Opinion and Ceremony and this to make it more Glorious and Beautiful that it may have more respect and acceptance both with God and Man and thus both on a Religious score as well as on a Civil Men grow proud of that which shews their Poverty and rich in conceit by trusting in that which at the same time demonstrates their want did they understand or rightly consider of things for as clothing to our bodies shews our want and not our perfection even so do Forms in Religion shew our fall and want and therefore the more we seem to need and are burthened with Ceremony the more our want and misery appears if we could but see it For this cause where this is truly seen and considered such content themselves with what is simply needful knowing by how much as they stand in need of little by so much they come nearer their first being and then such in stead of adding of Opinion and Ceremony to perfect them do wait to have such things fulfill'd as much as may be for Righteousness sake on this account we way safely say the less Ceremony the more truth and the less noise about the Formallity of Form the more hopes such wait for the knowledge of God in Christ which is life Eternal but to apply the matter the difference you make with us is not about what is simply needful to Society for you grant we are one in judgment with you in the Worship and Doctrines of truth and owns both the end and means of good Order Page 11 then pray consider If it be not hard for you to differ with Us about that which neither relates to the Worship nor Doctrines of Truth In short generally speaking you have allowed us formerly as true Worshipers of God without this
arises nothing can justifie the proceeding on your part but a necessity for the thing For if this of Necessity be not consider'd in our case as abounder a door is opened to fill us with Opinions and Ceremony seeing there wants nothing to introduce them but a specious Pretence which never fail'd to wait on such as affect Government or reflect on their own abillities for it Now as there can be no necessity for Womens constant Meeting for Government for you to claim Power under the Notion of Elders to bring in to the Society against the minds of your Brethren such things as in truth there is no Necessity for this we say is a violence done to our Constitution as we imbodied a free and voluntary Society and is also against the truth of our Principle and Opinion First that it is a violence to our Constitution is clear for you know in our coming forth we did not choose any Elders to depend on nor indeed could we according to our Profession for as we asserted that Christ our Lord was come in Spirit to teach and govern us a teacher that as he could not be removed into a corner so he was only sufficient And therefore the preheminence was to be given to him in all things Thus it would have been a gainst his Honour and the truth of what we professed to have chosen any Man to have depended upon when Christ was come in Spirit to teach and govern to depend on Man to do it was to neglect the Fountain and chuse the Cistern therefore as we neither did nor could according to the truth of our Principle chuse any Men to depend on under any Name or Notion whatsoever for any to chuse or Impose themselves upon Us is wrong to Us and a violence offered to our Constitution For in short observe it is really Ignorance of the sufficiency of Christ to chuse any Man so much as Mentally to depend on But 't is Slavery to have others to chuse for or Impose themselves or their choice upon Us. You know as Christ our Lord was own'd to be come in Spirit to teach and Govern us we were to bring all our thoughts words and deeds to him that we might know the truth in what we thought said or did for we were not to be our own but his and as we were to bring our own words and deeds to him certainly we were to bring the words and deeds of all others to him in which we were to be concernd For as we could not know the truth of what we did our selves but by the testimony or approbation of his Spirit so 't is beyond contradiction we can not know the words and deeds of others to be from the truth any other way thus conviction or perswasion brought us together and that must be preserved still inviolably or we can not continue a free People examination of what we were to receive from others was truly asserted as our undoubted right in our coming forth and as the truth is but one the reason is the same now as well as then therefore to Impose an Eldership upon Us under any pretence whatsoever as it destroyes or takes away the Liberty of Examination 't is a violence done to our Constitution Indeed what is brought in by violence must needs be upheld by force or otherwise it will dye and come to nothing of it self thus the force and strife you have used to uphold what you have brought in by violence demonstrate you more wrong then any argument we can use when 't is but seriously considered that it is not Truth but Error that loses by tryal nay the truth only gains the most when freely examined and tryed and error loses most that way what can discover your wrongness more then the denying a free Examination For where that is taken away the prevailing of those things cannot be owing to the truth but the force and conquest of Men which as it is directly contrary to a free examination and choice so 't is beyond contradiction a violence done to our Constitution as we are a free and volluntary Society confessing but one Lord and head And as the bringing into our Society things for which there appear no necessity and requiring complyance under the notion of Eldership is a Violence done to our Constitution so 't is against the truth of our Principle Profession For you know the Lord from Heaven the second Adam the quickning Spirit the true Light that lighteth all Men coming into the World is Professed to be our foundation and asserted by us to be sufficient to lead into all truth all that truly adhere to him Now it must follow whilest we thus confess him that we truly adhere to him or we do not if we truly adhere to him we must according to the truth of what we profess know his sufficiency and where the sufficiency of Christ our Lord is truly known such can not depend on Man no 't is Impossible as in the Natural Figure the Moon and Starrs do shew us light but 't is in the dark 't is in the night therefore when the Sun comes thô it does not take away that light which the Moon and Stares have as to themselves yet to us it takes it away so that it is impossible thô we had a mind to depend on that Light or have any benefit from it and we are sure the Sun of righteousness as he arises in the Soul doth as much fulfill the Service and transcend the light of the Instrument therefore on this foot we are to call no Man Doctor Master Father or Elder on Earth by way of Preheminence for our dependance because one is our Doctor Master Father and Elder in Heaven and all such as are thus taught of him are Brethren Christ and his Disciples in the dayes of his flesh are a true Figure of this for he chose his Disciples they did not chuse him and as he chose them out of the World they was simply to depend upon him not one upon another therefore when they thought of depending one upon another by consulting who should be the greatest amongst them our Lord corrected their mistake and in them yours if you lay claim to the like choice by telling them the Elder should be as the Younger and he that rul'd as he that served nay he that would be the greatest among them must be Servant to all the rest then not Lord or Master to Impose upon the rest and as he told them they should call no Man Master Doctor or Father so he forbad them to be called soe and we are sure it was the thing as well as the Name that was intended whereupon it followes that to seek this Preheminence by desiring this dependance under the Notion of Eldership as it is contrary to the truth of our Principle and Profession so 't is against the very Sence and meaning of the Command of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ For this is
the good they must be casten off or else it could not have been known thus it is clear they was rejected and casten off because they denyed the Change of Dispensation which should have inlarged them in Spirit to have been the blessing of Nations Pray consider if something of this hath not attended all the Reformations according to their respective Interest they could never as a body receive those further appearances of God testifyed unto by such as the Lord sent and and made use of and therefore stuck in a fleshly knowledg of what they first knew or received like the Jews which tho good in it self so far as it reacht but not considering that as God has done great things for them he could still do greater they durst never trust him in the delivering up of the Tallent therefore in stead of becoming more Spiritual they stuck in the flesh so that we may see in some sort what is of Man comes to be manifested in a Society which is one body on a religious score and that is flesh and Spirit which can never be reconciled and therefore the one must prevail and accordingly as they prevail that body may be denominated but in particular Persons we have seen the flesh overcom'd and that universallity of Spirit brought forth testified too in the birth of Christ yet truly there wants the Example in a body or Society of Men so needful so necessary for the honour of God and the Peace of Mankind and from hence have come those seperations and Divisions that have been and must continue till Shilo come And now you are upon the Stage and more may be expected from you then others by how much you conclude God to have done more for you then others and as you pretend more unto the Spirit then others If then you do resemble Spiritual Israel more then others you must wait to place your Unity not upon the Professor of the Truth for he may be but as the fleshly child of Abraham but upon the Possessor and upon all travelling for Sion tho so ignorant of the way that they weep because they know it no better For 't is those and not the former that follow the Lord where ever he leads and those he will own for ever whether they be known unto the World or worldly Professors or not he knowes them and is gathering them together in one by destroying the enmity as it stands in carnal Ordinances and doth declare now as he did by his Apostle that of every Nation those that fear God and work righteousness are accepted of him and what is accepted of God ought to be accepted of Man and therefore if you conceive you are Leaders not of Israel in the flesh but of Israel in the Spirit you must know your Spirits inlarged that you may own what God owns for as our Principal is universal our good will ought to be as large to the Children of Men for consider an Vniversal principle and a narrow limited Spirit are inconsistant But this can never be without a change of the Dispensation come you know Israel after the flesh was to allow the Gentile to worship God in the outward Court Pray mind then if their outward Court was not larger then ours 'T is true they had an inward Court that such could not come to till Circumcised was there then an outward Court and an inward and have not we what answers to them now What is sit for the Society of good Men may not that very well be allowed to come into our Society or outward Court For they who do not come thus farr cannot come into the inward Court yet seeing they must come to the outward before the inward shall not we allow them here Testifying at the same time to the Inward Court which none can come to but by the true Circumcision in Spirit Thus it is clear if our Outward Court were but a little more large our Inward Court would certainly be the more prized vallued and sought after Again you know the Leader in Israel in their Travel from Egypt to Canaan was to Travel according to the least of Israel and did allwayes own such as were Circumcised tho at eight dayes old to be of the Church of God in the Figure and pray will not this hold as true to Spiritual Israel What is Circumcision in the flesh now but a holy Conversation performed in the fear of God For as this is so far accepted of God it really fits for the Society of good men and therefore its impossible it should be rejected of that People or Society or Church that is a true Figure of the Church of God now least you should run this into an extream we will at present bound it with respect to your Brethen who have come out and suffered with you for the Testimony of a good Conscience and do yet in your own sense agree with you in the worship and Doctrines of truth and yet for all this are shut out and excluded by you for not complying with you in your Opinions yea meer Opinions for that they are such is put out of doubt when you tell us those things of Difference do not relate to Faith Conscience or Religion We beseech you to be serious for this evidently makes manifest the narrowness of your Spirits and that narrowness of Spirit demonstrates a necessity for you to know a change of the Dispensation For 't is impossible whiles you thus remain that you should be that Figure of the true Church to which the gathering can be by bringing forth that peace on Earth that good will to Men and glory to God on high where only the Swords are beaten into Plowshares and Spears into Pruning Hookes 't is this and the glory of this to which the gathering of the People must be we saw something of this in our coming forth as our testimony against all force wrath and sighting with carnal weapons do testifie But alas Not truly travelling in Spirit to know the work compleated we have not yet come to know the substance of what was seen in the Vision without which the other will prove but as a dead and Formal business Nor can you know this without a change of the dispensation and therefore whiles you conclude against it in your mind it is clear to us you stick in the works of a first Covenant and abide but under a Legal Dispensation and tho you appear to be against the Enemy as as an evil doer that is no more then others have done before you but not knowing the Dispensation changed tho the Enemy does not attach you with what is evil and Immoral yet he deceives you as a Serpent as is apparent in this noise you make about your Opinions and further clear in this Narrowness of Spirit that appears amongst you as is amongst the various professors of Religion that except you wait to know the Dispensation changed the Serpent will beguile you as he