Declaration solemnly denying That ever he so spoke or thought printed in the Appendix of G. W. to W. P's Book call'd Reason against Railing being an Answer to Tho. Hick's Forgeries against the Quakers see p. 11. of the said Appendix And whereas Henry Stout was referred unto as a witness against N. Lucas he And thus ye give away your cause fairly for that work of the Spirit is a real inward Evidence Word and Testimony or Witness of a Truth not contained in the Scripture neither expresly nor consequentially viz. That A. B. or J. C. hath the inâ—allible Marks of a justified man for whereas ye use to resolve your assurance into a practical Syllogism thus Every one that hath such infallible Marks of a jâ—stified man is justified But A. B. hath such infallible Marks Therefore A. B. is a jâ—stified Man The which Practical Syllogism having two Propositions the first is warranted by Scripture but the second is no where warrantâ—d by any place of Scripture viz. that A B. or J. A. or J. M. or S. W. or C. M. hath these infalliâ—le Marks This is the only work of the Spirit which ye confess is neither Scripture nor Scripture Consequence and yet discovereth a great Truth and very sweeâ— and precious to such who have it and though the Scripture be instrumental to warrant the first Proposition yet we find no Scripture to warrant the second viz. that A. B. or any of you have such infallible Marks or if ye have any such Scripture warrant produce it otherwise acknowledge your rash undertaking The second Instance that refers to an inward Call to the Ministry ye reject and say It runs upon the same foolâ—sh Notion with the former Ye say it indeed and that is all but say nothing to prove it to be so yea by your saying it ye show what sort of Ministers ye are to wit That ye are no Ministers of the Spirit of God which is inwaâ—d in all his true Ministers and as he is inward and inwardly in-dwelling so his Call and Motion is inwardly revealed And though ye make a great noise as if ye were mighty Defenders of the Christian and Protestant Doctrine against the Quakers in these and other things ye the Qâ—akers so called are the best Christians an Protestants in these very Doctrine â—or have not many Protestant Ministers who never had any outward Call from Pope or Clergy or People alledged the inward Call of God in their hearts to the work of the Ministry as well as the inward assistance â—f the Spirit of God in the exercise of it which yet hâ—th no Scripture to prove that such a particular man hath it Calvin in his Institutions saith expresly That God did raise up in his Day if not Prophets and Apostles yet Evangelists to reform the Church And Luther declaring his inward Call to the Ministry saith He was as it were tugg'd by his Hair to the Office of the Ministry see cap. 1. pag. 11. Mensal And surely this was an inward call had great inward sensible evidence And cap. 11. p. 19. of Gods Word he saith Sectaries and Seducers know to preach much of Christ but seeing they feel him not in their hearts they leave the right ground of the Ministry Again p. 3. c. 1. he citeth divers Scriptures to prove That God and the holy Spirit speaketh now in true Ministers of Christ as he did in the Prophets and Apostles as where Christ said It is not ye that speak but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you and where Peter said Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the holy Ghost Both which place with others Luther applyeth to true Ministers in his day and yet when we commonly bring these places the common answer of Presbyterians and Independents is That these places of Scripture were fulfilled to the Prophets and Apostles but not to any men in our days And tho' ye upbraid the Quakers Doctrine with Novelty yet in the former instance concerning a mans being assured infallibly of his Election and eternal Salvation as the Testimony of the Scripture is for us so of Antiquity for Augustine saith expresly lib. 11. de Civit. dej c. 12. What man knoweth that he shall finally peâ—severe in the Action and Progress of Righteousness unless he be certain by some Revelation from him who doth not teach all of this thing by his just and secret judgment but deceiveth no man Where it is plain that according to Aâ—gustine who lived above 1200 years ago That all who begin in true Piety do not persevere and That no man can know that he shall persevere without divine inward Revelation In both which he contradicteth you and confirmeth the Doctrine of the People called Quakers And yet though Augustine be a Saint in your esteem the Quakers for holding the same thing must be Apostates and no charity allowed them to be Christians And as noted and well accounted Protestants say the same with us as Grotius and the Remonstrants generally who are all better Protestants in Doctrine than your selves whether ye wiâ—l acknowledge it or not I had not medled to cite any other Authors but Scriptures but that ye would needs be so impertinent as to state the Debate betwixt you and us as if the Quakers Doctrine were a meer Novelty and only neâ—ly started up to undermine the Protestant Doctrine Whereas we have more and better Protestants with us than ye have Ye had done better not to have brought the Controversie â—o this issue as if the Quakers were not P otestants when we can easily prove our Doctrine in all these twelve Particulars to be warranted by Protestants of better and more famous account than your selves In my Third Instance ye pervert my words after your wonted manner saying p. 14. That I hold men are to tarry for an inward call to pray or perform any Religious Duty But I did not say so but that every true Christian should know his inward Call to pray or give thanks from Psal 27.8 which ye wholly pass by unanswered Now to Know the inward call is one thing and to Tarry for it is another some inward calls are to be waited for as when a duty is not alwayes required of a man but only at certain times as vocal Prayer c. But all such Duties as are continually required of us to be done at all times as To believe in God To love God To fear him yea and continually to pray unto him with inward breathings and desires have a continual inward call and command that needeth to be known although it is given and no man should suppose it will be wanting to him to do every thing that is his continual Duty Pag. 16. Ye say Ye deny not but the Spirit of God doth still put an impulse on the Spirits of his People frequently but ye query Is it self-evident or must not the warrantableness of it be tryed by Scripture rules I Answ It is
past feeling we hold to Scripture phrase that saith the Letter killeth which we thus understand that whoever have not the inward quickning and living operation of the Spirit of God that doth usually attend and accompany the outward Testimony of the holy Scriptures to such the Letter of the Scripture is a killing Letter and the sober of your own Church I suppose will not deny it and so it proveth to all Infidels and Unbelievers while remaining such who are dead in their sins and Trespasses but to all who are made alive unto God the Scriptures Testimony is a living sweet and precious Testimony in all its parts and not at all either a dead Letter or a killing Letter And as for the Gospel Baptism of Christ and his Supper and the glorious Doctrines of Election Justification Perseverance of God's elect Saints and Children we own them with our souls and hearts and only disown your false glosses of all these things ye must not think to be both party and judge in these matters both ye and we have a most impartial and just Judge the great Lord of Heaven and Earth to judge and witness betwixt us and to his Witness Evidence and Testimony in all hearts I can and do freely leave these matters of difference betwixt us in the mean time ye are greatly mistaken to think that either I or my Friends decline all outward Evidences and Testimonies or just and equal Methods or Wayes of fair reasoning and argument touching the matters of dâ—â—ference betwixt us nay it s a great if not woful Mistake in you we shall never fear to deal with you in all fair and reasonable wayes of dispute either by express Scripture or by just rational Consequences therefrom and then to leave all to the impartial judgment of all such who are both spiritual and reasonable men for to be both spiritual and reasonable are well consistent Ye may be greatly ashamed if Shame be compatible unto you to use some of your own words in the beginning of your Preface to tell of Persecutors with Cain 's Club in their hands when ye have been so deeply guilty of using Cain's Club and continuing to justifie it in putting to death so many innocent Servants of the Lord. Ye are idle and impertinent to call me the Champion whom the American Quakers do so much admire I know none called a Quaker in America or else-where that doth admire me we admire and adore the glorious God and Creator but no man nor do I seek the honour and praise of men it is enough that I am loved by my Friends and Brethren and that I am acknowledged to have a part lot among the faithful Ye acknowledge ye pass over many assertions called by you unsound in my Book with a dry foot and so ye might have said ye have passed the substance and matter of the whole and the Arguments thereof without due notice and rather than wet your feet ye wiâ—â— go far aboâ—â— and digress or deviate from that which ye cannot fairly nor justly answer As for Cotton Mather's pretended Vindication of his Father Increase Mather his abuses against the People called Quakers I have fully answered to it in Print in a Book called A Refutation of three Opposers of Truth c. to which I refer and which I suppose is come to his hand long before this of yours came to me Ye express your fear of me as if my supposed Apostacy had rendred me incurable and else-where ye call me a fearful Apostate and insinuate as if I were not only Apostate and Heretick but grown beyond Admonition But how know ye this seeing ye pretend not to a Spirit of discerning or a divine Revelation in the case Suppose I err in some things as I have good assurance I do not in any oâ— these things ye charge me doth one or some few Errors or Mistakes not willfully held in matters that are not fundamental render me either Heretick or Apostate Ye or at least the more sober among you allow that men holding the fundamentals of the Christian Religion although they be in an Error or Mistake touching divers things that are not fundamental may be allowed to be true Christians and Members of Christs Church hence the moâ—e sober of Presbyterians have a charitable judgment of many not only of Baptists and the Episcopals but of Arminians and Lutherans yea and of many in the Church of Rome also â—nd I believe ye cannot give me one instance wherein ye can justly accuse me or my Friends of any fundamental Error in Christian Doctrine so acknowledged by the more sober part among you held by us It is high and extream Uncharitableness for you so to unchristian us but praised be God we can and have holy confidence to appeal from your false Judgment to the just God to whom we are known and whose Peace and Justification we have in our Bosoms that is Proof against all your false and injurious Accusations And I have not dealt so with you so to unchristian you in the whole lump or any one of you altogether meerly for Doctrine for I only did charge it upon you and I believe I have made good my charge That your visible Churches are not the true Church of Christ to wit not having that purity of Doctrine Ministry Worship Constitution Government c. that constitutes the true Church of Christ either as the Church was in the Apostles days or as she is yet to be restored and is now restoring after the great dark night of Apostacy yet I have freely and readi y granted that there are among you who belong to Christ his true Church and though you judge his a great inconsistency and contradiction yet ye are in a great mistake for my charge is as consistent to grant that some among you yea all who are sincere and faithful to what they do know and are really convinced of the Truth but in part that are among you belong to God and to his true Church as the Charity of many of the more sober among you is consistent to grant That the most sincere sort in the Church of Rome belong to God and his Church and are his People for God hath of his People in Babylon whom he calleth to come out of it and this was the judgment generally of these called the first Reformers and is the judgment generally of the more sober and judicious Protestants of all sorts at this day and was my charitable judgment when I was among the Presbyterians and remaineth now to be and yet such who have this charitable judgment of many in the Church of Rome do not call her nor own her for most part to be the true visible Church of Christ but call her a Whore and a false Church and Babylon and for this cause judge that their seperation is just from her And as the Protestants generally who are of the more sober moderate sort do excell these
forth fruit but is thâ—t Talent that is taken away from the slâ—athful and evil Servant and given to him that had ten Talents accord ng to Christ's Doctrine which still I suppose iâ— a great Mystery unto you Pag. 89. Ye alledge I perversly interpret Christ to be the Word spoken oâ— Rom. 10.8 which is evident by the context to mean the Scriptures call'd the Word of Faith because it is an instrument of begetting it But this is your bare alledgance and your proof hath no weight nor solidity that because the Scriptuâ—e is the Instrumâ—nt whereby Faith is commonly wrought in men that therefore it is that Word of Faith Rom. 10. With as great probability ye may say the Scripture is the Spirit oâ— Faith but as the Spirit of God is called in Scripture the Spirit of Faith as being the Author and Object and Foundation of Faith so is Christ called the Word oâ— Faith aâ— bâ—ing the Author and Object and Foundation together with the holy Spirit of the same Faith and that â—hrist and not the Scripture is that Word oâ— Faith is clear from the câ—ntext v. 6 7 9. nor can it be the Scripture because little of the Scripture was writ when Moses spoke these words to the People oâ— Israel and the five Books of Moses were rather the Law than that Word of Faith and Moses told them this Word was nigh them in their hearts and moutâ—es as being of an internal or inward nature directing them to the heart where it was originally placed and not in the outward leaves of the Book or Scroles and he calleth it the Commandment in the Singular number to signifie the excellency of it that being one containeth all and that cannot be the Letter without Next what Moses said to Israel and Paul to the Romans may be said to every man in a day the Word is nigh thee in thy mouth viz. to eat it and in thy heart to believe in it that thou needest not to ascend nor descend nor go over the Seas to bring this Word and therfore it cannot b he Letter of Scriptuâ—â— which came over the seas from Judea to Rome and other places of the world Pag. 8â— â—d finâ— Ye most unchristianly and iâ—humanly wrest my woâ—ds to a â—uite contrary seâ—â—e saying â— interpâ—et that Word o Faith Rom. 10. â—oâ— Câ—rists coming in t e flesh both of Jewes and Gentiles â—nd to show your gross perveâ—sioâ— that seemeâ—h wilful in you I shall set down my words which are these Pag. 110. And because this great Mâ—stery viz. the Word of Faith which was in the Gentiles was much hid in the time of the Law and in all Ages of tâ—e world untill Christ came in the flesh both in Jewes and Gentiles as Paul called it the Mystery hid fâ—om Ages and Generations Where it is most clear to any that will not wilfully pervert the plain sence of my words that the words untill Christ came in the flesh doth not refer to his coming in the flesh in Jews and Gentiles as they wilfully pervert it but to his coming in the Body of his Flesh even in that prepared body that was born of the Virgin Mary c. in the fuâ—ness of time So that the words untill Christ came in the Flesh are insert only by way of Parenthesis although by some omissiâ—n either of the manuscript or print the sign or note of the Parenthesis was omitted that is no hing material for when men 〈◊〉 a Parenth◠〈…〉 no note 〈…〉 when ye must needs make the poor omission of a in my Book a ground to raise your chaâ—ge of Blasphemy or subverting the hopes of Salvation against me although in Contradiction to your selves ye clear me citing Pag. 59. that I did acknowledg that Christ came in the flesh but ye use a fig leaf cover saying ye know not when they own any thing And it was once the received Doctrine of the Quakers that there is no other Incarnation of Christ but only as he dwells in us But this is a most gross Calumny and falsehood which ye can never prove and because ye cannot prove it in the least therefore ye declare your selves to be of that Generation who make Lyeâ— your Refuge which God hath swept away and yet will more abundantly and ye will be seen what sort of men ye are that dare thus falsly accuse the Innocent The like poor shadow of advantage ye seek to catch at pag. 28. of your Book saying my Spirit mi-sinformed me when I cited Cant. 2.4 because of a mistake in the Manuscript or Print of the word and again for the word or in your so doing like thâ— Pharisees of old ye strain at a Gnat and swa low a Camel Pag. 90. Ye say The word Reprobate there used intends only that all Vnbelievers are at present unapproved by God and in a state of Perdition Ans be it so it no wise weakeneth my Argument for seeing all unbelievers by you are not finally reprobated but only at present unapproved and may pass from that state into a better viz. into a state of Faith that is approved this quite overthroweth your Doctrine of Absolute Reprobation that denyeth it possible that a Reprobate can be saved which here ye acknowledge And seeing these Unbelievers by your confession were not absolutely or finally reprobated but unapproved or disapproved what did so disapprove or judge them but Christ in them And therefore still it remaineth that Christ is in all but such who are finally Reprobates Ye say That Christ hath commanded that his Gospel be Preached to all Nations and he tells us that so it shall be before the end of the World is no proof of what it is brought for the many Generations past have no advantage by that being ended and gone before that time comes But this ye meerly begg and assert without all shadow of proof for that Christ told the Gospel shall be Preached to all the world before the end of the world is not surely to be understood that the preaching of it to all the world shall only be in the Last Age of the world yet to come but the Gospel that began to be preached from Adams fall immediately shall be preached to all men that ever lived in the World some time or other before the end of the world so that such who shall not live in the latter ages of the world have had it preached in the former Ages when they lived in the world and therefore the preaching the Gospel to all the World is the preaching of it to all Mankind that ever lived and shall live in the world in all Ages from the beginning to the end for all that part of mankind that is to live in the world in the Last Age or Ages of it yet to come are but a small or inconsiderable part of the world And though it may seem hard to demonstrate how this hath been and shall be effected in a general way and manner it
Covenants and do not show wherein Ye say The New-Covenant cannot be fallen from Again ye say It is a Contradiction that a man may be a Believer and yet but in Adam 's Covenant and fall away Whi h yet is your own Contradiction for ye have granted That the Faith that can be lost is not a false Faith and therefore if not false it is true in its manner But whether the Faith that can be lost and the Faith that persevereth and holdeth out to the end and is like to Gold and more precious than Gold differ in kind or degree is a Question too subtil and doth involve into Philosoâ—hical School-Subtilties for it is not altogether agreed among th m called Philosophers and School-men what maketh a specifical difference in all respects as whether Brass Silver and Gold differ in specie and kind or only in degree therefore such a dispute I waved and do still wave as not being so proper to be disputed in School Terms for it is best to keep to Scripture words which the holy Ghost hath dictated As Gold endureth all tryal of fire and is not consumed by it so the most precious Faith of Gods elect Saints and Children endureth all fiery Tryals of all sorts And becaus ye would appear to be such mighty Patrons Defenders of the Protestant Religion and Principles I shall cite the Testimony of Luther whom ye will not be so bold I suppose to deny but that he was a Protestant and a better man than any of you as concerning this matter and another Testimony of these who gave forth the Augustane Confession who were followers of Luther and are generally acknowledged Protestants In Luther's Mensalia cap. 13. p. 227. he saith expresly For Faith is either false or feigned or although it be upright yet it is extinguished when People witting and willfully do against Gods Command and the holy Spirit which is given to the faithful departeth and is lost through evil Works done against the Conscience as the example of David sufficiently witnesseth Thus Luther And the Augustane Confession given forth by Protestants says expresly Article 12. They condemn the Anabaptists who deny that they who are once justified can loose the holy Spirit So ye may see or if ye will shut your Eyes yet the Impartial Readers may see how it is a Doctrine of antient Protestants more antient than your New-England Model that they who are once justified may loose the holy Spirit and they who say they cannot are guilty of the Error of the Anabaptists and the Scripture Testimony is most plain that they may be Partakers of the holy Spirit and may afterwards fall away Heb. 6. So that hitherto ye have not showed any one Article of Faith wherein I or my Brethren differ either from Scripture or the best sort of Protestants for in all these matters we have both the Scipture and the best sort of Protestants on our side and therefore your Charge is false as if I or we did oppose the fundamental Articles of Salvation as ye alledge p. 127. ad fin Pag. 118. Ye falsly charge the Quakers that they boast of Perfection The honest and fober People called Qrs. hold forth the Doctrine of Pefection according to the Scripture as a state attainable by the Grace of God but boast not of their attainment they chuse rather to express any measure of Attainments they have by a good and innocent Life than by a talk of it Pag. 119. Ye falsly charge it upon me as a Cheat and Fraud That I infer it from your Dâ—ctrine that the good Works of Gods holy Spirit are defilâ—d in and by the Saints Answ I make no such â—â—ference but I did set down the express words of the Confession of the Assembly owned by you cap. 16. That the best Work of the Saints which proceed from the Spirit of God as they are wroâ—ght by them are defiled Let the Reader see the place and he will find the Cheat to be yours and not mine yea p. 119. forgetting your selves ye say expresly That the Works of the Saints which ye confess are wroâ—ght also by the holy Spirit are defiled by sin And whereas ye say The Wâ—rk is not totally perfect and totally sin yet ye teâ—â— not what part of it is not sin for the whole Work as done by you is sin which is still a Chimaera seeing that whole Work is done also by the Spirit Pag. 120. Ye blame me for alledging it to be â—our Doctrine That they must sin viz. Saints and Believers as long as they live as if there were a fatal necessity that God laid them under o so doing Answ But whether this be not the real and true sence of your Doctrine that saith No man is able by any Grace of God to keep the Commandments oâ— God but doth daily break them in Tâ—oâ—ght Word and Deed. Let Impartial Readers judge for whâ—t men cannâ—t do th y are under a necessity not to do and not to do is sin and ye say God hath decreed all this and if it be not a fatal Necessity in the sence of the Epicureans or others who held a fatal Necessity and denyed a divine Providence yet in another sence it may be called a fatal Necessity Pag. 121. Ye would cover the Impertinency of the Citation of Rom. 3.9 c. from the description of the natural state of man there given But this is but a fig-leaf for the Assembly brings that place of Scripture to prove universally That no man neither Saint nor any other can keep Gods Commandments c. And truly they are sad and miserable Saints who are in the case there described and yet as I said before too like to these in N. England whose feet were swift to shed Blood and their Throat an open Sepulchre Your answers to the places of Scripture I brought to prove the possibility of Perfection by the Grace of God are meer Assertions without any Reasons of the least seeming weight to prove them and therefore I refer both what I and Ye say to the Readers further Impartial Consideration Pag. 123. Ye say Nor was Noah so perfect but that afterwards he was drunken This is a weak Reason ye may at this rate deny that God created Adam free of all sin because after God made him he sinned We plead not for an impossibility of sinning but a possibility of not sinning by the Grace of God Ezek. 36.25 The making them clean from all their Filthyness belongs ye say to Justification Answ I doubt ye have forgot your selves sure I â—m it was the common Doctâ—ine of the Pâ—â—byterians That Justification took away the Gâ—ilt of Sin and Sanctifiâ—ation took away the Filtâ— oâ— it But now according to your New Model it seemeth Sanctification taketh no Filthilness of sin away at all and therefore aâ— in respect of Sanctification the whole filthiness of sin remains in the best Saints their heaâ—ts are as filthy inwardly as ever formerly for
were once in a ready way to have broken up all the Good Order whether Civil or Sacred in the Infancy of this Plantation which occasioned the Authority whom they would have undermined then to turn a Sharp upon them by Laws not so severe as those in the Realm of England against their Fathers the Jesuites on the same Account yet those Troublesom Hereticks who had no Business here at all but the overthrowing of our whole Government would push themselves on the Swords point and tho' repeated Banishments with merciful Entreaties to be gone were first used unto them nevertheless two or three of them would rather Dye than leave the Plantation undisturbed Reply How or after what manner the Plantation in its infancy was in such danger our Author is silent in True it is that upwards of thirty Years past some of our Friends as faithful Servants in obedience to their Lord and Masters command the great God of heaven by the spirit of his Son in their hearts did visit N. England in true and tender Love to the Inhabitants thereof for whose Immortal Wellfare they earnestly travailed and were bowed down before the Lord being amongst them in much brokenness of Heart and contrition of Spirit they were grieved and weighted in their Souls with the Hypocrisie in New-England against which they witnessed sealing it with their Blood their hearts being filled with that Message the holy Apostle Paul in his day was imployed in Acts 26.17 18. To open their Eyes and to turn them from Darkness to Light and from the Power of Satan unto God directing them to the manifestation of the Spirit of God in them A Teacher not to be removed into a corner nor that would any ways deceive them or suffer them to be at ease in sin This High way of the Lord cast up in his Son Christ Jesus the Light of the World the Sound thereof offended the Ears of New-England's Teachers who not unlike Demetrius the Silver-smith Acts 19.24 proved notable Incendiaries against the Lords Servants left their craft should be in danger so far did they kindle the Rage and Fury of their bigotted Rulers that by cruel Usage and inhumane Laws they far exceeded any thing in the Realm of England against the Jesuites And whilst I am writing there livingly springs up in my heart to you the Inhabitants of Boston New-England a weighty Exhortation and that in tender Love That you would mind the Grace of God that bringeth Salvation and as the holy Scripture testifies hath appeared unto all men 2 Tit. 11. that in the same you may see your blind Guides for if the Blind lead the Blind both shall fall into the Ditch Beware that it be not your Condemnation that Light is come into the World and that you love Darkness rather than Light because your Deeds are Evil I have neither Envy nor Malice against the Priests or People of New-England but earnestly desire the Eternal Well-fare of both yet I cannot but lament the present state of New-England as well as its former whose Priests to the life are drawn out in the 3d of Micah v. 5. Thus saith the Lord concerning the Prophets that make my People Err that bite with their Teeth and cry Peace and he that putteth not into their Mouthes they even prepare War against him vers 11. The Heads thereof judge for Reward and the Priests thereof Teach for Hire and the Prophets thereof divine for Money yet will they lean upon the Lord and say Is not the Lord among us none Evil can come upon us O New-England New-England is not this your present state Are not your Priests crying Peace unto you as if no Evil could come upon you in the midst of these Cloudes of Dangers that are hanging over your heads some of them you have for more than a Twelve Moneth felt to wit A Bloody Cruel War with the Heathen the loss of so many Lives hath humbled me before the Lord and at this time the earnest Cry and Supplication of my Soul unto God is That you may by your speedy sincere Repentance unto him prevent his Judgments for the future That the Jesuits may be properly termed the Fathers of New-England Priests none can doubt if they differ not from their Brother John Cotton of Hampton who in a publick Dispute with G. K. owned To have received his Ministry by the Pope of Rome whose Emisaries they are Beside as they can never prove the Quakers guilty of any one Jesuitical Error yet we can prove these Priests of Boston guilty of many and more especially in their being Incendiaries against the Peace of the Government The further calumniating those who suffered Death to answer your Crucity is but a mean way to expiate the Crime of their innocent Blood which crys aloud for Vengeance and the Lord unto whom it belongs will repay it Thou Cotton Mather nor all thy Fraternity will never be able to prove these 4 Worthies troublesom Hereticks that patiently endured Martyrdom for the Testimony of Jesus by their crul Hands neither will thy poor Insinuation help That two or three of them would rather dye than leave the Plantation undisturbed They had no reason to hearken unto your Hypocritical entreaties to be gone it was their Birth-right as free-born Subjects of the Kingdom of England and so might claim it to inhabit N. England as well as any that there resided as not being forbid to them by either the Law of God or the Realm of England so that being innocent they feared not man that could only hurt the Body but feared him that could cast both Body and Soul into Hell Fire C. M. It is possible a Bedlam had been fitter for those Frantick People than what was inflicted on them and for my own part I must profess with regard unto such Hereticks Ad Judicium sanguinis Tardus sum nor have I the least inclinations to Hereticide as a fit way to suppress their Errors Reply Here our Author doth not a little impeach the Authority of N. England at that time who were accessary to the Death of those â— Worthies by him call'd Frantick People for if according to him a Bedlam had been fitter surely they greatly sinned in passing and executing Sentence of Death upon them the present Governour Simon Broadstead then a Magistrate is greatly concerned in this Charge which amounts to no less than the taking away four Lives by an unjust Judgment for how can that Sentence of Hanging be just against such for whom a Bedlam had been fitter Such as this Author renders our Friends to have been are by the Laws of England exempted from the punishment of Death as also it s reckoned amongst the Abuses of the common Law That such who kill People by false Judgment be not destroyed as other Murderers as may be seen in that noted Book called The Mirror of Justice C. 5. Sect. 108. in express words thus It is abuse that Justices and other Officers who kill People by false Judgment be not destroyed as other Murderers which K. Alfred cause to be done who caused forty four Judges in one Year to be hanged as Murderers for their false Judgments which in the said Book are particularly noted and in the 4th Case he instances how King Alfred hanged Cole because he judged Ive to death when he was a Mad-man Cotton Mather forgot his respect to the venerable Mordocai of his Country as he at other times terms him when he thus exposed him M. C.
universally your way to say and dictate things Magisterially without proof and since it is so ye might have taken a more easy way and as effectual to have only said to every passage and argument in my Book as it is reported how one refuted Bellarmine saying only to every passage and period in his Book Thou lyest Bellarmine Ye say ye have turned your Minds to the Light oâ— Christ within you as well as ye can and it tells you that my assertions are bold presumtious and heretiâ—al But â—ake heed of such ignorant Blasphemy and cease your Mockage The Light of Christ within you that I directed you and all unto is that Light of divine Inspiration and Revelation which is common in some measure unto you and all men but this ye do not believe therefore ye have not turned your Minds unto it nor hearkened to the voice of it And whereas I said It is the same Spirit that giveth to all Readers a right understanding of Scripture ye ask Why then have not all the same understanding oâ— it but contradictory the answer is easie because all do not duly believe in it as my following words make clear Then ye accuse my following words as guilty of contradiction because I said If ye believe in Christ the Light c. and joyn your minds to his inward divine Illumination he will anoint the Eyes of your Understanding and then your Eyes shall be opened which ye put this silly and impertinent gloss upon Iâ— ye will see of your selves then â—e will give you ability to see and then ye scoffingly add This may be no Contradiction in a Quaker's Logick But his is not my Logick but your Perversion for as blind as ye are ye are not altogether blind as Christ said to the Pharisees John 9.41 I ye were blind ye should have no sin c. and if ye were faithful to what ye already see and know your Eyes should be further opened And this iâ— good sence and no Contradiction and what ye see or know of Truth in the least thing ye see it not of your selves but it is given you to see by that Light which ye blaspheme calling it Ignis Fatuus and a stinking vapour from Hell In pag. 6. ye alledge a most abominable Falshood upon me as that I said in my Epistle That the quickening in a man as it abides it is impossible it should perish This is an absolute piece of Forgery as much as ever Tho. Hicks coyned against W. Penn I use no such words and nothing but Malice can put such a gloss upon my words which are these p. 5. of my Epistle And every Soul that is thus quickned and made alive unto him as it doth hold fast this beginning viz. of the good Work of God in it c. and as it here abideth it is impossible that it can perish Where my words say the SOUL cannot perish that abideth faithful c. And this is good sence and well warranted by Scripture 2 Pet. 1.10 For if ye do these things ye shall never fall which according to your absurd Logick is as if he had said If ye never fall ye shall never fall or if Grace continue it cannot be lost this Non-fence and Absurdity ye charge upon me is yours and not mine Pag. 7. Because I said the holy Scriptures are a sufficient outward Rulâ— and Standard whereby to try all Doctrines of men ye most grosly as is your general manner pervert my words as if I did intimate as if God taught us one thing by his Word and another by his Spirit The contrary whereof I have sufficiently asserted in my Book for what the Scripture saith outwardly thâ— Spirit saith the same inwardly and the Testimony of these two to wit that of the Scripture without and that of Gods Spirit wiâ—hin cannot differ or disagree Next ye blame me for not making Practices as well as Doctrines lyable to this Test I Answ And so I do for all commanded Practices of a holy Life are contained under that head of Doctrines for things to be done as well as things to be believed are belonging to the Christian Doctrine as the ten Commandments and all other Moral and Evangelical Precepts and Dutites witnessed of in the holy Scriptures And why ye should blame me for calling the Scriptures an Outward Rule showeth your inclination more to Cavil than to Dispute as men of solid Reason Are not the Scriptures an outward thing and if an outward thing then an outward Rule seeing they are a Rule as is confessed â—y us both and Protestants commonly call the Scriptures the external or outward Word witness the Augustine Confession published by Protestants Article 5. And is not the External Word the External Rule and doth not the external or outward Word intimate that there is an inward Word that is the inward Rule and these two agree in one and can never differ as an inward Domâ—nstration of any natural Science doth agâ—ee with the outward set down in wâ—it or print on Paper And tho' I call the Scripture an outward Rule yet I denie not but it hath a real service in the hand and management of the Spirit to regulate our inward Apprehensions and Conceptions of all Christian Doctrine as well as our outward words and Actions and so it may be called an Organâ—â—al and Instrumental Rule in respect of the Spirit of God inwardly witnessing which is the principal Nor do I in the least retract what I have said as ye weakly alledge when â—â—ay There are many things wherein God doth reveal of his Counsel to his Children which are not in Scripture either expresly or consequentially wherein I give a five fold instance at least that though ye cannot disprove ye boldly but Ignorantly contradict contrary to the blessed and solid Experience of Thousands for these things instanced as for a man to know his inward state beâ—ore God c. and for a Minister to know his inward Call and a Christian to know both his call to pray in vocal Prayer or in Publick and returns oâ— his Prayer from God in secret they are no matters of Christian Doctrine belonging to the common Faith oâ— common Duty of all Christians but only are relative to a Christians private Condition and Consolation for no Doctrine or Precept in all the Scripture requireth me to believe or to know whether many or one by name besides my self be in a justified state c. but it belongs to me in particular therfore it is no part of the common Doctrine or Faith or Practice of the Christian Religion to believe for another or others but every one to believe for himself And that ye alledge p. 9. that Lucas should say Any Quaker if he â—as a mind to it may make as good a Book himself as the Book of the holy Scriptures is out a falâ—e alledgance from a Foâ—ger of Lyes against the Truth and is sufficiently refuted by N. Lucas's â—â—iâ—ted
self-evident and yet may be tryed by the warrantableness of Scriptuâ—e Rules but the warrantableness of a practice doth not prove in the least the impulse or mâ—tion to be divine for a wrong or evil Spirit may move a man to do a thing that is not unlawful or unwarrantable in it self as to take a Journey from England to America and yet if he obey such a motion or impulse he should not do well and might suffer great hurt thereby And if a divine impulse have no self-evidence or some inward self-evidencing Light to discover it to be divine it is good for nothing for it leaveth a man still in the dark and at uncertainty surely Gods inward leadings are sure certain as thousands to Gods praise can witness against all your ignorant but presumptious Assertions without â—â—l Proof And ye say I tell you that Phillip Peter and others were extraordinaryly called to such and such Services where ye pervert my words for I do not say of these particular Services mentioned by me there that they wâ—re extraordinarily called unâ—o them for to go to a place or Persons to preach the Gospel is no extraoâ—dinary but ordinary inward Call of Gods Servants in all Ages though Peter and the other Apostles had in other cases extraordinary Calls and Revelations That place in James 4.15 If the Lord will ye uâ—derstand it only of divine Providence permitting any man to do what he wiâ—leth if not forbidden in Scripture But as this is meerly begged by you without all proof but your bare affirmation so it is altogether absurd for how many do rash and hurtful things both to themselves and their Families which yet are not forbidden by Scripture as for a man to leave one place and remove to another beyond Seas is not forbidden in Scripture and yet if he undertake such a thing meerly because divine Providence doth not outwardly stop him by some cross event without the inward sence and approbation of divine will inwardly permitting or allowing him he may have cause to repent it all his dayeâ— for mâ—ny by so doing have fallen into gâ—eat Inconvenâ—encies Ye are miserable comforters that wiâ—l not allow to People that priviledge that they may wait to know Gods divine good Will and Approbation in their hearts in their removals from one place to another and in other weighty concerns of this Life And as concerning Marriages ye do allow People to ask Gods mind and couâ—sel with whom to joyn in Marriage and if they are not to expect a return of their Prayers otherwise than a bare outward permission of divine Providence What is this but to mock God and deceive poor People But to Gods praise many can say they have both sought and received Gods counsel with whom to joyn in Marriage and because thereof have found their Marriage made both blessed and comfortable unto them in the midst of all Tryals Pag. 17. Ye call my saying That God answers the returns of the Prayers of his People c. A Quakerism i. e. Non-sence I pity your Ignorance and want of Experience May not the frequent and reiterated Prayers of his People for the same thing be called the Returns of their Prayers as when a Child returneth again and again to seek a thing of his Father and that God answereth these reiterated and returning Prayers as in Pauls Case who Prayed for one thing thrice thousands can witness though to you this is Nonsenâ—e because ye have neither sence nor salt in your selves to descern it It is a great encouragement to pray unto God that we find him to answer us by his living voice and speech in us and when God speaketh to us Scripture words or promises by his living voice and speech in us it is a new Revelation and divine Inspiration to us although not of any new doctrine for there may be thousands of new and distinct Revelations of the same Doctrine as there may be a thousand sights and eyes beholding the same thing and a thousand Voices speaking the same thing and all these Voices are new and distinct and yet the thing spokon is one and the same and Ancient and not New Pag. 18. That the word of the Lord grew and multiplied ought to be understood as well extensively in respect of multitude of living Testimonies as Intensively in respect of Efficacy for there was both at that time and though there was no new Doctrines yet there were new and that manifold and frequent living Testimonies to the same Doctrine and therefore the Word it self was properly encreased and multiplied Ye blame me for saying Christ and his Apostles expounded the scriptures by Inspiration and yet taught no new Doctrine but it seemeth ye have forgot that Paul said the same Acts 26.22 for all that Christ and the Apostles taught and enjoyned was either declared or fore-told by the Prophets loâ—g before therefore the Doctrine was the same for substance and the Gospel was preached to Abraham and to the Prophets but after Christs Resurrection the Dispensation of it was more clear and full Pag. 19. ye blame me for Charging that upon you in the 12th Article which ye never believed much less proâ—essed viz. that the Scriptures ought to be believed only for their own outward evidence and Testimony and not for the inward Evidence and Testimony of the holy spirit in mens hearts But in this ye are equally impertinent as in most other things as I have showed in my Answer to Cotton Mather to which I refer more at large Ye say The scripture is the only Rule oâ— Faith and hath a Self-evidence but the inward Testimony and Witness of the Spirit hath no Self-evidence but as some have called it Medium incognitum assentiendi i. e. and unknown middle or mean of assenting and that ye deny all Inspiration and Revelation properly so called all this proveth you guilty in the sight of all impartial men for to talk of an evidence or witness among men that hath not a certainty or Self-evidencing Authority in it by it self is absurd and illegal he who is a witness or evidence among men must not borrow his evidence from another and to say the Spirit of God in his inward teaching and illumination hath no proper and self evidence as it derogates from the Glory of it so it is as absurd as to say the Suns light at noon day hath no evidence of its own but men must light a Candle to let people see the suns light at noon This is rare Logick of yours Ye insinuate I seâ—k out more sences of the word Logos than it can bear without Tautologi s but if these be Tautologies the English Translation of the bible hath made them and not I and yet a true difference can be assigned by School-boyes betwixt Communication as passâ—ng betwixt two or more and words of talk and speech that may be of one when none doth answer Pag. 20. ye will have the word of God compared to
of God and these times are frequent and at such times the need of Scripture words and of all words that consist of Letters do cease as when a man eateth Bread and drinketh Wine and hath his taste well he needeth no words to tell him of the taste of it he tasteth it without all words that the mouth can utter and even so the Children of God at times yea frequently taste of the goodness and sweetness of Christ by an inward sensible taste without all Scripture words and without all present remembring of them yet if at such times the Spirit of God bringeth them to their remembrance they have a service at least tâ—â—ncrease the doctrinal and discursive knowledge of God in them and further to open the Mysteries of the Christian Doctrine which is a great gift blessing of God in its place Pag. 34. Ye alledge I introduce an Hypothesis that is a Castle in the Air that they say there is no sensible or intuitive knowledge of God in this Life But I say many or most of you expresly deny it I mean most of these call'd Presbyterians and Independents as I have had to do with them before now who have told me There is no sensible knowledge of God at â—â—ll no sight nor feeling nor taste of him and they give a reason for it viz. That only bodily things could be seen felt tasted but God being a Spirit could neither be felt nor tasted tho' the Scriâ—ture use these words of seeing tasting a aâ—d feâ—ling they say they are as improper and metaphorical as when it is said in Scripture God hath Eyes Hands and Feet c. Again though ye seem to affirm it yet it is in contradiction to your selves for it is an absolute Contradiction to say A man hath a sight of God and taste and feeling of him and yet hath no immediate discovery and knowledge of him as much as to say I see and taste Wine and yet I have no immediate discovery or knowledge of it All sensible knowledge is immediate in regard of their Objects P. 34. Ye blame me that I say ye preach altogether an absent Christ but ye wrong and pervert my words as your manner is my wordâ— are p. 36. They preach altogether an absenâ— Christ as some of them say Christ is not really and properly in his People or if present a Christ altogether dumb and silent c. So ye see my words are not positive but dis-junctive or alternative But if I did say so it is according to your own Doctrine though ye seem to contradict again for do ye not generally accuse the Quakers for setting up a false Christ because they preach him present and in his Saints yea and in all men in some respect and as Pardon Tillinghast and Benj. Keech calâ— Christ in the heart a false Christ so John Owen whom ye esteem your reverend Brother in his Latine Treatise against us answered by Sam. Fisher saith If Christ be in every Quaker there are as many Christ as Quakers So you may see I do not wrong you and your Assembly ye so much honour say It is blasphemy to say the Saints are partakers of the Godhead And this is to exclude Christ with a witness And if some of you say God and Christ are in the Saints yet ye deny all immediate discovery sight and revelation of them objective or by way of object which is as gâ—eat Non-sence as to say A Man converseth with his Wife in one House eateth drinketh lodgeth with her and hath fellowship with her and yet she hath no immediate sight nor knowledge of him which she must needs have if she be not blind sensless and stupid and it is a most palpable Contradiction in you to say Men have aâ— intuitive and sensible knowledge of God that is distinct in specie from discursive knowlâ—dge and yet God and his Spirit in all his inward operations giveth no self-evidence thereof but is medium incognitum assentiendi i. e an unknown mean or Principle of assenting as the School-men phrase it particularly Robert Baron Professor of Divinity at Aberdeen in his Book called Apodixis Catholica de formali objecto fidei against Jesuit Turnbul more particularly cited in my Book of Immediâ—te Revelation Pag. 37. The different degrees of Revelation well warranted by Scripture ye blasphemously and ignorantly call Rabbinical Fopperies That there is not only a gradual but specifical difference of divine Revelations I never denyed CAP. III. I Intend throughout principally to notice your gross Perversions and other gross Abuses and Mistakes which will in effect sufficiently answer all ye have said and leave my Book and the evidence of Truth held forth in it remaining in its full force and strength against you and the rather that the principal Controversies viz. That oâ— the Scriptures and That of inward divine Revelation and Inspiration iâ— the more fully already here handled for indeed these two are the Basis and Pillars of the following Controversies Pag. 36. Ye pervert my words as if I did affirm That the Scriptures only were a Rule to try Doctrines betwixt men and men But I neither mean nor say any such thing I believe they are a Rule in the hand and management of the Spirit to regulate our inward apprehensions and thoughts concerning all Christian Doctrines and yet the Spirits inward Witness is the greater Rule Pag. 39. Ye say To call the Spirit the Rule â— Non-sence I say to call the Spirit not abstractly but conjunctly with his inward witnessing and speaking is good sence to all but such as you who have not sence to understand it Ignatius as I have said above a more worthy man and precious Martyr of Jesus Ep. 14. to Ephes called the holy Spirit one Rule CAP. IV. PAg. 41. Ye own That natural and acquired Gifts of Letter Learning without a divine Inspiration are sufficient to qualifie a Gospel Minister and that Grace and true Piety is only accidental which ye confess may look black at first view It is so far well that since this is your Doctrine that we have it under your hand and it deserveth to be engraven in Capital Letters on the Doors of your Meetiâ—g Houses that the People may generally know it for very many to whom I have told it could not believe it to be your Doctrine but however now it is a good proof th t yâ— print it as yours Another saying of yours equally famous and which deserveth the same equal inscription in Capital Letters is that ye say It is no absurdity tâ—at a man may be a true Minister and not a true Câ—ristian But how then can he beget any unto God If he who is no true Christian can beget a true Christian by his Ministry it will as easily follow That he who is no man may beget a man for as in spiritual generation a man is but the Instrument so in the natural when a man begets a man child God
is the great Maker and principal Cause and man the Instrument But though ye would make the ignorant multitude believe that your Doctrine in this is Protestant Doctrine yet I say it is Popish and ye have no other Argument but the Papists Arguments to defend it to wit some Perversions and false Glosses of some Scripture places as The Pharisees sit in Moses 's Câ—air c. But Luther who is judged as it were the Father of the Protestants and whose followers were first called Protestants hold with the Quakers against you and called them Sectaries and Seducers that know how to preach much of Christ but feel him not in their hearts cap. 1. p. 19. Mens â—s noted above To my Arguments against an impious Ministry who have no true Piety ye answer little but with a strong Denyal and so may any child or fool give a denyal to the strongest Aâ—guments that can be bâ—ought And seeing ye plead so expresly That an Impious Ministry is God's Ordinance to wit such as have no true Piety it is no wonder that New-England abounds with such impious Ministers for this Doctrine opens a door unto them Pag 42. Ye deny Thaâ— God gives you infallible Rules ordinarily and immediately whereby to know mens hearts It may be granted they are not given to you because ye believe not that which giveth a true discerning but that Gods People who are made alive unto him and begot into his Image being Children of one Father and having his seal upon them are known one to another where due watchfulness and diligence is used and that kept in which giveth the true discerning is not only a Christian Doctrine and Experience but hath been the experience of some Presbyterian Ministers in their purest times above seventy Years ago witness The fulfilling of the Scriptures a Book set out by a zealous Presbyterian not vâ—ry long ago who relateth how Robert Bruce a Presbyterian Preacher in Edinbrough in Scotland had a spirit of discerning by which he freely declared to Robert Blair That though his Sermon was elaborate yet it had not the Spirit of God although the Doctrine waâ— not blamed by him And I have oft heard them say one to another Let us go hear such a man he is a living man and hath a lively and powerful Ministry and of others they would say They were dead and dry And seeing one living man can know another naturally why cannot one spiritual man know another living spiritual â—an spiritually a Sheep can know a Shâ—ep and a Dove a Dove and a Man can know a Man and yet a Saint cannot know a Saint by your Logick viz. certainly and infallibly And as to the word Immediately used by you I say a Saint may know a Saint as immediately and infallibly as a man may know a living man to wit he knows him to live by immediate Motions and workings of Life that immediately reach to his natural Senses and he seeth him breathe and heareâ—h â—im speak with strength of natural Life and â—hâ—t his discourse has Wisdom and Reason in it so a Saint or spiritual man may and doth know another Saint or spiritual man by immediate motions and operations of spiritual Life that immediately reach to his spiritual Senses and it is the divine Inspiration of the Spirit of Life that maketh a spiritual man and gâ—veth him both these spiritual Senses and the infallible use of them Pag. 42. Ye say The Apostles never pretended to a Spirit of Discerning If ye mean to know all the secrets of mens hearts I did not affirm it but that they had a knowledge of the sincerity of some and of the insincerity of others is most clear from many places of the New Testament for did not Paul most positively affirm of some particular Names That they were writ in the Book of Life And did not Peter know and that by a spirit of discerning the dissimulation of Ananias Saphira And that they might be deceived before they received the holy Ghost in that plenty as after Christ's Resurrection or even after in some particular men argueth nothing against the infallible sence discerning where it is given all it proveth is that they had not alwayes the perfect exercise of it The natural Senses are infallible touching natural Objects not absolutely but according to such due conditions and so the spiritual Senses according to their due conditions have their Infallibility And whereas I shewed in my Book That neither the example oâ— the Pharisees nor oâ— Judas could defend a Ministry without Piety because the Pharisees and Judas were yet under the legal Dispensation But â—he question relateâ— to the Gospel Dispensation in its more clear and perfect discovery after Christ's Resurrection this ye slightly pass telliâ—g That the Gospel was preached in the time of the Law But yet the Dispensation and Model was changed as ye confess and as there was a change in many things as the Sacrifices and Circumcision c. so of the Priesthood and manner of it Ye insinuate falsly against us That Hypocrites may be infallibly known by their meer looks Pag. 44. That a man may have Piety and real Sanctification and yet not have a ministerial and spiritual Giâ—t of Knowledge and Vâ—terance so as to be able to teach others is granted but yet whoever have these spiritual Gifts have in some measure the Grace of Sanctification which is the root of them â—ven as every School-master is a man but every man is not a School-master every man is a living Creature but every living Creature is not a man Unsanctified Gifts that any may pretend unto are not spiritual but carnal and are not so worthy as to be esteemed thâ— fâ—uit of Christs purchase Your saying Ye have too much cause to be perswaded by Scripture Rules that G. K. is an Apostate and unsanctified man I little regard your Tongue is not slander ye know me not and ye pretend to no infallible discerning of me and therefore by your confession ye may be mistaken and ye neither have given not can give any Scripture Rules to prove me suâ—h Men of your spirit called the Lord a Blaspâ—emer a Glutton and a Wine bibber and therefore it is no strange thing that ye caâ—l me as ye do but my comfort is that I am known to God and to many of his Servants and this your Reviling and false Speeches will turn to my good and to your hurt and shame if ye repent not whiâ—h I wish ye may Pag. 45. Ye say Ye do not plead for scandalous Ministers whose Conversation is contradictory to their Profession and Doctrine But by this ye fall into a gross Self-contradiction for did ye not plead your Doctrine from the example of the Pharisees whose Conversation was contradictory to their Doctrine for Christ said They did not as they said Ye blame me unjustly of forgeâ—fulness but are exceeding guilty of it your selves and much worse And besides the Qualifications required in a
or beeing unless ye will say That a Creature is any part or measure oâ— Gods Beeing or Substance And whereas ye say Graces are substantial things and are not meer Accidents but Adjuncts And thus ye seek to hide you from the ignorant in the Thicket of some Loicgal and School Terms and Phrases but when ye say Graces are substantial things ye do not tell whether ye call them so properly or metaphorically as when ye call God Light ye say it is not properly but metaphorically And for your distinction of Adjuncts and Accidents I suppose I learned that thing ye call Logick that ye seem to glory in as well as ye and do remember what is any wise useful in it as well as ye and I never understood that either Logicians or Philosophers so called did hold that the Soul of man had any Adjuncts that was neither the real Essence and Substance of the Soul nor yet Accidents and therefore if the Grace of God in the Soul be no Accident but the Adjunct of the Soul it must be the Soul it self and this is Pelaganism and Socinianism with a Witness for Pelagius and Socinus denyed the need of any inward Grace that was not thâ— Sâ—ul it self for the Attributes of every being and so of the Soul are such Adjuncts as are either essential to that being or accidental and for this I can and do appeal to all who have any ordinary taste of that called Logick or Metaphysick but I shall not insist on this School-nicity And for your Proof that Grace is a Creature or created Principle from Ephes 4.29 If you mean the virtues brought forth in the saints called the fruits of the Spirit as Faith Hope Love Temprance Righteousness c. we own them in the Scripture sence to be the new man which after God is created in Righteousness and true Holiness but that they are such a Created Principle as are neither the Soul it self nor Christ nor Accidents but a substance of another nature from all these is a novelty that I have not formerly heard of As for our Doctrine concerning Grace it is plain according to Scripture the Seed or Original Principle of Grace in the Soul is a measure of the Spirit and Life of Christ and is not Properly a Creature as commonly taken but a Pure divine Emanation and stream from Christ the Fountain and is of the same nature with the Fountain and is substantial and every Soul that is by a true and living Faith joyned to this Seed and Principle of Gods Grace is partaker of it Substantially and none else and is there by made fruitful to bring forth heavenly and divine Fruits as Love Joy Peace Meâ—kness Temperance Humility c. which are Divine Effects and may be said to be the New Creation or the Image of Christ formed and brought forth in us and where these effects are yea where that Seed is neither God nor Christ can be separated from the same Pag. 69. 70. Ye say Nor doth the Doctrine of Dr. Owen or Mr. Rutherford in the words of theirs which he cites at all run into the Quakers Blasphemy Ans Ye do then hold it Blasphemy for the Quakers to say that God and Christ dwell in the Saints and true Believers and therefore to avoid this Blasphemy ye will not own that God and Christ dwell in them and then surely ye preach an absent God and Christ for if Christ dwell not in Believers he is absent from them And yet ye contradict your selves herein as your manner is ye say The Person of the Holy Ghost dwells in us by his Operations And thus ye would falsly gloss upon the words of J. O. and S. R. for J. O. hâ—ld a peculiar Perswasion far differing from his Brethren the Presbyterians for which Cauldrey severely taxed him that whereas they held it that the holy Ghost dwelt not by himselâ— or personally as they phrase it in Believers but by his Operations Graces and Gifts J. O. in his Book of Perseverence useth many reasons and words to prove That the holy Ghost himself together with his Operations and Graces he as well as they dwelt in Believers and not the Graces without him and upon this he buildeth the Doctrine of Perseverance And S. R. said He will not have the Graces of Christ without Christ. But ye plead that the Graces of Christ are in the Saints but not Christ himself and therefore if our Doctrine be blasphemous ye must allow J. O. and S. R. equally guilty but the guilt of Blasphemy is yours who would exclude Christ from the Saints and divide the Graces of Christ from Christ which is impossible and is contrary to all sound Reason as well as Scripture to divide and seperate the Operator from his Operations Pag. 70. Ye do acknowledge That ye agree with the Ranters in that Principle viz. That God doth all and hath unchangeably ordered all things good and bad are we therefore Ranters say ye Answ Let impartial men judge seeing this is the fundamental Error of the Ranters and the Root and Base of all their other Ranting Principles and Practices Pag. 72. Ye most falsly charge me as if I were restoring Manicheâ—sm into the World as if there were two Principles or first Causes the one of Good the other of Evil for ye are very ignorant if ye know not that the Manichism Principle was That there was an Evil first Cause or Principle essentially evil uncreated eternal independent and equal to the good But we hold no such Doctrine there is one only first cause of all things originally that is essentially good and goodness and all things were originally good and all the Evil that came afterwards into the World was not any real Creation or Production of any substance for Evil in the abstract i. e. Sin is no substance but either a privation as the sin of Omission or some depraved mode or modification or alteration in the Crâ—ature that the Creature it self is the Author of and therefore Christ said The Devil was a Lyar and Murderer from the beginning and when he speaketh a Lye he speaketh of himself Pag. 73. Ye require me to tell you How God did fore-know all evil Actions that should be done in Time unless he had pre-determined them Answ The way and manner of Gods fore-knowledge surpasseth all creaturely Understanding and therefore it is too great boldness and presumption in you to imagin ye can tell it and it is yet worse to think yâ— can tell it by a way that contradicts the Scripture and the invvard sense of God in mens hearts as Because God pre-determines all evil Actions Thefts Murders Adulteries therefore he fore-knoweth them This is to make God equally the Author of Evil as of Good It is sufficiâ—nt to us to believe and know that the decâ—ee of God is Permissive but not Pre-determinative of evil Actions and as he knoweth evil Actions that are at preseâ—t brought foâ—th as they now are so
exprâ—sly affirmed pag. 112. Now let us hear your Answer ye say They had believed in a Christ to come though at present they knew not that â—e was come in the flâ—sh till it was further revâ—aled to them Aâ—sw At this rate ye make all the Jews throughout the whole World true Believers in Christ because they all profess to believe iâ— a Christ to come even as ye say Nathaniel and Cornelius believed in a Christ to come But as it was the true Faith to believe in Christ to come before he was come so it was not the true Faith but a great mistake or error at least though pardonable to believe in Christ to come in flesh when the true Christ was already come for their Faith could not be the true Faith which had not the true Object for to believe in a Christ yet to come in the flesh is a false Faith such as the faith is of those hardened Jews who generally believe not in Christ who is already come in the flesh but in a Christ or Messiah whom they imagine yet to come in the flesh And before that Peter preached to Cornelius Christ was crucified and raised again And seeing ye grant Cornelius had not faith in Christ crucified until Peter preached unto him and yet was in a good state ye quite give away your cause Beside that ye meerly alledge it without proof That Cornelius had any sort of Faith of a Christ to come in the flesh at that time for it only appeareth that he was a devout and religious Gentile but no Proselite to the Jewish Religion A Third Instance I gave you of Christs Apostles who had not the true knowledge and faith of Christs Death and Resurrection for some time for it is expresly said in Scripture when Christ told them he was to be put to Death and to rise again the third day They understood it not and yet who will say they were altogether in a state of Damnation Ye are so pinched here that your Cause is desperate and that makes you so angry and fretful Ye say Faith in God without Christ viz. come in the Flesh and crucified c. is not saving citing John 14.6 Acts 4.12 I have answered you it is not in that degree so as to perfect the work of Salvation but yet it hath a preparatory work and may begin it otherwise ye must say the Apostles that were ignorant that Christ should dye were not in any state of Salvation Pag. 95. Ye imagine that ye have got a wonderful advantage saying What then shall we say to his New Doctrine that they may receive it after death Ye further say We shall have a new Quakers Purgatory erected ere long But if ye were not very partial ye might see I did principally argue so with you ad hominem because of your Principle according to your own Doctrine in your Conf ssion of Faith that saith The Souls of the Righteous after Death Note after Death being then made perfect in Holiness are received into the highest Heavens These are the expresâ— words of your Catechism as I told you cap. 32 sect 1. and that ye say It is a bold Vntruth for they say no such thing there I Aâ—swer Let the Reader but be at the pains to read that place cited cap. 32. s 1. and he shall find it expresly so and therefore the bold Untruth is your own and not mine and if they contradict it in their shorter Catechism by saying at the instant oâ— death what is that to me they must answer for their own contradictions and not I for them And for my saying after Death it was by way of Hypothesis If I should say And whereas I brought you a Scripture out of Job cap. 33.22 23 24. to show the wonderful dealings workings of God with men on their death bed or at death without the outward Ministry of men to show unto them their Uprightness and the Ransom or Attonement see from v. 14. to v. 30. Even by his own speaking to them in a Dream in a Vision of the Night when deep sleep falleth upon men in slumberings upon the Bed then he openeth the Ears of men and as it is on the Margin he revealeth or uncovereth Heb. and sealeth their Instruction What say ye to this weighty place of Scripture that deserveth so great consideration as holding forth the wonderful love of God towards men in general for the word Man indefinitely is to be understood universally or generally see v. 29. Lo all these things worketh God often times with man and his care over them that where outward helps and means of mens Ministry fail he supplyeth by his own speaking to them yea when deep sleep falleth upon men whether that sleep be understood natural or figurative is not very material to determine and all to keep back their Souls from the Pit and that they may be enlightned with the Light of the living Certainly this place of Scripture hath much in it yea very much more than ye or most are aware of to prove that Gods love and care is exceeding great towards Mankind and his patience and long-suffering is greatly extended towards them to keep back their Souls from the Pit which altogether doth overturn that most cruel and Cannibal-like Doctrine of yours that saith God damneth many Infants to Hâ—ll and universally all who have not have had Christ preached unto them by the Ministry oâ— men except in some singular cases of Abraham and some others that were Prophets But to this weighty place of Scripture ye say nothing at all but are as mute as a Fish it is a cunning way in you to pass by with a dry foot as ye phrase it that which most pincheth you lest by medling with it ye should not only wet your feet but be in danger to drown your sinking and desperate Cause All sober Protestants as well as others will condemn you for your great uncharity to Damn not only so many Millions of honest Gentiles but of poor Infants that ye say never sinned actually in thought word or deed but meerly for the sin of another that was forgiven to him and thousands more yea not only the Episcopal but many in the Church of Rome are not so uncharitable Your great Uncharitableness maketh you cruel and haâ—d-hearted and this begetteth in you a spirit of Persecution But is it not a great sin in you to be so uncharitable when ye have no ground but your own mistakes of some place of Scripture hard to be understood Oh! Repent of this your great sin not only of Unâ—haritableness towards so great a part of Mankind but of your evil and sinful thoughts of God Almighty rendring him so cruel and so short in his Mercy who hath declared himself to be good unto all and his tender Mercies to be over all his Works and that he is slow to Wrath long-suffering and with much long-suffering he endureth the Vessels of Wrath perfected for
points at Christ as both God and Man that most excellent middle that unites God and Men together for in all the Creation we see how the wonderful Wisdom of God and his wonderful Power hath united extreams by certain means or middles and these do plainly point unto us how as the highest and lowest Creatures are united by a certain medium or mediating nature partaking of both extreams so God the Creator and most high over all is united with men the noblest of his visible Creatures by him that is both God and Man made like to us in all things but without siâ— and therefore behoved to dye and rise again to lay a Foundation for our Faith and Hope that though we dye we shall also rise again Nor is this my single Perswasion but that of very judicious and wise Men long before me and Paulus Ricius a Jew by Birth but who became a Christian in his Treatise de Coelesti Agricultura lib. 1. from pag. 40 to 52. showeth how there are many excellent Symboles in the Creation that as Types and Examples hold forth that great Mystery of Christ God Man that were to be united in one and that this man could be but one only single man in the intire nature of Man of Soul and Body in all essential parts who should be both God and Man and for this he citeth a saying in Aristotle which is this lib. 10. Metaph. In quolibet genere rerum daturmum maximum et omnium ahorum summum i. e. in every kind of things there is one the greatest and highest of all others And who is this but the Man Christ Jesus who only among all men is both God and Man and the Head of all mâ—n And by exceâ—lent Symboles and Examples he showeth how this one man was to dye for all otheâ— men rise again And therefore however strange it may seem unto you not only many things in the Creation but the whole Creation it self is a Book full of Symboles Vails and Figures pointing at Christ even the Man Christ who was to suffer Death and rise again for the Salvation of men and yet I do most freely acknowledge that the Books of Moses and the Prophets did moâ—e fully and distinctly hold forth this great Mystery But seeing ye grant That the Vails and Types of the Ceremonial Law did suffice to the Jews and People of Israel so far as outward helps and means were requisit to shadow and hold â—orth Christ unto them the same may be said as concerning the Gentiles that in some sort sufficient as in respect of outward helps and means for that day and time until more knowledge should come into the World was the Book of the outward Creation together with that knowledge they had that they were to sacrifice unto God as is above said And as God gave to the Jews and People of Israel his good spirit to instruct them in the signification of the Mosaical and Ceremonial Law and the Types and Shadows thereof so no doubt he gave a measure of his good Spirit to instruct the Gentiles what these Types and Figures legible in the Book of the whole Creation did signifie for as the Book of Wisdom saith The incorruptible Spirit of God is in all that is confirmed by Scripture for God gave his Spirit unto and by his Spirit strove with the People of the old World and it is the Light of Christ the Word and of the Spirit that convinceth and reproveth of sin that lighteth every man that cometh into the World which however ye call it only natural and humane we have good cause to believe it is divine and supernatural yet lightning the dark nature of Man and as it is absurd for any to hold a Book to a mans face in the dark and bid him read therein when he hath no sufficient light to read with so it were absurd that God hath set so excellent a Book as the whole Creation before the Eyes of men universally I mean the Eyes of their understanding and not give them sufficient Light in some measure to enable them to understand what is writ therein and seeing that Book contains true and real Types and Symboles Figures and Shadows of Christ as he was to come in the flesh and suffer death and rise again it followeth God hath given all men so much inward Light as whereby they might read and understand what is written therein concerning the Man Christ altho the express Hebrew and Greek Names Messiah and Christ be not known to them in such an obscure way and manner as might serve to that time but the great Glory and Light of the Mystery of God manifest in flesh which is Jesus Christ come in the Flesh who is both God and Man and yet one Christ doth incomparably surpass not only what all Vails Types either of the Law or outward Creation can discover but all declaration of words and cannot be perfectly known but by a very high degree of divine Revelation and no doubt the full discovery of it is reserved to the Life to come where it shall be matter of eternal Admiration and Adoration to Saints and Angels And lest you should say This is some new Fancy of mine and some other late Writers or apostate Hereticks as ye use to say I shall recite a Testimony of a very antient Writer who is judged to be either Ambrose or Prosper above twelve hundred Years ago in that famous and noted Treatise De vocatione Gentium i. e. of the calling of the Gentiles much esteemed and cited by Protestants of great note and particularly by Vossius and Grotius learned and judicious Protestants In the said Treatise de vocatione Gentium lib. 2. cap. 1. ad fin he saith in express words citing Acts 14. And indeed he left not himself without a Witness giving Rains from Heaven and fruitfull Seasons filling Your hearts with Food and Gladness But what is this Testimony that was alwayes serviceable to the Lord and never was silent of his Goodness and Power but the very indeclarable Beauty of the whole World and the rich and orderly largition oâ— his indeclarable benefits by which cretain Tables oâ— his eternal Law were given to the hearts of men that the common and publick Doctrine of divine Institution might be read in the pages of the Elements and in the Volumns or Books of the Times therefore the Heavens and all heavenly things Sea and Land and all things in them by the â—armonious Consent of their kind and order did attest the Glory of God and by a perpetual preaching did speak the Majesty oâ— their Author But this is not all he further saith And yet the greatest number of men who were permitted to follow the ways of their own will did not understand and did not follow this Law and the Savour of Life which breathed or inspired unto Life Note is not this in some degree Evangelical was made unto them the savour of Death
Scriptures why may not the same virtue and efficacy be given to it as to that which ye say is contained in the Scriptures It is improper to prefer that which is writ or printed on Paper by the labour and work of Men to that which by God immediately is printed on mens hearts and souls without the woâ—k of men And since ye grant That there is a Law written in mens hearts universally by God himself Why may not that Law be understood to be the same mentioned Psal 19.7 The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the Soul yea that it must and ought to be so understood is clear from that analogy that the Wisdom of God in David maketh betwixt the preaching of the Heavens and Firmament Day and Night and the course of the Sun and the Preaching or Testimony of this inward Law that as universal as the outwâ—rd is so universal is the inward for the outward is the Symbole Figure and Type of the inward as the Ceremonial Law of Moses was symbâ—lical of the inward Gospel-Law and if both had not been Universal the Analogy would have been improper and false for the true Analogy is betwixt two Universals and not one universal and another particular And Paul by the Spirit of God applyeth the universal Language of the Heavens and Firmament Day and Night and Sun to the preaching of the Gospel Rom. 10.18 by the same Analogy Ye contradictâ— the Scripture expresly when ye deny it thaâ— the Law in the Gentiles so far as they obeyed it made them excusable for as some had thoughts that accused them when they did evil so they had thoughts that excused them when they did well and this excusing of them proceeded originally from the Law it self within them see Rom. 2.15 which ye expresly contradict And for Gods inward speaking to men most frequently without the Ministry of men or books as outwardly I cited divers observable places of Scripture as Psal 94.10 Psal 50.1.16 to 22. Amos 4.13 Micah 6.8 Prov. 8.1 2 3 4. Job 28.28.24.13 and 21.14 and that noted place Luke 12.20 from all which I did conclude that it hath been the way of God and ever will be to speak to men in their hearts to call them and warn them and fore-warn them of evil and danger and to perswade and incline them to that which is good And all these places of Scripture prove thâ—t God doth at present and in every Age move and stir upon mens Consciences and sâ—eak in them by his Word and Voice as really as he did in the Prophets tho' not equally nor the same in all respects and this is immediate Revelation and Inspiration seeing God doth it without the Ministry of men most frequently even in the Heathen and in the Wicked when they are neither hearing men nor reading nor thinking on any place of Scripture and all this ye meerly slubber over with a bare Magisterial Affirmation saying That it is all but the actings of a natural Conscience under legal Convictions But tell me What works these Legal Convictions doth not the Scripture say it is God and he doth it by speaking to them in their hearts for God doth not use to speak to men by an outward audible Voice and therefore there is more in men than what ye call a Relique left in men of a natural Conscience there is that which newly and freshly and immediately calleth to men in their hearts and is a new gift and visitation of God I find not that ye say any thing but one that hath some shadow or appearance of weight and that is from Rom. 8.3 Gal. 3.21 viz. That the Law is weak through the flesh and cannot give Life And this is even that Law which was within both Jews and Gentiles universally and was not the meer outward Law But to this I Answer That by the Law in these places cited by you and in many other places that could be â—â—ted as Rom. 3.19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 c. Gal. 3.8 9 10 â—1 12 13. is indeed to be understood not the meer outward Law given to the People of Israel but the Law within in its first Administration or Dispensation that hath its proper work and service to condemn and not to justifie to wound bruise and kill and not to heal bind up and make alive and this first â—dministration of the Law is most necessary and proper and is the real effect and work of Christ in his inward appearance in mens hearts as a Law-giver and judge but not so properly nor clearly nor distinctly as a Saviour as he appeareth in his second Administration perfectly to save the Soul and deliver it from Sin and Wrath and perfectly to restore and renew it into the Conformity of his own Image by faith in him the whole Christ intire and undivided both as he came in the flesh suffered Death for our sins rose again c. ascended into Heaven and is now in Heaven our Intercessor and Advocate with the Father and as he cometh in Spirit And of this twofold Administration of Christ first as a Law-giver secondly as a perfect Saviour Moses and Joshua were Types Moses was a type of Christ in his first Ministration and Joshua was a type of him as a perfect Saviour in his second Ministration both which are inward for though the true Christian Faith respecteth Christ come in the flesh without us and now glorified in Heaven in the glorified nature of Man c. yet the Mystery of this and the worth of his Death and Intercession must be inwardly opened and revealed in us by the Spirit of Christ And as Moses led the People out of Egypt through the red Sea and thâ—ough the Wiâ—derness and brought them to Jordan and the borders of the good Land and no further and then dyed so Joshâ—a was raised up to bring them beyond Jordan into the good Land therefore Moses begun the woâ—k but Joshua finished it Which two are plain figures of the twofold inward Ministration of Christ the one that is more Legal than Evangelical and hath the Evangelical hid in it but not clearly revealed the other that is clearly and apparently Evangelical and because the second inward Ministration of Christ in mens hearts doth not appear at first in its fulness of vigor and strength but gradually therefore there is a mixture of the first second which is a middle Dispensation consisting of both and this is well known and experienced by spiritual Travellers although to you it is a Mystery and a Riddle that ye mock at rather than enquire into And concerning this diversity of inward Dispensations and Ministrations both having one Author to wit the Lord Jesus Christ not only the people called Quakers but many sober and juditious Protestants have given Teâ—â—â—mony and their Testimony is upon record in print some calling them Three and referring them the one to the Father the other to the Son together with the Father and
a good work that is not false and hypocritical ye grant and if ye did abide by what ye have said in this matter the Controversie might end as to that head Pag. 110. The cutting off the Natural Branches If we may believe your bare Authority for ye give no shadow of proof ye will have it relate only to a viâ—ibâ—e Church state but the contrary is manifest from this that as the cutting off is so shall the grafting in again be for that Rom. 11. containeth a plain Prophesie of the Conversion of the Jewes and People of Israel when all Israel shall be saved And surely that Conversion and Salvation is a real thing Ye are no less absurd to say The Oyl that the foolish Virgins had in their Lamps was only a Profession they had of Grace and yet ye say expresly Their Lamps was their Profession which is a gross Self-Contradiction for the Lamp and the Oyl could not be one and the same thing if the Lamp as ye say is the Profession the Oyl must be something else unless ye will say The Oyl is the Cask and the Cask is the Oyl Pag. 112. Ye strangely contradict your selves in answer to Ezek. 18.24 saying The Scriptures assure us that no true Believer shall totally and finally fall away from Grace How strangely do ye forget your selves who within a few Lines before did affirm That the Faith that may be fallen from is not a false Faith see pag. 111. line 8. Pag. 113. Ye argue That David's Fall when he committed Murder and Adultry was not totally from Grace because he prayed Psal 51.11 Take not thy holy Spirit from me But ye are strangely inconsiderate may ye not think that a Child can answer you when David prayed that Prayer God had begun to restore him again and that Psalm is called one of his penitential Psalms and was a Testimony that God by his good Spirit had begun a true work of Repentance in him after his fall and had given him together with Repentance his holy Spirit and he prayed that it might not be taken from him Do ye think ye deal with Idiots and persons void of common sense when ye argue at this shallow rate I told you before and I again tell you That if a Murderer and an Adulterer while such may be a real Saint the worst of Men may believe that they are real Saints Your Answer hath no Validity when ye say They never had the work of Conversion past upon them but this is barely said Why may not others who have had some real beginning like that of David in some measure fall into these Sins of Murder and Adultry And surely these who commit Murder and Adultry whatever they have been before may be numbred amongst the worst of men They may say a cording to your Doctrine They had the work of Conversion wrought upon them formerly and they are Saints still and ye cannot convince them to the contrary by your Doctrine I say still it would argue great Partiality which far be it from us to think it can have place in God that one and the same Sin is Mortal in one and not Mortal in the other the pure Life of Faith is killed by every gross Sin or Crime such as Murder and Adultry for if he who hateth his Brother hath not eternal Life abiding in him surely nor he who with his hands killeth his Brother That Gods Promises are meerly Hypothetical to his elect Saints and Children I neither said nor say yet the Promises are held forth Conditionally and some are Conditional and some absolute Pag. 115. Ye grosly abuse me by alledging That I introduce the Popish distinction oâ— Mortal and Venial Sins I use no such words and have not the Popish sence of these words but yet I believe there are lesser and greater Sins and great and hainous Sins and Crimes kill the Soul such as the Crimes of Murder Adultry but every smaller Offence doth not kill the Soul utterly but yet hurteth or woundeth and this both Experience Scripture confirmeth and ye are a sad sort of men if ye think that the gross Sins and Crimes of Muâ—der and Adultry do no more hurt the Souls of men than some Weaknesse and Infirmities that are really culpable yet of a smaller kind as a little wandering of Mind a little slackness or remisness for a little time c. Whereas I did affirm There is a state in Grace that men may grow up into wherein they never fall away but are crowned with Perseverance for which I cited divers places of Scripture as Psal 119.2 3 1 Joh. 3.9 1 John 2.19 and these I called such who were the Sons and Children of the Free-Woman and who are made conform to the Image of the second Adam Christ Jesus beyond the Image of the Earthly Adam who fell and who sit down in Christ that never fell and these abide with him and go not out To this ye say nothing that has any weight but meer triffling ye say It belongs to Faith where ever it is that who ever have it are born of God And here ye contradict again your own Doctrine who granted That there is a Faith that may be lost that is not false Ye say I mistake the Notion of the difference between Servants and Sons for ye say true Believers are both Sons and Servants But this I did not deny nor do yet the Scripture maketh a distinction thus Every Son is a Servant as Christ was both Gods Son and Servant as he is called in Scripture and Paul was a Son of God and a Servant of God but yet every Servant is not a Son of God born of the free-Woman The Servant said Christ abideth not in the House forever but the Son abideth forever The Son of Hagar must become the Son of Sarah that he may dwell in the House of the Lord forever But ye falsly alledge against me as if I said None are in the New Covenant until that after Death they come into glory And ye show your great Ignorance and want of Experience to deny that men may be in a middle state between both as partly of a Legal Spirit and partly of a Gospel Spirit for some time for the Disciples were too much of a Legal Spirit when Christ told them Ye know not what Spirit ye are of Too many called Christians who have a measure of Gospel-sincerity are too much of a Legal Spirit and are not wholly leavened into the Gospel Spirit Pag. 117. Ye say I seem to lay the stress upon the strength oâ— Inherent Grace whereas the Scripture assâ—res us it is of God and depends upon his Power I say the same it is of God and depends upon his Power and both God and his Power doth preserve the Faith Love and other Graces and Virtues of his People and keepeth them ever green that they wither not as the Cedars of Lebanon Ye faâ—sly alledge I confound the two
proof and that ye say Antient and Modern Interpreters agree therein yâ— show your rashness for ye name no antient Writer that saith so And Theodoretus a very antient Writer expoundeth that place Psal 89.15 in his Commentary on the Psalms of the Jâ—bilation or joyful Sound in the Gentiles in Gospel-dayes who should believe in Christ and it is evident that the Psalm is a Prophecy of Christ and of the great blessings that should come to all Nations both Jews and Gentiles by him as both Theodoretus and other antient and modern Writers understand it as is clear from vers 25 26 27 28 29 c. that is not applicable to David but to Christ whereof David was a Type And that ye say The Quakers give notice of their Meetings we grant but yet we use neither Bell nor Drum to give such notice and find no need nor occasion for any such superstitious Custom Pag. 135. Ye query May ye not succeed the Apostles in their Ministry though not in their Apostleship I Answer Nay seeing ye deny that which qualifieth all true Ministers of Christ which is the Spirit and Power of Christ inwardly revealed and that ye require nothing of real inward Godliness necessary to constitute a Minister of Christ ye have no President for your Ministry that ye plead for without true piety from the true Apostles but from Judas the Apostate that betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ and in so doing fell from his Ministry yea ye are not ashamed to mention him and the Pharisees for your Presidents and Patrons to which I have formerly replyed And though the Apostles ordained Elders and Over-seers over gathered Churches yet it was by the direction of the holy Ghost and this ye deny that your Ordination was such Nor was it proper and peculiar only to the Apostles to travel through the Nations to preach the Gospel but was common to other Pastors and Teachers as to the Apostles as is clear from the Acts of the Apostles and from Christs Commission And every true Minister of Christ is to know his place and calling by the Spirit of the Lord how long he is to stay among a People whether all his Life time or for some season But if ye were indeed called of God to sit down all your dayes in one plâ—ce how cometh it to be so usual among you to remove from one place to another and most commonly to some new place where ye can have a greater Benefice or some better outward Accomodation Pag. 136. Ye say I reflect a Scandal upon you in respect of the endeavours for the Conversion of the Indians for this ye refer to the printed Accounts But ye should have mentioned in particular what these printed acounts say that they might be examined whether true or false for we know many printed Accounts are false and it is most manifest that great Sums of Money have been sent out of Old England to encourage that work of preaching to the Indians and it is as manifest that much of that Money hath been ill bestowed and improved as the Country of New-England knoweth well enough and these called Christian Indians your pretended Converts are known generally to be worse than the poor Heathens CAP. X. PAg. 136. Ye say so little in defence of that ye call your Two Sacraments confessing withal That the Scripture saith nothing of the word Sacrament that I shall not spend Paper nor Time to answer all your Impertinencies considering that I have said enough that may suffice to answer you in my former Reply to Pardon Tillinghast for if Water-Baptism be no Gospel Precept then surely sprinkling Infants is none only I shall consider some of the grossest of them Pag. 137. As for sprinkling ye say ye plead not for it but for pouring Water not on the fore-head only but on the face This seemeth a learned distinction that may pass current among ignorant People what difference betwixt sprinkling and pouring seeing all the Water ye pour is neither gallon nor pint but so much as ye can hold in the hollow of your hand which cannot well wet the whole face and therefore is more sprinkling but still ye are to seek for a proof that either sprinkling or pouring Water on a childs facâ— was ever commanded by Christ or practised by any of the Apostles or Ministers of Christ recordâ—d in Scripture Ye say Origine and Cyprian tell us that the Apostles gave order for the baptizing of Infants withal citing Augustin but this is no Scripture-proof and Authority of antient Writers without Scripture ought to be of no weight among true Protestants The Church of Rome doth so argue for her unscriptural Traditions and is more ingenuous than ye that she doth confess There is no Aâ—tâ—ority for Infant Baptism but only the Tradition of the Church and if ye have no better Authority than Tradition your cause is desperate and your Refuge to the Tradition of antient Writers proveth you more Popish than Protestant And as for Origine Cyprian and Augustine they lived long after the first Century and ye can give no evidence in Church History that Infant Baptism was practised until Cyprians time past two hundred years from Christs Resurrection and whereas while the practice of Water-Baptism continued in the Church it was required that before Baptism the Persons that were to be baptized should confess to the Truth and also that they did confess their sins and declare their Repentance and Faith which Infants could not do and therefore were incapable of Water-Baptism to supply which defect in after Ages the invention of God-fathers that should confess and vow for them was set up that hath no shadow of ground in Scripture Pag. 139. Ye say I frauduleâ—tly omit that clause citing Luke 18.15 16. For of such iâ— the Kingdom of God Answ I do not fraudulently omit it but saw no necessity to repeat it as having not the least seeming strength in it for Water-Baptism to Infants for granting that those Infants or such belonged to the Kingdom of God it doth not therefore follow that they were baptized with Water ye must show either Precept or Practice but ye do neither and that ye say It is above the capacity of Children to receive the Lords Supper so call'd ye give no instance wherein that is more above their capacity than to receive Infant Baptism by sprinkling or pouring seeing both ye say are signs of spiritual Mysteries and in Augustines time that call'd the Supper was given to Children or Infants if they be uncapable of understanding the thing signified by the one so are they of understanding the thing signified by the other Ye falsly alledge That Contra-distinguished signifieth two Contraryes the one to the other but I did not unâ—eâ—stand any câ—ntrariety betwixt John's Baptism and Christ'â— but only a diversity nor doth the word contra-distinguished import any other contrariety but as the Type hath to the Anti-type i. e. counter-type Pag. 140 141. Ye contend that Mat.
28.19 20. muâ—t be Water-Baptism because the Apostles ever renounced doing any of thâ—se things as begetting or converting men unto Goâ— and baptizing with the Spirit by their own virtue But â—his is a most poor Evasion we do not say they either did or could do any of these thiâ—gs by their own virtue that is not the thing in Controversie for what they did they did not by their own Virtue but by the Virtue and Power of Christ Ye still beg the Question tho' to deny it ye call Infatuation but the Infatuation is your own that Christ commanded these words to be used as words of Institution In the Name of the Father c. for we find not that he bid them say or repeat these words Ye put a meer precarious gloss on Pauls words That he was not sent to Baptize That he was not obliged by any necessity to do it ordinarily personally And hendes this is as much as to say that Paul thought it enough to obey Gods Command by a Proxy and so ye may as well say he was not under any necessity to preach but by a Proxy or Deputy this is to abuse Scripture and not to expound it for if Paul might obey one Command of God by a Proxy why not all others And thus ye teach men to excuse themselves from Personal Obedience to Gods Commands it is enough according to your gloss that others obey for them but would Paul thank God for not obeying a Gospel-Precept and yet he said He thanked God for not baptizing any of them but some few Paul might have baptized some without a Commission as well as he circumcised Timothy Pag. 142. Ye say Ye have alwayes professed your zeal for the inward Baptism with the holy Ghost But this is a great Falshood and Contradiction when ye deny all present inward divine Revelation and Inspiration and the real in being and Presence of Christ or God immediately in the Saints Pag. 143. Ye most grosly pervert and abuse my words because I said Christ had an outward Supper with his Disciples when he did eat the Paschal Lamb with them ye put this your false gloss on it as if I said or thought That he had the thing without the thing signified i. e. that Christ ate the Passover hypocritically Nothing can be more grosly alledged for I said expresly that the Disciples at that time when Christ had that outwaâ—d Supper with them had an inward enjoyment â—f him given them by Christ in the use of the Bread and Wine see pag. 190. And by your many suâ—h gross Perversions that seem wilfull in you ye show what men ye are Ye alledge The first Cup belonged to the Passover Luke 22. But ye may as well say so did the second for ye give no Reason why one rather than another and ye may with as much colour say that the second Cup did not belong to the Supper because it is said Luke 22.20 He took the Cup after Supper c. Pag. 143. Ye alledge I arrogate Gods Prerogative who only can judge the heart immediatly when I say your Sacrament hath no inward spiritual signification unto you But I speak not so simply nor absolutely as I can and do appeal to the impartial Reader for ye leave out my following words that qualifie them viz. As ye use it while ye altogether deny that the Saints are partakers of the Substance of Christ or that Christ really and substantially dwelleth in his Saints while ye also deny all inward Revelation of him in these latter Ages And thus I presume not to judge you as if immediately I did know your hearts but by your words ye are judged even as I may judge of that man who denyeth that he hath eat any substance of Bread or Food that he hath not received of Bread c. For as he who eateth Bread receiveth the Substance of it into his body so he who eateth Christ the Bread of Life receiveth some measure of him substantially into his Soul And though this is denyed by many of you and as I said in my former Book the manâ— lean and dead Souls among you void of inward and spiritual discerning taste or savour too manifestly demonstrate ye are generally strangers to the Supper of the Lord here Note I say not universally but generally yet I have that charity that some called Presbyterians and Independents of the more sober kind and who allow in part of inward divine Revelation and of a real inward indwelling of Christ in Believers may truly know some-what at times of the inward and spiritual Signification of that Figurative Supper yet not because of that outward manner of using it but indeed because there is some secret breathing and desires after the Lord in some of them and such are sober and tender and not of a malicious and persecuting Spirit as too many among you are who continue to justifie the putting to Death our innocent worthy Friends at Boston and thus our Charity is greater than yours for ye call me a fearful Apostate and so ye and not I arrogate Gods Prerogative who only can judge the heart immediately for ye can give no probable signs of my Apostâ—cy seeing in the judgment of all sober Protestants I own all the Fundamental and most necessary Doctrines of the Christian Faith and ye can charge nothing in my Conversation or manner of Life inconsistent with true Christianity I have departed from no good thing either of Doctrine or Life that I had when among these called Presbyterians I have only relinquished their Errors and that will no more prove me Apostate than Luther and Calvin their relinquishing Popish Errors doth prove them Apostates altho' the Papists have so charged them yea I have known Presbyterians accuse the Independents for being Apostates But as I value noâ— your uncharitable Judgment against me so I cannot but take notice how guilty ye are to blame me for Vncharitableness in judging when ye are so deeply guilty in that very thing Pag. 144. Ye grosly abuse and pervert my words when ye alledge That I say ordinary eating as it is the common Duty of all men is the Supper of the Lord. I said no such thing but that often in the use of outward eating and drinking being sanctified and blessed by the Word of God and Prayer we have together with the outward â—â—ting eat the inward and spiritual Bread and together with the outwarâ— Cup â—â—re drunk that spiritual Drink and withal remembring the Lords Death and what he hath done and suffered for us And I distinguish betwixt the Saints more solemn eatings together upon frequent occasions where their thus eating together was a figure or sign of their inward Communion and their daily eating a part and withal I declared how in all our eatings and drinkings and at all times we should remember the Lords Death even until his last coming and to the end of the World see pag. 188 to 19â— And when the
continue to offer up this Dirt and Dung unto God but remember that God will cast the Dirt Dung of your Sacrifices on your faces and the Dung of your solemn Feasts according to Mal. 2.3 And surely seeing by your own confession your Prayers are Dirt and Dung they cannot be that pure Offering which God promised his People should offer up unto him Mal. 1.11 6thly Ye say Prophets do not use to call men to Repent of their holding the Truth as it is in Jesus and his Call is nothing else Ans I bid you not Repent for your holding the Truth in Jesus for that is false ye hold it not in Jesus but as ye hold many Errors in Doctrine so ye hold something of Truth in Unrighteousness according to Rom. 1.18 and I bid you Repent of your Hypocrisie Pride Vanity Blasphemy hard Speeches Cruelty c. 7thly Ye say Prophets had wont to show some proof of their Call but ye alledge I have shown none but ye have not told what proof they used to show or what proof John a great Prophet showed to the Pharisees for he wrought no Miracles their ordinary proof was Hear the Word of the Lord and Let the Lord be Witness and this is my proof who do not equal my self to any of those Prophets it sufficeth that I am one of the least of the Servants of Christ But it is hard to prove a thing to be White to a blind man or that I speak to a deaf man When ye can prove that ye have Ears to hear what God saith in his Servants or that your Earâ— are open to hear I can prove That God spoke by me unto you but ye shut your Ears against Gods Call as many did of Old and said The Lord hath not spoken when he did speak I say it with Sorrow if ye were not blind ye might see some of the Judgments of the Lord begun to be executed upon you which I was made with great sorrow to declare I did feel were to come upon the People both of Boston and New-England if they did not speedily Repent though Ye have not considered and laid it to heart yet some have and more I hope will for their Amendment but as for me I have not desired the Evil Day to come upon you but greatly desire if it be the good will of God that ye may find Mercy to Repent and so his Wrath that is began to kindle against you may be quenched And though I told you That whatever Doctrine cannot be proved from Scripture is to be rejected whatever pretence men may make to Immediate Revelation yet this doth not reach me for I bring no Doctrine but what I prove from Scripture but as for the Call that Gods Servants used to have they proved it not by Scripture but by the living Voice of God speaking in them to all who have an Ear open to hear but your Ear is shut as so was Pharoah's Ear against God's Call in Moses though accompanied in him with great Miracles and as some believed that saw no Miracles of old so many did not believe that did see them and so would it be now if Miracles were wrought In your Appendix which containeth a poor empty shadow of Answer to my Letter unto you I need not take notice of all your Impertinencies nor reply unto them as judging it loss of time and paper Ye say 1st Ye hope ye have now given a satisfactory Reason why ye called my Letter a Blasphemous and Heretical Paper But your hope will prove vain I freely leave it to all that are sober and able to judge in these matters 2dly Ye think ye have now found spiritual Weapons if the Word of God be the Sword of the Spirit Ephes 6.17 But the Word of God ye are ignorant of and also of the Scripture that testifie of it and ye have only wrested and abused some places of Scripture to defend your bad Cause as I have made sufficiently already appear 3dly Ye say your preaching is open and ye shut out none but those that will not come But this is a poor excuse do ye not deny to give us a fair hearing when if any come to answer to your false accusations and gain-say your false doctrine before they can speak one sentence they are carried away to the Goal 4thly Ye alledge when I came unto you your Liberties were taken away But this is a notorious Falsehood ye had all the Liberty that we or I had or could be desired None of your Meetings were disturbed by them in Authority nor no Prohibition to hinder you fairly to debate things of Religion only ye had not power to persecute as formerly and your Sun of Persecution was set 5thly Ye falsly alledge I boast of my great Conquest for I only publish your Cowardice And that ye say Ye suppose ye have made my Cake appear to be Dough it is but a supposition and hath nothing of truth in it 6thly Ye say Ought not the Shepherd to be aware when the Wolf comes to his Flock But suppose I were a Wolf as I thank God I am not when the Woâ—f cometh among your flock openly should the Shepherds abscond and not give the Wolf an open Assault Is this the way to defend your Flock unless ye did judge that by your open appearing in a publick Dispute ye would discover your weakness 7thly Ye say Ye knew I was a Quaker and therefore doubted my design But I told you plainly what my design was viz. To discover you to be Teachers of false Doctrine in many things 8thly Ye say I give no demonstration that I came in the Will of the Lord unto you But ye should say ye are blind and cannot see it as all false Teachers and Persecuters were who did not acknowledge that the true Servants of God who came unto them were sent of God 9thly Ye falsly and without all shadow of proof say It was of God doubtless to leave him in the hands of Satan to be thus acted I value not your false Judgment further than to pitty your great Blindness 10thly Ye say I have set you a President viz. To Lye and Rail but ye follow it not But let all sober and impartial Readers judge whether ye have not both Lyed and Railed most grosly and tho' I have used some sharp words towards you according to your desert as Gods Servants have done formerly against men of your Spirit yet my tender Conscience beareth me witness with the help of God that I have neither lyed nor railed upon you 11thly Ye say It hath been proved that I bring another Doctrine than that of Christ But ye say it and that is all And whereas I told you an Heretick tho' I am none should be twice admonished before he is rejected Ye answer Have I not been more than so But I say I never to this day received Admonition from any Church Presbyterian or other according to due Church