little Children were nearer the Kingdom of God and readier for the Kingdom of God than any others for Christ saith several times Whosoever will enter into the Kingdom of God must be as a little Child So by all these Scriptures we may see that he ownes little Children above all others Now how it cometh that they throw water upon them to give an addition to that Innocent state while they are Infants this is certainly an Invention and an Imagination of their own for there is nothing in Scripture for it Indeed John the Baptist who was sent before Christ to preach the Baptisme of repentance he baptized those that received his Doctrine with water in Jordan but we do not find that he put Infants in that was not according to his Doctrine which was Repentance for Infants were not capable to repent And when the Jewes sent the Priests and Levites to enquire of John what he was they asked Why he baptized if he was not the Christ neither Elias nor that Prophet John answered them saying I indeed baptize with water unto repentance but there standeth one among you whom ye know not he it is who cometh after me and is preferred before me whose shoes latchet I am not worthy to unloose This was beyond Jordan where John was baptizing Saith he and I knew him not but he that sent me to baptize with water the same said unto me Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him the same is he that baptizeth with the Holy Ghost John 1. And Matthew saith In those dayes came John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness of Judea and said Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand c. I indeed baptize you with water unto Repentance but he that cometh after me is mightier than I whose shooes I am not worthy to bear he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire Mat. 3. It is said in John 3. After that Christ had been preaching and speaking to Nichodemus and had been preaching the Light to him that he and his Disciples came to Judea and there he tarried with them and baptized and the disciples of John and some of the Jewes were at difference about Purifying and they came to John and said He that thou bore witness of baptizeth John answered and said Ye your selves bear me witness that I said I am not the Christ but I am sent before him he must increase but I must decrease When Jesus therefore knew that the Pharisees heard that he baptized and made Disciples more then John though Jesus himself baptized not but his Disciples he left Judca and departed John 4. Also when John was preaching and baptizing and preaching repentance and remission of sins then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him but John forbad him saying I have more need to be baptized of thee and comest thou to me and Jesus answering said Suffer it to be so now for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness And Jesus when he was baptized went up straightway out of the water and the heavens were opened unto him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a Dove and lighted upon him and a voice came from heaven saying This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased Mat. 3. This is the main Scripture that the Baptists build upon for their water-Water-Baptism and here is a secret in this which they never came to see For John saith I knew him not but that he should be made manifest to Israel therefore am I come baptizing with water And John bare record saying I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a Dove and it abode upon him and I knew him not Now how do the Baptists know him And the end wherefore he went into the water since that John did not know it nor would not have had him to have done so who was a man sent of God to Baptize with water till he said it was to fulfill all Righteousness which word was hid from John as he afterwards saith but that he should be made manifest to Israel therefore he came baptizing with water And so afterwards when Christ was teaching Nichodemus when he told him That those that were to enter into the Kingdom of God must be born of the water of the Spirit These things were strange unto him but Jesus said We speak what we know and testify what we have seen and ye believe not our testimoony If I have told you earthly things and ye believe them not how shall â—e believe if I tell you of heavenly things To the same purpose the Apostle saith There are three that bear record in the Earth the Spirit the Water and the Blood and these three agree in one 1 John 5. It were good for the Baptists to know this Water and this Baptism and this Spirit by which they might he born again and to know the washing of the Regeneration and Renewing of the Holy Ghost For this was the Washing and Water that the Saints were washed with They were made clean through the Word by the washing of the water of the Word Ephes 5. Now for the Baptists to stand washing with outward Water which John baptized with who was before Christ which was a Figure of the inward washing and cleansing and purging as the Apostle Peter saith the same when he is speaking of Noah's preaching while he made the Ark wherein few that is eight persons were lived by Water The like figure saith he whereunto even Baptism doth now save us not the putting away the filth of the flesh but the answer of a good Conscience towards God by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ 1 Pet. 3. 21. Whose Blood and the Water and Spirit which he Baptizeth with is the true and only Baptism For John himself saith He must decrease and Christ must increase and for them to stand washing here with outward water and their hearts and Consciences defiled and polluted this will be of little value to them for John who was a man sent of God and bore a true witness of Christ Jesus yet after he was cast into Prison he sent his disciples to ask Art thou he or do we look for another He was â—â—r beyond the Anabaptists So it concerneth them to question their state and condition For they that look at the outward element of Water to be the Baptism they are far from the real and true washing and from that Baptism that baptizeth into the body When Paul came to Ephesus and finding certain Disciples he said unto them Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed they said We have not so much as heard whether there be a Holy Ghost he said unto them Unto what then were ye baptized they said Unto John's Baptism Paul said John Baptized with the Baptism of Repentance and that they should believe on him that was to come after him that is in Christ Jesus Then
they were Baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus And when Paul had laid his hands upon them the Holy Ghost came upon them and they spake with Tongues and Prophesied Acts 19. So here is the true and only Baptism the Power and Spirit of Christ Jesus which as John said shall increase who is that Living Fountain that if any man be athirst they may come unto him and drink And this was spoken of the pourings forth of his Spirit and with this Spirit were they Baptized while Peter was speaking unto them when the Holy Ghost fell upon them and they spake with Tongues And they of the Circumcision which believed were astonied and came to Peter because the Holy Ghost fell upon the Gentiles But Peter answered Can any man forbid Water that they should not be baptized who have received the Holy Ghost So he commanded them to be baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus and so they were united into the Body and into the Christian Faith and into the Unity as well as the Jewes And by this Spirit did Christ send forth his Disciples to go teach and Baptize all Nations Acts 2. 38 41. And this is not an outward Element of Water neither is this poured only upon Infants but upon all that are athirst And this is that one Baptism which the Apostle mentioneth in Ephes 4. where he saith There is one Body and one Spirit one Lord and one Faith one Baptism one God and Father of all So as there is but one Lord and one God and one Faith and one Spirit and one Body so there is but one Baptism if we believe the Apostle who saith By one Spirit we are all Baptized into one Body 1 Cor. 12. Then we cannot believe that it is outward Water So this one Baptism and one Spirit is not outward Water So the Baptizing of Infants with outward Water which both Papists and Protestants use is contrary and without any ground from Scripture for if there be but one Baptism surely outward Water is not it And whereas they say They do it as a Sign or Signification and call it a Sacrament this is nothing but their own Invention and Imagination to keep People in ignorance and darkness for they have no Scripture for it So much for that Particular of Baptism There is no Scripture that mentioneth a Sacrament this word hath been invented at Rome by the Pope who was the first that set up the Sacrament and the Altar and the Eucharist which they call the Real-Presence which after their Priests have consecrated Bread they call it The Real Body of Christ and many have lost their Lives by them because they could not believe this Something of kin to this is that which our Protestants use though it 's not altogether so gross for they call Bread and Wine after they have blest it A Sacrament as though the nature and property of it were changed from what it was before but this is not the fruit of that Vine which Christ said he would drink with his Disciples new in the Kingdom of God When Christ was speaking to his Disciples that the Son of Man must be betrayed he said unto them I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer for I say unto you I will not any more eat thereof untill it be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God And he took the Cup and gave thanks and said Take this and divide it among your selves For I say unto you I will not drink of the fruit of the Vine until the Kingdom of God come And he took Bread and gave thanks and brake it and gave it unto them saying This is my Body given for you this do in remembrance of me Likewise also the Cup after Supper saying This Cup is the New Testament in my Blood which is shed for you Luke 22. Mat. 26. Mark 14. Now if the Bread and the Wine had been the Real Body and Blood of Christ which was given and shed for them he needed not to have said as he saith in the next words Behold the hand of him that betrayeth me for he ate of the bread that betrayed him which words make a distinction betwen him and the Bread and Wine But he said This do in remembrance of me And with this the Apostle agreeth in what he writeth to the Corinthians for he saith I received of the Lord that which also I deliver unto you That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks he brake it and said Take eat this is my Body which is broken for you this do in remembrance of me In the same manner also he took the Cup when he had supt saying This Cup is the New Testament of my Blood this do ye as often as ye drink in remembrance of me For saith the Apostle to these Corinthians As often as ye eat this Bread and drink this Cup ye shew the Lords death till he come 1 Cor. 11. So that the eating of this Bread and drinking of this Cup is but the remembrance of his death how Judas betrayed him and the Jewes Crucified him until he come saith the Apostle But where is the drinking in his Resurrection New in his Kingdom It is manifested these Corinthians were not come to that by what the Apostle was speaking to them of in all the foregoing part of this Chapter he is speaking to them of the state and condition of the Man and of the Woman and of their Praying and Prophesying with their heads covered and uncovered and of their long hair and of their heads being shaven and of Nature it self teaching them but more especially in this particular he saith When ye come together into one place this is not to eat the Lords Supper but in eating every one taketh before other and one is hungry and another drunken So any that read this Chapter may see that these Corinthians were not come to the Power of his Resurrection they might well eat in remembrance of his Death for they were one with them in sinning that Crucified him and so Crucified him by their sins afresh as the Apostle saith And so are our eaters and givers of Bread and Wine for they eat it in remembrance of his Death and sin again as soon as they have done and this they call A Communion but it is a Communion in sin and transgression which was the cause of Christ's Death in the eating of this Bread and drinking of this Cup Yet in the foregoing Chapter he saith Wherefore my dearly beloved fly from Idolatry I speak as to wise men judge ye what I say The Cup of Blessing which we bless here he taketh in himself Is it not the Communion of the Blood of Christ the Bread which we break Is it not the Communion of the Body of Christ This is not the Communion in sin and transgression For we being many are one Bread and one Body for
without dissimulation abhor that which is evil cleave to that which is good And thus the Apostle goeth on with gracious Exhortations Rom. 12. to the end of the Chapter not preferring one before another but every one to abide and wait in their Gifts Also when he writeth unto the Ephesians he writeth thus I therefore the Prisoner of the Lord beseech you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called with all lowliness and meekness with long-suffering forbearing one another in Love endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace There is one Body and one Spirit even as ye are called in one Hope of your Calling one Lord one Faith one Baptisme one God and one Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all Ephes 4. And in this Chapter he also goes on in opening of the manifestation of the Gift of the Spirit of God and in holy Admonitions even to the end of the Chapter Which Gift he saith is given for the Work of the Ministry for the perfecting of the Saints for the edifying of the Body of Christ And this Doctrine and Ministry is contrary to those Ministers which have been of late that limit and bind under their Power which Power is contrary to the Power of God and his Spirit as they themselves will confess for they cannot say they have the same Power and Spirit that the Apostles had and yet they inflict Punishments and lay Oppressions and Burthens and Bondages by their Laws upon those that do not follow and obey their Doctrine and Practices which is quite contrary to Christ and his Apostles For there is but two Wayes Truth and Error Light and Darkness So let the wise and honest in heart judge what a condition the Saints of God are in while this Power of Darkness Ruleth And thus much for the Second Particular of their Practice which is Binding and Limiting and keeping in Bondage those that are under their Power The Third Particular of their Practice is That they upbold and carry on many of these Practices before-mentioned by causing People to Swear in their Courts or upon any other occasion what they like and preach up Swearing and allow of it and hold it up in all occasions whatsoever And in this they are absolute Breakers of the special Command of Jesus Christ and also out of the Doctrine and Practice of Christ and his Apostles and contrary to their Testimony For Christ Jesus when he was in his Sermon on the Mount and was rehearsing the Heads of the Law as we said before he mentioned this also again Ye have heard that it hath been said to them of old time Thou shalt not Forswear thy self but shalt perform unto the Lord thine Oathes but I say unto you Swear not at all Matth. 5. Now Christ being the fulfilling of the Law and the end of the Law as the Apostle saith for Righteousness and being that one Offering that hath been offered up once for all in which he said Lo I come to do thy will O God he hath taken away the First that he might establish the Second and when he had offered one Sacrifice for Sin for ever he sat down at the right hand of God expecting his Enemies to become his Foot-stool And the same Apostle saith when he is speaking of his Priesthood And in as much as not without an Oath he was made a Priest For saith he those Priests to wit those that were under the Law were made without an Oath but this with an Oath by him that said unto him The Lord sware and will not repent Thou art a Priest for ever after the Order of Melchisedec c. Hebr. 7. So this is he that is the Oath of God and the Promise of God the Substance and Performance of all that God swore and promised unto Abraham and unto his Seed for ever this the Apostle makes very clear in the foregoing Chapter where he saith When God made a Promise to Abraham because he could Sware by no greater he Swore by Himself saying Surely in blessing I will bless thee and in multiplying I will multiply thee And so after he had patiently endured be obtained the Promise Wherein God willing more abundantly to shew unto the Heirs of Promise the Immutability of his Counsel confirmed it by an Oath that by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to Lye we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the Hope set before us which Hope we have as an Anchor of the Soul both sure and stedfast which entereth into that within the Vail whither the Fore-runner is for us entered even Jesus made an High-Priest for ever after the Order of Melchisedec Hebr. 6. Surely all will confess that this is he whom God the Father promised unto Abraham by an Oath as also of whom David said The Lord hath sworn and will not repent Thou art a Priest for ever after the Order of Melchisedec These are the two Immutable things which the Apostle saith here in which God shews the immutability of his Counsel which both here meet in Christ Jesus the Sum and Substance of all For surely he is the Seed which God promised to Abraham if we will believe the Apostle Gal. 3. 16. Also he is that Priest that is for ever that ever liveth to make intercession for us and this is he that the Apostle saith At his Name every Knee shall bow and every Tongue confess Then I say let all Mouthes be stopt in speaking against him and opposing of him who hath said But I say unto you Swear not at all he that is the Sum and the Substance and the Performance of all that God hath Sworn and hath put an end to the Law under which Oathes and Swearing was allowed he had full Power as well to put an end to Oaths as he had to put an end to the Sabbath For he said the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath which was one of the Ten Words and Swearing was none of them And surely those that disobey Christ Jesus his Commands who is the Sum and Substance of Gods Oaths and the fulfilling and end of the whole Law surely they blaspheme against that Holy One. For the Apostle said He that despise Moses Law died without Mercy under two ar three Witnesses how much more sorer punishment suppose ye shall be thought worthy for them who have trodden under foot the Son of God c. Hebr. 10. All those that are Fighters against God and Holders up of Swearing against Christs Command they will find It a fearfull thing to fall into the Hands of the Living God But they have three Objections First That God Swore Secondly That the Angel Swore Thirdly That the Apostle saith Men verily Swear by the Greater and an Oath for Confirmation is to them an end of all Strife In answer to these three First For what the Lord
a murderer and ye know that no murtherer hath eternal Life abiding in him Hereby perceive we the love of God because he hath laid down his Life for us We ought also to lay down our lives for the Brethren Chap. 3. And so this is contrary to what hath been the practise of those that have taken upon them the function of the Ministers of Christ for many hundreds of years for though they have professed Christ and Christianity yet they have been killing and slaying and murdering one another as many examples might be instanced in ages past Those that call themselves Papists and those that call themselves Protestants one killing and slaying and murdering another and yet all professing and confessing themselves to be Christians and would profess the Scriptures Christ and the Apostles words and in doing thus one to another they have thought they have done God good service and so have fulfilled Christ's words who saith Yea the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doth God good service and these things will they do because they have not known the Father and me John 16. And this may suffice for the second head which is their Quallifications The third is their Call For Jesus when he came and spake unto his Disciples he said unto them All power is given unto me in Heaven and in Earth go ye therefore and teach all Nations baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you and loe I am with you alwayes even to the end of the world Mat. 28. And he said unto them Go ye into all the world and preaceh unto every creature he that believeth shall be saved and he that believeth not shall be damned And again he saith Behold I send the promise of my Father upon you but tarry ye in the City of Jerusalem till ye be endued with Power from on high and he blessed them and they worshipped him and they returned to Jerusalem Luke 26. Which is rehearsed again in the first of the Acts and fulfilled in the second Chapter and the Spirit was poured upon them plentifully and there were some then that mocked and said These men are full of new Wine but Peter stood up with the eleven and said These men are not drunken as ye suppose but this is that which was spoken of by the Prophet Joel It shall come to pass in the last days saith the Lord I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh and your Sons and Daughters shall prophesie and whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord in that day shall be saved This holy Spirit the Apostles received when they were met together also Paul the Apostle who was made an Apostle after them he also was separated for that work by the holy Ghost for as the Apostles were met together with the Church at Antioch as they ministred to the Lord and fasted the Holy Ghost said Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them So they being sent forth by the Holy Ghost departed c. Act. 13. And so the Apostle writes himself when he wrote to the Romans Paul a servant of Jesus Christ called to be an Apostle separated unto the Gospel of God And again when he wrote to the Galatians he wrote thus Paul an Apostle not of men neither by man but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead and all the Brethren which are with me unto the Churches of Galatia And he saith further I certifie you brethren that the Gospel which was preached of me is not after man for I neither received it of man neither was I taught it but by the Revelation of Jesus Christ But when it pleased God who separated me from my mothers womb and called me by his grace to reveal his Son in me that I might preach him among the Heathen immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood Gal. 1. And again when he wrote to the Ephesians when he was a Prisoner of Jesus Christ he wrote thus to the Gentiles Ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of the Gospel of God which is given me to you ward how that by Revelation he made known unto me the Mystery as I wrote unto you in a few words which in other Ages was not made known unto the Sons of men as it is now revealed unto his holy Apostles and Prophets by the Spirit Ephes 3. I do not know neither have I heard that the Ministers and such as take upon them to teach People neither those that are their Lords Bishops and Arch-Bishops that they have had their Calls after this Order for there have been other wayes and meanes used for many hundred of years together as Schooles and Colledges and Universities and Nurseries of Learning which they call their Mothers with a heap of Stuffe which are better known by them that exercise themselves in them than the Revelation of Jesus Christ is and the Ministers they make are by men and of men and they will have them Fitted and Ordained according to their Wayes and Orders But if any one have received the Revelation of Jesus Christ and his Holy Spirit if any such have a Word to speak from the Lord they must not be received nor admitted this is not according to their Order this they call an Heresie and a Sect any that speak and meet together and worship the Lord God in his Spirit and in his Truth such are taken notice of and are brought under the Whip and the Scourge and are apprehended and cast into Prision if they do but pretend the Teachings and Leadings of the Spirit of God and if they have not freedom in their spirits to pay them Tythes or to maintain their Steeple-houses presently they are brought into the Bishops Court and if they cannot for Conscience-sake swear and take an Oath then presently they are cast into Prison But of this more hereafter And thus it is truly manifested that the order of their Calling is not according unto Christ nor his Apostles for Christ saith expresly All things are delivered unto me of my Father and no man knoweth the Son but the Father neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son and he to whom the Son revealeth him Mat. 11. And again Christ saith It is written in the Prophets They shall be all taught of God every man therefore that hath heard and learned of the Father cometh unto me not that any man hath seen the Father save he that is of God he hath seen the Father John 6. This may be sufficient to prove the Third head which is their Call which is contrary to the Apostles The fourth their Worship and the manner of it And first for the Worship it self Christ when he spake to the woman of Samaria and she told him That their Fathers worshipped in that Mountain of
Samaria Jesus saith unto her Woman believe me the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this Mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father but the hour cometh and now is when the true Worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth for the Father seeketh such to worship him God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in Truth John 4. And to this purpose did Jesus speak to Nichodemus when he came unto him by night when he said unto him Verily verily I say unto thee except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God At which words Nichodemus wondred but Jesus answered Except a man be born of Water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God That which is born of the Flesh is Fesh and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit Marvel not that I said unto thee ye must be born again the wind bloweth where it listeth c. John 3. And to this purpose was the man whose name was John sent of God to bear witness of Christ Jesus the Light that all men through him might believe He was not that Light but was sent to bear witness of that Light which is the true Light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world He was in the world and the world was made by him which were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God John bare witness of him and cryed saying This is he of whom I spake he that cometh after me is preferred before me and of his fullness we have all received grace for grace as may be read at large John 1. And to bring People to this Light and Spirit of the Lord within them did Christ Jesus and all his holy Apostles endeavour by their Preaching Therefore saith Jesus Christ unto Nichodemus we speak what we know and testifie what we have seen and ye receive â—ot our witness This is the condemnation that Light is come into the world and men love Darkness rather than Light because their deeds are evil For every one that doth evil hateth the Light lest his deeds should be reproved But he that doth truth cometh to the Light that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God This is Christ's Doctrine and Worship And when he was preaching among his Disciples and also the Scribes and Pharisees heard him and many believed among the chief Rulers â—â—t they did not confess him because of the Pharisees lest they should be put out of the Synagogue And Jesus cryed out among them â—nd said He that believeth on me believeth â—ot on me but on him that sent me I am come â— Light into the World that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness And if any man hear my words and believe not I judge him not for I came not to judge the world but to save the world He that rejecteth me and receiveth not my words hath one that judgeth him the Word that I have spoken shall judge him at the last day and so on John 12. And Christ told the Pharisees that the Kingdom of God came not by observation but the Kingdom of God was within them And when he sent forth his Disciples he saith As ye go preach saying The Kingdom of God is at hand Mat. 10. Also when he sent out the seventy he said Heal the sick that are therein and say The Kingdom of God is nigh unto you Luke 10. 9. And we also see by the Epistles of the Apostles which are left upon record after what manner of Doctrine and exhortation they spake unto the People as the Apostle John which was the beloved Disciple what he hath written in that which hath been already mentioned in the 1st 2d. 3d. and 4th Chapters of John Also the Apostle Peter in his first Epistle saith For we have not followed cunning devised Fables when we made known unto you the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ but we are Eye-witnesses of his Majesty For he received from God the Father honour and glory when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory saying This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased And this voice which came from heaven we heard when we were with him in the holy Mount We have also a more sure Word of Prophesie whereunto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a Light that shineth in a dark place until the Day dawn and the Day-star arise in your hearts Here the Apostle directs them to a more sure Word than that which was heard in the Mount which came from the Excellent Glory which they taking heed unto might have the day to dawn and the day-star to arise in their hearts This was a true and a right Minister also he saith Knowing this first that no Prophesie of the Scriptures is of any private Interpretation 2 Pet. 1. How is it then that it is kept so private that none must interpret it but Learned men such as have been at Oxford or Cambridge But the Apostle saith That the Prophesie came not in old time by the will of man but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the holy Ghost But those that have had learning at Cambridge and Oxford will hardly give a right Interpretation of that which the holy Ghost hath spoken forth But when the Apostle wrote to Timothy who was a Bishop and an Overseer made by the holy Ghost to him he saith Continue thou 〈◊〉 the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of knowing â—f whom thou hast learned them and that from a Child thou hast known 〈◊〉 holy Scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto Salvation through faith in Christ Jesus Here Timothy did not go to Cambridge nor Oxford nor no such place to learn what he had done from a Child All Scripture saith he is given by inspiration of God and iâ— profitable for Doctrine for Reproof for Correction for Instruction that the man of God may be perfected throughly furnished unto all good works 2. Tim. 3. And when Peter speaketh of his beloved Brother Paul and of his Epistles which he had written and what he spake Some things he saith are hard to be understood which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest as they do also the other Scriptures unto their own destruction 2 Pet. 3. So they that have not the Inspiration of the Almighty and motion of the Spirit of the Lord God the same that gave forth the Scriptures when they come to Interpret them and give meanings to them being unlearned therein they just wrest them to their 〈◊〉 destruction and therefore they do not profit the People at all These be they who separate themselves men that are sensual not having the Spirit Judge 19. Also the Apostle Paul when he was sent forth to Preach the Gospel of Christ the
it from you and judge your selves unworthy of everlasting life loe we turn unto the Gentiles for so hath the Lord commanded us I have set thee to be a light to the Gentiles that thou shouldest be for salvation to the ends of the earth And when the Gentiles heard this they were glad Acts 13. Thus ye see how the Apostles opened unto them the mystery of the Resurrection of Christ as also Christ himself when he met with the Disciples after his Resurrection and they not knowing him told him what things had happened concerning Christ He said unto them O fools and slow of heart ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself Luke 24. And this is the matter and manner and method of all Christ's Ministers to preach the Resurrection of Christ Jesus in his Light and Spirit which is a mystery to all carnal men and carnal minds and this is not a deal of Imaginations and divinations of the brain and studyings of men who take one Verse of Scripture and add unto it what they please out of other old Authors Writings Heathen Philosophers or any thing that will make up an hours talk till their Glass be run which is quite contrary to the Apostles practice and that which they witnessed and exhorted against For he saith unto the Colossians As ye have received Christ Jesus so walk ye in him rooted and built in him established in the Faith as ye have been taught Beware lest any man spoil you through Philosophy and vain deceit after the Traditions of men after the Rudiments of the world and not after Christ Col. 2. Here is an express command laid upon them that they should not be deceived by the teachings of men who taught not after Christ And the Apostle saith also that Christ sent him not to preach the Gospel with wisdom of words For saith he It is written I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent Where is the Wise Where is the Scribe Where is the Disputer of this world Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe For the Jews require a sign and the Greeks seek after wisdom but we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling-block and unto the Greeks foolishness but unto them that are called both Jews and Greeks Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God Because the foolishness of God is wiser then men and the weakness of God stronger then men For ye see your calling Brethren how that not many wise men after the flesh not many mighty not many noble are called but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty and base-things of the world and things which are despised hath God chosen yea and things which are not to bring to nought things which are that no flesh should glory in his presence but those that glory should glory in the Lord 1 Cor. 1. And the Apostle saith further And my speech and preaching was not with enticing words of mans wisdom but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of Power that your Faith should not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect yet not the wisdom of this world nor of the Princes of this world that come to nought but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world For we have not received the Spirit of the world but that Spirit that is of God that we might know the things that are freely given us of God which things we speak not in the words which mans wisdom teacheth but which the holy Ghost teacheth comparing spiritual things with spiritual Here the Apostle testifies clearly against the wisdom of mens teaching which is a clear testimony against the teachings that have been in these last Ages for that is all that hath been taught for many generations of Teachers since the Apostles dayes the wisdom of men and traditions of men and inventions and imaginations of men one quoting and rehearsing what another saith quite contrary to the Apostles practice We do not make our selves of the number or compare our selves with some that commend themselves and measuring themselves by themselves are not wise But we will not boast our selves above our measure but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us for we come as far as you also in preaching the Gospel of Christ not boasting of things without our measure of other mens labours nor to boast of another mans line made ready to our hands 2 Cor. 10. Not that we are sufficient of our selves to think any thing as of our selves but our sufficiency is of God who hath also made us able Ministers of the New Testament not of the Letter but of the Spirit for the Letter killeth but the Spirit giveth Life 2 Cor. 3. 6. In this Chapter the Apostle gives his Testimony that the Life of the Ministry is in the ministration of the Spirit As also in Rom. 7. But now we are delivered from the Law that being dead wherein we were held that we should serve in newness of Spirit and not in the oldness of the Leter which he calls the Ministration of Death in the afore-mentioned Chapter And when he writes to his Son Timothy who was a Bishop he saith thus I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom Preach the Word be instant in season and out of season reprove rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but after their own hearts lusts shall heap to themselves teachers having itching ears and they shall turn away their ears from the Truth and shall be turned unto Fables 2 Tim. 4. Here the Apostle was a true Prophet and saw the Apostacy coming on and therefore he laid a hard charge upon Timothy For saith he watch thou in all things endure afflictions do the work of an Evangelist make full proof of thy Ministry for I am ready to be offered and the time of my departure draweth nigh 2 Tim. 4. As also when he writes to the Thessalonians of the Day of the Lord and of the Man of Sin the Son of Perdition and thanks God for them who had chosen them to Salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the Truth whereunto he called you saith he by our Gospel to the
Spirit or else he would not have learned them to have prayed That the Will of God might be done on Earth as it was in Heaven Vain-bablers and Patterers over of many words do not the Will of God on Earth as it is in Heaven but this Prayer is abused by them all as many other places of Scripture are And this may serve for the second particular of their Worship which is Prayer The third is their Singing which indeed is more like may-gameing then worshipping of God playing and piping of Organs and setting a company of wilde ungodly light boyes to sing tunes to to them which is such a kind of Worship as no Christians in the Primitive times exercised It s true there was in Davids and Solomons dayes such as were appointed to minister in way of singing and giving thanks as David when he had brought the Ark of God and set it in the midst of his Tent which he had made for it he offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before God and he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the Ark of the Lord and to record thank and praise the Lord God of Israel Asaph the chief and next to him Zachariah Jaaziel Shemiramoth Jehiel Mattathiah Eliah Benaiah and Obed-Edom 1 Chron. 15. 16 and 27. and Jehiel with Psalteries and with Harps but Asaph made a sound with Cimbals Benaiah and also Eliezer the Priests with Trumpets continually before the Ark of the Covenant of God Then on that day David delivered first this Psalm to thank the Lord into the hands of Asaph and his brethren who were the Singers Give thanks unto the Lord call upon his Name c. Psal 105. This was upon a special occasion when the Ark of God was brought up among them And these that David committed this Psalm unto were such as were appointed of God for that Place and Office as Asaph and those that were called to that office Also Solomen had Singing-men and Singing-women Eccles 2. 8. and them of this order came with them again out of the Captivity in Babylon Ezra 2. 41. Neh. 7. 67. But these were all before Christ and why may not Christians as well imitate Circumcision Burnt-offerings and Sacrifices which were in the time of the Law as well as imitate Singing-Boyes And we do not find that any of the Apostles and Saints in the Primitive times did Sing David Psalms in Meeter and Rhime and turn his Lamentations and Groanings and Sufferings and Tears and Anguish of his Bones being burned like a Hearth and that he was as a Pelican in the Wilderness and like an Owl in the Desart when he cryed out that his heart was smitten and withered and his Prayers and Cries Psal 102. We do not find that the Apostles turned this state of weeping and lamentation of his into Rhime and Meeter and sang it But Christ and his Apostles and Christians and Saints when they sung they sang with the Spirit in prayses to the Lord and in the joy and rejoycing of the Spirit This was not to take another mans Sighs and Groanings and Lamentations and Tears and Cryes to turn this into a Song and sing it This is not the Truth neither is it the practice of the Spirit of Truth But when the Soul and the Spirit is joyful in the Lord and enjoyes his Presence and feels his Life then there is joy and honour and praises given to the Lord God in the Truth and in the Reality in his own Spirit and this glory and praises are acceptable to the Lord God And therefore doth the Apostle say I will Pray with the Spirit and with the Vnderstanding also I will Sing with the Spirit and with the Understanding also 2 Cor. 14. Yet the Apostle did not turn his praying into singing nor none that have the Spirit of the Lord Jesus to pray and sing with but when they pray they pray unto the Lord and when they sing they sing unto the Lord yet both by his own holy Spirit When Christ Jesus and his Disciples were at the Passover and that he had broken the Bread and given them the Cup of the New Testament he said unto them I will drink no more of the fruit of the Vine until the day that I drink it new in the Kingdom of God And when they had sung an Hymn they went out into the mount of Olives Mar. 14. 26. And according to this the Apostle in his Exhortation to the Ephesians among many other particulars he saith Be not drunk with Wine wherein is excess but be filled with the Spirit speaking to your selves in Psalms and Hymns and spiritual Songs singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord giving thanks alwayes for all things unto God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ Ephes 5. 19 20. And again in his Epistle to the Colossians he saith Let the Word of Christ dwell richly in you in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and Hymns and spiritual songs singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Likwise the Apostle James saith Is any among you afflicted let him pray is any merry let him sing Psalms Jam. 5. But he saith not sing those Psalms which David sung but the Apostles sung in the Spirit with grace in their hearts as before and said those that do glory and rejoyce let them do it in the Lord and in so doing they may worship and give thanks unto the Lord in rejoycing and singing as well as in other parts of worship in the Spirit of the Lord God But these are not wild wicked ungodly people and boyes who are imployed in this service in our dayes but the Lords holy Spirit where it dwels and rules and lives is the same as ever it was and can worshrp the Father in Spirit and in Truth who is a Spirit and his Worship is in his own Spirit and this Spirit speaking or praying or singing worships him More might be said concerning their Altars and bowing and cringing to Stocks and Stones and calling Wood and Stones set together by mens hands and adorned with Inventions A Church but all this trash and rubbish will fall together Since that Temple that Solomon built which God commanded Christ said should not be left one stone upon another of its building but it should be all thrown down surely these Popish Houses have no long reign And so this may serve for the finishing of the third particular and fourth Head which we except against which is their Worship The fifth is their Practice which is so large and indeed so contrary to all Scripture-Rule it is much to express the Heads of it except it be such as are practised in it for the body of darkness is deep and is such a puddle to rake in that it is fit for none but those whose garments are filthy and defiled to meddle with Yet for the Seed of God sake which is kept in Bondage and in Captivity in
away from the Lord and turned unto Idolatry and Abomination and was in Rebellion against him then he complains of their Teachers That they speak a Divination of their own Brain and not from the Mouth of the Lord But the Lord saith That he will frustrate the Tokens of the Lyars and make the Diviners mad and turn the Wise men backward and make their knowledge foolish Isa 44. And again he complains of the Blind Watchmen and said They are all Ignorant they are all dumb Dogs they cannot bark sleeping lying down to slumber yea they are greedy Dogs which can never have enough and they are Shepherds that cannot understand they all look to their own way every one for his Gain from his Quarter Come ye say they and I will fetch Wine and we will fill our selves with Strong-drink and to morrow shall be as this day and much more abundant Isa 56. Again the Lord complains of them by his Prophet Jeremiah Jeremiahs heart was broken within him because of the Prophets and his bones did shake like a drunken man because of the Lord and the word of his Holiness For the Land saith he is full of adulteries for because of swearing the Land mourneth for Prophet and Priest are prophane yea in my house have I found their wickedness saith the Lord. Wherefore their wayes shall be unto them as slippery wayes in the darkness they shall be driven on and fall therein I will bring evil upon them even the year of their visitation saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts Hearken not unto the words of the Prophets that prophesie unto you thy make you vain they speak a Vision of their own heart and not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say still unto them that despise me The Lord hath said ye shall have peace and they say unto every one that walketh after the Imaginations of his own heart No evil shall come upon you But behold the whirlwind of the Lord is come forth in fury and it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked the anger of the Lord shall not return till he have executed and till he hath performed the thoughts of his heart In the latter dayes he shall consider it perfectly I have not sent these Prophets I have not spoken unto them yet they prophesied I heard when the Prophet said that prophesied lies in my name which cause my people to forget my name as their Fathers have forgotten my name for Baal Is not my word like a fire saith the Lord and like a hammer that breaketh the rocks in pieces therefore behold I am against the Prophets saith the Lord that steal my words every one from his neighbour behold I am against the Prophets saith the Lord that use their tongues and say He saith behold I am against them that prophesie false dreams and tell them and cause my people to erre through their lies and by their lightness and yet I sent them not nor commanded them therefore they shall not profit my people at all saith the Lord Jer. 23. And again the Lord said unto me The Prophets prophesie lies in my name I sent them not neither commanded I them neither spake I unto them yet they prophesied unto you a false Vision and a divination and a thing of nought and the deceit of their heart Chap. 14. Therefore hearken not ye to your Prophets nor to your Diviners nor to your Inchanters nor to your Sorcerers for I have not sent them yet they prophesie a lye in my name that I might drive you out and ye might perish Jer. 27. For thus saith the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel Let not your Prophets nor your Diviners that be in the midst of you deceive you for they prophesie falsly unto you I have not sent them saith the Lord Jer. 29 And Ezekiel saith Her Prophets have daubed them with untempred morter seeing vanity divining lies unto them saying Thus saith the Lord when the Lord hath not spoken Ezek. 22. 28. And Zechariah saith The Idols have spoken vanity and Diviners have seen a lye and have told false dreams and have comforted in vain Zech. 10. 2. And Micah saith Then shall the Seers be ashamed and Diviners confounded yea they shall all cover their lips for there is no answer from God Micah 3. 7. After the children of Israel and Judah were fallen away from the Lord God and from his Worship and Service into Idolatry and worshiping of Baal then their Priests and Prophets and Teachers fell to divining and enchanting in the power of darkness and fell into all manner of wickedness and grosness and prophaness and drunkeness in so much that the Lord complaineth of their drinking wine in bowles Ye that put far the evil day and cause the seat of violence to come near that lie upon the beds of Ivory and stretch themselves upon the Couches and eat the Lambs out of the Flock and the Calves out of the midst of the Stall that chant to the sound of the Vial and invent to themselves Instruments of Musick like David that drink wine in Bowls and anoint themselves with the chief oyntment but they are not grieved at the afflictions of Joseph therefore they shall go into captivity with the first Amos 6. Surely the Diviners and Inchanters of these last dayes in this night of Apostacy in which the Apostle John said that Antichrist should come have taken example by these false Prophets and false Teachers that were fallen away from the Lord and from the Ordinances of his Law that he gave out to those that were to minister at the Altar and were to minister in the Priests Office when they were fallen away into Idolatry they then fell into Divination and digging and diving into the darkness and imagination of their wicked hearts and so spake false Visions and false Dreams and false Prophesies and said the Lord saith when the Lord had never spoken to them So it hath been with our professed Christian Ministers in this time of Apostacy since the Apostles dayes they read the Prophets words and said Thus saith the Lord and they read Christ's words and the holy Apostles words who worshiped the only true God and spake in and by his holy Spirit And they themselves will confess the Lord never spake unto them neither do they ever expect to know revelation nor hear the voice of God as the Apostle did for they have preached to all people that that is ceased And though it is true that it hath been ceased among them in their dark night of Apostacy yet the holy Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ which spake in him and in all his holy Apostles is alive and lives for evermore which he sent and signified by his servant John Rev. 1. Who bare record of the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ and of all things that he saw Who when he saw him fell at his feet as dead and he laid his right
burdens grievous to be born But this is contrary to Christ and his Apostles Doctrine and Example as hath been shewed already Moreover the Apostle Paul when he writeth his second Epistle to the Corinthins chap. 1. and relateth the sufferings and hardships that they had passed through how that they had the sentence of death in themselves he saith Now he which establisheth us with you in Christ and hath anointed us in God who hath also sealed us and given us the earnest of his Spirit in our hearts not that we have dominion over your Faith but are helpers of your joy for by Faith ye stand Here the Apostle did not bind them and limit them nor called them to Courts to keep them under oppression and penalty in those things that were contary to their Faith and Principles this was contrary to Pauls practice for when he called the Elders of the Church of Ephesus unto him he said unto them Ye know that from the first day that I came unto you after what manner I have been with you at all seasons serving the Lord with all humility of mind and with many tears and temptations which befel me and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you but have shewed you and have taught you publickly and from house to house testifying both to Jews and Greeks Repentance towards God and Faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ And when he goes on mentioning his sufferings he saith None of these things move me neither count I my self dear unto my self so that I may finish my course with joy and the Ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify the Gospel of the Grace of God for I have not shunned to declare unto you the whole counsel of God Take heed therefore unto your selves and to the whole Flock of God whereof the Holy Ghost hath made you Overseers and feed the Church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood Acts 20. Here the Apostle gives them no Commission to oppress or bondage those that they were Overseers over but to feed them and to watch over them For saith he after my departure shall grievous Wolves enter among you not sparing the Flock Also of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things therefore watch and remember c. This hath been fulfilled and largly manifested Wolves and Devourers have had a large time since that day Also the Apostle Peter saith thus The Elders which are among you I exhort who am also an Elder and a Witness of the sufferings of Christ and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed Feed the Flock of God which is among you taking the oversight thereof not by constraint but willingly not for filthy lucre but of a ready mind neither as being Lords over Gods heritage but being examples to the Flock and when the chief Shepherd shall appear ye shall receive a Crown of glory that fadeth not away 1 Pet. 5. Here is a perfect Example and Rule for all the Overseers of the Church of God Moreover when the Apostle writes unto his Son Timothy he saith That the end of the Commandment is Charity out of a Pure Heart and a good Conscience and Faith unfeigned Also he exhorts him First of all that supplications prayers and intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men for Kings and for all that are in Authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty and so he goes on exhorting this Bishop but never biddeth him set up Courts nor be a Lord over Gods Heritage for he saith This is a true saying If any man desireth the Office of a Bishop he desireth a good work a Bishop must be blameless the Husband of one Wife vigilant sober of good behaviour given to hospitality apt to teach I believe our Bishops are wanting here because they Hire and Imploy so many petty Teachers under them but he goes on Not given to wine no striker not greedy of filthy lucre but patient not a brawler not covetons now our Laws and Courts signifie the contrary of this not a Novice lest being lifted up with Pride he fall into reproach and the snare of the Devil Moreover he must have a good report of those that are without holding the mystery of Faith in a pure Conscience So the Apostle goeth on exhorting the Bishops and Deacons that they may know how to behave themselves in the House of God which is the Church of the Living God the Ground and Pillar of Truth 1 Tim. 2 3 chap. So he goes on exhorting them what to Teach and Preach and how to order the Church in the 4th and 5th chapters concerning the Elders Elder-men and Elder-women Younger-men and Younger-women as also Servants he directeth him how to go by way of Exhortation to them all and saith If any man teach otherwise and consent not to wholsom words even the Words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the Doctrine which is according to Godliness he is proud knowing nothing doting about Questions So he goeth on dehorting them from those things But thou O man of God saith he flee these things and follow after righteousness godliness faith love and patience meekness fight the good fight of Faith lay hold on Eternal Life whereunto thou art called and hast professed a good profession before many Witnesses I give thee charge in the sight of God who quickneth all things and before Christ Jesus who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession that thou keep this Commandment without spot unrebukeable until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ O Timothy keep that which is committed unto thy Trust chap. 6. Here is a weighty and a hard Charge laid upon Timothy the then Bishop and Overseer of the Church but here is nothing of making of Laws and setting up Courts and oppressing people and keeping them in Bondage and Slavery for when he writeth his Second Epistle to Timothy he saith My dearly beloved Son Grace Mercy and Peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice and I am perswaded that in thee also Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the Gift of God which is in thee by the putting on of my hands for God hath not given us the spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound minde That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us This thou knowest that all they which were in Asia be turned away from me yet he doth not bid him Arraign them nor call them up to Courts nor Cite them nor Excommunicate them nor cast them into Prison but he exhorts him to be strong in the Grace that is in Christ Jesus and he layeth down how he should teach the people and commit