world of the ungodly 2. Pet. 2.5 Yet Christ sends the People to Moses and the Prophets to hear them who did not only declare the Sacrifice Circumcision and Ceremonyes of the Law but also the Faith and acceptance with God of these who before the Law and in the Law did hear and obey the Gospel of Faith and saith Christ if they will not hear them they will not be perswaded though one arise from the dead Luke 16.29 31. even so now the people have Christ and the Apostles if they will not hear them no other dead arising light can perswade them to hear the Gospel of Faith therefore what is the principle of light before Moses writ the Letter to thy denyal of the preaching of Christ and his Apostles in the Scriptures Cornelius had as much light as thou canst aledge yet he must hear the Apostle Peter for Salvation Thou tellest me I say in my Prayer that the sound of accusing or excusing is in all consciences then it must needs be saist thou in the conscience of Millions of people that never heard of the preaching of repentance and faith by the Apostles Answ That which I said in my Paper was that their Sound speaking of the Apostles of accusing or excusing is in all consciences then saiest thou it must needs be in the conscience of Millions that never heard their sound but how this is agreeable with right reason that the sound of the Apostle preaching must needs be in the consciences of Millions that never heard of their sound let the hearers Judge yet let this be observed how thou strainest thy self to shuffel out the Apostle and sayst in thy own pretended Light leaving out my word their sound applyed to the Apostles and putest in thy word the sound applyed to thy darkness and then saiest I said it which is false in a double manner both in leaving out what I said and saying what I said not if thou see not this to be a deceitful sottishness the standers by will this is like thy Logick in thy former Paper which thou touldst me came from the Rock of Ages I asked thee in my former Paper where thou or any of those who run abroad now in these dayes have come where Christ and his Apostles have not been before you And to that I joyned my saying that the sound of accusing or excusing is in all consciences all which thou hast left out in ' its order and place and without answer that thou mayst with more ease perswade others against the truth delivered by me but they are weak discerners that seeth not what thou art in such false dealing This thou callest my scornful question for want of answer openest thy mouth in cursing throwing out some of thy waters of bitterness which flow within And after a terrible fit thou art forced to say thou ownest no other Gospel but what the Apostles preached Answ To which I answer that then thou must discern that which thou callest the light of the conscience for the Apostles never preached so and then thou must own the man Christ Jesus who suffered at Jerusalem to be the Saviour of the world and the Baptisme with water upon repentance and Faith to be a Gospel Ordinance for this is that which the Apostles preached Act. 4.10 and 3 16 and 5 30 31 and 9 34 and 13 32 38 39 and 16 30 31 and 2 38. Thus out of thy own mouth thou art condemned for thy disobedience Thou sayest you do not direct the people to any other thing then the Apostle Peter did that sure word of Prophesie the light in the conscience to which they do well if theyake heed 2 Pet. 1.19 Answ Then you must send them to the Scriptures or Prophesies of old for so did the Apostle Peter in the text as the following versos do witness if thou have ears to hear and to the Baptisme of Repentance for so did Peter Acts 2.38 which thou denyest and therefore speakest falsely in saying you direct the people as Peter did Peter did not send or direct the people to the light in their own consciences as thou sayest he did in that also thou speakest falsely and addest them words to the text by which thou manifesteth how blind bould opposer thou art though God threatens his plagues against thee for it Rev. 22.18 thou and thy generation do in this as all Antichristians have done to make their own Idols stand up thrust in their own inventions amongst the speaking of the Spirit of God in the Scripture but it will fall as Dagon did before the Ark. Also thou sayest you send them to the seed of the woman the word of God the unction or Christ within Answ You send them several wayes it seems as pleaseth the fancy of the sender but thou speakest falsely and intendest deceitfully for all your sending is to keep people from the knowledg of the womans seed the word of God the unction or Christ within For the seed of the woman or of promise is the man Christ who was begotten and born of the Virgin Mary and so was he the womans seed and he who brake the Serpents head and loossed the works of the Devil by his death and blood-shedin that flesh in which he came and dwelt amongst men and the unction or Christ within is the Spirit of promiss sent from Christ into those who believe in him John 16.7 Mat. 29.20 But thy womans seed and thy Christ within and unction or word is thy faigned light which thou tellest people is in all consciences though in the state of unbelief or unregenerate and thither wouldest thou send people to seek Christ in their own dark hearts and false speakings in the desart secret place that so they may leave looking for the light of Israel to follow your matters contrary to Scriptures teaching or the Apostles direction But he cannot find Christ within who denyeth Christ without he cannot have Christ spiritually by faith who denys Christ bodily raised from the grave and ascended and remaining in the Heavens Thou and thy generation are in that denyal manifested to be busie sticklers both against that Christ and the preaching of his Apostles who preached Christ to those in whom he was not that they by faith might receive him and that is the promise of unction which only Saints deny as the earnest of their everlasting inheritance And so he dwelleth in Saints not in unbelievers Ephes 1.13 14. and 2.12 2. Cor. 13.5 Therefore thine and thy fellows telling men that are not in the faith they must look to the light anointing and Christ within them As it is a smoak arising from below to cover mens eyes from the light of the Son so there is in its two pernitious evils the one is it stayes men from following Christ the Saviour whose power excellency and glorious manifestation of love is sounded forth and made known by the spirit of God in the Scriptures to bring all men to
Pagan-like to frame right reason or deny it without reason let thy friends judge Thou biddest me consider in the cool of the day that which is born of the flesh is flesh but that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit Answ In the cool of the day I do consider and in that coolness tell thee that this is sufficient to discover that notwithstanding all thy hot words against me about perfection in the mind through faith but not perfection in the flesh till Mortal have put on Immortality that outward man is born of the flesh and is flesh therefore not perfect the inward man or mind in the state of faith is born of the Spirit and therefore perfect in which perfection of the mind Paul saith he serves the Law of God but in his imperfect flesh the Law of sin Rom. 7.25 All thy following words about perfection at the end of which thou writes the word Queries is a repetition not proving any thing for thee for the Tabernacle of God with men and dwelling in them and walking in them and the like is all included in that afore alledged of the Apostle Paul his having the holy Ghost in him yet the same Apostle saith that in his flesh dwells no good thing this thou shouldst answer too and prove perfection in that which Panl denyeth or acknowledg thy error or speak plainly that all may hear thee as one of thy generation did to me alledging that Scripture to him who adorning his speech with thy manner of language of beast and lyer and filthie creature and such like Said Paul was no Christian when he wrote that thou askest me why I deny that to be the true Spirit or true unction which is not received by the letter Answ That Spirit which denyeth the Apostles teaching in the Scriptures and is not received by the hearing and believing their preaching of faith I deny because 't is a lying Spirit and cometh but to deceive Had not saist thou Abraham Isaac and the rest of the holy men of God who lived before Moses writ the Letter had not they the Spirit of truth within them were there not many deceitful Serpents and filthy Spirits like thine in their dayes and had they any outward writing given them c. Answ What though Abrabam and the rest thou speakest of in their time had the Spirit of truth within them before the Law written by Moses doth that give cause to any in time of the Law to deny the writing by Moses or thee or any now to deny the writings of Christ and his Apostles if there were such Serpents and filthy Spirits as thou speakest of who opposed the cammand of God yet that doth not excuse the deceitful Serpents and filthy Spirits that now deny the written verities as thou and thy generation do that Spirit which led men to obey the commandements of God or Law of faith before Moses writ the Law which if it were not by writing yet it was by voyce which is all one for that which was given to Abraham by voyce was written for our learning and what was given to the Apostles by voyce was also written for our learning Rom. 15.4 That we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope that Spirit I say that led men before the Law written to obey did also lead men to obey the Law written by Moses and whosoever denyed and despised that Law was led by an evil Spirit and it was death without mercy Heb. 10.28 Even so now that Spirit that led men before the Law and in the Law to obey the commandements of God by faith the same Spirit now doth lead men to obey all the commandements and teachings of Christ Jesus in the Law of the Gospel preached and written by the Apostles as 1 Cor. 14.37 But whosoever denyeth obedience and would trample that down as thou and thy fellows they are led by an evil Spirit and their sorer punishment is told them Heb. 10.29 did Paul and the rest of the Apostles saist thou receive the Spirit of truth by vertue of reading or hearing any writing or book without them Answ All the Apostles did first hear the voice of Christ who was their Book or Writing without them before they received the Spirit of Truth within them Produce if thou canst any of the Apostles who had the Spirit of Promise within them before Christ had first called them with his voyce without them Thou saist That which thou broughtest out of 1 John 2. as to the annointing stands unshaken and cannot be removed by all the Brats of Babylon Answ That which thou broughtest is not like to be shaken by the brats of Babylon except against their wills as the foolish woman destroyes her own house for 't is their own bringing but if that 1 John 2. and all other declarations of the holy Ghost in the Scriptures could be shaken they had been ere now for thou and thy generation lay all your bones and sinews to shake it but it is grounded on a Rock and hath its being and protection from the Lord of Power and therefore is it that like your predecessors you are so marvelously beaten back in your assaults against it what hast thou to do with the annointing spoken of 1 John 2. it doth not belong nor is it in the denyers of Christ 't is onely the Saints Seal and Assurance of the love and favour of God to them which those know not who are in the state of disobedience against the Law of Faith for without Faith no promise or sealing in the New Covenant And no Faith where no Obedience to that Teaching is denied Thou publishest this to the World to make them think thou hadst said something but it is a plain testimony to all that hear thy former Paper with my Answer of thy conviction here not being a word in answer to any thing said to thee but Repetitions weakly as well as in thy amazement thou couldst Thou talkest of the Pope but thou canst not free thy self with all the skill and strength thou hast of the comparison I made betwixt you You both boast of Christ to be come in the flesh and both deny that Christ who came in his own flesh for you both deny his teachings and commands given while he was here in the flesh and set up your own inventions against him and therefore are alike Antichristian and so as is Prophesied of you in Daniel though you seem to war and contend one against another yet you talk of deceit at one Table talking of Christ come in the flesh by which he cals himself Christs Vicar or Christ on Earth and thou and thy generation so many as there are of you would be so many Christs like another of your Predecessours Henry Nicolas the Father of the Familists whose breath some years agon hath blown these swarms that thus darken the Sun and infect the Air He denied Salvation by Christ who died at Jerusalem as
to Wound and to Dismount Doth shew thy shallownesse all men account But night ey'd bats thy railing Pamphlet foolish And thy hot zeal to true Religion coolish Vain are thy thoughts thinking to strike Truth down With railing words it never yet was known That Truth was overcome by railing foes Tho' many times she in her Covers goes With bloudy face and Martered sore by such As ather beautious hold appears think much Leave thou these bould assaults ' gainst Truths rich Palis Think not that Truth can be ore ' come by Malis The more thou strivest the more thou'lt have the foyle And sorrow'l be thy wages for thy toyle Shut not thy windows at the glorious light Which in the Gospels day doth shine so bright Were it not madnesse in the brightest day To light a candle to shew men their way What use for candles where the Sun doth shine As little use for that dull light of thine Thy light within more sit for secret place Then where the sacred Sonlight shews his face It must in Dungeons be and caves below Where Heavens bright Lamp his face doth never show There where the nightly dancing Satyrs dwell Who likes no light but what 's within their Cell Pleas'd with the light themselves there kindled have And will no Son light let into their grave Happy for thee if thou couldst thrust away That darkning skreen which hides thee from the ray Of Gospel Son light which would let thee see Those glorious things which from thee hidden be Leave thou those foolish fancies of self-teaching And ope ' thy ear to Scriptures sacred preaching Obey those truths that therein written be 'T will make thee of Gods holy City free And bring thee to a right regenerate mind And let thee know that now th' art deaf and blind J. J. THE QUAKER QUASH AND HIS QUARREL QUELLED IN An Answer to a Railing Pamphlet written by MARTIN MASON of Lincoln c. Martin THOU canst not leave thy old way of boasting as in thy former Paper so in this thou criest up thy self a man of valour strength it seems thou fearest thy own Works or Neighbours will not praise thee therefore thou contrary to Wisdoms advice Pro. 27.2 wilt praise thy self I told thee in my former Paper That wise men will not boast till the putting off their Armour but thou notwithstanding wilt cry Victory before Conquest or touching thy Adversaries with any blow to give the cause of encouragement thou Bragadotio like saiest thou wilt not give one intch of ground or turn thy back on the uncircumcised Philistine by which thou wouldest have the world to think thy Davids heart and engagement will conclude in Victory But if David had taken thy way of railing and boysterous braging the room of combate or without blow he had never overcome May not I fitly compare thee to a whore taken in her whordome yet rails on those who take her and cryes whore first I took thee in thy Boasting as is witnessed in our former papers thou runest out into the world and cryes me for the boaster But I am so far from Boasting that knowing my own infirmities and weakness I would rather keep silence let thee spend thy breath in vain the wage words to maintain any such right but I knowing that thy railing is against the Truth which thou serest thy self to oppose I am mooved through mindfulness of the Lord not to keep silence But to declare against thy deeds of darkness presumptious words against the most High his Saints let this my engagement be compared with David and thypresumptions words with Goliah and it will make known who is the uncircumcised Philistine The more thou strivest the more thy weakness within is manifested and thy strokes throws thee backward Thou saist the weapons of your warfare are not carnal yet all thy defence or offence is by carnal foul and filthy words of which but disposesse thee and thou wilt be left without either words or shields And though thou talk of the conquering Sword of the Spirit saying it is thy weapon it is little manifested in thy denial of the word of God for the conquering Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God Ephes 6.17 Therefore although thou steal these words of weapons not being carnal and Sword of the Spirit that which thou callest the dead Letter yet art thou far from the exercise of spiritual weapons or knowledge of them for if thou wert not thou woulest testifie more purity and peace If thou say thou hadest these words the Sword of the Spirit or Spiritual weapons from the light within thee without the Scriptures which thou callest dead Letters all that hears thee Impartialy will say thou speakest not Truly And so will thy own conscience if thou open that Book And will also let thee see how asuredly evil it is for thee to call the Scriptures dead Letter and yet fetch those words which thou deliverest for spiritual Declarations from thence Thou saiest among other things thou askest me hath every one that comes into the world heard and read the preaching of Christ and his Apostles as they are transcribed in the Bible and thou saiest I answer they have all heard thou replyest must the Lyer in thee be received for the Oracle of God Answ Thou hear dealest falsely with my answer not delivering as I did I said have they not all heard thy error in this is because thou knowest not the Scriptures which will tell thee Mat. 28.20 Mark 16. 15. Act. 2 5 6. Rom. 10.18 Whether this be my Lye or the Scriptures speaking let the hearers Judge as also who is the Lyer whether I for alledging plain Testimonies of Scriptures or thou for delivering my Answer otherwise then thou receivest it may not Millions of Men and Women saiest thou who dwell in those parts of the world not counted Christendom wittness against thee if an Egyptian mist had not blinded thee thou couldst not have been so besotted as to back thy Lye with those places of the Letter Mat. 28.19 20. Mark 16.15 Which in effect prove Christs Command to his Disciples when they were upon earth to go preach the glad tydings of the Gospel to the generations they lived in Answ Couldst thou fetch those Millions thou speakest of for thy defence yet could they not witness against me the Word of the Lord is a sure witness against thee and all opposers of the universal precahing of faith or sound of the Gospel of Christ in all the world and to every creature therefore as formerly so I say now as the Apostle doth demand Rom. 10.18 Have they not all heard but they have not all obeyed as verse the 16. Therefore those Milions which thou saiest are not counted Christians if they be not Christians 't is not because they have not heard but because they have not obeyed read Act. 1.8 and Luke 24.27 Which tells thee the Apostles shall be witnesses of Christ Jesus to the
uttermost part of the earth and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached to all Nations Now let all who have ears to hear judge whether an Egyptian mist and besottedness be not rather in thy self to aledge these whom thou never sawest or heard but by the report of others to be thy witness against me and the Scriptures There is two many nearor hand who if their non obedience must witness against the Scriptures that they have not heard the preaching of Christ and his Apostles do witness fully of which namely Martin Mason is one who is too full of fury and wrath against the preaching of the Gospel by Christ and his Apostles to yeild obedience thereunto Thy saying that Mat. 28.19 20. Mark 16.15 In effect proves Christ command to his Disciples when they were on earth to go preach the glad tydings of the Gospel to the generation they lived in Dothplainly shew how desirous thou art to out short the Commission of Christ and stop the mouths of his Apostles in their preaching by that Commission in these times whose power and promise with that Commission as it was to all the world and every creature so it is to the worlds end as is manifested in the Scriptures verse the 20. By which is discovered what relation thou hast to Christ or love or aquaintance with his truth If thou didest know Christ as the truth is in Jesus thou wouldst know that though the Apostles be not personaly upon earth yet their word by which beleif in Christ is wrought John 47.20 and by which the world shall be judged John 12 48. Rom. 2.16 and by which the word of God is manifest Tit. 1.3 and which is a witness to all Nations through the whole world Mat. 24.14 yet remaineth notwithstanding thine and Millions of opposers and denyers thereof And thus that Egypian mist and sottishness which thou saiest is in me is manifested in thy self who as thou goest about by London way to speak with me who lives by thee in Lincolne so thou runest to the unchristianed world as thou callest them who live many thousands of Myles from thee to be thy witness against me that the Gospel is not preached by Christ and his Apostles and against the Scriptures also And our own knowledge who have their preaching sounding in our ears continually Would any but a misted blind man bring a candle to witness against the Light of the Sun Thy confusion is further manifested In thy acknowledging the Scriptures in effect proves Christ command to his Disciples to go preach the glad tydings of the Gospel For thou denyst and opposest that Christ which they preached and also in his Ordinances and therefore most miserable is thy condition in that to acknowledge it the Command of Christ and the glad tydings of the Gospel and yet fight against it Thou saiest thou never questionedst Christs Comission or their execution thereof yet thou thy self denyst obedience thereunto and wouldest bring Millions of non Christians to witness against it what greater question can be against that Commistion to all the world and every Creature in the world or the execution thereof then to say Millions of people in the world have never heard of that Christ Thou bidest me see my foolishness and be ashamed but if that blend which befottes all sences that oppose the Truth were not it thee thou wouldest see thy self amongst these Owls and Batts whose nightly noyse is heard in the ruines of Babylon But that wine being in thee 't is hid from thy Eyes Thou repeatest thy question How is the Gospel preached to every Creature under Heaven if not by the Principal of light in the Conscience Answ And I answer thee again In the preaching of Christ and his Apostles which worketh the principle of light in the Conscience which is the light of Christ that lighteth every man that cometh into the World And whatsoever pretended light in the Conscience that is not enlightned from thence and leads not to the obedience of that preaching 't is darkness and not light it is two secret and desart for the Saints and Diseiples of Christ to go out to it Mat. 24.26 and lead but where the foolish Woman brings her dead guests Prov. 9.18 Take away thy Letter saiest thou and by this mans Doctrine there would be no principal of light arising in thy Conscience Answ Take away the preaching of Christ in the Scriptures which thou callest dead Letter there would be the same in the Conscience in relation to light that would be in thy tongue for hadest thou not their speakings to still thy mouth with what Name of Christ or Spirit or Spiritual weapon or Gospel or Conscience or Light it self wouldst thou have all that hear thee knows that thou hast none of these expressions but from thence Those who spake by thy Spirit when Christ was personally upon earth might likewise say take away this Carpinter Marys Son and there is no Mesias or Son of God or Light and Saviour of the world for as they contemned and despised Christ Jesus because of his seeming meanness or outward manly estate so thou dost contemne and dispise his Word therefore his Word shall judge the in the lay day John 12.48 Shall men despise the way and means that God hath given for teaching and correcting in righteousness and which is able to make men wise unto Salvation 2 Tim. 3.16 17. Because 't is brought home to them in words and writing such dispisers shall wonder and vanish away at the beholding the work of God by that which they so dispise Martin take this further with thee to consider of in way of answer that whosoever takes away or denys that which thou callest dead Letter shall find no light of Conscience but what leads to distruction the Scriptures are either the voyce or speaking of God or nothing or worse if they be nothing or worse why dost thou sometimes say thou ownst them or why dost thou speak by them and steal their word to fill thy mouth with and aledge them And if they be the voyce and speaking of God as even they are thou that wouldest take them away and callest them Dead and Life-less wouldst take away the voyce and speaking of God and call it Dead and Life-less and so art a plain opposer and set enemy against God which manifesteth thy dead and dark mind Thy swelling words against me of gross darkness and calling me Babylonian and Lyer and shame cover thy face and the like I slight them as Big words of wrath for want of matter Thou askest me If there was not a Principal of Light in people before Moses writ the Letter Answ There was the preaching of the Gospel the word of Faith which is the sure Principle of Light before Moses writ the Letter witness Abels offering and Abrahams believing compared with Gal. 3.8 and Heb. 11.4 As also the preaching of the Gospel or righteousness by Noah to the
many foul words for it let that charity now begin at home and deal such words rightly where they do belong would any but one who is blind in heart publish himself in print in such poor pettish spirited things as thou dost I am ashamed to have to do with such silly stuffe neither would I but that I knew my silence would make thee boast and be wise in thy own concent therefore I chuse rather to answer thee as I am advised Prov. 26.5 Thou bids Jonathan tell thee if he did not a little before own the light of the conscience to be the inlet of the Spirit Answ Jonathan by writing hath told Martin before and tells him now that he dis-owns his false fained light but he owns the light of the conscience enlightned by the preaching of faith according to the Scriptures Thou askest me if I will be a Lyer whether thou wilt or no as though thou had the making and disposing of Lyes as a Child belonging to the Father of Lyes but though thy will like thy Fathers be to have all Lyers like thy self yet thou must want of thy will in me for I neither love or make Lyes neither canst thou prove any Lye against me though thou call me Lyer but it is a small matter to find a Lye in a foul mouth I am willing to refer what is said to the wise in heart to judge who is the Babler and bond-slave in Babylon and sayes and unsayes which is the esteeme thou would have me in with those to whom thou publisheth so against me and whom thou askest if I do not place water and beleeving in the Letter in the room of Christ by making them the way and the door or inlet to the Spirit of promise Answ It would agree better with right reason if thou shewed where I said so least they that find not any such saying of mine must needs say thou art a Lyer whether they will or no I deny thou hast them words from me water administred upon repentance and faith in Christ Jesus I would have where it should be according to Gospel teaching that is the Baptisme of repentance which I have so much spoken to thee and against which thou and thy generation deviseth so many cross opposings to wind out and shroud your selves from the appearance of truth but your coverings are too scant which makes your nakedness be seen of every passer by Who ever saist thou are not Spiritually blind will see the blasphemy of the beast for Christ the light of the world is the door and the way John 10.9 and 14.16 and so the inlet to the Spirit of promise Answ Doth Christ being the door and the way to Salvation deny faith to be the inlet of his spirit of promise is not entrance into Christ the door by faith and is not receiving the Spirit of promise by faith then faith in Christ is the inlet to Salvation and the inlet of the spirit of promise into the heart therefore though Christ be the door and the way Yet those who have not but denies faith in Christ Jesus have no inlet or entrance therein then surely thou must needs be without Christ and hath no entrance into him calling it the blasphemy of a beast to alledge the plain Testimony of Christ to prove faith to be the inlet of the Spirit of promise surely all that hear thee will see thy spiritual blindness in such faith-less grace-less deliveries Thou askest me where the Creature must look for Christ if not within Answ The Creature must look for Christ as he doth openly manifest himself to every Creature according to the Scriptures thou nor any other are not like to find him within in your faithless condition till you hear the Scriptures direction and obey the teaching of Christ therein and so become new Creatures according to the Gospel for none but new Creatures have Christ within them and no new Creatures in the denyal of the Baptisme of repentance the denyal of which is manifested in thee in thy hot words of contempt against it being thy self so fouled in foul water without repentance even since thou received thy Romish washing and not purisyed from that by the lavour of regeneration remains in thy old unclean condition not obeying the truth thy self but railng upon those that do And though Christ stand at thy door and knock and call upon thee to open thy door and amend thy life and be Baptized in the Name of Christ Jesus for remission of thy sins yet thou wilt not hear him and open thy door to receive him but hast received a stranger called false Imagination who because he acknowledgeth whoredom and drunkenness and murther is sin yet because he tells thee not that disobedience to the command and teachings of Christ in reference to his Law of faith is sin is Spiritual Whoredome and Drunkenness and Murther and Theft and the like therefore thou cryest out against the Ordinances of Christ to outface thy disobedience thereunto but if an evil Spirit should not come with something to deceive with the possessed therewith must be a professed Devil in maintaining its Motion But the man of sin comes in all deceivableness of unrighteousness to perswade those who are deceived that they are Saints when they are the quite contrary and now to give our Audience a right knowledg of what we contend for and the difference thereof that so they may make right application of truth or falshood to which of us it belongs let them know That what I have declared and do contend for is for the maintenance of the faith once given to the Saints according to the Scriptures and preaching of Christ and his Apostles which is the light and way of God to direct all men to everlasting life as the Scriptures do plainly witness John 14.6 Mark 16.16 Rom. 10.9 10. John 3.16 Thy declaration and contending is without and denying the Scriptures and preaching of the man Christ that dyed at Jerusalem for the sins of the whole world or the Apostles sent of him so thine is a thing in secret not according to the open declared will and command of Christ or teaching of his and therefore must needs be a deceit and not to be received but accounted accursed Gal. 1.8 9. John 9.10 11. Rom. 16.17 If I must receive thee as in the truth for saying thou hast a light within thee which thou callest Christ when thou walkest contrary to and denyest the declared will of Christ Jesus in the Scriptures then from the same ground I must receive another that saith so and then the Pope and his Prelates and theirs or any such who are as able to declare what they say they have of Christ within as Martin Mason or any by whose hand held forth he hath been led into this Condition and they are for no other cause to be excepted against but for their walking contrary to and denying the declared will of Christ Jesus in the
they received the gift of the Spirit of promise therefore how sottish soever I am this must needs be an ignorant blindnesse in thee thus to use Scripture words against Scripture teaching to pervert them to extinguish if thou couldest the speaking of the Spirit of God therein that thou mayest bring them into a dead and dry estimation that so thy false Spirit might act at Libetty but the Spirit speaking in the Scriptures is of such lively power and authority that it will quash and consume those risings and out-burnings of the man of sin and by that which is written which thou callestdead wouldest have denied as now shall be made manifest to thy confusion The Spirit of God saith to John Revel 1.11 That which thou seest writ in a book and send to the Seaven Churches that are in Asia Compare this with that which followes in that Book written Revel 2.7 Let him that hath an car hear what the Sprirt saith to the Churches By which t is plain to the dashing down of thy denyals thereof that Book written by John is the Spirits speaking to the Churches Compare this with what our Saviour saith John 6.63 The words that I speak to you are Spirit and life So that the Scriptures must either be denied to be the words of Christ or owned to be the speaking of the Spirit but to acknowledge them to be the words of Christ Jesus and deny them to be the speaking of the Spirit or to be Spirit and life as Christ saith they are and call them dead as thou and thy generation doth is the most rediculous absurd opposition to Christ and his Gospel that hath been yet The Apostle Paul saith 1 Cor. 14.37 If any man think himself to be a Prophet or Spirituall let him acknowledge the things that I writ unto you are the Commandments of God Are they the Commandments of God and not the Spirits speaking But thou saiest thou are not so sottish as I to own this It seems thou hadst rather truly be a foole to be esteemed wise in this world then be a foole that thou mayest be truly wise See whether this be sottishnesse in thee or no 1 Cor. 3.18 But howsoever thy wisdome in disowning the Scriptures to be the speaking of the Spirit doth shew thee to be neither Prophet or spiritual therefore the Spirit of God will disown thee the wolfe would perswade the weak that he will keep them for worrying when the danger is only in himself Thou saist I charge that for a Lyer for saying I own the Letter to be the rule but one thing is saist thou I need not go far to fetch my proof thou hast given it under thy hands in these words therefore the Scriptures are the sure and infallible rule to try the Spirits whether they be of God or no. Answ My charging thee for a Lyer was for saying I own the dead Letter to be the rule thou shuffies out the word dead but it shuts thee not of the ly but makes it a greater ly what plainer ly can be told then this to say I owned that which I never named to thee but to deny therein the word dead Letter is thy own not mine If thou call the Gospels declaration the Turkish Alcaron and I say that Declaration of the Gospel is the power of God to Salvation to all that hear and obay it canst thou reply and say I own the Turkish Alcaron to be the Decleration of the Gospel without being alyer and is it not the same to say I own the dead letter to be the rule because I say the decleration of the Gospel is the rule thou mayst see if thou be not moresotish then I it is thou that cals it the dead letter or Alkaron and not I therefore the lye must needs lodge with thee Thou saist I also call the words of Christ or Scripture dead Letter twice in a following argument of mine Answ For the truths sake and that the Lyer may be looked upon and seen of all I will not only lay down that argument of mine but the occasion thereof given by thee in thy argument thus framed He that denyeth to be tryed by the true touch-stone the infallible rule 't is an infallible sign his Spirit is not of God he is guided by the Spirit of error But thou Jonathan Johnson denyest to be tryed by the living principle of God the light of Christ in the conscience the Spirit of truth and wouldest be tryed by the dead Letter therefore thy Spirit is not of God thou art guided by the Spirit of error This argument I told thee cometh bare without any proof against Jonathan Johnson therefore Martin Mason remaineth a lyer till he prove the ascertion in the mean time to discover what waslapt up in that argument I from thy own Major poposition framed thee this He that denyeth to be tryed by the true touch-stone the Infallible rule 't is an infallible sign his Spirit is not of God he 's guided by the Spirit of error But thou Jonathan Johnson denyest to be tryed by the principle in Martin Mason and wouldest be tryed by the living principle of God the light of Christ in the Scriptures Therefore thy Spirit is not of God thou art guided by the Spirit of error When I had thus laid open the falshood of thy argument and slander against me without ground or proof I who can better tell my own desires and denyals then thou canst to declare truly the same framed thee this argument He that desires to be tryed by the true touch-stone the infallible rule the living principle of God the light of Christ in the Saints consciences the spirit of truth and not by the dead Letter 't is a sign his Spirit is of God he is guided by the Spirit of promise But Jonathan Johnson desires to be tryed as above said Therefore 't is a sign his Spirit is of God he is guided by the spirit of promise Martin do I here call the words of Christ or Scripture dead Letter or any where else wash thy eyes and look better over my paper then speak rightly and thou wilt say my charge is not taken off neither hath the lyer remooved his lodging which every passer by will now behold thy bosome being unbuttened I have not yet told thee what I call the dead Letter though thou say I cal the Scripture so by which is manifested who is the lyer But now it puts them out of doubt and to satisfie the hearers I will tell thee It is the writings of Martin Mason and his fellows and all such as oppose the Scriptures teaching denying the ordinances and commands of Christ there taught Because I esteem their books or bulks of writings no better then an Idol set up like the masse or service-book to draw men from the true worship and service of God which is according to the Scripture therefore If I say the same that thou dost as thou saist I do