the Gospel-Channel and takes down the two main Pillars upon which it stands which was a transferring our Sins upon the Lord Jesus Christ and his Righteousness upon us 2 Cor. 5.21 For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the Righteonsness of God in him What ground of hope and certain assurance of Salvation their obedience to the Light which convinceth of sin will afford them if they could but have a view of their state in the glass of the holy Law of God deserves their most serious consideration For upon their own Principles without Perfection no Salvation and yet hardly any of them so hardy as to say they have attain'd it Their Doctrine may sute a Self righteous Person but will not go down with a heavy-laden Sinner neither a humble Saint both these by Faith are led to close with the Lord Jesus Christ for Salvation and cannot but acknowlege it their Mercy that they have such good security in another when they find so little in themselves To him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the Vngodly his Faith is counted for Righteousness The Persons that come for Salvation in the Gospel-way come to Christ as sensible Sinners and as such to the Footstool of Grace and yet at the same time are pressing after a sincere Obedience in a way of Duty yet sensibly attended with much Imperfection The Apostle in Heb. 2.14 tells me it is by the death Christ that Satan's Power is taken away which I take to be a bruising of his Head a Door of entrance into Heaven being thereby open'd another way than by Man's imperfect Obedience Heb. 10.19 William Pen's blind Reason is as opposite to Faith as Light and Darkness and sees not how Gen. 2.15 points at the blessed Jesus as a representative Head overcoming Satan for all his mystical Body Thirdly This spiritual Christ placeth our acceptance with God not upon a Mediator without but an interceding Spirit within William Pen's Christian Quaker p. 101. As at any time disobedient Men have hearkened to the still voice of the Word that Messenger of God in their Hearts to be affected and convinced by it as it brings reproof for Sin which is but a fatherly Chastisement so upon true brokenness of Soul and contrition of Spirit that very Principle and Word of Life in Man hath mediated and atoned and God hath been propitious lifting up the Light of his Countenance and replenishing such humble Penitents with Divine Consolations So that still the same Christ Word God who hath inlightned all men by Sin is grieved bearing the Iniquities of such as sin and reject his Benefits but as any hear his Knocks and let him in he first wounds and then heals afterwards atones mediates and reinstates in the holy Image behold this is the state of Restitution In answer to William Pen. If Scripture-Authority may take place we may see here how the Mediatorship of the Lord Jesus Christ as God-man now in his exalted State at the right hand of the Father is invaded by a lying Spirit the Apostle in Eph. 2.18 saith Through him we both Jew and Gentile have an access by one Spirit unto the Father As the Holy Ghost is sent forth from the Father through the Intercession of the Son as God-Man now at his right hand in Glory so his Work is subservient to the Mediator The Apostle Peter acknowleges the Spirit to be sent this way and how the Manhood of Christ was concerned in sending him Acts 2.32 33. This Jesus hath God raised up who in the former Verses he tells us was laid in the Sepulcher whereof we all are Witnesses Therefore being exalted and having received of the Father the Promise of the Holy Ghost he hath shed forth that which we now see and hear The Apostle to Heb. 7.24 25. incourageth Persons to go to God the Father by Faith through this blessed exalted Mediator and that because they have this Incouragement of his continuing in his Priesthood and that his Intercession is of such a prevailing nature that those that come to him shall be saved to the uttermost by him But this Man continueth ever I shall now draw a few heads in order to compare William Pen's Christ and the true Christ one with the other William Pen's Christ is a Spirit within the Saints Christ is an exalted God-man in Heaven who by his intercession with the Father hath the Holy Ghost now on Earth subservient to him to manifest him to the Hearts of his People William Pen's Christ is a Spirit who bears the Iniquities of his People within the Saints Christ bore the Iniquities of his People without in his Body upon the Cross at Jerusalem and now bears their Persons before the Father in Glory William Pen's Christ is already come and with Contempt treads down the two Ordinances of Water-Baptism and the Supper which the true Christ left his Church until his second personal Appearance The true Christ is yet to come and when he comes as saith the Apostle in 1 Thes 4.16 shall descend from Heaven with a Shout with the voice of the Archangel and with the Trump of God and the Dead in Christ shall rise first and that we may know whereabouts we are take a view of Christ's word 's Mat. 24.26 he is in the secret Chambers believe them not A Christ within set up to oppose a Christ without and to bear away those Insigns of Honour due to the true Saviour For the scene that is acted next I leave to the Reader 's Meditation ver 27. For as the Lightning cometh out of the East and shineth unto the West even so shall the coming of the Son of Man be Take but a serious view of the Books of the People call'd Quakers and we may clearly see that whatever Confessions they may make towards Gospel-Truths in agreeing with other Christians it is but as a Blind or Cover to keep those spiritual Delusions which they are carried away withal from being discovered It may be thought that I have suck'd in some prejudice against their Persons but the Searcher of hearts knows 't is otherwise it s only in sincerity and faithfulness to God who hath to the praise of his rich Grace inlightned my Soul with Gospel-Light and Love to their Souls and the Souls of others that I deal thus plainly with them And so what I have written I recommend to thee my Friend in particular and all others who may come to the fight of it search it throughly by the Holy Scriptures only let me tell thee the Author hath no Eloquence to allure thee it is only the Truth in its native Beauty that he presents unto thee so that it is the truth it self that must take thee if thou be taken and not the manner in which it is presented POSTSCRIPT NO Errors are more dangerous than to deny the Lord that bought us for such are damnable and they that
Redemption was wrought out in the state of Christ's Humiliation performed by him as God and Man in Union the two Natures in that Person being concerned in this Work Isa 53.11 12. He shall see of the Travail of his Soul and shall be satisfied By his Knowledg shall my righteous Servant justify many for he shall bear their Iniquities Therefore will I divide him a Portion with the great and he shall divide the Spoil with the strong because he hath poured out his Soul unto death and he was numbered with the Transgressors compared with 1 Tim. 2.16 And without controversy great is the Mystery of Godliness God was manifested in the Flesh justified in the Spirit The first Scripture gives us an account how the Manhood was concerned in the Work in suffering for Sinners and therefore he should see the travail of his Soul in bearing part in that Honour due to the Redeemer The second Scripture shews us how the Divine Nature perfumed his Sufferings in order to their acceptance with the Father for the Persons for whom he suffered 2. The Work of an Intercessor is performed now in the state of his Exaltation by this Christ who is God and Man the two Natures of God and Man being concerned in the Work Rom. 1.4 And declared the Son of God with Power according to the Spirit of Holiness which was his Divine Nature by the Resurrection from the dead by whom we have received Grace and Apostleship that is the Qualifications for that great Work belonging to that great Office Acts 2.32 33. This Jesus hath God raised up whereof we all are Witnesses Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted and having received of the Father the Promise of the Holy Ghost he hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear 1 Tim. 2.6 For there is one God and one Mediator betwixt God and Men the Man Christ Jesus Thirdly The Holy Ghost's work within being subservient to the blessed Mediator without and leading to the Father through him brings the Soul into an experimental Injoyment of the Father Son and Holy Ghost John 15.26 27. But when the Comforter is come whom I will send unto you from the Father even the Spirit of Truth which proceedeth from the Father He shall testify of me And ye also shall bear witness because ye have been with me from the beginning What was the Sum and Substance of the Apostle's Doctrine Even to recommend this Redeemer the Lord Jesus Christ in his Person and Sufferings to Sinners Rom. 10.9 If thou shalt confess with thy Mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thy Heart that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved What is the Sum and Substance of the Holy Ghost's Work within Even to accompany this outward Declaration of the Gospel opening the Understanding of poor Sinners letting them see the need of a Saviour inabling the Heart to close with him and by faith to lay hold of that Grace which comes from the Father through him The inward Discovery of the Father and the Sons Love to us is by the Spirit and it is the Spirit 's work to kindle the Fire of Love more and more in the Souls of Saints by which through the blessed Mediator they are inabled to offer up their Souls to their heavenly Father Fourthly The two Ordinances of Baptism and the Supper do represent unto the Faith of Believers what Christ hath done for them because they both point at his Person and what he hath done in his Human Nature buried in the Grave for them held forth by Water Baptism Doth Bread and Wine support by feeding upon it the outward Man So doth the Flesh and Blood of the Man Christ through that Vertue which the Divine Nature puts into it tend to feed the Inward My Flesh saith Christ is Meat indeed and my Blood is Drink indeed 1 Cor. 11.26 For as often as ye eat this Bread and drinks this Cup speaking of the Supper-Ordinance ye shew the Lord's Death till he come Doth it point at him that died and is risen and come in Spirit then until he come must refer to his second personal Appearance as a glorified Man to judg the World Acts 17.31 Because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judg the World in Righteousness by that Man whom he hath ordained whereof he hath given assurance unto all Men in that he hath raised him from the dead In the next place I come to speak of this Spiritual Christ as he is worshipped by this poor deceived People called Quakers who are greatly imposed upon by their Leaders for want of bringing their Writings to be seriously examined by the Holy Scriptures And first as to his Person we have him in their Writings represented as a Spirit and as such Divine Honour given to him 2ly The Work of Redemption not brought in a way of satisfaction to Divine Justice for sin but in the way of the first Covenant of Do this and live i.e. Obey the Light within and live 3ly Acceptance with God not bottom'd upon a Mediator without us but an interceding Spirit within First as to his Person we have him in their Writings presented as a Spirit and as such Divine Honour given to him This appears pears in the most of their Books but I shall at this time only mention two the first taken out of the 14th Page of this Book which is An Account of a Dispute betwixt the Clergy of the Diocess of Norwich in December 98. and the People called Quakers Speaking of the Priests For do they not of malice rail upon the Truths of God's Word manifestly perceived and as Enemies thereunto persecute the same in charging so many Blasphemies upon the Light within for the Light within is Christ William Pen 's Christian Quaker pag. 97 98. The Body of Christ is not so much as in any one and consequently the Seed of the Promise is an holy and spiritual Principle of Light Lise and Power that being received into the Heart bruiseth the Serpent's Head and because the Seed which cannot be that Body is Christ as testify the Scriptures the Seed is one and that Seed Christ and Christ God over all blessed for ever We do conclude and that most truly that Christ was and is the Divine Word of Light and Life that was in the beginning with God and was and is God over all blessed for ever In answer to these Paragraphs it is evident and plain that whatever confession is made by this People of the Lord Jesus Christ as born of the Virgin Mary they do not intend that the Body which was formed in the Womb of the Virgin by the overshadowing of the Holy Ghost doth share with the Eternal Word Creator in the constituting of Christ and partakes with the Divine Nature in Divine Honour and yet this poor deluded Man who hath been an Instrument to lead many sober Persons into grievous Errors hath the Confidence in his
Book to tell us that he is of the same Faith with the Martyrs that suffer'd in Queen Mary's days which if he can bring one instance of any of the Martyrs in any of their Writings that exclude the Human Nature in union with the Divine from being the true Christ of God I will be willing to make a publick Recantation that I have greatly wronged the Quakers The true Christ was conceived in the Virgin 's Womb and lay in the Grave But he tells us that the Seed is one as saith the Scripture intending only the Divine Nature or rather the Light of natural Conscience in all Men Pag. 98. of his Christian Quaker and in the Margin of the Book he directs us to Gal 3.16 Now Reader let me desire thee in the Fear of the Lord and as thou wishest the Welfare of thy immortal Soul that thou seriously weigh this Scripture and see if thou canst find any thing in it for the excluding of the Human Nature from having a share to constitute Christ Now to Abraham and his Seed were the Promises made He saith not to seeds as of many but as of one And to thy Seed which is Christ Here in this Scripture Abraham an eminent Believer and those that are of the same Faith with him are promised eternal Happiness by God here is the one Seed by way of eminence set above all the rest but then mark it well this one Seed shall be thy Seed Abraham Moreover he is said to be the Seed of David according to the Flesh Reader make use of thy Understanding and judg whether by thy own Seed Abraham be meant a Principle of Light Life and Power or is meant that Man which the Virgin Mary brought forth in the Land of Judea and who was seen with natural Eyes if the latter be meant thou mayst then see the door by which an erroneous Spirit hath led so many from the Foundation of Christianity But saith William Pen The Body of Christ is not so much as in any one And another Quaker saith The true Christ was never seen of bodily Eyes Answ See 1 Cor. 15.1 2 3 4 5 c. and what Christ faith to the Man whose Eyes he opened Joh. 9. Dost thou believe on the Son of God To whom he replyed who is he Lord See our Saviour's Answer Thou hast both seen him and he it is that speaketh to thee Also God sware to David that of the Fruit of his Loins according to the Flesh he would raise up Christ to sit upon his Throne Will they render God guilty of Perjury it must be so if Christ be not truly of David's Seed according to the Flesh See Heb. 12.1 Wherefore seeing we are compassed about with so great a Cloud of Witnesses let us lay aside every weight and the Sin which doth so easily beset us and let us run with patience the Race that is set before us looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our Faith who for the Joy that was set before him endured the Cross despising the Shame and is set down at the right hand of the Throne of God This Cloud of Witnesses are the Saints from Abel recorded in the 11th Chapter who in the Promises of a Saviour to come through the Spirit 's Work upon the Heart were by Faith led to behold him and inabled to anchor upon the Immutability and Unchangeableness of the Promises concerning him so often renew'd in the Old Testament unto the Fathers so that this poor deceived Man William Pen doth not distinguish betwixt a personal Injoyment of him within and an Injoyment of him within by Faith If a personal Injoyment of him within were intended then indeed it would exclude the Human Nature from sharing with the Divine Nature in constituting Christ but the Scripture when it speaks of Christ it speaks of him as personally absent but present by Faith and by his Spirit and with this agree the Experiences of Saints Phil. 1.23 For I am in a strait betwixt two having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better compared with 1 Pet. 1.8 Whom having not seen ye love in whom though now ye see him not yet believing ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory Our dear Lord in that visionary Discourse which he gives of himself to John in Rev. 1.17 18. doth with great clearness hold forth his two Natures to us Fear not I am the first and the last I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive for evermore Was the Eternal Word the Divine Nature of the Lord Jesus ever dead if not he is speaking of his Human Nature I have staid the longer upon this Head that I might clear up the Foundation of Christianity and vindicate the Son of God in that Honour which is confer'd upon him as God-man against this Erroneous Spirit which notwithstanding the pretence of the setting up of a spiritual Kingdom is from their own confession as to the Work upon the Heart no other than the first Covenant Light which gives no discovery of the Gospel Dispensation and which a Mahometan or Indian hath in common with them Sam. Fisher's Testimony of Truth exalted p. 696. as recorded by Squire Edwards in his Book of Baxterianism Barefac'd Is the Light in America then any more insufficient to lead its Followers than the Light in Europe Asia or Africa the other three parts of the World I have ever look'd upon the Light in all Men since I began to look at it in myself as one and the same Light in all Fisher saith true for the experience of the Quakers and the sober Gentiles Socrates Pythagoras and others of them if compared will answer one another as Face answers Face in a Glass with this difference Satan in the poor Quakers sheltering himself under the Convictions of the Law doth by deceivableness seek to rob the Son of God of his Honour nay of his Person 2ly We have this spiritual Christ or Light in all bringing in the Work of Redemption not in a way of satisfaction to Divine Justice for sin but in a way of the first Covenant Obey and live Mr. Barclay a Scots-Quaker in his Apology for the People call'd Quakers p. 91. compar'd with p. 90. The Light within takes away all ground of despair in that it gives every one ground of hope and certain assurance that they may be saved neither doth feed any in security in that none are certain how soon their day may expire and therefore it is a constant Incitement and Provocation and lively Incouragement to every man to forsake evil and close with that which is good compared with William Pen's Christian Quaker p. 97. The Serpent is a Spirit Now nothing can bruise the Head of the Serpent but something that is also internal and spiritual as the Serpent is In answer to these two Paragraphs I say that the drift of these Words turns the Work of Redemption quite out of