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A47167 A refutation of three opposers of truth by plain evidence of the holy Scripture, viz. I. Of Pardon Tillinghast, who pleadeth for water-baptism, its being a Gospel-precept, and opposeth Christ within, as a false Christ. To which is added, something concerning the Supper, &c. II. Of B. Keech, in his book called, A tutor for children, where he disputeth against the sufficiency of the light within, in order of salvation; and calleth Christ in the heart, a false Christ in the secret chamber. II. Of Cotton Mather, who in his appendix to his book, called, Memorable providences, relating to witchcrafts, &c. doth so weakly defend his father Increase Mather from being justly chargeable with abusing the honest people called Quakers, that he doth the more lay open his fathers nakedness; and beside the abuses and injuries that his father had cast upon that people, C. Mather, the son, addeth new abuses of his own. And a few words of a letter to John Cotton, called a minister, at Plymouth in New England. By George Keith. Keith, George, 1639?-1716. 1690 (1690) Wing K199; ESTC W21703 49,228 77

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pretext or colour to use such a Comparison but what Resemblance Stone and Timber hath to Water Baptism I do not understand And if Water-Baptism be the Foundation of the Church then the Church hath had no Foundation for many Ages past for Infant Baptism by sprinkling ye Baptists do not acknowledge to be any true Baptism at all but a meer fiction or invention and yet for many Ages there hath been no other Water-Baptism used but that of sprinkling Infants for that party or society of People called Baptists or Anabaptists did but appear about Luther's time or since and therefore if Water Baptism be the Foundation of Gods Church the Church hath had no Foundation for many Ages and therefore hath quite ceased to be for she cannot be or subsist without a Foundation And as concerning the Allegorical and Spiritual signifycation of Solomon's Temple it is very well understood without your Water Baptism for Solomon's Temple as it was a figure of Christs Body which was crucified and rose again and ascended into Glory so also it was a figure of the Gospel Church under the pure Gospel Dispensation the Foundation whereof is Christ Jesus as he came in the likeness of sinful flesh and took upon himself the form of a Servant and humbled himself unto Death even the Death of the Cross made of a Woman made under the Law the Seed of Abraham and David I say Christ thus come in the flesh and crucified for our sins as the Mystery of him is inwardly revealed by the holy Spirit in the hearts of all true believers in respect of his thus humbling himself and taking hold of the seed of Abraham may well be compared to the Stone Wood of Solomons Temple which were but mean and not very costly Materials but the fullness of the Godhead that dwelt in Christ Bodily and his being anointed with the holy Spirit without measure being the only begotton Son of God full of Grace and Truth of whose fullness all true believers do plentifully receive and Grace for Grace and the many most rich and excellent divine Virtues wherewith both Christ and his Church are most richly endued and adorned are well signified by that great plenty of Gold and Silver and other precious Furniture wherewith the Temple of Solomon was beautified But it is much thou didst not make the Sea in Solomon's Temple to signifie Water-Baptism possibly some of thy Brethren may judge this a great omission or neglect in thee but hadst thou brought it it could have made nothing for thy Water Baptism for that Sea in Solomon's Temple was not a figure of outward Water which it self was but a figure but of these spiritual Waters of the Sanctuary mentioned by the Prophet Ezekiel chap. 47.1 7 8 9. and by Iohn c. 4. v. 6. and Rev. 22.1 But this most idle and ignorant gloss and comparison of thine is like to that other passage in thy book where thou sayst Repenting Believers baptized with Water being a sign and token from God to them of the remission of sins are the only true Heirs of the Promise of the holy ghost c. Which assertion thou dost falsly ground on Peter's words to the Iews Repent and be baptized every one of you mind it sayst thou every one that expects Salvation in the Name of Iesus Christ for the Remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the holy ghost But whether Water Baptism is to be here understood or not thy arguing that it must be Water Baptism is most weak and idle as if to render it only Spirit is to charge the Spirit of God in Peter with gross Impertinencies and Tautologies as if he should say Repent and be baptized with the holy Spirit and you shall receive the holy Spirit To this I Answer This is no Impertinency nor Tautology in the least but very proper as it is very proper to say White Cloth being dip't into the Dyers Fat that hath a red dye receiveth the said red dye even so the Soul being dipt into that spiritual Water of Gods holy Spirit receiveth it as the Cloth receiveth the dye But this to thee is a Mystery and Parable and therefore it is not strange thou talkest such gross impertinencies And it is plain by these words of thine thou makest Water Baptism equally necessary to Salvation with Faith and Repentance and therefore all are eternally and finally Lost who have not been baptized or plunged into Water O Monster of uncharitableness This most Uncharitable Doctrine damneth all to the Pit of Hell for many Ages that never received Water Baptism this is like one of thy Brethren who printed a book with this Title Dip or Damn It is no wonder to find you Baptists generally so bitter and peevish for this your Uncharitable Doctrine of Condemning all to Hell who are not baptized into Water begetteth this evil nature in you even as the narrow Doctrine of the Presbyterians as touching the Grace of God maketh them of the like evil nature for evil Principles and Perswasions have a great influence upon mens Hearts and Lives And now I find thee in this thy work against us joyn'd with the Priests of New-England and particularly these of Boston tho' formerly some of thy Brethren suffered great persecution by the Priests of New-England where it seems thou hast got thy book printed and so like Herod and Pontius Pilate joyning together against Christ as he came in the flesh so ye joyn together against him as he is come and coming more abundantly in Spirit but this Stone which ye builders of Babylon have refused will God exalt and is exalting to be the head of the Corner Thou art as idle and impertinent to alledge That by Water and Blood mentioned 1 Iohn 5.6 This is he that came by Water and Blood is to be meant Water Baptism and that call'd the Supper in giving and receiving Bread Wine But this being thy bare alledgance without any shadow of proof it is altogether denyed and the Virtue of both the Water and Blood together with the Spirit are inwardly and spiritually felt which three agree in one and are inseperable but so are not your Water Baptism and Bread and Wine which ye your selves confess are oft seperated from the Spirit as the many vain persons among you and the many dry and barren Souls of your society too palpably demonstrate for who more gawdy and vain in their Attire and Cloathing both men and women than many call'd Baptists as I have seen and observed in part to my great grief Who greater Enemies to the Spirits inward Revelation and to Christ's inward presence and Appearance in Believers than thou and the Baptists generally perhaps some few excepted And therefore the Spirit and your Water Baptism and breaking of Bread agree not in one and are not in unity And whereas thou chargest it on me and my Friends the People called in scorn Quakers as if we did presume or boast of our
Supper did not really eat and drink sufficiently to refresh nourish the Natural Body as well as together with that their Souls were refreshed and nourished with spiritual food for it is most clear that in the Church of Corinth they did eat together to refresh the outward man and this the Apostle did not reprove but their disorderly manner of eating so that some were hungery and others were drunken and some eat at home in private and others did not but tarried to eat together with their Brethren and were at times disappointed This plainly proveth they used to make a real Meal of their eating together but your manner of eating about the quantity of a Nut in Bread and a spoonful one or two in Wine we find no where in all the New Testament and that ye give the cup but once and Christ gave it twice as I have showed in my late book this ye can give no account of and thou hast not taken the least notice of it although it is material to you who pretend to observe every thing as Christ did And why are ye not as zealous for washing one anothers feet and anointing the sick with Oyl I am sure more expresly commanded by Christ and Iames the Apostle than your Water baptism ye can give no just account It seems thou art zealous for laying on of hands which thou reckons also as belonging to the foundation of the Gospel falsly citing and perverting these words in Heb. 6.1 2. for though that place mention the foundation of Faith and Repentance and afterwards the Doctrine of Baptisms and of laying on of hands yet it saith not that either Water baptism or laying on of hands is any part of the foundation and the Doctrine of Baptisms and the laying on of hands is one thing the use of Water baptism is quite another The Doctrine of all the legal Rites Figures and Types remaineth in the Church at this day but the practice of them is abolished and so of Water baptism Before the close of this my Answer I shall further take notice of some other of thy gross impertinencies First Thou usest these idle words by way of reproach So that upon hearing Peter's Testimony not of killing the Light within as the Quakers preach c. Here thou makest it a matter of derision to say Christ who is the Light and the Life may be killed or crucified by mens sins whereby thou declarest thy great ignorance of the Letter of the Scripture that said of some that they crucified the Son of God afresh and surely that was within them and not without and said Iames Ye have killed the just and he hath not resisted you which cannot be understood as if all these to whom he had writ had been guilty of outward Murder But understand how these call'd Quakers mean that Christ is inwardly crucified or slain by mens great sins to wit not in himself for his Life is an Immortal Principle but unto them so that by their sins they wholly deprive themselves of the enjoyment of it 2 dly Thou sayst While Peter is speaking not mentioning ought of the Light within altho' we deny it not where God would have it spoken of Behold here another bitter and satyrical Scoff against the Light within and what altho' Peter mention not the Light within in that place Acts 10. in express words let the place be considered and it shall be found plainly enough implied in that very discourse of Peter see v. 42. said Peter that it is even Jesus of Nazareth who was ordained to be judge of quick and dead And can this be without the Light within that shall be as a thousand Witnesses against the wicked in that great day of Judgment when the books shall be opened not only the book of Conscience but the Lords Light in the Conseience that did see and reprove them and witness against them when they sinned And whereas thou sayst thou denyest not the Light within when God would have it spoken of I say thou denyest it in so far as thou denyest Christ in the heart who is the true Light callest him a false Christ and also that thou blamest the Quakers for pretending to inward Revelations which ye Baptists generally deny therein agreeing with the dark Priests and other dark Professors 3 dly Thou dost represent the Quakers as denying that Christ is come in the flesh and carrying it in a subtil notion that he is come in their flesh This is a most false and injurious Accusation we most faithfully believe and embrace it as a most faithful saying That Christ Iesus is come in the flesh to wit in that very Body of Flesh which was conceived by the holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary dyed and rose again c. and yet according to Scripture we also believe That the Life of Iesus is made manifest in mortal Flesh and that the Bodies of the Saints are the Temples of God and of Christ of the holy Spirit and that the Saints are his Members and He their Head and that they enjoy and possess a measure of the same holy Spirit that dwelt and dwelleth in him in all fullness and tho' some divine Illumination and manifestation of the Spirit of God be given to all men in a day or time according to plain Scripture yet we do not say tha● all men have the holy Spirit or are baptized with it as thou dost falsly represent us for many men are sensual not having the Spirit and the Spirit of God hath left many men and doth no more invite and call them to Repentance the day of their Visitation being over 4 thly Thou dost insinuate as if we did not believe any other Coming of Christ than his inward coming in his Saints which is false as also is that other gross alledgance of thine That our opposition to Water Baptism is raised against the Person of Iesus Christ and the remembrance of his last Coming This I altogether deny as False Wicked and Injurious we do believe and make it our care to remember that our Lord Jesus is in Heaven in his glorified Body Soul and Spirit of true Man that Seed of David and Abraham and that he shall come again and jud●e both quick and dead even the Man Christ Iesus And as for thy other many false Accusations and hard bitter and reproachful Speeches against us and me in particular I shall not waste paper nor time to repeat them but heartily wish thy Repentance and the opening of thy dark Understanding to the acknowledging and confessing to the Truth if it be the good will of God that so it may come to pass before thy dayes be expired And now ye Water Baptists who plead so earnestly for Water Baptism though in opposition to the living and glorious Appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ in the hearts of his Saints some of you calling Christ in the heart a false Christ in the secret Chamber the which
for the time present of divine Grace and Illumination suitable to their state and dispensation so have the Gentiles that measure of divine Grace and Illumination which is sufficient for the time present suitable to their state and dispensation which is readily granted to be a Dispensation or Administration really distinct or diverse from that pure and perfect Gospel Dispensation which true Believers in Christ crucified and raised again are under yet both coming from one fountain and both tending to one end and meeting together in one yea embracing one another in due season Moreover that the Law state and dispensation before that the faith of Christ crucified and raised again c. doth come is a good state to all such as are diligent Improvers of the same is most clear from Gal. 3.23 Before Faith came we were kept under the Law and as Beza a Protestant doth well translate it we were preserved or kept sub Legis presidio i. e. under the safeguard of the Law as in a City of Refuge even as the Man-slayer under the Law escaping to the City of Refuge did remain there safe from death tho' as in a Prison or Confinement until the News did arrive unto him of the death of the High Priest A real Type and Figure of this great Mystery And therefore it is readily granted that no man until he attain to the true Faith and Knowledge of Christ crucified raised again is perfectly justified nor can his most exact Obedience to the Light in him be an Attonement or Propitiation unto God for sins past or present as neither is the Saints greatest inward Righteousness or Holiness wrought in them by the Spirit of God an Attonement or Propitiation for their Sins but Christ alone who dyed for us the Just for the Unjust c. But as God is gracious to true believers in Christ who have not attained to a Perfection in Holiness but have the Work begun in them for Christs sake and also when they are perfected in Holiness God doth accept them in Christ and for his sake even so doth he extend his favour and mercy in some measure to the honest Gentiles for Christs sake and doth not leave them without all hope of Mercy And as God hath promised to reward the diligent Improvers of his Grace with giving them more Grace who are true Believers in Christ crucified so no doubt the Promise is good to all Gentiles who are faithful Improvers of that Light that God hath given them in their Gentile-state to encrease his Grace unto them and to give them that further degree of Faith and Knowledge of Christ crucified which they have not as yet attained unto for the Promise is universal To every one that hath shall be given And therefore it is a most foolish and rash undertaking in B. K. or any others to affirm That these Gentiles who were diligent to frame their Lives according to the Light in them never at any time had nor ever shall have the knowledge and faith of Christ crucified and raised again who have lived in remote parts of the World where the Gospel hath not as yet been outwardly preached Hath not God many ways to reveal himself to the ouls of men and the depth of his Counsel that passeth our search and understanding Who knoweth what God doth reveal to honest Gentiles on their Death-bed when by reason of Bodily weakness they cannot declare unto others what God doth then reveal unto them or even possibly at the instant of Death or after Death as many Professors use to say as well Baptists as others That the Souls of Believers at or after death are made perfect in Holiness But this is only an Argument ad hominem as it is called i. e. such as can be raised from their own Principle by way of retorsion or counter-arguing but let us leave secret things unto God until he reveal them and keep close to the Scriptures Testimony so far as it is opened to us that giveth us sufficient cause and ground of Charity to conclude that none of the Gentiles who were diligent to improve that Light that God gave them are finally and utterly lost and yet that the faith and knowledge of Christ crucified and raised again is altogether necessary tho' not to the beginning yet to the full and final consumating and perfecting mens eternal Salvation and Happiness both which are well consistent altho' B. K. and his Brethren through the ignorance and prejudice that is in them against the Truth do not see or understand it I shall now take notice of his gross Calumnies and false Accusations that he raiseth up in his ignorance against both the Principle and Persons of the People called in scorn Quakers First That he saith The tenor of our Doctrine showeth plainly that Iesus Christ our blessed Lord and dear Mediator dyed in vain Answ. This is a most false unjust Charge and no wise reacheth to us because first we say the Light that is in the Gentiles and in every man is the real fruit and purchase of Christs Death and also that none can be eternally saved as in respect of the perfect Accomplishment of the Work of their Salvation without some measure of the Knowledge and Faith of Christ crucified tho' we cannot assign the precise time and manner how and when that knowledge and faith is given them as no more can they when or how it is given to elect Infants and other elect Persons suppose Deaf and Dumb from the Womb. Secondly he saith We set up an inherent legal Righteousness in man as his only Righteousness whereby he shall be eternally saved Answ. This is grosly false Thirdly That we deny the imputed Righteousness of Christ wrought in his own Person for us and the virtue of the Price of his most precious Blood Answ. This also is grosly false Fourthly That it is a fancy to believe that Christ hath fullfilled the Righteousness of the Law for us any other wayes than our Pattern Answ. And this likewise is most grosly false for we faithfully believe that Christ hath fulfilled the Law for us and the Righteousness thereof not only as our pattern but as being therein and thereby both in what he did and suffered for us an Attonement and Propitiation unto God for our sins and that his Obedience and Sufferings hath purchased unto us as a most precious and great Price Iustification Remission Sanctification Eternal Life and that he gave himself a Ransom unto God for us and all men which these called particular Baptists deny yet this Price and Ransom or fullfilling the Law for us is not so to be understood as if thereby a liberty were procured unto us to sin at pleasure but as Christ hath fullfilled the Law for us he must also fulfill it in us according to Rom 8. in order to our perfect Sanctification and Justification And here it is to be noted That these Accusations of his in the aforesaid particulars