Ages from Adam to the end of the World are the purchase of Christ Acts 20.28 Take heed therefore unto your selves and to all the flock over the which the holy Ghost hath made you overseers to feed the Church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood Job 19.25 For I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth This was spoken about One thousand six hundred years befor ever Christ was born or took flesh upon him Thus you see that Christ is the only Sacrifice that is sufficient and propitiatory for the sins of all true Believers both under the Law and under the Gospel for they are all of them purchased at the price of his precious Blood alone And none else beside him is the Sacrifice for sin and his Blood is the only Purgatory for sinners and no other for we are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot Now dear Sir Pray be pleased to take the Candle of the Lord and look about all Christendom and see and consider well with your self who there be and what Sect or sort of persons are there to be found among them that are called Christians or do but own the name of Christ that do make a Sacrifice of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper and they are the persons that are here intended by the Holy Apostle who spake as he was moved and inspired by the Holy Ghost for he could see by the Infallible Spirit of God even in that day That a certain Sect or sort of people would come up upon the Stage of Christendom or into the Temple of God that would forbid Marriage to pretended Religious Orders of Men and Women tho the Holy Scripture saith plainly and literally that it is better to Marry than to Burn. And the same Apostle saw by the same Spirit That the same sort of people that forbid Marriage would further reject the Scripture by commanding all persons whatsoever to abstain from Flesh The Apostle had an Expres◠sent him from 〈…〉 tidings 1 Tim. 4.1 2 3. But the Apostle tells us we may eat whatsoever is sold in the Shambles to wit Butchers meat asking no questions for Conscience sake And the Apostle did see by the same Infallible Spirit clearly and spontaneously that a sort of Idolatrous Gentiles which are only nominal Christians would come into the Church or Temple of God that would make a Sacrifice of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper in that Scripture which I quoted before to wit 1 Cor. 10.20 21. But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice unto devils and not unto God and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of Devils ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's Table and of the Table of Devils Now Sir the Protestants do not make a Sacrifice of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper they do not look upon the Elements of Bread and Wine to be Transubstantiated into the real person of Christ namely of Body Soul and Divinity after their Blessing or Consecrating of them and so offer him up as a Sacrifice as you of the Roman Community do own and pretend to believe and that the Elements are miraculously turned into the real substantial Body of Christ viz. Body Soul and Divinity and then offer him up as a Sacrifice sufficient and propitiatory for the sins of the living and the dead But here will appear two Sacrifices you will see by and by in this one The Apostle saith that it is a Sacrificing unto Devils and not to God and they that are guilty of this practice have fellowship with Devils in it and not with God for saith he Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of Devils ye cannot be partaker of the Lord's Table and of the table of Devils Thus you do hear what the Apostle saith it is not my word but his which he spake by Divine Inspiration They offer up sacrifices unto Devils But here I say are two Sacrifices as you may observe in this one The first is this whereas the Priest doth pretend to offer up a Sacrifice sufficient and propitiatory for the sins of the living and the dead why here the Apostle telleth us plainly that this is to offer a Sacrifice unto the Devil and not unto God So that it is clear that they do offer a Sacrifice unto the Devil under a specious pretence of sacrificing unto God. And the second Sacrifice that springs out of this one Sacrifice is this viz. The poor Lay-people do really offer up their Senses Reason Understanding and Faith and all that should be dear unto them both as Christians and Men in Sacrifice to the Priest and they are no longer Masters of their own Senses Reason Understanding Soul and Conscience for 〈…〉 another They have eyes and see not they have cars and hear not they are fallen under that heavy Judgment which the Gospel Prophet predicted and also our Saviour Christ himself Isa 29.10 11 12. For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep and hath closed your eyes the prophets and your rulers the seers hath he covered And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed which men deliver to one that is learned saying Read this I pray thee and he saith I cannot for it is sealed And the book is delivered to him that is not learned saying Read this I pray thee and he saith I am not learned Matt. 13.14 15. And in them is fulfilled the prophesie of Esaias which saith By hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand and seeing ye shall see and shall not perceive For this peoples heart is waxed gross and their cars are dull of hearing and their eyes they have closed lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and should understand with their heart and should be converted and I should heal them I do believe that this Prophesie does principally refer to the Jews and took place upon them first for rejecting and disbelieving Christ the true Messiah but those Christians that have contracted the same guilt as they did to reject the Gospel of Christ they do make themselves guilty of the same sin with the Jews and by that means have lain themselves in the bed of unbelief with them and are both Sacrificers now in Gospel times which is to deny that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh so they lay themselves under the same Judgment with the Jews for one and the same cause produceth one and the same effects at one time as well as at another without preventing Mercy But the Apostle Paul speaks clearly of a sort of Christians that would cast off and reject the Gospel of God for which God did bring the like judgment upon them in 2
at the day of Judgment That light is come â—nto the world and men love darkness rather than â—ight because their deeds are evil they hear of Christ but will not come and believe in him nor reign up the conduct and government of their souls â—nto him and this Ordinance of the Lords-Supper 〈◊〉 to quicken and strengthen the believers graces and 〈◊〉 shew forth the transcendent wisdom and grace of â—od in contriving and bringing to pass this blessed â—ork of mans Redemption by his only begotten â—n Jesus Christ This holy Ordinance may be compared with â—â—ly reverence unto a tender hearted loving Husband that is just taking his leave of his dearly beâ—â—ed Wife and going some long voyage by Sea or â—â—he tedious journey by Land And at his departure when he taketh his leave of his wife he saith 〈…〉 long time from thee therefore I will leave this Diamond Ring or this precious Jewel with thee as a Token of my intire love and affections unto thee for thee to remember me during my absence until I return unto thee again But when he returneth his Wife hath no need of the Ring or Jewel to remember him by because he himself is now personally present with her why even so our Lord Jesus Christ our Head and Husband just the very night in which he was betrayed leaves this Ordinance this precious Jewel with his Spouse the Church as a Love-token for to remember him by during his absence while he is personally sitting at the right hand of God the Father as you may observe from them words of our Saviour Do this in remembrance of me The true Catholick Apostolick Church is Christ's Spouse Cant. 5.1 I am come into my Garden my Sistor my Spouse and Christ is the Church's Husband Isa 54.5 For thy maker is thy Husband the Lord of Hosts is his name and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Isael the God of the whole Earth shall he be called But if this Doctrine of Transubstantiation in your sense be true viz. that the Bread and Wine is Transubstantiated into the very person of Christ namely into Body Soul and Divinity which makes up the compleat person of Christ as much now as he was before and after his Death and Resurrection and as much as he will be at the great day of Judgment for he will be then in Body Soul and Divinity but there will not be one soul that will even dare to stand by and own this strange Doctrine in that day any otherwise than to abhor it and to be ashamed of it And Christ is in Body Soul and Divinity now at the right hand of God in Glory But if this Doctrine of yours be true That Christ is Personally and Corporeally present every time that the Priest saith the Mass Then first in the first place It will consequentially follow that either the Priest maketh a new Christ every time the Mass is said and so we have one Christ personally in Heaven and they have thousands of Christs personally upon Earth Or Secondly They fetch down Christ materially personally from the right hand of God the Father And if so then in the third place Christ has no time at all in Heaven with the Father I call it time in Heaven for distinction sake to intercede and plead as an Advocate and Mediator with God the Father for sinners all his time would be taken up and spent in attending upon the Priests every time they say Mass in all those many remote places round the Globe almost which takes in their Mass-hours perhaps all the four and twenty Hours being upon several Horrizons Fourthly If this Doctrine be true then Christ is come and then this Ordinance ceases to be as I conceive and there needs no such thing to remember him by or to shew 〈…〉 swade him to stay when he is come in your Mass for according to your Doctrine there is a compleat Christ that cometh in the Mass every time it is said for when Christ doth come from the right hand of God to judg the quick and the dead as you your selves do confess and own in your own Creed to my own certain knowledg which I shall have occasion to speak more of by and by for Christ will come then in no other manner as to his person than in Body Soul and Divinity if he went to Heaven so he will come again so as you may see Act. 1.11 Ye men of Galilee why stand ye gazing up into Heaven this same Jesus which is taken up from you into Heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into Heaven Now if Christ be thus come then I humbly conceive this Ordinance should be at an end for when once the substance is come then the shadows must flee away and cease to be for what need the children of the Bride-chamber mourn when the Bridegroom shall come again to them and be with them for ever for what need a man have any thing to put him in mind or to remember a friend that is always present with him and is always before his eyes Why when Christ doth come his people shall see him eye to eye Isa 52.8 and Rev. 1.7 Behold he cometh in the Clouds and every eye shall see him And they also which pierced him that shall be both Jews and Gentiles Zech. 12.10 Again thirdly the same Apostle saith That Christ was to be offered up but once and he gives this as one reason of it viz. for saith he If he had been offered up often then must he have suffered often since the foundation of the world And the Apostle Peter whom some do count Prince of the Apostles saith That Christ suffered once 1 Pet. 3.18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sin the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God being put to death in the flesh but quickened by the spirit Mark ye it was the humane flesh or body of Christ that suffered and died and not his Godhead for that is not capable of suffering I pray Sir observe these following Scriptures and believe them Heb. 9.25 26 28. For Christ is not entered into the holy place made without hands which are the forerunners of the true but into Heaven it self now to appear in the presence of God for us nor yet that he should offer himself often as the high Priests entered into the holy place every year with the blood of others for then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world But now in the end of the world hath appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself So Christ was once offered to bear the sin of many and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto Salvation Here you see Christ was ordained and appointed to be offered up but once and that was a sufficient sacrifice for sin in the wisdom and account of God but you 〈◊〉 once offering up himself
his Righteousness and 〈◊〉 to expunge and expiate sin and guilt and sanctifie the soul and present it unto the Father without spot or wrinkle like himself fully justified and acquitted from all the demands of Justice and wholly discharged from the Law for Christ's being justified was his peoples Justification which the Law could not do in that it was weak for all the Sacrifices under the Law when they were in force could not take away sin and Sacrifices under the Gospel cannot do it for these material Sacrifices of yours themselves are an abomination in the sight of God and are as smoke in his nose Isa 65. For there never was but one real Propitiatory and sufficient Sacrifice for all the sins of Gods people both under the Law and under the Gospel and that was Christ who was offered up a living Sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God and that but once as I have already proved from the holy Scripture Heb. 10.1 3 4 5 6 11. For the Law having a shadow of good things to come and not the very image of the things can never with those Sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect But in these Sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sin but our Saviour Christ the great Sacrifice perfects for ever them which are sanctified there cometh all the Believers perfection in at that door and no where else For it is not possible that the blood of Bulls and of Goats should take away sins In Burnt-offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure O no for in these material Ceremonial Sacrifices there was much sin and imperfection and therefore God could take no pleasure in them And every priest standeth dayly ministring and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices which can never take away sin 12. But this man after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever sat down on the right hand of God from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool So that here you see again That these Sacrifices and Offerings before Christ came in the flesh were but for a Remembrance of Sin and of Christ's coming in the flesh and dying in the flesh and rising again to redeem fallen lost sinners For whilst we were sinners Christ died for the ungodly And the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper after Christ's coming in the flesh and dying in the flesh and rising again from the dead for our justification is for a Remembrance that Christ is come in the flesh and has suffered and died in the room and place of fallen sinners to expiate the guilt and to wash away the filth and pollution of sin and to atone us to God who was the Just and the Holy One. He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God through him Christ is come and has died in the flesh and is justified in the spirit by which justification of his all true Believers come to be justified freely and pardoned fully Rom. 33.34 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of demneth It is Christ that died yea rather that is risen again who is even at the right hand of God who also maketh intercession for us This word also signifieth that there is some other Intercessor Why look into v. 26. and there you will see that the Holy Ghost maketh intercession for the Believer and in the Believer the spirit indicts all our Prayers in us if we pray in a right manner Rev. 1.5 And from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead and the prince of the kings of the earth Ay and that Antichrist shall know in a little time It draws on a-pace towards a period of his Reign Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood This is the only Purgatory for sinners there is no Purge to be had for Sin any where else and all that ever were purged and saved from the days of Adam until Christ came in the flesh were saved upon the account of Christ's coming and dying in the flesh to make satisfaction to the Justice of God for their sins as he was their surety of that better Covenant or Days-man to fulfil all Righteousness for them that believe With Holy Reverence be it spoken it is thus All they that were saved before Christ came in the flesh and died in his estate of humiliation were saved upon Christ's Word and Credit upon the account of that Confederal Covenant that was made in order to Man's Redemption between God the Father and God the Son from all Eternity That Christ in due time would come into the World and take up humane nature and stand in the room of poor sinners and lay down his Life for poor lapsed undone Man and to purchase Grace and Holiness for us here and Eternal Life and Salvation for us hereafter with himself in Glory It is Comparatively as if there should be a Covenant made between two persons for such and such parcels of Merchandize or for such a parcel of Land and the purchaser doth bargain and agree for the said Merchandize or Land wholly upon Credit and enters into Covenant or Bonds according to their agreement to pay him that he purchased the said Premises of so much Monies at such a time as they do agree upon punctually Now upon this Consideration and Contract he giveth the Purchaser as ample and peaceable possession and quiet enjoyment of it as if he had paid him every peny of the Money down upon the Nail And he reaps all the benefit of it until the time does come in the which he doth actually and punctually pay him his Money according to Contract Why even so it was with a respect to Christ in that Confederal Covenant between himself and God the Father in relation to every Believer that was saved before Christ came in the flesh and actually laid down his life for them 1 Pet. 1.18 19 20. Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers But with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot Who verily was fore-ordained before the foundation of the world but was manifest in these last times for you 2. And secondly All those that should be saved after Christ came in the flesh and actually paid the price of Redemption by laying down his Life by which he purchased all them that ever should be saved for time then to come to the end of the World. Now this is like a Man that purchases all the Wine that such a Vineyard shall produce for so long time or like a Crop of Corn that a Man purchaseth as soon as the Seed is sown and payeth down every Farthing of his Money long before ever he receives any of the Wine or Corn Every true Believer throughout all
Thess 2.11 12. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusions that they should believe a lie That they all might be damned who believe not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness God punisheth them by their own very sins and makes it a judgment unto them as he did by the Jews and they are under much what the same judgment with the Jews for the first did chuse Delusions and Lies and then God gave them up unto them just as God gave the Jews to a hard heart and a blind mind and they are all laid in the grave of unbelief and prejudice against Christ the true Messiah and therefore they are Sacrificing and Sacrificing still now under the Gospel Why so God has given up these sacrificing Christians and so these Apostates or Backsliders in heart come to be filled with their own ways And you must certainly give your selves up to strong Delusions or else you would never abuse and disbelieve the Holy Scriptures as you do which is the revealed Will of 〈…〉 and walk by so that the people have no more use of the Gospel than the Jews that do not believe that Christ is yet come in the flesh so that you are as ignorant with a respect to any saving experiemental knowledg of Christ's being come in the flesh as the very Jews are for while you profess to know him in word you deny him in works namely in sacrifices and other carnal Ordinances and were not your Consciences seared with a hot Iron you would never disbelieve your own senses and reason and understandings as you do for you must not believe your own eyes that tell you that the Bread or Wafer after Consecration as it 's called is still Bread and the Wine is Wine still without any alteration Nor you must not believe your own hands that give the same account of it unto you nor you must not believe your own mouth that telleth you that it is Bread and not Flesh But the Priest by what authority I know not will not suffer the Lay-peoples mouths to make a judgment upon the Wine whether it be Wine or Blood tho Christ hath given a particular and an express command for it as in them words of our Saviour's Drink ye all of it Mat. 26.27 Mark 14.23 And they all drank of it But this is your misery you must believe as the Church believes or as the Priest commands ye to believe you must not believe Christ nor his Apostles nor his Gospel nor your own sences reason and understanding none of these are to be believed but all is fast lockt up in unbelief and the Priest carrieth the Key of your Knowledg at his Girdle and thus you do see clearly and spontaneously proved that you are the persons which the Apostle Paul prophesied of that do make a Sacrifice of the Sacrament of the Lords-Supper when as there is no material Sacrifices of this kind to be offered up in this manner for Christ at his coming and dying and rising again put an end to all that kind of worship Col. 2.14 15 16 18 20 21 22 23. Heb. 9.9 10 11 12. But yet notwithstanding give me leave to tell ye that we have our Gospel-Sacrifices but they are all Spiritual viz. The sacrifice of a broken heart and of an humble contrite spirit and the sacrifice of prayer and of thanksgiving and every part of holy worshipping of God in spirit and in truth these are the Sacrifices that are accepted and well-pleasing unto God when we offer up our selves in them when all is offered up unto God upon the Golden Altar the Lord Jesus Christ and mixed with his Merits and both the person and the offering covered with his Robe of Righteousness the only Garment of Salvation Rev. 8.3 4. And another Angel came and stood at the Altar having a Golden Censer and there was given to him much Incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all Saints upon the Golden Altar 〈…〉 cense which came with the prayers of the Saints ascended up before God out of the Angels hand This is the Angel of the Covenant the Lord Jesus Christ who presents our persons and petitions unto God the Father for us if they be indicted in us by God the Holy Ghost Rom. 8.26 27. Likewise the spirit also helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the spirit it self maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the spirit because he maketh intercession for the Saints according to the will of God. And the person must be clothed with Christ's Robe of Righteousness Isa 61.10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord my soul shall be joyful in my God for he hath clothed me with the garments of Salvation he hath covered me with the Robe of Righteousness as a Bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments and as a Bride adorneth her self with her Jewels This is the Wedding-garment that every soul hath on that is married to Christ and hence you may observe floweth all the Saints joy and comfort from their being justified by the righteousness of Christ But if this be so as you see clearly proved that it is then what a miserable condition must all these poor souls be in that hope for and expect Eternal life and Salvation upon no better ground nor foundation than their own meritorious works of righteousness and boast of their works of Supererogation which will all prove Physitians of no value and will prove miserable Comforters in the End they are but sparks of their own kindling Isa 50.11 Behold all ye that kindle a fire that compass your selves about with sparks walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks that ye have kindled this shall ye have of mine hand ye shall lie down in sorrow Thus you do see what a vast difference there is between your Sacrifices and the Protestants Gospel-Sacrifices the one is an abomination and abhorred by the Lord The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord but the prayer of the upright is his delight And the true Gospel-sacrifices are accepted with the Lord in and through Christ if offered up upon the Golden Altar of his Righteousness and Merits then they are God's delight Now in the next place I shall offer unto you a few modest and solid Reasons together with some Arguments to confute this gross error and strong delusion that you poor souls are involved in In the first place if this Doctrine of yours be true why then so far it renders Faith useless and destroys it for if our Saviour Christ be personally and substantially come again and is thus present with his people why then the use of that part o◠Faith is at an end As for instance before our Saviour Christ came in the flesh it was the duty of a 〈◊〉 God's 〈…〉 come in the flesh because God had
promised that he should so come Gen. 3.15 But after our Saviour Christ did come in the flesh why then that part of Faith was at an end for after that whoever looked for his coming in that nature did not exercise Faith but it was a great sin for it was the product of unbelief which was a very great Judgment and it is the very Grave wherein the poor scattered Jews have lain dead and buried ever since and unbelief and prejudice against Christ is the Grave-stone also that lyeth upon them and keeps them down Our Saviour told them If ye believe not that I am he ye shall die in your sins But now the proper work and office of Faith is to see him that is invisible Heb. 11.27 By faith he forsook Egypt not fearing the wrath of the King for he endured as seeing him who is invisible that was Christ But how can that be it seems to be a contradiction in it self what to see him which cannot be seen why it must be understood thus that Moses did see Christ by an eye of Faith who could not be seen by an eye of sence a bodily eye And thus Abraham the Father of the Faithful did see Christ before ever he came in the flesh Your Father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad And thus all true Believers do see and discern the Lord's Body at the Sacrament of the Lords-Supper and he is to be discerned no otherwise there And Stephen the Martyr he saw Christ in Heaven after he was ascended Act. 7.55 But he being full of the Holy Ghost looked up stedfastly into Heaven and saw the Glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. But how did Stephen see him why it was by an eye of faith he being full of the Holy Ghost Ay that soul can never miss of seeing Christ at any time or in any place that is full of the Holy Ghost and Stephen's confessing this made his Enemies mad insomuch that they run upon him and murdered him for they perhaps thought that they could see as far as he could and yet they could see no such sight But the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned 1 Cor. 2.14 Our Saviour Christ can no more be seen now personally and substantially by a bodily eye of sence while he is at the right hand of God than he could be seen in Moses's or Abraham's days which was before ever he had a substantial Body to be seen neither ever shall he be so seen until he cometh down from Heaven in that manner as he was seen to go up into Heaven Act. 1.10 11. Nor until he appeareth the second time without sin unto Salvation Without sin why doth not the Scripture â—ell us that he was without sin before namely at his â—â—rst coming why yes it does so and it is very true â—â—at is thus he was without sin with a respect to 〈…〉 â—uilt or pollution or any inclination to 〈…〉 sin in himself for he was a Lamb without spot or blemish the Lamb for Sacrifice did Type out unto us the sinless spotless nature of Christ But when Christ came first in the flesh he appeared then in his state of Humiliation in the form of a servant with all the sins of all the people of God upon him of all that ever were saved and gotten safe into Glory and of all that ever should be saved from Adam to the end of the world all the sins of his people past present and to come viz. of them that were dead and gone and of them that were then living and of them that were then unborn all concentred upon Christ but not in him they all met upon Christ's shoulders Isa 53.5 6. But he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquity the chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed All we like sheep have gone astray we have turned every one to his own way and the Lord hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all Therefore it is said God was manifested in the flesh Then indeed Christ was seen with bodily eyes for he was manifested in the flesh justified in the spirit after Christ had suffered and died and rose again from the dead when he had paid the debt to God which he stood engaged unto him for as a surety for sinners when the Law was fulfilled and the Justice of God fully satisfied and the wrath of God wholly appeased then Christ must needs be justified and by his being justified all his people for whom he died were all justified It was just as if a rich man were surety for a poor indigent man that was deeply in debt and was not able to pay one farthing why the Creditors take no notice of the poor Debtor but fall upon the rich man that is his surety and arrest him and cast him into prison upon which the rich man payeth all the poor mans debts and then he comes forth having fully discharged the debt he and the poor Debtor are both fully discharged the Prison could hold him no longer so that both the Surety and the Debtor are justified and acquitted the Law cannot take hold neither of the Surety nor the Debtor again for that is fulfilled why even so comparatively it was with a respect to Christ and poor sinners he was bound for poor sinners and the Justice of God past by them and seised upon Christ and arrested him and cast him into prison Isa 53.8 9. He was taken from prison and from judgment c. Which I take to be the prison of the Grave for death could not hold him but he paid every farthing of all the debt for all them for whom he died and when he had discharged the debt for poor sinners then he himself was fully discharged and justified and all his people in him and in this sense every believer is without sin that is they are free from the reigning condemning power of sin tho not from the in-being of sin Rom. 8.1 And so is to be understood that 1. Joh. 2.9 Whosoever is born of God 〈…〉 sin for his seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God. But to return to the case in hand c. But Christ has never been seen by any mortal eye in this world since he Ascended up into Glory by which you may see that this Doctrine of Christ's being Corporeally present in the Sacrament destroys the use and exercise of Faith in that Ordinance which is to see him by the eye of Faith who is at the right hand of God and is invisible which is to discern the Lords Body which cannot be seen by a carnal bodily eye of sence as you pretend to see him in your Sacrament Secondly If this Doctrine of Transubstantiation in your Churches
God by his Grace hath made Good. 1. First it could not be a Moral Honest Good Man that made and invented the Scriptures who counts himself so for he will tell you That he shall go to Heaven and be saved because he deals uprightly and justly with all men and payeth every one their own and does wrong to no man and I do as I would be done by which is all very good in its place and let me tell you that it is so good that there is no going to Heaven without it but yet let me tell thee also Tho thou dost give Man his due yet if thou dost not give God his due it will all avail thee nothing in Point of Justification and Salvation But what is it to give God his due Why the sole Conduct and Government of thy Soul all thou art and all thou hast must be resigned up to God from whence thou didst receive it thou must forsake all whenever God in his Providence calls thee to it and deny thy self and follow Christ the Lamb of God whithersoever he goeth Will you see a full Scripture for proof of this Why you shall Matth. 19.18 19 20 21. Jesus said Thou shalt do no murder thou shalt not commit Adultery thou shalt not steal thou shalt not bear false witness honour thy father and thy mother and thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self The young man saith unto him All these things have I kept from my youth up What lack I yet Jesus said unto him If thou wilt be perfect go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven and come and follow me Moral Honesty will not do unless we follow Christ by Faith and in Love. Therefore it could not be a Moral Honest Man that made or invented the Scriptures because they are quite against him and surely if the Moral Good Man had made them he would have made his way wide enough for himself to go to Heaven and be saved by his Morality 2. Secondly There is another sort of Persons that count themselves so good that they think there is none like them but that they are the only good men in the world Isa 65. Rev. 3.9 And these are a whipping sort of Good Men the Pharisaical self-righteous Men that are so zealous in their way to make up a Righteousness of their own to be justified and saved by that they will whip themselves 〈…〉 and hang and burn their neighbours for God's sake and this sort of men in all Ages have justified themselves and condemned all others Pray hear what our Saviour Christ saith of these Luke 18.10 11 12 13 14. Two men went up into the Temple to pray the one a Pharisee and the other a Publican The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself God I thank thee that I am not as other men are Our Saviour Christ has told us that Publicans and Harlots shall go to Heaven before a self-righteous Man shall And in Prov. 30.12 13. There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes and yet are not washed from their filthiness There is a generation O how lofty are their eyes and their eye-lids are lifted up Thus you see that it could not be a Self-righteous Man which counts himself a good Man that made and invented the Scripture that makes up a righteousness of his own part of works of Mercy and part of works of Cruelty who are for Meritorious works and works of Supererogation that think to climb up to Heaven by that Rope of Sand for if such a Man had made the Scriptures he would never have written such bitter things against himself and left himself in the hopelessest condition of all sorts of men in the whole World of ever being saved without a change of that principle 3. But Thirdly and Lastly Might it not be a good Man that had the Grace of God in his heart and the fear of God before his eyes that might invent and compose the Scriptures To this I answer in the negative No it is impossible that it could be Tho it is true there is nothing in the Holy Scriptures that is against him for his goodness as there is nothing in them that doth indulge a wicked Man in his wickedness And therefore you will say that a good Man was the likeliest of all men to have made and invented the Scriptures But yet notwithstanding give me leave to tell ye that a good Man could not nor dare not invent the holy Scriptures for it is utterly inconsistent with his goodness for can he be a good Man and yet at the same time be a deceitful Man For he would be the inventer of an evil thing if it were invented by Man for it would be a Lie because instead of being the Word of God it would be the word of Man But you see this cannot possibly be for it would be to do evil that good might come of it which the Scriptures does down-rightly forbid But you will say If neither bad men nor good men made and invented the Scriptures Then pray who were they made and invented by To this I answer the Word of God telleth us all plainly in these following Scriptures who it was that made the Holy Scriptures 2 Pet. 1.20 21. Knowing this first that no prophesie is of any private interpretation 〈…〉 man that is Man did not invent them but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the holy Ghost 2 Tim. 3.16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousness Rev. 1.1 The Revelations of Jesus Christ which God gave unto him to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass and he sent and signified it by his Angel unto his servant John. And in Heb. 1.1 2. God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets Hath in these last days spoken to us by his son whom he hath appointed heir of all things by whom he also made the worlds John 1.14 And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth Christ is the essential Word of God and all godly men have the Spirit of Christ dwelling and abiding in them and that is the reason that good men in all Ages have put such a value upon the Holy Scriptures and would suffer any thing rather than part with the Holy Scriptures David prized them above his appointed food and the Martyrs prized them above their Lives which made them go joyfully to Prisons to the Gibbet to the Flames and this made them rejoyce at the place of Execution and clap their hands in the Flames which struck terror to their Adversaries And what made them do this Why next unto the holy Ghost it was because they knew
as well as he is the Infallible Head of the Church for who can give a better interpretation or Exposition of the Law than the Law-maker can therefore no person can understand or give a right Interpretation of the Holy Scriptures but them to whom Christ gives this gift and that is to many thousands to some more and some less some have a higher measure than others it is given to every believer which is a spiritual man to know the mystery of Gods will in the Salvation of poor sinners for saith Christ It is given to you to know the mystery of the Kingdom but unto them it is not God hides these things from the wise and prudent and revealeth them unto babes saith Christ 1 Cor. 2.14 15. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned But he that is spiritual judgeth all things Here you see who is the chief Judg of the Scriptures and who are Missionaries or whom he has Commissionated so â—o do not any one single person above the rest But â—o return to what we are upon Joh. 3.3 4. Jesus â—nswered and said unto him Verily verily I say unto â—â—ee Except a man be born again he cannot see the â—â—ingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him How can 〈◊〉 man be born again when he is old can he enter the second time into his mothers womb and be born This is â—â—st as the unbelieving Jews that said How can this â—â—an give us his flesh to eat And old Nicodemus notwithstanding he was a great Rabbi and Ruler in Israel yet he had like to have gone away under as â—â—eat a mistake about the Doctrine of Regeneration 〈◊〉 you Romanist have done of this mystical saying of â—â—r Saviour Christ's in that he hath said Take Eat â—â—is is my Body and of giving his flesh to eat and â—â—s blood to drink Now pray observe how nearly alike our Saviour Christ interprets and expounds this Doctrine of Reâ—â—neration unto Nicodemus in the 5th and 6th verses â—â—sus answered Verily verily I say unto thee Except man be born of water and of the spirit he cannot enâ—â— into the Kingdom of God that which is born of the 〈◊〉 is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit â—â—w see the 6. Joh. 63. and compare them togeâ—â—r It is the spirit that quickeneth the flesh profiteth â—â—hing the words that I speak unto you they are spirit 〈◊〉 they are life Here you see all the carnal fleshly â—â—â—eption or Transubstantiated fancy utterly overâ—â—wn and knockt in the head in these words of â—â—aviour Christ as well as that also of Nicodemus's â—â—al conception of the Doctrine of Regeneration 〈…〉 understood mystically and Spiriâ—â—◠〈…〉 eaten by faith in every Ordinance of God in Religious worship and especially in the Ordinance of the Lords-Supper for faith is the mouth of the new creature the great grace of faith is the souls Nurse but it feeds upon Christ and lives upon Christ which is this spiritual Bread which came down from Heaven that a man may eat thereof and not die And so likewise our Saviour gives the like interpretation of the graces of the Spirit in the Believer much after the same manner which are compared to rivers of living water in Joh. 7.37 38 39. In the last day that great day of the Feast Jesus stood and cried saying if any man thirst let him come unto me and drink And pray mind what the drink is that Christ giveth him He that believeth on me as the Scripture hath said out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water But pray mind what Exposition our Blessed Redeemer gives in the following verses But this spake he of the Spirit which they that believe on him should receive You see this drinking here is by faith in Christ and the liquor which they drink is spiritual liquor it is the water of life Now if these Scriptures are to be understood literally and properly then you must understand the Contexts and the Coherence of them literally and properly also for Christ does not as I remember speak a whole sentence wherein one part wholly contains spiritual matter and the other part wholly contains a literal and proper meaning in it tho one whole sentence may have both a mystical and literal meaning in it Now pray mind in Joh. 6.35 50. And Jesus said unto them I am the bread of life he that cometh to me shall never hunger and he that believeth in me shall never thirst Now is not here the very same reason to believe that we shall never be corporally a hungry nor a thirst again as there is for us to believe that that is material bread or flesh that Christ spake of in the same verse Again this is the bread which cometh down from Heaven that a man may eat thereof and not die Now is not here as much reason to believe and understand this literally and properly as there is for any of the other to be understood so and if the rest be to be understood so then they that eat Christ's flesh and drink his blood shall never die a natural death Again if this Doctrine in Joh. 6. be to be understood literally and properly then must the Doctrine of Regeneration be understood so in Joh. 3. And if so then none should ever see the Kingdom of God nor enter into the Kingdom of Heaven and be saved but them and them only that crept into their mothers womb and were born again literally and properly as old Nicodemus ignorantly imagined There is every whit as much reason to believe this as there is to believe your Doctrine of Transubstantiation Pray mind the Interrogation of Nicodemus and that of the Jews how like they are the one to the other 〈…〉 is old c. Secondly the Jews they said How can this man give us his flesh to eat Now if these Scriptures in Joh. 3. and in Joh. 6. are to be taken and the sense of them expounded literally in the plain letter of the word then must this of Joh. 7.38 be understood so in like manner where it is said that rivers of living water shall flow out of the Believers belly and we might as rationally expect that Scullers should ply the Ferry at every believers belly in these rivers of living water and also that every believer has crept into his mothers womb and been born again as to believe that the Bread and Wine in the Sacrament of the Lords-Supper after Consecration is Transubstantiated into the Body Soul and Divinity of our Saviour Christ which is into his very person But what will become of all those poor souls whose mothers are dead before they are or were converted that have never a mothers womb to creep into for I will assure you that the one is as true as the other let who will deny or contradict it And thus you do
St. John called her a Woman The one reâ—â— him as a Prince in his temporal power and 〈◊〉 other respects him as head of the Church 〈◊〉 spiritual power for it is both one and the 〈◊〉 person tho successively and conjunctively thâ—â— all the Reign of Antichrist But there are some persons in the World 〈◊〉 would fain have this the Antichrist to be the 〈◊〉 Turk and that for this reason because it is 〈◊〉 1 John 4.1 2 3. Hereby know ye the spirit of every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is 〈◊〉 the flesh is of God. And every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not 〈◊〉 and this is that spirit of Antichrist whereof youâ— heard that it should come and even now already 〈◊〉 〈…〉 How did they come to 〈◊〉 this â—ur Saviour Christ told them and us so in Matt. 24. â— 25 26. And also the Apostle Paul by the Spirit 〈◊〉 Christ gave a very clear description of him in Thess 2.7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already â—â—rk That was the Man of Sin Antichrist â—â—s way was a preparing and paving for him to â—t into the Church or Temple of God even then 〈◊〉 his time But some people will say and them â—â—ly perhaps that are the persons principally concerned That this cannot be meant of us because â—â—e do confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh â—ut pray give me leave to tell you that there is â—â—ore in this than a bare verbal confession that Jeâ—â—s Christ is come in the flesh pray mind what the apostle saith to this Rom. 10.9 10. That if thou â—â—â—lt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt â—â—â—eve in thine heart that God hath raised him from the â—â—â—d thou shalt be saved For with the heart man believeth â—â—â—o righteousness and with the mouth confession is made â—â—â—o salvation This sort of Faith leads the Soul 〈◊〉 of his own Righteousness in point of merit or Justification and leads him to the Righteousness â—â—d Merits of Christ alone for Justifiction for let â—â—em confess never so often with their mouth that â—â—us Christ is come in the flesh if they do not believe in their hearts that his Righteousness and Meâ—â—â— alone is sufficient to justify and acquit them â—â—â—m sin and render them acceptable unto God 〈◊〉 will joyn their own Righteousness and Works â—â—â—h that of Christ's it will avail them nothing 〈◊〉 the same Apostle saith That by the deeds of the 〈◊〉 shall no flesh be justified for by grace are ye saved though faith and that not of your selves For it is 〈◊〉 gift of God not of works lest any man should 〈◊〉 The proper work and office of the Tongue is confess from the heart That Salvation cometh 〈◊〉 Christ's Righteousness and Merits alone which 〈◊〉 wrought out in his Rising from the dead by â—â—ich he was justified and acquitted from all the 〈◊〉 which lay upon him when he hung on the â—â—ss he was put to Death in the Flesh but Justice in the Spirit But if a bare verbal Confession of Jesus Christ â—â—â—g come in the flesh be sufficient to make a 〈◊〉 a true Christian then no doubt but Judas was a good Christian and was saved although 〈◊〉 Scripture calls him Son of Perdition A lost Son. â—â—on by external profession of the Christian Reliâ—â—â— but lost for his Treason and Rebellion as it 〈◊〉 call the Man of Sin Antichrist For no doubt Judas as he was an Apostle and a Preacher of â—â—â—st tho a great Hypocrite and Traytor yet he 〈◊〉 often confess that Jesus Christ was come in the 〈◊〉 Nay all the Protestants that ever were Hangâ—â— burned for Hereticks confessed that Jesus 〈◊〉 it was come in the flesh And therefore if this 〈…〉 come in the flesh does acquit them that hanged and burned them from being the Antichrist why then it does also acquit them that were Hanged and Burned from being Hereticks for Antichrist is the greatest Heretick that ever was in the World and all Hereticks are Antichrists but not them that are commonly called Hereticks but them that call them so that put darkness for light And thus you see clearly that they condemn themselves of being guilty of the Blood of the Martyrs by their own Argument which they vainly use to clear themselves from being Antichrist Again Thirdly If a bare verbal Confession of Jesus Christ being come in the flesh be sufficient to interest them in the great privilege of true Christianity then may the Devils themselves come in for a share of this kind of Christianity and great Privilege for they went a great way beyond this of a bare Confession that Jesus Christ was come in the Flesh for they owned and confessed him to be the Son of God and worshipped him as Christ told the Devil when he tempted him Luke 8.28 When he saw Jesus he cried out and fell down before him and with a loud voice said What have I to do with thee Jesus thou Son of God most high I beseech thee torment me not Luke 4.41 And Devils also came out of many crying out and saying Thou art Christ the Son of God and he rebuking them suffered them not to speak for they knew that he was Christ And the Apostle James 2.19 Thou believest that there is one God thou dost well the Devils also believe and tremble Alas it is not a notional confession of the Head only of Jesus Christ in the Flesh in words only that will make a Man a true Christian and intitle him unto all those glorious privileges which does arise therefrom for people may confess that Jesus Christ is come in the Flesh in words and yet at the same time deny it in works Titus 1.16 They profess that they know God but in works they deny him being abominable and disobedient and unto every good work reprobate 2 Pet. 2.1 But there were false Prophets among the people even as there shall be false teachers among you who privily shall bring in damnable heresies even denying the Lord that bought them and bringing upon themselves swift destruction Jud. 4. For there are certain men crept in unawares who were before of old ordained to this condemnation ungodly men turning the grace of God into lasciviousness denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ This is a denying Jesus Christ to be come in the flesh Doctrinally Again This Man of Sin is one that pretends to the Apostolical Office and working of Miracles and Wonders 2 Thess 2.9 Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders Who is this him that cometh Why it was Antichrist the Man of Sin as you may 〈…〉 if he that cometh Who is this he that cometh Why it is even the same again with him that cometh viz. The Man of Sin the Antichrist And what does he do after he cometh Pray mark For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus whom we have not