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spirit_n	ghost_n	holy_a	son_n	41,079	5	6.0417	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
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

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

legal and evangelical but the Evangelical doth but obscurely and hiddenly appear and therefore the first may be called more Legal and in that respect is called by Paul and others The Law by a synecdoche the denomination being taken from the larger part and this Dispensation continued until Iohn according to Christs own Words The Law and the Prophets were unto John The Second Dispensation of the same Gospel may vvell enough be understood to begin at Iohn according to Acts 1.22 beginning from the Baptism of Iohn unto that same day that he vvas taken up from us see also Acts 10.37 38. and to continue until the plentiful pouring forth of the holy Ghost both at and after the day of Pentecost and this second Dispensation comprehendeth all the time of Christ his being on Earth in the flesh vvhich though a more clear and glorious Dispensation of the Gospel yet vvas in some degree vailed vvith the figures of the Lavv for not only Iohn's Baptism but the vvhole Lavv of Moses vvas in force until Christ suffered on the Cross and became a Sacrifice of a svveet smell unto God and a Propitiation for the sins of the vvhole World and thereby put an end to all these Sacrifices of Rams Lambs and Bullocks c. for Christ himself being made of a Woman vvas made under the Lavv and fulfilled it both in his being circumcised and baptised and he preached the Law and Gospel and sent one vvhom he had cured of his Leprosie to the Priest according to the Lavv and told the Iews That their paying Tythes which wholly belonged to the Law was a thing to be done but that withal the greater things of the Law as Mercy and Iudgment were not to be neglected And Christ told that it is written in the Law They shall be all taught of God which is a Gospel Promise So that the Gospel and Law were united and joyned together in both these former Dispensations and the Gospel was in the Law as some precious Treasure hid within some vail The Third and last Dispensation began from the giving of the holy Ghost at Pentecost most apparently and was to encrease until it should come to its Meridian or Noon-tide Glory as so it may be said it did really so come in the days of the Apostles before their decease And this third Dispensation of the Gospel is that which ought to be called The pure and perfect Gospel Dispensation purely and perfectly unvailed and uncovered declaring and revealing that great Mystery of Christ and of eternal Salvation by faith in him both as he came and suffered outwardly in the flesh and dyed for us and rose again and ascended and is now in Heaven at the right hand of Majesty making intercession for us and also as he doth come inwardly to live dwell and rule in our hearts for both his outward and inward coming are a most choice and excellent Doctrine of the Gospel of our Salvation but the one without the other is lame and defective for as it is most glad Tidings which the word Gospel or Evangel signifieth that Christ hath dyed for us purchased to us the forgiveness of all our sins through Faith in his Name so likewise that the Father hath given him to us in our hearts to kill and destroy the very life of sin in us and perfectly to sanctifie and renew us into the Image of God and no Vails nor Figures nor Types of things to come belong to this third Dispensation of the Gospel but the Truth of the Gospel is held forth purely and perfectly in its own native lustre beauty and glory without any figure or shadow of the Law such as Circumcision and Iohn's Baptism was These Positions thus being laid down and well understood the substance of which are sufficiently laid down in my late book tho' not so largely or in so many express words may serve sufficiently to answer to every one of thy Objections against us without a particular application to every particular of thy Treatise And thus it plainly doth appear how it may be granted that Iohn's Ministry and Baptism was the beginning of that second Dispensation of the Gospel that as yet had its Vails and Figures in some degree remaining vailing that more abundant glory that was to follow But it doth not follow that Iohn's Baptism or Water baptism of any that did baptize did really belong to the third Dispensation of the Gospel as any part thereof and this third Dispensation is being the Gospel perfected and consummated as it cometh to its Meridian or Noon-tide Glory and Brightness that which is most commonly and frequently called the Gospel in the New Testament being cleared and discharged from all these Vails and Figures of the Law even as when Christ arose he laid aside his grave Clothes and did not after his Resurrection re-assume his Garments which he did use as a cloathing before he suffered but left them to remain with the Souldiers that put him to death A figure of this very Mystery And thou art at great pains to prove That John was sent to baptize with Water and Christ's Disciples baptized with Water and so did the Apostles after the giving of the holy Ghost and a great many other things thou bringest no wise contradicted by us the People called Quakers and therefore thou might'st have spared thy needless pains But the great thing for thee to prove was That John 's Baptism or Water Baptism is any part or precept of the Gospel Dispensation and Administration as it began to take place after the Death and Resurrection of Christ and the giving of the holy Ghost This thou hast not done in the least and therefore thou hast done nothing to purpose And whereas thou pleadest That Christ sent John to baptize and preach I answer And so I say as truly he sent Moses to give the Law and Circumcision for the Spirit of Christ was in Moses and in Aaron and in the holy Priests under the Law that circumcised and sacrificed and Christ gave both the Law and Gospel and was the Mediator under both and the Minister of both for without Christ the Word that was in the beginning by whom all things were made neither Law nor the Prophets could have been But the thing thou shouldst have proved That Christ as the Mediator of the New-Covenant in the pure and perfect Dispensation of the Gospel in the last administration of it ever commanded Water Baptism or that Christ after he rose from the dead commanded Water Baptism which thou dost not do in the least Thou seemest to lay great stress on these words Acts 10.48 That Peter commanded them to be baptized who had received the holy Ghost to wit Cornelius and his company But this I have answered already and I say further this doth not prove that Water Baptism is a Gospel Precept but only that that second Dispensation being not yet vvholly abolished Peter savv a service in it in the Wisdom

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

Water Baptism of yours is neither Iohn's nor the same that some of Christs Disciples and Apostles administred for some time seeing ye can show no Line of Succession either from Iohn or the Apostles of your call to administer Water Baptism that proves ye have no shadow of any mediate Call and to an immediate Call ye have no pretence nor can it be truly said that the Letter of the Scripture barely and alone considered calleth any to a Ministerial Office or Function for the Scripture saith No man taketh an Office unto him but he that is called of God as Aaron was And thus Iohn was sent of God by the Spirit of God in his heart and did not draw his Call from the Letter of the Scripture tho' he was of Aaron's Posterity and the Son of a Priest And therefore your Water Baptism is a meer Idol like the golden Calf that the Children of Israel set up when Moses was absent But suppose your Water baptism were as good as Iohn's which it is not go and learn what that meaneth Mark 9.5 how when Moses and Elias and ye know that Christ said of Iohn that he was Elias who came in the Spirit and Power of Elias did appear with Christ at his Transfiguration Peter said Let us build three Tabernacles one for Moses that signifieth the Law of Circumcision and Sacrifices another for Elias i. e. Iohn with his Water Baptism the Scriptures saith he knew not what he said and a Cloud came and took away Moses and Elias i. e. Iohn Baptist out of their sight and left only Christ present with them and well consider whether this doth not signifie that Believers in Christ under the pure and perfect Gospel Dispensation are not to build Tabernacles neither for Moses nor Iohn i. e. neither for the Levitical Law of Moses nor the Water Baptism of Iohn A brief Answer to the weak and impertinent Arguments of Benj. Keech against the Light within in his Book call'd The Childs Instructor in that Section of his Book concerning the Light within wherein he undertaketh to prove That the Light in every man hath not the least tendency or service to mans Salvation but only to condemn him And also an Answer to his gross Calumnies and false Accusations that in his ignorance he raiseth up against both the Principles and Persons of the People called in scorn Quakers FIrst he granteth That the Light in every man containeth in it the Law or substance of the first Covenant written or implanted in the hearts of the worst of men Next he doth acknowledge That it doth show or teach every man that there is a God which did create all things and that he is the Soveraign Lord of the whole Creation that he is to be worshiped also that it doth convince of sin but not of evey sin Also That it doth teach Righteousness towards men and to render due respect unto all and to do unto all men as they would be done unto and from this he concludeth saying Therefore take heed and walk according to this Light for it is a Candle lighted and set up by the Lord in thy Intellectuals Answ. This seemeth a fair acknowledgment and is more than many do acknowledge for if men are to take heed unto it and walk according to it as he saith they ought it is given of God for a Rule of Obedience unto men and therefore the Scripture is not the only Rule as many affirm But that he saith It doth convince of sin but not of every sin this he only affirmeth and doth not prove in the least and seeing it containeth in it the substance of the Law of the first Covenant it followeth most evidently that being duly improved and the mind duly applied unto it it convinceth of all sin against the first Covenant Next as to sins against the second Covenant called the Gospel or New Covenant if the Gentiles who have not heard the Gospel outwardly preached have nothing of the Law of the New Covenant revealed or made known unto them they cannot be said to sin against it for where no Law is there is no Transgression if then these Gentiles who never as yet heard the Gospel or Christ outwardly preach'd have only the Law of the first Covenant they are only sinners against that Covenant and consequently that Light in the Gentiles doth convince them of every sin that they are or can be guilty of in the Gentile state But seeing he hath granted That there are some sins that they are guilty of that the first Covenant in them doth not convince them of it followeth most necessarily that there is some Law or Light of the new Covenant in them And thus it doth plainly appear that the snare or net which this Benj. Keech hath been making for the People called Quakers he is entangled himself therein But we can most clearly prove from Scripture that the Light that is generally in men the Heathens not excepted hath in it some small degree of a discovery or revelation of the New Testament or New Covenant 1 st Because it revealeth to men generally the goodness of God that leadeth to Repentance according to Rom. 2.4 yea the Riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering and therefore it revealeth in men universally that God is merciful and gracious as well as just and pardoning sin and transgression to every one that truly repenteth and turns from sin And this may be proved also from B. Keech's own confession for he plainly confesseth That the Light in every man teacheth him that God is the best the highest and chiefest Beeing therefore it doth clearly follow that the Light in men teacheth them that God is a gracious God and one that pardons Iniquity otherwise he could not be understood to be the best beeing for seeing among the Children of men many men have that goodness that inclines them to forgive the greatest Trespasses upon their Repentance and asking forgiveness therefore God himself is infinitely more gracious and ready to forgive 2 dly The Gentiles or Heathens of the better sort who have not heard Christ outwardly preached unto them have offered up Sacrifices unto the only true God as well as the Iews and Aristotle tho' a Heathen did affirm That it was proper to Mankind universally to Sacrifice unto God and as the Sacrifices of the People of Israel as B. Keech confesseth was a spiritual and shadowing Ministration given in mercy unto men to discover and hold forth unto them the glorious and great Sacrifice and Attonement of the Lord Jesus Christ the same may be said of the Sacrifices of these Gentiles who sacrificed unto the only true God And if it be said The Gentiles who did so Sacrifice as Iob and others did it being taught by some outward means I answer allowing it so to be so did also the Iews and People of Israel but as among the Iews so among the Gentiles the Light of God in them did accord in

which is preparatory thereunto and infallibly will bring them to partake of it as they are diligent rightly to improve that first degree of divine Grace and Illumination already given unto them Now let us hear his Arguments against the Sufficiency of the Light within so much as to begin the least good Work of God in the Gentiles 1 st he saith It cannot discover unto thee that there is a Redeemer who suffered Death without the Gates of Jerusalem 2dly Tho' it convince of many sins yet it cannot cleanse thee from them 3dly It cannot make Satisfaction for the sins that are past 4thly It cannot lead thee into Evangelical or Gospel Truths 5thly It cannot teach thee the Righteousness of God without the Law being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets even the Righteousness of God by Faith of Iesus Christ unto all upon all that do believe 6thly It leaveth thee under the sentence of Death and Misery without affording any directions or help for thy Recovery Note these words whereby it plainly appeareth he taketh away from it all sufficiency so much as to begin any good work in men as having the least tendency to begin the work of Salvation or prepare thereunto 7thly It cannot give thee he saith eternal Peace and Salvation as these Miserable men meaning the People called Quakers do affirm Thus he argueth In Answer to these his Arguments I say it is really a degree of Blasphemy to say that there is no Light or Principle or Being in men that can do these things for God and Christ can do all things and both God and Christ are in all men not only as to that general presence in all the Creatures but in a special way of Revelation as being the Off-spring of God as Paul declared to the Athenians But it is one thing what God and Christ can do and far another thing what they commonly and universally do Now it is readily granted that God and Christ do not commonly reveal unto men the knowledge and faith of Christ crucified c. without the Scriptures Testimony or some outward Teaching but this doth not prove that the Light in men hath no preparatory service use or tendency in order to receive the knowledge faith of Christ crucified as we see it hath according to Scripture as is clear in the ●ase of Cornelius and in the Parable of the good ground that signified the good and honest heart even before the Seed of the pure and perfect evangelical Dispensation was sown in it And at this race he might as well argue against the Light in the be●t Saints or Christians in these Ages of the World as being insufficient to give eternal Life and Salvation for the ordinary and usual way of God to beget in all true Believers the true knowledge and faith of Christ crucified is by some outward means of Preaching Reading or Hearing the Scriptures read and not without them the inward Light and Grace of God mightily co-operating and working together with the outward means of the Scriptures preached read or heard And whereas he directeth his Book generally to these called Christians many of whom are of his own Profession if his Doctrine be to be received none of his own Brethren nor any Christians whatsoever have any saving Light or Grace in them for he maketh no distinction betwixt Christians and Heathens but saith generally to all That they have no saving Light in them But for the better understanding of the whole matter let it be considered that the Light in men hath a two fold sence and signification 1 st It may and doth signifie God who is Light and Christ who also is Light as the holy Scripture declareth 2 dly It may and doth signifie some divine inward Illumination and Revelation of God and Christ in men which hath also a quickening and cleansing operation in it Now admitting that the divine Illumination and Revelation of God and Christ doth not at first reveal or discover these peculiar Mysteries of the pure Gospel Dispensation as Christ crucified and Faith in him yet it doth suffice that I have proved that it can begin and doth really begin a good Work of God in them that are diligent to obey it and where this good Work of God is begun in any they cannot perish altho' they dye in that state for as no Unrighteous Soul can while such go into Heaven so none that are in any the least degree Righteous by the Work of God in their hearts while such can go to Hell or finally perish But to determine at what precise time and how this work of God begun in honest Gentiles is perfected in them and at what precise time the knowledge and faith of Christ is wrought in them is not a difficulty that is singular to us the People call'd in scorn Quakers but doth equally urge and pinch our Adversaries yea I suppose generally the Baptists themselves for first They acknowledge That many Infants dying in infancy belong to Gods Election and are saved 2dly That not only Infants but others come to Age may belong to God's Election who are born Deaf and Dumb and many will acknowledge also That God hath his Elect among the Gentiles who have not heard Christ outwardly preached and shall be saved God working by his Spirit when where and how he pleaseth as the Presbyterian Confession of Faith owned by Baptists doth expresly declare Now it is plain the Difficulty is equal to them with us and is a great secret known perhaps to few of the Sons of men the precise time way manner and means of Gods saving them with eternal Salvation who have not had Christ outwardly preached unto them neither by men nor Scripture and let it suffice to clear us that we say the knowledge and faith of Christ crucified even Jesus of Nazareth is universally necessary to the full and final perfecting the work of mens eternal Salvation and Happiness and is ordinarily and commonly wrought in men by outward preaching reading or hearing the Scriptures Testimony But again let it be considered when we say That the inward Light and Grace of God is sufficient to Salvation it is to be understood that its sufficiency reacheth to the present time work and purpose for which it is given even as B. K. hath confessed for not only the Gentiles have not received at once all that divine Illumination and Grace and Assistance of God that sufficeth unto all time to come but even none of the Saints have received at once so much as is sufficient for all time to come otherwise they might say We are Lords and will come no more to God nor pray any more to him whereas all true Believers feel their continual need and want of a new and fresh supply of Gods Grace and gracious Assistance both to think to will and to do any thing good and acceptable unto God And as true Believers in Christ crucified c. have that which is sufficient