by Tradition in their ovvn Wills God abhors that And thou bringest in the Old Covenant vvhich vvas given to a particular People the Jews but novv the Priesthood is changed and the Lavv is changed and as for thy Lavv vvhich thou vvouldst have the Governours of this Nation to make for suppressing of Sects and Schismaticks that vvorship at Dan and Bethel and thou sayest this is charged upon them But thou mightst have told them who they had been and where Dan and Bethel is lest they be mistaken as thou art that callest Darkness Light and Light Darkness But all that thou art troubled at is this that the Light of Christ in the Conscience should have Liberty and here thou art he which is born after the Flesh and art that Egyptian thou speakest of which persecutes the Righteous Seed It is true there are Sects and Schisms too many and Opinions they stand all in one Ground and thou and they come out of one Land Babylon is the Land of your Nativity in the Light you are seen that thou and they are turned from the Light of Christ and so are gone into Sects and Opinions and Imaginations and all the Powers without in the World cannot suppress the Root from whence these flow none can overcome the Root from whence Heresies and Opinions come And therefore vain Shepherd and blind cease thy Divining those that thou would'st have supprest are those that break Bread from House to House and meet together in the Name of the Lord as the Saints ever did and this thou callest Dan and Bethel because they will not come to an Idols Temple where all the deceived in the Nation worship an Unknown God I say unto thee thy Steeple-house thy Idols Temple which God never commanded where all Lyars Fighters Swearers Night-Birds and Scriech-Owls meet and call it the House of God and where they speak nought but the Imaginations of their own Hearts and call them the Ordinances of God and it the Church that is Dan and Bethel And as for the Magistrates which thou tellest they ought to suppress the false Prophets thou mightest have declared who they had been But for the honest-hearted Magistracy and People I shall declare a little when they came in and who they are Christ sayes Many False Prophets shall arise and Paul Peter John and the rest they saw them come already then many Anti-christ's and Deceivers and then they came in as the Scriptures witness and they have deceived the Nations since and Christ saith By their Fruits you shall know them and they are such as he cryed Wo against which laid heavy Burdens upon the People and such as were got into Moses 's Seat and were called of Men Master stood praying in the Assemblies and had the chiefest Place in the Synagogue and Peter saith They followed after covetous Practices and Jude saith They went after the Error of Balaam for Gifts and Rewards and Isaiah saith They sought for their Gain from their Quarter and Ezekiel saith They were such as fed of the Fat and Zachary saith They were as Evening Wolves and Paul saith They were covetous Men heady high-minded and Lovers of Pleasure and fierce Despisers of those that are good and had a Form of Godliness and they were Witches that turned them back to Circumcision and false Prophets when the Substance was come And are they not so now who sue for Tythes maintain the first Priesthood and bewitch People and deny Christ come in the Flesh Now let all judge where these are many in the North taking away the Peoples Cows their Pots Kettles and Bedding and one Priest sued one for Two Pence and two in York-shire sued one for One Penny and another for a Penny Half-penny and these are they that call themselves the Ministers of the Gospel shame shame blush howl ye Caterpillars the Hand of the Lord is against you and yet I would not have their Lives taken away as thou would'st have theirs that thou callest Sectaries but to that in thy Conscience I speak which will let thee see that thou hast a busie Mind and abidest not in the Doctrine of Christ but art among the false Prophets And thou and the rest of them which are Merchants and trade with other Mens Words which must have your Gospel and Worship defended with Swords and Staves and the Power of the Earth you are they that spread Nets at Mispeh and Tabor for it 's neither in Jerusalem nor this Mount but they that worship the Father worship in Spirit and Truth And thou that would'st confine God to a Place to a Day to a Time and have him bound by a Law and how the Saints should worship him thou art carnal and thy Petition carnal and all who have any Honesty in them or Light will see thee to be in the Generation of the Pharisees that said They had a Law and by that Law he ought to dye And whereas thou art comparing thy self and the Priests of Newcastle and Durham to Sarah the Mistress and them who oppose you to Hagar Answ. Sarah never brought forth Sons of Bondage as you are but you are truly Hagar the Egyptian who genders unto Bondage for you and all the Children that ever you have begotten or brought forth are in Bondage till now and the Lord hath raised up a People out of the Dust to confound you and your Wisdom and to declare against your Profession in laying heavy Burdens upon the People and taking their Money for that which is not Bread and be ye all ashamed ye high Oakes ye fat Bulls ye Diviners that cannot maintain your Gospel with all your Parts and Wisdom that you boast of against those contemptible Things in your Eyes but you must run to a carnal Sword or to a Justice of Peace or Constable to preserve you or to have them imprisoned Stocks and Mockings and Reproaches this is all we have or expect from the Powers of the Earth because we speak the Truth Be ye ashamed and lay your Hands upon your Mouthes what Gospel is this they have preached what Worship is this you give unto God that must be defended with Clubs and Staves Stocks and Whips Stoning and haling before Magistrates and yet thou would'st have them accounted Ministers of the Gospel they who were Ministers of the Gospel their Weapons were not Carnal but Spiritual and they were Mighty through God but the Mightiness of this Generation lyes in the Magistrates Sword to defend them and drive the People to pay them money for nought And therefore let all Magistrates consider in this Nation and else-where that you be warned how you make any Laws against the Innocent and how you uphold those that Christ cryed VVo against and such as the Lord sent his Prophets to declare against lest that come upon them which the Prophet spoke that they that help and them that are helped shall fall together And whereas thou further flatterest them and tellest them That they are
turned from dead VVorks unto the Measure of the living God and they separated from the Temple and left Circumcision and all those things of the first Priest-hood which were commanded by God and out of the VVorld's VVayes Fashions Customs and VVorships and came to see the worshipping in Spirit and in Truth was that worship God required and the Ground of their Separation was not from any literal Command or Precept for all that was written there was flat against it but they which were Ministers of Christ which had believed in him preached him the Substance and the Measure of him and of his Grace which was in them unto whom they preached and this was the Apostles Witness in their Hearts unto which they did commend themselves in the Sight of God which is a great Mystery and they are not Ministers of the Letter but of the Spirit Now in these few words before written with much more I could write compare your Ministry and your Members gathered and you will see you differ in the Ground in the first for your Command you take from the Letter and so are Ministers of the Letter and not of the Spirit 2. Ye preach the Letter for the Word of Faith which they did not as is plain in their own Writings without adding 3. Them whom you gather it 's but into Conformity to the Letter and to that which is visible which all may be done in the Will of man which is fallen from God and see if it be not so with you both Pastors and Members not witnesses of that VVord which they preached which did beget Faith in them that received it and believed in it which Faith was in them wrought by the Power of God which gave them Assurance and their Assurance was in them and their Hope in them brought in and wrought by the Operation of the Spirit which the preaching of the Letter Sound or Declaration only of that which was in them never works Assurance nor true Faith nor Hope And now consider where had your Ground of the Knowledge of God been and your Gospel and your Faith and Hope if you had not had the Letter I speak not to upbraid you but to the Light of Christ Jesus I speak which will let you see how far short you are and that you must come back again to the first Principle and now you may see if it had been the same Word or Command it would have the same Effects as it had and Change into its own Nature all that received it now see whether a Change be wrought in you or not some of you yea many running back after the Foot-steps of the Priests preaching for Hire and upholding the Idols Temple if you can get into them and in the Customs of the World nay most of you not come to yea and nay in your Communication but one with the world in all or most of things differ only in Words and Names and your Gospel you have preached hath not begotten such a Faith as was in them that had the Gospel not to respect Persons nor none dare own cleansing from Sin in the Body but call that a Delusion but the Word and Faith which they preached and received gave them Victory over the World Sin and Death and by its Power made them more then Conquerors and their Hope purified their Hearts but you cannot believe that ever you shall be made free from Sin nor have not hope in that and therefore are ignorant of the Body of Christ you so much talk of which made them clean and free from Sin Secondly your Doctrine is the same with the World your Hope your Faith your justification is all at a Distance grounded upon the Report of Christ dying at Jerusalem and of their Report that knew him and believing this you call it Faith and so are one with the Faith and Hope which the World hath for the Report of Christ's Righteousness what he did suffer and wrought in the Saints if this be the Ground of Salvation then why have you separated from the World If you say Because the world hath not right to the Ordinances I say Doth not Faith in Christ give Interest to all his Ordinances And if this be onely your Faith the World hath as good an Interest as you so why do you separate from them And so you shall see the Matter is the same with the VVorld of which your Fellowships consist and the Name of Christ is a great Mystery which they were sent to baptize in who knew his Name his name is not Letters and Syllables and using these this with the lips speaking over is not to baptize into his Name And so Friends in Love I speâ—k unto you There was such as separated themselves and were sensual and had not the Spirit and so there was no Difference betwixt them and the World for they are Clouds without Rain appeared VVells but hâ—d no VVater in them seemed something but were but a Shew Friends your foot-steps I know your ground I know and your Compass and your Measure yet I shall not glory over you nor boast my self against you but rather to inform your Minds that you may not build upon a Foundation which will moulder away And now boast not your selves in your Ordinances as VVater bread and Wine which is but elementary and was never but a Sign and in the Day of Appearance of Christ the Elements shall melt with servent Heat and while you stand here and have Confidence in these things your Sun will set in Obscurity and you shall know the old Heavens and Earth will pass away with a Noise which when you come to know and hear your Hearts will fail for Fear for this I say to the highest of you If you build upon any thing or have Confidence in any thing which stands in time and is on this side Eternity and Being of Beings your Foundation will be swept away and Night will come upon you and all your gathered in things and taken on and imitated will all fail you Many more things I might write time would fail me to utter but these few among many I have written that you may compare your selves with the Ministers of Christ then and the Gospel which they preached which were separate from the World in the Ground and Nature and if you see your selves in the Light of Christ in your Consciences not to be the same neither in Matter nor Manner let not a deceived Heart lead you aside any longer Further I say they were sent out for the gathering in of the Saints some Apostles some Prophets some Pastors and Teachers yet all was by the Spirit Now if you deny the Command of the Spirit or cannot witness it but from the Letter take it up and talk of it because the Scripture speaks of it then your Ministry is not that Ministry Again this End was the Ministry sent forth for for the perfecting of the Saints which it did which not
are trodden under foot which are acted and brought forth from the changeable mind of man and so all Laws Constitutions and Decrees which are made in the Will of man come to be thrown down by his righteous Law which proceeds out of the Mouth of the righteous God who is Light and so as his unchangeable and unalterable Decree comes to be set up in every particular Ruler and Governour and himself judged with the just he comes to bear his rule for the just and answered that which is just in every man and no longer can he act against well doing but is a Leader and an Incourager of it in all and is a terrour to the unjust and so comes to know the Dominion again which man lost through Disobedience and Transgression Now all you Powers of the Earth wait that you may come to see that and feel it revealed in your selves to wit the Law of God from the Mouth of God that so you following it Sin may be judged in your selves and you come to know the one Lord the Lawgiver which leads man back out of Sin and Transgression by his Son whom he hath sent into the World that all men through him might believe in the Father and be restored out of Sin and Transgression unto Life eternal where Death hath no Entrance And so all who wait upon the Light of the Son of God and are obedient to it they come to feel his Power and his Decree which cannot alter its Property or Verity and all who come to be guided by it you will come to see that which unites you unto God and one Nation to another in the Covenant of God Oh! that all your Eyes were opened that you might see that which belongs to your Peace and the well-being of all Nations that so the Power of the Flock might be refreshed among you and this I speak unto you a Change must be witnessed in your selves before you will cease acting in the changeable Mind now the time draws near the Lord will try you for the Earth must be lest without Excuse and he will have all warned for God will no longer be limited and therefore take heed how you gainsay any or resist any who may declare unto you the Counsel of God and cause them not to be persecuted or hurt but all be calm and moderate and learn Wisdom from above from him who hath enlightned you that you may come to deny your selves and follow him who condemns all Self-actings and Self-will in man and all Customs Laws Worships and Traditions that are made in the Will of man that so he unto whom all Power is committed may be feared and worshipped in Spirit in Life Truth and Righteousness that so all Sedition Rebellion Treachery and Unrighteousness may be cleansed out of the Earth and that all quarreling fighting contention may end and people come out of that which the sword is against that so the Swords may be beat into Plowshares and the Spears into Pruning-hooks that so Violence may be done away and Cruelty swept out of the Nations that the Dominion of God may be set over all and his Truth advanced above all that the Kingdoms of the World may become the Lord's and his Christ's and blessed are they that stoop unto his Scepter who judges the Nations in Righteousness and the people with Equity who is the Salvation of all his people for evermore and a hiding Place in the day of Trouble LONDON the 20th of the 2nd Moneth 1658. SOME OF THE MYSTERIES OF God's Kingdom DECLARED As they have been revealed by the Spirit THROUGH FAITH For the Information of all such who have erred for Lack of true Knowledge in their Judgments and have perished for Lack of Understanding to the Intent that they may for the Time to come wait in that which gives the true Knowledge of God and of his Kingdom and of the Mysteries thereof which come to be revealed through Faith to the upright in HEART Also for the Confirmation of such who are made Partakers of the like precious Faith By one who is made Partaker of the Riches of his GRACE and of the SALVATION which is in Christ Jesus revealed through the SPIRIT F. H. The Secrets of the Lord are with them that fear him The Particulars treated on in the following DISCOVRSE I. WHat the Day of the Lord is and to whom it hath appeared and how it is seen and discovered II. What it is and what it will be to the wicked declared III. What it is to the Righteous and how he appears to them and whether we are to look for it while in the Body resolved IV. Where it doth appear and how it cometh and how it is to be looked for declared V. What the Spirit of the Lord is and how it comes to be received which discovers the Things of God VI. How the Spirit of Truth worketh and operateth in them who are convinced and yet have not obeyed it shewed VII How the Spirit of the Father worketh in them who hearken to it and are in some Measure made Partakers of its Power shewn VIII Unto whom the Spirit of the Father bears witness and seals Assurance of the Father's Love and of Justification with God declared IX What the Grace of God is which is free and to whom it hath appeared and where all are to wait to receive it X Whether all have received the Grace of Godor no and whether it be a sufficient Teacher in it self demonstrated XI Some Objections answered XII A Word to the wise Men of this World who are glorying in the Sound of Words XIII Also another to them who are glorying in outward Appearances and worshipping visible Things instead of the Life XIV The Kingdom of God and his Christ declared in some Measure as it is revealed by the Spirit what it is and where it is to be waited for and how it comes to be revealed in them that believe XV. Divers Objections answered TO THE READER Reader IN Times past in the Night of Ignorance when Men groped in the dark as blind Men since the Apostles Dayes and out of thick Darkness have spoke darkly of the Things of God and of his Kingdom and written many things about the Things of God and of his Kingdom which have fed the dark Minds of many who are unconverted unto God And seeing how many People are confused in their Minds and err in Judgment and have lost the Key of Knowledge which should give an Entrance into the Mystery of God's Kingdom and open their Hearts therefore in Compassion unto them who are thirsting after the Lord to find him these few Things I was moved to write for the sakes of those who have no Place to rest in or upon to the Intent that all may wait in that through which God reveals his Mind and manifests his true Knowledge in Man and these Things that I have written as they were revealed to me and in me by his
nourished with the VVater of Life which is not an Element nor elementary but is caelestial and springs up in them that believe unto everlasting Life and come to be born of the Water and the Spirit and enter into God's Kingdom Dominion Power Life Wisdom Excellency and eternal Glory happy is he that believes and abides in Patience unto the End Now since the Dayes of John the Kingdom of God hath been preached and as many as were ordained to eternal Life believed and many in the Day when Christ was manifest in the Flesh believed unto whom he declared the Mind of the Father and by him was the Father glorified he fulfilled the Law and did many Works and Miracles by the Power of the Father and herein was the Father glorified and them that did believe in him their Faith was strengthned and he opened the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God to his Disciples and bore witness and prophesied the Destruction of Jerusalem and of all their Worship and said No more at Jerusalem nor at Samaria but the Time was coming when they that worshipped the Father should worship him in Spirit and Truth and declared against the Pharisees Righteousness and said to his Disciples Except their Righteousness did exceed the Pharisees they could not enter the Kingdom of God and yet the Pharisees performed all the outward things commanded but were in the Idolatry and did not believe in the Life Now he declared of his Suffering many things and also how he would go away and how he would come again and would not leave them comfâ—rtless but these things were hart to be believed then by his Disciples and further he told them he must be betrayed and suffer and rise again and when the Hour was come that he was betrayed when he was with his Disciples even the same Night he was betrayed he took Bread and broke it and blessed it and said take and eat this is my Body which is broken for you this do in Remembrance of me and after he took the Cup and after he had supped saying this is the Cup of the New Testament in my Blood as often as you drink it do it in Remembrance of me 1 Cor. 11.23 24. And Matthew Mark and Luke delare the same and this was real Bread and real Wine which was a Representation of that which was to be enjoyed in the Spirit and never intended for any further thing but as a Figure or a Representation of the Bread of Life and of the Cup of Blessing which afterward they came to be Witnesses of and as oft as they eat and drank they did shew forth the Lordâ—s Death till he came Now this was practised among the Disciples after he was risen from the dead and did converse with them at many times and exhorted them and comforted them and instructed them and told them that they should be Witnesses of his Name unto the Ends of the Earth and gave them Commandment to teach all Nations and baptize them in the Name of the Father Son and holy Ghost and did promise to be with them to the End of the World and told how the Comforter would come and that the Father would send him in his Name even the Spirit of Truth which was with them and should be in them to be their Teacher Leader and Guide and bring all things to their Remembrance Now that which he gave them as a Figure and to be a Sign unto them of the clearer Manifestation of himself which afterward came to be fulfilled and they Witnesses of it who grew up in the pure invisible Being and did see the Mystery through the Revelation of the Spirit which did more clearly shew unto them the Mysteries within the Vail for as I said of Water it was a Sign of a good thing to come so the Bread and the Cup was also a Sign of a good thing to come as all outward Figures were but they that did believe and grew up in the Faith in the Seed Christ they came to see the Substance in whom all Figures end and had Communion with him within the Vail after he was ascended where he was before now the Apostle he spoke as to wise men judge ye what I say 1 Cor. 10.15 16. The Cup of Blessing which we bless is it not the Communion of the Blood of Christ the Bread which we break is it not the Communion of the Body of Christ And Ver. 17. For we being many are one Bread and one Body for we are all Partakers of that one Bread mark all they that did believe though they were many yet they were one Bread and one Body and were all Partakers of that one Bread which Bread was the Flesh of Christ. Joh. 6 48. I am the Bread of Life And Joh. 6.51 I am the living Bread that came down from Heaven if any Man eat of this Bread he shall live forever and the Bread that I will give is my Flesh which I will give for the Life of the World Now I speak unto wise men and let the Wisdom of God in them manifest judge what I say for where the Body of Christ is witnessed and the Flesh of Christ known they know that which all the Figures end in the Manna that God gave no Israel in the Wilderness they dyed that did eat thereof which was as pure a Type of the hidden Manna as lively a Type as Bread outward which was but a Type of the Flesh of Christ and both they that did eat the Manna and they that eat the Bread outward and drank the Cup outward are both dead but he that eats the Flesh of Christ and drinks the Blood lives forever and he that eats the hidden Manna hath overcome Death and lives forever and feeds upon the Bread of Life feeds upon eternal Life Now this is a Mystery to the Papists who are Idolaters who have sprung up in the Apostacy though they have Scriptures as it was to the Jews John 6.52 who strove among themselves and said how can this man give his Flesh to eat And so the Papists who strive about the Flesh of Christ and his Blood and yet have the Scriptures and they say it 's in the Bread and in the Wine after Consecration and so they worship the Imaginations of their own Hearts not discerning the Lords Body and have Killed thousands and taken away the Lives of thousands because they would not confess their Idol to be of God And the Protestants they are setting up the Bread and the Wine and contenting themselves therewith and are making an Idol of it and come not to discern the Body of Christ but one saying he hath a carnal Body and another a Fleshly Body another a Mystical Body and another sayes his Body is divided from his Members and so speak out of thick Darkness their own Imaginations and have no communion with the Body of Christ neither know the Flesh of Christ which is the Bread of Life which is given
rose up out of the Waters and became great and cruel which had a Mouth speaking great Things and Blasphemy and he opened his Mouth in Blasphemy against God to blaspheme his Name and them that dwell in Heaven and he made War with the Saints and overcame them read the Book of the Revelations and this Beast had Power over all Kindreds Tongues and Nations and Kingdoms which are the Seat of the false Church which devoured and killed the Saints who have been cryed up for the higher and highest Power and all who dwelt upon the Earth whose Names were not written in the Book of Life cryed out who is able to make war with the Beast and whosoever did not receive the mark of the Beast rich or poor high or low bond or free might not buy or sell but were killed and warred against and herein is the Power of God made manifest and the Power of Antichrist the Followers of the Lamb and the Followers of the Beast the Worship of the Lamb and the Worship of the Beast the War with the Lamb and his Followers and the War with the Beast and his Followers and the Lamb maketh war with the Sword of his Mouth which is the Sword of the Spirit and the Word of God and so do all his Followers who overcome spiritual Wickedness in high Places and conquer the unclean Spirit and subdue the Kingdom of the Devil and the Powers of Darkness and yet hurt not the Creature For Christ came not to destroy mens Lives but to save them and herein again is the Beast and Dragon and their Worship and Followers made manifest to be quite different unto the former for he compelleth to his Worship by his cruel Laws Imprisonment and lingring Torments and by his carnal Swords and weapons which never can subdue spiritual Enemies and he kills men and stricks at the Creature and so destroyeth the Saints Bodies which are God's Tabernacles and Temple and Temples of the holy Ghost this never reaches to the pulling down of Deceit in any wherein lieth the true Power but the Lamb doth not so but slayes the Enmity and saveth the Creature And we never read that Christ ever gave Command to his Disciples neither did his Disciples give any such Command to the Churches which were planted that they should force any to their Worship either Believers or Unbelievers but alwayes taught the contrary that as every one had received the Gift of God Christ so let him walk and as every one believed in his own Heart and was perswaded in his own Mind by the Spirit of the Lord was to walk accordingly did obey and observe or else he sinned for the true Church of God and Ministers of Christ took no pleasure to make men Sinners For whatsoever is not of Faith is Sin But Oh how many have the false Church and Beast and the Kings and Princes of the Earth forced to receive these things as Institutions and Ordinances of God and to observe many things which have been put upon People as divine Worship or as some heavenly Observations when alas many did not believe with their Hearts neither were perswaded thereto by the Spirit of God in their own Minds and Consciences and yet through Force and compelling prisoning and cruel torturing many have yielded and condescended to their Worship and so have been made to sin against the Lord and their own Souls and thus instead of making Christians indeed thousands of Hypocrites have been proselyted this way and many others through Weakness rather then to suffer have sinned against their weak Consciences by this forcing way or compelling way the City of Babylon hath been reared up by this means and the false Church hath gotten a great corrupt Body and glories in her Seat and sitteth as a Queen over Nations Kindreds Tongues and People having perswaded the Kings and Nobles of the Earth that they ought to defend this Holy Church and to keep her Ordinances unviolated or else they should be in Danger of her Curse and of her Excommunication and thus the Devil himself hath armed himself every way Antichrist hath fenced about his Throne as to the gaining of the Powers of the Earth on his side and for Fear of being discovered he hath taken up the outside-profession of Christianity yet the VVolf's Nature is brought forth and is tryed which worries and kills the Sheep and to speak plainly and truly since the Power of God hath been lost and disregarded which mortifies the Deeds of the Flesh in Men and the Form of Words retained and the outside Observances taken up by the false Church she hath gotten more Members by the Kings of the Earth who have drunk of her Cup and are baptized into her Spirit by their cruel forcing and owning all to a Conformity to their holy Church as she hath called herself then by any sound Doctrine or holy example or good Practices that she hath shewed forth to the Nations And Oh how have the Kings of the Earth and the Princes thereof been made slaves and Drudges to this Harlot to make Lawes for her and to re-inforce them upon the People to the destroying of many Bodies and Souls to patronize and hold up their Sorceries and to keep up her Inchantments in Reputation among the People and in so doing the false Church hath so flattered and called thâ—ir Princes who had drunk of her Cup Defenders of the Faith and Propagators of the Gospel but if any did fail of observing her invented Institutions then what dreadful Excommunications and Woes and Curses have been threatned against them and how many Princes have been deposed of their Crowns as Hereticks and Rebellions have been raised against such to overthrow them and their People and therein you have had sufficient proof many of you Princes of Germany These things I write unto you desiring your good in that which pertains to this Life and of that which is to come and that you might truly see your selves whether you are not drinking of this Cup of Fornication yea or my Or whether you are not yet giving your Power to the Beast yea or nay is there not a form of Worship without the Life and Power then that is but the VVhore's Cup is there a seeming Shew of holiness among you and do you not enjoy the Life and sum and substance of all Shadows then that is but the VVhore's Cup the outside fairly garnished but Rottenness is at the Heart do you compel to worship then that is the Beast's power that is not Christ's Power nor of the higher Power you must deny that the true State and Power that any Prince hath allowed him from God in which he may expect a Blessing upon himself and People is in that he ruleth well in things appertaining to men and things civil which pertain unto this Life and unto the Kingdoms of Men upon Earth and to be for the punishing of evil-doers as of these murderous man-slayers man-stealers Drunkards
you who Profess your selves Reformed for shame leave off these things and come out of them and deny them Secondly Parishes and Parish-Churches which were Ordained and builded in the Apostacy and dedicated unto Saints which stand to this day both in the Church of Rome and in the reformed Churches so called and Church-Yards which they call Holy and Consecrated Ground to bury their Dead in this is an invented thing and Superstitious and yet it stands as an Apostolick order both among Papists and Protestants in the Primitive times in the dayes of the Apostles the Scriptures make mention of the Jews Temple at Jerusalem and of the Gentiles Idols Temples in which they Worship the Apostles and Ministers of Christ who published the Word of Reconciliation and Christ the substance of all Figures they gathered them that did believe of the Jews from the Temple and temple-Temple-worship and the Gentiles from their Temples and Idols to Worship God in the Spirit and they met together in Houses we read of no Parish-Churches dedicated to Saints nor Consecrated Ground for they knew the Earth was the Lord's and the fulness thereof and was clean and good and Blessed to them that believed and there was no dividing into Parishes then nor no compelling then Corinth was not divided into a Parish Antioch Philippi Thessalonica Philadelphia and Smyrna and the rest were not all made into Parishes neither were them that believed not compelled or forced to come to the Christians Meeting at Antioch Philippi Thessalonica Philadelphia or any other place that we read of in the Scriptures and the Apostles were not confined nor their Spirits were not so strait as to stay over one hundred or fifty Families twenty Years and call that their Parish between such an Hedge and such a Ditch and such a Water and such a Way as Parishes are now divided into though I say they had Houses to meet in and preached the Word and brake Bread from House to House and sometimes by the Sea-side they Congregated and sometimes on an Hill and at certain places they met together to Worship God they went not back to the Jews Temple nor Gentiles Idols Temples neither forced any of their Maintenance as to minister unto them by which all may see that these invented Churches and Church-Yards for Holy ground and Parishes are not Apostolical nor was no Catholick nor Universal thing then in the Primitive times neither was there any command given to the Christians to do any such thing neither Reprehension for not doing such things The first Church or Temple that we read of was consecrated by Pius Bishop of Rome in honour to the Virgin Prudentia and afterwards Calistus made a Temple to the Virgin Mary a place beyond Tibris and instituted a Church-Yard in Apius his Street and called it after his own Name And Dionysius in the Year 267. divided both in Rome and other places Churches and Church-Yards to Curates and made Parishes and Diocesses to Bishops commanded that every man should be contented with his Prescript Bonds and there was the Beginning of Parishes Churches and Church-Yards consecrated Ground and in Process of time when all Nations had drunk of the cup of Fornication the Nations began to imitate their Mother and to build and consecrate Temples and Churches and Church-Yards to this Saint and the other Saint as is too too manifest through Christendom to this Day And here 's the rise of Holy Parish Churches which of late have been preached up for the House of God and the House of Prayer which bears the Name yet by which the Pope Baptized them Saint Peter Saint Paul Saint Mary Saint Hellen Saint Katharine Saint Gregory Saint Maudlen Saint Alnban Saint Anthony Saint George Saint Margret Saint Dunstans Saint Clement Saint Christopher Saint Giles Saint Martin and Painting and Garnishing these Houses with Images and Pictures and hanging of Flowers and Boughs and Garlands this came from the old Heathen who Sacrificed to Saturn and Pluto and this hanging up candles and their Candlemas dayes this came of the Gentiles and Pagans who Honoured their false God Saturn and their Altar which they have builded in this Temple and their Tables upon which they offer and set their Sacrifice these Boniface the third commanded that they should be covered with Linnen clothes and here was the Beginning of these kind of Orders so that as I said before most of these things in and about the Worship which hath been since the Reign of Anti-chirst and since the Whore hath sat as a Queen they have been either borrowed from the Jews or else from Pagans and Heathens and the Mother of Harlots hath put these things off for Apostolick Institutions these many hundreds of years and divers other Things which are in and about the Parish Churches your many Crosses in and about them of Wood and Stone your Baptized Bells and consecrated Pulpits and Fonts and hour-Glasses and soft Cushions to Preach on all these the Scriptures make no mention of not in the Christian Churches the first two hundred Years after Christ. Now Protestants who have denyed the church of Rome and their Practices which was contrary to the Primitive and the Scriptures look about you and see how you are sticking in Babylon and buying yet the Merchandize thereof and as for your Holy Ground called your church-yards which you only judge fit to bury the Dead in and would compel all to come thither because there are many Officers in and about this Temple who are greedy of rewards so that they would not miss any thing that might be commodious unto them and so would compel all to come there for their Gain but Abraham was the first we read of that made any place of burial in Hebron which he bought of Ephron an Hittite for thirty shekels of Silver and there was he and his Wife buried and this was no Parish-Yard neither did he leave any Priestor Clark that we read of to receive Wages Fees for Ringing a Bell and reading and singing over the Dead and so for shame you who Profess the Scriptures and the Apostolick Order Institutions of Christ come out from among all this Trumpery and wait that you may come again into the Order of the Gospel and the Primitive order which hath been talked of these many years and yet not known CHAP. VII Concerning Swearing by the Gospel and kissing a Book and that which is commonly Confirmation or Bishoping Children things invented contrary to the Apostles Doctrine and are in the Apostacy IN the first Covenant the Jews were commanded to Swear by the Lord and Oathes were observed by the Jews that were in the first Covenant which was faulty Heb. 8.7 which Ordinance did not make perfect as pertaining to the Conscience and so there came to be an End of that Covenant and the better was brought in which stood upon BETTER PROMISES and then the Priest-hood Law first Covenant and the Ordinances thereof
helpers in the Work of the Gospel and all that were ordained were ordained by the holy Ghost although it is true they had the consent of the Brethren and the church in that thing and there were also Deacons ordained which served to look to the Widows and for the Ministration of the poor and these were faithful men and had also a Gift Stephen was one full of the holy Ghost and these were helps unto the Apostles also there were some faithful Widows who were Examples to the younger Women and to instruct them and to be Patterns unto them and were as a Body knit together in Love and served the Lord and strengthned one another in the Faith and served one another in Love and all these forementioned served the Lord freely and willingly and not for Rewards and Gifts and Benefices and earthly things â—n short this was the State and Glory of the church in that time and these are the Minâ—sters we read of in the primitive times But since the Apostacy hath entred in and the power of Godlinesâ— hath been denyed there is such a numberless number of Names crept in we never heard of them and so many Offices and yet none of that Work done which the ministers of Christ did but certain new invented things â—rought in for Worship and Service and the Power despised and men seeking Offices and great Titles and great Benefits and great Revenues and the Heritage of God is laid waste and the Earth become like a Wilderness unplanted with good and the Sheep and scattered And so all may compare these ensuing Names and Offices with the Apostles dayes and the primitive Church and see if they be alike First of all the Pope his Holiness Christ's Vicar Universal Bishop Metropolitane Bishop Lord Cardinals which were but Priests at the first ordained to baptize the Heathen who came to Rome when the Seat thereof began to be had in Honour but now they are swelled big and become Princes and the only Men to govern States also Monks of divers Orders and Fryars of divers Orders Hierom's order of Austin's Order Gregory's order Carmalite Fryars Cross or Crouchet Fryars of Dominiâ—â—s order of St. Francis's order Bennet's order and all of these orders sprâ—â—g up and were ordained in the midnight of darkness within this four hundred Years at the most as were easily proved and Trinity order and Brigandine order of Jesuites and Hermits and Anthony's order and Clunisencies order and Nuns sprung up first of one St. Clara one order then Brigidia a widow to the time of Urban the fifth in the Year 1370. And all these kind of orders were destitute of the true order of the primitive Church and their Service was appointed by them that ordained them and these practised the patched Inventions that were given them for Worship which have not concord with the primitive Doctrine but borrowed from the Jews or Heathen all these kind of Offices and Officers have been acting their parts this many years and have led People into superstitious Blindness and further from the Lord then ever But to come to the reformed Churches so called and there is so many Officers and Names but few that do accord with the Apostles times either in Name or Nature as Metropolitan-Bishops Arch-Bishops Lord-Bishops we heard not of Lord Timothy or Lord Titus Bishops before mentioned but to come on to other orders Arch-Deacons Deans and Chapters Preâ—enâ—â— and these must attend on some old superstitious Buildings call'd Cathedrals or Minsters and there perform a Service somewhat like the former and these are enjoyned their Service like the Levites and Priests of old by turns and course as once in a moneth or two it may be and have a hundred or two hundred pounds in the year for the same and hardly stir from thence till they dye except some greater advance offer it self also Commâ—ssaries Procters and Apparetors and these are subsâ—rvient to the former then Chancellors Vice-chancellors Doctors of Divinity Batâ—hellâ—rs of Divintty Doctors of Art Masters of Art Batchellors of Art Graduates Under-Graduates and these belong to the former then Prelates Parsins Vicars Priests Curates and Church-Wardens all which Titles and Names and Officers if they be but compared with the Scripture there will be hardly any parallel either concerning Office Work or Doctrine And notwithstanding all these Orders and Sorts who are fitted by humane Learning or natural Study though divers years exercised therein are not skilled in the Word of Righteousness neither have the Tongue of the learned to administer a Word in Season to the weary nor to turn the Sinner from his Sins and thus the Form of things Titles and Names are holden up but who seek after the Power of God or to be made able Ministers of the Spirit Litteral Ministers enough while maintenance lasts but the Ministâ—â—tion of the Spirit few are acquainted with and if there be any such it is well if he be not persecuted so in that which I have said the understanding will see that there hath been a great Apostacy since the Apostles dâ—yes in the Ministry in Doctrine in Worship and Practice divers of which I have touched upon to the Intent that they that enquire after the Lord may depart out of the midst of Ignorance and come to worship Gâ—d in Spirit and Truth and in the Temple made without hands and be joyned to the Church which is in God which the Gates of Hell prevail not against though many will claim Authority from the Apostles few will own their Life neither walk after their Example so take but a few more Institutions which are called Apostolick to this Day among them called Christian Churches Cletus the third Bishop of Rome was the first that wrote this Title that is Greeting and Apostolick blessing he ordained the order of Priesthood Everastus the fifth Bishop of Rome ordained that Priests should be honoured and that they should be shaven Alexander the sixth Bishop of Rome ordained that Matrimony should be only solemnized and that the married should be blessed with the Priest there was the beginning of being married by Priests Sixtus about the year 114. after Christ the seventh Bishop of Rome ordained holy water and ordered that it should be strowed abroad in christian Houses and when the People met to worship Telesphorus the eight Bishop of Rome ordained that the communion should be laid upon an Altar and that lay-People should not touch the holy Vessels nor the holy Garments of the Priests he ordained Lent which was to be kept by the Clergy in the year one hundred forty two Higinus the nineth Bishop ordained the Communion to be celebrated three times at Christmas and that Lent should be fasted Pius about the year 147. after Christ the tenth Bishop ordained that chrisme should be ministred as baptism and that children should have God-fathers and God-mothers here was the beginning of this great Ordinance and he ordained that Easter-day should be kept on
but for Conscience sake for so the Lord requires which will be acceptable and pleasing in his Sight And all Magistrates who are Christians ought to be Paterns of Holiness and Righteousness to their people and to admonish exhort and reprove the prophane and ungodly and to the Worship of the true God who is a Spirit and will be worshipped in the Spirit and in Truth it is the Duty of every true Christian who is a King and a Priest unto God CHAP. XVII Concerning Oaths in the first Covenant and the Lawfulness thereof and the unlawfulness thereof discovered in the New Covenant in Gospel Times Though Apostates mingle the Ordinances of both together denying all Oaths proved to be no new Doctrine IN the Beginning when God Created the Heaven and the Earth and all things that are therein by the Word of his Power and set the Bounds and the Habitations thereof and separated betwixt Light and Darkness And when man was created in his own Image in the Image of God created he him Male and Female created he them Now the Image of God consists in Righteousness Holiness Equity Long-suffering Patience Goodness Mercy and Truth the Glory thereof is unspeakable man being in this Image there was no Transgression nor Sin nor Sorrow man was bound unto his Maker by the Power in which he was made yea he was in a capacity to Fear Love Honour obey and Worship his Maker from the virtue of that Power and Principle which God had placed in him which some ignorantly call the Law of Nature but that is not the intention of my discourse to contend what it was but to shew that man was at Union with God and bound unto him by that which God had placed in him in which his Wisdom Power and dominion stood to rule over all Creatures Life was in him there was no Death then in this the Obligation stood not in outward written commands or Ordinances but it stood in that which was eternal and Invisible this was before the Transgression here were no Oaths yet nor outward Covenants made nor outward Ordinances But after man had Transgressed and eaten of the Tree of Knowledge of good and Evil and gone from the Power and broken the Covenant he lost his Wisdom and Folly entred he lost his Dominion and Weakness entred he lost his Knowledge and Ignorance entred and an earthly part and a mutable came to have Dominion not that this was Evil in it self being subjected by the Power and Word in its place and in the State wherein it was good but Man being gone from the power and from the Covenant joyned to something out of it and out of the mind and listened to that which should have been ruled over that became a Leader which God never appointed and this led man's Heart from the invisible God of Life and Light who is immutable to lust after Visible things and mutable and earthly things and into instability And so his Heart and mind and affections became more and more to be alienated from the Lord and his understanding more darkned yet such was the love of God unto mankind that he did not wholly cast him off here but followed him with his Mercies and Promised the Seed of the Women shall bruise the Serpent's Head and so it did yet the Adulterers Generation in the Transgressing Nature were great and fast and there were but few before the Flood in comparison to the Multitude who bore the Image of God and few in a Generation as Abel Enoch Seth and the rest went after the Imaginations of their own Hearts and set up Images and Idols and also after the Flood when the Earth began to be replenished the cursed Seed grew faster and many great Nations were ignorant of the True God and made Idols and Images of Wood and Stone of Gold and Silver according to the minds of the craftman and Worshipped them and became in Love with them and swore by them Yet Abraham the Father of the faithful feared the Living God of Heaven and Earth and God was with him in all his Wayes and he hearkned unto his Voice and obeyed it and followed the Lord where he led him and God made a Covenant with him and his Seed forever and gave him a Son in his old Age and said unto him In blessing I will bless thee and in multiplying I will multiply thee and this was fulfilled for Isaac begat Jacob and Jacob begat the twelve Patriachs and Jacob in the time of Famine went into Egypt and sojourned in that Land he and his Sons and all that pertained to his Family increased and became a great People But after many years the Egyptians afflicted them and multiplyed their burdens insomuch that God considered them and the Covenant he had made with Abraham and his Seed and sent Moses his Servant as a Leader to be a Guide unto them out of that Land and they were brought forth by an out-stretched Arm and great was their Deliverance and he led them through the Wilderness and fed them with Angels Food and at Mount Sinai gave forth a Law and made a Covenant with them sutable to the State wherein they were for their minds were outward and the covenant was outward their minds were changeable and mutable and the Covenant was so also And all these Statutes Ordinances pertained to a party which was aboâ—e the Seed yet they were shadows of good things to come aâ—d every Ordinance in this covenant was but a Figure or shadow of a more Heavenly thing which was but to be in force to wit these Ordinances until the Seed came to be made manifest which ended them all So all Priests Offerings Sabbaths Fasts Feasts Oaths though they were real in their time and all Vows yet the Law was changed which pertained to the changeable party when the Seed of Christ was revealed who is unchangeable The first had an end and continued to the time of Reformation take notice of this this covenant was made to wit the first after the Transgression but when and wherein Christ is revealed and manifest the great Reformer and the restorer they end and he leaves all to the Beginning again out of deformity to be for Transgression to that in which man was bound unto God at the first before Sin entred and to be for shadows was all for the new Moons Offerings Oathes and Sabbaths were given forth to man when there was a Cloud and a Vail and a 〈◊〉 over within that the Glory of the invisible God could not be 〈◊〉 this State nor this Naked and clear Glory but as that part comes to be done away and crucified and subjected and the cloud scattered the Shaâ—ow and clouds outward pass away the Apostle calls the Ordinances outward Shadows And Paul to the Corinthians calls them a Cloud they were 〈◊〉 Baptized into Moses in the Cloud And when the day appears and Chrâ—â—â— who is the Light is manifest the clouds are scattered and ended
were good as they stood related to the end wherefore they were commanded instance the Worship at Jerusalem and the Service there and the place where God had promis'd to place his Name yet Christ said as foreknowing the End of all the aforesaid Worship which appertained to that Covenant and therefore he said to the Woman Joh. 4.23 but the Hour cometh and now is when the true Worshipers shall Worship the Father in Spirit and Truth for the Father seeks such to Worship him and 24. vers God is a Spirit and they that Worship him must Worship him in Spirit and Truth 2. Cor. 3.17 From hence it is clearly evident for this was before he was offered up that then was the time that neither at Jerusalem nor in the Mountain of Samaria it shall be only said they worship the Father though at Jerusalem was the place Deut. 1.1 2 5. of Worship formerly and the Jews held it then and the Worship was that which was commanded to wit Sacrifices and Offerings and many other legal Services which belonged to them to perform according to the command of God and if Swearing or Oaths was any part of the Service of God as in that Covenant as we with A. S. do grant Deut. 10.20 You shall fear the Lord and serve him and Swear by his Name then I say that Swearing amongst the rest of the Worship is included but saith Christ neither at Jerusalem nor this Mountain but they that worship shall Worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth so that the time was then but came on more afterwards to be fulfilled that both the place and the worship and Service that belonged to the place they should no more Worship the Father with and in but in the Spirit and in the Truth and this may be in Answer to that which A. S. makes a great adoe with in his Book how that Christ said Swear not at all it was before his Death and therefore they that Argue saith he That swearing was prohibited only and ended in Christ's death cannot plead that all Oaths were prohibited but that command of Christ Mat. 5. because he spake this in his Life time I say â—o did he this Jo. 20.21 22 23. And he may as well Argue that Christ destroyed the place of Worship at Jerusalem and the Worship also and came not to fulfill it as he saith he did and why but because he spoke this before he was Crucified and so did he Swear not at all and why may not A.S. conclude with us that this is a commodious place to interpret and explain Christ's meaning in those words in the 5 th Mat. 23 and 24. and so the Words may truly be understood thus ye have heard that it hath been said of old time thou shalt not forswear thy sâ—lf but shalt perform unto the Lord thine Oaths Exod 20.7 and Deut. 5.11 but the Hour cometh and now is when I say unto you that say more then the Law hath said Swear not at all neither â—y Heaven nor by the Earth but let your Yea be yea and your Nay nay for whatsoever is more then these cometh of Evil and yet whatever may or can be said A. S. will needs conclude That all Swearing is not forbidden and why because it hath been the praâ—â—ice of holy Men and also an Angel this Argument is of little force so was it the practice of holy Men to offer Sacrifice and burn Incense and as for the Swearing of the Angel Dan. 12. and Revel 10.6 to prove the lawfulness of some Swearing these have been answered over and over and over again though A. S. will take no notice of it though I perceive he hath read the Arguments that have been used as Answers to these things though he will not seem to take notice nor to reply to confute the Arguments but rather minds his own and to assert what may seem to mâ—ke for his purpose as to the matter he hath taken in Hand but as for good Men's Swearing and the Angel's Swearing if their Example would â—uâ—tifie the lawfulness of Swearing yet they could not be any president to us who are under the Gospel of the Son that is greater then the Angels by the dispensation of whom the Law for Oaths Tythes offerings oblations and other legal Rights and Rudiments were given which Son also all the Angels of God are bid to Worship for the Apostle saith Hebr. 2.5 For unto the Angels hath he not put into subjection the World to come but that is committed unto the Son under whose Ministration and subjection we are who said Let your Yea be yea and you nay nay and speak the Truth and do the Truth and bear witness to the Truth who said Learn of me and these things we have learned of him unto whom all Power is committed for he is counted Hebr. 3.3 more worthy of Glory then Moses though Moses was faithful in his House as a Servant but Christ as a Son which is that great Prophet that Moses Prophesied of which all are to hearken unto with whom the Father is well pleased being made so much better then the Angels Hebr. 1.4 as he hath â—y Inheritance obtained a more Excellent Name then they vers 5. for unto which of the Angels said he at any time thou art my Son this day I have begotten thee vers 6. Again when he bringeth the first â—egotten into the World he saith let all the Angels of God Worship him of the Angels he saith he makes them minâ—strâ—ng Spirits and a Flame of Fire but unto the Son he saith thy Throne oh God is forever and ever the Scepter of Righteousness is the Scepter of thy Kingdom for if the Words spoken by Angels wer stedfast and every Transgression received a just recompence of reward how shall they escape Hebr. 2.3 who do not only neglect the command of Christ but labour to pervert through their Strengâ—h of their own reason the ministration of the Son who is the sum and substance of all Shadowy and Typical Ministrations and therefore A. S. and all concerned look â—o it who would introduce Judaism and the Mosaical Observations upon the Neck of Christs Disciples and as Laws in his Kingdom and whether would not this prefer the Servant before the Son yea or nay and his Ministration before the Ministration of the Son though the one is not against the other but the one pointing at the other and in the latter the first is fulfilled the Truth declared the Truth spoken the Truth lived in and the Truth confessed in every matter wherein any Christian is concerned which is the sum and the matter which all Oaths in their highest and greatest Ordination could or can effect In the 40 th page of his Book he saith our Saviour saith Amen Amen 24. times in John's Gospel which he saith St. Ambrose will needs have to amount unto an Oath and he cites Apoc. 3. These things saith the Amen compares it with Isa.
them together in the Text above said and obligeth equality at all times as well under the Gospel as under the Law yet then A. S. would call this absurd if it be so as it is indeed then we may as well conclude the other absurd because one is standing as well as the other and binding as well as the other by the vertue of this command although he tells us that an Oath in its Substance hath not any Type at all so we say for the substance is Christ the Oath of God in whom all the Promises and Oaths are fulfilled and this is its substance but as under the Law it was a Type of the Substance and not the substance it self and that Circumcision the Passover and the legal Offerings under the Law had as much goodness in them as Oaths had what-ever A. S. sayes and served to as good ends and purposes in that Ministration as they were ordained and conduced as much to the Glory of God and were subservient to but not against the morality of the Gospel for the shadows were not against the substance nor the Ceremonials against the Morals though the Apostle says the Law is not of Faith yet not against it for as ministerial as the Ordinances of the Law were to the Gospel then yet the Gospel may be and now is without it But to conclude this Argument A. S. Were it so indeed that Oaths were Ceremonial then it follows that Christ in this Text did not forbid them for he did not forbid the Ceremonial Law but observed it all his Life eating the Passeover with his Disciples the Night before his Death unless some would Interpret his Words I command you that you do not Swear yet I am content for a Year or two you may Swear by Heaven or Earth as you have been accustomed but after my Crucifixion and Resurrection Swear no more and there let these that disallow Swearing as a part of the Ceremonial Law Argue no more the unlawfulness of Swearing from these Words Swear not at all Reply Though Christ did observe the Ordinances of the Law as being that Ministration appointed by God until the time of Reformation and the bringing in of a better Hope Heb. 9. It became him to fulfill all Righteousness so was he Circumcised and eat the Passover and was Baptized washed the Disciples Feet which were not enjoyned by the Law though not against it and that Ministration not fully ended though he see it must end and spoke of a further thing and of the time then and also it should be ministred more afterward after his Resurrection Joh. 4.20 21 22 23. The time cometh and now is neither at Jerusalem nor this Mountain but they that Worship the Father shall worship him in Spirit and Truth so that he Prophesied of the end of all those things and of the cessation of them which were sometime commanded respecting both the place and the Worship and to them that did believe the Disciples unto whom it'was given to know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God then was the time to them it was come even then before Christ suffered and therefore A. S. his Consequence is not true that Christ did not forbid all Swearing from this Text and though he had both Prophesied of a clearer Ministration and laid down in Doctrine a more Evangelical precept then the Law yea and more strict obedience yet notwithstanding many did still hold up these things which the Law commanded though they believed well of Christ yea after his Suffering and Resurrection and that a long time though that the Apostles told them the Substance was come and that there was no more Offering for Sin nor Oblations neither legal Observations to be minded any more yet still many observed them and doubtless as to that formal Swearing that was among the Jews and that vain Swearing too many did continue in it afterward notwithstanding Christ's command but then not submitting made not his command void in it self and there is no necessity to make such an absurd Interpretation as that he permitted them to Swear for a Year or two by Heaven and Earth and then at his passion to Swear no more for after he gave forth the command there was no Permission and yet afterward as I said the Apostles declared against the Shadows and preached up the Substance and as A. S. confesseth the types ceased of themselves but let him know there was a time of Dying to them and they ceased not all at once to them that had observed the Law neither were the Mysteries revealed all at once but as they grew in Faith and Knowledge for the Righteousness of God is revealed from Faith to Faith and though the legal Observations were observed in Christ's time so were they after by many but by right ended in the substance and when he was come though many did not see it till afterward But I come to his 11th Argument Eleventh Argument No exposition of the Text oâ— any other is to be admitted that puts inconsistency betwixt the Old Testament and the New seeing both are Inspired by the same God who is incapable of falshood or alteration whereupon if we be not so atheistical as to deny the veracity or immutability of the most high Tit. 1.2 it must be granted that his word is of eternal Truth Jam. 1.17 his Promises yea and Amen his precepts more unalterable then the Laws of the Medes and Persians nor did our Saviour come to destroy but to fulfill the Law thereupon he enjoyns obedience to the commands of the Pharisees as sitting in Moses 's Chair Mat. 23.2 3. from all which it is apparent that the Old Testament is so far from being contradicted that it is fully confirmed in the New therefore I may well draw this conclusion that these words Swear not at all ought not to be interpreted as to render all Swearing unlawful Deut. 6.13 Psal. 63.11 not without Promise of reward Jer. 12.16 and it was Prophesied before by Isaiah that Christians under the Gospel should Swear Isaiah 19.18 and 4. and 23. and I look upon it as a piece of Manichisme and extremely derogatory both to the Scripture and God himself therefore what moral duty one Man was commanded in the Law another should be condemned in the new Reply 'T is true no exposition of this Text or any other is to be admitted that puts such a difference betwixt the old and new Testaments in matter of Substance but shall agree with Austin The Law is the Gospel vailed and the Gospel is the Law revealed and what was Prophesied and typified in the first is fulfilled in the latter but what shall be thought of them that hold up the Types and Figures of the first as though they were not fulfilled or as though the Promise was not come and he made manifest in whom all Shadows end and though God be unchangeable in himself and incapable of falshood or alteration and I know none who
good Behaviour and shall so continue but it seems a hard thing to me and full of Severity that seeing I am obliged to appear to answer an Indictment of so high a Nature if prosecuted against me which tends to the Loss of my Liberty for Life and my Estate forever I hope the Court will not envy my Liberty for five Moneths Judge Turner said We do not desire your Imprisonment if you will be of good Behaviour And F. H. pressing further that they would not put him upon giving Bond to be of the good Behaviour knowing himself to be bound by the Truth that he could not mis-behave himself One Daniel Flemming another persecuting Justice had framed another Indictment against him for meeting and stood up fearing the Snare of giving Bond would not hold and said as followeth D. Flemming My Lord he is a great Speaker it may be the Quakers cannot want him Judge Let him be what he will if he will enter into Bond. F. H. said he had nothing to accuse himself of for his Conscience bore him Witness that he loved Peace and sought it with all Men. Judges both spake What do you tell of Conscience we meddle not with it but you contemn the Laws and keep up great Meetings and go not to Church F. H. We are fallen in a sad Age if meeting together peaceably without Arms or Force or Intention of Hurt to any Man but only to worship God in Spirit and exhort one another to Righteousness and to pray together in the holy Ghost as the primitive Christians of old that this should be reckoned Breach of Peace and Mis-behaviour Judge Twisden Do you compare these times with them they were Heathens that persecuted but we are Christian Magistrates F. H. It is a Doctrine alwayes held by us and a received Principle as any thing we believed that Christ's Kingdom could not be set up with carnal Weapons nor the Gospel propagated by Force of Arms nor the Church of God built with Violence but the Prince of Peace was manifested amongst us and we could learn War no more but could love Enemies and forgive them that did Evil to us Philip Musgrave stood up and said My Lord we have been remiss towards thâ—â— People and have striven with them and put them in Prison again and again and fined them and as soon as they are out they meet again Then stood up John Lonther called a Justice and said My Lord they grow insolent notwithstanding all Laws and the Execution of them yet they grow upon us and their Meetings are dangerous Philip Musgrave stood up and produced a Paper and Justice Flemming so called seconded him in great Capital Letters and gave the Judge it he told the Judge That it hapned some Quakers were sent to Prison and one of them dyed at Lancaster and they carryed his Corps through the Country and set that Paper upon his Coffin This is the Body of such an one who was persecuted by Daniel Flemming till Death Judge We have spent much time with you I will discourse no more F. H. I acknowledge your Moderation towards me allowing me Liberty to speak I shall not trouble you much longer I shall be willing to appear to answer to the Indictment at the Assizes and in the mean time to live peaceably and quietly as I have done if that will satisfie Judge You must enter into Bond to come at no more Meetings F. H. I cannot do that if I should I were treacherous to God and my own Conscience and the People and you would but judge me a Hypocrite They weare loath to commit him yet at last they did F. H. turning about to the Country People said the Fear of God be amongst you all The Hearts of People were tender towards him and some were very loving and affectionate to him Being thus committed on the 23d of the 1st Moneth 1664. he was detained a Prisoner about five Moneths and a great Part of the time of his Imprisonment kept very strictly and a Charge was given from the Justices several times that none should be suffered to speak with him and the Goaler being a cruel Man was ready to execute their Orders to the utmost and kept him so close that none were suffered to come to him or speak with him but who got secretly to him without the Goalers Knowledge all which the said F H. bore patiently and never opened his Mouth to complain And when the time of the Assizes came he got Liberty to speak with the Clerk of the Assizes who told F.H. that he must prepare himself to come to a Tryal he said he was prepared but thought that all he could say would little avail he believing they purposed to prosecute him with all Severity which proved so as will appear by the Relation following for indeed the County Justices who began to prosecute him had incensed the Judges against him before hand however F. H. endeavoured all he could to convince them of his Innocency and to that End drew up the Substance of the OATH into several Heads which he could SUBSCRIBE to though he could not SWEAR and delivered it to the Court and drew up another Paper to Judge Turner shewing him and the Court the Cause of his first Commitment and the former Proceedings against him and how unequal it was that they waved the other Statutes lately made against Non-conformists and prosecuted him upon a Statute formerly made against Popish Recusants in the same Paper he also signified that he was a Man of a tender Spirit and feared the Lord from a Child and had never taken any Oath but once in his Life and that was twenty Years since and that his refusing to take the Oath of Allegiance was not in any evil Intent to the King's Person or Government neither in Thought Word or Deed but meerly upon a spiritual and conscientious Account and that he could not swear being otherwise perswaded of the Lord. 2. That he could not swear seeing it was against the Command of Christ and the Apostles Doctrine 3. He declared that he was able to make it evident to be against the Example of the primitive Christians for divers hundred Years and so no new Opinion 4. That he did neither in Wilfulness nor Obstinacy refuse it being sensible of the Dammage that would come thereby if they did prosecute him upon that Statute he having a Wife and Children and some small Estate which he knew lay at Stake in the Matter but said if it were his Life also he could not revolt from or deny that which he had most certainly believed in but if any could convince him either by Scripture or Reason in the thing he had an Ear to hear and therefore all those things considered he desired he might be dismissed from those his strait Bonds and from their Persecution of him upon that Account Both which Papers his Wife delivered to the Clerk and he to the Judges and they to the Justices before
F. H. was called into the Court which they read in which Papers F. H. had come as near them as he could in the Truth that he might leave them the more without Excuse but all would not prevail with them for they were set on to do their Utmost against him Here followeth the Sum of their last Proceedings against F. H. and the most material Passages in open Court at the Assizes holden at Appleby the 22d and 23d of the 6th Moneth 1664. F. H. being called to the Bar. Judge spoke moderately and said Here is an Indictment against you for refusing to take the Oath of Obedience so you must plead to it either guilty or not guilty F. H. with a Heart girded up with Strength and Courage said Judge Turner May I have Liberty to speak and make my Defence for I have none to plead my Cause but the Lord Judge You may F. H. I will lay the true State of my Case before thee and of the Proceedings against me from the first seeing Judge Twisden is not here who had Knowledge of all the Proceedings hitherto I am a Country Man born and brought up in this Country my Carriage and Conversation is known how I have walked peaceably towards all Men as I hope my Country men can testifie about a Year ago being at my neighbouring Market-Town about my reasonable and lawful Occasions I was sent for by an high Constable out of the Market to the Justices of Peace before whom I went and when I came there they had nothing to lay to my Charge but fell to ask me Questions to ensnare me about our Meetings and when they could find no Occasion they seemed to tender the Oath of Allegiance to me though they never read it to me neither did I positively deny it yet they committed me to Prison and so I was brought hither to this Assize and then the Mittimus by which I was committed was called for and the Judge read it and said to the Justices it was insufficient nevertheless Judge Twisden tendred the Oath of Obedience to me many things I did alledge then and many more I have to say now if time will permit from that time I was under an Engagement to appear at the next Assize and so was called and did appear at the last Goal-delivery and a further Obligation was required of me for good Behaviour which I could not do lest I should be brought into a further Snare and since that time I have been committed Prisoner these five Moneths some of which time I have been kept under great Restraint my Friends not permitted to speak to me and thus briefly I have given thee an Account hitherto and as to the Oath the Substance thereof with the Representation of my Case is presented unto the Court already unto which I have set my Hand and also shall in those Words testifie the same in open Court if required and seeing it is the very Substance the Law doth require I desire it may be accepted and I cleared from my Imprisonment Judge I am come to execute the Law and the Law requires an Oath and I cannot alter it do you think the Law must be changed for you or only for a few if this be suffered the Administration of Justice iâ— hindered no Action can be tryed nor Evidence given for the King nor no other particular Cases can be tryed end your Principles are altogether inconsistent with the Law and Government I pray you shew me which Way we shall proceed shew me some Reason and give me some Ground F. H. said I shall in the Mouth of two or three Witnesses every Truth is confirmed and we never denyed to give and still are ready to give Evidence for the King wherein we are concerned and in any other Matter for the ending of Strife between Man and Man in Truth and Righteousness and this answers the Substance of the Law Judge Is this a good Answer think you whether to be given with or without Oath the Law requires an Oath F. H. Still Evidence is and may be given in Truth according to the Substance of the Law so that no Detriment cometh unto any Party seeing that true Testimony may be born without an Oath and I did not speak of changing the Law yet seeing we never refused giving Testimony which answereth the Intent and Substance of the Law I judged it was reasonable to receive our Testimony and not to expose us unto such Sufferings seeing we scrupled an Oath only upon a conscientious Account in Tenderness of our Consciences for Fear of breaking the Command of Christ the Saviour of the World which if he do there is none of you able to plead our Cause for us with him Judge But why do you not go to Church but meet in Houses and private Conventicles which the Law forbids F. H. We meet together only for the Worship of the true God in Spirit and Truth having the primitive Christians for our Example and to no other End but that we may be edified and God glorified and when two or three are met together in the Name of Christ and he in the midst of them there is a Church Judge That is true but how long is it since you have been at Church or will you go to the Church the Law doth allow of give me some Reasons why you do not go F. H. I have many to give thee if thee hast Patience to hear me first God dwells not in Temples made with Mens Hands 2 dly The Parish House hath been a Temple for Idols to wit for the Mass and the Rood and I dare have no Fellowship with Idols nor worship in Idols Temples for what have we to do with Idols their Temples and Worship Judge Were there not Houses called the Houses of God and Temples F. H. Yes under the Law but the Christians who believed in Christ separated from these and the Temple was made and left desolate and from the Gentiles Temples too and met together in Houses and broak Bread from House to House and the Church was not confined then to one particular Place neither is it now many more things I have to say the Judge interrupted Judge Will you answer to your Indictment F. H. I know not what it is I never heard it though I have often desired a Copy Judge Clerk read it So he read it how that F. H. had wilfully obstinately and contemptuously denyed to swear when the Oath was tendered F. H. I deny it Judge What do you deny F. H. The Indictment Judge Did you not deny to swear and the Indictment convicts you that you did not swear F. H. I gave unto the Court the Substance of the Oath as you all know 2 dly I told you I did not deny it out of Obstinacy or Wilfulness neither in Contempt of the Kings Law or Government for my Will would rather choose my Liberty then Bonds and I am sensible it is like to be a great Dammage
all your Strength and all your Rest in the Flesh and Ease in your Beds that you have made shall be taken away you have slain those Desires in you which were once after God and now follow the Pleasures of the Flesh and have set up such a Worship over every one of you as you can live at Ease and in Pleasures and in Pride and vain-Glory and Covetousness and are Men-pleasers and Respecters of Persons and yet your Justification stands sure and your Faith which you hold and this Faith is Reprobate which leads into the Works of Darkness Oh you are high you are strong Warriours for the Prince of Darkness and greater Opposers of the Power of the Lord then they that have professed less who are gone before verily this is fulfilled in this Generation Publicans and Harlots enter the Kingdom and come to sit down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob and you are shut out Will he accept you for your Words will he accept you because you eat his Bread and drink his Wine and one of you is hungry and another Company of you plead that your Communion must now be as much Wine as you can drink and this is Gods ordinance you say Oh ye blind and slow of Heart to believe Is not Parphar and Damascus and Jordan and all the Water his and the Cattel upon a thousand Hills is he beholding to thee for thy lame and blind Sacrifice will he accept you for these things while your Wills stands and while you hate to be guided by his Light and Spirit which cleanseth the Inside shall I not say as Paul said of Circumcision It 's neither Baptism or not being baptized it 's neither breaking of Bread nor drinking of Wine neither your Observances and Washings your Prayers nor your Fasts your feigned Communion and Fellowship but a new Creature that God requires not outward washings nor things carnal which none of these things make perfect as pertaining to the Conscience nor the coming unto these doth not purifie nor make the Answer of a good Conscience while you do not witness that which makes you Partakers of the divine Nature you have no Fellowship with the Father nor the Son but only sacrifice to your Nets and feed upon Ashes and would take those things which were but Figures to oppose the Substance as the Jews did and never look for him to be revealed in you who is the End of the Figures and the End of the Law for Righteousness and the End of the Prophets who now is not worshipped in the Oldness of the Letter nor in Figures but in Newness of Spirit and in the new and living VVay which he hath consecrated for all them that come to him and believe in him and come to within the Vail Heb. 10.20 Nay these things which you call Ordinances as you practice them are not so much as the Image of Heavenly things and though you come to them Year by Year Week by Week they do not make you that are Comers thereunto perfect for if they did then there were a Necessity for the Continuance of them But now to that of God in all your Consciences I speak which shall witness in the Day of the Lord that your Consciences are no more purified nor you made any more perfect then the first Day you took them up And this I say unto you in love to your Souls I know no more of the Power and Presence you do witness among you in these things then if you worshipped in the Temple at Jerusalem and â—urned Incense and Offered Sacrifice and Burnt-offerings which Christ said was left unto them desolate and verily in the Day of the Lord's Account you shall bear witness unto me that I speak not in mine own Name although you cannot believe I say the Lord is departed out of these things and the Gentiles and Heathen who know not God have now all these things to tread upon and all also to feed upon but this I say unto you Sacrifices and offerings without which are Carnal and Elementary and perish with the using he will not have but he is come whose Flesh is the Life of the Saints and his Body is known which is prepared to take away Sin and it was witnessed of him and he is come to do the Will of God and this is he in whom the Father is well pleased who is the Light of the World and hath enlightned every one that comes into the world and whoso is not led by the Light he is not led by the Son and there is no Offering but in the Light that is accepted nor nothing which is well pleasing to God but what he now Commands who is entered to within the Vail into the Heavenly Tabernacle and you whose Hearts the Vail is over and Flesh is over unturned to him you are and his Face do not see nor his Mind do not know and now his worship is no more outward and Carnal but spiritual and everlasting And all you that cannot own the Measure of God in you which shews you his Teachings and Doctrine the offering up of that which is perfect you do not know nor the offering up in and by the eternal Spirit you do not know and so do not know purging away Sin but still you are Checked Condemned in your selves notwithstanding your large Phylacteries and long Garments of Self-righteousness and Selfishness in Performance in your wills from Imitation yet all of you confess the Guilt must remain because none of you are come from under Condemnation therefore you judge all is so Ah ah miserable Redemption and Justification is this what Redemption is wrought among you when the Light in your own Consciences shews there is Guilt and you are under the Power of Pride and Covetousness and Envy and Wrath railing and slandering them that bear witness against your deceit and have not Power over your Tongues nor over your Thoughts but are led captive by him that works Unrighteousness nay so ignorant are you most of you that you know not what it is that is in Captivity and what it is that wants Redemption nor what it is which the Gospel is preached to and purity of Spirit you do not know Verily I say unto you all whose minds are not turned to the Light of Christ which will let you see notwithstanding all your Righteousness and Fulness which you judge you have attained to there is one thing you lack yet you that have kept all the Commands in the Letter which few of you have done you must sell all and give to the Poor and yet before you witness a Disciple of Christ you must take up the Cross of Christ which you all stumble at and it is Foolishness to you as it was to your Generation who were in your Nature who sought to be justified by the Works without them and even you are the same look that God accepts you because you have conformed to the outward Part of the Law
Communion which is but carnal and earthly you have none of you the form one of you is for eating before Supper another after Supper another for as much Bread and Wine as you can eat and drink and so your God is your Belly and you mind earthly things and instead of remembring of Christ's Death you crucifie him afresh one with lust another with envy another with Pride and so instead of coming to the Table of the Lord you feed at the Table of Devils and nourish the flesh deceit and uncleanness and as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses by making likenesses so do you resist the Spirit of the Lord because it comes not according to your carnal Will nor your vain Conceptions and so deceit leads you all and the Cross of Christ you know not and those things you have formerly declared against you now take up some pretend sending out to preach and take Tythes others crying out against them in Words and yet uphold them and pay to the Priests whom you say are not Ministers of Christ and so waste the Lord's goods to uphold deceit and betray the Just in your selves and not one of you will suffer for that you judge your Principle and now you begin to creep into the Idols Temples and worship there and seek to the Powers of the Earth to uphold you and one of you preaching up Free-will another down another an Election of Persons and yet you never knew true Faith which is without Respect of Persons another Company of you dreamiâ—g of personal Reign in your carnal Imaginations and judge just such a God and a Christ as your selves that you may live in Pride and Lust and filthy and earthly-mindedness and Envy and yet talk of reigning with him but of being baptized into his Death you know nothing nor suffering with him you know nothing of nor of bearing his Reproach daily nor of suffering the spoiling of all and denying all for him this you are Strangers to you that tell of exercising your Gifts you have no Gift but acquired by long raking in the Letter and the Exercise of your carnal Wit and Knowledge in Contention and Strife you have treasured up a great deal of Stuff in the earthly Memory and this you call a Gift of the Spirit and such an one you make a Pastor or an Apostle of and he begets into his Image but still in the Curse and makes Proselites in the same Likeness leads into Sorts and Opinions from the true Gift of God for who hath a Gift it exercises him first and then he declares unto others of those things which the Gift of God hath wrought in him and he that knows the Gift of God is led out of his own Way Will and Time into his Will from whence it comes and here is the Ministry Christ alwayes blessed not in their own Wills but in his Will and this wrought a real Change in People from Satan's Power unto God's Power and so in all your Separation self shines in all you have not the Form much less the Power Another Sort tell of a Power to come and of a greater Glory to be revealed and a more glorious Ministry then hath been yet yet your Eyes are without and the Glory you look at is in great Words and your Expectation will fail for you neglect the present Measure of Christ's Gift that leads to Repentance and that you are got above and this is too low a thing for you you judge because you heard of this and talked of it therefore you are past this but I shâ—ll say unto you all Adulterers and Adulteresses come down from off your Mountain of Exaltation exalted above the Door and the Cross and you that are here are Thieves and Robbers your Minds are without feeding upon the Tree of Knowledge and imitating the best of you in your fallen Wisdom and your Foundation is upon Report as the Vagabâ—nd Jews were in the Name of Jesus that Paul preached they would cast out unclean Spirits and they were Sorcerers and what are you now who only preach of Christ that Paul and Peter and John in the Name of that Jesus they declared of and his Righteousness they spoke of but know not his Name in you nor his Power nor his Righteousness but in Tradition Imitation and conforming in the earthly Will here is all your Worship all of you calling the Letter the Light the Word the Gospel nay some of you so impudent as to call it Spirit and Life And so now you are made manifest and seen and your God and Worship and all your Profession is tryed by the Light is seen comprehended weighed and judged with the Light and all this will be too narrow to cover you in the Day of the Lord which is coming as a Thief upon all the World who make mention of the Name of the Lord but not in Righteousness And therefore strip you make you bare be uncovered cast off your ragged Covers whiâ—h will rust and wax old and mind the first Principle the Light that shews you Evil and own it to lead you and guide you out of Sin or else I testifie unto you you shall dye in your Sins and Wrath Eternal will be your Portion except you repent and cease from your vain Thoughts and Words and wait to see the Law of God revealed in your Hearts that may shew you Sin and condemn this Nature in the Transgression and do it away and slay you and quicken another thing which is dead in Trespasses and in Sins and while you sin the Image of God is dead and Christ suffers So while you have Time prize it To all you who put out the Eye through long and accustoming unto Sin who are near utter Darkness ANd you mingled People of Babylon and Egypt who are in Darkness and love to be so who are blind and love to be so who wallow in your Iniquity and love to be so who live at Ease in the Flesh in Pleasures and Wantonness you are dead while you live you have taken up your Rest in the Earth you are inlarging your Barns you are cieling your Houses and you are building with hewed Stone and Cedars and are laying House to House and Land to Land and are making your selves great in the World and seeking a Name among men you are swallowed up of the Earth and you go upon your Bellies you feed upon Dust Wo unto you that are here you have your Consolation here you lay up your Bags where Thieves break in and steal your Garments are moth-eaten your Gold is rusty and your Silver is cankered and there is your God which you worship which you have set up and worship in your Heart And when you have over-reached your Brethren and cheated and oppressed and defrauded your Brethren and are grown rich then you say God hath given you all this whenas you have stolen it and got it in Usury and Oppression and Deceit and when you have it
and shall go into Perdition and he hath deceived the Nations long and all have exercised their Power against him who is the Heir of the Promise the first-born of every Creature who is higher then the highest and greater then the greatest and have changed his Laws and made them void and have set up the Law of Sin and Death and have established unrighteous Laws by the Power of Darkness in which all Nations have been involved since the Dragon hath Power and whosoever would not obey those Laws and Customs and Constitutions the Dragon hath had Power and they that have joyned to him for a Time to kill to imprison to destroy and they who have been exalted have had thought to weary out the Saints of the most high and to root out the Memorial of the Just that he and all his Adherents might reign forever in the Kingdom of Unrighteousness and in the Dominion of Darkness which is the Devils dwelling Place and Residence forever who is at Enmity against God and the Children of Light which worship God in Spirit and Truth in Life and Righteousness Now is the Time drawing near and he who is the Desire of all Nations appeareth the Ancient of dayes is coming whose Throne is established in Righteousness forever who will break the Head of the Dragon and will lay hold upon him and chain him up that he deceive the Nations no more And all you Emperours Kings Dukes Earls Nobles Lords and Potentates who have joyned to him your Kingdom shall be rent from you and your Hands shall grow weak that you shall not be able to defend your selves against him who travails in the Greatness of his strength who is coming up against you as a Lyon greedy of his Prey and will devour at once all his Enemies that thought in their Hearts to reign forever and to settle themselves in iniquity forever now the Time draws near when he will put down the Authority of the Dragon and of the Beast and the Beast with many Heads and Horns and their Rule shall come to an End and he will dash you one against another as broken Pitchers till you be consumed and brought to nought and be worn out as a moth-eaten Garment and will overthrow your Laws and Customs which are made in the Night of Ignorance and Blindness and will change your Customs and the Times and will reduce the Earth again into its first Purity and you that have ruled shall serve and be tributary and as you have had a time of rejoycing over the Witnesses who have troubled your earthly and devilish Peace and slain them as Sheep for the Slaughter a time of Mourning is coming upon you when you shall say alas alas for your Glory shall pass away and your Renown shall wither and for your Dominion which shall grow so weak that you shall not be able to resist him who travels in the Greatness of his Strength and treadeth the Winepress of the Wrath of God who is mighty and strong to judge the Whore and all they that have committed Fornication with her and have drunk of her Cup and are inflamed with Adultery and cannot cease from Sin but burn in Envy against the Appearing of the Manchild who is Heir of the Promise yea of Life everlasting born here to the Inheritance which is incoruptible unto whom all Power belongeth both in Heaven and Earth who will subdue the lower Power and Powers of Darkness and tread them under Foot and all who act from that Power which is below the Life below the Truth below the Light that power will he and all whom he brings out of the Grave and raises above the Grave tread down under foot which stands but in the Earth wherein dwells Unrighteousness Although thy Teachers and Diviners in thee oh Earth who preach a Divination of their own Brain and from the Imagination of their own Hearts have made you believe oh you Powers of the earth who are in the Fall in the Transgression of the Life that you were the higher Powers every Emperour King Duke Earl Nobles Lords and that all were to stoop to your Wills how contrary soever they have been to God but you and they must know there is one higher then the highest who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords who alone will judge the Hearts of his People and their Consciences for he will not give his Glory to another although you have long usurped it since the dayes of the Apostacy and would have had all to bow to that Power which hath transgressed the Life and is gone from the Power of God Oh! long hath been the Night of Ignorance and Darkness and great hath been the Apostacy in the earth since the Dayes of the Apostles and since the false Christ's and false Prophets entered into the World which Christ said should come and cry lo here and there and should deceive many yea all the world wondered after the Beast and John saw it all lay in Wickedness and the time that Christ prohesied of came to be fulfilled in the dayes of John and he saw it Mat. 24.23 24. that many false Prophets and Antichrists were gone out into the World out from the Life out from the Truth out from the Light wherein the Saints had Fellowship who wrote forth the Scriptures and he said They were gone into the World and he said the whole World lay in Wickedness and so they went from Holiness into Wickedness and from the Father's Love into the Love of the World and Peter and Jude who lived in the same Age they saw them that went in the Error of Balaam and in the Way of Cain and in gainsaying the Power being turned from it like Corah and also their Hearts were exercised with covetous Practices So John saw they were come 1 John 2.18 19 Little Children it is the last time as you have heard that Antichrist shall come even now there are many Antichrists whereby we know it 's the last time and Peter saw that false Apostles should come who should make Merchandise of the People and prophesied of it as you may read 2 Pet. 2.2 3. and in the 14 15. verses you may know them by their fruits having eyes full of Adultery and cannot cease from Sin beguiling unstable Souls and Hearts they have exercised with covetous Practices and they were the cursed children and these had forsaken the right Way Christ the way and his Command also Freely ye have received freely give and they laboured to keep the Gospel without Charge who were true Apostles but these false Prophets deceitful Workers Antichrists and false Apostles they were gone in Balaam's Way after the wages of Unrighteousness in Cain's Way in Corah's Way in Antichrist's Way out of Christ's Way and these false Prophets false Apostles they spoke swelling Words of Vanity and did allure through the Lusts of the Flesh and they like the rest of the false Prophets gone before them cryed Peace and promised
Merchants of the Earth shall weep and mourn over her for no Man buyeth her Merchandize any more Rev. 18.11 And every Ship-Master and all the Company in Ships and Sailers and as many as trade by Sea stood afar off and they cast Dust on their Heads and cryed weeping and wailing saying Alas alas that great City wherein were made rich all that had Ships on the Sea for in one Hour she is made desolate Rev. 18.17 19. Mystery Babylon THE Mother of Harlots DISCOVERED Her RISE and when With many of Her SORCERIES IN the End of the primitive Times when the Apostles had finished their Testimony committed unto them and had gathered many out of the World and converted many unto God and many were established in the Faith of our Lord Jesus Christ which purifieth the Heart and giveth Victory over the World and were led to the Beginning before the World was made and the Churches which were in God which had received the Anointing by which they knew all things even the invisible things of God and the Mysteries of his glorious Kingdom which God through the Spirit did reveal unto them which Spirit they had received being begotten of God by which Spirit they called him Father and by which Spirit of Truth which was manifest from the God of Truth in their Hearts they were led into all Truth and became Sons of God and Heirs of the Promise and this Spirit was their Direction and led them to worship God aright to obey and glorifie him and his Name which brought Salvation unto them and into this Spirit they were all baptized by the one Spirit into one Body and in this one Spirit they met and worshipped God and were of one Heart and of one Mind and did know their Director near them and in them and the Time did come when they worshipped neither at Jerusalem nor at Samaria but in the Spirit and in the Truth wherein the Father was glorified and came to see that fulfilled which the Prophets bore Witness of even him in whom all the Prophets end in Christ made manifest in them the Hope of Glory whose Voice they heard from Heaven by which they were quickened and raised from Death to Life by the effectual working of the mighty Power of God which wrought in them that did believe and they were in the Unity of the Faith by which all their Hearts were purified who held it which is a Mystery held in a pure Conscience by which they received an Assurance and were made Partakers of the Promises and became Inheritors of Life Light and Immortality and Heirs of the Promise and Joynt-heirs with Christ and they sate together with him in Heavenly Places and eat with him and drank with him in the Kingdom of God which stood in Power and in Righteousness Joy and Peace and did not look like the Pharisees lo here or there but first felt it as a Grain of Mustard-seed in themselves or as a Corn of Wheat which afterwards springs up as a Blade or as a Ear of Wheat to Ripeness to a full Corn and they did walk from Faith to Faith from Strength to Strength and did appear before God in Sion and the Hebrews were come to Mount Sion from whence God shined out in perfect Beauty who became their Satisfaction and Peace who had revealed his Son in them whom God had made unto them Justification Sanctification and Wisdom and so they knew one God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and one Faith one Hope one Baptism the one Spirit into which they were all baptized into which they all did drink by which all that did believe were sanctified and did receive the Inheritance among the Saints in Light and this was the Church that was in God which was begotten by God the Father and preserved in Christ Jesus in the lively Faith and in the lively Hope by which their Souls were anchored and they established in the Truth that made free and they had received the Spirit of Prophecy and did speak one by one according to the Revelation of the Spirit which led out of Confusion into Order and they being in the Power of God did walk by its Order in the Order of the Gospel And now was the Woman cloathed with the Sun who had the Crown of twelve Stars upon her Head and the Moon under her Feet who stood in that which was unchangeable and immutable and now was the Man-child brought forth which was to rule the Nations and was revealed to the Church which was in God and he was the Head by which all the Members of the Body were united together in one and reconciled to the Father in one and by his Obedience Justification did come upon all that did believe But since the Woman fled into the Wilderness and the Man-child was caught up unto God the Midnight of Darkness came upon the whole World and the Sincerity was lost and the Image of God lost the Heir caught up out of the World's Sight Faith was lost Hope lost the Spirit lost the Saints Rule and Direction and then the Whore appeared and made all Nations drunk with the Wine of her Fornication and they staggered and reeled to and fro hither and thither having lost the Spirit became all Waters and unstable and all the World wondered after the Beast which then arose after the primitive Times and after the Apostles Dayes and admired him and worshipped him who killed the Woman's Seed and made War against it And then the Whore made Decrees who was gone from the Law-giver and she made Confessions of Faith and Articles of Faith being out of the Power of God who is the Author of true Faith being guided by the Power of the Dragon she made Orders of Worship and gave Directions for Worship having gotten on the free Womans Attire the Outside the Scriptures the Form of Godliness but afterwards became more abominable having both lost the Power and the Form worshipped the Devil's Power and the Dragon's Power and came forth in the Image of him and reached out the Cup of Fornication and made the Nations drunk with her Inchantments and Sorceries and she drunk the Blood of the Martyrs the Blood of the Prophets and them that kept the Testimony of Jesus the Spirit of Prophecy and then prescribed Forms of Worship Forms of Prayer and made Creeds and Faiths and Articles of Faith and many Faiths having lost the Order of the Gospel she made many Orders and sent out many Merchants to carry abroad her Traffick and her Merchandize to the Nations and whole Ships were filled full of it Vessels full of it which went upon the Sea and rode upon the Waters upon Kindreds Tongues Nations and Peoples who received of her Merchandize and bought of several Sorts of Merchandize which the several Merchants traded with who had several Orders prescribed then as Popes Cardinals Jesuites Fryars of many Orders and Monks of many Orders Jesuites of many Orders and all these
though with the best of all our Commodities though with Cinamom and Odours and Oyntment and Frankincense yet they will buy none of our Ware nor there 's no Hope of trading with them any more for they are come to know the Pearl which is more precious then Rubies and the heavenly Treasure that doth not rust and the Word which is sweeter then the Honey and the Honey comb there 's no Hope of them but this is the Misery they will not be content with what they have found but impart it to others and so beget a Dislike in other Peoples Minds to the best of all our Merchandize However them that are gone from us and deny our Mother and her golden Cup and deny all her Merchants great and small not only them that trade in Wood and Vessels and Brass and Iron but even them that trade with the best Merchandize as Gold Silver precious Stones Pearls fine Linnen Purple Silk and Scarlet however let us excommunicate them and give them up to Satan and let us call to the Beast with his seven Heads and ten Horns who is scarlet-coloured dreadful and terrible and let us accuse them of Heresie Schism and Blasphemy and call them Seducers Deceivers and false Prophets and let us brand them with Names of Reproach as Sectaries and say they are seditious and rebellious and mutinous and they are Enemies to Church and State and all good Government Peace-breakers factious and pestilent Fellows that bring all the Nations into an Uproar and if that will not do let us petition to Kings Princes Dukes Parliaments Protectors and Councils that some speedy and effectual Course may be taken for suppressing of these Hereticks and for stopping of these blasphemous Doctrines as that the Steeple-house is not the Church and sprinckling of Infants no Ordinance of Christ and singing of Psalms by Tradition no Part of the true Worship of God and it may be shall get some Law or Act of Parliament against them or call them Vagabonds and get them whipt abroad and put in Prisons while we take away their Oxen and Goods at home and so by this Means it will stop others whom we traffick withal that they will not dare to hearken unto them for if they will not buy our Wares and take our measures by a Glass in Love to it yet because of Fear of Imprisonment or Loss of their Goods or Estates they will be constrained to trade with us But alas it is otherwise with us now then it was in Queen Mary's Dayes when Mass Mattens and Even-songs Processionings Ave-maries Creeds and Pater-nosters took up most Part of the Time and went off among People for spiritual Worship at a good Rate neither is it with us now as it was in the Dayes of Bishop Laud our great Metropolitan and the rest of our Mother's Merchants then would Common Prayer translated out of the Mass-Book into the English and Creed Letany Pater-noster with a Lord have Mercy upon us or we beseech thee to hear us good Lord forty Times over in a Quarter of an Hour with some of David's Psalms turned into Meeter by Hopkins and Sternhold Masters of Musick sung with Organs with Choristers and Boyes with bowing to the Altar and such like Merchandize which was then precious in the Eyes of our Mother's Children then whosoever would not be obedient to all the Rites and Ceremonies we branded them with the Name of Puritans and Non-conformists and haled them before Sessions Courts and Magistrates cited them to appear before the Bishops served them up to the High-Commission-Court before the Lords Spiritual and Temporal falsly so called and there the Flesh was gnawn to the Bone and Ears cut off stigmatizing and burning with Irons Imprisonment and Banishment Now as People came nearer the Day they began to suspect all this as not to be the spiritual Worship of God having no Ground nor Footing from the Spirit of Truth nor Example from the Scripture nor from the primitive Churches then they over whom our mother once reigned began to question her whether she was the Lamb's Wife yea or nay And whether our Predecessors and Brethren were the messengers sent out by the true Church yea or nay And whether the Ordinances and Practices were the Institution of Christ and his Apostles yea or nay in the primitive Times And the Day dawned upon them and the Spirit came to be revealed and did shine into their Hearts and they began to search the Scriptures and to compare the true Church which was cloath'd with the Sun and crown'd with the Crown of twelve Stars with our mother Mystery Babylon and they began to compare the Apostles and ministers in the primitive Times with our Predecessors Babylon's merchants and also compared the Institutions and Ordinances which were delivered to the true Church with the Institutions Rites Ceremonies and Inventions of our mother Mystery Babylon and so they found all out by the Revelation of the Spirit and by searching of the Scriptures they found out the Rise of our mother after the Woman was fled into the Wilderness and that she sate not as a Queen upon Nations Kindreds Tongues and Peoples till after the Woman did fly away upon the Wings of an Eagle into the Wilderness for a Time Times and half a Time and likewise they found out that our Predecessors and Fellow-merchants were not like the ministers of Christ in the primitive Times neither our Doctrines and Ordinances like the Ordinances and Doctrines which were once delivered to the Saints before ever we merchants set sail or floated in a Ship on the Sea And so finding our City to be raised up in its Glory since the Glory of God was lost in the Earth and finding our Queen Mystery Babylon ruling in our City since the Lamb's Wife fled and finding us merchants to receive her Traffick from her City since the Faith was lost that once was delivered to the Saints and did see our Creeds and Beliefs and Pater-nosters our Prayers and our Hymns that they are quite another Thing which was Part of her Traffick they have concluded and that upon infallible Grounds warranted by a Cloud of Witnesses in the Prophets and Apostles that our mother is a Whore and her Predecessors are her merchants and that our Ordinances are and Traffick hath been invented by some of our mother's children which are Apostates and they have found us out And now alas a Ship will be hardly able to ride any more upon the Waters nor the Sea will hardly bear up our Vessels any more the Nations the Kindreds the Tongues and the Peoples are almost dryed up especially in the North Regions they will not buy our merchandize any more our Ships are like to stand still and our merchandize is like to be all shipwrackt therefore let us take counsel lest all the Sea dry up and we all sit down in Solitariness and our Song be turned into wo worth the Day misery and alas Therefore now it
one Part of your Worship before another Was not a Psalm in the Church of Corinth acceptable unto God when it was sung in the Spirit and with Understanding as good as Interpretation And was not Prophecy as acceptable as speaking with Tongues If your expounding so called of the Scripture be by the Spirit of God why should that give Way to sprinckling of an Infant till the Spirit cease to speak in him that spake by it Direct The next Piece of Merchandize is of their publick Prayers before Sermon and to pray after this Manner to acknowledâ—e your great Sinfulness by your Original Sin which makes you liable to everlastâ—ng Damnation and doth defile your best Actions if it were not restrained by God's Grace as in Page 15. Answ. What! is original Sin unwasht away and is a deprived Nature alive that poisons all your Faculties and defiles your best Actions What is not this tâ—ken away yet then you have confounded your Orthodox Doctrine or else never have been baptized when you were Infants for did not you use to say that when an Infant was sprinckled That he was regenerate and born again and ingrafted into the Body of Christ's Congregation And furthermore to give Thanks to God on this wise We yield thee hearty Thanks that it hath pleased thee to regenerate this Infant and to receive it for thy own Child by Adoption and to incorporate this Child into thy own Congregation then seeing that all that are baptized are regenerate as you say how is it original Sin and the Guilt is not taken away and how is it that the best of your Actions are defiled for Regeneration is a cleansing Work and the Actions of the regenerate are pure and holy but your best Actions are defiled then you are not regenerate by your own Doctrine and if Sin be restrained by God's Grace then Actions do not defile for Grace is one that which restrains and that which saves for it 's written By Grace you are saved and if you are restrained from Sin or saved by Grace then your Actions would not be defiled what cankered rusty Merchandize is this but I shall proceed to shew more of the like Nature Direct The next Doctrine is to confess your actual Sins the Sins of your Magistrates Ministers and whole Nation and how that you have broken all the holy just Laws of God doing that which is forbidden and leaving undone that which is injoyned and not only ignorantly but presumptuously against the Light of our Minds and Checks of our Consciences but also despâ—sing God's Forbearance and standing out against all the Offers of Grace in the Gospel Answ. Was not the baptized Infant incorporated into a holy Congregation and now you confessed you were a sinful Congregation not only ignorant but presumptuous also and have sinned against the Light of your Minds and the Light of your Consciences what is there any thing in your Minds or Consciences worth taking Notice of what will the Light in the Conscience shew Sin and reprove for it then how is it that you Merchants of this Rank cry out against it as Delusion and heretical Doctrine when any exhort them that they sin not against the Light of their own Consciences and if you stand out against all God's Invitations and Offers of Grace then are you none of Christ's Ministers and never blame me for calling you Babylon's Merchants for the Ministers and Disciples of Christ they came at Christ's Invitation and Peter and Jâ—hn left their Nets and followed Christ when he invited them and they resisted not the Offers of Grace but received it when it was offered and were saved by it and if you walk so unworthy of him in your selves then repent and cease carrying abroad such Trumpery as this to deceive the People withal Direct In the sixteenth Page you Reformers say You ought to bewail your Blindness of Mind and Hâ—rdneâ—s of Heart and Unbelief Impenitency Secureness Luke-warmness and Barrenness and not endeavouring Mortification nor to keep your Garments unspotted Answ. You had need to bewail your State indeed if this be it but see that you be not Hypocrites to confess that before the Lord and your Congregation and if any say you are hard-hearted and Unbelievers you deny it again and so make your Lives transgress and your Tongues utter forth Deceit what are you such a Company of blind Minds and hard-hearted impenitent unbelieving secure luke-warm and barren whâ—m God will spue out of his Mouth who do not so much as endeavour after Mortification nor to keep your selves unspotted and have broken Promises and Vows and Covenants O that ever such a Company as you should carry a Ship to Sea or think in your Hearts to give Directions to oothers to reform when you are unreformed your selves and full of Unbelief what People will take Directions at such a Company of Heart-blind Guides as you If this be Reformation what is Deformity the wise in Heart may judge of this Merchandize Direct Yet you say notwithstanding in the 18th page Let us draw near to the Throne of Grace and incourage our selves with hope of a gracious Answer of our Prayers Answ. He that sits upon the Throne of Grace before whose face the Heavens and the Earth shall fly away he will reject your Offering notwithstanding all the Encouragement you may take to your selves and how can you have Hope to receive a gracious Answer it's but the Hope of the Hypocrite you that are blind in Mind and hard in Heart and do not so much as endeavour after Mortification David a messenger of God said If I regard iniquity in my heart God will not hear my Prayers and you that are so presumptuous and are so full of vain Hopes as to think that God will hear your Prayers who are in Unbelief and endeavour not after Mortification he will send you empty away Direct The next Doctrine is about preaching the Word the subject of his Sermon is to be some Text of Scripture sutable to some emergent Occasions and he may go on in some Chapter or Psalm as he shall think fit Answ. Here Reader thou mayest take notice these Artificers of the last Edition have Traffique of divers Sorts to fit the several Places and Occasions as when they come before some Princes or Courtiers or some Convocations or Counsels then some great swelling Words and new coyned Expressions and Rhetorical Speeches and Philosophical Phrases this will go off at a good rate and by this the Merchant may procure his Discourse to be printed which may procure his Fame and Renown among ignorant People besides it may be he gets Profit by printing his Sermon setting all set-Wages Tythes and Salleries aside but if it be amongst poor country People or an odd Corner of the Land then any ordinary Traffick a Sermon which it may be he hath sold four times over this will go off among ignorant people and make them more ignorant and as you say a Text
this Nature he offered and was not accepted for he was in the Imitation out of the Life out of the Power in Feignedness and this was self and not the Lord that moved him The Jews in the Prophets Time who were in Cain's Nature in Envy and Maliciousness grinding the Faces of the poor and oppressing the needy and chopping them in Pieces as Flesh for the Pot they brought Sacrifices Oblations Burnt-Offerings kept Fasts Sabbaths and New Moons and all these Things and lyed swore and dealt falsly and left no room for the poor and yet they said the Lord was among them the Lord sent his Servant the Prophet to tell them the Lord was weary of them and of their Oblations why they were out of the Faith out of the Life out of the Power and Deceit lodged in their Hearts Covetousness Envy Murder Oppression and Violence as ravening Wolves hunting for their Prey the Prophets prophesied for hire their Priests bear Rule by their Means and people were one with it and liked it and loved it should be so the End of those things was Misery the Judgment of God came upon them they were scattered among their enemies their prophets slain and for their sake Sion became as a plowed Corn-field and Jerusalem a Heap and now he that offered an Ox was no more accepted then if he slew a man no more then if he blessed Chemosh Ashteroth or Baal all was Sin and to be condemned by the power out of which they were gone The Scribes and Pharisees in Christ's Time great Worshippers devout Men devout Women zealous Men for Temple Priests Tythes Dayes Sabbaths Oblations and were acting all those Things that were commanded in or about the Worship of God yet Christ said unto his Disciples Except your Righteousness exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees ye cannot enter the Kingdom of God they might have said which at least they did in their Hearts this Man sayes he is the Son of God and yet saith and teacheth his Disciples another Righteousness then is commanded in the Law and moreover tells them Except their Righteousness exceedours they cannot enter into God's Kingdom where is there in all the Earth any better Righteousness then ours we do not as the Heathen worship Idol-gods we keep the Sabbaths and purifie our selves and pay Tythes and keep the Ordinances given by the Lord to Moses and our Fathers well these Things they were doing but they were but dead Works they were out of the Faith out of the Power and had not God's Word abiding in their Hearts from which their Power and Ability should have come to have answered the will of God here was self-righteousness although they did the outward things which were commanded of the Lord yet they were dead works their Temple left desolate worship desolate Jerusalem compassed about with Armies not one Stone left upon another which was not to be thrown down they scattered among the Heathen their Priests slain and their Oblations ceased Plagues and Judgments pursuing whithersoever they went did all those things save them from wrath all their works dead worships and self-righteousness save them were they accepted oh nay rejected a Seed of Falshood a crooked Generation an hypocritical Generation these things with many more which I could instance all shewing that Man in the Transgression of the Life of the Power whether he sinned or wrought that which he might judge was righteous yet they were but dead works Obâ—ect But some may say What sayest thou to their Generation of Ministers Preachers and Ordinances we live in a Gospel-time and are under Gospel-Ordinances and they teach that Man is redeemed by Christ from Sins past present and to come and the Ordinances that we practise now I hope you will not call them dead Works Answ. I say the Ministry in these Nations made by man's will and by the will of the Flesh and that are seeking their Gain from their Quarter and are suing Men at Law and throwing Men in Dungeons and Holes to the Loss of some mens Lives already and hundreds have been and are like to be spoiled only to uphold their greedy devouring Nature who have ravened and devoured like evening wolves some mens Estates wholly and sometimes taken ten fold the Value who raven from place to place from one end of the Land to another and into other Nations also for filthy Lucre or a greater Benefit I say they are in the Fall in the Transgression Death rules in them over them and they are Ministers of Death and never brought any to God but of them many other Brethren who are in the Faith of our Lord Jesus Christ have born a large Testimony which any considerate wise prudent and reasonable man may see them to be Ministers of Death demonstrated by many sound Grounds and unanswerable Arguments and the Scripture of Truth clearly bearing witness to the same and so I refer the Reader to those things and shall content my self at present in what I have said in this particular Now as to the Worship or Ordinances or Practices themselves I come unto and shall speak no otherwise of any thing then God by his eternal Light and Spirit hath made me understand in the true Ground of things else I know well how to be Silent Now this I say to all Sects Opinions and Fellowships though they be divided into many Heads or Societies man acting or performing any thing of worship Ordinance or any practice whatsoever which the Scripture declares hath been or ever was though they should do it in the same manner sutable in every Circumstance to that which others did till all or every man come to believe in the power again which man went from in the Transgression all that he doth is Self-righteousness and dead Works Preaching dead Prayer dead Baptism dead their Communion dead their Conferences dead their exhortations dead their Fasts dead their Offerings like as if one had offered a dead Beast under the Law or a Lame Lamb which had been abomination even so I say till man come to that which he hath lost in the Transgression till man find the Power the Life the Light the Messiah and feel him in them to Work move and lead guide and act all will be accounted with the Lord Self-righteousness dead Works dead Fruit and if all would examine and try they might see the Nations almost spread over with dead men in Adam and dead Works abound and coverings which God will Rent and lay all waste together false Rest imitated Forms and representations without Life I say till men come into the Power again that Adam went from and so died in that Day cannot do any thing well-pleasing to God and whosoever comes to that again passeth every step through Death and denyes himself and all Self-actions self-righteousness and must come to be bare and Naked again even as he was before he came out he and his wife were Naked and were not ashamed
of the Gospel and the Foundation and the Tryer of Spirits and the Touch-stone and say it 's the Foundation of their Faith and Religion and so are all in the distraction one Envying another and Persecuting one another about the words of Truth spoken from the Spirit of Truth which cannot be understood again but by the same Spirit and so all them that have not the Spirit of Truth are in the Apostacy And all Sects Judgments and Opinions that have risen up since the Apostacy from the Faith that was once delivered to the Saints when the woman Travailed and brought the man-Child which after because of the Dragon's Power fled into the VVilderness and her Child caught up unto God all the Faith and worship that since is sprung up since the VVhore hath sitten as a Queen in Majesty is all denyed the Ground of their Worship Laws Traditions Inventions and all their invented Practices and Forms and Images and Likenesses are denyed and disowned as to be the Dress and Attire of the Whore which hath allured People through her enticing pretences and shews of Holiness when indeed all is but spiritual Adultery and this must be all turned under again the Whore's flesh Burned and her Attire plucked off and her Nakedness appear and her shame to them that have committed Fornication with her and they shall be ashamed of themselves and of her and abhor themselves and abhor her and Destroyed shall she be and the Lamb's Wife shall be beautified and come out of the secret Place into open View out of the Solitary Wilderness into the beautiful place that the Lord will bring her into and the time times and half time is out the thousand two hundred and threescore Dayes are at an End and he bears witness of it who saw her fly away upon Eagles Wings into the secret place which was prepared for her for these Dayes and Times appointed and I say he that knows the Counsel of the most High in this matter can account the time times and a half and the Dayes and what shall be after the dayes be expired which is at an end blessed is he that sees believes and Understands he shall see that which yet hath not appeared neither can it be believed by the most though it were declared but yet a little while and the Earth grows ripe and an Ear will be opened in many who cannot yet hear and for a little while in this I shall be silent and Treasure up that which the Spirit hath revealed till the time be fully accomplished which God hath determined and then his Glory shall be revealed and all the former things which have lived since the man of Sin hath been Exalted shall all dye and an utter Consumption shall be of all the changeable Laws made since the Apostacy and the many changeable Dresses of the Whore and Attires in which she hath appeared and Imaginary worships into which all have run since they were Apostatized from the Faith all this shall be disannulled and come to an End and be Blasted forever the Spirit of the Lord saith Amen How the Woman that was clothed with the Sun and had the Crown of twelve Stars upon her Head which did flee into the Wilderness comes out again after the great Whore is judged and her Child that was caught up unto God comes to appear again NOW after the time times and half a time after the thousand two hundred and threescore Dayes she returns after the Whore is judged and the great City Babylon is fallen which hath made the Nations drunk and brought forth Children in Fornication who had drunk the Blood of the Saints in the Apostacy after the Whore was judged and the Voice was heard in Heaven of much People that sang Halelujah Salvation and Glory and Honour and Power who witnessed to the Righteousness of God's Judgment And a Voice came out of the Throne saying praise our God all his Servants and ye that fear him both small and great Rev. 19.5 6. And I heard as it were the Voice of many Waters and as a great Multitude and as the Voice of a mighty Thunder saying Halelujah for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth the Whore is now judged the Mother of Harlots condemned with all her Inchantments and Sorceries Now the Lamb's Wife appears who is the Mother of the man-child which was caught up unto God she that was cloathed with the Sun with the glorious everlasting caelestial Light she is both the Mother and the Wife he that hath an Ear let him hear Now Jerusalem that is from above spiritually so called who was the Mother of all the Saints before the Apostacy she appears again and comes to be the Wife of the Lamb and the City of the Saints and the Mother of them that are born from above this shall be and is made manifest to some but a numberless Number shall see it and the Day hastens greatly and she is appearing again and her solitary Garments shall be put off and as she was beautifull before the VVhore made the Nations drunk clothed with the Sun and had the Moon under her Feet and a Crown of twelve Stars upon her Head and though she became Child-less and also as a VViddow and the Remnant of her Seed slain and destroyed so shall she appear again in Glory and Beauty as before and shall be made ready yea mine Eye hath seen it she is making her self ready as a Bride for her Husband and unto her is granted that she shall be arrayed in fine Linnen clean and white even arrayed in the Righteousness of the Saints which is not self-Righteousness the Garments of the Harlot and her Lovers but in the Righteousness of Christ the Lamb her Husband and Child also and she shall now bring forth many more Children though her Seed hath been slain yet a numberless Number shall appear and ten Thousand Thousand shall be brought forth by her and glory in her and reverence her and rejoyce in her forever and they shall be all clad in the same Robe which the Husband the Lamb is clothed withal and the same the Lamb's VVife this VVoman is â—lâ—thed withall and the same shall all the Children by clothed withal the fine Linnen the Righteousness of the Lamb which was dead and slain since the Foundation of the World but now alive and lives for evermore and here a heavenly Family appears now after the Apostacy and this shall be seen by all that have an Eye that can see through and beyond the Smoke of the Pit that hath darkened the Air while the Beast and Dragon have had Power but now hath her Child appeared again the man-child hath appeared again and he that was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day saw whither he was taken up to the Throne of God Rev. 12.5 and on the same Lord's Day he saw him after the Woman was fled and the Remnant of her Seed was made War with and slain in the Earth where the
the Whore hath decked her self with and Life it shall be known in the Body and God enjoyed worshipped glorified and honoured in that which shall never alter but abides forever and this shall be and is the last Ministration that ever shall appear among the Sons of men We who are come out of the Apostacy know what was before and see what shall be after the everlasting Gospel of the Son of God shall be Preached again to them that dwell on the Earth the same that was preached to Abraham before either old or new Testament was written the latâ—er all Sects since the Apostacy call the Gospel and so greatly manifest their Ignorance for that were to make two Gospels to call the Scriptures the Gospel or that which is written and they who so err in their Judgments are yet among the Smoke of the Pit and are yet under Anti-christ's reign and are ignorant of him who is the saving health of the Nations And he living Infallible true lasting and everlasting Spirit of the Father shall be poured out again and many now witness it and a numberless number shall witness it and the Time hastens And the Lamb shall stand upon Mount Sion and many who are redeemed from the Earth and from among men which shall be the first Fruits unto God and to the Lamb and they shall sit with him and shall Reign with him and have Power over Sin Temptation and the Devil Hell and the Lake and this is to come to pass and is coming to pass and hastens greatly and the Voice out of Heaven shall be heard as the Voice of many Waters and the Voice of Harpers harping with their Harps and the new song shall be sung the pure Song of the Lamb shall be sung by all who are redeemed from the Earth in every Nation Kindred Tongue and People who have heard believed and received the joyful Sound of the everlasting Gospel again and now they shall fear God and Glorifie him and Honour him even they who have feared the Beast and glorified him in the Apostacy they shall deny his Power and own the Lamb's Power and Worship him that sits upon the Throne of Righteousness who lives forever and ever and is eternal Life it self the worship shall be now in Spirit and Truth where the Dragon cannot come neither the Beast Harlot false Prophet nor Anti-christ nor none of his followers can come and herein the Ministration shall be more Glorious after the Apostacy then it was before the Worship stood before in many outward Visible things and Representations and outward Performances and Ordinances and I manifestly say the Dragon Beast Whore and false Prophets and Apostates took up these things and Nations and Kindreds and Tongues and People who drunk of the Whore's cup and all that were gone from their Maker their Husband they have been and are acting and performing Imitating like Jannes and Jambres but since the dayes of the Apostles they corrupted these things and have made Idols of them and Painted themselves with them and have got the Sheeps Cloathing Therefore now will the Lord appear and manifest his Power Life and Glory in a way more invisible and pure then before and more divine Caelestial and Glorious where never an Hypocrite shall tread in the Path and so the restoration is a Mystery that shall be after the Apostacy the Glory is not to appear in external things for there the Mother of Harlots hath hid her self long which hath made all Nations Drunk but the Cloathing of the Lamb's wife and of the Bride shall be another thing then the attire of the Harlot for the Spouse of the Lamb shall be arrayed in the same attire that the Lamb is cloathed withall and with the same Vestment and the Tabernacle of God is to be with men and he shall dwell in them even the Lord that Spirit and shall walk in them and they shall be his People and God himself shall be with them and in them and Sorrow shall be done away and Tears wiped away and that done away which was the cause of Sorrow Rev. 21.3 and 4. and there shall be no more Death nor crying nor any more Pain for the former things are passed away to wit Death which entred in by Sin it shall be destroyed and the Earth out of which the second Beast arose and the Sea out of which the first Beast did arise and upon which the Whore sate and Hell and the Lake which was prepared and raised up when man was degenerated from the Lord they shall be Destroyed and he also which hath the Power of Death which is the Devil he shall be destroyed and his Works the cause of scorn and then they shall see the Lord face to face even them that have but seen him darkly as in a Glass or as in a Cloud they shall see his pure living countenance which giveth Life and Death and Hell shall be cast in the Lake of Fire and whosoever is not found written in the Lamb's Book of Life must be cast into the Fire Then the new Heaven and Earth shall be seen and the heavenly City which shall come down from God out of Heaven which no mortal Eye shall behold neither shall be able to behold which hath twelve Foundations and twelve Gates and the Glory of God shall be upon her and her Light shall be as a Stone most precious and as clear as Crystal yea all things visible are too short and not to be compared to it for in it there need neither Sun nor Moon to shine in it for the glory of the Lord shall lighten it and the Lamb is the Light thereof and all who have been partakers of this Glorious Ministration shall walk in the Light of the Lamb there shall be no Night nor the least appearance of a Cloud or Darkness but transparent Brightness and Glory which shall be permanent durable and everlasting for the Lord God and the Lamb is the Temple of the City in which the Saints shall Worship him that sits upon the Throne for evermore and shall give unto him Glory and Honour and Dominion and eternal Praises for evermore who alone is worthy who lives forever in eternal Glory and everlasting Light and Brightness for evermore And his Face shall be seen in whom all Figures Representations and Shadows end in and the pure River of Water of Life which is as clear as Crystal which proceeds out of the Throne of God and of the Lamb and all who have kept the Word of his Patience shall drink thereof and be nourished up in Immortality and Life everlasting forever and the Tree of Life that stands in the Paradise of God them that have overcome shall eat thereof and live forever and the Nations Kindreds Tongues People and Regions who have heard believed and received the everlasting Gospel shall know his Saving Health and the Throne of God and of the Lamb shall be seen and his Servants shall serve him who
but the Quakers see before thee and beyond thee and comprehend thee and have received Eye-salve whereby their Eyes are opened to see thy Deceit the deceit of the Treacherous Generation with whom thou art joyned and thy Rejoynder and Vindication of Samuel Smith whom thou calls Minister of the Word at Cressage in the County of Salop thy Vindication of him and thy pleading for him will not bring much Honour to neither him nor thee and though thou and he both joyn hand in hand in deceit yet you shall not go Unpunished Thou tels the Reader Of wandering Planets who have left their Station who have stepped upon the Stage in the County of Salop who are come forth in this Apostatizing time All who have a good understanding may clearly see not only in the County of Salop but also in every Corner of the Land many wandering Stars that have no habitation in the Firmament of God's Power but are Tossed up and down and are as waters Unstable Tossed to and fro with every wind and the change of one Magistrate or head Governour will make them all change their form and as thou callst it Metamorphize them into another shape witness the many publique Teachers and Parish-masters and Tything Priests in the dayes of Edward the sixth Henry the 8. Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth's dayes and now of late in the Bishops dayes when the Magistrates voted down the Bishops all or most of the Priests denyed their Fathers and their Institution and though they ordained them Ministers yet they still seek after their seats and Benefices and there thy Reader may see the Metamorphosed changlings and the Apostates and I do believe the County of Salâ—p abounds with such like and they have been on the Stage long and have acted such a part in every Generation as would please the present Authority or Power whether they were Papists or Protestants Prelatical or whatsoever but E. D. the Exit will come and when the Day appears the Beasts must go into their Dens again and thou confessest you live in Apostatizing times thou that art among the Apostates and in the Apostatizing Age and time would accuse others Nay thou must hold thy Peace and leave pleading for Apostates and for the Fashions of the Heathen which have got up since the dayes of the Apostacy which the whole scope of thy Book is full of nothing else and we cannot permit or allow them who are in the time of Apostacy and who are one with the Apostates which have wandered after the Beast since the Dayes of the Apostles I say we cannot allow such as you to be Judges for we are come out of the Apostacy and to before the Apostates and to before the wandering Stars and thou hast mist it much that tells the Quakers are they Edward I tell thee we are come to the everlasting Gospel again and have received it and it 's the Power of God which was to be and is to be preached again to the Nations after the Apostacy And as for the Book called Malice stript and whipt I have seen it and he Spirit of thy Mr. Smith whom thou callst Reverend thou hast elevated him as high as the Pope but E. D. what is the Reason thou reverencest him so much as thou dost to thy Reader And in the tenth page thou saist many Souls depend upon his Ministry and thou blessest God for the worâ— of God you enjoy in that Congregation Thou hast extoll'd him too highly or else he hath wronged thee grievously for thou saist thou hast profited much by him Thou mayest call to mind a certain time when he preached as you call it out of the 13 of Luke and when he spoke of the Parable of the mâ—n that planted a Vineyard and 3 Years looked for Fruit and Sam. Smith whom thou so adorest said he had sought for Fruit from your Congregation this 7 Years at Cressage and had found none he shall be an evidence for me against thee that thy glorying of him is Vain and it 's manifest he is one the Lord sent his Prophet to declare against who hath run and the Lord never sent him therefore he hath not profited you at Cressage at all lean Souls are they like to be that depend on him In the first Observation as thou callst it thou hast extracted the Heads of Samuel Smiths Book into five particulars which thou sayst we are ashamed to Answer or else know not what to say for our defences I say unto thee Boast not when thou purst on thy Armour but when putst it off for the Victory may be doutful THe first particular That the Nationall Ministers do maintain the true worship of God and the Doctrine of Christ according to the revealed will of God Answ. So saying and so doing were something the true Worship of God is in Spirit and in Truth which is not Lo here and lo there nor in outward Observations but in Life in Power and in Truth But to be brief both the Doctrine and Practice of the National Ministry in general is contrary to the Scripture which thou callst the Word of God as for Instance their sprinkling of Infants their teaching Men to Swear and calling it part of the Worship of God which is contrary to the Doctrine of Christ who said Swear not at all Their singing David's Psalms put into Meeter by Poets and Ballad-mongers singing them in their invented Tunes which pleaseth the carnal Mind their studied discourses which you call Sermons Invented from the strength of natural wit and not speaking as they are moved by the holy Ghost which the Ministers of Christ in all Ages did In these and many other things which I could instance they are out of the Doctrine of Christ And in a word your whole Worship differs both in matter and manner from the Saints Worship in the Primitive Times But seeing we have denyed the National Ministers divers Years ago and have laid down our Grounds and Reasons to the World wherein we have charged them that their practice is contrary to the Scripture unto which Grounds and Reasons not one Parish-master in England hath yet Vindicated themselves these six years And unto that Book called The Grounds and Reasons why we deny the Priests if the Reader be not satisfied concerning them there he may see how they err both in Doctrine and Practice contrary to Scriptures To the second and third Particulars That the present Government of the Nation is the Ordinance of God and that the Ministers bringing Offenders before the Magistrate is not Persecution As for the present Government of the Nation the lawfulness thereof is not to Question by us but many who are Governours and should be Executors of the Law have acted contrary to the Law being stirred 〈◊〉 by the Priests who bite with their Teeth if one put not into their Mouths and have caused the just to suffer by giving Judgment 〈◊〉 theâ— in their wills contrary to Law or
is but to set Bryars and Thorns in Battel against the Lord. Thy Book thou callst Hell broke Loose or a History of the Quakers published to preserve Christians against formality of Religion and Apostacy and to the intent that thy Book might not grow old nor stick upon thy Hands as such other moudly stuff hath done thou saist London Printed in the Year 1660. and so hast Printed a lye in the Frontis-piece of thy Book thy Book by that time thou may'st hang up with old Almanacks or sell for waste Paper and if thou beginst with a lye and Scorn how dost thou think that this will be an Antidote as thou callst it against formality and Apostacy Is not a Lyar an Apostate is not he that pleads for Popish Trumpery a formalist in Religion without the Power he that reads but thy Title page may see what thy Book is within if he go no further the Covenant of Death is not yet broken in thee and the agreement with Hell is not yet disannulled and therefore all this Smoke is come out of the Pit in which thou delights to dwell And is this such a worthy Piece in thy account that thou must needs shelter it under the Wings of the Officers of the Army of England Scotland and Ireland art thou so great a Friend to them and in thy Book tell'st them they were the in-let of Heresie and Blasphemy who art but yet an Episcopal stem or at best a Presbyterial Branch I believe many amongst them will savour thy Spirit and know what Uniformity and unity thou art for which may be more properly called deformity and Enmity and so thy Flattering Epistle when they see thy Spirit will hardly merit thanks and so that wicked Spirit which could not be satisfied in the time of the former Parliaments and Protectors still persists in the unsatiable desire to see if the Army will gratifie thee and turn Persecutors but thou hast mist it far in crying a confederacy to the reverend Pastors or Priests of Scotland the Army knows right well or at least might do that the Priests of Scotland whom thou so reverencest have been alwayes Hinderers and Obstructors of the Way of God and of his Work these divers Years instance two â—o three Hundred of them before the sight at Dunbar who Prophesied all like Zedekiah for the poor Scots against the English Army to go up and Prosper and Cursed them and Excommunicated them and gave them up to Satan and for Distruction but such Prophets were made fools and their divinations were Madness and God gave a sufficient Testimony against them and their deceived Followers which I hope the English Army have not 〈◊〉 forgotten and for the Scotish Priests and their Doctrine and Practice 't is so grosly ignorant and abominably Prophane as I believe many of the Army do right well know but such as are not satisfied I refer them to a Book called The Doctrines and Principles of the Priests of Scotland wherein may be seen their deceit and how some of them have said they had Reason to curse the Magistrates from morning to Night because that Allowance was granted unto any to Worship God in Spirit and Truth who could not be subject to their Traditional uniformity and thou tellest the Army in thy Epistle That ruin is like to come upon all Religion and Piety if God prevent it not by you or some other way they may see what Religion thou art of which may be rather called Irreligious and Impious the Government of Religion and Piety lyes upon the shoulders of him who is a wonderful Counsellor and mighty to save and able to defend them that are subject to him and wouldst thou have the Souldiers or any others intrude themselves into Christ's Throne unto whom all Power is committed both to make Religious and preserve pious them that do believe in him this were to derogate from the Honour and Power which belongs to Christ who is the Head of the Church who will not give his Glory to another and let all take notice of this that whosoever hath sought to take Honour from him and glory from him he hath laid their honour in the Dust and their Glory is become as the moth-eaten Garment as hitherto it hath been evident and thou tellst them They know the Scripture is God's written Word and a Holy perfect rule of Faith and Practice and that it holds out that Christ is now in his human glorified Body in Heaven If thou hadst said the Scripture are the Words of God written thou hadst said something for the Word of God is one thing and the Words are another though the words are a Testimony of the Word and the Word and the Spirit which is one which gave forth the Words are the perfect Rule and Foundation of Faith which was before the Words and is greater then the Words as we have often declared to thy dearest Generation though they would not hear and where doth the Scripture hold forth a Human glorified Body in Heaven thy deceit and ignorant mind holds out a Human glorified Body we say according to the Scriptures that Christ's Body is spiritual and he is raised a spiritual Body and is Glorified in a spiritual Body and in a Heavenly Body which thou never knewest neither art like while the Nature lives in thee in which thou now stands And thou say'st in thy Epistle that one day in seven should be set apart for rational Souls to mind the things of Eternity And which is that Day that thou wilt set apart some of Babylon's Merchants have cryed up one day and some have cryed up another day and some have called the seventh day the Sabbath and some have called the first day the Sabbath and whether was Sabbaths made for Man or Man for Sabbaths and whether was dayes made for man or man made for dayes all time is in the Hand of the Lord and they that have Communion with him do mind the things of Eternity every day and so they come to know the day of the Lord in which rest is given to the Soul and the Creature hath rest though he labour in the Creation when that is done away in himself which hath Opprest thou may'st go learn what this means In thy Post-script as thou callst it thou saist If any shall take offence for thy seeking to civil or Military Power to Support Religion thy defence is thy belief is That thou ought to seek to the higher Powers to support Religion and this is the Liberty of thy Conscience and that this thou may do more acceptably then they who Cross their own profest Opinion as they have done of late Years by motions Counsels Books and Papers which they have delivered for these many Years for â—he pulling down the Ministry and Steeple-houses and that their importuning the Magistrate to pull down Ministry and Worship is a yielding of the Cause I say thy belief is without the true Foundation and so
and Justices with Persecution falls flat to the Ground We are no Boasters but rejoyce in our sufferings for Christ's sake neither are we weary but are willing to bear and suffer till the Lord arise and plead our Cause and our sufferings are Recorded and the Lord hath considered them though men would not and hath overturned many and Rebuked many for our sakes and it is he that Justifies us and who art thou that Condemns us the Testimony of our Innocency and the causeless suffering hath a Witness in many thousands Hearts who are not like thine as Flint and what uncivility hath any to lay to our charge as against Mâ—gistracy whom have we wronged or what Violence have we done to any except thou Judge that incivility because we do not Complement Bow and flatter and make feigned Addresses like thy Generation and this your Highness and the other your Excellency and another my Illustrious Lord and the next Week or next Month call them Traytors Tyrants and Usurpers and as I told thee before that which was order among the Churches is accounted Disturbance by thee which evidently manifests that you are in the Apostacy and out of the Christian Religion which was Professed and Practiced among the Primitive Christians and for any known wickedness among us I am out of all doubt if thou hadst any thing thou wouldst preach it upon the House top known wickedness hath God redeemed us from which thou yet Wallowst in and yet takest delight in And therefore all these known Wicked abominable falshoods Lyes are come forth besides the abusing of our words and false representing what we have written as our Doctrines to the World and this thou hast done sometimes added to our Words and sometimes detracted from them and sometimes addest thy own Collections then presentst them to publick view as our Errors and Blasphemies and as for Courts and Justices Magistrates and Rulers many of them hitherto have ruled by the Dragon's Powers and not by the Power of God in that many have incouraged the Evil-doers and have not listned to the cry of the Oppressed therefore hath the Lord God overturned them and their day is past and our charges against their Wickedness and Persecution neither our Testimony neither our sufferings have fallen to the Ground but stand as a Record against them And thou saist It is high time for all the redeemed Ones and sanctified Ones and Children of Grace the Favourites of Heaven Honest Godly sincere Christians Children that will not Lye to improve their intrust in God for this sinful divided Nation What dost thou own any to be redeemed and Sanctified or to be Children of Grace or that do not lye and yet cryest out of Perfection as Blasphemy or that any should come to or live by that which is perfect if thou excludest the Quakers to be any of these they will not findm any redeemed Sanctified Honest Godly sincere Christians and all your Improvement and your intrust which you have in God and in Christ will but amount to a small dram you all of you hitherto as you have said have improved your intrust and have sought God as you have said by your Prayers and Humiliations for the suppressing of that which you call Heresie and yet you have had no answer neither hath he listned nor will he listen nor bow down his Ear unto because your Hearts are full of Abominations and as for relapsing into Popery you never came out of it witness the Priests Popish Ordination their Popish Attire your Popish Mass-houses your Cross and Bells your Popish Tythes Easter-reckonings and Mid-summer dues your Popish Colledges your Popish Crosses and your Popish Images in and about your Idols Temple and because of the holding up of these things the Hearts of many of God's People are made sad and because you would hold up your Religion by Swords and Clubs and Persecute others who dissent from you in this you are one with the Papists And is this all thy Reformation that thy godly Ministry can bring forth You have travailed in vain and spent your strength for nought and because of these things the Hand of God is against all in the Nation who hold them up and who is he that can alter the Counsel of the Lord and God will not be reconciled to the Nation till these things be done away because of these things and many more grievous Oppressions which have been holden up therefore God hath broken them in the midst of their Counsels and confounded them in the midst of their devices and will confound and overthrow all deceitful Workers and unprofitable talkers such as thou art and one Hill shall fall after another till there shall be a great plain that the ransomed of the Lord may walk over and Worship the Lord together in Spirit and Love and Truth in Joy and gladness of Heart even as when Israel kept the Feast of Tabernacles And now I shall come to let the Reader see how thou hast falsified our Words which thou hast added thy own Imaginations to and then hast quoted our Books to make People believe they are our words whenas they are thy own forged lyes the which I shall return upon thee First Thou sayest George Fox In Truth defended saith that Preaching the Word Praying and singing are no Appointments of Christ whenas he saith no such thing but the Hireling Priests divinations and feigned Prayers and other mens words in Rhime and Meeter are the Inventions of men and not the Ordinances of Christ. Secondly Thou saist E. B. In Truth defended saith The Priest taking Tythes in the time of the Law was Evil and proved them to be false Prophets and Deceivers Whenas he saith quite contray that the Priests took Tythes under the Law according to the Command of God but now the Priesthood was changed and the Law was changed and them what Preach for Hire and seek for their Gain from their quarter or take Tythes are in the steps of false Prophets and Deceivers and no Ministers of Christ. Thirdly That it 's dangerous for the ignorant and Unlearned to read the Scripture and the Ministers of it are the Ministers of Death Now thou hast detracted from the Words There it is said that it is dangerous for thee to take the Scripture to War against the Saints withal and to make a trade with it and give carnal Exposition and then sell them for Money Fourthly Thou tellest of one Master Kellet in Lancashire and his Queries Whether did not Christ Institute his last Supper with Bread and Wine and R. H. saith the Bread which Christ called his Body is his Church which words thou hast mangled and perverted as thou hast done the most thou hast medled with and there is no such man as Master Kellet the words are these in Truth 's Defence p. 103. Christ did not â—peak of Bread and Wine but he took Bread and brake it and said This is my Body and we
in the Life thereof they are judged though the Truth in it self stands clear and so whâ—t as they were in their Principles Practiâ—e in Life or in Doctrine must they give Account for But thou like the rest of the Hireling Priests of England use alwayes to be confuting your Adversaries when they were at a great Distance when they were dead and could not reply or at such a Distance that they could not hear and you are such valiant Champions for the most Part as to Disputation except you have Club-men and Prison-doors standing open to fight or to shut them in you will hardly enter into a Dispute publickly or it may be if they be afraid that they shall be worsted and their Deceit laid open put a Key in the Mouth of one as some did in the Mouth of Humphrey Norton when he was with one of thy Brethren and then cry The Opposite or Quaker hath nothing to say for himself and such dark muddy Stories you used to fill up your Hour with as to confute Arrius and Pelagius men that were Hundreds of Years dead and no such Principles holden in a Nation and such dead Stories you fill Peoples Minds with and confute the Pope when your Elbows were leaning upon the soft Cushions on the Pulpit and twenty or thirty Shillings for such a dead Story as you told People but when have you gone amongst them and reasoned of the Things of the Kingdom of God into their Dominions and convinced them by sound Doctrine and yet you will say Christ said Go into all Nations and preach and plead that for your Commission and it may be stay fourty Years over an hundred Families As for the Heterodoxes of the Quakers concerning the Heads of Religion as thou hast set down this I say to thee and to all the World we do not hold them because any Man before did hold them or may hold them after but because God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit which also may be confirmed by the Testimony of the Scripture of Truth As to those which thou settest down as our Tenets I shall answer on the Lord's Behalf for Truth 's sake and for the rest thou may'st take them home to thy self First Concerning the Trinity thou say'st The confess the Father Son and holy Ghost and yet they deny the Trinity and those to be three distinct Persons for Confutation of this thou bringest Heb. 1. 3. He is the express Image of his Father's Person Thy Trinity is an old Popish Term and we love to keep to sound Words but by Trinity I suppose thou meanest three and thy own Words shall confute thee thou confessest we say there is Father Son and Hâ—ly Ghost and yet but one God or one Eternal Being or Substance in which they all subsist but thy Word distinct is thy own and not the Spirit 's yet to distinguish betwixt Father Son and Spirit we deny not and as for Heb. 1. it is in another Translation rendered The express Image of his Suâ—stance for Perâ—on is too gross a Word as to express an Eternal and Divine Being in and if thou dost hâ—lâ—l three distinct Substances thou errest in they Judgment for that were to make three Gods Secondly They deny Christ to be God and Man in one Person and Christ to be a distinct Person from the Father and they acknowledge such a Christ as unchrists Christ and when they say Christ manifest in the Flesh they mean not as the Scripture but fallaciously Answ. We say according to the Scripture of Truth and not according to thy Fallacy that In the man Christ did the fulness of the God-head dwell and God was in Christ reconciling the World unto himself and he saith I and my Father are one and the Father the Son and the Spirit subsist in one Eternal Power Life and Glory which thou with all thy stupid Generation are Ignorant of and that Christ we acknowledge is such a Christ as is able to save to the utmost them that come unto him and receive him and believe in him and is such a Christ as is able to raise them that have been Dead and such a Christ giveth eternal Life to them that believe And so that Christ that we own doth not un-christ Christ but by your Doctrine who plead Imperfection and the continuation thereof and a continuation in Sin for term of Life as one of thy own said Sin will dwell in the House till the House he pull'd down speaking of the natural Body which some other of thy own Generation have called the Body of Sin and so it is you that hold such a Christ as un-christ's the true Christ in thy own Words and when didst thou enter into our Thoughts and into our Heart or with what dost thou search that thou sitst as Judge over the Heart who knowest not Judgment in thy self nor what Spirit thou art of and so thy lyes and deceit are turned upon thee when we say Christ manifest in the Flesh we say that Holy thing which was brought forth and born of a Virgin and Conceived of the Holy Ghost in whom the fulness of the God-head dwells in whom the Eternal Power of the Father was manifested that he was the Christ which was manifested in the Flesh and Justified in the Spirit Preached among the Gentiles seen of Angels and received up into Glory and this is according to the Scripture of Truth and thy Judgment must be judged Thirdly Concerning the Scripture considered as the Rule of Life They deny the Scripture or written word to be the rule of Life and they make the Spirit without the Scripture to be their guide they account Church instituted Worship and waiting upon God for the Efficacious presence and Operation of the Spirit of Grace in the Ministry of the Word and Sacrament for Conversion and Edâ—fication to be Idolatry and the Political order of Church Officers and Members they affirm to be an Image Answ. Concerning the Scripture we say they are Scriptures of Truth and words of Truth spoken from the Spirit of Truth that which gave them a being is greater then they as he that Creates is greater then they that are Created which is perferred above and before and yet no Diminishing or Detracting from the Creature so the Spirit is greater above and before the words and yet this doth not Diminish neither Derogate from the Scripture these and the like sound Words we have spoken to thy deaf Generation yet a Spirit of slumber being upon them all they could not hear that which gives Life and bringeth to Life and preserves in the Life is a rule and a Guide to them that are enlightned the Sons of God who were quickned by the Eternal Spirit of their Father and of Christ and raised from Death to Life this was their rule as it is written as many as are the Sons of God are led by the Spirit of God and we say it is a sufficient rule of
not believing but Hereticks turbulent Hereticks we believe belong unto him to punish and who must be Judge of turbulent Hereticks is not an Heretick an Unbeliever and if the Magistrate ought not to punish an Unbeliever then not a Heretick for a Heretick is an Unbeliever and they who are in the Power Authority of God can deny such a one and judge him out by the Power of God there is his Punishment according to that which thou callst Gospel-institution and beyond that or any further Act upon such a one we do not read of in all that which is call'd the New Testament neither that Christ his Apostles or any of the true Churches or Officers or Believers ever commanded or commended or exhorted any to stretch forth their Hand against the Person of any who were Hereticks really so and Blasphemers really so and therefore see there â—s neither Command Precept nor Example doest not thou wretchedly err in pressing on them which thou callest Believers to act such wretched Acts of Cruelty as you have done and thou vindicaâ—est them in tast â—ir Duty It 's true we read of the Beast and of the Dragon whâ— mâ—de Wâ—r against the Saints and killed them and of Mystery Bâ—bylon and of Sodom and Egypt where Christ was slain and the Witnesses slain now if thou wilt take these for Proofs and for a Ground thou mâ—yest and so all thy twisting and twining and vain Arguments fall to the Ground and doth not the Church of Rome account all you as Hereticks and is not their Judgement that they ought to punish you wiâ—h corporal Punishment and is not this your Judgement also page 78. that the Magistrate ought to proceed gradually That is to inflict Punishment by Degrees with lingring Tortures like their Inquisitions and wherein doth thy Doctrine differ from theirs in this take them to thee and thy Doctrine for thou art but a Stem sprung out of the same Root and actest from the same Principle and yet I tell thee and all the World I am not pleading for any matter of Fact or for Breakers of the Law that is righteous for the Law is good if a Man use it lawfully it is against Murderers Man-stealers and Stealers of the Creatures for Idolaters and Defrauders and Cheaters and every Act or Fact deserves punishment suitable to the Transgression now had it not been more reasonably done of thee to have produced the Fact of the Quakers in New-England which hath deserved all these bâ—rbarous Tortures then to declare them and publish them as Offenders in Matters of Fact and have none to lay to their charge and I challenge thee and the rest of thy Adherents to produce some matters of fact which the Quakers have done which is contrary to any righteous Law of God or else own your Condemnation and repent and thou must not think that this poor Tract of thine which is full of Deceit and Confusion Error Blasphemy and Madness though thou publish it by the Appointment of the General Court that it will cover your Wickedness or hide you from being discovered to moderate People neither will shelter you in the Day of the Lord. And thou say'st It concerneth New-England alwayes to remember that originally they are a Plantation Religious the Profession of Purity of Doctrine Worship and Discipline is written upon your Fore-heads that after New-England hath now shined Twenty Years should now go out in the Snuff of Moralianism Answ. There was something amongst some of you but you fled the Cross as I told you before and so that Spirit which persecuted you in the Bishops Time got up in your selves and that which once you had while you were under Affliction here you have lost not only the Pâ—wer of Godliness but the Form thereof and also of sound Words and now as to matter of Religion it is rather become a Place of Ostridges Owles and Satyrs and for Purity of Doctrine Worship and Discipline written in your Fore-heads if it must be tried by your Rule and if it be the same Twenty Years that it is now I have not heard more of Unsoundness in Doctrine Worship and Discipline which I have read on in many Ages but especially in the Scripture and truly your shining now is turned into Blackness and your Sun is set and your day is darkness and your Light is gone out as the Snuff of a Candle because this man boasts of their Doctrine Worship and Discipline take a few things out of many and behold them in the Light of the Lord and compare them with the Scripture and so I leave them to thy Judgment 1. First speaking of the Trinity he saith God is a distinct Subsistance from the Son and the Spirit and that the Son is distinct Subsistance from the Father and the Spirit in the nineth Page and because it is said The Father shall give you another Comforter this another he saith is intelligible of the Essence so then the Son is a distinct Subsistance and Essence from the Father and the Spirit is a distinct Subsistance and Essence from the Father and the Son so here are three distinct Essences 2. And that the Spirit of God without the Letter is no Spirit that which obligeth a Man to obey a Command of God is one Power and that which strengthens him and enables him to obey is aâ—othâ—r Power page 12. and that Christs Words in Joh. 17.22 give an uncertain Sound which are these That they may be one as we are one 3. That Scripture is a perfect Rule of Life but not without Consequences 4. That Thomas and Mary are no where mentioned in Scripture neither are commanded Obedience nor forbidden Disobedience contrary to Joh. 20.16 17.27 5. That that Light which teacheth a Man there is a God and to worship God and that Parents are to be honoured and that a Man shall not lye nor steal and that which discovers the Creator his Eternity and Omnipotency is to be construed in Opposition to spiritual Light and contra-distinct to the Light of the Spirit pag. 16. 6. That the Light which is in every Man hath much miscarried whilest that it is mannaged by the reigning Power of Darkness pag. 17. 7. That that which lets a Man see that he should not do to others what he would not have others do unto him and shews a Man ought not to steal nor to lye and that which discovers Eternity and Omâ—ipotency this iâ—deed saith he is Darkness it is worse then gross Darkness pag. 18. 8. Christ enlightens no Man wâ—th the Light of Life but them that are so and so qualified 9. That the Gospel is a Constitution or Effect tempered of the Grace of God and the Blood of Christ. 10. That the visible Political Churches Political Officers Political Worship and Administrations are Gospel-Institutions or appointed by Christ pag. 41. 11. That there is Policy in Heaven pag. 42. 12. Pastors and Teachers are Political Church-Officers 13. That the Lord's Supper is
more for fear of Wrath and to please Men then to serve and please the Living God whose Throne is established in the Heavens whose Kingdom is over all how be it Man whose Eyes were Blind the Sons of Adam in Transgression in the fallen State know not the Kingdom nor his Throne further then by report and hear-say and Traditions and Customs though by him Kings Rule and Princes Decree Justice yet few do know him who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords the God of the whole Earth neither do they know that in themselves in which Justice is decreed who are rather continuing Ruling in an usurperd Estate then ruling in the Power of the Lord which would be a Terror to Evil-doers but fallen Man calls well-doing Evil and Evil good and so Judges and Rules according to that in his own Eyes so punishes and afflicts them who do that which is evil as it appeareth in his eyes though it be good in the eyes of the Lord. And upon this Account the Righteous have suffered and such as are dear unto the Lord have been made a prey of through many Generations from Cain downward who slew his Brother and who are in the first birth Born of the Flesh judge that Evil which is born of the Spirit and their Wayes evil who walk in the Spirit and their Worship evil who worship in the Spirit and thus many Kings of Judah and Israel made the Righteous Seed to suffer when they were revolted from the Lord then they set up their own Imaginations Decrees and Laws to be observed who laid the Commandments of the Lord waste and made Havock of them that kept them and caused such to suffer as Evil-doers and as Traytors as Factious and Rebellious in the sight of all the People as Jeroboam Ahab Ahaziah Rehoboam and divers others and the Princes and Dukes of Edom made War against Jacob and his Seed unto which the Promise was and the Blessing was and so accounted them vile that were pretious in the sight of the Lord and reckoned them Righteous that were vile in the Eyes of the Lord. And since the Kingdom of Heaven hath been Preached and Christianity the Name thereof hath been in Reputation and the Gospel hath been published abroad and the Uncircumcised have got the Sound and the unregenerate have got the Fame and the Unconverted have got the Name of Christians and yet alwayes turn against them that were in the Nature of Christ these have made the Righteous to suffer and killed the Children of the free-Woman the true Church the Lamb's Wife And know ye this that since Christ hath been Preached and since the true Church hath been brought forth there hath been a great falling away by many from the Faith which was once delivered to the Saints by which Faith they had Victory over the World and Conquered spiritual Enemies and overcame the Grave and witnessed Victory over it Now the Words of them which had this Faith are retained and the Form of the out-side Practices was held for a while but the Power was denyed And Paul saw many such getting up to a Head and growing into a Body in his time who had the Form but denyed the Power who subverted whole Houses who were covetous and Heady and high-Minded then and lovers of Pleasures more then lovers of God and this kind of false Apostles and Satan's Messengers and false Prophets that Christ said should come Mat. 24. and John saw already come in that Age and Peter Jude and divers others wrote of and yet these were Preachers of the Name of Christ and got the form of Words and the Name of Gospel and yet denyed the Lord that bought them and redeemed them as in 2 Peter 2.1 to wit him in whom was Life and the Life was the Light of men Thus they denyed the true Light that lighteth every man that cometh into the World and yet would be preaching up the Name of Christ and Jesus in Words but denyed the Life which is a Mystery and many followed their Pernicious wayes by whom the Truth was Evil-spoken of these were Enemies to the Cross of Christ which mortifies the Deeds of the Flesh and so lived in the Flesh and yet had the good Words the Sheeps cloathing the out-side but were Erred and ravened from the Spirit greedy after filthy Lucre greedy after Covetousness and worldly Honours greedy after Pleasures and these false Teachers went out into the World from the Light and from the Life and fellowship of the Gospel which is a Mystery and from the Saints Communion and from the Apostles fellowship and from The true Church in God the Ground and Pillar of Truth and then withstood the Apostles and spoke all manner of Evil of them and falsely accused them to be in Bondage and these separated themselves and crept into Houses and lead many away Captive and Captivated their Understanding Captivated the minds of those that were laden with Sin and divers Lusts who were ever learning but never came to the Knowledge of the Truth in which the discerning is And these became great Teachers and the whole World went after them and proselyted many into their false Faith which was Fained and into that Hope which was but as a Spider's webb and into a Profession of Christianity without the Life of Christ and those went into the World and those that were in the Perishing state wondered after them and admired them and set them up who admired them because of Advantage and received them and so held up one another in Deceit and so grew into a Body and got the Name of a Church though they were adulterated from the true Faith and run away from Christ the true Husband after other Lovers and yet because the Name of Christ and Christianity had a good Sound therefore they retained the Name for a Cloak that they might not be discovered And so many Children and false Christians which were not begotten and Born again of the Light Immortal and of the Immortal Word of Life were brought forth and these were adulterated Children and Children of Fornication and Children of falshood who would Lye as the Prophet said as the Mother was so was the Daughter and so are the Children And here did the false Church and false Members arise and false Christians and false Children grew Numerous in so much that they spread themselves over Nations Kindreds Tongues Languages and People and so came to be a Universal Visible Church though indeed an deceitful and abominable Harlot who spread her Feet unto every one that passed by as it is easie to make appear neither did she retain long the Practice and form of the true Apostles but joyned themselves to the Heathen and took in their Practice and mixed themselves with the Jewish Worship and took in their Types Figures Shadows Dayes Fasts and Feasts and mixed all these things together and at last called those Inventions the Apostolick Institutions and Ordinances
worshipping falsly he is to this Day under the Anti-christian Reign who hath exalted himself and sets himself in the Temple of God and sits as Judge thereof that which belongs only to the Lord 's Christ and so intrenches upon the Soveraignity which belongs to Christ the King of Righteousness and such will do Violence to the Subjects of Christ's Kingdom Therefore all Kings Princes and Potentates of the Earth who profess the Name of Christ Jesus cast off those heavy Yoaks which the false Church and Harlot have perswaded you to put your Necks in only to raise her City and to put off her Merchandize and to make the Church of the free Woman the Church of Christ suffer and this above all Things hath brought great Detriment and Hurt unto you Princes and People of Germany for they have been led by a blind Zeal to do that which they have been perswaded unto by her which hath sate as a Queen and as the Lady of Kingdoms and a Mistress over God's Houshold to do that which hath provoaked the Lord against them whereby their Dominions have been rent from them and many of the dear Lambs have causelesly suffered and many of their Subjects have been evily entreated and some have been put to Death so thereby have lost the Hearts of the People by such Actings only to satisfie the blood-thirsty Mind of her that hath drunk the Blood of the Saints Therefore ye Kings and Princes of the Earth and Emperours and all People who have been beguiled through the falshood and Sorceries of this false Church who have Drunk of her Cup of Fornication and have given your Strength and Power to the Beast and so have wrought their Works and not the Lord's shake off the Yoak from off your Necks and draw back your Authority and Power that you have given to the Beast who hath Killed and compelled all to Worship him and all People to buy the Whore's Sorceries shake off her Inchantments and Witch-crafts and intanglements and stand upon your own Legs and come to wait upon the Lord and upon the Light of the Lord which you are lighted withal that so you may answer God's End and rule for the Lord and keep Peace among all People under your Dominions and then it will be easier for you to do that when you leave all men's Consciences free to the Lord and every man to that of God in him according to which every man must be judged and then People will be more ready to obey your just Commands which are for Peace and Prosperity which are for the welfare of a Nation and Country for since the Apostles dayes the Apostacy hath come and covered them and many People have been forced into a Worship and unto Services and unto a Religion by outward compulsary Laws and by the outward Sword and great Penalties and Imprisonments if not subject to their Commands and all this hath come up since the Apostles and spread it self over Kindreds Tongues and Nations in the mid-Night of Darkness have many Countryes been vassaled and this I testifie you all that this is no true Christian Religion nor in Christ's way search diligently and read through the Writings of the Apostles and Saints in the Primitive time and see if ever the true Church of Christ or the Ministers thereof Christ or his Apostles gave any such Commandment or did ever lay any such injunction upon they that believed Rulers or Governours or others as to force or compel them to believe their Worship or Forced Killed or Banished them that Opposed but unto the contrary they Exhorted all and Commended every one to that in their own Consciences in the sight of God and so left them unto that which they knew would inform their Understandings and perswade their Minds and when they were informed and perswaded of the Truth of what was declared then they pressed Obedience not by any force or Awe but they knew that they which would not be Obedient unto that of God manifested in them they should be judged of the Lord and never have Peace and this brought down the disobedient and Rebellious Spirit and the Gâ—in-saying Spirit and yet saved the Creature alive and herein were the Ministers of the second Covenant more Excellent then the first Therefore Awake ye Princes of Germany out of the Spirit of Slumber and shake your selves out of your deep sleep which hath been upon you and wait upon the Light of the Lord in all your Consciences that you may come to see the day of the Lord God which is now a dawning and dawned that so you may distinguish between the Precious and the vile and also of every Work and Action and Worship you may truely discern of what sort and kind they are of for he that doth not Witness the quickening Spirit which enlivens the mind unto God and deads it unto Sin his Works actions and worship is but of a bad Sort these are the Works that must be burnt with Fire and that is the Worship which God is not pleased with which is performed from the earthly corrupt part in man by Tradition all this kind of Profession is God's Controversie against and this kind of Professors and this kind of false Church is God's Anger kindled against and hath been dishonered by this deceitful kind of Christianity and the Name of God hath been more dishonoured then by the Heathen who have not Professed any part of Christianity at all yea what wicked Barbarous Inhumanites have been brought forth by this false Church who got the form at the first and denyed the Power Oh! what Killing Murdering Blood-shed Persecuting Destroying the Creatures laying whole Nations desolate and whole Countries waste who could not conform to their Hypocrisie and invented Injuctions of Men Oh what Pride and Arrogancy Covetousness fraud and deceit Cosening and Cheating envying and hating Cursed speâ—king filthy Communications Oaths and Drunkenness and Riotousness Whoredoms and Uncleanness have been brought forth so aboundantly that the very Heathen are not found in the like Practices and well might they conclude if the God of the Christians be such an one as leads his People into such Practices then they would never believe in him nor Worship him in the Christians wayes for these Practices have hardned their Hearts and made them out of love with the Name of the Living God Oh! a bed of Torment is prepared for this Abominable Harlot who hath denyed Christ her Husband who hath enlightned every man that cometh into the VVorld with a Measure of his Light John 1. and the day hastens that her Flesh must be Burnt with Fire and all her Lovers shall hate her and the Kings and Nobles and mighty Men of the Earth which have committed Fornication with her shall withdraw their Love from her and assistance from her who have given their Power to her and so have made them selves as Waters so that it is Just with the Lord God to bring the Heathen and
a Service for such a Day and such a Worship for such a Day we find not in the first hundred Years after Christ. And for your Lent which one of your Fathers invented and this was his Ground because God had the tenth of the increase of Tythes due to himself and for his Ministers under the Law therefore it was necessary that the tenth part of Dayes should be allowed as Tythes to the Lord Oh! Gross ignorance and palpable Blindness mid-Night it self came upon you in the time of your Visibility when the True Church was fled into the Wilderness As though the Lord was not the Lord of all Dayes and as though all dayes were not his and to be used to his Glory And your prohibiting Meats and distinguishing of Meats one Holy for such a day another for such a day Flesh one day and Fish another day as though there were not the Flesh of Fish or one thing were clean and another Unclean And this invented Trumpery hath been observed for Catholick and Apostolick Doctrine but by whom we must needs tell you by the Nations Kindreds and Tongues and People upon which the Whore sits and out of which the Beast rose And we will grant you antiquity enough this many hundred Years and yet we will prefer the Primitive Times before you and bring their Doctrine and Practice to reprove you though we do not desire to go in Cain's Way and to kill Creatures that are out of the Doctrine of Christ and contrary to Apostolick and Catholick Doctrine which wrestled not with Flesh and Blood but with spiritual wickedness whose Weapons were not carnal but spiritual and yet they hâ—d great might in them and threw down by these weapons that which never could be by carnal 2 Cor. 10.4 Again your forbidding to Marry which is reckoned by the Apostles Doctrine to be a Doctrine of Devils and contrary unto that the Apostle's Doctrine was Marriage is Honourable in all Estates the Bâ—d undefiled Heb. 13.4 And seeing you plead Peter was at Rome and Peters Chair and that the Bishop of Rome doth succeed him and hath the Keys as Peter had Why do you exclude the chief Bishops as you account them from Marrying and divers other Orders seeing Peter had a Wife and seeing that it is Catholick and Apostolick Doctrine before you could claim the Name of visible Church that a Bishop should be the Husband of one Wife and should not be Covetous nor no striker nor given to Wine nor filthy Lâ—cre c. But since the Bishop of Rome hath Appropriated to himself to be the Head of the Church and the chief-Bishop over all â—he Catholick Church it hath been manifested how much covetousness and covetous Practices have been Acted as Money for Pardons and Indulgences and get Money for the living and the dead and the invented Purgatory hath filled your Coffers and your Meritorious works have been Sold at a dear rate Insomuch that a poor Woman who hath lost her Husband and he deceased must pay ten Shillings for a mortuary that he may be Prayed for or some of your Merits may be accounted to him which you have in store as a Stock to sell to any who come with a Prize in their Hands And from whence have you all these Tythes have you not borrowed them of the Jews and yet you are no Jews and such things we do not read among the Jews were Tythable Pigs Eggs Hens and Geese to omit greater matters and the Smoak passing up the chimneys and that which you call your Peter-Pence And this is contrary to the Catholick and Apostolick Doctrine which Peter would have been ashamed to ever have mentioned either amongst Jews or Gentiles And now I would ask you a Question or two seeing John saw the true Church flee into the Wilderness the Woman that was cloathed with the Sun who brought forth the Man-child what cause have you to boast of Visibility or Universality Now when were you in the Wilderness if your Church hath not been so then it Demonstrates that your Church is not the Woman cloathed with the Sun for she did fly into the Wilderness as with the Wings of an Eagle Secondly Whether hath your Gospel been universally publickly preached these sixteen hundred Years or nay And is it the very same that was Preached in the first hundred or two hundred Years seeing that John saith that all Nations did drink of the Whore's cup of Fornication And then Nations were Waters seeing he saith the Gospel shall be preached again to Nations Kindreds and Tongues which clearly demonstrates there was a time when the everlasting Gospel was not preached to the Kindreds Tongues which are the Waters upon which your Church is Situated And it is evidently manifested that yours hath been another Gospel then that which was preached in the Apostolick Church and in the Catholick Church the first hundred or two hundred Years after Christ was manifested in the Flesh Much might be said to Demonstrate the Truth which is in Hand that there hath been an Apostacy the Beginners thereof came forth in the Apostles dayes and afterwards grew into a Body and became like a great Sea which according to the best Ecclesiastical writerâ— which have given a Narrative of the first five hundred Years declared that there was great loss within 300. Years but in five hundred Years or less the very Power of Godliness was denyed and very much of the Form And though your pleads Antiquity for a Thousand Years for these things aforementioned which they would be hard to prove For although it should be granted them yet we will joyn issue with them in this thing and are able to prove all these Doctrines and Practices not to be as it was in the first two hundred Years except they will own such as taught the Doctrine of Balaam and taught the Doctrine of Devils and went in Cain's and Chore's Way for an Example It were not hard to prove the introducing of all these things before mentioned and how they have come in by degrees one Council that rose out of the Waters ordaining this another ordaining that and so have risen up into this great Body of Darkness some of the Practices borrowed from the Jews and some from the Heathen and some invented of themselves in latter Ages so that the Worship that was in the Spirit and in Truth in Christ's and the Apostles dayes is turned from and such a numberless Number of vain Traditions Ave-maries Creeds and Pater-nosters and such a deal a do as there is about their unbloody Sacrifice of the Mass that they are glad to be counted by their beads on strings as many very well know By all that which hath been said may easily be Collected that there hath been a great Deviation and Apostacy from the Doctrine and Practice of the Primitive times thus far as I am descended I leave it to the Reader to judge and compare these things with the Churches Doctrine and
not been spoken and preached bought and sold as a Gospel not only in the church of Rome but also among them that are separated from her even until now this hath been preacht to Nations Kindreds Tongues and People and if the writings be the everlasting Gospel then how doth John say or why did he so say that the everlasting Gospel should go forth again and be preacht again after the Apostacy or to bring out of the Apostacy But it clearly implies the Word had been preached and published and the temporary Writings which were given forth at divers times had been preached up for Gospel these many Hundred Years which many have received by tradition but the Power of God and the Gift of God by which and from which the Ministers of Christ in all Ages ministred hath been wanting if not altogether lost for the most part among them that are called Christians then what is the Quarrel betwixt you and the Romanists it is but in translation at the most and while words translations and Versions have been contented about the everlasting Gospel hath been hid therefore all People are upon heaps and the Nations like waters rowling up and down in Instability now the reformed Ministry so called are in many things in the same practice with the former You deny an immediate Call and set up an outward Ordinatiâ—n and a Form of laying on of Hands without the holy Ghost ordaining such and such who have some Skill in natural Tongues or some Words of Oratory to be a subject matter to make Ministers upon and that which they preach in Words which hath been long held in the Form without the Life you call the Gospel and these are confined to a Parish as the former to such a Cloyster and such a Monastery and these preach for hire and Gifts and Rewards and for Maintenance and kept up all the aforesaid Wayes and maintenance as lawful and will make People believe it is according to Gospel-Institution when alas it is but the Pope's Tythes Oblations Obventions Mortuaries and Prayers for the dead keeping up the Wages but deny the Work And Tythe of all things as Pigs and Geese Hens and Egs Apples and Cherries and Turnips and all nothing excepted this is a feeble thing as to hold out to People for Gospel-maâ—ntenance and the Preachers of the Gospel are ashamed of it Furthermore they that will not give it sue them at Law throw them into holes till they dye take away ten-fold that which is claimed say the man is not subject to Gospel order denieth Ministers Maintenance this hath been Crime enough to take away the Estates and Lives of Men all this is in the Apostacy And seeing it is said we are under a Gospel Administration and Ordinances what do you wiâ—h Organs Whistlers and Pipes in any part of your Services this pertained to the Jews and not to the primitive Church and what do you do with Surplices Tippets and Hoods and other strange kind of Garments it may be the high-Priest's Garments or the Priest's Linnen Ephod or linnen Breeches must be brought in for a Gospel-proof and for an Apostolick Ordinance and what do you with the Pope's Lent and why should the Pope's Lent be among the reformed Protestants churches forbidding Meats and Drinks and why forbidding Marriage in Lent and who ordained these Dayes what have they been borrowed from the Heathen or are they looked upon to be such Dayes as used to be cited in the Calender for the Dog-dayes which have been brought from the Heathen stand to this Day in too much credit among Believer so called And why is one Day preferred before and above another and some counted holy-Dayes as though some others were unholy-dayes and why such a Collect and such a Gospel and such a Chapter and such a Psalm mincing and cutting and severing the Scripture in Pieces and Shreds Is this like Apostolick Doctrine truly Friends many things we have to say if you had an Ear to hear and that upon good Ground we can speak that we look upon all these things to be feeble and poor and beggerly things and have no agreement or congruity with the primitive times And should People be limited or stinted to such a certain Form of words called Service or Prayer and divine Worship was that ever reckoned divine Worship that was not from the divine Spirit But it may be you will say the Words are good or some of them I am not speaking about Words but the Spirit from which every Service ought to be performed to the Lord God and the primitive Christians prayed in the Spirit and with Understanding and sung with the Spirit and with Understanding 1 Câ—r 14.15 And there were some that knew not what to pray for as they ought but the Spirit helped their Infirmities Rom. 8.26 But you know what to pray for and how much must be said on such a Day or such a time and if there be a Homily or a Sermon Letany must be missed Now I say if it be divine Worship or any thing wherein God is honoured and the People bettered nothing of it ought to be wanting But these things the primitive times do not countenance but when the power was lost and the Life gone from and the Spirit erred from these things have come into the latter dayes which have been very perillous times as to them who have kept the Apostolick Faith and in the Order of the Primitive Church Many more things we could instance which are practised as for Discipline and Order and some for Necessity which have no Affinity or union at all with the primitive Churches but rather are things which are too near of kin unto her that sits as a Queen upon the Waters whose Flesh must be burnt with Fire who hath drunk the Blood of the Saints and how many of the Lord's servants have suffered in and about these things not only in the Church of Rome but also by them which have been called reformed many have known and are living Witnesses thereof And all these Temples Bells Hour-glasses Pulpits and Cushions Altars Tables and Fonts which are things that pertain not to them that look they are come out of the Apostacy but the spiritual minded see over them and beyond them and before these things and also see through the Spirit of prophecy the time when they shall be no more adored worshipped and honoured but God shall be feared in the hearts of the Sons of men and Glory shall be given to him and he shall be worshipped in Spirit and in Truth as he was in the Primitive Times when the Beast and the false Prophet and they that wrought Miracles before him and all they that have cryed who is able to make War with the Beast and have cryed worship him all must be taken alive remember that alive in their Strength and cast into the Lake and the Mother of Harlots shall be made desolate her Cup of Fornication thrown
under Foot the Kings of the Earth shall deny it and to give their Strength any longer to the Beast and then shall that be fulfilled Rejoyce ye Prophets and holy men of God and ye that have suffered for the Hour of his Judgement is come and as she hath served the Saints so shall she be served and rewarded double and the day hastens and the times and Seasons we see and know as God hath made them manifest The man-child is descended again who hath right to rule the Nations with a Rod of Iron and break the ungodly in pieces as a Potters Vessell and stamp the residue of his Enemies under his Feet And the Church is coming out of the wilderness again who leans upon the Breast of her beloved who is cloathing her again with Beauty instead of Ashes and putting upon her again the beautiful Garments of Glory and Excellency even his own Righteousness and they that see it their Hearts shall be made glad and their Souls rejoyce in God and their Flesh rest in Hope for the time is come when she must appear again which hath been retired and hid in a Place which God had prepared for her while the false church sate a Queen and the Apostates as Princes and their Merchandise sold at dear rates but their Jâ—y shall be turned into Mourning and alas alas shall be the cry of them thâ—t have been in Glory with her for her Frankincense Odours and sweet Perfumes and Scarlet and Purple and Gold and Silver and Wood and Tin and Iron and Brass none will buy any more none of 〈◊〉 â—amb's Followers nor none of the true Church's Children who worship God in the Spirit and have no confidence in the Flesh neither in any outward Appearance but in the hidden Life of God but in the immortal Life which he hath brought to light through his blessed Gospel which he hath caused to be published again the â—oyful Sound whereof many captives have heard and are glad and a numberless Number shall hear the joyful Sound thereof and shall enquire after the Brightness of the rising of the Sun Therefore all Apostates Hills and Mountains make room make Way the Lord is risen in Power and in Glory which shall dazle the Eyes of all the Earthly and shall extinguish and put out the very Brightness and the Glory of all invented worships in the apostatized ages and shall bring them that believe in the everlasting Gospel to Stability to the Rock of ages to the Valley of Achor to Mount Sion to the Blessing of the everlasting Hills and blessed are they that hear and believe and waite to be made Partakers of that which the Lord is about to do in the Earth as he hath shewed and foreshewed to his Servants the Prophets CHAP. IV. Now a few Words to shew unto all how they may come out of the Apostacy to be Members of the true Church which is in God the Lamb's Wife SO far as God did appear in any Age or Generation or manifest himself unto the Sons of Men in any Shadows Figures Representations or outward Appearances the evil Spirit and Serpents Seed and Evil-doer alwayes took up the Form of the Thing when it came into Reputation as largely might be demonstrated and instanced through all Ages and Generations till the Closure of the Apostles Writings something whereof hath been briefly hinted at before so in this I shall be very brief The Jews held up the Types and Figures of the first Covenant and the Ordinances thereof and opposed Christ the Light the everlasting Covenant and also the Publishers thereof Moreover when the Name of Christ came to be spread abroad then false Apostles and deceitful Workers who were Enemies to the Cross and to the Power of God they preached Christ out of Contention and Envy and for filthy Lucre and by wicked Practices made the Name of Christians odious among the Heathen as it is this Day and caused the worthy Name by which the Saints were saved to be blasphemed by their ungodly Practices Rom. 2.24 When the Apostle gather'd together many that believ'd and setled them in the Order of the Gospel and the Order came well to be accounted of and the Conversation of the Saints of good Account amongst many divers false Prophets and deceitful Workers got up and as the Apostles met in Houses and the Saints met together in Houses the false Apostles they crept into Houses and held the Form as I said before and denyed the Power and they were to be turned away from by the Apostle's Exhortation to Timothy Now since the true Church fled into the Wilderness the false Church came into Visibility and to sit as a Queen upon the Waters the Nations and Peoples other things have been brought in other things are brought in and invented which were not constitutions of Christ or the primitive Churches and these the World hath wondered after in the dark Night of Apostacy and the Worship hath been made up and compacted partly from the Jews Worship partly from the Heathen and partly from themselves being corrupted and the Scriptures perverted every Way to prove all this Deceit Now many have judged to relinquish the former superstitious Practices and to come and to take up the Form and Practice again in the outward as it was in the Apostles Dayes is to come out of the Apostacy let all know this the outward Court of the City was given to be trodden under Foot of the Gentiles to pollute and defile it and many may wait there and look there in the polluted Court and in the outside that hath been defiled and many may visit the Sepulchre and wait for Christ when he is risen and so look for him to appear in that which he is risen out of the Jews at their Temple when it is left desolate the Crhistians so called may glory in their outward Court though it be defiled and so defiled as God will not appear there again for he hath another Way manifested himself unto the Sons of Men. And now that Worship that God requires that Service that he requires and that Glory wherein he will manifest himself is and will be in the Spirit which all People are to wait for which come to witness Restoration and to come to the End of the Night of Error to the Bride the Lamb's Wife again Now a Measure of God's Spirit being given to every one to profit withal which shews them Sin and Transgression and will lead out of it which shews formal Worship and how Deceit hath transformed into them and leads them that believed in it out of that which is polluted and out of Deceit to Christ the sure Foundation and mighty Power of God and to know God's Peace and Good-will to all Men And that which must restore all People and bring them out of the Apostacy into Purity and to have Fellowship with the Father and the Son and one with another as it was in the primitive times
to magnifie the glorious commendation of Martyrs made a Statute that a yearly Oblation should be had in memorial of them and Gregory would that Mass should be said over their Tombs or Graves now Priests read the original of your service over the Graves of the dead and see if this be Apostolical The Fast of Wednesday and Fryday was appointed the one day Christ was crucified and on Wednesday Judas purposed in his Mind to betray him Gregory was he that ordained that neither Flesh Gregory appointed nor any thing that had affinity with it as Cheese Milk Butter Eggs should not be eaten on such days as were Fasts and here came in this Doctrine of Devils Soul-mass-day this was begun by Odilo that was Provost or Provincial of Cluniacensis Order upon the Occasion he heard about Etna the burning Mountain of Sicily oftentimes great Lamentations and Cryings and Weepings were heard which he supposed to be the Weepings of evil Spirits that bewailed because the Souls of dead men were taken from them by the Petitions and Sacrifices of well-disposed Christians therefore he appointed his Covent to make a general Oblation for All-Souls the next Day after the Feast of All-Saints and this great Institution was ordained about the Year 1002. and so all whose Eyes God hath opened will see all this Heap of Invention hath been practisee since the Beast rose out of the Sea and the Whore hath sate upon the Waters which is since the Apostles Dayes CHAP. X. Concerning Priests Vestures and Belâ—s which are practised among Christians as Apostolick Institutions THE Jews high Priests had Vestments and the rest of the Priests who offered Sacrifices and Oblations at the Temple and Tabernacle Lev. â— 6 7 8 9. 13. And Aaron the Priest had a Coat girded with a Girdle and clothed him with a Robe and put a linnen Ephod upon him and put a Breast-plate upon him and a Mitre upon his Head and Aaron's Sons had Coats with Girdles and Bonnets as was commanded by the Lord and in chap. 16.4 and he put on a linnen Coat and linnen Breeches with a Coat and Mitre and girded it with a Linnen Girdle and these were the holy Garments and these Garments were to be put off in the Holy Place and divers other Garments and Vestments which were worn by the Priest about the Temple-Worship and Sacrifice which were Shadows of better things and of more holy Garments but this was in the first Covenant that made nothing perfect which was faulty and was to continue until the time of Reformation But Christ being come and offered up all Shadows had an End and they preached up the everlasting Offering and him who offered up himself once for all Now Christ sent out his Disciples without great Provision as to Attire for they were to take neither Staff nor Sâ—rip nor Shoes nor Money nor Brass in their Purses and yet they were to go among them that were like Wolves renting and tearing devouring and destroying and there was no great Likelihood of obtaining any earthly thing from such while in that Nature but the Apostles liâ—ed by Faith Mat. 10.9 10. and Luke 10.3 4. and they were not to take two Coats and the Apostle in his Travails was often in Necessities in Hunger and Cold and Nakedness and did not go in costly Array nor in disguised Habits but in his old Age wore sometimes a Cloak among the Churches which he sent for to Troas an ordinary Garment 2 Cor. 4 8 9 10. 6.4 to ver 11. 2 Tim. 4.13 and John the Baptist who was a great Prophet had a Coat made of Hair and a leathern Girdle about his Lyons Mat. 2.3 and the primitive Christians wandered up and down in Sheep-Skins and Goat-skins being destitute of whom the World was not worthy Heb. 11.37 38. But after the Apostles Decease deceitful Workers and evil Beasts and they that abode not in the Doctrine and Ordinances of Christ went out into the World and the World went after them and so lost both Power and Form of Godliness and invented things some from the Heathen and much from the Priests under the Law Sextus the first commanded that the Corporis should be of linnen Cloath only and that of the finest and purest and forbad that Lay-men should handle the hallowed Vessels and namely Women were prohibited hallowing the Priests Vestures and Altars and Cloathes Diversity of Vestures of sundry Orders were much what taken from the Example of the Hebrew Priesthood was practised and ordained by Stephen Bishop of Rome and Sabinianus decreed first that the People should be assembled together to hear Service at certain hours by ringing of Bells and John the 22d Bishop of Rome ordained that Bells should be tolled every day three times and that then every man should say three times Ave-Mary as Polidore saith Lib. 6. The Invention of Bells was from Imitation of the Hebrews because the high Priest had in the Skirts of his uppermost Garments little Bells to ring when he was in the holy Place within the Vail And the Banners and Trophies which are hung up in Churches were taken from the Heathen which did bear them to signifie the conquest of their Enemies these have been set up in the Churches so called by some of the Bishops of Rome to declare as they said the Triumph of Christ over Death and Hell Now all Nations who are called Christians look to your original and from whence these Practices have risen and those things are continued even amongst the Protestant Churches are either from the Jews or from the Heathen or from the apostatized Bishop of Rome long after the days of the Apostles and so these Hoods and Surplices and Caps and Bonnets and Cowls and Tippets and Miters and Canonnical-Coats and Girdles and divers strange attires it is like to prove these things we must have Aaron's Breeches brought in and the linnen Ephod and his Son's Girdles and Coats and Bonnets and the high Priest's Mitre and all these Candlesticks for a Gospel-proof CHAP. X. Concerning Mattens and â—inging of Pâ—alms by course in musical Tunes and Supplications and short Prayers called Letany THE Jews under the Law had many Officers which belonged to the temple-Temple-Worship among which were Singers as the Sons of Corah and the Sons of Asâ—ph and Eâ—rahites and the chief Musicians c. and divers Psalms were given forth by the Spirit of God by David and others upon several occasions sometimes after Victories and sometimes when he felt the Presence of God and the working of his Power and who were Eye-witnesses of his wondrous Works as the rest of Israel were many times as at the Dedication of the Temple and also when they came out of captivity Neh. 7.44 12.27.42 43. Psal. 149.3 150.3 4. and all these singers of Songs pertain to the Temple and the first Covenant and to that Priesthood which could not continue by reason of the Faultiness thereof Heb. 8.7
and because all these things did not make perfect aâ— pertaining to the Conscience and was to continue but for a time until the time of Reformation and then an End of the Temple Priests and Worship of the Singers and Porters and Organs and stringed Instruments as in matter of Worship an End was put to all these when he was offered up that perfecteth forever them that are sanctâ—fiâ—d And the Christians and true Believers in the Primitive times who had received the Spirit in which they did rejoyce in and with what Words the Spirit was pleâ—sed to utter and they thâ—t had received the holy Ghâ—st did joy in the holy Ghost and they that did sing sang in the Spiriâ— and with the Spirit and with Understanding from the feeling of the living which they had in their hearts of God's Preâ—ence and his Assurance and he that had a Psalm might sing but all thâ— Church did not sing together a Psalm was a Gift of the Spirit every one had it not there was diversity of Gifts and diversity of Operations Prophecy Interpretation and a Psalm were Gifts which were received from the Spirit and not by tradition 1 Cor. 14.15 Ephes. 5.19 James 5.13 And they that overcame and were redeemed from the Earth who had followed the Lamb who had given the Victory over Sin Death and they Grave the sang a new Song which none could learn but those whose Names were written in the Lamb's book of Life Rev. 1.2 3. 19.1 6. and these were the Songs of the Redeeâ—â—d which God had delivered out of their Enemies Hâ—nds and they were witnesâ—es of his wondrous Works and praised the Lord in the Spirit and with understâ—nâ—ing and did not get a Form of Words of Daviâ—'s Words which he spake after his Victories and Triumphs over his Enemies and also they prayed in the Spirit and with Understaning and spoke as it gave utterancâ— and as they were moved by the holy Ghost were not limited as how short or how long but aâ— the Spirit gave Utterrance and not limited to hours and set times but when the Spirit of God which they had received moved thereunto and then their Prayers were accepted and were as sweet Incense Rev. 5.8 8.3 4. and were not stinted to set hours but as they saw in the Wisdom of God and were moved by his Spirit But since the Apostacy that the Spirit hath been lost by many and the Power some of the Form retained and then they began to imitate three times a day and seven times a day but Mâ—ttens at set times and hours was appointed by Hierome as Polidore and others say Also the Heathen they had Mattens as Apuleus saith which they sung at divers times of the day and so sorted the Hours of the day for Sacrifices which they did offer unto their Idols Pelagius the second was the first that command-Priests to say them daily and said as the just man falleth seven times so by instant Prayers and Mattens he might as often rise and amend Urbanus the second ordained the Mattens called the Ladies Mattens to be said daily and confirmed them in a Council which he had at Mount Clear in France and Damasus Bishop of Rome gave Commandment that Mattens should be said or Sung in all Churches and added Gloria Patrito the end of every Psalm Damasus also instituted that Psalms should be said or sung by Course Damâ—sus also commanded that the Creed should be said every hour And Vitilianus invented the decent times wherewith the Hymns be Sung and joyned the Organs but there were divers and sundry manners of Prayers and Forms and Mattens and singing devised by many as Bennets Monks had one use and Bernard another and Dominicks Brethren had one order by themselves and every Provincial Bishop made a several use in his Diocess and all was confirmed by the Bishop of Rome Telesphorus appointed that Lent should be kept before Easter and added another Week to it which we call Quinquagâ—sima and this Week he commanded Priests to Fast more then the Laity and thus one runs into one Invention after another and hath brought in all this mountain of Darkness so that the Practice of these things since the Apostles dayes hath been much what corrupted and Imitation at the best without Life and are either from the Jews and their Worship or from the Heathen or from their own Inventions and Imaginations which are many in their Mattens and their Prayers that at last Beads were glad to be got to tell them and so all who view these things and see them to be in the Apostacy come out from among them and them that are joyned to Idols let them alone and keep your selves from them and compare but the Worship and Practice of the Primitive times in the Apostles dayes with all this which hath been brought in since part of which is here Demonstrated much more might be said but you will see that these Practices are not Apostolical neither agreeable with the purest times but People have been corrupted with them and made two-fold worse then before And as concerning the Mass and Letany which are used in many Congregations there hath been so many Authors about patching them up that they are almost past numeration but take a short hint of the forming of them up near unto the Apostles time although they did celebrate the Sacrament as it was called it was done with little mixture or Ceremony but only repeating the Words of Christ and after the Consecration they joyned to it the Pater-noster Celestinus ordained some Prayers that the Priest should say when he revesteth himself to Mass or putting on his Cloaths and began Juâ—ica me Domine c. And in the Church of Greece they sang when the People Assembled together Damasius instituted the confession at the Beginging of the Mass and Gorgius caused confession to be said nine times over in the Latine-Church Gregory in excelsis is ascribed unto Telesphorus and Hilarius and also Telesphorus ordained Epistles and Gospels and Damasiâ—s divided them as they are read at this Day in the reformed Churches and Anastâ—sius ordained that People should stand at the Gospel Marcus ordained the first Part of the Creed to be read after it was made by the Council of Nice and the second Part and Spiritum Sanctum that the Council at Constantinople composed Eutichianus instituted the Oâ—â—ertory to be sung while the People offerâ—d something to the poor Galesius mâ—de the Prefaces in the Beginning they used but one Ansekius added the Sanâ—â—us out of the Prophet Isaiah burning of Incense that which was occupied in the old Testament by Aaron and the Panims in their superstitious Rites Leo the third ordained it to be had in the Latine-church and privity of Mass called the common was made by divers Persons as Galatius made Te igitur Satitious added Communicantes and Alexander made Qui pridie Hanc igitur Leo joyned to
the Sunday Urbanus the seventeenth Bishop of Rome ordained church-yards to be hallowed and forbad Marriage of Priests Pontianus the eighteenth Bishop Ordained that Psalms and Mattens should be sung in Church Night and Day to drive away Evil Spirits Sixtus the twenty fourth Bishop in the Year 222. after Christ ordained that Priests should wear Holy Garments as Cuffs and divers others things in imitation of Aaron and then came up Surplices he commanded Images to be set up in Churches Foelix the twenty sixth Bishop of Rome ordained division of Parish churches and Diocesses to Bishops Leo the Emperour gave commandment that all Images and Pictures of Saints should be takenâ—out of the Churches for the avoiding of Idolatry but the Bishop of Rome withstood the Emperour the Emperour for his confirmation of taking of Images away called a Council of Bishops about three Hundred and thirty and they ordained and Decreed that all Images should be taken away and burned in the year 740. But in the Year 762. Gregory the third called a Council together at Rome near a thousand Bishops and condemned Leo the Emperor and three hundred Bishops for taking Images out of the Churches and yet the former Council and this all of one Faith and Church which they use to say could not Err and the latter Decreed they should be adored and Worshipped with all Reverence Boniface the eighth he gave License to Mendicant Fryars to hear the private Confession of Sins that People should confess to them Pope Alexander gave commandment that the Sacrament should be made of the Sweet Bread and commanded that Water should be mingled with Wine Innocentius the third ordained that People should confess their Sins to a Priest once a Year at the least And these kind of Decrees stand for Apostolical to this day among the Apostates and the Reformed churches so called do own many things that are too near a Kin to them and press them for Ordinances and Holy Institutions yea in many Countries the self-same Things are both owned and Practised in many Particulars which I have mentioned before in other parts of this Book and are looked upon as divine Service and holy Worship which the Ministers of Christ who have the Word of Reconciliation to publish are ashamed of knowing them to be such things as never was Practised nor holden out by Christ or his Apostles but are brought in since Darkness hath over-spread the Earth and the Power of God hath been lost And at the first Institution thereof though there might be some shew of a good Intention in the Formers of them but now they are become absolute Idols and however at the first some of these things mentioned might seem to some to be indifferent yet now being prest of Necessity as the Ordinances of God they are become Idols and ought to be thrown away and departed from by all that profess the Gospel of Christ Jesus and the Worship of God in the Spirit For the Lord God hath drawn away his presence out of all formal and visible Appearance since Anti-christ and the false church hath got them on for a Garment and to cover themselves withal to the deceiving of the Nations And now in this the day of his Power hath Appeared in a more Mysterious and secret and hidden way and in a more spiritual Appearance into this deceit cannot enter nor Transform therefore all Babylons Merchants are angry and Anti-christs followers are full of Wrath and the Dragon casts out floods after the heir and her that brings him forth and makes War with the Seed but the Lord is putting on her beautiful Garments and Marrying her to himself and she shall Reign and her Seed who are born of the Spirit when she that sat as a Queen upon the Waters shall have an End and the Dragon shall be laid hold on and Chained up and the Beast and false Prophet be cast into the Lake forever Blessed are they who keep in the Faith and Patience till these things be fulfilled their Hearts shall rejoyce and their Tonâ—ue Praise the Lord and Magnifie him whoâ—e Throne is established in the Heavens and his Kingdom is over all And although there was a defection from the Faith and Practice of the Apostles in the first two hundred Years after Christ yet doutless there were many who lived and died in the Faith and suffered as Martyrs in the time of the great Persecutions by the Heathen Emperors and many who could not nor did not Sacrifice to their Idols suffered Death and under-went cruel Torments by the Heathen who were in the Dragon's Power for the Testimony of a good Conscience for confession of Christ Jesus and although divers of the Bishops of Rome and other places did bring in things which they instituted as matter of Worship and so People were darkned by them yet in the ten Persecutions by the Heathen Emperours many suffered Death and Thousands of the christians besides but Deceit crept in by degrees and invented things were brought in by the Leaders of the People but these things that were invented were prest to be observed in their Diocesses and Parishes which they had made and sate down in but there was little compelling yet till the Dragon gave his Power to the Beast and it was 650 Years before ever the Bishops of Rome did climb up unto their height as to claim the Title of the Universal Bishop or head of the church or challenged Supremacy over all christian Churches yet before this time abundance of Darkness was entred in and the Power was much lost and divers innovations were brought in for Ordinances divers of the Jews ceremonies and divers of their Institutions which belonged to the first Priest-hood and these were prest upon the Churches by several Leaders or Bishops as Apostolick Ordinances which had no concurrence with the Primitive church in the first hundred Years after Christ as hereafter may be shewn in divers things wherein they were Apostatized from the Life and Power of God and from the Practice of the Saints mentioned in the Scripture and of the churches planted in the Apostles dayes CHAP. XIII Something concerning the ten Persecutions by the Heathen Emperors of Rome FOR the first three hundred Years after Christ who was born in the Reign of Augustus Caesar then Emperour of Rome and was rejected and Crucified by the Jews in the seventeenth Year of the Reign of Tiberius Caesar then Emperour of Rome who Reigned eight Years after Christ was crucicified whom Pilate gave Sentence against and delivered to the Jews the said Pilate was banished by the Emperour and afterwards he killed himself in which time Stephen the Martyr was stoned to Death by the Jews and the same day Stephen was Stoned Dorotheus saith Nicanor one of the Deacons suffered with two thousand Christians more in his Reign about this time Paul was converted The next Emperour that succeeded Tiberius Caesar was Caesar Caligula who commanded his Image to be set up in the
he would abandon and leave that Babylon which is but a siâ—k of Mischief and of all Ungodliness and keep his Court elsewhere in some place of better Fame and this is the Legate's Testimony of the Seat of the Mother Church of Rome Besides many of her own Members in England in the Year 1245. do manifest what Action has been upon this Nation as may be seen in a Supplication written in the Names of the Nobles and Commons of England to Pope Innocent the fourth shewing how many Subsides and Taxes had been levied and sent out of the Realm and how they had been liberally paid they complaining also how he sent Italians and forraigners to possess theâ—â— Churches and Benefices in England who had no regard of Peoples Soulâ— and so were no good Shepherds as they said and how the Italians received threescore Thousand Marks a Year besides other Vails and Excises â—heâ— do reap more Rents then the King himself and so when he could no◠〈◊〉 his subsides and raise all the Sums which he exacted from Year to Year Pope Innocent perswades the French King to make War with the King of England for his not condescending to the Pope in all things although he was then one of his Sons and of his Church but enough of this it were lâ—rge to enumerate the Actions and Cruelties the Oppressions which have been done in that which is called Christendom since the Emperour 〈◊〉 unto the Pope his Power and how much Idolatry Superstitiâ—n 〈◊〉 and Doctrine of Devils hath been spread over the Nations these many hundred of Years and how many have been put to cruel Death for not 〈◊〉 and conforming to the said Doctrines and Practices Injâ—nctions and Ordinances and how many this false Church hath stirred up 〈…〉 another and Destroy one another about these things which have 〈◊〉 put upon People under the Name of Divine Authority and holy 〈◊〉 and Apostolical Institutions by what as it is written all may see that these things are in the Apostacy and in the Fall in the curse and in the Night of Darkness wherein all this Wickedness hath been wrought by the false Church which the Lord God will reward double and dry up 〈◊〉 Waters under which she sits and make her Seat desolate and throw down her Pride who hath drunk the Blood of the Martyrs and shed the Blood of the Saints and devoured the Lambs of Christ and made Merchandize of Souls and therefore all who are in part departed from her stay not in the Suburbs but come out of her City and the Adjacent places there that ye be not partakers of the Judgment which is to come upon her But Oh! abundance of Darkness remains yet in the Nations and even in the Protestant Churches who hold up things yet which were invented by her insomuch that one belonging to the Church of Rome Dionysius Petavius a Cardinal layes claim to the ceremonies which were practised in England in the Bishops time For saith he in his Book called the History of the World the Religion of England and Doctrine is Calvinism the Doctrine of Geneva but the Ceremonies are of Rome as they were practised in England in the Year 1640. In the time of Leo the fourth Edelwolphus King of England went to Rome for performance of a Vow that he had made and was courteously received and accepted by the Pope Leo For which cause he ordained a tribute to be paid yearly to the Pope to wit a Peny sterling for every House in England that kindled a Fire Now Protestants look to your Easter-reckonings you have denyed the Popes Supremacy and yet Vicars and Parsons receive his Tribute of every House that kindles a Fire and this stands yet as a good and wholsome Institution amongst you And so for shame let all that profess Reformation and the Doctrine of Godliness and the Faith of Christ and the Practice of the Apostles â—s their example come out of things which the Harlot hath invented and say as Abraham said to the King of Sodom that he would not take a Shoe-latchet least he should say he had made Abraham Riâ—h So let them that profess Reformation not keep a shoe-latchet nor one lap of the Whores Garment nor any piece of her Ornaments that she may not Boast any more that we are made rich by her Merchandize so purge out Horn and Hooff and all the old leven out of your Hearts and out of your Assemblâ—es and come to believe in Christ the true Light that lighteth every one that comes into the World that he may be your Law-giver whose Institutions are Spiritual and his Ordinances heavenly which makes 〈◊〉 and clean and pure the comers thereunto and so let the old Romish 〈…〉 foolish Ceremonies about Worship alone many of which are 〈◊〉 from the Heaâ—hen and judge not any for deâ—arting from them 〈◊〉 Persecute none for not observing of them for whoso do will maniâ—est themselves to belong to the City which is to be overthrown and to be in the Apostacy and not Members of the true Church of Christ the Lamb's Wife And many more things which stand yet amongst them called Christians as set discourses have been set up called Hâ—milies And the aforesaid W. H. shews the grâ—â—nd â—here â—re they were 〈…〉 Some complained that their Churches and Universities were 〈…〉 Error as many are at this day by which there was a want of able Pastors four Sermons were appointed by publick order in the Yâ—ar onely and certain Homilies were devised by learned Men and confirmed for sound Doctrine by the Clergy who made them and the Authority of the Prince which Homilies were appointed to be read by Curates of a mean understanding and them that had but mean pay as five Mark or twenty Noble a Year of which sort we had many in England in the year 1640. I desire we have no more lest more ignorance abound and these Homilies were to be read after a certain number of Psalms read and the Letany and an Epistle and Gospel and it may be Athanasius or Nicen Creed and this was the Worship which hath been holden out even amongst the reformed as spiritual Worship all which while People have been exercising themselves in those things they had been further and further off from God and the Knowledge of his Truth which is manifest to them that believe not by the Injunctions and Ordinances of men but by the holy Spirit which leads out of all Error Superstition and Deceit and all that believe in it come to be taught of the Lord and Worship in that which is pure and are acceptable in his sight CHAP. XV. Something concerring the general Councils since the Apostles Dayes though they have been all of one Faith and though iâ— hath been said the Church could not err all which of the several Councils belonged to the Church of Rome yet see the Difference IN that which some call a Council or a Synod at Jerusalem Acts 15. when some
he pleadâ— that Peter was at Rome and as he saith was Christ's Vicar and Bishop and if becauâ—e of this Rome doth excell which the Scripture is silent in Jerusalem might claim Priority before Rome in this for he we read of was more conversant at Jerusalem and a Minister of Circumcision and Paul ministred to Gentiles who preached two whole Years both to Jews and Romans which were Gentiles but it seems the very imagining Peter to be Bishop of Rome hath made Paul's Work void and hath turned his Work out of Doors but however he which hath usurped the Name of Christ's Vicar hâ—th turned both Peter and Paul their Life Doctrine and Practice out of Doors to set up Pride and Deceit But what Blindness and Ignorance is this to judge that God hath bound himself so by Promise to any Place thâ—t â—e will alwayes continue with them whether they abide in his Dâ—ctrine 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 And though Christ said The Gates of Hell should not 〈…〉 the Church had this only a Limitation to one Place if i◠〈…〉 understood of a Place outward because of these Words afore mentiâ—ned theâ— why is it not extended as well to Antâ—och and the seven Châ—rches 〈◊〉 Asiâ— and the rest afore-mentioned have not the Gates of Hell and 〈◊〉 of Dâ—rkness prevailed agâ—inst them Places and the Turks taken Pâ—sâ—ession thereof And as for your Church at Rome which thou say'st 〈◊〉 err and hath alwayes been visible and universal what sayâ—st thou to Marcilianus Christ's Vicar as you judge whether did he not loose his Key when he sacrified to Idols in the tenth Year of Dioclâ—sian But it may be then thy Church must not reside in Christ's Vicar but in a general Council but hereafter we will consider whether they have been alwayes one and could not err Secondly That whereby the Roman Church gives us a Mark and Sign to be the true Church to wit Universality and Viâ—ibility makes her clearly to be an Harlot for John saw the true Church fly into the Wilderness for Time Times and half of Time now if yours hath been visible and universal all this Time Times and a half then you are not the true Church for Universality comprehends all Nations Kindreds Tongues and People and if this be the Seat of your Church then absolutely your Church is Mystery-Babylon and not the Lamb's Wife for she sate upon Nations Kindreds Tongues Peoples and Languages which were Waters And here is your Catholick Visible Church measured with God's Measuring-rod First To be the Harlot because she was never in the Wilderness Secondly Because her Seat hath been so universal and catholick as Nations Kindreds Tongues Peoples and Languages have been the Seat of your Church which are the Waters which John saw and so truly may be called the great City And as for Infidels being oblieged to joyn to you this hath been because you have forced and compelled by your Power and outward Force where you had Dominion and to escape your Tortures rather then by sound Doctrine or an holy Example Or Secondly Because your Religion hath stood in so many Formalities and Ceremonies which have been very pleasing and so near unto the Heathens Nature And thou say'st That one cannot be bound to seek that which is invisible I say through Faith God hath been seen who is invisible and Christ said Seek and ye shall find and the Kingdom of God is spiritual and invisible and the natural and visible Eye never discerned it for the Church is in God and God is a Spirit and Christ is the quickning Spirit who is the Head of the Church which is his Body and the spiritual and invisible Eye is that which discerns the Head and the Body and you that look gazing after Things that are visible have never discerned the Members of the true Church of God as such neither have known them but have condemned them as Hereticks in all Ages as your Generation hath done who have been in Cain's Way Secondly If Unity Holiness Universal and Apostolick be the marks and signs of a true Church then yours is not the true Church no more then they you count Sectaries and Hereticks which thou saist are no more one then Cats and Dogs The comparison is odious and like a Snâ—rling catching Spirit who would tear every one that cometh nigh thee And what if there be Protestants Puritans Anabaptists Independents and Quakers these Titles are but nominal and there is not one amongst all there but they acknowledge one God and Jesus Christ to be the Head of the Body which is his Church and one Spirit by which the Saints are Sanctified and they acknowledge Christ's Doctrine in Words and his Worship thâ—t it is in Spirit and in Truth and walketh nearer to the Practice of the Apostles and the Church in their dayes then you do And if in some things they do vary why may not variety be allowed by thee where it is only nominal and Circumstantial as well as thou canst allow Variety of Ave Maryes Creeds Pater Nosters which thou saist delighteth But why hast thou not judged at home Thou must not think to lead us like Animals by the Head as your Church doth poor ignorant People to receive every thing for Apostolick Doctrine because the Church of Rome calls it so and cryes Unity Might not the Sectaries as thou callest them return this upon your selves that you are not at Unity and not one What meaneth the diversity of Orders in your Church which may be called Sects that is Jerom's Order Austin's Order Gregory's Order Carmelites Crouched Fryars Francâ—â— Anthony's Bennet's Dominick's Trinity Bâ—sil Brigandine's Orders All these kind of Orders and many more with every one their distinct Service Formalities and ceremonies what a heap of Sectaries are here and yet Rome cryes Unity Besides what contradiction in your Councils may hereafter be made manifest and in your Vicars one throwing down condemning that which others have set up for Apostolick Doctrine So if Unity be a mark for the true church then you are without this mark and sign more then they which you call Sectaries Thirdly If Holiness be a sign of the true church you are without this sign also more then the Sectaries as you are pleased to call them What cruel Murthers Massacres Tortures Blood-sheds have been acted by your church and that by Commission from his Holiness so called Christ's Vicar against them that have dissented from you upon good and warrantable Ground only upon the account of Religion because they could not acknowledge the Pope to be the Head and Christ's Vicar and receive all Decrees though never so repugnant unto the Doctrine of Christ yet because for Conscience sake many have denyed such things nothing but Fire and Sword hath been threatned and the force thereof hath been known in many Nations as for instance in Germany and the Low-Countries France Pyedmount Holland England and Ireland of late years many Thousands Massacreed not in War
Forms by number and Tale they are as much Idiots as the rest are who know not the Spirit to pray by And so this is no Authority to prove your Practice Apostolical and holy as for variety of Prayers and Worships it delighteth the carnal mind indeed but they that worship God in Spirit and Truth they Pray by the Spirit and in it as David and Christ prayed whether seven times five times or three times and with understanding and that which they prayed in was not various but one and it 's by that one Spirit which is not various by which the Sons of God cry Abba Father and the variety of your formed charms Bablings upon your Beads God hath no regard unto but is a Smoke in his Nostrills all day And they that have exercised themselves in these things have not the Witness of God in their own consciences that they are accepted of God and so I shall proceed to another Doctrine called Apostolical and Holy and that is about Meats whether they may be lawfully eaten at all time The Author confesseth they forbid certain kinds of Meats but it is but aâ— certain times and they are forbidden not as they are Evil and the Creatures of God but because they are forbidden by the Church and his proof is the Apple which Eve and Adam eat was not Evil in it self but being prohibited so to eat that which is good of it self is not ill but to eat contrary to the Superiors mind and order this is Evil. The Bible and Scriptures ought not to be read but leave is to be asked of the Superior because there are many hard Passages which they which have little or no learning as Peter testifies in hâ—s second Epistle chap. 3. some â—nderstands it one way and some another and therefore it is the fittest for Learned men to judge of them and they must judge whether People be in a capacity to read them Answ. And why are Meats forbidden aâ— certain â—imes is this like Apostolick Doctrine are not all Times and Seasons in the Hand of the Lord and are all good to them that believe and to the pure all Things are pure all Times and Seasons all Meats and Drinks being sanctified by the Word which made them all holy unto all that do believe And if you forbid them not as they are Creatures of God but because they are forbidden I say who did forbid them or when were they forbidden by Christ his Apostles or the true Church of Christ in their Dâ—y but on the contrary Christ taught That which goeth in at the Mouth and â—n at the Belly doth not defile the Man but that which proceedeth out of the Heart which is corrupted And Paul said What is sold at the Shambles may be eaten and no Question made for Conscience sake for to the clean all Things are clean and to the believing all Things are pure and who hath limited such Meats for such Dayes and such Times the true Church No but the Church of Rome â—ho are going on in that Doctrine the Apostle spoke of 1 Tim. 4. which he reckoned a Doctrine of Devils but here is your Argument that must bring you off because you forbid it not at all Times I say if it be a Doctrine of Devils to forbid at all Times then it is some Part of the Doctrine of Devils to forbid at any Time seeing Time and Things are all good in the Hâ—nd of the Lord but if this Doctrine should hold what would become of your Dog-dayes and of your Lent which has been patched up Week by Week by divers Popes and of your Wednesday Friday and Saturday Fast so by this Account of yours half of the Year is either unholy or else some Meat is unholy for half of the Year but there are few but see your Blindness that in this much need not be said but only thus that which may lawful in it self when it is prohibited by the Lord unto any particular then it becomes evil for whatsoever is not of Faith is Sin But Christ alone unto whom all Power is committed hath the sole Power over the Heart and Conscience and for any to make Injunctions and Prohibitions contrary to him the same is Anti-christ and so the Practice which your Church commands is not Apostolical but you bring Yoaks upon the true Disciples Necks which they that are made free by the Son cannot stoop unto neither joyn with for whosoever doth goes into Bondage And Christ is the supream Power unto whom all Power is committed and when he justifies what superior can condemn And there is no need of asking leave of them that are Superiors which reckon themselves as so seeing every man stands clear in the Sight of God when he transgresses not against the Supream Law of Christ in his Conscience and to offend any Superiors who lay any Injunction contrary to the Command of God is not to offend God neither to break his Command 2 dly It seems all Parts of Religion are monopolized by Mystery-Babylon in which Rome is comprized not only Patents and Pardons sold for eating of Meat but Authority and License must be given to every one that reâ—ds Scripture a Thing which the Apostolick Church before the Pope had a Being knew nothing of but on the contrary some were exhorted to read the Scriptures and some were commended for reading of the Scriptures and for searching whether the Things were so as Paul testified and in this they were counted more Noble then they â—t Thessalonica but now it is become an ignoble Thing and not at all to be 〈◊〉 to read the Scriptures without Patent or Licence in the Church of Rome's Account who have laid down Ignorance to be the Mother of Devotion but the Danger is because there are hard Passages which are not understood when the People have little or no Learning as the Author saith was it for Want of natural Learning that Peter complained they wrested the Scriptures and therefore is it for Want of Natural Learning that the Scriptures are not understood and for Want of this they must not be read as the Author saith Ignorant Man what was Peter such a great learned Man a poor Boat-man of Fisher-man whom the Scripture saith was illiterate in the Acts When they beheld Peter and John and that they were illiterate Men and saw their Boldness and took Notice they had been with Jesus What! was it Want of Natural Learning that Peter spoke of then he spoke against himself for he was illiterate but it was such a Learning that they wanted as this Author wants who is untaught by the Spirit and unlearned in the Doctrine of Christ and such wrest the Scriptures and do not understand hard Sayings because the deep Things of God are revealed through the Spirit of God and not by natural Learning as this Author who would sell Licences and Pardons for reading the Scriptures as they have done for eating Flesh in Lent but a Story
neither Traditions nor Inventions of Men for the Worship of God The second Doubt which the Author would be resolved in is whether we can make good what Luther and Calvin with all Protestants have boasted that they would do to reform convincingly one of the silliest Roman Catholicks that is and to begin do it in the Matter of the real Presence after Consecration What Luther and Calvin have said unto you as about your Worship Doctrine and Practice hath been made good by themselves while they were living and in the Body and what they said did not only inform the Minds of many of the Roman Catholicks but reform'd them too which were not of the silliest amongst you not only one but thousands did see your Error and Deceit though they in some Particulars did but differ from you But now that is manifest which denyeth your Foundation in the very Ground And what I have said as about the real Presence of Christ's Body being in the Bread and Wine after Consecration if thou dare put it and endeavour the Trial thereof according as I have in Reasonableness propounded unto thee it will convince many of the Roman Catholicks of their Error or else many of the Protestants of their Error and so if thou darest adventure it make no more Boasts but let come to Tryal as before is propounded unto the Church of me if she or any of her Agents dare admit of it 3. The third Argument which he promiseth If it can be proved from the Scripture which he calls God's written Word that the Sabbath-day is commanded by God to be kept on Sunday and that little Children are to be baptized Answ. What others have said as to these two Particulars who were but departed a little Way from you in divers things as to their Judgments I shall not stand to vindicate because the Church was rather but a coming out of the Wilderness rather then come already into her first Purity but I am one of those amongst many thousands in Europe who deny the Châ—rch of Rome as to be the Bride the Lamb's Wife and yet I shall not vindicate either the one or the other but deny both as amongst Christiâ—ns viz. as to keep the Jewish Sabbath upon Sunday as the Author calls it and sprinkling of little Children is like the other an Invention in the Apostacy never that we read of commanded commended or practised in the Apostles Dayes as such The first Day of the VVeek the Apostles met together and worshipped God not by Virtue of the Jews Commandment but in the Power of God and you only have them both and keep them both by tradition and custom without commandment and so are out of the Power of God and out of the Saints Life 4. The fourth Argument Can the Sectaries with Reason and Ground sufficient condemn all Catholicks that were so many Ages before Luther and Calvin for being no better then Heathens and convince me that adhering to you I shall be more secure in my Salvation then injoyning to them that have Time out of Mind been of the only saving Religion Answ. The Sectaries have not gone about to condemn every individual man before Luther and Calvin for no better then Heathens we believe some were and we believe many were as bad if not worse they that walk in the Practice of the Heathen and bring forth Fruit but not unto God are in the Heathens Nature but the Generality of the Church of Rome have for these many hundred Years brought forth no better Fruit then the Heathen and therefore are in the Nature of the Heathen for like as the Heathen persecuted the Christians in former Dayes even so hath the Church of Rome persecuted the true Christians in their Day aâ—d in this are no better then Heathens instance the Blood-shed Murder cruel Deaths you have put many unto since you have had the Name of a Church and therefore are no better then Heathens in Nature and for Antiquity it proveth nothing without Verity And there can be no Assurance in your Church seeing that it stands upon Tradition and Hear-say and outward Performances and bodily Exercises that profit little but some whom you call Sectaries have more Assurance for it 's the Spirit of God that gives it and as there is Obedience yielded unto the Lord that Spirit he giveth them Assurance and them that are born of it do overcome the World and his Spirit beareth Witness to their Spirit that they have overcome by which they cry Abba Father and this Spirit of Truth that leadeth into all Truth bringeth more Assurance unto them that are led by it and worship in it then can be had in all your outward Formalities Ceremonies and Traditions 5. Can you make evident at least that in your Flock and Luther and Calvin their Guides there is more Holiness and Virtue then can be found among the Catholicks and that you go the narrow way that leads to Life I answer yes I am one among many thousands who are not of the Church of Rome yet am of Christ's Flock which he hath cleansed by his Blood and revealed his Virtue in and his holy Life and it 's made manifest that they are in the narrow Way more then the Church of Rome they are in the Way that leads to Life and abide in Christ's Doctrine we love them that hate us we bless them that curse us we pray for them that persecute us but so doth not the Church of Rome but kills them and persecutes them that oppose her we say without Righteousness and Holiness be revealed and wrought in our Hearts we can bring forth no Fruit unto God neither can be Members of the true Church but if any conform unto the Practice of your Church in outward things he is counted a good Member of your Church though Righteousness and Holiness Self-denyal Humility and Love be wanting Therefore we are the Church in which there is more Holiness Virtue and Life enjoyed then in the Roman Church 6. Can you shew us any Miracles that ever were wrought in Testimony of your Religion or that the Catholicks Miracles are wrought by Beelzebub and now thou hast askt us a resolution of the Doubts and let all that are Illuminated judge how we are deluded Answ. It 's an adulterous Generation that seeks a Sign and what Christ wrought was reckoned as no Miracles by them that are in the Unbelief yet these Signs have accompanied the Gospel which is the Power of God the blind have been restored to Sight and the dead have been raised and the deaf have heard and the lame have been made whole and this hath been witnessed by many and we have a cloud of Witnesses which your Church knowâ— not of and by the effectual working of God's Power these things have been done which do give Testimony and confirm our Religion And for your Miracles the most that ever I heard of have been done by Pictures and Images as you have testified
had not that Sufficiency which many look upon now they have to wit natural Tongues and Languages yet it was sufficient in them to give them Wisdom to declare the things of the Kingdom of God to the Salvation of many that did believe through their Words it was sufficient to comfort Paul and Silas when they were shut in the inner Room and their Feet fast in the Stocks when there was no outward Cause of Joy but rather of Sorrow yet they were made to sing and rejoyce because of the great Comfort and Joy that the Spirit of God filled their Hearts with again it was sufficient in the midst of great Conflicts and Tribulations which Paul and the rest suffered for the Gospel's sake and for Christ's sake and yet as Suffering did abound it was sufficient to make Consolation to super-abound to ballance the Suffering and to make it easie Fifthly It is that everlasting Covenant which the Lord promised by the Mouth of his Prophets in â—ormer Dayes that he would fulfil in the latter Dayes or after times That he would write his Law in their Hearts and put his Spirit in their inward Parts and that they should not teach every Man his Neighbour saying know the Lord for they shall all know me from the least to the greatest and again in another Place I will pour upon them the Spirit of Prayer and Supplication and they shall see him whom they have pierced and again I will pour out my Spirit upon all Flesh and my Sons and my Daughters shall prophecy c. And this was fulfilled at Pentecost in Jerusalem when the Disciples met together and the Promise of the Father came to be fulfilled and the Unbelievers said They were filled with new VVine and the Lord hath a Care of his People through Ages and hath not left them comfortless not without a Guide and a certain and sure one too which Spirit is manifest among some Non-conformists whom thou takest Liberty to call Sects and the Sufficiency of it is witnessed praised be the Lord in our Assemblies both as to convince to convert to save to judge to guide to instruct to comfort and is that alone in which all true Christian Men can worship God in the Silence of all Flesh fleshly Motions Thoughts it 's that that giveth Assurance also of Acceptation with God and is that which makes the Prayers of the Saints as sweet Incense in the Nostrils of the Lord it is that which makes the Words of him like Butter as pleasant as Hony or sweet Oyl who speaks by it through it and from it whereby the Hearts of many have been pricked and the Thoughts of many have been revealed and many have been comforted with Joy unspeakable and filled with pure Love from the sensible Feeling of the Sufficiency of its Power operating in the inward Man even as when the Harvest had been gathered in and the Press been full of Grapes and the Fat 's had overflown with Abundance so that they could have rejoyced and sung and danced for Joy as sometimes David did when the Ark of God was brought from the House of Obed-Edom and placed in Jerusalem when David danced for Joy and all Israel was filled with Gladness what might I say for the Certainty Sufficiency and All-sufficiency of this holy Spirit of God I might fill my Mouth with Arguments and time might fail me in Speech to speak of the Excellency Certainty and Infallibility thereof against all Opposers and Quarellers In a Word it is that alone means through which God conveys Eternal Life to all Man-kind and it is that Rule by which all the Sons of God were led Rom. 8.14 It is that only sure Guide Judge Way Rule in which there is Certainty and Assurance of the Love of God to Man-kind it is that by which the Deeds of the Flesh are mortified and men quickened and enlivened unto God in their Hearts in which the Saints are accepted by which they are regenerated and through which they become Heirs of the Promise what shall I say but this let all Flesh be confounded before it and all Deceit stop its Mouth and all the Sons of Men bow before it all Councils and Churches all Rulers and Elders all Reason and Comprehension all Words and Writings of Men and holy Men yea of the Scriptures of Truth it gave them all a Being it was and is and is to come and will remain when all visible things are past away it is that by which God will plead with all Flesh and bring a Consumption upon all the honourable of the Earth and burn up the Mountains and make the Hills to melt and make all a Plain before him therefore make room make room make way ye Potsherds and cease all your contending and babling and bow to it and learn of it in your Hearts which R. E. like an ignorant Man calls a private Spirit that your Souls may be saved in the Day of the Lord and you may escape his Wrath which is to come against all Resisters of it Sixthly Your Catholick Church falsely so called who hath Erred from the Spirit the infallible Guide though you much boast of it both in Doctrine and Practise abundantly insomuch that your Faces seem altogether to look another way and your course to arrive at another Haven then the Apostles and all the Primitive Christians attained unto to wit everlasting Happiness and Rest of their Souls and acceptation with God in their performances and Sacrifices which they offered unto him in the Spirit of which they and all that believe in it and have received it received perfect assurance in their Hearts by the immediate Spirit of God and likewise the Protestants in general whether Lutherans or Calvinists or other Sects known by denomination are of so narrow and a pinching Spirit as that you would Pinch and shut up the Universal love of God unto all Mankind in a narrow Corner and monopolize the free Grace of God that hath appeared unto all Men that teaches all Men that receive it to deny all Heresie Falshood Opinions and Humours private Spirits and Spirits of Error which leadeth from all these and is sufficient to lead out of all Ungodliness and worldly Lusts and to do that which is acceptable in the sight of God and this all Sects since the Woman cloathed with the Sun fled into the Wilderness viz. the true Church and all parties have laid claim to and excluded all other that were not of the Opinion as from having any share in it as though it were given only to such a company of Men that succeeded the Apostles and by Arts and parts and Natural Language in the Course and Term or Years and at such such places as the Apostles were sometime conversant at and other Sects besides you who have kept more nearer in Conformity in Doctrine and Worship and unto the Apostles then you have done they have laid claim to the Spirit of God and to
of all Controversies and sole and absolute and only Judge of all Matters of Faith and of all Matters that â—ver have been or ever shall be in Controversie to the End of the VVorld without the Spirit of God neither am I of that ignorant Mind as some are that the Letter and the Spirit are inseparable as that whosoever hath the Scripture must needs have the Spirit or whosoever hath the Scripture must needs be infallible without the Spirit all that are of the aforesaid Judgment are but VVranglers for the most Part about VVords and Contenders against the Power of God and Godliness and bring the VVords to oppose the Life and them that have the Spirit and walk in it for a natural man may read the Scriptures and yet not perceive the things of God neither perceive the Mind of the Spirit but wrest to their own Destruction as Peter saith because they are unlearned and untaught by the Spirit 's Teaching though otherwise learned enough in Languages Tongues and Speeches Secondly Yet I cannot detract from them neither undervalue them or dis-esteem them as uncertain or of no Use or of little Use but whatever themselves declare themselves to be that I own them to be to wit the Words of God the Words of Christ the Words of the holy Prophets and Patriarchs and Apostles who were endued with the holy Ghost and spake forth the Scripture as they were moved thereby in several Ages of several things and unto several States and Conditions as they were led thereto by the holy Spirit and they are a certain Declaration of things that were done and believed and practised by the Jews under the first Covenant and by the Apostles and primitive Christians in the New Covenant and contain many precious and holy Precepts and Commands Doctrines Examples Exhortations Admonitions Reproofs and Instructions and are as lively Examples and holy Patterns for all the Saints in Light to follow by which we are given to understand what Faith what Hope what Patience what Love what Mercy what Long-Sufferings what Consolation what Virtue and what Inheritance the Saints in Light were made Partakers of through Faith in Christ Jesus likewise what Doctrines were held forth and what Practice they used in the primitive times when they walked in the Order of the Gospel and had Fellowship with God the Father and the Son and one with another in the Light of the Gospel which is the Power of God through which they witnessed Salvation Remission of Sins and published it unto others that they might believe Thirdly The Scriptures testifie of Christ and were written that they might be believed and received and read that thereby every one that believed might be made wise to Salvation through Faith in Christ Jesus 2 Tim. 3. and instructed in Righteousness that the Man of God may be perfect throughly furnished with all good Works and whosoever doth teach any Doctrines contrary unto the holy Men of God who spake as they were moved by the Spirit of God which dwelt in them the Scriptures are Witnesses against such that they have not the Spirit of God but are led by another Spirit which brings forth contrary Doctrine and another Faith then was once delivered among the Saints and whosoever brings in sets up other Precepts Constitutions Orders and Practices in Point of Worship in Opposition and contrary unto those Practices which were held forth in the primitive times and would set up other Traditions then the Apostles delivered either by Word or VVriting such are manifest to have the Spirit of Error and are Innovators and Bringers in of other things as necessary in Point of VVorship among Christians which the Apostles and Ministers of Christ did not see necessary then and yet they wanted no Part of the Counsel of God for Paul said He had declared the whole Counsel of God and furthermore they said We have the Mind of Christ and Christ's Mind is not variable Fourthly Though divers of the VVritings of the Prophets and Apostles be lost doubtless as is evident by divers Places of Scripture yet blessed be God that there are those preserved which do bear VVitness of the one thing absolutely necessary unto Salvation of the Ministrations that were appointed of the Lord for the Church of God to observe both in the first and second Covenants so that Christians of this last Age are not lest without Example and President which all ought to have an Eye unto and a diligent Regard and though there be divers Copies of that which is called the Original Tongue and divers Translations yet he unto whom the Spirit of God is given and waiteth in the Measure of Christ's Light shall receive it doth â—ee and shall see the Mind and VVill of God in every Age and the Mind and Intent of the Spirit in them that spoke forth the Scripture and can receive the Matter therein contained as though they had heard them speak that spoke it at the first and though the Translators were Men yet I have such an honourable Esteem of their Labour that I believe they have not varied wittingly and willingly from the best Copies that were extant in their Age neither that they were altogether void of the Spirit of God in such a good VVork which conduced to the Benefit of Mankind but were assisted by it for so good VVork and there be many Figures and Tropas Improprieties of Speech Mysteries and Diâ—â—iculties yet all these come to be made easie and plain to them that are Witnesses of the same Spirit that gave them forth and though there be Diversity of Judgments Professions of Religion one clashing against another thwarting and contradicting another all will seem to bring the Scripture for their Proof which yet cannot maintain and prove every thing good especially when their Doctrines contradict one another this is granted it is only their private Interpretation and not the Scripture and for Wâ—nt 〈◊〉 â—hâ—t Spirit that gave it forth for that alone gives the true Understanding of iâ— and they that are without this are like to kill one another about Words and Names Sounds Tittles and Jottas but still want the Key that opens and gives an Entrance into the Knowledge of the things of God which alone is the Spirit of God that gave forth the Scriptures Last of all R. E. after he saith The three former Props which are the Basis of the whole Foundation and glided over as slightly as he possible could although he hath never stated the Matter right indeed as to remove all things out of his Way which might hinder him in his Cause which he drives so hard on in to wit to set up a certain Company or Multitude of men Visible and Universal as he saith to be the only infallible Judge to convey Faith to the World and to be the certain and infallible Judge in all Matters that either pertain to the Worship of God and to be believed under Pain of Damnation as
of them yet they said falsly Thus saith the Lord in their revolted Estate for they were erred from the Spirit and gone from the Seed and joyned to another Seed and their holy Flesh was departed from them though as Men they had the same Flesh still go learn what that means and yet notwithstanding all this the Promise of God was not violated neither unfulfilled on God's Part for the Promise was not then neither now is to Natural Generations or that which is born after the Flesh or to men as men and Creatures but as they are the Seed and as they are Men of God and as they are born again and new Creatures and if thou wilt have an intailing here it is intailed which cannot be cut off for the Covenant stands not to Men in such a Place that carries the Name of Office or Authority but as they are led by the Spirit the infallible Judge Rule or Guide as they walk by this and in this they cannot err and they erring from this they are subject to be deceived and to be mistaken in all things and every thing of which there are evident Examples in the Scriptures of Truth in divers Ages of them that professed themselves Members of the Church of God and so visible as R. E. speaks of yea and the greater Part too that have erred and their Pathes have been reckoned by the Lord as crooked and perverse and their Habitations full of Cruelty and this is given for an Instance the visible Church of the Jews did err and go aside notwithstanding all the Promises of God to them and as they looked that it still belonged to them because they were in visible Profession though they had turned their Backs upon the Lord and their Hearts too and violated his Covenant yet still as I said the Promise of God and the Covenant of God is not made of none Effect nor broken on God's Part but stands with the Seed forever who are circumcised in Heart and who worship God in Spirit and Truth and in Uprightness of Heart and hath no Confidence in the Flesh nor fleshly Priviledges nor external Performances but only trusts unto the Gift of Righteousness manifest in them by which Justification comes upon all that believe and the Fulness of the Blessing of the Gospel of Christ and the Fulness of the Promise of God but these things I know though they be Holy Faithful and True are a sealed Book and hid from all Eyes living in the Flesh who have not been baptized into the Death and Suffering of Christ. Fourthly That Christ by his own Mouth and the mouths of the Apostles did Promise that there should be a Church which the Gates of Hell should not prevail against and this Church was established upon the everlasting Foundation and the Rock of Ages and was endued with Power from on High and with a great measure of the Spirit of God according unto Christ's Promise which more plentifully was poured forth after Christs departure and after his Ascension and great Gifts were given unto them the Word of Knowledge the Word of Wisdom the Interpretation of Tongues and the gift of Tongues the Gift of Prophesie the gift of discerning Spirits healing the Sick working of Miracles c. and all these foresaid gifts were given for the Work of the Ministry for the perfecting of the Saints for the edifying of the Body of Christ till we all come into the Unity of the Faith and the knowledge of the Son of God and unto a perfect Man and to the measure and Stature of the fulness of Christ Ephes. 4.11 12 13. And all these were instrumental though the Spirit of God which was with them and in them the only means to bear witness unto those things that they had learned and believed and to publish the word of Faith abroad unto the World and for these aforesaid ends above-mentioned which though R. E. and his Catholicks will needs lay claim to the Succession by way of Office yet by their Doctrine deny in part the very end wherefore such gifts were given to wit the Doctrine of Purgatory for if they did perfect the Saints or were brought up to the knowledge of the Son of God and to perfect Men in Christ Jesus and to be without Sin what need had there been of raising up this damnable Doctrine out of the Pit to purge from Sin after they be dead seeing they were to be perfect Men while they were alive and the Ministry was given for this End but yours it seems cannot have these effects on this side of the Grave and therefore they perfect them in the grave and so be ministers in another World And this Church thus gathered and endued before-mentioned with the infallible Spirit of God if any that did sometime believe and were joyned unto it did walk disorderly as not becoming the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ they were to be admonished and Exhorted and if they persisted in their disorder it was to be told to the Church or the whole Body and if such a one would not hear the Church he was to be reckoned as a Publican or a Heathen and to be denyed as to have any Fellowship with him till manifest Repentance was shewn but we never read that this Church did shed any man's Blood or Burn any or give consent to Destroy any iâ—stance if thou canst though obstinate and Hereticâ— too and in this amongst many other things the Spirit of your Church is seen to be contrary to the Primitive Church and you out of Christ's Doctrine but R. E. Argues further and saith but if Christ by his Spirit doth not preserve this Church from all possibility of teaching Error instead of Truth I may receive such Errors as may damn me unto which I say Christ by his Spirit doth preserve this Church from all possibility of teaching error if they continue in the Guidance thereof and Err not from the Spirit of Christ as some Churches did which were as truly Christian and might lay claim unto Christ's promise of preservation out of error as ever Rome could do and yet six of the Seven Churches of Asia were reproved by the Spirit of Christ some of them for holding gross Error and some for suffering it but where was the fault did not Christ perform his promise to his Church or to these and other particular Churches as Corinth and Galatia yes but there was an erring from the Spirit but all that R. E. goes about is to prove which he will never be able to do that Christ is bound by Promise to make it good to them that he hath once Promised unto though they perform nothing of their part in taking heed to his direction and thus would limit the Lord and let Men go free with obedience to his commands and he cites Mat. 28.20 how the promise of Christ was and lo I am alwayes with you even to the end of the World but he hath done as the
denyes the veracity of his word or the immutability of the most high yet notwithstanding I cannot set up the changeable Priesthood and Covenant and the Ordinances belonging thereunto against the unchangeable and everlasting Priesthood and Covenant and as hath been said before as though that all the precepts therein were so unalterable as that of necessity they must needs continue as obligatory to Generations I might truss up together many Scriptures and thwack them one on the Back of another which belong to the Jews and the first Covenant most properly till the Seed Christ was revealed and offered up and I might bring in Scripture to prove that many things were commanded by the immutable God and by him who is uncapable of alteration and multiply many words as A. S. doth to little purpose and say what was written in the old Testament was by the Inspiration of God and that his precepts are no more alterable then the Laws of the Medes and Persians and therefore they must needs still be observed by all Christians to the World's end or else conclude they that do not are atheistical and deny God's veracity and make the Law of God void and what would all this in arguing prove nothing at all the Jews will confess as much and plead as hard as A. S. can who yet have not believed in him of whom the Prophets prophesied neither have received him who is the Substance of what Moses and the Prophets bore witness and in whom the Law is fulfilled and the Promises made good and confirmed with and in whom all the Shadows end and the vail done away and all the Worship precepts belonging thereunto who hath manifested and revealed the Father in all that believe who is the new and living way whose Worship is not now in the Letter nor in the Shadows nor Types nor in any outward Observations but in Spirit truth is he worshipped for he seeketh such to Worship him for the great Promise of reward was to as ever was to Swearing yet when they resisted him whom the Father had sent all their observances though never so strict did not avail but their Circumcision became Uncircumcision and their Worship and service became Prophaneness when they despised the substance by whom Grace and Truth came to all the Children of promise and we grant with A. S. that he came not to destroy the Law but to fulfil it and to end both Sin and Transgression and the Law which was added because of it and to bring in everlasting Righteousness and it to rule in the Hearts of all that believe and against such there is no Law and though Christ enjoyned the Disciples Mat 23. to observe what the Scribes and Pharisees bad them who sate in Moses's Chair and read the Law and performed those services in part commanded that was the time before he was offered up and the Ministration of that Covenant was not fully ended yet I hope A. S. with us will grant that they were not to heed them or to obey them in their vain traditions and false glosses and Interpretations and Evil manners which he cryed wo against Mat. 23.13 14. neither after his Resurrection did he enjoyn them to hear the Pharisees neither to observe the Legal Ordinances of the first Priesthood but they declared against them and their practice which continued in the Observation of those things which did not make perfect as pertaining to the Conscience Heb. 8.9 Heb. 9.9 and for all these Texts he alledges out of the Old Testament Mat. 6.13 Psal. 63.11 Jer. 12.16 unto these it hath been answered that this proves nothing that Christians under the second Covenant should Swear as they did in the first for these Precepts were only to keep them from Idolatry for Jer. 12.16 If you will diligently learn the wayes of my People to Swear by my Name the Lord liveth as they taught my People to Swear by Baal then shall they be Builded in the midst of the People And the 6th of Deut. 13.14 is to the same Effect You shall fear the Lord and serve him and Swear by my Name And Verse the 14. Ye shall not go after other Gods All these only prove that the Nations went after other Gods and Sware by them and served them and Israel too prone to follow their manners did so also and therefore he gave them these Precepts to serve him and fear him and acknowledge him to keep them from Idolatry as hath been said in the state of their Minority and weakness and that before the Seed was revealed and that which A. S. calls a Prophecy by Isa. 19.18 of Christians Swearing under the Gospel it 's no such thing but a Prophesie of Egypt his joyning to the Jews and owning their Worship and their God and acknowledge him and do Sacrifice and Oblation yea and vow a vow unto the Lord and perform it ver 21. Which clearly hath relation to the Law and the Worship of the Jews and not to the Gospel so that A. S. might have as well said it was a promise how Christians under the Gospel should offer Sacrifice and Oblations as under the Law as well as Swear But the Doctor hath traversed many Paths which are crooked winding and turning to gather something together and hath fetched it far to prove Swearing under the Gospel but all his proof falls short of his matter by much And that of Isaiah 5.23 is a Prophecy of Israel's return out of the Captivity of Babylon in the days of Cyrus whom the Lord called his Anointed and shepherd Isa. 44.28.45 who made a Decree for all Israel to go out of Assyria to Jerusalem and build their City and their Temple and Worship their God according as he had commanded as may be seen at large in the Book of Ezra and Nehemiah and this was fulfilled then when they builded the City and the Temple in those days long before Christ was manifest in the Flesh and then did Israel return and every Knee did bow and every Tongue did Swear by the Lord which before the Captivity had not bowed nor served nor acknowledged his Name but Idols which provoked the Lord and therefore gave he them into the hand of the Babylonians for seventy Years till they were humbled and then brought them back according to Jeremiah Isaiah Haggai and Zachariah's Prophesies for this was fulfilled then is spoken by Isaiah in this Prophesie Isaiah 5. ver 23 24 25. without contradiction to Christ's command and his command entrencheth not upon this prophesie neither doth this make the Gospel thwart the Law beyond all terms of Reconciliation as A. S. vainly suggests in his margent for this Prophesie was fulfilled long before Christ gave forth this command Swear not at all Moreover if this prophesie have any relation to the state of the Christian Church as A. S. supposes upon what Ground I know not saving his own affirmation then we shall consider and see how it is fulfilled under the
not come to Dan or Amos cry against Bethel Amaziah will cry to the King He hath uttered Sedition and Rebellion among the People and he hath conspired against the King and the Land cannot bear his Words And is not this the same Language They will not come to our Church our Assemblies but they meet of themselves and oppose us and breed Mutenies Sedition and Rebellion in the Government These Priests of New-England and Rulers would have banished all the Apostles and have killed Paul and Steven who said God dwelt not in Temples made with Hands neither was worshipped in Temples made with mens Hands and drew People out of the Temple into private Houses Fields and by the Sea side and these men would have killed Christ the same Generation did in whose Foot-steps they are he said Neither at Jerusalem nor at Samaria but they that worship the Father worship him in Spirit and Truth might the Jewâ— have replyed Was not the Temple builded by the Command of God And is it not so agreed upon by the whole Nation of the Jews And wilt thou say that God is not worshipped thou art mutenous and rebellious And the Samaritans might have said Thâ—s is the Mount we met in and it is agreed upon by our Ruâ—ers and our People and it is the laudable Custom of our Country and our Assembly and dost thou teach thy Disciples to separate from Jerusalem from this Mount then thou art seditious and a Mutiner and a Stirrer up of Rebellion an Enemy to our Nation and Country and wilt thou respect no man's Person Nay said the Pharisees tempting we know thou respects no man's Person what say'st thou of Caesar they might have said What wilt not thou respect thy Equals and Superiors then thou art not civil and art against the laudable Custom of our Country which all our approved Orthodox Men do allow of thou must be banished and if thou return Death â—or by adhering to or approving of any known Quaker and the Tenets and Practices of the Quakers that are opposite to the Orthodox received Opinions of the Godly and endeavouring to disaffect others to civil Government and Church-orders or condemning the Practice and Proceeding of this Court against the Quakers Now if any lie Nicodemus would come but by Night who are yet no Quakers if the Rulers and Priests of New-England know of you you must out of the Synagogue and be Banished and if return be put to Death for this is an Orthodox received Opinion to banish and kill them that come not to their Assembly and put not off the Hat then the Orthodox received Opinion of the Church-Members of New-England is Banishment and if return Death and he that justifies the Practice and Proceedings of that Court is not justified of God What Whippers Robbers Spoilers Killers and Destroyers Marrers of the Workmanship of God Wrestlers with Flesh and Blood Blood-suckers He that justifies you is condemned of God he that condems your Court and Proceeding and Practices will God and all the holy Angels justifie and the Church of God It may be you will call this Rebellion and so it is against the Prince of Darkness from whence you have received your Authority Manifesting thereby their complying with those whose Design is to overthrow the Order established in Church and State every such Person upon Conviction before the said Court of Assistance in Manner as aforesaid shall be committed to close Prison for one Moneth and then unless they chuse voluntarily to depart this Jurisdiction shall give Bond for their good Behaviour and appear at the next Court where continuing obstinate and refusing to retract and reform the foresaid Opinions shall be sentenced to Banishment upon Pain of Death and any one Magistrate upon Information given him of any such Person shall cause him to be apprehended and shall commit any such Person to Prison according to his Discretion until he come to Tryal as aforesaid And here is an End of their wicked Law which must come to an End You that build up a Nation with Iniquity and a Church so called with Blood who lay Traps for the Feet of the Innocent and make Laws to destroy mens Estates and to banish Men from the Earth which is the Lords and the Fulness of it and further more make Laws to destroy mens Lives and shed Blood Wo and Misery is to your Church and State and the righteous God of Heaven and Earth will plead the Cause of the Innocent and Needy and overthrow that which you have established and if they will not recant as you call it which is to deny Christ before Men then Banishment and Prisonment and their Estate wasted and they destroyed then you think you are secure your Laws are cursed your Religion cursed and your Enterprizes cursed what is not your Gospel able to defend it self but you must take up the Beast's Weapons Cain's Weapons the Murderer the Devil's Weapons to defend your Church and State carnal Weapons hellish Weapons the Dragon's Weapons Hath your deceitful Merchants the hireling Priests made you believe that this is an Orthodox received Opinion They received this out of the bottomless Pit and the Weapons with all that handle them shall go down thither again and the Lamb shall reign over the Beast and his Followers though you have established Wickedness by a Law and think your selves secure yet God will provoak you that the Rottenness of your Hearts may be brought forth and that all your Deceit may be made manifest that all that fear the Lord may come out from amongst you for Wo and Misery shall compass your Tabernacle and the Dread of God is against you AND the next thing whereby the Devil and his Ministers fortifie themselves are certain Articles exhibited by them like the Pope's Inquisition although they are full of Ignorance and Blasphemy and these they intend to impose upon any man and if they answer not according to their blind Understandings then they say They are convicted as Hereticks and must be sent to Prison and if they do not retract banished and whipped in the mean Time and his Estate made Havock on and then banished not to return upon Pain of Death and if he do return to be put to Death and this is the Fruit of their Orthodox received Principles and of the laudable Custom of New-England And now I come to the Articles 1. If any Person or Persons besides their refusing to come to the publick Assembly of divine Worship shall either deny the blessed Trinity of Persons in the divine Essence Answ. And is this one of your Orthodox received Articles Then the Pope is as Orthodox as you and what is there to be found or can be expected in your publick Assemblies amongst a Company of envious Men whose Hearts are filled with Envy whose Hands are defiled with Blood Divine Worship say you like Wolsey Bonner and that bloody Crew Divine Service said they but you might more truly have
said Human Invention and vain Tradition And Trinity of Persons in the Divine Essence where learned you this Article from the Pope from the Mass-book yet the Father Son and Spirit are owned and these three are one and the Father Word and Spirit and these are one but I challenge all you Orthodox Professors to shew me from Scripture where the Holy Ghost or Spirit is called a Person be ashamed of your Ignorance ye illiterate men 2. Or shall deny the Person of Christ to be distinct from the Father and the Holy Ghost or shall deny the Person of Christ to be distinct from every Believer Answ. Do but mark the Madness and Confusion of these mighty Rabbies before there must be three Persons in one Essence and now Christ must be distinct from the Father and the holy Ghost before in God and now distinct from God this is damnable Doctrine which hath been brought in since the Apostacy for the Scripture saith God was in Christ reconciling the World to himself how was he distinct from the Father when the Father was in him And I am in the Father and the Father in me and I and my Father are one Nay say New-England Doctors They are distinct and the Fulness of the Godhead dwelt in him bodily Now prove you that the Father and the holy Ghost are distinct from Christ or how is Christ's Person distinct from every Believer when he that is a Believer hath him revealed in him and he that is a true Believer eats his Flesh and drinks his Blood How is he then distinct What nearer Union can there be exprest Is that distinct from a man that he hath in him But it may be they will say as the rest of the Dreamers do he is in Believers by his Spirit distinct from his Body then I say Christ is not divided a Person without a Spirit or distinct from the Spirit is not Christ but this blind Doctrine came up since the Apostles Dayes and was counted as Orthodox by the Councils at Nice and Lateran a Company of Apostates and hath been counted by the Beast's Followers a great Point of Divinity 3. Or deny the Manhood of Christ to be a Manhood distinct from the Manhood of any other Man Answ. The Man Christ Jesus who was of the Seed of Abraham according to the Flesh and the Son of God according to the Spirit his Flesh is distinct from you who live in ENVY whole FLESH is as the Flesh of Horses and as the Flesh of Dragons who devour you know not the holy Flesh of Christ but the Man of God doth who is born of the Spirit and the Flesh of Christ is his Meat and they that believe in him are Bone of his Bone and Flesh of his Flesh you ignorant Dreamers how then is his Flesh distinct But you do feed upon Ashes as your Father doth the cunning Serpent for God's Wisdom is hid from you 4. Or shall deny the Scripture or the written Word to be the Rule Answ. We own the Scriptures which you ignorantly call the written Word as though all the Scriptures were but one Word the Word is Christ which was revealed in the Saints which spake the Words forth and he is the Way and the Rule of Life to them that believe and his Spirit is the Leader and Guider into all Truth and the Rule of Obedience and you are they that deny the Scriptures and the Rule of holy walking you own it in Words and in VVorks deny him witness all your fore-mentioned Deeds of Darkness and Hypocrites and Dissemblers cry Scripture is the Rule of Faith and Life when their Life that they live in stands in Sin Wickedness and Deceit 5. Or shall openly revile either Church or State or Church-VVorship Church-Officer or Ordinances divine or the publick Assembly of the People of God to worship him according to the Prescription of the Gospel Answ. Your Church and State Church-Officers and Ordinances and Assembly and your Worship is manifest to be a Place where Dragons are who sting devour kill and destroy God's Workmanship and he that speaks for you God will condemn him for he that justifies you justifies the wicked and that is an Abomition to the Lord And let the Nation see your Prescription in that which you call your Gospel where Christ commanded the Churches or gave his Disciples such Prescripts as these If the rest of the Jews or Gentiles will not come to your Assemblies fine them 5 s. a Day and 10 s. a Day or 40 s. a Moneth and if any speak any where in my Name but where you meet let him that speaks be fined 5 l. and if they will not pay fetch away their Goods Beasts Horses break open their Houses and take Hatchets and beat down their Doors and take the Names of them that meet and bâ—le them to the Court and there fine them 5 l. a Man and send them to Prison and load their Backs and Stripes and whip them severely and if any refuse to doff his Hat and will not say Reverend Mr Peter and Reverend Mr Paul and Reverend Mr John or if it please you Mr Mark or Mr Andrew and Philip then go you to the Judgment Seat and tell the Magistrates and let them indict them and put in a great deal of aggravating Words as Muteny Sedition Insurrection Rebellion and the like and let them say unto them you are against the laudable Custom of our Country and last of all banish them and if they return again put them to Death and let them say as Richard Bellinghom the Deputy Governour of Boston said to John Copeland John Rous and Christopher Holder We commanded these Men not to come again but they returned again in Contempt of the Magistracy and Ministry and so whatsoever comes upon you Loss of Ears or Loss of Life your Blood be upon your own Heads I say let the Regions know your Prescript in your Gospel and your Rule of Life for these Practices and then you will convince the Quakers and satisfie all People 6. Or shall entertain any such in a Way of Conventicle or private Meeting or shall resort unto the Conventicle of any such who are known Refusers to come to the publick Worship of God in the publick Assembly Answ. These Men would have banished Paul he was a Man publickly known to refuse to go into the Temple and Synagogues except to lead People out of them and yet they have got his Words in their Mouthes and these Men would have imprisoned the Church of Corinth and Galatia and Thessalonica and the Church of Antioch for they met in Houses and denyed the rest of the Synagogue of the Jews and the Temples of the Gentâ—les and they had private Meetings and often by the Sea-side and Mountains and other Places and although Bishop Laud be dead his Spirit speaks and acts in New-England he made such Articles as these against Conventicles and told of the laudable Customs and Worship of