Christ was the same yesterday to day and for ever and the light that comes from him is like him that also is the same yesterday to day and for ever It was the same under the law the same before the law the same since the lavv As the darkness all along hath been the same so the light all along hath been the same also It vvas the same in the Jews and the same in the Gentiles It vvas this God expected obedience to from the Jews and the Prophet in the name of the Lord disdains their sacrifices and brings them to this Micah 6. 8. He hath shewed thee O man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God Their eye vvas upon sacrifices and oyl the prophet points them to that vvhich vvould bring them to the right sacrifice and to the true oyl And the Gentiles so far as they vvere obedient to this vvere accepted and excused in their ovvn consciences the faithful vvitness vvhereof is of God and vvil stand in the day of Christ Ro. 2. 15. 16. That which was from the beginning saith the Apostle John declare we unto you 1 Joh. 1. 1. And this is the message which we have heard of him and declare unto you that God is light and in him is no darkness at al ver 5. And the end of preaching this message is to dravv out of the darkness into the light to bring men to the feeling of the light of God in them and so to union vvith it vvhich being turned to dravvs out of the darkness God vvho is light is nigh to every man vvho is darkness though mans sense is very thick and can hardly see or feel him and a light from him shines in mans darkness but mans darkness comprehends it not So that this light is not nevv in it self but onely nevv to the old Spirit vvhich hath long lain hid in the region of darkness and death hath not known the light of life Object 2. That this is a natural light or the light of old Adams nature Answ It is in one sense a natural light it is of the nature of him from whom it comes of the nature of God and of his Christ whom it appears for but it is not of the nature of corrupt Adam whom it always reproved and against whom it stil stands a witness and condemns all corruption Man is darkness and when Christ comes to redeem him he finds him darkness and Christ finds no light in him to help him to discover sin to him but all the disoveries of sin that are made in the heart are by the light of Christ and not by any light of mans nature The Lord is the searcher of the heart and he searcheth it with his own candle and not with any left in mans nature Man fel into darkness knew not wher he was but the Lord cometh after him with his candle discovereth his state to him It is the light from which man fel and against which he sins that is alone able to make his disobedience manifest to him We know saith the Apostle that the law is spiritual but I an carnal Rom. 7. 14. The law is the lowest part of the light and yet that is spiritual and of Christs nature and not of Adams nature we know it saith the Apostle Such as know the nature of that which manifests sin know it to be spiritual It is the fallen man from the light the man in the darkness that cals the light darkness but that which discovers the darkness and reproves the darkness and warrs against the darkness is not darkness but the light of life And those who are spiritual and feel the nature and power of it in their spirits know it to be so But man hath set up a light of his own hath raised up a light by his study and invention in the strength of the fallen wisdom and now setting up this for light he must needs call the true light darkness as the Pharisees did Christ Object 3. That it makes the Scriptures void and useless Answ It came from the spirit that gave forth the Scriptures it is of the same nature with the light that shone in them that gave forth Scriptures it speaks the same thing with Scriptures it leads to the same thing and it opens witnesses to the words which the Scriptures speak and so it brings the Scriptures which have been long abused into their true use Indeed it puts an end to the corrupt use of Scriptures to mans inventing and forming things out of them but brings them into their true use and service It takes the Scriptures out of mans hand who hath slain the life by them and puts them into the hands of the spirit who makes the words again pure and quick and living purging away mans defiled and dead conceivings and interpretations of them A man must know the Spirit come to the spirit be joyned to and be in union with the Spirit before he can have the true understanding of the Scriptures The Scriptures of truth are the words of God or various expressions of his mind which he that searcheth into afore he hath his spirit cannot know and so man in this state can onely guess and imagine at things but cannot see the truth And from hence it is that so many sects and heaps are sprung up in the world according to the variety of their imaginations One sort of men cry this is the way this is the truth this is the Church this is the worship Another sort cry that is not it that is superstition and error but this is it and so a third and fourth c. So about Scriptures one saith this is the meaning another saith it is not so but this is the meaning The Papists say the Church must judge of the meaning of Scriptures and the Protestants who take more scope how do they doubt and differ and oppose one another about the interpretation of Scriptures which plainly showes that they do not plow with the right heifer for then there would be unity and certainty They let their own reasonings and imaginations loose and there is no foundation of certainty but had they waited for the Spirit to begin with and gone on no farther then he opened to them all these doubts and dissentions would have been choked in the birth or womb or not have come so far as either birth or womb Yet do I not altogether deny the reading of Scriptures even in this state if men read with fear and trembling not setting up his own understanding or the understanding of any man else but waiting for the spirit which can alone give him an understanding to receive the true knowledg But this I dare boldly affirm that mens reading of the Scriptures in their own wisdom and self-confidence or confidence of what interpretation others have given doth them no good at all
will lay low make foolish weak poor empty Lean for it lies in wickedness He will feed the fat and strong cattle with that judgment which shall make them lean and weak And the humble the foolish the weak the poor the empty the lean he will raise up and make wise and strong and rich and full and fat with the true honour the true wisdom the true strength the true riches the sure and living mercies of David who sets his feet on top of the high places of the earth of whom Christ came according to the flesh Thus I have in plainnes of heart and with plainnes of speech set the truth and the error before you and lent my hand toward the removing of some blocks which lay in your way in love and pitty to your souls Now if any in the reading of this feel a secret touch upon their hearts startling them and giving some testimony to the truth though very smal and through a thick dark covering there is that to which I speak there is my witness within the vail and there is the testimony rising up which leads to life if given heed to Keep to this and this will prick and wound judge and condemn the contrary nature though never so strong And when it doth prick and wound keep the wound fresh and open as thou lovest thy life till thou meet with the tâ—ue healer For the false prophet will rise up in thee and fill thee with reasonings and perhaps multitudes of promises and comforts from Scripture skinning over the wound and crying peace peace when there is no peace And when thou hast thus got over the trouble then the false prophet which brought thee this peace will stir thee up against the witness exalting the wisdom and reasonings of the flesh and making merry with thee over the witness which witnessed against thee and him and over the trouble which came thereby and this wil bring thee to that hardness of heart which is for destruction And then when thou hast slain the witness in thy self and exalted thy fleshly reason and understanding over it then the false prophet which seduced thee will kindle a zeal in thee against the witness in others and thou wilt prove a persecutor of the life under the name of deceit error heresy and blasphemy whereas thou thy self art fallen into the deceit into the error from the life and into the blasphemy against it and art in Cains nature and wouldst fain be handling of Cains weapons to destroy it Therefore take heed of the fleshly wisdom take heed of thine own understanding take heed of thy reasoning or disputing for these are the weapons where with the witness is slain That wisdom must be destroyed and that understanding brought to nought and thou become a child and learn as a child if ever thou know the things of God Where is the wise where is the Scribe where is the Disputer of this World did they ever from the beginning of the World to this day attain the knowledge of the things of God where are the Councils where are the great Convocations where are the Synods where are the assemblies of divines what is become of them all what have they done have they been ever able to lead out of the Apostacy from the truth into the truth again Nay that wisdom is cursed it is of the earth and fixeth in the earth and is the grand enemy to the wisdom that is from above And where that wisdom stands there is no entrance for the other This made it so hard for this sort of persons in all ages to own truth Thy wisdom and thy knowledge it hath perverted the. This made the whorish spirit so able to use sorceries and inchantments from the life in all ages And it is easier for publicans harlots drunkards swearers all sorts of sinners to own truth and enter into life then for these For it is easier to empty them of their profanenes then it is to empty these of their setled conceited Religion and devotion and yet this with their Religion and devotion cannot enter no more then the other with their profanenes Ye have a knowledge a righteousnesse an hope a faith c. founded by your pretence to Scriptures who can shake down these say you and yet these must fall before ye can build upon and grow up in the life that the Scriptures came from For the Scriptures were not given for men to gather the meanings out of and lay a foundation of faith there by their own wils but to discover and testifie of the foundation And he that comes thither is built there knows the truth not because the Scriptures say so but because he feels the thing is founded upon the thing grows up in the thing and the thing in him whereof the Scripture speaks And this knowledge shall abide and this faith and this righteousness and this holiness and this redemption whereas the other is but a name put upon that which is not the thing These are precious faithful words though through a Vessel weakned and weak beyond measure and happy is he that hath an ear to hear them but woe from the Lord to that eye that is closed to that ear that is shut to that heart that is hardned in the inventions and imaginations of mans fleshly mind against the truth of God Let the witness of God in thee stir and speak it shall answer me now but if thou through the strength of the flesh and the vain imaginations which thou huggest in thy heart stifle the voice of it now yet I know it shall answer me one day but then it will be too late for thee to hear it The Lord is now gentle and tender pursuing thee with his love and following thee up and dovvn with his light and though thou run from him into sin and transgression and hearken to the wisdom of the flesh yet his voice comes after thee to reclaim thee and if thou wilt hear and but yeeld thy self to him he vvil not put thee to do any thing but subdue all thy enemies for thee yea he vvil slay the serpentine vvisdom in thee vvith all its inventions and dash all she children of Babylon against the stones vvithout pitty to them though vvith great pitty to thee But if thou refuse and choose the pleasure of the flesh and the gross flesh-pots of Egypt and turn thine ear from his voice giving vvay to the reasonings of the flesh and keeping dovvn the vvitness that day of vvrath and severity vvhich all the Scriptures have spoke of vvil come and thou vvilt have thy portion vvith hypocrites vvho in all ages have covered themselves vvith a form of religion pleasing to the flesh and the vvorld but have vvith-held their hearts from the povver of life therefore prize the love of God to thee in giving thee this warning and be not uncircumcised in heart and ears as this generation of professors have alvvaies been but let
of iniquity doth already work And look now into the estate of the Churches then according to what the Scripture records of them and the symptoms of its working will plainly appear The Church of Ephesus among whom some of the grievous wolves had encred Act. 20. 29. had left their first love Rev. 2. 4. The Churches of Galatia wer bewitched from the Gospel Gal 3. 1. The Church at Coloss was entangled and made subject to the rudiments of the world and ordinances which perish with the using after the commandements and doctrines of men Col 2. v. 20 22. Mark When once one comes to be subject to the commandments and doctrines of men to perishing ordinances and worldly rudiments which men teach and command the true state is lost and the apostacy is entred into Here the wrong Teacher is teaching and he teacheth the wrong thing the wrong doctrines the wrong Commandments and the wrong ear is hearing which hears the wrong voice and knoweth not the true and so the more it heareth and practiseth and the hotter its zeal groweth the deeper it stil runs into the apostacy The Church at Corinth also was haunted with false Apostles 2 Cor. 11. v. 12 13. insomuch as the Apostle was afraid lest that Church should be corrupted by them vers 3. The Church in Pergamus had them that held the doctrine of Balaam Rev. 2. 14. The Church in Thyatira suffered the woman Jezebel which called her selfe a Prophetess to seduce and bring forth children in the apostacy Rev. 2. v. 20. and 23. The Church in Sardis had a name to live but was dead Rev. 3. 1. having defiled her Garments vers 4. The Church in Laodicea looked upon her self as rich and increased with goods as having need of nothing but was wretched miserable poor blind so then the ey was put out and naked wanting the gold wanting the rayment wanting the eye-salve Rev. 3. 17. 18. And lastly all the Gentiles were warned by Paul in his Epistle to the Church at Rome whereby that Church might look upon her selfe as more particularly concerned therein to look to their standing lest they falling from the faith from the truth from the life into the apostacy as the Jewes had done might also feel the severity of God as the Jewes had Chap. 11. ver 20 21 22. Thus it is evident that the apostacy had got footing and began to spread in the Apostles dayes and the Apostle John in the spirit beholding the future state of things sees it overspread and over-run al al Nations drunk with the cup of fornication Rev. 18. 3. The way of truth had been evil spoken of long before 2 Pet. 2. 2 and the rock of ages which alone can establish in the truth had been forsaken and al became as a Sea and up gets the beast which could not rise while the power of truth stood and the woman upon the beast with the cup of deceit and of errour from the life in her hand and this she gives all the Nations to drink and they drink and are drunk with it so that al Nations have been intoxicated with the doctrines and practises of apostacy They have took that for truth which the Whore told them was truth and they have observed those things as the commands of God which the Whore told them were the commands of God And by this means they have never come to be married to Christ to be in union with him to receive the law of life from his spirit and to know the liberty from the bondage of corruption but have been in the bed of fornication with the Whore and have pleased glutted and satisfied the whorish principle in themselves with this fornication And thus corruption did over-spread al the earth for taking in a corrupt thing in stead of the truth it cannot purifie the heart but corrupt it more A corrupt profession corrupt doctrines may paint and make a man to himselfe seem changed but the corruption still lodges within which a spiritual ey can easily discern though he that is in the corruption cannot The Pharisees did seem glorious to themselves but Christ saw through them And every sort of people now in their several strains and forms of apostacy seem glorious to themselves but the spirit of Christ sees through them al to that which lies underneath in whom it raigns and ther it finds corruption increased and strengthned in its nature by the form though outwardly painted with it Doth not fornication defile corrupt so doth the fornication of the Whorish spirit the earth was corrupted with it Rev. 19. 2. So that this hath been the universal state of Christendom since the apostacy the errour the deceit the fornication of the Whore hath corrupted them and withheld their eys from the sight of that life and truth which hath power in it to purifie them Peoples Multitudes Nations Tongues have been al waters weak unstable without any foundation in religion but fit to be swayed and tossed up and down with every wind or breath of the Whore of whose cup they had al drunk and by whose spirit they were all guided for the whore sate upon them Rev. 17. 15. The whore which had whored from God and so was not the true Church sate upon Peoples Multitudes Nations and Tongues She sate upon them she had them under her she ruled and guided them by her cup of fornication and with her spirit of fornication as a man would guide the beast whereupon he rides So that al that the Nations do from henceforth in religion is under the Whore according to her guidance by virtue of the wine that they have drunk out of her cup. And though God reserved to himselfe a remnant to worship him and give so ne testimony to his truth al this time yet the beast which was managed by the Whore had power over them power to make war with them power to overcome them Rev. 13. 7. The beast had power over all kindreds tongues and nations every wher to overcome the Saints and suppresse the truth they at any time were moved to give testimony to and to set up the worship of the beast and make al the earth fal down before that Rev. 13. 7. 8. And the second beast had and exercised al the power of the first beast and set up his image and gave it life and caused men generally to worship it Rev. 13. 12. And he caused al both smal and great rich and poor free and bond to receive his mark some way or other either in their right hand or in their forehead vers 16. And such as would not receive his mark nor worship him he had power to persecute and kil and he did kil them vers 15. and the Whore drunk their blood Chap. 17. 6. and God required it at her hand Chap. 19. 2. though she made the hand of the beast execute it and would seem to wash her own hands of it So that now since the dayes of the
which would not that I should reign over them bring hither and slay them before me For of a truth the great Prophet is arisen and speaks in the heart and his sheep hear his voice there are many faithful witnesses thereof and he that will not hear his voice must be cut off there is no avoiding of it for the two-edged sword is in his hand and he will cut down the transgressor 8. The Church the true Church was lost The true Church was a company gathered out of the world into God begotten of and gathered into his life by the living word and so had a true place and habitation in God The Apostle Paul writing to the Thessalonians stiles them a Church in God A Church under the Gospel is made up of true Israelites gathered out of their own spirits and natures into the measure of the spirit of God in them as Christ was into the fulnesse They are such as are begotten of God born of his spirit led by him out of Egypt through the wildernesse to Sion the holy mount there they meet with the elect precious corner stone which is laid in Sion and they being living stones are built upon it into Jerusalem the holy City 1 Pet 2. 5 6. Ebr. 12. 22. This is the true Church Every one that believes in Christ is a living stone and being a living stone he is laid upon the living foundation and so is a part of the building in the Temple of the living God Yea his body and and spirit being clensed he himself is a Temple wherein God dwels appears and is worshipped And the gathering of any of these together at any time in the life in the name of Christ is a larger Temple and such a Temple as Christ never fails to be in the midst of But the great Temple the ful Church is the general assembly of the first-born This is the unerring pillar and ground of truth This alwaies bare up truth truth never failed here but when it was at any time lost in the world it might from hence be recovered again when God pleased and as far as he pleased Indeed the Law of the Lord hath alwaies gone forth from this Sion and the living word from this Jerusalem But what hath the Church been in the Apostacy a building of stone say some and that not onely among Papists but here in England also many have called the old Mass-house a Church a Temple the house of God pleading for it to be a holy place and have showed it by their practises keeping off their hats while they were in it Others say not the stone building but the people that meet there is the Church whereof many are openly prophane yea so far from being gathered into the spirit and so ignorant of his motions that they are ready to scoffe if they hear a man speak of being moved by the spirit What are these are these living stones whereupon the true Church alone can be built are these children of the day Nay these are children of the night children brought up in the Apostacy from the true light the true life the true rule of Christianity the true worship the true faith the true love c. and so are dead stones in that building but not true living stones in Gods building Other sorts separate from these and gather Congregations out of these but still in the same spirit in the same nature being not themselves gathered out of the Apostacy from the spirit into the spirit again and so they build but with the same stones as were in the old building and not with the new and living stones and so are but a more refined appearance of a Church but not a true Church Not a Church in God and by the gathering of his spirit but of their own gathering after a form according as they have imagined from their reading and studying of the Scriptures 9. Which may be the last instance The Ministry the true Ministry hath been lost The true Ministry was a ministry made and appointed by the spirit by the gift of the Spirit bestowed on them and by the spirit sending of them and appointing them to their work Christ bid his Apostles and Disciples wait at Jerusalem for the promise of the spirit and when he had given them the spirit he gave them to the Church for the work of the Ministry Ephes 4. 11. 12. Act. 20. 28. And if none can be a member of the true Church but by being begotten out of death into life by the spirit surely none can be able to minister to him who is so begotten but by the same spirit So these receiving their Ministry of the Lord Jesus Act. 20. 24. and the gift of the spirit from him they were made able Ministers of the new Testament not of the letter but of the spirit 2 Cor. 3. 6. They were able in God to minister from his spirit to the spirits of his people And they did not minister a literal knowledg of things to the understanding of man but they led men to the spirit of God and ministred spiritual things to that spiritual understanding which was given them of God Neither did they make use of their own wisdom and art to tickle the natural ear but spake to the conscience with the demonstration of the spirit in the sight of God as it pleased the spirit to give them utterance But how have Ministers been made in the Apostacy By orders from men set up in their own wils after their own inventions And how have they been qualified but by humane arts and languages which have been of high esteem in that which men call the Church since the language and skill of the spirit of God hath been lost God who chose in his own Church doth not chuse here who shall be his Ministers but any man can appoint his Son to be a Minister if he will but educate him in learning and send him to the University and so bring him into that way of order wherein men make Ministers and then he is able to minister unto man the things of man according to human skil And this in the dark night of apostacy must go for a true call to the ministery of God Indeed they are as true Ministers as the Church is to which they minister but they never were nor never can be thus made Ministers of the Church of God but as God alone can form and build his Church so he alone can fit and appoint the Ministers thereof And though others having seen the grossenes of this make their ministers by a call in their Church yet neither is that out of the apostacy but onely a striving of man to get out of it which man cannot possibly do till he meet with the spirit of God to lead out of it So that that Ministry also is but an invention of man made by man and comes not from the spirit nor is able to minister spirit to the spirit
Object But hath there been no true Religion since the daies of the Apostes no true rule no true worship no true faith no true love no true hope joy or peace no true repentance conversion regeneration no true wisdom righteousnes sanctification and redemption no true Church no true Ministry What hath become of all our fore-fathers did they all perish And hath not this ministry converted many to God were not yee your selves converted by it Nay have not many of them been Martyrs and witnessed to the truth of God And though some of them are bad yet are not many of them zealous and conscientious Preachers of the Word at this day By such reasonings as these the wisdom of man much strengthens and hardens it selfe against the truth Answ The rule in Nations the worship in Nations the faith love hope joy peace repentance conversion regeneration c. which have been cried up in Nations for the truth the Churches in Nations the Ministry in Nations all these have been corrupted and never recovered their true state to this day There have been changes from one thing to another but the restauration hath not been known The whorish spirit hath been hunted puriued and so run out of one form into another traversing her way and changing her ground and garments but hath not been taken and judged to the death and the true spirit hath not been able to find the bed of her husband but hath wandered from mountain to hil all the time of this cloudy and dark day forgetting her resting place Yet though the whole earth was corrupted and false doctrine and worship set up every where among the Nations which continued the fornication and whoredom from the spirit of life in the publick wayes and national worships notwithstanding this even all this while God reserved a seed to himselfe which he caused to spring up in a remnant and which he moved and carried on to witnesse against somewhat of these corruptions in their several ages and generations And as fast as the beast killed and knocked down these God raised up more yea though the whorish spirit in some Nations painted her self curioussy leaving some of the grosse Doctrines and Worships of Popery and got into a more refined way yet God raised up witnesses against her there also and still doth into what form soever she gets for though of late she hath decked her self very pleasingly as she think and covered her selfe round with scripture-words and professions and practises as like as ever she can form them to the practises of former Saints yet quick and lively is the spirit of God that searcheth after her who hath found her out and raised up witnesses against her there also Now this seed this remnant though they were not able to recover the possession of the life and power that was lost yet they had a true taste of it and their testimony which they gave out from that taste was true and so far as they kept to this testimony in the faith and in the patience which they had learned and received from God though but in a low measure they were accepted of him So that all were not lost in this night of darkness but such as feared God and knew and hearkned to his voice had the testimony of his presence with them and tasted of his life and power in measure God was not an hard master to them but tender and gentle and contented to reap what he sowed But the appearance of God in this dark time was weak and low and easie to be made a prey of And this is very observable that so long as the simplicity ran pure it was preserved but so soon as ever the spirit of man was tempted either into any old or into any new invented form the wisdom of the flesh got in with it grew up more than it and when it had gathered strength corrupted the vessel betrayed the simplicity and lost the life Thus many pretious beginnings and buddings forth of life have been betrayed in these late daies There was a pretious thing stirring in Queen Maries dayes the life whereof was more hurt and suppressed by that dead form of Episcopacy succeeding afterwards then by the foregoing persecution The persecution did clear and brighten it but the fleshly form of Episcopacy brought death over it And the forms of Presbytery Independency Anabaptism have been little lesse then graves to bury and keep down the life How many spirits that had a precious savour in them at their entrance into those forms did soon become fleshly earthly and very unsavory loosing the quicknesse and freshness that was in them before and falling into the deadness of the form withering with it And as touching the Ministry though in it self it was evill being in the degeneration from the true Ministry all this time of the Apostacy and the persons therein for the most very corrupt being brought up to it as to a trade and making use of it as a trade yet I do believe that there was a simplicity of heart in some persons among them which did cause them in some degree of faithfulnesse to seek the Lord his service and the good of souls And in the time of ignorance and darkness it pleased God to wink at and over-look the evill and to cause good to passe from the good in them to the good in others through the evil that hung about both And this was the great tenderness of the Lord in pitty to his poor creatures who were very destitute to help in the thick night of darkness and should not now be made use of to justifie and keep up the evil Do ye thus requite the Lord O foolish people and unkind Because his mercy and goodness extended to you notwithstanding the evil which might have hindered will ye make that an argument to keep up the evill and to oppose the light which discovers it Because God causeth light to shine through the darkness and visiteth man in the dark wil ye therfore set up the darkness as his proper way of ministration The corrupt way call and exercise of the corrupt ministry could not keep out the tender love of God but he had respect to the simplicity of some who were found in it and to the simplicity of others who waited on him for instruction there and did please to give some answer to both And will ye make this uningenious use of it to interpret it as his approbation of that ministry which sprung up in the Apostacy from him among those that were apostatised and is a great dishonour to him and the abhorring of his soul A ministry of Christ a ministry set up by his spirit is precious but a ministry made by man according to his will and ministring in his wisdom the soul of the Lord beareth as a burthen and is pressed with it and as he raiseth up his own life wil ease himself of it And what do they minister from but the literal
Believing from the letter without you that ye are justified may easily deceive you but if once ye come truly to feel in your selves the thing which justifies and so find the power and life of it in you above the power of all that which condemns casting out the condemned thing and the condemner with all his works out of your hearts this cannot deceive The virtue of life was lost in the Apostacy and that which was living did not so much enjoy life as mourn after it and the power and safety of life did then appear most in mourning but now the Apostacy draws towards an end and the virtue begins to shoot up again and he that wil be a Christian now must be so not by retaining his old notions but by feeling this new virtue and by growing up in this new-sprung life and power of the Lord whose appearance is new to us who have not been acquainted with it but have been brought up in the darkness of the apostacy and lived in the waters where great Leviathan ruled and who was able to make war with him there But he that seeketh is joyned with and keepeth to that power which drieth up the waters and putteth an hook into the nostrils of the Leviathan shall find the world with the whole course of it ending in himself and the beginning and growth of an endless life and in whom that life lives they shall live also but wher death keeps the power of life down such shal not live or know the blessing but abide under the curse of misery and death and under the powers of darkness Therefore look about you and make a wise choice for his servants ye are whom ye obey whether the Prince of darkness in his invented forms of godliness or the Prince of light it the living power and your reward shall be according to your choice and work either death in the death if ye chuse and joyn to that or life in the life if ye joyn to that He that hath an ear to hear let him hear J. P. A Table of the Contents AN Apostacy from the truth fore-told of Page 1 That this Apostacy began in the dayes of the Apostles p. 4 The poyson of it infecting the Churches then p. 5 The general overspreading of the Apostacy over the whole earth p. 7 Witnesses raised up against the Apostates but still persecuted and slain by the Apostates in all ages since the Apostacy p. 8 Where the true Religion and Church hath been to be sought for all the time of the Apostacy 9 The general corrupting of the Doctrine of the Gospel and of the whole state of Christianity by the Apostacy 10 The rule of Christianity lost in the Apostacy 10 An objection concerning the rule answered 13 The true rule which was before the Apostacy infallible 16 A dishonor put upon the Scriptures under pretence of honour 17 The Scriptures honor to be again recovered 18 The true worship lost in the Apostacy 18 The true faith lost in the Apostacy 21 The true unfeigned love lost in the Apostacy and a feigned love got up since among professors of all sorts 22 The true hope lost in the Apostacy 23 The true joy lost in the Apostacy 24 The true peace lost in the Apostacy 24 The true repentance lost in the Apostacy 24 The true conversion lost in the Apostacy 25 The true regeneration lost in the apostacy 25 The true wisdom lost in the Apostacy 25 The true righeousness or justification lost in the Apostacy 26 The true sanctification lost in the Apostacy 27 The true redemption lost in the Apostacy 27 The difference between Christians before the apostacy and Christians since in the very substance of Christianity 28 The true Church lost in the Apostacy 29 The true Ministry lost in the Apostacy 30 Witnesses raised up in all Nations to testifie against the Apostacy and some sparks of truth such as God saw fit for them to testifie to the present age revived in them 32 As the whorish spirit changed her dresses to keep up her deceit and to with-hold the honest hearted from the truth so witnesses still raised up against her to discover her and witnesse against her in all her new forms and shapes 33 Affliction and persecution good for the witnesses to keep down the flesh and keep the life pure in its weak appearance in them in the time of the Apostacy 33 The tender kindness of God to the simple and honest hearted in the time of the Apostacy 34 The ill use that the carnal mind now makes of it 34 The Ministry of the apostacy wrong in its nature and whole course feeding the fleshly part but not able to raise up and feed the soul 34 Of a recovery from the Apostacy the Lamb and the Saints again ruling 35 The preaching of the Gospel again in the world 36 The fall of inventions traditions and false worship with that whorish spirit which invented them and bewitched all Nations with them 36 Plagues to come upon them that abide in any part of Babylon 37 Who are still in some part or other of the apostacy and not recovered from it 37 What the spirit that ruleth in the apostacy raiseth up in men and what it suppresseth 38 How this Spirit intangled the simple hearted and held them in her snares even when there were pure stirrings of life to get loose from her 39 What the worship of men is in the apostacy and whom they worship 40 The onely way of recovery out of the apostacy 43 The enmity of this Nation against that Spirit which would recover it out of the apostacy 44 The danger of this enmity to the Nation 45 Salvation onely by the true knowledge of Christ 46 By the new covenant 46 The Laws whereof are to be written in the heart 47 Which can be done by none but the Spirit 48 Therefore the first thing to be known in Religion is the Spirit 48 The Spirit is first known as a convincer of sin 49 He convinceth by his light in the conscience 50 The light of conviction shineth in every conscience 50 Believing in this light is the true way to life 51 Believing in this light unites to God and opens the springs of life 52 How we came to the knowledg of the way to life 53 The true Heirs comfidence in God against all the powers of flesh 53 The springing up of the seed of God in this Nation with the great opposition against it 54 The spirit of error chargeth truth with those things which belong to it self 55 Truth would take away the error with that from whence it springs and wherein it lodges but that it is opposed and withstood at the very first even when it doth but begin to discover 57 Object That this is a new way answered 58 Obj. That this light is natural answered 59 Obj. That it makes the Scriptures void answered 59 Obj. That it teaches things contrary to the Scripture answered 61 Obj. That it sets up free-will answered 61 Obj. About wanting power answered 63 Obj. That this sets up a covenant of works answered 63 Obj. That it breaks down relations laws governments takes away due respect from Magistrates c. answered 65 A false healing of a true wound is the cause of error from the Spirit of life in ones self and of persecuting it in others 67 The wisdom which hath been gathering knowledg from the Scriptures in the apostacy must fall and all that knowledge come to naught before the truth can be received 68 Gods love in discovering the Apostacy and calling from it and