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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	according_a	spirit_n	true_a	2,352	5	4.6188	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47751	Primitive heresie revived in the faith and practice of the people called Quakers wherein is shewn in seven particulars that the principal and most characteristick errors of the Quakers were broached and condemned in the days of the Apostles and the first 150 years after Christ : to which is added a friendly expostulation with William Penn upon account of his Primitive Christianity lately published / by the author of The snake in the grass.	Leslie, Charles, 1650-1722.	1698 (1698)	Wing L1140; ESTC R26153	27,838	41

Evil if which were granted he would yield that ther must be Two Lights But he supposes that nothing but the Divine Light could Reprove of Evil. The Contrary of which has been shewn from 1 Joh. 3.20 and allowed both by Burrough and Hubberthorn who both in the places above Quoted do assert that the Natural Light does Reprove of Carnal Transgressions And therefore if Carnal Transgressions be Evil the Natural Light does Reprove of Evil. But that which I would Improve from this and for which I have been so long upon it is to Represent to Mr. Penn the Consequence of this Opinion of his For if I think that my Vnderstanding is a Perfect Blank uncapable to Judge any thing of it self that is by the Natural Light which God has given it But that every Thought of my Heart concerning Religion is Super-natural Darted in there Immediately by God Himself by the very Life of the Word Eternal Then must I follow every such Thought even without Examination and Refuse to let it be Over-Ruled either by the Written Word of the Scriptures or by All the Reason or Authority of Men or Angels And if such Thought be Erroneous I am Vn-moveable and Irrecoverable This is the most Desperate Condition of which Man is Capable in this world Therefore this stumbling Block must be Removed before we can proceed any further And this is that which keeps the Quakers so Deaf to all Arguments Charm we never so wisely It was this which Confirm'd Gilpin Toldervy Milner and other Quakers that their Diabolical Possessions owned now as such by all the Quakers and the Quaker-witches who Attempted the lives of Henry Winder and his Wife see the Story in The Snake p. 300. and tho' Disproved Confuted and Confounded many ways in all their Accusations against them yet still to stick to it and could never be brought to Repentance or to own themselves Mistaken Why Because they had this Notion That what came into their minds was the Light of Christ And so it must be if ther be no other Light in the mind but that of Christ except we allow of a Diabolical And then ther are three sorts Natural Divine and Diabolical Unless you will say That a False-light as the Diabolical is ought not to be Reckon'd a Light But that will not do Because what Guides or Directs or Perswades that is called a Light And you may as well say That a False-Guide is no Guide as that a False-light is no Light Thus it is that Satan Transforms himself into an Angel of Light And as our Saviour has fore-warned us That the Light in some Men is Darkness Not that Light is Darkness but what Men take for Light and that is a Light or Guide to them though a False One. And then how we shall know the one from the other That is a Material Question which you have ask'd and which now Returns upon you What is that Spirit of the Prophets that is Subject to the Prophets Is it the Divine Light within is God Subject to the Prophets Must you not then allow a Natural Light Cease from thine own Wisdom Prov. xxiii 4. Can ther be Wisdom without Light Wisdom is Light Must I then Cease from the Divine Light or is ther not Another And how shall I know mine own Light from the Divine Light We are Commanded not to Believe every Spirit but to Try the Spirits 1 Joh. iv 1. How shall we Try them By Themselves Must I Try the Spirit or Light in my Heart by it self Ask it whether it be a True Light or not It says it is So do all Deceivers say so does every False-Spirit say then I must not take its word But I must Try it And I ask again How Try it Therefore it must be by something else than it self And what is that Now we are near the Truth For Mr. Penn the Case stands thus God has given a Natural Light to our Vnderstanding but a Fallible one therefore it needs Help and our own Endeavours The Principal Help is the Influence and Light of the Holy-Spirit of God which works together with our Light and Enables it to work Besides this God has given us a Rule to walk by Plain Directions in writing which we may Study and have always Before us That is The Holy Scriptures and His Light will open that is Help our Vnderstanding in the Reading and Studying of the Scriptures but that Implys we must Read and Study we must use our Endeavours else He can not Help our Endeavours We must not Ly in the Ditch and cry God Help us use no Outward Helps which God has Appointed but fold our Arms and sit still and gape for Extraordinary Inspirations which is a Tempting of God instead of waiting upon Him Then God has Appointed other Helps besides the Scriptures He has Constituted a Church and an Order of Men to Teach us to Help us to Vnderstand the Scriptures and to Administer the Sacraments to us which Christ has Commanded and Promised the Assistance of His H. Spirit to those who shall Reverently as He has Appointed approach unto them We have likewise the Helps of Historys and Human-Learning to know former Times to observe the Rise and Growth of Heresies and to beware lest we Fall into the like Snares of the Devil But if we will Neglect all these Helps nay Vilifie and Despise them cry out upon them as Low Carnal and what not and Direct God to work Miracles for us while we Refuse to work to send such an Irresistable and Infallible Light into our Hearts as may without any Pains on our side secure us Absolutely and ther is an End on 't If we will thus Alter our own Frame and the whole Method of God's Dispensations it is but just with God to give us up to follow our own Imaginations and let us feel the Effect of our Folly But now on the other hand if we will be Content to follow God in His way To acknowledge what we Feel and Know that we have a Free-will within us and an Vnderstanding which has Natural Powers to Judge and Discern and Consider and will use the Helps God has given us then and not till then are we in a Capacity to be Reason'd with to Judge and Try our own Spirits and other Mens by the Plain Rule of God's H. Word and if we find they speak not according to that then to Reject them Then may we Expect the Assistance of God's B. Spirit to Inform our Vnderstandings and lead us into All Truth necessary for us For what ever the Quakers think the Ch. of England has always Acknowledg'd the Influences and Inward Operation of the B. Spirit of God upon our Hearts as the Cause of All the Good that is wrought in us which is sufficiently shewn in The Snake Sect. xxii And this has been all along the Doctrin of the Catholick Church which I might Prove at length but that is not the Point

being the Preachers of Death rather than of Truth They abstain from the Eucharist that is The Sacrament of the Lord 's Supper and from the Prayers of the Church because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ which suffered for our sins and which the Father in his Goodness Raised up But these speaking against this Gift of God die in their Inquiries 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And vain and Death must those Inquiries be which leaving the Gifts of God the Sacraments of his own Institution and to which His Promises are Annex'd seek for Salvation in ways and means of their own Devising But it was unavoidable that they who had left the Body of Christ as a forsaken veil or garment to Rot for ever in the Grave or are careless what is come of it as a thing now of no Vertue or Consequence to us should Reject the Sacrament of it which is a continual Exhibition of its vertues and efficacy to us Or that they who hope for no Resurrection of their Bodies out of the Dust should continue the use of those Sacraments which were ordained as signs and pledges of it But if it please God that they ever Return to the Faith it is to be hoped that they will then Re-assume these Guards and Confirmations which are the outward vehicles and assurance of it III. The Third point is their Denyal of the Resurrection and Future Judgment For the Proof of this upon the Quakers I Refer to The Snake in the Grass Sect. xii p. 152. and to Satan Dis-Rob'd Sect. iii. and iv beginning at p. 26. and p. 21. of the Gleanings Now we find full Proof that this Heresie was Broached in in the Days of the Apostles and by them Condemn'd as is plain from 1 Cor. xv 12. c. and 2 Tim. 2.18 in which last Text the very Quaker-salvo is expresly set down by which they have Betray'd themselves into this Fatal Heresie viz. Saying that the Resurrection is Past already that is Perform●d Inwardly to those who follow the Light see Satan Dis-Rob'd p. 21. of the Gleanings and Mr. Penn understands that Full and Elegant Description of the Resurrection 1 Cor. xv all of this Inward and Allegorical Resurrection for in his Book Intituled The Invalidity of John Faldo 's Vindication c. Printed 1673. repeating ver 44. of this Chapt. viz. It is sown a Natural Body it is Raised a Spiritual Body he says p. 369. I do utterly deny that this Text is concern'd in the Resurrection of Man's carnal Body at all And p. 370. I say this doth not concern the Resurrection of carnal Bodys but the two states of Men under the first and second Adam And though as he objects the 47 and 49 verses seem to imply a Bodily Resurrection But says he let the whole verse be considered and we shall find no such thing To the Arguments of the Apostles against this Heresie let me add some Testimonys of others their Co-temporary Fathers or rather explain the Texts of the Apostles by their Comments who learned this Article of the Faith from their mouths The Texts above Quoted were wrote by St. Paul who Phil. iv 3. mentions Clement as his Fellow Labourer and whose Name is in the book of Life And he was as likely to know St. Paul's meaning as Mr. Penn whom I desire to read his 2d Epist to the Corinthians where N. ix he will find these words Let none of you say that this same flesh is not judged nor shall rise again Vnderstand in what have ye been saved was it not while ye were in this flesh therefore it behoveth us to keep our flesh as the temple of God For as ye have been called in the flesh so shall ye come in the flesh Jesus Christ the Lord who saveth us was first a Spirit and then made flesh and so he called us So shall we Receive our Reward in this very flesh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 St. Polycarp Bishop and Martyr who flourished about the Year of Christ 70. and was Disciple to St. John the Evangelist in his Epistle to the Philippians n. 7. says that Whoever does not confess the Martyrdom or suffering of Christ upon the Cross is of the Devil And he that will wrest the Oracles of Christ to his own Lusts and say that there is no Resurrection nor Judgment to come he is the First-Born of Satan 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And Hegesippus who lived near to the Days of the Apostles in his Fifth Book as Quoted by Eusebius Hist Eccl. l. 2. c. 23. speaking of these Ancient Hereticks says that they did not believe either the Resurrection or the coming of Christ to render to every one according to his Works 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 IV. The Fourth Point is their abstaining from the Sacraments and Prayers of the Church And for this I have before quoted Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans where he tells of those who Abstained from the Prayers of the Church and the Lord 's Supper because they did not believe it to be the Flesh of Christ which Suffered for our sins and was Raised up c. For how could they who as the Quakers made no more of the flesh of Christ than a Garment or a Vail but no part of his Person and consequently could never call the Bodily Garment Christ And thought their own Flesh and Blood to be the Flesh and Blood of Christ as well as the Flesh and Blood of that Man Jesus in whom they say that Christ or the Light dwelt as in themselves see Satan Dis-Rob'd Sect. ii n. 2. and 3. p. 2. and 3. of the Gleanings and plac'd the Meritorious Cause of our Redemption and Justification not in the Blood of Christ outwardly shed but in the Allegorical or Inward Blood of their Light within Inwardly and Invisibly shed c. I say How could these endure a Sacrament so contrary to their Belief For the Bread cannot be called the Flesh of their Light within but it was of His Outward Flesh that Christ spake when he said This is my Body and His Outward Blood was said to be shed for The Remission of Sins And the Eucharist was such a visible Representation of this as could not but shock these Enthusiast Hereticks And where the Sacraments are Practised such mad Enthusiasm cannot take place And we see by woful Experience that where these Guards of the Truth and Importance of Christ's Outward Sufferings are taken away Men fall from the True Faith in them But the Quakers have not only thrown off the Use and Practise of the Sacraments and left them as things Indifferent or Lawful to be Practised by such as may be conscientiously concern'd for them but Damn them as Carnal and Doctrines of Devils G. Fox in his News out of the North Printed 1655. p. 14. makes them the like Witch-craft as turn'd the Galatians to Circumcision And their Sacrament