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truth_n	church_n	scripture_n	speak_v	4,012	5	5.0509	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A91430	The copy of a letter written by Mr. Thomas Parker, pastor of the church of Newbury in New-England, to his sister, Mrs Elizabeth Avery, sometimes of Newbury in the county of Berks, touching sundry opinions by her professed and maintained. Novemb. 22. 1649. imprimatur John Downame.	Parker, Thomas, 1595-1677.	1649 (1649)	Wing P475; Thomason E584_3; ESTC R206220	9,411	20

there is no light in them Isa 8.20 And doth not all Scripture plainly affirm and the Churches and Martyrs and Witnesses of Truth all along affirm That Christ hath a true humane body He could not properly arise nor ascend but in his flesh and is he not for ever God revealed in the flesh 1 Tim. 3.16 and after his Glorification is he not called 1 Tim. 2.5 The man Christ Jesus and the Rev. 13.5,6 Tabernacle of God by reason of the flesh Rev. 13.5,6 and in whom the Godhead is said to dwell bodily for the same cause Col. 1. is he not said to have a life given him for ever and ever Isa 53.10 Psal 21.4 Rev. 1.18 And if he had not carried his real body into Heaven he would have left it in the Grave behinde he would not have eaten and drunken in it for to shew the reality of his body and that he was no spirit as the Disciples imagined he would not have offered his body to be handled the print of the nails to be felt for the proof of the truth and reality thereof And that he shall visibly appear again unto the world it appeareth Because the same body he carried up with the same he must return again to Judgement Psa 110.1 Acts 3. and therefore it is said Acts 17.31 He hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world by that MAN whom he hath ordained It is a sick and irksom labor to multiply places about a point so clear But what Scripture or Reason hath shewed you That his second coming is his coming in his Saints a mystical coming The plain words of Scripture are ever against you neither can they be applied otherwise then by making them a nose of wax This Jesus whom you have seen going into heaven shall so come as ye have seen Acts 1. I saw a white throne and one sate thereon Rev. 20.11 Behold he cometh with clouds Rev. 1. Matth. 24. 25. If you turn these things into Allegories nothing can be certain And would not Christ and his Apostles have told us so in some place or other if this coming were onely figurative adde That if this be figurative other things annexed are also figurative and nothing plain and this were to make a chaos and confusion of the Scriptures It grieveth me to spend time when matters are so evident Of like nature is that which you grosly hold that There is no Resurrection of the body Read 1 Cor. 15. Dan. 12.2 Rev. 20.12,13,14 It irketh me to write in such cases Whereas you say The Saints are Christ one with God their Being God What godly ear can hear such things without defiance and abomination If Saints are so if you are so then are you without sin as Christ Omnipotent Omniscient Infinite to be worshipped and adored as God and Christ is I will spit at this and say no more I understand also that you can determine of the holy Scriptures that much of them is written with a humane spirit can take or take not for Scripture or meaning of Scripture onely by the Rule of an apprehension and Revelation of the Spirit which you suppose your self to be guided by and to have more of then the Apostles had The same Spirit which told you that much of the Scripture was written with a humane Spirit may haply tell you at another time that all the Scripture is written with a humane Spirit that there is no certainty therein yield to one yield to all But we know that the Prophets and Apostles did all write as guided by the Spirit of God 2 Pet. 1. ult 2 Pet. 3. Joh. 17. Rev. 21. He that receiveth you receiveth me John 13. Now over and above all this there are other horrid things in your Book which I have not seen and Satan hath been let loose to shut you up and to imprison you in your monstrous Heresies by gates and bars and to fetter and chain you up that all means might be frustrate whereby we might have hope to bring you forth For if any thing from Scripture or Reason is brought against your Opinions which you cannot answer you can shift it off with this That you do not so apprehend thinking your apprehension to be infallible and above Reason or Scripture How came you by such an apprehension By what means came you to know that it is infallibly directed or may you not be praefident in thinking it to be so when it is not But surely no Saint or Martyr since the Apostles ever challenged to themselves such an apprehension for ought I finde And we are all commanded to regulate our apprehensions by the Scripture and not to judge the Scriptures by ungrounded apprehensions Thy word is a light unto my paths Psal 119. 2 Pet. 2. Mat. 4. for otherwise any Heretique may justifie himself by his apprehension and there would be no way to confute Error The Apostles themselves though infallibly directed yet would subject their Doctrine to the tryal of the Scripture as in the Bereans and prove it unto others by the Scripture Rom. 9. Gal. 4. Furthermore in these days we cannot tell That our apprehensions are guided by the Spirit but by the light of Scripture You will say It is so with you but how will you prove it to your self or others why may it not be the Spirit of Satan which you think to be the Spirit of God I dare be bold to say It is the Spirit of Satan and not of God that so directeth apprehensions as not under the direction of the Word Dear Sister with whom I have had sweet communion in the ways of God let us not now part at last divided in Faith Eternally divided Were you not in the Faith before you fell into these Opinions and did you not then write unto me that you had full Assurance Is all then lost and nothing that was before that you have changed your Faith and your Religion Is the Doctrine of your Reverend Father and of Dr. Twisse and the Doctrine of the holy Martyrs now at last discovered to be Error whom the Apocalyps doth expresly stile the Witnesses of Truth Whither will you run dear Sister from your Parents Friends Church Christ God and life Eternal Have you no more strength but at the first assault to yield the Bucklers and to give over your Faith so long professed at the first push If you had not Reason enough your self yet why did you not first enquire of those that might have holpen you I would rather a hundred times you had perished by the Sword then have thus faln dishonored God and your Profession and weakened the people of the Lord and shamed all your Friends and laid up treasures of Correction for your Posterity and put your self in a suspitious way at least of losing the heavenly Inheritance Let me tell you plainly I doubt there was some grievous sin at bottom as the Pride of Women or Spiritual Pride or something

The COPY of a LETTER Written by Mr. Thomas Parker Pastor of the Church of Newbury in NEW-ENGLAND TO His Sister Mrs Elizabeth Avery Sometimes of Newbury in the County of BERKS Touching sundry OPINIONS BY HER Professed and Maintained Novemb. 22. 1649. Imprimatur JOHN DOWNAME London Printed by John Field for Edmund Paxton at Pauls-Chain over against the Castle Tavern near the Doctors Commons 1650. The Epistle to the Reader BEsides this ensuing Letter I have also received other Letters to my dear Friend Mrs Avery which for sundry Reasons are not Printed from Mr. Cotton Mr. VVilson and Mr. Noyes all which bear the like aspect as this Letter doth in opposition to her Opinions herein Refuted That if so be the will of God she may be reduced to her former Faith and Profession from which she is so strangely turned away I forbear to acquaint the Reader with the transcendent worth of the Reverend Author of this Letter partly because I know it will be unacceptable to him and unnecessary in respect of them that have any knowledge of him and partly because I am unwilling to follow the Devils method in these days of Error who by raising an admiration of mens persons in the hearts of the simple disposeth them to a present compliance with their pernicious Doctrines Such flattery is below the gravity of a spirit established in the Faith of Christ whose Genius it is not to glory in Man forasmuch as whether Paul or Apollo or Cephas all is yours 1 Cor. 3.21,22 Benjamin Woodbridge To my very loving Sister Mrs Elizabeth Avery LOving Sister for yet you are my Sister according to the flesh and I am not yet without hope but that you are my Sister according to the Spirit for it is possible that God may bring you back again from your Heretical Opinions The Lord of his mercy grant That what I shall now write may be acceptable unto you and may be effectually prevalent for your seasonable reduction that you may not dye away in this lamentable Belief You will not come to Ordinances nor willingly joyn in private Prayer with your own Husband but onely to condescend to his infirmities for you say you are above Ordinances above the Word and Sacraments yea above the Blood of Christ himself living as a glorified Saint and taught immediately by the Spirit Who would have thought or dreamed that such expressions should have ever come out of the mouth of Sister Avery What will you make your self to be What higher then Moses and any of the Prophets above the holy Apostles and Primitive Saints which all were under Ordinances What higher then Christ himself who subjected himself to Ordinances while he was upon the Earth Acts 2. Did not Christ when he ascended up on high institute Ordinances for this end that by them his Saints and Churches and all of them without exception should be builded up until his second coming Eph. 4. Surely then if you will not be at Ordinances publique and private you forsake the way of Christ and withdraw your self from the way and means of Edification by him and Communion with him by the Spirit And what maner of Christian will you make your self to be For all the Saints and Churches from the Apostles until this time have constantly subjected themselves to the Ordinances of Christ as Histories do shew and the Prophesies in the Revelation What can you say to prove that Christ will bring forth Christians in this age differing from all that went before You go the very ready way to exclude your self from the sheepfold and from among the sheep of Christ when you do exclude your self from Ordinances and from the common way and path of all Saints yea and the glorious Church of New-Jerusalem to be raised up in the last time is said to be builded upon the Foundation of the twelve Apostles namely upon their Doctrine and in way of the holy Ordinances instituted by them You cannot possibly say That you are above the glorious Church of New-Jerusalem whose glory here is the height of grace upon the earth But it is marvellous that you are not afraid to say That you have more of the Spirit then the Apostles Be not offended that I tell you This is a horrible delusion of Satan and Luciferian pride Why do you not then dictate Oracles immediately from Heaven Why do you not infallibly Prophesie of the Times Why do you not work Miracles as they did Did any of the holy Martyrs ever say so or think and do as you The time was when you honored the memory of them and could humble your self to their imitation But that is above the rest That you are above the Blood of Christ Surely Satan the cunning hunter of souls doth labor to divide you from Christ and from his Blood that you should have no share at all in him when he moveth you to conceive and utter such things Saints are never above the Blood of Christ they are kept and maintained by his Blood even in their glorified estate as well as thereby promoted thereunto And if the Blood of Christ doth not keep you here on earth and wash you daily and further you on in the way of all Grace and in opposition to Sin and Satan you shall certainly never enjoy his presence and communion in the world to come To put the Blood of Christ out of the honor of employment and not to depend upon it is a fearful way to be utterly rejected Christ of his mercy preserve you dear Sister But I may say with Isaiah Stand and wonder they are drunken but not with wine Is any such language to be found in any corner of the Scripture or did any of the Apostles ever say they were above the Blood of Christ would they not have defied such a speech But unto all this you adde That Christ hath no humane body and that he shall not appear to the world any more in a visible maner that his second coming is his coming in his Saints whereby they are taken up into the nature of God and are as truly Christ as Christ himself and partake in the fulness of the Godhead no less then Christ yea that they are one with God their very Being is God Dreadful to think upon much more to speak or write or meditate upon Who hath bewitched you that you should fall into such Errors Hardly any in the world which have known you in former time would have thought or dreamed that you should ever have faln so deeply from your Faith If this be your New Light God preserve me and all good people from it But you will say I am in darkness and you in light and that I am no meet Judge The time was you would not so say But if you question it now how shall it be tryed Is not the Scripture to be our Rule To the Law and to the Testimony if they speak not according to the word it is because

else that God hath suffered you so horribly to fall away Search your self pray repent humble your self and turn betime The instruments I know not who they were but I dare say That in this particular they were messengers of Satan they might pretend to you singular Sanctity and deceive you by carrying themselves as if they dropped down from Heaven and came out of the bosom of God But all is not Gold that glistereth both you and they by reason of joys and ravishments conceived in the Spirit may think your selves to be in the arms of God and yet at last you may finde your selves in the very arms of the Devil who knoweth how to transform himself into an Angel of light being cunning to deceive I could give Examples to declare this I should rather rejoyce to hear that you were a mourner poor in Spirit and hungring and thirsting after Righteousness so should I know you to be in the very ready way to the Kingdom of Glory Matth. 5. This is the state of Christians here on earth even those that have the most Assurance The more Grace the better they think of others the meaner of themselves abasing themselves for the remnants of sin they finde behinde and mourning after more holines in way of mortificatiō They which are not in an humbling way are not in the way of Heaven O Sister you seem to be lifted up as if you were a goddess and as if all should bow unto you as singularly beloved above others yea as Christ himself and as one with God What pride was ever to be matched with your pride What will be your end if you humble not your self betime Your state requireth sharp and hasty Remedies bear with me therefore that I sharpen my stile to pull you out of the fire wherein you are already flaming Your affectation and writing of Assurance did not formerly so well savor and your printing of a Book beyond the custom of your Sex doth rankly smell but the exaltation of your self in the way of your Opinions is above all God will never tolerate pride in his beloved ones be sure and therefore I fear some afterclaps Hear me dear Sister renounce cast off the Masters and Fomentors of your Heresies never receive their Letters any more never answer them never admit them unto house send unto them That you will never have to do with them any more Think not that you are the better for your joys or more directed then others are but onely so far as you finde your heart to be humbly upon God in Christ as the chiefest thing in the way of his Truth and in the way of all his Commandments according to the sincerity of Evangelical endeavor Your heart may be upon your own advancement above others and not on God unless you look unto it Your new Masters and Companions in Heresie speak fairly to you and flatter you and advance and set you up on high this is pleasing to the flesh and when you are entangled in their Net you are unwilling to displease them they are as close unto you as the Ivy to the wall and you cannot easily be seperated A man that flattereth his neighbor layeth a snare for his feet Prov. 29.5 O Sister fly far from the house and corner of these men and women that lie in wait for your poor soul Do you not plainly see that Satan is loosed in these times and that there are many Heresies scattered amongst Professors which you your self do disallow why do you not suspect your self I have endeavored from the love of you and from the desire of the welfare of your soul to put my one eye unto the work and to write these lines unto you the Lord God onely can give success And I pray our Lord Jesus Christ That you may be turned otherwise you seem to be in a suspitious way and in great danger to be a lost woman a lost Sister and lost eternally (a) Here as yet appeareth by his Letter he had concluded but upon second thoughts proceeds I cannot tell how to make an end it is a business of such importance that I am about and your Spiritual welfare is so much desired I cannot yet but comfortably hope That God will bring you back again unto the Truth I will therefore answer some Objections to facilitate your return First you may think that It was not likely that God should cast you into Error all this while seeing you had immediately before so much communion with him and love unto him But had not your Father and others as much love to God as you and as much experience of his goodness whom he did never cast into such Opinions And if you had such experience of Gods goodness and communion with him in the time of your former Faith why have you then revolted from that Faith which God by his Spirit hath so much witnessed unto But Sister you are a weak woman and ignorant of the wiles of Satan and may easily be lifted up so that although I do hope that you had some true communion with God yet I do believe that it was exceedingly mixed with Spiritual pride for which God hath been angry with you and hath given you up to Heresies as was said before Some Christians by reason of their joys and raptures have gotten lofty eyes and eye-lids highly lifted up above their brethren censuring them slighting contemning them in comparison of themselves which it may be have more true and real grace in way of Humility and Mortification then they They rejoyce not humbly but in a proud singularity of communion and enlargements above others and seem to themselves as Angels in comparison of others great in their own conceits not mourners in the sense of their own filthiness and indigency nor thinking others better then themselves This God hateth and abhorreth in all Christians and will surely punish it humble therefore your self for this sin and any other and be sure that God in the way of returning will accept you And indeed my hope is That God hath suffered you to fall that he might do you infinite good thereby and bring you nearer and more purely to himself then ever before by purging your Spiritual pride and making you the more humble all your life after which God grant for his tender Mercies sake in Christ Secondly It will be grievous to you to renounce that Society which hath furthered you in your new and horrid Opinions crept in within you and engaged you and as it were adored you But dear Sister have you so much respect to your new upstart friends and it may be with whose spirits you were never throughly acquainted as for their sakes to neglect your old and sure friends your Father Mother Husband Brothers Sister Uncles and all the rest But if they are in Error as I have shewed them to be will you follow them to Hell I pray you harden your face against them as brass and set