that that is past halt not so between both if either be sufficient to uphold your Doctrine then cleave to that but you seem to doubt either alone why else make you such use of both A. For do not you say page 32. as before is noted That you have the â—ull use and benefit of the Holy-Ghost which was formerly given which if true is sufficient without your having it now your selves in particular for it alone was sufficient to them that then had it and if you have the full use and benefit of that now it alone is sufficient for you also and now to have it your selves too is supersluous and over and above what is sufficient but they formerly manifested their having of it so must you before any wise man will believe your having it because the manifestation of the Spirit was given to every one that had the Spirit to profit withal 1 Cor. 12. 7. Page 38. B. Christ hath now delivered up even all the Learning in the world that is worth the speaking of unto his Church and continued even these common gifts of the Spirit therein N. The Church of Rome will challenge this as much as you if not more A. But the Church of Rome is more wise and reasonable then to account humane Learning any gift of the Spirit or to make it any mark of a true Christian since Heathens and Unbelievers may have humane Learning and had it in great measure among their Philosophers c. but the gifts of the Spirit were given onely to believers and that after they believed Eph. 1. 13. Act. 19. 2. Act. 2. 38. Page 46. B. The Scripture being true and the Christian Religion certainly true every part of it must needs be true N. Where is that Bible or Scripture A. And is not the Church of Rome the Quakers the Antinomians and divers other whom you oppose all Christian and their Religion Christian Religion and if true in every part VVhy do you then oppose them in many if not in most parts of their Religion but haply by Christian Religion you mean onely your own Religion Let me then ask you Is your Religion true in every part If it be why then do so many as learned Christians and as true Ministers of the reformed Churches as your self oppose you and you them in so many parts of your Religion being all Christian Religion and true in every part and all of you also true Ministers of Jesus Christ as you assert How fell you out and How comes it to pass that you be at so great Odds even about the most essential Doctrines of the Gospel yea and about the very Person and Nature of Christ himself Nay How comes it to pass that you so heave and cast out one another out of Habitation Liveli-hood and Maintenance and so much seek to get places of profit from one another as you do all of you being the true Ministers and Officers of the Kingdom of Christ Surely the Apostles may fear to admit you as such into the true Kingdom of Christ lest you should there likewise heave them out of their places appointed for them to eat and drink at Christs Table and also justle them besides their Thrones whereon they are to sit to judge the twelve Tribes of Israel in the Kingdom of Christ Luk. 22. 29 30. Felix quem faciunt aliena pericula cautum Page 57. B. As the bodies of men do live and speak and reason by the soul so doth the Church live and move by the spirit of Jesus N. In which of the many sorts and Sects of Christians is this Church to be found since Rome and all other challenge to be the true A. And also to have this Spirit of Jesus yea and to live and move thereby yea and by that Spirit of Jesus which each will pretend to have they will judge each other sort dissenting from them to be led by the Spirit of Error Page 80 81. B. Jesus did send forth his Spirit into his prophets before his coming and more fully into believers since his coming to be his infallible witness to the world to convince the unbelieving and confirm believers and that this Spirit was poured out on the Church especially on the Apostles causing them to prophesie and speak with strange Languages and cast out Devils and heal Diseases and that the same Spirit is given to all true believers in all ages to guide c. N. Is it the same and not the same powerful works of manifestation to accompany it A. Yea and which did and will alwayes accompany it for by Spirit of God and Power of God is one and the same thing meant in many places of Scripture As Stay until ye be endued with power from on High i. e. with the spirit Luk. 24. 49. Ye shall receive power when the Holy-Ghost is come upon you or the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you Act. 1. 8. My speech and my preaching came not with perswasive words of mans wisdom but with evidence and demonstration of the Spirit and power that your faith might not stand in the wisdome of men but in the power or Spirit of God 1 Cor. 2. 4 5. And it cannot be imagined that this self same Spirit which was then so powerful is now grown old weak and feeble nor that it hath lost or is separated from that its might and power Page 81. B. That it is and must needs be the holy Spirit of God which doth such Miracles as were then wrought and attesteth and revealeth so holy a Doctrine N. But where are any such to attest the Truth of your Doctrine or are we bound to take it on trust Page 83. B. It is most expedient that Christ our head should be bodily present in Heaven but send his Spirit to his lowest and remotest Members N. In 1 Cor. 12. these spiritual Members of Christs body are set out by manifest gifts onely Page 84. B. It actuated the first Church after Christ with a force extraordinary by Miracles Prophesie Healing Languages c. N. Here you make a difference without warrant see Mar. 16. 16. Joh. 14. 12. and by limiting it to the first you contradict your self elsewhere in proving these continued long after the first Church Page 85. B. John 14. 16. I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with you for ever N. The same Spirit and Power to be with the true Church for ever A. A little before to wit in page 80 81. you say That the same Spirit by which the mighty works were wrought formerly is given to all true believers in all ages Whence will necessarily follow That all true Churches and all true Ministers of the Gospel must be endued with the same power as formerly And thus and not otherwise the text in John 14. 16. is truly expounded Page 87. B. He that hath not the Spirit of Christ is said to be none of his N.
That is no member of his Body or true Church A. For this Body of Christ is capable onely of profitable Members by having some manifest gift of the Spirit to profit the Body withal for the manifestation of the Spirit for that purpose was given to every Member of that Body 1 Cor. 12. 7. c. Whence will follow No manifestation by some gift of the Spirit no Spirit of Christ and no Spirit of Christ no Member of Christs Body Page 87. B. The Spirit by extraordinary works formerly and by holy actuating the Church to the end is Christs great witness to the world N. Christs great witness to the world by his Spirit is by outward works not by inward workings in the hearts of his Saints A. For how can any unbeliever be convinced and brought to the Faith by the secret workings in another mans heart or spirit without some powerful manifestation thereof outwardly Page 96. B. All this you know is Scripture N. Although all this is Scripture yet little of all this is of Scripture and that which is is little to the purpose to prove that which is endeavoured by the Author Page 98. B. For the same spirit will not say and unsay N. How ill will this prove the generality of preaching now to be of the Spirit since the same is so full of Contradictions Page 99. B. The spirit of Illumination is the same and given onely by Scripture and for any spirit that shall contradict Scripture it can never be holy nor true nor faithful as contradicting Truth N. VVhen various and contradictious Expositions are made of Scripture how may we certainly know which is for and which is against the Truth and when or by whom were Miracles ever wrought to confirm Scripture or Doctrines taught now by our Ministers or whether all Scriptures Ministers and Doctrines now extant be or have been so confirmed since all do or may challenge it the one as well as the other Page 105. B. There is the Spirit of God within that doth second these Doctrines and take the received Species of them and impress them upon the Soul and doth this effectually and potently according to the mighty unresistible power of the Agent N. How then is unbelief any sin deserving damnation or belief any vertue if it be wrought by an inward unresistible power Page 106. B. You see the truth of Christian Religion by the Spirit of holiness besides that of Miracles formerly All Sects and sorts of Christians pretend to have this Spirit of holiness and may challenge the former Miracles to give evidence for the one as well as the other The Second PART Page 32. B. And to make the giving of the Holy Ghost to be that seal which should credit this report with their hearers N. VVhere is this seal to credit your Doctrine and Ministry if you had it it were more to purpose then a thousand such Books as this Page 34. B. No man can know that the Magna Charta the Petition of Right or any other Statute of this Land are indeed Genuine and Authentick N. Nor is any man bound upon Pain of Damnation so to know or believe it as he is the Gospel that hears it declared and attested by Signs and Gifts of the Holy Ghost wherefor the Comparison is frivolous Page 34. B. The most unlearned man is so far bound to believe the Statute of Felony to be authentick and in Force that he shall be justly hanged if he break it N. But no man can justly be hanged for not believing it onely nor can any man be justly blamed for not believing you more then another contradicting you Page 36. B. Miracles if common would lose their Convincing Force and be as none N. Miracles though common in the first Age lost not their Convincing Force Then Miracles though common in after Ages may not lose their Convincing Force But the first is true Besides in page 242 of the Third Part of this Book you tell us That it 's certain from current History and Church-Records that the Gift of casting out of Devils and making them confess themselves mastered by Christ did remain in the Church for long time after the Apostles even for three of four hundred yeers at least Page 45. B. God doth still effectually convince millions of men of the certainty of Christian Religion and that without renewed Miracles N. All several sorts of Christians have this Conviction respectively yet condemn one another for Hereticks Page 50. B. It was the Office of the Apostles and the Duty of all other that saw Christ's Miracles to bear witness of them N. It was the Office and Duty of such to stay until they were indued with power to do the like Miracles See Luk. 24. 49. Act. 1. 4 5 8. before their witness was to be received Page 50. B. Those that saw not those Miracles were bound to believe their witness N. Prove this if you can Page 55. B. Lillies Grammar may be mis-Printed or the Writings of Cicero Virgil or Ovid which were written before the Gospel and yet we are past all doubt that their Writings are not forged N. That which God bindes men to believe upon Pain of Damnation comes with more certainty then these or any other Writings or Words either especially they coming to them in an unknown Tongue A. As the Scriptures did from the Pen-men thereof unto nineteen parts of twenty men in the world Page 55. B. Must you not believe him that tells you the Truth and proves it to be so N. If one by his Scholarship proves it true and another in like manner prove it false which of the two is a man bound to believe or must he believe both Page 56 B. Object Christ saith If I had not done the works which no man else could do ye had no sin Answ But doth not say If ye had not seen them ye had no sin N. This Text is cited falsely and deceitfully for it affirmeth in effect that which is denied in the Answer A. For you wilfully have omited among them and that they did both see and hate both Christ and the Father which being cited and duly considered will quite overthrow that Doctrine which you seek here to up-hold by omiting it which is neither fair nor honest Page 58. B. All Historians are fallible and liable to Error N. How then can it be any sufficient ground of true and saving Faith A. Or how then can any History or words from men fallible and liable to Error without infallible Evidence be any sufficient Ground for Divine Faith since you tell us elsewhere That Divine Faith hath ever a Divine Testimony but no Testimony that is fallible and liable to Error can possibly be a Divine Testimony Page 59. B. Such are the Scriptures and it was necessary that the Language should be suited to the matter so to the capacity of the generality of the Readers N. How is this true when it is Barbarism to the generality
Prerogative over any other man or men whatsoever For as the Divine Evidences were formerly so are they yet for the very same ends and purposes still useful and necessary to accompany the Ministry and so will they alway accompany the true Ministry for the conversion of men to the Faith of the Gospel But for R. B. thus to extend my words besides or beyond my meaning or to confine them short thereof is not to be allowed by me nor can it reasonably be approved by any man for whereas my meaning is limited onely to the conversion of unbelievers he extends them to any whether converted or unconverted as if I had been so irrational as to say or think That no man after his Conversion to the Faith of the Gospel was bound to believe or practise any other or further Duty of Christianity without some new Miracle yea new Miracles done in his sight to prove it for so much in effect his Charge amounts unto And who would ever think R. B. to be so void of understanding or ingenuity rather as to lay such and so irrational an aspersion upon any man that never did or thought him harm Now let any man in love convince me of my Errour in this my Position and I shall take it kindly and be as ready to retract and tread it under foot as he would have me but of all men in the world R. B. is least able to do it or to accuse me for it having asserted as much or more himself for in his Saints Rest Part 2. pag. 201. of the sixth Edition he asserts That Divine Faith hath ever a Divine Testimony and in pag. 205. That we must know it to be a Divine Testimony before we can believe fide Divina by a Divine Faith and I hope by a Divine Faith he intends no other then a true and saving Faith which must necessarily have a divine and infallible ground to be built on seeing of other Faiths he plainly tells us in pag. 201. That to believe implicitely that the Testimony is Divine or the Scripture is the Word of God this is not to believe God but to resolve our Faith into some humane Testimony even to lay our Foundation upon the Sands where all will fall at the next Assault And in pag. 236. he expresseth himself thus viz. I demand with my self by what argument did Moses and Christ evince to the world the verity of their Doctrine and I finde it was chiefly by this of Miracles and surely Christ knew the best argument to prove the Divine Authority of his Doctrine and that which was the best then is the best still And in pag. 33. of his book of Infidelity part 1. he tells us That Tongues are not for them that believe but for them that believe not that is saith he to shew them the power of Christ and so convince them And in part 4. pag. 46. of the same Book he tells us If it had no divine attestation or evidence that it is of God then you might (a) And I hope no man is bound by God to believe that which he may without sin or danger reject reject it without sin or danger Now let any rational and impartial man judge if R. B. himself hath not asserted sufficient and more then enough to justifie my Position and all that which I hold in the point yea and that which is tantamount the same although in many places of his writings he contradicts it which is no rare thing to see in men of his undertakings though they both speak and write much less then he hath done And amongst the multitudes of his failings in that and the like kinde in his voluminous writings thou mayst finde him friendly remembred of some few in a small Treatise entituled Fides Divina which when thou hast read then tell me If a Bear may not be known by a small Member even by his foot alone And whereas R. B. at the end of that his Charge intayles this viz. Adding withall That indeed Antichrist may do Miracles What cause of exception can be taken at Answ this my so saying when the Scripture it self affirms That the second Beast which came up out of the earth who is an Antichrist at least wrought Miracles Rev. 13. 11 14. Rev. 19. 20. This R. B. in his Saints Rest pag. 206. flatly contradicts by telling us there That no created power can work a Miracle Let him be pleased hence to be asked these sober Questions 1. Do you indeed and in truth as you pretend believe the Scripture to be the VVord of God 2. And that it was confirmed by Miracles as you assert it to be about the midst of your Preface to your Book of Infidelity and in divers other places of the same Book 3. How then dare you so presumptuously put the lye upon God by your flat contradicting his Word as here you have done This Charge lies upon him unavoydably unless he can prove that Beast to be an uncreated power which he can never do But we may see here as in many other places how he plays Bo-peep with us in rendring such persons abominable who do not with all readiness and without any chewing swallow all that which he pleaseth out of his own fancy to say of the Scriptures indefinitely being the VVord of God and that they (b) Which indeed is the harder for any man to belive because that some stuck not to raze and blot out of them senâ—ences above 1200 years since as Socrates reports lib. 7. ca. 31. And what hath been the boldness of others in that or the like kinde to do to them before and since is not known nor can be imaginâ—d were confirmed by Miracles when indeed and in truth he believes neither the one nor the other himself for if he did how durst he be so bold as flatly to contradict them as here he hath done And upon my saying that Antichrist may do Miracles R. B. infers thus viz. So it seems for all the talk Miracles themselves would not serve if they saw them Answ By this your inference you imply as if the signes and Miracles wrought by God himself for the Confirmation of the Gospel were no way dscernable by men from such as were or may be wrought by the Devil and his Instruments Is not this a casting a high disparagement upon the wisdom power and justice of Almighty God in his requiring faith and obedience to the Gospel upon pain of Damnation and yet produce no other nor better evidence for the Confirmation of the truth thereof then Satan or his Ministers can do for the Confirmation of falshood Doth not this amount to high Blasphemy against God himself For did not the Signes and Miracles wrought by Moses in Egypt so far transcend all those that were or could be wrought by the Egyptian Sorcerers or by the Devil himself as they were apparently discernable by all that saw them from those wrought by the
author of these Scriptures and by extraordinary endowments was the Author of those Miracles which were wrought for its Confirmation N. When or by whom was this done or any Miracles wrought for the Scriptures confirmation A. The Scripture reports the Miracles can the Miracles reported by Scripture confirm that report The Scripture rather confirms the Miracles it reports if any confirmation at all be between these two I shall here for a Conclusion onely note one passage more of his and that is in his Saints Rest part 4. page 149. being as followeth God doth not regenerate thy soul that it may be able to know him and not know him or that it may be able to believe and yet not believe c. By which is implyed That none but regenerate persons are able to believe and that regeneration is wrought onely by God Whence I may quere of him 1. How then comes unbelief to be any sin in the Unregenerate 2. Or is it a sin in the Regenerate onely and if so then regenerate Persons onely must be damned for not believing it being inconsistent with the Goodness Mercy and Justice of God especially by his Gospel of Grace to require impossibilities of men and that upon pain of Damnation FINIS An EPISTLE to Mr. BAXTER Collected for the most part out of his Prologue to Mr. KENDAL Sir BE pleased to minde what Solomon adviseth Not to strive with a man without cause if he hath done thee no harm Prov. 3. 30. and Not to go forth hastily to strive lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof when thy nâ—ighbouâ— hath put thee to shame Pr. 25. 8 It seemeth a stâ—ange thing to me that you could finde no Man among all your learned Opponents to contest withal but that you must make to your self an Adversary of one so unlearned as my self unless it be because you are likely with such a one to have the easiest conflict but then you should have remembred that the victory will be as small I pretend not to such a piercing Knowledge or Acquaintance with the invisible Regions of humane Arts and Sciences as infallibly to determine of what Province or Degree that Spirit in you was that raised this Contention or to know exactly the Name or Sir-name of that fury that animated these your practises or lines against me Have you already levelled all those high Mountains that lay in your way and fel'd to the ground all those Cedars with whom you formerly contended that you seek now to stock up all Shrubs likewise that bear not your Impress and Mark upon them Doubtless this proceeds rather from your Presumption and Pride then from any just Authority you have either from God or Man but seeing you are pleased to chuse me for your Adversary I must desire you to bear with me if I have spoken something less pleasingly and to use what patience you have yet left as knowing you have drawn this trouble upon your self by your causeless Provocations and Assaults made upon me which I hope will excuse me in the eyes of all impartial and ingenuous Men. I confess my self destitute of School-Learning and humane Arts and Sciences so much applauded in the world herein I freely give you the day to weare those Titles and Robes of Honour appurtenant thereunto contenting my self to have right to that far better Title of being an honest Man which in respect of your self you have much hazarded the loss of by your dis-ingenuous carriage towards me I contend not to have the Reputation of learning or being a rare and excellent Scholar but freely allow you the due praise thereof scarcely thinking it worthy my labour till I have higher thoughts of the Prize mens applause being but an airy nourishment meerly feeding vainglory in men empty of all true worth Onely I must crave this of the Reader that my confess'd weakness be no prejudice to the Truth here vindicated by me and that he will not judge of the cause by the person nor take the name or person nor yet the rarity of the thing for a fault which is the thing that the ancient Christians did much deprecate of the Pagans and therefore I hope every ingenuous and impartial man will grant it me in the present case And I must also desire that the want of Eloquence Rhetorick or smooth and pleasing Words may not be judged the want of truth Enim vero dissoluti est pectoris in rebus seriis quaerere voluptatem c. inquit Arnobius Li. 1 adv Gent. p. 49. viz. It is the condition of a dissolute heart to seek pleasures in serious matters and when thou hast to do with those that are ill at ease and sick to fill their ears with pleasing sounds and not apply medicine to their wounds I confess I deeply compassionate the generality of Professors to think how unpossible it is for them to discern the truth among the multitudes of smooth Words plausible Arguments fallacious School-distinctions and reasonings of the learned Contenders on each side usually they think each Mans Tale good till they hear the other and then they think it bad and at last when they see what fair glosses a learned Sophister can put upon the worst cause they are justly occasioned to believe or regard little or nothing they say The Reader that I expect should profit by this discourse must neither be the careless vulgar utterly unlearned nor any so learned as your self for the former are scarcely capable of it and the learned think themselves beyond it and will hardly learn any thing from any man that is less learned then themselves it is the middle sort and plain-hearted people who are sincere Lovers of truth whose instruction I intend who are neither quite above nor below information nor so ingaged to any party or Opinion but that their minds lye open to the evidence of Truth by what hand soever it be made known to them And although I come extreamly short of you in humane Arts and Philosophical Notions yet let not the Reader thence conclude That you are therefore right in your Divinity or more right then another man that comes short of you in humane Learning for if he doth let him be assured to be miserably deceived in the end And I could wish that you had so mean thoughts of your Philosophy and other your humane Arts as that you would not build your Divinity so much upon it as you do nor think much the better either of your Writings or your self for doubtless when the Canon of a Councel forbad the reading of Heathen or humane Authors this kind of Learning was not so highly valued as now it is which may likewise evidently appear by Socrates L. 1. C. 5. cited P. 33. of the foregoing Treatise Farewel C. W. Lond Aug. 10. 1658. An Appendix and Supplement to the foregoing Discourse by the same Author IF it were lawful further to dive into this mysterious fraud we should finde That the
Gospel preacht by this Author R. B. and the Gospel preacht by St. Paul to be different and not the same First because the Gospel preacht by St. Paul was accompanied with infallible Divine evidence to attest the truth thereof for the conversion of men and whereon infallibly to ground their faith and obedience thereunto without which he neither would nor could binde any to beleeve and obey it but the Gospel preacht by this Author hath no such evidence yet he will dare to say That all at least those that hear it are bound to beleeve and obey it Secondly Because illiterate men are uncapable of the Gospel preacht by this Author without their taking many things implicitely upon trust and upon the word of their Teachers as he himself tells us in page 238 239. of his Saints Rest where he thus expresseth himself viz. Something must be taken upon trust from man whether we will or no yet no uncertainty in our faith neither For First saith he The meer illiterate man must take it upon trust that the Book is a Bible which he hears read for else he knows not but it may be some other Book Secondly That these words are in it which the Reader pronounceth Thirdly That it is translated truly out of the Original Languages Fourthly That the Greek and Hebrew Copies out of which it was translated are true authentick Copies Fifthly That it was Originally written in these Languages These with many more as he there tells us the vulgar must take upon the word of their Teachers Behold here what use and benefit this Author makes of his having now the full use and benefit of the Holy Ghost which was formerly given and then sealed the Christian Doctrines and Scriptures and stands there still as he tells us if we could beleeve him in his Book of Infidelity Part â— pag 32. And must we needs therefore take these and all other his Doctrines which he hath raised or may raise either from Scripture or out of his own fancy for true and undoubted Christian Doctrines formerly sealed by the Holy Ghost upon the account of his bare saying That he hath now the full use and benefit of the Holy Ghost formerly given c. Sir If this be your meaning then speak it plainly out and for shame doe not impose upon the world such Gâ—olleries as these meerly by implication But the Gospel preacht by St. Paul and other the true Ministers of Jesus Christ needed none of all this it being preacht to all people in their own Languages and to the understanding of the meanest and this was all the Originals Copies and Translations that they were troubled withall or needed to bring them to the faith of the Gospel they not being necessitated to take the least tittle thereof impliâ—itely upon trust or upon the word or credit of their Teachers For When Philip went down to the City of Samaria and preached Christ unto them the vulgar people as illiterate as they were with one accord gave heed to the things which Philip spake hearing and seeing the Miracles which he did and without more ado they beleeved and were baptised both men and women Act. 8 12. All which was done before any of these beleevers had received the Spirit for after this were sent from Jerusalem Peter and John who administred the Spirit to them by laying their hands on them ver 17. Even as Peter declared their ordinary method of administring of the Spirit to be after faith and baptism Act. 2. 38 39. by his bidding the Jews to repent and be baptized every one of them and that they i. e. every one of them should then receive the gift of the Spirit because the promise to wit of the Spirit was to them and their children and to all that should afterward be converted or called to the faith of the Gospel as well all afar off as those that were neer And therefore it was that Paul demanded of the Disciples at Ephesus If they had received the Holy Spirit since they beleeved and they answering That they knew not whether there were any Holy Spirit or not He presently asked them Vnto what then were they baptized He well knowing that the gifts of the Spirit was necessary to be administred to all and to every one after their beleeving and being baptised and therefore by laying his hand on them he administred the gifts of the Spirit to them for thereby the Holy Ghost came on them and they spake with tongues and prophesied Act. the 19. 1 2 3 6. compared with Ephes 1. 13. This also is contrary to the Doctrine of the Gospel now preached by this our Author and others So then it is most evident that to the true Ministery of the Gospel appertained these three special administrations as essentially necessary thereunto 1. The administration of the Word infallibly and evidently attested for the conversion of men to the beleef and obedience thereof 2. The administration of Johns baptism by water for the remission of sins 3. The administration of Christ's baptism with the Spirit by the laying on of hands whereby the gifts of the Spirit were conveyed on the baptised beleevers Moreover St. Paul tells the Corinthians That his preachâ—ng to them was not for them to take any thing from him implicitely upon trust or upon any perswasive words of his or of mans wisdome but upon the demonstration of the Spirit and power which he produced before them to attest the tâ—uth and Divine Authority of his Doctrine that so their faith should not stand upon the word credit or wisdome of men but upon the power of God 1 Cor. 2. 4 5. for if they should have taken it implicitely upon the word and credit of Paul so great an Apostle as â—e was without the aforesaid Divine infallible evidence This had not been to beleeve God but to have resolved their faith into some humane testimony even to have laid their foundation upon the sand where all would have fallen at the next assault as this Author himself hath told us in his Saints Rest pag. 20â— 3. The Gospel preach'd by St. Paul was joyful news to every creature under Heaven Col. 1. 23. But the Gospel preach'd by this Author is far short of that being sad news to most men especially to such as beleeve not his Doctrines when they often interfere thwart one another as in part is here already shewed yea and some things published by him in print hath he already in print * Next to the 160. pag. of his Saints Rest part 1. He thus writes viz Reader understand that since I wrote this I begin to doubt of the soundness of what is expressed in the four next foregoing pages which I am not ashamed to acknowledge but ashamed that I published it so rashly revoked and so may he doe as there is just cause many more before he die yea it is hoped that he will ere long publickly own this truth which he now