God The Nature of it is to Discover Sin Reprove for It and Lead out of It all such as Love and Obey the Convictions thereof It is a Principle of Divine Life that Quickens the Obedient Heart to Newness of Life It Raises the Mind above the World to God and searches out and reveals the Deep things of God to the humble and waiting Soul And be it known to the Bishop and all that with him profess Ignorance about what we mean by the Light of Christ within Man This is It I have been treating of and I have writ I bless Almighty God My own Experience the Taste and Relish I have had of Its Excellency and Sufficiency in the Course of far the greater and best part of my Life But the Bishop must excuse me if I say I â—annot but take it very Ill at his hands to â—orbid us in his following Words to pretend â—o give an Account of what we Believe unless â—e can make him understand our meaning And â—ecause he does not penetrate our Sense to â—all our way of Wording that blessed Prinâ—iple of the Light of Christ in Man a Perâ—ect Banter This to me is one of the seveâ—est Persecutions because Spiritual things â—re only to be Spiritually discerned and unâ—erstood I would fain know how a Regeâ—erate Man can possibly make a Carnal Man understand the New Birth It is cerâ—ainly the Gift of God to understand Divine Truths as well as Rightly to Believe So that supposing our Assertion of the Nature Power and Excellency of the Light of Christ in Man to be true not to have leave to say so unless we could make every Man rightly take our Sence and Meaning whether he be Spiritually Discerning or not looks Antichristian as well as Unreasonable We speak Wisdom says the Apostle among them that are perfect 1 Cor. 7. 6. It seems others understand him not must He therefore not have wrote of the things of God The very Preaching of the Gospel was Foolishness to the Wiselings of Jews and Greeks they could make neither Head nor Tail of It by Their way of Judging of Truth Must not the Gospel therefore be preach'd When the Apostle Paul preach'd to the Athenians some of the Men of the Gown the Philosophers of that Time Opposed and Despised him saying What will this Babbler say But had they known what he meant we cannot think they would have said so to Him Waâ— the Aposlte then or the Athenians in faulâ— that they did not understand Him Or was it Bantering as well as Babbling because he did not make them understand his meaning which is only the Work of the Holy Ghost to do Who was it I pray thaâ— said The World by Wisdom knew not God And can we suppose any thing else blinded the Scribes and Pharisees and the High-Priest of the Jews from discerning the Messiah when He came For they wanted not Academical Learning if that could have enlightned them nor yet the Scriptures but they Resisted the Holy Ghost their only True Interpreter and so stumbled and fell Let the Bishop also have a Care In the Second Chapter of the first Epistle to the Corinthians he will find that the Aâ—ostle spake the Wisdom of God in a Myâ—tery which the Prinees of this World knew â—ot with all their Wisdom For the things â—f God fays the Apostle knoweth no Man but the Spirit of God by which those Christians knew those things that were freely given to them of God Which thing also we speak says He not in the Words which Mans Wisdom teacheth but which the Holy Ghost teachetb comparing Spiritual things with Spiritual But the Natural Man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him Neither can he know them because they are Spiritually discerned Now according to the Bishops treatment of us the Apostle ought not to have writ of Faith and Salvation unless he could have made all that read his Writings understand his Meaning And it must be a perfect Banter to talk of speaking Wisdom in a Mystery and not in the Terms that Man's Wisdom teacheth But the Lord Jesus Christ was of another Mind when he said I thank thee O Father Lord of Heaven and Earth because thou hast hid these things the Truths of the Kingdom from the Wise and Prudent and Reveal'd them unto Babes Even so Father for so it seem'd Good in thy sight It is hence beyond all Dispute that God hideth the Mysteries of His Kingdom from the Wisdom of Man when Simplicity and Sincerity fail not to Reach and Understand them Here it was that poor Nicodemus was absolutely at a loss for Christ's meaning when Christ said Unless a Man be born again he can in no wise enter the Kingdom of God John 3. Insomuch as he asked Christ upon his Discourse of the New Birth How can these things be At which Christ seems to admire in a sort of Reproof upon Nicodemus Art thou a Master of Israel and knowest not these things As much as to say Art thou a Man of thy Station in the Church of God Ignorant of the Way to Heaven Whoever reads that notable Interview between Christ and Nicodemus will find that Christ resolves the Matter into Two Births That which is Born of the Flesh and That which is Born of the Spirit and these are Contrary And therefore no wonder if they differ in their Understanding of the Holy Scriptures being a Declaration of the Faith and Experience as well as Doctrine and Practice of the Servants of God that were Enlightned and Born of the Holy Ghost Nor is this all for they that are Born of the Flesh Persecute them that are Born after the Spirit So that when they can no longer commit Violence upon their Persons and Estates they will Persecute them with their Tongues and Pens They are Hereticks Blasphemers Illiterate and Ignorant yet Presumptuous Enemies to Caesar and Disobedient to Government if they will not give God's due unto Man viz. Conscience And if they choose to deliver themselves in Scripture Stile and speak earnestly of the Necessity of the Work of the Spirit of God in order to an Experimental and Saving Knowledge of the Truth declared in Holy Scripture and that Christ's Ministers are made by the Holy Ghost and not by Humane Learning and that the Worship which is acceptable to God must be in the Spirit and in the Truth that is with Clean Hearts and Right Spirits Kindl'd and Inflam'd with the Holy Spirit of God They must be called Enthusiasts Unintelligible Men of Cant and Banter And here I leave the Bishop upon this Paragraph desiring him to Consider whether his Knowledge of God the Father and Jesus Christ whom rightly to know is Life Eternal John 17 be by the Revelation of the Son of God in his own Soul since Christ himself Teacheth and Affirmeth that no Man knows the Father but the Son and He to whom the Son Reveals Him I should be glad
to see the Bishop's Evidence for this Knowledge For in the Conclusion of this Paragraph he turns us to the Scriptures who in the beginning of it makes us Unintelligible and Banterers in Religion for Expressing Ours in the Terms of It which may well merit the Bishop's Serious Reflexion His Ninth Paragraph refers to our Eighth Article as he calls it of which he cites these Eight Words only Worship under the Gospel is Inward and Spiritual upon which he says If you mean that Outward Worship ought to be accompanied with Inward and Spiritual Worship 't is what we Preach Press and Practice but if as it would seem you mean that all the Worship God now requires is from the Inward Man or from the Spirit this is abominably false for our Bodies are God's Handy-work and God by the Apostle commands Glorifie God in your Body and in your Spirit which are God's Not to tell you that you your selves now a-days perform somewhat of Bodily Worship Indeed we do and Ever did and Ever shall I hope while we have Bodies to Worship God in We are so â—ar from denying the Body what share is â—ue to it that with the Apostle 1 Cor. 6. â—9 we say What know ye not that your Boâ—ies is the Temple of the Holy Ghost which is â—n you which ye have of God and you are not â—our own Of which I would have the Biâ—hop well Consider For if our very Bodies are under the Influence of the Holy Ghost how much more reasonable is it to believe that It dwells in our Souls and that our Hearts must be Prepared and Animated by the Holy Spirit in all our Devoâ—ion towards God But two things I must Remark to the Bishop First That we did not give him the least Occasion to suspect we deny'd Bodily Worship as appears by the gospel-Gospel-Truth now in question For 't is plain there by these words Worship in this Day is Inward and Spiritual That we only distinguish'd between Gospel Worship and the Ceremonial and Pompous Worship of the Law and that by Spiritual Woship we understand Praying Praising and Preaching by the Preparation and Sanctification of the Spirit of God which the Bishop does not and I hope dares not Deny Yet Unkindly and I think Unjustly brings in His as it would seem to make us by an Uncharitable Innuendo look to his Reader as if we denied Bodily Worship And yet to avoid so hard a Chapter as Maintaining this Aspersion would prove to the Bishop he is forced to confess that now a-days we perform some-what of Bodily Worship as if we did not perform any formerly and but a little now Which shews not that Candor that his Character ows us and but too plainly tells every Impartial Reader how muck more mind he has that we should be in the Wrong than in the Right I must Confess we have leâ— Pomp and Gaudiness in our Worship as welâ— as in our Cloaths than is the Custom oâ— some other Churches and think it our Happiness that we are freed from such an Unprofitable as well as Unsuitable Incumberance Whatever It be 't is such as we believe God by his Holy Spirit hath led us into And tho' it be not so Entertaining to those who are Govern'd more by their outward Senses than their Souls yet I hope it will be allowed us to be Grave Solemn and Fervent The other Remark I make upon the Bishop's Exceptions is this That the Spiritual Worship he there allows of seems to be but the Worship of Man's Spirit and not of the Spirit of God working upon the Spirit of Man I would not Imitate him lest I â—â—ould be Uncharitable too For if my â—eader can make more of it he has my â—onsent but that seems to me to be the â—ishop's Interpretation upon Christ's words â—ted by us on this Occasion viz. God will 〈◊〉 worshipped in Spirit and in Truth Tho' â—ere is a Truth in that also yet this nor â—eing so peculiar to the Gospel Dispensaâ—on could not be the Extent of Christ's â—ords whose Drift certainly was to draw Mens Minds to a more Inward and Spiriâ—ual Worship Not only to have less Cereâ—ony than was Practis'd among the Jews â—ut to feel more of the Power and Spirit of God in our Adoration and Praises than beâ—ong'd to the Former Dispensation and with which I heartily wish the Bishop a â—etter Acquaintance Upon the whole Matâ—er I am apt to think my Reader believes with me he might as well have spared his Pains upon us about the first Part of this Gospel-Truth as he is Silent of the latter viz. That we may Preach in Power as well as Words and as God Promised and Christ Ordained without Money and without Price The Bishop in his Tenth Paragraph is pleased to Endeavour to lessen the Authority and Credit of our Ninth Gospel-Truth relating to the vain Fashions and Customs oâ— the World His words are these You teâ— us of denying all the vain Customs and Fashion of the World as also Excess in all things 〈◊〉 know no sort of Christians who teach otherwiseâ— I wish I knew none even of your selves thaâ— practis'd otherwise it is one part of our Câ—techism we teach our Children He first Concurs with our Doctrine for he says 〈◊〉 knows none that Preaches otherwise and thâ— they do the like in their Catechism Sâ— far then he allows us to be sound But hâ— wishes he knew none even of Us that Practice otherwise This is a sort of Charge and being not Prov'd looks like a Calumnyâ— Some perhaps do not walk quite so strictly as becomes them to their Profession but are they own'd by us therein Or Indulged it self If not what are we to Concludeâ— but that the Bishop's Insinuation is to Ballance Accounts with us for the failures of his own People But pray are our Excesses equal or the Numbers that in Proportion do transgress I would not have him Comfort himself with his Uncharitableness to his honest and friendly Neighbours As it will not Excuse his less exact Friends that any of ours live larger than they profess so it cannot justly affect our Body â—here so few are faulty when 't is so well â—nown that such are sure to meet with due â—eproof But he adds that There are many Innocent â—nd Laudable Customs We call vain This 〈◊〉 all in a Heap and a Reflection by Wholeâ—ale I can truly tell him I know of none â—nd if he had been more particular so would too Perhaps he thought Generals bes◠〈◊〉 make his Reflection Safe But if it were â—y place to be Plaintiff I could treat the â—ishop with a large Catalogue of very Ofâ—ensive Customs that would concern him â—o think upon However he is pleased to â—e particular upon us in one of them which â—lmost turns his Stomach he says to think of viz. Would it not make a Man's Stomach â—urn to hear one forbear in point of Conscience saying you to a single Person because â—t is Improper
us to take his Advertisement that our Liberty hangs but by slender Threads and a Reason of State and not of Nature Right or Christianity which certainly is not to bespeak this Considerable Party to the advantage of the Government And for which I think the Bishop a very moderate States-man and the Government as little beholding to his Politicks as we are to his Charity However we will have a better Opinion of our Superiors Regards to Liberty and conclude that their Inclination equals their Discretion and that their Judgment as well as Prudence is of that side Let the Bishop say what he pleases And tho' he deserves it not at my Hands I could almost perswade my self to think that he does not begrudge us and means not so loosly as he writes But be it as it will That God that has upheld us by hit free Spirit to this Day through many and great Afflictions we firmly believe will suffer nothing to attend us that shall not in the Conclusion work for his Glory and our Good if we continue stedfast to the End in the blessed way of Righteousness wherein he has so often and signally Owned and Preserved us notwithstanding the Violence of Open Enemies and the Treacherous and Restless Endeavours of False Friends His 16th Paragraph multiplies Reflection as before observed and Repeats what I have already largely answered particularly that we own the Christian Faith which he makes us to Wave Suppress or at least not to Confess and have express'd it even in the Paper he has faulted so much of Shortness and that more fully in all Points than in the Creed commonly called the Athenasian except that about the Trinity which seems to me less plain by that Copious way taken to explain It. He also says We Reject all Outward Positive Parts of Worship which we deny For we own and use Prayer Preaching and Praising in the Spirit without which they cannot be Owned or Joined with for they cannot be so performed to Edification by a true Christian Worshipper since God who is a Spirit will be Worshipped in Spirit and in Truth which Christ's Spirit must enable us to perform And such Worshippers Only God the Father seeks to Worship him Implying he regards not other Worshippers But Especially the Bishop says we reject Baptism and the Supper We say we do not Reject but Disuse the Signs because we felt the Invisible Graces in our Souls they were Signs and Shadows of and therefore not in Disrespect to the Signs but in Reverence to the Divine Substance they shew forth we discontinue their use among us They obtain'd place in the Infancy and Twi-light of the Church in her more weak and Ceremonious time directing as I may say that Inter-regnum between the Law and Gospel before the Dispensation of the Holy Ghost had Fully obtained Place and Preheminence in the Church But of this I have been already very particular He grows warm in his 17th Paragraph and Episcopal for he says In a word I again Require you as you will answer all your Secret Arts and Pretensions at Christ's Tribunal that you either Embrace and Profess the Entire Christian Truth in the Points wherein I have shewn you to be Defective and that you receive the Christian Seals or Badges Baptism and the Lord's Supper or else that you Desist to lay claim to the Name of Christians But first I must return the Bishop his Secret Arts and Pretensions In all which he is Greviously Mistaken For either I do not understand his meaning or I abhor it Next be it known to him we Wave not we Suppress not but heartily Embrace and Profess before the whole World all Points of Christian Doctrine according to the mind of the Holy Ghost as I have amply signified before upon this subject And where the Bishop takes leave of the Text he must excuse me if I leave him to keep company with it We did not Entitle our Paper All Gospel-Truths but Gospel-Truths which extended so far as we were Tax'd with Error about those Truths And yet he must have but a little Charity that will not allow a Believer and Follower of those Truths to be a Christian Nor indeed has the Bishop given us the Articles of Faith he says we Wave or Suppress or told us his own or that One Churches Faith he would have us receive as I have Complained already But that the Bishop should forbid us so much as to lay claim to the Name of Christians unless we will Practice what he calls the Seals or Badges of Christianity which divers Churches in Christendom think he misuses is very Uncharitable and Dogmatical But besides what I have said at large in our Excuse and Defence in that Matter he produces not one Scripture that calls them either Seals or Badges But yet there are other things that are so represented by our blessed Saviour and his Apostles which he takes no notice of As Mat. 16. 24. where they that will he reputed Christ's Disciples must take up his Cross and follow him Christ's Cross is a Christians Badge and Seal of Discipleship Again John 13. 35. He said to his Disciples By this shall all Men know that ye are my Disciples if ye love one another Likewise Mat. 25. 34 35 36. The Distinguishing Character of the last Day is not Water Baptism and the Outward Supper but Love Mercy and Compassion Bowels and Charity not being Ashamed or Afraid of Owning and Helping the Lord's Servants in their Afflictions viz. I was an Hungry and ye gave Me Meat I was Thirsty and ye gave Me Drink I was a Stranger and ye took Me in Naked and ye Cloathed Me I was Sick and ye visited Me I was in Prison and ye came unto Me. This is the Christian Badge that will be Recognized by our Lord Jesus Christ at the last day We have his own Word for It. In all which He is so far from mentioning either of the other Badges that Luke 13. He brings in the Unhappy that are on his left hand using this Argument to engage him to receive them into blessedness viz. We have Eaten and Drank in thy Presence and thou hast taught in our Streets A plain Instance they had the use of such Ordinances as the Bishop reputes Badges of Christianity but it is as plain that such Pleas would not do For behold the Lord Jesus says unto them in the Parable I know you not depart from me ye workers of Iniquity I recommend the perusal of the following Verses to my Reader which confirm my sense of the Text For He spoke to an outside People that counted themselves the People of God and were observers of Meats and Drinks and Divers Washings And that which was Doctrine and Caution then is Doctrine and Caution now for Truth holds the same to the End I might add Holiness for a Characteristick without which no Man shall ever see the Lord And that neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor
known to deny and others of you only say It may be so And Lastly Tho' you acknowledge Everlasting Rewards for them that fear GOD yet nothing of the Everlasting Punishment of Wicked Men You mention Hell indeed in a very unnatural place viz. in your first Article of â—he Being of GOD but whether you mean thereby the Grave as most commonly in â—cripture is meant or a place of Temporal Punishment after this Life as some have â—one or a State of total Destruction and Annihilation as many now a days do no one knows Upon the whole As to the Sum of the Christian Faith which you have been pleased to set down there is not any one Article of our common Twelve that you have own'd intirely and Eight at least if not more of them that you have here totally suppressed or waved And how influential to a holy Life those which you have waved are and therefore how necessary to Salvation I must require and conjure you on your own Eternal Account to consider I will only mind you of two passages out of the Scriptures of Truth 1 Cor XV. 16 17. If the Dead rise not that is if there be no Resurrection of the Flesh then is not Christ Raised And if Christ is not raised your Faith is vain you are yet in your Sins Hence it appears All other points of Faith are in vain if this be not true The other is Rom. X. 9. If thou shalt confess with thy Mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thy Heart that GOD hath raised Him from the Dead thou shalt be saved This Article alone is of such force and influence on Mensâ—Hearts that if believed as it should be such belief will save Men. But both Christ's Resurrection and Our own are by You in this Paper left out of your Faith I judge You not but judge Your selves lest you be condemned of the LORD Your V VI and VII Articles treat of what you call The Light of Christ within Man This You have never been able yet that I could find to make out what You mean by For You will not allow it to be either the Natural Rational Faculty or common innate Notions or Natural Conscience or Conscience Illuminated by the Preaching of the Gospel and the Operation of the Holy Ghost thereby Till You can make us understand your meaning or indeed till You understand it Your Selves that is till you are less confused in this the very Fundamental Principle or Rule of what you profess You must not think of Declaring or Publishing an Account of your Faith See you understand it first There are some Men who have a Faculty to speak things seemingly profound but in the End neither themselves nor others can make any distinct sense of what they have said This we usually call Banter And I must acknowledge as far as I can see your Discourse of his Light within is perfectly such Take notice We in our Preaching require People to look within as much as You do We strictly charge all to walk according to the Convictions and Light they have received We daily appeal unto Conscience but then we teach that Conscience opened by the Holy Spirit under the Ministry of the Word Acts XVI 14. does and must take in its Light from Holy Scripture The Commandment of the Lord is pure inlightning the Eyes Ps XIX 8. viz. of the Mind Ephes I. 18. Thy Word is a Lamp to my Feet and a Light to my Path. Ps CXIX 105. To the Law and to the Testimony If they even Men in their Consciences speak not according to this Word it is because there is NO LIGHT in them Isai VIII 20. Now these things are intelligible This Rule is fixt and certain nothing of which can be said of Your Light within In Your VIII Article You tell us Worship under the Gospel is Inward and Spiritual If You mean hereby that all Outward and Bodily Worship ought to be accompanied with an Inward and Spiritual Worship it is what we daily Preach and Practice and even in private press But if as it would seem You mean all the Worship GOD now requires is from the Inward Man or from the Spirit this is abominably false For Our Bodies are GOD's handy-work and Christ's Purchase as well as Our Souls on which reason GOD by His Apostle commands Glorifie â—OD in Your Body and in Your Spirit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which in the Plural Number that is both which are GOD's Not to tell You that You your selve now a days perform somewhat of Bodily Worship And indeed if there be not a worship of the Body as well as of the Spirit there can be no Publick Worship This Article therefore must also be mended to make it Christian In your IX Article You tell us of youâ— Denying all the vain Customs and Fashions of the World as also Excess in all things I know no sort of Christians who teach otherwise I wish I could say I knew none even of your selves that practice otherwise It is one part of the Catechism We teach our Children to renounce all these But there are many Innocent and laudable Customs which You call vain Would it not almost make a Mans Stomach turn to hear one forbear in point of Conscience â—â—ying You to a single Person because it 〈◊〉 improper and at the same time while â—e is speaking to his Superiour because Thou doest sounds a little rudely to soften the Thou and say Thee doest which is commonly Your Peoples Practice and much more improper Will You ever be able to prove the Primitive Christians â—sed a Dialect or Dress different from others of their Nation and Qualities and placed Religion in it Does not Christ require Saluting even those who salute not us And no doubt his and his Apostles Salutations were in the common form In a word There is more Vanity in Singularity and Affectation than in moderate following a common innocent Phrase Garb or Custome In your X Article you believe you say a Spiritual Baptism and a Spiritual Supper and Communion but acknowledge you Disuse the Outwards Signs by us commonly called Sacraments Now did not Christ command Water-Baptism Go ye and Baptise all Nations Matth. XXVIII 19 20. The Baptism here commanded was Water-Baptism For Baptising with the Spirit was GOD's work not the Apostles and tho the Baptism of the Spirit commonly accompanied Baptism with Water yet not always as in the Case of Simon Magus and many others Yet did not Christ promise to be with them Preaching to all Nations and Baptising to the End of the World Further Did not the Apostles in Obediencâ— to Christs Command both constantly practice and also require Water-Baptism to all Initiated Christians Can any Man forbiâ— Water that these should not be Baptised which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we And he Peter commanded they should bâ— Baptised Acts X. 47 48. Then as to the Outward use of Bread and Wine for the Lord's