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A57212 Abstracts of some letters written by Mr. Robert Rich treating mostly of spiritual matters and here transmitted to posterity and recommended to the sober and serious enquirer for promoting of universal love amongst all sorts of people without respect of persons, parties, or sects : together with a friendly letter of Dr. Jer. Taylor to the said R.R. in answer to one of his / published by J.P. Rich, Robert, d. 1679.; Pennyman, John, 1628-1706. 1680 (1680) Wing R1354; ESTC R26429 24,390 27

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any other by which they could only convey the Truth to their Understandings Or is Thou more acceptable to God than You in the declaration of Truth I believe those Words and that Language which proceeds from the Spirit of Love is best and most acceptably received by them that are in the same Spirit And what is there in refusing to swear after that manner the Magistrate commands while in the mean time you will call God to witness to what you affirm for Truth Is it any more than to oppose the Magistrates Form by your own Doth not he that speaks the Truth and calleth God and Man to witness the same swear by Christ Jesus the Truth and Oath of God Doth true swearing consist in the meer Ceremony of kissing the Book or standeth it not rather in calling God to record to the Truth which we declare And yet this manner of swearing is owned by G. F. and his Friends and frequently practised by them both by Word and Writing And what is all this but to swallow the Camel and swear substantially while you strain at a Gnat of some small Ceremony which the Magistrate thinks fit to enjoyn perhaps more to obtain Credit from those who have Conscience in such a Form of Swearing rather than to offend them that know how to distinguish between the Ceremony and the Substance And is not Verily verily an Asseveration and kind of Oath and more than Yea and nay And doth not St. Paul say who had Christ in him that he call'd God to record c. And is not this a great Oath And whether you have any other thing to rule and guide you in not swearing save the * Which tho it saith Swear not at all yet no where forbids laving on the hand or kissing the Book the only thing you scruple Letter And whether that be not more against you than with you let the wise in Heart who are acquainted with the Scriptures judg in this Case Thou sayest That the Gospel of Christ is Yea and Amen and that it leads not back to what it led from I say This hath been a Principle long received and taught by your Teachers and indeed hath occasioned much Persecution to the Innocent amongst you to call your outward Observations and Traditions the Gospel or Truth for when any have bin carried out of the way of your received Traditions into any new Appearance how have you upon this ground risen up against them with Floods of Reproaches to devour them To which Principle or rather Opinion of yours I answer and say That the Gospel Truth or Kingdom stands not in any outward Observations for why may not the Lord do both in Heaven and Earth whatsoever he pleaseth and lead his People howsoever or wheresoever he will How dare any find fault with him And who shall say unto him What dost thou He leadeth Abraham Joseph and all Israel into Egypt yea Jesus of Nazareth into the Wilderness and doth when he pleaseth turn the Course of his Dispensation leading them back again from whence they came Why may not God command Moses to set up a Brazen Serpent yea and give power to it also and then again withdraw his power from it and by his Light lead Hezekiah to pull it down and call it Nebushtan which is an Idol or nothing altho to the very day of its dissolution the Children of Israel burnt Incense to it supposing it may be as you also do that the Lord would not relinquish that Appearance once established by Himself The Lord hath had his sundry ways of appearing to his People as in the Mount of Samaria and at Jerusa em and yet she that was limited in her self was led by the Light from all this to worship the Father every where and in all places and things in the Spirit and Truth Christ appeared in divers Forms as the Scripture testifies yet no other save them only that saw him would believe the report of him according to their Testimony but counted their Words as Joseph's Brethren did his Dreams idle Fables as ye do while you judg your Brethren whom the Lord hath visited in a different manner from your selves What if the Lord will so strangely appear as to leave the Jew and turn to the Gentile to call them a People that were not a People What if God will make you that have been first and highest in Profession last and lowest in the Kingdom What if Capernaum now exalted to the Heavens should be brought down to Hell It will then be manifest that the Almighty is not confined to either Persons or Appearances But further why may not the Lord lead Mordecai openly to withstand the Pride and Oppression of Haman and at the same time lead Hester in a clean contrary work to feast him hereby overcoming Evil with Good If one Person should act these two parts which seem so contrary to each other as is Light to Darkness being led thereto by the Light whether that may not be accepted of God tho all Men should therefore condemn it And why may not one abstain from Meats to day and to morrow see a liberty to eat or have Conscience of an Idol now and anon know it to be nothing VVere not some led to sacrifice circumcise and baptize as being all beautiful while the Power of God was in them but that being departed the Practisers of those things may now tell you that they avail and profit nothing Surely did but all Sects knowingly consider that in my Fathers House are many Mansions and that his Commands are exceeding broad and various that there are diversities of Administrations and Operations yet the same Spirit working all and in all and was the Substance which is the Grace appearing to all more minded by Professors and the Form less also were the weightier Matters of the Law as Mercy Justice Truth and Love more in estimation than the lesser which only stand in outward Observations and are but the outside of the Dish and Platter in all Forms there would not be such tearing one another for the Form's sake For in the Substance and weightier Matters all People of all sorts do without controversy agree yet every one in and for the House of his Imagery rends and devours his Brother not equally fashioned and made up in the same proportion of Understanding as touching our outward Behaviour in the Truth 's Profession by which the Image of the Heavenly is indeed so defaced that the pure Love which thinks no ill amongst all Professors of Godliness is very rarely and hardly found These are indeed the bitter VVaters that cause the Curse upon all Sects Nations Tongues and Peoples as at this day this devours the Earth and makes all desolate this profanes the Lord 's own Sanctuary and the Princes thereof and causeth Jacob to be given to the Curse and Israel to Reproaches For this kind of Spirit of bitter envying is indeed that City Meroz which no way