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<NAME>Robyn Anspach</NAME>
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<P>THE REBUKES OF A REVILER Fallen upon his own head, In an <HI>An&s;wer</HI> to a BOOK put forth by one <HI>Iohn Stelham,</HI> called a Mi|ni&s;ter at <HI>Terlin</HI> in <HI>E&s;&s;ex.</HI></P>
<P>Wherein is &s;hewed unto all Spiritual men, that he him&s;elf is ju&s;tly proved to be a Contradictor of the Scriptures, while he fal&s;ly accu&s;es others thereof, that are clear, and the &s;aying is fulfilled upon him, he is fallen into the Pit, which he dig|ged for others, for even that way which he calls <HI>Here&s;ie,</HI> do we Wor&s;hip the God of our Fathers.</P>
<P>By <HI>R. H.</HI></P>
<P><HI>London,</HI> Printed for <HI>Giles Calvert</HI> at the Black-&s;pread-Eagle at the We&s;t-end of <HI>Pauls,</HI> 1657.</P>
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<HEAD>THE REBUKES OF A Reviler, Fallen upon his own Head.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">In an <HI>An&s;wer</HI> to a Book put forth by one <HI>John Stelham,</HI> called a Mini&s;ter at <HI>Terling</HI> in <HI>E&s;&s;ex.</HI></HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="introduction">
<P>VVHereas the <HI>antient</HI> of dayes hath ap|peared, and the Lord God of I&s;ra|el, and of his holy Seed for ever, hath in the&s;e our dayes, being his own appointed time, &s;tretched forth his hand to gather in his Remnant, which hath been &s;cat|tered, and &s;tarved upon the barren Mountains, and he hath made known his arm and power, in rai&s;ing up his righte|ous branch, and in bringing out of Captivity his own
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Cho&s;en, that his own Name may be exalted for evermore, and his marvelous light hath he cau&s;ed to &s;hine forth unto many that have &s;it in darkne&s;s, and he hath cryed, behold me, behold me, unto a people that hath not been called by his name; yea, from this time it &s;hall be &s;aid, What hath God wrought, and who is like unto them that are &s;aved by the Lord, a happy people, and ble&s;&s;ed are they whom he hath cho&s;en for his own Inheritance, they dwell in their tents, and none can make them afraid, for there is no In|chantment again&s;t I&s;rael, nor no Divination again&s;t the Seed of <HI>Jacob,</HI> he that cur&s;es them, it &s;hall return upon his own head, and he that defies them, &s;hall &s;urely be con|founded in a day; for God hath &s;poken, and it &s;hall &s;ure|ly come to pa&s;s, he hath &s;aid, and it &s;hall not be revoked&punc; They that wait upon him, &s;hall never be a&s;hamed; but his pre&s;ence &s;hall go before them, and his righteou&s;ne&s;s &s;hall be their reward: Therefore, O ye Mountains, and Hills, wherefore are ye gathered together, ye high and lofty Oaks, and rebellious Children, to what purpo&s;e have you &s;et your &s;elves, as in Array for B<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">l, again&s;t the Lord, and again&s;t his Anointed; in vain have you &s;ought Divi|nation again&s;t I&s;rael, and to no purpo&s;e have you ri&s;en up to re&s;i&s;t Mount <HI>Sion,</HI> whom the Lord is e&s;tabli&s;hing&punc; and exalting above the Dominions of the earth, and though many have &s;et them&s;elves (and of the wi&s;e&s;t too, in our age) to gain&s;ay the truth, which is revealed, by &s;ubtil Arguments, and have travelled in pain to bring forth mi&s;ty vapors, to blind the eye of the &s;imple, and have laid, and &s;ought &s;o to do, &s;tumbling blocks of iniq<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ity before the people, by multitude of crafty&punc; productions, and lying ar|guments: Wo unto you, wi&s;e Writers and Scribes, you have taken away the Key of Knowledge, and have neither entred the Kingdom, nor &s;uffered others to enter that would, what will be your doom, and what will be your judgment, O the heavie hand of the Lord will be upon you, you damnation &s;leeps not a moment: And whereas <HI>John Stelham&punc;</HI> one o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>Gogs&punc;</HI> Army again&s;t the <HI>Lamb</HI> and his fol|lowers, a fal&s;ly &s;uppo&s;ed, and contrarily called, and un|ju&s;tly
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named, <HI>Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel,</HI> hath out of his cor|rupt, wicked, old, lying heart, (which he confe&s;&s;eth he hath) brought forth a large Piece, out of <HI>Babylons</HI> trea|&s;ure, of fal&s;ly collected, and fal&s;ly framed Arguments, whereby he hath &s;ought to offend the way of the Lord, but the rather hath burthened his own Soul, by his own wick|edne&s;s, and offended him&s;elf, and made him&s;elf unworthy of life eternal, and is reckoned in the &s;ight of the Lord, and proved in the &s;ight of man, to be indeed &s;inful: <HI>John Stel|ham:</HI> yea&punc; he is numbred, and truly too, among <HI>Babylons</HI> Children, and the Lyars, and Hypocrites, who&s;e portion is in the lake, and not among the Children of the Lord, for them, he hath &s;et him&s;elf to oppo&s;e, and by his &s;ubtilty, &s;ecretly &s;ought out Inch<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ntments, and endeavouring to cur&s;e, whom God hath ble&s;&s;ed, he is accounted among the uncircumci&s;ed, and &s;hall not die the death of the Righte|ous, neither &s;hall his la&s;t end be like unto his, except he re|pent; yea, God hath kept him back from honour, and to &s;hame and di&s;grace he is already promoted, in the &s;ight of all the Saints, and all his work is troden down, as a branch of a dead tree, to be ca&s;t into the fire, and what though he have travelled full 10 Months, or more, yet his birth is imperfect, and the fruit of an Egyptian Womb, which hath obtained neither prai&s;e of God, nor favour of man; and what though his Arguments be many and &s;ub|til, through the &s;trength of his devili&s;h wi&s;dom, whereby he hath de&s;cended into the darkne&s;s, to fetch up his &s;tuffe, and invented in his mind, and framed in his evil thoughts, which hath filled his Volums by his envious pen; and what though he hath taken &s;eeming occa&s;ion again&s;t us by his indu&s;try and bent his tongue to utter it, as feinedly and zealou&s;ly, as may blind the &s;i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">gle eye, and in as great hy|pocri&s;ie, and pretended Righteou&s;ne&s;s as po&s;&s;ibly may: What then of all the&s;e things, let him take this for an An|&s;wer in full, to all his many Arguments, and to his whole Work and what&s;oever is brought forth, or may be yet lodging in his &s;inful heart ever to declare, <HI>We are of God, his Covenant is with us:</HI> and the whole World lyes in
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wickedne&s;s, and he that is of God heareth us, and this is enough, Reply to all what he hath, or can &s;ay further a|gain&s;t us; and this Te&s;timony the Father gives of us, who hath cho&s;en us in him, before the world was; and let him, and all our adver&s;aries know, That our Religion is in that which keeps un&s;potted of the world, and our acceptance with God, is in him, who is the light of the world, who exerci&s;eth our Con&s;ciences, in all good things towards God, and towards man, and though we an&s;wer not, yet are we no wor&s;e; and though we an&s;wer, yet are we no better; prai&s;e of men approves us not to God, nor di&s;|prai&s;e of men makes us not &s;orrowful; But our peace is in the Father, whether the world do us love, or hate, or prai&s;e us, or di&s;prai&s;e: And fir&s;t of all like unto <HI>Rehum</HI> and <HI>Shim&s;hai,</HI> and their companions, he appears with his De|dication, much like unto theirs, from the &s;ame &s;pirit, and unto the &s;ame end, as may be &s;een, <HI>Ezra 4. 9, 11, 12, &amp;c.</HI> and in the manner of <HI>Amaziah&punc;</HI> Prie&s;t of <HI>Bethel,</HI> unto <HI>Jeroboam</HI> the King, with a Me&s;&s;age much of that nature, as in <HI>Amos. 7. 10, 11, &amp;c.</HI> and this man with his feigned flattering titles, appears to the chief in Authority for Ap|probation of his work, that men may accept it the more, but that's little worth, if God accept it le&s;s, and in much &s;ecret hypocri&s;ie, hath he uttered the Intent of his mind, in le&s;s than a &s;heet of Paper, to the Protector, and Council of State, whom we hope in for more hone&s;ty than to believe Lyes, and the indictments of a &s;inful wicked heart: Well, but if they will harden their hearts to believe unrighteou&s;|ne&s;s, they &s;hall be filled therewith, till both the ancient, and honourable, and the fal&s;e Prophet, that prophe&s;ies lyes, which is the tayle, <HI>I&s;a</HI> 9. 15&punc; be con&s;umed together, and the Saints &s;hall &s;tand on the earth, and the Dominion &s;hall be given into their hands: Then among his flattering titles, he &s;eems &s;ecretly to complain of Abu&s;e made of the Pre&s;s, for the &s;preading of Anti-&s;cripturial, and Anti-chri|&s;tian Errors, as he &s;aith: Indeed his own works do prove his words true, that the Pre&s;s is abu&s;ed, which hath by his Pen &s;cribed &s;o many Lyes, Reproaches, Slanders, and Er|rors,
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and the Pre&s;s the in&s;trumental cau&s;e of &s;preading them abroad, whereby the Pre&s;s hath been abu&s;ed, to the di&s;honour of Religion and Piety, if not to the di&s;honour of Authority al&s;o, then he &s;eems to hint at the Cruelty and Outcry of many, for crying Club&punc;law again&s;t the men called <HI>Quakers;</HI> but whether with approvement, or o|therwi&s;e of it, his mind is not uttered, however by the Lyes and Slanders en&s;uing out of his own mouth, it is ea&s;i|ly proved, that he is of that very generation of Per&s;ecu|tors, though he &s;o well do not approve of Per&s;ecuting with the hand, yet he allowes, and him&s;elf is guilty of per|&s;ecuting with the tongue, which is one in nature, &s;o that hereby the great hypocri&s;ie, of this man appears, in con|demning others &s;ecretly of what him&s;elf is guilty of open|ly, then he is plea&s;ed (though the Lord be vexed) to ca&s;t forth his peevi&s;h &s;mite, again&s;t the light of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, wherewith every man in the world is lighted, in words, thus venomou&s;ly uttered, that perver&s;e Principle of their <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">viz Quakers</NOTE> &s;elf-adoring light: Will the Protector and Council be|lieve this, or will they promote him, to honour, or mag|nifie him, becau&s;e of his oprobrious &s;peeches again&s;t the light of the Son of God, let them an&s;wer and te&s;tifie a|gain&s;t him, for bla&s;phemy, who hath in his ha&s;tine&s;s utter|ed his envy and wickedne&s;s, and no le&s;s then denied the Lord that bought him, in calling, and &s;hamele&s;ly&punc; &s;tiling the pure light of Chri&s;t, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, <HI>Perver&s;e Principle,</HI> and <HI>Self&punc; adoring Light:</HI> and thus it is manife&s;ted the Pre&s;s is abu&s;ed by &s;uch an Anti|&s;cripturial, and Antichri&s;tian error proceeding out of <HI>John Stelhams</HI> old heart, and manife&s;ted from his Pen, then with his lying Me&s;&s;age he follows after his flattering titles, and &s;ayes ere long the Lord him&s;elf will rebuke them <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">viz. Quakers</NOTE> to &s;ilence, that they &s;hall neither write, nor &s;peak &s;o pre&s;umptuou&s;ly &amp;c. if his Lords believe this Me&s;&s;age, they &s;hall never ble&s;s him, but in the end cur&s;e him, when the production of his lying Prophe&s;ie appears, which is deceiving of their Souls, and will prove a cur&s;e upon them, and po&s;terity, and is feeding of them with hopes of va|nity
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and lyes, and on his own head &s;hall his fal&s;e Vi&s;ion fall; a Rebuke into &s;ilence &s;hall come upon him, the &s;in is his; writing pre&s;umptuou&s;ly, and arrogantly, and the judgement there of &s;hall he feel, and all that believe him; truth &s;hall be e&s;tabli&s;hed, and his lying tongue is but for a moment, then his lye he adds to his Me&s;&s;age, which is that the Lord Je&s;us is fighting again&s;t them <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">viz. Quakers</NOTE> with the Sword of his mouth, &amp;c. What wicked pre&s;entation is this to the chief Rulers of Nations, even lyes, one heaped upon another, to &s;ugge&s;t into the minds of men, to &s;tir up wrath in their hearts, again&s;t the ju&s;t: nay, Je&s;us is our Prince of peace and righteou&s;ne&s;s, and is with us, and fights for us, and who can be again&s;t us, none but &s;uch as are his enemies, and have denied him, and his light, and counted it a perver&s;e Principle, O how fain would <HI>John Stelham,</HI> (&s;inful indeed) gain a Kingdom by flattery, and have prai&s;e of his work by his Lyes, which he hath made his Refuge, and his Weapon too, they that believe him &s;hall peri&s;h with him, thats all that may be &s;aid; his flattering titles and words of guile, may gain upon the wicked, but the ju&s;t man is pre&s;erved from the fury of a deceitful tongue, then his (&s;uppo&s;ed) humbly Supplicate after his fal&s;e Vi&s;ion and lying Me&s;&s;ages is, That every per&s;on what&s;oever, may not, impune, &s;trike them <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">viz. Quakers.</NOTE> Cor|poreally, &amp;c. This appears fair in words, if his meaning were right, yet while he &s;upplicates, That every one may not, though whether he means any one may not, (I de|termine not) &s;trike them corporeally, &amp;c. Yet to pub|li&s;h his Lyes, and Errors, and Slanders he would have li|berty, and this is but &s;o much more &s;ecretly, to &s;trike in the greater hypocri&s;ie, in more crafty &s;ubtility; and in|deed, well may the Prie&s;ts of <HI>England</HI> be a&s;hamed of what hath already been acted, as to &s;triking and cruel a|bu&s;es, and works of that nature, the blood of many harmle&s;s hath been &s;pilt wofully in &s;treets and Steeple|hou&s;es, through the means of the fal&s;e Prophets, and it may be they will now take another Weapon, &s;eeing that hath failed, and not wrought effect, no more &s;hall any
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formed weapon again&s;t the innocent, and though &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">me of them have &s;hamefully cryed, Fight Lads for the Go&s;pel&punc; others may with as much hypocri&s;ie write for the fight|ing lads, and in as great deceit: And then he gives an Ex|hortation in his Supplicate, and &s;aith, Be plea&s;ed to let them <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">viz. Quakers</NOTE> know, that we are guarded by a better Law, then what they upbraid us with; its time to be a&s;hamed that you have been &s;o long guarded by a Popi&s;h Law, yet the &s;ecret craft of this man is noted, in this &s;ubtil &s;ugge&s;tion, a better law would he have, what, doth it too much &s;hame you, by the name of Popi&s;h law, and would you be le&s;s di&s;covered, if the law of the &s;ame virtue, were of another Authority than Queen <HI>Mary,</HI> and of another Dominion than the <HI>Pope,</HI> therefore a Law from the <HI>Protector</HI> he would Supplicate, if po&s;&s;ible, That however we may not have liberty to divulge our Doctrine in their A&s;&s;emblies, as he &s;aith, and then this evil man, and deceiver, who waxes wor&s;e and wor&s;e in his way, impudently &s;landers the way of God, and reproaches the Doctrine of the Go&s;|pel of Chri&s;t, and would wickedly make men (more ho|ne&s;t than him&s;elf) believe&punc; That the&s;e mens <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">viz. Quakers</NOTE> Tenents, as he &s;aith, are as reprobate &s;tuffe as the Je&s;uits, their bla&s;|phemies as horrid as the Popi&s;h Para&s;ites&punc; Oh the wicked|ne&s;s and impudence which hath appeared out of this mans heart in tho&s;e few words, wickedne&s;s, in that his words are lyes, and devili&s;h; and impudent, in that he dares thus to appear to an Authority, with the Dedication of Lyes; Let him take notice of this&punc; We are clear from his fal&s;e Accu&s;ations, and of Popi&s;h Doctrines; But they that are one with him, are not from being guarded with a Popi&s;h Law, and the&s;e are truly <HI>Romes</HI> Subjects, who are guarded with his Law, more than we are <HI>Romes</HI> Emi&s;&s;aries, which &s;ecretly he would ca&s;t upon us, and make the <HI>Pro|tector</HI> and his Council believe it, if their hearts be &s;o har|dened: But better is thought upon concerning them, though <HI>I. S.</HI> would make them evil, &s;ugge&s;ting evil into their hearts: But a fal&s;e Prophet is known by his Lyes and Slanders, and &s;ecret &s;miting; and then he &s;aith, He
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would have &s;ome of this Sect <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">viz. Quakers</NOTE> <HI>more narrowly watched, &amp;c. and &s;tigmatized:</HI> Oh cruelty! out of the abundance of the heart his mouth utters, like a Pot boyling, with an|ger that cannot contain it within the mouth, what lodges in the heart of this man, con&s;ider, what le&s;s, then in their hearts, who were Q<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">een <HI>Maries</HI> Je&s;uits and Prie&s;ts, if the <HI>Protector</HI> and Council would an&s;wer, the cruel intent of his mind, as Queen <HI>Mary</HI> did theirs, <HI>Balaam,</HI> or wor&s;e he is; for he hath &s;ought inchantment, and would cur&s;e before they &s;ent for him to do &s;o, but it &s;hall return on his own head, who is watched again&s;t, for a Wolf and Devourer, and &s;tigmatzed for a Deceiver, and fal&s;e De|viner, one who art marked for a fal&s;e Prophet, and known to be &s;o, by every one who is taught of God, and in the end of all this &s;ecretly uttered wickedne&s;s, and cruelty, in&s;inuatingly, expre&s;&s;ed&punc; to &s;ugge&s;t evil into the minds of men, more hone&s;t than him&s;elf, he wi&s;hes for Ble&s;&s;ing up|on his Highne&s;s and Honours, that they may di&s;cern true Spirits from fal&s;e, &s;uch who proceed out of the mouth of the fal&s;e Prophet, from &s;uch as proceeds from the Father, and from the Son, indeed of &s;uch a gift of di&s;cerning they have need, and by the fruits they may try every Spirit, and in a ju&s;t tryal, by ju&s;t judgement, are thou tryed, and thy &s;pirit is made manife&s;t, to be the &s;pirit which proceeds out of the mouth of the D<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">agon, who wars again&s;t the Saints, and out of the mouth of the B<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">a&s;t, who hath many Heads and many Horns, which Bea&s;t aro&s;e up in the Apo&s;tacy &s;ince the Apo&s;tles dayes, and thy Spirit is made manife&s;t to be that &s;pirit of the fal&s;e Prophet, who deceive&punc; the Na|tions, for thy fruits doth di&s;cover thee a lyar, a&s;landerer, a perverter of the right way of God, art thou proved, and &s;uch things proceeds out of the mouth of the fal&s;e Pro|pher, and &s;o let them beware of thy Spirit, who art not guided by the Spirit of Chri&s;t Je&s;us, nor of the Father, but a worker of darkne&s;s, and a reviler of the light of C&s;tri&s;t, calling it (fal&s;e Prophet-like, as being led with the Spirit of the Dragon, and of the Bea&s;t) <HI>Perver&s;e Principle:</HI> We have mea&s;ured thy &s;pirit to be as I have &s;aid, and he
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that &s;peaks otherwi&s;e, &s;peaks a lye, and if the <HI>Protector</HI> and his Council believe otherwi&s;e&punc; they believe a lye, and cannot obtain a ble&s;&s;ing, though thou with thy lying Spirit pray for them, whom God (the Father of ble&s;&s;ings) hears not, but is again&s;t thee; and this is my prayer, The Lord rebuke thee, and thy wicked tongue, and give the <HI>Protector</HI> and his Council a better under&s;tanding than to believe thee, el&s;e will the Lord make them cur&s;ed to them&s;elves, and to the Nations, of them my heart hopes better things, and this might &s;erve for a full An&s;wer to thy whole Book, and by this little of thy work that I have viewed, &amp; turned nto the &s;ight of all, art thou di&s;covered, to be an enemy to God, and a &s;ecret envier of his people, and by what thou ha&s;t &s;aid it appears what the re&s;t of the whole matter can be, an evil &s;pirit cannot bring forth good works, but yet a little further, is thy matter unvayled for the &s;ake of the upright.</P>
<P>And further, <HI>I. S.</HI> after his wicked Pre&s;entation to the Rulers of this Nation, with lyes and evil Speeches procee|ding out of his old heart, he writes an Epi&s;tle (out of the &s;ame heart) to the Church, as he calls them, wherein is many words uttered, but altogether ta&s;ted with that lea|ven of his malice, again&s;t Quakers and Quakeri&s;m, who &s;eems to be the greate&s;t burthen upon his evil heart, be|cau&s;e truth is among them, and if truth go on, his deceit will be more made manife&s;t, wither, and peri&s;h, and &s;o as &s;ubtilly as may be he would defend him&s;elf, in the &s;ight of his Church that his &s;hame may not appear before them (it may be le&s;t his Hire &s;hould be abated) and he &s;eems to ca&s;t a cloak upon them, but whether out of pure love to their Souls, or for his own Gain, and &s;uch a &s;um of Money, God knowes; however the lea&s;t Child in the truth dwel|ling in the light, &s;ees his length, and can mea&s;ure his &s;tate, and knows that good cannot come from an old lying heart&punc; and he &s;peaks &s;omething of wondring after the bea&s;t and fal&s;e Prophet, but hath not de&s;cribed what the Bea&s;t is, and the fal&s;e Prophet: And I refer the Reader to a Book called, <HI>The Mea&s;ure of the Times:</HI> wherein the Prie&s;ts of
<PB N="12" REF="7">
<HI>England,</HI> &s;uch as <HI>I. S.</HI> is reproved according to the Scrip|ture, to be the very branches of the &s;ame Root of fal&s;e Prophets which all the World wondered after in <HI>Johns</HI> time; and though he &s;peak much to his Church of Chri&s;t without, and of his birth, blood, and his righteou&s;ne&s;s, and ju&s;tification thereby&punc; &amp;c. but to all that, I &s;ay, All are Reprobates but &s;uch in whom Chri&s;t is within them, and none are ju&s;tified but &s;uch, nor hath any part in the inheritance of God, though they may profe&s;s never &s;o much of Chri&s;t without, and what he hath done for others, yet except he be within them too, to change and renew them, and give them power over all their &s;ins, their pro|fe&s;&s;ion of him is vain.</P>
<P>I am no picker of Quarrels, el&s;e many of his words might be &s;earched, which I run over ha&s;tily, knowing his voice to be the voice of a &s;tranger, and not of Chri&s;t, who never made u&s;e of an old &s;inful heart to pen Epi&s;tles to Churches.</P>
<P>But into this lets &s;earch; he &s;aith, Chri&s;t ble&s;&s;ed Infants-Bapti&s;m: Where, or when, I ask proof of this, and till then I &s;ay <HI>I. S.</HI> hath belyed Chri&s;t, and the generation of the ju&s;t; Well may he belye us, when he hath belyed Chri&s;t, who could not ble&s;s that which there was not: there was no Infants Bapti&s;m that ever we read of in his dayes: &s;ure prople will be more wi&s;e than to be e&s;tabli&s;h|ed through Lyes, el&s;e their &s;in be upon them, if through hardne&s;s of heart they be given up to believe Lyes, that they may peri&s;h.</P>
<P>He &s;peaks of a well ordered Conver&s;ation; Indeed this &s;eems Hypocri&s;ie, to exhort others (their Churches) to that which many of the <HI>Independen</HI> Teachers have not them&s;elves, who are Hirelings, and takes Gifts, and Re|wards for Preaching, and is in the way of all the Deceivers of old; and they that do the&s;e things have not a well or|dered Conver&s;ation, but a Conver&s;ing with the generation of ungodly, and when we read the plain words of Chri&s;t, <HI>Luke 17. The Kingdom of Heaven is within you:</HI> he &s;aith, we madly wre&s;t the reading of the words, when we neither
<PB N="13" REF="7">
<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">dd nor dimini&s;h; now he &s;eems to &s;ay, It is the King|dom of heaven among you, and not the kingdom of hea|ven within you; and &s;o blames the Scripture, and con|founds the doctrine of many of the <HI>Independents,</HI> who &s;ay, the Scriptures is believers Rule; but he &s;eems to charge the Scripture with fal&s;e tran&s;lation, and therefore is &s;ub|ject to alteration, and &s;o cannot be the rule of Believers according to his own account, and thus by wicked men are we blamed when we do not &s;peak according to Scripture language, and now as wickedly charged by <HI>I. S.</HI> for &s;peaking ju&s;t in the Scripture expre&s;&s;ions, with madly wre&s;ting the words, but thus it was before, and what&s;oe|ver we do now by our enemies mu&s;t be reviled, and our words abu&s;ed, contrary to our innocent intents.</P>
<P>Then in the end of his Epi&s;tle, he de&s;ires the Prayers of his Church, that his Reply may be accompanied with power according to the truth of it.</P>
<P>Indeed &s;o it &s;hall, and no more; according to the truth of it, which is very f<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">l&s;hoods and deceits; &s;o &s;hall the power of the Lord confound it, and turn it into folly and confu&s;ion, as may be &s;een by a &s;ober man, who this fol|lowing&punc; doth with patience read, and weigh.</P>
<P>Then many things is uttered by him in his Epi&s;tle to the Reader, he &s;eems to &s;hew he &s;aith, how <HI>R. F.</HI> and his A&s;&s;ociates have made up <HI>A Litter and Fardel of Erroni|ous Divinity:</HI> and &s;ecretly charging us with making up of what we profe&s;s from &s;ome Writers before us.</P>
<P>But to this I An&s;wer, His reproachful words, <HI>Litter,</HI> and <HI>Fardel,</HI> and <HI>Erronious,</HI> we bear with patience, rather re|joycing that we are accounted worthy of the reproach for the truths &s;ake from an envious man, than to be angry with our reproaches: But however, let him and all our ene|mies know, what we profe&s;s and bear witne&s;s of, we re|ceive not from man, but from God, even the Go&s;pel which we te&s;tifie of, by the revelation of Je&s;us Chri&s;t in us, we received it; and informs others to the &s;ame door, which is, by our Mini&s;try, that they may receive the &s;ame: and this is but his poor &s;hift, to undervalue the power and
<PB N="14" REF="8">
truth of Je&s;us, in the &s;ight of men, who would fal&s;ly make men believe, That our Doctrines are but the &s;pawn of ma|ny ancient Errors, as he &s;aith, brooded by &s;ome Moderne Writers, when as the Doctrine of Chri&s;t and the Apo&s;tles we bear witne&s;s to by the &s;ame Spirit, and not to any o|ther Authors who were without the Spirit of Je&s;us: and all the&s;e &s;hifts <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">aves not the Prie&s;ts of <HI>England</HI> from being di&s;covered, and their deceits and abominations to be made manife&s;t by our Light and Doctrine, which is the Light of Chri&s;t, and the Doctrine of the holy men of God before us.</P>
<P>And further, his wickedne&s;s appears by reproaching and reviling dead men, &s;uch as <HI>H. N. Jacob B. W. E.</HI> with others, whom I confidently believe were men in their Generation more hone&s;t than him&s;elf, and more upright with God, and &s;incere in what was made known to them, than this &s;ame reviler who is &s;et to revile both living and dead, if they do but cro&s;s his fancy: Let all men take notice of the&s;e things, and of his rebukes, with an evil heart, whom the Lord doth and will rebuke by the Spirit of his mouth, in the day of his ju&s;t judgements, who art a re|viler of the ju&s;t both living and dead: and all along in that Epi&s;tle, as in the re&s;t of his Book, which is the Rebukes of a Reviler, he bends his very tongue, as the poy&s;on of A&s;ps being under it, again&s;t the Quakers, reckoning them with the Papi&s;ts, and &s;uch others; but this is but as the Phari|&s;ees his fore-fathers did, who numbered the Son of God, and condemned him with tran&s;gre&s;&s;ors, and betwixt two theeves.</P>
<P>And in the end, he de&s;ires his Reader to receive in Love, what in his Book <HI>is found agreeable to the Spirit of God in Scripture truth,</HI> agreed; &s;o let it be, and therefore many things in his Book, which is not given forth by the Spirit of God, nor according to the Scripture truth, which the hone&s;t Reader may find upon a &s;erious reading and &s;earch, with the Spirit of God, and according to the Scripture is to be judged and condemned, and not received; what &s;hall the hone&s;t Reader receive this for truth, That the Light of
<PB N="15" REF="8">
Chri&s;t Je&s;us is <HI>A Prever&s;e Principle,</HI> and that Chri&s;t ble&s;|&s;ed Infants Bapti&s;m, with very many &s;uch like things of the like nature proceeding from the &s;ame &s;pirit, which is proved not to be of God&punc; but of the Devil, for every tree is known by its fruit, and every &s;pirit by its works, and words: many other things more devili&s;h, if more devili&s;h can be; he charges us withal in a mo&s;t unrea&s;onable man|ner, that our Religion is the Fort of <HI>Babel,</HI> and that Je|&s;uitical Plots and De&s;ignes are carried on by &s;ome of us; and Quakeri&s;m is built upon the fourfold pillar of Pa|pi&s;try, with &s;uch like; the very tran&s;cribing of his words &s;hewes his wicked &s;pirit by his un&s;avory words; which things we do deny in the pre&s;ence of the Lord, and are clear in his &s;ight from the&s;e divili&s;h accu&s;ations&punc; though <HI>I. S.</HI> play the Devils part, in this Epi&s;tle as well as in his whole Book: and is an accu&s;er of the brethren, and is to be ca&s;t out and judged, with the life of God, and to give te&s;timo|ny again&s;t his lyes and &s;landers is &s;ufficient An&s;wer, and the next time he enterpri&s;es the like Work, we demand of him witne&s;s of his words, what the&s;e Je&s;uitical Flots and De&s;ignes are, we do carry on; Which &s;lander is &s;o diveli&s;h could he prove what he &s;aith&punc; his words would take away our lives; but to rai&s;e the unclean &s;pirits again&s;t us, though the Nations is truly &s;uppo&s;ed the purpo&s;e of his words, and not being content with what he him&s;elf can believe us in, his work reaches to rai&s;e the rage of whole Nations to execute their fury as well as his own upon us, and &s;o his words gives ground to all the wicked that doth believe h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">m (for none el&s;e can) to per&s;ecute the people, and way of the Lord, under the fal&s;e account of being Plotters, and of having ill De&s;ignes, which things we &s;tand witne&s;s again&s;t, and &s;eeks the peace of all men, though he have bent his tongue for Lyes, and brazen'd his face to utter them without fear or &s;hame, to &s;ugge&s;t evil into mens minds that they may harm the upright, but it is known by his words what lodgeth in the heart of &s;uch a per&s;on, who thus openly and impudently doth &s;lander ju&s;t men to the taking away of life&punc; if any were &s;o divili&s;h to witne&s;s lyes
<PB N="16" REF="9">
and &s;landers, as he is in forging of them, and declaring of them, and that to the <HI>Protector</HI> and his Council too; but from the&s;e things we being clear, are the more ready to bear his Lyes with Patience, and doth not pray for fire to devour him, though he be our enemy and the Lords; but rather wi&s;hes his returning from his ungodline&s;s, than a de&s;truction upon him in his ungodline&s;s; and whereas the &s;ub&s;tance of his matter invented in his mind and brought forth into view, is a going about to prove that in twenty two particulars mentioned by him, we do contradict the Scriptures, but his ground is fal&s;e from whence his whole work proceeds, for not in any particular of what is men|tioned do we contradict the Scriptures, though his whole work be founded upon this thing, of our contradiction to Scripture, and while we be approved in the &s;ight of the Lord, we reckon his &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">nders to be rather a te&s;timony to us, that we are of God, than a di&s;couraging of us in the wayes of God: and we do not allow that <HI>I. S.</HI> be our Interpreter, and the Expo&s;itor upon our words: for then no que&s;tion but he will judge out of his prejudicial mind, fal&s;e Judgement, and pervert the innocent words into contradiction of Scripture, and of our &s;elves, but to the &s;ingle mind and witne&s;s of God in every man we appeal for judgment, and doth in the &s;ight of God commend our &s;elves to every mans Con&s;cience, and begs not belief of any, but knows all that be in the light of the Son of God witne&s;&s;eth to us, and feels our Doctrine to be the Doctrine of Godline&s;s, reaching to the witne&s;s of God in every one whereby we are a good &s;avour to God in all, and though <HI>I. S.</HI> judge our doctrine to be Scripture contradictions, yet his judgement is but out of his old lying heart, which can bring forth no better than it &s;elf even fal&s;e judgement, and lying words, which out of it hath plentifully abound|ed, in his fal&s;e Rebukes; therefore let the Reader fir&s;t &s;earch into the ground from whence his work and judge|ment doth &s;pring, and try if an old Lying heart, and &s;in|ful wretch (as he confe&s;&s;es he is) can bring forth good fruit; no, we matter not what his judgement of us be,
<PB N="17" REF="9">
when as we know the heart is corrupt from whence it doth &s;pring, not in the light of the &s;pirit of God, do we in any one particular in&s;i&s;ted upon, by him Contradict the Scriptures, though by his dark minde &s;o he wickedly judgeth of us, even as the Phari&s;ees, his forefathers, did judge of Chri&s;t to be a Bla&s;phemer and a Contradictor of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and the Prophets, who did fulfil them, and put them to an end, and not de&s;troy them, nor contradict them not in the &s;ight of his Father, though to their corrupt judgement; and Chri&s;t tells them that they erred not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God, who had old lying hearts, &amp; were &s;inful wretches, even &s;uch as <HI>John Stelham</HI> hath confe&s;&s;ed him&s;elf to be, and therefore his words and judgment, and theirs is like to be all of one na|ture&punc; judging truth to be error, and the way of God to be Here&s;ie and Bla&s;phemy, this the Phari&s;ees did of old, and even thus doth <HI>John Stelham</HI> and his Companions do at this day; but why &s;hould any be troubled hereat, &s;eeing herein Chri&s;ts words are fulfilled upon us, who &s;aid, they &s;hall &s;peak all manner of evil fal&s;ly again&s;t you for my names &s;ake; and &s;o hath this man done with his light &s;cornful &s;pirit, and fulfilled Chri&s;ts words, who becau&s;e he hath not known the Father, nor the Son, hath &s;poken evil fal&s;ly again&s;t them that follow Chri&s;t, and this were &s;ufficient an&s;wer to his whole Book; yet let us &s;ee what follows, and let the Reader try with all moderation, that he may be edified, and may know the true &s;pirit from the fal&s;e, and the doctrine of the Go&s;pel from lying vi&s;ions; and may cleave to the truth, and e&s;cape the error, and let none believe ha&s;tily, things uttered without knowledge, out of <HI>I. S.</HI> deceitful heart.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="main text">
<PB N="18" REF="10">
<P>FOra&s;much as many of the Servants of the Lord have been moved of the Lord to &s;et forth in order, &s;everal Declarations of tho&s;e things which the light of the glorious Go&s;pel &s;hining in their hearts, hath given them the knowledge of&punc; and for this end are they publi&s;hed, that others al&s;o may know the certainty and truth of tho&s;e things which are believed, known, and enjoyed among&s;t us, not that they can be known by reading the letter in which they are delared, but through their diligence and obedience to the light wherewith Chri&s;t hath enlightened them [though not for it] which is the &s;ame light which &s;hined in our hearts, and gave us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, by which light of the glorious Go&s;pel who are faithful in it to the Lord, their under&s;tandings come to be opened, that they &s;tumble not at tho&s;e things which are te&s;tified in the truth, neither at that which is declared in other Scriptures, but it being that in this our day it hath plea&s;ed the f<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ther to bring forth in life and power that mercy and truth (which the Scripture &s;peaks of) by which iniquity is purged out, and as it is be|come a &s;avour of life unto life in tho&s;e that receive and believe in it, &s;o it is al&s;o become a &s;avour of death unto that death which rema<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ns in both Prie&s;ts and People in this age, who hates the light who can &s;carce hear it named or that people &s;hould be turned unto it (as the Apo&s;tle did turn them from darkne&s;s to the light, and from the power
<PB N="19" REF="10">
of Satan unto God that they might receive the remi&s;&s;ion of their &s;ins, and be partakers of the inheritance among&s;t them that are &s;anctified) but when they hear that Preach|ed or Printed, which they may do, and out of which they cannot receive the remi&s;&s;ion of their &s;ins, then envie ri&s;eth up in them, and a perver&s;e mind, and ungodly Speeches, and fal&s;e Accu&s;ations, &s;aying, that we &s;peak of a natural light, and of a natural con&s;cience, when as we &s;peak of the true light which hath enlightened every one that co|meth into the world, and in which Chri&s;ts doctrine &s;tood which &s;aid to the people, and to the Phari&s;ees again, and a|gain, I am the light of the world, as <HI>Joh.</HI> 8. 12 <HI>Joh.</HI> 12. 46. but now becau&s;e the light is come, and the glory of the Lord is ri&s;en upon us, and we declare it freely, as we have received it; therefore is flouds of ungodline&s;s ri&s;en up a|gain&s;t us, but it is impo&s;&s;ible that the &s;eed which the Lord is manife&s;ting his light and power to bring forth, &s;hould be kept alwayes under the power of death, which &s;eed is now terrible in the Lords power, and will yet be more terrible as his power encrea&s;eth, which is now going forth as an Army with banners, for the torment of the wicked is already begun, becau&s;e the righteou&s;ne&s;s of God is now &s;preading over the Nations, and neither the rulers of the darkne&s;s of this world, nor all the Printings and Preachings of tho&s;e who be out of the life of God, can hinder that which the Lord hath begun and is carrying on by his own power, though the nations are angry, becau&s;e that by the light of his glorious Go&s;pel &s;hining forth, his wrath is re|vealed upon them for their ungodly deeds, that the Scrip|ture which cannot be broken may be fulfilled; and there|fore it were better for them to be &s;ilent, and put their mouths in the du&s;t&punc; if &s;o be, for them&punc; there may be hope, then to ri&s;e up again&s;t that wihch is more unchangeable than the heavens and the earth, and therefore in vain have the enemies of God&punc; and People, in all Profe&s;&s;ions joyned them&s;elves together again&s;t the light of truth, and the way of the Lord, which many in our dayes have fallen upon, but is broken to pieces, and it hath fallen upon many and
<PB N="20" REF="11">
grinded them to pouder, and nothing &s;hall e&s;cape, for the day of the Lord is come, and it is very nigh to you that hate it, a day of darkne&s;s, and of gloomine&s;s of clouds, and of thick darkne&s;s (and now the &s;eed of God is) as the morning &s;pread upon the mountains a great people and a &s;trong, there hath not been ever the like, neither &s;hall there be any more after it<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> even to the years of many ge|nerations, a fire goeth before them, and behind them a flame burneth, the land is as the garden of <HI>Eden,</HI> before them and behind them a de&s;olate wilderne&s;s, and nothing &s;hall e&s;cape them, the appearance of them is a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> the ap|pearance of hor&s;es, and as hor&s;e-men, &s;o &s;hall they run, &amp;c. the earth &s;hall quake before them, the heavens &s;hall tremble, the Sun and Moon &s;hall be dark, and the &s;tars &s;hall withdraw their &s;hining, and the Lord &s;hall utter his voyce before his Army (as he now doth) for h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">s Camp is very great for he is &s;trong that executeth his word, for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible, and who can abide it.</P>
<P>And now, according as the Prophet <HI>Joel</HI> Prophe&s;ied, is it come, and coming to pa&s;s, <HI>Joel</HI> 2. 2, 3, 4, 10, 11. again&s;t which &s;eed, men of corrupt minds, and reprobate concer|ning the things of God, are ri&s;en up, who in their fir&s;t ap|pearance, in their writings, profe&s;s them&s;elves to be that which they are not, &s;eeming right unto many through their feigned words, and fair &s;p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">eches, deceiving the hearts of the &s;imple, for whom Chri&s;t died: but afterwards in the &s;ame writings (to tho&s;e that &s;ee) they manife&s;t them&s;elves what they are, and being &s;o con&s;idered as they are &s;een and known cannot deceive, and therefore to all people who de&s;ire to be edified and &s;atisfied in the ground and truth of things as they are made manife&s;t by the Lord, to the light in you I &s;peak, that in it you may be able to un|der&s;tand truth in what I &s;ay, and by the truth to judge of things that differ, for &s;uch as the tree is, &s;uch is the fruit; an evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit, neither can one fountain &s;end forth &s;weet water, and bitter.</P>
<P><PB N="21" REF="11">Now as concerning a Book given forth by <HI>John Stel|ham</HI> (Prie&s;t at <HI>Terling</HI> in <HI>E&s;&s;ex</HI>) who having an evil eye becau&s;e Gods is good, and being fil<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ed with indignation, becau&s;e God hath mercy on his own &s;eed whom he hath ble&s;&s;ed, hath out of the abundance of his heart &s;poken it forth; now the way to know that which is &s;poken in dark|ne&s;s is to read it in the light, and i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> his t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;timony in any thing, as coming from him, is to be believed, it is that which is concerning his own condition; and if his e&s;tate and condition be &s;uch, that in it he can receive the things of God, and mini&s;ter them to others, then they may be received: but if his condition be &s;uch, that in it he cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God, then that which cannot receive&punc; cannot mini&s;ter, and &s;o he is to be &s;ilent, and none to expect the things of God from him, being neither fit to reprove, nor to rebuke, but to be reproved and rebuked, as will appear as followeth:</P>
<P>The Ground in him, and the Heart out of which this abundence of words in his Book proceeds; in it (as he declares) is yet the root of all Error, and of all &s;in is in him and &s;een by him not mortified, and that he hath an old lying heart, and fle&s;h, wherein there dwells no truth, no good thing, a &s;inful wretch and worm, &s;ub&s;cribing him|&s;elf the &s;inful <HI>John Stelham,</HI> as in his <HI>Introduction,</HI> in <HI>page</HI> 80. and <HI>page</HI> 117&punc;</P>
<P>Now therefore, we having found out the Root and the Ground, to be a root of Error, and the ground of De|ceit, and a heart wherein dwells no truth, nor no good thing; therefore from that which is unclean &s;hall we not expect that which is clean to proceed, nor truth from that wherein dwells no truth, but from the lying heart and de|ceitful tongue hath the Lord delivered us, &s;o that if we be called revilers and be rebuked, and a charge laid again&s;t us, as to contradict the Scriptures of God, and be called Anti&s;criptural, Antichri&s;tian, and Anti&s;piritual, We have now learned to know whence it doth proceed, even from the old lying hearr, and fle&s;h, wherein there dwells no truth; and we can bear it becau&s;e we know that till that
<PB N="22" REF="12">
heart be taken away, and a new heart known wherein is Truth.</P>
<P>We mu&s;t be reproached, and &s;poken evil of fal&s;ly, for his &s;ake who hath taken away the old lying heart, and hath given us a new heart wherein truth dwelleth, and where truth proceeds out from, and herein are we mani|fe&s;t from the children of this Generation, and herein are the two &s;tates known, and the two conditions of men, according to the te&s;timony of Scripture, and the parable which Je&s;us &s;poke, <HI>Luke 6. 39. Can the blind lead the blind, &s;hall they not both fall into the ditch?</HI> And <HI>ver&s;. 45. A good man out of the good trea&s;ure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good;</HI> And, <HI>an evil man out of the evil Trea&s;ure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth &s;peaketh:</HI> And hereby is the tree known by his fruits, and the heart of the wicked was ever filled with lying and vanity, and under&s;tanding was hid from them, the Lord was grieved with &s;uch that did err in their hearts, and had not known his wayes, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 95. 10. and &s;uch their hearts was fat as grea&s;e, and in their hearts they imagined mi&s;chief, and &s;tudied de&s;truction, <HI>P&s;al. 119&punc; 70 P&s;al.</HI> 140. 2. and this was an evil which was under the Sun, that the hearts of the &s;ons of men was full of evil and madne&s;s while they live, <HI>Eccle&s;.</HI> 9. 3. And &s;uch a heart was in the Scribes and Phari&s;ees a lying heart wherein dwelt no truth, filled with evil thoughts, as Chri&s;t &s;aid, <HI>Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts,</HI> Matth. 9. 4. and out of the heart did ari&s;e all fal&s;e accu&s;ations; calling the truth bla&s;phemy, and the way of it here&s;ie, and &s;uch who be in the &s;tate as <HI>John Stelham</HI> confe&s;&s;eth he is, was never appointed by the Lord to watch over Souls, But &s;uch where Chri&s;t did dwell in their hearts, and becau&s;e they were &s;ons, God &s;ent forth the &s;pirit of his Son into their hearts, <HI>Eph. 3. 17. Gal</HI> 46. and &s;uch had truth in their hearts doing the will of God from the heart, and did draw neer unto God with a true heart, in full a&s;&s;urance of Faith, having their hearts &s;prinkled from an evil con&s;cience, and their bodies wa&s;hed
<PB N="23" REF="12">
with pure water; the&s;e did not profe&s;s the things of God in an old lying heart, wherein dwelt no truth, but called upon the name of the Lord with a pure heart, and &s;aid that the end of the Commandment was Charity out of a pure heart, and of a good Con&s;cience, and of Faith un|feigned, from which &s;ome &s;warved (in the Apo&s;tles dayes) having turned a&s;ide unto vain jangling, and &s;uch de&s;ired to be teachers of others, but the doctrine is cor|rupt, and the Mini&s;try of Faith is not held where the heart and con&s;cience is not pure; And the Lord is good unto &s;uch who be of a clean heart.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Now as concerning the Scriptures.</HEAD>
<P><HI>John Stelhams</HI> Te&s;timony from the old lying heart wherein dwells no truth, is this, That the Scriptures are the word of God, and truly &s;o called, and the letter and Scripture is all one, as <HI>page</HI> 3, 4. but to contradict that him&s;elf he &s;aith in <HI>page</HI> 5. the letter taken &s;trictly is but legal Admini&s;tration u&s;ing the&s;e words, <HI>the letter killeth, i. e&punc;</HI> The bare legal command without a promi&s;e of power or pardon, as a bare letter void of &s;trength, life, and &s;pi|rit; it leaveth all men under a killing &s;entence&punc; and cur&s;e: let them that have under&s;tanding judge. Again, as con|cerning the letter in <HI>page</HI> 6. he expre&s;&s;eth him&s;elf thus, (<HI>The Spirit is given by it.</HI>) And in the next words &s;aith the Scripture is but in&s;trumental to the Spirit.</P>
<P>Now mark, the Letter taken &s;trictly being legal with|out a Promi&s;e of Power or Pardon, void of &s;trength, life, and &s;pirit, (The Spirit to be given by this which he con|fe&s;&s;eth is void of &s;trength, life, and &s;pirit) and is but in|&s;trumental to the &s;pirit, whether this be not contradicti|on and confu&s;ion, let them that read judge: For in read|ing the&s;e things which he hath publi&s;hed, many may &s;eal to the Confe&s;&s;ion of his own Condition to be truth&punc; but that which he hath declired of the things of God to be fal&s;e; For now the light being broken forth, &s;uch doctrine can|not be received, nor beleeved; that the &s;pirit is given by
<PB N="24" REF="13">
the letter, but that which is declared in the letter, was given forth from the Spirit, which was in them which &s;poke it forth; but people may long have the letter, and think in it to find God and eternal life, and may die in their &s;ins, though <HI>I. S.</HI> &s;ay that not one man in the world, knows God to be God, till he finds him in the Scripture. But I &s;ay unto him as Chri&s;t &s;aid unto the Phari&s;ees, who had neither heard his voyce at any time, nor &s;een his &s;hape, had not his word abiding in them, nor did not believe in the light, and that he was the light which did enlighten every man that cometh into the world, &s;earch the Scrip|tures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which te&s;tifie of me, &s;aith Chri&s;t the life, but tho&s;e thought that they had the life in the &s;criptures, de|ceived them, for they wanted the life when they thought they had it &amp; &s;o <HI>I. S.</HI> thoughts that he hath the &s;pirit by the letter, deceives him, for when he finds the &s;pirit &amp; eternal life, then his old lying heart in which is no truth, but the root of error will be taken away, and &s;o the light which cometh from Chri&s;t the life, in which the &s;pirit is received, condemneth all &s;uch thoughts, for they proceed out of that heart which is not upright before the Lord&punc; neither is it &s;et to &s;eek the Lord in that way in which he and his &s;pirit is found.</P>
<P>Again, <HI>I. S.</HI> talking of the Scriptures, intrudes into things which he hath not &s;een, comparing it with that which he hath &s;een, and &s;o in what he &s;aith he is blind, &s;aying, The Scriptures is a more &s;tanding rule, than vi&s;ions.</P>
<P>To which I An&s;wer, The night is upon him, that he hath no vi&s;ion, and therefore doth not know what a vi&s;ion is a rule unto, nor the continuance of it, as tho&s;e in <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> which &s;aid that every vi&s;ion fa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">leth, and &s;o would not have them a &s;tanding rule, and that reproach of the vi&s;ions of God, was &s;o common, that it was become a <HI>Proverb</HI> a|mong&s;t them; but the Prophet who was in the light&punc; and had the vi&s;ion of the Lord&punc; and had the word of the Lord, he was to reprove that Proverb, and to tell them that they
<PB N="25" REF="13">
&s;hould no more u&s;e it as a proverb in <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and &s;aid, the dayes are at hand, and the effect of every vi&s;ion; and &s;o with the light, who be in it doth now reprove all &s;uch proverbs and preachings again&s;t the vi&s;ions of God, for from the vi&s;ions was the Scriptures &s;poken forth, and that which they had &s;een they declared; &s;o that which gives forth words is greater than the words, and without vi&s;ion the people peri&s;h, and they may peri&s;h while they have the letter, but they cannot peri&s;h while they have the vi&s;ion; and although there be vain vi&s;ions, they do not make the true of none effect.</P>
<P>And although there be Sorceryes and Enchantment that doth not make the true re&s;urrection of the dead of none effect; but the blind mu&s;t &s;tumble at the things which they do not &s;ee.</P>
<P>Again, <HI>I. S.</HI> &s;aith, That the Authority of the Scrip|tures is owned among the Jewes to this day.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;wer.</NOTE><HI>An&s;w.</HI> No, Chri&s;t is not owned among&s;t them who is the Authority, and Power, unto which the Scriptures give te&s;timony that he is &s;o, neither are they yet converted, as thou thy &s;elf confe&s;&s;e&s;t, and they who be in the unconverted e&s;tate, doth not own the Authority of the Scriptures though &s;uch may talk of them, as thou do&s;t, &s;peaking that of them which they never &s;poke of them|&s;elves.</P>
<P>Again, <HI>I. S.</HI> &s;aith, in the 17. <HI>page,</HI> As <HI>deep things as the Spirit hath Revealed, they are all in the Scrip|ture.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;wer.</NOTE><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Nay, There was things Revealed which was unutterable, and many things which was Revealed, and al&s;o Written, which is not in the Scripture; as the Book of <HI>Nathan</HI> the Prophet, and the Prophe&s;ie of <HI>Ahijah</HI> the Shil<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters">mit<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">, and the Vi&s;ions of <HI>Iddoa</HI> the Seer, which was again&s;t <HI>Jer<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ans</HI> the Son of <HI>Nabat,</HI> 2 Chron 9. 29. And the Book of <HI>Shemath</HI> the Prophet, 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 1. 2. 15. And the Book of <HI>Jehu,</HI> 2 Chron. 20. 34. And the Book of <HI>Gad</HI> the Seer, 1 <HI>Chron&punc;</HI> 29. 29. And the Book of <HI>Ja&s;er, 2 Sam.</HI> 1. 18. and the Prophe&s;ie of <HI>Enoch,</HI> who prophe&s;ied of the
<PB N="26" REF="14">
coming of Chri&s;t in his Saints, to execute Judgement upon all, and to convince all that are uugodly of all their un|godly deeds and hard &s;peeches, which ungodly &s;inners have &s;poken again&s;t him, as <HI>Jude</HI> beareth witne&s;s; and he al&s;o &s;aw and Prophe&s;ied, of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> according to the fle&s;h, that they &s;hould do wickedly, and &s;lay him who was the light of the world: And much more which is not written in the Bible; And that which was manife&s;t unto <HI>Paul,</HI> which he wrote to the <HI>Corinthians,</HI> in an Epo&s;tle, not to company with fornicators; that whole Epi&s;tle is not in the Bible, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5. 9. And likewi&s;e that which was revealed unto <HI>Paul</HI> in the di&s;pen&s;ation of the grace of God, given unto him how that by revelation God made known unto him the my&s;tery, which he wrote unto the <HI>Ephe&s;ians</HI> in a few words whereby they when they read, they might un|der&s;tand his knowledge in the my&s;tery of Chri&s;t which in other ages was not made known unto the &s;ons of men as it was then revealed unto his holy Angels and Prophets by the Spirit, which Epi&s;tle, in which that my&s;tery was written, is not in the Bible, <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 3. 3. And the Epi&s;tle which <HI>Paul</HI> wrote to the <HI>Laod<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ceans,</HI> which he charged the <HI>Colo&s;&s;ians</HI> to read among&s;t them, (and that theirs &s;hould be read in the Church of the <HI>Laodeceans</HI>) wherin his thanks and prayers to God was for their &s;tedfa&s;tne&s;s in the truth wherein he made manife&s;t the unprofitable talkers, who went about to draw them from the truth of the Go&s;|pel, and from their diligence in good works of eternal life, as many vain, and unprofitable talkers are in the world now doing the &s;ame work.</P>
<P>And whereas <HI>I. S.</HI> &s;aith, That the Epi&s;tle of <HI>Paul</HI> to the <HI>Colo&s;&s;ians</HI> was read as the Word of the Lord in the Church of the <HI>Laodeceans:</HI> Why doth he not as well <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ear witne&s;s that <HI>Pauls</HI> Epi&s;tle to the <HI>Laodeceans</HI> was read as the word of the Lord among&s;t the <HI>Colo&s;&s;ians,</HI> Col. 4. 16&punc; And if he read in his Church the Epi&s;tle to the <HI>Colo&s;&s;ians</HI> as the Word of the Lord, why doth not he read to his people that which was written to the <HI>Laodeceans,</HI> they both being given forth from one Spirit&punc; So let him con|&s;ider
<PB N="27" REF="14">
of tho&s;e things above mentioned, and try whether his words will &s;tand unreprovable, 67 <HI>page,</HI> &s;aying, God might have revealed more than is in the Scripture, but he plea&s;ed not &s;o to do: In that <HI>page,</HI> mentioning <HI>Samuel&punc; Mo&s;es,</HI> and the Prophets, Chri&s;t and the Apo&s;tles, &s;aying, All that they have &s;poken is written both according to what was Written before, and for &s;ub&s;tance the &s;ame.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;wer.</NOTE><HI>An&s;w.</HI> What I have &s;poken, and &s;hall here &s;peak, may &s;ufficiently make manife&s;t that his words proceed from the old lying heart, in which dwells no truth; for I have &s;hewed out of the Prophets, and out of the Apo&s;tles many things which was both revealed and declared, which is not in the Bible written: And likewi&s;e I &s;hall &s;hew far|ther, of the things concerning Chri&s;t, te&s;tified by <HI>John,</HI> and we know that his Te&s;timony is true, &s;aying, And there are al&s;o many other things which Je&s;us did, the which if they &s;hould be written every one, I &s;uppo&s;e that even the world it &s;e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">f could not contain the Books which &s;hould be written, <HI>John</HI> 21. 25. So that all is not written which was revealed, wrote, and &s;poken, which if much more were written which was made manife&s;t, by it with that which is written, could they not know the Lord, their minds being from the light of Chri&s;t, which doth re|veal and make manife&s;t that which may be known of God in them.</P>
<P>And many who have the Letter, and are Mini&s;ters of it, are &s;en&s;ual, having not the &s;pirit, nor the word of God, nor the te&s;timony of Je&s;us, and their Mini&s;try is but as Chaff to the Wheat, and the Lord is again&s;t them; For what is the chaff to the wheat, &s;aith the Lord, <HI>Jer.</HI> 23. Is not my word like a fire, &s;aith the Lord, and like a ham|mer that breaketh the rock in pieces. Now many have the letter, and know not the word of the Lord as a fire, nei|ther is the rock broken with the letter, and &s;uch u&s;e their tongue, for it is their own, and the power of the Lord is not come over it, &s;uch cau&s;e the People to err, and doth not profit them, being not &s;ent, nor commanded of the
<PB N="28" REF="15">
Lord, for who are &s;ent and commanded of the Lord, the Lord u&s;eth their tongues to &s;peak his words, which he puts into their mouths, and &s;uch words doth profit the people, and not cau&s;e them to err, being &s;poken according to the law, which is light; And the te&s;timony of Je&s;us, which is the Spirit of Prophe&s;ie; and &s;uch do witne&s;s the Scriptures, that as they cannot be broken&punc; &s;o they cannot be denied by the Spirit which gave them fo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">th to be a De|claration, of tho&s;e things which was reveale<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">, known, and believed: But they are not that which they are a decla|ration of, the letter te&s;tifies of the eternal life, but it is not, it neither gives it: It te&s;tifies of the Light of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">he glorious Go&s;pel &s;hining in the heart, which gives the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, but it is not that light which gives that knowledge&punc; It te&s;tifies of the Way, but Chri&s;t is the Way; and of the Word&punc; but God is the Word; and of Redemption, but Chri&s;t is the Redempti|on, and not the letter, though it te&s;tifies of Ju&s;tification, and Sanctification, but they are wrought by the Word in the grace and power of Chri&s;t, and &s;o every one who will own the Scriptures, as they were given forth to be owned mu&s;t fir&s;t own that of God in them, which is manife&s;t to work in the Creature, that which they te&s;tifie of, that Chri&s;t the power of God they may witne&s;s, working all their works in them, and for them, according to the Scrip|tures.</P>
<P>But contrary to the Scriptures, <HI>I. S.</HI> from the root of Errour, &s;aith, That the written letter is the &s;piritual Arm and Sword of the Spirit, and that the very power of the written Letter puts Satan to flight<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">: And in the &s;ame <HI>Page,</HI> &s;aith, That the Devil hath Scripture in his mouth.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;wer.</NOTE><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Let the People take notice, and read the Scrip|tures, and &s;ee if there be any &s;uch thing that the &s;word of the Spirit was ever in the Divels Mouth; for the &s;piritual Armour which is &s;aid to be the Word of God: But the Word of God, w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ich is the &s;word of the Spirit, is that by which he is to be de&s;troyed, and is in the my&s;tery hid
<PB N="29" REF="15">
from him, and all that follow his lu&s;ts: But though the Devil, which did not abide in the truth, and his Mini&s;ters who are out of the truth, may take the letter in their mouths as they have done, and &s;ay its written &s;o, but the word of the Lord&punc;s not in their mouths, which is the &s;word of the Spirit, and &s;uch will u&s;e the letter in their mouths which cannot cea&s;e from &s;in, who&s;e eyes are full of Adul|tery, beguiling un&s;table Souls, their heart being exerci&s;ed with covetous practi&s;es, cur&s;ed children, which have for|&s;aken the right way, and are in the Errour of <HI>Balaam,</HI> loving the wages of unrighteou&s;ne&s;s, and taking them, and &s;uch have the letter in their mouths, but knows not the Word of God, which who comes to know, it re&s;trains them from all &s;uch practi&s;es.</P>
<P>Again, <HI>I. S.</HI> from his blindne&s;s and root of Errour, and lying heart, wherein dwells no truth, but much con|fu&s;ion &s;aith that the letter, <HI>i. e.</HI> the Scriptures is the true ground of the believers Faith: and again in the &s;ame <HI>page</HI> &s;aith, That Chri&s;t in the Scriptures is the true Ground of Faith: And to prove the former, he brings <HI>Prov.</HI> 22. 19. 20, 21. That thy tru&s;t may be in the Lord, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee, have not I writ|ten to thee excellent things in Coun&s;els and Knowledge, that I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth, that thou mighte&s;t an&s;wer the words of truth to them that &s;end unto thee.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;wer.</NOTE><HI>An&s;w.</HI> By this Scripture the Lord is made the ground of Faith, and not the Letter: And therefore did the Pro|phet make known excellent things in writing, in coun&s;el, and knowledge, and for this end did the Apo&s;tles both preach and write, that the Faith of tho&s;e which heard them, and read their writtings, might not &s;tand in the wi&s;dom of words, nor in the letter, as its ground, but in Chri&s;t the Power of God, and Chri&s;t who preached the true doctrine, that in it every one might believe&punc; &s;aid to the World, and to the phari&s;ees, While ye have the light, believe in the light, that ye may be the Children of light, and the&s;e had the letter, but did not believe in the light,
<PB N="30" REF="16">
which light is Chri&s;t, and which light is the foundation of Faith, and is the foundation of many generations, in which many did believe, before, this letter which de|clares of it was written; And that Faith which &s;tands in the light, and in the power of God is the ground of the Scripture letter, from whence it did proceed; after they believed they &s;poke and wrote that which is now declared, in Chapters. And every one which come to the true ground of Faith, mu&s;t come to the light to believe in it, that they may be the Children of it, and then the Scrip|tures will be profitable unto them, they with the light ha|ving the under&s;tanding opened to &s;ee for what end they were given forth, and how they come to be fulfilled, and witne&s;&s;ed in that which gave them forth; for the ground of Faith to believers is but one both before and &s;ince the Scriptures was written, which is Chri&s;t, in whom who|&s;oever believeth &s;hall be &s;aved, let Chri&s;t be in what he will, for he was the ground of Faith, when the letter was not, and he is the ground of Faith when it is, and no o|ther foundation for Faith can any man lay, than that which is laid, Je&s;us Chri&s;t who is the true light, and en|lighteneth every man that cometh into the world, that all men in him might believe, and they that believe not that he is &s;o, &s;hall die in their &s;ins, as Chri&s;t &s;aith, <HI>Joh.</HI> 8. 24.</P>
<P>But <HI>John Stelham</HI> going on in his own devi&s;ed Fables, would pervert the words of truth, both in our writings, and in the Apo&s;tles, as it is manife&s;t, in his writing, of this reviling Rebuke concerning <HI>R. F.</HI> and <HI>I. N. E. B.</HI> and <HI>F. H.</HI> and others, which who&s;oever read their words, and his, they may di&s;cern truth from devi&s;ed fables without much Reply unto it, as in &s;ome places he is mingling his own words with theirs, joyning a lye to the truth, that he may contradict it as fal&s;e; as every one that reads with under|&s;tanding will &s;ee, which when they have &s;poken plain truths, which he him&s;elf hath often in his Book confe&s;&s;ed unto to be truth, will afterwards give his meanings to their words, as he hath done unto the Apo&s;tles words,
<PB N="31" REF="16">
&s;aying, <HI>If they mean thus, &amp;c.</HI> then he goes about to con|tradict his own meaning, and when he hath contradicted his own meaning; then he &s;aith he hath contradicted their words, though he have before confe&s;&s;ed the truth of their words, &s;o he hath not contradicted the words as they were &s;poken, but becau&s;e they &s;poke not his meaning with the words, therefore the true words mu&s;t be fal&s;e in his judgement, and bear his rebuke, as his Book doth make manife&s;t, and adding his lye to the words of truth, the&s;e two things are his greate&s;t proofs to re&s;i&s;t the truth, in <HI>page</HI> 77. he hath mingled his own words with the words of <HI>R. F.</HI> in which <HI>page</HI> he acknowledgeth a former addition, and yet reneweth another. <HI>R. F.</HI> having been &s;peaking of the light, which enlighteneth every man which cometh into the world, (he adds) which where it is (and it is in every man, it reneweth the judgment, &amp;c&punc;) he here adding his own, and then rebuking it, would make people believe lyes, that all might be damned who believe not the truth.</P>
<P>But on the contrary, for we never have &s;aid that every mans judgement is renewed with the light, though they be enlightened, for they are enlightened who hate it&punc; and who are void of true judgement becau&s;e they hate the light which they be enlightened withal. And al&s;o the Apo&s;tles words he perverts and gives meanings unto, which if he did not they would be a plain te&s;timony with that which he hath &s;et him&s;elf to oppo&s;e, &s;o giving meanings both to their words, and our words, his meanings mu&s;t be the ground of his Believers Faith, and not the Scriptures, as he &s;aid before.</P>
<P>The Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> &s;peaking of a more &s;ure Word of Prophe&s;ie, wherein they did well to take heed, as unto a light that &s;hined in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-&s;tar ari&s;e in their hearts, 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1. 19. Knowing this fir&s;t, that no Prophe&s;ie of the Scripture is of any pri|vate interpretation, for the Prophe&s;ie came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God &s;pake as they were moved of the holy Gho&s;t, to this <HI>I. S.</HI> adds not
<PB N="32" REF="17">
heart-prophe&s;ie, no brea&s;t-prophe&s;ie, but written down in Books, &amp;c. which is contrary to the Apo&s;tles words, for he doth not exclude heart-prophe&s;ie, for there was ne|ver any prophe&s;ie but did proceed out of the heart before it was written in any Book.</P>
<P>And the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, Until the day dawn, and the day-&s;tar ari&s;e in your hearts, and that holy men of God &s;poke as they were moved by the holy Gho&s;t, and that which moved them to &s;peak Prophe&s;ies was in their hearts, and the Apo&s;tle did not bid them wait till the day-&s;tar did ari&s;e in the Scriptures, but till it did ari&s;e in their hearts, and then he told them how the Prophe&s;ies of the Scrip|tures came.</P>
<P><HI>Peter</HI> &s;aying, Until the day dawn, and the day-&s;tar ari&s;e in our hearts, <HI>I. S.</HI> &s;aith, That is until by the &s;tudy of the Scriptures, more light be cleared up, &amp;c.</P>
<P>Now let all them of under&s;tanding, read, and compare his words, and the Apo&s;tles, and they may well conclude with his confe&s;&s;ion, that he hath an old lying heart, and fle&s;h, in which dwells no truth, but the root of errour and gain&s;aying of the truth; and as for many other of his de|vi&s;ed fables, and fal&s;e meanings, though I let them pa&s;s here unan&s;wered; yet they may be &s;een with the mind, informed in the truth; and all who are of God, and of the truth, may know that it is a &s;mall matter for us to be re|buked, or judged to be in confu&s;ion, who &s;o evidently hath confounded both our words, and the Apo&s;tles, into his own fal&s;e meanings, and &s;o contradicts them both; but that remaineth &s;ure which gave forth the Scriptures, and abideth in us, and we know that they cannot be bro|ken, but mu&s;t be fulfilled, as they were given forth by the Word, which they were given forth from, by taking heed unto which the young mans way is clean&s;ed, and by which the old lying heart is reproved, that which was given forth from the Spirit, cannot be by it denyed, but that which would darken words without knowledge is denyed; that which would &s;et up devi&s;ed fables above Chri&s;t, the Spirit, and Scriptures, that by the Spirit is denyed without
<PB N="33" REF="17">
contradiction, and as we &s;hall by the Spirit, and by the Scriptures try <HI>John Stelhams</HI> Doctrine; which if he deny them both&punc; then by his own Argument we &s;hall prove him, and &s;ee whether he will own him&s;elf to be judged by that with which he would judg others, whether they be Me&s;&s;engers &s;ent by Gods Spirit: His A&s;&s;ertion laid down <HI>Page</HI> 60, to try withal, is <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">his:</P>
<Q>Such Me&s;&s;engers as &s;peak more than is in the Scripture, are not &s;ent by Gods Spirit, nor guided by him to what they &s;ay.</Q>
<P>By this then is all that of him before mentioned, ca&s;t out, being both more, and contrary, to what is in the Scripture; as al&s;o that which is to be declared, as follow|eth in his &s;econd head, as he calls it, of <HI>Scripture Contra|diction;</HI> he is &s;peaking concerning a Trinity, and three Per&s;ons: which words a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">e not &s;poken in the Scriptures, he naming the Father, Son, and Spirit, by &s;uch names as the Scripture never did: and &s;o about words and names which the Scripture doth not mention, ari&s;ing out of the Devination of his heart doth he multiply words to hide the truth, and &s;hut the kingdom from men, and &s;o hath no ground, for the word <HI>three Per&s;ons,</HI> from the Scripture, but the Scripture in one tran&s;lation &s;peaking of Chri&s;t be|ing the expre&s;s Image of the Fathers Per&s;on, and in ano|ther tran&s;lation &s;aith, that he is the expre&s;s Figure of the Fathers &s;ub&s;tance, as he is witne&s;&s;ed to be by tho&s;e that know him, and &s;o till he find the word <HI>three Per&s;ons</HI> and <HI>Trinity</HI> in the Scriptures&punc; let him own his own rule to judge him, to be no Me&s;&s;enger &s;ent by Gods Spirit, be|cau&s;e he &s;peaks more than is in the Scripture, who &s;aith, The holy Gho&s;t is a Per&s;on, and this per&s;on dwells in Saints, though not per&s;onally: (mark this) A Per&s;on dwell in the Saints not per&s;onally: all this confu&s;ion is as tares, which men gather, which mu&s;t be bound in bundles and ca&s;t into the fi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">e; for what is the Chaff to the Wheat, or what is a I &s;uch invented words to the knowledge of
<PB N="34" REF="18">
the Father, Son, and Spirit, which are one, which bear record in heaven; and there are three that bear witne&s;s in earth, the Spirit, the Water, and the Blood, and the&s;e three agree in one, and when the&s;e are known in their witne&s;s in man, what they witne&s;s unto, and what they witne&s;s again&s;t within and without, &s;uch will give them names according to their works&punc; and according to the Scriptures.</P>
<P>The Third Head of <HI>John Stelhams</HI> Scripture Contra|diction is concerning the light which every man is en|lightened withal; which of all things is mo&s;t hated by all &s;uch who&s;e wayes, words, and works, are contrary to it; for it being ri&s;en in the hearts of the Children of men, to give the knowledge of the truth, hath in this day made many wi&s;er than their Teachers, and now they which have cau&s;ed people to err, are by the light &s;een, and by the children of light are denyed: and they being denyed, their envie is up again&s;t the light which hath made them mani|fe&s;t; and they walk not by the light, nor according to the Scriptures, but there is a line of confu&s;ion comes over them; by which now they walk, and from which their Writings doth proceed, as <HI>John Stelham</HI> in <HI>page</HI> 52 &s;aith, they may affirm agreeable to the Scripture, and yet con|tradict the Scriptures in &s;aying that Chri&s;t is in every man, or that the light in every man leads to the Father; And &s;aith, Chri&s;t, God, or as God is in every man, and a &s;park of his godhead light is in every man, but there is not in e|very man that redemption light which leads to the Fa|ther.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;wer.</NOTE>That Light which Chri&s;t hath enlightned every man withal leads to the Father, all who are led by it and believe in it, and condemns all from the Father which do not o|bey it, but hate it, and &s;peak di&s;pitefully again&s;t it, who are turned out from God who is light and truth, into the con|fu&s;ion, &s;aying, that the God-head-light is not the Re|demption-light; but with the light that Lye and confu&s;i|on is judged for ever: and in affirming that the Godhead light is in every man, and then calling it common and old
<PB N="35" REF="18">
Creation-light, and Scripture-light, <HI>page</HI> 61&punc; and the light of Nature, <HI>page</HI> 74, 75. &amp; a legal light, <HI>page</HI> 76. and a created light, <HI>page</HI> 78. and an univer&s;al light, (unto which I &s;ay, as God is, &s;o is his light, and &s;o is his god|head not created, nor natural, and as every one comes to know the light, which by <HI>I. S.</HI> is &s;o reviled, they &s;hall neither follow, nor believe his Doctrine, till he can prove when the light of the Godhead was created, and how it became natural, or legal, or where he had tho&s;e names, for the Scriptures doth give no &s;uch names to the light; and &s;o by his own rule he &s;peaking more than is in the Scrip|ture, is not a Me&s;&s;enger &s;ent by Gods Spirit, nor guided by it in what he &s;aith.</P>
<P>As al&s;o in other things, as in <HI>Page</HI> 64. &s;aying, That light without Scripture is no light: Then <HI>Enoch</HI>'s light in which he walked with God was no light, nor <HI>Jacobs</HI> light, nor <HI>I&s;aacs,</HI> nor <HI>Abrahams,</HI> for they were without the&s;e Writings, and this letter which he calls the Scriptures; but they were not without light: And thou&s;ands have &s;o much light, whether they have the Scriptures or not as to &s;ee this darkne&s;s, as to &s;ay light, though &s;aving light with|out Scripture is no light; did the Scriptures make the light to be light, and was the &s;aving light made by that which was written, let all take notice and turn away from &s;uch: in another place he calls the Scriptures but the Declarati|on that Chri&s;t is the Word, and calleth them a Ve&s;&s;el that the light is put into, in <HI>page</HI> 43. and 44. Now let them of under&s;tanding con&s;ider and judge whether the ve&s;&s;el be the maker of that which is put into it, and whether Wine that is put into a Bottle be made Wine by the bottle, or whether is it not Wine without the bottle, and Water put into a ve&s;&s;el be not Water without the ve&s;&s;el, or whe|ther the ve&s;&s;el make it to be Water: <HI>John Stelham</HI> &s;aith, Every ver&s;e of Scripture is a little ve&s;&s;el of light, and that light without Scripture is no light, &s;o the&s;e things have I laid open, that every one may &s;ee how the Lord hath turn|ed wi&s;e men backward, and made their wi&s;dom fooli&s;hne&s;s, and that they may &s;ee how tho&s;e &s;tumble and fall, and are
<PB N="36" REF="19">
&s;nared, and taken; who&s;e light is turned into darkne&s;s, and how great that darkne&s;s is, and now are the Scriptures not denied, but fulfilled, for now is the light and truth come into the world, by which they are found to be blind which &s;aid they &s;aw, and in which they &s;ee, that were blind, and now the depths are &s;een which are covered with darkne&s;s, and <HI>Babylon</HI> is &s;een the Mother of Harlots which bring forth in confu&s;ion, and bind up in ignorance other confu&s;ions and lyes I &s;hall al&s;o mention, given forth by <HI>I. S.</HI> in his Book.</P>
<P>As <HI>page</HI> 68. he &s;aith, That God was, and is the Word, according to <HI>Joh.</HI> 1. 1. and in <HI>page</HI> 69. he &s;aith, The Father is not the Word, nor never &s;o called (which is contra|diction) and in <HI>page</HI> 70. &s;aith, Chri&s;t is more in the Scri|ptures than in his Saints (which is fal&s;e) for greater was that which the words came from than the words, which did but declare of the fulne&s;s from whence they came&punc; as all that know Chri&s;t will bear witne&s;s unto, and again&s;t all &s;uch that &s;ay Chri&s;t is more in the words than in them which &s;peak the words.</P>
<P>Again, in <HI>page</HI> 73. he &s;aith Chri&s;t the Author of Salva|tion to them that obey him, &s;peaking in the Scripture &s;a|veth by the Scripture (which is fal&s;e and contrary to the te&s;timony of the Scriptures and the witne&s;s of them which witne&s;&s;ed his Salvation, who &s;aid, By his life are we &s;aved, and by Grace through faith which was the gift of God, and not by the letter; and their witne&s;s was true for God &amp; his Works, &amp; again&s;t all &s;uch who are of a lying heart, and &s;pirit of errour, who would make the letter to be the light (yea more, even that which makes light to be light, and &s;o greater; for that which makes a thing is greater than the thing that is made, and would have the letter to be the Word, when as the letter &s;aith&punc; God is the Word, and would make the Scriptures to be that by which people are &s;aved, as in <HI>page</HI> 73 &s;aying&punc; Chri&s;t &s;aveth by the Scri|ptures, but the Scriptures &s;peak no &s;uch thing of them|&s;elves, for they &s;ay that there is no other name under hea|ven by which men can be &s;aved, but by the name of Je&s;us&punc;
<PB N="37" REF="19">
neither is there &s;uch a word written in the Bible that &s;ay men is &s;aved by Scriptures, nor that the light of the God|head is natural as <HI>I. S.</HI> &s;aith, that he may &s;et up a light of Scriptures as he calleth it.</P>
<P>And he &s;peaks in <HI>page</HI> 82. of having our minds darkned with the light of Scriptures; mark, doth that light, which he hath in all his Book been exalting above the Godhead light, and above that light which Chri&s;t hath enlightened every man withal, darken mens minds, what is it then that mu&s;t enlighten them, here is his te&s;timony of the light brought up to the full, that all, who can receive it may believe it, for he &s;aith to us, if our minds were not dark|ned, with the light of the Scriptures, the two texts in <HI>Rom.</HI> 10. 18. and <HI>Col.</HI> 1. 23. might re&s;olve us how the Go&s;|pel is preached to every Creature, and not to the principle of light in the Con&s;cience, how can the Scripture re&s;olve us of the light, if it darken our minds, but by the&s;e things this is made manife&s;t, that darkne&s;s hath blinded his eyes that he neither knows the light, nor the Scriptures which was given forth from it.</P>
<P>Again, another of his contradictions concerning the light in <HI>page</HI> 23, 24. compared with <HI>page</HI> 75. is this, &s;aying the light that &s;hined in <HI>Pauls</HI> heart, and the light that &s;hineth in the Scripture is the &s;ame light, and God who &s;hineth in the heart by Go&s;pellight, according to the A|po&s;tles words, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 4. 4. contrary unto which in his 75 <HI>page</HI> &s;aith. That the Go&s;pel light about matters of Sal|vatio<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">, of which the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks, never entered, never &s;hined into mens hearts.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;wer.</NOTE><HI>An&s;w</HI> To this let all take notice, and con&s;ider, whether of the&s;e two (Contraries) they are to believe: the one &s;aying, God &s;hineth in their hearts by Go&s;pel light: and the other &s;aith, It never entred nor &s;hined into mens hearts: But if the Scriptures or the Apo&s;tle is to be believed, he &s;aith, for God who commanded the light to &s;hine out of darkne&s;s, hath &s;hined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, but we have this trea&s;ure in earthen ve&s;&s;els, that the excel|lency
<PB N="38" REF="20">
of the power may be of God, and not of us, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>Cor.</HI> 4. 6, 7. here was the light of the Go&s;pel &s;hining in their hearts in matters of Salvation&punc; giving them the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and they were the ve&s;&s;els in which the light did &s;hine, and from which they &s;poke the hidden wi&s;dom of God in a my&s;tery, and &s;o that which they &s;poke of the light, and of the Go&s;|pel is yet a my&s;tery unto &s;uch who&s;e eye is blinded, with the God of this world, and the wayes of unrighteou&s;ne&s;s, knowing neither the light nor the Go&s;pel of Salvation, but filling up their line of confu&s;ion as hath been already manife&s;t; and may further be made manife&s;t.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Prie&s;t.</NOTE>Again, <HI>John Stelham</HI> in his 6. head of Scripture Contra|diction &s;peaks concerning the Law, and goes about to di|&s;tingui&s;h between the two Covenants which the Scrip|tures &s;peaks of, but knows not what he &s;peaketh, nor of what he affirmeth, but contrary to the Scriptures &s;peak|ing of a Moral and of a Ceremonial Law which the Scrip|tures &s;peaks of no &s;uch words, nor no &s;uch di&s;tinctions, as of a Moral Law to be the Covenant of Works, and that the Ceremonial Law is not a Covenant of Works, but of Grace.</P>
<P>And whereas he tells of a Covenant of Nature which is one with the Covenant of Works; and &s;o here is &s;everal Covenants which <HI>I. S.</HI> hath made, and &s;everal Names here given to the Covenants which God never gave, nor they which &s;poke of the Covenants never gave &s;uch names to the Law in the words of Scripture as Moral, Legal&punc; Natu|ral, Ceremonial, &s;o that is all without, and contrary to the Scripture language.</P>
<P>And whereas he goeth about to prove <HI>Adam</HI> to be un|der a Moral Law, which he calls a Law of Works, but hath no Scripture to prove it from, but from his &s;uppo&s;iti|ons: as thus, If it was not of Grace, it was a Covenant of Works&punc; and again, If the Covenant of Works was not made with <HI>Adam</HI> in innocency, God could not in ju&s;tice require &s;atisfaction of his po&s;terity under the Fall, &amp;c. A third &s;uppo&s;ition to prove <HI>Adam</HI> under a Covenant of
<PB N="39" REF="20">
Works is this, Either he &s;tood under the Covenant of Works, or was under the Covenant of Grace, or he was under no Covenant, &amp;c.</P>
<P>Unto which I An&s;wer, All &s;uch Prie&s;ts and Teachers who be out of innocency them&s;elves cannot tell what Co|venant tho&s;e are in with God who are innocent, and in the image of God in holine&s;s and righteou&s;ne&s;s, and there|fore from &s;uch have we &s;o much perverting of the Scrip|tures, and violating of the Law of God, to make it accor|ding to their imaginations; But unto &s;uch God &s;aith, <HI>What ha&s;t thou to do to declare my Statutes, or that thou &s;houlde&s;t take my Covenant in thy mouth, &s;eeing thou hate&s;t In&s;truction&punc; and ca&s;te&s;t my Words behind thee,</HI> p&s;al. 50. 16. <HI>Thou give&s;t thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth de|ceit;</HI> But I &s;ay that Covenant in which <HI>Adam</HI> was with God in his innocency, and in his image, he &s;tood in that, and by that, by which he was made a living Soul, and in that was in unity and Covenant with God, for the di&s;obe|dience of which he was driven out from God into the Earth; and none was under the Law of Works, neither was that Law added until there was tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion which it was added becau&s;e of; but that which is innocent, and without &s;in, unreprovable in Gods &s;ight, is under no Law but that which endureth for ever, which doth free from &s;in and death tho&s;e that be in it, which is made manife&s;t unto &s;ome &s;ince the falling from it, and which the I&s;les is to wait for till it be made manife&s;t where it is not already revealed, and all who come to have right to &s;peak of Gods Precepts and to take his Covenant in their mouths, they &s;ee and comprehend all &s;uch darkne&s;s, which doth not &s;peak according to words of Scripture, but &s;peaks of three Co|venants contrary to Scripture, &s;aying, that the fir&s;t Covenant promi&s;eth nothing of Salvation, nor mentio|ning nothing of a Saviour, and yet &s;aith, that that Cove|nant is a part of Gods Word, and his Will, and pure law, (and yet mentioneth nothing of a Saviour) and again &s;aith that the Moral Law, he calls of Works, which promi&s;eth no Salvation, mentioneth nothing of a Saviour) that this
<PB N="40" REF="21">
which mentioneth nothing of a Saviour, is to be a directo|ry and rule to true believers, for the ordering of their Sanctification (<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">s it is al&s;o in Chri&s;ts hand guiding them by his Spirit) &s;o this cannot build nor joyn together, and &s;o time to cea&s;e building&punc; any more in confu&s;ion; but in denyal of that fal&s;e doctrine, I &s;ay, That there is but two Covenants &s;poken of in the Scriptures, which is a plain te|&s;timony of them without any &s;uch confu&s;ion or contra|diction as the Apo&s;tles to the <HI>Hebrews,</HI> &s;aying in that he &s;aith <HI>a new Covenant,</HI> he hath made <HI>the fir&s;t old, &amp;c.</HI> And in the fir&s;t Covenant as you may read, <HI>Heb.</HI> 9. in all the&s;e things there was Chri&s;t held out, and mentioned in the &s;hadows and figures; and &s;o that Covenant which pro|mi&s;eth no Salvation, nor mentioneth any thing of a Savi|our, that we deny; for there is not &s;uch a Covenant in the Scriptures,&mdash;For that which &s;aid, <HI>Do this and live&punc;</HI> promi&s;ed life, and mentioned Chri&s;t who is the life, and by Chri&s;t who is the life and light of men is that Co|venant fulfilled, and by his power both the obedience and life is brought forth, of which that Covenant &s;peaketh and the new Covenant being come that God hath promi&s;ed, wherein he hath put his Law in their hearts, and his Spi|rit in their inward part, and all &s;uch needs not to come to &s;uch Prie&s;ts to be taught, who tells of a Covenant which promi&s;eth no Salvation, nor mentioneth any thing of a Saviour; for we, who be in the &s;econd&punc; know the fir&s;t ful|filled, which Chri&s;t was held forth in under Ordinances of Divine Service, and a worldly &s;anctuary, and divers wa&s;hings, and carnal Ordinances which never made the comers thereunto perfect as pertaining to the Con&s;cience; but now is Chri&s;t the Covenant of God, and Covenant of light come and preached, and with his light &s;hineth in mens Con&s;cience that he may make perfect as pertaining to the Con&s;cience, which Covenant is now witne&s;&s;ed a|mong thou&s;ands (and &s;uch denyed which &s;peak of a Co|venant that mentions nothing of a Saviour, and that to be the rule of true believers.)</P>
<P><PB N="41" REF="21">
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prie&s;t.</NOTE>Again, in <HI>John Stelhams</HI> 5^t^h head of Scripture Contra|diction, he &s;peaks concerning Sin, &s;aying, <HI>That the more a Soul is &s;anctified, the more he &s;ees his moats to be beams; and that</HI> Paul <HI>was groaning and &s;ighing all his life time un|der the body of &s;in and death.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;wer.</NOTE>Both the&s;e are fal&s;e: For the more a Soul is &s;anctified, he is not the more taught to lye, or to &s;ee fal&s;ly, but the more he is taught to &s;ee clearly, and di&s;cern a moat to be a moat, and a beam to be a beam, and knows the differ|ance: And <HI>Paul</HI> thanks God who had given him the vi|ctory over &s;in and death, which he had not while he groan|ed under the body of it; and &s;o both the Saints, and the work of &s;anctification, is fal&s;ly accu&s;ed by &s;uch, and &s;uch are to be denyed, as Enemies to God, and to his Work.</P>
<P>In the reading of this, let all people take notice, That in the &s;everal and particular Heads of <HI>I. S.</HI> Book, where he &s;aith, he hath <HI>contradicted us;</HI> he is proved him&s;elf to contradict the Scriptures: and &s;o far as he contradicts the Scriptures in tho&s;e particulars, &s;o far he may &s;ay he con|tradicts us, and our te&s;timony being one with the Scrip|tures in them things.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Prie&s;t.</NOTE>For in his 6 Head, as concerning Ju&s;tification, he &s;aith, <HI>He that is ju&s;tified, is ju&s;tified by God, not under the A&s;pect or Notion of a Saint, and as &s;uch; but of a &s;inner, and as a &s;inner believing in Je&s;us, not as he loveth God, or over|cometh the world by Faith, &amp;c. but as believing on Chri&s;t dying, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;wer.</NOTE>Now this te&s;timony of <HI>I. S.</HI> is contrary to the Scrip|tures, for God never ju&s;tified any as hating of him, nor as a &s;inner, but as made obedient through Faith according to the Scriptures, as the Apo&s;tle witne&s;&s;eth, <HI>Gal&punc; 2. 16. Even by the faith of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, even we have believed in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that we might be ju&s;tified by the faith of</HI>
<PB N="42" REF="22">
<HI>Chri&s;t, &amp;c.</HI> &s;o they believed that they might be ju&s;tified and the ungodly they were fir&s;t called (out of their un|godline&s;s) and whom he called, them he al&s;o ju&s;tified; and they whom he ju&s;tified, them he al&s;o glorified, and by him all that believe are ju&s;tified from all things from which they could not be ju&s;tified by the law of <HI>Mo&s;es, Acts</HI> 13. 39 and &s;o all who are ju&s;tified by the Lord, are ju&s;tified from their &s;ins, and not in them, as all &s;hall witne&s;s who come to be ju&s;tified by Chri&s;t from their iniqui|ty.</P>
<P>And whereas <HI>I. S.</HI> would &s;et the law and ju&s;tice of God at a difference with the Go&s;pel, and as contrary, in &s;aying, the law and ju&s;tice finds us, and leaves us &s;inners; Go&s;pel and Mercy declareth, and pronounceth us righteous: now the one pronouncing a man righteous and the other pro|nounce the &s;ame to be a &s;inner; the&s;e two are contrary: but the Scripture hath another te&s;timony, &s;aying <HI>mercy and truth are met together, righteou&s;ne&s;s and peace have ki&s;&s;ed each other,</HI> P&s;al 85. 10. Now here is unity, here is not righteou&s;de&s;s, pronouncing one thing, and mercy ano|ther; for the righteou&s;ne&s;s of God is revealed from hea|ven again&s;t the di&s;obedient; and this will not leave them di&s;obedient, nor &s;inners, if ever they come to mercy: for it doth not leave them as it finds them: and &s;o that do|ctrine is accur&s;t from God, which &s;aith, That the ju&s;tice finds them &s;inners, and leaves them &s;o; and to &s;ay that Ju&s;tices pronounce them &s;inners, and Mercy pronounce them righteous: but to &s;atisfie all people, a few words may &s;erve to an&s;wer the volume of that darkne&s;s and blindne&s;s given forth by him before mentioned, &s;hould a man full of words be ju&s;tified, <HI>Job</HI> 11&punc; 2.</P>
<P>Again, Concerning <HI>I. S.</HI> in his 7. Head concerning Re|generation, &s;aith, <HI>That the Word of God that is Preached, was never without, or be&s;ides Scripture, &amp;c.</HI> And as in other places he hath &s;aid, <HI>That the Spirit is given by the Letter;</HI> &s;o here would make Regeneration to proceed from it; which this being denyed, he concludes it
<PB N="43" REF="22">
had been better the Scripture had not been known, no<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> written.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;wer.</NOTE>The Word and Go&s;pel was Preached unto <HI>Abraham,</HI> without Scripture and before the Scriptures was written: and they who are Regenerated and born again, it is by the immortal Word which is able to &s;ave their Souls, which Word was before the letter was written, and who be be|gotten again, and born by that Word, it is profitable for &s;uch that the Scriptures was written and given forth, and the Scripture by &s;uch is honoured; but &s;uch who calleth the letter the light, and the Word, and that which begets again into the new birth, by &s;uch both the work of God is de&s;pi&s;ed, and the Scriptures perverted, and denyed.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Prie&s;t.</NOTE>Again, <HI>I. S.</HI> in his 8. Head of Contradiction, &s;peaking of Perfection, uttereth forth more con&s;u&s;ion and contra|diction to him&s;elf, in his &s;peaking of the Communion of the Saints in heaven, and doth lye concerning the Saints on earth, &s;aying, <HI>The Saints in Heaven hoped for the per|fection of their bodies at the Re&s;urrection, &amp;c.</HI> And again contradicts that, in &s;aying, <HI>That at death they have a final perfection, and a full harve&s;t, and reward of peace, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;wer.</NOTE>Now this is the i&s;&s;ue, that all people may take notice, he hath &s;o envied perfection and Chri&s;ts doctrine, which &s;aith, <HI>Be ye perfect as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect;</HI> and them who now Preacheth that doctrine, that he hath &s;et out a volume to declare again&s;t the Saints being perfect here: yea, and his envie hath reached to Heaven to prove that the Saints in heaven is not perfect, but waits for the Redemption of their bodies; which now if people mind the Scripture, there is no &s;uch doctrine in it as the Saints in heaven hath not received the Redemption of their bodies, for they who had received the fir&s;t fruits of the Spirit upon earth, did wait for the adoption and for the redemption of the body, till the Creature it &s;elf be deli|vered into the glorious liberty of the Sons of God, and<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.</NOTE>
<PB N="44" REF="23">
this was witne&s;&s;ed, and is witne&s;&s;ed&punc; and this is the work of the worlds Teachers in&s;tead of pre&s;enting them per|fect in Chri&s;t Je&s;us as the Apo&s;tles did, they would make people believe that the Saints in heaven their bodies is un|redeemed; if &s;o, where is that redemption wrought? And whereas <HI>I. S.</HI> would make people believe that there is none clean: now Chri&s;t &s;aid concerning tho&s;e that follow|ed him, <HI>Now eyere clean, through the Word which <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> have &s;poken unto you,</HI> John 15 3. And <HI>David</HI> &s;aith, <HI>That the Lord is good unto &s;uch as are of a clean heart,</HI> P&s;al. 73. 1. And the Lord &s;aid concerning his people, That he would pour clean water upon them, and they &s;hould be clean from all their filthine&s;s, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 36. 25. And this Prophe&s;ie was to be fulfilled: and the Lord &s;aid al&s;o by his Prophet <HI>Zeph. That his Remnant &s;hould do no iniquity, nor &s;peak lyes, neither &s;hould a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth,</HI> Zeph. 3. 13. And <HI>Paul</HI> preached wi&s;dom among them that were perfect; and as many as were perfect &s;hould be &s;o minded, and Chri&s;t preached to the pure in heart that they &s;hould &s;ee God, <HI>Matth.</HI> 5. Now if there were none perfect, Chri&s;t preached unto &s;uch as there was not.</P>
<P>Now this is the chief ground of <HI>I. S.</HI> and the re&s;t of the enemies of truth and of perfection, to declare again&s;t it becau&s;e &s;ome fall from it, as his in&s;tance of <HI>C. A.</HI> or others in the like: To which I an&s;wer, Their falling into that which is not perfect, doth not make that which they fall from imperfect, for the Angels that kept not their fir&s;t &s;tate, which was perfect, did fall from that which was perfect: A virgin &s;tate is perfect, but if any go out of that &s;tate, and become fooli&s;h, yet that which they depart from is perfect; and if any do fall from the truth, and do not abide in Chri&s;ts doctrine, that doth not make his Do|ctrine to be unperfect; for Chri&s;t &s;aith, Except they abide in him, who is perfect, they cannot bring forth fruit: is not he that is in Chri&s;t perfect, though &s;ome do not abide in him, and is not the truth, truth, becau&s;e &s;ome deny it? Was not Chri&s;ts Doctrine and the Apo&s;tles true, becau&s;e
<PB N="45" REF="23">
<HI>Demas</HI> did for&s;ake it, and love the pre&s;ent world: and was not that part of the Mini&s;try which <HI>Judas</HI> had committed unto him perfect? and was not he the true Chri&s;t that <HI>Judas</HI> preached, though afterwards he betrayed him? now if people do but truly con&s;ider all tho&s;e that now do turn from the way of truth, which is now preached, and lived in by us, it may be an evident token to ju&s;tifie us in the way of truth, &s;eeing what they go into when they go from the light which Chri&s;t hath enlightened them with|all, which while they abide in it, are kept out of all filthi|ne&s;s of fl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;h and &s;pirit: and &s;o long they may &s;peak of per|fection, and of the gift of God which is perfect; but if any go from the light, then they are let at liberty to act all uncleanne&s;s with greedine&s;s, and &s;o are ca&s;t out from us, and from perfection: and if any &s;uch deny the truth, and for&s;ake it, yet there remains in them a withne&s;s for the truth, and again&s;t their own uncleanne&s;s, as in <HI>C. A.</HI> who from the witne&s;s of God in him, was made to confe&s;&s;e that if he had continued in the light of Chri&s;t, he could not have &s;o &s;inned again&s;t the Lord, and &s;o by his tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion fell from the way of life, and could not continue in Chri&s;ts Doctrine no longer: and &s;o &s;uch things may &s;a|tisfie people concerning the way of truth: for while they are of us, all &s;uch things is denyed by them: but when they go out from us, then they become Drunkards, Swearers, Prophane, Adulterers, Fornicators, and &s;o every evill Work is committed, and then they turn to the Prie&s;ts Doctrine, where all &s;uch things are, and are excu&s;ed: and then the Prie&s;ts rejoyce and give thanks if any turn from the light of Chri&s;t, and the obedience of the Go&s;pel into Drunkenne&s;s and Prophanene&s;s again, where they were before, and if they will but &s;wear and re&s;pect mens per&s;ons, and u&s;e the rod of violence, and per&s;ecute, and &s;hed the blood of the Innocent, and be conformable to the World, that is the Prie&s;ts rejoycing; and if any turn from the truth into any act of uncleanne&s;&s;e, then they take that as a proof again&s;t tho&s;e that abide in the truth: and &s;uch a thing is a better proof to them then all the
<PB N="46" REF="24">
Scriptures&punc; and tho&s;e are they that re<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">oy<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters"> in <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">niquity, and watch for evill, and &s;o they rejoyce in that which we have <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">a&s;t out as abomination&punc; and the&s;e are they that plead for a life in &s;in while they are here, and that &s;ay that the Saints glorified in Heaven do yet hope for the Re&s;urrecti|on of their bodies, and &s;o not come to the end of their hope though in Heaven, whenas the Saints upon earth Witne&s;&s;ed the end of their hope, the &s;alvation of their &s;ouls. Now the&s;e may well deny perfection on earth, who deny it in Heaven, which the Saints, we, and the Scrip|tures do witne&s;&s;e it in both, and again&s;t all &s;uch who are not fit to &s;peak of the things of God.</P>
<P>Again, In his <HI>9th</HI> Head of contradiction he &s;peaks of a Wa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">far (which yet he him&s;elf never came unto,) and in it he wre&s;ts <HI>Pauls</HI> words, and &s;o would turn the truth into a lye, &s;aying, as if <HI>Paul</HI> &s;hould &s;ay thus: <HI>If &s;in that wars and fights in me hath no power to condemn me, then there is no condemnation to me:</HI> which words <HI>Paul</HI> never &s;pake, and it is a lye in the ground, for it is not &s;in that is the condem|nation, but the light which lets men &s;ee their &s;ins, becau&s;e <HI>men love darkne&s;s rather than the light:</HI> as many in this age have manife&s;ted them&s;elves to do, and the light &s;hall be their condemnation who are not yet come to the War, nor to the Victory which the Scripture &s;peaks of.</P>
<P>Again in his <HI>10th</HI> Head of Contradictions &s;peaking of Repentance, as if he would prove that we denyed, or di&s;|claimed godly &s;orrow, and his proof is this: <HI>If we di&s;claim in&punc; dwelling &s;in in the godly, we di&s;claim godly &s;orrow.</HI> Let all people take notice of this, If we deny in-dwelling &s;in, we deny godly &s;orrow: this is contradiction in the high|e&s;t degree; but again&s;t it, this I &s;hall affirm, that none comes unto godly &s;orrow, but they deny dwelling &s;in, and they that do not deny in-dwelling &s;in, denies godly &s;orrow.</P>
<P>Again, <HI>John Stelham</HI> in his <HI>11th</HI> Head of Contradicti|ons
<PB N="47" REF="24">
to the Scripture, in his &s;peaking of the Word, and means of Grace: he is &s;etting up that which before he hath been pulling down, in <HI>page</HI> 123. where he &s;aith: <HI>That they are ju&s;tified from all legal obligations, and condi|tions of their own workings both within them, and without them.</HI> And in page 174. he is &s;etting up Obligations and conditions of Reading, Hearing, Prayer, Preaching, to which he &s;aith, life and &s;alvation is promi&s;ed: and &s;o would have &s;alvation come by Works, which he hath &s;o much declared again&s;t before, and &s;o makes Prayer, Rea|ding, Preaching, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> not only the means through which &s;alvation comes, but the cau&s;e for which they are &s;aved, &s;aying: <HI>To prayer is promi&s;ed &s;alvation.</HI> Now to the infor|ming of minds of people, I &s;ay, That all promi&s;es are to the Seed, and the fulfilling of the promi&s;es, is witne&s;&s;ed through its obedience to Chri&s;ts command, and through the works of righteou&s;ne&s;s: but none can pray &s;o as to be heard of God and accepted, but who have fir&s;t known, heard, and believed him whom they call upon, which none do but who own the light which Chri&s;t hath enlighten|ed them withall, which teacheth to Pray, Hear, Read, and Preach with knowledge and under&s;tanding.</P>
<P>Again, <HI>I. S.</HI> in his <HI>12th</HI> Head concerning Bapti&s;me, would go about to prove the &s;prinkling of Infants to be the Bapti&s;me, and &s;o denyes both <HI>Iohns</HI> who was from, and Chri&s;ts, and the manner of them, and &s;ets up another which the Scripture doth not mention, as &s;prinkling In|fants, which who reads his Books may &s;ee his proofs: by con&s;equences would have the Scripture &s;peak that which in never mentioneth in plain Precept&punc; and &s;o would turn the truth into alye, and &s;o by his own rule in the <HI>68th</HI> page of his Book &s;hall he be judged: <HI>Such Me&s;&s;engers as &s;peak more then is in the Scripture are not &s;ent by Gods Spi|rit&punc; nor guided by him to what they &s;ay.</HI> But that all people may come to a right under&s;tanding of the Scriptures, and that which is te&s;tified by them, is to come to the light which Chri&s;t hath enlightened them withall, which light
<PB N="48" REF="25">
was before Ordinances was, and which light gives to &s;ee the place of Ordinances, and their time wherein they are to be obeyed, for the light comes from the &s;ub&s;tance of all the divers wa&s;hings, and carnall Ordinances, and it leads into the one Bapti&s;me which is the &s;ub&s;tance of that of Water which <HI>Iohn</HI> who was a Prophet was the Mini&s;ter of, and Chri&s;t &s;aid unto his Di&s;ciples, <HI>Iohn verily bapti|zeth with Water, but ye &s;hall be baptized with the Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> and with fire; but he never commanded them to baptize with Water, but commanded them <HI>to go teach all Nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Gho&s;t:</HI> and although &s;ome of the Di&s;ciples, and <HI>Paul</HI> for a time did Baptize with Water: yet who &s;hall judge their permi&s;&s;ion in it, although <HI>Paul</HI> an Apo&s;tle of Je&s;us Chri&s;t witne&s;&s;eth, <HI>that he was not &s;ent to baptize, but to preach the Go&s;pel, 1 Cor.</HI> 1. 17. and thanks God that he had baptized no more of them, yet witne&s;&s;ed that they were all Baptized with one Spirit into one Body. And <HI>I. S.</HI> &s;aith, <HI>To be again&s;t Infants Bapti&s;me, is contrary to Acts</HI> 2. 28, 29. This is fal&s;e, for that Scripture doth not command it, nor give pre&s;ident for it; let the Reader &s;earch if he find any &s;uch thing, as the Scripture proving Infants Bapti&s;me, but the promi&s;e is to as many as the Lord &s;hall call, and &s;o he hath foully belyed the Scripture, for if that Scripture be contrary to &s;uch who are again&s;t Infants Bapti&s;me, then mu&s;t he prove from that Scripture Infants Bapti&s;me to be commanded as practi&s;ed, which he cannot do, and &s;o is a perverter of the Scripture, and it is truth that we do deny brain imaginations, and &s;prink|ling Infants with water; but then he rambles over many Scriptures, proving the Bapti&s;me of Believers; the&s;e proofs are impertinent, what is this to prove Infants Bap|ti&s;me? &s;o that is pa&s;&s;ed by here, as making arguments a|gain&s;t Believers Bapti&s;me, except one profe&s;&s;ing that were our pre&s;ent adver&s;ary, but in this he is pur&s;ued from all the Scriptures; he cannot prove in ju&s;tice that ever In|fants Bapti&s;me was either commanded, or practi&s;ed, though he craftily wind about never &s;o much in his Imagi|nations
<PB N="49" REF="25">
and con&s;equences. And in the general I an&s;wer: Much by us have been written and &s;poken to this pur|po&s;e, &s;o our judgements in this charge is fully known, of which we are not a&s;hamed before men, as being fully ju&s;tified herein in the &s;ight of the Lord; and &s;o as to this particular more need not be &s;aid.</P>
<P>Again in the <HI>12th</HI> Head of Scripture, Contradiction as he &s;aith concerning the Lords Supper&punc; <HI>I. S.</HI> makes much ado becau&s;e of our denyall of carnall Inventions, and I|mitations practi&s;ed by many in the exerci&s;e of that called the Supper of the Lord, though with one heart and mind we &s;ay, and witne&s;s that Chri&s;ts fle&s;h and blood is our meat and drink, and none hath life in them without it; yet doth receive it in the Spirit and power of God, and doth bear our te&s;timony again&s;t Imitations, and fal&s;e likene&s;&s;es &s;et up in the World, as the Wicked and Pro|phane people, &s;uch as live in pride and wickedne&s;s, and covetou&s;ne&s;s, both teachers and people, eating a little Bread&punc; and drinking Wine &s;o many times a year in &s;uch a form and manner, and way as Chri&s;t nor his Apo&s;tles ne|ver practi&s;ed &s;uch things in, and no change wrought a|mong people but both before and after (if not in the very time) fulfilling all wickedne&s;s and unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e in words, and wayes, and thoughts; yet by fal&s;e &s;ugge&s;tion from their Teachers, believing vainly them&s;elves to be the better, or Saitns for the practice of &s;uch things, whereas they do the more thereby vex the Lords &s;oul, and grieve his Spirit by hypocri&s;ie and deceit: this we call carnal In|ventions, and doth deny it in the pre&s;ence of the Lord that it is evill, and not accepted of God, but condemned in his &s;ight. <HI>I. S.</HI> proves not that any thing which Chri&s;t in&s;tituted to be practi&s;ed among the Saints only, even was practi&s;ed in the World among &s;uch who are not called, neither &s;anctified, and this is abomination to the Lord, to practi&s;e the Saints words, or wayes, and have not the Spirit of the Father, which we cannot &s;ee among the peo|ple of this Age, no nor manage them profe&s;&s;ing to be &s;e|lected
<PB N="50" REF="26">
Church members, but pride and envy abounds a|mong them all; and in that &s;pirit of di&s;obedience in which they live to the Ordinances of Chri&s;t, they have no right to practi&s;e that which only is to be practi&s;ed among them that have the Spirit of the Father and nothing that Chri&s;t in&s;tituted for his Saints do we deny in its life and age, but lives are changed, and Antichri&s;t hath roled, and even the things which once he in&s;tituted your practi&s;e of them who are poluted, are abomination to him; and this is a full An&s;wer in generall, as to the thing, though I pur&s;ue h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">m not in every particular word, and argument, to lay open his folly: but our judgement in this is known, he that can receive it let him, and the belief of the wicked we &s;hall not begg: in the&s;e things we are approved of God, and in the denyal of all fal&s;e Imitations, and who is he that &s;hall condemn.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>In the <HI>14th&punc;</HI> Head concerning Prayer&punc;</HEAD>
<P>Concerning Prayer we do not contradict the Scripture in our practice, <HI>I. S.</HI> is the lyer herein, who hath made it a &s;ubject to treat two leaves upon: for praying in the Spirit, and by the Spirit, and in publick and private too we own, and do practi&s;e, as is known to thou&s;ands: our enemies can witne&s;s for us, and according to the Scripture too, and not contradicting to it any way: but this is the of|fence again&s;t him at which he is troubled: that we &s;hould deny the prayers of the Phari&s;ees, or of &s;uch who are in the &s;teps of the Phari&s;ees, <HI>viz.</HI> who for a pretence make long Prayers, and &s;tands praying in the Synagogues, who are out of Chri&s;ts, and the Apo&s;tles Doctrine, and the prayers and practi&s;es of &s;uch, we do not deny according to the Scripture, (which &s;aith&punc;) <HI>the &s;acrifice of the wicked are abomination to the Lord:</HI> and they &s;hal receive greater con|demnation who makes long prayers for a pretence, as it is manife&s;t concerning many in this Generation, (and again&s;t the praying of the Hypocrites, and of hirelings, who pretends to pray in love to Souls, when as if they had not a great &s;um of mony from the people, would not pray
<PB N="51" REF="26">
among them, but &s;eek a place to pray at, among &s;uch who wou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">d give them money, and hire, and this praying is for a pretence, and we do deny it in publick, (and doth not offend God herein,) though we vex <HI>I. S.</HI> hereby, becau&s;e &s;ome will not wor&s;hip the bea&s;t, and bow a hat off, while he is praying in an Idols Temple, which he complains of in <HI>I. P.</HI> though he him&s;elf that prayes have a Cap on&punc; (and him&s;elf confe&s;&s;es) not wicked mans prayers are accepted publick or private: and here he hath condemned all his own praying, who confe&s;&s;es he is wicked, and &s;infull, and his heart is old and lying; Let all take notice of this, which if he had not confe&s;&s;ed it, it is &s;ufficiently proved: then why &s;hall he ever hereafter be offended, &s;eeing his prayers are not accepted, according to his own confe&s;&s;i|on, if any tel him &s;o, or declare again&s;t his praying, and before any can truly pray, they mu&s;t receive the Spirit of the Father, (and them we know who are not led by the Spirit of the Father&punc;) them and their prayers are to be de|clared again&s;t by the Saints, and are condemned in the &s;ight of God. And <HI>I. S.</HI> &s;aith, <HI>If this coun&s;el be followed, viz. waiting in the Light, till the Spirit leading be known, it makes known nothing of Publick Mini&s;ters, Church offi|cers, Bapti&s;me, Lords Supper&punc; publick order of prayer, nor of Chri&s;t as Mediator&punc; nor of the Spirit of promi&s;e, &amp;c.</HI> The light that every man hath makes manife&s;t nothing of this he &s;ayeth (he in this is a Lyar, and &s;landerer of the people of God) who are led by the moving of the Spirit in the light of the word Chri&s;t Je&s;us that lighteth every man, and owneth the publick Mini&s;try of Chri&s;t, which is received by the holy Gho&s;t, and Church, and Bapti&s;m, and Chri&s;t as Mediator, and the Spirit of promi&s;e: and all the&s;e thing&punc; (all the Saints upon earth who have the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t &s;hal witne&s;s again&s;t <HI>I. S.</HI> herein to be a lyar of the light and Spirit of God, and &s;o is a tran&s;gre&s;&s;or, and his wickedne&s;s may largely be laid open, but the lea&s;t of the children of light may &s;ee his folly, and madne&s;s&punc; who al&s;o lyingly &s;aith, that <HI>Quakers they nouri&s;h up people in the light that every man hath,</HI> (which is the light of Chri&s;t
<PB N="52" REF="27">
Je&s;us) <HI>in oppo&s;ition to Scripture light:</HI> this is al&s;o utterly fal&s;e&punc; and a lye, and the author proved to be of the Devil, for the light of Chri&s;t leads up in the fulfilling of the &s;crip|ture, and not in oppo&s;ition to it; but by his lightne&s;s and lyes he is made manife&s;t to be a d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">c<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">iver of the people, and &s;o take thy own words in thy conclu&s;ion to thy &s;elf, thou art he that is a ienated from the Scripture, and from the Spirit of God al&s;o by thy lying &s;pirit of Contradict<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">|on, which is manife&s;t in thy writings.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>In his <HI>15th</HI> Head concerning &s;inging.</HEAD>
<P>We do not con|tradict the Scripture: (herein again thou art a lyar,) but &s;inging with the Spirit, and with under&s;tanding, we own of &s;uch as are redeemed out of the World, and are not of the world&punc; but &s;inging of <HI>Davids</HI> experiences, &s;ung in the World; by &s;uch who are of the World, this &s;inging we do deny as it is practi&s;ed in this Generation, in Rhyme and Meeter, in a vain multitude of people, where all, or mo&s;t of them do di&s;honour God in &s;inging <HI>Davids</HI> words, which them&s;elves are out of the life of, and in a life quite contrary, &s;inging the law of God is dear to them, and that they exerci&s;e them&s;elves in it, when every moment of time they are exerci&s;ed in Wickedne&s;&s;e, and ca&s;ts the Law of God behind them, and thus &s;inging lyes&punc; and that which is not true to them, yet in the name of the Lord. Other Rea&s;ons many may be given why we deny &s;inging in this Form, and manner, and way, as &s;inging is practi&s;ed in this Generation: but this In&s;tance is &s;ufficient to all hone&s;t people, but Cavellers mouths are not &s;oon &s;topped, not by the truth: and all <HI>I. S.</HI> profe&s;&s;es as to maintain this manner and practi&s;e of &s;inging, are all im|pertinent: he proves that the Saints &s;ang, and were ex|horted to it, but what is this to the purpo&s;e to prove the World mu&s;t &s;ing who are unconverted, which &s;inging we oppo&s;e only, and not the Saints &s;inging in the Spirit, who are moved to it by the Spirit. O thou Lyar, wherefore do&s;t thou &s;ay, <HI>To be again&s;t &s;inging Davids words</HI> (by the world in Rhyme and Meetre) <HI>as we do&punc;</HI> is contrary to
<PB N="53" REF="27">
<HI>Eph. 5. Col.</HI> 3. doth the&s;e Scriptures hold forth any &s;uch thing, let the Reader try, as that <HI>Davids</HI> experiences may be &s;ang in the World in Rhyme and Meetre, nay they do not; and &s;o thou art a lyar on the Scriptures, to be taken notice of, and marked for a wre&s;ter of the Scriptures, and in this we have often declared our minds by words and writings, that Poetry, and <HI>I. Hopkins,</HI> and <HI>T. Sternolds</HI> brain invention we have denyed: yet <HI>Davids</HI> P&s;alms we have owned, and do own them, as they were given forth by the Spirit of God, and not as they are perverted, and added, and dimini&s;hed to &s;uch a compa&s;s of &s;yllables as they are now in practi&s;e; and thus I have given you a further te&s;ti|mony for, and again&s;t &s;inging, wherein we deny it, and wherein we own it, and &s;o leaves his muddy &s;tuff, and &s;o counts it not worth raking in, only a Lye, or two, or more he is proved in, as the Reader may take notice al&s;o of one thing more, where he charges <HI>R. F.</HI> fal&s;ely, to &s;peak fal&s;ehood for &s;aying the Prie&s;ts of <HI>Eug.</HI> they teach people to &s;ing, lyes in hypocri&s;ie, this they do, and do wickedly in it, and he hath added to their wickedne&s;s in denying it to be &s;o: for to all people without exception they give to &s;ing; <HI>I am not puft in mind, nor hath a &s;cornfull eye,</HI> and they making not exception in giving forth their P&s;alms to &s;ing: (&s;ome that they give it forth to are puft in mind, and have &s;cornfull eyes, and the&s;e they teach to &s;ing Lyes in hypo|cri&s;ie to any hone&s;t man; this appears true, let <HI>I. S.</HI> &s;huf|fle and twi&s;t never &s;o much.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>In the <HI>16th</HI> Head concerning Elders, and Ordination.</HEAD>
<P>We do not herein contradict the Scripture, but witne&s;|&s;eth forth according to it, that who are moved by the Spi|rit of God to watch over the Flock, and ordained with gifts thereunto, may take the over&s;ight of the Flock wit|tingly, and of a ready mind, and not by con&s;traint, nor for filthy lucre &s;ake, as <HI>I. S.</HI> and his Generation of fal&s;e Tea|chers, who preach for hire, and for gifts, and rewards: &s;uch are not ordained of God to watch over the Flock, but runs and was never &s;ent, and therefore &s;hall not pro|fit
<PB N="54" REF="28">
people at all, and &s;uch an ordination we d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters">y&punc; who are ordained at Schools, or by naturall arts and &s;ciences to &s;peak their brain-&s;tudy by a gla&s;s, this is by man, and not of God, and God doth deny it, and we te&s;tifie again&s;t it by the Spirit of God, and doth &s;ay, the call to the true Mini&s;try and Elder&s;hip is not by man, nor of man, but by the Lord, according to <HI>Gal.</HI> 1. 1. yet &s;uch a one is appro|ved of all the Saints, and goes forth not contrary to men, who feareth the Lord, for the &s;pirit of life is one in them that are called and ordained by it, and in them that beareth witne&s;s to truth what doth &s;uch approve with the Spirit, that are called by the Spirit: this is our judgement, and the judgement of truth, whatever <HI>I. S.</HI> or any of his fellows rai&s;e up to oppo&s;e it; and herein we do not contradict the Scriptures, he is that lyar, in the &s;ubject matter on which he treats in the Title of his Section.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>In his <HI>17th</HI> Head concerning Mini&s;ters Maintenance.</HEAD>
<P>Concerning this we do no way contradict the Scrip|ture&punc; but witne&s;&s;eth according to it, that the Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t doth receive freely, and gives freely of what they have received from God, and having planted a vineyard, may eat the fruit of it, and keeping a flock, may eat of the milk of the flock: and when they go into a hou&s;e, may eat &s;uch things <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters"> are &s;et before them, and yet may not be chargeable to any man, and this is according to Chri&s;ts in&s;tructions, and not contradictory to the Scriptures, though <HI>I. S.</HI> be plea&s;ed to &s;o &s;tile it, but all &s;uch who prea|ches for hire, or takes hire for preaching, and &s;eeks for their gain, (for 50 <HI>l.</HI> or 60 <HI>l. per a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">num&punc;</HI> or the like) from their quarter (a Pari&s;h or Town) and &s;uch who take Ti<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">hes, Gifts, and Rewards for preaching, which people &s;hould not give them except they p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">eached, and &s;uch who have &s;ums of money, and lives in plea&s;ures and vanities, and lu&s;t&punc; and fulne&s;s of the Fle&s;h, as the Prie&s;ts of <HI>England</HI> doth, (this maintenance we do deny) and them that act tho&s;e things, we deny to be Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t, or that a|ny Maintenance by way of a Mini&s;try doth belong to &s;uch
<PB N="55" REF="28">
who are greedy dumb doggs, and can never have enough as <HI>I&s;ai</HI> 56&punc; &s;uch practi&s;es and men we oppo&s;e, and doth no whit contradict the Scripture, but it witne&s;&s;eth to us herein, and again&s;t all &s;uch, and therefore <HI>I. S.</HI> and his Brethren the Independants who acts &s;uch things, they contradict the Scripture, and &s;o are truly guilty them|&s;elves in action of what they fal&s;ely accu&s;e us in words for &s;uch who walks in the &s;teps of the fal&s;e Prophets, as he and they doth that preach for hire, and takes Gi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ts and Re|wards for preaching, are contrary to all the true Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t, and the Scripture, and the Spirit that gave it forth condemns them: and much as to this we have pub|lickly &s;poken, and written, and &s;o here I need &s;ay the le&s;&s;e, though much might be &s;aid to manife&s;t <HI>I. S.</HI> folly and vanity though they that plant a vineyard may ju&s;tly eat the fruit thereof: yet what is this to purpo&s;e, he is a thief that eats of the fruit of that which he hath not plant|ed, but is hired thither for &s;o much <HI>per</HI> Sermon, or <HI>per an|nu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">,</HI> and plants nothing for the Lord, and he that prea|ches the Go&s;pel may live of it, but this &s;hames <HI>I. S.</HI> and this Generation of Teachers, who many of them might begg bread at peoples doors, had they not a Law by vio|lence to compell maintenance from them; which thing is a very &s;hame to all righteou&s;ne&s;s which is practi&s;ed by mo&s;t of the Prie&s;ts of <HI>England</HI> at this day, grievous to be related what unju&s;t proceedings are acted upon the poor people by unju&s;t judgements again&s;t them for to maintain Mini&s;ters, &s;o called; what is the thing that <HI>I. S.</HI> pleads for? (Tithes, or a hundred, or two hundred pound a year? he is a Lyar to &s;ay that we contradict the Scripture, be|cau&s;e we cannot uphold this, but mu&s;t bear witne&s;s a|gain&s;t it, &s;o whil&s;t he fal&s;ely charges us with contradict|ing the Scripture, in the very &s;ame thing he and his Gene|ration are found in this practi&s;e contrary to all the Mini|&s;ters of Chri&s;t that ever was &s;ent by him, and in the very practice of the Deceivers, Antichri&s;ts, and fal&s;e Prophets, in making merchandize of people through covetou&s;ne&s;s, in preaching for hire, and in &s;eeking for their gain from
<PB N="56" REF="29">
their quarter, and this is the very truth, let <HI>I. S.</HI> and all his fellows read their own contradiction, to the example of all the Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t in their cur&s;ed practi&s;e of main|tenance, which is the greate&s;t oppre&s;&s;ion this day in <HI>Eng|land:</HI> and this is their grief again&s;t us, becau&s;e God hath opened our mouths to declare again&s;t them, and to &s;hew their folly and wickedne&s;&s;e unto all people: and when the Law of the Land cea&s;es to maintain them, which will come &s;ooner then they expect, then may they begg their bread, or peri&s;h for want, and that is all the fruit that their vineyard of wild Brambles will bring forth to them, and if every particular of his words &s;hould be &s;earched, much rottenne&s;s might be let forth: but in plainne&s;s I have &s;poken, as to the truth of things in pleading for truth, and in denying his deceits, and the oppre&s;&s;ion of hirelings, which I cannot call Mini&s;ters maintenance.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>His <HI>18th</HI> Head concerning immediate Calling.</HEAD>
<P>In this we do not contradict the Scipture, <HI>I. S.</HI> is a Lyar herein al&s;o; but we &s;ay &s;uch as are called of God, are called by his Spirit, and lead with it, and fulfills the will and work of God in the Spirit, and &s;uch as are called by the Spirit of God, are appoved by all the Saints of God&punc; who with the &s;ame Spirit bears witne&s;s to &s;uch as are cal|led by it, and &s;peaks by it; the Mini&s;try of God is not of Man, nor by Man, but by the revelation of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, which is not learned by natural arts, but received in the Holy Gho&s;t, and this the Scripture bears witne&s;s to, (but the Call to the Mini&s;try, by naturall learning at <HI>Oxford</HI> and <HI>Cambridge,</HI> this I deny, and trample upon, and all your arts&punc; and knowledge, and humate &s;tudy&punc; and languages, is not able to make a Mini&s;ter of Chri&s;t, (this I do affirm,) though they approve one another, yet are they not appro|ved of God without his Spirit, and they that have his Spi|rit denyes naturall learning, as to be made a Mini&s;ter of Chri&s;t hereby&punc; and <HI>E. B.</HI> his words are owned, tran&s;cri|bed by <HI>I. S.</HI> cited page 16. in the warning&punc; <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and all that he &s;aith doth not prove that any of the Mini&s;ters of
<PB N="57" REF="29">
Chri&s;t were called by the Church, or approved unto that work of the Mini&s;try, by them who were not called by the Spirit, and guided with it; he &s;aith, the &s;ending of God is two-fold, and for this he hath no Scripture to prove it&punc; and &s;o holds forth that which the Scripture will not evi|dence: And further he &s;aith, he pretends to no &s;uch Call of an Apo&s;tle; if he have not the &s;ame Call, by the &s;ame Spirit as the Apo&s;tles had, he is no Mini&s;ter of Chri&s;t, and in mea&s;ure he hath confe&s;&s;ed to be without the &s;ame Call, as the Apo&s;tles was called with, and will not pretend &s;uch a Call.</P>
<P>Again, He fal&s;ly Charges <HI>R. F.</HI> with <HI>Crucifying the Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t:</HI> which is a Lye, and of the Devil, though none of us may &s;pare to call Hirelings, greedy dumb Doggs, and devourers, and lazy &s;heperds, and in this we do not contradict the Scriptures, nor work offence towards God, nor our neighbour: And he concludes, <HI>Who of us</HI> (we or they) <HI>&s;hall have the wor&s;t of it in Con|clu&s;ion, the day &s;hall declare:</HI> unto that day we are willing to come, by which we, and all the blind Prie&s;ts of <HI>Eng|land</HI> &s;hall be manife&s;t; and we know Liars, &s;uch as <HI>I. S.</HI> &s;hall not have the better, who is to us made manife&s;t al|ready to be out of the way, and out of the power, and life, of God.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>His <HI>19th</HI> Head, concerning <HI>immediate Teaching.</HI></HEAD>
<P>In this we do not contradict the Scripture, as <HI>I. S.</HI> fal&s;ly charges us withal, but doth &s;ay (that we are taught of God) and needs no man to reach us, but as the anointing of God, which abides in us, and the promi&s;e of God is fulfilled upon us&punc; <HI>Jer.</HI> 31. we are all taught of God from the lea&s;t of us to the greate&s;t, with whom the Covenant of God is e&s;tabli&s;hed, and this is the cau&s;e wherefore we let forth our &s;elves to the world, who are yet in the un|converted &s;tate, that they al&s;o ma<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> come to the know|ledge of the wayes, and teachings of God in the Spirit, and may come into the Covenant of peace, where none need
<PB N="58" REF="30">
to &s;ay, <HI>know the Lord,</HI> but all the&s;e are taught of him, (yea and immediately too) by his Spirit, and this we do wit|ne&s;s, and the Lord doth witne&s;s with us, though the un|believing heart of <HI>I. S.</HI> and his fellows&punc; cannot believe it, but doth gain&s;ay it, as being contrary to the Scripture, when as them&s;elves doth contradict the Scripture in de|nying it, &s;o proving them&s;elves guilty of what they do accu&s;e us of fal&s;ly, but this is that their folly may appear to all men, as it doth to us, and <HI>I. S&punc;</HI> hath belyed the Scri|ptures, <HI>Dan.</HI> 9. 1. &amp; 1 <HI>Tim</HI> 4. 14. in &s;aying it is contrary to tho&s;e Scriptures, to &s;ay the teaching of God is immediate, let the Reader try, and <HI>I. S.</HI> &s;aith, <HI>he is yet to learn the promi&s;e of the immediate teachings of God, to be given to all that are to teach others,</HI> and this doth make it manife&s;t, that him&s;elf is without the promi&s;e of God, and is not yet taught of God, and &s;o without Gods Covenant, being not learned in the teaching of God by his Spirit, which is immediate.</P>
<P>And thus to confound truth, he hath by his confe&s;&s;ion, &s;hamed him&s;elf, and &s;hewed him&s;elf to all men, to be un|learned in the doctrine of Salvation.</P>
<P>Further, he &s;aith, If God had intended to have given teachings immediately without any <HI>medium&punc;</HI> then would he not have &s;ent Preachers abroad for them to hear: mark this man<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> blind productions, and what impudence is in his heart, who holds forth, That God intended not the thing to be what he promi&s;ed &s;hould be, he promi&s;ed to teach his people him&s;elf; and this man holds forth, that he intended it not, and &s;o hath no le&s;s than charged God with Hypocri&s;ie (let the Reader mark this) but this is the ground wherefore the Mini&s;ters and Preachers were and are &s;ent abroad, to bring all people to be taught of God by his Spirit, and to inform their minds, to the gift of God in them, that by the Spirit received the knowledge of, they might know the things of God, which is not known but by the Spirit of God, which all that are Children of God are led and guided by, and they that are not led with the Spirit of God, which Spirit is immediat, (are not the
<PB N="59" REF="30">
heirs with Chri&s;t) nor none of his&punc; let <HI>I. S.</HI> &s;ay what he will, or may; this we believe, and this the Scripture gives te&s;timony of for us, and with us.</P>
<P>Yet further, to manife&s;t his folly, he &s;aith, <HI>It is erroneous enough, and contradictious to the whole Scripture,</HI> when <HI>R. F.</HI> truly tells him, and &s;aith, Thou that art not taught of God, &s;hewes that thou &s;peaks a vi&s;ion of thy own heart, and not from the mouth of the Lord: let the Reader &s;earch where the errour and contradiction to the whole Scripture lyes in the&s;e words, or whether he hath not proved him|&s;elf blind and ignorant, and in errour, and contradiction to the Spirit of God.</P>
<P>Further, he &s;aith, <HI>Never did any but God &s;layers, and Spirit-wounders, go about to &s;eparate the Word of God, and his breath:</HI> Now let this be con&s;idered, Chri&s;t did tell them (the Phari&s;ees) who had the words, which God had &s;poken by the Prophets, that they had never heard the voyce of God; here he divides or &s;eparates betwixt the words and the voyce (or breath) and was no God-&s;layer, nor Spirit-wounder, as thou ha&s;t wickedly and bla&s;phem|ou&s;ly laid down thy Po&s;ition, where thou ha&s;t concluded, Chri&s;t to be one again&s;t whom thy words are laid down: let the Reader prove thy doctrine.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>His <HI>20th</HI> Head, concerning <HI>Que&s;tions.</HI></HEAD>
<P>In this we do not contradict the Scripture, <HI>I. S.</HI> is taken with a lye in his mouth, who hath made it a &s;ubject to treat upon, (for Que&s;tions in their places we own) but &s;uch as are of the Devil we deny, as Chri&s;t did who &s;hewed him|&s;elf as a &s;ool unto all mens wi&s;dom, when the &s;ubtil Pha|ri&s;ees and others tempted him, who would not an&s;wer their crafty Que&s;tions, though them that que&s;tioned in&s;implici|ty, he did to re&s;olve and &s;atisfie them, and inform them into the knowledge of the Father.</P>
<P>Then &s;ome leaves he hath filled with producing &s;ome of our Queries out of &s;ome of our Books, Commenting there|upon, and would prove them ignorant, and unprofitable,
<PB N="60" REF="31">
and the like, but it had been more ju&s;t, and of a better re|port for him to have an&s;wered them, and &s;hewed them to be (as he &s;aith of them) to all people, rather then in a man|ner backbited them, and reproached them, and not &s;hew|ing wherein it lyes; and if they be &s;o needle&s;s, and vain a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> he &s;aith, then the &s;ooner had &s;uch a wi&s;e man (as he thinks him&s;elf) <HI>I. S.</HI> confuted them by &s;ober and plain an&s;wers&punc; but what if our folly in the &s;ight of men be wi&s;dom in the &s;ight of God, and his wi&s;dom fooli&s;hne&s;s with God? no matter what he &s;ay of us, who hath &s;hewed him&s;elf already, and confe&s;&s;ed truly that his heart is old, and lying, and &s;infull: &s;o we can expect no better judgement from his Pen then what is in his heart; but while we are approved in the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ight of God, we matter nor what men &s;ay of us, e&s;|pecially one that hath &s;et him&s;elf to be our enemy, and the Lords enemy, and I leave the hone&s;t &s;ober <HI>Queries</HI> to be read, which he hath fal&s;ely branded with Pride and Igno|rance, and &s;uch like, (as this) what rule have you in &s;crip|ture for putting off the Hat? (this is an hone&s;t que&s;tion) which he wickedly &s;landers with pride, (and whether is your Go&s;pel free without charge as the Apo&s;tles was, yea or no; the&s;e and &s;uch other que&s;tions he rails again&s;t to be Ignorant, and quarrelous, and vain, and of the devil; now it had been more hone&s;t to have confuted them in an&s;wer|ing di&s;creetly, then to have thus branded them. And he &s;aith, It is one thing to take hire for preaching, and ano|ther thing to preach for hire, whereby his &s;cope is to excu&s;e him&s;elf may be, and his Brethren, (who are hirelings,) and would not be counted to preach for hire, though he dare not deny, le&s;t all men &s;hould &s;ee his folly)&punc; but that they have hire for preaching; but then let him tell us when, or where ever any of them preached, and had no hire, and then we will believe they preach not for it, but &s;uch as re|ceives &s;ums of money of one man, or a country which would not be given him, except he preached to them&punc; this &s;ame man is a hireling, and preaches becau&s;e he hath hire, and hath hire becau&s;e (that the ground) he preaches. Fur|ther, he &s;aith, Chri&s;ts righteou&s;ne&s;s which ju&s;tifies a belie|ving
<PB N="61" REF="31">
&s;inner is not the e&s;&s;entiall righteou&s;ne&s;s of his God|head, and here he hath &s;poken ignorantly, and held forth as if there is two righteou&s;ne&s;&s;es of Chri&s;t, which I call for a proof from him for, el&s;e let him confe&s;s to his &s;hame that he hath added to the Scripture, for the righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t is but one, by which all the Saints are ju&s;ti|fied.</P>
<P>Further he &s;aith ignorantly enough, that which is done according to the bare letter of the written command, or from a gift of the Spirit, or in a Go&s;pel way from a living principle of grace, acts of holine&s;s by the holy Spirit, and Faith given &s;tirred up, <HI>this is a righteou&s;ne&s;s of ours</HI> &s;aith he, and &s;eems to &s;eparate it from the righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t, as he holds forth, let men behold his ignorance. Further he &s;aith, though it be wrought by the &s;trength of Chri&s;t in us, yet as to Ju&s;tification <HI>Paul</HI> would not be found in it; (this) for a word, (mark again Reader) can&s;t thou &s;ee any thing here but ignorance, as if <HI>Paul</HI> were ju|&s;tified by another Chri&s;t then what wrought in him, to will, and to do. Further he &s;aith, <HI>Paul</HI> counted all things but lo&s;&s;e and dung, even what he had done, or &s;uffered &s;ince conver&s;ion, that he might win Chri&s;t. Mark again, what was the converting of many hundred of &s;ouls by <HI>Paul,</HI> and many other works of God wrought by him but dung and lo&s;&s;e &s;o <HI>I. S.</HI> holds forth; this is Ignorance in|deed, he hath &s;hewed his Ignorance by what he hath &s;aid, and not proved in any thing, that concerning que&s;tions we contradict the Scriptures.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>His <HI>21th</HI> Head concerning <HI>Civill Honour.</HI></HEAD>
<P>In this we do not contradict the Scripture by arguments nor practi&s;e&punc; but doth honour all men in the Lord; and can|not re&s;pect mens per&s;ons, nor have them in any admiration for any advantage; yea we honour men in reproving them in their unrighteou&s;ne&s;s; and <HI>I. S.</HI> pleads much for civil honour: the Scripture &s;peaks not of Civil honour, and the que&s;tion is, what this honour is that he calls civill? and
<PB N="62" REF="32">
wherein it may be done, and not in tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion nor in re&s;pect of per&s;ons, Magi&s;trates is to be honoured by &s;ubject on to their ju&s;t commands, reque&s;ts and laws, and by patient &s;uffering under their corrupt Laws, and evill commands, and not re&s;i&s;ting evill: yet the per&s;on of no man is to be re&s;pected, for he that doth commit &s;in, and is a tran&s;gre&s;&s;or of the law of God, and Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t are to be re&s;pected for their works &s;ake, and they de&s;ire no honour nor prai&s;e of men, but knows reproach and infamy is their re&s;pect from the men of this Generation: and as for hirelings &amp; deceivers, they are re&s;pected of the world, but condemned of God, and of his Saints, and te&s;tified a|gain&s;t, and Parents are to be re&s;pected in the Lord by their children, and Ma&s;ters by their &s;ervants: but where God commands one thing, and Parents or Ma&s;ters another, as it often comes to pa&s;s, in Chri&s;ts time, as it doth now, whether to give re&s;pect to God or man, this I leave to be judged by &s;obe men that makes con&s;cience of what they &s;ay; and thus in &s;hort I give&punc; a te&s;timony how we ho|nour, and would have all honoured in the Lord, and leaves <HI>I. S.</HI> long di&s;cour&s;e to him&s;elf and his company, and doth bear witne&s;s again&s;t the vain &s;uper&s;tition, and fooli&s;h cu|&s;tomes of this Generation.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>His <HI>22d</HI> Head concerning <HI>Swearing.</HI></HEAD>
<P>In this we do not contradict the Scripture, but &s;aith and practi&s;eth according to Chri&s;ts words, <HI>Swear not at all,</HI> which is &s;poken ab&s;olute, and without condition, and miti|gation (and he &s;aith) we take the&s;e words of Chri&s;t again&s;t his meaning, and this is fal&s;e and wicked too in <HI>I. S.</HI> who would he &s;een to hold forth, that when Chri&s;t &s;aid, <HI>Swear not at all:</HI> he meant not as he &s;pake, (for both Chri&s;t and the Apo&s;tle <HI>James</HI> were righteous in what they delivered concerning Swearing) who forbids all manner of Swear|ing, no cau&s;e excepted, and we take Chri&s;ts words accor|ding to his mind&punc; and doth deny all Oaths, and abides in Chri&s;t, and the Apo&s;tles Doctrine, and our yea is &s;o&punc; and
<PB N="63" REF="32">
our nay is &s;o, and what&s;oever is more cometh of evill, and <HI>I. S.</HI> would plead for &s;wearing before a Magi&s;trate (but that Magi&s;trate which fears God) and loves his way will believe a man &s;ooner that cannot &s;wear for con&s;cience &s;ake then he that makes no con&s;cience of Swearing, and &s;uch a one is liker to te&s;tifie lyes with Oaths, then he that for con&s;cience &s;ake denyes Oaths; and in his conclu&s;ion he &s;aith &s;chola&s;tically (though Ignorantly) they that will not expound Scripture by Scripture, and compare the precepts and examples for Swearing without prohibition again&s;t it, fall into Scripture contradiction, but <HI>R. F.</HI> nor others will, (therefore <HI>&amp;c.</HI> this is un&s;ound, and laid down, but not proved at all, neither <HI>major,</HI> nor <HI>minor,</HI> and here by he hath concluded wickedly: the Apo&s;tle <HI>Iames,</HI> and Chri&s;t him&s;elf to be fallen into Scripture contradicti|ons who did expre&s;ly forbid all &s;wearing, and did not compare the precepts and examples for Swearing, with the prohibition again&s;t it: and thus <HI>I. S.</HI> is taken uttering folly with his tongue, and hath drawn a conclu&s;ion upon Chri&s;t, and the Apo&s;tle <HI>Iames</HI> to be contradictors of Scripture, let &s;hame cover his impudent forehead.</P>
<P>And they that charges Chri&s;t, and the Apo&s;tle <HI>Iames</HI> with contradicting Scripture, are enemies to God, and of the devil, and for eternall vengeance: but <HI>I. Ste<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> hath done &s;o, and therefore he is an enemy to God, and of the Devill&punc; and for eternall vengeance.</P>
<P>But further at large, as concerning Swearing, and our te&s;timony thereof, is laid down at large in a Book called, <HI>The glory of the Lord ari&s;ing.</HI></P>
<P>And whereas further, <HI>I. S</HI> as a man not weary of ini|quity, goes on after his fal&s;e charging of us with Contra|dictions to Scripture, charges us again, That we contra|dict our &s;elves in many things; which Accu&s;ation we bear with as much patience as we do his former, &s;eeing they are all out of one heart, and to the &s;ame end; for it is a &s;mall thing for us to be judged by man, and &s;o that wherein he charges us with &s;elf-contradictions, I pa&s;s lightly over, having cleared the truth, that we do not
<PB N="64" REF="33">
contradict the Scriptures; but if this man <HI>I. S.</HI> had been in generations pa&s;t, what would he have &s;aid of <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> who was &s;ent to tell <HI>Hezekiah</HI> from the Lord, <HI>That he &s;hould die, and not live;</HI> 2 King 20&punc; 1. At the &s;ame in&s;tant of time the Word of the Lord came again to <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> that <HI>Hezekiah</HI> &s;hould be healed, and that he &s;hould go up to the hou&s;e of the Lord: The&s;e were both the Word of the Lord to <HI>Hezekiah,</HI> and yet no contradiction in <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> though &s;uch a Spirit as <HI>I. S.</HI> would &s;o have judged: And what would he have judged betwixt <HI>David</HI> and <HI>Jeremiah, P&s;al&punc;</HI> 119 &amp; the 103. and <HI>Jer. 23. 29 David</HI> &s;aith, <HI>The Words of the Lord are &s;weet unto his ta&s;te, yea &s;weeter than the honey to his mouth:</HI> And <HI>Jer.</HI> &s;aith, <HI>The Word of the Lord is as a fire, and like a hammer, which breaks the Rock to pieces:</HI> Now there is no contradiction in the&s;e two, not to that Spirit by which they are guided, though &s;o it might &s;eem to &s;uch as <HI>I. S.</HI> who&s;e minds are dark: And what would he have judged of Chri&s;ts words, <HI>Matth.</HI> 12. 30. and <HI>Mark</HI> 9. 40. where Chri&s;t &s;aid, <HI>He that is not with me is again&s;t me, and he that is not again&s;t us is with us;</HI> and yet in the&s;e words there is not contradiction to him that hath an ear to hear: But if <HI>I. S.</HI> had been in tho&s;e dayes, out of his evil heart, would he have charged the holy men of God to be contradictions to them&s;elves, it is very like that he would, and the&s;e things I leave, with the Reader, to be con&s;idered of, for we who have the &s;ame Spirit, do clear Chri&s;t, and the holy men of God from contradicti|ons, and knows <HI>I. S.</HI> and &s;uch as he, to be &s;eekers of oc|ca&s;ions again&s;t the ju&s;t, and would make offences where there is none, for as I have &s;aid, we do not allow <HI>I. S.</HI> to be the interpreter of our words&punc; for then no que&s;tion, but he would have his own end, and meaning; and in <HI>I. S.</HI> &s;aith, We deny the letter of the Scripture to be Scripture; this is charged upon him to be a lye, as it is well known through this Nation, both in Doctrine and Conver&s;ation, we own the Scriptures; and to deny <HI>Matthew, Mark, Luke,</HI> and <HI>Johns</HI> Declarations of the Go&s;pel, to be Go&s;pel, is no denyal of the Scripture; for the Go&s;pel was preached
<PB N="57" REF="33">
to <HI>Abraham,</HI> which Go&s;pel was, and is the power of God, before the&s;e four men did Declare of it, though we deny their Writings to be the very Go&s;pel which is the power of God, yet we do not deny, but they truly declared of the Go&s;pel, and this is to own the Scripture as it &s;peaks of it &s;elf to be.</P>
<P>Let <HI>I. S.</HI> judge what he will of us, and wheras he &s;peaks of Go&s;pel-letters, and Scripture-Go&s;pel&punc; the Scripture give no &s;uch names to it, but &s;aith the Go&s;pel is the power of God, and that is the Go&s;pel which we Preach, even the power of God unto all people, let <HI>I. S.</HI> judge by con&s;e|quence what he will.</P>
<P>And further, he would plead for the title of Ma&s;ter, from the example of <HI>Abrahams</HI> &s;ervant, but this is no|thing to prove the lawfulne&s;s of a Mini&s;ter of Chri&s;t, that they may be called Ma&s;ter: for Chri&s;t &s;aith to his Mini|&s;ters, Be ye not called Ma&s;ters, and the Spirit of Chri&s;t being our rule, that leads us in the fulfilling of Chri&s;ts words, let <HI>I. S.</HI> &s;huffle as he will: Al&s;o he lyes of <HI>J. N.</HI> to &s;ay he denyes, and grants the &s;ame thing to be in the let|ter, for though he &s;ay he that believes hath the witne&s;&s;e in him&s;elf&punc; which is truth: yet he doth not &s;ay the letter is the Believers witne&s;s, which he &s;eems fal&s;ly to be charged withall; and he &s;aith the Spirit of God mu&s;t give the &s;pi|rituall under&s;tanding of the Scriptures; But this he doth in another way, than that whereby he in&s;pired the pen|men of the Scriptures.</P>
<P>Now this is fal&s;e doctrine; For Chri&s;t the Way, the &s;ame to us, as to them, and not another way of under|&s;tanding Scriptures, nor by another Spirit than that which gave them forth; and he &s;aith, Chri&s;t directed to him&s;elf&punc; <HI>Joh.</HI> 5 39. as revealed in the Scriptures, and more than that, as conveyed by the Scriptures to a Soul: Now let the Reader take notice and &s;earch that Scripture, Whether he hath not added to it, yea or nay? or where any ever had Chri&s;t conveyed to them by Scriptures: it doth &s;ay the Scriptures te&s;tifies of him, but it doth not &s;ay that he is revealed in the Scriptures, nor conveyed by them to a
<PB N="58" REF="34">
Soul; and this is his additional glo&s;s to corrupt the text, to undervalue the eternal Spirit of the Father, by which Chri&s;t is only revealed, and received, and not by the Scri|ptures.</P>
<P>And for <HI>E. B.</HI> to &s;ay, That he came not to them with en<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">icing words, neither what he had gathered from the Scripture without him, But to declare the Word of the Lord, and not to &s;peak his own conceivings and imagina|tions (this is true and no contradiction in it, though <HI>I. S.</HI> &s;ay the&s;e cannot both be true, to &s;ay, That he neither came with what he had gathered from Scripture, nor his own imaginations&punc; for the Apo&s;tles of Chri&s;t did not preach what they had gathered from Scripture, neither their own imaginations, but preached the Word and Go&s;pel of God which they had received from God, and not gathered from Scripture, nor in their own imaginations; and be|cau&s;e he &s;aith, both the&s;e negatives cannot be true, then it is concluded, that him&s;elf preaches either what he hath gathered from Scripture, or his own imaginations, and let him chu&s;e to &s;ay whether he will; and in the next, he will be proved a fal&s;e Prophet, and that <HI>E&punc; B.</HI> compiled a Book out of Scripture, <HI>Collections,</HI> is fal&s;e, for having the &s;ame Spirit which gave forth the Scripture, which brings the Scripture to remembrance, is not compiling a Book out of Scriptures; and <HI>I. S.</HI> is found a fal&s;e accu&s;er, and <HI>E. B.</HI> neither a &s;elf Contradictor, no<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;elf cur&s;er, and the&s;e are true words to this generation&punc; and owned with the Spirit of God, though <HI>I. S.</HI> in his &s;cornful &s;pirit abu&s;e them&punc; he that hath the Word of the Lord, from the mouth of the Lord, to declare, he is reviled&punc; and mocked.</P>
<P>But he that &s;peaks the imagination of his own heart from the Saints conditions, he is heard and owned, and this is neither Scripture contradiction, nor &s;elf-contradi|ction, let <HI>I. S.</HI> judge out of his own heart what he will; nei|ther is this &s;elf contradiction to ask which of the Saints h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">d the witne&s;s of their &s;ouls union to &s;eek in the Letter, and yet to affirm the Spirit opens, and brings that which is &s;poken in Scripture to remembrance. Let <HI>I. S.</HI> fir&s;t an|&s;wer
<PB N="59" REF="34">
the query in plainne&s;s, which is an hone&s;t query, and not to imply from it his own conceptions, to make appear &s;elf-contradictions let the &s;ober Reader judge where the contradiction lyes, and he &s;aith <HI>the Spirit is in the letter,</HI> and goes about to prove it if he could; if the Spirit be in the letter, then all mu&s;t have the Spirit that hath the let|ter, and the Spirit is where ever the Bible is, which I do deny, for many hath the letter, and profe&s;&s;es it, which knows not the Spirit, and many hath the Bible in their pocket, which hath not the Spirit there: and this will be confe&s;&s;ed by <HI>I. S.</HI> and all his fellows, and &s;o he mu&s;t re|voak, who <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">aith <HI>the Spirit is in the Letter,</HI> and the Spirit gives life, but the Letter kill: In his proof he &s;aith, <HI>The written Word, viz.</HI> the Letter <HI>is of greater authority then the Writer,</HI> (mark here) Chri&s;t was one of them which gave forth Scripture, and he was a greater authority then what was written: and I &s;ay, as it is plain to all hone&s;t men who can believe truth, that the holy men of God who had the Spirit were of greater authority than the Scriptures &s;ince hath been which they left behind them. But <HI>I. S.</HI> hath &s;et Chri&s;t, and all them that gave forth Scripture to be le&s;&s;e in authority then the Scriptures; let wi&s;e men judge of this matter, he &s;aith, <HI>They were imper|fectly holy that wrote forth the Scriptures,</HI> and this is an ab|&s;olute lye, for the Scriptures gives this te&s;timony of many of them that wrote it, that they were perfect men, and he hath al&s;o &s;launde<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ed Chri&s;t to be imp<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">rfectly holy; and in his next let him p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ove what this Imperfect Holine&s;s is, and till then we deny there is any Holine&s;s <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">mperfect&punc;</P>
<P>Further, he &s;aith, <HI>The promi&s;es of the Scripture are his Chariot to convey him,</HI> (Spirit) <HI>whether he plea&s;es to go;</HI> but where is his proof for &s;uch a Doctrine; but all that he &s;aith doth not prove&punc; that the Spirit is in the Letter, though he &s;ay to make up the &s;um of his matter, <HI>Daily experiences doth demon&s;trate that the Spirit is in the Letter:</HI> but where is the man? let him an&s;wer that thus hath experienced, that alwayes when he hath &s;een the letter, and handled the let|ter, hath &s;een and handled the Spirit, the te&s;timony of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">n
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hone&s;t man I will believe, but not <HI>I. S.</HI> a&s;&s;ertion out of his own heart.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>In his 2^d Head of <HI>Self-contradiction.</HI></HEAD>
<P>Concerning hearing the Word, this is not contradicti|on to &s;ay, they who are of God hear his Word&punc; and yet to deny the hearing of &s;uch as <HI>I. S&punc;</HI> who is not a Mini&s;ter of the Word, but a profe&s;&s;or of the Letter, for proud men, and covetous men, and fal&s;e Acculers, &s;uch as <HI>I. S.</HI> is are we exhorted to turn away from by <HI>Paul:</HI> and this is not a denying our &s;elves to be of God, as <HI>I. S.</HI> would charge us withall, becau&s;e we deny to hear hirelings, for we hear Gods Word, and his Voice, and therefore do we deny to hear Deceivers, and this is no &s;elf-contradiction, nor &s;aying, nor un&s;aying, let <HI>I. S.</HI> judge what he will, the Saints &s;hall be my witne&s;s: and though we &s;ay that the Saints teacher cannot be removed into a corner, as &s;aith the Scripture, and that the Saints will find their teach as they lye in their beds: both the&s;e are true, and not &s;elf-con|tradiction, let a &s;ober Reader judge whether he can find contradict on in tho&s;e words, but fain would <HI>I. S.</HI> have his lyes believed for truth, that he might have prai&s;e of men for his works hath gained no prai&s;e of God; and he &s;aith, <HI>R. F. hath proved not lyes yet again&s;t him:</HI> if it were &s;o, let the Reader &s;earch whether there be none proved again&s;t him now: but let him not &s;ay like a Phari&s;ee, <HI>I am no ly|ar,</HI> but rather let him repent of his lyes and wicked|ne&s;&s;e.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>His 3^d Head concerning the <HI>Light within.</HI></HEAD>
<P>Wherein much ado he makes, as to prove the light of Chri&s;t &s;poken of <HI>Jo:</HI> 1. 9 to be a natural light, and <HI>he &s;aith the light given to all men,</HI> even that light &s;poken of <HI>Jo. 1. 9. is a dim light&punc; and is cold, and in&s;ufficient to Salva|tion, and unable to make true di&s;covery of the true Saviour,</HI> and &s;uch like contemptible undervaluing words of the pure
<PB N="61" REF="35">
light of Chri&s;t, by whom the world was made, who light|eth every man in the World: and by this it is known more evidently what Spirit I. <HI>S.</HI> is of: but there is none of us who have received the knowledge of God by the ve|ry light of Chri&s;t which &s;hines in our hearts can believe him: and this is no contradiction to &s;ay that every man is lightened by Chri&s;t with the true light, and y et to &s;ay, &s;ome men are living in a natural condition, both the&s;e are true, for &s;ome hates the light of Chri&s;t, and their deeds are evil, and &s;uch are in a natural condition; but this doth not prove that Chri&s;t hath not given them light, though they be in a natural condition, I leave it to &s;piritual men to judge, though they &s;ay <HI>it &s;eems &s;trange, that &s;ome &s;hould live a natural condition, and yet have the light of Chri&s;t gi|ven them,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>as if every man brought a Saviour with him into the world.</HI> This la&s;t is his fal&s;e conception, but he is mans Saviour by who&s;e power every man is brought into the World, and if <HI>I. S.</HI> did but under&s;tand as we do, that &s;ome love the light, and &s;ome hates it: &s;uch as hates it denyes Chri&s;t: he that loves it receives Chri&s;t, who knows this &s;trangeth not, <HI>I. S.</HI> wondring &s;hews his Igno|rance who would &s;ecretly charge us to be bewitched with a Notion, of accounting nature grace, which we do not, and it is his own condition he that conceives Lyes, be|lieves them, and tells them, is the rather bewitched.</P>
<P>And further, <HI>he &s;aith the light in every man is a poor, ba&s;e, beggarly &s;crap to the Go&s;pel trea&s;ure;</HI> the&s;e words are uttered in his ha&s;tine&s;s, and without either fear or know|ledge, for he that lighteth every man with the true light of life, (or of condemnation) is not ba&s;e beggarly &s;craps, as <HI>I. S.</HI> &s;aith it is, for it brings to the knowledge of the Go&s;pel trea&s;ure and pearle, and not other light, and thus whil&s;t he thinks to prove us &s;elf-contradictors, proves him&s;elf a villifier, and a bla&s;phemer of Chri&s;t Je&s;us the Saviour of the World, who lighteth every man that co|meth into the World. Again, he would make this contra|diction, becau&s;e we &s;ay every man in his fir&s;t &s;tate is as a Bea&s;t, and yet &s;aying <HI>every man is lightened:</HI> but this is
<PB N="62" REF="36">
not contradiction no more than the former is; and then he &s;peaks of natural con&s;cience, and &s;ecretly charges a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> if we &s;hould &s;ay it is potent and victorious at la&s;t; but this is is a &s;ecret &s;lander of his, for we &s;ay Chri&s;t only is victo|rious, and through him are we made Conquerors, and not by natural con&s;cience: and he &s;peaks of Go&s;pel convicti|on to be above the conviction of natural con&s;cience; but I would know of him where the Go&s;pel conviction works, if not in m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ns con&s;ciences? and &s;o in his next let him di|vide if he can, and &s;hew the difference of &s;uch convicti|ons. Further, he would &s;ay that this is contradiction to &s;ay that every man in his fir&s;t birth may &s;ee him&s;elf to be natural; and yet to &s;ay that the light which di&s;covers na|tural corruptions, is not natural, but &s;piritual, both the&s;e are true, for the light &s;hines in darkne&s;s, which &s;hews the darkne&s;s, and is not darkne&s;s but light: and he that can under&s;tand that Scripture <HI>Iohn</HI> 1&punc; 5. &s;hall &s;ee the truth of both the&s;e to b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> no &s;elf-contradiction.</P>
<P>Further, he &s;aith <HI>the Scriptures are a rule above the Saints light, and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">nto it, and not &s;o, their light above the Scripture:</HI> this is confu&s;ion, and he knows not whereof he affi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ms, for the Spirit of God is the Saints rule, and that is greater than the Scriptures, and the rule of the Spi|rit of God is above the Scripture; but &s;uch as <HI>I.</HI> S. who talks of Scriptures to be a rule, and yet acts the&s;e things which the Scriptures declare again&s;t&punc; are but found in dee|per hypocri&s;ie, for he that is ruled by the Spirit of God walks up in the fulfilling of Scriptures. And further, <HI>I. S.</HI> confe&s;&s;ed, and &s;aith this he knows, that he is more bru|ti&s;h then a man, and hath not the knowledge of the holy, and this is truly confe&s;&s;ed, his own works manife&s;t his condition to be true, and he confe&s;&s;es he never obeyed natural light as he ought, and as he might, and this is tru|ly confe&s;&s;ed: for if he had obeyed that light which he calls natural, he would not thus have &s;tumbled at him who hath lightened every man.</P>
<P>And further, he charges <HI>a deceit when men will put off that for redemption light which is but old creation light;</HI> let
<PB N="63" REF="36">
him charge them that are guilty: but yet we &s;ay that the &s;ame is Redeemed by whom the world was created; and this is without any deceit, and he that lighteneth every man with the light, that is but one, he is the Saviour of all that receive him in the light, and he is the condemner of all that hate his light; and this is no &s;elf-contradiction, but the very truth as it is in Je&s;us.</P>
<P>Further, <HI>I. S.</HI> would make it appear if he could that we contradict our &s;elves concerning &s;in and Chri&s;t, but his whole Section I leave to be read in his Book, and let the wi&s;e Reader judge whether his proof be any &s;uch thing, only his lye will prove what he &s;aith; he &s;aith, <HI>We hold Chri&s;t to be in all,</HI> this is his Lye, for we &s;ay Chri&s;t is not in the Reprobate, neither did we ever affirm that Chri&s;t is not in the Reprobate, and &s;o is not in all; neither do we concerning Ju&s;tification contradict our &s;elves in the Spirit of God, though &s;o it may appeare to <HI>I. S.</HI> blind mind, and &s;o would make it appear to others by blind ar|guments by his own meaning. Again <HI>I. S.</HI> would charge &s;elf-contradiction upon, becau&s;e we bear witne&s;s to the New Covenant, and doth &s;ay, the children of God are taught of God, and needs no man to teach them, but as the anoynting within them, and yet doth write and print; here he &s;aith we condemne in others what we allow in our &s;elves. Now to all hone&s;t people this is no contradiction, neither a condemning in others what we allow in our &s;elves, for therefore we write, and print, and &s;peak, that all may come to the knowledge of this thing, and may be converted to God, and know his teaching within them; but what would <HI>I. S.</HI> have &s;aid of <HI>John</HI> who told them they needed no man to teach them, but as that within them; and yet did write Epi&s;tles to them, very like he would have called this contradictions. And the &s;ame is our cau&s;e, who doth and mu&s;t do (though <HI>I. S.</HI> and his companions be grieved therewith) becau&s;e their folly is laid open, thereby print, and write, and &s;peak that people through the Mini&s;try be brought to know the teaching of God in them&s;elves, and yet herein in the light of the Spi|rit
<PB N="64" REF="37">
of God, do we not contradict our &s;elves, let <HI>I. S.</HI> &s;ay what he will: neither do we allow in our &s;elves what we condemn in another, this is one of <HI>I. S.</HI> his lyes; we allow the Mini&s;try of Chri&s;t, yet doth not allow the Mini&s;try of Deceivers, and yet is not in contradiction; and this in &s;hort may give the Reader to under&s;tand the deceit, and deceivablene&s;s to lye in <HI>I. S.</HI> who is found &s;eeking offen|ces again&s;t us without any cau&s;e given him: and he layes &s;nares for another, which doth entrap his own feet. And whereas he hath tran&s;cribed <HI>E. B.</HI> his confe&s;&s;ion in the warning to <HI>&V;nderbarrow,</HI> which confe&s;&s;ion is &s;till owned, and no &s;elf contradiction proved by it, for though God &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ake by <HI>G. F.</HI> to him, this doth not contradict the teach|ing of the Spirit of God, as that <HI>E. B.</HI> was not taught by the Spirit of God, for as I have &s;aid <HI>G. F.</HI> did mini&s;ter as many doth at this day, that people &s;hould come to the teaching of God in them&s;elves, and herein we do not con|tradict the Scriptures, let <HI>I. S&punc;</HI> make as many blind argu|ments as he can; and that in&s;tance about <HI>I. L.</HI> being of the &s;ame nature with the former: the An&s;wer &s;upplyes both his proofs, neither of which doth prove us in contra|diction, but is a witne&s;s to the Mini&s;try of Chri&s;t, and to the conver&s;ion received through it, wherein we are taught of God, and needs no man to teach us, but as the anoint|ing the Spirit of God within us, which is immediate, and yet we preach the Go&s;pel to others, that they may come to witne&s;s the &s;ame with us, even the teaching of the Spirit of God, and for this end is the Mini&s;try of God &s;ent by us to bring others to the knowledge of God through it, and this is no &s;elf-contradiction, let <HI>I. S.</HI> &s;ay what he will.</P>
<P>Further, <HI>I. S.</HI> doth in&s;tance <HI>E. B.</HI> his calling mans light natural and carnal in the Warning, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and would call his contradiction to &s;ome who doth deny the light of Chri&s;t to be natural and carnal, as the Prie&s;ts of <HI>England</HI> terme it; but this is no contradiction, for though w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> do deny that the light of Chri&s;t Je&s;us is natural and carnal, and doth not allow any &s;o to call it, yet the light of man,
<PB N="65" REF="37">
by which carnal men doth judge of carnal tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, is natural; <HI>E. B.</HI> doth never &s;ay that the light of Chri&s;t is natural and carnal, but the light of <HI>Man</HI> is &s;o he &s;aith, and in this In&s;tance there is no contradiction; neither in any parts of the words following, which is tran&s;cribed; and much might be &s;aid as to the occa&s;ion of tho&s;e words be|ing uttered when <HI>E. B.</HI> was in pri&s;on fal&s;ly, as many have been &s;ince, who was one of the fir&s;t that by <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">mpri&s;onment was a &s;ufferer for the name of Je&s;us in the North of <HI>Eng|land,</HI> before <HI>I. S.</HI> was troubled with any of us; but it is &s;ufficient what is &s;aid to the mans light by which carnal men judgeth of any thing, is one thing, and the light of Chri&s;t Je&s;us which is &s;piritual mens guide is another thing; <HI>E. B.</HI> &s;peak of mans light, and <HI>I. S.</HI> fooli&s;hly oppo&s;es him as if he &s;pake of the light of Chri&s;t Je&s;us, and &s;o oppo&s;es his own conception. And further, <HI>I. S.</HI> a&s;&s;erts, <HI>That Scripture light is the &s;tanding rule for faith and manners, &s;o are not immediate revelations, and teachings.</HI> Here he hath &s;et up the Scriptures above the Spirit of God, and a|bove the Revelation of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, the Saints was led by what the Spirit revealed&punc; and taught, Chri&s;t &s;aid he &s;hould teach into all truth, and they that were the Sons of God were loved by the Spirit of God, and that was their rule to be led by in their Faith and manners: but yet &s;ee a hy|pocrite, (<HI>I. S.</HI> is he) that pleads for Scripture to be the rule, and yet is acting in many things contrary to the Scriptures, as at large may be in&s;tanced; neither is in all the Scripture the Scripture called light, but Scripture &s;aith Chri&s;t is the light.</P>
<P>Further he &s;aith, <HI>There is &s;ufficient light in the Scripture to guide men to &s;alvation:</HI> mark his Doctrine, whether he hath not preached another thing than Chri&s;t to be the way, and whether he hath not made Chri&s;t, and the blood of Chri&s;t of none effect, without which no &s;alvati|on&punc; But he &s;aith there is &s;ufficient in the Scripture to lead men to &s;alvation, and neither Chri&s;t nor his blood is in Scripture, let it be moved.</P>
<P><PB N="66" REF="38">Further, he &s;aith, <HI>The Scripture was given by the Spirit for a rule;</HI> this we de&s;ire a proof off by plain Scripture, and till then we deny it. And further, he &s;aith, <HI>The Spirit gives out him&s;elf by Scripture:</HI> and yet he &s;aith <HI>he never &s;aid the Scripture did give the Spirit,</HI> and this is an ab&s;olute con|tradiction, as may be noted &s;o <HI>I. S.</HI> is taken in the &s;nare contradicting him&s;elf in one quarter of a &s;heet of Paper, and hath not at all proved us to be &s;elf-contradictors con|cerning any of the&s;e things mentioned by him.</P>
<P>Further, he &s;aith in his <HI>8th</HI> Head, <HI>That our po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ing per|fection, and Quaking after Mo&s;es example, cro&s;s &s;hines on the other,</HI> but wherein he doth not &s;hew, neither can the ho|ne&s;t-minded read any contradiction in it, but only it &s;eems <HI>I. S.</HI> hath &s;et him&s;elf to cavell.</P>
<P>Further, he &s;aith, <HI>We contradict our &s;elves concerning Quaking, and trembling,</HI> from this confe&s;&s;ion, that the &s;ame power that made <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> to quake and tremble, the &s;ame power we witne&s;s; but wherein doth this contradi|ction appear in the&s;e words, let hone&s;t men try the cau&s;e, and <HI>I. S.</HI> be &s;ilent; and whereas he In&s;tances <HI>I. P.</HI> &s;tand|ing in an evill cau&s;e, and of <HI>I. P.</HI> he may be &s;ilent, who&s;e blood he or his Generation &s;ought after: and now might they well be quiet of him, their wills being &s;tifled by drin|king his blood as it were: but that wicked men mu&s;t add to their own wickedne&s;s till it be fulfilled, that they may receive their reward, and <HI>I. P.</HI> was bold, as is the chil|dren of God; and though <HI>I. S.</HI> would clear him&s;elf and his company from what was done to <HI>I. P.</HI> yet by the ef|fect it appeared that there was enough envy in them to|wards him and the truth, and though his body be in the ground, yet the Spirit of the Lord which guided him &s;tands alive, a &s;ufficient witne&s;s again&s;t them, and all their cruel and wicked dealing; and let <HI>I. S.</HI> judgement be what it will, neither concerning growth of Grace, nor forms of Religion, nor fruits of the Spirit do we at all contradict the Spirit of God; neither doth he prove us in the&s;e things whereof he accu&s;eth us in &s;trife &amp; debate, (ex|cept again&s;t &s;uch as <HI>I. S.</HI> and the Devils Kingdom,) neither
<PB N="67" REF="38">
in emulation, hatred, &s;coffs, or any of the&s;e things whom the Lord hath redeemed us from, though we be fal&s;ely ac|cu&s;ed in the&s;e things, as in many other by him; and where|as he would prove their preaching in their method, and Points, and Rea&s;ons, and U&s;es from the example of the Saints in former ages, he falls far &s;hort in effecting his extent, for he cannot prove that they &s;tudied for what they &s;pake, nor that in &s;uch a way they delivered what they &s;aid an hour by a gla&s;s, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> as the Prie&s;ts of this age do; al&s;o if it were they preached in the like manner as the Apo&s;tles did, yet not by the &s;ame &s;pirit, but by the &s;pirit of error, and for a wrong end, that is the thing which makes their manner abominable, when as they are not guided w^t^h the &s;ame Spirit of the Apo&s;tles, and their prea|ching in their method of points, and particulars is rather an art of preaching by humane policy, and not the gift of preaching by the Spirit of God; neither do we concern|ing humility, and love contradict our &s;elves, but are in humility, and love towards all men, even &s;uch as wrongs us we &s;eek no revenge again&s;t, and herein doth our humi|lity and love appear, yet cannot we re&s;pect any mans per|&s;on with hat or knee, and that is it which <HI>I. S.</HI> I &s;uppo&s;e is offended with.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>In his <HI>13th</HI> Head concerning <HI>Ordinances.</HI></HEAD>
<P>He charges us with &s;elf-contradiction, becau&s;e we &s;ay we own praying, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and yet hath given over Family prayer, morning and evening, and at meals, but this is no contradiction: for we own praying in the Spirit of God, but doth deny it without the Spirit, and this is no contra|diction; he may as well &s;ay it was contradiction in Chri&s;t to cry again&s;t the prayers of the Phari&s;ees, &amp; yet to teach his Di&s;ciples to pray, and to pray him&s;elf; this is the &s;ame cau&s;e of ours which he fooli&s;hly charges with contradicti|on, and as I have &s;aid the prayers of the Wicked we deny, and yet doth own Prayer in the Spirit, and who are mo|ved by the Spirit morning or evening, or at meals, or o|therwi&s;e,
<PB N="68" REF="39">
and this is truth let <HI>I. S.</HI> gather what he can from it.</P>
<P>Further, he &s;aith, <HI>If we teach one another, why do we con|demn them for teaching.</HI> But to this I have an&s;wered Preaching or Teaching by the Spirit we own, and with|out the Spirit we deny; and becau&s;e we &s;ay we own all that which is Gods, as Bapti&s;me, the Lords Supper, and Sabbath, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> pet doth di&s;own in practice their Water Bapti&s;me, and their form of breaking of Bread and Wine&punc; and their forms of Church-fellow&s;hip, and their form of keeping a Sabbath; this he charges to be contradiction, but it is not &s;o in the &s;ight of the Lord, though <HI>I. S.</HI> fal&s;ely &s;o judge it; for their Bapti&s;me and breaking of Bread and Wine, and their Church fellow&s;hip, and keeping of a day, I &s;ay their exerci&s;e in the&s;e things we do deny to be of God, as in mea&s;ure is proved, and may be further if need require; and I &s;ay we own that which is Gods&punc; and which is led unto by his Spirit, and practi&s;ed in his fear, and coun&s;el, and yet we do deny all their Immitati|ons of any thing which God commanded doth owne the command of God, and yet doth not contradict our &s;elves, though <HI>I. S.</HI> fal&s;ely &s;o judge of us.</P>
<P>Further, he charges us with &s;elf-contradiction, concern|ing &s;peech, and &s;ilence, becau&s;e we check &s;ome for &s;peak|ing, and yet &s;peaks or writes our &s;elves; but this is the &s;ame with the former, and the &s;ame an&s;wer will &s;erve, that &s;peaking that which is not in the Spirit we check, which is not the voyce of Chri&s;t, but of the &s;tranger, and yet doth own that which is &s;poken by the Spirit of God, and herein doth not contradict our &s;elves.</P>
<P>Further, he &s;aith, We contradict our &s;elves concerning Con&s;cience and Laws; becau&s;e we &s;ay there mu&s;t be no Law concerning Religion, <HI>viz.</HI> to bind any man to wor|&s;hip in this or the other way, and to bind him from this or that way of Wor&s;hip, and yet in exhorting the Rulers that their Laws be according to that in the Con&s;cience; but in the&s;e words there is no contradiction, for the Laws being according to the light in every mans&punc; Con&s;cience,
<PB N="69" REF="39">
that Law will not bind, or limit the Con&s;cience from this or that way of Wor&s;hip in Religion, for that Law is un&punc; ju&s;t which binds or limits the pure con&s;cience of any man; but that Law which is contrary to the light in every mans con&s;cience, is oppre&s;&s;ion, and we bear witne&s;s again&s;t it; and though we do &s;ay no Law mu&s;t be laid upon Religi|on, that it is to &s;ay, to bind any mans Con&s;cience to or from &s;uch a form of Religion; and though we further &s;ay that all ju&s;t Laws is and &s;hould be according to the light in every mans con&s;cience: yet in this there is no con|tradiction.</P>
<P>And whereas <HI>I. S.</HI> &s;peaks of &s;uch Laws who per&s;ecuted, pri&s;oned, and crucified for the te&s;timony of a good Con|&s;cience, <HI>God hath hewen down in all ages</HI> &s;aith he: Let the Rulers of <HI>England</HI> take notice of this from the mouth of one of their Teachers. And further, I adde, &s;o will God hew down in this Age all tho&s;e Laws by which many are per&s;ecuted and pri&s;oned, as he hath done ie other Ages; therefore let it be con&s;idered by them.</P>
<P>And he &s;aith, <HI>The Magi&s;trate is not to levell his Law with every mans con&s;cience and light:</HI> and this he &s;peaks in oppo&s;ition to us, but he needs not, for we &s;ay the &s;ame that &s;ome mens Con&s;ciences are defiled, and we do not de&s;ire the Laws to be made according to mens &s;everal o|pinions, and defiled Con&s;ciences, but according to the light of Chri&s;t Je&s;us in every mans Con&s;cience, which is but one in all, and is according to the Law of God, and every ju&s;t Law will be according to it, and though <HI>I. S.</HI> by his own meaning would make it appear contradiction in our &s;aying no Law mu&s;t be concerning Religion, and yet &s;aying all Laws &s;hould be according to the light of Chri&s;t in the Con&s;cience; Now by the&s;e words we do not mean that we would not have a Law according to Religi|on, but no Law to limit to or from this or that manner of Religion, and this doth very well agree with our &s;aying, let all your Laws be according to the light of Chri&s;t; &s;o by his mi&s;interpretation of the fir&s;t he makes it appear to be contradictions to the &s;econd; but it is not &s;o in the light of the Spirit of God.</P>
<P><PB N="70" REF="40">And further, <HI>R. F.</HI> &s;aying the law of God an&s;wers his Ju&s;tice, and the light of Chri&s;t in the con&s;cience an&s;wers the law of God which is perfect, according to that in the con&s;cience; the&s;e words <HI>I. S.</HI> charges with two errors: but let the Reader try where the error lyes, and not be|lieve <HI>I. S.</HI> fal&s;e deduction from <HI>R. F.</HI> plain words, which are &s;imply uttered, through &s;ubtilty wre&s;ted.</P>
<P>And <HI>I. S.</HI> &s;peaks as if &s;ome would have Magi&s;trates to make Laws to bind them&s;elves from &s;triking at offenders, Bla&s;phemers, Go&s;pel and Church di&s;turbers, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>In an&s;wer to this, we are not they that would have any Magi&s;trates to bind them&s;elves from &s;triking at offenders, who are truly able to judge of offences, we own that &s;uch &s;hould be puni&s;hed according to the offence, but the Magi&s;trates Law reaches but to the outward man, to keep that in peace and good order, and not to the inward man to bind or limit that.</P>
<P>And as for Bla&s;phemy, and Go&s;pel, and Church&punc; di&s;tur|bing, we find many Magi&s;trates not able to judge thereof: but many on the contrary calling truth bla&s;phemy, and reproving of &s;in in Teachers and people, Go&s;pel and Church di&s;turbing, and &s;o by fal&s;e judgement making &s;uch offenders which are not, and &s;o abu&s;ing their power, and condemning the Innocent rather then the guilty, and the&s;e are &s;uch as <HI>I. S.</HI> &s;peaks of, where the &s;trong man armed keeps the hou&s;e, and the&s;e are rather a terror to well doers then to evill, and &s;uch Magi&s;trates, and &s;uch Laws by which the ju&s;t are oppre&s;&s;ed, and the hands of the wicked &s;trengthened will the Lord confound&punc; in a day to the glo|ry of his name, and to the refre&s;hing of all his people, who is now every way oppre&s;&s;ed by evill men, both by Rulers, Teachers, and People.</P>
<P>And as for the re&s;t of his Book, its but of the &s;ame na|ture with the former, and not worth an&s;wering to, onely his lyes I do deny, and his fir&s;t following is, that all our Doctrines are rai&s;ed upon the ruines of the Scriptures ex|cellency, and authority; this is fal&s;e, neither doth his proof at all make it good. His &s;econd lye is, that our corrupt
<PB N="71" REF="40">
Tenents are built upon fal&s;e and novel Interpretations, and this is two lyes together, our Tenents are not corrupt, neither do we build any thing which we hold upon fal&s;e Interpretations. His third lye is, that it is pride that hath bred, and doth feed our opinions and practi&s;es: and this is al&s;o fal&s;e, and to prove it hath wre&s;ted &s;ome of <HI>E. B.</HI> words. His fourth lye is, that unbelief begets, and pro|creates all our errors, and our love of error with our de|ri&s;ions of the truth; here is many lyes folded up in one, which are all denyed with the life of God, and the author of them proved to be of the Devil, and we proved to be of God, who are &s;poken all manner of evil again&s;t fal&s;ely for the name of Je&s;us. His fifth lye is, that we do &s;ubtilly couch many errors under &s;pacious words of truth: this lye al&s;o I bear Witne&s;s again&s;t, as al&s;o again&s;t his Sixth, where|in he charges us with meer ignorance, and wilful blind|ne&s;s about the covenant of Grace, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>His &s;eventh lye is, that much of my&s;tical <HI>Babylon,</HI> and confu&s;ion is in our Writings, and wayes: this is al&s;o a lye and of the devil; and al&s;o again&s;t his eight I bear te&s;ti|mony, our Doctrines and practi&s;es ends not in Apo&s;tacy, neither are they bla&s;phemy again&s;t Chri&s;t, as <HI>I. S.</HI> impu|dently a&s;&s;erteth; &s;o that from the fir&s;t of his Book to his la&s;t his whole Work is born witne&s;s again&s;t not to be of God, but of the devill, and in vain hath he &s;triven, and his Work &s;hall not accompli&s;h any part of his de&s;ire: for the <HI>Quakers</HI> again&s;t whom he hath Written cannot be of|fended in Chri&s;t, though <HI>I. S.</HI> have endeavoured for to make their way and Doctrines in the &s;ight of men abo|minable; but his Work &s;hall not prevent the purpo&s;e of the Lord, nor the gathering in of the upright-hearted from the mouths of devouring Shepheards, &s;uch as <HI>I. S.</HI> and the Prie&s;ts of <HI>England&punc;</HI> who is it that doth not begin to &s;ee their deceits and abominations? yea thou&s;ands do, and m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ny more &s;hall do; &s;o that all their &s;triving to uphold their Kingdom is but in vain, for God hath bla&s;ted al their glory, and he will teach his people him&s;elf, and govern them by his own Law and order, and the Kingdoms of this World
<PB N="72" REF="41">
&s;hall be changed, and &s;hall become the Kingdoms of the Lord, and of his Chri&s;t, and Antichri&s;t and all his mini&s;ters &s;hall be confounded, and the Bea&s;t and the fal&s;e Prophet &s;hall both be taken alive, and ca&s;t into the lake.</P>
<P>Ah, <HI>John Stelham,</HI> again&s;t whom ha&s;t thou &s;et thy &s;elf, and exalted thy horn? again&s;t whom ha&s;t thou bent thy &s;trength, and &s;hot forth thy envie in crafty words of guile? who is it that thou ha&s;t defied, and girded on thy armour again&s;t, and counted them as nothing before thy uncircumci&s;ed &s;trength? even again&s;t the Lords people ha&s;t thou thus done, though thou wilt not now know it, yet one day thou &s;halt know it, when iniquity is come to an end, and tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion fini&s;hed, and thou &s;halt &s;tand in thy lot at that day, and receive according to thy work a ju&s;t and righteous reward from the hand of the Lord, in the day of judgement, when every &s;ecret work of iniquity &s;hall appear to condemnation; and in the mean time, the Lord will bring forth good unto his people, even from thy evil, and all things (even thy evil purpo&s;es) &s;hail work together for good, unto &s;uch whom God hath called: and thy works and purpo&s;es which are to trouble them, and to break them, and to make them appear vile in the &s;ight of men, even thy work doth the Lord turn, to e&s;tabli&s;h them, and to unite them; and in the &s;ight of men, thy work a|gain&s;t us, proves us to be of God, and thy &s;elf to be of the Devil, who was a per&s;ecutor from the beginning, and thou &s;halt be &s;cattered in thy imaginations, and thy whole work hath God confounded, and it &s;hall not accompli&s;h any whit of that end propounded in thy &s;inful heart, which hath brought forth milchief, for it's bla&s;ted in the anger of God, and men &s;hall neither call it, nor the Father of it, any more ble&s;&s;ed: And Friend, had&s;t thou known how little it doth accompli&s;h of thy evil intent, thou would have &s;pared thy labour, and employed thy &s;ervice to ano|ther end, and then had not thy wickedne&s;s &s;o greatly ap|pear in the &s;ight of God, nor thy &s;hame and nakedne&s;s in the &s;ight of men, as it now doth, by this thy &s;inful deed,
<PB N="73" REF="41">
brought forth of a cur&s;ed womb, and conceived in un|righteou&s;ne&s;s: Alas, alas man! How art thou fallen into the pit which thou ha&s;t digged for another? And how doth the &s;hame overtake thee, which thou ha&s;t thought &s;hould fall upon us; let thy wickedne&s;s correct thee, and know thou&punc; that the Lord will not for&s;ake his people, who cannot be offended in Chri&s;t, though thou ca&s;t &s;tum|bling blocks of iniquity in the way, and would cau&s;e them to &s;in; but even &s;o much the more, as thou &s;peaks evil a|gain&s;t the way of the Lord, are they the more upright therein, and the more loving and delighting in the path of righteou&s;ne&s;s, and thou ha&s;t but the more fully di&s;co|vered in many things from thy own pen, the wickedne&s;s and wrath that hath &s;ecretly lodged in thy heart&punc; and it appears that thy wi&s;dom is devilli&s;h, and from below; deceiving and being deceived, and thy path is in craft and &s;ubtilty, and not in innocency and plain &s;implicit<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">, and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> this manner, and by this means chiefly is thy work man|aged unto an evil end, but the Lord hath rebuked it, and will do yet more, till it appear to all men, as it doth to us, to be what I have &s;aid of it, and it &s;hall be a &s;hame to thee, and &s;hall not receive pray&s;e neither of God nor man, but condemnation in the &s;ight of both; and had&s;t thou known that we are e&s;tabli&s;hed even on the top of Gods holy mountain, and cannot be moved nor &s;haken, by &s;uch weak pitiful bla&s;ts of confu&s;ion and ignorance, coming out of thy mouth, where poy&s;on lodges under thy tongue, &s;ure had&s;t thou known it, thou would have travelled in another path; but that thy folly might appear unto all men, is thy work &s;ent abroad, that they may &s;ee what lodges in thy mind, even more envie then in the heart of <HI>Balaam,</HI> and more de&s;ire of evil to the Lords people than ever, was in him; and thou fulfils the mea&s;ure of thy forefathers wick|edne&s;s, till the &s;um be accounted, and de&s;truction follow, thou ha&s;t too much troubled thy &s;elf, in labouring, and thy reward will not countervail thy pains; had&s;t thou but only &s;poken again&s;t us, we &s;hould have born it, and thou might
<PB N="74" REF="42">
have been the more excu&s;ed, but in that thou ha&s;t &s;poken again&s;t the light of Chri&s;t, and called it <HI>perver&s;e Principle&punc;</HI> and many other bla&s;phemous words of bitterne&s;s again&s;t the very truths of Je&s;us.</P>
<P>This is the cau&s;e wherefore we have an&s;wered thee, and thou art utterly inexcu&s;able; for what thou ha&s;t done, it is not altogether through ignorance, though much igno|rance be in it, but out of perfect rebellion, and purpo&s;e of mi&s;chief; and for Ma&s;tery we do not &s;trive with thee, but rather wi&s;heth thy repentance, than thy de&s;truction; and who doth not believe but your kingdom (I mean the Prie&s;ts of <HI>England</HI>) is going down apace, and your glo|ry fading as a flower, and the Lord will make you a &s;hame to your &s;elves, who hath for many ages preyed devouring|ly upon the upright, and through perfect covetou&s;ne&s;s have made merchandize of Souls; and now many hath an eye opened to &s;ee your &s;hame, and it appears with horrible dete&s;tation; even the &s;aying is fulfilled, <HI>As troups of rob|bers wait for a man, &s;o the company of Prie&s;ts Murders in the way by con&s;ent,</HI> as the Prophet &s;aid: and as Chri&s;t &s;aid, <HI>Wo unto you, you will not enter your &s;elves, nor &s;uffer o|thers to enter that world.</HI></P>
<P>Wherefore thou <HI>J. Stelham.</HI> even thou repent of this thy Wickedne&s;s, for the wrath of the Lord is gone forth again&s;t thee, and evill ha&s;t thou done again&s;t God, and a|gain&s;t his people, and again&s;t thy own Soul, and this thou &s;halt know one day to thy exceeding &s;orrow, unto which time we leave thee, and could have born all thy &s;candalous rearms without replying again, but onely for the &s;ake of the &s;imple, that thy neighbours may &s;ee thy folly, and all men to whom thine and this doth come, and we have not been large, but in &s;hort, have in &s;inglene&s;s of heart born our te&s;timony once more to the truth of the glorious Go&s;pel which we have received of God, and not of man, and again&s;t thee and thy &s;inful heart, and what&s;oever pro|ceeds out of it, for thou being evill, how can&s;t thou &s;peak good things, the Tree mu&s;t be good before the fruit can be &s;o, but out of thy evill heart ha&s;t thou brought
<PB N="75" REF="42">
forth evill, and mu&s;t receive the reward of evill whether thou wilt or no; and what if we &s;hould go about to &s;hew wherein the Prie&s;ts of <HI>England</HI> do contradict the Scrip|ture, might not we have a large Catalogue, even in all your Wor&s;hip, and in the mo&s;t of your practi&s;es, acting contrary to the Scripture, and contradicting that Spirit that gave it forth in Doctrine, and in conver&s;ation in &s;uch an enterpri&s;e as this might, we make your folly &s;ound a|broad; and as to the contradicting your &s;elves, and being of many judgements and opinions, and difference in many particulars about the things of God among your &s;elves herein you abound almo&s;t above mea&s;ure; and this if need require, could I by the &s;trength of Je&s;us &s;ufficiently make you appear abominable in the eyes of all ju&s;t men, and &s;o think not in thy &s;elf that you are free from Scripture, and &s;elf-contradiction, but truly guilty your &s;elves in what thou ha&s;t wickedly accu&s;ed us of fal&s;ely, which doth but prove thee to be of thy Father who is an accur&s;er of the Brethren, and proves us to be of God according to Chri&s;ts words, we are &s;poken all manner of evill of fal&s;ely for the name of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, whom we &s;erve, and therefore are hated of the world becau&s;e we are not of it; but without much more words I leave this <HI>I. S.</HI> our adver&s;ary to the judgement of the Great Day, wherein we and he &s;hall receive according to our deeds, and till then is as willing to have di&s;prai&s;e, as prai&s;e of men, who is not a Jew outward, but a Jew inward, who hath no prai&s;e of men, but of God, who is of the Kingdom of Chri&s;t, which is not of this World.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>E. B.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
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