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<NAME>John Latta</NAME>
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<P>The common SALVATION CONTENDED FOR, And the Faith which was once delivered TO THE SAINTS. OR, An An&s;wer to a Book called a plain an&s;wer to eighteen Queries of <HI>Iohn Whitehead,</HI> put forth by <HI>Wil|liam Kays,</HI> who calls him&s;elf Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel at <HI>Stoke&s;ly;</HI> Wherein he hath perverted the faith once de|livered to the Saints, and pleads for tho&s;e things which the Scripture declares again&s;t, and &s;o he is made manife&s;t, not to be a Mini&s;ter of the everla&s;ting Go&s;pel, but prea|ches another Go&s;pel.</P>
<P>The Queries laid down, and the &s;ub&s;tance of his An|&s;wer, with a Reply to his An&s;wer.</P>
<P>By one who is a friend to all, who wait for the ap|pearance of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t without &s;in to &s;alvation, known to the world by the name. FRANCIS HOWOILL.</P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>Giles Calvert,</HI> and are to be &s;old, at the Black|&s;pread-Eagle, at the We&s;t-end of <HI>Pauls.</HI></P>
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<HEAD>The common SALVATION CONTENDED FOR, And the faith which was once delivered TO THE SAINTS.</HEAD>
<P>_FIr&s;t, as to the Title of thy Book, thy plain an&s;wer as thou cal&s;t it; thou art plainly made manife&s;t to be among the fal&s;e Prophets, and the Scribes and Pha|ri&s;es, and the fal&s;e Brethren, which the Lord &s;ent his true Prophets to bear witne&s;s again&s;t, and which Chri&s;t cryed wo again&s;t, and the Apo&s;tles exhorted them who were in the faith, to turn away from: and art one that is gone out into the world, &s;eparated from the light, from the life, from the practice of all the holy men of God, who &s;poke forth the Scripture, as they were moved by the holy Gho&s;t; had they declared again&s;t all the&s;e things that thou art pleading for, like <HI>Demetrius,</HI> and yet thou wilt tell of the Scripture being thy rule, thy rule &s;hall try thee, and thou &s;halt be laid to it&punc; and it will condemn thee, and the life of all the Saints, and the practice of them who dwelt in the light, will bear witne&s;s again&s;t thee: thy hidden my&s;teries which thou &s;peak&s;t, are &s;een by the in|vi&s;ible eye of God, and thy deceit, and thy adding to the Scriptures, and thy perverting of Chri&s;ts words and thy imaginations upon their words, who dwelt in the light, and one day thou &s;halt witne&s;s the Lord who is ju&s;t, will plead with thee for it, when by thy &s;erpents wi&s;dom, which is in the cur&s;e, and in the di&s;obedience, and thou plead&s;t expre&s;ly again&s;t Chri&s;ts own words, and hold&s;t up the types which was in the fir&s;t Covenant, and yet wilt not act according to the fir&s;t Covenant, and &s;o art one that denyes Chri&s;t the &s;ub&s;tance, the everla&s;ting Covenant the oath of God; and yet calls thy &s;elf a Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel, thy Go&s;pel he and all that knows his voice will deny thee, and it who teaches for doctrine, the traditions of men, and &s;ets up an image of many mixtures, that all may fall down and
<PB N="2" REF="3">
wor&s;hip, which thou ha&s;t built and &s;et up in thy &s;en&s;ual carnal wi&s;dom, and would have all to wor&s;hip the image of the bea&s;t, that &s;its upon many wa|<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="blotted" EXTENT="1 letter">ers; but the Lord i<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="blotted" EXTENT="1 letter"> ri&s;en to cut it down, and &s;tamp upon it, and grind it to du&s;t, and the whirlwind of the Lord &s;hall blow it away, and thou and all who hath wor&s;hipped the Bea&s;t &s;hall be broken by him who is &s;et for the ri&s;e and fall of many in I&s;rael, and all tho&s;e things that thou ha&s;t &s;et up in thy carnal mind, and calls them the Ordinances of God; &s;hall become as the broth of abominable things, and as the &s;laying of a man, and all who wor&s;hip their own imaginations, both the circumci&s;ed, and the uncircum|ci&s;ed will the Lord cut off together, for the Lord is ari&s;en to plead with all the enemies of <HI>Zion,</HI> and his &s;word &s;hall be fatted with the blood of the &s;lain; for prophane&s;s is gone forth from the Teachers of this Nation, who abide not in the doctrine of Chri&s;t to the ends and co&s;ts thereof, and the Lord is grieved, and the earth &s;hall di&s;clo&s;e her blood, and the &s;lain &s;hall no longer be covered, but the deceiver of the Nations &s;hall be ca&s;t forth, and great &s;hall be the lamentation of the Merchants of <HI>Babylon</HI> and <HI>Ie&s;abel</HI> that hath &s;lain Prophets, now is &s;uffered to prophe&s;ie, and many are deceived by her witchcrafts, but &s;he &s;hall be ca&s;t into a bed of &s;orrow, and &s;he &s;hall be da&s;hed in pieces; and the dogs &s;hall lick her blood, for behold he is ri&s;en who is King of Kings, and he makes war in righteou&s;ne&s;s, and his name is called the Word of God; and out of his mouth proceeds fire that &s;hall con&s;ume the men of the earth, and all who have not the Image of the Fa|ther written in their foreheads. The fire is kindled already in the earth, and the &s;lain is great, and many &s;hall gnaw their tongues for pain, and &s;hall be con&s;umed to a&s;hes; and he will plead with all the fal&s;e Prophets and Merchants in <HI>Babylou</HI> as in the valey of <HI>Ieho&s;aphet</HI> and his wrath is kindled as in the days of <HI>Gibin,</HI> and the Heathen &s;hall all peri&s;h by the edge of the &s;word, lamentation and howling, and wo and &s;orrow, and bit|terne&s;s &s;hall come upon all who have profe&s;&s;ed his name and his words, and yet put him to open &s;hame, and denies the end of his coming, which is to redeem his people from their &s;ins, and to pre&s;ent them unto God with|out &s;pot or wrinkle, which many in this generation, teachers and people are pleading for &s;in, and yet &s;ay Chri&s;t is made manife&s;t, but this an&s;wer all &s;uch &s;hall have, depart workers of iniquity.</P>
<P>I. <HI>Query.</HI> Whether thou have the &s;ame eternal infallible &s;pirit that gave forth the Scripture, yea or no?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Thou &s;aith thou dare&s;t not conceal to bear witne&s;s with thy con|&s;cience that thou ha&s;t in &s;ome &s;mall mea&s;ure the &s;ame &s;pirit which was in the Saints, yet an infallible &s;pirit thou can&s;t not own, and cal&s;t it a Popi&s;h te|nent, and thou &s;aith Chri&s;t had &s;uch a &s;pirit that did not erre; and fur|ther, thou &s;aith if any Mini&s;ter as <HI>Iohn</HI> in the Revelation &s;hall wander, yet the Lord can is he hath a mercy unto his people, make the people to receive nothing but whol&s;ome doctrine.</P>
<P><HI>Reply.</HI> Here thou ha&s;t made thy &s;elf manife&s;t unto all that thou ha&s;t no mea&s;ure of the &s;pirit, neither great nor &s;mall, not of the &s;ame &s;pirit which was in the Saints, for the &s;pirit which the Saints had, was the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t, which is the &s;pirit of truth, and infallible, and led them into all
<PB N="3" REF="3">
truth, and this Spirit thou bla&s;phemer calls a Popi&s;h tenent, and &s;o ac|cu&s;es Chri&s;t and the Saints: Was it one &s;pirit which dwelt in the Saints, and another &s;pirit that Chri&s;t had? and here thou &s;peak&s;t contrary to the Scripture, as many as are the Sons of God, are led by the Spirit of God, and they that have not the Spirit of Chri&s;t, are none of his; and all who walked in the &s;pirit, and were led by the &s;pirit, were led out of pollution, and the lu&s;t of the fle&s;h, and out of error, and out of all deceit; and they had received the anointing, which was truth, and no lie, and it guided them into all truth: and here thou would&s;t divide the Spirit of Chri&s;t from the Saints; and here thy &s;pirit is made manife&s;t not to be that &s;pirit which was in the Saints, and which was in Chri&s;t; but thy &s;pirit is fallible, that &s;aith, that infallible &s;pirit di&s;graces the Mini&s;tery; &s;uch a Mini&s;ter thou art, that a fallible &s;pirit, and a &s;pirit of error is thy glory: and therefore I &s;ay that &s;pirit is not di&s;tinct from the Saints, which was in Chri&s;t, but one; there is one &s;pirit by which all the Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t were guided, and they were Mini&s;ters of the Spirit which was infallible, and true, and eternal, and bore witne&s;s of him who was true and eternal; and thou cal&s;t this a Popi&s;h tenent, art rai&s;ed out, and judged by the Scripture not to have the &s;ame, and &s;o art no Mini&s;ter, nor witne&s;s of the infalli|ble eternal &s;pirit, but &s;peaks in thy own name: And thou art accu&s;ing <HI>Iohn,</HI> that he did wander, (as <HI>Iohn</HI> did in the Revelation thou &s;aith) and &s;o would make <HI>Iohn</HI> a wandering &s;tar like thy &s;elf, which <HI>Iude</HI> &s;peaks of, who art fallen into the earth out of the firmament, and &s;o would bring reproach upon him, who witne&s;&s;ed the Spirit, and was in the &s;pirit, and dwelt in it; but thy &s;hame is made manife&s;t, and now the eternal &s;pirit is witne&s;&s;ed, which is infallible, and they will receive thy doctrine no longer, for it is not whol&s;ome, but contrary to the Scripture.</P>
<P>II. <HI>Query.</HI> Whether thou know the rules of Chri&s;t, and whether thou wert immediately called by him, to be a Mini&s;ter or Pa&s;tor of the Go&s;pel, yea or no?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Thou &s;aith &s;o often as thou ha&s;t the word rightly divided in opening of the &s;ame in any Chapter or ver&s;e, &s;o often thou ha&s;t heard the the voice of Chri&s;t, and thou &s;aye&s;t thou do&s;t not deny the reaching of the &s;pirit to be an extraordinary voice of Chri&s;t, and that thou ha&s;t heard, and &s;o thou witne&s;&s;es an immediate call, and yet thou &s;aye&s;t our imper|fect actions being made perfect by Chri&s;t, thou witne&s;&s;es an immediate call.</P>
<P><HI>Reply.</HI> Thou that tells of opening Chapters or Ver&s;es by meanings, thou never heard the word of Chri&s;t; and I &s;ay unto thee, as Chri&s;t &s;aid to the Phari&s;ees, which had <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and the Prophets, they had nei|ther heard his voice, nor &s;een his &s;hape, and they which have not the word abiding in them, never heard his word; and therefore if thou never hear of God or from Chri&s;t, but what is written without thee, thou never yet heard his Word, the Word of God endures for ever, Chapters and Ver&s;es endures not for ever; but thou art made manife&s;t when thou can&s;t not hear what is already writ, nor receive it, nor under&s;tand it without meanings; and therefore brings their words down to thy rea&s;on, and
<PB N="4" REF="4">
cals that the Word of God; and thou cal&s;t the teachings of the &s;pirit the extraordinary voice of Chri&s;t: where reads thou in the Scripture, of an ordinary and extraordinary voice of the &s;pirit? and here be a witne&s;s a|gain&s;t thy &s;elf, in thy an&s;wer to the fourth Query, the fourth page of thy book, to &s;ay thou had not known the &s;pirit, nor the anointing but by the Scripture, and the Scripture is not the &s;pirit; and here thy immediate call is the like, that which is vi&s;ible and without thee, is not immediate; and here thou art tryed, that thou knowe&s;t nothing at all but by hear&s;ay, and &s;o thou art a falle witne&s;s, and thou &s;aith our imperfect actions are made perfect by Chri&s;t, when that which is perfect is come, imperfection is done away, but that which thou calls thy imperfect actions he comes not to be perfect, but to de&s;troy, but to thee is a my&s;tery.</P>
<P>III. <HI>Query.</HI> Whether the Word thou preache&s;t, is the &s;ame from the beginning which thou ha&s;t heard and &s;een, and ha&s;t been taught immedi|ately by the Revelation of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, yea or no?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> The Word that thou preaches is &s;o muth the &s;ame thou &s;aith from the beginning, as a River is the &s;ame that runs continually from the fountain; and as God is plea&s;ed to appear in his outward admini&s;trators.</P>
<P><HI>Reply.</HI> He who is the fountain is eternal, which was in the beginning, and before all things, and endures for ever, and they who witne&s;s him &amp; preach him, and have &s;een him, and ta&s;ted of the water of life, which they were witne&s;s of, <HI>Iohn</HI> the fir&s;t, but the River which thou drinke&s;t, is as the brooks of <HI>Teman,</HI> &s;poken of in <HI>Iob,</HI> and &s;hall be dried up, and as <HI>Euphrates</HI> that &s;hall be dried up, and the Kings of the Ea&s;t &s;hall pa&s;s over it, and the time is come already, ble&s;&s;ed be the Lord for ever, but thy fountain at the be&s;t is but the letter without thee, that was &s;ince the beginning, and thy old Authors, and thy carnal wi&s;dom, which is in the cur&s;e, and this is thy highe&s;t attainments, and thy admini&s;trations; if thou had&s;t not had the letter without thee, thou had&s;t not known &s;uch a thing, and then where had all thy preaching been, as in the fourth page of thy book, thou maye&s;t remember that thou &s;aid&s;t thou had&s;t not known God, but by that others have left upon record; and therefore cea&s;e from thy divining, for thou can&s;t not witne&s;s what thou &s;peake&s;t, but as thou &s;teale&s;t others words</P>
<P>IV. <HI>Query.</HI> Whether ever any &s;hall grow up under thy Mini&s;tery, that they &s;hall that no man teach them; and whether thou own the anoin|ting, or had known there had been &s;uch a thing, if the Scripture had not &s;poken of it, yea or no?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Concerning thy Mini&s;tery, there is no &s;uch promi&s;e thou &s;ay|e&s;t made to any mans Mini&s;tery.</P>
<P><HI>Reply.</HI> Here thou ha&s;t manife&s;ted thy Ignorance of the Mini&s;tery of Chri&s;t, for they turned many from darkne&s;s to light, and from Satan unto God, and it was and is the very end wherefore the Mini&s;ters was &s;ent forth, for the perfecting of the Saints, and to lead them from im|perfection to per&s;ection, and a per&s;ect man in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us; and they were &s;ent out for this end, and are now &s;ent out to direct all minds, and the Apo&s;tle laboured and travelled, that he might pre&s;ent them without
<PB N="5" REF="4">
&s;pot or wrinkle unto God, and in that thou &s;aith, there is no promi&s;e to the Mini&s;try of man, in that thou &s;aye&s;t truly, but they which were Mi|ni&s;ters of the Go&s;pel, they neither were learned of man, nor had it from man, and &s;o thou acknowledge&s;t thy Mini&s;try to be of man, and &s;o art not a Mini&s;ter of Chri&s;t, but of Anti-chri&s;t; and thou &s;aith if the anoin|ting &s;hould onely teach, there would be no flock, here thou art blind and knows nothing; is not Chri&s;t the anointing, and Chri&s;ts &s;heep hear his voice, and he putteth them forth, and goeth before them, and he leadeth his flock like a &s;hepheard; but thou that preaches: for hire, and divine&s;t for money, and they that follow thee are not of this flock: and as con|cerning thy knowledge of the anointing, thou &s;aith thou maye&s;t &s;ay as <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aid of &s;in, he had not known &s;in but by the Law, &s;o thou had&s;t not known the anointing, had not he Scriptures declared it, and thou &s;aye&s;t without it there is nothing to be known, here thou blind guide, thou puts the Scri|ptures in the room of God, and would&s;t exalt it above God, and ha&s;t made thy folly manife&s;t that thou never knew the anointing but by hear&s;ay, and if thou ha&s;t not had their words, who witne&s;&s;ed the anointing in them|&s;elves, thou had&s;t not known whether there had been &s;uch a thing, and thou that knows nothing but without thee, knows nothing at all, and yet the Scripture is able to make wi&s;e unto &s;alvation, and perfect the man of God through faith in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, but of the man of Gods e&s;tate thou knowe&s;t nothing of, who art pleading and holding up tho&s;e things which the men of God witne&s;&s;ed again&s;t.</P>
<P>V. <HI>Query.</HI> Whether thou own Chri&s;t to be the light of the world, and hath enlightned every one, yea or no?</P>
<P>VI. <HI>Query.</HI> Whether thou own the word of <HI>Iohn</HI> 1. 9. where he wit|ne&s;&s;ed Chri&s;t to be the true light which enlightneth every one that cometh into the world?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Thou &s;aith thou think&s;t its not ami&s;s to declare that Chri&s;t is not onely the light of the world through Revelation but in works of mira|cles, and meritorious &s;ufferings, and as he gives to all creatures the light in their Creation.</P>
<P><HI>Reply.</HI> Thy thoughts are vain and not as Gods thoughts, he is but one, who is the light of the world, and in him is no darkne&s;s at all, the light is but one and the &s;ame light in which he lives, the &s;ame light the Saints lives in, who are guided by him who is the light, and the light is but one in him that loves it, and in him that hates it; the one he loves it, and the other he hates it: and thou that art making di&s;tinctions of the light, art divided from the light, and &s;o makes many lights by thy imaginations, and &s;o perverts the Scripture. And where read&s;t thou of meritorious &s;uffering of Chri&s;t in the Scripture; nay, thou art &s;o ignorant of him who is the true light, and hath not &s;o much as a form of &s;ound words: and where reads thou of &s;uch a di&s;tinction of na|tural and &s;piritual light in Chri&s;t, thy rule &s;hall try thee, and thou &s;halt be judged by it, for in thy &s;erpents wi&s;dome thou would&s;t darken the coun&s;el of God, and rent the Scripture in pieces by thy imaginations, and thou never knew&s;t what the light of Chri&s;t was, and never &s;hall com|prehend
<PB N="6" REF="5">
it with all thy di&s;tinctions, and though the world is in darkne&s;s, yet the light &s;hines in darkne&s;s, but this is a my&s;tery, and &s;ealed to thee, and therefore thou would&s;t give thy meanings upon their words who were in the light.</P>
<P>VII. <HI>Query.</HI> Whether it is not bla&s;phemy to call the true light of Chri&s;t which enlightneth every one that cometh into the world a natural light, and whether they do not deny the Scriptures, that &s;ay that every one is not enlightned with the true light, yea or no?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Is light by ju&s;t con&s;equence and not otherwi&s;e called naturall, &s;o the light may be called &s;upernatural, which is properly called Chri&s;ts light, and thou tells of ordinary lights.</P>
<P><HI>Reply.</HI> Thy con&s;equences are denyed, thou art in the Philo&s;ophy and vain deceits: where reads thou in Scripture of a natural and &s;upernatural light? and where reads thou that the light which is in every creature is or|dinary light, and <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="2 letters"> thou goe<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">t on to prove that there is two lights in Chri&s;t; and that the light of Chri&s;t is natural and &s;piritual, and &s;o would make two Chri&s;ts: is Chri&s;t &s;piritual? and is that which is his light na|tural? a natural man under&s;tands not the things of God, but the light which comes from Chri&s;t which is but one, not divided, but is &s;piritual, it leads to an under&s;tanding of the things of God, and that which may be known of God is revealed in man, but thou art ignorant and blind, and cannot comprehend it, that which is natural is carnal, and &s;o thou would&s;t make a carnal Chri&s;t, as one like thy &s;elf affirmed, who called him&s;elf a Mini&s;ter of Chri&s;t, but he that loves the light is led up out of darkne&s;s, to the light of life, and he that hates the light, its his condemnation, and he is but one that judges and &s;aves his people from their &s;in: and in the la&s;t part of thy an&s;wer, thou &s;aye&s;t thou acknowledge&s;t the light of the Law of Chri&s;t to be more or le&s;s in the light of nature; here again thy ignorance is made manife&s;t, <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aid, the Law was &s;piritual, and the Law of the &s;pi|rit of life in Ie&s;us, had freed him from the Law of &s;in and death; was that natural? is Chri&s;t &s;piritual, and his Law natural? for &s;hame be &s;i|lent, and &s;peak not of the Law, it is holy; is that natural? and thou &s;peaks of putting the light of Chri&s;t under a bu&s;hel, and &s;ome that de&s;troy Chri&s;ts light; thou blind Phari&s;ee, thou art he that puts the light of Chri&s;t under a bu&s;hel, that walks in tho&s;e things, and pleads for tho&s;e things which they declared again&s;t: and thou art he that goes about to de&s;troy Chri&s;ts light which is pure and eternal, and cal&s;t it natural and &s;upernatural, when the light is but one, and thou that would&s;t divide the light, art divided from it, and walks not by it, and &s;o art in darkne&s;s till now: and thou &s;aith fur|ther, that as Chri&s;t is plea&s;ed, he can by the preaching of the Go&s;pel o|pen thine eyes, and turn them from darkne&s;s to light: here again thy &s;hame and thy nakedne&s;s appears: ha&s;t thou profe&s;&s;ed thy &s;elf a Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel, and a teacher, and are thy eyes unopened? yetart thou yet unturned from darkne&s;s unto light? then darkne&s;s &s;peaks and wrote the book, and darkne&s;s cannot comprehend the light, and would&s;t thou be judging of the light, and of Chri&s;t, that is yet in darkne&s;s? for &s;hame own thy condemna|tion, for what thou ha&s;t done in &s;peaking in the name of the Lord, he ac|cepts
<PB N="7" REF="5">
no &s;uch te&s;timony, nor the te&s;timony of them that walk in darkne&s;s, and not in the light; and he will judge thee, who is the light, for perver|ting the truth in thy dark mind; and thou confe&s;&s;eth that thou art blind, and thine eyes are not yet opened; then how can&s;t thou declare of him, whom thou ha&s;t neither &s;een nor heard, and here be a witne&s;s again&s;t thy+&s;elf?</P>
<P>VIII. <HI>Query.</HI> Whether the true light of Chri&s;t, which enlightneth every one that cometh into the world, which di&s;covereth all the deeds of darkne&s;s, is not &s;ufficient to lead all tho&s;e that love and follow him into holine&s;s and all truth, &s;eeing Chri&s;t who is the light &s;aith that tho&s;e that follow him &s;hall not abide in darkne&s;s, but have the light of life?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> To this thou an&s;wers, Yea, it is when it is revealed; and in thy an&s;wer to the third Query, thou &s;aith there is nothing that can be known but by the Scriptures, and &s;o here thou lyes in confu&s;ion and Ba|bylon, and puts the letter for the light of Chri&s;t, and &s;o art blind indeed, as thou confe&s;&s;ed thy eyes were not opened, and thou was not turned from darkne&s;s, and thou &s;aith Chri&s;ts light when it is revealed is &s;ufficient, the light which Chri&s;t Ie&s;us hath enlightned every one withal, is made ma|nife&s;t, and convinceth of all ungodlyne&s;s and worldly lu&s;t; yea, he which is the Comforter convinceth the world of &s;in, as the Scripture witne&s;&s;eth; neither is their any other light in the world that convinceth the lyer, the &s;wearer, the drunkard, but that light that comes from Chri&s;t, and this is the condemnation of them that hate it, and that which declares again&s;t unrighteou&s;ne&s;s is righteous, and that which &s;hews &s;in is holy, and thou that calls this natural, thy eye is blind, and thy under&s;tanding is darkned, and thy ear heavy, and &s;o can neither hear, &s;ee, not under&s;tand it; now the natural man under&s;tands not the things of God, but the light of Chri&s;t in every mans con&s;cience under&s;tands by it what is not of God, and by it he comes to &s;ee &s;in, that it is again&s;t God, and therefore I am a witne&s;s again&s;t thee, and again&s;t all the hirelings in the world, that by the light, which a mea&s;ure is given to every one, that he that loves it, It leads to the the light of life, and though the light &s;hine in a naturall man, yet it is not natural, but &s;even &s;eals, and upon this, to the &s;erpents &s;eed, and he that hates it, and di&s;putes again&s;t it, &s;hall never know it, and thou &s;aith, who|&s;oever hath this light of Chri&s;t, may &s;ee to obey Magi&s;trates and Mini|&s;ters Lords day, wor&s;hip, fa&s;ting, praying, &s;inging, as well as to avoid bla&s;phemy and profanne&s;s, Magi&s;trates we obey in the Lord, and all their ju&s;t commands, but we deny flattery and deceit, and re&s;pecting per&s;ons, but honours the power that is of God, and that which is acted by them which is not of God, we &s;uffer for con&s;cience &s;ake, and re&s;i&s;ts not, but all that thou obeys is without, in &s;lattery and deceit, and hath mens per&s;ons in admiration, becau&s;e of advantage; and Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t we own, who are &s;ent of God, and honours &s;uch, but thee and all the hire|lings and imitaters, <HI>Ianes</HI> and <HI>Iambres</HI> like, we deny, and are bold to de|clare again&s;t you all, who walk contrary to the Saints, and that which you call your rule, and are a generation of hypocrites, and your rule &s;hall judge you all, and thou art tried by it, when all along thy an&s;wers, thou
<PB N="8" REF="6">
pleads again&s;t the Scripture, and adds thy meanings, and God will judge thee for it, and thy &s;hame &s;hall be made manife&s;t to all; the day of the Lord we own, ble&s;&s;ed be that day; but it &s;hall burn as an oven, again&s;t all deceivers and hypocrites; and fal&s;e Prophets, and this thou &s;halt know and witne&s;s; and bapti&s;m, and watching, and fa&s;ting, and praying, and &s;inging, this is witne&s;&s;ed, the &s;ame that ever was, and the power of god|line&s;s, but we deny thee, and all &s;uch as go and baptize, and then preach repentance to them fourty years after; and fa&s;ting; thou might have been &s;paring in this, pull out the beam, I &s;peak to thy con&s;cience: how often ha&s;t thou fa&s;ted, and cro&s;&s;ed thy lu&s;t, nay all is too little, hay and corn, Calves, Lambs, Eggs and Swines fle&s;h and all is to little for you, but you are &s;till at a want, and removing from one place to another, for filthy lukre, and makes merchandi&s;e of &s;ouls for di&s;hone&s;t gain, and &s;ues men at the Law, as many can witne&s;s in the North of England, and ca&s;ts tho&s;e in pri&s;on that they call their flock, and &s;o you are as ravening wolves, greedy of your prey, and as foxes in the de&s;ert, that devours all that re&s;i&s;t you; and then cries they are not &s;ubject to the Magi&s;trates nor Mini&s;ters; and then &s;aith the labourer is worthy of his hire, and brings this for a cloak, when as they never hired you, and yet you &s;eek wages of them, you do not work for, to maintain your luks: Howl ye Caterpillers and Canker|worms, that devours the earth, and &s;pends your time in the lu&s;ts of the fle&s;h, and yet accu&s;es others, and as for thy prayers they &s;tink. God hears not &s;inners, and while thou lives in this nature, pleading for tho&s;e things which the Scripture declare again&s;t, and thy &s;ongs &s;hall be turned into la|mentation and howling, the dead cannot prai&s;e, nor the blind, and thou &s;aith thou art blind and deaf; what ha&s;t thou to preach, or pray, or &s;ing; and &s;o cea&s;e thy gain&s;aying, the hand of the Lord is again&s;t thee, and the Scripture was not given out for thee to prattle on, and for tho&s;e things thou cals ordinances, thou had not known &s;uch a thing, as in the an&s;wer to the fourth Query thou confe&s;&s;e&s;t, and &s;o let &s;hame cover thy face, and let thy mouth be &s;topped, and all fle&s;h keep &s;ilence, for what is known without, leads no<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter"> <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">o God, but that which may be known of God is revealed in man, <HI>Rom.</HI> 2. and the time is come, <HI>Ie&s;able</HI> that hath &s;lain the Prophets, &s;hall be ca&s;t into torment, and &s;he &s;hall prophe&s;ie no more, and by the light which thou &s;ets all nought, &s;hall thou and all the inchanters and diviners be confounded, to it &s;hall all Nations how, for he from whom it come, is King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, who makes war in righteou&s;ne&s;s, and is now coming to cut off all by the edge of the &s;word, who hath pro|phefied lies in his name, and cau&s;ed men to abhor the &s;ervice of the living God.</P>
<P>IX. <HI>Query.</HI> Whether the end of begi&s;ting and &s;ending forth Mini&s;ters; is for the perfecting of the Saints, and for bringing them up to his mea|&s;ure or fulne&s;s, yea or no?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Yea.</P>
<P><HI>Reply.</HI> Here thou thy &s;elf, &s;hall be a witne&s;s again&s;t all the Mini&s;tery which long hath been in this Nation, for verily it is &s;o far from perfect|ing of the Saints, that openly the Mini&s;try pleadeth again&s;t it, and cryeth
<PB N="9" REF="6">
out of tho&s;e that witne&s;s it to be in error; and here thou &s;halt &s;tand as a witne&s;s for the truth, again&s;t thy &s;elf, and again&s;t all thy Brethren.</P>
<P>X. <HI>Query.</HI> Whether any &s;hall grow up under thy Mini&s;tery, to a per|fect man, to the mea&s;ure of fulne&s;s, and &s;tature of Chri&s;t, yea or no?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Thou &s;aye&s;t, &s;peaking of thy own hearers, they are at age, ask them, and try them whether there be not &s;ome that will not avoid to an&s;wer thee; to which I do Reply, It may be &s;ome of thy hearers might be as impudent in &s;peaking lies again&s;t their own con&s;cience, as thou art in writing again&s;t the Commands of Chri&s;t; but that in their con&s;cience, to which I de&s;ire to be known, and to the upright principle in them, to which I de&s;ire to &s;peak, will not witne&s;s that under thy Mini&s;tery, they have attained to perfection, but are yet learning under thee, and never able by thee to come to the knowledge of the truth; and that which is of God in them, &s;hall witne&s;s again&s;t thy Mini&s;tery, that it perfects none into holine&s;s, and into the Image of God; and thou &s;aye&s;t thou hopes we may &s;ee in the <HI>Epbe&s;.</HI> 4. 13. Concerning the fulne&s;s of the &s;tature of Chri&s;t; and further, by faith, then all our defects, imperfections and &s;ins are not imputed, as therby God may apply the righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t, whereby we may &s;ee no tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion in <HI>Jacob;</HI> we are, and all Believers mu&s;t come to the mea&s;ure of the perfection of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>Reply.</HI> What <HI>Paul</HI> &s;poke to the <HI>Ephe&s;ians</HI> we know is true, but what is this to thee, and tho&s;e who are out of <HI>Pauls</HI> way and life; in the way of the fal&s;e Prophets, and of the Scribes and Phari&s;ees, and the defects and imperfections, and &s;ins, mu&s;t lie upon your own head, for Chri&s;t will be no cloak unto you in your iniquities, to cloak your hypocri&s;ie and deceit; if you had faith, then &s;hould you be purified from Imperfection; for faith is perfect, and &s;o are all that live by it: and for thy word apply the righte|ou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t, it is not the language of the &s;pirit of God, which gave forth the Scripture; for the righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t is not to be applied to the head of the wicked, nor to cover wickedne&s;s, but to de&s;troy it; but where &s;in &s;tands, it will be imputed: for God cannot acquit the wicked, and he that &s;ins is not of <HI>Iacobs</HI> &s;eed, but of <HI>E&s;aus,</HI> and the righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t is not unto that birth, and thou and all thy Believers, who art in defects and imperfections, and in your &s;ins, art in the &s;tature and mea|&s;ure of <HI>Cain</HI> and <HI>I&s;hmael,</HI> and not of the &s;tature of the &s;ame God; who art free from all unrighteou&s;ne&s;s, and defects, and imperfections.</P>
<P>XI. <HI>Query.</HI> Whether they be not Mini&s;ters of Antichri&s;t, and never were &s;ent of Chri&s;t, that deny perfection which they are &s;ent of Chri&s;t, to bring unto, yea or no?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Nay, they are not. Reply, here thou ha&s;t manife&s;ted the ig|norance and confu&s;ion, who in thy an&s;wer to the nineth Query, &s;aid it yea, it was the end of &s;ending faith, the Mini&s;ters for the perfecting of the Saints; and now then &s;aye&s;t, they are not Mini&s;ters of Antichri&s;t, which denyes perfection, and &s;o &s;peaks a plain contradiction, and &s;o out of thy own mouth &s;halt thou be condemned; and let all who&s;e eye is open, &s;ee and behold thy deceit and blindne&s;s, and &s;o al&s;o manife&s;t thy &s;elt, that thou was never &s;ent of Chri&s;t, who hath brought up none to perfection,
<PB N="10" REF="7">
But &s;aye&s;t they are not Mini&s;ters of Antichri&s;t, that denies perfection, and yet &s;ayes the Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t was &s;ent to that end, to bring up unto perfection; and further thou &s;aye&s;t, that exhorting the world to look to the light that is within them, they &s;hall never come to perfection, none mu&s;t think or imagine</P>
<P><HI>Reply.</HI> Here thou ha&s;t uttered Bla&s;phemy, and quite contrary to Chri&s;ts own words, who &s;aith I am the light of the world, he that follows me &s;hall have the light of life, and this is perfection; and be it known unto thee, and unto all, that no other light we direct or exhorts unto, but the light of Chri&s;t within, which is &s;ufficient to lead to perfection as Chri&s;t him&s;elf &s;aith his light leads to the light of life all that walk in it, and thou &s;aith contrary and &s;o &s;peaks-again&s;t Chri&s;t, and would make his light imperfect, and not able to lead to perfection, and part found an enemy to him, and maye&s;t &s;top thy mouth for &s;hame, who art ignorant of the Scripture; and whil&s;t thou profe&s;&s;es it, art found both walking and &s;peaking contrary to it.</P>
<P>XII. <HI>Query.</HI> Whether he that is born of God, do commit &s;in, yea or no? and whether he that committeth &s;in is of the Devil, yea or no?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> He that is born of God is exhorted to repent; and may be delu|ded, and thou affirmatively &s;ays that tho&s;e that are born of God may &s;in, as all the Saints have experienced.</P>
<P><HI>Reply.</HI> Here thou more plainly ha&s;t &s;hewed thy &s;elf to be a perverter of the Scripture, and one that &s;peaks contrary to it; for he who is born of God, is the Image of God, and needs no repentance, he which was born of God was commended by God, and not exhorted to repent, as that Scripture which thou ha&s;t named, <HI>Rev.</HI> 2. &s;hall witne&s;s: but he which was fallen from the birth-born of God, was exhorted to repent; and thou &s;aye&s;t he that is born of God may be deluded, and the Scripture &s;aith it is not po&s;&s;ible that the elect &s;hould be deceived: and here again thou &s;peaks contrary to the Scripture, and thou &s;aye&s;t affirmatively, that tho&s;e that are born of God may &s;in: and here again thou &s;peaks contrary to the Scripture, which &s;aith, he that is born of God cannot &s;in: Now let &s;hame cover thy face, and let thy own con&s;cience convince thee, that thou art a perverter of the Scripture to thy own de&s;truction, and &s;o art unlearned, and without true experience, for that experience, and tho&s;e Saints which thou &s;peaks of, which experiences that which is contrary to the plain words of Scripture, which was the experiences of true Saints, is damnable ex|periences, and &s;ervants of the Devil, and cannot be believed by them who are true Saints, and have true experiences, according to the working of the holy Gho&s;t in them: and further thou &s;aye&s;t that Scripture, 1 <HI>Iohn</HI> 3. 8, 9. may be hard to be under&s;tood, yet taking good notice, the truth is ea&s;ily reconci<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">ed, and thou &s;aye&s;t, this is his meaning, that the child of God &s;in|neth not after the &s;imilitude, manner, or mea&s;ure, or nature that the devil &amp; his reprobates &s;ins, &amp; &s;o to make good what thou &s;aye&s;t thou ha&s;t added to <HI>Iohns</HI> words, his &s;eed remains in him (whereby he &s;hall repent him of his &s;in, this la&s;t thou ha&s;t deceitfully added, as al&s;o ha&s;t added after the &s;imilitude, manner, or mea&s;ure, or nature, that the Devil and his repro|bates
<PB N="11" REF="7">
&s;ins, let all &s;eareh the Scripture, and &s;ee if <HI>Iohn</HI> &s;peak any &s;uch thing, and &s;o gives thy &s;en&s;ual meaning of <HI>Iohns</HI> words, quite con|trary to what he &s;poke: for further, he &s;aid he that &s;ins is of the devil, and never knew God; and thou affirms, he that is born of God, which know God may &s;in, and &s;o divides the Scripture, and adds thy own imagina|tions unto it; and &s;o thou maye&s;t read thy portion in it, God will add all his plagues unto thee, and truth needs no reconciling, for it is in ve|rity, and cannot be under&s;tood by thee, who art unlearned, and there|fore thou wre&s;ts it: and further, thou &s;aye&s;t a child of God being renewed through Go&s;pel-repentance, &s;ins not devil like unto death or damnation.</P>
<P>Reply, O thou blind Phari&s;ce, a child of God needs no repentance and all &s;in is of and like the Devil his image, the Scripture &s;aith he that &s;ins is of the Devil; thou &s;aye&s;t contrary, and &s;peaks of &s;in not to be like the Devil: and here again art &s;peaking contrary to the Scripture. And further, thou &s;aye&s;t thou do&s;t &s;ay that the child of God as he &s;ins, is of the Devil, not that the Devil can claim him for his, or that he is in the po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ion of the Devil, for your gift is of <HI>Balaams</HI> nature, and not of the na|ture of <HI>Pauls,</HI> and &s;o your reward will be as <HI>Balaams,</HI> and not as <HI>Pauls,</HI> who inherits the everla&s;ting trea&s;ure for ever. And further, thou &s;aye&s;t, but as to the point of taking Tythes, which in re&s;pect of darkne&s;s and prejudice, &s;ome Saints are herein un&s;atisfied: and thou &s;aye&s;t we un|der&s;tand not our &s;elves in judging from the Apo&s;tles example, except we could prove by Scripture, that the Apo&s;tles might have had Tythes, or tho&s;e Mini&s;ters which were like <HI>Timothy</HI> and <HI>Titus,</HI> &s;ettled in a parochial way in their quarters, might have had Tythes given them, and yet refu&s;ed them.</P>
<P>Reply. They which are &s;atisfied that they are Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t which takes Tythes, are indeed in darkne&s;s as thou &s;peaks, and unto all that fear God, taking of <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="missing" EXTENT="1 letter">ythes whether in paying or receiving, will be preju|dice: and be it known unto thee, and unto all &s;uch that we do under|&s;tand our &s;elves in judging thee and all &s;uch; to be Antichri&s;ts, and de|ceivers and fal&s;e Prophets, who acts and upholds tho&s;e things which the deceivers and fal&s;e Prophets acted in former generations; and in &s;eeking for your gain from your Quarter and in making merchandi&s;e of people through covetou&s;ne&s;s, you make it manife&s;t that you are &s;uch, and &s;o in the light which was in the Prophets, and in the Apo&s;tles, we &s;ee you, and by it we judge you, and by the example of the Apo&s;tles you may all be condemned; who never took Tythes, nor &s;ought for their gain from their Quarter, nor made merchandi&s;e of any through covetou&s;ne&s;s, as you do: and we tell thee plainly, it is as true as the Scripture, for by the &s;ame Spirit we &s;peak, that none of the Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t nor his A|po&s;tle, did take Tythes or wages of the world for preaching, and this we can prove by the Scripture, that the Apo&s;tles refu&s;ed to take that which they might have had, which was offered unto them, and herein they &s;hall judge you, who not onely takes what men give you willing, but compels &s;ome to pay again&s;t their will: and that <HI>Timothy</HI> or <HI>Titus,</HI> or any of the mini&s;ters of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, was never &s;ettled in a parochial way in Quar|ters,
<PB N="12" REF="8">
we do deny it, and doth charge it upon thee, to be a fal&s;e accu&s;er, and a &s;landerer, and a lyar, upon <HI>Timothy</HI> and <HI>Titus,</HI> and would make them as bad as thy &s;elf, and the re&s;t of the fal&s;e Prophets, and here let thy own con&s;cience condemn thee, for believing the holy men of God, and &s;peaking that of them which they were not to cloak and uphold thy own de|ceits &amp; abominations: &amp; further, thou &s;aye&s;t till then the light of the Apo|&s;tles that took what&s;oever was given them, &s;atisfies thy con&s;cience to prai&s;e God for the Magi&s;trate that doth freely give it unto thee, and then brings the Apo&s;tles words, they that preach the Go&s;pel, &s;hould live of the Go&s;|pel.</P>
<P>Reply. The light in which the Apo&s;tles lived, by which they were act+ed, will for ever condemn thee except thou repent; for by their example thou art judged already as it is manife&s;ted, thy con&s;cience is blinded by the god of the world, and not &s;atisfied by the light of Chri&s;t which was in the Apo&s;tles, for if the light of the Apo&s;tles acted thee, then would thou be found in their &s;teps, but be witne&s;s again&s;t thy &s;elf, that thou art acted by that &s;pirit which acted the fal&s;e Prophets, and fal&s;e Apo&s;tles, being thou art found in the &s;ame &s;teps, making merchandi&s;e of people, and preach|ing for hire as they did; which of the Apo&s;tles had any Law from any Magi&s;trate, to compel men to pay Tythes to them, &s;hew this by the Scrip|ture if thou can&s;t, or el&s;e be a witne&s;s again&s;t thy &s;elf, that thou lives not upon the Go&s;pel? For I know if you had not a Law to compel men to maintain you, the Go&s;pel which you preach, and the people to whom you preach, would &s;tarve you for maintenance; this Scripture we own, and do witne&s;s, they that preach the Go&s;pel &s;hall live of the Go&s;pel, and doth, without running to Magi&s;trates to receive order from them, to compel men to pay them.</P>
<P>XVI. <HI>Query.</HI> Shew me by the Scripture where ever any of the Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t did give <HI>Davids</HI> P&s;alms to be &s;ung of the people in a rime; and if not, thou acknowledge&s;t that thou art in the inventions and traditions of men, rai&s;ed out from them all.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> In thy an&s;wer unto this Query, thou brings many Scriptures to prove &s;inging, &s;ome of which doth not at all prove any &s;inging, and none of them will prove the &s;inging which thou pleads for; which is a great company of proud and covetous, and earthly minded per&s;ons, to &s;ing <HI>Da|vids</HI> words which they cannot witne&s;s, but are enemies to the life of what he &s;poke; for the world cannot &s;ing prai&s;es unto God, but you by your traditions cau&s;e men to &s;ing lies, that they are not puft in mind, and that the Law of God is dear unto them, and that every night water they their bed with tears, when as they never witne&s;&s;ed the&s;e things, though all this was true in <HI>David;</HI> and as for that Scripture 2 <HI>Chron,</HI> 29. where it was commanded of the Prie&s;ts to &s;ing the words of <HI>David</HI> and <HI>A&s;aph;</HI> this was under the Law, a figure, as the Prie&s;ts was a figure: and from that Scripture you may as well prove the offering of &s;acrifice, as &s;inging; but
<PB N="13" REF="8">
thou makes manife&s;t thy ignorance and blindne&s;s hereby unto all the &s;im|ple, and many other Scriptures thou brings, and the example of Chri&s;t and his Di&s;ciples, and the example of the Churches, which will not at all prove the &s;inging of your a&s;&s;emblies, which is onely by tradition and invention we do deny, and bear te&s;timony again&s;t it, that it is not the &s;ing|ing to the prai&s;e of God, but God is di&s;honoured by it, and it &s;hall all be turned into howling and bitterne&s;s, and the time is at hand wherein the Iudgements of God &s;hall be revealed again&s;t it, for in the eternal light it is di&s;covered to be abomination unto God, and in&s;tead of &s;inging you &s;hall howle and lament, the Lord hath &s;aid it; and a great deal more rab|ble of &s;tuff thou ha&s;t written to prove thy deceitful practice, which I for|bear to an&s;wer, as not worth naming.</P>
<P>XVII. <HI>Query.</HI> Whether that wo which Chri&s;t pronounced again&s;t the Phari&s;ees, who were called of men Ma&s;ters, had the ceief place in the A&s;&s;emblies, and &s;tood praying in the Synagogues, do not abide upon thee, who art called of men Ma&s;ters, ha&s;t the chief &s;eat in the A&s;&s;emblies, &s;tands praying in the Synagogue? or how wilt thou ju&s;tifie thy &s;elf in the&s;e prac|tices, &s;eeing Chri&s;t is the &s;ame ye&s;terday, to day, and for ever, who cry|ed woe again&s;t them that lived in them?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Thou &s;aye&s;t thou doth not feare the woes pronounced again&s;t the Pharilees.</P>
<P><HI>Reply.</HI> It is becau&s;e thy heart is hardened, and thy mind is &s;tiffnecked and rebellious, for as &s;ure as Chri&s;t is the &s;ame for ever, the &s;ame woe will be thy portion as was theirs, which acts tho&s;e things which they acted, con|trary to the command of Chri&s;t: and further, thou &s;aye&s;t Chri&s;t, his Prophets and Apo&s;tles and as well as thy &s;elf, were called Ma&s;ters, and Sirs.</P>
<P>Reply. Chri&s;t was called Ma&s;ter, and here he approved it, and &s;o he was, and is, even the one Ma&s;ter of all the Saints; and their being called Ma&s;ter will not ju&s;tifie thee in thy Phari&s;ees &s;teps: for he &s;aith, <HI>Mat.</HI> 23. Be not ye called Ma&s;ter, and thou mani<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;ts thy &s;elf to be an ene|my to Chri&s;t, who brings Scripture again&s;t his commands, and this I ask thee, or any, whether you dare ju&s;tifie that to be of God, which Chri&s;t expre&s;ly commands contrary either in your &s;elves or others? and though &s;ome have erred herein, yet this will not ju&s;tifie thee in thy Phari&s;ee &s;teps; for Chri&s;t did plainly de&s;cribe the Phari&s;ees to the De&s;ciples, by their walk|ing, and we find thee, and the re&s;t of thy Brethren, compleat in their &s;teps, by the &s;ame &s;pirit as Chri&s;t did we cry woe again&s;t you; and as &s;ure as Chri&s;t is the &s;ame for ever, it will come upon you: and further thou an&s;wers, as concerning thy preaching and praying in a pulpit of wood in the Synagogue, thou art no more then Chri&s;t, his Prophets and Apo&s;tles; who did preach in the Synagogues to be condemned:</P>
<P><PB N="14" REF="9">
Reply. Yea, thou art in the Phari&s;ees &s;teps, having the chief &s;eat in the A&s;&s;embly, and art to be condemned by the &s;ame which condemned the Phari&s;ees.</P>
<P>And whereas thou ha&s;t brought many Scriptures to vindicate thy Pha|ri&s;ee like action, none or them will ju&s;tifie thee nor thy action; and thou ha&s;t belyed the Prophets, and Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles, for they had not the chief place in the A&s;&s;emblies, which thou would go about to make ap|pear they had, and &s;o would make them as bad as thy &s;elf, and the Pha|&s;ees, but let all &s;earch the Scriptures which thou ha&s;t named; and as for that where <HI>Ezra</HI> the Scribe read the Law in a Pulpit of wood in the &s;treet, will not ju&s;tifie thee except thou will own thy &s;elf to be a Scribe and Prie&s;t of the Law as he was, and &s;o deny thy &s;elf to be a Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel: this was not in a formal cu&s;tomary way, but at a particular time, and to a particular people, and he is not an example to the Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;|pel, for they went up and down in Towns, and Markets, and Vilages, preaching to every creature, which is our example, and not <HI>Ezra:</HI> and as for the other Scriptures, they will bear witne&s;s again&s;t thy action, for not one of them doth prove that either-Chri&s;t or his Apo&s;tles had the chief &s;eat in the Synagogues, but &s;ometimes they went and declared again&s;t them, and &s;ometime they were hailed out and per&s;ecuted in them, as we are: and thy manner or action in the A&s;&s;emblies, is according to the Pha|ri&s;ees, and not according to the Apo&s;tles, thou makes a trade to get mo|ney by thy action, and they did not &s;o, but freely what they had received from God they declared, but thou &s;els thine for money, and upholds an Idols Temple which they bore witne&s;s again&s;t, as the Scripture bears wit|ne&s;s, and here thou ha&s;t wre&s;ted the Scripture being unlearned, to thy own de&s;truction, and where is thou &s;peaks of feeding the flock of Chri&s;t, I an&s;wer, they who are the &s;heep of Chri&s;t knows thy voice to be the &s;tranger, and will deny thee and thy food which feeds dead minds with the dead let|ter, and then make a prey upon the people, as the fal&s;e Prophets did, and thou art rai&s;ed out from all the holy Prophets and Apo&s;tles, art in the &s;teps of the fal&s;e Prophets, and Scribes and Phari&s;ees, and fal&s;e Brethren, thou &s;peaks of our profaning the Temples, and ba&s;ely contemning it: to which I an&s;wer, we bear witne&s;s again&s;t the Idols Temples of the world, which God is di&s;honoured in, and <HI>Baal</HI> wor&s;hiped, and do &s;ay God dwels not in Temples made with hands, &amp; no other ways we profane it nor contemn it, but as the Apo&s;tles did, in witne&s;&s;ing forth the Sub&s;tance, and denying the figure: and further, thou &s;aye&s;t that as Chri&s;t did, &s;o thou doe&s;t ac|knowledge to be called Ma&s;ter, Mini&s;ter, or Pa&s;tor, and do likewi&s;e Chri&s;t like, own in &s;incerity and humility, to &s;tand praying in the Syna|gouge.</P>
<P>Reply. Here thou art impudent and &s;hamele&s;s, who acknowledges thy &s;elf to be called Ma&s;ters, ab&s;olute contrary to the command of Chri&s;t, and &s;o art to be condemned with the Phari&s;ees, and as for Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel, and Pa&s;tor of the flock of Chri&s;t, thou art none: for thy fruits
<PB N="15" REF="9">
doth make thee manife&s;t, and being found out of the doctrine of Chri&s;t, and of his Apo&s;tles, art to be Iudged by their life and Spi|rit; and that Chri&s;t &s;tood praying in the Synagogue, which thou &s;aye&s;t, I declare again&s;t thee here to be a lyar, for in the Scripture thou can&s;t not prove that Chri&s;t &s;tood praying in the Synagogue, and &s;o ha&s;t belyed him; and ha&s;t added in this an&s;wer to the Scripture, as thou ha&s;t done in the twelfth Query; and &s;o thou maye&s;t read thy portion, plagues will God adde unto thee, and as for &s;incerity and humility, thou who pleads for that which the holy men of God wit|ne&s;&s;ed again&s;t, maye&s;t be a&s;hamed to profe&s;s &s;incerity and hu|mility, and thus thy an&s;wers are replied unto, and thy &s;hame laid open, and thy portion read, even the breath of the Lord will kindle thy torment, who hath &s;landered Chri&s;t and his A|po&s;tle, and would make them as bad as thy &s;elf, and the ly|ars portion mu&s;t thou have, the mouth of the Lord hath &s;po|ken it.</P>
<P>XVIII. <HI>Query.</HI> Whether they be not Mini&s;ters of Antichri&s;t that do practice tho&s;e things that Chri&s;t cryed woe again&s;t? and whether they be Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t, that though their &s;ub|tilty go about to ju&s;tifie tho&s;e practices that Chri&s;t forbad and cryed woe again&s;t, yea or no?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Thou &s;aye&s;t if thou know any goes about &s;ubtilly to ju&s;tifie the&s;e practices, it were well it were put out of a query.</P>
<P><HI>Reply.</HI> For the Information of the &s;imple it was put forth, and that thou might be made manife&s;t, and I put it out of all que&s;tion, and &s;ay that they are the Mini&s;ters of Antichri&s;t that practi&s;e tho&s;e things that Chri&s;t cryed woe again&s;t; and thou art &s;een to be one of them, that hath declared thy &s;elf openly to all that &s;hall read thy an&s;wers, that all thou hath written was in &s;ubtilty, and thou goes about to ju&s;tifie that which Chri&s;t cryed woe again&s;t, as is manife&s;t pleading for Tythes, and denying Chri&s;t come in the fle&s;h, and pleads again&s;t the words and commands of Chri&s;t, and to be called of men Ma|&s;ter, and for &s;tanding praying in the Synagogue, and calls it Chri&s;t like, let &s;hame &s;trike thee in thee face, and I chalenge thee to prove where Chri&s;t &s;tood praying in the Synagogue; did he act tho&s;e things that he cryed woe again&s;t, and &s;o thou would make him like thy &s;elf a di&s;&s;embler and an hypocrite; but thou judges out of thy corrupt imaginations, and he will judge thee for it: and thou &s;aith thou in charity ought to judge me to contend for the faith; and in thy an&s;wer to <HI>Iohn Whites</HI>
<PB N="16" REF="10">
conclu&s;ion, thou &s;ays he Pope like commands thee to an&s;wer; and further, thou &s;aith he required thee in his one name, what con|fu&s;ion thou lies in, and forgets what thou &s;peaks thy heart is &s;o full of deceit: and thou further &s;aith, he ought to abound in charity, to think no evil, and to die to all cau&s;le&s;s jealou&s;ies and contempt again&s;t profe&s;&s;ors, thou would not have deceit judged nei<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="missing" EXTENT="1 letter">her in thy &s;elf nor others, but would build up, and be daubed with untempered morter, and it is beyond jealou&s;ies that we have of thee, and all profe&s;&s;ion that &s;tands in that na|ture, when your profe&s;&s;ion is contrary to the doctrine of Chri&s;t, and now po&s;&s;e&s;s not what you &s;peak, and therefore makes hypo|crites by your preaching, and to profe&s;s that which they po&s;|&s;e&s;s not.</P>
<P>And in thy conclu&s;ion, thou &s;aith <HI>Iohn Whitehead,</HI> let me tell thee plainly, that thy words being far from the meek &s;pirit of the Apo&s;tles, I be&s;eech you brethren.</P>
<P>Reply. The Apo&s;tle never &s;aid I be&s;eech you brethren to &s;uch as thou art, who acts tho&s;e things that he declared again&s;t, and &s;uffered by thy generation, as we do now, hailing, mocking, buffeting: and thou that art joyned to a harlot, would thou be called a Brother, and thou &s;aith thou &s;hould not have an&s;wered the&s;e Queris, if it had not been to an&s;wer the command of God, and the teaching of the Spirit; the command of God thou never knew, who art pleading again&s;t Chri&s;ts commands and the Spirit thou knows nothing of, who confe&s;&s;ed in the fourth page of thy book, who confe&s;&s;ed thou knew nothing but by the Scripture, and the Scripture is not the Spirit; and here let all judge of thy blindne&s;s, and thou &s;aith thou ha&s;t an&s;wered with|out adding or dimini&s;hing the Scripture, let all thy writing be a witne&s;s again&s;t thee, in thy an&s;wer to the twelfth Query, and in thy conclu&s;ion thou &s;ayes thou would not draw arguments from, and fetch guns out of a ca&s;tle, to turn them again&s;t the &s;ame place; this &s;hall &s;tand for thy &s;elf, and let all judge whe|ther thou have not fetched arguments and Scriptures to uphold thy trade of divination, and hath pleaded again&s;t Chri&s;ts own com|mands, and &s;ets one Scripture again&s;t another; and thou would have di&s;tinctions to &s;tand, becau&s;e the holy Gho&s;t &s;aith, this he &s;poke concerning the Temple of his body; but where is that Scrip|ture that &s;aith this was &s;aid not of the material Temple? that is thy own word, and &s;o thou cannot but twine, and wre&s;t, and pervert, for if thou did not, the whole Scripture would bear witne&s;s again&s;t thee; and thou art accu&s;ing that thou heard him pre&s;s, ca&s;ting off ordinances, we know what thou calls ordinances, even beggerly ru|diments, &s;prinkling Infants, &s;inging others condition, and when
<PB N="17" REF="10">
you read puts them on, and when you &s;ing puts them off, and &s;tanding praying in the Synagogue, and would accu&s;e Chri&s;t as thou ha&s;t done, in thy an&s;wer to the &s;eventeenth Query, and coming to an Idols Temple; and hear thee &s;peak an hour or two, what thou ha&s;t rai&s;ed up by thy imagination from the Scripture all the week, and then cry hear the Word of the Lord, and the&s;e and &s;uch like are your ordinances, but God will plead with thee, and all that of|fer &s;trange fire, and all your &s;acrifice God is weary of, and there|fore cea&s;e to pervert the way of the Lord, le&s;t thou be cut off within thy gain&s;aying, and peri&s;h with the uncircumci&s;ed.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
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</ETS>
