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<DATE>2007-10-06</DATE>
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<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B070919.apex.</ITEM>
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<PB REF="1" MS="y"><!-- PDF PAGE 20 -->
<P>SUrely the Magi&s;trates of <HI>Nottingham</HI> are blinde as though they had never read Scriptures, have they ca&s;t a man into pri&s;on for &s;aying The Scriptures wer<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter"> not the Living Word? Surely they might have under&s;tood what Scripture &s;ignifies by all this time of teaching, for writings is not living, nor doth not en|dure for ever, but the thing written of doth, that is the Word. Surely by all this teaching they might not have been &s;o ignorant of Scripture, which &s;aith the Scri|ptures are the Words of God, <HI>Exod.</HI> 20. and my Words &s;aith Chri&s;t, and he that addes to the&s;e Words &s;aith <HI>John,</HI> in the Revelation, or takes from the&s;e words, the plagues &s;hall be added to him, and his name &s;hall be demini&s;hed out of the Book of Life, <HI>Rev.</HI> the la&s;t. So mark, the Scriptures of truth, which cannot be broken, are the Words of God, and Chri&s;t his Name is called the Word of God, <HI>Rev.</HI> 19. and they that had a perfect under&s;tanding from the very fir&s;t, took in hand to &s;et forth in order a declaration of tho&s;e things which they had &s;een and believed from the beginning, who were Mini&s;ters of the Word, <HI>Luke</HI> 1. Surely <HI>Nottingham</HI> Inqui|&s;itioners had they not been mad in their blind zeal, they would not have per&s;ecuted a man for &s;peaking truth according to &s;criptures, who neither regards the Scriptures nor the law of man, who hath contemptuou&s;ly di&s;obeyed two Warrants; Surely you would be mighty cruel if you had power; Did you never read that the Scriptures &s;aith Chri&s;t is the Word, and the Word is God? Is not he the living Word? and the Word is immortal; are writings immortal? what would ye have done to <HI>John</HI> if he had been under your power, who tels you Chri&s;ts name is the word of God? and tels you, the Revelation is words? What would you have done to <HI>Peter?</HI> who tels you the Word is immortal, and all things are upheld by the Word of his power? And are all things upheld by the Scriptures, is that your Logick? Read <HI>Heb.</HI> 1. And is it not &s;aid the Scriptures mu&s;t be fulfilled? and is it not the Living Word, which fulfills the words? And what would you have done to <HI>Luke</HI> that tells you many of the Mi|ni&s;ters of the Word took in hand to &s;et forth in order a declaration of the things be|lieved among them from the very fir&s;t? Nay, doth not &s;ome of your old Tran&s;la|tions call the Scripture a Catologue? and &s;ome again calls it a &s;tory, and yet you call it the Word? how many names have you given it here? it is called Scriptures of truth, holy writings which were learned of God, and given forth by the &s;pirit of God, that is according to the &s;criptures which are the words of God; and wil you &s;ay writings are God, or writings are Chri&s;t who is called the word? will you &s;et the &s;crip|tures in the room of God, and give them his name? as you may read, <HI>Joh.</HI> 1. Have you not lo&s;t your under&s;tanding? are you not blind that cannot di&s;tingui&s;h writings, weh is Scriptures, from Chri&s;t, &amp; God, but put them in their place? Surely you are far off from &s;piritual things, while you do not under&s;tand natural things, have you not read that <HI>John</HI> &s;aith in the beginning was the Word, and was writings in the beginning? you want the Word to give you an under&s;tanding to know a fulfiller, and that which is to be fulfilled; a fulfiller is the Word, and that which is to be fulfilled is the words and outward types and figures and changeable things: So who is in the Word, he is in the unchangable which was in the beginning, in whom the Scriptures end, Chri&s;t, and the ju&s;t mens &s;pirits both; &s;o the Word is called the word of Reconciliation, but he doth not call the Scriptures &s;o, but the &s;criptures are called a declaration, and in many places called words, which are to be fulfilled and cannot be broken, and this is the cau&s;e that all Chri&s;tendom is on heaps about &s;criptures, they wanting the Word that doth fulfill them, to reconcile unto them, and unto God, and unto them that gave them forth; So are not the babes born again by the immortal Seed, the Word of God; but you remain in the mortal, where the jars and &s;trifes are about words, the things of God not being known by natural men.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>G. F.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
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<P>London, Printed for <HI>Thomas Simmons</HI> at the <HI>Bull</HI> and <HI>Mouth</HI> near <HI>Alder&s;gate.</HI> 1659.</P>
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