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<DATE>5-8-08</DATE>
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<NAME>John Latta</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>THE CAUSE OF STUMBLING Removed from all that will receive the TRUTH; and from before the Eyes of the Wi&s;e men of LONDON: In a Treati&s;e &s;hewing the diffe|rence between the &s;pirit of a man which is the candle of the Lord, and the light which hath enlightned every man that cometh into the WORLD.</P>
<P>Al&s;o &s;hewing, that though there be diver&s;ity of Admini&s;trations, yet there is not diver&s;ity of Lights and Spirits, by which they are mini&s;tred: And &s;hewing by clear te&s;timony what the more &s;ure Word of Prophe&s;ie is, which the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> exhorts the people to take heed unto, un|till the day did dawne, and the day-&s;tar ari&s;e in their hearts.</P>
<P>Herein al&s;o is a fal&s;e <HI>Ho&s;anna,</HI> and a fal&s;e te&s;timony reproved; and a fal&s;e witne&s;s is rejected, and an untimely birth ca&s;t out, though for the time of Travel it might have been a mon&s;ter, being above two yeers; but in the end is brought forth for de&s;truction; the name of him which hath &s;o long travell'd to bring forth wind and confu&s;ion, is one known in the City of <HI>London</HI> by the name of <HI>Iohn Iack&s;on;</HI> being by the truth of this following made manife&s;t: That &s;o by every motion of the Spirit of Truth, and every te&s;timony given from it, Under&s;tanding and Knowledge of the Truth may be increa&s;ed, in tho&s;e that follow on to know the LORD.</P>
<P>Given forth from the Lords &s;ervant, <HI>Richard Hubberthorne.</HI></P>
<Q><P><HI>For this end was I born, and for this end came</HI> I <HI>into the world, to bear wit|ne&s;s unto the Truth,</HI></P>
<BIBL>Joh. 18. 37.</BIBL></Q>
<Q><P>Every one that is of the Truth heareth my voyce.</P>
<P>Spoylers &s;hall come up out of the North, which &s;hall &s;poil Babylon,</P>
<BIBL>Jer. 51. 48.</BIBL></Q>
<P><HI>London,</HI> Printed for <HI>Thomas Simmons</HI> at the Bull and Mouth neer <HI>Alder&s;gate,</HI> 1657.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="epigraph">
<PB REF="2">
<P>THE Light is broken forth as the morning, and the health of the Nati|ons is in it, and is &s;pringing forth &s;peedily, and the righteou&s;ne&s;s of the righteous Seed is going forth before them, and the glory of the Lord is revealed to his Seed, which now calleth, and the Lord doth an&s;wer, Here am I; and the Lord hath made, and is making his Seed as a watered Garden, and like a &s;pring of water, who&s;e waters fail not; and is rai&s;ing up the foundations of many ge|nerations, that people may come to build again upon shat&punc; Foundation which they have been driven from, e&s;pecially by their Pa&s;tors: for &s;aith the Lord, Many Pa&s;tors have de&s;troyed my Vinyard, they have trodden my Portion under foot, and made my plea&s;ant Portion a de&s;olate Wilderne&s;&s;e, and have made Gods Heritage as a &s;peckled Bird, the Birds round about are against her, and all the Bea&s;ts of the Field come to devour, <HI>Jer. 12. 9, 10.</HI> And now is the Lord come forth again&s;t the&s;e devourers, even as a Lyon bereaved of her young ones: for the Lord will not &s;uffer the &s;poyle of his Heritage no longer, but will dre&s;&s;e his Vinyard that it may bring forth fruit unto him: And now is the Lord ca&s;ting out the blind Vatchmen, and the fooli&s;h Prophets which have followed their own &s;pirit, and have &s;een nothing, and all &s;uch is the Lord ca&s;ting out, and his ever|la&s;ting fire is he kindling among&s;t them: And now I hear a cry of torment go|ing through the Nation: Can any kindle a fire among Serpents, and they not be offended and shut their &s;tings? Can any touch the Vipers but they will &s;mell with venom? and when Scorpions are trodden upon, will they not shew forth their strength? Can that nature &s;uffer death patiently? nay patience proceed|eth from that Seed which &s;layeth the enmity, and destroyeth the man of &s;in; and therefor<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> as we have one Seed to witne&s;&s;e for, &s;o there is one to witne&s;&s;e against; and as it is the work of the &s;pirit of God to approve the things that are of God, &s;o it is iis work al&s;o to reprove tho&s;e things which is contrary to &s;ound Doctrine, to the end that every one may know as well what to reject and deny as error, as what to own for truth and &s;ound Doctrine; therefore of nece&s;sity must every one be turned to the light which Chri&s;t hath enlightned them withall, that they may di&s;cern what they are to approve, and what they are to reprove; and that judgement is true which &s;tands in the light, and in the mea&s;ure of the &s;pirit of Truth.</P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
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<HEAD>TO THE READER</HEAD>
<P>MEN of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lye; and the heart of man is de&s;perately wicked and deceitful above all things. Hear this ye wi&s;e men and fooli&s;h; the more ye &s;trive again&s;t the Lord, the more is your wound made incurable; and the higher you ri&s;e in envy, alwaies the deeper is your fall in confu&s;ion. And now Chri&s;ti|an Reader, who&s;e heart God hath opened to &s;ee and behold the things that be eternal, and can truly di&s;cern of different cau&s;es, and between the good and the evil, and between the light and the darkne&s;&s;e. This Book is &s;ent forth in the pur&s;ute, and after a Book called, <HI>Ho&s;anna to the Son of David, &amp;c.</HI> by a namele&s;&s;e Author, who&s;e work indeed was hardly worthy of an hone&s;t mans Name, though very &s;ubtilly &amp; craftily he pro|&s;ecutes his purpo&s;e, &amp; traver&s;es his &s;teps ful cunningly, as this worlds wi&s;|dom could guide him, in which wi&s;dom he cannot know or receive the things of God; &amp; therefore it cannot be expected that the things of God &s;hould be received from that wi&s;dom; and though he hath confounded in his words his de&s;cription of the Light of Chri&s;t, &s;ometimes &s;peaking well of it, and &s;ometimes otherwi&s;e, and not knowing hardly whereof he hath affirmed; his words are &s;o counfounded and mixed in his cor|rupt rea&s;on, in giving forth his knowledge of the things of God, which he &s;eems to be ignorant of, but onely as he hath the knowledge of them from the Letter, by which no man can come to the knowledge of God, nor of the things of his Kingdom without the revelation of the Spirit of Je&s;us, and the opperation of the &s;ame &s;pirit: But friends, the te&s;timony of God &s;tands &s;ure for ever, though men would confound it in their own rea&s;on: And this is the te&s;timony, <HI>That Chri&s;t lighteth eve|ry man that cometh into the world, which light is &s;ufficient to lead every man to God, or el&s;e to condemn every man from God;</HI> and this te&s;timony is true, notwith&s;tanding all the oppo&s;ition again&s;t it; and it &s;hall abide &s;ure for ever, though men &s;trive never &s;o much in the gain-&s;aying of it: And this is the te&s;timony which we have born and &s;hall bear to the end, and who believes it, and who believes it not, this is the hand of the Lord ac|cording to his plea&s;ure, and to him we leave it, and &s;o we do, and mu&s;t clear our con&s;ciences from time to time, while the Lord gives us a be|ing: And herein we are a good &s;avour to God, and our reward is with him, whether I&s;rael be gathered or no, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 49. And al&s;o this namele&s;&s;e Author, which is &s;uppo&s;ed to be one <HI>Iohn Iackson,</HI> known in this City, hath taken &s;ome &s;eeming occa&s;ion again&s;t us by &s;earching our Books, and (as he &s;aith) hath found &s;ome contradictions in them, which may
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appeare to be &s;o to his dark mind; yet in the &s;ight of the &s;pirit of the Lord that is truth which he &s;ees to be no other then error: However, this is &s;ent forth for the true information of peoples minds, that they may know that truth is bold and confident, and that it is Armor which defendeth from all enemies, and giveth &s;trength to an&s;wer the craftine&s;&s;e of men. And this &s;ame <HI>Iohn Iackson</HI> hath &s;hewed him&s;elf now to be one with the common Prie&s;ts of the world, for as they have done, &s;o hath he; oppo&s;ed the way and people of God, and with the very &s;ame Arguments, &s;hewing that he is of the very &s;ame &s;pirit with them, his di&s;|cour&s;e and arguments being of the &s;ame nature as theirs are; yea, he hath &s;hewed him&s;elf to be of the very &s;ame &s;pirit with all the open prophane wretches which doth revile, and &s;corn, and abu&s;e, in every town and countrey the Lords people; and as they do &s;o, &s;o hath he writ|ten with &s;ubtil Arguments, to the very &s;ame end as they reproach and &s;corn, (to wit) in a deri&s;ion, and de&s;pi&s;ing the way and &s;ervants of the Lord; &s;o that his &s;elf-&s;eparation is now &s;een what it is, to be a very cheat and hypocri&s;ie, who while he profe&s;&s;eth a &s;eparation from the world, doth practice the very &s;ame wickedne&s;&s;e, and is not changed from them in nature, though he be in appearance: But what a poor work hath he brought forth in two years time? which he &s;aith his work hath been as Embres raked up in a&s;hes, yet a work that gains no prai&s;e of God, nor very little of the prai&s;e of any man: It &s;eems he hath hatched mi&s;chief upon his bed, and brought it forth in the morning: Who would have thought but a wi&s;e man in that time would have brought forth a larger peece, and more to purpo&s;e&punc; I am &s;ure he might have made better u&s;e of his time in another exerci&s;e, then to have writ again&s;t the &s;ervants of the Lord: It had been more hone&s;t for him to have &s;et his Pen to Paper, and &s;tudyed to have given his te&s;timony again&s;t the pride, and drunkenne&s;&s;e, and oppre&s;&s;ion, and whoredoms, and wickedne&s;&s;e in this great City. I &s;ay, it had been more hone&s;t, and liker a Saint, to have &s;ought the re|forming of prophanene&s;&s;e and wickedne&s;&s;e that greatly abounds in this City, then to have &s;tudyed two years to bring forth his invented &s;tuffe again&s;t a harmle&s;&s;e and innocent people, which he, nor any, can ju&s;tly charge with evil, but as he hath digged deep by his imaginations, in re|collecting a &s;eeming-contradiction out of our writings, which is no con|tradiction, no more then Chri&s;ts words are, who &s;aith, <HI>Except ye eat my flesh, and drink my blood, ye have no life in you;</HI> and yet in the &s;ame di&s;|cour&s;e &s;aith, <HI>The flesh profits nothing:</HI> and for <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> to go with the word of the Lord to <HI>Hezekiah,</HI> to tell him he &s;hould dye and not live; yet in the &s;ame in&s;tant of time, told him he &s;hould live and not dye: Would not <HI>Iohn Iackson</HI> have counted the&s;e contradictions? But what he hath done in this, in &s;ending forth a Book again&s;t the <HI>Quakers,</HI> he hath been &s;o far from beating down &s;in, drunkards, and rude &s;corners, and abu&s;ive men that he hath fully &s;trengthened their hands, and the wicked&s;t people in this Nation are very glad of his work: He hath given them matter to oppo&s;e truth withall; but his reward and theirs &s;hall be both with one
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hand, and he &s;hall drink his portion in the &s;ame Lake with &s;uch who&s;e: hands he hath &s;trengthened; and let him know, and themall, God hath e&s;tabli&s;hed us upon a &s;ure Mountain, which the Gates of Hell and Death cannot prevail again&s;t. So his work i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> counted of us, and ca&s;t by as our &s;poyled prey of <HI>Babylons</HI> trea&s;ure, only this is &s;ent abroad af|ter it, in the pur&s;ute of it, which is not done with multitudes of words of mans wi&s;dom, but in the plain nakedne&s;&s;e of innocent truth, which is more &s;trength then all his Arguments of guile, whereby he would deceive the people, but he can deceive none but &s;uch as are deceived al|ready; for all that are in the light, and in the truth, &s;ees beyond all that he can &s;ay, and are e&s;tabli&s;hed where his word; can never reach them, to take away their peace, or di&s;quiet them; &s;or as I &s;aid, we are e&s;tabli&s;h|ed upon a &s;ure foundation, and are tryed and proved, and cannot be blown away with any windy Doctrines of men, which begets into &s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ffe, and not into true &s;incerity of heart; but wo unto that man that works offence, and doth ca&s;t &s;tumbling-blocks in the way of the &s;imple: And though the Lords people be a &s;uffering people, yet wo unto them that cau&s;eth them to &s;uffer: And though he and &s;ome others in their &s;pirits were elevated, thinking thereby to trample upon the innocent by that occa&s;ion happening concerning <HI>I. N.</HI> which was not &s;uffered of the Lord to be as an occa&s;ion to de&s;troy his people, but as an occa&s;ion to try them, and to prove them, and thereby are they tryed and proved, and the more &s;etled rather then confounded; and <HI>Iohn Iackson,</HI> and &s;uch like, may glory in &s;uch things for a moment becau&s;e the appearance of it &s;eems evil, yet the Lord will make their glorying void, for the Lord hath wayes enough to pre&s;erve his people, and this we have found in many needful times; and as concerning this thing which was looked up|on as a breach among us by many, yet it's over, and truth &s;tands a top of it, &amp; the beauty of truth appears through it all, and truth is more love|ly when it is proved and purged: What if the Lord &s;uffer his to be lead and tempted for a &s;ea&s;on, let not the wicked boa&s;t of this; &s;or though the righteous fall, he &s;hall ri&s;e again; but the wicked fall into mi&s;chief: But yet we learn &s;omething by this, what a great u&s;e the devil hath made hereof, and how many Books and lying Scribbles hath been &s;ent forth about it concerning us, which are all counted by us no better then the wor&s;t corrupted trea&s;ure that ever grew in <HI>Babylon;</HI> and the be&s;t of it is but baubles to plea&s;e vain minds, for men of &s;ound under&s;tandings can take no plea&s;ure therein. And we &s;ee how by all means the Devil and his people &s;eeks occa&s;ion again&s;t the wayes and people of God, &amp; how glad are the wicked when they get an occa&s;ion again&s;t the Lords people? and how do they glory in it, and boa&s;t in it for a time, thinking that their hands are &s;trengthened in a greater boldne&s;&s;e to do <HI>mi&s;chief?</HI> And <HI>Iohn Iackson</HI> is one of tho&s;e that takes plea&s;ure in the&s;e things, and he hath managed his bu&s;ine&s;&s;e with a great deal of craft, but there is none that will prai&s;e him for it, except &s;uch who&s;e wicked hands he &s;trengthens, &amp; &s;uch as he mu&s;t have &s;tumblings after the way of the Lord hath been &s;o fully manife&s;ted, and they receive it not, and they mu&s;t fall and be
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broken. And &s;eeing that the wicked doth take occa&s;ion, and &s;eeks oc|ca&s;ion again&s;t the innocent, this will make many more watchful, and more circum&s;pect, and more to walk in Gods wi&s;dom, and to deny their own ways, lea&s;t offences come by them: And let him put off his Ar|mor, and lay down his Weapon, and I wi&s;h he may &s;pend the next two years to come, better then he hath done the&s;e la&s;t; and that the little fire in the Embres may kindle, to the burning of his corruptions, rather then into a blind zeal again&s;t the innocent people; and what in this Book is written, is not to contend or &s;trive for ma&s;tery, but to clear the truth, and to remove all cau&s;e of &s;tumblings from before the face of all the upright in heart.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>A Friend to all people
<HI>E. B.</HI></SIGNED>
<DATELINE><HI>London,</HI> <DATE>the third day of the nineth Month, 1657.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
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<DIV1 TYPE="treatise">
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<HEAD>The cau&s;e of &s;tumbling removed, from all that will receive the truth, and from before the eyes of the wi&s;e men of <HI>LONDON.</HI></HEAD>
<P>MAny untimely Births in ages pa&s;t and pre&s;ent hath been brought forth, and the work of &s;uch hath alwayes been to de&s;troy the Heir, the &s;eed which the Lord hath ble&s;&s;ed, that &s;o the Inheritance might be theirs, &amp; &s;o would thru&s;t them|&s;elves into the Kingdome; but they know while the &s;eed of the promi&s;e is alive, it keeps them out, and will not let them meddle with tho&s;e things which they are not born unto: For they are &s;ons of Bondage, and children of fal&s;-hood, and mu&s;t not be Heirs with the &s;on of the free, <HI>&amp;c. David</HI> out of who&s;e root the righteous &s;eed did ari&s;e, the bright and morning Star, he &s;aw that &s;eed in his dayes and was aware of them, and gave his te&s;timony concerning them, &s;aying, <HI>in heart ye work wickedne&s;&s;e, you weigh the violency of your hands in the earth, the wicked are e&s;tranged from the wombe, they go a&s;tray as &s;oon as they be born, &s;peaking lyes; their Poy&s;on is like the Poy&s;on of a Serpent, they are like the deafe Adder that &s;toppeth her eare, Charming never &s;o wi&s;ely: Break their teeth O God in their mouth, break out the teeth of the yong Lyons, O Lord let them melt away as waters, that run continualy, when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows; l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">t them be as cut in peices, as a Snaile which melteth; let every one of them pa&s;s away like the untimely birth of a Woman, that they may not &s;ee the Sun, &amp;c.</HI> P&s;alm. 58. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. And again he &s;aith, <HI>behold he travelleth with iniquity, and hath conceived mi&s;chief and brought forth fal&s;e-hood,</HI> P&s;alm. 7. 14. and &s;o there was a traveling and labour|ing before they could get their iniquity brought forth; as we have true declarations concerning the ages pa&s;t, how many have travelled and brought forth wind and confu&s;ion; &s;o likewi&s;e in this age by experi|ence can we give te&s;timony of the like births which hath been brought forth to the &s;laughter among&s;t <HI>Babylons</HI> children, and here is one of the &s;ame birth born and brought forth in this City of <HI>LONDON,</HI> to which I &s;hall &s;peak &s;ome thing at pre&s;ent, although he conceale his name, yet the &s;eed you &s;hall know by its fruits; it is one that would be reckoned among&s;t tho&s;e children that in the Temple cried <HI>Ho&s;anna</HI> to the Son of <HI>David Mat.</HI> 12. 15. But the &s;eed which <HI>David</HI> called Lord is ri&s;en, and hath rebuked the fal&s;e voice, for it is not every one that cryeth <HI>Lord, Lord,</HI> nor every one that cryeth <HI>Ho&s;anna,</HI> that enters into the kingdome, but &s;uch as heareth the word of God and doth it.</P>
<P>Now the te&s;timony which this Author gives to that which after a long travel is come forth, is this, that it hath been in his bre&s;t two years and upwards, while it at length is come forth as an untimely birth, or as that which is born out of due time, labouring under the burden of be|ing both unnece&s;&s;ary and un&s;ea&s;onable.</P>
<P><PB N="2" REF="5">Such a te&s;timony as this &s;eems to beget a wonder in the airy &s;pirits of men, as if a Mon&s;ter were to be &s;een (what two years travel, and yet an untimely birth!) &amp; many &s;uch fal&s;e cries is in this City, which enters into the &s;en&s;uall part of men, and begets into the affections; but there is a &s;eed ri&s;en which hath received from the father the &s;pirit of Judgement, and under&s;tanding, and it doth not owne things accor|ding to the report, nor Judge of things according to their names in outward appearance, but hath a mea&s;uring line given unto it, and a true ballance whereby voices, ways, wor&s;hips, and te&s;timonyes is tri|ed before they be approved, and therewith &s;hall this &s;pirit be tried, and voice which is come forth crying, <HI>Ho&s;anna to the &s;on of David,</HI> or a te&s;timony to the Lords Chri&s;t; which being truly weighted &amp; &s;earched, may prove a te&s;timony again&s;t the Lords Chri&s;t, which hath enlightned every man that cometh into the world, in &s;etting up mans &s;pirit to be the light, in&s;tead of the Lords Chri&s;t: But fir&s;t let us con&s;ider, the burden under which this man hath laboured, which is as he &s;aith, that which is both unnece&s;&s;ary and un&s;ea&s;onable; fir&s;t unnece&s;&s;ary, be|cau&s;e the &s;ame hath been before by better hands; &s;o it is not to be admi|red as a Mon&s;ter, becau&s;e it hath already been, and effected nothing: Secondly un&s;ea&s;onable, becau&s;e tho&s;e are already re&s;olved; that Je|&s;us Chri&s;t is the true light which hath enlightned every man that com|eth into the world, which he would re&s;olve, that the &s;pirit in every man is that light, and &s;o according to this, every man mu&s;t follow his own &s;pirit, in&s;tead of following the light which Chri&s;t hath enlightned him withall: Now this burden thus con&s;idered, which is both un|nece&s;&s;ary &amp; un&s;ea&s;onable, haveing been in his bre&s;t above two years; all that have received the &s;pirit of Judgement, and knows the work|ings of the my&s;terie of iniquity, and can truly read the &s;tate of tho&s;e which are filled with unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, knows that this birth is cur&s;ed before ever it came forth, and it had been better that it had never been born, nor brought forth into the world; for it will be to the great a|gravation of his &s;orrow and mi&s;ery which did conceive it, and &s;o long travel in it, &amp; at la&s;t brought it forth; but among the untimely births &s;hall we reckon it, which never &s;aw the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">un, nor never received ble&s;&s;|ing from the Father, and happy &s;hall he be that rewardeth thee as thou ha&s;t rewarded us; and happy &s;hall he be that takes and da&s;heth thy un|timely birth again&s;t the &s;tones, <HI>P&s;alm.</HI> 137. 8. 9. Again&s;t this birth hath the Lord <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters">reched forth his everla&s;ting arme to da&s;h in peices, and this is not the fir&s;t of <HI>Babylons</HI> children which in this age, and in this City hath been brought forth to the &s;poile, nor the fir&s;t which this man hath brought forth, for he hath brought forth another without a name, which is both as unnece&s;&s;ary and as un&s;ea&s;onable as this: And &s;o from experience he may &s;ay, that it is both unnece&s;&s;ary and un&s;ea&s;onable either to conceive, or bring forth any &s;uch thing again&s;t the &s;eed which the Lord hath ble&s;&s;ed; for there was never any as yet which did &s;trive again&s;t the Lord, or his annoynted ones which did pro&s;per; neither &s;hall to the ends of the earth.</P>
<P><PB N="7" REF="5">So the burden of this man is &s;earched, &amp; Judged, and found not to be the burthen of the word of the Lord, though he thought it to be &s;o, when in him he felt the fire of enmity, boyling and bubling up within him, as in his Epi&s;tle; But we have found it to be &s;uch a burthen as the fal&s;e&punc; Prophets in <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> did &s;ee for the people, which was fal&s;e burthens, and cau&s;es of bani&s;hment, <HI>Lam.</HI> 2. 14. But if the fire of the Lord had been kindled in him, it would have con&s;umed this birth in the womb, before ever it had been brought forth.</P>
<P>But the hour is comeing and now is, in which the Lord is fulfilling his promi&s;e according to the Scriptures, which &s;aith, that he will make <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> a burthen&s;ome &s;tone for all people, all that burthen them|&s;elves with it &s;hall be cut in peices, though all the people upon the earth be gathered together again&s;t it, <HI>Zac.</HI> 12. 3. And as this was &s;pok|en, &s;o it is fulfilled, and fulfilling, that the te&s;timony of God may be &s;ealed up among his children: For now is the light ri&s;en with which the Lord Chri&s;t is gathering into the new <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> the City of the li|ving God, and now hath many burthened them&s;elves with it: And &s;o burthened, that they cannot tel how to unburthen them&s;elves of it: but to ea&s;e them&s;elves of that burthen which is ready to pre&s;&s;e them down, they break forth into revileing termes, and un<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">avory &s;peeches, and fal&s;e a&s;&s;ertions again&s;t the light, and tho&s;e that walk in it, and will deny both the light and children of light to be &s;piritual: Some calling it natural light, &s;ome calling it natural con&s;cience, &s;ome cre|ated light, &s;ome the light of rea&s;on and under&s;tanding; &s;ome old creation light, &s;ome a dim light, &s;ome the &s;pirit of man, and &s;o burthen them&s;elves with it: &amp; when they have both &s;poken and printed &s;uch things to ea&s;e them of their burthen, their burthen grows again; and &s;o they do not cea&s;e to vex and grieve the holy &s;pirit of God from day to day, and when they have burthened them&s;elves with the enmity again&s;t the light, and the works of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, proceeding forth from it to the father, then they cry the burthen of the Lord&punc; the fire of the Lord within them: But &s;aith the Lord to &s;uch, I will de&s;troy that man and his hou&s;e, and the burthen of the Lord &s;hall ye menti|on no more, for every mans word &s;hall be his burthen: for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the Lord of Ho&s;ts our God, <HI>Ier.</HI> 23. 36. Theref<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">re is the mea&s;ureing line gone forth to mea&s;ure the fal&s;e burthens, whereby they pervert the words of the living God, with their own words and Imaginations; and unto tho&s;e which ever were reproachers of the way and people of God, the Lord &s;aith I will bring an everla&s;ting reproach upon you, and a perpetual &s;hame which &s;hall not be forgotten&punc; <HI>Ier.</HI> 13. 40. So this is written that no man &s;hould a|ny more burthen them&s;elves with the burthen&s;ome &s;tone, wereby they will be broken to peices if they fall upon it: But that every one may come to it, that with it they may &s;ee their fal&s;e burthens, and the &s;in which doth &s;o ea&s;iely be&s;et them, and may cea&s;e grieving of the &s;pirit of the Lord, while his &s;pirit &s;triveth with them; &amp; may come to know
<PB N="4" REF="6">
every man his own word which will become his burthen, when it re|turns again unto him: But the word of the Lord goeth forth &amp; returns not empty, neither doth it burthen him which it goes forth from, when it returns again unto him: Although the true burthen of the word of the Lord be known in many before it go forth from them.</P>
<P>Therefore then &s;eeing that it is an untimely birth, and not that which is born of the &s;prit which is come forth from him to whom I now am to &s;peak. Now lea&s;t others being in the &s;ame blindne&s;&s;e with him, think as he doth, that it is a true voice, or <HI>Ho&s;ana to the Son of David,</HI> or a true te&s;timony to the Lords Chri&s;t, I &s;hall weigh his te&s;timony, &s;ee|ing that the true Voice is gone forth both in the dayes of his fle&s;h, and &s;ince, in which dayes he was truly declared to be the light of the world, and the true light which lightneth every one that cometh into the world, <HI>Ioh. 1. 9. Ioh.</HI> 8. Now &s;eeing that this Author hath &s;et up another thing to be the light which hath enlightned every man, then Chri&s;t, <HI>viz.</HI> the &s;pirit of man; I &s;hall try this te&s;timony according to the Scriptures, whether it be a te&s;timony of the Lords Chri&s;t, or a te&s;timony again&s;t him, in the&s;e things following, which are the Heads of his Doctrine conc<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">rning the Light.</P>
<P>Concerning the LIGHT, what it is.</P>
<P><HI>It is the &s;pirit of every man which is in him, and without which he cannot <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">e a man, and is the Candle of the Lord, Prov. 20. 27. This &s;pirit of a man is the Rea&s;on of a man, or the Vnder&s;tanding of a man: What this Light doth, it gives him to know his Creator, and the end of his creation, (viz.) who made him, and why he was made, al&s;o how he should an&s;wer the end of him that made him; and that God &s;et up this Light in man to &s;ee by, both whom he is to &s;erve, and how he is to &s;erve him, together with the rea&s;on thereof, Becau&s;e God made him. And with this Light God hath &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters"> up a Law, which Law is called Light, Prov. 6. 23. whereby the will and mind of his Creator is made known unto him, and he &s;ufficiently qualified to &s;ee it&punc; understand it,</HI> &amp;c. p. 7. <HI>It &s;earcheth the inward parts of the Belly: At fir&s;t it moved upward, and it could look God in the face and &s;erve him: But now &s;ince the fall the Thief is got into this Candle, and hath dim'd the light; and covered the a&s;piring a&s;|cendan<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> quality, and now it burn<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> downward, and di&s;covers the things beneath,</HI> pag. 6. <HI>That it is all eye; it &s;ees all that is done, but doth nothing, it neither likes, nor di&s;likes; approves, nor di&s;proves, but as it is in conjunction with a Law,</HI> pag. 10.</P>
<P><HI>That it is the property of Light to make manife&s;t,</HI> Eph. 5. 13. Pag. 29.</P>
<P><HI>That it is not in the power of the Light, as it is in every man, &s;o much as to call any thing that is done either good, or <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">vil,</HI> pag. 32.</P>
<P><HI>That the Light did drive</HI> Adam <HI>from the voice and pre&s;ence of God, &s;o far is the Light from leading up to God, that i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> drives <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters">e &s;oul from God, and keeps him in the fall,</HI> pag. 53.</P>
<P><PB N="5" REF="6"><HI>That it doth not lead into all truth &s;uch as love it, and obey it,</HI> pag. 54.</P>
<P><HI>Not doth it reveal all truth to them that love it, and obey it: And that neither the Light, nor the Law doth convince of the &s;inne of unbelief.</HI></P>
<P><HI>That the Lamp and the Light are convertable terms; Thy word is as a Lamp, P&s;al. 119. 105. and that the Light and the Law is one,</HI> pag. 30. So by this, the Light, which is the &s;pirit of man, or mans Rea&s;on; and the Law, &amp; the word which of that which is called a Te&s;timony of the Lords Chri&s;t, we &s;hall try it with the former te&s;timony of the Lords Chri&s;t, as it is written in the Scriptures, which was given forth from tho&s;e which were true witne&s;&s;es.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, As in an&s;wer to the&s;e things, there is not one Te&s;timony in the Scriptures, neither from Prophet nor Apo&s;tle, that ever &s;aid the Spirit of man, or mans rea&s;on or under&s;tanding was the Light which every one that cometh into the world is enlightned withall: But the te&s;timony of truth concerning tho&s;e which followed their own &s;pirits, is this, The Lord &s;ent his Prophet <HI>Ezekiel</HI> to cry <HI>wo unto the fooli<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">h Prophets that fol|lowed their own &s;pirits, and had &s;een nothing, Ezek.</HI> 13. 3. Now they were not without the &s;pirit of a man, for then they could not be a man, as he &s;aith: now if they had the Spirit of man, and Rea&s;on, and if this was all eye, how was it that they &s;aw nothing, when he &s;aith, <HI>It &s;ees all things?</HI> &s;o it is not a true te&s;timony of the <HI>Light,</HI> nor of the <HI>Lords Chri&s;t:</HI> But the &s;pirit of man is the Candle of the Lord, and the Lord having light|ed it, then it &s;earcheth the inward parts of the belly: And <HI>David,</HI> who knew what the &s;pirit of man was, and what a Candle was without light, and what it was when it was lighted, he &s;aid, <HI>For thou wilt light my can|dle, the Lord my God will enlighten my darkne&s;&s;e, P&s;al.</HI> 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">. 28. So if the &s;pirit of man be the Candle of the Lord, then whether doth not Chri&s;t enlighten every man which cometh into the world? and whether is not that light Chri&s;t, &s;eeing the &s;pirit is but the Candle, and that it mu&s;t be lighted?</P>
<P>Another te&s;timony of his is this, <HI>That it is the property of Light to make manife&s;t, Eph.</HI> 5. 13. but all things that are reproved are made manife&s;t by the Light, <HI>for what&s;oever doth make manife&s;t is light,</HI> pag. 29. And again in pag. 3<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">. &s;aith, <HI>That it is not in the power of the light, as it is in every man, &s;o much as <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">o call any thing which is done either good or <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">vil.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Whether of the&s;e two contraries mu&s;t men believe, whether <HI>the light is able to make manife&s;t what&s;oever is reprovable;</HI> or, that <HI>there is no<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> power in i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> to call any thing good or evil?</HI> But by this all men may &s;ee that this is not a true Te&s;timony to the Lords Chri&s;t, nor to his Light, Never was there any &s;uch Doctrine preached by any that cryed <HI>Ho&s;ana to the Son of David,</HI> no<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> that did give te&s;timony to the <HI>Lords Chri&s;t, That there is not power in the light to call any shing done good or evil.</HI> Now let all who have received the mea&s;uring-Line, and the equal Ballance, weigh and con&s;ider, &s;eeing the Scripture &s;aith, <HI>What&s;oever things is reprovable is made manifest by <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters">e Light:</HI> Is evil deeds reprovable then? they are <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ade manife&s;t, then you &s;ee them to be evil deeds, lying to be an evil
<PB N="10" REF="7">
deed, &s;wearing to be an evil deed, drunkenne&s;&s;e to be an evil deed, cove|tou&s;ne&s;&s;e to be an evil deed, pride to be an evil deed, whoredom to be an evil deed, fal&s;e accu&s;ing to be an evil deed, gain-&s;aying the truth to be an evil deed, anger and wrath to be evil deeds, and the&s;e things are reprovable, and as the light doth make them manife&s;t, &s;o it reproves them, and &s;uch are convinced of &s;in becau&s;e they believe not in Chri&s;t, &s;o that unbelief is reprovable, and is made manife&s;t by the Light. And whereas &s;ome &s;ay <HI>That the Light doth not reprove for the &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">n of unbelief,</HI> that is fal&s;e, for unbelief is reprovable, <HI>and what&s;oever things are r<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">prove|able is made manifest by the Light&punc; but he that doth evil hateth the light, and will not bring his deeds to the light, le&s;t the light should reprove him, Ioh. 3. 20. And Ie&s;us &s;aid unto certain Greeks and people which &s;tood by him,</HI> which objected again&s;t his words, which was no Saints nor believers, <HI>While y<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters"> have the Light, believe in the Light, that ye may be the children of Light, Ioh.</HI> 12. 36. Now he did not bid them believe in that which could not reprove unbelief&punc; <HI>I am come a light into the world, that who&s;oever belie|veth in me should not abide in darkne&s;&s;e. And Ie&s;us cryed, and &s;aid, He that believeth on me, believeth on him that &s;ent me.</HI> Al&s;o <HI>Ioh.</HI> 12. 44, 46. This Light was not mans rea&s;on nor under&s;tanding, neither was it mans &s;pi|rit <HI>that was the true Light which lighteneth every one that cometh into the world, Ioh.</HI> 1. 9.</P>
<P>Again, another fal&s;e te&s;timony concerning the Light, is this, <HI>That the Light did drive Adam from the voice and pre&s;ence of God; and &s;o far is the Light from leading up to God, that it drives the &s;oul from God&punc; and keeps him in the fall, pag.</HI> 53.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> This Doctrine is to turn the truth of God into a lye, and to call light darkne&s;&s;e, and darkne&s;&s;e light, for there is no &s;uch te&s;timony in the Scriptures that the Light did drive <HI>Adam</HI> from the voice and pre|&s;ence of God; but <HI>Adam</HI> &s;aith, <HI>I was afraid becau&s;e I was naked, and I hid my &s;elf:</HI> It was becau&s;e he had di&s;obeyed Gods voyce, not becau&s;e he was enlightned; for the Scripture &s;aith, <HI>It is your &s;ins that hath &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">para|ted you from God,</HI> it doth not &s;ay that it is the light which hath &s;epara|ted you from God, or driven you from him; this may well be called a damnable Doctrine, or Doctrine of Devils: Hath God &s;ent his Son <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> Light into the world to drive the &s;ouls from God, and keep them in the fall. Now let all con&s;ider and judge that ever knew the Light, whether it be darkne&s;&s;e, or it be light which drives the &s;oul from God, and keeps it in the fall. Now this Doctrine being compared with the Scriptures, is utterly fal&s;e; and there is few that profe&s;&s;e godline&s;&s;e in this Nation that can bear it, or approve of it; and for &s;uch as account them&s;elves the highe&s;t profe&s;&s;ion, and above forms, under the Name of <HI>Seekers,</HI> to pub|li&s;h &s;uch a thing in print, here it appears that the be&s;t of men is but as a Briar, and the mo&s;t upright is &s;harper then a Thorn-Hedge; for the day of thy Watch-men, and thy Vi&s;itation cometh, now &s;hall be their per|plexity, <HI>Mi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">.</HI> 7 4. Now here is a day for tryal, that they which can may try the &s;pirits and doctrines whether they be of God. Now I &s;hall lay
<PB N="11" REF="7">
it to that of God in all, is it not the work of the Devil to drive the &s;oul from God, and to keep people in the fall? If &s;o, then it is not the work of the light which lighteneth every man that cometh into the world, is not this to call light darkne&s;s, to &s;ay that the light is &s;o far from leading up to God, that it drives the &s;oul from God, and keeps him in the Fall: What is that which leads man out of the fall, if the light keep man in it? As this is contrary to Scripture&punc; and to truth, &s;o it is contrary to his own words, as in <HI>pag.</HI> 7. there &s;aying, <HI>That by the Light is the will and minde of the Creator made known unto man, and he &s;ufficiently qualified to &s;ee it, and under&s;tand it.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> How can the&s;e two &s;tand together, <HI>That the Light drives man from God, and keeps him in the fall;</HI> and again, <HI>That it makes known the will and mind of the Creator unto him, and &s;ufficiently qualifies him to &s;ee and under&s;tand it?</HI> This cannot truly be called <HI>Ho&s;ana to the Son of David,</HI> no<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>A Te&s;timony to the Lords Chri&s;t,</HI> but a Line of Confu&s;ion which is &s;tretched out, wherein darkne&s;&s;e is come forth as a Cloud, and &s;preads it &s;elf over the earth, to darken peoples minds from the knowledge and under&s;tanding of truth, by words without knowledge; but his folly &s;hall proceed no further unreproved and made manife&s;t.</P>
<P>Another fal&s;e Te&s;timony concerning the light is this, <HI>That at fir&s;t it moved upward, and man could look God in the face, and &s;erve him; but now &s;ince the fall the Thief is got into the Candle, and now the Spirit burns down|ward, and di&s;covers the things beneath.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> What is the nature of the Light cha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ged? or is the Spirit &s;o changed, that before it a&s;cended upward, and now downward? We &s;hall try this according to the Scripture, which &s;aith, <HI>Who knoweth the Spirit of man that goeth upward, and the &s;pirit of a Bea&s;t which goeth down|ward to the earth, Eccle&s;.</HI> 3. 21. &s;o then if it goes downward it is th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;pirit of a Bea&s;t, and not the &s;pirit of a man: And here it is plainly e|vident that he knows not the &s;pirit of a man from the &s;pirit of a Bea&s;t&punc; &s;o unfit to cry <HI>Ho&s;ana to the Son of David,</HI> or bear te&s;timony <HI>to the Lords Chri&s;t.</HI> But as for the Light which hath enlightned man that cometh in|to the world, the fall did not change the quality of the light, for the light is the &s;ame&punc; as it was, but darkne&s;&s;e cannot comprehend <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">t, neither knows how to give a true te&s;timony of it, but confu&s;edly &s;peaks of two lights, the one &s;pringing up with man in his natural birth, &s;utable to his natu|ral birth; and another light &s;utable to the new birth that is born of the &s;pirit.</P>
<P>This is a te&s;timony which is not to be found in Scripture, to be two Lights &s;utable to the two births, for he that is born of the fle&s;h per&s;e|cutes him that is born of the Spirit, and God hath put enmity between the two Seeds; but to &s;ay that there is two lights &s;utable, and &s;o the one natural, and the other &s;piritual; the one of the earth, earthly, and the other of the Lord, from Heaven, as the two births are, this is not a te&s;timony according to truth, for the light is but one, and the &s;pirit of
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truth is but one; and the &s;ame &s;pirit which led the Saints which belie|ved, into all truth, the &s;ame did convince the world of &s;in becau&s;e they did not believe in Chri&s;t, <HI>Ioh.</HI> 16. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">. And that light which is the con|demnation of the world, who love the darkne&s;&s;e rather then Chri&s;t, the &s;ame is the Saviour of all them that believe; and one man loves it, and another hates it, yet it is the &s;ame light, <HI>Ioh.</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">. 19&punc; but the Scriptures bears no &s;uch te&s;timony as that there is two lights in man, the one &s;piri|tual, and the other natural; and for any man to &s;ay that the light of Chri&s;t is natural, is bla&s;phemy again&s;t the Son of God, and is a &s;in not ea&s;ily forgiven, and it is hard for &s;uch to find the place of repentance; for every one that comes to repentance, mu&s;t fir&s;t come to the light which Chri&s;t hath enlightned them withall, and mu&s;t know it to be &s;piri|tual, and confe&s;&s;e it &s;o, and with this light come to di&s;cern the two births, the one from the other, and their &s;everal natures; and how that the one birth is guided by the light, it being as the eye, giving them to &s;ee what to &s;peak, before they &s;peak, and &s;o keeps them out of the worlds line, which is confu&s;ion&punc; and as a Teacher, giving them to under&s;tand what to do, before they do it, and &s;o keeps them out of the condem|nation, bringing their works before-hand to judgement; and &s;o their works are wrought in God, who an&s;wer the light which they be enligh|tened withall; but the light is not &s;utable, no<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> according to that birth which is born after the fle&s;h, but condemns that in all its wayes and a|ctions, and is given to lead the creature out of that nature, and out of that birth, into the regeneration, to lead out of the deeds of darkne&s;&s;e, and out of the &s;hadow of death, into the living inheritance, among tho&s;e that are &s;anctified in Chri&s;t Je&s;us.</P>
<P>Another te&s;timony concerning the light, relating to the two Cove|nants is this, <HI>That as there was a new Covenant diver&s;e from the former, the old, &s;o there mu&s;t of nece&s;sity be another light to accompany it, diver&s;e from the former; that is, as then mans &s;pirit, &s;o now the &s;pirit of the Lord, &amp;c. page</HI> 35.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w. Ther<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> are diver&s;ities of gifts, but the &s;ame &s;pirit; and there are dif|ferences of Admini&s;trations, but the &s;ame Lord; and there are diver&s;ities of opperations, but it is the &s;ame God which worketh all in all, 1 Cor.</HI> 12&punc; 4, 5, 6. Now all people is to know that there was a mini&s;tration different from the admini&s;tration of the Go&s;pel, the new Covenant a different admi|ni&s;tration from the old; but there is no nece&s;&s;ity that it be mini&s;tred from another &s;pirit, nor from another Lord, nor from another Light; there|fore to &s;ay, that becau&s;e the Covenants or Admini<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters">ration<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> are diver&s;e one from another, that therefore it mu&s;t not be the &s;ame &s;pirit, but the one by the &s;pirit of man, the other the &s;pirit of God, and that the light<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> is to be diver&s;e the one from the other, this is a fal&s;e Te&s;timony; <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="3 letters"> &s;ame &s;pirit in which the Law was admini&s;tred, (the fir&s;t Covenant) <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters"> the &s;ame was the &s;econd admini&s;tred, which doth make perfect accor|ding to the con&s;cience. Now as all people is brought o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters"> of their o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters">
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inventions and imaginations, and from following their own &s;pirits, to own the light of Chri&s;t which hath enlightned them, they &s;hall know the diver&s;ities of Admini&s;trations, and the diver&s;ity of opperations, and yet but one Light, and one Power, and one Spirit, and not as ma|ny lights as births, nor as many &s;pirits as opperations, not every Admi|ni&s;tration to have a diver&s;e light to accompany it? <HI>for though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">r in earth, as there be gods many, and lords many, but to us there is but one God the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Ie&s;us Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him; howbeit there is not in <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">very man that knowledge, 1 Cor.</HI> 8. 5, 6, 7. and though there be in the world many lights, yet to us there is but one, him by whom all things was made, which doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world, that in him all men might believe; and as every one believes in this light, they &s;hall know that mans rea&s;on and under|&s;tanding is not the light which every man is enlightened withall, for &s;ome are unrea&s;onable men, and &s;ome are void of under&s;tanding: Nei|ther is the &s;pirit of man the light of the world, which doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world; neither is any thing called the light of the world (in the Scripture) but Chri&s;t; for &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>I am come a light into the world, that who&s;oever believeth on me should not abide in darkne&s;&s;e, Ioh. 12. 46. Then &s;pake Ie&s;us again unto them, &s;aying, I am th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> light of the world; <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters"> that followeth me shall not walk in darkne&s;&s;e, bu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> shall have the light of life,</HI> Joh. 8. 12. and again, <HI>I am the light of the world,</HI> Joh&punc; 9. 5. And the Me&s;&s;enger which was &s;ent before his face to prepare the way of the Lord, and to bear witne&s;&s;e to the truth, &s;aid, <HI>In him was life, and the life was the light of men, and that was the true light which enligh|teneth every man that cometh into the world, Ioh.</HI> 1. 4, 9. And this is the light which in all ages, generations, and under all Admini&s;trations the Sain<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">s did bear their te&s;timony in; and this light did never change nor alter, though ages and generations have changed, and men have changed, and do change, and the minds of men change, and their wayes change, and their wor&s;hips change, and forms and religions, which are not ac|cording to the light which Chri&s;t hath enlightned them withal, which changeth not, which as it is followed, will lead them out of tho&s;e ways which do change&punc; which is not the living way, for the new and living way is one with the light which every man is enlightned withall, which is every mans way to the Father who follow it, and every mans con|demnation who di&s;obey it.</P>
<P>Another te&s;timony concerning the fir&s;t man <HI>Adam</HI> in his fir&s;t e&s;tate without &s;in, the &s;um of it is this, <HI>That as h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> was at fir&s;t, that is, at his be|ginning made &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">, that is, without &s;in, for &s;o was he made,</HI> Eccle&s;. 7. 29. <HI>upright, without crookedne&s;&s;e, without invention, that this man, yea in his pure&s;t natu|rals, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">annot receive nor di&s;cern the things of the &s;pirit of God&punc; until <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">e i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> born of the Spirit, or from above, according&punc; to Ioh. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">13. &amp; 8. 3&punc; 6. 1 Cor.</HI> 2. 14&punc;</P>
<P><PB N="14" REF="9"><HI>An&s;w.</HI> This Te&s;timony is fal&s;e, for the fir&s;t <HI>Adam</HI> before the Fall, was the &s;on of God, <HI>Luk.</HI> 3. 38. and did know and perceive Gods voice and power, and he knew Gods command, <HI>That he should not eat of the Tree of knowledge of good and evil, which if he did he should dye the death;</HI> for he was in Gods Image, and the Lord &s;poke unto him, and he percei|ved it, and he had right to eat of the Tree of Life which was in the mid&s;t of the Garden; and if <HI>Adam</HI> had continued in that &s;tate there needed no Law have been added becau&s;e of tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, neither had there needed any precept upon precept, nor line upon line, neither any Tea|cher nor In&s;tructer of the ignorant, for there had no death pa&s;&s;ed over to &s;eperate God from his creature which he had made in his own image, and given him power over all Creatures; but to &s;ay the &s;on of God, in the image of God, without &s;in, in uprightne&s;&s;e and power, to &s;ay that he is &s;en&s;ual, having not the &s;pirit; or to &s;ay that he is the natural man that cannot receive nor di&s;cern the things of the &s;pirit of God, this is greater bla&s;phemy then that which the Apo&s;tle reproved, <HI>Rev.</HI> 2. 9. in tho&s;e <HI>which &s;aid they were Iews, and were not, but were the Synagogue of Sa|tan;</HI> and all &s;uch whi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters"> brings forth &s;uch my&s;ts of darkne&s;&s;e and and ig|norance to blind the eye in people which &s;hould &s;ee the things of God in clearne&s;&s;e, are to be reprovrd &s;harply, that they may be a&s;hamed, and no more bring forth that which is both unnece&s;sary and un&s;ea&s;onable, and contrary to truth, as <HI>Iohn Iackson</HI> hath done.</P>
<P>And further he adds, <HI>That the natural man which Paul &s;peaks of</HI> 1 Cor. 2. 14. and compares it with 1 <HI>Cor. 15. 44, 45. is not to be taken for the carnal &s;inful man, but for a man in puris naturalibus, meerly natural, pag.</HI> 37.</P>
<P>Let all therefore con&s;ider <HI>Pauls</HI> words, <HI>Which things al&s;o we &s;peake, no<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> in the words which mans wi&s;dom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost tea|cheth, comparing &s;piritual things with &s;piritual: but the natural man recei|veth not the things of the &s;pirit of God, for they are foolishne&s;&s;e unto him, nei|ther can he know them, becau&s;e they are &s;piritually di&s;cerned, 1 Cor. 2. 13, 14, But he that is &s;piritual judgeth all things, yet he him&s;elf is judged of no man, ver.</HI> 15. Now whether any man that hath the &s;pirit of God can judge that this is not &s;poken of carnal &amp; &s;inful men, or whether any by the &s;pi|rit of God can judge that this was &s;poken of a man in the pure nature, without &s;in; and let all who have the &s;pirit of judgement judge whether <HI>Adam</HI> in the image of God without &s;in, did account the things of God as fooli&s;hne&s;s unto him; and if any &s;o judge, let them prove it, That in <HI>Adams</HI> innocency, without &s;in, the things of God were fooli&s;hne&s;s unto him; or whether the <HI>Cro&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t</HI> which <HI>Paul</HI> preached was fooli&s;h|ne&s;s unto any but unto carnal and &s;inful men. So every man I exhort to come to that of God in you, to know the Salt in your &s;elves to &s;avor withall, that you may know that Doctrine that &s;tands in the devi&s;ed words of mans wi&s;dom, and not in the Power of God, which would turn the <HI>Truth</HI> of God into a lye, and pervert the minds from the right under&s;tanding of the things of God: But th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> day is come which hath
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brought forth light, and knowledge, and under&s;tanding to the &s;imple, whereby they &s;ee the deeps which are covered with darkne&s;s, and they come to &s;ee and comprehend mens wi&s;dom, and their fountain what it brings forth, for how &s;hould that which is unclean bring forth that which is clean: So that now we do not only know the words of tho&s;e which have &s;et them&s;elves again&s;t the truth, but the Spirit and power from whence they &s;peak, and &s;o in faithfulne&s;s bear our te&s;timony again&s;t it, that the folly of tho&s;e may be made manife&s;t unto all men who wil|fully oppo&s;e the truth, and their own &s;elves through wilful blindne&s;s, and &s;o count them&s;elves unworthy of eternal life, exerci&s;ing their &s;trength, wi&s;dom, and knowledge to &s;hut up the kingdom of God again&s;t them&s;elves, and others, labouring to keep all people from the light in the darkne&s;s, as is made manife&s;t in this Generation: How many have &s;et them&s;elves to preach and print again&s;t the light which Chri&s;t the way to the Father hath enlightened every man that cometh into the world withal? But now hath God the Father rai&s;ed up his own &s;eed according to his promi&s;e out of the North to &s;poyl <HI>Babylon,</HI> Jer. 51. 48. <HI>I have rai&s;ed up one from the North, &s;aith the Lord, and he &s;hall come: from the ri&s;ing of the Sun &s;hall he call upon my name, and he &s;hall come upon Princes as upon Morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.</HI> I&s;a. 41. 25. The promi&s;ed &s;eed of the Lord is come forth, and is &s;preading over the Nations as the mor|ning over the mountains, and ble&s;&s;ed are they that receive their te&s;ti|mony, for from the wrath of the Almighty &s;hall they be delivered, their bread &s;hall not fail them, and their waters &s;hall be &s;ure, and their foun|tain &s;hall never be empty, but plentious Redemption &s;hall they daily witne&s;s, and waters of life &s;hall their thir&s;t be &s;atisfied with, and all the noi&s;e of the Bruits &s;hall not hurt them, for the Lord is with them, there|fore can they not be afraid, nor di&s;maid at that which cometh to pa&s;s up|on the earth; now becau&s;e light is ri&s;en, therefore is the evil eyes offen|ded, and have now turned their te&s;timonies again&s;t the light, to make people believe that it doth the &s;ame works that darkne&s;s, &s;in, and Satan doth, which is to drive the &s;oul from God, and keep it in the Fall, and that it is not able to &s;hew the good or the evil of an action, to approve nor di&s;approve, which is true of the darkne&s;s, but not of the light; For there is nothing that doth make manife&s;t tho&s;e things which are reprove|able but the light, neither is there any thing which doth bring man from that e&s;tate where he is driven from God, and lead him out of the Fall but the light, and &s;o it is time to come out from among all &s;uch, for all peo|ple that de&s;ire to know Gods ways, le&s;t they be partakers of their plagues, and there be none to deliver, for many are hardening their hearts, in this day of Gods tender love and mercy, and &s;o evil do they requite the Lord, that in&s;tead of turning at his reproofs, that they may find mercy, they are in their wi&s;dom devi&s;ing evil words, and reproachful terms again&s;t the light, by which the Lord doth reprove man for his iniquity, and are ex|erci&s;ing all their abilities to make the light even as darkne&s;s, and would exclude the power of God from it: When as there is no man that doth
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receive power, nor wi&s;dom from God, but in the light which Chri&s;t ha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">h enlightened him withal, therefore is Chri&s;t now preached as he declared him&s;elf to be the light of the world, <HI>Ioh</HI> 8. and as his me&s;&s;enger declared him to have enlightened every man that cometh into the world, and this light is now preached and witne&s;&s;ed to be &s;ufficient to lead unto God all that obey it, and to let them &s;ee that their works are wrought in God, <HI>Joh.</HI> 3. and is &s;ufficient to be the condemnation of all the world that ha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters"> it, according to <HI>Joh.</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">. 19. And for our thus bearing witne&s;s of the &s;uffi|ciency of the light, many are <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">i&s;en up again&s;t us, even &s;l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">nderous tongues, &s;uch as the poy&s;on of A&s;ps is under; but the Lord hath delivered us from them, and will manife&s;t his &s;trength unto us, in bearing te&s;timony to his light, and the power of it, again&s;t all the powers of darkne&s;s, and over|come them; For God hath given his power to his own &s;eed, the Children of light, and tho&s;e that ri&s;e up again&s;t them, it is but that they may be broken to pieces, For who&s;oever falleth on <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">his &s;tone, they &s;hall be bro|ken to pieces, and on whom&s;oever it falls, it will grind them to pouder.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> But &s;ome men &s;ay; <HI>That the light is not &s;ufficient to lead unto God tho&s;e that obey and follow it;</HI> And for a proof, &s;aith, <HI>That</HI> Paul <HI>did not di&s;|obey, but follow the light which was in him:</HI> And yet &s;aith, <HI>That he obtained mercy becau&s;e he did it ignorantly, which if he had di&s;obeyed the light, he had &s;inned again&s;t knowledge, &s;o the light in him was either not &s;ufficient to di&s;|cover to him the error of his way, or at lea&s;t it did &s;u&s;pend its act of enlighten|ing him in the knowledge thereof; it check'd him not, it convinc'd him not, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> To &s;ay that <HI>Paul</HI> did not di&s;obey, but follow the light within him, that is fal&s;e; For he followed his zeal in madne&s;s, and per&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">cu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ing the Saints, and followed his thoughts which were fal&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">, thinking that he did God &s;ervice, and thinking that he ought to do that which is contra<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">y to the light, and &s;o kick'd again&s;t the pricks, in&s;tead of following th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">t which did prick him; and as for him in that condition, and the re&s;t which per&s;ecuted <HI>Steven</HI> to death, though they did it ignorantly, yet it was not becau&s;e they were not enlightened, nor becau&s;e the light was not &s;uffici|ent to have given them the knowledge of him whom they did per&s;ecute, but becau&s;e they did re&s;i&s;t that which was &s;ufficient to have given them the knowledge. As <HI>Steven,</HI> a man <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ull of the holy Gho&s;t, did bear wit|ne&s;s, &s;aying unto <HI>Saul,</HI> and the re&s;t, <HI>Ye &s;tiffnecked and uncircumci&s;ed in hearts and ears, ye do alwayes re&s;i&s;t the holy Gho&s;t, as your Fathers did, &s;o do ye; which of the Prophets have not your Fathers per&s;ecuted, and they have &s;lain them which &s;hewed before of the coming of the ju&s;t One, of whom ye have been now the betrayers, and murtherers, who have received the Law by the di&s;po&s;iti|on of Angels, and have not kept it:</HI> When they heard the&s;e things, they were cut to the heart. So here is little ground in tho&s;e for any to &s;ay they follow the light within them, and to &s;ay that they was not enlightened, which had received the Law, which is light, by the di&s;po&s;ition of Angels, and did not keep it. Here they di&s;obeyed that which they had received, which was the light, and did alwayes re&s;i&s;t the Holy Gho&s;t which was able to have led them from the<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">r di&s;obedience, and &s;tiffneckedne&s;s, and if
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they did per&s;ecute to death for lack of knowledge, and &s;o did it ignorant|ly, it was becau&s;e they rejected knowledge, and forgot the law of their God which they had received, as the Prie&s;ts did in <HI>Ho&s;ea</HI> 4&punc; 6. and becau&s;e they did forget the Lord, as tho&s;e did in <HI>Jer.</HI> 18. &s;o it was not becau&s;e they were never convinc'd, nor never reproved, but becau&s;e they would have none of his reproofs, for they would not walk in his wayes, neither were obedient to his law: But I &s;ay, Did not I&s;rael know? To I&s;rael he &s;aith&punc; <HI>All day long I have &s;tretched forth my hands unto a di&s;obedient and gain&s;aying people,</HI> Rom. 10. 21. Therefore let no more &s;uch clamorous &s;peeches come forth, as to &s;ay &s;uch have obeyed, and followed the light within them; which if they had, then when God had called they would have an&s;wered, and it could not have been &s;aid, they had been di&s;obedient, which when <HI>Stephen</HI> told them of their re&s;i&s;ting of the Holy Gho&s;t, and their di&s;obe|dience to the Law, which was light, his words did an&s;wer &s;omething of God within them, wh<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">n they were cut to the heart, and that which had di&s;obeyed the Holy Gho&s;t, and the Law which they had received, that did &s;tone him to death, and th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">rein they did kick again&s;t that which did prick them: But the light of Chri&s;t is &s;ufficient to lead all unto God which do obey and follow it; and there was never any in all Generations from <HI>Abel</HI> u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">to this Generation, that ever in &s;uch ignorance, and wilful impudency, Preach and Print again&s;t the &s;ufficiency of the light of Chri&s;t as in this age is brought forth; For as others did reject the le&s;&s;er, &s;o the&s;e the greater; others did di&s;obey that which they had received from the di&s;po&s;ition of Angels, and tho&s;e, that which is given by the Son of God, who &s;aith, <HI>I am the light of the world:</HI> He doth not &s;ay that the Spirit of man is the light of the World, nor that mans Rea&s;on is the light of the World, as &s;ome have &s;aid; Neither did ever Chri&s;t &s;ay, That his Light was in&s;ufficient, but did bid tho&s;e which were of the world, believe in the light, that they might be the Children of light, <HI>Joh.</HI> 12. 36. and did tell &s;uch which were of the world, that the kingdom of God was within them, So there was &s;omething in them which was of power; but &s;uch a doctrine is now hated in the world, to preach any thing within man to be of power or ability to guide or lead man to God, or &s;ufficient to believe in: But the Scripture &s;aith, The word of Faith is in thy heart, (which was the Word the Apo&s;tles preached) to obey and to do it, and Faith comes by Hearing, and Hearing by the Word of God: But how &s;hall they Hear without a Preacher? But I &s;ay, Have they not all heard? Yes verily, their <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ound went out into all the Earth, and their words unto the ends of the World, but they have not all obeyed.</P>
<P>But again it is &s;aid in the fal&s;e <HI>Ho&s;anna, That the di&s;covery of &s;in and iniquity may be where the &s;ound of Chri&s;t, as a door, as the l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ght, as the way may not have been; and for proof &s;aith, it was &s;o in the fir&s;t man, that mea&s;ure and degree of light which di&s;covered &s;in to him, was the Law written in him.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> He who is the light of the world, in him was life, and this life was the light of m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">n, and he is before all th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ngs, and by him all things
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con&s;i&s;t; and the fir&s;t man <HI>Adam</HI> who was made a living &s;oul, and wa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> the &s;on of God, the light that was in him, was the light of the &s;on of God, while he remained in Gods Image, and when he was fallen from Gods Image into tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, that which made manife&s;t his tran&s;gre&s;&s;i|on was the light which he was fallen from, and God did never write his law in mans heart but there was a mea&s;ure of Chri&s;t: But men in igno|rance and blindne&s;s pretend to be Mini&s;ters of di&s;tinctions between the Law and Chri&s;t, whenas they neither know what they &s;ay, nor whereof they affirm, nor &s;eeing how it was added becau&s;e of tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, till the &s;eed &s;hould come ordained by Angels in the hands of a Mediator, <HI>Gal.</HI> 3. 19. and as well mini&s;tred forth in the light of the Mediator; For though there was, and is diver&s;ity of admini&s;trations, and of operations, yet the &s;ame Lord, and the &s;ame Light, that Light in which the Prophets &s;aw Chri&s;t, and prophe&s;ied before-hand of the coming of the Ju&s;t; was the &s;ame in which the Apo&s;tles witne&s;&s;ed him come; and the &s;ame light wh<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ch lets men &s;ee their &s;ins, is that which lets them &s;ee their Saviour, and leads them from their &s;ins to Chri&s;t, as they are obedient to it. But to &s;ay there is the di&s;covery of &s;in and iniquity where the &s;ound of Chri&s;t as a door, the light the way hath not been, this remains to be proved, &s;eeing the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, That <HI>the &s;ound is gone into all the Earth, and the words to the end of the world:</HI> Have they not all heard? Yes verily: That which makes manife&s;t is light; Is there light making &s;in manife&s;t, and is there nothing of Chri&s;t, &s;eeing that his life is the light of men, and that men have no light but what proceeds from his life? When was ever Chri&s;t and the light, which di&s;covers &s;in, &s;eparated? and where is that Scripture which &s;aith, That the &s;ound of Chri&s;t, as a light, hath never been heard where &s;in and iniquity is di&s;covered; but that which hath brought forth the&s;e things may well be called an untimely birth, which never &s;aw the Son, nor never knew the light which Chri&s;t hath enlightened every man withal which cometh into the world, for a little of this fruit doth mani|fe&s;t that tree from whence it &s;prings, and &s;o we &s;hall judge the tree by its fruits: Another fruit from this tree is to give his te&s;timony of the Law of Faith, which is this:</P>
<P><HI>How far the Law of Faith may be &s;aid to be written upon every mans heart, is not given unto me to under&s;tand, only this glimp&s;e I have of it, That it appears to have had an influence upon the heart of man, by tho&s;e &s;acrifices which were offered up to God before the publication of the po&s;itive Law, wherein as well</HI> Cain <HI>as</HI> Abel <HI>offered &s;acrifices,</HI> Gen. 4. 4.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> This te&s;timony doth not proc<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ed from the Word of Faith in thy heart, for that would give an under&s;tanding how the Law of Faith is written in the hear<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">, as well as how the Law of Works is written, and this thy glimp&s;e which thou &s;aies thou &s;ees from the propo&s;ing of the Promi&s;e, and the influence which thou &s;ayes thou &s;ee&s;t upon the heart of man by the Sacrifices of <HI>Cain,</HI> as well as <HI>Abel,</HI> offered unto God; if this thy pre|tended light and glimp&s;e, which is &s;o far of Chri&s;t, be truly weighed and t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">yed, it may prove but a vain vi&s;ion, and a divination of thy own heart;
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as all, who con&s;ider thy te&s;timony of the law of Faith, in &s;aying, that the di&s;covery thereof ari&s;eth from what is without; and that it had never been known, nor never thought of, nor never would it, or could it ratio|nally have come into the heart of man to have conceived &s;uch a thing, but from the Declaration of God in his promi&s;e: Here it doth appear Faith is a My&s;tery to thee, and thy eye have not &s;een it, nor the ear heard, neither hath it entered into thy heart to conceive Faith in the working and operation of it: And in that thou &s;aie&s;t well, that it was not given thee to under&s;tand how it is written upon every mans heart; and thou had done well if thou had not &s;tretched thy &s;elf beyond the line of thy knowledge and under&s;tanding, for thou thy &s;elf confe&s;&s;e&s;t that unto tho&s;e fir&s;t beleevers, <HI>Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, I&s;aac, Jacob, Mo&s;es, Da|vid, Daniel,</HI> and the re&s;t, there was communicated unto them a Spirit of Faith, and a Light &s;utable and proportionable, whereby they were en|abled to behold Chri&s;t, who was the object of their Faith: Then if it did ari&s;e from the Spirit of Faith within them, and the light of Chri&s;t, who was the Author of their faith, it did not ari&s;e from the Declaration of God in the promi&s;e without, &s;o that the my&s;tery of faith which is held in a pure con&s;cience is yet to be learned, which was witne&s;&s;ed among&s;t the Saints: So when thou writes again of the Law of Works, or the law of Faith, or the di&s;covery which the Lord maketh to his creature, under the diver&s;ities of the&s;e admini&s;trations, keep back to the mea&s;ure of the gift of God, and then will thy te&s;timony be no larger than thy know|ledge, which is a guilt hath &s;pread over many in the&s;e dayes; But this I &s;ay, Ble&s;&s;ed is the man which doth not condemne him&s;elf in the thing which he alloweth, and which doth not de&s;troy him&s;elf with the breath of his own mouth. But there is a Generation which their own breath as fire &s;hall devour them.</P>
<P>Again, concerning the Light which every man is enlightned withal, which is thy &s;tumbling block, and rock of offence, as it is unto all the re&s;t who&s;e deeds are evil; Thou &s;aieth, God hath not annointed it to that work, nor laid the weight of eternal Salvation upon the &s;houlders thereof, it being too weak for that &s;ervice.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Him hath God annointed who is the Light of the world, and hath enlightened every man that cometh into the world, and there is no work of eternal Salvation wrought but in the light which every man is enlightened withal, and this light is of him and from him which bears the &s;ins in his own body, and is not too weak for that &s;ervice which the Father hath given him to do, and this light is Chri&s;t (and whereas &s;ome &s;ay, Hath every man Chri&s;t) every man hath Chri&s;t to &s;ave, or to con|demne him, &amp; Chri&s;t is as truly the condemnation of tho&s;e who&s;e deeds are evil, as he is the Saviour of them that believe; and as tho&s;e that be|lieve in the light are already &s;aved by Chri&s;t, &s;o al&s;o tho&s;e that believe not in his light which he hath enlightened them withal, are already con|demned; and &s;o Chri&s;t is near unto every one, to an&s;wer every mans work according to the nature of it, whether he &s;erve &s;in unto death, or
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be found in the obedience of truth unto eternal life; for now is the day appeared to try every mans work of what &s;ort it is; and now is many of|fended becau&s;e the light is broken forth, and their eye is evil, becau&s;e the Lords is good. But wo unto the world becau&s;e of offences; if any have the &s;pirit of a King, let them &s;earch out the cau&s;e of the offence which is now broken forth among&s;t the children of men, that the enmity which is in all &s;orts of people, of all profe&s;&s;ions, &s;hould ri&s;e up together, and become a body, the wicked joyning hand in hand, preaching, and prin|ting, and crying for unity, which they are making up of enmity, that they may be &s;trong again&s;t that which the Lord hath now brought forth in his light and power to be witne&s;&s;es unto him in every place where&s;o|ever he doth call them, witne&s;&s;ing forth his mercy and truth, by which iniquity is purged out; and preaching the Go&s;pel freely to every crea|ture, whereby they may come to the knowledge of the truth, that they may be &s;aved: But in the world it is &s;o come to pa&s;&s;e in the&s;e dayes, that he that can but give reviling terms and hard &s;peeches again&s;t the light which Chri&s;t hath enlightned every man withall, calling it natural, or in&s;ufficient; and if they do but revile tho&s;e which they call <HI>Quakers,</HI> and put this in the beginning of his Book, then it pa&s;&s;eth with toleration, and have as good approbation from the world as any of the Prie&s;ts have for their Mini&s;try: but if any man begin to &s;peak of the light within, and the annointing within, and the word of faith in the heart, and of the my&s;tery of faith in a pure con&s;cience, and of the &s;prinkling of the heart from an evil con&s;cience, and of believing in the light, as <HI>Christ</HI> &s;aid, &s;uch a one &s;peaking of the&s;e things, and not directing his &s;peech in open reproach again&s;t them called <HI>Quakers,</HI> the peoples hearts will be filled with jealou&s;ie, le&s;t he be one. So that even the light is become a reproach unto them, and their diri&s;ion daily, but the Lords hand is turned again&s;t all &s;uch, and he is turning the wi&s;e men backward, and making their wi&s;dom become fooli&s;hne&s;s; For once there was a &s;eeking after light in many, that it might ri&s;e, and open the things of God unto them, and reveal the my&s;teries of his life, whereby their &s;ouls might be &s;atisfied; and now when it is ri&s;en in many, and hath brought forth its powerful effects; now the man of &s;in hath his time, and doth prevail in many to make them believe, that it is not the light which is able to &s;ave the &s;ouls of them which believe in it, and doth beget a &s;pirit of jealou&s;ie in them which is &s;tronger than death; and begetteth a fear in them, which worketh torment: and many now doth fear, and are jealous, that that light is not the Chri&s;t which hath enlightened them, and every one which cometh into the world, and this is the work of Satan in the hearts of the di&s;obedient, which as every one comes to obey his light, and to an&s;wer his perfect love to them which is manife&s;t in the light, that fear will be ca&s;t out, and life will be given to that witne&s;s of God which once did breath after his life, without which the &s;oul cannot re&s;t, nor be &s;atisfied; and this &s;hall many come to witne&s;s, as the man of &s;in comes to be revealed, which letteth, and will let, until he be taken out of the
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way; and then &s;hall they &s;ee at what they have &s;tumbled, and by what they have been overcome, and then they will know that it had been good for them if they had walked i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> the light of the Lord, in&s;teed of &s;et|ting them&s;elves again&s;t it, and as the light it &s;elf by &s;uch before mentio|ned is denyed, &s;o the te&s;timony which the children of light give of it, is al&s;o de&s;pi&s;ed, and contended again&s;t, as if it were not to be owned for a Doctrine of truth, which doctrine of truth hath been laid often before people, and is yet once more, that they may con&s;ider, prove, and try, and &s;o believe, and &s;o be able to give a te&s;timony from the witne&s;s of God in them&s;elves.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, We &s;ay that Chri&s;t is the light of the world, according to his own words, <HI>Ioh.</HI> 8. 12. And again we &s;ay, That he hath enlightned every man that cometh into the world, according to his words who was &s;ent a Me&s;&s;enger before his face to bear witne&s;&s;e to the truth, and his witne&s;&s;e is true, <HI>Ioh.</HI> 2. 9. And as Chri&s;t hath enlightned every man that cometh into the world, &s;o we &s;ay to every man, warning both &s;mall and great to believe in the light, that they may be the children of light, which was Chri&s;ts Doctrine to the world, <HI>Ioh.</HI> 12. 36. And now what Chri&s;t doth and effecteth by it in tho&s;e that believe in his light, and fol|loweth it, which effects and opperations by the world is denyed, and by us is affirmed: &s;ome of the effects of it I &s;hall mention, which is oppo|&s;ed: as fir&s;t, That it will not let tho&s;e that are guided by it take Gods Name in vain, but will draw th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">m out of the Wor&s;hips of the world, and keep them in the fear of God, and to &s;tand &s;till in it is the fir&s;t &s;tep to peace. That it di&s;covers things that are contrary to it. That it is their Teacher that love it, and their condemnation that hate it, according to Chri&s;ts words, <HI>Ioh.</HI> 3. 19. That waiting in it will guide them to God, and &s;hew them the way to the Father, as Chri&s;t &s;aith, <HI>No man cometh unto the Father but by me, Ioh.</HI> 14. 6. and no man cometh unto the Father by Chri&s;t but as they are led and guided by his light within them. That it op<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ns all the Scriptures, and leads man out of the fall, up to God; for him hath the Fath<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">r given to be a Leader and Commander unto the people, and he leadeth them by his light. Another effect is, That it convinceth of all ungodline&s;&s;e and worldly lu&s;ts, and is a Teacher and Director, teaching and directing in righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, purity, and holi|ne&s;&s;e, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> And that the light is but one in him that loves it, and in him that hates it, leading the one to God, from whence it comes, to receive eternal life, and condemning the other from God becau&s;e he obeyeth not the truth, that he might be &s;aved. And this is the te&s;timony of truth which is now held forth, never to be denyed: But who hath be|lieved our report? even they to whom the Arm of the Lord is reveal|ed: And this is the way by which people may come to know the truth of this te&s;timony, by obeying the light which Chri&s;t hath enlightned them withall, thereby &s;hall they know whether this Doctrine be of God, or whether we &s;peak of our&s;elves, and whether all tho&s;e effects is not brought forth by the working of Chri&s;ts light in them; and then they
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&s;hall not believe onely becau&s;e of our words, nor be envious again&s;t it becau&s;e of others words, but will finde the te&s;timony in them&s;elves, which is according to the record which God hath given of his Son, and according to the te&s;timony which we have given of the light; and he that believeth &s;hall be e&s;tabli&s;hed.</P>
<P>Now that which oppo&s;eth this, is that which beareth a te&s;timony con|trary to Chri&s;t, who &s;aith, <HI>For this end was I born, and for this end came I into the world, to bear witne&s;&s;e unto the truth; and every one that is of the truth heareth my voice, Ioh.</HI> 18. 37. And this was his witne&s;&s;e, and his Me&s;|&s;engers witne&s;&s;e, <HI>That he was the Light of the world,</HI> and, <HI>That this is the true light which hath enlightned every man that cometh into the world, Ioh. 8. 12. Ioh.</HI> 1. 9. And this contrary te&s;timony which is brought forth is this, <HI>That it is the &s;pirit of man that is the light which hath enlightned every man;</HI> and &s;o going about to prove the &s;pirit of man not to be &s;ufficient, under this would de&s;troy the &s;ufficiency of the light of Chri&s;t. But the Scrip|tures never did give te&s;timony that the &s;pirit of man was the light of the world; neither did we ever &s;ay that this light was the &s;pirit of every man, nor a natural light: And therefore this man which hath writ a Vo|lume in proving a natural light, or mans rea&s;on in&s;ufficient, let all peo|ple take notice what he contradicts, or di&s;proves by it; he doth not by it contradict nor di&s;prove any thing that we have &s;aid, for we never did affirm that mans rea&s;on was the light; but he hath laboured to contradict him&s;elf: He hath &s;et up an Image, and then glories in breaking of it down, &amp; from our words draws a fal&s;e inference, and glories in confoun|ding it: And this is the general cour&s;e of our oppo&s;ers, to rai&s;e a fal&s;e propo&s;ition or conclu&s;ion from their own imaginations, and then con|tradict it, and then cry, <HI>The Quakers contradicted, or confuted, and their Doctrine di&s;proved, and they irrecoverably &s;lain;</HI> and many &s;uch cryes is gone forth in the world among people, like the noi&s;e of many wa|ters.</P>
<P>To which I an&s;wer, Nay, they are not of &s;uch a birth that they are &s;o ea&s;ily &s;lain, nor of &s;uch a Doctrine that they are &s;o ea&s;ily di&s;proved; for the immortal birth is brought forth, unto which God hath given wi&s;|dom and under&s;tanding to be as wi&s;e as Serpents, and in their innocen|cy is their wi&s;dom brought forth, which Seed inheriteth the &s;trength of the Almighty: &s;o though they be permitted to fight and contend again&s;t the truth, yet to prevail is not given them: Therefore in vain is the Net &s;pread in the &s;ight of any Bird, and in vain do they exerci&s;e their &s;trength again&s;t the Lords annointed; for this which they have brought forth is but as &s;etting of bryars and thorns in battel again&s;t the Lord or as if the untimely birth &s;hould &s;trive again&s;t that birth which is brought forth without deformity, to &s;lay it, as tho&s;e in former ages, who were wi&s;er in their generation then the children of light, &s;ought to &s;lay the Heir, that the Inheritance might be theirs. In like manner do men now al&s;o ri&s;e up again&s;t the life of the &s;ame Seed which is ri&s;en in the hearts of the children of men, to &s;lay it, that &s;o they may profe&s;&s;e the Scrip|tures
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in their high &s;welling words of vanity, having mens per&s;ons in ad|miration becau&s;e of advantage: for if this Seed doth live which the Lord hath not onely brought to the birth, but al&s;o brought forth, it will &s;top that profe&s;&s;ion which &s;tands in the hypocri&s;ie, and will quench that violence of fire in which that zeal flames out, which is not according to knowledge: But the Seed is ri&s;en which inherits the &s;trength of the Al|mighty, which can bear all things, and &s;uffer all things, and will come to reign over all gain&s;ayers; for all the high &s;welling words of vanity &s;hall come to nought, and truth &s;hall be exalted over all, in the power of the eternal Spirit, when blackne&s;&s;e of darkne&s;s will cover all tho&s;e &s;pi|rits, which have &s;pent their &s;trength again&s;t the appearance and manife|&s;tation of truth; and tho&s;e that now boa&s;t them&s;elves in their pre|&s;umption again&s;t the &s;ervants of the Lord, and te&s;timony of truth, <HI>Shall come to be a &s;ervant of &s;ervants, even to the lea&s;t in the kingdom of God&punc; be|fore they have right unto that which they now profe&s;s, or before they be counted worthy to cry</HI> Ho&s;anna <HI>to the &s;on of</HI> David, <HI>or to bear a te&s;timony to the Lords Chri&s;t; For he will have none &s;uch to be his witne&s;&s;es, as deny his light which he hath enlightened every man withal: For the true witne&s;&s;es bear this te&s;ti|mony of Christ, That he is the true light, and is the light of the world, which hath enlightened every man that cometh into the world, that every man through him might bel<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">eve, and every one in whom this witne&s;&s;e is found true, is ju&s;tified of God.</HI></P>
<P>Another Accu&s;ation is again&s;t <HI>Richard Farn&s;worth,</HI> for &s;aying, <HI>That Chri&s;t did break the Pa&s;&s;eover with his Di&s;ciples, and herein he is Charged to want Light; or, that the light in him was not &s;ufficient in him to open this, and that he did not di&s;cern between the Pa&s;&s;eover, and the Supper of the Lord:</HI> And likewi&s;e is Accu&s;ed, for <HI>calling that a Shadow, which the Scripture &s;aith was but to shew the Lords death till he came.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> To call the Supper the Pa&s;&s;eover, doth not demon&s;trate that he wants light, neither that the light is in&s;ufficient, for the Di&s;ciples cal|led it the Pa&s;&s;eover which they prepared for him: and Chri&s;t called it the Pa&s;&s;eover which he eat with his Di&s;ciples, <HI>Mark. 14. 12. 14. Matth.</HI> 26. 20, 21, 22. and that which they eat he broke: but it doth not &s;ay, That he broke his bones, nor eat his bones; yet he eat the Pa&s;&s;eover with his Di&s;ciples. And whereas he is accu&s;ed for calling that a &s;hadow, and many now, in imitation, take bread and wine, and call that the Lords Supper, oppo&s;ing tho&s;e that are come to the &s;ub&s;tance, and wit|ne&s;s the &s;ub&s;tance, eating that which is meat indeed, and drinking that which is drink indeed; But this man which doth oppo&s;e <HI>Richard Farn&s;|worth,</HI> and others, in the&s;e things, he ha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">h the lea&s;t rea&s;on to mention this Supper, or the breaking of Bread of any, for others do call their breaking of bread, and drinking of wine, the Lords Supper, becau&s;e they practi&s;e it: But this man doth neither practi&s;e that as the Lords Supper, nor witne&s;s the &s;ub&s;tance, &s;o that this is the greate&s;t hypocri&s;ie, To contend about that, or to accu&s;e others, in denying of that which he
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him&s;elf denyes the practi&s;e of: So that this accu&s;ers doctrine and accu|&s;ations wants both light and rea&s;on.</P>
<P><HI>Another Accu&s;ation is again&s;t the&s;e two Writers,</HI> Richard Farn&s;worth, <HI>and</HI> Francis Howgill, <HI>as if they should be in an unreconciled Difference; be|cau&s;e the one hath affirmed, That the light of Chri&s;t is &s;ufficient to open all the Scriptures: And the other &s;aith, Thou that tells of opening Chapters or Ver&s;es by meanings, thou never heard a word of Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> The&s;e are not Differences; for the light of Chri&s;t and mans meanings are contrary: So for the one to &s;ay, the light doth open; and the other to &s;ay, mans meanings doth not open, this is not contrary: So the confu&s;ion is turned again to the Accu&s;er, and doth not belong to the&s;e two Writers: So the ignorance of this Accu&s;er is to be taken notice of, which would make people believe things that is not: For if he write his Book for tho&s;e that can neither read, &s;ee, nor hear, his labour is in vain: and if he write it to tho&s;e that can read, &s;ee, hear, and under|&s;tand, they will account it fooli&s;hne&s;s, e&s;pecially in this day, when the light of life is broken forth among the children of men, to give them an under&s;tanding according to truth, for in this day, he that keepeth &s;ilence is reputed wi&s;e; and better is he that keepeth &s;ilence, than he that &s;peaks, unle&s;s the &s;pirit of the Lord give him utterance.</P>
<P><HI>Another Accu&s;ation is again&s;t</HI> W. D. <HI>he &s;peaking so &s;uch a one as is gui|ded by the Lamb, &amp;c. &s;aying, The light in thy Con&s;cience, the righteous law, cryes through thy earthly heart, and brings it into judgement, &amp;c. And then &s;peaking of the parable of the little leaven hid in three mea&s;ures of me<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">l, that it changeth the whole lump into the nature of it &s;elf&punc; &s;o the little light that shines in thy dark heart, is the powerful Word of Faith, and that the light is the &s;ure word of Prophe&s;ie, whereunto ye do well to take heed until the day dawn, and the day-&s;tar ari&s;e in your hearts: And for the&s;e things he is Ac|cu&s;ed.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Tho&s;e that are guided by the Lamb, do witne&s;s that the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ight, the righteous law, cryes through the earthly heart, and brings it into judgement, and will not accu&s;e one for &s;aying &s;o; and as for &s;peaking of the little light, as Chri&s;t &s;poke of the little leaven; Was it no offence in the dayes of the &s;on of man to preach that the kingdom of heaven was like unto a grain of mu&s;tard &s;eed, or like unto a little leaven? And is it an offence now <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">o preach the word of Faith to be as a little light, or to preach the annointing to be as a little light, in tho&s;e in whom the light is little, doth this al&s;o offend you? What then if we &s;hould &s;ay, That Chri&s;t is the light of life, the &s;on of righteou&s;ne&s;s, and the glory and ex|pre&s;s figure of the Fathers &s;ub&s;tance in &s;ome, and but as a little light, o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> day-&s;tar in others, or in others as a light before the day-&s;tar ari&s;e in their hearts: Is not the light great in &s;ome, and little in others? And is not Chri&s;t the &s;ame? May that only be called Chri&s;t which takes away the &s;ins? And may not that al&s;o be called Chri&s;t which pierceth through
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the &s;oul, and revealeth the thoughts of many hearts, <HI>Luke&punc;</HI> 2. 35. May he only be called Chri&s;t unto whom the Father hath given the Heathen for his inheritance, and the utmo&s;t parts of the earth for his po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, who reigneth, and hath all his enemies under his feet, and is not he the &s;ame as he is de&s;cended into the lower parts of the earth, and which took upon him the form of a &s;ervant? So therefore that none may err in their judgments concerning the te&s;timony which is given of Chri&s;t, and of his light, his light is more or le&s;s according to his manife&s;tation in every one, there being given to every one a manife&s;tation of the &s;pirit to profit withal, and every one is to be turned to the mea&s;ure of their manife&s;tation, to know and witne&s;s Chri&s;t in it, though in many it be but as a little light, yet they are to be turned unto it, while it is &s;o, which as it doth encrea&s;e, and is enlarged, it may be called, or declared under another name than little, as the kingdom of Heaven is not al|wayes like unto a grain of mu&s;tard-&s;eed, nor as a little leaven, but comes to rule in the children of men: And whereas the Accu&s;er replieth again&s;t the light, and again&s;t Chri&s;t to be the word of Faith; &s;aying, Chri&s;t is called the Word of God, <HI>Rev.</HI> 19. 13. but not the Word of Faith; and yet &s;aith in <HI>page</HI> 45. That Chri&s;t is the Author and fini&s;her of Faith.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> If Chri&s;t be the Word of God, and faith come by Hearing, and Hearing by the Word of God, then how is it that he is not the word of Faith, being that word by which Faith comes when it is heard, and he being the Author of it? May he not then as well be called the Word of it, as the Author of it, &s;eeing he is the Word by which it comes: but that all may under&s;tand what this word of faith was which the Apo&s;tle preached, This was Chri&s;t, <HI>Rom.</HI> 10. and they preached no other Word to be the Word of faith but Chri&s;t, That who&s;oever believed on him &s;hould not be a&s;hamed: So that if the ignorance of Chri&s;t, and of the Apo&s;tles words, were blotted out of the hearts of our Accu&s;ers, they would be &s;ilent, and the daylie reproach would cea&s;e.</P>
<P>And whereas it is affirmed by us, That the Light, or a mea&s;ure of Chri&s;t within, is a &s;ure Word of Prophe&s;ie, or a more &s;ure Word of Prophe&s;ie, as <HI>Peter</HI> &s;aith, 2 <HI>Pe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">.</HI> 1. 19. And whereas many are offended at this, and labours to make people believe that this is the Writings of the Prophets which is the more &s;ure Word of Prophe&s;ie the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks of, becau&s;e he &s;aith, <HI>Knowing this fir&s;t, that no Prophe&s;ie of the Scriptures is of any private interpretation; for the Prophe&s;ie came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God &s;poke as they were moved by she Holy Ghost, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Now I &s;hall make it appear that it was not the Writings of the Prophets which was that more &s;ure <HI>Word;</HI> as fir&s;t, concerning that, here is one thing held out to be <HI>a &s;ure Word,</HI> and another thing held out to be <HI>more &s;ure,</HI> as unto tho&s;e to whom it was &s;poken: And as concerning the fir&s;t:</P>
<P><PB N="22" REF="15"><HI>That which is held out to be a &s;ure Word, is that which <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ame from the Fa|ther, the voice which cam<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> from the excellent Glory, &s;aying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ll plea&s;ed; and this voice which came from Heaven the Di&s;ciples heard when they were with him in the holy Mount. This was a &s;ure Word when it was &s;poken, and when it was written it was a &s;ure Te&s;timony, as &s;ure as any of th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> Prophets Writings; for the Prophets did &s;ee that he was to come, and that he that was to come was the well-b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">loved Son of the Father, and they wrote this down, and it was a &s;ure te&s;timony of Chri&s;t; and</HI> Peter, <HI>and the re&s;t &s;aw that he was come, and did hear the voice from the excellent Glo|ry proclaiming him to be the Son of God, and when they had &s;een it&punc; they wrote it down; and this was as &s;ure a te&s;timony, yea a &s;urer then the Prophets, and that which the Apo&s;tles were eye-witne&s;&s;es of, and did write down for truth, was as much <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters"> be taken heed unto as that which the Prophets declared; and this will all men of under&s;tanding judge, that the Apo&s;tle</HI> Peter <HI>did not direct the people to the Prophets words, to take heed to them becau&s;e they were more &s;ure th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">n his own, and more to be believed: But although the Apo&s;tles words and writings was confirmed with more power and witne&s;&s;e of the Spirit then the Pro|phets, and both true, yet the Apo&s;tles Mini&s;try unto tho&s;e which did not &s;ee tho&s;e things which th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> Prophets &s;aw, muchle&s;&s;e tho&s;e things the Apo&s;tles &s;aw, no, not &s;o far as the dawning of the day, nor to the day-&s;tar ri&s;en in their hearts, therefore</HI> Peter <HI>dividing the word of God aright, &s;aith unto them, We have a more &s;ure Word of Prophe&s;ie, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star ari&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> in your hearts,</HI> 2 Pet. 1. 19. <HI>It was more &s;ure for them to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ake heed unto that which was as a light shining in a dark place, till the day-&s;tar did ari&s;e, and the day dawn in their hearts, then the declarations from others without them, decla|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">rd in words &amp; writings; as thus for example, by experience; to &s;uch I shall direct my &s;peech, who canno<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> witne&s;&s;e the day dawned, nor the day-&s;tar ri&s;en in their hearts, nor hath heard the voice from the excellent Glory, to &s;uch I &s;ay, That which I have &s;een and heard, the vi&s;ions, power, and glory, wherein</HI> I <HI>am an eye witne&s;&s;e of his glory, and of his appearance, this</HI> I <HI>may declare and write unto you, and you may believe it, But to &s;uch I &s;ay, It is more &s;ure for them to take heed to the light that shines in the dark place, till they come to witne&s;&s;e in <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">hem&s;elves th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> day dawned, and day-star ri&s;en, and the Son of God made mani|fe&s;t in them, then to take heed to the words which I have declared, though it be a true te&s;timony; for th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> Apo&s;tle did not write to him&s;elf, nor &s;ay that it was more &s;ure unto him, bu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> unto them unto whom he wrote his Epistle; for unto him no Word of Prophe&s;ie was more &s;ure then that which he had &s;een and heard when he was with Chri&s;t in the holy Mount. So this may inform your under&s;tand|ings who have more de&s;ir<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> to know the truth, then to oppo&s;e it, and may put to &s;ilence the vain di&s;putings by men of corrupt minds, who are de&s;titute of the truth, alwayes corrupting the words of truth to oppo&s;e the life of it, as many &s;uch there are in the&s;e dayes, which the Lord hath, and will rebuke sharply, that they may be asham<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">d; but all who are led and guided by the light of Chri&s;t shall know the annointing in them, and the word of faith, yea the Son of
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God: He that can receive it without offenc<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">, let him.</HI></P>
<P>5. <HI>Obj.</HI> But he that hath oppo&s;ed us &s;aith in pag. 25. of his Book, in the &s;econd part, <HI>That the dawning of the day is rather an evening then a morning.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Now let all which have but known a day and a night in the Creation, judge, whether the evening or the morning be the dawnings of the day; or, whether the day-&s;tar be a fore-runner of the day, or of the night; then it will not be incredible which I have &s;aid before, that he calls darkne&s;&s;e light, and light darkne&s;&s;e; but in &s;uch things our oppo|&s;ers will not receive a good report from tho&s;e which can give true judge|ment, and to &s;uch it is left to judge of tho&s;e things.</P>
<P><HI>Obj.</HI> Again he &s;aith in pag. 35. <HI>That the &s;pirit of truth was not a Com|forter to the Apostles, nor a reprover to th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> world before Christ was a&s;cend|ed;</HI> and yet him&s;elf, to contradict him&s;elf, &s;aith, <HI>that he was in them be|fore, and dwelt in them, the &s;ame &s;pirit, but not the &s;ame mea&s;ure.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Here is <HI>Babylon</HI> at the height, fit to be pul'd down, but needs little an&s;wering, &s;eeing that i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> an&s;wereth it &s;elf, and for &s;uch rea&s;ons as the&s;e he might well conceal his name: And if he could have put this off by hiding his Name, for an <HI>Ho&s;anna to the Son of David,</HI> or <HI>A Te|&s;timony to the Lords Chri&s;t,</HI> then he might well have boa&s;ted, and have glo|ryed in his &s;hame, as if there had been no &s;pirit of di&s;cerning in tho&s;e he calls <HI>Quakers,</HI> nor others; but the eye of truth is not yet &s;o blinde, but we know an evening from a morning, a night from a day, and a lye from truth; and we know al&s;o that the di&s;ciples had a mea&s;ure of the &s;pirit of truth while he was with them upon earth, and this &s;pirit did both comfort them, and did carry them on in obedience to his will, and in the power of this &s;pirit went forth into the world, and reproved the world of &s;in becau&s;e they did not believe in Chri&s;t, and the devils was &s;ubject unto them by the &s;pirit of truth that was in them, before Chri&s;t a&s;cended, and to this there is a Cloud of witne&s;&s;es: So that this from him, filling his Book with &s;uch things as the&s;e, is as if a man &s;hould fill a Ba<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">n with Chaff in&s;tead of Corn, and deceive others with &s;elling i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> for Corn.</P>
<P>Another contradiction of the &s;ame nature, is this, <HI>That the manife|station of the Spirit is given (to no man for him&s;elf, but) to every man to profit withall, to edi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ie, and build up, and do &s;ervice in the body, as an hand, foot, or eye, or &s;ome other member of the body, &amp;c.</HI> and to contradict this, in the next words &s;aith, <HI>Not that the &s;pirit, or the manifestation of the &s;pirit, is given to every man,</HI> (i. e.) <HI>to every individual per&s;on, fora&s;much as &s;ome men are &s;en&s;ual, having not the &s;pirit, therefore no manife&s;tation thereof,</HI> pag. 17.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> This is like the former, and &s;o to be ca&s;t out with it, for his di|&s;tinction of words&punc; between every man, and every individual per&s;on, wil not cover him; for where the Scripture &s;aith every man without di&s;tin|ction, that is, every individual man and woman: And the Apo&s;tle &s;aith,
<PB N="24" REF="16">
<HI>But the manife&s;tation of the &s;pirit is given to every man to profit withall,</HI> he doth not &s;ay, not to every individual per&s;on: And this al&s;o I &s;ay, and affirm, That to every man is given a manife&s;tation of the &s;pirit to profit withall, and he that profits with it, by it &s;hall be ju&s;tified; and he that doth not profit with it, by it &s;hall be condemned, becau&s;e he is an un|profitable &s;ervant, and this truth &s;hall &s;tand when all confu&s;ion &s;hall have an end, yet &s;ome are &s;en&s;ual, having not the &s;pirit.</P>
<P><HI>Obj.</HI> Again, in de&s;pi&s;ing the te&s;timony from the mea&s;ure of the gift of the &s;pirit of God, when they have &s;poken according to the mea&s;ure, &amp; could not boa&s;t them&s;elves above their mea&s;ure, but in their mea&s;ure witne&s;|&s;ing the work of God as it was fulfilled in them, &s;uch he &s;cornfully re|proacheth, &s;aying, <HI>What means tho&s;e cracks and crannes in their know|ledge, knowing but in part? there is no pieces, nor parts, nor mea&s;ures, nor degrees in ab&s;olute perfection, but who&s;oever &s;ayes he knows in part, he is short of perfection; and who&s;oever &s;aith he knoweth perfectly, he knows not how per|fect his knowledge is, and the fir&s;t of the&s;e is called a vain man, boa&s;ting of that which is not, and of a fal&s;e gift, and is like clouds, and winde without rain.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Herein is <HI>Pauls</HI> Doctrine (as well as ours) declared again&s;t, to be but as cracks and crannes, and a vain boa&s;ting of a fal&s;e gift; for <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, <HI>We dare not make our &s;elves of the number, or compare our &s;elves with &s;ome that commend them&s;elves, but they mea&s;uring them&s;elves by them&s;elves, and comparing them&s;elves with them&s;elves, are not wi&s;e: But we will not boa&s;t of things without our mea&s;ure, but according to the mea&s;ure of the Rule which God hath di&s;tributed unto us, a mea&s;ure to reach even unto you; for we stretch not our &s;elves beyond our mea&s;ure, not boa&s;ting of things without our mea&s;ure, that is of other mens labours.</HI> Now this mea&s;ure of which he thus &s;poke, was in Chri&s;t, &s;o in perfection; and there is parts and degrees in Chri&s;t, and &s;o in ab&s;olute perfection; for &s;o far as every man is in the mea&s;ure of the gift of God, &s;o far he is in Chri&s;t, and &s;o far his knowledge is perfect, and abiding in this he abideth in that which is perfect; and as he glories in this, he gloryes in a true gift, and none &s;hall make this glory|ing void.</P>
<P><HI>Obj.</HI> And whereas <HI>Iohn Iackson</HI> &s;aith of tho&s;e that &s;ay they have but attained in mea&s;ure, he calleth that the bleeting of the &s;heep, and the lowing of the Oxen, which declares plainly that they are not at home, they are not in the City, but have certain miles to travel before they ar|rive.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> This is a fal&s;e interptetation, as I &s;hall leave it unto all of under&s;tanding to judge; for the bleeting of the Sheep, and the lowing of the Oxen, did &s;ignifie <HI>Sauls</HI> di&s;obedience unto the commandment of God, for which the Lord did reject him: But when <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aid he knew in part, and prophe&s;ied in part, and would not boa&s;t above his mea&s;ure, this did not &s;ignifie his di&s;obedience to the Lord, but contra|riwi&s;e his obedience, and that he was in Chri&s;t Je&s;us: &s;o this was not as
<PB N="16" REF="16">
the bleeting of the Sheep, and lowing of the Oxen, neither did it &s;hew that they were not in the City; for <HI>Paul</HI> te&s;tifieth of the holy Brethren which he was a Mini&s;ter unto, That <HI>they were come unto Mount Sion, and unto the City of the living God, the heavenly Ieru&s;alem, and to an innume|rable company of Angels, to the general A&s;&s;embly, and Church of the fir&s;t|born, which are written in heaven; and t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> God the Iudge of all, and to the &s;pi|rits of just men made perfect, and to Ie&s;us the Mediator of the new Covenant, &amp; to the blood of &s;prinkling.</HI> Now let him that have thus accu&s;ed, &s;hew how many Miles the&s;e had to travel before they came to the City; &amp; whether was any parts, mea&s;ures, or degrees in the&s;e: or whether there was ab|&s;olute perfection without any mea&s;ure or degrees of it? and whether <HI>Paul</HI> was not come &s;o far as the&s;e unto whom he preached wi&s;dom, even among tho&s;e that were perfect: and might he not in that e&s;tate &s;ay that he would not &s;tretch him&s;elf beyond his mea&s;ure? But this I &s;ay, None are true witne&s;&s;es of perfection but tho&s;e who know their mea&s;ure, and abide in it: and likewi&s;e, tho&s;e that call the witne&s;&s;ing of the truth in a mea&s;ure of the &s;pirit, the bleeting of the Sheep, or the lowing of the Oxen, &s;uch never knew perfection, neither yet pre&s;|&s;eth after it, but would keep all others from it, by de&s;piteful terms a|gain&s;t the mea&s;ure of the &s;pirit which leadeth unto it: But the day is come, and the light is ri&s;en, which hath found out and di&s;covered all the cunning craftine&s;&s;e of men, in which they go about to deceive the hearts of the &s;imple, and beguile un&s;table &s;ouls; but the elect Seed is ri&s;en which it is impo&s;&s;ible to deceive; for it is not the Scripture-words which men may take and &s;peak in the hypocri&s;ie, which can darken our know|ledg, no<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> any way hinder the te&s;timony of truth in tho&s;e which have re|ceived it in the power of God, only with &s;uch things the blind may lead the blind, and with &s;uch things they may &s;trive to keepe others out of the kingdom which have not ta&s;ted of the good word of God, neither are brought to know a mea&s;ure of God in them&s;elves, whereunto to be o|bedient; but I &s;ee the Lord is opening a way for &s;uch to come out of the pits which they have been led into, in opening their eyes, and let|ting them &s;ee that their Watchmen is blind, and that under&s;tanding is departed from them, even from their Leaders, and the coun&s;els of God is departed, even from the ancient&punc; and the people is even like to peri&s;h for want of vi&s;ion, becau&s;e they have not &s;een for them&s;elves, but their Teachers have &s;een for them vain vi&s;ions, and lying divinations, and prophe&s;ied lyes, cau&s;ing the ignorant to believe them; but the Lords hand is &s;tretched out again&s;t &s;uch, and is &s;tretched out to gather his own Seed from &s;uch, to bring them into the fear of the Lord, which is the be|ginning of wi&s;dom, and into the knowledge of the holy, which is un|der&s;tanding, <HI>Prov.</HI> 9. 10. which under&s;tanding is a Well-&s;pring of life.</P>
<P><PB N="26" REF="17">Another &s;eeming &s;trength ri&s;en up again&s;t us, is the conceit of the di&s;covery of a &s;chi&s;m in the body, as if the Band or Girdle which bound up the body were broken, and as if there were now a character brought forth among&s;t us, &s;hewing a variety of per&s;ons, doctrines, and practices, and as if the te&s;timony of our being of the body of Chri&s;t, from the unity in the body were cea&s;ed, and as if the Heads were divided, and a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> for proof, in&s;tances <HI>G. F.</HI> to <HI>I. N. I N.</HI> to <HI>G. F. I. B.</HI> to <HI>I. N.</HI> and as if it were not per&s;on, but party, which &s;ome wonder at, admiring and waiting to &s;ee the Lords coun&s;el and plea&s;ure in it.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> All tho&s;e that wait to &s;ee the Lords coun&s;el and plea&s;ure, and his wi&s;dom in this thing, &s;hall &s;ee it, and be &s;atisfied, and it will for the time to come be more for the confounding of tho&s;e that watch for ini|quity, then any way for confirming them in iniquity, and by that which God hath done, and is doing, &s;hall the Girdle and Band of our love be made &s;tronger, and in this &s;hall the &s;ight of our enemies fail, and become blindne&s;&s;e, for their thoughts is not as Gods thoughts in the&s;e things, neither their eye as his eye, for he &s;aw a better thing for us in the&s;e things then they have imagined, for that which they thought wrought for evil, hath wrought together for good unto tho&s;e that &s;tand in Gods coun|&s;el, who always waits to &s;ee tho&s;e works which &s;tands in his wi&s;dom, con|trary to mans rea&s;on; for that which they thought did break, that hath bound; and that which they thought did &s;eparate, that hath united to|gether; &s;o that there is not a difference nor dividing of Heads, not in per&s;ons, nor in parties, nor in doctrines, nor in practices, but the &s;ame unity in the body, in the faith, in the &s;eed, in the covenant, in one heart, and one &s;oul, one way and wor&s;hip of God in the &s;pirit is now as much, or more then ever before witne&s;&s;ed, &s;o that God hath cut off oc|ca&s;ion from tho&s;e that &s;eek occa&s;ion, and hath taken away the corner|&s;tone that the wicked thought to build upon; and hereby hath God try|ed, and di&s;covered, and brought to light that which lay in the bottom of the deepe&s;t pits; for God hath brought in this his day, many things forth, to try and prove tho&s;e who &s;aid they were his people; and tho&s;e that a few dayes &s;ince &s;eemed to be like Lambs, do now manife&s;t them|&s;elves to be in the nature of Lyons, and ravening Wolves; and tho&s;e that pretend to wait for the coming of Chri&s;t in power, and had the Name of <HI>Seekers,</HI> they are now found to reject his coming, and to be &s;uch as watch for iniquity in tho&s;e among whom Chri&s;t is come; and now they are turned backward, and now drink up that which they had vo|mited up; for now if they could but finde any iniquity among &s;uch as God hath made known the glory of his power among; or if they can but &s;uppo&s;e or imagine any &s;uch thing from fal&s;e conceptions and conclu&s;i|ons, this would be a &s;ufficient ground to them to print a Book upon, and publi&s;h it abroad, and but that the Lord hath been on our &s;ides, well may we &s;ay, when all &s;orts of men and religions hath ri&s;en up again&s;t us, by their violence had we been con&s;umed, for the powers of darkne&s;&s;e, and
<PB N="25" REF="17">
all the divers wor&s;hips of the Bea&s;t, are now more joyned together then ever, and the deepe&s;t &s;ubtilty of the Serpent is now at work in his mem|bers, to devi&s;e wayes, and change the Laws and times, whereby the &s;pi|rit might be quenched which God hath rai&s;ed up in his children, where|by a mighty cry is gone forth through the Nations again&s;t the my&s;tery of iniquity, where it worketh, both in the root and the branches of it; and now is the burden of the Bea&s;ts of the South felt as truly as in the Pro|phets dayes, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 30. 6. from whence cometh the young and old Lyon, the Viper, and fiery flying Serpent, and now doth the mighty and terri|ble cry of the &s;pirit of the Lord go forth to the men of this generation, as it went forth before time to the Aegyptians, concerning this which the Lord hath wrought, (your &s;trength is to &s;tand &s;till) and if this coun|&s;el of the Lord be by you received, you &s;hall know more of the wayes and workings of the Lord with his children, and that all things which the Lord hath done is for the furtherance of the Go&s;pel, and that tho&s;e which are approved may be made manife&s;t; what a &s;trong ground of occa&s;ion would the envious one have thought he had, if he had come a|mong the babes in Chri&s;t who were met together at <HI>Corinth,</HI> hearing <HI>Paul</HI> &s;ay that there was divi&s;ions among them, and &s;aid that there <HI>must be here&s;ies among them, that they which are approved may be made manife&s;t, 1 Cor.</HI> 18. 19. and this was no character that God had broken them with|out hands, no<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> that he had made their profe&s;&s;ion of unity of no force, but through this manife&s;tation he did work &s;chi&s;m out of the body, that &s;o there &s;hould be no Schi&s;m, Rent, Here&s;ie, nor any &s;uch thing in the body; and this thing was not that the enemies of God might glory a|gain&s;t the truth; and if any labour to &s;eek occa&s;ion again&s;t the holy Brethren, and &s;ay they are divided into Heads becau&s;e two eminent men of them with&s;tood one another, as concerning eating with the Gentiles, <HI>viz. Paul</HI> and <HI>Peter;</HI> to &s;uch I &s;ay, he that gathered at fir&s;t in|to unity, is the Healer and Repairer of &s;uch breaches; and they may profe&s;&s;e and witne&s;&s;e as much unity after this as ever be|fore.</P>
<P><HI>And th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;e three which the envious one hath mentioned to be at difference in Doctrine and practice, viz.</HI> G. F. J&punc; N. and J. B. <HI>the unity in the life and power of God in them, and in their Doctrine and practice shall &s;tand for a wit|ne&s;&s;e, and for a condemnation again&s;t all the accu&s;ers: and now &s;eeing that their occa&s;ion is taken away, their accu&s;ations may cea&s;e; and if &s;uch Prophe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">s be deceived, then let them con&s;ider who hath deceived them, I the Lord hath de|ceived that Prophet. Therefore what would &s;uch a Prophet think of the A|po&s;tles words when he &s;aith, There mu&s;t come a falling away fir&s;t, that the man of &s;in may be revealed? Would he, or could he judge this a <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">haracter that the day of of Christ were at hand, or that through &s;uch things the power of it should be made more manife&s;t? or that tho&s;e among whom the&s;e things were wrought, should be thereby the more united? To believe this will bring men e|ven to their wi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">s end, it being &s;o contrary to their thoughts and conceivings, and
<PB N="28" REF="18">
this may w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ll con<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ound th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ir wi&s;dome, and turn them backward, and bring them to que&s;tion the truth of all that which ever they have written, &s;poken, o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> acted again&s;t th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;e whom the Lord hath manife&s;ted his power and work among, contrary to their judgement and di&s;cerning; for the wayes and workings of the Lord is deep, and his &s;ecrets are with tho&s;e that fear him, and not with tho&s;e that de&s;pi&s;e his appearance, and &s;peak evil of that they know not; and the Lord will yet work greater things in the earth, that &s;uch may be confounded.</HI></P>
<P>And what wil &s;uch &s;ay, if the words of <HI>Daniel</HI> the Prophet be fulfilled in the&s;e dayes, &s;aying, <HI>And &s;ome of them of under&s;tanding &s;hall fall to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ven to the time of the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">nd, &amp;c.</HI> Dan. 11. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">5. Doth not God he<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">eby try men, and try their &s;pirits, and try their di&s;cernings; &s;hould any in &s;uch ca&s;es judge before the time the Lord make it manife&s;t, for this cau&s;e will God bring &s;uch into judge|ment&punc; Therefore I &s;ay unto you, that your &s;trength is to &s;it &s;till and let the Lord alone, and let his people alone, and let him work his own work in his own way, and pre&s;ume not to be his coun&s;eller, for who have known the mind of the Lord? let &s;uch as have, dwell in it, and pre&s;erve knowledge, &s;o &s;hall they alwayes abide in &s;trength, and power, and U|nion with the Lord, and one with another; and men &s;hall yet know for all that hath been, that we are his Di&s;ciples, becau&s;e we love one ano|ther; and none &s;hall make our glorying and rejoycing in the unity of the &s;pirit, and in the love of God, void; but it &s;hall abound more and more to torment the &s;pirit of enmity which would break it, or accu&s;e us for profe&s;&s;ing of it, but over that &s;pirit we are in the Lord.</P>
<P>But what if &s;ome &s;hould ri&s;e up, even from among our &s;elves, &s;peak|ing perver&s;e things, and draw Di&s;ciples after them, and go out from us, as they did from among the Apo&s;tles, that it might be made manife&s;t, that they were not all of us: Ought this to be laid to our charge? Or, ought the way of God to be accu&s;ed; becau&s;e of &s;uch things, to be Here|&s;ie, or Schi&s;me? If this &s;eem to you an evident token of perdition and of error, yet to us of Salvation, and that of God. And we are a&s;&s;ured that we are of God, having the witne&s;s in our &s;elves, yet not bearing witne&s;s of our &s;elves, for there is one that beareth witne&s;s of us, even the Father which is in Heaven, and his witne&s;s is true, being unto us a &s;eal of a&s;&s;urance.</P>
<P>Therefore from henceforth this is a Warning to &s;mall and great, that they no further proceed in that which is both unnece&s;&s;ary and un&s;ea&s;on|able: For this I &s;ay unto all &s;uch, that it is unnece&s;&s;ary and un&s;ea&s;on|able, to &s;eek to per&s;wade us, that the truth is error, or that the light, which every man is enlightned withal, is the &s;pirit of every man, for that is not according to the record which God hath given of his &s;on, nor which the &s;on hath given of the light; but ble&s;&s;ed be that day, and ble&s;&s;ed for ever be that power in which a &s;eed is brought forth, unto which the
<PB N="29" REF="18">
Father ha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters"> given <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters">u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> te&s;timony in which they &s;hall never be con|founded, which abide faithful, for great is the my&s;tery of godline&s;s, God manife&s;t in the fle&s;h, and again&s;t this manife&s;tation is the power of dark|ne&s;s ri&s;en up, and all the me&s;&s;engers and mini&s;ters of Satan under all Forms and profe&s;&s;ions, hath joyned them&s;elves together to make their arm &s;trong again&s;t the Son of righteou&s;ne&s;s; his righteous life, and righ|teous wayes, which now he is bringing forth, among his children; but out of the mouth of Babes, hath God ordained &s;trength, again&s;t which all the powers of darkne&s;s cannot prevail; and unto which &s;trength all our enemies mu&s;t bend, and bow, and come for &s;alvation; For that which now the leaders of the people, have &s;et them&s;elves again&s;t, when they have fini&s;hed their cour&s;e, and the angui&s;h comes over their &s;ouls, then will they confe&s;s, That it had been well if they had loved the light, and walked in it, which they have &s;o long hated, and di&s;pi&s;ed, with tho&s;e that walk in it; and all tho&s;e which have exerci&s;ed their &s;trength, to &s;hut o|thers out of the kingdom of God, by their Preaching, Printing, and fal&s;e Accu&s;ations, they &s;hall know that while they &s;erve &s;in, they are free from righteou&s;ne&s;s, and do keep others from it; But the time is coming, that their mouths mu&s;t be &s;topped, and the Lord w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ll cau&s;e his everla&s;ting righteou&s;ne&s;s to &s;pread abroad, as broad Rivers, and &s;treams, unquench|able, and nothing &s;hall hinder it; and this is the day in which the Lord will try tho&s;e that dwell upon the earth, as he hath tryed many, and mea|&s;ured them by a true Line, and hath found them deceitful, although they have made profe&s;&s;ion of his name, and of his words, for a cloak for their iniquity; But now the light is come into the world, and there remain<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> no more cloak for their &s;ins, nor hiding place for their iniquitie.</P>
<TRAILER>The End.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
