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<DATE>2010-08-18</DATE>
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<NAME>Alexis Jakobson</NAME>
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<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<P><PB REF="1" MS="y">
A SECOND ANSWER TO Thomas Moore, To that which he calls, his De|fence again&s;t the poy&s;on, &amp;c.</P>
<P>Wherein is &s;hewed the crooked wayes, the Serpent is forced to take to keep God and his Creatures at a di&s;tance, and yet would do it under the name of a Teacher.</P>
<P>But is &s;een to be the &s;ame, that per&s;waded man out from his guide in &s;pirit, and now would keep him &s;o, le&s;t his unclean wayes in the heart of man &s;hould be di&s;covered with the &s;piritual Light of Chri&s;t; and &s;o man &s;hould turn to the Lord, who is that &s;pirit, and the vail be done a|way, which is come over the heart by looking out; &amp; &s;o man &s;hould come to &s;ee his Maker, to be his leader in &s;pirit.</P>
<P>Here is al&s;o 54. lies gathered out from among&s;t a multi|tude more, with <HI>T. M.</HI> hath heaped up for his Defence, again&s;t the truth, which he calles the poy&s;on of Satan, which are &s;ent him back to the 48. that I &s;ent him before, that he may either prove them, or they <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">oot with the foun|der, for the truth they touch not.</P>
<P>Set forth to clear the truth from this froth, ca&s;t upon it by the enemy thereof.</P>
<P>By a friend to the &s;eed of truth, called <HI>James Naylor.</HI></P>
<Q><HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are you when men &s;hall per&s;ecute you, and &s;ay all manner of evill on you fal&s;ely for my names &s;ake: for &s;o have they done to the Prophets and Apo&s;tles before you.</HI></Q>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>Giles calvert,</HI> at the <HI>Black-&s;pread-Eagle</HI> at the We&s;t end of <HI>Pauls,</HI> 1655.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="errata">
<PB REF="2">
<P><HI>Reader,</HI> Thou art de&s;ired to take notice of the&s;e faults in the Printing, and correct them with thy Pen.</P>
<P>PAge 2. 1. 17. &s;or <HI>filthy,</HI> read <HI>frothy.</HI> P. 9. 1. 3a. for <HI>Antepage,</HI> r. <HI>Antidote, page</HI> P. 10. l. 18. for <HI>for, r. &s;o.</HI> P. 11. <HI>for you know,</HI> r. <HI>I know.</HI> P. 12. 1. 2, 3. for, <HI>God was not, God is manife&s;t,</HI> &amp;c. r. <HI>God was, not, God is manife&s;t,</HI> &amp;c. P. 16. 1. 26. for, <HI>rendring to us to all.</HI> r. <HI>rendring us to all.</HI> P. 17. 1. 2. for. <HI>would have to have us liberty,</HI> r. <HI>would have us to have liberty.</HI> P. 18. 1. 6. for, <HI>John Frey,</HI> r. <HI>John Wrey.</HI> P. 19. 1. 3. for, <HI>&s;lain in him,</HI> r. <HI>&s;lain in Chri&s;t.</HI> P. 21. 1. 5. for <HI>&s;ince,</HI> r. <HI>&s;ence.</HI> P. 22. 1. 19. for, <HI>angred,</HI> r. <HI>any read.</HI> P. 24. 1. 6. for, <HI>I an&s;wer,</HI> r. <HI>I an&s;wered.</HI> P. 27. 1. 8. for, <HI>&s;eal,</HI> r. <HI>deal.</HI> P. 29. 1. 10. for, <HI>being uged,</HI> r. <HI>being judged.</HI> P. 30. 1. 27. for <HI>nad,</HI> r. <HI>and.</HI> P. 32. 1. 7. for <HI>trade,</HI> r. <HI>tread.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
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<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="2">
<HEAD>A Second An&s;wer to <HI>Thomas Moore.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>THomas Moore,</HI> when wilt thou love the truth, and cea&s;e thy deceit, and minde the light of Chri&s;t, to lead thee out of thy crooked paths, that the mouth of the Serpent may be &s;topt, that belcheth out thy own &s;hame in thy lies and confu&s;ions, as thou ha&s;t done; not onely when I was with thee before many witne&s;&s;es, but al&s;o in the ethy two Books, wherein thy lies are too many to number: In thy fir&s;t Book, I &s;ent thee back 48. lies, out of three times as many more, that thou might prove them; But in&s;tead thereof, thou adds heaps upon heaps; and &s;o it mu&s;t be, that he may be revealed, who abides not in the truth; and &s;o is a lyer from the begin|ning, and &s;o thou art found. As thou did&s;t make up the &s;ub&s;tance of thy fir&s;t Book with lies, &s;o thou begins this. And in the front of thy lye, thou makes a cover for it, lea&s;t it &s;hould be &s;een. In thy fir&s;t Book thou &s;ayes, thou &s;halt refu&s;e further to meddle, or have to do with me, un|le&s;&s;e thou perceive in me &s;ome turn to the Lord; And in thy &s;econd Book, thou renders me as the mouth of the Devill, to ca&s;t out his poy&s;on: Is this the turn to the Lord thou perceives in me? Orthou would have me be|lieve, that in this Book (thou ha&s;t thus filled with deceit to ca&s;t upon me) thou do&s;t not meddle with me therein: This by the way, all may &s;ee thou art no bungler in that Art; for in the mo&s;t part of thy lies thou makes &s;ure. &s;o to pre&s;ent them, as to leave open a way or two to e&s;cape, if thou be taxt therewith; and if not, then let it pa&s;&s;e for
<PB N="2" REF="3">
truth, and this all &s;hall &s;ee in thy Books, who doth but read them with the light of truth: which deceipts, I &s;hall not much trouble my &s;elfe to trace thee in, onely in &s;ome few where the Serpent would devoure the &s;imple by the way, and &s;hut up the Kingdom again&s;t &s;uch as de&s;ire to chu&s;e the plain way, I &s;hall di&s;cover thy &s;pirit, of what na|ture it is, that they that will, may beware.</P>
<P N="1">1. There is three things thou would have the Reader to believe from thee, if any be &s;o void of truth: Fir&s;t, that I have belied thee, and the truth atte&s;ted by thee; To which I &s;ay, 48. of tho&s;e thou calles thy truths, I &s;ent thee back again into thy bottle, be&s;ides many more of the &s;ame nature I layed open. I knowing the&s;e to be notorious lies, atte&s;ted by thee for truths, I could do no le&s;&s;e then te&s;tifie again them, Any other belying of thee, thou art not able to prove.</P>
<P N="2">2. How empty, filthy, and corrupt my An&s;wers is, and how plainly the Scriptures are wre&s;ted by me: To which I &s;ay, to the fir&s;t part; the boa&s;ter &s;peaks the frothy words. To the &s;econd I &s;ay, if quoting Scriptures, without ad|ding or dimini&s;hing be no wre&s;ting then thou ha&s;t but herein added a lie more to the number.</P>
<P N="3">3. How the Woolf appears in the Sheeps Skins, in the beginning, and clo&s;e of my Book. To which I &s;ay, My Book begins with di&s;covering, thy lying Antichri&s;tian Doctrine lea&s;t by it the &s;imple &s;ouls &s;hould be deceived; and what I &s;ay, I make it appear to be truth, and my Book ends with twelve points of truth laid down, needful to be cleared to all from the Devills mi&s;ts ca&s;t upon them, and this is no part of the Wolfs work; But what Bea&s;t was that which was up among&s;t thee, and thy Companions, who when I &s;poke the truth among&s;t you, your Weapon was heared up to knock me down in the yard, when you was on Hor&s;eback, and left the di&s;pute the latter day, which in this Book thou would&s;t cover with a &s;ubtle lie. If I had intended &s;uch a thing to any Creature, I could not have been excu&s;ed in the &s;ight of God from a Wolf, or
<PB N="3" REF="3">
a Dogg; for I am &s;ure it was no part of a man, much le&s;&s;e of a Saint, to knock one in the head, who did not re&s;i&s;t, neither had any thing in his hand, wherewith to re|&s;i&s;t.</P>
<P>For the fir&s;t of the&s;e, and the deceiptful crooked wayes thou takes to excu&s;e thy lies and bla&s;phemies, who doth but read thy Books, and my An&s;wer to thy fir&s;t, needs not any further to &s;ee thee withall, if they minde but any light in them; yet for love to the &s;imple ones, I &s;hall lay thee open in &s;ome of them, that they may the better finde thee out in the re&s;t.</P>
<P>In thy fir&s;t, thou begins with, Thou &s;ayes thou do&s;t not gather thy charge again&s;t me, that I preach down the per|&s;on and work of Chri&s;t in one body for us, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> from my letter, becau&s;e I witne&s;&s;ed the fle&s;h of Chri&s;t the food of the inner Man; But from my comparing my Confe&s;&s;ion of the fle&s;h of Chri&s;t in me, with the Apo&s;tles preaching down Circumci&s;ion, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Wherein all that ever reads my letter in thy book, may be witne&s;s again&s;t thee, if in any part of my letter I have compared the&s;e two together, nor ever did it enter into my heart &s;o to do; But the end of my letter is this, to let you &s;ee your &s;elves more blinde, as to the knowledge of the &s;pirit, and its reaching and reve|lation then the Jews was, as much as if I had &s;aid, if you oppo&s;e my Te&s;timony when I confe&s;&s;ed the fle&s;h of Chri&s;t, which the letter doth declare of; what a Generation would you have been, had you lived in the time of the Apo&s;tles, who preached down Circumci&s;ion, which the letter &s;aid &s;hould continue? So the compari&s;on &s;tands be|twixt your oppo&s;ing the te&s;timony of the &s;pirit in me, which is according to the letter, and the Jews oppo&s;ing the Apo&s;tles Te&s;timony in &s;pirit, which di&s;annulled the Letter, wherein you are found double to them in blind|ne&s;&s;e: Now how this preaches down the per&s;on of Chri&s;t, or whether I made that compari&s;on, thou &s;ayes I did let a|ny judge, who all may &s;ee thou ha&s;t made it thy &s;elfe to &s;lander withall, without the lea&s;t ground from me, and
<PB N="4" REF="4">
then &s;ayes, I made it. O thou &s;hamele&s;&s;e man, how do&s;t thou bend thy tongue for lies and &s;landers?</P>
<P>Al&s;o having, in thy book, called perfection, a devili&s;h Doctrine, and being told of it, and confounded in it by Scripture: now thou covers it, as though thou call'd our Doctrine of perfection devili&s;h, and &s;ayes, thou no where findes Chri&s;t gave gifts to perfect men in lying, &amp;c. I &s;ay, When did&s;t thou read of any other Doctrine of perfection preacht by us, but the Doctrine of Chri&s;t, and his Light and Spirit for perfecting the Saints; and this is it thou calle&s;t diveli&s;h; and for thy lies, our Doctrine layes thee open therein, el&s;e we &s;hould not be &s;o much oppo&s;ed by the<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters"> and the Generation of lyers, who deny the light of truth within, as thou Child of darkne&s;s do&s;t, who &s;ayes, the grace of God that brings &s;alvation to all men, in&s;tructs them not to look to any light, or &s;pirit in them for di|rection; herein &s;hewing thy &s;elfe wholly ignorant of the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t and his light; for all who have the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t, they have it within them, and his light in them, which thou denies for direction; and &s;o art Antichri&s;t, oppo&s;ing the &s;pirituall light, and teaching, without which none can come to know God, or them&s;elves, and that is the cau&s;e of all thy lies thou ha&s;t told in thy books; for, who denies the &s;pirit of truth, which is appointed of God to lead into all truth, mu&s;t needs be led with the contra|ry, who are &s;en&s;uall, not having the &s;pirit nor light in them; and if thou had&s;t &s;aid no more in thy books, this had been enough to have &s;hewed thy &s;elfe a blinde Guide, who denies the teachings of the &s;pirit and light within, to be from the grace of God; for none can have the grace of God to appear with its light and teachings, and &s;alvati|on, but within; for the grace of God is &s;pirituall, and that which is &s;piritual is within, el&s;e no Creature can have it to &s;alvation; wherefore Chri&s;t &s;aith, the King|dom of God is within you, Not lo here, lo there, (as you <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 17: 20. 21. Rom, 10. 8</NOTE> Phari&s;ees would have it:) And &s;aith he; Go not forth, and, the Apo&s;tles preached the word of Faith that was in
<PB N="5" REF="4">
peoples hearts, to whom they preached, and they came to the knowledge of God, and his glory, by the light that <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 4. 6. Col. 3. 16. Hob. 13. 9. Gal. 4. 6. Eph. 4. 18, 19.</NOTE> &s;hined in their hearts: and the Saints had their grace in their hearts, and the word of God dwelt in them richly; yea God him&s;elf dwelt in their hearts by his &s;pirit; and yet thou &s;ayes the grace of God teaches not to look to any light within; and here thou art clearly manife&s;t, to be heart-blind, and would have all in thy State; for herein your Kingdom would fall, and you could no longer raign over peoples Con&s;ciences and E&s;tates: if they come once to know Gods grace in their hearts, and the teachings of the &s;pirit within them, they would &s;oon &s;ee your Idoll|wor&s;hip, and high place-preaching to be out of both form and power, of that which the Saints liv'd in and practi&s;ed, and no longer would they give their money for that which is no bread, and their labours for that which doth not pro|fit; and then could you no longer ride upon the Nations <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 3.</NOTE> as Ma&s;ters; and the Whore would fall: &s;o thou, and the re&s;t do what you can, to keep people &s;piritually blind from looking within, that &s;o they may come to you for teaching, and &s;o be ever learning; but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth ever loadened with &s;in, but never &s;et free, being led out by you, and kept from enter|ing in where freedom is; for the vail mu&s;t be over the heart till they turn to the &s;pirit: Now the Lord is that &s;pirit; and where the &s;pirit is, there is liberty from &s;in, from glory to glory by the &s;pirit, which no litteral Mini|&s;tration <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 17. 20, 21. I&s;a. 51. 7. P&s;al, 119. 11. Jer. 20. 9. 2 Cor, 6. 16.</NOTE> can ever come to, though the Letter be read every day, and &s;o you deny both Letter and Spirit al&s;o; for &s;aith the Letter you &s;hall be all taught of God; and none can be taught of God but by the light of Chri&s;t within, in &s;pirit; and thou that denies this, art again&s;t Chri&s;t, and his Kingdom is in the heart, and his Law in the heart, and his word in the heart, and he him&s;elf in the heart: therefore thou his enemy would not have his people to look there for teaching &s;o let all who de&s;ires to be u|nited unto Chri&s;t, avoid thee and thy Antichri&s;tian
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Doctrine, and it is no matter what thou &s;ayes, as touch|ing the things of God, who art heart-blinde, and ha&s;t not thy teaching from the light and &s;pirit of Chri&s;t-within thee. All that comes out mu&s;t needs be of the Devill, and &s;o it is in all, who hath it not from the light and &s;pirit of Chri&s;t within them; for he that &s;peaks of him&s;elf is the lyer, and the Father of it, and &s;o it is &s;een of thee in thy books; and al&s;o thy bla&s;phemy, who &s;ayes, to direct, to look to the light within, is the lame, as directing men to &s;eek to a Familiar &s;pirit; and of that brood thou art, who ever called Chri&s;t <HI>Beelzebub;</HI> and light, darkne&s;s. O thou bla&s;phemer! did Chri&s;t direct to a familiar &s;pirit, when he told them, The Kingdom was within them, and <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 17. 21 Luk. 11. 34, 35. 36.</NOTE> that the light of the body is the eye, and if it be &s;ingle, the whole body is full of light, as the bright &s;hining of a Candle doth give light: And, keep thy heart with all di|ligence, for from thence are the I&s;&s;ues of life: And &s;aith, Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not &s;in; and Commune with your own hearts, and be &s;till; and the Law of God is written in the heart, and the heart of the wi&s;e <NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 4. 23 P&s;al. 119. 11. P&s;al. 4. Heb. 8. 10. Prov. 16. 23. Joh. 16. 13</NOTE> teacheth his mouth, and the &s;pirit of truth is that which mu&s;t lead into all truth: Nay doth not all the Scriptures te&s;tifie to the light and &s;pirit-teaching within; and that they are none of Chri&s;ts who have not the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t, and is it counted a familiar &s;pirit now with thee? Now is it &s;een to all the Children of the light, that Antichri&s;t is revealing, as the Scriptures hath foretold, and the Man of &s;in pleading again&s;t freedom from &s;in, and the blinde Guids preaching again&s;t the light, and he that is born of the fle&s;h again&s;t the &s;pirit and its teachings, and the Chil|dren of darkne&s;s again&s;t the light that manife&s;ts the evill deeds, and he is di&s;covering who abode not in the truth, and the &s;pirit and light is that truth which thou would preach down, to lead out into the world, where the lyer is, who hates the light becau&s;e his deeds are evill; And this is thy work in thy books, and to thy Ma&s;ter, and his work thou art faithful, u&s;ing thy utmo&s;t &s;ubtlety to do his
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work thorowly, to preach Chri&s;t out of his Creatures, that none &s;hould minde his light and &s;pirit, but without in an|other world, that &s;o the Devill may have his will in the heart in this World, while any one lives, and &s;erve God, and be made free when they are dead, and can do their Ma&s;ter no more &s;ervice, if they would; and when thou ha&s;t &s;truck them off, from looking at any light or &s;pirit within, then like the Serpent, lea&s;t his head &s;hould be &s;een, thou hides thy &s;elfe, with telling, of, Not to lean to their own under&s;tanding: and (&s;ayes thou) though the word be nigh them in their hearts, that it might be, yet it is not, received by them in their hearts, or dwelling there as a light or principle to direct them, while in their naturall e&s;tate, when thou ha&s;t done what thou can to per&s;wade them, that the looking to it, is but as to a familiar &s;pirit; But is that their own under&s;tanding, which condemns their natural under&s;tanding, as they are fallen from God, and lets them &s;ee, that all their under&s;tanding, wi&s;dom and prudence, is God hid from, and manife&s;ts all their deeds in that &s;tate to be evill: this hath every natural man in him, from the Father of Spirits, which manife&s;tation of &s;pirit is given to every one to profit withall, if it be but minded, and not quenched; and without this can be no knowledge of God, and if this Candle be put out, there is no doing the work of God, till it be lighted, further then to wait; and there is no waiting, but with the heart in &s;pirit, till it &s;hine out of darkne&s;s again; and till then, all the Creature doth, is but deeds of darkne&s;s, and not ac|cepted by God; his prayers are abomination, and his plowing &s;in; yea though all the world &s;hould flatter &s;uch a one, they could not &s;ave him nor unite him to God, nor give peace of Con&s;cience with God, nor Sealing in &s;pirit; and this the Children of light know, though blinde Ser|pents and deaf Adders oppo&s;e it, who walk in cra&s;t and deceit; but the Apo&s;tles who handled not the word de|ceitfully, did commend them&s;elves to that in every mans <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 4. 2.</NOTE> Con&s;cience in the &s;ight of God: and the Mini&s;tration of
<PB N="8" REF="6">
Chri&s;t, is to the &s;piritual &s;eed, whereby the &s;piritual &s;eed is quickned, and rai&s;ed out of darkne&s;s and death; but the Mini&s;tration of the Hireling and fal&s;e Prophet, is to the itching eares; and &s;o the Bea&s;t and the fal&s;e Prophet joynes again&s;t the &s;eed of God, to keep it in death and darkne&s;s; and if it be born up, then they per&s;ecute him in whom it is born, And the&s;e take the letter, there with to deny the light, and oppo&s;e that &s;pirit that gave it forth, and whereof the letter re&s;tifies, becau&s;e they have not the <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>John</HI> 5.</NOTE> word abiding within them, and this was the work of the Phari&s;es and Hirelings; but never any one of Chri&s;ts Mini&s;ters denyed the light and &s;pirit within as thou do&s;t, yet &s;laidly and covertly: &s;o as if thou be taxt for it, thou may have an excu&s;e to come out of, and deny thy work with a meaning and con&s;equence; but if none di&s;proves thee, then goes on with thy work, to lead out &s;imple people from the light of Chri&s;t in &s;pirit, to follow thy I|maginations without, a &s;pirit and light without, which thou never &s;aw.</P>
<P>Yet in this one thing, there is not many exceeds thee; for when ever thou layes down a deceit, the end whereof is to deny the light, or &s;pirit, or perfection, or to &s;lander any, who own the truth, in the&s;e things thou makes &s;ure before thou leave it to make two or three wayes for e&s;|cape, lea&s;t it fall upon thy head, knowing before the thing to be &s;uch, thou cannot &s;tand by with Scripture; and this the lea&s;t Child of Light may &s;ee in thy books, where|fore I &s;hall not much need to trace thee therein, the thing being &s;o plainly evident to all, that in the light read thy books, and my an&s;wers thereto.</P>
<P>And when thou ha&s;t told a lie, and being told thereof, thou on purpo&s;e having left out a word or &s;yllable, there thou makes an e&s;cape. As for in&s;tance, in thy an&s;wer to the la&s;t Query, which asks, What that grace of God is, which brings &s;alvation, and hath appeared to all men: thy lie is, that indeed we believe no &s;uch thing, as the grace of God appearing to men; which I finding this to be as an&s;wer
<PB N="9" REF="6">
to the Query, I tell thee, Thou an&s;wers with a &s;lan|der, &s;aying, that indeed we believe no &s;uch thing, as the grace of God appearing to all men: now thou having left out the word all (for e&s;cape) which is in the Query, and in the Scripture al&s;o: In thy defence &s;ayes thou, my words are, They believe no &s;uch thing, as the grace of God ap|pearing to men; and this thou would charge upon me, to be a lie, when the lie is thy own; and hath both abu&s;ed the Query, and the Scripture, on which the Query is grounded, leaving out the word [all] to make it, and &s;uch holes as this thou creeps out of, to hide the lyer from be|ing &s;een.</P>
<P>And in other places where thou ha&s;t gone a crooked way to fetch a compa&s;&s;e to make a lie (for otherwi&s;e thou could not) which when I come to an&s;wer, and takes the &s;um of the thing in brief, (which otherwi&s;e might fill a volume) then thy e&s;cape is, becau&s;e I tell not all the lying &s;tory over again after thee; and in the&s;e and &s;uch like crooked wayes, thou goes about to avoid the truth, and winde out thy head, lea&s;t it &s;hould be brui&s;ed therewith: and this &s;hall any &s;ee, who in the light doth but read thy books, and my an&s;wer; wherein I might trace thee into every particular, were it needful or dark to the lea&s;t &s;im|plicity.</P>
<P>Al&s;o in other places, where thy e&s;cape will not &s;erve thee with a &s;eeming &s;hew of truth, before thou &s;tick, thou wilt forge an ab&s;olute lie. As for in&s;tance page 9. where thou mentione&s;t my charging thee to &s;ay, that none have yet cea&s;ed from their own works: To which thou &s;ayes, thy Tayings are, that none here have yet &s;o cea&s;ed from their own works, &amp;c. To prove which words, thou quotes Antepage 44. which all that read that page, &s;hall read thee a lyer, thereby to accu&s;e the truth; for the&s;e words are not &s;o there, nor any where el&s;e that I have yet &s;een; and &s;o according to the Doctrine, to thee it is, who ha&s;t not yet cea&s;ed from thy own works, who art yet a lyer, and covering one lie with another, carping at words,
<PB N="10" REF="7">
when I &s;peak the &s;ence) to make me a lier, when thou can&s;t not hit thy own words; but he that is come to Chri&s;t is cea&s;ed from his own works, who is become Gods workman&s;hip; but the Serpent hath no portion here, and &s;o would exclude all others, who knowes no better but to believe him; but where God works all our work in us, he ordains peace there; and &s;uch are entred into the Re&s;t, the Serpent knowes not, <HI>I&s;ay</HI> 26. 52. <HI>Phil.</HI> 2. 13. but they which did believe, were entred into re&s;t, <HI>Heb.</HI> 4. 3. but thy Sophi&s;try is to keep people from looking for any re&s;t from their own works, till they be cut off by death, and can &s;erve the Devil no longer, and &s;o art one of tho&s;e who will neither enter thy &s;elfe, nor &s;uffer tho&s;e that would, like the re&s;t of thy Fathers, who art &s;eeking to overthrow the faith; by thy lying Divination. For the Devil knowes unbelief is that which keeps from entring into re&s;t: &s;o he &s;trikes off Faith. But many are entred in, who have heard his voice, and &s;uch will believe thee no longer; for thou ca&s;ts out thy flood, after &s;uch as is out of thy reach. Ano|ther way thou ha&s;t, that when I tell thee of thy lies, and deceits in thy book, le&s;t people &s;hould find them, thou &s;ets them to &s;eek in another page, where thou ha&s;t made &s;ome cover for that deceit, and not in the place in which it is &s;poken; and thus thou &s;huffles to hide thy &s;elfe, le&s;t thou &s;hould be di&s;covered in plainne&s;s to the &s;imple: In&s;tance, that about the Re&s;urrection.</P>
<P>Another way thou ha&s;t, with thy Divination to turn a thing quite contrary to what I both &s;peak and intend; and this is u&s;uall to thee in mo&s;t places of thy book: In&s;tance thy 55. page, thou having in thy fir&s;t book &s;eemed to de|ny any other manner of preaching, then which was left by the Apo&s;tles; to which I an&s;wer, Then you may &s;pare your pains (you Steeple-hou&s;e-Teachers) who are out of the manner, yea, and matter al&s;o; and with thy divina|tion thou turns this, that I would &s;et up a new manner of teaching, of two or three years &s;tanding; when both my words and end is to e&s;tabli&s;h the old way; and therefore
<PB N="11" REF="7">
deny your Idoll-wor&s;hip, which is out of it, your preach|ing and Printing; And in &s;ome of the&s;e wayes, or &s;ome other &s;uch like crooked way, ha&s;t thou ca&s;t a mi&s;t over the truths, wherewith I have laid open thy deceits; yet can&s;t thou blinde none therewith, but thy own Generation, who are blinde already; and as any of them mindes the light in &s;pirit (which thou &s;o much oppo&s;e&s;t) they &s;hall &s;ee thee, and thy deceit al&s;o. And now having a little o|pened the way to all, who de&s;ires to know the truth, that they thereby may &s;ee all the re&s;t of thy rotten Covers, I &s;hall not much contend about words; but leave the truth to manife&s;t it &s;elfe, to all who in the principle of truth reads our books, and enquires after it; and they who will be filthy and loves deceit, in thy book, may cover them|&s;elves therewith.</P>
<P>Thou goes on &s;aying, We come to give &s;ome In&s;tances of his fal&s;e charges, and you mention &s;ome perticular things. To which I &s;ay, how many (that we) is thou &s;peaks on, you know not further then that there is Legions again&s;t the Lamb; but to that I have &s;aid, I &s;hall make it appear to be true, as to the true intent of thy Doctrine without the lea&s;t de&s;ire to aggravate, as follows.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>As to thy &s;eeking to exclude God and Chri&s;t, the &s;pirit and light out of the world, and that he &s;hould no more dwell in his people till dooms-day, and &s;o on to all the re&s;t.</HI></P>
<P><HI>To which I &s;ay thy words are, that it cannot be properly &s;aid, that in a full and ab&s;olute &s;en&s;e, God was, or is manife&s;t in the fle&s;h of any naturall Son of</HI> Adam, <HI>in the time of his Mortality; where it is plain, thou excludes all Mortality, with all the time till Dooms-day: If not, let the wi&s;e judge: as for thy word naturall, thou hast thrust into blinde people with, it is of no force in that place, unle&s;s thou prove, that all men mu&s;t be in their naturall e&s;tate, during the time of their Mor|tality, which indeed be&s;t &s;uits thy end and condition; and as for the &s;pirit, thou calls it as</HI> Popery, <HI>to confe&s;s a &s;pirit within,
<PB N="12" REF="8">
to open the Scriptures; and the light within thou compares to a familiar &s;pirit: In another place thou &s;ayes, God was not, God is manifest in the fle&s;h: which words, not God is, is as ab&s;olute a deny all as can be made, and &s;o preaches him not onely out of the world, but out of all the Saints and thy &s;elf; thou &s;ay&s;t al&s;o, the Word Chri&s;t is per&s;onally ab&s;ent from us, while in the&s;e bodies. And in another place &s;peaking of the mani|fe&s;tation of God, thou &s;ayes in that one per&s;on, not in divers; and this is to deny the Father and the Son; for he that hath not the Father, hath not the Son, and he that hath not the Son hath not life; and &s;o this preaches an eternall &s;eparation, be|tween the Creature and the Creator, and keeps God out of his dwelling-place, denies him pre&s;ent to judge, rule, and guid; and this preaches him out of the heart, and not to be manife&s;t in the fle&s;h; and the whole is herein proved upon thee, which I have &s;aid, out of thy own mouth; and whereas thou would &s;huffle out, by &s;aying, thou do&s;t but uphold that Scripture</HI> Paul <HI>speaks to</HI> Timothy. I&s;ay, Paul <HI>&s;ayes no &s;uch words, as that God is not manife&s;t in fle&s;h, that's thy own, therewith to deny God in the fle&s;h; for</HI> Paul <HI>&s;aith, Great is the My&s;tery, and &s;peaks of what</HI> Timothy <HI>&s;hould wait for then in him, that &s;o by God manife&s;t in him, he might know how to behave him&s;elf in the Church of the living God, the Pillar, and ground of truth; which Church was in God, and God in them, who did dwell in them, and walk in them; and they knew that what God was in Chri&s;t, he was in them, as they had received Chri&s;t, according to the&s;e Scriptures,</HI> John 14. 20, 21. 23. John 17. 23. <HI>and they knew that they was the Temples of God: which Temples was holy, in which God was known and manife&s;t, to dwell and walk.</HI> 1 Cor. 3. 16, 17. 2 Cor. 6. 16. <HI>And if any had not the Father, and the Son in them, they was warned, Nnot to receive them into their hou&s;es,</HI> 2 John 9. 10.</P>
<P><PB N="13" REF="8">
And therefore they was to try all Antichri&s;ts, who de|nyed Chri&s;t in their fle&s;h, as thou do&s;t, and &s;o all Idoll-Shepheards and Hirelings, who had not God in them, they denyed, and tho&s;e that was without God, they &s;aw them to be in the world, and &s;o the world would hear them, but them in whom God was they knew not; but as thou do&s;t now to envy and reproach, 1 <HI>John</HI> 4. 3, 4, 5, 6. 12, 13, 15, 16, 17. So that which I have &s;aid of thee, is no &s;lander, being proved out of thy own mouth, &amp; afterward contradicted by plain Scripture, and thou proved to be that Antichri&s;t, who art without God in the world, de|nying Chri&s;t now in the fle&s;h, and God al&s;o, and knowes not the great my&s;tery of God manife&s;t in fle&s;h, which was great, and is great, though thou know it not now, no more then the blinde guides did then. And thy cover is, that that word Chri&s;t, is per&s;onally ab&s;ent from us, while we are in the&s;e bodies upon earth. I &s;ay thou may &s;top thy mouth for any knowledge thou ha&s;t of Chri&s;t, per&s;o|nall or &s;pirituall: he was never known to the Idoll-Teachers, and Hirelings, and blinde Guides, and &s;uch as preacht for gifts and rewards, &s;uch never knew his per&s;on, nor appeanance: Had there not been a letter, we &s;hould have little talk of Chri&s;t, or his appearance, with thy Ge|neration of Chemerims, who have alwayes put his ap|pearance into another Generation, wherein thou exceeds all thy Predece&s;&s;ors, who would binde him in Heaven, while he is, and while any man lives, which &s;eeing, thou goes about to deny, I &s;hall repeat thy words, which are the&s;e, in thy fir&s;t book, page 36. That he remains in the Heavens, as oppo&s;ed to the Earth, and where while he is, he is per&s;onally ab&s;ent from us, while we are in the&s;e bo|dies on Earth; and yet with the &s;ame &s;hamele&s;s mouth <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jer.</HI> 4. 22.</NOTE> am I accu&s;ed as a lyer, for telling thou ha&s;t limitted his per&s;on from the Earth till Dooms-day (as it is call'd) when thy words reaches further, even to while he is, which is as much as to &s;ay for ever: thou blinde Sot, wilt thou limit the Lord in Heaven, who fills Heaven and
<PB N="14" REF="9">
Earth, who after he had de&s;cended into the lower parts of the Earth, a&s;cended far above all Heavens, that he might fill all things? And was not this the per&s;on of Chri&s;t, <HI>E|phe&s;.</HI> 4. 9, 10. which de&s;cended, and a&s;cended, and that above all Heavens (which now filleth all things) which thou would limit in Heaven? Art not thou blinde, as to the letter it &s;elfe? was he per&s;onally ab&s;ent from any of his dear Lambs in their &s;ufferings, though but once in the likene&s;s of &s;inful fle&s;h, to growe from a Child to a mans &s;tate, that in him&s;elf alone he might work Redemption, and leave a living example of faith and obedience, tempt|ings and &s;ufferings, to all Generations that believe; and for that end was he lifted up, that through him all might believe, yet hath he appeared in divers forms, both before his &s;ufferings and &s;ince, <HI>Mark</HI> 16. 12. wherein he is not per&s;onally ab&s;ent? was he per&s;onally ab&s;ent from the three Children in the Furnace, <HI>Dan.</HI> 3. 25? Was he per&s;onally ab&s;ent from <HI>John</HI> in the Ile of <HI>Patmos, Reveb.</HI> 1? Was he per|&s;onally ab&s;ent from <HI>Paul,</HI> who confe&s;&s;eth his per&s;onall pre&s;ence, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 2. 10? Nay thy &s;elfe &s;ayes, page 2. of thy fir&s;t book, that <HI>Paul</HI> with his bodily eyes, did behold the per&s;on of Chri&s;t, after his a&s;&s;cention; and this thou could make u&s;e on in thy di&s;pute, to plead again&s;t any immedi|ate Call from God; and now thou would limit him to a place while he is: Cea&s;e thy Imaginations about the per|&s;on of Chri&s;t, the Serpent is as blinde about the per&s;on of Chri&s;t, as he was about the body of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> yet will he be di&s;puting to &s;ee if he can get in. Chri&s;t is revealed in the light; who&s;e per&s;on is before the world was, and by whom the world was made, which light, thou calls a fa|miliar Spirit, as thy Fathers called him <HI>Beelzebub:</HI> &s;o much knowes the carnall Imaginations of his per&s;on, or his light, wherein he leads out of the world to reveal his per&s;on to them that follow it: Is not Chri&s;t whereever the right hand of God is, though the blinde &s;ee him not? <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Col.</HI> 1. 15. 16, 17.</NOTE> was not the per&s;on of Chri&s;t with him, when he made the World, and by him he made it? was not he at the right hand
<PB N="15" REF="9">
of God in <HI>Davids</HI> time, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 110. 1. And is not he at the right hand of God in the New Creation? And is not be, in Chri&s;t, reconciling the world unto him&s;elf, whereby they become of his fle&s;h, and his bone? Was it not the per&s;on of Chri&s;t that came in among&s;t his Di&s;ciples, the doors being &s;hut? And was it not the per&s;on of Chri&s;t that &s;aid he would come again to them, though he had yet to a&s;cend? Which, <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Joh.</HI> 14. 18, 23.</NOTE> till then, the work he had to do was not wholly done; and wilt thou now bind him as a man in a Chair, who fills Heaven and Earth; yea, who is fat above all Heavens: yea, <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 4. 10.</NOTE> where ever the right hand of God reaches, he is there; and without him (pre&s;ent) he doth nothing. Cea&s;e, vain man, thou knows not whom thou would limit, who limits the word to be per&s;onally ab&s;ent from Believers: All the De|vils in Hell cannot limit him ab&s;ent, from his Lambs, in their greate&s;t &s;traits; who, though he be to be preacht in Heaven, yet is he not to be limited from the Earth, whom the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain, <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 4. 9, 10. Nor doth that place, <HI>Act.</HI> the 3. limit him, though it &s;ay the Hea|vens mu&s;t receive him (which the world will not) but &s;aith, upon their repentance, God will &s;end him, whom the Hea|vens hath received: As in many other places, his appear|ance is promi&s;ed, waiting for, and received, as he is in him|&s;elf, not in imagination; and in this book thou denies him, as Mediator to be in Man, becau&s;e the Letter &s;ayes, between God and Man; thou &s;ayes, not in man: thou may as well &s;ay not in God, &s;o much thou knows of him in thee: Read Chri&s;ts words, <HI>Joh.</HI> 14. 20. if he be not in God, and in Man: And whereas thou would accu&s;e me, for asking thee, if thou do&s;t not deny the Re&s;urrection of the Body, in &s;aying, No man, as from <HI>Adam,</HI> can approach, or &s;ee the Lords Throne in Heaven, I &s;ay, had I not good ground to ask que&s;tion; yea, and rebuke that Lie al&s;o, as I did, telling thee, <HI>John</HI> and <HI>Ste|ven</HI> was men from <HI>Adam,</HI> and yet did &s;ee Gods Throne, and Chri&s;t Promi&s;es, to &s;uch as overcome, to &s;it on his Throne: And do&s;t thou call this a &s;lander to tell thee of it? then keep in thy fal&s;e doctrine, if thou would not hear it reproved; and think not to hide thee under <HI>Johns</HI> words, which &s;aith, <HI>No man hath &s;een God: for John</HI> &s;aith, <HI>The onely begotten Son hath
<PB N="16" REF="10">
revealed him: John</HI> did not &s;peak the&s;e words, to deny the &s;ight of God and &s;o make him&s;elf a lyar, who had &s;een him; but to declare the true way, to come to &s;ee him, which is by Revelation; which thou denies, and &s;o would wre&s;t <HI>John's</HI> words again&s;t what he did witne&s;s and declare of.</P>
<P>And whereas thou would accu&s;e me, as &s;landering thee among&s;t the <HI>Pari&s;h-Ma&s;ters:</HI> I &s;aid not, that thou was a <HI>Pa|ri&s;h-Ma&s;ter,</HI> but thou art one with them, in the &s;ame Spirit, for gifts and rewards, though yet thou ha&s;t not got a Par&s;o|nage &s;uitable to thy will: But art thou not a Ma&s;ter-Teacher, and in their way al&s;o of Pari&s;h-Steeple-hou&s;es; and then what wrong have I done thee, in reckoning thee among&s;t Pari&s;h-Teachers, and Ma&s;ters al&s;o? But thou wants &s;omething to accu&s;e me, that thou might make me like thy &s;elf; and &s;o thou &s;eeks all along in thy <HI>book:</HI> In&s;tance thy accu&s;ing me, for &s;aying thou tells of &s;ome abatement of Per&s;ecution, &amp;c. I &s;ay, let any but read thy Epi&s;tle to the <HI>fir&s;t book, pa. 2. line</HI> 1. and they may &s;ee the Lyer; and &s;o in ma|ny other things, not worth mentioning after thee; where|in, going to prove me a Lyar, thou proves thy &s;elf one: But if any, who have the lea&s;t mea&s;ure of Chri&s;t in them, read but thy 28. and 29. pages of this la&s;t <HI>book</HI> of thine, they may &s;ee what &s;pirit is in thee, as to per&s;ecution of us; and how thou goes about with thy lies and &s;landers, to add to our &s;uffer|ings, which one day thou &s;halt know thou &s;hould not have done, rendring to us to all the world, as though it could not &s;tand with the &s;ecurity of any <HI>Common-wealth</HI> to &s;uffer us: wherein it is plainly &s;een, what &s;hall become of us, if thou get power; or if &s;uch as are in Power, will but give ear to what thou ha&s;t publi&s;hed to them: but to the Lord we ap|pear in the&s;e things, and if he do &s;uffer your Generation of Murderers to get power, we may read, by what hath been done, what mercy we map expect from thee, and the re&s;t of that Generation, who art &s;hewing thy teeth, before thou have power, rendring us in as vile a manner as thou can&s;t, as Papi&s;ts, and would lay the <HI>blood</HI> they have &s;hed upon us, who art in the &s;tate of their Papi&s;t-Prie&s;ts thy &s;elf, incen&s;ing, (and in mo&s;t notorious &s;landering too) the Earthly Powers again&s;t us, all thou can, by thy fal&s;e accu&s;ations, too many to
<PB N="17" REF="10">
mention; and when thou ha&s;t done, to cover thy &s;elf, thou &s;ayes thou would have to have us liberty, that thou may fair|ly deal with us with other weapons. O full of all &s;ubtilty! can the&s;e words cover thee? It hath been always known what weapons is of mo&s;t u&s;e in the hands of the Idol-Shep|heards; which Weapons thou art &s;harpning before-hand in <NOTE PLACE="marg">There are ma|ny more, be|&s;ides thee, who thinks our &s;u&s;|ferings are not great enough: but your day is coming on apace.</NOTE> this thy <HI>book,</HI> in which thou renders us, as not fit to be &s;uf|fered to live in any <HI>Common-wealth,</HI> heaping up thy Accu&s;a|tions upon us, of which we are clear; and rendring the &s;uf|ferings of hundreds of innocent Ones, as evill-doers, and ju|&s;tifying there in the bloudy cruelty acted upon many of them, &s;aying, <HI>It is not &s;o great as we pretend, nor as it was in the bodily and bloody Per&s;ecution;</HI> and then would cover thy &s;elf with feigned words: But the Lord who de&s;pi&s;es not the &s;ufferings of the <HI>Poor,</HI> &s;hall find thee out, and the Chil|dren of Light &s;ees thee, and thy opening a door to Murder and Per&s;ecution.</P>
<P>And whereas thou (after thy u&s;uall manner) ca&s;ts a &s;lan|der upon me, and when thou ha&s;t done, aggravates it again in thy &s;econd <HI>book,</HI> where in thou would make people believe, that I own no &s;ufferings, nor &s;atisfaction of Chri&s;t for the world, but what was in me; and much &s;uch like conjur'd &s;tuff, thou rai&s;es out of the bottomle&s;s Pit, and calls it my fancy, which is but thy forgery; for I know the Offering of Chri&s;t for the &s;inne of the whole world, in his own per&s;on, as I have hinted in page 56. of my An&s;wer, which might have &s;topt thy mouth of this Lye: but more at large in that book, called, <HI>A Salutation to the Seed of God;</HI> and divers o|thers; which all remains, as &s;o many Witne&s;&s;es again&s;t thy fal&s;e &s;lander: Yet did I never know his Reconciliation, Sufferings, not Satisfaction, as I ought to do (but by hear|fay) untill I knew Chri&s;t revealed in me, with his Sufferings, Satisfaction, and Reconciliation; though I could have talked much of a thing without me, as thou do&s;t; yet had alwayes &s;uch a feeling within me, as kept me from &s;uch a common road of lying, as thou delighre&s;t in, and do&s;t exerci&s;e as a Trade, beyond all that ever I read or heard: Surely, do&s;t thou think that people are all as blind, as tho&s;e thou ha&s;t in gui|ding Do&s;t not thou blu&s;h, to tell &s;uch abominable Lies,
<PB N="18" REF="11">
as thou do&s;t in thy books, that he that runs, may read rhee &s;o to be. What a Lye ha&s;t thou framed to excu&s;e thy bro|ther (as thou rightly calls him) about lifting his Rod to have &s;truck me on the head in the yard, at your departure, which thou knows in thy heart is a lye, and &s;o many people Eye|witne&s;&s;es again&s;t thee: Did not <HI>John Frey</HI> him&s;elf &s;ay con|cerning it, <HI>Now is the Devil up:</HI> Whereupon <HI>Richard Farn&s;|worth</HI> bad him go, and reprove him then: To which he &s;aid, <HI>If he was called to it of God, he &s;hould:</HI> And yet thou ha&s;t co<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ered over the thing, as though he was but reaching to me with his Rod, to &s;peak to me; yea, &s;o &s;mooth ha&s;t thou made it, that any who knows not thy &s;pirit, or &s;aw the thing, would believe thee therein. Was there ever &s;uch an impudent &s;pi|rit? How art thou brazened in thy wickedne&s;s, as though thou &s;hould never account for thy tongue? And when thou ha&s;t done, being con&s;cious of thy deceit, and that it could not be hid, &s;o many being pre&s;ent, then thou would make me the Offender, for telling of it; and &s;ayes, what ever it was, I am not guided by the Spirit of Chri&s;t, who opened not his mouth in &s;uch &s;ufferings, &amp;c. I &s;ay, Chri&s;t opened his mouth, and told the <HI>Murderers, Lyers, Serpents,</HI> and <HI>Vipers,</HI> what they were, though there was a time when he opened not his mouth: but if the Chief Prie&s;ts may be Judge, Je&s;us is the Offendor, and <HI>Barabbas</HI> cleared; which if thou be not acting in this thing, let all that &s;ee that thing acted judge thereof, who hath forged a Lye, to clear him that offered the violence, and would make me the Offendor for reproving it, though I did not re&s;i&s;t him, further then with telling him, that was the nature of a Dog to de<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">our and murther.</P>
<P>Al&s;o, take notice of thy notorious Lies in page 30. thou accu&s;e&s;t me (but fal&s;ly) to &s;ay, <HI>Th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters"> i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> Chri&s;t bore &s;inne, in that his own body that died at Jeru&s;alem, &s;o he had born &s;innes in my body:</HI> And ere thou leave&s;t that page, thou forgets that Lye, and contradicts it thy &s;elf; &s;aying, (this note) <HI>That I &s;ay no|thing for di&s;proving what thou &s;aid&s;t of Chri&s;t, having &s;o born our &s;ins in his own body to the Tree, at that he have not left them, &s;o to be born in our &s;oul or bodies, but <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 words"> perfected the Sacrifice in that one Offering of him&s;elf once for all:</HI> And as thy tongue bew<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ays thee in this; &s;o doth it in mo&s;t of the re&s;t;
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as I might &s;hew, were it worthy the while, to trace the Ser|pent in his crooked ways.</P>
<P>And thou &s;peaks of the enmity being &s;lain in him, I &s;ay, that I know, but it is alive in thee, as the venome of thy mouth doth plainly manife&s;t.</P>
<P>And thou would make people believe, that there was a time when God did not impute &s;inne unto the world, and this time thou imagines to be in the time of Chri&s;ts under|takings; and thou asks me, <HI>Where do I find tho&s;e that have re|ceived the word of Reconciliation, called the world.</HI> I &s;ay, <HI>Where do&s;t thou find the world reconciled to God (though he be reconci|ling them that come out of the world.)</HI> But on the contrary, the whole world lies in wickedne&s;s, and of &s;uch I &s;pake; And did not God impute the tre&s;pa&s;&s;es of the Jews to them, who murdered him, which was in the time of his undertakings: &s;o thou calls me blind, but it is thy &s;elf. And again, I &s;ay, if <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;al.</HI> 32. 2.</NOTE> God impute no &s;inne to the world, then no Condemnation can be to them neither then, nor now; for they are ble&s;&s;ed, to whom he imputes not &s;inne. And this thou &s;ays opens a large door of Faith: I &s;ay, to the worlds faith and thine it doth, who can believe your &s;ins are imputed to another, and not to you, though you live in them; that makes thee &s;o free in thy lying, and fal&s;e accu&s;ing: but we know where &s;in lives, and is &s;erved, the world is not reconciled to God, but &s;in is imputed, and your large faith will be too large for the &s;trait-way: thy hope will peri&s;h with the world, who art not reconciled, though God be now reconciling, as he was then in the Apo&s;tles time; and &s;ome have the word of Reconciliation, which the world and thou oppo&s;es, and preaches per&s;onally ab&s;ent; and yet art telling of two Re|conciliations, but knows not one to live in it: but preaches a di&s;tance from GOD, to whom the Saints are reconci|led.</P>
<P>Thou further tells me, if I had minded the Scriptures more, and my Imaginations le&s;&s;e, I might have &s;een that Scripture, <HI>Revea</HI> 3. 8. means not of the Lamb&s;lain; but of Bea&s;t-Wor&s;hippers: To which I &s;ay, were I &s;o blind, as to leave both the Spirit and Scripture al&s;o, and believe thy blind imaginations, contrary to both, then &s;hould I become a
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Bea&s;t-wor&s;hipper like thee: this is like thy divination of that in <HI>Amos</HI> 2. 13. where thou would have the people to read, I will pre&s;s you, in&s;tead of (I am pre&s;&s;ed) putting man in&s;tead of God; and here thou would put the Bea&s;t|wor&s;hippers in&s;tead of Chri&s;t the Lamb, and with &s;uch as this thou leads blinde, when thou meets &s;uch as knows no better guide, within them&s;elves, but to follow thy Divinations.</P>
<P>And thou &s;ay&s;t, By his &s;tripes you are healed, and yet de|nyeth him come, and &s;aith, the Scriptures rendereth his ap|pearance alwayes to all believers, in the time to come, as that which they are to be looking for all their time in this world. I &s;ay thou &s;peake&s;t a truth, as concerning thy &s;elf, and &s;o take notice, thy healing is without Chri&s;t, and &s;o deceit|ful; but why wilt thou that art without Chri&s;t, judge be|lievers, and belie the Scriptures; for he that believeth hath the witne&s;s in him&s;elf, and Chri&s;t in you the hope of glory, who is that witne&s;s, and he that hath not the Son, hath not life, 1 <HI>John</HI> 5. 10. <HI>Col.</HI> 5. 27.</P>
<P>And the Scripture &s;aith, We know that we are of God, and we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an under&s;tanding: And, Chri&s;tin you, except ye be Reprobates, And, he that abideth in the Doctrine of Chri&s;t, hath both the Father and the Son, el&s;e they was not to receive them into their hou&s;es, 1 <HI>John</HI> 5. 20. 2 <HI>John</HI> 9. 10. 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 13. 5. And <HI>Paul</HI> had Chri&s;t revealed in him, before he was a Mini&s;ter, <HI>Gal.</HI> 1. 16. and this with thee is alwayes to come; and &s;o all that thou ha&s;t proved herein, is but thy &s;elf without Chri&s;t, healing, and being healed: like the fal&s;e Prophets, who hath not the word in thee, and &s;o &s;peake&s;t of thy &s;elf, and &s;o art believed by all that have Chri&s;t in them, and fellow&s;hip in his &s;ufferings, and in his Re&s;urrection; and with &s;uch thou art &s;een to be Reprobate, thy preaching, and healing; who art preaching Chri&s;t at a di&s;tance, from believers, which the Apo&s;tle preaches in them: &s;o thy work is di&s;covered in all thy crooked dark paths in thy book, who art putting Chri&s;t far from thee, and from all that will believe thee, de&s;troying their faith, by telling them they mu&s;t never &s;ee, nor receive him while they live, &s;uch a faith as none of the Children of God ever preached; but is of him, who, (that
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he may keep his hou&s;e in peace, while people lives) cannot endure they &s;hould believe the appearance of a &s;tronger then him&s;elf while&s;t they are in this world?</P>
<P>And with thy &s;ubtle divination, thou goes about to make people believe, that the Apo&s;tles &s;ince, was of an inward light and &s;pirit when he told, Of &s;erving their bellies; and with this thou would&s;t ca&s;t thy dirt on the light of Chri&s;t, and his &s;pirit within his Saints, &s;hewing thy bea&s;tly blindne&s;s again&s;t the light of Chri&s;t, &s;hining in his dwelling place the bodies of his Saints, and brings to prove it, <HI>Rom.</HI> 16. 18. where all may &s;ee thy gro&s;&s;e darkne&s;s, and abominable wre&s;ting the Scriptures, doth either that, or any other Scripture, &s;peak again&s;t minding the &s;pirituall light within, or call it &s;erving the belly, which thou woul|de&s;t make it &s;peak with thy divination? be a&s;hamed of thy meanings, who woulde&s;t wre&s;t the Scriptures, which all te|&s;tifie of the &s;pirit and light within, (by which they was &s;po|ken forth,) which thou woulde&s;t call &s;erving the belly, to own an inward light and &s;pirit: doth not the Scriptures &s;ay, he that believeth out of his belly, &s;hall flow Rivers of living waters, <HI>John</HI> 7. 38. which how much thou knowe&s;t of this, or the in-dwellings of Chri&s;t his light or &s;pirit, or how much thou love&s;t it to be believed or received in o|thers, thou ha&s;t &s;ufficiently manife&s;ted herein, if thou had&s;t &s;aid no more: nor did the Apo&s;tle &s;peak of them that minded the light or &s;pirit within; but of them that minded earthly things, minding your bellies more then the work of God, as thou and thy Companions did at the di&s;pute, who broke it up, becau&s;e it was an hour pa&s;t dinner time; &s;uch are belly Gods, and not they who minde the light or &s;pirit of Chri&s;t within them. And let all hone&s;t people judge what it is, thy deceitful lips will not make the Scriptures &s;peak, who would make the &s;ence of the Apo&s;tles words, to intend a|gain&s;t minding a &s;pirituall light within, who&s;e words is of &s;uch as minde earthly things: yet in this, as in all other of thy deceits, which thou dar&s;t not plainly a vouch: thou &s;o layes down the thing, as to leave thy &s;elf a way to e&s;cape, if thou be taxed for thy fal&s;hood, as by thy words (&s;ome pre|tended light oppo&s;ed to Chri&s;t) when any may &s;ee thy envy is at the light of Chri&s;t and his &s;pirit within; for no other
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do we pretend; and this is not oppo&s;ire to Chri&s;t, as he is in Heaven, but the only thing that revealeth him in &s;pirit.</P>
<P>And thou laye&s;t down two Rea&s;ons, to prove thy deceits, which no Scripture will: the fir&s;t oppo&s;ing, that the Apo&s;tle did mean, Earth-worms in a gro&s;&s;e and carnall &s;ence; and in thy &s;econd thou &s;ay&s;t, they were walkers, Brethren, they had not &s;uch a form of godline&s;s as &s;tood in talking only, but in walking al&s;o. In the fir&s;t whereof, thou &s;trike&s;t at the A|po&s;tles words, who &s;aid, they minded earthly things; but thou &s;ay&s;t, not Earth-worms; and in thy &s;econd, thou &s;trikes at uptight walking, yet doth neither of them prove any thing for the further then thy confu&s;ion.</P>
<P>And thou would&s;t prove me to be one who&s;e God is my belly; and the thing thou would&s;t prove it withall is, be|cau&s;e I &s;ay the Apo&s;tles preached the &s;pirit and light with|in, &s;hining in their hearts, to give the knowledge of the glo|ry of God in the face of Je&s;us; and this Trea&s;ure they had in Earthen Ve&s;&s;els; but if angred, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 4. 6, 7. they may &s;ee, that in&s;tead of proving me one, who&s;e God is my belly, thou ha&s;t proved thy &s;elf one, who&s;e Father is the Devill, who &s;aith, the Apo&s;tle &s;aith no &s;uch thing; but &s;aith, its my &s;pirit of Antichri&s;t: &s;o let plain Scripture judge, which is good rea&s;on, that it &s;hould be believed, before thy lying &s;pirit, who goeth on to deny the &s;pirit and light, to &s;hine into their hearts, as though God would &s;hine into their hearts, without his &s;pirit and light; and &s;uch dark &s;tuffe thou utters, who knowe&s;t not his &s;pirit and light, mangling thy confu&s;ions to darken the truth, as though I had &s;aid, their hearts &s;hould give them the glory of God, without his light and &s;pirit, when my words are with the Apo&s;tle, and all the Servants of God, who witne&s;s the light and &s;pirit, to give the knowledge of God; without which, there can be no knowledge of God, which Trea&s;ure is in the Earthen Ve&s;&s;els: which words thou leave&s;t out, le&s;t they &s;hould have &s;poyled thy de&s;ign, in perverting the words, and deceiving the &s;imple. And thou make&s;t much adoe in thy Book, to drive a believers light far di&s;tant without, as far from them, as to the place where Chri&s;t was crucified, &s;ay|ing, he that was crucified on the Tree, was the fountain of
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Believers light, which though he be the fountain to tho&s;e who have him in them, yet is he known to none, but by hear-&s;ay, who have him not: to &s;uch the fountain is &s;ealed, therefore do&s;t thou (blind) utter forth &s;o much of thy folly, who imagineth a fountain without thee, but darkne&s;s within, which cannot comprehend the light, though in the darkne&s;s it &s;hine; and the Devill him&s;elf knowes what was done upon Mount <HI>Calvary,</HI> and the wicked&s;t men in the Nation, as well as thee, who ha&s;t it not in thee: &s;o you be|lieve in a Tradition, who have not the Revelation. And thou makes a babling to blinde people with, as that the A|po&s;tle preached not the Earthen Ve&s;&s;els, or them&s;elves. I &s;ay tho&s;e are thy own words; for none el&s;e I know, that in|tends them, or mentions them; but the mo&s;t of thy bu&s;tling in thy Book, is to wre&s;t my words, or to add to them thy own, and &s;o &s;tart a lye out of thy own bo&s;om; and when thou ha&s;t done, much to do thou makes to conflite it; and this plea&s;eth thy fancy, as though thou had&s;t done &s;ome great thing, when thou ha&s;t but confuted thy &s;elf, and laid open thy &s;olly.</P>
<P>And thou goe&s;t creeping about to make people believe, that Chri&s;t is not a &s;pirit, but dar&s;t not deny it, (yet as thy manner is) ca&s;ts a mi&s;t before it, Chri&s;t in &s;pirit being that thou &s;eeks mo&s;t to oppo&s;e, for nothing el&s;e di&s;covereth the <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5, 16.</NOTE> Devills &s;eat in man; and therefore &s;aid the Apo&s;tle, I know him no more after the fle&s;h, and, When they &s;hall turn to the Lord, the vail &s;hall be taken away: now the Lord is that &s;pirit, and where the &s;pirit of the Lord is, there is liberty; <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3. 16, 17</NOTE> but this liberty breaketh the Devills Kingdom: therefore his Mini&s;ters he &s;ets to keep people without in the letter, i|magining a thing at a di&s;tance, but to believe the appearance of Chri&s;t in &s;pirit, that is death to him, and his Mini&s;try; and whereas thou tells of Chri&s;t, being glorified in Heaven in your nature, I &s;ay Chri&s;t was never of the nature of the lyer, neither in Heaven, nor on Earth, though he was fle&s;h: yet it was not that which lu&s;teth again&s;t the &s;pirit: none knowes his fle&s;h nor nature, but who knowes the word in them, which thou oppo&s;eth, which art full of the old Leaven, and
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thou aske&s;tance a que&s;tion of the Scriptures &s;ay the &s;ame] &s;o take thy Que&s;tion back, and apply it to thy &s;elf.</P>
<P>In thy fir&s;t Book thou made an objection, Can fle&s;h and blood enter into the Kingdom of Heaven? and thou an&s;wers, No, yet the &s;ame fle&s;h and bones may, the blood being pow|red out and gone to which an&s;wer, what confu&s;ed &s;tuffe is this that proceeds from thy imaginations? Is Chri&s;t a&s;cen|ded without blood? or is it onely the blood of people that keeps the in from a&s;cending, which they mu&s;t leave behinde them, taking the &s;ame fle&s;h and bones, but not the &s;ame blood; and in this Book thou excu&s;es the matter, with &s;ay|ing he is a&s;cended without material blood; and yet with the vertues of that blood. I &s;ay, again, hath he materiall fle&s;h and bones, and not materiall blood, then is he not the &s;ame that he was, when he was upon earth. But why do&s;t thou not make &s;ome an&s;wer to thy other clau&s;e; how people mu&s;t do to get &s;hut of their blood, &s;eeing thy faith is, they cannot a&s;cend till their blood be poured forth&punc; This being a new Doctrine which the Scripture doth not declare of, it &s;tands in need of better grounds, then yet thou ha&s;t laid down, if thou intends any to believe thee therein; and this is like the re&s;t of thy &s;tuffe, out of the dark bottle, fit for &s;uch a believer to receive: then grounds<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> of who&s;e faith are other mens words from their Imaginations, where the word of God is per&s;onally ab&s;ent, and know neither light, nor &s;pirit of God within them.</P>
<P>And much adoe thou makes, and many crooked wayes, thou takes, to preach <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> out of this world, and that mu&s;t be alwayes to come, and that yet it came not from God to any, and to di&s;prove that which <HI>John</HI> &s;poke in <HI>Rev.</HI> 21. 2. 10. (who &s;aw the new <HI>Jeru&s;alem):</HI> thou &s;ay&s;t, that was but a Vi&s;ion, and from that thou conjure&s;t up a deal of thy own filth to ca&s;t upon me, not worth mentioning after thee: but this I &s;ay to thee; thou mu&s;t fir&s;t &s;ee thy &s;elf in <HI>Babylon</HI> yea and the &s;landeous mouth &s;lopt ere thou knowe&s;t the new <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> the City of God or his dwelling place: the lyars and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 word"> are with one and now it is &s;een in the Mount of God, asking of Vi&s;ion &s;een by others; but the
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&s;trong man keeping the hou&s;e, and thou joyned with him, &s;o bring forth his works, oppo&s;ing thy &s;elf an enemy of <HI>Sion,</HI> and her Children who are come, and comming to their re&s;t, which thou would de&s;troy the faith concerning God, Chri&s;t, the word, their In-dwelling in the Saints, as in thy fir&s;t Book, who would deny that the Apo&s;tles preached the word and faith in the hearr. And when I in&s;tanced that place <HI>Rom.</HI> 10. 8, 9. where the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, The word of faith is migh in the heart. In this book thou would'&s;t ca&s;t a mi&s;t be|fore it (lea&s;t any &s;hould look for it there) &s;aying, he &s;aith not, the word and faith, but the word of faith. And &s;ay&s;t thou, he &s;aith not &s;imply in their hearts, but nigh them in their hearts. What &s;hifts is the Devil put to, to keep Crea|tures from looking what God hath placed in their hearts; where God hath written his Law, and placed his word, a guide to all that minde it: what &s;hameful &s;hifts art thou put to, le&s;t the Devil &s;hould be di&s;covered in the heart, and his Kingdom fall: Is not the word and faith, where the word of faith is, if ever that Creature come to faith: or can any have either of them but in their hearts? And doth not the Apo&s;tle &s;ay, they are in their hearts, becau&s;e he &s;aith, they are nigh them in their hearts? But from the word [nigh] if thy divination fail not, thou wilt attempt to preach them clear out of the heart: &s;o that which the Apo&s;tle &s;aith nigh in the heart, (by thy will) mu&s;t never come near the heart, but would put word and faith as far off, as thou ha&s;t put Grace and Light, who &s;aith, The Grace of God that bringeth &s;alvation, teacheth not to look to any light within for direction. And as thou deale&s;t concerning God, Chri&s;t, The word, Faith and light, &s;o do&s;t thou with the City of the living God, being blinde thy &s;elf, would keep all at a di|&s;tance from others: &s;uch are thy Vi&s;ions, &s;uch as thy Ima|ginations: But &s;eeing thou would put that <HI>Jeru&s;alem John</HI> &s;aw out of the expectations of any while&s;t the world &s;tands, Read <HI>Heb.</HI> 12. 22. And judge if thou can&s;t, of that Heaven|ly <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> whether that was a Vi&s;ion al&s;o; and whether the Apo&s;tle &s;poke truth, when he &s;aid, the <HI>Hebrews</HI> was come to the City of the living God, to the Heavenly <HI>Jeru|&s;alem
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&s;alem;</HI> but they had denyed <HI>Babels</HI> Builders, and the Idoll-Prie&s;ts, and their Idoll-wor&s;hip, el&s;e could not they have &s;een an entrance into <HI>Sion,</HI> a City which thou ha&s;t &s;ufficient|ly cleared thy &s;elf to be ignorant of. And thou aske&s;t, where did <HI>[James]</HI> read of its being taken away, after its comming down from Heaven, I &s;ay in thee, I read it and thy Genera|tion, who&s;e work is to deny it pre&s;ent: I need go no further for proof, then thy own Books; As for the re&s;t of thy heap of confu&s;ion, thy lies, thy &s;landers, and thy threatnings, be they to thy &s;elf, for me they touch not; but &s;eeing thou denye&s;t <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> what City was that the <HI>Ephe&s;ians</HI> was Ci|tizens of with the Saints; which was builded upon the foun|dation of the Apo&s;tles and Prophers, Je&s;us Chri&s;t him&s;elf being the chief Corner-&s;tone, in whom they was builded a habitation of God, <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 2. 19. 20, 21, 22. was not this the City of the living God, the new <HI>Jeru&s;alem;</HI> but this makes ill for thy Doctrine, who&s;e work is to preach God out of his people; yet when thou write&s;t again, let us &s;ee what a &s;hift the Serpent hath to avoid this; for he mu&s;t be di&s;co|vered in all his holes, and thou can&s;t not hide him. Yet did&s;t thou but declare thy own experience, I &s;hould not contend with thee; knowing thou can&s;t declare no more of God, his word, his light, his faith, his dwelling place, then thou knowe&s;t; But &s;eeing thou goes about to limit God out of his dwelling in the hearts of his people; in faithfulne&s;s to God, and love to &s;ouls, I can do no le&s;&s;e then bear te&s;timo|ny again&s;t thee, and thy work, which is contrary to the Mi|ni&s;ters of Chri&s;t, who preached reconciliation to God, and God in his people; but thou preaches divi&s;ion and &s;epa|ration, and thy work is again&s;t any believing reconciliati|on.</P>
<P>And becau&s;e I tell thee of thy &s;huffling, in thy An&s;wer to thy third Query, which asks Where the Covenant of God is (having re&s;pect to the manife&s;tation of it to the Crea|ture) for &s;o is the intent of the Query: And becau&s;e I tell thee thou &s;huffles and an&s;wers not to the Que&s;tion, thou tells me therein, I have crodden under&s;oot the Son of God, and put him to open &s;hame; and that there is no more &s;a|crifice
<PB N="27" REF="15">
for &s;in: I &s;ay it is thy deceit I tread upon, and puts to open &s;hame, which is for open &s;hame before the Son of God, who is the Sacrifice, and remains a Witne&s;s again&s;t thy con|fu&s;ion.</P>
<P>The fourth Query thou pretended to an&s;wer, asks, What? and where that anointing is? &amp;c. And becau&s;e I tell thee, thou would'&s;t put that to literal teaching, thou rakes up a Seal of thy own Imaginations, out of thy own bo&s;ome, to ca&s;t upon me; as though I had &s;aid, <HI>That the name of God, in Chri&s;t Je&s;us, is no better then literal Teaching;</HI> when my An|&s;wer is, to reprove thee for &s;etting litteral-teaching, in&s;tead of the Unction and Name of Chri&s;t; And that thou do'&s;t thru&s;t out from the Spirit within, to the Litteral-teaching, thy An&s;wer doth clearly manife&s;t: though fir&s;t to cover it with, thou makes a Confe&s;&s;ion to the per&s;on of Chri&s;t, and &s;uch like words, to blind the eye, le&s;t thy intent &s;hould be &s;een: Afterward, thou comes to tell what the &s;umme of this Anointing is, the &s;um of the Go&s;pel concerning Chri&s;t, which thou &s;ai&s;t is meant the things heard from the beginning, cal|led the <HI>Anointing;</HI> which after thou brings to the writings of <HI>Paul</HI> to <HI>Timothy:</HI> And following it a little further, thou brings it to be the &s;ame to this day; which is no other but <NOTE PLACE="marg">For that which is not imme|diate from God; nor from any light and &s;pirit with|in mu&s;t be litterall teachings.</NOTE> the letter: For, &s;ay&s;t thou <HI>the preaching of it, was given by tho&s;e great Apo&s;tles, and of the &s;ame vertue, or quality, that ever it was, for teaching all things;</HI> and afterwards calls it the <HI>Anointing,</HI> and yet denieth any light and &s;pirit within. So that all that reads thy An&s;wer &s;hall &s;ee, that I have &s;poken nothing but the truth of thee; in &s;aying, Thou would thru&s;t it to literal teaching, and thy crooked ways cannot hide thee: But thine own words, in another place, may put the thing wholly out of doubt, where thou &s;ai&s;t, <HI>That the grace of God that brings Salvation to all men, in&s;tructs them not to look to any light or &s;pirit within them for direction.</HI> Here would thon thru&s;t out from the light and &s;pirit within to literal teach|ing contrary both to the Spirit, and the Letter al&s;o; for that which is in Spirit, is within, and the Letter &s;aith, <HI>The anoint|ing that you have received of him abideth in you; and you need not that any man teach you, but as the &s;ame Anointing teacheth you of all things.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="28" REF="16">
Thou goes on to the fifth Query, and there thou ca&s;ts down all thy whole work, if thou do'&s;t but mind what thou art there driven to, to hide thy &s;elf; where thou confe&s;&s;es the <HI>Comforter</HI> that reproves the world, and leads into all truth, and reaches effectually to be in the heart, and cannot be out of it: &s;o that by thy <HI>Confe&s;&s;ion</HI> now, there can be no teaching out of the heart: So let any compare this with the re&s;t of thy <HI>books,</HI> and &s;ee thy confu&s;ion, and what &s;hifts thou art driven to, to and fro, like one &s;tark drunk in thy Imaginations, vomiting out thy own &s;hame. Is there no teaching out of the heart, and the grace of God (thou &s;ayes) in&s;tructs not to look into our &s;elves, or to any Light or Spi|rit within us for direction: What a Birth is this thou ha&s;t brought forth into the world? How will the&s;e two agree? Or with what divination wilt thou reconcile them? No Teaching but in the heart, and yet not look within? But &s;ee|ing thou ha&s;t confe&s;&s;ed, that there can be no reproving and Teaching but in the heart, let me mind thee of it again, le&s;t thou forget it, it being a truth I would have thee no more to contradict it: Might not thou as well have confe&s;&s;ed this long-ago, and have &s;pared all thy wranglings and crooked paths thou ha&s;t walked in, thereby to deny the Light and Spi|rit within, to be the onely Teacher, and now confe&s;&s;eth it cannot be out of the heart: So if thou own it in thy heart, thou mai&s;t read thy <HI>Condemnation,</HI> for oppo&s;ing it all along in both thy <HI>books.</HI></P>
<P>And thou adds another Accu&s;ation as fal&s;e as the re&s;t, and that is, <HI>That I pervert most of the Scriptures I meddle with;</HI> and for in&s;tance, thou names that of <HI>Jer.</HI> 23. 30. which thou &s;ayes I do in the clo&s;e of my 32 page.</P>
<P>I &s;ay, thou &s;hamele&s;&s;e man were thou not hardened in thy wickedne&s;&s;e, pa&s;t feeling, thou would blu&s;h to &s;ay I pervert a Scripture, where I mention none: But this is like the re&s;t of thy &s;landers, who can both name the Scripture, and per|vert it thy &s;elf, and then &s;lander it upon me, that doth not &s;o much as mention it, nor any other in that place. In thy other thou accu&s;ed me for perverting Scriptures, where I did but quote them as they are, without a word adding; and now thou accu&s;e&s;t me, where I quote none, nor mention any at
<PB N="29" REF="16">
all, but it's impo&s;&s;ible to e&s;cape thy tongue. It's not much to be wondered, that thou &s;hould call Chri&s;t and his Light within, which convinceth of &s;inne, nothing but a fancy, and as a familiar Spirit, as thou do'&s;t. It's a &s;trange Doctrine, to thee, to know the Son of God condemning &s;inne in the fle&s;h; and &s;o it appears, when the Lyar is &s;o &s;trong in thee. If thou knew any light in thee, but what is thy own fancy, the Devil would be reproved, and &s;in condemned, did'&s;t thou know Chri&s;t in the fle&s;h: But the Prince of the world not being udged, the Reprobate is Head, which knowes not Chri&s;t in thee, his Light and Spirit, which reproves the world, and guids into all truth, in whom he is known and followed: So thy <HI>Confe&s;&s;ion</HI> is &s;uitable to thy practice; for thou that hath not Chri&s;t in thee to condemn &s;in, it's not like the Devil &s;hould condemn what he begets: &s;o thy tongue becomes without bridle, and thy heart without knowledge, that thou do'&s;t evill.</P>
<P>So deceiving, and being deceived, is thy work, even whil&s;t thou art telling what Chri&s;t did on the Cro&s;s: Thou ha&s;t lo&s;t the Cro&s;s, and to the Devil is at liberty in thee, unreproved or condemned: So not believing in the Light, thy &s;elf is in the &s;ame <HI>Condemnation,</HI> and knows not, but is pa&s;t feeling, being heart-blind.</P>
<P>And thou tells of a Promi&s;e thou ha&s;t made, <HI>to prove a Wolf in a &s;heeps skin;</HI> and thou wilt prove it out of my Ac|knowledgment of the righteou&s;ne&s;s of God, wrought in the One Per&s;on of Je&s;us Chri&s;t of <HI>Nazareth,</HI> his Sufferings, Re|&s;urrection, and A&s;cen&s;ion, according to the Scriptures. And thou tells of two little words I have left out: &s;o it &s;eems, that to confe&s;s Chri&s;t, according to the Scripture, without two little words more, with thee is a Wolf; and with &s;uch muddy, dirty &s;tuff as this, not worth naming after thee, thou keeps thy promi&s;e, and fills thy <HI>hook.</HI></P>
<P>And thou &s;ay&s;t, I care not how full I make my Acknow|ledgment of the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of GOD wrought in the Death and Re&s;urrection of that Per&s;on, in that Per&s;onal bo|dy: So they be not under&s;tood to be therein fini&s;hed, and need not be wrought in us. To which, I &s;ay that it is the thing mo&s;t feared by thee, and him for whom thou labour'&s;t,
<PB N="30" REF="17">
le&s;t any &s;hould look for the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God wrought in them: A thing which thou art little guilty of thy &s;elf, out of whom &s;prings the work of the Devil like a <HI>flood:</HI> yet do we know that the work of righteou&s;ne&s;s is not ended and fi|ni&s;hed for any Creature, &s;o as to bring them to GOD, till God's righteou&s;ne&s;s be wrought in them: A thing the Devil and his Mini&s;ters, doth now, mo&s;t of all oppo&s;e, though you confe&s;s what was done at <HI>Jeru&s;alem;</HI> yet can he keep his Kingdome in <HI>England</HI> in every heart, wherein God's righ|teou&s;ne&s;s is not wrought: So righteou&s;ne&s;s (to talk of) without, but the Devil within, is the Doctrine be&s;t-plea&s;ing to the Devil, and his Mini&s;ters: But who are his Workman|&s;hip, have not &s;o learned him, which knows Chri&s;t in us, which thou calls Antichri&s;tian; and thou that art without Chri&s;t, with the Lyar, in thee would be counted the Chri&s;ti|an.</P>
<P>And further thou &s;ay&s;t, the Wolf appears under the &s;heep|skins, in my following Declaration of our Principles: To which, I &s;ay, I did lay down 12 particular Heads, being the chief things, which thou cunningly went about to deny in thy <HI>book,</HI> which I plainly laid down, to &s;ee if thou would'&s;t plainly oppo&s;e them, as thou had&s;t &s;ecretly &s;ought to under|mine them, that &s;o the Serpent might be brought out of his holes, and di&s;covered in the &s;ight of the &s;imple, which now thou ca&s;ts thy venom at them, calling it a Wolf, but dar'&s;t not deny one of them. And becau&s;e they may &s;tand as Wit|ne&s;&s;es again&s;t thy deceit in this <HI>book,</HI> as they did in the o|ther, and &s;eeing this may come to the hands of &s;ome, which the other does not, I am free to &s;end them to thee again, and to all the world: and do not call them Woolfs, till thou ha&s;t &s;o proved them: neither &s;eek to ca&s;t thy dirt upon them, by &s;huffling them out of their place, and &s;eek to make people believe I mean another thing, then I &s;peak: &s;o turn|ing the truth into a lye, before thou dare encounter with it, that being thy old way, by which thou ha&s;t rai&s;ed the&s;e lying &s;landers in thy <HI>book,</HI> not having a ground for rai&s;ing a &s;lan|der from any thing that I have &s;poken in it, till thou ha&s;t ta|ken it one piece from another, and thru&s;t in thy own For|geries and Meanings, to make &s;ome &s;hew unto people to co|ver
<PB N="29" REF="17">
thy nakedne&s;s: without which, as it appears, thou dur&s;t not meddle to oppo&s;e the&s;e Truths (though they be much in thy way) which are as followeth:</P>
<P N="1">1 That the light of Chri&s;t, is the fir&s;t principle that &s;hews a man his <HI>condition,</HI> and leads to <HI>Chri&s;t the Saviour;</HI> and with|out it, the Go&s;pel is hid from every Creature living; and without it, none can read with profit.</P>
<P N="2">2 That though Chri&s;t Je&s;us in him&s;elf, hath &s;uffered and &s;atisfied the whole will of God for all the world; yet none but who by faith in this, comes to receive a mea&s;ure of the &s;ame Chri&s;t, in the &s;ame &s;pirit and power, and life in them, can have redemption by him from &s;in and death.</P>
<P N="3">3 That the Word of God is &s;piritual; and who hath it, hath it in their heart; and that none who hath it not in their hearts, hath eternal life, though they may have the let|ter, as the Devil hath, to pervert to wrong ends, to plead for &s;in, and tempt the &s;ons of God.</P>
<P N="4">4 That none can under&s;tand the Scriptures, nor know the voice of Chri&s;t in them, but who have that &s;pirit and light in them, that gave them forth to open their under&s;tanding to know the my&s;tery and life of them.</P>
<P N="5">5 That no man knows his own heart, but who fir&s;t owns the light of Chri&s;t to &s;earch it, and the &s;ame light that &s;ear|ches the heart, gives light to know God and his glory.</P>
<P N="6">6 That the lea&s;t mea&s;ure of living faith, (that is not a fancy) but &s;tands in Chri&s;t Je&s;us, is pre&s;ent power again&s;t all &s;inne, and the greate&s;t power of Satan, if the Creature abide faithful in it, and run to no other helps, but mind obedience in it.</P>
<P N="7">7 That no man can be a Mini&s;ter of Chri&s;t, nor preach him truly, but who preacheth perfection, and that is the end of his Mini&s;try, (which thou calle&s;t a Doctrine of Devils.)</P>
<P N="8">8 That there is not one particular of the wor&s;hip you perform in your high places, but it is added or altered from what it was, when Chri&s;t appointed it, and e&s;tabli&s;hed it.</P>
<P N="9">9 That God and his Word is now manife&s;t in the bodies
<PB N="30" REF="18">
of his Saints in the &s;ame manner, and as freely as formerly he hath been; and that there he is a &s;ufficient Teacher and &s;hield again&s;t &s;inne, without any other help to all, according to the mea&s;ure of their knowledge of him pre&s;ent.</P>
<P N="10">10 That no man can receive the things of Gods &s;pirit, but who minde &s;omewhat of God in them, to receive it withall.</P>
<P N="11">11 That the lea&s;t mea&s;ure of Gods &s;pirit is an infallible guide, and without it no man knows Chri&s;t, nor can judge of any thing of God, or his truth, his Kingdom, or the way to it, or the Devil and his &s;ubtleties; but lies open to be decei|ved in all things, and to be led by men of corrupt minds, in whom the Devil is.</P>
<P N="12">12 That the ground of all Errors, Sects and Opinions, Here&s;ies and Bla&s;phemies that are in the world, is, in being led from the guidance of this &s;pirit; and all live in error, but who are guided by it; but none ever errs, who was guided by it alone, nor ever &s;hall.</P>
<P><HI>The&s;e being the main things for which thou accu&s;es us in thy book, having wre&s;ted them contrary to our judgment and pra|ctice, thereby to darken the way of truth, more dear to me then life: to the end, that all may find it, and re&s;t to their &s;ouls, I have laid them down as plain as I can, as they are in Je&s;us, in me re|vealed without any adding or dimini&s;hing, as in the &s;ight of God: &s;o when thou writes to oppo&s;e again, let it be plain to the people, whether thou owns or denies: &s;o the difference may be judg|ed with the truly wi&s;e in heart, and the ground of it, nad do not ca&s;t a mi&s;t over the truth, as in thy book, and yet dare neither own nor deny, but &s;ecretly bite and devour.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="31" REF="18">
Here is al&s;o &s;ome of thy lies, &s;ent back to the Authour, and when thou prove&s;t them, I &s;hall make my defence: till then, let them rot with the rai&s;er of them, which are as fol|loweth.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1 That I own my &s;elf to be one of tho&s;e, that &s;leight and reject the word of the Lord.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2 That the way of lying, proud boa&s;ting, and fal&s;e accu&s;ing, is the perfection of our Doctrine and Principles.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3 That I own Some other &s;pirit, then that in and with the Scriptures, as Gods Spirit.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4 That we would pre&s;ent men perfect in them&s;elves, while there is nothing perfect, that &s;o they may not look to the perfecti|on of Chri&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM>5 That we promi&s;e others liberty, freedom from &s;in, glorious Conque&s;t, in them&s;elves.</ITEM>
<ITEM>6 That we count that &s;in, that is looking to that Je&s;us which is the very Chri&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM>7 That we never make it our work, in our &s;peakings, or wri|tings, to preach, lift up, or commend that Je&s;us, as he is in that one per&s;onall body, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>8 That we preach not Je&s;us, and the Re&s;urrection, as the A|postles did.</ITEM>
<ITEM>9 That we make up our whole Doctrine and matter, without that which God hath laid in <HI>Zion</HI> for a foundation.</ITEM>
<ITEM>10 That we magnifie not the Son of Man.</ITEM>
<ITEM>11 That I a&s;&s;ert nothing in my Book, of that Je&s;us of <HI>Naza|reth,</HI> in that which he hath done, <HI>&amp;c</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>12 That I array Chri&s;t as <HI>Herod</HI> did, that I may marre his vi&s;age, and mock at him.</ITEM>
<ITEM>13 That in my Book I &s;ay, I am <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> and that we leave no|thing of the Declarations of hope that we &s;o invert not.</ITEM>
<ITEM>14 That if any do preach things, according to Scripture, we revile it, as the Heathen reviled the Apo&s;tles, for preaching Je&s;us and the Re&s;urrection.</ITEM>
<ITEM>15 That I am a denyer of Chri&s;t as <HI>Judas</HI> was.</ITEM>
<ITEM><PB N="32" REF="19">
16 That we make not <HI>Je&s;us</HI> the &s;um and &s;ubject matter of our preaching.</ITEM>
<ITEM>17 That we pervert all tho&s;e Scriptures that &s;peak of tho&s;e things.</ITEM>
<ITEM>18 That we are in greate&s;t rage again&s;t tho&s;e that plainly preach Je&s;us to be the very Chri&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM>19 That at the Di&s;pute, we did &s;toutly de&s;pi&s;e trade under|foot, and marre, the vi&s;age of the Lord.</ITEM>
<ITEM>20 That I &s;ay I ju&s;tifie no &s;uch thing, as if any &s;trike us on the one Check, to turn the other.</ITEM>
<ITEM>21 That my u&s;uall way of a&s;&s;erting Chri&s;ts per&s;onall appear|ance, is in my own name.</ITEM>
<ITEM>22 That we contemn Authority, and deny Honour, and re|&s;pect, civill and natural, where due.</ITEM>
<ITEM>23 That Chri&s;t or his light in us, is darkne&s;&s;e it &s;elf.</ITEM>
<ITEM>24 That we u&s;e Chri&s;t in us, and the light, as a Cloak of ma|liciou&s;ne&s;s and pride.</ITEM>
<ITEM>25 That all our &s;ufferings are occa&s;ioned, as defiling the fle&s;h, or as evill doers.</ITEM>
<ITEM>26 That we are as the Papi&s;ts, who &s;uffer much for their prin|ciples &s;ake.</ITEM>
<ITEM>27 That our Principle leads us to follow our own &s;pirit, in contempt of all Commands of &s;uperiours, even &s;uch as might be obeyed, in the Lord, and for his &s;ake.</ITEM>
<ITEM>28 That our Principle leads us in contempt of all Principles of Hone&s;ty, Ju&s;tice, and Equity.</ITEM>
<ITEM>29 That we de&s;ire to provoke wrath in others, again&s;t &s;uch as are in places of Tru&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM>30 That we de&s;ire to ru&s;h our &s;elves into petty &s;ufferings, that we may glory in them.</ITEM>
<ITEM>31 That I &s;aid, that as Chri&s;t bore &s;ins, in that his own body that died at <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> &s;o he had born &s;ins in my body.</ITEM>
<ITEM>32 That I confound Chri&s;ts forbearance of &s;in done in our bo|dies, with his bearing &s;in in the imputation of &s;in and &s;trokes in his own body, to &s;atisfie ju&s;tice, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><PB N="33" REF="19">
33 That I acknowledge no &s;uch thing as Chri&s;ts bearing &s;in him&s;elf in his own body, in any other &s;ence then he may be &s;aid &s;till to bear them in us.</ITEM>
<ITEM>34 That I reject the Te&s;timony of Chri&s;t, having &s;uffered the ju&s;t for the unju&s;t, bearing their &s;ins in his body, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>35 That I fully &s;ignifie, that the &s;ufferings left behinde, are to be &s;uffered in divers per&s;ons, as propitiatory.</ITEM>
<ITEM>36 That my meaning is not, that Chri&s;t &s;o &s;uffered for &s;in, in that his own body prepared for him, according to Scripture.</ITEM>
<ITEM>37 That I hold forth Chri&s;t, bearing &s;in, as the propitiatory Sacrifice in us.</ITEM>
<ITEM>38 That I &s;ay that the name of God, as in Chri&s;t, and in and by him declared, and as precious Oyntment powred out, is litteral teaching.</ITEM>
<ITEM>39 That I de&s;troy the di&s;tinct con&s;ideration of the Fathers work, in laying our Iniquitles on his Son, and renders it as the work of my fancied Chri&s;t in the Creature.</ITEM>
<ITEM>40 That I take away from you the per&s;onall &s;ufferings of Chri&s;t in his own body, and put in the room my imaginary or fan|cied Chri&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM>41 That I wholly pervert every thing of Gods name that I meddle with, and turns it contrary to its &s;cope and end.</ITEM>
<ITEM>42 That I render the great things of the Law, to be carnall letter.</ITEM>
<ITEM>43 That I reproach thee for not believing Chri&s;t bearing &s;in in thee, as the propitiatory Sacrifice.</ITEM>
<ITEM>44 That my &s;ence is, that Gods righteou&s;ne&s;s wrought in the per&s;on of Chri&s;t, was but at mo&s;t as a pattern, of what &s;hould be wrought over again in our particular per&s;ons, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>45 That I ju&s;tifie Chri&s;t, being offering him&s;elf daily to put a|way &s;in by the &s;acrifice of him&s;elf.</ITEM>
<ITEM>46 That we imagine that the Death and Re&s;urrection of our light in us is the foundation of our &s;alvation.</ITEM>
<ITEM>47 That I intend not the lifting up of Chri&s;t, but exalting my &s;elf in his room.</ITEM>
<ITEM>48 That my excellency lyeth in u&s;ing craftine&s;&s;e, and hidden things of di&s;hone&s;ty.</ITEM>
<ITEM><PB N="34" REF="20">
49 That indeed our &s;pirits rejoyce in our likene&s;&s;e to Sa|than.</ITEM>
<ITEM>50 That our in&s;ide tends directly to marre the vi&s;age of Chri&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM>51 That I deny thy &s;aying, That the word is not a Principle of men.</ITEM>
<ITEM>52 That I reject the Name of God, as declared in Chri&s;t, and brought to light through the Go&s;pel, as carnall and litterall Teaching.</ITEM>
<ITEM>53 That I affirm, that all that receives the word, &s;uffers and &s;atisfies the whole will of God for all the world in them.</ITEM>
<ITEM>54 That we render the light and &s;pirit to be naturally in men, as of them.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>The&s;e 54 Lies have I taken out, (as I told thee in thy la&s;t <HI>book)</HI> from three times &s;o many: the&s;e, with the 48. in thy la&s;t <HI>book,</HI> make up the number of one hundred and two. I &s;hould not have troubled my &s;elf to reckon them up, had not the Lyar gone about to &s;eek to lay them on the truth, and &s;lander the Quakers for Lyers: &s;o let the Lyer be known by his fruits, who mu&s;t be revealed by the Spirit of Truth. And when thou write&s;t again, either prove what thou ha&s;t &s;aid, or &s;top thy mouth for calling Lyar for ever. And one thing more I warn thee of, that thou do'&s;t not, as thou did'&s;t in thy la&s;t <HI>book,</HI> who (becau&s;e I reckoned up but part of thy Lies) goes about to make people believe, I own all the re&s;t: For I tell thee again, there is above three times as many more, in both thy <HI>books,</HI> as fal&s;e as the&s;e, which I am not guilty of, though I reckon them not here: Neither, &s;ay thou, I have wronged thee, in &s;etting down the&s;e, in that I have not &s;et down all thy words; for it is plain to every Reader, that I have &s;et down the &s;ub&s;tance of thy &s;lander, as it &s;ounds in the ears of the Reader, though in the mo&s;t of them, thou ha&s;t before-hand made thy way of e&s;cape, knowing them to be, what thou can&s;t not prove: Yea, this &s;hall any &s;ee in thee, who are in the light, and do but ob&s;erve thee, that in this art thou exceeds, I mu&s;t confe&s;s, of all that ever I had to do
<PB N="35" REF="20">
withall, thou art the Ma&s;ter of this Craft of Lying: for, not the cleare&s;t truth that ever I can &s;peak, but if it be in thy way, thou wilt take into pieces, and mangle it with thy own, and turn it all into Lies, which is the Ma&s;ter-piece in thy <HI>Bookes,</HI> as I have &s;hewed in particulars. And as boldly and impudently wilt thou let them fly, having but made a way to creep out and deny them, if thou be charged therewith; and if not, then thou holds it out for truth, that all is owned, that is not denied in particular: which &s;hould I have done in the&s;e thy two <HI>Books,</HI> for one &s;heet of Paper, five would not contain an An&s;wer: But they being mo&s;t of them, &s;o gro&s;s, and the Truth it &s;elf ari&s;ing again&s;t them a living Te&s;timony in mo&s;t parts of the Nations: It will clear it &s;elf better then Paper and Ink, to the confu&s;ion of Antichri&s;t, the Lyar and his Father.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
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