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<DATE>2010-11-29</DATE>
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<NAME>Olivia Bottum</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
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<P>GOLIAHS HEAD <HI>Cut off with his own Sword;</HI> In a Combat betwixt little <HI>David,</HI> The young Stripling, who &s;tands in the power and &s;trength of his God, and great <HI>Goliah</HI> the proud Boa&s;ter, who &s;tands in his own &s;trength, glorifying in the arm of fle&s;h, and contemning and de&s;pi&s;ing little <HI>David,</HI> becau&s;e of his youth.</P>
<P>In a Reply to a Book, &s;et forth by an un-named Author, under pretence of an An&s;wer to thirty &s;ix Queries, propounded by <HI>James Parnell,</HI> whom he in &s;corn calls, the young Quaker. And al&s;o an An&s;wer to &s;everall Coun|ter-Queries, propounded by the &s;ame unnamed Authour, whom I under&s;tand to be one <HI>Thomas Draton,</HI> A Teacher of the World, at <HI>Abbey Rippon,</HI> in <HI>Huntington&s;hire,</HI> wherein his folly and ignorance, is much layd open, and the pride and deceipt of his &s;pirit much manife&s;ted; And al&s;o he that takes his part, who writes him&s;elf <HI>W. P.</HI> who knowes not the power of God, and therefore glories in the Length of time, and the multitude of years. But <HI>Solomon,</HI> who was a wi&s;er man then great <HI>Goliah,</HI> &s;aid, that the honourable age is not that which is of long time, neither that which is mea&s;ured by the Num|ber of years; but wi&s;dom is the gray hair: and an undefiled life is old Age. And therefore let not the wi&s;e man glory in his wi&s;dom, nor the &s;trong man glory in his &s;trength, for it is va|nity.</P>
<P>Given forth from the &s;pirit of the Lord in the behalf of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> again&s;t the Ar|mies of the Aliens, who mu&s;ter up them&s;elves again&s;t the Lord, and his Au|thority: by a friend to the Common-wealth of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> who is known to the World, by the name <HI>James Parnel.</HI></P>
<P>Who is a &s;ufferer in outward bonds, for the te&s;timony of the everla&s;ting truth, in <HI>Colche&s;ter</HI> Ca&s;tle. 1655.</P>
<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>
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<HEAD>The Title of the afore&s;aid Book.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">An An&s;wer according to truth, that trembles not, nor quakes, nor quaileth; given to thirty &s;ix Queries, propounded by <HI>James Parnell</HI> (commonly called the young Quaker) to an ancient Country Mini&s;ter: with &s;ome Counter-Queries by the &s;aid Minister, unto the &s;aid young Quack and his fellows.</HEAD>
<P>HEre thou may&s;t be a&s;hamed to &s;tile thy &s;elfe an an|cient Mini&s;ter,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Reply. Heb.</HI> 12.21. <HI>Jer.</HI> 23.9. <HI>Job</HI> 4.14 <HI>Ezek.</HI> 12.10.</NOTE> who manife&s;ts &s;uch an <HI>I&s;hmaels</HI> &s;pirit, who with reproachfull words, makes a &s;coffe at the power of truth, which the Mini&s;ters of God in all ages witne&s;&s;ed, which made them to quake and tremble: And though the truth neither quake, nor quaileth, yet all that owned the truth, owned and wit|ne&s;&s;ed quaking and trembling: which truth thou mani|fe&s;ts thy &s;elfe but a profe&s;&s;or of, and a &s;tranger to the
<PB N="2" REF="3">power, and a de&s;pi&s;er thereof: and therefore out from among the Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t thou art rai&s;ed,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Eccle&s;.</HI> 12.3.</NOTE> And thy An&s;wer is not according to truth, but a Lie, as &s;hall fur|ther be made to appear hereafter, by him whom thou calls the young Quack, and it &s;eems fear &s;urpri&s;eth the heart of the Hypocrite,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P: F.</HI> 22.14, 15. <HI>Prie&s;t.</HI></NOTE> &s;o that thou art a&s;hamed to own thy work with thy name;</P>
<P>And whereas thou &s;ay&s;t, Courteous Reader, we are forced, notwith&s;tanding &s;o many Pa~phlets extant again&s;t the people called Quakers, to give an&s;wer to thirty &s;ix Queries of <HI>James Parnells,</HI> the young Quaker. Although thou ha&s;t boa&s;ted thy &s;elfe an ancient Mini&s;ter,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rep.</NOTE> and con|temns me as a young Boy, yet here it appears, that thou art glad of others to help thee to an&s;wer my Queries, as the&s;e words before mentioned doth te&s;tifie. And yet it is but a Pamphlet, as thou and thy helpers do confe&s;s, that tho&s;e many are, that are extant again&s;t the people called Quakers. And then thou run on in way of re|proach, and &s;corn again&s;t me, becau&s;e of my youth; but the wi&s;dom of <HI>Solomon</HI> an&s;wereth you, That a poor and wi&s;e Child, is better then an old fooli&s;h King, who will no more be admoni&s;hed;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Eccle&s;.</HI> 4.13.</NOTE> And therefore, when you think of your age, con&s;ider al&s;o your folly, and let that &s;top your mouthes, from profe&s;&s;ing your &s;elves Ancients, who manife&s;ts &s;uch a Light &s;cornful &s;pirit, and hates to be reformed.</P>
<P>And whereas thou &s;ay&s;t thou doubte&s;t not,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prie&s;t.</NOTE> but his Queries are the dictates of others, deceiving, and being deceived, which they yet put under the Boyes name, for the Credit of their cau&s;e.</P>
<P>Here al&s;o without doubt,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rep.</NOTE> thy unbelieving heart is ma|nife&s;ted, who without ground, mea&s;ure&s;t others, accor|ding to thine own heart, who becau&s;e thou make&s;t u&s;e of the dictates of others, as here doth plainly appear: therefore cen&s;ure&s;t others, which doth not adde credit to thy cau&s;e, becau&s;e thou boa&s;ts of thy age.</P>
<P>But according as thou believes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prie&s;t.</NOTE> &s;o be it to thee: yet
<PB N="3" REF="3">neverthele&s;s, thou &s;halt finde that the truth I &s;hall main|tain again&s;t thee, who with thy unbelieving heart, art deceiving and being deceived, and then thou runs on in the pride of thy &s;pirit, accu&s;ing of me, to be ignorant of the truth of God, becau&s;e as thou &s;ay&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prie&s;t.</NOTE> of the fal&s;e word|ing of my Queries.</P>
<P>But with &s;hame might thou &s;peak it;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rep.</NOTE> for openly ha&s;t thou manife&s;ted to the under&s;tanding Reader, thy &s;elfe to be a meer &s;tranger, both to God and his truth al&s;o, who would limit the truth of God, to a humane art, which many of the Children of God had not;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Act.</HI> 4.13.</NOTE> and therefore the power of God was the more manife&s;ted. And when <HI>Peter</HI> and <HI>John</HI> was brought before the learn|ed men, to wit, (the chief Prie&s;ts and the Rulers) and they wondered at them, becau&s;e they perceived they was unlearned men; and thus with thy wi&s;dom, and thy great learning, thou art &s;hut out of the truth in the na|turall; but by this I do not own thy accu&s;ation to be truth again&s;t me; for I have a Copy of the Queries of my own hand writing, which was the originall of tho&s;e that was &s;ent to thee, which will bear te&s;timony again&s;t thee, to be a fal&s;e accu&s;er, and how thou thy &s;elfe ha&s;t wronged them, and mi&s;worded them, becau&s;e they was in the cro&s;&s;e unto thy wi&s;dom. And to maintain this, thou bringe&s;t a &s;tory in <HI>Era&s;mus:</HI> neverthele&s;s, the &s;tory which thou bringe&s;t, doth not at all touch me, but may fitly be returned into thy new bo&s;om, where it &s;hall lie&punc; Then thou and thy Agent be&s;eeches the Rea|der, to read without partiality; which if he do, he will judge no otherwi&s;e of you, then as I have declared, but will &s;ee how you have uttered forth your folly, and foamed out your &s;hame, in going about to contradict the truth. And at the end of this your Epi&s;tle to the Reader, I finde <HI>W. P.</HI> which I judge to be one of thy Agents, to this your &s;hamefull work, to which thou dar&s;t not own thy name.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="questions and answers">
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<HEAD>My fir&s;t Querie.</HEAD>
<P>Where,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>1</HI> Qu: P: An.</NOTE> and how, and by, what wa&s;t thou called to the Mini&s;try which thou profe&s;&s;e&s;t? And in thy an&s;wer to this Querie, thou goe&s;t about to plead many excu&s;es, whereby to fly the an&s;wering of my Queries, &s;aying it is ea&s;ier for him that is yet in darkne&s;&s;e to propound doubts and Queries, then for &s;ome of the Children of light to an&s;wer them, on a &s;udaine, which to proove thou quotes <HI>Daniel:</HI> &amp; that our &s;aviour (thou &s;ai&s;t) him&s;elf refu&s;ed to an&s;wer the Phari&s;es interogatories till they had fir&s;t an&s;wered his, <HI>Math.</HI> 21.23, 24.: And, allbeit thou &s;ai&s;t thou might put me off with <HI>Solomons</HI> words <HI>Pro.</HI> 26.4. An&s;wer not a foole according to his folly, lea&s;t thou al&s;o be like unto him,</P>
<P>I did not propound the Queries unto thee, as any doubts of mine,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rep:</NOTE> but that thou in thy An&s;wer thereunto might either prove thy practice, by the Scriptures unto them that are in doubt thereof, or unto them mani|fe&s;t thy &s;elfe to be a deceiver: which la&s;t thou ha&s;t plaine|ly done to the lea&s;t Child of light, and therefore it doth not follow that I am in darkne&s;&s;e, or that thou art a Child of light. Neither did thou &s;uddainely an&s;wer the Queries, though they concerned thy own condition, and therefore this place in <HI>Daniel,</HI> doth not at all &s;tand for thee, for it was for <HI>Daniel</HI> to tell and interprete <HI>Ne|buchadnezers</HI> dreame, which was a hard thing for any to tell unle&s;&s;e it was immediately revealed to them by Gods &s;pirit, as it was to <HI>Daniel;</HI> but all the Magitians and learned men, could not find it out by their arts, but mo&s;t of the&s;e Queries unto thee was concerning thy pre|&s;ent condition and practice, and herein thou manife&s;ts thy &s;elfe to be in darkne&s;&s;e, who thus wre&s;ts the Scrip|ture out of its place,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Dan.</HI> 10.11.</NOTE> for thy own ends: and al&s;o <HI>Daniel</HI> was a man that feared the Lord, and trembled at his power, which now thou denies and &s;coffes at, and yet
<PB N="5" REF="4">art not a&s;hamed, to take <HI>Daniels</HI> words for a refuge a|gain&s;t the light: And as for that Scripture in <HI>Mat.</HI> 21.23, 24. it &s;hall be returned into thine own bo&s;om, for it is thee, and &s;uch as thee who are &s;et up by the will of man, and authorized by the authority of man, who joyne with the Phari&s;es, and Scribes of the&s;e times, and combine together with the earthly powers to call us to Que&s;ti|on, by what authority we goe abroade preaching the truth from place to place, and crying again&s;t deceivers, &amp; where we had our commi&s;&s;ion, becau&s;e we receive it not from man as you doe, but do witne&s;&s;e the &s;ame power &amp; authority as the Mini&s;ters of God did in all ages, &amp; the &s;ame commi&s;&s;ion: for they received not their commi&s;&s;ion froo~ man, but was immediatly called &amp; immediately fit|ted, and &s;ent forth into the worke of the Mini&s;try free|ly to give as freely they had received, and was per&s;ecut|ed by them that was &s;et up by the will of man; which al&s;o we do witne&s;&s;e, and therefore the Scripture afore|mentioned, belongs unto thy generation who was e|ver per&s;ecuters, and if by propounding Queries thou judge&s;t me to be in darkne&s;&s;e, then much more thou judge&s;t and condemns thy &s;elfe: for, for my 36. Que|ries thou ha&s;t propounded me 100; and here al&s;o thou ac|counts me a fool, as by the Scripture which thou quotes in <HI>Pro.</HI> 26.4. and therein manife&s;ts thy &s;elfe &s;o much the greater foole, in propounding &s;o many Queries to mee, whom thou accounts a fool: and thus the pride of thy heart hath deceived thee.</P>
<P>And whereas thou &s;ai&s;t thou wa&s;t inwardly called to the Mini&s;try, by the motion and gifts of Gods Spirit,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An:</NOTE> long before I was borne, which thou &s;ai&s;t hath beene Gods ordinary way, which to prove, thou quotes <HI>Job.</HI> 32.8.2. <HI>Chron.</HI> 20.14. <HI>Amos</HI> 5.7.15. <HI>M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ch.</HI> 3.8.</P>
<P>Though it hath beene, and is Gods ordinary way by his own power and Spirit,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rep:</NOTE> to call and fit his own Mi|ni&s;ters, for his own worke, as tho&s;e Scriptures afore|mentioned doth prove, which we al&s;o do witne&s;&s;e and
<PB N="6" REF="5">do come no other way, yet the&s;e Scriptures do not at all prove where and how and by what, thou wa&s;t called and <HI>Iahaziell,</HI> and <HI>Amos,</HI> and <HI>Micha,</HI> which tho&s;e Scrip|tures afore&s;aid beares Te&s;timony of, to be thus called, was men that &s;poake the word of the Lord freely, a|gain&s;t &s;in and tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, and fal&s;e-Prophets and hirelings, and their lives, &s;ealed their Te&s;tam ony: and the&s;e Scriptures al&s;o beares Te&s;timony, how and where they was called, from their outward callings to &s;peake the word of the Lord, and &s;o from tho&s;e Scriptures thou art &s;hut &amp; ha&s;t nought to do to take them into thy mouth forthey do not prove that thou wa&s;t thus called from thy labour, for thou wa&s;t brought up all thy daies in idlene&s;&s;e, and at an Univer&s;ity (as you call it) to learne Arts and Sciences without which tho&s;e was called and fitted; and for any other Call than as the common na|tionall Mini&s;ters are called (who deny both immediate Revelation, and In&s;piration) thou ha&s;t brought no proofe that will &s;tand for thee, but onely thy own bare words, wherein thy life and practice will con|demne thee, for it is one with the Nationall prei&s;ts and thou art maintained and upheld by the &s;ame power as the nationall Teachers are, neither do&s;t goe from place to place, reproving &s;in in the Gate as <HI>Amos</HI> and <HI>Micha</HI> did, who was thus called, neither do&s;t &s;peake freely as they did, and therefore art a fal&s;e Prophet, who &s;aith the Lord &s;aith, when he never &s;poke to thee, but run, and the Lord never &s;ent thee; and therefore thou pro|fits not the people at all, as is manife&s;t by the fruits of thy Mini&s;try, and thus thou wa&s;t a deceiver before I was borne, and the Lord hath Rai&s;ed me up to tell thee of it.</P>
<P>Whether is thy Call &amp; meanes which thou profe&s;&s;eth mediate or immediate.</P>
<P>And in thy An&s;wer thou &s;ai&s;t, it was both: for &s;ai&s;t thou be&s;ides the immediate afore&s;aid, thou wa&s;t ordained a Mini&s;ter by the Superiours, and Governours of the Church, as the Elders and Pa&s;tors of the Churches
<PB N="7" REF="5">were formerly by <HI>Paul</HI> and <HI>Barnabas, Act.</HI> 14.23. but thou &s;ai&s;t thou doubte&s;t whether <HI>James Parnell</HI> well was called either way to be teacher; if &s;o let him prove it by an infallible Te&s;timony.</P>
<P>Tho&s;e that have an inward call to the Mini&s;try do not &s;tay for an outward call by man,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rep.</NOTE> but goe forth in bedi|ence to the word of the Lord: who&s;oever was called to the Mini&s;try of the Go&s;pel, it was immediately, and not mediately; but thine mediately by the will of man, and not immediately as before is proved, and al&s;o out of thy own mouth is made manife&s;t. For thou &s;ai&s;t thou doubte&s;t whether I was called either way, but if thou was called and guided by the Spirit of the Lord, thou would'&s;t know, without doubts, whether I was &s;o call|ed yea or nay: for the true Mini&s;ters was Epi&s;tles writ in one another hearts, and they al&s;o know the fal&s;e Prophets, and the fal&s;e Apo&s;tles, and the fal&s;e Mini|&s;ters, and declared again&s;t them as I do again&s;t thee, and without doubt I doe know thee to be a deceiver,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.2.2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.13.14. 15</NOTE> 02 by an infallible Te&s;timony, and tho&s;e that thou &s;peak|e&s;t of, in <HI>Act.</HI> 14.23. whom <HI>Paul</HI> and <HI>Barnabas</HI> ordained Elders, they did not ordaine them Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel, neither &s;ent them abroad to preach the Go&s;pel, 0 neither allowed them 100 or 200 pounds by the yeare, as thou ha&s;t; but they cho&s;e out tho&s;e that were &s;trong in the faith and &s;et them to watch over the weake; but tho&s;e Churches, was gathered by the power and Spirit of God and was turned from darkne&s;&s;e to light, and was wa&s;h|ed, clen&s;ed, and &s;anctified, in the name of the Lord Je&s;us, and by the Spirit of our God; but out of your Church, ca&s;t Drunkerds, and Swearers, and Liers, and Proud, and Covetous ones, and adulterous, and I|dolaters, and Quarrellers, and Fighters, and Scoffers,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.11.</NOTE> and Scorners, and Backbiters, and Envious ones, and Prophane and wanton ones, and the like, who are nei|ther wa&s;hed nor &s;anctified; and then &s;ee where will be the Church of England, and the Pa&s;tors, Teachers, and
<PB N="8" REF="6">Elders,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rv.</HI> 3.</NOTE> and all; then you that profe&s;s your &s;elves to be the Church of Chri&s;t, will be found the &s;ynagogue of Satan, who&s;e Mini&s;ter thou art: and al&s;o <HI>Paul</HI> and <HI>Barnabas</HI> who ordained them Elders, was men indued with the holy Spirit of the Lord, and was immediately call|ed and cho&s;en to the Mini&s;try, and had a Spirit of di&s;|cerning to know who was fitted, for the Elder-&s;hip; and all this was done without an Univer&s;ity or &s;erving &s;even yeares to learne Arts and Sciences, or taking De|grees, without which, you can do nothing: and al&s;o tho&s;e Superiors and Governours, that ordaine you tea|chers and governours, have nothing but what they have gotten by art and &s;tudy, and reading of others experi|ences; but are ignorant of the power of God, neither knowes whether there be any Holy-Gho&s;t, yea, or nay, but by the hearing of the eare: but &s;cofs and &s;cornes, and and per&s;ecutes tho&s;e that now do witne&s;&s;e the&s;e things; and they them&s;elves was al&s;o fir&s;t ordained by the will of man, and thus thou ha&s;t but &s;o much the more mani|fe&s;ted thy &s;elfe to the world, in going about to prove thy &s;elfe a called Mini&s;ter by the Scripture, which doth altogether witne&s;&s;e again&s;t thee. And whereas thou would'&s;t have me to prove my Call by an infallible Te|&s;timony, I tell thee without an infallible Te&s;timony I do not goe, neither without an infallible Te&s;tamony doe I de&s;ire to be received or owned, and to this the in|fallible Spirit of truth beares Te&s;timony in all the Chil|dren of truth, and thou that ha&s;t not an infallible Te|&s;timony either with me or again&s;t mee, art &s;till in dark|ne&s;&s;e and knowes not the truth then farre unfit to be a teacher to others.</P>
<P>Whether thou art guided by the &s;ame infallible Spi|rit that gave forth the Scripture.<NOTE PLACE="marg">3 <HI>Query</HI></NOTE></P>
<P>And in thy an&s;wer thou &s;ai&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;.</NOTE> that we our &s;elves teach that all men are taught and guided by that Spirit at times: and &s;econdly thou &s;ai&s;t, thou prai&s;es God for it, thou art guided and a&s;&s;i&s;ted by that Spirit which is al|waies
<PB N="9" REF="6">infallible: and thirdly thou &s;ai&s;t thou doubt whe|ther any of tho&s;e that are called Quakers are alwaies guided by that Spirit.</P>
<P>Here all that are guided by any mea&s;ure of that Spirit may ea&s;ily &s;ee thy lies and confu&s;ion, for thy fir&s;t is a lie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rep.</NOTE> that any of us doe teach: that all men are taught and guided by that Spirit at times: for I deny that thou art, who art now taken with a lie in thy mouth, which all that under&s;tands our doctrine will witne&s;&s;e again&s;t, and &s;econdly that thou art guided by an infallible Spirit, is a lie again&s;t the Holy-Gho&s;t, for no lie comes from that Spirit. And againe thou belies the Spirit of truth to &s;ay thou art guided by it, and yet cannot give an in|fallible Te&s;timony, whether tho&s;e thou calls Quakers are guided by an infallible Spirit, yea or nay, but art in thy doubts;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Joh.</HI> 8.44.</NOTE> but that Spirit is without doubts which now judgeth thee to be a lier, and thy God thou prai&s;es to be the Devill, the Father of lies, who mu&s;t both be tormented together.</P>
<P>Whether they that are guided by that Spirit need &s;tu|dy how or what to &s;ay.<NOTE PLACE="marg">4 <HI>Qu.</HI></NOTE></P>
<P>And in thy an&s;wer thou &s;ai&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An:</NOTE> <HI>Timothy</HI> had that Spi|rit in a greater mea&s;ure then <HI>James Parnell;</HI> yet <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith thus unto him as in 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4.13, 14, 15, 16. And thou &s;ai&s;t, if the Apo&s;tles had beene put to it to preach upon a &s;hort Text or Theme, Methodically, as by long pra|ctice in the Church is expected from you, they mu&s;t oft times have &s;tudied for it, as thou conceive&s;t; though if you were left at large, to &s;peake as the Spirit of God mo es you, and giveth matter in, thou hopes &s;ome of you by Gods a&s;&s;i&s;tance, &s;hould &s;peake as togood or better purpo&s;e then any whonow pretend to the &s;piritsactings.</P>
<P>Here thou ha&s;t &s;ufficiently manife&s;ted thy &s;pirit,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rep:</NOTE> and thy ignorance of the &s;pirit of God, to any who under|&s;tands the things of the &s;pirit of God: and all the&s;e Scriptures which thou ha&s;t brought concerning <HI>Timo|thy,</HI> doth not at all prove, that he that is guided by the
<PB N="10" REF="7">&s;pirit of God, need &s;tudy how or what to preach. But <HI>Paul</HI> exhorted <HI>Timothy</HI> to the gift that was in him, which was given him by, or for prophe&s;ie; for in &s;o do|ing, he &s;hould &s;ave him&s;elf, and tho&s;e that heard him, which you never do, by the fruit of your &s;tudy, but ra|ther de&s;troyes them; witne&s;s the fruits of your Mini&s;try, this many years in this Nation, who have wrought no better Reformation among&s;t your hearers; and al&s;o this Scripture doth not at all prove, that <HI>Paul</HI> bid <HI>Timothy</HI> &s;tudy old Authours, and heatheni&s;h Commentators, as you do: neither to &s;tudy Arts and Sciences, as you do, who with your Philo&s;ophy,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Col.</HI> 2.8.</NOTE> and vain deceipt, do &s;poile the people; for thou ha&s;t manife&s;ted thy &s;elfe to be alto|gether ignorant of the &s;pirit of God, who by thy own conceivings, judge&s;t the &s;pirit of God to be un&s;ufficient to in&s;truct and teach the Apo&s;tles what to &s;peak at all times, without &s;tudy: when as Chri&s;t him&s;elfe exhort|eth them, to take no thought what to &s;peak; for it &s;hould be given them in the very &s;ame houre;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mat.</HI> 10.19, 20.</NOTE> for &s;aith he, It is not you that &s;peaks, but the &s;pirit of your Fa|ther that &s;peaketh in you, (which &s;pirit &s;peaketh not without method) which &s;pirit you Teachers of the Church of <HI>England,</HI> are great &s;trangers to, who think that the &s;pirit of God can be limited to a Text, or a Theme; as thou confe&s;&s;e&s;t you are; but thou lier, where is now thy infallible &s;pirit, who thus &s;peake&s;t thy own conceivings, and therefore be a&s;hamed hence for|ward, to pretend to an infa lible &s;pirit, who ha&s;t here &s;o openly manife&s;ied thy ignorance of it, and its movings, &s;o that if thou wa&s;t left at large to &s;peak from that &s;pirit in thee, &amp; was &s;hut out of thy Liberary &amp; from any Text or Writing,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>I&s;ay</HI> 56.10.</NOTE> thou would&s;t plainly manife&s;t thy &s;elf, to be one of the dumb Dogs that could not bark, which <HI>I &s;aiah</HI> from the &s;pirit of the Lord declared again&s;t, without &s;tudy: for I do believe, that if thou and the re&s;t of the natio|nall Teachers, whom thou confe&s;&s;e&s;t, are tyed to a text or Theme, could tell how to pleafe the people, and get
<PB N="11" REF="7">gain without &s;tudying or &s;peaking from a Text, you would for the credit of your cau&s;e, (as thou &s;ay&s;t): for I know nothing that ties you to it, but your own cove|tous ends, to make a gain of the&s;e Scriptures, and to de|ceive the ignorant with feigned words,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.3.</NOTE> whom <HI>Peter</HI> without &s;tudy foretold of; and therefore thou Hypocrite, pretend no more to an infallible &s;pirit, but with the re&s;t of thy Brethren, confe&s;s thou art void of it, as many of them have done; for in &s;uch pretences thou art but the greater deceiver, and thy folly doth the more ap|pear.</P>
<P>Whether is it as lawfull now for Trade&s;men,<NOTE PLACE="marg">5. <HI>Query.</HI></NOTE> Shep|heards, or Plowmen, to preach if they be led by the &s;pirit of God, as tho&s;e that &s;pake forth the Scrip|ture.</P>
<P>And in thy an&s;wer thou &s;ay&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;w.</NOTE> if this was wholly grant|ed, <HI>James Parnell</HI> cannot claim any intere&s;t therein, as thou conceive&s;t; for, thou &s;ay&s;t, he is neither Trade&s;|man, Plowman, or Shepheard, nor will take any cour&s;e to maintain him&s;elf by his labour, for he hath been try|ed.</P>
<P>But herein <HI>James Parnell</HI> can plainly tell thee,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply.</NOTE> thou art a Lyer; for he followed a Trade with his Father, untill the Lord by his &s;pirit called him from it, into his own work, &amp; &s;o I obeyed the word of the Lord, and left my Father with his Trade,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mat.</HI> 4.21. <HI>Mat.</HI> 10.37, 38.</NOTE> as <HI>James</HI> and <HI>John</HI> did their Father in the Ship; <HI>for he that will not for&s;ake Father and Mother, Lands and Livings, Wife and Children, and all for Chri&s;ts &s;ake, is not worthy of him;</HI> in which work, nei|ther thou nor any other can tax me for idlene&s;s; but I believe my labour and diligence in the &s;ame is more offen&s;ive to you deceivers, then if I had been Idle. But he that would call me from this work that I am &s;et about, into the work of man, I &s;hould an&s;wer him, God mu&s;t be &s;erved before man; for if it had not been the will of God, to call me forth into his work, I &s;hould &s;tall have &s;erved my earthly Father, &s;ooner then any other
<PB N="12" REF="8">man, notwith&s;tanding the evill thoughts and conceiv|ings of &s;uch like as thee, who art given up to believe lies, and tell lies; but where is now thy infallible &s;pi|rit, who &s;peake&s;t by thy own conceivings, and thus the thoughts of thy heart deceives thee; and as for my maintenance, I need not a Law, to compel it as thou do&s;t, neither am chargeable to the World, as thou art, who by a Law of man, take&s;t nigh 300. <ABBR>l</ABBR> by the yeare of them: therefore in this thou might have laid thy hand upon thy mouth, for thou and hundreds more of thy Brethren, never followed any hone&s;t Calling, whereby to get an hone&s;t livelihood, without being chargeable to the World, but was from your youths brought up at <HI>Babylons</HI> Schools, learning her wich-craft and &s;orcery, thereby to deceive the Nations, and through covetou&s;|ne&s;s with feigned words, make marchandize of them, which you now&s;pare not.</P>
<P>And &s;econdly thou grants,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;w.</NOTE> that if men be made of God &s;pirituall, whether Shepheards or Plowmen fir&s;t, they may teach; But thirdly, thou &s;ay&s;t, every man that hath the &s;pirit in &s;ome mea&s;ure, doth not attain to that height, growth, and degree, that they did, who gave forth the Scriptures, and therefore may not as lawfully, nor as infallibly teach as they did; and thou &s;ay&s;t, nor can thou di&s;cern clearly, that the be&s;t among&s;t them called Quakers, have yet reached that degree or di&s;pen|&s;ation of the &s;pirit; and after much di&s;&s;embling &s;peeches, thou manife&s;ts thy light and frothy &s;pirit, &s;till de&s;pi&s;ing me, becau&s;e of my youth, but thy words are not worth mentioning.</P>
<P>And thu swhen thou opens thy mouth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply.</NOTE> concerning the Spirit, thou manife&s;ts thy folly, and ignorance of the &s;pirit, &s;o that a Babe may comprehend thee, and tell thee of thy folly, and when thou thinke&s;t of thy beard or age, (as thou &s;ay&s;t) confu&s;ion of face may cover thee; for though every one, that hath the &s;pirit in &s;ome mea|&s;ure, doth not attain to that height, grouth and degree,
<PB N="13" REF="8">that they did who gave forth the Scripture: yet it doth not follow, that none doth attain to that grouth, height, and degree; and they that have attained to the &s;ame &s;pirit in a mea&s;ure, and by the &s;ame &s;pirit are moved and called forth, may as lawfully, and as infallibly teach as they did, (in their mea&s;ures) for the &s;ame &s;pirit is infal|lible in the lea&s;t mea&s;ure, and its call is lawful; and thus thou &s;hewe&s;t, thou was never called, nor led by it, who art &s;o ignorant of it; and as here al&s;o doth further ap|pear, in that thou confe&s;&s;e&s;t, thou di&s;cerne&s;t not the people called Quakers; and therefore art blind, and from thee the &s;ecrets of God are hid; and it doth not follow, that they are ever the le&s;s &s;piritual, but rather more, (becau&s;e thou can&s;t not di&s;cern them) who pre|tends thy &s;elfe a &s;piritual man; and thus they are at|tained to that degree, they can di&s;cern thee to be a blind guide, and deceiver of the World; and therefore is thy &s;pirit the more again&s;t them, for all thy flattering and di&s;&s;embling &s;peeches from thy hypocritical heart, who bends thy Tongue like a Bow again&s;t them, uttering forth lies in hypocri&s;ie, and with thy &s;conrful &s;pirit, re|proache&s;t me with lies; but it was thy Generation that quaked for fear of the downfall of their Kingdom; and therefore per&s;ecuted me, and impri&s;oned me: yet their fear did not overtake me; for I was made as wil|ling to &s;uffer, as they was to inflict, as knowing it was for his cau&s;e, who will make you all to quake and trem|ble, who lift up your heels again&s;t him; and as thou compares <HI>Cambridg</HI> to <HI>Jericho,</HI> &s;o the cur&s;e of <HI>Jericho</HI> &s;hal come upon it, for its whordom and &s;orceries, and &s;tif|neckedne&s;s again&s;t the Lord and his anointed; and though thou thus &s;corne&s;t me, and de&s;pi&s;e&s;t me, becau&s;e of my youth, yet it is becau&s;e thou knowe&s;t not the Scripture, nor the power of God.</P>
<P>Whether any are the Mini&s;ters or Me&s;&s;engers of Chri&s;t, but tho&s;e that are guided by his &s;pirit,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Query</HI> 6.</NOTE> and abide in his Doctrine, as the holy men of God was in Scripture,
<PB N="14" REF="9">and whether the wind doth not now blow where it li&s;t|eth.</P>
<P>And in thy an&s;wer to the fir&s;t part,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;.</NOTE> thou grants, that none are the true Mini&s;ters, &amp; Me&s;&s;engers of Chri&s;t, but tho&s;e that are in &s;ome mea&s;ure guided by his &s;pirit, and abide in his Doctrine. But &s;econdly, thou &s;ay&s;t, men may think, that they have that &s;pirit, and yet be led by the lying &s;pirit, as <HI>Zedekiah</HI> who &s;mote <HI>Michajah,</HI> was, 1 <HI>King.</HI> 22.24.</P>
<P>Herein thou marke&s;t out thy &s;elfe for a deceiver, who pretends to the &s;pirit,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply.</NOTE> and it is the lying &s;pirit, as is be|fore proved, and &s;o art &s;hut out from the Mini&s;ters and Me&s;&s;engers of Chri&s;t, who art not guided by his &s;pirit, and therefore abides not in his Doctrine, as is before proved by thy ignorance of the true &s;pirit: and therefore thou, and &s;uch fal&s;e Prophets as thou, thus &s;mites at, and per&s;ecutes us that are called Quakers, becau&s;e the Lord is plea&s;ed to be&s;tow his &s;pirit upon us, whereby we are able to declare your deceipt, and manife&s;t your lying &s;pirits, who have profe&s;&s;ed your &s;elves, the Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t, yet &s;trangers to his &s;pirit, and oppo&s;ers of his truth, like <HI>Jannes</HI> and <HI>Jambres,</HI> who are men of corrupt mindes, and Reprobates concerning the faith, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.8.</P>
<P>And to the &s;econd part of the Query thou &s;ay&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;:</NOTE> that the wind doth blow where it li&s;teth, if it be not &s;top|ped; yet are there many fal&s;e windes, which blow like|wi&s;e from a deceiptful &s;pirit, which to prove, thou quo|te&s;t <HI>Eph.</HI> 4.14. that we henceforth be no more Children, to&s;&s;ed to and fro with every winde of Doctrine; and &s;ay&s;t, Minde this <HI>James.</HI></P>
<P>This I do minde, and &s;till &s;ees how thou marke&s;t out thy &s;elfe with thy deceiptfull &s;pirit;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rep.</NOTE> for if the winde do blowe where it li&s;teth, which thou acknowledge&s;t: then what is that in you profe&s;&s;ed Mini&s;ters, which goes a|bout to &s;top it with gain&s;aying and per&s;ecution, and would limit the &s;pirit of God unto a Text or Theme,
<PB N="15" REF="9">from which you with your deceitful &s;pirits do rai&s;e, u&s;es points, tryalls and motives, &amp;c. whereby many poore Creatures are to&s;&s;ed to and fro, and carried about with your airy &s;pirits, with the &s;light and cunning craftine&s;s of your brains, whereby you &s;tudy to deceive, as thou may&s;t read in the latter end of the ver&s;e, which thou ha&s;t quoted, <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 4.14. which here &s;hall &s;tand again&s;t thee, and &s;o, many are the Children which are to&s;&s;ed to and fro by you, although they have both beards and age, (as thou &s;ay&s;t) yea &s;ome are 30. &s;ome 40, &s;ome 50, &s;ome 60, yea 80. and never yet come to the knowledge of the truth: and thus with feigned words, through covetou&s;|ne&s;s, you make Marchandize of the people, beguiling un|&s;table &s;ouls; but think not, that all you fal&s;e Prophets, with the bea&s;t that upholds you, can &s;top or quench this &s;pirit, which now bloweth where it li&s;teth; for with all the &s;light and craftine&s;s that you can u&s;e, you &s;hall be made to fall before it, and the fruits of your labours &s;hall be given you.</P>
<P>Whether thou wilt own immediate Revelation now,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Query</HI> 7.</NOTE> yea or nay?</P>
<P>And in thy An&s;wer, thou &s;ay&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;.</NOTE> the Apo&s;tle teacheth you to pray, for the &s;pirit of wi&s;dom and Revelation in the acknowledgement of God: which to prove, thou quotes <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 1.17. but &s;ay&s;t, there are many fal&s;e lights and delu&s;ions of Sathan, who too often transforms him|&s;elfe as an Angel of Light, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.14. which thou &s;ay&s;t, are entertained by unwary men, for the Illuminations and Revelations of Gods &s;pirit, as appears in <HI>Zedekiah</HI> afore&s;aid; which to prove, thou quotes, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 13.6. 2 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 2.11.</P>
<P>Here again, thou ha&s;t marked out thy &s;elfe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply.</NOTE> and al&s;o belies the Apo&s;tle; for that Scripture in <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 1.17. onely makes mention how the Apo&s;tle prayed, for the <HI>Ephe&s;ians</HI> that believed&punc; but it doth not at all prove, that the Apo&s;tle taught you that are of the world to pray; for the prayers of the wicked are abhominable,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Prov.</HI> 15, 8.</NOTE> and the A|po&s;tle would not teach &s;uch to pray; and though in thy
<PB N="16" REF="10">An&s;wer, the &s;ub&s;tance of my Query is confe&s;&s;ed, yet it doth not &s;erve to prove that thou do&s;t witne&s;s it in thy &s;elfe, or own it, where it is po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed; who would barre it from youth, and limit it to time and age, and &s;o &s;hewes thy ignorance of it, and that by the fal&s;e lights and delu|&s;ions of Satan thou art deceived, who in thee rules as an Angel of Light: and &s;o thou art one of tho&s;e unwary men who takes a lying &s;pirit for an infallible &s;pirit, as is both here and often before proved, who art found in <HI>Zedeki|ahs</HI> &s;teps, and &s;o art one of tho&s;e fal&s;e Prophets, which the Prophet &s;peaks of, who &s;aith, the Lord &s;aith, when he never &s;poke to thee, as is before proved; and how long have you profe&s;&s;ed Mini&s;ters of this Nation, fed the people with expectations, and hopes that you would confirm what you have &s;poken unto them, which is not yet come to pa&s;&s;e, neither likely; and thus you have de|ceived them by your lying divinations, for your di&s;ho|ne&s;t gain; and therefore for this cau&s;e God hath given you up to &s;trong delu&s;ions, that you &s;hould believe a lie, that you all might be damned who believe not the truth now it is come unto you; but &s;till take plea&s;ure in un|righteou&s;ne&s;s, as in tho&s;e Scriptures afore&s;aid, which thou ha&s;t quoted again&s;t thy &s;elfe, and &s;o they &s;hall &s;tand.</P>
<P>What is the Go&s;pel which thou art a Mini&s;ter of,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu:</HI> 8.</NOTE> and whether thy Go&s;pel be free and without charge?</P>
<P>And in thy An&s;wer thou &s;ay&s;t to the fir&s;t part,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;.</NOTE> that the Go&s;pel which thou preache&s;t, is the &s;ame which Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles taught, which thou &s;ay&s;t is &s;ummarily contained in the&s;e four ver&s;es, <HI>Tit.</HI> 2.11, 12, 13, 14. wherein the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks of the grace of God to be their Teacher, to deny all ungodline&s;s and worldly lu&s;ts, and to live &s;oberly, ju&s;tly, and godlily in this pre|&s;ent World &amp;c. And to the &s;econd part, thou &s;ay&s;t the Apo&s;tles Go&s;pel was not every way without charge; which to prove, thou quotes 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.8. and again thou &s;ay&s;t, Nor hath Chri&s;t, or any of his Apo&s;tles, impo&s;ed
<PB N="17" REF="10">it upon you, that the Go&s;pel &s;hould be altogether with|out charge, unto them which have it taught: which to prove, thou quotes <HI>Rom.</HI> 15.27. And again thou &s;ay&s;t, nor is <HI>James Parnells</HI> Go&s;pel, be it right or wrong, without charge: If he do not take more then it is worth, if duly examined, it is well.</P>
<P>Thy Spirit is much again&s;t <HI>James Parnell,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rep.</NOTE> as <HI>Zedekia's</HI> was again&s;t <HI>Michajah,</HI> yet here he can prove thee to be a lier, and not onely again&s;t him but of his Lord al&s;o: and therefore if thou belie&s;t the Lord, how much more the &s;ervant?<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Joh.</HI> 1.29.</NOTE> for Chri&s;t Je&s;us the Lambe of God was the Go&s;pel which the Apo&s;tles preached, which was free and not chargeable to any, though he was and is a burden&s;om &s;tone, to them that beleive not in him; yet not chargeable. And therefore thou bla&s;phemer, how dare&s;t thou to open thy mouth thus again&s;t the Lord and his anointed, who art &s;till in thy ungodline&s;&s;e and worldly lu&s;tes, who art pleading for the earth and art a &s;tranger to the free grace of God, and therefore the&s;e ver&s;es which thou ha&s;t &s;et downe, &s;hall &s;tand to wit|ne&s;&s;e again&s;t thee, which thou &s;ai&s;t containeth the Go&s;|pel which thou preache&s;t, but the Apo&s;tles Go&s;pel could not be contained in Paper &amp; Inke, for the heavens could not containe him, for he a&s;cended far above all Heavens that he might fill all things: and al&s;o of thy Go&s;pel thou make&s;t a trade and a gaine,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Eph.</HI> 4.10</NOTE> being many yeares at an Univer&s;ity as thou cale&s;t it to learn to preach it: all which the Apo&s;tles did not, and &s;o thou bringe&s;t another Go&s;pel, and &s;o art not to be received but held as ac|cur&s;ed, as thou art, who art not a&s;hamed to pre&s;ume to &s;ay, thy Go&s;pel is the &s;ame with the Apo&s;tle's, and thou doe&s;t here yeeld thy Go&s;pell to be chargeable, but this Scripture in 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.8. doth not at all prove the Apo&s;tles to be chargeable,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Gal.</HI> 1.8.9.</NOTE> who &s;aith he took wages of other Churches to do them &s;ervice, for it was but for his nece&s;&s;ities, &amp; it was frely communicated to him &amp; there|fore no charge; but now you profe&s;&s;ed Mini&s;ters in&s;tead of robbing other Churches you rob &amp; oppre&s;&s;e the
<PB N="18" REF="11">world, ruling over them by a law with force and cruel|ty, for the which you have no Scripture rule,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ezek.</HI> 34.4.</NOTE> but among&s;t the fal&s;e &s;hepherds. But whom do you &s;pare, whether you do them &s;ervice or nay, if you can but get it ei|ther by faire meanes or foul? and therefore in this thou before many other might well have laid thy hand upon thy mouth. For whereas the Apo&s;tle there tooke &s;ome nece&s;&s;aries which was freely communicated to him by the Churches, thou takes nigh three hundered poundes by the yeare of the world, by a law of man, and none will &s;pare who comes within thy bounds, whether thou do&s;t them &s;ervice or nay, and that Chri&s;t or any of his Apo&s;tles hath not impo&s;ed it upon you that the Go&s;pel &s;hould be altogether without charge,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>J.</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word">. 14.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">4</NOTE> it is true, for they never intru&s;ted you with it, though for &s;ucre &s;ake ye have run, though he never &s;ent you, and &s;peake a divination of your braine, but not from his mouth, and &s;o profit not the people at all, but like ravening Wolves makes a prey upon them; but your end &s;hall be accord|ing to your workes, but they that are intru&s;ted with the Mini&s;try of the Go&s;pel,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mat.</HI> 10.8. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 9.16, 17, 18.</NOTE> have this charge impo&s;ed upon them, As they have received freely, freely to give: the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> al&s;o &s;hewed the &s;ame example, who&s;e care was to make the Go&s;pel free and without charge, and &s;aid wo unto him, if he preached not the Go&s;pel, and therefore becau&s;e he would not make the Go&s;pel chargeable, he tooke nece&s;&s;aries of &s;ome, and &s;pared others, and this was wi&s;dom (which you Earthwormes are void of) and thus he that is taught in the word may communicate to him that teacheth in all good things and yet without charge, he that can receive it, let him; the workman is worthy of his meate: and in that thou taxe&s;t <HI>James Parnell,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mat.</HI> 10.10.</NOTE> he hath not beene chargeable to thee nor to thy generation, neither doth any of him com|plaine, although thou judge&s;t him according to thy own corrupt heart, yet the an&s;wer of the ju&s;t witne&s;&s;e in my con&s;cience &s;hall be for me, before the righteous
<PB N="19" REF="11">Judge of all hearts, when you Hirelings and fal&s;e Pro|phets, &s;hall wi&s;h the Mountaines to cover you, and the Rocks to fall upon you, and hide you from his pre|&s;ence who will give you your reward in the lake that burneth, with the bea&s;t that now upholdes you in this your wickedne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>Whether thou do&s;t hold up the fir&s;t Prie&s;t-hood that tooke Tithes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">9. Query,</NOTE> or the &s;econd&punc; Prie&s;t-hood that tooke no Tithes &amp; which thou do&s;t deny, &s;eeing thou take&s;t Tithes?</P>
<P>And in thy An&s;wer thou &s;ai'&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An.</NOTE> <HI>Melchizedeck</HI> who&s;e Prei&s;t-hood was the fir&s;t Prie&s;t-hood tooke Tithes and the Leviticall Prie&s;t-hood, which was the &s;econd and not the fir&s;t tooke Tithes al&s;o, &s;o that thou fai&s;t there is no Prie&s;t-hood mentioned in the Scripture that tooke no Tithes: then thou Queries how thou or any other doth deny either of tho&s;e Prei&s;t-hoods by taking Tithes which to prove thou quotes, <HI>Gen.</HI> 14.20. <HI>Heb.</HI> 7.2, 3, 4.5. <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Here, thou Serpent! although thou thus twines about to cover and &s;helter thy deceipt,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rep.</NOTE> under others wings it will not at all &s;erve to prove, that thereby thou do&s;t not deny Je&s;us Chri&s;t come in the fle&s;h, who is the ever|la&s;ting high Prie&s;t for ever after the order of <HI>Melchize|deck</HI> which is the unchangeable Prie&s;t-hood, the end of the changeable, which tooke Tithes, and &s;o, the end of Tithes, as is proved by that Scripture which thou ha&s;t quoted, <HI>Heb.</HI> 7. and chap. 8.1. wherein the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks how <HI>Abraham</HI> paid Tithes to <HI>Melchizedeck</HI> of the &s;poils which he&punc; got in the warr which was a free gift without either law or compul&s;ion; neither did &s;tand for a law or rule to the generations following un|till the law was given to <HI>I&s;rael</HI> after the fle&s;h, and the changeable Prie&s;tood e&s;tabli&s;hed: which I &s;ay was the fir&s;t Prie&s;t-hood, to which Tithes was due, for it was &s;o the command of God, that the Tithes &s;hould be paid unto the changeable Prie&s;t-hood, and they was to have a &s;tore-hou&s;e, wherein the Tithes was to be put.
<PB N="20" REF="12">And the Widdows and the Fatherle&s;&s;e and the &s;tran|gers was to come and be filled within their gates that there &s;hould not be a begger in <HI>I&s;rael;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Deut.</HI> 14.28, 29.</NOTE> which &s;tatute is now rejected by you who now &s;o gape for Tithes: for ye in&s;tead of doing this, do grind the faces of the poore, and oppre&s;&s;e the Widdows, the Fatherle&s;&s;e, and the Stran|gers if they doe come within your bounds, and, &s;o makes beggers rather then otherwi&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>I&s;a.</HI> 3.15.</NOTE> &s;o that if you pro|fe&s;&s;e Tithes by this law, it will witne&s;&s;e again&s;t you, and al&s;o in &s;o doing you deny Chri&s;t Je&s;us come in the fle&s;h, who when he was offer'd up, was the everla&s;ting offer|ing, and the everla&s;ting high Prie&s;t over the hou&s;hold of God, and &s;o the fulfilling and the end of the changeable who tooke Tithes by a command. And &s;o, &s;aith the A|po&s;tle, the Prie&s;t-hood being changed there mu&s;t of ne|ce&s;&s;ity be a change of the law, and &s;o the command was di&s;anulled and Tithes ended: for &s;aith the Apo&s;tle in <HI>Heb.</HI> 8.1. Now of the things that we have beene &s;peak|ing,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. <HI>7.12.</HI> Here thy <HI>66</HI> Qu. is An&s;.</NOTE> this is the &s;umme, we have &s;uch an high Prie&s;t, that is &s;et on the right hand of the throne, &amp;c. Now Tithes was one thing, and the Prie&s;t-hood was another thing and the law (by which they both was upheld) was ano|ther thing, of which the Apo&s;tle had beene &s;peaking of which he &s;aith this is the &s;umme, Chri&s;t Je&s;us the high Prie&s;t that is &s;et on the right hand of the Throne, and &s;o the fulfilling and the end of the&s;e things before mentioned, of which Tithes is one: &s;o by this new Covenant he hath made the fir&s;t old;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Heb.</HI> 8.13.</NOTE> now that which de|cayeth or waxeth old is ready to vani&s;h away. Now marke then, which Prie&s;t-hood the Apo&s;tle here ac|counts fir&s;t, becau&s;e thou accu&s;e&s;t mee, that I know not which was the fir&s;t and which was the la&s;t, but by this it is proved that you that now &s;o gapes for Tithes under the profe&s;&s;ion of the Go&s;pel, are razed out from <HI>Melchizedeck,</HI> who once tooke Tithes, onely of the &s;poile which was taken in the war, which was a free gift unto him, (which now you have not) and al&s;o are
<PB N="21" REF="12">ra&s;ed from the changeable Prie&s;t-hood which was the fir&s;t to which Tithes was due, by a command for its time; and al&s;o do deny Chri&s;t come in the fle&s;h who is the end and fulfilling of tho&s;e things, which without command, for lucre &s;ake, you now uphold, and cry up; and &s;o are found onely the Mini&s;ters of Antichri&s;t, who oppo&s;e the true Chri&s;t, (where he is witne&s;&s;ed and held forth) yet under a profe&s;&s;ion of his name: therefore he will profe&s;&s;e unto you workers of iniquity, that he knows you not, when you knock &amp; are not able to enter.</P>
<P>Where is thy Rule in the Scripture,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Query</HI> 8.</NOTE> from the Mini|&s;ters of the Go&s;pel to take Tithes?</P>
<P>And in thy An&s;wer,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;.</NOTE> Thou much endeavours to &s;hel|ter and cover thy &s;elfe by the Scripture, but it will not hide thee, nor &s;tand for thee; to prove that the Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel ever took Tithes, or that unto them Tithes belonged, as any who reads thy An&s;wer with under&s;tan|ding, may &s;ee &amp; al&s;o &s;ee thy &s;huffings, who runs into the old Covenant to maintain Tithes due to the Mini&s;ters of the new Covenant, which is the end of the old, as in my la&s;t Reply is plainly proved; and thou out of both to be &s;hut&punc; &amp; therefore thou &s;ay&s;t, it is &s;ufficient for thee, &amp; o|ther Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel, that there is no Comman|dement in the Go&s;pel again&s;t the taking of Tithes, which thou &s;ay&s;t, we mu&s;t produce ere we can make the thing unlawfull.</P>
<P>Now all people may con&s;ider, how they have been blinded and deceived by you profe&s;&s;ed Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel in this Nation, who upon &s;uch &s;lender grounds as the&s;e, have and do take the tenth of the increa&s;e of the fruits of the peoples labours, who many of them, them&s;elves do rent and hire what they have, whereby you have and do live at ea&s;e, in pride, idlene&s;s, and fulne&s;s, &s;porting in the day time, and living in the plea|&s;ures, and wantonne&s;s upon the earth, contrary to any Rule or Example in the Scripture, from the Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel; and therefore this your ground and
<PB N="22" REF="13">foundation which thou ha&s;t here laid be&s;ides the Scrip|ture, to uphold Tithes contrary to the Scripture, will not &s;tand, and therefore your building mu&s;t fall; for al|though there were no Command in the Go&s;pel again&s;t the taking of Tithes: yet it doth not prove, that the Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel are to take Tithes, being it was never allotted them; but that by the Go&s;pel, Tithes are di&s;annulled, and the Prie&s;thood changed, and the Law by which they both was e&s;tabli&s;hed; is fulfilled and done away, is clear by the Scripture; and therefore unlawful now for any to practi&s;e without a Command from God, as before is proved in my la&s;t Reply, &acirc;nd thou to be a lier, who &s;aith, I could not prove it by clear Scripture, that Chri&s;t or his Apo&s;tles hath taken away that main|tenance; and therefore that Scripture which thou ha&s;t quoted in <HI>Mat.</HI> 23.23. &s;hall &s;tand and witne&s;s again&s;t thee; for when Chri&s;t &s;poke, that was before he was offered up, and then the Law of Tithes was not yet ful|filled, and therefore not di&s;anulled; and therefore &s;trictly to be ob&s;erved, untill Chri&s;t the everla&s;ting &s;a|crifice was offered up; and then the Apo&s;tles &s;aid, the Prie&s;thood being changed, there mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity be a change of the Law, and &s;o Tithes ended, as before is proved; and therefore not for the Mini&s;ters of the Go|&s;pel, to take them as theit maintenance; and that Scrip|ture which thou ha&s;t quoted in 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 9. &s;hall &s;tand and witne&s;s again&s;t thee; for the whole Chapter doth not at all prove Tithes due to the Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel, as any who reads the Chapter with hone&s;ty will witne&s;s; for it doth not at all mention Tithes, but only &s;peaks of the Apo&s;tles power, that as they had planted Vineyards, &s;o they might eat of the fruit thereof; and as they preached the Go&s;pel, &s;o they might live of the Go&s;pel; and this the Apo&s;tle writ to tho&s;e whom he &s;aid was the Seals of his Mini&s;try; but where is the Seals of your Mini&s;try?<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 <HI>John</HI> 5.19.</NOTE> are they not the world who lie in wicked|ne&s;s? where is the Vineyard that ye have been planting
<PB N="23" REF="13">this many years? is it not &s;till full of Briers and Thorns, and weeds, and wild Plants, which bring forth no fruit, but cumber the ground: but keep in your own Vineyards, and rob not others, and then you will not be &s;uch Theeves as you are, but it will make you plant better, or el&s;e to fall to &s;ome other Trade; and the Apo&s;tles power was not of man, nor by man, being he was not &s;et up by man; but yours is of man, and by a Law of man, by whom you are &s;et up, and by whom you &s;tand, as here in thy an&s;wer thou ha&s;t confe&s;&s;ed; and yet the Apo&s;tle re|fu&s;ed to u&s;e this power, and yet &s;aid, nece&s;&s;ity was laid upon him to preach the Go&s;pel; but what power do you refu&s;e, be it right or wrong? and if that earthly pow|er &s;hould be taken from you, which you have, what would become of your Go&s;pel? nay &s;ome of you have &s;aid, that Down with the maintenance, and down with the Mini&s;try; and therefore for ever &s;top thy mouth, from taking the Apo&s;tles words, for a Cloak for thy co|vetou&s;ne&s;s, who him&s;elf ca&s;t out &s;uch from the Mini&s;try, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3. and therefore thou knew, that none of the&s;e Scriptures would &s;erve for thy ends; and therefore thou would &s;helter thy &s;elfe under the powers of the earth, by whom thou art &s;et up, whom thou &s;ay&s;t, did give to the Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel in this Nation, and el&s;e where, and to their &s;ucce&s;&s;or for ever, the tenth of all their grounds, and cau&s;ed them to be &s;etled by a Law. And thou aske&s;t, If this was not a lawful and pious gift, and &s;uitable to what was payd in the old Te&s;ta|ment.</P>
<P>This I do deny to be lawful, but altogether unlawful;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply. Thy 6th Query is an&s;wered in this Reply. <HI>2</HI> Pet. <HI>3.16.</HI></NOTE> for that hath made &s;o many pretended Mini&s;ters as there are, who for greedine&s;s of the gain and plea&s;ure, have pretended to the things which you never had in you, neither know any thing of them, but by others Declara|tions, which for your own ends, you have wre&s;ted to your own de&s;truction and others, and &s;o through your Phy|lo&s;ophy and vain deceipt, have &s;poiled the people, and
<PB N="24" REF="14">by feigned words through covetou&s;ne&s;s, have made Mar|chandize of them, and &s;o have deluded and led in blind|ne&s;&s;e the people this many years, only for your own car|nall ends; and that this is &s;uitable to what was payd in the old Te&s;tament, I al&s;o do deny (and if it was, what is that to you? that which was given in the old Te&s;tament is di&s;annulled by the new, and therefore no rule for you) and al&s;o that was given by the Lord to the Levites, who had no other Inheritance in the Land, and the Lord gave that which was his own, and he gave a &s;trict Command, that it &s;hould be payd, which &s;tood in force &s;o long as the Prie&s;thood endured, as is proved by the Scriptures, which thou thy &s;elfe ha&s;t quoted which &s;hall here &s;tand again&s;t thy &s;elfe, <HI>Levit.</HI> 27.30, 31, 32. and <HI>Numb.</HI> 18.24. but the Lord did not give it &s;ince to the profe&s;&s;ed Mini&s;ters of <HI>England;</HI> but thou &s;ay&s;t, man gave it, and therefore gave that which was none of their own; for it is unju&s;t for any Prince or Ru|ler, to give away the labour or Inheritance of his Sub|jects unto them that never laboured for it, and unto the&s;e who under pretence of the Go&s;pel do delude, and beguile the &s;ouls of his Subjects, for their di&s;hone&s;t gain, as you profe&s;&s;ed Mini&s;ters of <HI>England</HI> do; and therefore they who&s;e eyes are opened,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mich.</HI> 2.5.</NOTE> do &s;ee you, and therefore accounts it a &s;in unto God, to uphold you, or put into your mouthes, whom the Lord is again&s;t; and therefore you even prepare Warre again&s;t them, and it is neither pious nor lawful, for any Prince or Governour, to force any of his Subjects by a Law, contrary to their Con|&s;ciences; and al&s;o the Inheritance of the Levites, was &s;tated by a Law of God, and yours by a Law of Man, and they was ordained, and &s;et up by God, but you by man, by whom you are upheld and maintained contrary to Scripture: &s;o they come by the will of God, &amp; you by the will of man; &amp; they was maintained by the will of God, &amp; you by the will of man, &amp; they were of God (as all his true Mini&s;ters are now,) and you are of man, (as all the
<PB N="25" REF="14">fal&s;e Prophets, and fal&s;e Mini&s;ters ever was,) &s;o that there is much difference betwixt you and them, and be|twixt the Intere&s;t, that they had in Tithes, and the inte|re&s;t that you now claim: &s;o that they that robbed them, robbed God, as in the Scripture which thou ha&s;t quoted, <HI>Mal.</HI> 3.8. which &s;hall &s;tand again&s;t thee; and if the ground of your intere&s;t was well &s;earched, it would be found that you have it from the Pope and his upholders, who&s;e &s;upremacy your &s;elves deny in words to blinde the World; but in practice you own it, and claim it: and again, if this which thou &s;peaks of, was given to the Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel, then you that are hirelings, and the Mini&s;ters of Antichri&s;t have no right nor title in it; and the Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel, they al&s;o do deny it, who&s;e care is to make the Go&s;pel free and without charge; and therefore cannot oppre&s;s any, neither will their Con&s;ciences &s;erve them to take the increa&s;e of o|thers labours, by Law or compul&s;ion, and therefore it is mo&s;t ju&s;t, that the Labourer &s;hould in peace, injoy the fruits of his labours, and &s;uch idle drones as you (who neither labour for God, nor for the good of man, but are the de&s;troyers both of body and &s;oul) &s;hould not eat according to the Apo&s;tles Rule, in 2 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 3.10. and thus unto it you have no legall nor civil claim, (as thou calls it,) but your Birth-right is as a me&s;&s;e of Pottage: neither is your Claim and Title, as lawful as a Sonnes is to the Inheritance of his Father (as thou &s;ay&s;t;) but you climbe up another way &amp; &s;o are Theeves &amp; Robbers, <HI>John</HI> 10.1.</P>
<P>Whether ever the Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t had or &s;tood in need of an outward Law,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu:</HI> 11.</NOTE> to compel people to maintain them, as thou, and &s;uch as thou now hath and doth.</P>
<P>And in thy An&s;wer thou confe&s;&s;e&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;w.</NOTE> that tho&s;e that are righteous or truly &s;pirituall, needs no &s;uch com|pul&s;ive Law to force them; for they are a Law unto them&s;elves; but thou &s;ay&s;t, that the greate&s;t part of the profe&s;&s;ors in the vi&s;ible Church, alwayes were, and yet are earthly-minded, and neither do nor can, rightly va|lue &s;piritual and heavenly things.</P>
<P><PB N="26" REF="15">
But in all thy pretended An&s;wer, thou do&s;t not at all, re&s;olve the &s;ub&s;tance of my Query, but rather in thy &s;i|lence in it, do&s;t yield thy &s;elf out of the practi&s;e of the A|po&s;tles, and by thy own confe&s;&s;ion it is manife&s;t, that neither you profe&s;&s;ed Mini&s;ters, nor your Auditors are righteous, nor truly &s;piritual, for you &s;tand in need of a compul&s;ive Law, to force people to maintain you, and the people &s;tands in need of a compul&s;ive Law to force them to maintain you, which thou confe&s;&s;e&s;t the righteous need not; but though you have a com|pul&s;ive Law, the righteous will not maintain you: and thus out of thy own mouth thou art judged, and the re&s;t of thy Brethren to be the fal&s;e Pro|phets, who profit not the people at all; and again, thy own confe&s;&s;ion proves it, that the greate&s;t part of your Church is earthly minded, and no wonder while the Teachers them&s;elves are &s;o; and thus your Church is the Synagogue of Sathan, which is built up of &s;uch pro|fe&s;&s;ors; and therefore blu&s;h and be a&s;hamed of your Mini&s;try. Oh what have you been doing this many years! who have wrought no better Reformation: and herein you &s;hew your Mini&s;try to be earthly, who have no better &s;eals then earthly minded profe&s;&s;ors, who &s;tand in need of a Law to compel them to maintain you; and this is as true a &s;aying, as any thou ha&s;t in thy Book that the greate&s;t part of the profe&s;&s;ors in your Church are earthly minded; but, in that thou accu&s;e&s;t the Church in the Apo&s;tles dayes to be the &s;ame, thou art a lyer and a fal&s;e accu&s;er, neither can&s;t bring any proofe in the Scripture, to maintain what thou &s;ay&s;t, but it will witne&s;s again&s;t thee;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Act.</HI> 4.33, 34, 35. <HI>Act.</HI> 5.1.8.</NOTE> for the multitude that be|lieved, were of one heart, and one &s;oul, &s;o that they &s;old their po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions, and laid it at the Apo&s;tles feet; and it was di&s;tributed to every one, according as they had need: the Mini&s;try took &s;uch place in them. And whereas there was two found that was earthly minded, yet there needed not a Law of man to compel them; and the Law of man al&s;o was again&s;t the Apo&s;tles, as it
<PB N="27" REF="15">is again&s;t the&s;e now that walk in the &s;ame &s;teps, yet they do not need a Law of man to force a maintenance for them, from worldly or earthly minded profe&s;&s;ors, as the fal&s;e Prophets and deceivers alwayes did, who was alwayes &s;heltered and upheld by the will of man, be|cau&s;e they could wink at their iniquity, and cry peace to them as thou here do&s;t, becau&s;e they put into thy mouth: therefore thou flatters them, and daubs them up, but it is with untempered morter. But the Com|mi&s;&s;ion which Chri&s;t gave to his Mini&s;ters, was,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ezek.</HI> 22 22.28. <HI>Mat.</HI> 6.25. <HI>Mat.</HI> 12 11, 12, 13, 14.</NOTE> Take no thought, but into what&s;oever City or place they entered, they was to enquire who was worthy; and if they was not willingly received, they was to &s;hake off the du&s;t of their feet, and &s;o leave them; but is it not well known, that all your care is to take thought, where to get a fat living, in&s;tead of inquiring who is worthy; and there if you have but Authority from man, you will have it, whether they receive you, yea or nay: &s;o with &s;hame mighte&s;t thou bring any example from the Apo&s;tles, or the Church in their dayes, who were men that coveted no mans Silver nor Gold nor apparrell but had for&s;aked all for the Go&s;pels &s;ake, and many of the Church &s;uffered the &s;poiling of their goods wil|lingly by your fore-Fathers the cheife Prie&s;ts and Scribes and Phari&s;es, who was their per&s;ecutors, as you are now of them who the Go&s;pel do own,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Act.</HI> 20.33. <HI>Heb.</HI> 10.34.</NOTE> (and your pro|fe&s;&s;ors al&s;o) who as thou &s;ai&s;t doth not rightly value &s;pirituall things, &s;uch as are holden forth by the true Mini&s;ters and Me&s;&s;engers of God, (neither can) becau&s;e, by &s;uch blind guides as thou art, they are kept in blind|ne&s;&s;e, and darkne&s;&s;e, lea&s;t their eies &s;hould be opened and they come to &s;ee you, and decline from you, who was never tied to you by any command of God, and therefore you are glad to make u&s;e of a law of man, con|trary to the practi&s;e of Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles: and as for the expre&s;&s;e provi&s;ion, which the Lord made for his Mini&s;ters and Me&s;&s;engers in the new Te&s;tament, I reply, When Chri&s;t gave them their Commi&s;&s;ion, he &s;aid al&s;o
<PB N="28" REF="16">in what&s;oever hou&s;e they entered they was to eate &s;uch as was &s;et before them, for &s;aith he the workman is wor|thy of his meate: and this is all the expre&s;&s;e provi&s;ion that thou can&s;t find allotted to them in the new Te&s;ta|ment, and this was without any law of man too; for there was no need of any, for if they did not willingly receive them, they was not to eate with them, but to &s;hake of the du&s;t of their feete again&s;t them, and that was all the law they was to take again&s;t &s;uch which was earthly minded, and regardle&s;&s;e of them: but this will not &s;erve you becau&s;e your &s;elves are earthly minded, and therefore will have it of every one, whether they receive you yea or nay, or el&s;e you have a law of man to take treble damage; and in&s;tead of eating &s;uch as they will &s;et before you, you will have the tenth part of what they have by compul&s;ion, you are &s;uch greedy devouring Woolvs: and what was before allotted to the Prie&s;ts in the old Te&s;tament, is before &s;ufficiently proved to be nothing concerning you, who profe&s;&s;e your &s;elves Mini&s;ters of the New Te&s;tament, and as for tho&s;e Scriptures which thou quotes in 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 31.5, 6. <HI>&amp;c:</HI> are al&s;o as nothing to my Query, but are before an&s;wered in my la&s;t reply, but yet the&s;e &s;hall &s;tand to witne&s;&s;e again&s;t thee to be a liar: for let any who reades the&s;e ver&s;es, &s;ee if there the <HI>I&s;ralites</HI> did &s;hew any earth|ly mindedne&s;&s;e, or &s;tood in need of a law to compel them, after they knew the Kings mind, (as thou ac|cu&s;e&s;t them) and thus thou can&s;t find nothing either in the Old or New Te&s;tament that will cover thy deceipt but altogether witne&s;&s;e again&s;t thee, and therefore againe thou flees into thy old &s;helter which is the will of man, by which thou art &s;et up and upheld, therefore a fal&s;e Prophet, and a deceiver, who abides not in the doctrine of Chri&s;t, and it is no Pious nor Ju&s;t act for them as I &s;aid before, to take away the fruits of their &s;ubjects labours by a compul&s;ive law to give unto &s;uch Earth-wormes as thee, who cares not how you get it
<PB N="29" REF="16">&s;o you get it, as thy own mouth confe&s;&s;e&s;t, for thou &s;ai&s;t it is a competent though not a liberall maintenance; and yet thou can&s;t take it and plead for it too, yea and of worldly minded people, which is altogether con|trary to the Apo&s;tles practi&s;e, and &s;o thou fullfills the wordes which before I have &s;poken of thee, and who&s;o|ever denies you of Tithes do not unju&s;tly detaine them, (as thou &s;ai&s;t they do) being you have no right to them by any law or command from God, or example in the Scripture, as before is proved, but only claimes a Title by the unju&s;t &s;upremacy of the Pope, by which your fore-Fathers, the per&s;ecuting Bi&s;hops was upheld, and therefore we called Quakers do teach people them you to deny, which is not contrary to the practice of Chri&s;t or his Apo&s;tles (as thou accu&s;e&s;t us) for &s;aith Chri&s;t, Be|ware of fal&s;e-Prophets that appeare in &s;heeps clothing,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mat.</HI> 7.15.16.</NOTE> but inwardly ravening Woolves; by their fruits they are knowne, and by which &s;ufficiently you are here marked our, and the Apo&s;tles bids from &s;uch turne away as in 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.5. and againe the Apo&s;tle <HI>John</HI> forbids to re|ceive &s;uch as abides not in the doctrine of Chri&s;t, or to bid them God &s;peed 2 <HI>Joh.</HI> 9.10. and here both Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles &s;ufficiently taught people to deny you, and here thou art proved a lier who thus fal&s;ely accu&s;e&s;t us called Quakers, in this to act contrary to the pra|ctice of Chri&s;t or his Apo&s;tles, and &s;o here thou and the re&s;t of the profe&s;&s;ed Mini&s;ters of this Nation, are &s;uf|ficiently manife&s;t what you are; &s;o that all men may &s;ee your folly and deceipt, but tho&s;e who are blind, and love to have it &s;o, and &s;o the Scripture is fulfilled upon you, <HI>Jer.</HI> 5.30.31.</P>
<P>Whether ever the Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel tooke any nece&s;&s;aries of the world,<NOTE PLACE="marg">12 <HI>Que.</HI></NOTE> as thou and &s;uch as thou doth all your Tithes and maintenance yea or nay?</P>
<P>And in thy An&s;wer thou &s;ai&s;t, yea they have,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;.</NOTE> which to prove thou quotes, <HI>Ast.</HI> 28.1.9. where thou &s;ai&s;t <HI>Paul</HI> tooke nece&s;&s;aries of the <HI>Barbarians,</HI> yet this not
<PB N="30" REF="17">&s;erving thy turne, thou runs to old Hi&s;tories which thou calls <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall</HI> records, and &s;aith they for 1500 yeares doe te&s;tify the &s;ame, but yet doubting of this, thou &s;ai&s;t as thou &s;aid before, it &s;ufficeth you that there is no law nor command of God, to the contrary; nor are exam|ples thou &s;ai&s;t needfull for every thing; as to prove that Chri&s;t called any &s;hooemaker or cobler to be a Prophet.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply.</NOTE>But here againe thou ha&s;t marked out thy &s;elfe to be a fal&s;e Prophet, who runs, and the Lord never &s;ent thee, and therefore thou teache&s;t for Doctrine the traditions of men; for the which thou ha&s;t no Scripture &amp; therefore runs to old &s;tories, to which I am not to give any cre|dit, be they never &s;o old, being they are not according to Scripture, (and therefore not Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall) for the old|ne&s;&s;e of the thing doth not make it truth; though you haue long thereby deceived the ignorant. And as for that Scripture which thou quote&s;t in <HI>Acts</HI> 28.1.9. then <HI>Paul</HI> was a Pri&s;oner, and he and the Souldiers that kept him and the re&s;t of the people, was driven there by &s;torm upon the Sea, &s;o that in that cau&s;e the <HI>Barbarians</HI> took pitty of them, and received them; but there was many be&s;ides <HI>Paul,</HI> and the Centurion, to whom <HI>Paul</HI> was committed, was to take care of him, and al&s;o that which the Barbarians did was freely, and that which na|ture bound them to, being they was in that &s;trait; which was done to many be&s;ides <HI>Paul,</HI> who were heathen, &s;o that this doth not at all &s;tand for thee, who art in thy own Country, and yet takes all thy Tithes and mainte|nance of the World by compul&s;ion: neither will this excu&s;e &s;erve to &s;helter you Hirelings and deceivers, to &s;ay that there is no Law nor Command of God to the contrary; for it is fal&s;e; for Chri&s;t commands his Mi|ni&s;ters expre&s;ly, freely to give, as freely they had re|ceived; and al&s;o charged them where they was not freely received,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Levit.</HI> 25.14. <HI>Mich.</HI> 1.2.</NOTE> to depart thence, &s;haking off the du&s;t of their feet, as before is proved, and al&s;o oppre&s;&s;ion is the Law of God again&s;t, and to take the tenth, or in|crea&s;e
<PB N="30" REF="17">of the fruits of the peoples labours, is a &s;ore and great oppre&s;&s;ion which the Land groans under, and therefore a &s;in, and yet the gift doth &s;o blinde your eyes, that you cannot &s;ee all this, but thinks, becau&s;e there is no Scripture for you, therefore none again&s;t you: and though there needs no example to prove any Shooma|ker or Cobler to be a Prophet (as thou confe&s;&s;e&s;t) though in &s;corn,) for it is a thing that none doth, who under|&s;tands the Scripture, being there is &s;ufficient proof, that he called other Trade&s;men; yet there is a need, that you might finde &s;o much as a Scripture proof, or example, for your Tithes and maintenance, (who profe&s;s it to be your rule) being it is a great oppre&s;&s;ion of the Land; and yet &s;ay&s;t thou, it doth &s;uffice you, that there is no Law or Command to the contrary: therefore this &s;hews your avaricious mindes, who are &s;o willing to be blinde in this things; but it will not, neither doth &s;o ea&s;ily &s;uffice tho&s;e that are oppre&s;&s;ed by you, though you regard it not, according to the Prophet <HI>Ezekiels</HI> words, you &s;eek for the fleece, and regard not the flock, but make a prey upon the &s;heep: and &s;o with this &s;top thy mouth, and own thy &s;elfe among&s;t the fal&s;e Shepheards and Hirelings, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 34. <HI>John</HI> 10.</P>
<P>Whether ever they had a &s;et maintenance,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que:</HI> 13.</NOTE> or &s;o much a year for preaching, as 40.60.100. or 200 <ABBR>l.</ABBR> as thou, and &s;uch as thou hath.</P>
<P>And in thy An&s;wer,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;. i</NOTE> thou can&s;t not bring one Scrip|ture for thy Rule, to prove this your common practi&s;e, but flees to the Records, that thou &s;ay&s;t are to be found in &s;everall parts of Chri&s;tendom, (as thou calls it) where I do not intend to &s;eek for them, to &s;ee whether the&s;e things be true or no, which thou &s;peake&s;t of them; but as I &s;aid before, will conclude them to be fal&s;e in this thing, being the Scripture is altogether again&s;t it, &s;o that thou can&s;t not finde one Scripture to ju&s;tifie it; but &s;ay&s;t, if we &s;ay Where do you read of this in the Scripture; thou an&s;wers as far off again to the &s;ame purpo&s;e &s;till, without any Scripture proof, and therefore I &s;hall leave it for any under&s;tan|ding
<PB N="32" REF="18">Reader of thy Book to judge, and &s;ee how weak you are, if you had not a Law of man to uphold you, who have not one Scripture that will &s;trengthen the foundation of your Mini&s;try, which is your mainte|nance: then how have you deluded the people to make them believe, that the Scripture is your Rule, when it is altogether again&s;t you, let the hone&s;t hearted judge.</P>
<P>And whether &s;uch be not the hirelings which cares not for the &s;heep yea or nay;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que.</HI> 14.</NOTE> And whether &s;uch be not the greedy Doggs which the Prophet <HI>I&s;ay</HI> freely decla|red again&s;t <HI>I&s;ay</HI> 56.11. and makes a prey upon the &s;heep, which <HI>Ezekiel</HI> declared again&s;t, <HI>Ezek</HI> 34. and are the ravening Wolves which Je&s;us Chri&s;t declared a|gain&s;t, <HI>Mat.</HI> 7.15. and are &s;uch as through covetuou&s;ne&s;s, makes Merchandi&s;e of the people, which <HI>Peter</HI> a Mini|&s;ter of Chri&s;t declared again&s;t, 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.3. and &s;uch as go after the error of <HI>Balaam,</HI> for gifts and rewards, which <HI>Jude</HI> a Servant of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, cryed woe again&s;t, <HI>Jude</HI> 11.</P>
<P>And in thy An&s;wer,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;.</NOTE> after many excu&s;es thou plainly confe&s;&s;e&s;t, thou can&s;t not ju&s;tifie all of your Calling, and therefore thou wilt an&s;wer for thy &s;elfe; and fir&s;t thou &s;ay&s;t, thou art none of the&s;e Hirelings; for he is not an Hireling which takes the wages allotted to him for his work; for then thou do&s;t accu&s;e Kings &amp; Governours to be Hirelings, who takes Tribute and Cu&s;tom, yea and the Apo&s;tles and Chri&s;t him&s;elf, which to prove, thou quotes 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 7.8, and <HI>Luke</HI> 8.23. but thou confe&s;&s;e&s;t, that he is one, that &s;ets his heart upon the wages only, and de|lights not in the work, but is weary of the &s;ame, and longs for the &s;hadow or re&s;t, which to prove, thou quo|te&s;t <HI>Job</HI> 7.1.2, 3.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply.</NOTE>Here, thou impudent lyer, for all thy &s;huffelings and thy coverings, thou can&s;t not hide thy &s;elfe, but out of thy own mouth &s;halt be judged, though thou here plainly denies thy Brethren, and thinks it enough to an|&s;wer for thy &s;elfe, thy cau&s;e is &s;o bad; for thy wages is not alotted by God, neither ha&s;t thou any Scripture Rule to prove them, (as is before proved) and therefore
<PB N="33" REF="18">it follows, that thy heart is &s;et upon thy hire; for which &s;ake thou undertakes that work which thou profe&s;&s;e&s;t, and it is for thy hires &s;ake, that thou art not weary of thy work, or el&s;e thou would&s;t not own that which is &s;o contrary to the Scripture: &s;o that thou can&s;t not bring one Scripture proof for this thy practice: and, that it is thy hire that thou delights in, is &s;ufficiently appa|rent, by thy thus gaping for it, and &s;eeking to defend it, though altogether contrary to Scripture: And as for the work thou and thy Brethren profe&s;&s;eth, you are as idle in it as you can, &s;o that you can but hold up the Worlds cu&s;tom, and blind the people that &s;till you may rule o|ver them by your meanes, and thus it may plainely be &s;eene, wherein is your delight, and &s;o out of thy own mouth judge thee to be neither con&s;cionable nor faith|full, who art not a&s;hamed thus to &s;eeke to ju&s;tifie thy &s;elfe in thy deceipt, when as thy own mouth confe&s;&s;eth that it is not a liberall maintenance, and that thou can&s;t take it and plead for it: and therefore this Scrip|ture which thou quote&s;t, in <HI>Iob.</HI> 7.2. &s;hall &s;tand and witne&s;&s;e again&s;t thee, who as a hireling agrees with the people for &s;o much a yeare, and as a hireling lookes for thy wages at the yeares end, but of thy work there is no profit to any, and &s;o with the &s;haddow thou de|ceive&s;t them for gaine which doth &s;o blind thy eie, that thou thinke&s;t all are like thee, though they take that which is freely admini&s;tred to them for their temporall nece&s;&s;ities; which is not agreeing with the people, for &s;o much a yeare, and to take it by a law whether they will agree with you yea or nay; which weapons Chri&s;t or his Mini&s;ters never made u&s;e of, and therefore thou lier how dar&s;t thou to accu&s;e Chri&s;t or his Apo&s;tles to take wages for their worke? did Chri&s;t heale the &s;ick or the di&s;ea&s;ed, and the lame, and the blind, or teach the people, for mony or wages? oh thou bla&s;phemer for ever &s;top thy mouth from nameing his holy name who doth &s;o &s;lander him: well mai&s;t thou accu&s;e and
<PB N="34" REF="19">&s;lander his Servants and Me&s;&s;engers, which &s;o impu|dently do&s;t it to him, who is our Lord and Ma&s;ter: but as for paying tribute,<NOTE PLACE="marg">3.</NOTE> to Kings and Goverours in their places it is allowed of by Scripture, which thine is not, and they are &s;et about temporall affaires and are the ordinance of God for that purpo&s;e, for to Governe and Protect the people in bodily peace and quietne&s;&s;e, which if they neglect, will be laid to their charge: but thou and thy brethren pretend to &s;pirituall affaires, and therefore are to have your rule and example from Chri&s;t and his Mini&s;ters who was &s;et about &s;pirituall affaires, the which thou can&s;t not but would creepe into any hole, to hide thy &s;elfe and thy brethren from the light, but by it are you found out, and &s;eene, to be the de|ceivers who out of the doctrine of Chri&s;t are found, and therefore not to be owned nor received.</P>
<P>And &s;econdly thou &s;ay&s;t, thou art no &s;uch greedy Dogge,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;.</NOTE> what&s;oever foul-mouthed Curs do bark to the contrary; for thou &s;ay&s;t, thou contents thy &s;elfe with thy legall &s;allary, which yet thou &s;ay&s;t is not contrary to e|vangelicall, (wherein thou ha&s;t already been proved a Lier &s;ufficiently.)</P>
<P>Here thy foul mouth thou ha&s;t opened wide, who ac|counts the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply.</NOTE> a foul mouth'd Cur, who this Language fir&s;t did &s;peak unto the fal&s;e Prophets, in who&s;e &s;teps thou art found, and therefore unto thee the &s;ame Language belongeth, who &s;eeks for thy gain from thy Quarters as they did; and what ha&s;t thou el&s;e ma|nife&s;ted but greedine&s;s of gain all along,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>I&s;ay.</HI> 56.</NOTE> who rather then thou would yield thy error in it (though thou could&s;t not produce one Scripture that would &s;tand for it:) yet thou runne&s;t to old Hi&s;tories &amp; Records, thereby to maintain it, contrary to Scripture: therefore with &s;hame &amp; confu&s;i|on of face might thou &s;ay, thou contents thy &s;elf with thy legall &s;allary, who ha&s;t nigh 300 <ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR> by the yeare, and yet thou would&s;t have more, if thou could&s;t get it, thou art &s;o greedy, as may be well under&s;tood by thy &s;aying: that
<PB N="35" REF="19">in former time, that the Bi&s;hops and Pa&s;tors had not only a &s;etled maintenance of that value, but of a great deal more, which is an unheard off thing in all the Scrip|ture, and therefore thy own mouth confe&s;t, what greedy Dogs you Prei&s;t have bin &s;ince your beginning, &amp; yet with the deceit of thy heart thou would&s;t &s;til cover; but the day doth make you manife&s;t, to be &s;uch who run, and the Lord never &s;ent you; and therefore you profit not the people at all: Therefore what is thy teaching and warn|ing of the people which thou here boa&s;ts of, and there|fore art found one of the Dreamers, and &s;tudiers, and mutterers, who &s;peaks a Divination of thy own brain, and not from the mouth of the Lord, and &s;o feeds the people with wind, and aire: therefore &s;ilence thou deceiver, for going about to excu&s;e thy &s;elfe from the&s;e things, as if thou wa&s;t more holy then thy Brethren; for in &s;o do|ing, thy lying and hypocri&s;ie doth but the more appear; and therefore this &s;hall &s;erve to prove thee a lyer in all the re&s;t of thy excu&s;es, and it is not uncharitable, nor cen&s;orious to tell thee &s;o, though thou &s;o accu&s;e&s;t me; but a lie in thy mouth is no wonder.</P>
<P>Whether ever thou laboured with thy hands, to make the Go&s;pel free, and without charge,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu.</HI> 15.</NOTE> as <HI>Paul</HI> a Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel did.</P>
<P>And in thy an&s;wer thou do&s;t not at all re&s;olve my Querie; but &s;huffle&s;t to and fro to hide thy &s;elfe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;.</NOTE> and excu&s;e thy &s;elfe by pleading <HI>Pauls</HI> power, in 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 9.6. and &s;ai&s;t that Chri&s;t your Ma&s;ter did not injoyne you &s;o to doe, which to prove thou quotes <HI>Luk.</HI> 10.7. and <HI>Deut.</HI> 25.4. and al&s;o pleades that in 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 2.4. and al&s;o pleades a liberty by the Councells and Synods in the Church in former ages, &amp;c.</P>
<P>Yet all this doth not prove, that ever thou laboured with thy hands to make the Go&s;pel free and without charge,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply</NOTE> which any who reades the&s;e Scriptures may &s;ee and by thy &s;ilence in the &s;ame judge thee guilty and to be out of the Apo&s;tles practice: and therefore the&s;e Scriptures will witne&s;&s;e again&s;t thee, (which thou ha&s;t
<PB N="36" REF="20">quoted) for thou art not as <HI>Paul</HI> and <HI>Barnabas</HI> was, nei|ther wa&s;t called to the Mini&s;try as they was, neither preache&s;t freely as they did, neither laboure&s;t with thy hands as <HI>Paul</HI> did, but onely make&s;t a trade and a gaine of the Apo&s;tles words for thy own ends: and therefore what ha&s;t thou to do, to mention Chri&s;t or his Mini|&s;ters who art &s;o plainly found out of their practi&s;e, or to call Chri&s;t thy Ma&s;ter who art thy &s;elfe called Ma&s;ter and &s;o robs him of his honour, and art not in his Do|ctrine, (who &s;aith, be not ye called Ma&s;ters) and &s;o art none of his, and therefore ha&s;t nothing to do with that liberty which he hath given to his faithfull labourers whom he him&s;elfe hath called into his Vineyard: and as for that Scripture in <HI>Luk.</HI> 10.7, it is not again&s;t labour, but for labour before thou can&s;t have thy hire, but thou would'&s;t have it and be maintained in Idlene&s;&s;e by others labours as the Clergy men (as thou calle&s;t them) in England are, who are no Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t who are called of men Ma&s;ter, and &s;o are out of his doctrine in the &s;teps of the Phari&s;es whom the wo is unto, and therefore in this the&s;e, Councels and Synods (as thou call'&s;t them) in your Church in for|mer ages have acted contrary to Scripture, in ordaine|ing that you &s;hould not worke, and labour with your hands for your &s;elves and your families, but that you &s;hould live in Pride and Idlene&s;&s;e, by the &s;weate of others browes, to be maintained as you are: which ordinance is not of God but of man by which you &s;tand, and how ha&s;t thou before fal&s;ly accu&s;ed me for not working, though I am not chargeable to the world, and now thou art &s;triveing by Scripture wre&s;t|ing and fal&s;e applying and all the waies thou can&s;t, for to excu&s;e thy &s;elfe from labouring with thy handes, as the Apo&s;tle did, though thou and thy family are alltogether chargeable to the world. All which Scriptures &s;hall &s;tand again&s;t thee, for they all maintaine working be|fore the benefit of the worke come to them, be it &s;pi|rituall
<PB N="37" REF="20">or temporall, for the Oxe treades not out the come without labour: but what corne have you Clergy men trodden forth? and what &s;pirituall things have you &s;owne? and what Go&s;pel you have preached, this ma|ny yeares in England? doth not the fruits of your Mini|&s;try condemne you, and witne&s;&s;e again&s;t you, to be &s;uch as run, and the Lord never &s;ent you, and &s;o the cur&s;e follows you and is upon your Mini&s;try, and there|fore profits not the people at all, but as drones lives upon the painefull labour of others, yea though you do not labour with your hands yet who more intangles them|&s;elves in the affaires of this world, then you that calls your &s;elves Clergy men both by law and cunning craft and deceipt, and bargaining and oppre&s;&s;ing thereby, to make your &s;elves rich with the things of this life, yea what thing is there in this Nation to get riches by, (though never &s;o unbe&s;eeming &s;pirituall men) but you have a hand in it, and therefore none of tho&s;e &s;pirituall Souldiers which <HI>Paul</HI> &s;peakes of, in 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 2.4. therefore &s;ilence thou deceiver for medling with the Scripture, with thy Babylonious language (as prohibit, Mechanick, Synod, and Clergy) which are the words of mans wi&s;|dom, and contrary to the plaine language of the Scrip|ture, out of which thou art &s;hut, in <HI>Babylon</HI> where thou wa&s;t bred, with thy Clergy as thou calle&s;t them.</P>
<P>Whether thou do&s;t not walke in the &s;teps of the Scribes and Phari&s;es who art called of men Ma&s;ter or Doctor, and ha&s;t the cheife&s;t &s;eate in the Synagogues,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que.</HI> 16.</NOTE> and uppermo&s;t rooms at fea&s;ts and greetings in the markets contrary to the practi&s;e of the Apo&s;tles, and &s;o art un|der the woe which Chri&s;t pronounced again&s;t &s;uch, yea or nay?</P>
<P>And here thou woulde&s;t &s;huffle off with Que&s;tioning in&s;tead of An&s;wering, and &s;ai&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;.</NOTE> what if Chri&s;t gave the name of Ma&s;ter to Nicodemus, <HI>John.</HI> 3.10 and <HI>Luke</HI> the name of Doctor to <HI>Gamaliel</HI> in <HI>Act,</HI> 5.3.4. and thou &s;ai&s;t, Is it then the giving or taking of the&s;e names, which
<PB N="38" REF="21">Chri&s;t forbiddeth or the arrogant u&s;ing of them, out of an high or proud Spirit that de&s;ires to be Idolized? and thou confe&s;&s;e&s;t the word Rabby &s;ignifies Doctor or Ma|&s;ter, which names thou &s;ai&s;t was familiarly given both in the Old and New Te&s;tament, which to prove thou quotes, <HI>Eccle&s;.</HI> 12.11. <HI>Eph.</HI> 4.11. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.28.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply. The <HI>89</HI> and <HI>90,</HI> Que: are an&s;wered in this Reply; and thy <HI>92</HI> Query al&s;o.</NOTE>Here thy blindne&s;&s;e doth appeare, and thou wilt need no other proofe again&s;t thee but thy own words, though here thou would'&s;t go about to &s;lander Chri&s;t, and his Apo&s;tles, whom thou art not worthy to name, nei|ther do&s;t thou thereby an&s;wer my Query, but would ju&s;ti|fy that which Chri&s;t cried woe again&s;t, &amp; therfore a Mini|&s;ter of Antichri&s;t art found to which the woe belonges for that Scripture in <HI>John</HI> 3.10. doth not prove that Chri&s;t called Nicodemus Ma&s;ter, as thou woulde&s;t faine &s;lander him, neither doth that, <HI>Act.</HI> 5.34. prove, that <HI>Luke</HI> gave <HI>Gamaliel</HI> the name of Doctor, but in way of declaration what he was accounted among&s;t the Jewes, as any that reades with under&s;tanding may &s;ee: yea thou thy &s;elfe can&s;t not deny it, but that thou would'&s;t be glad of any thing to &s;helter thy deceipt; but Chri&s;t expre&s;ly forbids his to be be called Ma&s;ter, and therefore it is conclud|ed that you take the&s;e names unto your &s;elves, from an arrogancy and pride of Spirit that you might be Idoliz|ed as is well knowne, how you &s;well and are puffed up in wrath and rage, if you be not &s;o called by tho&s;e you account your inferiors; or el&s;e you would not own it, being Chri&s;t hath &s;o expre&s;ly forbidden it, to his Mini|&s;ters; and you profe&s;&s;ing your &s;elves to be his Mini&s;ters; &amp; the word Mini&s;ter &s;ignifies &s;ervant; &amp; <HI>Paul,</HI> who was his Mini&s;ter &s;aid he made him&s;elfe &s;ervant to all, but you would be Ma&s;ters over all,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 <HI>Cor</HI> 9.19.</NOTE> bearing rule by your meanes though hired as Servants, yet more unrea&s;onable &amp; un|ju&s;t, for you will have it of them you do no work for: and al&s;o what&s;oever thou &s;ai&s;t Doctor or Ma&s;ter &s;ignifies, Chri&s;t hath forbidden it, and therefore in u&s;eing of it thou art out of the doctrine of Chri&s;t, and the woe is unto thee, and the more for wre&s;ting the Scripture to
<PB N="39" REF="21">maintaine it, and uphold it which Chri&s;t hath cried down, and it is well knowne to them that are not wilfully blind, that Ma&s;ter or Doctor are names that are given and taken, among&s;t you Clergy-men (as you call your &s;elves (as Titles of honour; witne&s;&s;e your degrees in your Nur&s;eries of deceipt, (which you call V|niver&s;ities) as fir&s;t Bachellor, then from Bachellor to Ma&s;ter of Arts, and from that to Bachellor of Divi|nity and from that to Doctor of Divinity; which highe&s;t Title is given to thee, and therefore it is no wonder that thou &s;o pleads for it, but the lea&s;t Child of light, will judge the&s;e traditions to be upheld by the Pride; and arrogancy of the fle&s;h that would be Idolized, but the old man mu&s;t needs plead for his life: neither doth the&s;e Scriptures in, <HI>Eph.</HI> 4.11. and 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.38. at all ad|vantage thee, for neither Doctor nor Ma&s;ter is menti|oned in the&s;e Scriptures, and thus thou art ignorant of the letter, then far unfit to be a teacher of others which thou do&s;t a&s;&s;ume to thy &s;elfe by the name of Doctor, ac|cording to thy own meaning.</P>
<P>And as for the cheife &s;eates in the &s;ynagogues and up|permo&s;t roomes at fea&s;ts,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;.</NOTE> &s;ome thou &s;ai&s;t that are wor|thy, were allowed them by Chri&s;t him&s;elfe which to prove thou quotes, <HI>Lnk.</HI> 14.7.8. <HI>&amp;c. Mark.</HI> 5.22. And by <HI>Luke, Ast.</HI> 13.15. and <HI>Chap.</HI> 18.8.17. and as for &s;a|lutations they are allowed thou &s;ai&s;t, as well in the mar|ket places as any where el&s;e.</P>
<P>This is the true&s;t word that thou ha&s;t yet &s;poken in one re&s;pect, though from a fal&s;e Spirit:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply.</NOTE> for your hea|theni&s;h cu&s;toms and &s;alutations, are allowed-of no where, by the Scripture, neither ha&s;t thou brought a|ny proofe to the contrary, and it is al&s;o ea&s;ily di&s;cerned, you rather chu&s;e them in the markets, or in Pudlique to be &s;eene of men, that you might be accounted Cour|teous, and looked upon for your breeding, witne&s;&s;e your congying and bowing, with your hats off in admi|ration, and Idolizing of one anothers per&s;ons, wherein
<PB N="40" REF="22">you exalt your &s;elves above the Angel, who would not &s;uffer <HI>John</HI> to bow unto him,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rev.</HI> 22.8.9.</NOTE> but &s;aid, he was his fellow &s;ervant: therefore let this judge you and condemn you in the&s;e practi&s;es, which by you are u&s;ed from an ambi|tions and an in ordinate de&s;ire of them, and therefore are the mo&s;t unworthy as thou confe&s;&s;e&s;t the Scribes and Phari&s;es were, and therefore art out of thy own mouth judged,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 <HI>John</HI> 5.19.</NOTE> although thou wold'&s;t ca&s;t it upon the Quakers as thou calle&s;t them, but we can ju&s;tly cleare our &s;elves and ca&s;t it into thy own bo&s;ome for we u&s;e no &s;uch hea|theni&s;h cu&s;toms, yet we can ju&s;tly &s;ay with <HI>John,</HI> we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedne&s;&s;e, which thou accounts an exhalting of our &s;elves, and in that thou belye&s;t Chri&s;t and the Scriptures in &s;aying he allowed the&s;e things to any (which he cryed downe) thy impudency doth the more appeare that thou would|e&s;t not &s;tick to bely us, whom thou calle&s;t Quakers, for none of the&s;e Scriptures which thou quotes, to uphold the chiefe&s;t &s;eates in the Synagogue &amp; uppermo&s;t roomes at fea&s;tes, doth at all concerne the matter, but onely <HI>Luk.</HI> 14.7. &amp;c. which Chri&s;t &s;poke as a parable to the Phari&s;es, who loved the uppermo&s;t roomes at fea&s;ts; which al&s;o may fitly be applyed to you now who take the uppermo&s;t reome,<NOTE PLACE="marg">How thy 9th Que|ry is an|&s;wered. Mat. <HI>20.25, 26, 27.</HI> Jam. <HI>12.</HI> John <HI>13.</HI> John <HI>5.44.</HI></NOTE> and thinks &s;corne to take the low|e&s;t, which may ea&s;ily be di&s;cerned by you, with an im|partiall eye, or el&s;e you would not own the&s;e things, which Chri&s;t declared again&s;t, to his Mini&s;ters, and al|&s;o taught them that he that would be the greate&s;t, &s;hould be the lea&s;t, and the Apo&s;tle forbids all re&s;pect of per|&s;ons, and Chri&s;t &s;hewed an example of humility to his Mini&s;ters, when he wa&s;hed their feet, and condemned the Phari&s;es who received honour one of another, which thou art here pleading for: then if thou bee&s;t not in their &s;teps, let the under&s;tanding judge.</P>
<P>What is the Church and whether it be not a delu&s;ion to the people,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que.</HI> 17.</NOTE> and a di&s;honour to Chri&s;t to call a hou&s;e of lime and &s;tone, a Church?</P>
<P><PB N="41" REF="22">
And in thy An&s;wer,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;.</NOTE> thou pleade&s;t it a cu&s;tom in mo&s;t ages, and by a Trope of figure; but thou confe&s;&s;e&s;t the word Church is fir&s;t and properly a congregation of Saints, or of &s;uch as profe&s;&s;e &s;o to be, as in 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1.2. and in the &s;econd place thou &s;ai&s;t, this word is u&s;ed for a place where &s;uch a Congregation u&s;e to a&s;&s;emble; which to prove thou quotes; <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.22. and ver. 18. and Chap. 14.5.23. compared with ver. 19.28. neither is this any delu&s;ion to the people thou &s;ai&s;t, nor more di&s;honour to God, then to u&s;e this phra&s;e, the hou&s;e of God; which to prove thou quotes, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 60.7. and <HI>Eph.</HI> 42.4. therefore here we &s;eeke a knot in a bulru&s;h, thou &s;ai&s;t.</P>
<P>And thus thou bla&s;phemer values thy bla&s;phemy covering it with lies,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply.</NOTE> that thou might &s;till keepe the peo|ple in blindne&s;&s;e who makes &s;uch a &s;mall light matter of it, to put a hou&s;e of lime and &s;tone for the body of Chri&s;t which is the Church, and thus you have long fed the people in blindne&s;&s;e with your vaine cu&s;toms and traditions, and they put you out of your cu&s;toms,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Col.</HI> 1.24.</NOTE> and you are vexed and troubled, as the heathen was at <HI>Paul</HI> and <HI>Silas,</HI> and &s;aid they came to turne the world up|&s;ide downe: and then, to cover your bla&s;phemy and lies,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Act.</HI> 17.6.</NOTE> you have Tropes and figures, which is the wi&s;dom of man to cover lies; and thus you learned ones make u&s;e of your learning to make lies in hypocri&s;ie contrary to the Scripture, for the Types and Figures in the Scrip|ture figured forth &s;omthing to come, but your &s;teeple hou&s;es are no figures of Chri&s;t, nor his body (which is the Church) and when the &s;ub&s;tance is come, of what u&s;e is the figure? for the Temple which God commanded So|lomon to build him, which was called the hou&s;e of God, (where them that feared the Lord wor&s;hipped him) was a figure of Chri&s;t, but when Chri&s;t the &s;ub&s;tance came he Prophe&s;ied of its de&s;truction, <HI>Math.</HI> 24. and <HI>Steven</HI> after him declared again&s;t it, and by them that upheld, it was &s;toned to death, <HI>Act.</HI> 7.47.48.49. &amp;c: and <HI>Paul</HI> de|clared again&s;t it and by them that upheld it, was per&s;e|cuted,
<PB N="42" REF="23"><HI>Acts</HI> 17.24.25. <HI>Acts</HI> 19.26.27. as we are by you now, that uphold your Idolls Temples, that figure forth nothing but the Imaginations of man, neither was ever commanded by God to be built, as <HI>Solomons</HI> Tem|ple was, which for its time was called the hou&s;e of God; but the Prophet <HI>I&s;ay</HI> &s;aw the end of it, when he &s;poke that in <HI>I&s;ay</HI> 66.1, 2. But that you &s;hould call your popi&s;h hou&s;es, the hou&s;e of God, which was built by the Papi&s;ts, and &s;uch like, without any Command of God, thou ha&s;t no Scripture proof to maintain it: neither are tho&s;e fit examples to bring to prove it, as the Schollars and the School, and the Jews and their Synagogues: what doth this at all prove, that you &s;hould call your Idolls Temples as the body of Chri&s;t, which was made of living &s;tones, elect and pretious; for the Scripture all along witne&s;&s;es, that the Church is the body of Chri&s;t, which is the Saints, as this Scripture doth wit|ne&s;s, which thou ha&s;t quoted in 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1.2. but it doth not at all prove thy lie, that the Church is a Congregation of &s;uch as profe&s;s to be Saints; for it is more then a pro|fe&s;&s;ion, though with a profe&s;&s;ion you have long deluded the people: yet many there are that profe&s;s Chri&s;t in words, but in life deny him, who are no Saints, nor the Church of Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Tit.</HI> 1.16</NOTE> though thou art blinde, &amp; &s;ees no diffe|rence: yet according to thy own meaning, you do not call your A&s;&s;emblies, and the place where your A&s;&s;emblies meets, all one; for you call your meeting places Churches, and the people a Congregation; and &s;o here out of thy own mouth thou art judged, yet it would be as much bla&s;phemy, to call your people a Church, as the place where they meet, a Church; for it is well known, that all manner of unrighteous per&s;ons meets there, as thou confe&s;&s;e&s;t the greate&s;t part of the profe&s;&s;ors are earthly minded, as in thy an&s;wer to my 11th Query; and I am &s;ure the chiefe&s;t of them are blind, and led by Cu&s;toms and Traditions, as thou here makes it appear, who thy &s;elfe ha&s;t been a Teacher &s;o long, and now goes
<PB N="43" REF="23">about to ju&s;tifie it lawful, to call a hou&s;e of lime and &s;tone, a Church, which thou goe&s;t about to prove, by wre&s;ting the Scripture; but let any with a &s;ingle eye, read the&s;e Scriptures, which thou ha&s;t quoted in thy An|&s;wer, concerning the Church,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 16.19. <HI>Col.</HI> 4.15 <HI>Act.</HI> 20.16.</NOTE> and &s;ee if they do at all mention any hou&s;e to be a Church; but only the Saints who&s;e bodies are the Temples of the Holy Gho&s;t; for they commonly met in dwelling hou&s;es; but you call none Churches, but your Steeple-hou&s;es, which hath been your Cu&s;tom long; and it is well known, how the ignorant people that go to them, have long idolized them as the hou&s;es of God, and looked upon them to be far more holy then any other place, and have envied and hated, and even murthered tho&s;e in their hearts, that &s;hould &s;ay to the contrary, and you Prie&s;ts have been their great Agents in it, though you have known in your Con&s;ciences to the contrary: yet you know, that where the people are the mo&s;t blinde, you are the more idolized and &s;et up; and it is your greate&s;t grief, where the light appears, as is openly manife&s;t by the chief Prie&s;ts, who now rage and rail again&s;t the light, where it appears, and per&s;ecutes them that holds it forth, that you might, if it were po&s;&s;ible, put it out, and &s;till uphold your Fathers Kingdom, which is in dark|ne&s;s, and then you think you are &s;afe, and all will be yours; but your Calamity will come on a &s;udden, and your downfall is nigh at hand, 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 5.2.3.</P>
<P>Whether thou, and &s;uch as thou, be not the Creepers into hou&s;es,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que.</HI> 18.</NOTE> who would confine all to your Steeple-hou&s;es, yea or nay.</P>
<P>And in thy An&s;wer thou grants, that <HI>Paul</HI> &s;peaks of &s;educers, that creep into hou&s;es, &amp;c. as in 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.6.7. but whether this be&s;t &s;uits with your manner of teach|ing, or ours, thou &s;ay&s;t, judge ye; for thou &s;ay&s;t, you do not creep into the Churches, who have the doores &s;et wide open, and have your Congregations or A&s;&s;emblies publiquely called together by a Bell, and then thou vents
<PB N="44" REF="24">forth a deal of frothy &s;tuffe, and &s;ay&s;t, why mu&s;t your Hou&s;es of Lime and &s;tone be called Steeple-hou&s;es, more then the Glaziers Hall, or the Bull and Mouth neare <HI>Alder&s;gate,</HI> be called a Gla&s;&s;e-hou&s;e, a Chimney-hou&s;e, or a Store-hou&s;e, or a Stable-hou&s;e; but thou aske&s;t, where did Chri&s;t or his Apo&s;tles reproach the Synagogues with reproachful names, as we do your Churches.</P>
<P>Here thy malitious and &s;cornful &s;pirit is much more made manife&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply.</NOTE> together with thy folly and ignorance, &s;o that I am able to judge thee, and the re&s;t of the Pari&s;h Preachers, to be tho&s;e creepers into hou&s;es, that <HI>Paul</HI> there &s;peaks of, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.6.7. who have led &s;illy women and people captive the&s;e many years, full of &s;in, and led away with divers lu&s;ts, who &s;ome have learned 40. years, &s;ome 50. &s;ome 60. yea &s;ome 80. and yet &s;trangers to the truth, yea as blinde and carnall as ever they was, &s;o that they take a Hou&s;e of Lime and &s;tone for a Church and a Hou&s;e of God, as you have taught: and aske them why they call it &s;o, and they will an&s;wer, it was called &s;o be|fore they was born, and will be after they were dead: then judge ye, whether the&s;e Creatures be not blind and carnall, and led by your own Cu&s;toms and traditions, and you are their Teachers, who would bear rule in your Steeple-hou&s;es, &s;o that none &s;hall &s;peak but your &s;elves: if they do, you have a Law to lay upon them, contrary to the order of the true Church, as in 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 14.30, 31, 32. That all might &s;peak one by one; and if any thing be revealed to him that &s;tands by, let the fir&s;t hold his peace; but this is called di&s;order among&s;t you, that call your &s;elves Saints, and are not, but the Synagogue of Satan; and by thy own Confe&s;&s;ion are led together by a Bell; for which you have no Rule in the Scripture, and &s;o you lead them by Cu&s;tom and Tradition; and al|&s;o thy own words here proves what I &s;aid in my la&s;t Reply, that you do not call your A&s;&s;emblies, and the place where your A&s;&s;emblies meets both by one; for here thou calle&s;t the place a Church, and the people the
<PB N="45" REF="24">Congregation, as I &s;aid before; and thou blinde guide, where do&s;t thou read in the Scripture of Church-doores be a&s;hamed and blu&s;h, thus to pre&s;ume in thy bla&s;phe|my; and therefore how &s;oever thou have taken the&s;e hou&s;es to be, wherein deceivers creeps, as before is proved, and have taught the people &s;o, to put them out of jealou&s;ie of you to be the deceivers, doth not at all excu&s;e you from it; for the Apo&s;tle him&s;elf taught in private hou&s;es and Chambers, and private places;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Act.</HI> 20.20.</NOTE> and therefore by that account, thou would tax the Apo&s;tle to be a deceiver, if he was here, as thou do&s;t <HI>James Parnel,</HI> and tho&s;e whom thou &s;cornfully calls his gang: but where do&s;t thou finde &s;uch a word in the Scripture, which proceeds out of thy malitious and evill heart; but thy reproaches unto us are riches, (and thy &s;hame.) And the Rea&s;on why tho&s;e Hou&s;es near <HI>Alder&s;gate</HI> (which thou &s;o &s;pits thy venom at, becau&s;e the people of God have u&s;ed to meet there,) may not be called (as thou in contempt do&s;t terme them) as well as your Stone-hou|&s;es be called, Steeple-hou&s;es, is, becau&s;e they have names fitting for them already, for to di&s;tingui&s;h them from other places; and &s;o al&s;o the word Steeple-hou&s;e, is the fitte&s;t name to di&s;tingui&s;h your meeting places from others, and al&s;o to take from them that holy name, which only belongs to the body of Chri&s;t, and al|&s;o to wear out that Idolatry of the peoples mindes, which they through long Cu&s;tom have born to tho&s;e I|dolatrous places: neither do we any more reproach them in &s;o &s;aying, then Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles did, in calling the Jews meeting places, Synagogues, though thou highly di&s;honoure&s;t Chri&s;t in calling them Churches, which &s;ignifies his body: Have you no other names to be&s;towe upon your &s;tone hou&s;es, and high places; but mo&s;t bla&s;phemou&s;ly to call them by the name of God's, and holy men, whom you are not wor|thy to name, as you call your Colledges, (which are Sy|nagogues of Satan, and Cages of unclean Birds,) by the
<PB N="46" REF="25">name of <HI>Immanuel,</HI> and by the name of Chri&s;t and Tri|nity, and the like: if you had called them by the name of Glaziers Hall, or Bull and Mouth, or Synagogue, and the like: we &s;hould not gain&s;ay it, and therefore in this, the Jews will condemn you, who did not pre&s;ume to call their meeting places, by &s;uch holy names, as you pre&s;umptuou&s;ly do, which is, and hath been a great pro|vocation of the people to Idolatry, to idolize the pla|ces, becau&s;e of their names which was given to them by the Papi&s;ts, who ignorantly wor&s;hip names, and you ca&s;t out the Papi&s;ts for Idolatry, and yet upholds their I|dolls: therefore woe unto you blinde guides, and de|luders of the people, your wickedne&s;s is had in remem|brance before the Lord.</P>
<P>Whether it was the practice of the Apo&s;tles, to take a Text of the Prophets words,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que.</HI> 19.</NOTE> and from thence to rai&s;e u&s;es, points, Traills and motives, as thou and &s;uch as thou do&s;t, who makes a Trade of their words.</P>
<P>And in thy An&s;wer,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;.</NOTE> thou &s;ay&s;t, that it hath been the practice of the Church and her Teachers this many hun|dred years; (for the which thou ha&s;t no Scripture proof) and thirdly, thou &s;ay&s;t, that none will deny, that this is an u&s;eful and profitable way of teaching, (which is an a|bominable lie, which I, and hundreds more can te&s;tifie again&s;t) And fourthly thou &s;ay&s;t, it may be proved out of the Scriptures, that all this hath been done by Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles, (which is another lie; and tho&s;e are the Scriptures upon which thou would&s;t ground thy lies, in which they will witne&s;s again&s;t thee, as <HI>Luk.</HI> 4.18. and <HI>Mat.</HI> 22.31. <HI>Act.</HI> 8.35. and for to maintain thy u&s;es, points, Trialls and motives, thou quotes <HI>Rom.</HI> 15.4.2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.16.17. <HI>John</HI> 8.31. and 13.35. and <HI>Matth.</HI> 25.34.</P>
<P>Oh thou lier,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply.</NOTE> thy lies will not cover thee, nor the Scripture &s;tand for thee, who art found out of the life and practice of them that gave them forth, who art one of the lying fal&s;e Teachers, who have deluded the people
<PB N="41" REF="25">this many hundred years,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Col.</HI> 2.8.</NOTE> which deluded ones are your Church, among&s;t whom you have u&s;ed your Philo&s;ophy, and vain deceipt, by which you have long &s;poiled them, &s;o that the greate&s;t part of the profe&s;&s;ors therein are earthly minded, by thy own confe&s;&s;ion; and I am &s;ure that another part are Drunkards, and &s;wearers, and A|dulterers, and &s;coffers, and &s;corners, and proud and en|vious ones, and the like; and now where is the fruits and profitablene&s;s of your teaching? therefore for &s;hame &s;top thy mouth for boa&s;ting of your Church, and her teachers, and &s;aying, None will deny the profitable|ne&s;s of your teaching; for, like people, like Prie&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 4.9. 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4.3.</NOTE> as the Prophet &s;aid; and you are the heaps of teachers, that de|ceive the world, and draw itching eares after you, (who cannot endure &s;ound Doctrine) with your fained enti|&s;ing words of mens wi&s;dom; but the Teacher of the true Church is but one, which is its head, even Chri&s;t, who &s;peaks with Power and Authority, (and not as you Scribes) who&s;e teaching is a profitable teaching, as is much witne&s;&s;ed in the&s;e latter dayes,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mat.</HI> 7.29.</NOTE> to your great &s;hame and grief, who have been the profe&s;&s;ed Teachers of the Church of <HI>England,</HI> this many years: neither doth any of the&s;e Scritpures prove, that ever Chri&s;t or his Apo&s;tles took a Text of Scripture; and by humane art and &s;tudy, did rai&s;e U&s;es, Points, Trialls and Motives, as you do, which is a commendable teaching,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1.18. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 2.4</NOTE> by the wi&s;e ones of the world, who know not the wi&s;dom of God; but to them the preaching of the Cro&s;&s;e is fool|i&s;hne&s;s, as was accounted among&s;t the <HI>Greeks,</HI> becau&s;e the Apo&s;tle came not with enti&s;ing words of mens wi&s;|dom, (as you do to plea&s;e men) but in plainne&s;s of &s;peech, &s;poke the word of the Lord faithfully, and al&s;o &s;aid, If he yet &s;ought to plea&s;e men, he &s;hould not be the Servant of Chri&s;t;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Gal.</HI> 1.10.</NOTE> but this is all your care, who&s;e tru&s;t is in man and not in Chri&s;t: and in all tho&s;e Scriptures, when Chri&s;t or his Apo&s;tles &s;poke of a Text of Scripture, out of the old Te&s;tament, it was to &s;hew the fulfilling
<PB N="42" REF="26">thereof, or to witne&s;s to what they had &s;aid; but you will take the&s;e Scriptures, for to give your carnall mean|ings, and interpretations of them, and &s;o from them &s;peak a divination of your own brain, for gain and lu|cre; and this is the u&s;e you make of the&s;e points, as thou calles them, which the Scriptures before mentio|ned will not at all maintain, and yet thou can&s;t impu|dently quote this Scripture in <HI>Mat.</HI> 6.25.34. which for|bids taking thought what to eat, what to drink, and wherewithall to be cloathed, when it is &s;o publickly known, that it is your greate&s;t care, and that which thou ha&s;t been here much labouring to maintain all a|long, to prove it lawful, for thee to take nigh 200. or 300. pounds by the year, of the world: yea and for a Law to compell them, if they refu&s;e to give it; and yet thou art not a&s;hamed to &s;ay, that thou do&s;t not go in the way of <HI>Balaam,</HI> for gifts and rewards; and the chief|e&s;t Scripture which thou ha&s;t here quoted, will witne&s;s again&s;t thee, as 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.16, 17. which &s;aith, the Scripture was given by in&s;piration of God, and is profitable for Doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and in&s;truction in righteou&s;ne&s;s, that the man of God may be perfected, throughly furni&s;hed unto every good work; but thou hates to be reproved, and calles them foul-mouthed currs, and the like, that do reprove thee, and thou teach|e&s;t for Doctrine, the traditions of men, as to call a hou&s;e of Lime and Stone, a Church and the like, as is before proved.</P>
<P>And how have you by all your Doctrines, reproof, correction, and in&s;truction, this many years perfected a|ny, when as the profe&s;&s;ors therein are earthly minded (as thou &s;ay&s;t;<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;.</NOTE>) and you that are therefore Teachers the mo&s;t of all, and mo&s;t of you denies perfection in this life; and though thou with thy tongue profe&s;s it; yet in life denies it, which is wor&s;t of all, and &s;o I take thee: and though thou ha&s;t been &s;o pleading for thy way, yet thou &s;ay&s;t, you would change it for a better, if any can
<PB N="43" REF="26">&s;hew it you, and make your hearers beleive, that it would be more advantages for them, but thou &s;ai&s;t this trade of interpreting the Scripture is an old and a good trade, which to prove thou quotes <HI>Iob.</HI> 33.23: <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 10.2, 3. <HI>Pro.</HI> 1.6. <HI>Act.</HI> 8.3.</P>
<P>Here thou blind guide,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply,</NOTE> thy nakedne&s;&s;e is open to the world, and thy hearers may con&s;ider it who have look|ed upon thee as their Teacher this many yeares, and yet thou thy &s;elfe &s;till to learne which is the be&s;t way, when as there is but one true way, then thou who art igno|rant of this true way, mu&s;t needs be in a fal&s;e way: then how ha&s;t thou deluded thy hearets this many yeares,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jer.</HI> 32.39.</NOTE> and al&s;o belyed thy &s;elfe in thy Booke? And if the Tea|cher be ever learning, then what mu&s;t the herers of &s;uch a one be, let the wi&s;e-hearted judge; and I beleive and know, that your hearers would &s;oone beleive the &s;ame, if the Preachers of truth might have liberty to &s;peake, when they come among&s;t you: but if any come in that intent, you are ready to &s;et your people upon them to hale them out with force, and al&s;o you have a law to ca&s;t them into Pri&s;on, as many of us do witne&s;&s;e at this day: and therefore thou liar, the convincing of your hea|rers of a better way, is not your greate&s;t care, but ra|ther your greate&s;t feare, lea&s;t any &s;hould be drawne from you, and &s;o your trade come to faile (as thou calle&s;t it): but this I know is your greate&s;t care, that any body would &s;hew you, a better way to get mony by, and al&s;o per&s;wade your hearers into it, (or el&s;e thou thinks, you are never the better) and then you would leave inter|preting the Scripture, which now thou calles a good trade, but thou Marchant of <HI>Babylon,</HI> where doth any of the&s;e Scriptures which thou ha&s;t quoted, prove or terme interpreting the Scripture, a trade? though you Marchants of <HI>Babylon,</HI> make a trade of it, to get lucre by, and &s;o call it a trade, who think gaine is godline&s;s: but well may others accu&s;e you, for making a trade and a gaine of the Scriptures, while you your &s;elves con|fe&s;&s;e
<PB N="44" REF="27">it, and thus thou wre&s;ts the Scripture, for thine own ends and paints thy work with Scripture, for to make the ignorant believe it is grounded upon Scrip|ture: oh be a&s;hamed to take it into thy mouth, to make a trade of it, which was freely &s;poken forth by the holy men of God as they was moved by the Holy-Gho&s;t, and thou makes the people believe, it is of &s;ome private in|terpretation, and &s;o thou makes Marchandize of the people, and &s;o out of thy own mouth art judged to be a lier, who before denied it.</P>
<P>Whether thou do&s;t &s;peake as thou art moved by the Holy-Gho&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que.</HI> 20,</NOTE> as they did, who &s;poke forth the Scrip|ture?</P>
<P>And in thy An&s;wer thou &s;ai'&s;t that thou ha&s;t an&s;wered to this allready,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;</NOTE> that thou u&s;ually do&s;t &s;peake at the moti|on or a&s;&s;i&s;tance of the Holy-Gho&s;t, thou prai&s;es God for it.</P>
<P>But thou hypocrite I have al&s;o in this already proved thee a lier,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Reply.</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 4.4</NOTE> and thy God to be the Father of lies, who is the God of the blind world, in which thou art a blind guide, and an enemy to the Holy-Gho&s;t, where he is witne&s;&s;ed to rule, and this <HI>James Parnel</HI> and tho&s;e thou calls his fellows, can di&s;cerne in thee though thou art blind and cannot them &s;ee.</P>
<P>What Scripture ha&s;t thou for &s;prinkling Infants with water on their faces?<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que.</HI> 21</NOTE> and whether all are Chri&s;tians and in the faith of Chri&s;t, that are &s;o done by, or what doth it profit?</P>
<P>And in thy an&s;wer,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;.</NOTE> the deceipt of thy heart thou ut|ters, &s;o that the &s;imple may ea&s;ily di&s;cerne the folly, and al&s;o &s;ee how thou and the re&s;t of thy bretheren, have deluded and bewitched the Nation, for thou &s;ay'&s;t thou holdes not the Bapti&s;m of infants ab&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary but lawfull only, and to prove the lawfulne&s;&s;e of it thou &s;ay'&s;t, it is &s;ufficient, that thou ha&s;t no command in the Scripture again&s;t the &s;prinkling of infants in the face with bapti&s;mal water, but thou &s;ay'&s;t thou ha&s;t the com|mandement of Governours, &amp; thou art commanded to be &s;ubject to every ordinance of man for the Lords &s;ake.</P>
<P><PB N="45" REF="27">
Here the people now may &s;ee how they have been long deluded, for thy own mouth utters it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply.</NOTE> for when|as many of the people of this Nation who follow you blind guides, have per&s;waded them&s;elves through your evill incen&s;ing, and leavening of their minds to this day, this to be ab&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary to &s;alvation, and that their Children could not be &s;aved, if they died without it: and now thou comes to the Triall, to prove it, thou confe&s;&s;e&s;t it is not nece&s;&s;ary, but lawfull onely, and that is becau&s;e there is no command of God again&s;t it, thou &s;ay'&s;t: neither a command for it, but by man; and thus you have long deluded the nations, with your own Inventions, for the which you have no Scripture, then how is it your rule? here you run be&s;ides your rule, teaching for doctrine the commandements and traditi|ons of men, which the Scripture is again&s;t, and there|fore again&s;t infants bapti&s;m, <HI>Math.</HI> 15.9. <HI>Col.</HI> 2.22.23. which by thy own confe&s;&s;ion is but an ordinance of man,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Here thy <HI>53.</HI> Que. is an|&s;wered.</NOTE> but God is to be obeyed rather then man, and you do it not for the Lords &s;ake, but for to plea&s;e man: for the Lord doth not require it at your hands, and now all the ignorant people who have beene in this bewitch|ed by you, may &s;ee your blindne&s;&s;e who have long made them believe that it was an ordinance of Chri&s;t, that their Children &s;hould be &s;prinkled (and one of the points of &s;alvation) (as you call them) and now nothing but an ordinance of man, which will not &s;tand for thee nei|ther; for in that thou lie&s;t al&s;o, to &s;ay it is the com|mandements of thy governours, for in that they leave every one to the liberty of their con&s;ciences, and all lawes and ordinances afore time to the contrary are made by this nul and voyd: and now, doth the Holy-Gho&s;t teach thee to lie? oh thou lier and bla&s;phemer of the holy-Gho&s;t, who &s;aid that u&s;ually thou &s;peake&s;t by the motion of the Holy-Gho&s;t, and now art taken in a lie: oh Satan is high in thee, and thy wickedne&s;&s;e is great, and which do&s;t thou call thy bapti&s;mall water,
<PB N="46" REF="28">this al&s;o is the deceipt of thy heart, and that which is not of &s;aith is &s;in,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rom.</HI> 14.2&punc;</NOTE> therefore infants bapti&s;m: for you &s;ay your faith is grounded upon Scripture, then where is your Scripture for infants bapti&s;m, and thus out of the doctrine of Chri&s;t you are found, acting and doing your own workes, and therfore the re&s;t of thy pretended an|&s;wer I &s;hall leave to the impartiall reader to judge of; wherein thou ha&s;t much manife&s;ted thy ignorance and bindne&s;&s;e, and in vaine ha&s;t thou quoted any Scripture: for if any of it would &s;tand for infants bapti&s;m, then it would be nece&s;&s;ary, which thou confe&s;&s;e&s;t it is not, and therefore thou Serpent why wre&s;te&s;t thou the Scripture, thus to uphold that which is not nece&s;&s;ary, and where as thou &s;peake&s;t of the promi&s;es made in the &s;eed (but that &s;eed is not the &s;eed of the Serpent, which rules in all you Children of di&s;obedience, therefore) what ha&s;t thou to do with the promi&s;es, and where do&s;t thou prove that infants bapti&s;m is the &s;eal of the covenant or the badge of the Kingdom, as thou terme&s;t it: but thou liar, read what the &s;eal is, in <HI>Eph.</HI> 1.13. and with that &s;top thy mouth. And whereas thou &s;peake&s;t of Chri&s;ts calling little Children,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Here thy <HI>54,</HI> and <HI>55.</HI> Qu. is An&s;. John. <HI>4.2</HI> Eph. <HI>2.3.</HI> John. <HI>3.3</HI></NOTE> what of that? Chri&s;t bapti&s;ed none; therefore &s;ilence babler: And how are your Chil|dren &s;anctifyed from the wombe, (as thou &s;ay'&s;t <HI>John</HI> was) when as all are by Nature the Children of wrath, and except they be borne againe, they cannot enter, and therefore thou manife&s;ts, that your Church is made up of unregenerate per&s;ons, into which thou &s;ai&s;t they are admitted by water, and 20 or 30 yeares after they are thus bapti&s;ed, you preach repentance to them, and this is the cau&s;e why the profe&s;&s;ors therein are earthly minded, as thou complaine&s;t, and therefore no Chri|&s;tian parents but blind carnall creatures, who thinks it profits their Children to be admitted into &s;uch a Church: and as the Children grow up, they &s;how what &s;eal you have given them, which is more like the marke of the bea&s;t then the &s;eal of the covenant, and therefore
<PB N="47" REF="28">your prayers which thou talke&s;t of, are an abomination and availeth not, and thus ha&s;t thou foamed out thy &s;hame and folly, to the &s;ight of all but tho&s;e who are blind and love to have it &s;o, for here is one of the maine points of your religion proved a meere delu&s;ion.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Qu. <HI>22.</HI> P. An&s;.</NOTE>What is the e&s;tate and condition of a Chri&s;tian?</P>
<P>And in thy An&s;wer, thou ha&s;t &s;tolen the Apo&s;tles words, which he &s;peaks concerning this matter, and &s;ays, There are three ages, &s;teps, and degrees of Chri&s;tianity; And the fir&s;t Age, &s;tep, and Degree thou confe&s;&s;e&s;t is in Chri&s;t, and begotten of the Father in the hatred of &s;in, and love of righteou&s;ne&s;s, and by him brought to the knowledge of Redemption, from all iniquity, and Renovation in all righteou&s;ne&s;s.</P>
<P>Here thou ha&s;t de&s;troyed the whole faith of your vi|&s;ible Church; for they generally believe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply.</NOTE> that they &s;hall never be wholly &s;et free from all iniquity, nor be per|fect in righteou&s;ne&s;s, while they are upon the earth; and if this be the lowe&s;t e&s;tate of Chri&s;tianity, to be in Chri&s;t, and redeemed from all iniquity, and begotten by the Father, and renewed in all righteou&s;ne&s;s, (which is perfection in righteou&s;ne&s;s) then by thy own confe&s;&s;ion none of them are Chri&s;tians, neither thou who art a teacher of them; for thou ha&s;t been openly found in &s;in and iniquity, as in lying, covetou&s;ne&s;s, lightne&s;s, &s;cornfulne&s;s, oppre&s;&s;ion, and deceipt, as before is proved; and now thou art again found a lier, in &s;aying, that we know not the fir&s;t e&s;tate of a Chri&s;tian from the la&s;t; but we are able to di&s;cern thee, yet uncome to the fir&s;t, and therefore far off the la&s;t, al|though in years an old man: yet a Child can tell thee thy confu&s;ion, therefore &s;top thy mouth thou deceiver, and &s;it thee down and con&s;ider, how thou and thy Bre|thren have for this many years deceived this Nation, and labour thy &s;elf, and repent in du&s;t and a&s;hes, lea&s;t the Lord in thy de&s;truction make thee an example to all thy Brethren-deceivers.</P>
<P>What doth the faith which thou profe&s;&s;eth,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu.</HI> 23.</NOTE> differ
<PB N="48" REF="29">from the faith of the Hypocrite, and what is the faith of the Hypocrite?</P>
<P>And in thy An&s;wer thou &s;ay&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;.</NOTE> thy faith is A tru&s;t in the Lord Je&s;us, to be holpen up again from the fall, or to be &s;aved from the hand of thine enemies, or of all that hate thee, and &s;o to be renewed; through him, to be inabled to &s;erve him, chearfully and without fear, in holine&s;s and righteou&s;ne&s;s before him, all the dayes of thy life; and thou &s;ay&s;t, this faith brings forth obe|dience, and purifies the heart, and makes you confor|mable to Je&s;us, &s;o that thou hopes for no benefit by his death, unle&s;s thou die&s;t with him, to all known &s;ins: but the faith of the Hypocrite, &s;eeks all wayes &s;omething by or through Chri&s;t, than what it &s;hould &s;eek, (to wit) the putting off the old man, and the putting on the new, which is created after God in righteou&s;ne&s;s, and true holine&s;s; and herein thou &s;ay&s;t, doth thy Faith differ from the Faith of the Hypocrite, and perhaps from <HI>James Parnell.</HI></P>
<P>Yea it doth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply.</NOTE> for my faith is, that there is no putting off the old man, and putting on the new, but by and through Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>John</HI> 15.5.</NOTE> which is no more then what I &s;hould believe: and thy faith which is contrary, is the faith of the Hypocrite, which will peri&s;h; yea and out of thy own mouth I &s;hall prove it; for by thy own confe&s;&s;ion, thou art &s;till in the fall, in &s;aying, that thou tru&s;te&s;t in the Lord Je&s;us, to be holpen up out of the fall again: here|by it is concluded, that thou art &s;till in the fall; for if thou wa&s;t holpen already out of the fall, then thou woul|de&s;t have the end of thy hope; but its like this faith, thou ha&s;t profe&s;&s;ed this many years, and ha&s;t been a Teacher &s;o long, and yet it hath not brought thee out of the fall; and therefore it is but a borrowed faith, and mo&s;t of tho&s;e expre&s;&s;ions thou ha&s;t &s;tolen out of <HI>Luke</HI> 1.71.72, 73, 74, 75. which hath not purified thy heart from lies and deceipt: neither art thou in obedience, or conformable to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, who abides not in his
<PB N="94" REF="29">doctrine, but teache&s;t for doctrine the traditions of men neither art thou dead with him unto all knowne &s;ins, for this is one to depart from his doctrine, and &s;uch hath not God: and this is proved again&s;t thee in many things, as in taking thy Tithes and mainte|nance, of the peoples labours, which many of them its like do want it them&s;elves, which is a great &s;in and oppre&s;&s;ion: and &s;econdly in &s;prinkling infants which is a great delu&s;ion to the people; and many other things which is before proved again&s;t thee, which that in thy con&s;cience cannot but te&s;tify again&s;t. And to prove ano|ther word, which thou calle&s;t the ingiven and In&s;poken word thou quote&s;t, <HI>Jer,</HI> 2.1. and 4.11, 13. and to prove another word which thou calle&s;t the out &s;poken word thou quotes, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 68.11. and to prove another word, which thou calle&s;t the written word of the Lord thou quote&s;t 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.16,</P>
<P>Here thy ignorance of God is not hid,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply.</NOTE> who by thy wit and deceiptfull wi&s;dom would make four of one: but all the&s;e Scriptures which thou ha&s;t quoted doth not prove any other then one,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jer.</HI> 23.29.</NOTE> which word was in the be|ginning by which all things was made, which thou con|fe&s;&s;e&s;t to be eternall powerfull and living, and that word which came unto the Prophets was as a fire and a hammer to beat the Rocks in peices,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Heb.</HI> 4.12.</NOTE> then was it not powerfull and living, and one and the &s;ame with that the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks of which is quick and powerfull,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Iohn.</HI> 1.1 1.</NOTE> and &s;harper then a two edged &s;word, and this is the &s;ame word of life which the Apo&s;tles &s;poke from and publi&s;h|ed which was from the beginning,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.23.</NOTE> and this was the &s;ame word which was publi&s;hed, which <HI>David</HI> there &s;peaks of; and by this word was the Prophets all begot|ten and borne againe, and this word is invi&s;ible, hid from the carnall eye, as thou thy &s;elfe confe&s;&s;e&s;t though in confu&s;ion, but that Scripture which thou quote&s;t in the 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.16. to prove a written word, doth not men|tion
<PB N="50" REF="30">any &s;uch thing; but if thou meane&s;t that the Scrip|tures is that written word, I an&s;wer there are many words in the Scripture; but the word is but one, of which the Scriptures beares Te&s;timony. And thus thy igno|rance is manife&s;ted, and returned into thy own bo&s;om,</P>
<P>What is the end of Chri&s;ts coming and what is the re|demption?</P>
<P>And in thy An&s;wer thou goe&s;t about to prove that ma|ny-fould which is but one,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;.</NOTE> and &s;o runs into thy &s;un|dry divi&s;ions in thy imaginations: and though thou accu&s;e&s;t <HI>James Parnel,</HI> that he knows it not, yet he is able to di&s;cerne thy confu&s;ion, for in one place, thou &s;ay'&s;t there is a redemption from all &s;inne, and ano|ther redemption from all evill, and this thou calls two-fold; and thou &s;ay'&s;t there is a redemption from the cur&s;e of the law, and another redemption from the guilt of &s;in, which al&s;o thou calle&s;t two-fold.</P>
<P>How many redemptions woulde&s;t thou here make, of one,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply,</NOTE> thou blind guide? Can any be redeemed from all &s;in? and not from all evill, and from the cur&s;e of the law, and not from the guilt of &s;in? and is not all this one, and by one, and fulfilled in one? But it may ea&s;ily be concluded that thou can&s;t witne&s;&s;e none of this; for &s;o long as thou art in the fall, thou art under the cur&s;e of the law, and the guilt of &s;in, as before out of thy own mouth is proved; and they that can wit|ne&s;&s;e this redemption, are Chri&s;tians indeed, and clea&s;n|ed from earthly mindedne&s;&s;e: all which thou nor thy Church is not, as before out of thy own mouth is prov|ed, but are &s;till in your iniquity upholding the works of the Devill, and are not &s;aved from your enemies that are of your own hou&s;e; neither is the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the Law fulfilled in you, neither is your &s;ouls deliver|ed out of the hou&s;e of bondage, neither is Je&s;us your high Prie&s;t, who &s;et up your &s;elves to be Prie&s;ts in his &s;tead, holding up the changeable Prie&s;t-hood which took Tithes, and &s;o denies Chri&s;t come in the fle&s;h and ther|fore
<PB N="51" REF="30">&s;hall be judged by him, whom thou confe&s;&s;e&s;t is the judge of the world, all which thou &s;ay'&s;t is the end of Chri&s;ts coming.</P>
<P>Whether thou wilt own that Chri&s;t hath enlightened every one that cometh into the world,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que.</HI> 30.</NOTE> and whether they that know that light need any man to teach them, and whether thou leade&s;t up any under thy Mini&s;try, that they need not thee to teach them.</P>
<P>And in thy an&s;wer thou confe&s;&s;e&s;t that Chri&s;t doth en|lighten every one that cometh into the world,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;.</NOTE> becau&s;e the Apo&s;tle affirmes it, <HI>Joh.</HI> 1.9. And &s;econdly thou con|fe&s;&s;e&s;t, that they which have attained to the true know|ledge of this light, need not that any man &s;hould teach them for they are &s;ufficiently taught of God, thou &s;ay'&s;t <HI>Jer.</HI> 31.34. But thou &s;ay'&s;t thou denie&s;t that we are &s;o taught, or in &s;uch a mea&s;ure; but thou &s;ay'&s;t till that full light &s;hine in you, you may have other helps and teachers which to prove, thou quote&s;t, 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.19.20. <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>But thou deceiver! thou run, and the Lord never &s;ent thee, who hath beene a teacher of the people, and a profe&s;&s;or of the light &s;o many yeares, and ha&s;t not yet brought any of thy hearers to the knowledge of the light; yea thou numbere&s;t thy &s;elfe, among&s;t them whom this full light doth not yet &s;hine, but &s;tands in need of other helps, and teachers: then, thou hypocrite and di&s;&s;em|bler, how &s;hould&s;t thou teach thy hearers the full know|ledge of the light, (as thou &s;ay'&s;t they will witne&s;&s;e for thee) when as thou thy &s;elfe &s;tands in need to be taught it, by thy own confe&s;&s;ion? Therefore it may well be re|&s;olved, that thou knowe&s;t not that Chri&s;t hath enligh|tened every one that cometh into the world neither woulde&s;t confe&s;&s;e it, but that the Apo&s;tle affirmes it, in that Scripture which thou quote&s;t in <HI>John</HI> 1.9. yea that Scripture which thou quote&s;tin, <HI>Jer.</HI> 31.34. doth witne&s;&s;e again&s;t thee, and thy hearers to be yet &s;tran|gers
<PB N="52" REF="31">to the promi&s;es: therefore thou hypocrite how ha&s;t thou belyed thy own con&s;cience, in &s;aying that thou would'&s;t bring them to the knowledge of the light, that they &s;hould not need thee or any man to teach them, when as that is it, thou openly &s;trive&s;t again&s;t; for then thy <HI>Dianah</HI> would bring thee in no gaine, which is thy greate&s;t care to uphold, and this is witne&s;&s;ed in thy con|&s;cience, for a truth again&s;t thee; yea and this Scripture, which thou quote&s;t in 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.19, 20. will witne&s;&s;e a|gain&s;t thee to be a lier of the Apo&s;tle, for that &s;peakes of the world within which &s;hines as a light in a dark place which thou art not, yet come to know, and therefore thou denies the truth, but I tell thee we are in that mea&s;ure of light, &s;o that we are able to comprehend thee, and &s;hew thee thy confu&s;ion, and deceipt; there|fore &s;ilence, from bringing the Prophets or Apo&s;tles for thy proofe, for they te&s;tify again&s;t &s;uch as thee, who pretende&s;t to teach others, and to be a guide to the blind, a light of them which are in darkne&s;&s;e, and an in&s;tructer of the fooli&s;h,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rom.</HI> 2.19.20.</NOTE> and art not yet taught thy &s;elfe but art dark and blind, and ignorant of the light, and wants in&s;truction thy &s;elfe: by thy own confe&s;&s;ion ther|fore what an impudent lyer art thou, who before &s;aid thou u&s;ely &s;poke by the motion of the holy-Gho&s;t, and guided by an infallible Spirit, and now not come to that full knowledge of the light that thou neede&s;t no man to teach thee: but the Prophets and Apo&s;tles was come to that before they was made teachers, and they by the effect of their Mini&s;try turned many from dark|ne&s;&s;e to light,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Act.</HI> 16.7. <HI>Eph.</HI> 8.5.1 <HI>Jonn.</HI> 2 22.31. <HI>Que.</HI></NOTE> and brought them to the knowledge of the Anointing &s;o that they needed no man to teach them therefore &s;ilence thou deceiver, for thy ble&s;&s;ings is cur&s;es, and therefore profits not the people at all.</P>
<P>Whether they be not the deceivers, that cry Loe here, and loe there, that draw people to look at a Chri&s;t, in a Heaven far off, without them, or at a <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> far off
<PB N="53" REF="31">without them, when as they that cannot witne&s;s Chri&s;t in them are Reprobates.</P>
<P>And in thy An&s;wer, thou confe&s;&s;e&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;.</NOTE> that they that cannot witne&s;s Chri&s;t in them, are in a Reprobate con|dition: but thou confe&s;&s;e&s;t, that thou wilt not &s;ay, that all who &s;peak of a Chri&s;t within them, &s;hall be &s;aved, yet thou grants, that tho&s;e Teachers who points only at a Chri&s;t without them, or to any other &s;piritual Kingdom of God, then what mu&s;t be within, &s;aying, Loe here is Chri&s;t, and loe there is his Kingdom, may be both de|ceivers, and deceived them&s;elves for the pre&s;ent.</P>
<P>Herein thou condemne&s;t thy Brethren,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply.</NOTE> to be de|ceivers, and deceived, who are &s;et up, unpheld, and main|tained, by the &s;ame earthly power as thou art, who are &s;uch as cry all, lo here and loe there without, and wholly draw the peoples mindes without, from the light within them, that &s;hould lead them to the know|ledge of Chri&s;t and his Kingdom, incen&s;ing them that it is natural, and in&s;ufficient; and though thou do&s;t here profe&s;s to the contrary, yet art out, of thy own mouth, judged to be out of the &s;tate of &s;alvation, who only pro|fe&s;&s;e&s;t Chri&s;t within, yet art found as deep in &s;in and de|ceipt, and as void of Chri&s;t or his Light, as the re&s;t of thy Brethren, who art doting without, as before out of thy mouth is &s;ufficiently proved, and &s;o thy &s;elfe art the greate&s;t deceiver, only the Serpents &s;ubtlety more re&s;i|ned; but that thou accu&s;e&s;t us, that we cry, loe here a|mong&s;t the people called Quakers, Chri&s;t a lone is to be found; Thou art a lier, and &s;peake&s;t not from an infallible &s;pinit, but from a lying &s;pirit, which many can witne&s;s again&s;t; yet they that are of God heare, as he that can receive it let him.</P>
<P>Whether they be not out of the faith of Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que.</HI> 32.</NOTE> that receive honour, or re&s;pect per&s;ons?</P>
<P>And in thy An&s;wer thou &s;ay&s;t, men may receive ho|nour, and yet be in the faith of Chri&s;t, which to prove,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;w,</NOTE>
<PB N="54" REF="32">thou quote&s;t <HI>Phil.</HI> 2.19, 20.2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.16, 17.1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.1, 2, 3.2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 8.23. and many other which doth not at all concerne the matter of my Query; yea thou &s;ay&s;t, men may re&s;pect per&s;ons, and be in the faith, which to prove thou quote&s;t <HI>Act.</HI> 26.25. 2 <HI>Kings</HI> 3.14. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 15.4. but thou confe&s;&s;e&s;t it is a great hinderance to the faith, and the believing in the true word, for men to &s;eek the ho|nour of men, more then the honour that comes from God, <HI>John</HI> 5.44. And thou &s;ay&s;t, it is al&s;o a blot and ble|mi&s;h to the true Believers, to re&s;pect the ungodly, that are great and rich in this world, before the true Saints that are poor; yea thou &s;ay&s;t, it is a plain deniall of the faith, and a good con&s;cience al&s;o, to re&s;pect per&s;ons in doing of ju&s;tice, whether for favour or reward, <HI>Exod.</HI> 23.2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.</P>
<P>All the&s;e Scriptures which thou ha&s;t here quoted,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply.</NOTE> doth not at all ju&s;tifie the earthly honour, which you earthly ones give and receive one of another: neither was the&s;e things written to the world, as thou makes u&s;e of them; neither did tho&s;e whom the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks of, &s;eek after, or receive earthly honour, as you do, who are called of men Ma&s;ter, who are &s;et up in the chief &s;eats of the Synagogues and love greetings in the markets and uppermo&s;t Rooms at fea&s;ts, and all the earthly honour as may be: all which Chri&s;t declared a|gain&s;t to the Phari&s;ees, and judged them to be in the unbelief; in who&s;e &s;teps ye are found, and therefore in the unbelief al&s;o: neither doth any &s;uch earthly honour belong to any vertue or grace,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>John</HI> 5.4 42, 43, 44 <HI>Act.</HI> 26.31, 32. <HI>Ast.</HI> 24.5. <HI>Act.</HI> 22.22.</NOTE> for Chri&s;t hath de|clared again&s;t it; but they that honour God, them will God honour: neither doth any of the&s;e Scriptures which thou ha&s;t quoted, ju&s;tifie the re&s;pect of per&s;ons, which the Apo&s;tle declared again&s;t in <HI>James</HI> 2. neither did <HI>Paul</HI> re&s;pect the per&s;on of <HI>Fe&s;tus,</HI> when he called him Noble <HI>Fe&s;tus;</HI> for in that he did not adore his per|&s;on, nor bow to, nor wor&s;hip it; but <HI>Fe&s;tus</HI> did that which was noble towards <HI>Paul,</HI> and judged him not
<PB N="55" REF="32">worthy to &s;uffer bonds according to their Law: which few of the Rulers of the&s;e dayes will do; but rather will wre&s;t and pervert their Law to their own wills, to per&s;ecute tho&s;e that now are in <HI>Pauls</HI> condition, and guided by <HI>Pauls</HI> &s;pirit, and &s;uch they now call pe&s;tilent fellows, and rai&s;ers of &s;edition, and adjudge them not worthy to live among&s;t men, though they have nothing more again&s;t them, than the Heathen had again&s;t <HI>Paul;</HI> and notwith&s;tanding, all this doth not ju&s;tifie your ado|ring, wor&s;hipping, and re&s;pecting mens per&s;on, having them in admiration for advantage &s;ake, yea though wicked corrupt men, though you do not &s;ee it, becau&s;e the gift blindes your eye) for they that are proud and per&s;ecuters, are wicked and corrupt, and by &s;uch you are &s;et up, upheld and maintained, and therefore adore and wor&s;hip their per&s;ons, having them in admiration, be|cau&s;e of this advantage; but the poor Saints are both by you and them per&s;ecuted and de&s;pi&s;ed, and you joyn together again&s;t them, becau&s;e they cannot wor&s;hip the Bea&s;t and his Image as you do;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rev.</HI> 13.8.</NOTE> and thus out of thy own mouth, art thou judged; and that Scripture which thou quote&s;t in <HI>James</HI> 2. will witne&s;s again&s;t thee, and that al&s;o in <HI>Exod.</HI> 23. for it is well known, that you profe&s;&s;ed Mini&s;ters have been the greate&s;t actors ever, in &s;tirring up the Rulers to per&s;ecute the innocent, yea any in whom the appearance of God was manife&s;ted, in te&s;ti|mony again&s;t your deceitful wayes: and the Rulers through favour and re&s;pect to you, have and do act in their corrupt wills, contrary to all Law or equity again&s;t &s;uch, and have oppre&s;&s;ed the &s;trangers as Vagabonds and idle fellows, though the Law of the Nation allow them liberty, being free-born in it, which to this day is wit|ne&s;&s;ed in divers places of the Nation, which that of God in your Con&s;ciences will al&s;o witnes: &amp; &s;uch as tho&s;e de|&s;erves neither honor nor re&s;pect, but mu&s;t peri&s;h in their iniquity; but in thou accu&s;ed us to deny de&s;erved honour and re&s;pect to be lawful is a very fal&s;hood, for we honour and re&s;pect Ju&s;tice, grace, ertue, and all good|ne&s;&s;e
<PB N="56" REF="33">in our hearts; but you that are blind put inju&s;tice, for ju&s;tice, and evill for good, and turn the grace of God, into laciviou&s;ne&s;s,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>I&s;a.</HI> 5.20 <HI>Qu.</HI> 33.</NOTE> <HI>Jude</HI> 4.</P>
<P>Wilt thou own trembling and quaking now, yea on nay?</P>
<P>And in thy An&s;wer,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;.</NOTE> thou &s;eems to own it in words, al&s;o &s;tealing others expre&s;&s;ions out of the Scripture, to an&s;wer my Query; but thy life doth not &s;teal it, neither do&s;t thou own it where it is witne&s;&s;ed, but makes a &s;coffe at it, as before is proved; and thy ignorance of the &s;ame may ea&s;ily be di&s;cerned, (in this thy An&s;wer) by any who have ta&s;ted of the power of God, who are come to the earths trembling and quaking; and whereas thou denies to tremble and &s;hake, as <HI>John Gilpin</HI> and others did, comparing them with the man po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed with the unclean &s;pirit, in <HI>Mark</HI> 9.20. and to be a Quaker al|wayes thou denie&s;t.</P>
<P>Thou never wa&s;t a true Quaker yet,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply.</NOTE> as may ea&s;ily be di&s;cerned, by this thy di&s;cour&s;e of it, who judge&s;t by Reports; and compares the power of God unto an un|clean &s;pirit, which power made the Devills to tremble in <HI>John Gilpin,</HI> unto which thou art not yet come; though <HI>John Gilpin</HI> from that departed, and followed the de|ceipt, and &s;o was led into deep deceipt and Imitation, and &s;o gave occa&s;ion to &s;uch as thee, who wait for occa|&s;ion to bla&s;pheme the truth, and &s;peak evil of the things thou knowe&s;t nothing of, but by Reports, which if the true fear of God was in thy heart placed, thou dur&s;t not do: therefore thou and <HI>John Gilpin</HI> &s;hall receive your reward, where thou &s;halt quake for ever, if thou do&s;t not &s;peedily repent, and own the truth which in thy con&s;ci|ence is witne&s;&s;ed: but tho&s;e others of ours, whom thou accu&s;e&s;t, thou do&s;t not nominate; and therefore accu|&s;e&s;t thou knowe&s;t not who: but any &s;uch foaming at the mouth, and the like, which thou here &s;peaks of, we do deny, and returns it into thy own bo&s;om, who art foam|ing out thy own &s;hame.</P>
<P><PB N="57" REF="33">
What is the pure Religion, and whether in it thou dwelle&s;t?<NOTE PLACE="marg">34. <HI>Qu.</HI></NOTE></P>
<P>And in thy An&s;wer, thou ha&s;t nothing to &s;ay,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;.</NOTE> but what thou &s;teale&s;t out of the Scripture, from their experience, who &s;poke it forth, and thou quote&s;t that in <HI>James</HI> 1.27. which &s;aith, the pure Religion and undefiled before God, is this, to vi&s;it the Widdows and fatherle&s;s in their affliction, and to keep them&s;elves un&s;potted of the world, and thou al&s;o quote&s;t that in <HI>Mat.</HI> 23.33.38.39, 40. and &s;aith, It is to love the Lord our God, with all our hearts, minde and might, and our Neighbour as our &s;elves; and in this Religion thou &s;ay&s;t, thou de&s;ire&s;t to dwell, and walk, and remain for ever, without being &s;haken.</P>
<P>But thou mu&s;t be much &s;haken before thou come&s;t into this Religion; for thou ha&s;t not yet proved,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply.</NOTE> that thou art yet in it; but the&s;e Scriptures which thou ha&s;t here quoted, will witne&s;s again&s;t thee, to be a &s;tranger to it, though it is an ea&s;ie thing for to &s;et down others Declarations, when they are before thee; but how do&s;t thou keep thy &s;elfe un&s;potted of the world, when as thou art drowned in, and art &s;o greedy of it, that thou care&s;t not how thou gette&s;t it, &s;o thou gette&s;t it, as be|fore is &s;ufficiently proved out of thy own mouth, and ha&s;t been all along labouring contrary to Scripture, to ju&s;tifie thy taking of gifts and Rewards of the world: and how do&s;t thou vi&s;it the Widdows and fatherle&s;s, unle&s;s it be for thy Tithes, or that they have to maintain thee, and &s;o rather to add affliction upon them? or what do&s;t thou do in this kinde, but thou ha&s;t a &s;elfe-end in it, let that in thy Con&s;cience judge thee; and if thou did&s;t love the Lord God with all thy heart, thou would&s;t not have thy heart &s;o in the earth, thus to delude and de|ceive peoples &s;ouls for gain and lucre, and to take away the fruits of their labours by compul&s;ion, (if they will not give it thee) though thou do&s;t nothing for them, as before is proved again&s;t thee, to thy &s;hame and confu&s;i|on
<PB N="58" REF="34">of face; and thus thy heart is adulterated from God into the earth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 <HI>John</HI> 2.15.</NOTE> and the love of God abides not in thee, who art in love with the world; and thus thou loves thy Neighbour as thy &s;elfe, when for &s;elfes-&s;ake thou would&s;t de&s;troy him both body and &s;oul; and thus I need no other weapon to cut off thy head, then what thou thy &s;elfe bringe&s;t.</P>
<P>What is the difference betwixt the Jew outwardly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">35. <HI>Qu.</HI></NOTE> and the Jew inwardly, and how &s;hall we know the one from the other?</P>
<P>And in thy An&s;wer thou &s;ay&s;t, the Jew outwardly de&s;ires to make a faire &s;hew in the fle&s;h,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;.</NOTE> or externall man, with his outward Circumci&s;ion or Reformation, <HI>Gal.</HI> 6.12.13. in voluntary wor&s;hip, and not &s;paring the body, <HI>Col.</HI> 2.23. he ob&s;erves the le&s;&s;er Commands, &amp; leaves the greater undone, <HI>Mat.</HI> 23.23. &amp; in one poynt he goes beyond, as thou &s;ay&s;t, he payes Tithes exactly; he makes clean the out&s;ide of the Cup and Platter,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply.</NOTE> and makes all foul within, <HI>Mat.</HI> 23.15, 26. &amp;c. and &s;o here is enough to manife&s;t that thou art the man; for here thou ha&s;t plain|ly read thy &s;elfe, and out of thy own mouth &s;halt thou be judged, without contending or reviling, as thou ac|cu&s;e&s;t us; for thou ha&s;t been &s;triving all along hitherto, to &s;et out thy &s;elfe, and make a faire out-&s;ide, like a Re|formation, though the hypocri&s;ie of thy heart thou coulde&s;t not thereby hide from the light; and who are more &s;trict in voluntary wor&s;hip? but you can pamper your bodies, which &s;howes your zeal is not &s;o hot; and in&s;tead of ob&s;erving the le&s;&s;er Commands, and leaving the greater undone: you leave all undone that will not &s;tand for Selfe; and preach up, and uphold the&s;e things for Commands, for which you have no Scripture, and &s;o preach for Doctrine the Commandements of man,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mat.</HI> 15.9.</NOTE> as the outward Jew did; but if one aske you for your proof for the&s;e things, thou &s;ay&s;t, it &s;ufficeth you, that there is no Command to the contrary; yea for thy &s;elfe
<PB N="59" REF="34">covetous ends thou art not a&s;hamed to fetch up old Commands, (that were fulfilled, and &s;o ended) for a co|ver for thy deceipt; as here al&s;o thou would&s;t &s;eem to do in accu&s;ing us for not paying Tithes exactly, as the Phari&s;ee did, which I know is the great grief of thee, and thy Brethren, becau&s;e we put not into your mouths;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mich.</HI> 3.5.</NOTE> and therefore ye even prepare Warre again&s;t us, but when the Phari&s;ee &s;aid he payd Tithes, they was then due; for the Prie&s;thood to which Tithes belonged, was not yet fulfilled, and therefore not changed, and there|fore it was his duty &s;o to do; but you Prie&s;ts have &s;o blinded the Phari&s;ees, and profe&s;&s;ors of the&s;e times, that they are &s;o exact in paying you Tithes, and putting into your mouthes, becau&s;e you daub them up,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ezek.</HI> 22.28.</NOTE> crying peace to them, though they have no Command from God for it; and you take it as exactly, but you have but few &s;uch that you dare tru&s;t without a Law; for (as thou &s;ay&s;t) the greate&s;t part of them are earthly minded, (like their Teachers,) and how ha&s;t thou been clean&s;ing thy out|&s;ide of the Cup, as if thou wa&s;t unblameable in this out|ward righteou&s;ne&s;s, and &s;o holy in thine own eyes, that in words thou profe&s;&s;e&s;t perfection, and as if thou knewe&s;t the highe&s;t e&s;tate of Chri&s;tianity, and wa&s;t in the pure Religion without &s;pots, &amp; guided by Gods &s;pi|rit, u&s;ualy &s;peaking by the motion of the Holy Gho&s;t, but even condemned thy Brethren, and would&s;t not an&s;wer for them; but &s;aid, thou was none of the&s;e Hirelings, nor greedy Doggs, &amp;c. but yet could not keep thy tongue for uttering forth the foulne&s;s of thy heart, which hath overwhelmed thee all along, and out of thy own mouth ha&s;t been proved a lyer; and thus thou art plainly dealt with, and judged out of thy own mouth; and the Scriptures afore&s;aid, which thou ha&s;t quoted, &s;hall &s;tand and witne&s;s again&s;t thee.</P>
<P><PB N="60" REF="35">
But the Jew inwardly thou &s;ay&s;t, tru&s;ts in the Lord Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;.</NOTE> and hath no confidence in the fle&s;h; but this thou do&s;t not, for then thou would'&s;t tru&s;t him for thy main|tenance&punc; and not &s;tand in need of the arm of fle&s;h, upon which thou relye&s;t: neither do&s;t thou fir&s;t make clean the in&s;ide of the Cup, that the out&s;ide may be fair al&s;o, as thou &s;ay&s;t, the inward Jew doth; but though thou ha&s;t been much labouring with feigned words of thy own wi&s;dom, and &s;elfe-ju&s;tification, to deck and adorn the out&s;ide, painting it with Scripture-words and expre&s;&s;i|ons, yet thy in&s;ide is &s;o foul, that it defiles the out|&s;ide al&s;o, &s;o that it makes thee odious to all but the blinde; and manife&s;ts thy heart to be yet uncircumci&s;ed from &s;in, and a &s;tranger to the inward Cro&s;&s;e, by which thou art not crucified to the world, nor the world to thee; for then it would not &s;uffice thee to take the tenth part of the increa&s;e of the labour of the Labourers, by the will of man, without any Command from God, as thou do&s;t, living at ea&s;e like a Droan upon the &s;ame, and therefore thy heart is far off uprightne&s;s: all which the Jew inwardly, thou &s;ay&s;t doth witne&s;s; and thus in a word, thou &s;ee&s;t there is as much difference betwixt the one and the other, as betwixt <HI>Saul</HI> and <HI>Paul,</HI> a per&s;ecu|tor and an executor of Chri&s;ts Doctrine and way; and thus in a word, thou ha&s;t marked out thy &s;elfe, and art found out of the way and Doctrine of Chri&s;t, per&s;ecu|ting, de&s;pi&s;ing, and gain, &s;aying tho&s;e that abide in it; and thus by thy fruits art thou known, as thou &s;ay&s;t, the one may be known from the other; And thus proud <HI>Goliah,</HI> thy head is cut off with thy own &s;word.</P>
<P>Whether they that profe&s;s them&s;elves the Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que.</HI> 36.</NOTE> and cannot give account of their Mini&s;try and faith, but acts contrary to the Scripture, the Doctrine and practi&s;e of the Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t, and teacheth people &s;o, be not &s;uch as abides not in the Doctrine of
<PB N="61" REF="35">Chri&s;t, but brings another Doctrine, and &s;o are the Witches, Magicians, and deceivers, Antichri&s;ts and fal&s;e Teachers, who are not to be received, but deny|ed.</P>
<P>And in thy An&s;wer thou confe&s;&s;e&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;.</NOTE> that they which are truly &s;uch in Doctrine and life, as this Query de&s;|cribes, may be truly termed &s;pirituall Witches and Ma|gicians, and mu&s;t be rejected as fal&s;e Teachers, and An|tichri&s;ts.</P>
<P>Here thou ha&s;t pa&s;&s;ed the &s;entence unto thy own con|demnation;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply,</NOTE> for thou art the man, as &s;ufficiently is proved, both out of thy own mouth, and the Scriptures, which thou thy &s;elfe ha&s;t quoted as afore&s;aid; and &s;o henceforward, let all people take notice, that thou <HI>Tho|mas Draton</HI> of King <HI>Rippon</HI> in <HI>Huntington&s;hire,</HI> art a &s;piri|tuall Witch and Magician; and they are to reject thee, as a fal&s;e Teacher and an Antichri&s;t, as here out of thy own mouth is plainly proved; and this, him thou call|e&s;t <HI>James Parnell,</HI> doth te&s;tifie, and deny thee with thy Sorcery, Ribbonds, Stones, Waters, Gla&s;&s;es, Powders, Charms, and other like Enchantments, which thou, who art given up to believe lies, impudently would ca&s;t upon him, and tho&s;e thou calle&s;t his confederacy, who abhorrs all &s;uch abhomination, and therefore returns it into thy own bo&s;om, from whence it comes.</P>
<P>And thus thou &s;ay&s;t by clear Scripture and experi|ence,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prie&s;t.</NOTE> thou ha&s;t an&s;wered the bold Queries, of him who is known to the World, to be out a boy, or &s;trip|ling.</P>
<P>As thou beganne&s;t with a lie in thy mouth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reply.</NOTE> &s;o al&s;o thou ende&s;t with a lie; for by plain Scripture, and true experience, thou ha&s;t not an&s;wered the&s;e Queries; for in many things thou may&s;t finde no Scripture at all in the lea&s;t to countenance thee, then thou pleade&s;t old &s;tories and Records, and &s;aith al&s;o, it &s;ufficeth thee, that there is no Scripture to the contrary; but thou &s;halt know, that in any thing that thou do&s;t, in which the Scripture
<PB N="62" REF="36">will not &s;tand for thee, it will in the &s;ame &s;tand again&s;t thee; and al&s;o when thou did&s;t wre&s;t any Scripture for thy own ends, it was made u&s;e of to witne&s;s again&s;t thee in the &s;ame; and how ha&s;t thou an&s;wered by thy own experience, when as thou &s;tole the Apo&s;tles De|claration, and &s;et it down, even word for word, to prove the e&s;tate of a Chri&s;tian, when as it was proved out of thy own mouth, that thou art not come to witne&s;s in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, the lowe&s;t e&s;tate of a Chri&s;tian; and thus thou might have been a&s;hamed to boa&s;t of thy Age, who art found &s;uch an impudent lyer, as to &s;ay by clear Scrip|ture and experience, thou an&s;wered the&s;e. Queries, (which are not &s;o bold as true,) in which all that are not wilfully blinde, will witne&s;s again&s;t thee; and thus him thou contemne&s;t, as a boy or &s;tripling, is made able to cut off thy head with thy own &s;word; and therefore henceforward, let &s;hame and confu&s;ion of face cover thee, for boa&s;ting of thy age, who yet knowe&s;t not, That the wi&s;dom and power of the Almighty, &s;tands not in the number of years, or the arm of fle&s;h; but the righ|teous are as bold as a Lion, <HI>Prov.</HI> 28.1.</P>
<P>And now to thy Counter-Queries, as thou calle&s;t hem, which for a Compeiment, thou bidde&s;t me give hee leave to propound, but meaned not to &s;tay to know whether I did &s;o or nay.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="questions and answers">
<PB N="63" REF="36">
<HEAD>Fir&s;t concerning honour and re&s;pect to be given to men.</HEAD>
<P>And to the &s;ub&s;tance of the&s;e Querie, I an&s;wer, that Chri&s;t him&s;elfe cries down all earthly honour and admi|ration, and re&s;pect of mans Per&s;on, and onely attole|rates the honour that is of God, and cometh from God and belongs unto the &s;eed of God which is not known a|mong&s;t you Children of this world, who&s;e honour and glory is of this world, in whom the &s;eed of the Serpent rules head, to which no wor&s;hip not honour is due, the which all the world wonders after &amp; wor&s;hip the bea&s;t &amp; his image, but none of the&s;e Scriptures which thou ha&s;t quoted, doth at all maintaine, your heatheni&s;h breeding, wor&s;hip, honour, manners and re&s;pect as you call it, but now he is ri&s;en and reignes to whom all Nations mu&s;t bow, to whom alone, belongs all honour, prai&s;e, do|minion and thanks: therefore &s;ilence proud fle&s;h that would goe about to rob him, its you that are offended in him, and per&s;ecute him becau&s;e he cannot bow unto you, and as for that Scripture, Honour all men, I an|&s;wer with another Scripture which thou ha&s;t quoted, <HI>P&s;l.</HI> 15.4. in who&s;e eies a vile per&s;on is contemned: here all men are not honoured but in the Lord, therefore you that abide not in the doctrine of Chri&s;t, mu&s;t not be received nor bidden Gods &s;peed: And as for that Scrip|ture, <HI>Lev.</HI> 19.22. which thou quote&s;t in thy &s;eventh Que|ry I an&s;wer with <HI>Solomons</HI> words, wi&s;dom is the gray haire, and an undefiled life is old age:<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Wi&s;d.</HI> 4.8.9.</NOTE> and this is not without honour, though by the world condemned.</P>
<P>And to thy 9 Query, whether &s;tanding bare,<NOTE PLACE="marg">9 <HI>Query.</HI></NOTE> with the head uncovered, before the Magi&s;trates be not a decent po&s;ture, &s;ence it is a po&s;ture that the Apo&s;tle re|quires in the behalfe of God; which to prove thou quot|e&s;t, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.4.5, 6, 7, 8.</P>
<P>I an&s;wer, no man mu&s;t be honoured in re&s;pect to his per&s;on,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;.</NOTE> and the honour of ju&s;tice and equity lyeth not
<PB N="64" REF="37">in the putting off the hate, or keeping it on, but it is a heatheni&s;h cu&s;tome, contrary to any Scripture rule or example, and therefore not a decent but an un&s;eemly po&s;ture, (as thou calle&s;t it) for men &s;o to adore one ano|thers per&s;ons: and that Magi&s;trate that &s;eeks for, or owns &s;uch a thing, &s;tandes in his own will and is partiall, and rules not for God, but for him&s;elfe, and &s;uch God doth not &s;tile as Gods upon earth, (as thou &s;ay'&s;t) but rather unju&s;t &s;tewards: and thou blind guide read in the 3 ver&s;e of the Chapter afore&s;aid,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jam.</HI> 1.2</NOTE> and &s;ee what is the head of the man: but thy head is the Serpent, and according to thy own meaning mo&s;t of ye Prie&s;ts condemnes your &s;elves in this, who commonly have your heads covered with Caps, when you pretend to pray or prophe&s;y.</P>
<P>And that Scripture, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 6.11. which thou ha&s;t quoted in thy 10. Querie, and <HI>Rom.</HI> 10.10. which thou ha&s;t quoted in thy 11. Querie, was not &s;poken to the world, who accounts man in gay clothing, and a Gold Ring as a &s;uperior, and a man in vile and poore ray|ment as an inferior, and accordingly prefers them &amp; re|&s;pects them, contrary to Scripture, and you leaders cau&s;e them to erre, therefore wre&s;t not the Scripture, for your own ends, le&s;t in turn to your de&s;truction 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3.16.</P>
<P>Whether the pronounce of the &s;econd per&s;on,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Q.</HI> 12.</NOTE> &s;ingu|lar, may not out of the Hebrew and Greek be as well ren|dered <HI>you</HI> as <HI>thou,</HI> e&s;pecially &s;ince in the plurall number, it is alwayes rendered ye &amp; not thee, &amp; the Dutch tongue, whence we borrow much of our language hath (you.)</P>
<P>Here thou &s;onne of <HI>Babylon,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;.</NOTE> who art thy carnall rea&s;on in thy languages confu&s;ed, who &s;tumble&s;t at the plaine language (thou:) what is that in thee that cannot beare the word <HI>thou,</HI> which is the &s;ingle proper lan|guage to a &s;ingle per&s;on, as well as you, which thou confe&s;&s;e&s;t is a borrowed language: &amp; thus the Hebrews &amp; the Grecians &amp; the Romans &amp; the Dutch will condemn you, who are content with their naturall language.</P>
<P>Whether it hath not beene ever accounted rude<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Q.</HI> 13.</NOTE>
<PB N="65" REF="37">and Ru&s;ticall in this Nation for inferior men to &s;peake unto others their &s;uperiors by the word (thou) and not you, and al&s;o to &s;tand with their hats on, unle&s;&s;e leave were given them &s;o to do.</P>
<P>Thou blind &s;ot, thou ha&s;t laide thy &s;elfe naked to the world (with thy rude and ru&s;ticall Querie) it was never accounted &s;o, but by <HI>Dives</HI>-nature which is &s;welled with Pride and arrogancy, yea that which would be a|bove God, which mu&s;t come downe into the pit: Is not God the &s;uperior of all, then why do you give unto him that rude and ru&s;ticall language, (as thou calle&s;t it): here thou manife&s;ts thy &s;elfe among&s;t the Heathen, who know not God, who excerci&s;e Lord&s;hip and authority one of another, and &s;o you rule in your own wills,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mat.</HI> 20.25.</NOTE> and would not &s;uffer your fellow creatures to put their hats on their heads, but as you give them leave, and &s;o are out of the doctrine of Chri&s;t, with your rude and ru&s;ticall Spirits; And was not (thou) the language betwixt God and <HI>Adam,</HI> and betwixt God and <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and &s;o all a|long the Scripture to one particular per&s;on,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Gen.</HI> 3.11.12. <HI>Exod.</HI> 10 11.12.</NOTE> then whe|ther or nay is thine a ru&s;ticall proud Spirit, that can&s;t not receive the language thou give&s;t unto God: and thus thou ha&s;t &s;ufficiently fomed out thy &s;hame: and I am &s;ure now thou &s;peake&s;t not by the motion of the Holy-Gho&s;t.</P>
<P>Whether ever Chri&s;t or his Apo&s;tles taught us to alter or violate the civill &s;peeches and cu&s;toms of the Nation where we live,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que.</HI> 14</NOTE> by which our reverence to others is ex|pre&s;&s;ed, and accordingly expected, if not commanded al&s;o and thou quote&s;t, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.32.</P>
<P>Chri&s;t is not your teacher, for out of his doctrine ye are found, in the pride of your hearts,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;w.</NOTE> contemning his &s;peech and language, and are not contented with your naturall language, but borrowes of others, in which cu&s;tome we are not to follow you, out of the language of the Scripture, and &s;o here by thy Querie, you ex|pre&s;&s;e no reverence of God, becau&s;e to him you u&s;e the word <HI>Thou,</HI> which you do account an uncivill &s;peech
<PB N="66" REF="38">therefore now &s;ee what is that which takes offence, at that which God accepts; it mu&s;t needs be of proud Luci|fer, and that &s;ame took offence at the Apo&s;tle, who &s;aid Give no offenre, yet the truth is a &s;tumbling &s;tone, and a Rock of offence, therefore now &s;ee how thou &s;tumble&s;t at the noon day: <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 59.10.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="questions and answers">
<HEAD>Thy next is concerning Salutations at your meetings with o|thers, or departings from others.</HEAD>
<P>Unto which I an&s;wer, that your heatheni&s;h cu&s;toms traditions and &s;alutations I do deny, and know them to be contrary to Scripture: for, &s;aith it, let him that nameth the name of God depart from iniquity; therefore you that are in iniquity do take his name in vaine, and make a cu&s;tom and by-word of it, among&s;t your &s;elves when you meet with or depart from one another, and &s;o your Children learne it at you, and by imitation u&s;e his name before they do know whether there be a God or nay.</P>
<P>And to that in <HI>Ruth</HI> 2.4. and to that in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 1 29.8. which thou ha&s;t quoted in thy 15. and 16. Qu. I an&s;wer, They that there named the name of the Lord knew him and that in the <HI>P&s;alm</HI> will witne&s;&s;e again&s;t you, that you have nothing to do to name his name, nor to have &s;uch words &s;poken to you, who know him not: and read what God &s;aith to the wicked, in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 16. and why call ye me Lord and do not the things which I &s;ay: but the &s;alutations of the Saints I own, who are not by cu&s;tom lead; <HI>Luk.</HI> 6.46.</P>
<P>And to <HI>Math.</HI> 10.12. and <HI>Luk.</HI> 10.5. which here thou ha&s;t quoted, I an&s;wer that you are no Mini&s;ters nor Me&s;&s;engers of Chri&s;t, who are found out of his doctrine, therefore peace is not given you to &s;peake, but as fal&s;e Prophets you &s;peak it to that which is for death, becau&s;e that puts into your mouthes; and even prepares war a|gain&s;t tho&s;e that do witne&s;&s;e the Son of peace.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="questions and answers">
<PB N="67" REF="38">
<HEAD>Thy next is concerning meate, drinke, and apparel.</HEAD>
<P>And to thy fir&s;t Query of that, I an&s;wer, All the crea|tures of God are good in their places, and all things for the u&s;e of man who dwells in the moderation, but cur&s;ed to you, who live under the cur&s;e, in the lu&s;t, un|der whom the creation grones, who know not the pure wi&s;dom, that made all things,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.31. <HI>Rom.</HI> 14.17.</NOTE> to teach you how to u&s;e all things, to the glory of God, and therefore are out of the right: and thy 23.24. Qu. are here an&s;wered, but you are they who&s;e Kingdom &s;tands in meats and drinks and apparel, who are taking thought what to eat, what to drink, and where withall to be clothed, <HI>math.</HI> 6, 15.</P>
<P>And to this Querie,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu.</HI> 22.</NOTE> where hath God enjoyned men to drink water, in any part of his word.</P>
<P>I an&s;wer thou may'&s;t be a&s;hamed to boa&s;t of thy age, who aske&s;t &s;uch a childi&s;h Querie: I might as well ask thee, where God injoyned men to drink beare, for water is the originall of all drinks, for in the daies of old, wa|ter was the common drink; ha&s;t thou not read of <HI>Jacobs</HI> well, where Chri&s;t drunk, then who art thou that de|&s;pi&s;e&s;t water, it is a &s;igne thou &s;erve&s;t the lu&s;t, but if any drink water who know the goodne&s;&s;e of it, what is that to thee? who injoynes thee to drink water?</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="questions and answers">
<HEAD>And in thy <HI>25.</HI> Querie, thou an&s;werest thy &s;elfe.</HEAD>
<P>And this Querie is, Whether one may not &s;atisfy the fle&s;h even in over fa&s;ting and overwatching the body which to prove thou quote&s;t, <HI>Col.</HI> 2.23.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu.</HI> 23.</NOTE></P>
<P>But I perceive thou wilt have a care of that, who ha&s;t been pleading &s;o much for the body which is the mo&s;t thou minde&s;t; thy zeale is not &s;o hot: but they that dwell in the power of God are free from this, and yet know how to keepe under the body and not &s;atisfying
<PB N="68" REF="39">the la&s;t, but you that know not the Creator, tru&s;t in the Creature.</P>
<P>And here thou aske&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu.</HI> 27.</NOTE> whether are not the Saints to &s;anctifie their meats and drinks, by Prayer and Thank&s;|giving, before and after they eat and drink, which to prove, thou quote&s;t 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4.5. &amp; <HI>Rom.</HI> 14.16.</P>
<P>To the pure all thingsare pure,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;.</NOTE> but thy prayers are abomination, who art in the lu&s;t; but which of the&s;e Scriptures maintains your Cu&s;tom after meat;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Tit.</HI> 1.15.</NOTE> but the Saints receives nothing of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mal.</HI> 1.2</NOTE> but with Thanksgiving, and glory to God, but your ble&s;&s;ings are cur&s;ed, and here is thy 28. Query an&s;wered al&s;o.</P>
<P>Whether the Apo&s;tles Interdiction be ab&s;olute again&s;t all Ornaments,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu:</HI> 29.</NOTE> or Comparative onely; and thou ha&s;t quoted a Scripture in 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3.3, 4. which an&s;wereth thee: where thou may&s;t read, what Ornaments he ap|proves of, and here thy 30.31.32. Query is an&s;wered; but moderation in every thing I own, but what is wa&s;t is for the lu&s;t, both in Kings, Princes, and great per&s;o|nages, (as thou calle&s;t them) but with us there is no re|&s;pect of per&s;ons, neither taking thought, what to eat, what to drink, or wherewithall to be cloathed, as the Children of this world do, among&s;t whom thou art found; but our Kingdom is not of this world: and <HI>I&s;|raell</HI> after the fle&s;h was a figure of <HI>I&s;raell</HI> after the &s;pirit: therefore now read their adorning if thou can&s;t, and re|member no Creature was made for the lu&s;t, though lu&s;tfull men abu&s;e them.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="questions and answers">
<PB N="69" REF="39">
<HEAD>Thy next is concerning Pride.</HEAD>
<P>And thy fir&s;t Que&s;tion of this is, whether pride doth lie in Apparel (though there may be much wa&s;tfulne&s;s, vanity, and o&s;tentation committed therein) or inwardly, in the heart and minde of the poor, as well as of the rich, and thou quote&s;t <HI>Mark</HI> 7.21.22, 23.</P>
<P>The Scripture which thou ha&s;t quoted,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;w.</NOTE> doth an&s;wer thy Que&s;tion, where pride lieth; but Apparel is a dead thing, and no pride in it, but the vanity and wa&s;tfulne&s;s (which thou confe&s;&s;e&s;t is committed therein) figures forth the pride of the heart; and where riches is, this is &s;howne: (therefore you Prie&s;ts, look at home, and judge your &s;elves) though poor and rich be both in one nature before the Regeneration, <HI>Eph.</HI> 2, 3.</P>
<P>Whether one of the greate&s;t things, that puffs up the hearts of men, be not knowledge?<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu:</HI> 34.</NOTE> whether it be true or fal&s;e, and imagined only: and thou quote&s;t 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 8.1, 2.</P>
<P>You that are carnall, and fle&s;hly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;.</NOTE> are puffed up with your fle&s;hly notionall knowledge; and in that yo u&s;teal from others experiences; but the true knowledge of the &s;pirit puffs not up, but judges down that which would be exalted; but this unto thee, is a my&s;tery, becau&s;e thy knowledge hath blinded thy eye, who art confu&s;ed in thine Imaginations; &s;o read thy &s;elfe in the Scripture a|fore&s;aid, which thou ha&s;t quoted.</P>
<P>Whether another thing that exalts a man in pride,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu:</HI> 35.</NOTE> and makes him de&s;pi&s;e his Brethren (and perhaps, tho&s;e that are better then him&s;elf) be not a Conceited &amp; &s;elfe|cho&s;en holine&s;s, &s;eeing &s;uch a proud Saint is brought in <HI>I&s;ay</HI> 65.5. which thing al&s;o (thou &s;ay&s;t) is verified in the Phari&s;ee and the Publican, <HI>Luke</HI> 18.15.</P>
<P><PB N="70" REF="40">
Thou ha&s;t here an&s;wered thy &s;elfe, with the&s;e Scrip|tures, wherein thou may&s;t read thy &s;elfe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;w.</NOTE> who thinke&s;t thy &s;elfe more holy then thy Brethren, and would only an&s;wer for thy &s;elfe, and not for thy Bre|thren, though thou art found in the &s;ame practices; but thou blinde Phari&s;ee, he was not a Saint, which was &s;poken of in <HI>I&s;ay</HI> 65.5. but he was a Saint, which &s;aid, We are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedne&s;s, 1 <HI>John</HI> 5.19. and here al&s;o thy 36. Que&s;tion is an&s;wer|ed, with the Scripture which thou ha&s;t quoted, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.6. who art a fal&s;e Teacher, doting about Que&s;ti|ons.</P>
<P>And here thou aske&s;t whether a young man be not the prone&s;t of all other,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que.</HI> 31.</NOTE> to be thus &s;educed and puffed up: and thou quote&s;t 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.6.</P>
<P>Thy &s;pite is much again&s;t youth; but him thou &s;hootes at,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;.</NOTE> thou can&s;t not hit, becau&s;e thou art blinde, and can&s;t not divide the word aright; but thou may&s;t plainly have readthy &s;elfe in that Chapter afore&s;aid, and finde that thou art the novice who knowes not the truth, but de|&s;pi&s;e&s;t the young man, becau&s;e of his youth, which is contrary to <HI>Paul,</HI> 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4.12.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="questions and answers">
<HEAD>And thy next is, to maintain Swearing.</HEAD>
<P>And thy fir&s;t Query of this is, whether it be lawfull now,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu.</HI> 31.</NOTE> in the new Te&s;tament to take an Oath before lawful Authority, to put an end to controver&s;ies, and thou quote&s;t <HI>Heb.</HI> 6.16.</P>
<P>This which thou goe&s;t about now to uphold manife&s;ts thee an enemy to Chri&s;t and his Doctrine,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;.</NOTE> who &s;aith, Swear not at all; for &s;aith he, it hath been &s;aid in the old time, thou &s;halt not for&s;weare thy &s;elfe, but &s;halt perform unto the Lord thine Oath; but I &s;ay unto you, Swear not at all, but let your yea be yea, and your nay be
<PB N="71" REF="40">nay; for what is more is evill: now here he doth not only forbid fal&s;e &s;wearing, but al&s;o all &s;wearing, <HI>Mat.</HI> 5.33.34. &amp;c. and al&s;o the Apo&s;tle <HI>James</HI> doth the &s;ame, in <HI>James</HI> 5.12. both which Scriptures thou ha&s;t quoted in thy 39. Query, and &s;o here out of the Doctrine of Chri&s;t, again thou art found in the evill; and all you that can|not believe one another without &s;wearing, and &s;o are more then yea and nay; and what is more is evill, (&s;aith Chri&s;t:) now read your condemnation, and as for that in <HI>Heb.</HI> 6. there the Apo&s;tle was &s;peaking by way of com|pari&s;on, how the Lord made a Covenant, and confirm|ed it with an oath, which is Chri&s;t Je&s;us the everla&s;ting Oath, who &s;aith, &s;wear not at all: and the Apo&s;tle brought a compari&s;on&punc; from men in &s;trife and contro|ver&s;ie; but this doth not at all maintain &s;wearing now; for &s;trife and controver&s;ie is out of the Doctrine of Chri&s;t, and &s;uch runs into the &s;wearing, and into the e|vill, among&s;t whom thou art found upholding the evill and oppo&s;ing Chri&s;ts Doctrine, and &s;o art found in the condemnation of the Devil, <HI>James</HI> 5.12. this was not the Saints practi&s;e; for in the new Covenant, neither &s;trife nor &s;wearer is; and thus you leaders cau&s;e men to erre, by upholding that which Chri&s;t is again&s;t, &amp; here thy 39. Query is an&s;wered.</P>
<P>Here thou aske&s;t whether <HI>Paul</HI> him&s;elf did not &s;wear,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que.</HI> 40.</NOTE> in the&s;e words, 2. <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.10. as the truth of Chri&s;t is in me, &amp;c.</P>
<P>Oh thou enemy of truth, that would heare &s;candall, and accu&s;e <HI>Paul</HI> for &s;wearing, that &s;o thou might uphold &s;wearing: but by what doth he here &s;wear? this is plain Language.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="questions and answers">
<PB N="72" REF="41">
<HEAD>And thy next is concerning outward materiall Churches, and the publick exerci&s;es therein.</HEAD>
<P>Mo&s;t of the&s;e Queries are an&s;wered in my Reply to thy An&s;wer to my 17th Query,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;w.</NOTE> wherein I have declared why I object again&s;t your Steeple-hou&s;es, which thou calle&s;t Churches.</P>
<P>Here thou aske&s;t if &s;uch meetings may not be mixt A&s;&s;emblies,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu.</HI> 44.</NOTE> of learned, &amp; unlearned, of believers and un|believers, and thou quotes 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 14.23.</P>
<P>But the un-believers are not owned by the believers,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;w.</NOTE> though he come among&s;t the believers, as in 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.14. 15, 16, 17, 18. then the Mini&s;ters are far off, being main|tained by unbelievers, as thou art; for though thou con|fe&s;&s;e&s;t the greate&s;t part are earthly minded, and worldly minded: thou yet art maintained by them, and I am &s;ure, they that come into the true faith, which purifieth the heart, come out from among&s;t you, &s;o that you are not much mixed; for you are all one nature, like Prie&s;t, like people.</P>
<P>And in thy 47. &amp; 48. Query, thou aske&s;t, if Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles, did not frequent the Synagogues.</P>
<P>Yea they did,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;w.</NOTE> and &s;o do we your Idoll-Temples; but therein the Jews will condemn you, who &s;uffered them to &s;peak, as in that Scripture which thou ha&s;t quoted in <HI>Acts</HI> 13, 14, 15. which &s;hall &s;tand and witne&s;s again&s;t you, who will not &s;uffer us to &s;peak in your Steeple|hou&s;es, but &s;uffers your flocks to hale us forth, and fall upon us like Wolves, and your Magi&s;trates to hale us to pri&s;on; therefore read your condemnation, you per&s;e|cuters, and thy 49. Query is an&s;wered already with the other afore&s;aid.</P>
<P>Here thou aske&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu.</HI> 50.</NOTE> if the Prophet did not complain to God, again&s;t the profaners, and de&s;troyers of the Sy|nagogues, in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 74.4, 5, 6, 7.</P>
<P><PB N="73" REF="41">
This Scripture which thou ha&s;t quoted, doth an&s;wer thee, but it doth not uphold your Idolls Temples,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;w.</NOTE> who wor&s;hip you know not what, wherein you teach for Doctrine the traditions of men, and there are found in the &s;teps of the Phari&s;ees, offering up your abominati|ons, as Chri&s;t marked you out in <HI>Mat.</HI> 6.5. where he meant as he &s;poke; and all you do there, is for &s;elfe, and not for God; for he &s;aith, in vain do you wor&s;hip him, <HI>Mat.</HI> 15.7, 8, 9. and here thy 51. Query is an&s;wered, but take notice, your Steeple-hou&s;es are not the hou&s;es of God, as before is proved.</P>
<P>Is it unlawful to call, either Bapti&s;me,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que.</HI> 52.</NOTE> or the Supper of the Lord, a Sacrament or obliging My&s;tery? &s;ince that name imports no more, and you cannot deny, but that both the&s;e are my&s;tical things, and obliging my&s;teries, to the wa&s;hing away of &s;in, and the following of Chri&s;t into his life &amp; death. Is thy Bapti&s;me now become an obli|ging My&s;tery to the wa&s;hing away of &s;in,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;w.</NOTE> which in thy An&s;wer to my 21. Query, thou &s;aid, was not ab&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary, but lawfull onely? can it wa&s;h away &s;in, and yet not be nece&s;&s;ary; but this is all thou knowe&s;t of that my&s;tery that wa&s;heth away &s;in, or deire after it; for where &s;in is wa&s;hed away, this confu&s;ion &s;tayes not be|hinde.</P>
<P>Yea I do deny that there is any thing in your &s;prink|ling Infants, or your Bread and Wine (which doth pro|fit) as is manife&s;t by the&s;e that receive them of you, who never yet was wa&s;hed from their &s;ins and pollutions, or ever ta&s;ted of the death of the Cro&s;&s;e;<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.13.</NOTE> but the Bapti&s;me I own, and the Supper of the Lord I owne; but the word Sacrament I deny, for the which you have no Scripture, what&s;oever thou &s;ay&s;t it doth import.</P>
<P>And thy 53.54. &amp; 55. Queries are an&s;wered in my Reply to thy An&s;wer, to my 21. Query, and thy 56. and 57. Queries are an&s;wered in my Reply to thy An&s;wer, to my 25. Query.</P>
<P><PB N="74" REF="42">
Who is there among you who are called Quakers,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que.</HI> 58.</NOTE> or the other Sectarians your fore-fathers, that hath rightly declared the my&s;tery of Chri&s;ts body and blood in your di&s;&s;entings from us? &s;ince none of you have declared this according to our Lords intent, <HI>John</HI> 6.33.</P>
<P>As for Sectarians (as thou calle&s;t them) they are in your Generation:<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;.</NOTE> and art not thou a&s;hamed to call them our fore-fathers, when as they now joyn with you again&s;t us, yea and in this very thing, wherein they are blinde as you are; but the my&s;tery we know, and have declared to the comfort of many a re&s;tle&s;s &s;oul, who ne|ver could finde true comfort in your dark and dead forms, as thou&s;ands in the Nation will witne&s;s; and this we have declared according to our Lords intent: there|fore thou lier and &s;landerer, &s;top thy mouth, and take not his name in vain, and that Scripture in <HI>John</HI> 6.33. which thou ha&s;t quoted, will witne&s;s again&s;t thee, in that thou woulde&s;t uphold: and thy 59. Query is an|&s;wered with thy 56. &amp; 57.</P>
<P>And thy next is concerning the pre&s;ent Mini&s;ters and Teachers, and their maintenance.</P>
<P>Were there no Mini&s;ters in this Nation,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu.</HI> 60.</NOTE> that held forth the truth among&s;t us, till you and your a&s;&s;ociates ro&s;e up? &s;ince we have our Lords promi&s;e, the Gates of Hell &s;hall not prevail again&s;t the Church, and, be hold I am with you to the end of the world.</P>
<P>What is become then of all your fore-fathers,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que.</HI> 61.</NOTE> theirs and ours, who died &s;ince the Apo&s;tles dayes, till your ri|&s;ing up with a pretended &s;pirit?</P>
<P>Thou carnall one,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;w.</NOTE> ha&s;t thou nothing to do, but to rai&s;e the dead, to di&s;pute about? but, to an&s;wer a fool, I &s;ay they are gone, as the ju&s;t and righteous Judge hath
<PB N="75" REF="42">di&s;po&s;ed; but now he calles all every where to repent, his Trumpets are &s;ounding a warning, and there was none that preached for hire, that held forth the truth in the life and power of it, but made a Trade and gain of the Letter, from it &s;peaking a divination of their own brain, as you do now, and tho&s;e was your fore-fathers; but if you had the Lords promi&s;e, that the Gates of Hell &s;hall not prevail again&s;t you; for the Lord will be with you; then what need you a Law of man to &s;et you up, up|hold you, and maintain you: therefore it follows, the Lord is again&s;t you and his promi&s;es doth not belong unto you, who dare not tru&s;t him; and therefore are but pretenders, and this the &s;pirit of truth in us can tell you.</P>
<P>If there were &s;ome taught of God before you were called,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que.</HI> 62.</NOTE> why are they not owned by any of you?</P>
<P>Thou art not one that art &s;o taught; for thou art found out of his Doctrine, therefore with that &s;top thy mouth, and do not bely us: for who receive and obey the truth, we do own, what&s;oever they have been, and here al&s;o thy 63&punc; and 64. Query is an&s;wered.</P>
<P>And thy 65.66. &amp; 67. Queries are an&s;wered in my Re|ply to thy An&s;wer to my 9. &amp; 10th Query.<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;.</NOTE></P>
<P>Is the teaching Prie&s;thood to cea&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que.</HI> 68.</NOTE> till the &s;pirituall Melchizedeck come unto us, to ble&s;&s;e us after the &s;laugh|ter of all our enemies, with the heavenly bread and wire, <HI>Gen.</HI> 14.18.19. <HI>Heb.</HI> 2.1, 2, 3. that you &s;ay the Prie&s;t|hood of <HI>Aaron</HI> with the Law annexed of Tithes, is cea&s;ed under the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P>Yea, &s;o it is cea&s;ed: and tho&s;e Scriptures doth not prove to the contrary but that in <HI>Heb.</HI> 7. doth affirm it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;w.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span"> before proved; but in that you uphold it, in ta|king Tithes, you deny the &s;piritual Melehizedeck; and
<PB N="76" REF="43">if that be the teaching Prie&s;thood, which thou meane&s;t, it is already cea&s;ed, to many who are come to &s;ee the end of it; but the gift blinde your eyes, and therefore you &s;till uphold it, and lead the blindes into the ditch, and &s;o the woe is to you, and not the ble&s;&s;ing; and this Scrip|ture in <HI>Eph.</HI> 4.11, 12. &amp;c. doth not at all maintain you, and here al&s;o thy 69. Query is an&s;wered.</P>
<P>And thy 70.71.72, &amp; 73. Queries are an&s;wered in my Reply to thy An&s;wer to my 14th Query.</P>
<P>Did ever the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> ca&s;t greater reproaches upon the Prote&s;tant Mini&s;ters,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que.</HI> 74.</NOTE> then you do; and are you not Je&s;uited by &s;ome of her Emi&s;&s;eries, that you would have them all one with another, rooted out at once; yea can the Devil him&s;elf de&s;ire more in this kinde?</P>
<P>I &s;ee no difference in the ground betwixt the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> and you;<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;w.</NOTE> for they are bloody per&s;ecuters, and upheld by a per&s;ecuting Law, and &s;o are you (who call your &s;elves Prote&s;tants) and therefore no reproaches, to call you per&s;ecuters, hirelings, fal&s;e Teachers, and gree|dy Doggs, as the Prophets of old called your fore-fa|thers, in who&s;e &s;teps you are found, as is before proved; but how&s;oever, thou with thy lying &s;pirit terme&s;t us of the Je&s;uites, both thou and thy Brethren have in this been &s;ufficiently proved lyars: therefore by the &s;word of the Lord you mu&s;t all be rooted out, yea ye mu&s;t all fall together,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Zach.</HI> 13.7. <HI>Ezek.</HI> 21.91.10, 11.</NOTE> he will make a grievous &s;laughter, from the lea&s;t to the greate&s;t; for his hand is &s;tretched out again&s;t you; and therefore your Father the Devil be&s;tirs him|&s;elfe among&s;t you, to &s;tand up for his Kingdom; and where did ever the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> per&s;ecute any, &s;pa|ring the life, more then you do: therefore let guilt &s;trike you, and put not the Devil &s;o far from you, when as he fights for you;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">or. 10.4, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> but carnall Weapons we &s;hall not u&s;e a|gain&s;t you, to root you out, but our Weapons are &s;piri|tuall
<PB N="77" REF="43">and mighty through God to the pulling down of &s;trong holdes: therefore tremble all ye enemies of God.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="questions and answers">
<HEAD>Thy next is concerning the Inward light.</HEAD>
<P>Is there not a fal&s;e light as well as a true light,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu.</HI> 75.</NOTE> &amp; thou quotes, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.13, 14. Thou ha&s;t an&s;wered thy &s;elfe with this Scripture, and I have already proved that this fal&s;e light rules in thee, as an Angel of light, who art a Mini&s;ter of Antichri&s;t, transforming thy &s;elfe as a Mi|ni&s;ter of Chri&s;t, but out of their life and practice art found, and therefore guided by a fal&s;e light, which is an evill eye, and dangerous darkne&s;&s;e, &s;o that thou can&s;t accu&s;e others, but can&s;t not &s;ee the fal&s;ene&s;&s;e and de|ceipt of thine own heart, but thinks that thou &s;peake&s;t by the motion of the Holy-Gho&s;t, when as therein thou ha&s;t &s;ufficiently beene proved a lier, and thus Satan rules in thee, and makes thee beleive he is God, 2 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 2.4. and here is thy 76, Querie an&s;wered al&s;o, and that Scrip|ture which thou quote&s;t in <HI>Math.</HI> 6.23. &s;hall &s;tand and witne&s;&s;e again&s;t thee.</P>
<P>Are we not therefore, to try mens pretended light by the law and word of God, and thou quote&s;t <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 8.20.</P>
<P>You neither know the law nor word or God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. An&s;.</NOTE> and therefore relyes upon the law and word of man, contra|ry to the law &amp; word of God&punc; &amp; yet pretende&s;t to the light &amp; the law and the word of God and &s;o by it art tryed, and found to be a deceiver who puts the letter for the word and the letter for the law, both which is within: but ac|cording to thy own meaning, thou art out of the light, who atte&s;t many things contrary to the law and te&s;timo|ny as before is proved.</P>
<P><PB N="78" REF="44">
What may men think of your pretended light, who hate &s;o many of your brethren in the Mini&s;tery of Eng|land?<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que.</HI> 78.</NOTE> and thou quote&s;t, 1 <HI>Joh.</HI> 2.9.</P>
<P>The thoughts of man is vaine,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;.</NOTE> and would'&s;t thou have the light tryed by that? here thou erres from the law, and from the te&s;timony, and &s;o confirmes my former an&s;wer: therefore cea&s;e thy fal&s;e accu&s;ing, from the evill thoughts of thy heart, for none of my brethren in the Mini&s;tery of God do I hate: but I deny that thy bre|thren are mine,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mat.</HI> 23.35.</NOTE> for you are &s;pring of another &s;eed, and &s;o are become another generation, in which the righte|ous blood is found &s;hed, and therefore murderers; unto whom belongs this in 1 <HI>John</HI> 2.9. and Chap. 3.15. where you may read your &s;elves.</P>
<P>Is there not another light to go before the light of Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu.</HI> 79.</NOTE> &s;eeing the wi&s;e men that came from the Ea&s;t, were guided unto Chri&s;t by a &s;tar? <HI>Mat th.</HI> 2.</P>
<P>Thy ignorance of Chri&s;t and his light,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;w.</NOTE> thou ha&s;t here manife&s;ted, and &s;o confirmed my reply to thy an&s;wer to my 30. Querie, that thou would'&s;t not have confe&s;&s;|ed that Chri&s;t doth enlighten every one that cometh in|to the world, had not <HI>John</HI> &s;o plainly affirmed it in, <HI>Ioh.</HI> 1. and that thou never yet &s;aw his &s;tar, who thinks that it is not his light: therefore thou that would'&s;t &s;et up a|nother light before the light of Chri&s;t, art a deceiver and a bringer in of fal&s;e lights.</P>
<P>Is not the &s;ure propheticall Word,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu.</HI> 86.</NOTE> a light that &s;hines in a dark corner, till the true day light ari&s;e, in your hearts? 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.19.</P>
<P>But it is the light of Chri&s;t, that leads unto Chri&s;t the perfect day?<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;.</NOTE> which light &s;hines in darkne&s;&s;e, and darkne&s;&s;e comprehends it not, and therefore thou looks without,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Iohn</HI> 1.5.</NOTE> for another light before the light of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Whether the life of Chri&s;t be not the true light that men are to waite for,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu.</HI> 8 1.</NOTE> and wherein the true Children of light are to walk? and thou quote&s;t, <HI>Iohn</HI> 1.4. and <HI>Eph.</HI> 5, 9.</P>
<P>Thou ha&s;t here an&s;wered thy &s;elfe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;.</NOTE> for his life is the
<PB N="79" REF="44">light of men, which they mu&s;t waite to know within them, to guide them: and thou that would'&s;t &s;et up a|nother light, before this light, art a deceiver; and this is the light which now is come into the world, te|&s;tifying again&s;t the world,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Iohn.</HI> 3.19.20.</NOTE> and manife&s;ting you to be the de<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="3 letters">ers of the world, who have long &s;et up fal&s;e lights to draw from this true light, the minds of people: there|fore now you can no longer hide your &s;elves from this true light, you &s;tand up to oppo&s;e it where it is &s;et up, and &s;ome calls it a naturall light, and an in&s;ufficient light, but it is your condemnation.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="questions and answers">
<HEAD>Thy next is concerning Prophets and Prophete&s;&s;es</HEAD>
<P>Whether &s;ome men may not be acted with a Spirit of fal&s;ehood,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que.</HI> 82.</NOTE> and delu&s;ion, even then when they think they Prophe&s;ie by the Spirit of God as <HI>Zedekiah</HI> was, 1 <HI>King</HI> 22.</P>
<P>This is already an&s;wered in my reply to thy an&s;wer to any 6th. Query:<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;.</NOTE> and thou in divers places to be thus acted.</P>
<P>Whether the Lord did ever &s;end forth boyes or &s;trip|lings to be his prophets &amp; publike teachers,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Q.</HI> 83.</NOTE> &s;eeing <HI>John</HI> the Bapti&s;t who was born to be a Prophet, of the mo&s;t high, and was filled with the Holy-Gho&s;t from his Mo|thers wombe, was not &s;ent forth to preach and Prophe&s;ie till he was 30 yeares old <HI>Luk.</HI> 1.15.</P>
<P>How often have I made thy folly and ignorance,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;.</NOTE> in this to appeare? and that thou might be a&s;hamed to boa&s;t of thy age, who &s;o often ha&s;t erred not knowing the Scrip|tures nor the power of God, who would limit it to time &amp; age, in which I have before &s;ufficiently an&s;wered thee and now I &s;ay the Lord &s;ent forth <HI>Ieremiah</HI> when he was but a Child,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ier.</HI> 1.6.7. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 8.2. <HI>Mat.</HI> 21.</NOTE> and out of the mouths of Babes and Suck|lings, the Lord hath perfected his prai&s;e, therefore hence-forward &s;top thy mouth, for de&s;pi&s;ing any be|becau&s;e of their youth, but know this that whom&s;oever
<PB N="80" REF="45">God calls to his Mini&s;try, he by his power and wi&s;dom doth fit them, for the &s;ame, and contrary to the rea|&s;on of man, doth the Lord work, therefore if thou wa&s;t not blind, thou would'&s;t not &s;o much looke at the creature,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 11.25.</NOTE> but at the power of God in the creature: but as it is written, He hath hid the&s;e things from the wi&s;e and prudent, and revealed them unto Babes: and here thy 84. Querie, is al&s;o an&s;wered.</P>
<P>Whether the Lord will breake his own orders and commands,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu.</HI> 85</NOTE> expre&s;&s;ely &s;et down in his word, where he &s;aith (as you already heard) by <HI>Paul</HI> 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.6.</P>
<P>And unto this I have already an&s;wered,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;w.</NOTE> at to thy 37, Querie: therefore thou bla&s;phemer, &s;top thy mouth and be a&s;hamed thus to accu&s;e the Lord, becau&s;e he is plea&s;ed to make his power known, in babes and youth, for <HI>Timothy,</HI> to whom <HI>Paul</HI> writes this Epi&s;tle was him|&s;elfe but a youth, as <HI>Paul</HI> writes 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4.11.12. and there read thy rebuke,</P>
<P>Where did Chri&s;t or his Apo&s;tles &s;end forth women to be publique prophete&s;&s;es as you have don many and &s;ome of them not long &s;ince infamous for lewdne&s;&s;e of life.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu.</HI> 86.</NOTE></P>
<P>Oh thou impudent one,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;w.</NOTE> how do&s;t thou provoke the Lord to indignation again&s;t thee, that dar&s;t lay any &s;uch thing to the Charge of Gods elect? oh thou lier, whom do&s;t thou accu&s;e of lewdne&s;&s;e? we abhor thy words for all lewdne&s;&s;e, and prophane&s;&s;e we te&s;tify again&s;t, where|&s;oever it doth appeare, or any thing contrary to the pure divine light, which now in thy con&s;cience, and many other con&s;ciences doth here witne&s;&s;e, for us, again&s;t thee who art given up to beleivelies, and report them: there|fore read thy portion in <HI>Rev.</HI> 21.8. and read an an&s;wer to thy Querie, in <HI>Joel.</HI> 2.28. where the Lord &s;aith the &s;ons and Daughters &s;hall prophe&s;y,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rom.</HI> 16.1.2.3.4.</NOTE> and none other do we own but who immediately are caried forth by the Spirit of the Lord, without the commi&s;&s;ion of man: there|fore thou fal&s;ly accu&s;e&s;t us, who &s;ai&s;t we &s;end forth any.</P>
<P><PB N="81" REF="45">
If you be extraordinary Prophets immediatly in&s;pired as many of you pretend to be,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu.</HI> 87.</NOTE> where are the miracles which &s;uch in&s;pired men wrought in times pa&s;t?</P>
<P>But that we are &s;o in&s;pired thou do&s;t not beleive,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;.</NOTE> (as may ea&s;ily be di&s;cerned by thy Querying) and therefore unto thee no &s;igne &s;hall be given who art in the adulte|rous generation who cannot &s;ee the &s;ignes that follow the truth, <HI>Math.</HI> 16.4.</P>
<P>What have you foretold by way of praediction,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu.</HI> 88.</NOTE> which hath accordingly come to pa&s;&s;e as the Prophets, Apo|&s;tles and in&s;pired men were wont to do?</P>
<P>If thou can&s;t tax us to the contrary thou mai&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;w.</NOTE> we beare not witne&s;&s;e of our &s;elves, but he that beleives hath the witne&s;&s;e within him&s;elf.</P>
<P>And as for thy 89.90.91. and 92. Queries, they are an|&s;wered in my reply to thy an&s;wer to my 16. Querie, and thy 93. Querie, is an&s;wered in my an&s;wer to thy Query concerning Salutations.</P>
<P>Whether is a multitude of di&s;ciples and followers,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que.</HI> 94.</NOTE> &s;ure figne that his doctrine is from heaven, who is fol|lowed, &s;eeing the way is broad that leads to de&s;truction and many there be that find it, and thou quote&s;t, <HI>Math.</HI> 7.13. and 2, <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.22.</P>
<P>Many are called but few chofen,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;w.</NOTE> and many for a time followed Chri&s;t, &s;o that the ruler &s;aid if we let this fel|low alone, all men will goe after him, which is the cry of you and your rulers, now again&s;t the me&s;&s;engers of truth, and ha&s;t thou never read of the multitudes that followed Chri&s;t, but few there be that enter,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Iohn</HI> 11.48. <HI>Mat.</HI> 7.14.</NOTE> becau&s;e &s;trate is the Gate; but devide England into parts, and &s;ee if the greate&s;t number belong not unto you, who are in the broad way: your lives preach you forth, therefore now thou &s;hould have fir&s;t asked thy &s;elf this Query, and &s;aid Is it I, and &s;o have laid thy hand upon thy mouth.</P>
<P><PB N="82" REF="46">
Seeing this age is earthly-minded and willing to &s;erve God,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu.</HI> 95.</NOTE> with that which co&s;ts them nothing contrary to the pious and noble &s;pirit of <HI>David</HI> 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 24.24. is it any great wonder that your doctrine again&s;t Tithes, &s;hould find &s;o many willing yea greedy entertayners of it, as it hath done &s;ince it was fir&s;t broached?</P>
<P>The more is your &s;hame, who are teachers in this age, that are &s;o earthly-minded,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;w.</NOTE> who have &s;o long taken their monies for that which is not bread, and their labour for that which profiteth not:<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>I&s;a.</HI> 55.2.</NOTE> do you not herein manife&s;t your &s;elves to be &s;uch as run, and the Lord never &s;ent you,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ier.</HI> 23.21.22.32.</NOTE> and therefore you profit not the people at all, but they are &s;till earthly-minded, how have you then &s;owne &s;piri|tuall things? but I &s;hall prove that the earthly-minded ones &s;till &s;tick unto you, for you have a law made by the will of man, &s;o that if they refu&s;e to pay you, and for|&s;ake you, then by it you ca&s;t them into pri&s;on, and by your law take treble damage, and this they know, and therefore con&s;ult with their earthly mindes, that it is better to pay the le&s;&s;er then the greater,<NOTE PLACE="marg">there is much dif|ference betwixt &s;ervings God and your bel|lies.</NOTE> though the le&s;&s;er is a greater oppre&s;&s;ion: and thus mank deny the truth, though they are convinced in their con&s;ciences thereof, therefore that which leads any from you, to take up this cro&s;&s;e to own the truth, and deny you of Tithes, the &s;ame crucifies the earthly mind, and leade to &s;uffer for con&s;cience. And the noble Spirit of <HI>David</HI> condemnes you: for whereas he refu&s;ed upon gift, you will take upon gift, and if they will not give it you, you will take it by force, therefore this Scripture affords witne&s;&s;es again&s;t you, but hereby thou confe&s;&s;e&s;t, our doctrine co&s;ts them nothing; then how &s;aid'&s;t thou before that <HI>James Parnels</HI> Go&s;pel was not without charge, and thus out of thy own mouth art thou proved a liar.</P>
<P><PB N="83" REF="46">
Did ever Chri&s;t or the Apo&s;tles di&s;turb the Prie&s;ts, and Mini&s;ters of the&s;e times,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu.</HI> 96.</NOTE> while they were teaching the people, as many of you and yours have done?</P>
<P>Both the Prophets, Chri&s;t and the Apo&s;tles,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;w.</NOTE> declared again&s;t the deceivers, fal&s;e Prophets,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mat.</HI> 24.24. <HI>Ier.</HI> 23. <HI>Ezek.</HI> 34. <HI>Ioh.</HI> 10. <HI>Ier.</HI> 5.31.</NOTE> fal&s;e Prie&s;ts and Hirelings, and the Apo&s;tles was haled out of the Syna|gogues, and out of the Temple, as Chri&s;t told them <HI>John</HI> 16.2. as we by the &s;ame &s;pirit do now again&s;t you, whom we finde in the &s;ame &s;teps, and here thou art an&s;wered, if this be it thou calle&s;t di&s;turbance; but it is becau&s;e you would bear rule by your means, and &s;uffer nothing to be publi&s;hed, that is again&s;t you, or &s;trikes at your <HI>Diana.</HI></P>
<P>Doth the Go&s;pel ordinarily call any man from his law|ful Calling,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu:</HI> 97.</NOTE> whereby he &s;hould maintain him&s;elf and his Family? and thou quote&s;t 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 7, 20. <HI>Eph.</HI> 4.28.</P>
<P>Yea it doth, and the Scripture holds forth the &s;ame that they was ordinarily called from their outward Call|ings,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;w.</NOTE> to preach the Go&s;pel to every Creature:<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Amos.</HI> 7.14.15. <HI>Mark.</HI> 16.15. <HI>Math.</HI> 4.18.19.20.21.22.23.</NOTE> neither doth either of the&s;e Scriptures which thou ha&s;t quoted prove to the contrary; &amp; how many Scriptures did&s;t thou quote in thy An&s;wer to my 15th Query to prove that the Mini|&s;ters of the Go&s;pel might forbear working, and not to entangle them&s;elves with the affairs of this life: yet in all could not prove thy &s;elfe a Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel, and now thou que&s;tions the truth of the Scripture, be|cau&s;e neither thou nor thy Brethren was called, accor|ding to Scripture; but whom&s;oever the Lord calls unto his work, he doth take care both for him and his Fa|mily; but you that are not called by him, dare not tru&s;t him, without a Law of man.</P>
<P>And in thy 98. &amp; 99. Query,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. <HI>The&s;.</HI> 3. <HI>Mat.</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">8.7.</NOTE> thou &s;eems to accu&s;e us with &s;ome that turned from the truth, and yielded to the deceipt of their heares, and &s;o gave occa&s;ion to &s;uch as
<PB N="84" REF="47">thee, who wait for occa&s;ion to bla&s;pheme the truth; but it is no new thing,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 14.15.</NOTE> but the &s;ame which the Scripture de|clares of in divers places: therefore &s;aith Chri&s;t, offen|ces mu&s;t come, but woe unto them by whom they do come;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mat.</HI> 26 <HI>Mat.</HI> 27.5.</NOTE> for there was then many &s;uch as thee in that age who (as thou do&s;t) waited for occa&s;ion to bla&s;pheme the truth; but if thou had&s;t been then, how would'&s;t thou have accu&s;ed Chri&s;t, who had but twelve Apo&s;tles, and one of them betrayed him, and then hanged him&s;elfe, and another denied him: therefore let this &s;top thy mouth, for &s;peaking evil of the things thou knowe&s;t not; and as for <HI>Spencer</HI> and <HI>Gilpin,</HI> whom thou here nomi|nates, the truth is &s;ufficiently cleared of them in other Books; and the Prie&s;ts have owned them, as they did Judas, which is the name of all that turn from the truth, after they have received it.</P>
<P>Have &s;o many fallen into di&s;traction or madne&s;s in a|ny Sect,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu:</HI> 100.</NOTE> or under any Doctrine, as there hath done a|mong&s;t your hearers, e&s;pecially where the number of Di&s;ciples was no more?</P>
<P>Look at home, and an&s;wer thy &s;elfe, witne&s;s your Uni|ver&s;ities,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;.</NOTE> as you call them; for it is the fruit of your &s;tu|dies, who would finde out that by your wit and wi&s;dom, which the Lord hath hid from you; and all that you cannot &s;ettle in &s;ecurity and blindne&s;s, you lead them into madne&s;s, confu&s;ion, and di&s;traction, if they do not in time for&s;ake you, as many will witne&s;s at this day that they are led by you into &s;uch a Wilderne&s;&s;e, that they know not which way to get out, neither do you know how to direct them, for you are in confu&s;ion your &s;elves,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mat.</HI> 15 14.</NOTE> and &s;o the blinde leads the blinde into the ditch: therefore this might have &s;topped thy mouth from fal&s;ly accu&s;ing us; but I remember truth was ever accounted madne&s;s and folly by the blinde World, who know not
<PB N="85" REF="47">that Godline&s;s is great gain. And in thy 94. Query, thou wa&s;t que&s;tioning the truth of our Doctrine, becau&s;e of the multitude of Di&s;ciples, and now by the fewne&s;s; and thus thou contradicts thy &s;elfe, and then after much of thy filthy &s;tuffe, which all along thou ha&s;t vented forth of thy old bottle again&s;t us, which upon thee I have returned again from whence it came: thou &s;eem|e&s;t to accu&s;e our book, but do&s;t not &s;hew wherein, and therefore I pa&s;&s;e it by, as knowing thy lying &s;pirit, and then thou &s;teale&s;t the Apo&s;tles words, for a Cloak for the deceipt of thy heart, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 13.7, 8, 9. which the A|po&s;tle &s;poke from a true and upright heart, but thou from a fal&s;e deceiptful heart, as all along hath been &s;ufficient|ly proved, and thy prayers to be abomination, and that thou ha&s;t nothing to do to name the name of God in thy mouth, who art a worker of iniquity, and a &s;tranger un|to God, who art found out of his Doctrine;<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 2, 19. 2 <HI>Ioh.</HI> 9.</NOTE> and there|fore with this Scripture I &s;hall mark thee, 2 <HI>John</HI> 9.10. that all may know thee, and turn away their eares from thee, who art not to be received, but denied; and there|fore who&s;oever receives thee, or thy Doctrine, the &s;ame departs from the Doctrine of Chri&s;t; and therefore let this be a Caveat to all people, to whom it &s;hall come, and look upon thee to be as <HI>Anathema, Maranatha,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 16.22.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>This from a friend, to all &s;ouls witne&s;&s;ed in all con|&s;ciences by the eternall Light of God, by which I am known and received.</HI> I. P.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
<TRAILER>THE END.</TRAILER>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
