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<DATE>2011-06-07</DATE>
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<NAME>Leah Yurasek</NAME>
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<P>A DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUE TEMPLE And Wor&s;hip of GOD. And Je&s;us Chri&s;t manife&s;ted to be the Head of the Church, which is his Body, and the onely Pa&s;tour And al&s;o the Members of the Body of Chri&s;t, known by their fruits, from the Synagogue of Antichri&s;t, with a few words to the Romane Catholicks. Likewi&s;e the order of the Church in God the Body of Chri&s;t made manife&s;t, and the di&s;order of the Synagogue of An|tichri&s;t.</P>
<Q><P>Given forth in the fear of the Lord, in obedience to his pure will, for the edification of all people who have any true and &s;imple de&s;ires in them, after the knowledge of the naked, &s;imple truth, as it is in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, by a lover of the &s;ouls of all people, who in con|tempt and &s;corn by this dark generation am called Quaker, known to man by the name of <HI>John Harwood.</HI></P></Q>
<P><HI>London,</HI> Printed for <HI>Thomas Simmons,</HI> at the Ball and mouth near <HI>Alder&s;-gate,</HI> 1658.</P>
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<HEAD>A De&s;cription of the Temple and Wor&s;hip of God, &amp;c.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The true Church manife&s;ted to be the Body of Chri&s;t, and not the externall Temples made with hands, and Chri&s;t exalted who is Supreme head of his Church, and the Teacher of the Members of his body, and the end of the fir&s;t Prie&s;thood.</HEAD>
<P>_THE Eternall God, that made the world, and all things therein,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act 17.</NOTE> who gives life to all living creatures,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 7.</NOTE> dwelleth not in Temples made with hands, neither is he wor&s;hipped with mens hands, as people may imagine, but the Almighty dreadfull God is a Spirit, and the true wor&s;hippers wor&s;hip him in the Spirit, and &s;o he will be wor&s;hipped, and is and hath been &s;o &s;erved and wor&s;hipped by the true Chri&s;tians, the faithfull wor&s;hippers created anew in Chri&s;t, ever &s;ince Chri&s;t came in the fle&s;h, the living &s;ub&s;tance, who prophe&s;ied of the deftruction of the Temple, which <HI>Solo|mon</HI> builded for the Service of God in the time of the Law, which Temple and Service in its time was agreeable to the will of God, being duly and truly ob&s;erved, according to the requi|rings of the Law, and the fir&s;t Prie&s;thood, as they &s;tood faith|full in the Councell of the Lord, their &s;ervice and offerings was accepted, but their time was but untill Chri&s;t came in the fle&s;h; the everla&s;ting, unchangeable High Prie&s;t, in whom the Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the Law is fulfilled, who is made a Prie&s;t for ever, after the order of <HI>Melchi&s;edech;</HI> he puts an end to the (fir&s;t Prie&s;thood) Law, the carnall Ordinances, offerings, and outward ob&s;ervations, Rites, and Ceremonies contained in the Law, which were Types, figures, and &s;hadows, all fulfilled in Chri&s;t the living Sub&s;tance, the end of the Law and the Pro|phets, for the &s;ub&s;tance, the end of all things, the eternall &s;on
<PB N="4" REF="3" MS="y">of the dreadfull God being come, the &s;hadows and figures cea&s;e and end, the fir&s;t Prie&s;thood, which was the changeable Prie&s;tood, had its time untill the coming of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, the eternall, unchangeable Prie&s;t, and then changed, and the Law al&s;o:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 7.</NOTE> And this is he (at whom the whole world is offended, who makes them&s;elves Prie&s;ts after the Law of a carnall com|mandement) who is made high Prie&s;t for ever over the hou|&s;hold of God, not made by a carnal <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> of a commandement (as the Prie&s;ts of the world are, who receive their orders &amp; Commi&s;|&s;ions from man, &s;o made by the will of man but after the power of an endle&s;&s;e life, and they who have not Chri&s;t to be their chief Shepherd, and high Prie&s;t, are none of his &s;heep, nor of the hou|&s;hold of God; what&s;oever in words may be profe&s;&s;ed of him; for there are many that draw nigh with their mouths and lips, but their heart far from him.</P>
<P>The Law made nothing perfect, as the Scripture of truth, af|firms, but Chri&s;t Je&s;us the &s;ub&s;tance hath by one offering perfected for ever them that be &s;anctified; the daily &s;acrificers the Prie&s;ts them&s;elves,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 10.</NOTE> who daily offered &s;acrifice for them&s;elves and the people in the outward Temple, according to the Cu|&s;tome of the Law, were not made perfect as pertaining to the con&s;cience, for that by the works of the Law, no fle&s;h can be ju&s;tified, if there had been perfection in the works of the law under the fir&s;t Prie&s;thood; what need had there been for a change of the law and the Prie&s;thood, but not being of force, to make the comers thereunto perfect, nor the Prie&s;ts them&s;elves: there|fore there was a nece&s;&s;ity, for the change of the law and the Prie&s;thood,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 7.11, 12.</NOTE> for as &s;aith <HI>Paul,</HI> if there had been perfection by the Leviticall Prie&s;thood (for under it the people received the law) what further need was there, that another Prie&s;thood &s;hould ari&s;e after the order of <HI>Melchi&s;edech,</HI> and not be called after the order of <HI>Aaron</HI> for the Prie&s;thood being changed, there is made of nece&s;&s;ity al&s;o a change of the law.</P>
<P>Wherefore I &s;ay, all &s;uch people, as now go to, and uphold the outward Temple and Synagogue, and ob&s;erve the ancient cu&s;tomes, the Rices and Ceremonies contained in the law; fol|low the example of the Jews, and the fir&s;t Prie&s;thood and their
<PB N="5" REF="3">practi&s;es, and &s;o goes on in the way where perfection cannot be actained, nor the light of life received.</P>
<P>It was the labour and practice of the Apo&s;tles, the primitive Chri&s;tians, to go into the Temple and Synagognes, and to de|clare again&s;t their carnall Ordinances, weak and beggarly Ele|ments, which had no &s;trength nor power in them to bring peo|ple to perfection, and to call them forth of the&s;e things to fol|low Je&s;us Chri&s;t, the everla&s;ting unchangeable high Prie&s;t, who by one offering hath perfected for ever them that be &s;anctifi|ed, and &s;o many as believed and received Chri&s;t, which the Saints in light preached, left the outward Temple and wor&s;hip, and for&s;ook the types, figures, and &s;hadows, and the rudiments of the world, and followed Chri&s;t and they recived the light of life, the knowledge of God, and in Chir&s;t was created anew, and &s;o be|came Chri&s;tians, for&s;aking the old way, and following the new, and living way, which all be our of,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 2.20, 21, 22, 23</NOTE> who uphold the outward Temple and be in the Rudiments of the world, the carnall Or|dinances, and outward ob&s;ervations, who&s;e performances &s;tands in their own wills and time: take notice, they who continued in the outward Temple-wor&s;hip were not called Chri&s;tians, and though ye Temple wor&s;hippers call your &s;elves Chri&s;tians, and go under the name of believers in Chri&s;t, neverthele&s;&s;e your practi&s;es and fruits manife&s;ts the contrary, with the eternall eye, ye are &s;een to be in the &s;ame nature and life of the Jews and In|fidels, who were enemies to Chri&s;t and the primitive Chri&s;tians, for ye have but the talk or nimes of Chri&s;t and the Saints, our of the nature and life of the living &s;ub&s;tance.</P>
<P>The Temple which King <HI>Solomon</HI> builded,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 24.</NOTE> Je&s;us Chri&s;t the e|verla&s;ting unchangeable high Prie&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mar. 13.</NOTE> foretold the de&s;truction of, and told his Di&s;ciples,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 21.</NOTE> that there &s;hould not be left one &s;tone up|on another, that &s;hould not be thrown down, and after the Prophe&s;ie of Chri&s;t was fulfilled, the Temple de&s;troyed, the Scripture of truth doth not mention, that ever the Lord com|manded one other to be builded, but the Iews, Scribes, Pha|ri&s;ees and Infidels, who murdered the ju&s;t, who were in dark|ne&s;&s;e, upheld the ourward Temple, and Synagogues (as the truths enemies do now) and have builded many Temples and
<PB N="6" REF="4">Synagogues, following their own imaginations and inventions, and the Super&s;titious traditions and Ceremonies of the enemies of Chri&s;t, (and the harmle&s;&s;e Chri&s;tians) not regarding Chri&s;t, nor the Doctrine of the Apo&s;tles, who declared again&s;t them, and told people in plain words, God dwelt not in them, as is in the Scripture of truth recorded,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Act.</HI> 17. <HI>Act.</HI> 7.</NOTE> Which &s;hall &s;tand a witne&s;&s;e for ever again&s;t all their upholders.</P>
<P>And as the Temple-wor&s;hippers in former ages were ready to cry up their Temple and wor&s;hip, after God had removed his Candle&s;tick from it, even &s;o it is at this day, they in the Primi|tive times upheld and cried up the temple-wor&s;hip, and &s;ervi|ces therein, when the Lord was departed out of them, and there was no life to be found in them; and they per&s;ecuted, im|pri&s;oned, and &s;hamefully intreated the Chri&s;tians in whom was the Life, who&s;e bodies were the Temple of the living God, and the cryers up,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.</NOTE> and upholders of the idolized hou&s;es, the externall Temples and Synagogues (which they call common|ly Churches) and the daily &s;ervices, follows the &s;ame example, though they call them&s;elves by the name of Chri&s;tians; but your fruits and practi&s;es makes you clearly manife&s;t, ye are as the Jews and unbelievers were in former ages, without the Life and Power of truth and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and enemies to it:</P>
<P>Likewi&s;e, the heatheni&s;h Idolaters, &s;et up Temples for to wor&s;hip their idol-gods in, and they cryed up their outward Temple,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Act.</HI> 19.</NOTE> the Temples of <HI>Diana, Great is the Temple of</HI> Diana, and the upholders of the Temple of <HI>Diana</HI> was in a great up|rore again&s;t the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul,</HI> for declaring again&s;t their abomi|nable &s;uper&s;tition and idolatry, and with all their force and power in a tumultuous manner, re&s;i&s;ted the power and life of truth, and cryed up their own idol, as all the Sects and opini|ons do now, every particular Sect cryes up their own way, but all enemies to the life and power of truth, and can all agree in one to per&s;ecute the Temple of God, in whom the life of God is made manife&s;t, ye who are gathered into various forms, though in judgment and opinion ye from one another differ, and be at enmity one again&s;t another: neverthele&s;&s;e in this Nation
<PB N="7" REF="4" MS="y">of <HI>England,</HI> as well as in other Nations and I&s;lands ye can joyn together, and make warre again&s;t the children of light, &s;peak and write again&s;t the life of truth, and beat, impri&s;on and per|&s;ecute the bodies of the Saints, in whom the life and power of truth is manife&s;ted, in the former ages as may be read in the Scriptures of truth, the chief Prie&s;ts, Scribes and Phari&s;ees, the Libertines, Sadduces, and <HI>Alexandrians,</HI> all were enemies to Chri&s;t and the primitive Chri&s;tians, and even &s;o are the various formali&s;ts in this age, all enemies to the cho&s;en of the Lord, the elect &s;eed, but it is our joy, that our God hath called us unto &s;uch an high calling, and counted us worthy to &s;uffer in inno|cency for his pure names &s;ake, glory, honour, prai&s;e, and eter|nall dominion, be given unto our God; all ye dear innocent Lambs who &s;uffer for Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e &s;ake, rejoyce and &s;ing prai|&s;es unto the Lord our God for ever, the day of your eternall Redemption draweth nigh, your enemies, the enemies of truth and innocency, the Lord our God will confound and de&s;troy, and through patient &s;uffering we &s;hall all be crowned with vi|ctory, and triumph and rejoyce over all Gods enemies for ever. Ble&s;&s;ed are ye for ever who abide the fiery tryall, for yours is the dominion for ever; but who ever &s;hrinks in the time of &s;uf|fering, when the great day of tryall &s;hall come, &s;hall never reign with Chri&s;t the Captain of our &s;alvation, who was made perfect through &s;uffering; but ye who continue to the end, are ble&s;&s;ed for ever, and &s;hall reign as Kings over all the earth.</P>
<P>And ye Temple-wor&s;hippers in this age, manife&s;t your &s;elves to be as blind and ignorant concerning the my&s;tery of life and &s;alvation, as your forefathers were, the enemies of truth and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e in the former ages, who did not believe in Chri&s;t the &s;ub&s;tance, who put an end to all types and figures, though ye pretend ye believe in Chri&s;t, and go under the name of Chri|&s;tians; but all are not Chri&s;tians that go under that name, for all ye that be from the light with which Chri&s;t Je&s;us hath en|lightened you, and deny the light, and call it a naturall light, or a fancy, as many of ye have done, be out of the way of Truth, Life, Peace, and &s;alvation; for there is no Life, Peace nor &s;al|vation in any other but <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> the true light, which hath enlightened
<PB N="8" REF="5">every man that is come into the world, and I &s;ay unto you, un|till you come to own the light of Chri&s;t in you, and it receive to be your guide and leader, you cannot receive the light of life: the way of life, peace and eternall &s;alvation, the light will lead you if you believe in it, and receive it to be acted by it, which will for ever be &s;ealed from you, if ye continue in enmity to it, and hate, and de&s;pi&s;e it, and will be your condemnati|on for ever from the inheritance of the Righteous: none up|on the face of the whole earth can come into the per&s;ect know|ledge of the &s;ecret my&s;tery of life and &s;alvation, but by the Light with which Chri&s;t hath enlightened them; for it is the key of Divine knowledge, it being owned and received, it will clear and open the under&s;tanding, and give truly to know the &s;ecret my&s;tery of eternal life and &s;alvation, which cannot be at|tained any other way, but by the light, which is the eye with which the face of God is &s;een in Chri&s;t, the eternall Divine &s;ub|&s;tance, in whom all fulne&s;&s;e dwells, which Divine &s;ecret is hid eternally from all that deny and refu&s;e the light in them, with which the expre&s;&s;e image of the Fathers glorious &s;ub&s;tance, Chri&s;t hath enlightned them.</P>
<P>Al&s;o I &s;ay, all people upon the face of the whole earth, under what name or Title of Religion &s;oever, that make men|tion of the name of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and are from the light with which the true light Chri&s;t hath enlightened them, are out of the nature and life of Chri&s;t, and are no true Chri&s;tians, but are in the fle&s;h, and brings forth the fruits of the fle&s;h, and &s;uch as be in the fle&s;h be enemies in their minds to Chri&s;t, and the true innocent Chri&s;tians: the fle&s;hly man in all ages hath been, an enemie to the Spirituall man, as in particular, in the general, the fle&s;h makes war again&s;t the Spirit, the fle&s;hly man again&s;t the Spirituall man, and &s;trives with all his might and force to have the rule over the &s;pirituall man; but thou fle&s;hly man, thy Strength is the Arm of fle&s;h, and thy weapons of Warre are carnal, and thou can&s;t not prevail again&s;t the man born of the Spirit, for the Lord of ho&s;ts is his &s;trength, who is Mighty and Powerfull, who will cut downe by the World of his Power, the Sword of his Mouth, and give
<PB N="9" REF="5">him dominion over thee, though thou u&s;e all thy craft and &s;ubtill policy, for to bring the &s;pirituall &s;eed under thee, yet thou &s;hall know that God hath decreed the contrary; for this is the day of the Lords mercy, and the innocent &s;eed, which hath long been &s;ore oppre&s;&s;ed by the unrighteous generation of fle&s;hly men, &s;hall now be freed from bondage and thral|dome; and I know the day draws nigh wherein this &s;hall be fulfilled; though the utmo&s;t of your wrath and cruelty, you will manife&s;t, who walk in the fle&s;h, yet all your &s;tri|ving, plotting, and clo&s;e combining and unrighteous de|crees, &s;hall &s;tand you in no &s;tead, for the elect &s;eed, accor|ding to the determinate Coun&s;ell of the Almighty God &s;hall now be &s;et free, as well from out ward bondage, as in|ward, and &s;hall reign and govern in righteou&s;ne&s;s, over all the earth for evermore, our God according to his promi&s;e, for his elect &s;ake, will ha&s;ten his work, a &s;hort work, he will make upon the earth, now woe, woe, to the oppre&s;&s;ors of Sion great will be your mi&s;ery pain and torment, of your grief and &s;orrow there &s;hall be no end; but ble&s;&s;ed art thou who art hated, and de&s;pi&s;ed, per&s;ecuted, and &s;hamefully en|treated, mocked and &s;corned, and not counted worthy to live upon the earth, thy grief and &s;orrow, &s;hall be turned into everla&s;ting joy, thou &s;halt &s;ing and be glad, when thy enemies mourn and lament, thy time of &s;orrow is come in remembrance with God, and he will plead thy cau&s;e again&s;t thy oppre&s;&s;ions, and give thee ea&s;e and peace for ever, and o|ver the &s;moke of their torment &s;halt thou rejoyce, and the time draweth night wherein our God will bring this to pa&s;s.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Gods people, his Temple; and who they are.</HEAD>
<P>THe Apo&s;tle, <HI>Paul</HI> writes unto the Corinthians in plain words, concerning the Temple of God;<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.16.</NOTE> which might &s;top the mouths of all the Carnall profe&s;&s;ors upon the earth, who call, a &s;tone-hou&s;e their Church or Temple; if the words were truly weighed and beleeved; know ye not
<PB N="10" REF="6">(&s;aith he) that ye are the Temple of God; and the &s;pirit of God dwelleth in you, if any defile the temple of God, him &s;hal God de&s;troy, for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are, but the whole earth hath been covered with thick dark|ne&s;s, in this long time of Apo&s;tacy, that the under&s;tandings of mo&s;t part of people hath been vailed and blinded, that the knowledge of the truth and life of the holy Scriptures hath been &s;ealed from them, and are to thou&s;ands at this day; who make a profe&s;&s;ion of it; and by many thou&s;ands of peo|ple in this Nation and other Nations, the &s;tone hou&s;es, the Idol Temples made with mens hands, are called Churches and Temples; and are e&s;teemed to be more holy places then others; though the Scripture clearly manife&s;ts to the true under&s;tanding Reader, that the people of God are his Church or Temple;<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.16.</NOTE> ye are (&s;aith <HI>Paul</HI> to the Church of <HI>Corinth</HI>) the Temple of the living God, as God hath &s;aid, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; take notice, the people in whom God dwells and walks are his Temple; but if any of Gods people, whom he hath cho&s;en to be his rabernacle; do now bear re&s;timony of the &s;pirit of life dwelling in them, it is by this dark generation of people counted pre&s;umption, and by &s;ome bla&s;phemy; becau&s;e it is beyond the reach of their car|nal rea&s;on and &s;en&s;uall wi&s;dome, which never &s;hall enter in|to the true knowledge of this my &s;tery, god dwelling in man and man dwelling in God; and furthermore, <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith to to the Church at <HI>Corinth,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.19.</NOTE> what know ye not that your body is the temple of the holy Spirit which is in you? is not this a plain thing, that the people of God are his temple, and dwelling place, if you will beleeve the Scriptures, you can|not deny the truth of this which is &s;o clearly made manife&s;t. And the&s;e are Gods, people, who walk in his light and Coun&s;ell, who are borne againe of the incorruptible &s;eed, who have put off the old man with his deeds, and put on the new man Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, and this is the &s;ame body as ever was; the temple God dwells in; the body purged from &s;in and corruption, and this is the eternall tabernacle of God, the new man, Chri&s;t Je&s;us the &s;ame to day ye&s;terday and for ever, but &s;uch people as be in the corruptible nature, not
<PB N="11" REF="6">purged nor clean&s;ed from &s;in and corruption, are not the holy temple of God; &s;uch as bring forth the fruits of unrighteou&s;|ne&s;s, and hath no experience of the in ward work of Gods li|ving power in them, but are ignorant of the work of repene|ration, they be none of the body of Chri&s;t the temple of God, but the Synagogue of Satan, the body of Anti-Chri&s;t; for it is they and onely they, who are (borne of the &s;pirit and walk after the &s;pirit, (to walk after the &s;pirit is to be led and guided by it) which brings forth the peaceable fruit of righteou&s;ne&s;s which knows the operation of the divine power, and the work of Regeneration wrought in them, which are the true and onely temple of God; ye who are Regenerate, and born again of the immortall &s;eed, ye are the true Chri&s;tians body of Chri&s;t, temple of God, and Gods dwelling hou&s;e and ta|bernacle, ye babes of God, who through the eternall &s;pirit, hath mortified the Ju&s;t and Concupi&s;cence of the fle&s;h, Cru|cified the old man with his deeds; from whom all old things are pa&s;&s;ed away; who are created a new unto good works, ye are the Church of the fir&s;t borne, your body is the temple of the eternall God, and he will dwell in you, and make his a|bode with you for ever,</P>
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<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The members of the body of Chri&s;t known by their fruits from the Synagogue of Anti-Christ.</HEAD>
<P>YE who be of the body of Chri&s;t, from &s;in and iniquity are purged and clean&s;ed through the Spirit, by which ye are bapti&s;ed into the one body, and ye cannot bring forth evill fruits, ye are known one of another in the life of innocency, though the world know ye not, ye are meek, loving and full of tender compa&s;&s;ion, ye cannot render evill for evill to no per&s;on, ye are patient and long &s;uffering, willing freely to forgive them that tre&s;pa&s;s again&s;t you, your humillity and moderation is manife&s;t to the light in all con&s;ciences, ye are not puft up with pride and conceitedne&s;s, but are low and little in your own eyes, ye cannot &s;eek after earthly honour or riches, but are contene with what the Lord provides for
<PB N="12" REF="7">you, and ye &s;eek onely after honour of God, ye are no &s;elf-lovers, but &s;elf-denyers, no followers of the worlds fa|&s;hions, Cu&s;toms or traditions but of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, who&s;e king|dome is not of the world who alone is your Head, King, Prie&s;t and Propher, ye who goe under the name of mem|bers of the Church of Chri&s;t, and call one another Brother, and Si&s;ter, who pretend to have Communion and fellow|&s;hip with one another, &s;earch your hearts with the light of Chri&s;t, and it will not deceive you, but let you truly &s;ee, in what your fellow&s;hip hath &s;tood and &s;tands, and will clearly manife&s;t unto you, whether ye be in the &s;pirit of truth and righteou&s;ne&s;s yea or no; if ye be, then the fruits before men|tioned ye will bring forth abundantly, which are the fruits of the &s;pirit, and your Communion and fellow&s;hip will &s;tand, and as ye abide in the life of truth and righteou&s;ne&s;s, your love and unity will grow and increa&s;e, and your pure lives and holy conver&s;ations, will make you manife&s;t to be members of the body of Chri&s;t; but if you &s;ee with the light of Chri&s;t &s;elf-love, pride, covetou&s;ne&s;s, ra&s;hne&s;s, &s;elf-wild|ne&s;s, envy and uncharitablene&s;s, then know that if the&s;e things remaine in you and things of the like nature, that your Communion and fellow&s;hip, is in the fle&s;h and not in the &s;pirit, formal and not eternall, and ye are none of the li|ving &s;tones which the temple of God is built on, none of the members of the body of Chri&s;t, but of Anti-Chri&s;t, the body of Chri&s;t is wa&s;hed in his blood which clean&s;eth from all un|righteou&s;ne&s;s, unrighteou&s;ne&s;s, uncleanne&s;s, and all &s;in and iniquity is out of the body of Chri&s;t, the Church in God; in the body of Anti-Chri&s;t, the enemy of the Church of God; All ye formali&s;ts who are puft up in pride and arrogancy, who have gotten the Saints words to talk on in your airy minds, and live at ea&s;e in vain plea&s;ures and wantonne&s;s, your words and policy &s;hall &s;tand you in no &s;tead, in this the day of the Lord, you &s;hall appear in your own likene&s;s, your clo&s;e hypocri&s;y and your fained humility, &s;hall not cover you, nor &s;ave you from the judgements of the dreadfull God, your hearts &s;hall be made naked and bare; and your
<PB N="13" REF="7">reward you &s;hall have, with the wicked and ungodly, your &s;hame and confu&s;ion, ye &s;hall no longer hide, ye &s;hall be known who&s;e &s;ervants and Children ye are, and of what body ye are members, and that Anti-chri&s;t is your head, and not Chri&s;t, the body of Chri&s;t is purged from all &s;ecret de|ceit, treachery, and clo&s;e hypocri&s;y, and is filled with righ|teou&s;ne&s;s, purity and innocency, every particular member of the Church in God (this pillar and ground of truth) knows the work of &s;anctification, by the powerfull ope|ration of the word of truth are thorowly clean&s;ed and &s;an|ctified, and by the divine power joyned and united unto Chri&s;t the head of his Church which is his body; he is no member of the Church of Chri&s;t what ever he profe&s;s, that lives after the fle&s;h, and knows not the work of the Eternall Spirit of judgement and burning, which mortifies the fle&s;hly de&s;ires and lu&s;ts, and purges and clean&s;es the heart thorow|ly from &s;in and iniquity; for it is the work of the &s;pirit to purifie, and the body purified without &s;pot, is the body of Chri&s;t, the Church of God, no unclean per&s;on can be uni|ted to the body of Chri&s;t, though thou&s;ands of unclean people, may come among&s;t the members of his body, yet no defiled thing can be joyned to it, for it is pure without &s;pot, and members of the Church in God feels, enjoys, one ano|ther in the life of pure love, and their unity and fellow&s;hip, &s;tands not in outward formallity; but in the pure life of truth and innocency, where they meet and imbrace one a|nother, and are refre&s;hed one in another, in the love, and life which changeth not; which all men and women upon the face of the whole earth are out of, which be from the light, with which Chri&s;t hath enlightned them; for the light leads into the life of innocency, where the eternall u|nity &s;tands.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The Church made of living stones.</HEAD>
<P>THe living &s;tones of which the Church of God is made, are the people who have pa&s;&s;ed from death to life, who
<PB N="14" REF="8">are dead to &s;in, and alive unto righteou&s;ne&s;s, &s;uch as have pa&s;&s;ed thorow much &s;orrow and many tribulations, and hath &s;een the travail of their &s;ouls, and are &s;atisfied with the birth of the immortall &s;eed, which is borne and brought forth in them; they in whom the righteous &s;eed is rai&s;ed, and the unrighteous nature de&s;troyed, which was dead in &s;in and tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, and made alive unto God; and now lives in the light, the life of righteou&s;ne&s;s, are the Church of God, the Hou&s;e of God, the tabernacle of the mo&s;t high, and in them the Lord of Ho&s;ts is &s;anctified, who will be &s;anctified in all that draw nigh unto him; and in ye who are rai&s;ed up in the life and power of truth and righteou&s;ne&s;s is the living prai&s;es; for the living prai&s;es God, the dead cannot prai&s;e him, the life, which through the operation of the E|ternal &s;pirit is rai&s;ed, which purgeth from &s;in and iniquity glorifies God and prai&s;es God, and the&s;e are the living &s;tones on which the Church of God is builded, who are borne of the immortall &s;eed; who&s;e delight is to walk in the Coun&s;ell of the Lord, and to &s;erve and obey him, which cannot delight in them&s;elves nor in their own works, and truly it is not grievous to the living &s;tones, the Babes born of God to follow the Coun&s;ell of their Father, for it is the nature of the &s;eed of God to doe the will of him, who hath through the power of his free love and tender mercy be|gotten it unto him&s;elf; ye in whom the babe immortal is born and brought forth, can &s;eal to the truth of this, though to many it may &s;eem to be a &s;trange doctrine, who be ignorant of the work of God, and knows not the birth of the &s;eed immortall; but truly I know that as <HI>Iohn</HI> &s;aith, that the Commandements of the Lord out God are not grievous unto us his Children,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ioh.</HI> 5.3.</NOTE> who are begotten and borne of him, but rather joy us, yea it is our joy to &s;erve the Lord our God, and to keep his pure Commandements, as it was the delight of his faithfull &s;ervant <HI>David</HI> to walk in his Com|mandements which he loved;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;.</HI> 119.47.</NOTE> but who be in the tran&s;gre&s;|&s;ion, in the di&s;obedience loves not God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 143</NOTE> neither delighteth in his commands, but loves them&s;elves, their own ways,
<PB N="15" REF="8">and rejoyceth in their iniquities, and delighteth in the things which are peri&s;hing, which profiteth not but &s;uch are dead in &s;in, though alive in the fle&s;hly body, and are none of the living &s;tones which the Church of God is made on.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Ie&s;us Chri&s;t head of his Church, and the onely Pastour.</HEAD>
<P>MAny people there are that in words make a profe&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;t and the Scriptures, and will &s;ay they beleeve in Chri&s;t, yet will not own him to be their Pa&s;tour and chief Shepheard, as the Church in God owned him, and confe&s;|&s;ed him, as the Scripture of truth makes manife&s;t, yet ac|count them&s;elves to be his Church and people; but &s;uch as cannot own him to be their teacher and leader clearly mani|fe&s;ts them&s;elves to be none of his flock; for the Sheep of Chri&s;t, know his voice and follow him, and regards not the voice of the &s;tranger, and they who know his voice, ob&s;erve his coun&s;ell, and follow his leadings and dire|ctions, for how doth any man follow Chri&s;t, if he doe not hearken to his pure Coun&s;ell, and obey what he re|quires, Chri&s;t &s;aith him&s;elf, <HI>I am the good Shepheard and know my sheep,</HI> and am known of mine, and &s;uch as know Chri&s;t and are known of him, need no other Pa&s;tour or Shepheard, he is &s;ufficient to guide his own flock, and &s;uch as make a profe&s;&s;ion of him in words and &s;hew outwardly, (as the va|rious formali&s;ts doe) and will not own him to be &s;uflicient, without other helps, to teach them the way of life and &s;al|vation, &s;hews that they know him not, for if they knew him, they would know that there is no &s;alvation in any o|ther, all power and authority is committed unto the true light Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, the everla&s;ting unchangeable high Prie&s;t, who is over the hou&s;hold of God, their head and Pa&s;tour, and who are not under his Scepter and Government, what ever they profe&s;s in words of him; they are none of his &s;ubjects, none of his body, none of his Church, but the &s;ub|jects of Antichri&s;t; for who&s;e Scepter and Government ye
<PB N="16" REF="9">are under, his &s;ervants, and &s;ubjects ye are; if Chri&s;t govern then are ye guided in the way of truth &amp; righteou&s;nes, which is the &s;trait path which leads to life eternall; and ye cannot follow the broad path of wickedne&s;s and unrighteou&s;ne&s;s, which leads to perdition and eternall de&s;truction; for the Church of Chri&s;t who are &s;ubject to him, are re&s;trained by his &s;aving power from the evill way, and kept in the pure way, the way of holine&s;s, for he goeth before, and his flock follow him, and they that follow his leadings cannot erre from the way of truth and holine&s;s, who goe on in the ways of wickedne&s;s follows not Chri&s;t, he doth not goe before them but Anti-chri&s;t, the enemy of Chri&s;t he is the King of unrighteou&s;ne&s;s, and the wicked his &s;ubjects follow him, &s;o that ye who be in the &s;in and unrighteou&s;ne&s;s, and plead for &s;in remaining in you, &s;o long as ye live upon the earth, ye are none of the &s;ubjects of Chri&s;t; for he &s;aves his people from their &s;ins, Chri&s;t is none of your King, Prie&s;t nor Pro|phet, who are not governed by him and &s;aved from your &s;ins; ye are none of the members of his body; who be in your &s;ins, the members of his body are purified and clean&s;ed, without &s;pot or blemi&s;h; Take dilligent notice, the Church in God which is the body of Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Eph.</HI> 5.</NOTE> is without &s;pot or wrinkle or any &s;uch thing, holy and without blemi&s;h; and of this &s;anctified body, Chri&s;t is the Head and Saviour, who &s;aveth to the utmo&s;t all them that come unto God by him, and &s;uch a glorious high Prie&s;t becometh the Church of God, who is able to &s;ave and defend them from the power of &s;in and Satan, and to pre&s;ent it without &s;pot or fault un|to God the Father of Spirits; who hath &s;et him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, and hath put all things under his feet,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Eph.</HI> 1.</NOTE> and hath given him to be the Head of his Church which is his body; &s;uch people as choo&s;e a man (or men) and &s;et him (or them) up to be their teacher (or tea|chers) Chri&s;t is not their pa&s;tour nor teacher, &s;uch as &s;et up man, and di&s;honours Chri&s;t, ye that choo&s;e a man and &s;et him up to be your Head, and receives Orders and Com|mi&s;&s;ions from him, you goe about to take the authority from
<PB N="17" REF="9">Chri&s;t, and to rob him of his glory, who in all things ought to have the preheminence, who is the everla&s;ting unchangeable high Prie&s;t, in whom there is no variablene&s;&s;e nor &s;hadow of turning, he alone is the Supreme of his Church, and the members of his body receive orders and directions from him, they know his voice, and follow his Coun&s;ell, and need not &s;eek unto man, &s;o &s;ets not up man, but Chri&s;t to be Supream Ruler, head and Governour, who is mo&s;t worthy to have the Government of his own body, who is over all, God ble&s;&s;ed for ever, he is the &s;ame ye&s;terday, to day, and for ever, and his Church is the &s;ame, the cha&s;t, pure, holy Virgin, which he hath cho&s;en to be his e&s;pou&s;e for ever, he is not e&s;pou&s;ed, nor will not e&s;pou&s;e him&s;elf to an harlot, an adulterer, that follow|eth after other lovers, &s;uch as follow their imaginations and in|ventions, and loves them&s;elves the world and its glory, &s;uch are none of Chri&s;ts e&s;pou&s;e, for the Bride, the Lambs wife follows the Lamb, denies the world, its pomp and glory, and tramples upon all vain traditions, fooli&s;h inventions, and earthly imaginations, and over all the earth reigns, and gives glory to him who redeems them from the earth.</P>
<P>Therefore all people upon the face of the whole earth who make a profe&s;&s;ion of believing in the name of Chri&s;t, turn in your minds to his light in you, with which he hath enlightened you, and in it wait patiently, that you may come to know his &s;aving power, which is nigh you, if ye were but acquainted with it, which if you cea&s;e from man, and your own works and imaginations, and take heed to the light of Chri&s;t in you which &s;hew you your thoughts, de&s;ires, and evil deeds, the &s;aving power of his love, you would &s;hortly come to know and feel, which would rend the vails which hath darkned your under&s;tan|dings, and give ye to &s;ee into the &s;ecrets of God, the Church in God you would come to know, and Chri&s;t to be the chief Shepherd, the everla&s;ting, unchangeable prie&s;t, the light is the eternall eye which &s;ees and &s;earches into the deep &s;ecrets of God, and ye cannot come to know the true Church, nor the order and Government thereof, untill you come to the light in you and receive it to be your guide, which light leads to
<PB N="18" REF="10">Chri&s;t from whence in comes, who reveals and makes known the deep &s;ecret my&s;teries of life, peace, and eternall &s;alvation, which you can never attain unto by any other means, for man by rea|ding, &s;tudying, praying in his own will, and ob&s;erving duties and outward Ordinances, can never find out the knowledge of God and his &s;ecrets; for what&s;oever man doth in his own will, and time, is but his own work, and not the work of God, and all men and women upon the face of the whole earth mu&s;t cea&s;e from their own works, before they enter into the true re&s;t, the re&s;t prepared for the children of God, which is in Chri&s;t the true light, which enlighteneth every one that cometh into the world in him the fulne&s;&s;e of the Godhead dwells bodily, and all that dwell in the truth, in the light, in Chri&s;t, dwell in peace; for in me &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>Ye have peace;</HI> dwell in the light, in Chri&s;t, free from the condemning power of the Law, but out of the light in drakne&s;&s;e, under the condemning power of the Law, under the cur&s;e and wrath of God; this is the way of true knowledge, the light loving it, and the way of life and peace to all that receive it, to be their leader, and for ever ble&s;|&s;ed are they that &s;ubmit to the Scepter of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and con|tinue under his Government unto the end; for they &s;hall have an inheritance with the righteous generation, in the world which hath no end.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="19" REF="10">
<HEAD>A Di&s;covery of the true wor&s;hip of God, the order of the true Church, and the Di&s;order of the Synagogue of Anti|christ.</HEAD>
<P>MAny various Forms there are in the&s;e our latter dayes, who all pretend to be believers in Chri&s;t, and call them&s;elves by the names of Chri&s;tians, yet in judgement and opinion one dif|fer from another: Yea, in &s;everall points, principles and do|ctrines, and in the mini&s;tration of their ordinances, which they call the ordinances of Chri&s;t, as Bapti&s;me, their Sacraments, preaching, praying, &s;inging of <HI>Davids</HI> conditions, and private duties, as they call them, which all are performed in their own wills, and in their own times, which will wor&s;hip is contrary to the wor&s;hip of God, and is to peri&s;h, as the Scripture of truth doth affirm, as may be read in <HI>Colo&s;&s;ians</HI> the 2. chap. 20, 21, 22, 23 <HI>Wherefore if ye be dead with Chri&s;t from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the World are ye &s;ubject to Ordinances (touch not, ta&s;t not; handle not, which all are to peri&s;h with the u&s;ing) after the commandments and doctrines of men, which things have indeed a &s;hew of wi&s;dome in will-wor&s;hip &amp; humility, and neglecting of the bo|dy;</HI> Take notice, the will-wor&s;hippers neglect the body which is the &s;ub&s;tance, and continues in the peri&s;hing &s;hadows which profiteth not: all the doctrines of men, and carnal ordinances, which have their ri&s;e and foundation from the imagination of the fle&s;hly wi&s;dome, are to peri&s;h, for they are all without life, and all ye various formali&s;ts, who feed upuon &s;uch things, feed upon husks, and &s;omething there is in you, which cannot be &s;atisfied with &s;uch food, but often &s;hews the emptine&s;&s;e of all your duties, and &s;elf-performances, and will, wor&s;hip, though you little regard it, ye are &s;o highly puft up in the knowledge
<PB N="20" REF="11">of what your imaginations hath led you into, and though your Souls fami&s;h for want of living bread, yet many of you are content to take up your re&s;t in the&s;e peri&s;hing things, which can never give true &s;atisfaction to the hungry &s;oul, but onely nouri&s;hes and feeds the carnall mind, which is enmity to God, and there are all the Forms of Religion upon the face of the whole earth, who deny the light of <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t the chief corner-&s;tone,</HI> who is true and &s;ure foundation, in enmity a|gain&s;t the truth, and enemies to the true wor&s;hippers, who are builded upon the <HI>&s;ure foundation, who wor&s;hip God in the Spirit, and in the truth.</HI></P>
<P>Now verily, verily, I &s;ay unto you, the truth is but one, the true wor&s;hip but one, the true Church which is the body of Chri&s;t, but one: the Members of the body of Chri&s;t differ not in any thing but are of one heart, one mind, and one &s;oul, their doctrine, principles, and way of wor&s;hip but one, not rent nor &s;chi&s;me in the body of Chri&s;t, all divi&s;ions, differences, and con|trary judgements, and opinions are in the corrupt, erroneous body of Anti-chri&s;t, which is the body of confu&s;ion, of who&s;e body all are members who deny the true light, which Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath enlightened them with, which light is the way out of confu&s;ion, into true and perfect union.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The Wor&s;hip of God.</HEAD>
<P><HI>God is a Spirit,<NOTE PLACE="marg">John 4.</NOTE> and &s;eeketh &s;uch to wor&s;hip him who will wor&s;hip him in the Spirit, and in the truth,</HI> &s;aith Chri&s;t the Son of God; and the eternall Father commands people to hear him, <HI>This is my beloved Son</HI> &s;aith the Father of Spirits, <HI>hear ye him,</HI> but all ye that be from the Spirit, and out of the light in your imaginati|ons, following after carnal Ordinances, the doctrine and tra|ditions of man, hearkens not to the voice of the Son of God, who &s;aith, <HI>God is a Spirit, and will be wor&s;hipped in Spirit, and in the truth,</HI> but rejects the Councell of the Son, and di&s;obeyes the
<PB N="21" REF="11">pure command of God the Father, who &s;aith, <HI>This is my belo|ved Son, hear ye him;</HI> And all ye Profe&s;&s;ours upon the face of the whole earth, be without God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 <HI>John</HI> 9.</NOTE> who erre from and abide not in the Doctrine of Chri&s;t the onely Son of the Fathers love: How do ye love the Son of God, that keeps not his &s;aying, but erres from his councels and Commands, who &s;aith God is a Spirit, and will be wor&s;hipped in Spririt, and in the truth, is not this the true way of wor&s;hip, which Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath pre&s;cribed? is there any other way agreeable to the will of the Father, than the way which his onely Son hath manife&s;ted? who came not to do his own will, but the will of his Father that &s;ent him, and this is the will of the Father, to have his people to wor&s;hip him, in the Spirit, and in the truth; for &s;o will God be &s;erved and wor&s;hipped. Therefore all people take notice, the true &s;ervice and wor&s;hip of God is in the Spirit, and in the truth, and &s;tands not in carnall ordinances, nor extenall &s;hews, neither con&s;i&s;ts in out|ward bowing, Ceremonies, and traditions of men, which is but the exerci&s;e of the body, and the exerci&s;e of the body profit|eth nothing, the living, eternall God, who is pure, ju&s;t and holy, &s;eeketh &s;uch wor&s;hippers to wor&s;hip him, who will wor|&s;hip him in the Spirit, and in the truth, and all people who be turned to the light of Chri&s;t in them, with it are guided, and in it walk, be in the truth, (the light in truth) and in the Spi|rit, and in the truth wor&s;hipped the antient Chri&s;tians in for|mer ages, received the light, and were called the children of light, and as they were moved of the Lord, they exhorted one another to walk in the light, as children of the light, and of the day, and as they walked in the light, they had fellow&s;hip one with another, and with the Father and the Son, who is light, and in whom is no darkne&s;&s;e; take notice, the fellow&s;hip of the Saints is in the light, which is but one, and all in the light are but one, united by the Father of light, and &s;pirits, and all people, that receive and abide in the light, walk in the Spirit, and in the truth, and in the &s;pirit and truth wor&s;hip God the Father of &s;pirits, but all that be from the light be out of the truth, out of the &s;pirit, in which God is wor&s;hipped, and wor&s;hip they know
<PB N="22" REF="12">not what, as Je&s;us Chri&s;t told the woman of <HI>Samaria,</HI> and &s;aid, that neither at <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> nor at the Mountain of <HI>Samaria,</HI> God the Father would be wor&s;hipped,<NOTE PLACE="marg">John <HI>4.</HI></NOTE> <HI>But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true wor&s;hippers &s;hall wor&s;hip the Father in &s;pirit and in truth,</HI> for the Father &s;eeketh &s;uch to wor&s;hip him; <HI>God is a &s;pirit, and they that wor&s;hip him must wor&s;hip him in &s;pirit and in truth.</HI> Take notice, <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> was the City, where <HI>Solo|mon</HI> built a Temple for the Service and wor&s;hip of God, accor|ding to his Command, and the Mountain of <HI>Samaria</HI> was al&s;o a place where people wor&s;hipped; Neverthele&s;&s;e the Son of God &s;aid, his Father would not be wor&s;hipped there, but the true wor&s;hippers mu&s;t wor&s;hip the Father in Spirit and in truth; Wherefore I &s;ay, all &s;uch Teachers as lead people to the exter|nall Temples (which they call Churches) and to the ob&s;ervation of carnall ordinances, and to follow after the Ordinances vain traditions, and doctrines of men from the &s;pirituall Wor&s;hip, are deceivers and Antichri&s;ts, for this &s;ame rea&s;on, becau&s;e they teach people to uphold, follow and ob&s;erve that which Je&s;us Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles declared again&s;t, and was never ob&s;erved nor practi&s;ed by the antient Chri&s;tians, recorded in the Scripture of truth for the Primitive Chri&s;tians, that believed in, and fol|lowed Chri&s;t, denied and bare te&s;timony again&s;t the outward Temple and Synagogues, and the cu&s;tomary places upheld by the Jews, and Infidels, and their traditions, and &s;uper&s;titious ceremonies;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Co.</HI> 2. <HI>Act.</HI> 1.13. <HI>Act.</HI> 20.8 <HI>Gal.</HI> 5.5 <HI>Mat.</HI> 18.20</NOTE> and met together at one anothers hou&s;es, in an up|per chamber, or in an inner room, and waited upon the Lord in his light and coun&s;ell, for the manife&s;tation of his Divine pow|er, and according to his promi&s;e they enjoyed the powerfull pre|&s;ence of the Lord, who &s;aith, where two or three meet toge|ther in my name, there am I in the mid&s;t of them, and when the Saints in light were a&s;&s;embled together, waiting in the pure fear of the Lord, as any of them were moved of the Lord, they preached and prayed, and exhorted one another in the fear and power of the Lord, and none were re&s;trained from &s;peaking, but all had liberty to &s;peak that had a motion from the Lord, as the Scripture of truth makes manife&s;t, if any thing were revealed
<PB N="23" REF="12">to any one in the Saints A&s;&s;embly that &s;ate by,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.</NOTE> the fir&s;t was to hold his peace, that all might &s;peak one by one, that all might be edified, this was the order and practice of the Saints in light, the Church in God, the body of Chri&s;t in former ages, and the &s;ame order and practice is in the true Church now at this day in the A&s;&s;emblies of the children of light, who are hated and de|&s;pi&s;ed of this unrighteous generation, and in contempt and &s;corn called Quakers, but reproaches and unrighteous &s;landers ca&s;t up-upon us by <HI>I&s;hmaels</HI> line, we e&s;teen as great riches, and are not a&s;hamed to &s;uffer for righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e &s;ake, but all ye various Forms, who pu&s;h one at another, and all again&s;t the life of truth, ye &s;hall wither as gra&s;&s;e in the heat of of Summer, and fade as a flower, for the vertue and power of the Almighty ye want among&s;t you, for to &s;upport and uphold you, and the earth is your Centre, and a habitation in God, the life or righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e ye have not, but in the earth, and the woe is coming upon the inhabitants of the earth, therefore, cea&s;e, cea&s;e from your inven|tions and airy imaginations, and fear and dread the pure name of the living God, and wor&s;hip him, &s;erve him, and give glory to him, that ye peri&s;h not in your iniquities with the ungodly, for truly the houre of his judgement is come, ye &s;hall all be try|ed and winnowed, and the wheat (the good &s;eed) that is a|mong&s;t you, &s;hall be gathered into the Lords Garner, and the cha&s;te &s;hall be burned with unquenchable fire, judgement is alrea|ready begun at the hou&s;e of God, where will the ungodly and &s;inners appear? now will the terrible Judge of heaven and earth give Sentence again&s;t you hypocrites and di&s;&s;emblers, <HI>De|part from me ye workers of iniquity, I know ye not;</HI> except ye repent truly, and cea&s;e from your &s;ins and iniquities, and with all your hearts turn unto the Lord God, and dread and fear his holy name, and walk in his light and coun&s;ell, and &s;erve and wor&s;hip him, as he will be wor&s;hipped, in the &s;pirit, and in the truth, your time prize whil&s;t the doore of mercy is open, le&s;t it be &s;hut again&s;t you, and ye in your gain&s;ayings and Rebellion eternally peri&s;h.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<PB N="24" REF="13">
<HEAD>To the Romane Catholicks.</HEAD>
<P>ANd ye who are called Romane Catholicks, are the mo&s;t dark and ignorant people, upon the face of the whole earth, that go under the names of Chri&s;tians, your whole wor&s;hip is made up in the imagination and invention of the wi&s;dome of the fle&s;h, none &s;o fooli&s;h but the naturall heathen, to bow to the works of mens hands, in which there is no life, as ye do, and for many of your Ceremonies, and Traditions, ye have no other foundation, but the naturall Heathen, as one of your own profe&s;sors doth confe&s;&s;e, as ye may read in the 587. Page of the Book called the Trea&s;ury of the Romane Antiquities, where the Authour expre&s;&s;es many of your Cu&s;tomes and pra|cti&s;es in your Religion, and is not a&s;hamed to &s;ay, ye borrowed them of the heathen; as that they hung their &s;treets with Ta|pe&s;try, and had re&s;ting places in divers parts of the Towns, when they went in Proce&s;&s;ion, as ye have at this day, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>And that they carryed their images and reliques of their gods about, as ye do, and that they marched two and two together, carrying wax candles or Torches in their hands, and the &s;ame is ob&s;erved in your Religion, and hath been ever &s;ince the Proce&s;|&s;ion was in&s;tituted.</P>
<P>And that they went afoot as ye do and when they were en|compa&s;&s;ed with mi&s;ery, they went bare-foot, crying &amp; mourning &s;triving to appea&s;e the wrath of their gods, and ye in the time of your great calamities do practi&s;e the &s;ame Ceremonies; they or|dained &s;upplications and Lectures, that is, publick prayers and &s;er|vice, for more or le&s;s of dayes, and their Temples were full of calves, and their altars filled with offerings and all the holy places (as the Author terms them) were filled with people, kneeling and praying (to their Idols) to their gods, and ye have your Orizons of forty hours, your pardons and Jubilees, and ob&s;erve the &s;ame Ceremonies, &amp; &s;everal other of the Cu&s;toms and practi&s;es of the
<PB N="25" REF="13">Heathen, this Authour declares of, and confe&s;&s;es they fol|low the &s;ame example; and practi&s;es the &s;ame in their Religion; which truly are &s;uch fooli&s;h things, that they are not worth the mentioning; but of this I would have ye Roman Catholicks to take notice; the &s;ure foundation Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, is none of your example, in any of the&s;e things, nor your foundation, nor the Apo&s;tles, the Pri|mitive Chri&s;tians; for Ie&s;us Chri&s;t never practi&s;ed, nor commanded, any &s;uch things to be ob&s;erved; therefore if it had not been confe&s;&s;ed by one of your own profe&s;|&s;ors, I had known the rice and foundation of the&s;e things; wherefore I &s;ay unto you view your foundation and be a&s;hamed, to take the name of Chri&s;tians, and build upon the Heathen, and have no other example for your Ce|remonies and traditions, but the Heatheni&s;h Idolaters, own your name according to your nature and di&s;po&s;ition; for the true and Innocent Chri&s;tian followeth the exam|ple of Chri&s;t, and hath no other foundation, but the chief corner &s;tone, the true light Chri&s;t which hath enlight|ned every man that is come into the world, and who are built on this &s;ure foundation the rock of ages, denyes and witne&s;&s;es again&s;t all the Cu&s;toms, Ceremonies, and foo|li&s;h traditions of the Heatheni&s;h Idolaters, and cannot follow their example in any thing, but follow the true light Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, who gives his followers the light of life; &s;o that in love to your &s;ouls, I de&s;ire you to cea&s;e from the cu&s;toms of the Heathen, from your vain tradi|tions and fooli&s;h Ceremonies in which there is no life, and follow Ie&s;us Chri&s;t the everla&s;ting unchangeable high Prie&s;t, for in him is the life, he is the &s;ub&s;tance, the way, truth, and life, and in him is the &s;alvation; but no &s;alvation in your ceremonies and vain traditions; truly my &s;oul pitties you, to &s;ee, how you are blinded and kept in ignorance from the knowledge of the truth, by the &s;pirit of error, which hath long deceived the Nati|ons; and yet are highly conceited of your &s;elves, and
<PB N="26" REF="14">of your Religion; which is made up of fooli&s;h and vain imaginations and inventions of the old crooked Ser|pent, who through his &s;ubtilty hath deteined and delu|ded your Fore-fathers in the time of Apo&s;tacy, and &s;till makes a prey upon you their &s;ucce&s;&s;ours, who cryes up the antiquity of your Religion, as if the long continuance of it were &s;ufficient to prove it to be the true Religon, but then the lews, who pretend to be <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> Di&s;ciples may plead the antiquity of their Religion, who are of a longer &s;tanding then ye, if antiquity were a &s;ufficient proof, and they have Scripture for their Temple-offerings and &s;ervices in the old Te&s;tament; but ye who pretend to be the Di&s;ciples of Chri&s;t, have no Scripture in the new Te&s;tament for the upholding of your temple, daily &s;ervices, ceremonies and traditions; but all &s;uch things te&s;tified again&s;t by the holy men, which gave the Scri|pture forth; &s;o that the ri&s;e and foundation of your Reli|gion is the imagination and invention of the &s;en&s;uall wi&s;dome, from which wi&s;dome the &s;ecrets of God and the true Chri&s;tian Religion is hid; the Eternall God of power and infinit wi&s;dome, if it be his glorious will o|pen your eyes, that ye may &s;ee the vanity of externall things, which ye feed upon; and bring you to &s;erve him in the &s;pirit, and to wor&s;hip him in the truth, that you may no longer feed upon carnall imaginations and inventions, but upon the bread of life, the &s;ub&s;tance which is the immortall food, which refre&s;hes and nouri&s;heth the &s;oul up to life eternall.</P>
<P>And all ye forms of Religion under what name or title &s;oever, who &s;et up teachers among&s;t you, and will not permit any to &s;peak in your A&s;&s;emblies, but &s;uch as ye in your own wills &s;et up and appoint, ye are the people who heap to your &s;elves teachers having Itching ears, ye are out of the order of the Church in God, where all the members have liberty to &s;peak one by one; in the di&s;order and cofu&s;ion, which makes you manife&s;t to
<PB N="27" REF="14">be of the body of Anti-chri&s;t, and not of the body of Chri&s;t the true Church; the members of the body of Chri&s;t abide in his doctrine, and follow the example of the true Chri&s;tians, every particular member having a word of exhortation, as they are moved of the Lord, may have free liberty to &s;peak in the Saints A&s;&s;embly, accor|ding to the order of the Primitive Church, the Church in God; but ye who deny the order of the true Church, and follow your own ways and imaginations, manife&s;t your di&s;order, and &s;hews that ye are our of the true way of God, the true wor&s;hip of God, in the fal&s;e way, and wor&s;hip ye know not what; my wayes &s;aith the Lord is not as the way of man, my thoughts as the thoughts of man; &s;uch as follow their own thoughts, and their own imagined wayes goes out of the way of God; the true light, is the way of God, and in it the will and minde of God is revealed, and the power manife&s;ted which brings the creature into &s;ubjection, makes &s;ub|ject to the requirings of God; and brings to know the true Church the body of Chri&s;t, and the true and perfect order thereof; but this is not a fancy or a naturall light, a thought or an imagination; but a cro&s;s to all &s;uch things; a living divine holy &s;ub&s;tantiall principle which mani|fe&s;ts thoughts, imaginations and inventions, and the ground and ri&s;e of them, which is the earthly &s;en&s;uall wi&s;dome; in which God is not known nor &s;erved; for God is light, and in the light and truth is &s;erved and wor&s;hipped; the children of light, &s;erved God in the &s;pirit, and gloried in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 3.</NOTE> and put no confidence in the fle&s;h; carnall profe&s;&s;ors, the upholders of carnal l Ordinances, Rudiments, weak and beggerly elements, are led by their fle&s;hly imaginations to uphold &s;uch &s;ha|dows without life, and be from the &s;pirit, the &s;ub&s;tance in which is the life, wherein God is &s;erved and wor|&s;hipped; in which the Saints in light &s;erved God in the former ages, as in this age, but the fle&s;h delights in the
<PB N="28" REF="15">ob&s;ervation of carnal ordinances, becau&s;e they have their ri&s;e and foundation from its imagination; and it glories in what it doth invent; but all &s;uch glorying is vaine; he that glorieth let him glory in the truth, in the Lord; and let no man tru&s;t to the arme of fle&s;h, nor put confi|dence in its imagination, for all that glory in the fle&s;h, their glory will be turned into &s;hame and confu&s;ion; Take notice the end of fle&s;hly glory is confu&s;ion and &s;hame, and ye who are highly pu&s;t up and exalted in your fle&s;hly knowledge and wi&s;dome, God will bring down and aba&s;e and confound, for no fle&s;h &s;hall glory in the pure pre&s;ence of God; and the poor in &s;pirit, the meek and lowly in heart, God will rai&s;e up and exalt o|ver all the earth, in this the day of his power, wherein he is bringing great and mervelous things to pa&s;s, which hath not been &s;een in many ages, his own &s;heep he will gather into his fold, and them pre&s;erve by the arme of his eternall power, and will &s;catter and con&s;ume the Wolves (who have got the Sheeps clothing) and all the renting, tearing, ravening and devouring Bea&s;ts, which hath rent and torne the Innocent Lambs.</P>
<P>And ye who be in the fle&s;h, in the carnall ordinances, fly to the Magi&s;trates &s;word for refuge, which likewi&s;e makes you clearly manife&s;t to be out of the truth and true way of God; for the truth defends it &s;elf, and hath done in all ages, it needs not the help of the Magi&s;trates &s;word, neither did ever the antient Chri&s;tians, who gave forth the Scripture of truth, &s;eek to the Magi&s;trates to defend them, their weapons were not carnall they fought with but &s;pirituall, the &s;pirit of truth was their defence, the Magi&s;trates &s;word (or the outward Law, the arme of fle&s;h) hath been refuge of Anti-chri&s;t in all ages as it is at this day, for if any of the &s;ervants of the Lord the true wor&s;hippers, who wor&s;hip him in &s;pirit and in truth be moved of God, to goe into their meeting places (which they call Churches) and in obedience to the command
<PB N="29" REF="15">of God, &s;peak to the Prie&s;t, or a word of exhortation to the people, then cryes out both Prie&s;t and people haile him away, or words to that purpo&s;e, and calls it di&s;turbance, (to performe the will of the Lord) and goes to the Magi&s;trates for a&s;&s;i&s;tance, and cryes away with him, &s;end him to pri|&s;on or puni&s;h him, this is the practi&s;e of the carnall pro|fe&s;&s;ours who uphold the externall Temple and Syna|gogues, therefore view your di&s;order and be a&s;hamed of &s;uch gro&s;s and filthy practi&s;es; for ye Rulers, Prie&s;ts and people in <HI>England,</HI> in the&s;e late years have out&s;tript the Heathen in many ages, in your cruell per&s;ecution; which makes the hearts of the righteous &s;ad, to &s;ee &s;uch fruits brought forth in the Nation, where &s;o much liberty in words and writings is proclaimed for Religion, and ho|ne&s;t hearted people, by the &s;upream in authority; but woe, woe, from the Almighty unto you, who make the hearts of the innocent &s;ad, which God hath not made &s;ad, a day of torment, and mi&s;ery is coming upon you; where|in the righteous &s;hall be glad, which ye have made &s;ad, and over the &s;moke of your torment, they &s;hal rejoyce, Did ever the Primitive Chri&s;tians recorded in the holy Scri|pture, per&s;ecute any pri&s;on, whip, burn with hot Irons, or ca&s;t into Dungeons any &s;ort of people, that came into their A&s;&s;emblies, is not the Heathen your example, for the&s;e things, who per&s;ecuted and &s;hamefully entreated and murdered the Chri&s;tians, who could not &s;ubmit to their unrighteous decrees and unrea&s;onable wills, &s;hew one example of cruelty if you can, from the practi&s;e of Chri&s;t or his Di&s;ciples, if not, number your &s;elves among&s;t the Heathen your example for your cruell per&s;ecution; is not cruelty and per&s;ecution, a true marke to know the Synagogue of Satan by; from the body of Chri&s;t the Church in God? who in all ages hath &s;uffered, but never per&s;ecuted any, but prayed for their enemies which per|&s;ecuted them, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<PB N="30" REF="16">
<HEAD>The order of the Church in God in this age.</HEAD>
<P>THe body of Chri&s;t, the Church in God meet toge|ther, (as the Saints in light did in former ages) upon the fir&s;t dayes of the week, and upon other dayes as the Lord affords opportunity, and wait upon the Lord in his fear and Coun&s;ell, and &s;erve and wor&s;hip the Lord, in the Spirit and in the truth; and doth preach the word of truth, the everla&s;ting Go&s;pel, and pray and ex|hort one another as they are moved of the Lord, and as the holy &s;pirit gives utterance; but not in the wi&s;dome of the world which is &s;en&s;uall, but in the pure wi&s;dome and power of God, which by the world is counted foo|li&s;hne&s;s; And this is the true and onely way of God, the true way of wor&s;hip, and order of the body of Chri&s;t, the Church of God, as the Scripture of truth doth make ma|nife&s;t to the under&s;tanding Reader, and according to the doctrine of Chri&s;t, the order doctrine and practi&s;e of the antient holy Chri&s;tians, which in the Scriptures of truth are recorded;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 6.</NOTE> who wor&s;hipped God not in the oldne&s;s of the letter; but newne&s;s of &s;pirit, which is the new and living way, wherein God is and will be &s;erved and wor&s;hipped.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>I. H.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>THE END.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
