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<NAME>Olivia Bottum</NAME>
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<P>A TESTIMONY TO THE true Saviour, OR, <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t of Nazareth,</HI> as having <HI>already</HI> purcha&s;ed Redemption <HI>for us</HI> in the Body of his Fle&s;h; and as revealing it <HI>within us</HI> by his Holy Spirit, owned and a&s;&s;erted according to the Holy Scriptures.</P>
<P>BEING, A &s;hort di&s;covery of two dangerous &s;nares many are intangled with, in the&s;e la&s;t and perillous times.</P>
<P>By <HI>R. G.</HI></P>
<Q><P><BIBL><HI>2. Acts 26.</HI></BIBL> Let the hou&s;e of I&s;rael know a&s;&s;uredly that God hath made <HI>that &s;ame Je&s;us,</HI> whom you Crucified both <HI>Lord and Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P><BIBL><HI>2. Eph. 14, 15, 16.</HI></BIBL> Who having aboli&s;hed <HI>in his fle&s;h</HI> the enmity&mdash; So making peace,&mdash;breaking down the partition wall&mdash;that he might reconcile both unto God <HI>in one body</HI> by the Cro&s;s, having &s;lain the enmity in him&s;elf.</P>
<P><BIBL><HI>2. Col. 21, 22.</HI></BIBL> You that were Aliens, yet now hath he reconciled in the <HI>body of his fle&s;h</HI> through death.</P>
<P><BIBL><HI>2 Cor. 3.15.</HI></BIBL> Je&s;us Chri&s;t is in you, except you be reprobate.&mdash;</P>
<P><BIBL><HI>3. Phil. 10.</HI></BIBL> That I may know him, and the power of his Re&s;urrection, and the fellow&s;hip of his &s;ufferings, being made conformable unto his death.</P></Q>
<P><HI>London,</HI> Printed for <HI>Robert Boulter</HI> at the <HI>Turks Head</HI> in <HI>Bi&s;hop&s;|gate-&s;treet,</HI> 1669.</P>
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<HEAD>A Te&s;timony to the true Saviour, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_HAving in me a true &s;en&s;e of the Soul-en&s;naring dangers that attends &s;ome principles pub|li&s;hed among us concerning <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> the end of his coming in the fle&s;h, and the manner of Salvation and Redemption in and through him; which are matters of no le&s;s concernment to us to be rightly informed in, then the being fundamentally rooted and e&s;tabli&s;hed in the <HI>true faith once delivered to the Saints:</HI> I am therefore made willing in compa&s;&s;ion and tender|ne&s;s towards &s;uch as are or may be intangled with the&s;e &s;nares of Satan, &s;hortly hinted at in this following di&s;cour&s;e, to communi|cate what I have received concerning them.</P>
<P>There are two fundamental truths a&s;&s;erted in the Holy Scrip|tures, nece&s;&s;ary to be mentioned as previous to this di&s;cour&s;e; one is, the my&s;terie of God manife&s;t in the fle&s;h of Chri&s;t, or, <HI>the word made fle&s;h:</HI> the purpo&s;e of grace that was in God towards mankind before the world began, &s;hadowed by the types under the Law, and foretold by the Prophets, was in the fulne&s;s of time ma|nife&s;ted by the appearing of our Lord and Saviour <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> in fle&s;h; called by the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul, a great my&s;terie, God manife&s;t in fle&s;h;</HI> who not as God only, or as man only, but as <HI>God-man in union,</HI> came, not as an example onely to be followed, or as a fi|gure pointing at another thing, to wit Light and Spirit within, whereof he was a type, as &s;ome &s;uppo&s;e; but as the very &s;ub&s;tance of, and the end unto all types and figures, and &s;o a my&s;terie to be believed in, and as him onely in whom all things pertaining to mans Redemption and Reconciliation with God were to be tran&s;|acted;
<PB N="4" REF="3"> as being the onely Mediator, the alone Saviour, the Peace|maker, the healer of the breach, and breaker down of the parti|tion wall between God and Man, that he might reconcile both in one body by the Cro&s;s, having &s;lain the enmity in him&s;elf: To which end he became our High-Prie&s;t in the fle&s;h, therein to offer up him&s;elf, the one perfect Sacrifice, &s;ufficient attonement, the compleat Peace-offering, <HI>once</HI> for ever, not often and in every generation, and in many bodies, but in <HI>one body,</HI> by <HI>one</HI> offering, not in our per&s;ons or within us, but in his Crucified body without us, and before any good wrought in us; whereby he hath already &s;ubdued all things, fini&s;hed tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, made an end of &s;in, abo|li&s;hed condemnation and death; and &s;o hath for ever as our head, in him&s;elf compleated the work of our Redemption and Recon|ciliation with God for us; God thereby commending his love towards us, that <HI>while we were yet &s;inners,</HI> Chri&s;t died for us, <HI>when we were enemies</HI> we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.</P>
<P>The other truth is the my&s;terie of Chri&s;t by his Spirit dwelling in his Saints, called in the Holy Scripture, <HI>Chri&s;t within you;</HI> whereby God works <HI>in us</HI> through faith in Chri&s;t the fruit and effect of the work already wrought by Chri&s;t in his Crucified body <HI>for us</HI> without us.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t my&s;terie of God manife&s;t in the fle&s;h of Chri&s;t was a Mini&s;tration of great nece&s;&s;ity as to us; that thereby &s;in being abo|li&s;hed and Reconciliation made, way might be opened for the Mini&s;tration of this other my&s;terie, Chri&s;t within us, whereby through faith we have evidence in our &s;elves that we are made par|takers of the Redemption and Reconciliation in him already pur|cha&s;ed for us.</P>
<P>Now there are two &s;nares mentioned in this di&s;cour&s;e, and they are &s;ummed up in this, to wit, the dividing the&s;e two great Go&s;pel my&s;teries, and &s;etting the one in oppo&s;ite terms again&s;t the other; contrary to the tendency of the Holy Scriptures, where they are declared of, both joyntly together as Go&s;pel truths, nece&s;&s;ary to us, yet in their order; God having already wrought all things for us in the body of Chri&s;t, as being our righteou&s;ne&s;s, this is the truth that is fir&s;t; God working all things in us by Chri&s;t, as the fruit and manife&s;tation of our righteou&s;ne&s;s, this
<PB N="5" REF="3"> is the &s;econd and following truth: the fir&s;t divided from the la&s;t, is a turning the grace of God to wantonne&s;s; the la&s;t divided from the fir&s;t is a denying the Lord that bought us; both the&s;e truths as joyntly together have a great glory, the fir&s;t as in Chri&s;t our head, the &s;econd as in the Saints his members.</P>
<P>But there are &s;ome upon the one hand &s;o zealous for Chri&s;t and what he did for us in his Crucified body without us, that they neg|lect in them&s;elves, and oppo&s;e in others the my&s;terie of Chri&s;t within, as a matter of no concernment at all to them; Chri&s;t hav|ing in his body done all things for them already, they mind not the operations of his &s;pirit working all their works in them: Some on the other hand pretend &s;o much zeal for this my&s;terie Chri&s;t within, the operations and actings of the Spirit of God in them|&s;elves, that they deny the my&s;terie of God in the fle&s;h of Chri&s;t, as a matter of any nece&s;&s;ity to them as to Redemption, Reconcilia|tion and Ju&s;tification, reckoning to accompli&s;h this in their own bodies, each for him&s;elf, through obedience to the Law or Light in his Con&s;cience, which Light they call Chri&s;t, Redeemer and only Saviour; without re&s;pect to the true Chri&s;t and our only Saviour, <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t of Nazareth,</HI> and Redemption already wrought and accompli&s;hed for us in his Crucified body.</P>
<P>Now a little to unfold the&s;e &s;nares, and to bear my te&s;timony to the true Chri&s;t, and to Redemption and R<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ghteou&s;ne&s;s as alrea|dy purcha&s;ed by him in his Crucified body for us; yet &s;o that we are al&s;o nece&s;&s;arily to witne&s;s Chri&s;t &s;p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ritually by faith within us; whereby what is &s;o done for us already in his Cruc<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">fied body may be made effectual within us; This (I &s;ay) is briefly what is in|tended in this following di&s;cour&s;e: wherein I would have none &s;o to e&s;teem of me, as if I intended thereby to add to the contentions already among us, or to ca&s;t a reproach on any per&s;ons, or to lay down a ground to per&s;ecute, either in words or writings of bit|terne&s;s, or actions of cruelty; the&s;e things are not in my heart again&s;t any per&s;on even though erroneous: But in plainne&s;s of &s;peech and &s;implicity of heart this is given forth as an e&s;&s;ay to make up tho&s;e wide breaches that are already among us, through the my&s;terious working of the enemy, who hath done this thing in rai&s;ing in&s;truments to &s;et the&s;e two great Go&s;pel my&s;teries in oppo&s;ite terms again&s;t each other, in the minds and under&s;tand|ings
<PB N="6" REF="4"> of people; as if to believe the my&s;terie of God in the fle&s;h of Chri&s;t, and Redemption in him already accompli&s;hed for us, were to deny the my&s;terie of Chri&s;t by his Spirit working within us; or as if to witne&s;s the my&s;terie of Chri&s;t within us, whereby we have evidence in our &s;elves that we are redeemed, were to de|ny the my&s;terie of God in the fle&s;h of Chri&s;t, and Redemption al|ready in being in him for us.</P>
<P>Now if any Spirit in man &s;hall return upon me revilings, re|proaches, har&s;h, uncharitable and cen&s;orious judgings, condemn|ing me for this my labour of love, they in &s;o doing but make them&s;elves manife&s;t, thereby judging and condemning the Apo|&s;tles of Chri&s;t who were the fir&s;t publi&s;hers of this Doctrine; yea, making God him&s;elf a lyar in not believing, but denying the re|cord that he hath given through them of his Son Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and Redemption through his blood: Therefore let &s;uch know, that I delight not to contend in words, de&s;iring though reviled, not to revile again; and however that I re&s;t &s;atisfied in my &s;elf, having peace in this my Te&s;timony to the everla&s;ting Go&s;pel as it is in Je&s;us, whether by man it be accepted or rejected.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, there is a &s;pirit of error, and its work is to deceive, and its end is to de&s;troy &s;uch in whom it ruleth, and its deceit is &s;een under this fair covering; a pretending to the imputed righ|teou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t, pleading a faith in his death and &s;ufferings, intere&s;t in the &s;atisfaction and attonement made to God through his blood; But under all this retaining, and indeed entertaing the Serpents nature in their Souls; pre&s;erving alive in them&s;elves un|mortified corruptions bearing dominion over them: O! Be not &s;o ea&s;ily deceived, God will not be thus mocked, he &s;ees not as man &s;ees, for he tryeth the Heart and the Reins; know you of a truth, &s;uch as you &s;ow, &s;uch you &s;hall reap; to whom you yield your &s;elves &s;ervants to obey, his &s;ervants you are to whom you obey, whether of &s;in unto Death, or of obedience unto Righteou&s;|ne&s;s; and on the day of the Lord every Kingdome &s;hall have its own; on the day of that wonderful &s;everation when the Lord &s;hall judge the world by the man Chri&s;t Je&s;us, every thing &s;hall be &s;evered to be for ever included in that &s;tate whether of light or darkne&s;s into which it was &s;own; according to that righteous pro|ceeding of the Son of man, mentioned, 25. <HI>Mat.</HI> he &s;hall &s;ay to
<PB N="7" REF="4"> the Sheep on his right hand, <HI>come ye ble&s;&s;ed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom;</HI> but to the Goats on his left hand, <HI>depart from me ye cur&s;ed:</HI> And on that day your &s;uppo&s;ed coverings though of the imputed righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t, your high pretences though to his death and &s;ufferings, your crying Lord, Lord, will not &s;helter you from the wrath of the Father, you being wholly, altogether of the nature of tho&s;e Goats on Chri&s;ts left hand, though pretending to the Sheeps cloathing. O! bear with me a little to plead with you, in tender compa&s;&s;ion to your immortal &s;ouls, that you might be per&s;waded, yea, intreated to enquire a little into this matter; not &s;atisfying your &s;elves to &s;ay that you believe there is a Re|demption already purcha&s;ed for you in Chri&s;t, until through a living faith in your &s;elves, you have a real evidence of your being parti|cularly redeemed, by experimentally witne&s;&s;ing the living power of the truth in your inward parts, which in words you outwardly profe&s;s. Con&s;ider the words of our Lord to <HI>Nicodemus,</HI> except a man be born again, he <HI>cannot</HI> inherit the Kingdom of God; there lyeth an impo&s;&s;ibility in this thing; he placeth not Goats, remain|ing &s;uch in their &s;tate in the &s;ame place or &s;tate with Sheep; there is a great gulf between the&s;e two; &s;o that they which would pa&s;s from the one to the other, cannot: for as they are of two con|trary natures, &s;o there is a right hand and a left hand, two oppo&s;ite States or Kingdomes prepared for them: therefore without being changed, without being in your minds renewed, tran&s;lated out of darkne&s;s into light, without dying to the old nature of &s;in, and ri&s;ing in the new nature of Righteou&s;ne&s;s, and &s;o Chri&s;t formed within you, you <HI>cannot</HI> inherit this Kingdom: Becau&s;e without this real change, wrought in &s;ome mea&s;ure within you through the opperation of the Spirit of God within, there is only a daubing of the old Sepulchre, while rotten-ne&s;s is &s;till within; a talking of being ju&s;tified through a Redemption already purcha&s;ed in Chri&s;t, without witne&s;&s;ing the life, power and vertue of the thing it &s;elf within.</P>
<P>Remember it is Chri&s;ts commandement to all &s;uch as intend to be &s;aved through faith in him, <HI>&s;trive to enter in at the &s;trait gate, for many &s;hall &s;eek to enter, and &s;hall not be able;</HI> they may pretend to the Redemption already purcha&s;ed by Chri&s;t, and his imputed Righ|teou&s;ne&s;s, and the &s;atisfaction of the wrath of the Father through
<PB N="8" REF="5"> the travel of his &s;oul, and yet may fall &s;hort of entring in at this gate that leads to life; hence it is &s;aid, <HI>and many of his Di&s;ciples went back and walked no more with him;</HI> becau&s;e to enter in at this &s;trait gate, to pa&s;s through the regeneration, and &s;o to be really born again, to eat the fle&s;h, and drink the blood of the Son of man, this is a hard &s;aying, who can bear it? how can a man enter into his Mothers Womb again the &s;econd time, &s;aith the <HI>rea&s;on of Nicodemus?</HI> how can this man give us his fle&s;h to eat, &s;aith the <HI>carnal Jew?</HI> But this is our Lords an&s;wer to &s;uch arguings, <HI>the words that I &s;peak unto you, they are &s;pirit, and they are life.</HI></P>
<P>The nece&s;&s;ity of witne&s;&s;ing this work of God, this exerci&s;e of grace in and upon the &s;oul, I pre&s;s upon every one who would wi&s;h to be found in the fear of the Lord, working out his own Salvation, thereby to have evidence in him&s;elf that he is made partaker of the Redemption and Salvation already purcha&s;ed by Chri&s;t; yet not &s;o to be under&s;tood as to di&s;courage the weak hands, to wea|ken the feeble knees of &s;uch who are really entered this narrow pa&s;&s;age, in whom this work of Regeneration is truly begun, but not brought to that mea&s;ure or degree of growth hinted at in this di&s;cour&s;e: Be not you di&s;couraged; remember the tender com|pa&s;&s;ions of our Lord, of whom it is &s;aid, <HI>a brui&s;ed Reed he will not break, a &s;moaking flax &s;hall he not quench; till he bring forth judgment to victory:</HI> But becau&s;e there are not wanting a generation ready to make to them&s;elves the way of Salvation wider than it is in the Holy Scriptures witne&s;&s;ed to be, and ea&s;ier then it is felt and known to be by them who are through grace made partakers of this great Salvation and Redemption already wrought for them in Chri&s;t; the&s;e have a form of words, a profe&s;&s;ion of the Go&s;pel, to whom it is enough to &s;ay, they know Chri&s;t dyed for &s;in; but the my&s;terie of faith they have not, whereby they are dead in Chri&s;t, and whereby he liveth in them; they <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ehold Chri&s;t without them fini&s;hing Law, Sin and Death, and fulfilling all things for them in him&s;elf; But receive not Chri&s;t by faith within them, to witne&s;s in them&s;elves that they have benefit by him; the&s;e while they &s;eem to honour Chri&s;t as without them, he is in his &s;pirit and grace by their lu&s;ts Crucified within them: Therefore with &s;uch I thus plead, that if it be po&s;&s;ible they may be made thus to commune with their own Souls, who&s;e Servant am I? who&s;e work am I
<PB N="9" REF="5"> doing? what Nature, what Kingdom, what Birth ruleth in me? what &s;pirit am I led by? for as is the &s;pirit that acteth or driveth the Soul, &s;o is the &s;ound it giveth forth according to the proper|ties of that Kingdom, State or Birth that ruleth in it; that which is born of the fle&s;h is fle&s;h, that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit; it is not opinions, definitions, or comprehen&s;ions, about Chri&s;t, his &s;ufferings, Death and Re&s;urrection known only Hi&s;to|rically, whereby thou can&s;t certainly conclude thy &s;elf-ju&s;tified reconciled, and at peace with God in thy own particular: It is true, Chri&s;t hath really dyed, by his death upon the Cro&s;s to recon|cile us to God; he hath really &s;hed his blood without the gates of Jeru&s;alem, through it to make peace w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">th God for us, that we might receive redemption, even forgivene&s;s of &s;ins through faith in his blood; he was delivered for our offences, he was rai&s;ed again for our ju&s;tification; But I &s;ay thou may'&s;t believe this as re|corded in the Holy Scriptures, and yet fall &s;hort of partaking of the benefit thereof in thy own particular; Becau&s;e although Chri&s;t hath made a &s;ufficient attonement by what he did and &s;uffered in the fle&s;h, and hath thereby already purcha&s;ed Redemption and Reconciliation for us; yet thou not accepting his offer of peace, &s;tands afar off, in thy &s;elf not reconciled to God, who is held forth in Chri&s;t reconciled to thee.</P>
<P>Therefore I do exhort thee to try what &s;pirit in thy mind thou art &s;ubjected to; for as many as are led by the &s;pirit of God, are the Sons of God, and if any man have not the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t, he is none of his: So that it will not be enough to &s;ay, t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ou believe&s;t that Je&s;us Chri&s;t died for Sinners, and that his Righteou&s;ne&s;s is imputed to thee as altogether from without thee; O! remember, the work of Regeneration is to be wrought within thee: Chri&s;ts death and &s;ufferings, his Re&s;urrection and Righteou&s;ne&s;s will not avail thee, thou remaining in thy &s;elf wholly unchanged, un&s;ancti|fied by and through the operation of the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t within thee, whereby they may become of u&s;e to thee: Becau&s;e thou art &s;till the &s;ame thou was; thou was &s;ometime darkne&s;s and art &s;o &s;till; in time pa&s;t thou did&s;t walk according to the cour&s;e of this world, and thou do&s;t &s;o &s;till: thou was dead in Sins and Tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, and remains &s;o &s;till; thou was a Child of wrath as well as others, and thou art altogether &s;o &s;till: and thus thou continues to be of
<PB N="10" REF="6"> another root, &s;eed, nature and &s;tate in the inward man, then they are of, who through the death and &s;ufferings of Chri&s;t and his Righteou&s;ne&s;s imputed to them, and through faith in his precious blood, becomes of his own nature, and &s;o are made partakers of the Salvation and Redemption already by him purcha&s;ed for them.</P>
<P>Secondly, there is another &s;nare carrying al&s;o death in the bo|&s;om of it, though covered with the &s;mooth words of power, &s;pirit and light within; and it is that &s;pirit that publi&s;heth, that the light that enlightneth every man that comes into the world, is the true Chri&s;t, our only Saviour, Mediator and Redeemer, and that there is not another; and that man is to heed, and to be joyned to this light, as that, which (as it condemns him, &s;o) is able of it &s;elf to &s;ave and redeem him, as he becomes obedient thereunto, without re&s;pect to a Redemption already in being in another, to wit Chri&s;t Je&s;us, for him: which Doctrine is of no le&s;s con&s;equence then fir&s;t to e&s;tabli&s;h again the covenant of works, which &s;peaking thus, <HI>Do this and live thereby;</HI> be obedient to the Law or light in thy con|&s;cience &s;hewing thee good and evil, and thou &s;halt be &s;aved; &s;o much Obedience, &s;o much Redemption, and no more; making void the Righteou&s;ne&s;s which is of faith in Chri&s;t, which &s;peaketh on this wi&s;e, <HI>Believe and thou &s;halt be &s;aved;</HI> as it is written, <HI>Abra|ham</HI> believed God, and it was counted to him for Righteou&s;ne&s;s: indeed our obedience is the nece&s;&s;ary effect of our faith; a plain demon&s;tration of a living faith; as the Apo&s;tle <HI>James</HI> faith, I will &s;hew thee my faith by my works; for faith without works is dead; and hence he &s;aith, was not our father <HI>Abraham</HI> ju&s;tified by wo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ks; faith wrought with his works, and by works is faith made perfect: Becau&s;e we are freely ju&s;tified through grace, becau&s;e we are re|deemed through the Redemption that is in Chri&s;t Je&s;us, therefore we are al&s;o nece&s;&s;arily called unto good works, according to the Doctrine of the Go&s;pel; But we are not therefore redeemed, ju&s;tified or accepted in the &s;ight of God, becau&s;e we are obedient to the Law or light in our Con&s;ciences, as this Doctrine teacheth: con&s;ider the words of the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul,</HI> by the works of the Law, (that is by our obedience to the Law either written in Tables of Stone, or to the Law or Light in our Con&s;ciences) no man is ju&s;ti|fied in the &s;ight of God; for had there been &s;uch a Law given (that is, either in Tables of Stone, or in our Con&s;ciences) which could
<PB N="11" REF="6"> have given life; (under&s;tand through our obedience thereunto) verily, Righteou&s;ne&s;s &s;hould have been by the Law, faith made void, and the promi&s;e made of none effect, the reward not reckon-of Grace, but of Debt; therefore we conclude that <HI>a man is ju&s;ti|fied by faith without the deeds of the Law; and to him that worketh not but believeth on him that ju&s;tifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for Righte|ou&s;ne&s;s.</HI> And hence this &s;ame Apo&s;tle, 10. <HI>Rom.</HI> concludes them ignorant of, and not &s;ubmitting unto the Righteou&s;ne&s;s of God, who go about to e&s;tabli&s;h their own Righteou&s;ne&s;s by the works of the Law: for (&s;aith he) Chri&s;t is the end of the Law for Righte|ou&s;ne&s;s to every one that believes: therefore to &s;eek after Righte|ou&s;ne&s;s by obedience to the Law or Light in our Con&s;ciences &s;hew|ing good and evil, is to joyn hands with tho&s;e of old, who &s;ought after Righteou&s;ne&s;s by obedience to the Law of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> written in Tables of Stone. For both the&s;e Laws for matter and &s;ub&s;tance, are one and the &s;ame; both given for tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, not for Righ|teou&s;nd&s;s; neither of them able to reveal or give life; from both Chri&s;t came to ju&s;tifie and deliver: Therefore all &s;uch either Jews or Gentiles, who &s;eek after Righteou&s;ne&s;s through their obedience to either of the&s;e Laws, they &s;hall not attain it, becau&s;e they &s;eek it not by faith, but by the works of the Law; and &s;o &s;tumble at the &s;tumbling &s;tone, to wit Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and Righteou&s;ne&s;s and Re|demption already purcha&s;ed for us through the Sacr fice of his Crucified body; But faith in this Crucified Chri&s;t, the end of both the&s;e Laws &s;hall pre&s;erve believers righteous and blamele&s;s, and without &s;pot before him, when a Righteou&s;ne&s;s through obedience to either of the&s;e Laws &s;hall be too &s;hort a covering in the day of his Righteous judgment.</P>
<P>But becau&s;e there is a &s;pirit in &s;ome that declares, that we are redeemed, ju&s;tified, &s;aved, made righteous and accepted with God, if not through our obedience, or our works as ours, yet by the works of the &s;pirit of God wrought within us; and &s;o by our perfect obedience to the light in our Con&s;ciences &s;hewing good and evil, as being his obedience in us, who works all our works in us and for us: I &s;hall therefore endeavour a little further to clear this Doctrine of mans Redemption, Ju&s;tification and Re|conciliation through Chri&s;t, according to the te&s;timony of the Holy Scriptures, and let the Spiritual-wi&s;e judge;</P>
<PB N="12" REF="7">
<P>Con&s;ider the words of the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul,</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.18. <HI>And all things are of God who hath reconciled us unto him&s;elf by Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and hath given unto us the Mini&s;try of Reconciliation, to wit, that God was in Chri&s;t reconciling the world to him&s;elf, not imputing their Tre&s;pa&s;&s;es to them; and hath committed unto us the word of Reconciliation: Now then we are Amba&s;&s;adors for Chri&s;t, as though God did be&s;eech you by us; we pray you in Chri&s;ts &s;tead, be ye Reconciled to God; for he hath made him to be &s;in for us, who knew no &s;in, that we might be made the Righteou&s;ne&s;s of God in him:</HI></P>
<P>Mans Redemption, Ju&s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">fication and Reconciliation with God, is to be con&s;idered, either in re&s;pect to God reconciled to man, or in re&s;pect to man invited, intreated to be reconciled to God: God is fully attoned, perfectly reconciled to man, through the blood of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; God <HI>was</HI> in Chri&s;t, reconciling the world to him&s;elf, and he <HI>hath</HI> made him &s;in for us, that we might be made the Righteob&s;ne&s;s of God in him: it is a thing already done on Gods part, he &s;aith not God is yet to be reconciled, but he is already fully reconciled; and that in Chri&s;t, who knew no &s;in, yet was made &s;in for us; he mentions not any con&s;ideration, qualifi|cation or work wrought or to be wrought in any man by any light or &s;pirit what&s;oever; but &s;ingly <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nd &s;olely upon the account of the active and pa&s;&s;ive obedience of the man <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t of Nazareth,</HI> done in his Crucified body without us; who laid down his life for us while we were yet &s;inners, the ju&s;t for the unju&s;t, who was made &s;in for us, that we might be made the Righteou&s;ne&s;s of God in him; who thus having fini&s;hed the work of mans Redemption and Reconciliation, as to the requirings of the ju&s;tice of the Fa|ther, who &s;eeing the travel of his &s;oul was &s;atisfied, re&s;ted well plea&s;ed thereupon, that he might make it effectual within every man that &s;hould come to God through him, he committed to his Apo&s;tles, his cho&s;en witne&s;&s;es the word of this Reconciliation, giving them commi&s;&s;ion as his Amba&s;&s;adors in his &s;tead to be&s;eech men to be reconciled to God, who was already reconciled to them: and hence it is &s;aid in re&s;pect to mans accepting of this offer of grace, <HI>work out your own Salvation,</HI> having reference to mans re|ceiving this me&s;&s;age of reconciliation through faith in Chri&s;t, whereby we come to witne&s;s in our &s;elves that Redemption and Salvation already wrought by Chri&s;t for us, by working it out as to
<PB N="13" REF="7"> evidence and manife&s;tation, that we may know that we are &s;aved, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nd redeemed through him: and hence faith is called <HI>the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"></HI> (and but the evidence) <HI>of things not &s;een:</HI> This wonderful my&s;terie hid in God from everla&s;ting by way of purpo&s;e, yet in the fulne&s;s of time being manife&s;ted in the Crucified body of Chri&s;t, as by him perfected and wrought at once, is &s;een and di&s;|cerned by faith in him. Thus Redemption, Ju&s;tification and Re|conciliation fini&s;hed and compleated in Chri&s;t for us, is afterward in mea&s;ure revealed in us; a work perfected <HI>at once</HI> by him, through his perfect obedience in his Crucified body for us, and &s;o being fini&s;hed, is not to be done over again in peeces in us; no, not by his obedience in our bodies: And this agrees with the Prophe&s;ie of <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> concerning Chri&s;t, 53.6. <HI>the Lord hath layd on him the ini|quity of us all:</HI> Mark, he &s;aith not, the Lord <HI>will</HI> lay, or <HI>doth</HI> lay, but <HI>hath</HI> in time pa&s;t (&s;o already) lay'd on him the iniquity of us all: So that the work of mans Redemption (which the&s;e expre&s;|&s;ions plainly imports, to wit, the iniquity of us all was lay'd upon him, he bore our &s;ins in his body on the tree, by who&s;e &s;tripes ye were healed, he that knew no &s;in, was made &s;in for us, that we might be made the righteou&s;ne&s;s of God in him, I &s;ay this work) is not now or hereafter, or often to be done, but <HI>at once</HI> already done, according to the words of the Apo&s;tle to the <HI>He|brews,</HI> a body thou ha&s;t prepared me, lo I come to do thy will, by which will we are &s;anctified through the offering of the body of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, <HI>once for all:</HI> And although in the dayes of <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> Chri&s;t was not then come in our fle&s;h, yet the Prophet &s;peaks of it, as a thing already done, it being &s;o in the purpo&s;e of God, as in the 4. <HI>Acts</HI> &s;peaking of the &s;ufferings of Chri&s;t it is &s;aid, they have done what thy hand, and thy councels have determined before to be done; and hence is Chri&s;t called the Lamb &s;lain from the foun|dation of the world, though manife&s;t in the fulne&s;s of time, when God &s;ent forth his Son made of a Woman, made under the Law, that he might redeem them that were under the Law, 4. <HI>Gal.</HI> 4. that &s;o he being from eternity in the purpo&s;e of God, and al&s;o in the fulne&s;s time, the one Sacrifice once offered for &s;in, he hid bear our &s;ins in his body on the Tree, and is the propitiation for the &s;ins of the whole world, pa&s;t, pre&s;ent, and to come, they being all made to meet on him, that he might bear the full weight of
<PB N="14" REF="8"> them all; and &s;o offer a compleat Sacrifice, purcha&s;e a full Re|demption, and thereby &s;ave throughout, by that one offering for ever perfecting them that are &s;anctified; which could not be, if there remains any thing yet to be done as to attoning with God, any &s;ins over again to be &s;acrificed for, any remembrance of &s;in again in every generation, as was in the time of tho&s;e typical Sa|crifices under the Law: And then Chri&s;t al&s;o mu&s;t come again in our fle&s;h, to bear in his body over again that remaining iniquity not lay'd upon him then, and &s;o &s;hed his blood over again to expiate therefore, becau&s;e without blood, there is no remi&s;&s;ion; or el&s;e we mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily conclude contrary to this full, plain te&s;timony of the holy Scriptures, that Chri&s;t came not at all in our fle&s;h, &s;o as to be once offered as a Sacrifice, to bear our &s;ins in his body on the tree, that by his blood he might obtain eternal Redemption for us, through the offering up of his Crucified body once for all; but that God hath given a light to enlighten every man that comes into the world, which is Je&s;us Chri&s;t his Son, whom in the fulne&s;s of time he &s;ent forth, that men by obedience to this light might receive the knowledge of that God, whom to know is eternal life: to the vertue of which light Chri&s;t in his per&s;on &s;o many hun|dred years &s;ince te&s;tifitd, and has communicated to all, &s;uch a pro|portion as may enable them to follow his example; as &s;ome darkly imagine.</P>
<P>I have a little in&s;i&s;ted upon this, that if it be po&s;&s;ible the manner and method of this great work of our Redemption, as already wrought in Chri&s;t for us, and to be witne&s;&s;ed by faith within us, might be cleared from their mi&s;take who pretend to Ju&s;tification, Reconciliation, and Redemption through the works wrought and to be wrought by the &s;pirit of God in them&s;elves, without re&s;pect to what Chri&s;t did for them in his body without them; which ne|ce&s;&s;arily renders Chri&s;ts Sacrifice of him&s;elf, a weak un&s;ufficient Sacrifice, not able to accompli&s;h the end for which he &s;o became a Sacrifice, to wit to aboli&s;h Sin, Law and Death in his Crucified body for us; and therefore (with tho&s;e legal Sacrifices of old) to be aboli&s;hed, to give place to that of which it was the figure or pattern, to wit, the light enlightning every man that comes into the world; and &s;o leaving every man to offer Sacrifices for him&s;elf, if not in the Temple of <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> yet in the Temples of their Bo|dies;
<PB N="15" REF="8"> if not of the outward offerings of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> Law, yet of the works wrought within them in obedience to the law or light in their Con&s;ciences, as a Sacrifice of perfect obedience, not &s;imply as an evidence by faith within them&s;elves, that they are partakers of the Redemption already purcha&s;ed in Chri&s;t for them, but as a cau&s;e to attone and make peace with God the be&s;t they can by it; thereby making him who is indeed the <HI>good Samaritan,</HI> to be no better than the Prie&s;t and Levite, who looked upon the wounded man, and &s;o pa&s;&s;ed by: as if our compa&s;&s;ionate and tender hearted Lord, who came down in our fle&s;h, and &s;aw us in our blood, wounded and helple&s;s (able indeed to have redeemed us, even while in our blood, yet) only looked upon us, leaving us an ex|ample, wherein if in perfect obedience we followed him, we &s;hould live, and &s;o departed; leaving us undone as he found us, to cure, redeem, and reconcile our &s;elves to God, by obedience to the light placed in our Con&s;ciences convincing us of &s;in: But ble&s;&s;ed be that Go&s;pel that &s;peaketh better things; he bathed our wounds and healed them; Set us upon his own bea&s;t, by bearing us in his body, and carried us to the Inn, into his Man&s;ion in his fathers hou&s;e: he bore our griefs, he was wounded for our tran&s;|gre&s;&s;ions the cha&s;ti&s;ements of our peace was upon him, by his &s;tripes we were healed; he &s;aw us in our blood, and it was a time of love, and he &s;aid unto us, live; he became &s;in for us who knew no &s;in, that we might be made the righteou&s;ne&s;s of God in him; he was made of a Woman, made under the Law, to redeem them that were under the Law; he died for us while we were yet ene|mies, before either man knew, or de&s;ired, or &s;ought after Re|demption: he looked and there was none to help; the Law in the Con&s;cience, or as mini&s;tred by <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> could not give life, men could not obey, neither Angels nor men could find out an inter|ce&s;&s;our; at this time came for<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">h our Lord Je&s;us in the glory of his God-head, but in the weakne&s;s of our fle&s;h, God-man in union, that he might bear all things that were again&s;t us, and &s;poil and triumph over all things for us: And therefore whatever &s;pirit &s;hall declare Chri&s;t now come or coming within us to reconcile, to attone, to redeem us, not having already in him&s;elf without us offered a &s;ufficient attonement, and thereby compleatly wrought Redemption and Reconciliation with God for us, to be received,
<PB N="16" REF="9"> manife&s;ted, and witne&s;&s;ed by faith within us, is no other, then a denyer of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, our Saviour and Redeemer, notwith|&s;tanding of its high pretences, to light, and power, and &s;pirit within.</P>
<P>But if any &s;pirit in man will yet contend again&s;t this Doctrine of Reconciliation, through the propitiation of grace in the blood of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and que&s;tion how can this be? how can there be Re|demption witne&s;&s;ed, where Con&s;cience chargeth of &s;in? Is it not again&s;t rea&s;on to believe Redemption in another for us, while &s;in is within? To this &s;pirit I &s;ay, who art thou that thus argues with God? hath he by the te&s;timony of his Apo&s;tles, his cho&s;en witne&s;&s;es to publi&s;h this Go&s;pel, thus revealed the manner and method of mans being redeemed, and wilt thou charge him with folly, and account Gods method in this matter ridiculous, or by denying the te&s;timony of it, give God the lye to his face? who &s;hall lay any thing to the charge of Gods elect? it is Chri&s;t that died: and in|deed it is a my&s;terie of the Go&s;pel that mans rea&s;on cannot com|prehend, the believer to be pure and beautiful as in Chri&s;t his head, while weak in many things as in him&s;elf; in his body he hath a Law of &s;in; but in the Lord he hath put it off; as he walks by &s;ight he is in the earth, in labours, in groanings, warfare and imperfe|ctions, but as he walks by faith he is in Chri&s;t walking in re&s;t, in victory, and perfection: the&s;e are Paradoxes rea&s;on cannot fathom; But con&s;ider further, the Father lay'd our &s;ins upon Chri&s;t, thereby to recommend his great love to us while we were yet enemies, and it was rea&s;onable with God &s;o to do; the Son of God dyed for us while we were yet &s;inners, and buried our &s;ins in his grave, and it was rea&s;onable with Chri&s;t &s;o to do; the Spirit of God doth wit|ne&s;s that all things are fini&s;hed, &s;in, death and the fle&s;h, in the body of Chri&s;t, to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that ju&s;tifieth the ungodly, and this te&s;timony is al&s;o rea&s;onable; but if this &s;pirit will further contend and &s;ay, but cannot the &s;pirit and light within reconcile to God, is it not &s;ufficient in power to re|deem from &s;in, by its works within? I an&s;wer, can&s;t thou bear in thy body the ju&s;tice of the Law, the puni&s;hment of Sin, the &s;hed|ing of thy blood? can&s;t thou rai&s;e up thy &s;elf again, and through thy obedience can&s;t thou come forth out of all thy &s;ins before the great God in a perfect, &s;potle&s;s righteou&s;ne&s;s, that he &s;hall &s;ee no &s;in in
<PB N="17" REF="9"> thee? If thou &s;aye&s;t the light or &s;pirit can do t' is in thee; I &s;ay, that I know the power of God is unlimitable, but the my&s;terie of his will he hath declared in Chri&s;t, and witne&s;&s;ed it in the Holy Scriptures, that by the blood of the man Chri&s;t Je&s;us alone, God did choo&s;e to go &s;orth in his power to the aboli&s;hing of &s;in and death, and manife&s;ting Redemption for us; and who art thou who would point out unto the wi&s;dome of God another method more agreeable to thy right rea&s;on? But know thou O man, that that Doctrine how my&s;terious &s;o ever in &s;hew that teacheth Redemp|tion to be by the works or operation of the Spirit within us, and not by that alone operation of God in the man Chri&s;t Je&s;us, is, it may be agreeable to mans rea&s;on, but a fearful contradiction to that ble&s;&s;ed my&s;terie of grace that appeared in Chri&s;t Je&s;us.</P>
<P>But Secondly, this Doctrine a&s;&s;erts another Chri&s;t, another Sa|viour, then him Je&s;us Chri&s;t of <HI>Nazareth,</HI> who was conceived of the Holy Gho&s;t, and born of the Virgin <HI>Mary,</HI> in whom dwelt the God-head bodily, who is our only Saviour and Med ator, and the true Chri&s;t, according to the te&s;timony of the Holy Scripture; de|claring the light and power that was in the man Chri&s;t con&s;idered as di&s;tinct and apart from his man-hood, and the light that enlight|neth every man that comes into the world (which is al&s;o by &s;ome called Je&s;us Chri&s;t) to be mans only Saviour, Mediator, and the true Chri&s;t, and that there is not another; contrary to the whole tenour and tendency of the Scriptures: which that it may be made appear&punc; con&s;ider fir&s;t, that this light which enlightneth every man that cometh into the world, &s;hewing him good and evil, is the &s;ame which remained in <HI>Adam</HI> after his tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, and before the promi&s;e of the Me&s;&s;ias, and &s;tands in every man as a witne&s;s for God, whereby he &s;hall be left without excu&s;e on the day of his righteous judgment; as is clear in the fir&s;t and &s;econd Chapter to the <HI>Romans,</HI> the Apo&s;tle &s;peaking of man enlightned with this lig<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t &s;aith, <HI>they do by nature the things contained in the Law;</HI> let them im|prove to the uttermo&s;t this Law or light that God hath placed in them, it will lead them to obey the things contained in the Law they are under: <HI>the&s;e not having a Law,</HI> that is, not being under the mini&s;tration of a Law written outwardly, as the Jews had, <HI>are a Law unto them&s;elves,</HI> that is, have a Law or light in them an&s;wera|ble to that outward Law, which is a Law unto them; which &s;hews
<PB N="18" REF="10"> the work of the Law written in their hearts, that is, the Law writ|ten in their Con&s;ciences, &s;hews to them the moral Precepts con|tained in the outward Law, <HI>their Con&s;ciences bearing witne&s;s and their thoughts accu&s;ing or excu&s;ing</HI> one another; And thus the Apo&s;tle vin|dicates Gods righteou&s;ne&s;s in giving them up to all manner of un|cleanne&s;s for not obeying this Law or light in the Con&s;cience, and not improving it to the manife&s;ting to them the true God, becau&s;e that which may be known of God is manife&s;t in them, for the in|vi&s;ible things of him even his eternal power and God-head, are clearly &s;een by the things that are made; &s;o that they are without excu&s;e in changing the glory of God into an Image like to corruptible man: And this is that light which enlight|neth every man that cometh into the world, and this is its work and office, by the things <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">hat are made to manife&s;t in man the in|vi&s;ible things of him that created them to wit, his eternal power and God-head, and to condemn them for their di&s;obedience; and thus it was with <HI>Adam,</HI> this light in his Con&s;cience di&s;cover|ed to him that he was fallen from God through his di&s;obedience, and therefore condemned him in him&s;elf, for &s;aid he, I heard thy voice and was afraid, and hid my &s;elf: thus this light did its work, ju&s;tified God and condemned him; but it left him there; he was not able by the uttermo&s;t improvement of this light to find out a recovery, out of that death he fell into through his di&s;obedience; therefore the Lord in pointing out to him a remedy, doth not di|rect him to that light in his Con&s;cience that &s;hewed him his lo&s;s, to heed that in him&s;elf, as having power and ability in it through his obedience thereunto to have re&s;tored him, nor to light and power con&s;idered as di&s;tinct and apart from the fle&s;h of the <HI>Me&s;&s;ias,</HI> to be his deliverer, which &s;hould have been according to the tendency of this Doctrine; but promi&s;eth him another kind of Saviour, another deliverer, which he made known to him in that great Go&s;pel pro|mi&s;e concerning the <HI>Me&s;&s;ias</HI> to come in our fle&s;h, <HI>the &s;eed of the Wo|man &s;hall break the Serpents head:</HI> which wonderful tran&s;action of the wi&s;dome and love of God in &s;ending his only begotten Son into the world, that who&s;oever believed on him might be &s;aved, is there|fore called by the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul, a great my&s;terie,</HI> to wit, <HI>God mani|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;t in fle&s;h, &s;een of Angels, Preached unto the Gentiles, and received up into glory;</HI> which cannot be under&s;tood to be &s;poken, of the light
<PB N="19" REF="10"> and power, or God-head, which was in the man Chri&s;t, con&s;idered without re&s;pect unto and apart from the fle&s;h the God-head was manife&s;t in; for in that was included that great my&s;terie, to wit God manife&s;t in fle&s;h, <HI>viz.</HI> in the prepared body of the <HI>Me&s;&s;ias;</HI> which cannot be applyed as &s;poken of the light that enlightneth every man that cometh into the world, without a &s;trange, con|&s;trained wre&s;ting the words of the Apo&s;tle:</P>
<P>Secondly, And how could it be otherwi&s;e, but that the breach made by the fir&s;t <HI>Adam</HI>'s di&s;obedience behoved to be repaired by the &s;econd <HI>Adam</HI>'s obedience? which &s;econd <HI>Adam</HI> though in re|&s;pect to his God-head is called a quickning &s;pirit, yet in re&s;pect of his being man, born of the Virgin <HI>Mary,</HI> is called the Son of man; and there<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ore is no more an Allegorical, My&s;tical, or wholly Spiritual Chri&s;t, then the fir&s;t <HI>Adam</HI> was an Allegorical, My&s;tical man: for <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">he Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> thus argues; as by <HI>one man</HI>'s di&s;obedience many are made &s;inners, &s;o by the obedience of <HI>one man</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t, the grace of God hath abounded to many: for as by the offence of <HI>one</HI> judgement came upon all men to condemna|tion, even &s;o by the righteou&s;ne&s;s of <HI>one</HI> the free gi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t came upon all men to ju&s;tification; mark, here is judgement upon all men to condemnation by one man<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> di&s;obedience, and the Apo&s;tle doth not add as the remedy out of that condemnation, even &s;o every man by his obedience to the light in his Con&s;cience, or by the works of the &s;pirit to be wrought in every particular man, comes the free gift to j<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;tification, but by the obedience of one man Je|&s;us Chri&s;t, grace hath abounded, and the free gift to ju&s;tification came, as by an obedience already done, a work already wrought by the man Chri&s;t Je&s;us; for con&s;ider, God had &s;aid to <HI>Adam,</HI> and becau&s;e he is God, it could not be revoked, <HI>in the day thou eats thereof th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">u &s;halt dye;</HI> now this being no le&s;s then the ju&s;t fruit of the fir&s;t <HI>Adam</HI>'s di&s;obedience, the ju&s;tice of God mu&s;t &s;tand firm in the execution of this Sentence, as well as the love of God in providing a remedy for man out of this death, the one could not confound the other, but both the one and the other behooved to &s;tand inviolably; becau&s;e God, as he is God, is ju&s;t and righteous, as well as loving and full of compa&s;&s;ion: here was therefore the wonder of this deliverance, man to be delivered by love, yet ju&s;tice to be an&s;wered to the full: who could break through this &s;tirred
<PB N="20" REF="11"> up wrath and quench it with love, throw down this wall of Bra&s;s, pa&s;s through the deeps of the Law, the cur&s;e, &s;in and death, and fulfill, take away, aboli&s;h, and openly triumph over all the&s;e by a perfect obedience to the will of God? who could turn a&s;ide this flaming Sword, that &s;tood every way in the hand of an Angel to keep man from acce&s;s to the tree of life? who could have an|&s;wered the requirings of love, that would re&s;tore man to life, and fulfill the requirings of wrath that would hold man captive in death, and yet &s;atisfie both? &s;urely none in Heaven nor on Earth, but <HI>he alone,</HI> mark, not it, light and power in the man Chr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t con&s;idered as di&s;tinct and apart from his man-hood, or body prepared, or the light enligh<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ning every man that comes into the world; but <HI>he,</HI> who trod the Wine-pre&s;s of his Fathers wrath alone, <HI>he alone</HI> who by the travel of his &s;oul could &s;atisfie the ju&s;tice of the father; <HI>he</HI> alone, and none el&s;e then the very word, the love of the father mu&s;t be this great undertaker, this &s;trong <HI>Samp&s;on</HI> to carry away tho&s;e Gates and Bars that hindered mans return to God; and that not &s;imply as the word, or God-head, con&s;idered as di&s;tinct and apart from the man Chri&s;t as he was the Son of man, born of the Virgin <HI>Mary,</HI> no more then the great &s;treng<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">h that was in <HI>Samp|&s;on,</HI> con&s;idered apart from his body did overthrow the Phili&s;tines, and carry away the gates, po&s;ts and bars of <HI>Gaza;</HI> but <HI>he, the word made fle&s;h,</HI> not the word alone, or the fle&s;h alone, but Je&s;us Chri&s;t partaking of our fle&s;h and blood, as being the Son of the Virgin <HI>Mary;</HI> this is <HI>he,</HI> the Lyon of the Tribe of <HI>Judah,</HI> who is found worthy and able to accompli&s;h this great work; he is this <HI>&s;econd Adam,</HI> to &s;tand in the place or &s;tead of the <HI>fir&s;t Adam,</HI> that by his perfect obedience to the will of his Father in <HI>that one prepared body,</HI> he might recover what was lo&s;t by the fir&s;t <HI>Adam</HI>'s di&s;obe|dience: and therefore this man (whom he calls our great High-Prie&s;t that is pa&s;&s;ed into the Heavens, Je&s;us the Son of God, our Lord that &s;prang out of <HI>Judah</HI>) becau&s;e he continueth ever (mark this man continueth ever) hath an unchangeable Prie&s;t-hood; wherefore he is able to &s;ave to the uttermo&s;t (mark this man is &s;ufficiently able of him&s;elf through what he hath already done and &s;uffered in his Crucified body, without the help of any thing to be wrought in us, &s;o as to attone with God for us, to &s;ave to the uttermo&s;t) all that come to God by h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">m, &s;eeing he ever
<PB N="21" REF="11"> liveth (mark this man ever liveth) to make interce&s;&s;ion for them.</P>
<P>Thirdly, But further the worker of this Redemption could not be the light and power which was in the man Chri&s;t con&s;idered as di&s;tinct from his prepared body, neither the light enlightning every man that comes into the world, becau&s;e only as &s;uch, he could not be like unto us, even &s;in being excepted: And it be|hooved him who was mans Saviour, to be &s;uch a High-Prie&s;t, who was touched with the feeling of our infirmities, wounded for our tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, as he &s;aith him&s;elf, O fools and &s;low of heart to be|lieve all that the Prophets have &s;poken, <HI>ought</HI> not Chri&s;t to have &s;uf|fered the&s;e things, and to enter into his glory: therefore when he comes into the world, he &s;aith, burnt offerings for &s;in thou would&s;t not, but <HI>a body</HI> thou ha&s;t prepared me, lo I come to do thy will O God, by which will we are &s;anctified through the offering of the <HI>body</HI> of Je&s;us once for all; as the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> &s;aid of him, <HI>he</HI> his own &s;elf bare or &s;ins <HI>in his body</HI> on the Tree, as was Prophe&s;ied of him by <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> the Lord laid on <HI>him</HI> the iniquities of us all, the cha&s;ti&s;ements of our peace were upon <HI>him:</HI> All which expre&s;&s;ions &s;o plainly &s;poken as having relation to the &s;ufferings of Chri&s;t in his <HI>Crucified body</HI> without us for us, cannot be &s;o my&s;teriou&s;ly allego|rized as to be only under&s;tood as having relation to the woundings, grievings, &s;tripings, quenchings, pre&s;&s;ings down of his &s;pirit within us, or to any works of mortification wrought or to be wrought within us by his &s;pirit; as if the cha&s;ti&s;ements of our peace, the woundings for our tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, the &s;tripes of our healing, were all to be tran&s;acted in our bodies, thereby to procure our Re|demption and Reconciliation; every one for him&s;elf being left in every generation, to &s;ave, redeem and reconcile him&s;elf, through the offering up of a perfect obedience to the light in his Con|&s;cience, and not to be &s;aved and redeemed by the obedience of one man Je&s;us Chri&s;t, in his <HI>body</HI> without us, by his woundings, and &s;tripings for, and bearing off our &s;ins in his <HI>body</HI> that was hanged on a Tree, and offered up as the one perfect Peace-offering once for all; unle&s;s we condemn the Prophets and Apo&s;tles who wrote of all the&s;e things as only relating to the &s;ufferings of Chri&s;t in his Crucified body without the gates of <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> as an offering for our &s;ins well plea&s;ing to the Father, that &s;o through his blood that
<PB N="22" REF="12"> he &s;hed upon the Cro&s;s he might obtain Redemption for us, becau&s;e <HI>without blood there was no remi&s;&s;ion;</HI> and therefore were almo&s;t all the things by the Law purged with blood, even the blood of Bulls and Goats, and the like; which bloody Sacr fices under the Law, were types of the Sacrifice of the body and blood of Chri&s;t, and there|fore pointed at, and were to give place to <HI>him</HI> the &s;ub&s;tance of them, as being that one, real, outward &s;ub&s;tantial Sacrifice once offered up for the &s;ins of the world, that having the iniquity of us all in his Crucified body, as the Anti-type of that Scape-Goat under the Law, he might bear them away into a Land of forget|fulne&s;s; which a meer &s;piritual Chri&s;t, altogether light and power within, without re&s;pect to his Crucified body without, and &s;o only an Allegorical Sacrifice of a my&s;terious body and blood in every man, and in every generation cannot (according to the plain naked truth as te&s;tified in the Holy Scriptures) be under&s;tood to be.</P>
<P>Therefore that man might have &s;uch a Champion, &s;o capacitate to accompli&s;h this Redemption, <HI>the word was made &s;le&s;h;</HI> who al|though he became man which (actually) before he was not, yet he was not the le&s;s God; and though he was God, as he was ever, yet in the fulne&s;s of time he was not the le&s;s man, made of a woman; the word or God-head was not converted into fle&s;h, but remained the word &s;till; the fle&s;h or man-hood was not by confu&s;ion of &s;ub&s;tance &s;wallowed up into the word or God-head, but remained really fle&s;h &s;till; and &s;o partaking of the &s;ub&s;tance of God being conceived of the Holy Gho&s;t, and of the &s;ub&s;tance of man, being born of the Virgin <HI>Mary,</HI> he was really God and really man, in an wonderful my&s;terious union; as is clear in &s;everal expre&s;&s;ions in the Holy Scripture concerning him: he &s;aith of him&s;elf, I am the root and off-&s;pring of <HI>David,</HI> as the root of <HI>David</HI> he is <HI>David</HI>'s Lord, as the off-&s;pring of <HI>David,</HI> he is <HI>David</HI>'s Son: he came in the form of a Servant, was a man of &s;orrows, acquainted with griefs, as he was man, yet he thought it no Robbery to be equal with God, the brigh<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ne&s;s of the fathers glory, the expre&s;s image of his &s;ub|&s;tance, becau&s;e he was God, and thus who can declare his genera|tion? for he was according to the words of the Prophet, <HI>the man God's fellow:</HI> he &s;aith of him&s;elf, <HI>I and the Father am one,</HI> becau&s;e he was God, he &s;aith al&s;o of him&s;elf, <HI>the Father is greater then I,</HI> be|cau&s;e
<PB N="23" REF="12"> he was man: he is Je&s;us Chri&s;t, the &s;ame ye&s;terday, to day, and for ever, without beginning or end of dayes as God, he is al&s;o Je&s;us Chri&s;t born of the Virgin <HI>Mary</HI> in the Town of <HI>Bethlehem,</HI> as man, and &s;o had a beginning, as is te&s;tified by the Angels from Heaven, for unto you <HI>this day</HI> is born in the City of <HI>David</HI> a Sa|viour which is Chri&s;t the Lord: he is the word by which the world was made, yea of the Son it is &s;aid, thou Lord in the beginning, ha&s;t lay'd the foundation of the earth, and thus he is the wi&s;dom and power of God, becau&s;e he is God, but he is al&s;o the word made fle&s;h that dwelt among&s;t us, my Servant, mine Elect, mine Anointed whom I have cho&s;en, becau&s;e he is al&s;o man; he &s;aid of him&s;elf, before <HI>Abraham was, I am;</HI> and he &s;aid truth, for he was God; <HI>John</HI> the Bapti&s;t te&s;tified of him, and his te&s;timony is al&s;o true, <HI>he comes after me,</HI> for he was man; he &s;aid of him&s;elf to the unbelieving Jews, 7. <HI>Joh.</HI> 28. <HI>Ye both know me and whence I am,</HI> and in the 8. <HI>Joh.</HI> 19. <HI>ye neither know me nor my Father:</HI> for this great my&s;terie, <HI>God manife&s;t in fle&s;h</HI> (not the my&s;terie of Chri&s;t by his &s;pirit in believers, as &s;ome groundle&s;ly &s;uppo&s;e, but) the my&s;terie of God in the fle&s;h of Chri&s;t, or <HI>God-man</HI> my&s;teriou&s;ly yet really united in that individual body of Chri&s;t prepared to do the will of the Father in, was that then, and is it now, which the wi&s;dom and rea&s;on of man, could not, cannot comprehend, as <HI>him,</HI> our only Redeemer, in whom the work of our Redemption is already fully accompli&s;hed for us, as a work done <HI>at once</HI> in that <HI>one Crucified body;</HI> whereof neverthele&s;s we are to have evidence in our &s;elves through faith by the operation of the Spirit of Chri&s;t within us, not to redeem us, but to manife&s;t in us that we are made partakers of Redemption in him already purcha&s;ed for us: but con&s;ider a little further tho&s;e words of the Apo&s;tle to the <HI>He|brews,</HI> 2.16. <HI>he</HI> took not upon him the nature of Angels, the &s;ame <HI>he,</HI> of whom he thus writes in the fir&s;t Chapter the Son, the Heir of all things, the brightne&s;s of his Fathers glory; thy Throne O God, is for ever and ever, the Scepter of Righteou&s;ne&s;s is the Scepter of thy Kingdom; thou Lord in the beginning ha&s;t lay'd the foundation of the Earth, and the Heavens are the works of thy hands; of <HI>him</HI> he &s;aith, <HI>he</HI> took not upon him the nature of An|gels, <HI>but the &s;eed of</HI> Abraham, and that not a &s;trange my&s;tical &s;eed, wholly power, &s;pirit and light within, according to the Doctrine
<PB N="24" REF="13"> of &s;ome; but the very &s;eed of the woman, not a &s;piritual &s;eed of an Allegorical woman, and &s;o a wholly &s;piritual, my&s;tical, alle|gorical Chri&s;t, only a light within us, the &s;pirit and power in the man Chri&s;t only; but being really born of a woman, he was the very natural, bodily Son of the Virgin <HI>Mary,</HI> who was e&s;pou&s;ed to a man who&s;e name was <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> of the hou&s;e of <HI>David;</HI> not the &s;piritual &s;eed of a &s;trange my&s;terious <HI>Mary,</HI> but the very natural (not &s;piritual) &s;eed of <HI>Abraham,</HI> the fruit of <HI>David</HI>'s Loins (pray mark it) according to the <HI>fle&s;h</HI> not according to the &s;pirit; that &s;o we might call him brother, which we could not do, were he wholly an allegorical, my&s;tical, and altogether &s;piritual Chri&s;t, only a &s;eed and light within us, and we the very natural po&s;terity of <HI>Adam</HI> according to the fle&s;h; but he became our brother; for as we the Children whom he came to redeem did partake of fle&s;h and blood, he al&s;o our Redeemer took part of the &s;ame; and if it had not been &s;o, there had been a mon&s;trous di&s;proportion be|twixt the Redeemer and the Redeemed; unle&s;s their Doctrine may be received for truth, who to make this agreeable proportion betwixt the Redeemer and the Redeemed, a&s;&s;ert, that the Re|demption is of the light within every man that is burdened and oppre&s;&s;ed; and that he that took on him not the nature of Angels but the &s;eed of <HI>Abraham,</HI> is this light or &s;eed within, &s;o to be rai&s;ed up within; but con&s;ider, is the light or &s;eed, or Chri&s;t in|deed under the Law, Sin, Death, Condemnation, and the cur&s;e that he needs to be redeemed or &s;aved from the&s;e? and if in every man this &s;eed or Chri&s;t is not &s;aved, doth it remain for ever in &s;ome under Condemnation? O how contrary is this Doctrine, to the truth of the Go&s;pel that &s;peaketh thus; man formed to be the living Image of God, fell &s;hort of his glory, and through di&s;obe|dience was &s;eparate from the life of God, in Soul, Spirit and Bo|dy, fell into darkne&s;s, death and the cur&s;e; and this was it or ra|ther him that wanted Redemption, whom Chri&s;t came to redeem; 5. <HI>Rom.</HI> when we were yet without &s;trength in due time, <HI>Chri&s;t dyed for the ungodly;</HI> &s;carcely for a righteous man will one dye, but peradventure for a <HI>good man</HI> &s;ome will even dare to dye; but while we were yet &s;inners Chri&s;t dyed for us before we either knew or &s;ought after it: and therefore as the Children took part of fle&s;h
<PB N="25" REF="13"> and blood, Chri&s;t took part of the &s;ame; and by bringing his God-head into it, he Crucified and aboli&s;hed &s;in, death, and the cur&s;e out of it, and &s;o pre&s;ents to God a ju&s;tified, perfect people in him&s;elf; and this is that Redemption that is a my&s;terie, which by the principles of right rea&s;on cannot be di&s;cerned, but is &s;een by the light of the glorious Go&s;pel &s;hining in our hearts.</P>
<P>But fourthly, had the light and power which was in the man Chri&s;t con&s;idered without re&s;pect unto and apart from his fle&s;h or manhood, and the light enlightning every man that comes into the world been the true Chri&s;t, mans only Saviour, Mediator and Redeemer, a Chri&s;t wholly &s;piritual and within, without re&s;pect to that prepared body he came to do the Fathers will in, then in vain gave all the Prophets witne&s;s unto <HI>him</HI> as the true <HI>Me&s;&s;ias,</HI> the very Chri&s;t, even <HI>Je&s;us of Nazareth,</HI> whom the Jews &s;lew, and whom God rai&s;ed from the dead, that through his name, who&s;o|ever believeth in him &s;hall receive remi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins; as in 10. <HI>Acts</HI> 38.43. And the expectations of the Holy men of old had been fru&s;trate in waiting for the Redemption and Con&s;olation of I&s;rael, through the <HI>Me&s;&s;ias</HI> to come in our fle&s;h as the Prophets had fore|told: 1. <HI>Luke</HI> 68.70. and 2. <HI>Luke</HI> 25.38. And the Mini&s;tration of the Apo&s;tles had been &s;uperfluous, te&s;tifying how that the&s;e things which God before hand had &s;hewed by the mouth of all his Prophets, that Chri&s;t &s;hould &s;o &s;uffer, he had then fulfilled, in glo|rifying his Son Je&s;us, whom the Jews delivered up in the pre&s;ence of <HI>Pilate,</HI> whom God rai&s;ed from the dead, whereof they were witne&s;&s;es: 3. <HI>Acts.</HI> 13.18. Yea, Chri&s;ts own te&s;timony of him|&s;elf after his Re&s;urrection, &s;hewing to his Di&s;ciples, that accord|ing as it was written in the Law of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and in the Prophets, and in the P&s;alms, that it behooved Chri&s;t to &s;uffer, and to ri&s;e from the dead the third day, that repentance and remi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins &s;hould be Preached in his name among all Nations beginning at <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> was &s;poken concerning him&s;elf, and then fulfilled, 24. <HI>Luke</HI> 44. I &s;ay this te&s;timony had been to no purpo&s;e: And indeed the purpo&s;e of grace hid in God from all eternity, and in fulne&s;s of time manife&s;ted through his &s;ending his Son into the world made of a woman, concerning that wonderful contrivance of mans Redemption through the incarnation or becoming man of the Son of God, <HI>the word made fle&s;h,</HI> were at one breath made void,
<PB N="26" REF="14"> as to any nece&s;&s;ity of the words &s;o being made fle&s;h, or of the true Chri&s;ts bearing in his body the iniquity of us all, and ri&s;ing again the third day, that remi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins might be Preached in his name, that who&s;oever believed in him &s;hould be &s;aved: The light and power of God (without all this ado) con&s;idered as di&s;tinct and apart from the body of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and &s;o the word it &s;elf &s;imply, not the word made fle&s;h, and the light enlightning every man that comes into the world, being the true Chri&s;t, mans only Saviour and Redeemer; and every man having in him&s;elf, a Chri&s;t within, a &s;eed, a light, or mea&s;ure of the pure eternal God, by turning whereinto, out of all &s;ayings, writings, operations, or Chri&s;t without, it doth through obedience there unto de&s;troy and purge out &s;in out of us, and &s;o redeem and reconcile us to God; without re&s;pect to the word manife&s;t in fle&s;h, the my&s;terie of God in the fle&s;h of Chri&s;t, as having already vanqui&s;hed in his Crucified body, and buried in his grave, &s;in and death, and all powers that were again&s;t us for us, as this Doctrine teacheth. But I find an agreeing te&s;timony betwixt the Prophets &amp; Apo&s;tles witne&s;&s;ing to one and the &s;ame Chri&s;t, and <HI>him</HI> only to be the true Chri&s;t, our Lord and onely Saviour, even that &s;ame <HI>Je&s;us of Nazareth,</HI> who was born in <HI>Bethlehem,</HI> in the Country of <HI>Judea,</HI> in the dayes of <HI>Cae&s;ar Augu&s;tus,</HI> whom the Jews Crucified, <HI>Pontius Pilate</HI> being then Governour of <HI>Judea; In whom the fulne&s;s of the God-head dwelt bodily:</HI> And there is not another. That Prophet <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;poke of. 18. <HI>Deut.</HI> whom God would rai&s;e like unto him from among his Brethren, is 13. <HI>Acts.</HI> by the Apo&s;tle applyed to be under&s;tood of that &s;ame Je&s;us, whom the Jews delivered up in the pre&s;ence of <HI>Pilate;</HI> light and power which was in the man Chri&s;t, con&s;idered as di|&s;tinct from his man-hood, could not be <HI>he</HI> a Prophet like unto the <HI>man Mo&s;es,</HI> no more then light and power in <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> might have been e&s;teemed <HI>him,</HI> that <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> to whom God appeared in the bu&s;h; and farther light and power in Chri&s;t, being words expre&s;&s;ing the God-head that dwelt in him, could not be a Prophet like unto <HI>Mo|&s;es,</HI> unle&s;s al&s;o <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> could have been reckoned not to have been a man.</P>
<P>That Prophe&s;ie of <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> in the 53. Chapter, is in &s;everal places of the New Te&s;tament applyed to be under&s;tood of Je&s;us Chri&s;t of <HI>Nazareth,</HI> 8. <HI>Acts</HI> 32. he was led as a &s;heep to the &s;laughter, as a
<PB N="27" REF="14"> Lamb he opened not his mouth, 35 ver&s;e, then <HI>Philip</HI> began at the &s;ame Scripture and Preached Je&s;us; and he converted the Eunuch to whom he Preached to believe in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and that he of whom <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> Prophe&s;ied was Je&s;us Chri&s;t the Son of God, and &s;urely <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> did not Prophe&s;ie of the light in this Eunuch Con|&s;cience to be the true Chri&s;t. In 8. <HI>Mat.</HI> 17. the words of <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> are &s;aid to be fulfilled in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, &s;aying him&s;elf took our in|firmities and bare our &s;ickne&s;&s;es: 15. <HI>Mark</HI> 18. when Je&s;us was Crucified between two Thieves, it is added, that the Scripture might be fulfilled &s;aying, he was numbred among tran&s;gre&s;&s;ors, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.24. the Apo&s;tle repeats the Prophets words, applying them to Je&s;us Chri&s;t whom the Jews Crucified, he his own &s;elf bare our &s;ins in his body on the tree, by who&s;e &s;tripes we were healed: 12. <HI>Joh.</HI> 38. It is &s;aid they believed not in him, that the &s;aying of <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> might be fulfilled, &s;aying Lord who hath believed our report: the&s;e expre&s;&s;ions cannot be under&s;tood to be &s;poken of the light and power in the man Chri&s;t con&s;idered as di&s;tinct and apart from his man-hood, neither of the light that enlightneth every man that cometh into the world; but are only applyed by the Apo&s;tles to have been &s;poken of Je&s;us Chri&s;t as Son of man to ex|pre&s;s his real exi&s;tence without us, and his &s;ufferings in his Cru|cified body for us: For light and power being words to expre&s;s his God-head, it cannot be &s;o &s;poken of the Deity that it was Crucified between two Thieves, that it took our infirmities, that it was hanged on a Tree; without owning the Bla&s;phemy of &s;uch who affirm that when Chri&s;t &s;uffered death without the gates of <HI>Je|ru&s;alem,</HI> the very God-head, to wit the light and power in the man Chri&s;t dyed al&s;o.</P>
<P>That light and &s;alvation of the Gentiles Prophe&s;ied of 49. <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> 6. I will give <HI>thee</HI> for a light to the Gentiles; it is not &s;aid, I will give it, the light that enlightneth every man that comes into the world, for that was already given to every man as he came into the world, but it is I <HI>will</HI> give, &s;peaking of one to be given, that then was not actually given for a light to the Gentiles; accor|dingly in 13. <HI>Acts.</HI> 38.47. this is &s;aid to be under&s;tood of him, the man Chri&s;t Je&s;us through whom they Preached forgivene&s;s of &s;ins: that &s;ame Crucified Chri&s;t, whom they Preached as the only Chri&s;t to the Jews, is the very &s;ame Chri&s;t they Preached as
<PB N="28" REF="15"> a light to the Gentiles; and we are not to under&s;tand this accord<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ng to their &s;trange opinion, who affirm, that Chri&s;t was &s;ometime Preached as Crucified to the Jews, but more generally a light to the Gentiles; as if there were one Chri&s;t, to wit, a Crucified Chri&s;t Preached to the Jews; and another Chri&s;t, to wit, a light enlightning every man that comes into the world, to the Gentiles; nay, nay, Chri&s;t, the true Chri&s;t is not divided, he is one &amp; the &s;ame both to Jews and Gentiles; the light to the Gentiles and the Cru|cified Chri&s;t is one and the &s;ame, even <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t of Nazareth;</HI> according to the te&s;timony of old <HI>Simeon.</HI> 2. <HI>Luke</HI> 27. he was a de|vout man, obedient to the light in his Con&s;cience, yet he waited for the true Chri&s;t, the <HI>Me&s;&s;ias</HI> the Prophets &s;poke of to come, <HI>he waited for the con&s;olation of I&s;rael;</HI> and it was revealed to him by the Holy Gho&s;t that he &s;hould not &s;ee death till he had &s;een the Lords Chri&s;t; light, power and &s;pirit which was in the man Chri&s;t con|&s;idered as di&s;tinct and apart from the <HI>Me&s;&s;ias</HI> then to be born of the Vi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">gin <HI>Mary,</HI> could not be <HI>he,</HI> the Lords Chri&s;t he looked for to come, becau&s;e through it in him&s;elf he wai<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ed the appointed time to &s;ee the Lords Chri&s;ts; neither could the light in his Con&s;cience be <HI>he,</HI> the Lords Chri&s;t he was to &s;ee, becau&s;e having it placed in him as he came into the world, as al&s;o every man hath, he could not be &s;aid to wait for a time, yet to come when he &s;hould &s;ee it; Therefore when he had the <HI>Child Je&s;us</HI> in his arms, not a my&s;tical or wholly &s;piritual Child, or Chri&s;t within him, in the my&s;terious arms of his &s;oul only as inwardly &s;een by him; but that very <HI>Babe,</HI> whom his Parents, to wit, <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> and <HI>Mary,</HI> brought to the Tem|ple, to wit, the place of wor&s;hip at <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> to do for him after the cu&s;tome of the Law of <HI>Mo&s;es; then</HI> &s;aid old <HI>Simeon, now</HI> (and mark, not before now, though he had in him the light enlightning every man that comes into the world, though he had al&s;o the Reve|lation of the Holy Gho&s;t) <HI>let thy Servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have &s;een thy Salvation, a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people I&s;rael;</HI> and <HI>Simeon</HI> &s;aid unto <HI>Mary</HI> his Mother, <HI>Behold, this Child</HI> (mark this and fear, you that Preach up the light enlight|ning every man that comes into the world to be the true Chri&s;t, this Child, the Son of <HI>Mary,</HI> whom he had in his arms) <HI>is &s;et for the fall and ri&s;ing again of many in I&s;rael;</HI> lea&s;t you &s;tumble on this &s;tumbling &s;tone: <HI>Jeremiah</HI> 23.5, 6. Prophe&s;ieth of a <HI>branch</HI> to be
<PB N="29" REF="15"> rai&s;ed unto <HI>David,</HI> that &s;hould be called the Lord our Righteou&s;|ne&s;s. <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> 11. Prophe&s;ieth of a <HI>rod</HI> to come out of the &s;tem of <HI>Je&s;&s;e,</HI> a <HI>branch</HI> out of his roots, Chapter 9 of a <HI>Child</HI> to be born of the increa&s;e of who&s;e government there &s;hould be no end upon the Throne of <HI>his Father</HI> David: and in the 132. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> it is &s;aid, the Lord hath &s;worn unto <HI>David</HI> in truth, of the <HI>fruit of thy body</HI> I will &s;et upon thy Throne, I will make the <HI>horn of</HI> David to bud: all inti|mating that the true Chri&s;t, or <HI>Me&s;&s;ias</HI> was to come of the <HI>&s;eed of David;</HI> and hence the unbelieving Jews, though they rejected <HI>him,</HI> when come in our fle&s;h, yet they had a clearer &s;ight of <HI>him,</HI> the true Chri&s;t, the <HI>Me&s;&s;ias</HI> whom they looked for to come; then they have who a&s;&s;ert, that the light enlightning every man that comes in the world, is <HI>he,</HI> the true Chri&s;t; for they knew and confe&s;&s;ed to this truth, 7. <HI>Joh.</HI> 42. <HI>hath not the Scripture &s;aid that Chri&s;t cometh of the &s;eed of David?</HI> they were not &s;o wholly ignorant, as to &s;ay, hath not the Scripture &s;aid tha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> the light that enlightneth every man that cometh into the world is the true Chri&s;t, the <HI>Me&s;&s;ias?</HI></P>
<P>Therefore according to the te&s;timony of the Prophets, <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t of Nazareth,</HI> who was born in <HI>Bethlehem</HI> of the Virgin <HI>Mary,</HI> is <HI>he,</HI> that very &s;eed and Son of <HI>David,</HI> Prophe&s;ied of to be the <HI>Me&s;&s;ias,</HI> the true Chri&s;t, and not another; 1. <HI>Luke</HI> 31. the An|gel &s;aid to <HI>Mary,</HI> and behold thou &s;halt conceive in thy Womb, and bring forth a Son, and &s;halt call his name <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> mark, the light in her Con&s;cience is not this Son called Je&s;us conceived in her Womb; &s;urely that agreeth not to right rea&s;on; and <HI>he</HI> &s;hall be great, and &s;hall be called the Son of the highe&s;t, and the Lord God &s;hall give him the Throne of his Father <HI>David,</HI> and of his Kingdom there &s;hall be no end: although <HI>David</HI> the Son of <HI>Je&s;&s;e</HI> is called the Father of the <HI>Me&s;&s;ias,</HI> the true Chri&s;t being of his &s;eed, yet <HI>David</HI> cannot be called the Father of the light that enlightneth every man that comes into the world; 1. <HI>Luke</HI> 67. And <HI>Zacha|rias</HI> filled with the Holy Gho&s;t Prophe&s;ied &s;aying, ble&s;&s;ed be the Lord God, for <HI>he hath vi&s;ited and redeemed his people,</HI> and hath rai&s;ed up an horn of <HI>Salvation for us</HI> in the hou&s;e of his Servant <HI>David,</HI> as he &s;pake by the mouth of his Holy Prophets; mark, he &s;peaks of a Redemption, Vi&s;titation, Salvation that God had then rai&s;ed in the hou&s;e of <HI>David;</HI> which he &s;poke not in relation to the light en|lightning every man that comes into the world, for that was in
<PB N="30" REF="16"> every man already, but of <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> then rai&s;ed of <HI>David</HI>'s <HI>&s;eed</HI> to be an horn of Salvation for us; of him God &s;poke by the mouth of his Holy Prophets; and which of all the Holy Prophets &s;poke of the light enlightning every man that comes into the world as a horn of Salvation to be rai&s;ed in the hou&s;e of <HI>David</HI> for us: 13. <HI>Acts</HI> 22. I have found <HI>David</HI> the Son of <HI>Je&s;&s;e,</HI> a <HI>man</HI> after my own heart, (not a my&s;terious <HI>David</HI>) of this <HI>mans &s;eed,</HI> hath God according to his promi&s;e, rai&s;ed unto I&s;rael <HI>a Saviour Je&s;us;</HI> O mark it, you who declare the Chri&s;t, the Saviour to be wholly &s;piritual, and only light within; the true Saviour, <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> accord|ing to the te&s;timony of this Apo&s;tle, is rai&s;ed of the <HI>man David</HI>'s &s;eed, and there is not another, <HI>Acts</HI> 2. <HI>Peter</HI> &s;peaking of the Prophet <HI>David,</HI> &s;aith being a Prophet, and knowing that God had &s;worn with an oath to him, <HI>that of the fruit of his Loins according to the fle&s;h,</HI> he would rai&s;e up <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> to &s;it upon his Throne, O that you would &s;eriou&s;ly con&s;ider it! you who would have the light in the Con&s;cience to be the true Chri&s;t, the <HI>&s;piritual &s;eed of</HI> Abraham and <HI>David,</HI> lea&s;t you be found to charge God with perjury, who hath &s;worn to <HI>David</HI> that of the fruit of his Loins according to <HI>the fle&s;h,</HI> he would rai&s;e up Chri&s;t: Since therefore the true Chri&s;t is according to the fle&s;h (not &s;piritually) the Son of <HI>David,</HI> and &s;ince in the 110. <HI>P&s;al. David</HI> in &s;pirit calleth <HI>Chri&s;t his Lord,</HI> then to &s;ome I propo&s;e this que&s;tion, if the word alone, not the word made fle&s;h, and &s;o only light and power and &s;pirit within be the true Chri&s;t, how then is he <HI>David</HI>'s Son, the fruit of his Loins ac|cording to the fle&s;h? And to others I propo&s;e this que&s;tion, if the true Chri&s;t be the fle&s;h alone, not the word made fle&s;h, and &s;o the fruit of <HI>David</HI>'s Loins according to the fle&s;h con&s;idered as di|&s;tinct from his God-head which dwelt in him bodily, how then is he <HI>David</HI>'s <HI>Lord?</HI> &s;urely the&s;e men on either hand err not knowing the Scriptures, which do clearly te&s;tifie, according to that of the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul,</HI> 1. <HI>Rom.</HI> 3.4. Concerning Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that he was made of the Seed of <HI>David</HI> according to the fle&s;h, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of Holine&s;s, by the Re&s;urrection from the dead; thus he is God-man in union, <HI>David</HI>'s Son according to the fle&s;h, and <HI>David</HI>'s Lord according to the &s;pirit and power.</P>
<PB N="31" REF="16">
<P>Con&s;ider the te&s;timony of <HI>John the Bapti&s;t,</HI> who was &s;ent to bear witne&s;s who this true Chri&s;t was; <HI>John</HI> being asked whether he was the Chri&s;t or not? he an&s;wered hone&s;tly, plainly, not with doubtful or equivocating expre&s;&s;ions, <HI>I am not he,</HI> neither I nor any light in me is he the Me&s;&s;ias, the true Chri&s;t you look for; but being the witne&s;s and fore-runner of the true Chri&s;t (not of the light in his Con&s;cience) he &s;aith, I knew him not, but he that &s;ent me to baptize, &s;aid unto me, <HI>upon whom thou &s;halt &s;ee the Spirit de&s;cend, and remaining, the &s;ame is he:</HI> It is not &s;aid, in whom with thy inward eye, thou &s;hall &s;ee the nature of the Dove, that the light and power in that prepared ve&s;&s;el, is he; for if &s;o, then he might have &s;aid of him&s;elf, I am he that &s;peaketh, as hath been boldly a&s;&s;erted among&s;t us, under this mental re&s;ervation, the body is but the prepared ve&s;&s;el, the &s;eed, the light, the nature of the Dove in me, is he, the Chri&s;t you look for; I witne&s;s the Son in me, the Father and Son is one, he thought it no robbery to be equal with God; &s;o I witne&s;s equality with God: But is this a form of &s;ound words? which of all the Apo&s;tles who witne&s;&s;ed Son-&s;hip, Chri&s;t within, &s;o &s;poke or wrote: But if this &s;ight of <HI>Johns</HI> had been only &s;piritual, of a Chri&s;t altogether light within, why not al&s;o my&s;tical water, a my&s;terious <HI>Jordan,</HI> and an alle|gorical <HI>John,</HI> to baptize this light within? But <HI>John</HI> that he might plainly witne&s;s who this true Chri&s;t, the Me&s;&s;ias was, further adds, I &s;aw, and bear record, <HI>this is the Son of God,</HI> even <HI>he that comes after me,</HI> yet is preferred before me, <HI>for he was before me;</HI> this (God-man in union, that was before him, yet came after him) is <HI>the Lamb of God that takes away the &s;ins of the world;</HI> the &s;ame that in the purpo&s;e of God was &s;lain from the foundation of the world, and in the fulne&s;s of time made a Sacrifice once at the end of the world, not every year with the blood of others, for then he mu&s;t often have &s;uffered, but once by the Sacrifice of him&s;elf, not by a Sacrifice of obedience in our bodies in after generations, but by the one Sacrifice of his body; that we might be &s;anctified through his blood, and might with boldne&s;s enter into the Holie&s;t by the blood of Je&s;us, as by a new and living way which he hath con&s;e|crated through the vail, that is to &s;ay his fle&s;h: this is the Lamb of God that takes away the &s;ins of the world, and this is the Chri&s;t, the Me&s;&s;ias to whom <HI>John</HI> came to bear witne&s;s, and there is not
<PB N="32" REF="17"> another, and his te&s;timony of him is true, he is <HI>the word made fle&s;h.</HI></P>
<P>Con&s;ider the te&s;timony of the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter,</HI> 2. <HI>Acts</HI> 36. Let all the hou&s;e of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> know a&s;&s;uredly that God hath made that <HI>&s;ame Je&s;us whom ye Crucified, both Lord and Chri&s;t. Acts</HI> 4.8. <HI>Peter</HI> filled with the Holy Gho&s;t &s;aid unto them, be it known unto you all, and to all the people of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> that by the name of <HI>Je&s;us of Nazareth,</HI> whom you Crucified, whom God rai&s;ed from the dead, even by him doth this man &s;tand whole: this is the &s;tone &s;et at nought by you Builders (O mark this you who pretend to be Builders of the Church, returned out of the wilderne&s;s, and yet reject him, by Preaching and Printing up the light that enlightneth every man that comes into the world to be <HI>he</HI>) which is become the head of the corner, neither is there Salvation in any other; 5. <HI>Acts</HI> 30.31. <HI>Je&s;us</HI> whom ye hanged on a tree <HI>him</HI> hath God exalted to be a Prince and Saviour to give repentance to <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and forgivene&s;s of &s;ins: mark, no Salvation, no Repentance, no Remi&s;&s;ion but through faith in this Crucified, now exacted Chri&s;t, Prince and Saviour: 10. <HI>Acts</HI> 38. &s;peaking of <HI>Je&s;us of Nazareth</HI> whom the Jews &s;lew and hanged on a tree, to him (&s;aith <HI>Peter</HI>) give all the Prophets witne&s;s, that through <HI>his name</HI> who&s;oever believeth in him &s;hall receive remi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins: &s;urely then (if <HI>Peter</HI> may be believed) none of all the Prophets ever witne&s;&s;ed, the light en|lightning every man that comes into the world, to be the true Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Mind the te&s;timony of the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul:</HI> he &s;aith of Chri&s;t, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.8. how that after his re&s;urrection he was &s;een of above five hundred brethren at once, then of all the Apo&s;tles, la&s;t of all he was &s;een of me al&s;o; now this Chri&s;t the Apo&s;tles all &s;aw after his Re&s;urrection, was not the light in their Con&s;ciences, a Chri&s;t altogether &s;pirit and power within, for they te&s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">fied that the &s;ame Je&s;us whom the Jews Crucified, God rai&s;ed from the dead; and that he really appeared to them outwardly, con&s;ider what he &s;aid to them when he &s;o appeared among them, why are you troubled? why do thoughts ari&s;e in your hearts, behold my hands and my feet, that it is I my &s;elf, a &s;pirit hath not fle&s;h and bones as you &s;ee me have: dare we venture to believe him upon his word of him|&s;elf? however the Apo&s;tles &s;aw and believed; and yet ble&s;&s;ed are
<PB N="33" REF="17"> they that have not &s;een, and yet have believed; and la&s;t of all <HI>Paul</HI> al&s;o &s;aw that &s;ame Je&s;us of <HI>Nazareth</HI> whom the re&s;t &s;aw; 22. <HI>Acts</HI> 8. Je&s;us appeared to him &s;aying, <HI>Saul, Saul</HI> why per&s;e|cute&s;t thou me; <HI>Saul</HI> an&s;wered who art thou Lord? the Lord an|&s;wered, <HI>I am Je&s;us of Nazareth</HI> whom thou per&s;ecute&s;t: con&s;ider the&s;e words of our Lord; he &s;aith not, I am the light and power t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">at was in the man <HI>Chri&s;t Je&s;us of Nazareth,</HI> con&s;idered as a part from his body, or man-hood; neither doth he &s;ay of him&s;elf, the light that enligh neth every man that comes into the world is Je&s;us Chri&s;t; neither doth he &s;ay, I am he, who while I was upon earth was called among the Jews, Je&s;us of <HI>Nazareth;</HI> but to manife&s;t his pre&s;ent, real, outward, glorified exi&s;tence in his Fathers King|dom, he &s;aith, <HI>I am Je&s;us of</HI> Nazareth, whom thou per&s;ecute&s;t: 9. <HI>Acts</HI> 20. he Preached Chri&s;t that he is the Son of God; and he confounded the Jews, proving that this is very Chri&s;t. 17. <HI>Acts</HI> 3. he rea&s;oned out of the Scriptures, that Chri&s;t mu&s;t needs have &s;uf|fered, and ri&s;en again from the dead, and that this Je&s;us whom I Preach to you is Chri&s;t: mark, he Preached Je&s;us of <HI>Nazareth</HI> that appeared to him, who was Crucified by the Jews, ri&s;en from the dead, and glorified bodily without him, to be the true Chri&s;t, and not the light that enlightens every man that comes into the world; he di&s;puted at <HI>Athens</HI> with certain Philo&s;ophers, with whom he incountred, wi&s;e <HI>Greeks,</HI> men of great rea&s;on and under&s;tanding beyond others; but he &s;eemed as a fooli&s;h fellow to the&s;e, a bab|ler, a &s;etter forth of &s;trange Gods, &s;uch as their <HI>right rea&s;on</HI> could not comprehend, becau&s;e he Preached to them Je&s;us and the Re|&s;urrection.</P>
<P>Let the te&s;timony of all the Apo&s;tles joyntly be con&s;idered in this matter; who being Gods cho&s;en witne&s;&s;es to publi&s;h to the world who this true Chri&s;t was, we are either to receive their te|&s;timony as truth, or el&s;e we are to conclude that they appeared to cheat the world with a fal&s;e te&s;timony: 6. <HI>Joh.</HI> 69. <HI>Peter</HI> in the name of the re&s;t, &s;aith to Chri&s;t their Ma&s;ter, <HI>we believe</HI> and are &s;ure that <HI>thou art the Chri&s;t,</HI> the Son of the living God; 16. <HI>Mat.</HI> Chri&s;t &s;aid to his Apo&s;tles, but whom &s;ay you, that I the Son of man am? and this is the que&s;tion; who is this Son of man, the true Chri&s;t? whether the light that enlightneth every man that comes into the world, or <HI>Je&s;us of Nazareth</HI> conceived of the Holy
<PB N="34" REF="18"> Gho&s;t and born of the Virgin <HI>Mary,</HI> whether light and power only, to wit the word alone, or the word made fle&s;h? <HI>Peter</HI> in the name of the re&s;t an&s;wereth the que&s;tion, <HI>thou</HI> (not <HI>it,</HI> light within only, but <HI>thou</HI> the Son of man who aske&s;t the que&s;tion, <HI>thou (art the Chri&s;t, the Son of the living God.</HI></P>
<P>La&s;tly, take Chri&s;ts own te&s;timony of him&s;elf, 4. <HI>John</HI> 25. he &s;aith to the woman of <HI>Samaria,</HI> I that &s;peaks to thee am <HI>he,</HI> the Me&s;&s;ias you expect: 9. <HI>Joh.</HI> 35. he &s;aith to the blind man, whom he re&s;tored to &s;ight, thou ha&s;t &s;een <HI>him</HI> (the Son of God) and it is he that talketh with thee; 14. <HI>Mark</HI> 26. the High-Prie&s;t asked him, art thou the Chri&s;t, the Son of God? a plain que&s;tion; &s;poke in reference to him, Je&s;us of <HI>Nazareth,</HI> then betrayed into his hand, &s;tanding before him at the judgment &s;eat; he &s;aith not, is the light, or &s;eed or &s;pirit, in thee the Chri&s;t? and I think Chri&s;ts own plain an&s;wer &s;hould determine this matter; and who dare give the Son of God the lye to his face, who an&s;wered to the High-Prie&s;t, <HI>I am:</HI> 8. <HI>John</HI> 25. he &s;aid to the Jews, who asked him, who art thou? even the &s;ame I &s;aid unto you from the beginning; he never varied or equivocated in his te&s;timony of him&s;elf; he never &s;aid of him|&s;elf, that the light that enlightneth every man that comes into the world, or that light and power that was in that prepared ve&s;&s;el or body, in which he came to do the will of his Father, con&s;idered as di&s;tinct from it, was he the true Chri&s;t, neither is it any where &s;o written of <HI>him, Je&s;us Chri&s;t of Nazareth,</HI> who is the Lords Chri&s;t, in any place of Holy Scripture from the beginning of <HI>Gene&s;is,</HI> to the end of the Revelation of <HI>John.</HI></P>
<P>Thus having by a full, plain Scripture-te&s;timony clearly mani|fe&s;ted who the true Chri&s;t, our Saviour and Mediator is, even <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t of Nazareth,</HI> who was conceived of the Holy Gho&s;t, and born of the Virgin <HI>Mary,</HI> in the Country of <HI>Judea,</HI> above &s;ix|teen hundred years ago, and that there is not another; and the manner of our Redemption and Salvation, to be through the works wrought in his Crucified body for us, by the operation of his &s;pirit by faith to be witne&s;&s;ed and evidenced within us; we are therefore either to believe this te&s;timony of the Prophets and Apo&s;tles, and to acknowledge that they &s;poke the very truth of God in publi&s;hing this Doctrine, and con&s;equently that any other Doctrine from any &s;pirit what&s;omever not according to this Doctrine already publi&s;hed by them is out of the truth and &s;impli|city
<PB N="35" REF="18"> of the Go&s;pel, and the publi&s;hers thereof to be in an error, and &s;o deceived; or el&s;e we are to own that the light that enlight|neth every man that cometh into the world, is he the true Chri&s;t, our only Saviour, and that the manner and method of Salvation and Redemption is through the operation or working of this light or Chri&s;t within, as we become obedient thereunto, without any re|&s;pect had to a Redemption and Reconciliation already wrought for us in the Crucified body of Chri&s;t, as a matter of any nece&s;&s;ity to us, thereby to purcha&s;e Salvation for us; and con&s;equently that the Apo&s;tles the publi&s;hers of that other Doctrine, were in a great error, and &s;o deceived the world to whom they publi&s;hed their Doctrine; becau&s;e, I &s;uppo&s;e none can be &s;o &s;otti&s;hly ignorant as to a&s;&s;ert, that the light that enlightneth every man that comes into the world, is <HI>he,</HI> the Lord <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t of Nazareth,</HI> a man approv|ed among the people, whom the Jews hanged on a tree, and whom God rai&s;ed from the dead above &s;ixteen hundred years ago, who is the Lords Chri&s;t; our only Saviour.</P>
<P>Now before I fini&s;h this di&s;cour&s;e, I have this to &s;ay in few words, fir&s;t to him that &s;aith he believes all that the Prophets and Apo&s;tles have thus te&s;tified concerning Je&s;us Chri&s;t of <HI>Nazareth,</HI> that he is the Lords Chri&s;t, and our only Saviour, and that there is not another; who al&s;o own the manner and method that the wi&s;|dom of God hath found out for our Redemption, as it is already wrought for us in the Crucified body of Chri&s;t without us? what will an Hi&s;torical faith as of things altogether without, avail thee, while thou ha&s;t not evidence within thy &s;elf by a living faith of thy being redeemed through the Redemption that is in him; a flatter|ing, Hypocritical extolling of Chri&s;t in his offices, as King, Prie&s;t, and Prophet, without thee, while thou denies him in the exerci&s;e of the&s;e offices within thee by the opperation of his &s;pirit, is but a perverting the grace of God to licentiou&s;ne&s;s; to be a Profe&s;&s;or of the words and writings of the Prophets and Apo&s;tles as recorded in the Holy Scriptures without, and not a Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;or of a mea&s;ure of that &s;pirit within, by and through which they &s;o &s;poke and wrote, is but to have a name to be alive when thou art really dead: And that &s;ame <HI>Je&s;us of Nazareth</HI> who was dead and is alive, whom thou pretends to own in words, to &s;uch Name-Chri&s;tians as thy &s;elf, that never did in any mea&s;ure partake of his nature, will &s;ay one
<PB N="36" REF="19"> day, <HI>depart from me, I know you not;</HI> if thou intends not to cheat thy own &s;oul out of the benefit of this great Redemption already purcha&s;ed in Chri&s;t, then &s;atisfie not thy &s;elf, till that be experi|mentally made effectual within thee, which Chri&s;t hath already done for thee in his Crucified body without thee.</P>
<P>Secondly, I &s;ay to &s;uch as a&s;&s;ert, that the light and power which was in the man Chri&s;t con&s;idered as di&s;tinct and apart from his body prepared to do the will of his Father in, and the light which enlightneth every man that cometh into the world, is the only true Chri&s;t, our Saviour and Redeemer, and that there is not ano|ther; and that this light or Chri&s;t in his people is the &s;ub&s;tance of all figures, types and &s;hadows, fulfilling them in them, and &s;etting them free from them; but <HI>as he</HI> is held forth in the Scripture-letter without them, and in the fle&s;h without them, he is their example or figure, that the &s;ame things might be fulfilled in them, that was in Chri&s;t Je&s;us; and that man is redeemed, ju&s;tified and reconciled to God through the opperations or works of this light, or Chri&s;t within them, as they are obedient to it, without re&s;pect to the &s;ufferings of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t in his Crucified body without us, for us, as nece&s;&s;ary thereunto: how is it that you have for&s;aken the faith once delivered to the Saints, and &s;o quickly turned a&s;ide unto another &s;trange new Doctrine? how dare any man thus make him|&s;elf equal with Chri&s;t, thus to expect in all righteou&s;ne&s;s and per|fect obedience to follow Chri&s;t, as held forth in the fle&s;h, that the &s;ame things might be fulfilled in thee, that was figured in him: can&s;t thou, O man, offer up the &s;ame obedience to the Father for the purging away of &s;in, that he did? ha&s;t thou the fulne&s;s of the God-head, tho&s;e trea&s;ures of light, power and wi&s;dom within thee, that the man Chri&s;t had? can&s;t thou follow him into the perfection and glory of the Father, <HI>without a Mediator,</HI> as he did, by the &s;ame way of obedience? art thou able to bear in thy body the &s;ins of many? can&s;t thou in thy body &s;u&s;tain the Sentence of the Law, en|counter with principalit<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">es or powers of darkne&s;s? can&s;t thou lay down thy life for &s;inners? can&s;t thou dye for thy enemies? though one might dare to dye for a good man, can&s;t thou dye for the un|godly? can&s;t thou bear our &s;ickne&s;&s;es, and take upon thee our in|firmities? can&s;t thou willingly lay down thy life for the offences of others, and can&s;t thou by the power of the God-head in thee take
<PB N="37" REF="19"> it up again? this and much more Chri&s;t did in obedience to his Father, and do&s;t thou think to come to God by doing the like? and not rather by believing in him who hath done all this for thee?</P>
<P>But tell us plainly, is that one Sacrifice of the Crucified body of our Lord, once offered to bear the &s;ins of many a patern and figure of things to be done over again in us, the blood without typifying life and &s;pirit within? the fir&s;t Tabernacle was indeed a figure, a &s;hadow of good things to come, had nothing in it &s;elf, but pointed to another, referring over to Chri&s;t, and &s;hadowed out all to be in him; and this was its weakne&s;s, and emptine&s;s, and therefore tho&s;e Sacrifices could not make him that did the &s;ervice perfect as pertaining to the Con&s;cience; But in the fulne&s;s of time Chri&s;t being come, an High-Prie&s;t of good things to come by a more per|fect Tabernacle not made with hands, by his own blood once &s;hed, and the Sacrifice of his Crucified body once for all, obtained eter|nal Redemption for us, and by that one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are &s;anctified; Is therefore this Sacrifice &s;o weak, &s;o empty a thing, that it is a pattern and figure, having no|thing in it &s;elf, but as pointing to another, to wit this light en|lightning every man? how are you thus mi&s;erably beguiled, to Preach up the light enlightning every man that comes into the world for the true Chri&s;t! to cry up a light within, to cry down the blood without; to Preach him as an example, to ca&s;t out the attonement; to &s;peak of him as a figure pointing at this light with|in as the abiding &s;ub&s;tance, to &s;huffle him out in the Sacrifice of his Crucified body on the Cro&s;s, as the true &s;ub&s;tance and end of all &s;hadows? But if you may bear to be &s;poken to, then know, that if you would indeed behold the glory of God, if you would indeed have acce&s;s to the Father of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, then come down from the heights of your rea&s;on, and take &s;hame to your &s;elves and give glory to God; begin again at the &s;implicity of faith in a Cru|cified Chri&s;t, to &s;ee your &s;elves in him dead and buried and rai&s;ed again; to believe your Redemption to be already fini&s;hed, the Law, Sin and Death aboli&s;hed, in his Crucified body without you, though but in part, in mea&s;ure revealed in you by his &s;pirit; whereby through faith in him, you wait to have the evidence and witne&s;s within your own &s;ouls, that you are &s;harers in and made partakers of the Redemption that is in him for you: for whoever
<PB N="38" REF="20"> thinks to find Redemption, Ju&s;tification and Reconciliation with God through the works wrought within him&s;elf by what light or &s;pirit &s;oever, excluding what God hath already wrought for him in the Crucified body of Chri&s;t; Like as he who thinks to have Re|demption and Reconciliation with God through the works wrought in the Crucified body of Chri&s;t without him, excluding the oppera|tions of the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t within him, &s;hall both equally fall &s;hort of their high expectations.</P>
<P>But if any &s;hall &s;ay to me, doth not this Doctrine lead to a Chri&s;t a far off, at a di&s;tance, wholly without us, and a Redemp|tion wholly without us? I an&s;wer nay; therefore con&s;ider the Doctrine of the Go&s;pel, that &s;peaketh thus, the word de&s;cended and took part of our fle&s;h and blood, dwelt among us, and &s;o became our Brother; thus he is a Chri&s;t near us, wrapped up in our very fle&s;h and blood, the &s;eed of the woman, &s;o not a &s;trange far off Chri&s;t, but made of a woman, made under the Law, made &s;in for us, that we might be made the Righteou&s;ne&s;s of God in him: thus in our fle&s;h he aboli&s;hed &s;in, death, and the cur&s;e, and every thing that was again&s;t us for us: And further, Chri&s;t being glorified, came down in &s;pirit into our per&s;ons, and left us not comfortle&s;s; he that was with us in the mini&s;tration of his fle&s;h, when he was lifted up, and bodily glorified in his Fathers Kingdom, and &s;o as to his outward pre&s;ence removed from us, came into us by the mini|&s;tration of his &s;pirit, not to redeem us, for that he did for us in his Crucified body, but to manife&s;t in us the Redemption already wrought for us, and thereby to gather us up into his Redemption, Salvation, glorious re&s;t and victory purcha&s;ed by him for us, wit|ne&s;&s;ing to our &s;pirits that he is ours, and we are his; con&s;ider in the next place that Doctrine that &s;peaketh thus, that Chri&s;t took on him our fle&s;h, not our &s;in and judgment, that he dyed at <HI>Jeru|&s;alem</HI> as a figure or example, to aboli&s;h the &s;hadows of the Law, to publi&s;h the univer&s;al tender of Salvation to them that followed him, the light in their Con&s;ciences in all his R<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ghteou&s;ne&s;s, not as a Sacrifice to purge away &s;in, to bear the iniquity of us all in his Crucified body, only thereby poin<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ing out to us the way, how by our obedience to the light in our Con&s;ciences to redeem our &s;elves in every generation; and &s;o &s;etting up the Law, Sin and Death again to be &s;uffered for, &s;atisfied and done away by our obe|dience
<PB N="39" REF="20"> within; And declaring the light that enlightneth every man that cometh into the world to be the only Chri&s;t, and &s;o not our brother like unto us, &s;in excepted: Now if there be any room left in you to receive the te&s;timony of the Prophets and Apo&s;tles, then put both the&s;e Doctrines to the tryal of the Holy Scriptures, and thereby judge which of the&s;e holds forth Chri&s;t as nigh or afar off.</P>
<P>But if the words of the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> be objected, <HI>though we have known Chri&s;t after the fle&s;h, yet now henceforth we know him &s;o no more;</HI> for an&s;wer, let the words of the Apo&s;tle to the <HI>Hebrews,</HI> 9. <HI>Heb.</HI> 26.28. be con&s;idered, and it well clearly take off this obje|ction: there is a twofold coming of Chri&s;t there te&s;tified of; <HI>once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away &s;in by the Sacri|fice of him&s;elf:</HI> thus was the Law, &s;in and death charged upon his Crucified body, who being in re&s;pect of his God-head, the power and wi&s;dom of God, could not be held by them, and therefore rent them off from him upon the Cro&s;s, buried them in his grave, triumphed over them in his Re&s;urrect<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">on; and thus aboli&s;hed, and purged away &s;in out of the &s;ight of God; and this was his fir&s;t com|ing, and thus we are not to know him again after the fle&s;h: But there is another coming of Chri&s;t &s;poken of in the 28. ver&s;e, <HI>unto them that look for him &s;hall he appear the &s;econd time without &s;in unto Salvation;</HI> this &s;econd coming cannot be under&s;tood (as &s;ome &s;uppo&s;e) of his coming in his people by his &s;pirit, the Comforter, which he promi&s;ed to &s;end after his being glorified; for thus he was already come in them who wrote of and waited for this his &s;econd coming: and (mark it) that &s;ame <HI>he</HI> of whom he thus &s;aith, he once <HI>appeared</HI> to purge away &s;in by the Sacrifice of him&s;elf, of that &s;ame <HI>he</HI> it is thus added; <HI>he &s;hall</HI> appear the &s;econd time without &s;in unto Salvation; &s;peaking of a coming of his to be in time to come: that &s;ame Crucified now glorified Chri&s;t, who once came in his body to condemn and take away &s;in, &s;hall come again the &s;econd time without &s;in unto Salvation in great Maje&s;ty and glory to gather all his Saints together with him&s;elf: And that the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> had this hope in him, is clear, in that he &s;aith, <HI>having given us the earne&s;t of his &s;pirit, therefore we are confident, that while we are at home in the body, we are ab&s;ent from the Lord;</HI> and hence <HI>he de&s;ires to be di&s;&s;olved that he may be with Chri&s;t, which is be&s;t of
<PB N="40" REF="21"> all; that his vile body may be fa&s;hioned like unto Chri&s;ts glorious body&punc;</HI> and la&s;t <HI>Revel.</HI> 20. the Lord &s;aith, <HI>I come quickly,</HI> and <HI>John</HI> who had witne&s;&s;ed his coming in &s;pirit, &s;aid, <HI>even &s;o come Lord Je&s;us;</HI> as of a coming yet to be. It is in love and bowels of compa&s;&s;ion that I thus plead with you that you may be delivered out of this my&s;te|rious &s;nare, of denying the Lord that bought us, &s;etting the light that enlightneth every man that comes into the world, to be the true Chri&s;t and our only Saviour; Becau&s;e Name-Chri&s;tians abu&s;e this Crucified, now Glorified Chri&s;t by their licentiou&s;ne&s;s, while in words only they pretend to own him, will you pretending to rebuke them, wholly reject him, denying him to have any real, outward, individual, glorified, bodily ex<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;tence in his Fa|thers Kingdom; which mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be &s;o, if the light that en|lightneth every man that comes into the world, be <HI>he</HI> the true Chri&s;t? what if he &s;hould &s;ay to &s;ome or all of you, <HI>I am Je&s;us of Nazareth,</HI> whom you reject and deny? Surely it is too hard for you to kick again&s;t the pricks: Is this the heights of tho&s;e great at|tainments &s;ome pretend to be wrapped up in, after &s;o many mini|&s;trations you &s;ay that you have pa&s;&s;ed through, as low and carnal, to reckon it a poor, low thing to believe in the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t of <HI>Nazareth,</HI> as your only Saviour, and for Redemption already wrought in his Crucified body for you, by his &s;pirit to be witne&s;&s;ed within you for Salvation? And is this Chri&s;t, this Saviour, and this manner of Salvation and Redemption &s;o very a contemptible thing, and therefore to be accounted but the old beggarly &s;tuff of the profe&s;&s;ors? Con&s;ider, do you not al&s;o in this condemn the Prophets and Apo&s;tles who were the publi&s;hers of this truth? But tell plainly, do you not al&s;o reckon them Low and carnal in their day, and &s;o &s;peaking of a Crucified and Glorified Chri&s;t without them, and Redemption through him, witne&s;&s;ed by his &s;pirit within them? O be advi&s;ed, while it is yet to day, and &s;earch the Holy Scriptures, if it be not below you &s;o to do; and be you a&s;&s;ured that if any Man or Angel from Heaven under pretence of what&s;oever light or &s;pirit in Heaven or on Earth, within or with|out you, &s;hall point you to any other, then this Crucified, and now glorified Je&s;us of <HI>Nazareth,</HI> for Chri&s;t, Saviour or Me|diator, he leads you from the new and living way that God hath con&s;ecrated, unto the old and deadly gate of going to God with|out
<PB N="41" REF="21"> a Mediator, wherein you cannot enter and live.</P>
<P>But are you more wi&s;e then God in this matter? are you a&s;ham|ed, or do you &s;corn to be beholden to this Crucified Chri&s;t, that was hanged on a tree for Salvation? is it therefore too ridiculous, too fooli&s;h a thing in your account? I &s;ay to you in the words of the Apo&s;tle, hath not God made fooli&s;h the wi&s;dom of this world, the Jews require a &s;ign, the Greeks &s;eek after <HI>wi&s;dom,</HI> but we Preach <HI>Chri&s;t Crucified,</HI> unto the Jews <HI>a &s;tumbling block,</HI> and unto the Greeks <HI>fooli&s;hne&s;s,</HI> but unto them that are called both Jews and Greeks, Chri&s;t the wi&s;dom of God and the power of God: this Cruci|fied Chri&s;t was a &s;tumbling block to the Jews; hence they ju&s;tified them&s;elves in rejecting him, <HI>doth not our Law &s;ay that Chri&s;t abideth for ever, thou &s;aye&s;t, the Son of man mu&s;t be lifted up;</HI> and this Cruci|fied Chri&s;t was fooli&s;hne&s;s to the wi&s;dom and rea&s;on of the Greeks, therefore they &s;aid, <HI>what will this babler &s;ay, he &s;eems to be a &s;etter forth of &s;trange Gods,</HI> becau&s;e <HI>Paul</HI> Preached to them Chri&s;t and the Re&s;urrection.</P>
<P>However to conclude, know you a&s;&s;uredly (though probably it may &s;eem to be of little or no value with you, who &s;uppo&s;e your &s;elves not to need it, but to find acce&s;s to the Glory of the Father without this man Chri&s;t Je&s;us our Mediator, who ever liveth to make interce&s;&s;ion for us) had not <HI>the word been made fle&s;h,</HI> had not this &s;ame Crucified and now bodily glorified <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t of Naza|reth</HI> partaked of fle&s;h and blood, and &s;o been really a man, con|&s;i&s;ting of &s;oul and body, and &s;pirit like as we are, &s;in being except|ed, being al&s;o really God, and &s;o through the power of his God-head in the fle&s;h, he &s;o took part off, broke down the partition wall, blotted the hand writing of Ordinances, and triumphed over Sin, Hell, and Death, and all the powers of darkne&s;s that were again&s;t us, for us, we, even <HI>Adam</HI> and all his po&s;terity had been for ever held captive in death, notwith&s;tanding of that light which enlightneth every man that cometh into the world; and our utter|mo&s;t improvement of it for our deliverance, through our obe|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ience the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> to, excluding <HI>him,</HI> and what he did and &s;uffered for <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s, without us; But our Lord Je&s;us of <HI>Nazareth</HI> is ri&s;en, he who was dead and is alive, and lives for ever; ble&s;&s;ing, honour, power, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nd glory be to him that &s;itteth upon the Throne, and to the Lamb <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">or ever.</P>
<PB N="42" REF="22">
<P>O Con&s;ider in the fear of the Lord, before it be too late, and before the day of your vi&s;itation be over, the words of our Lord to the unbelieving Jews, who of old rejected him, <HI>If you believe not that I am he, you &s;hall dye in your &s;ins;</HI> If he that de&s;pi&s;ed <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> Law, dyed without mercy, how much &s;orer puni&s;hment &s;hall he be thought worthy of, that hath tr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d under foot the Son of God, and counted the blood of the Covenant an unholy thing, as the blood of any ordinary man or bea&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>La&s;tly, you who believe this &s;ame <HI>Je&s;us of Nazareth,</HI> &s;o born te&s;timony unto by &s;uch a <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">loud of witne&s;&s;es, as God-man in union, the word made fle&s;h, to be the Lords Chri&s;t, the true Me&s;&s;ias, out only Saviour, Redeemer and Mediator, and that there is not another; and who believe that <HI>he</HI> hath already purcha&s;ed Re|demption, Reconciliation, and Ju&s;tification for you through what he did and &s;uffered in his Crucified body without you, without re&s;pect to any works wrought or be wrought within you by any light what&s;omever; who neverthele&s;s wait that by the operation of his &s;pirit within you, you may have evidence in your &s;elve<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> through faith in him, that you are Ju&s;tified, Redeemed and Reconciled; you who are not hurried in a prepo&s;terous zeal for that <HI>one</HI> Sacrifice of the Crucified body of Chri&s;t, pretending to be brought nigh to God through the death of the Mediator, excluding the operations of the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t within you, upon the one hand; neither with the highe&s;t mo&s;t &s;piritual pretences to Chri&s;t within you, the oppera|tions and works of his &s;pirit within, and &s;o a coming to God through a Sacrifice of a perfect obedience to the will of the Father in your mortal bodies, excluding the death of the Mediator the man Chri&s;t Je&s;us, and the Sacrifice of his Crucified body for you, and his active and pa&s;&s;ive obedience to his Fathers will in that body that was hanged on a tree above &s;ixteen hundred years ago, without you; But who ju&s;tifie the harmony that is betwixt the perfect Redemption, Ju&s;ti|fication and Reconciliation, already wrought by Chri&s;t in his Crucified body without you, for you, and the Revelation of him within you, whereby through faith in <HI>him,</HI> you have evidence in your &s;elves, that you are made partake<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> of that Redemption, To you I &s;ay, be not you removed from him who hath called you into the grace of Chri&s;t, unto another Go&s;pel, through their high &s;welling words who would pervert the Go&s;pel of Chri&s;t; but having &s;uch a High Prie&s;t over the hou&s;e of God, hold fa&s;t the profe&s;&s;ion of your faith without wavering: And the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that great Sheepheard of the &s;heep, through the blood of the everla&s;ting Covenant, make you perfect in every good work, to do his will, working in you that which is well plea&s;ing in his &s;ight, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t, to whom be glory for ever, and ever. <HI>Amen.</HI></HI></P>
<TRAILER>THE END.</TRAILER>
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<DIV1 TYPE="errata">
<HEAD>ERRATA.</HEAD>
<P>PAg. 6. l. 2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. r. <HI>entertaining.</HI> p. 10. l. 12. r. <HI>as it.</HI> l. 16. r. <HI>&s;peaketh</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">. 11. l. 12. r. <HI>-ou&s;ne&s;s.</HI> l. 17. r. <HI>-teou&s;ne&s;s</HI> p. 13. l. 29. r. <HI>councel.</HI> l. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">1. r. <HI>manife&s;ted.</HI> l. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">5. <HI>did.</HI> p. 17. l. 6. r. <HI>purcha&s;ing.</HI> l. 36. r: <HI>were.</HI> p. 18. l. 37. r. <HI>&s;est.</HI> l. 38. r. <HI>into.</HI> p. 27. l. 8. r. 28.</P>
</DIV1>
</BACK>
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</EEBO>
</ETS>
