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 I B R_ A FLY 
 OF THE 
 
 U N I VER.5 ITY 
 Of ILLINOIS 
 
 y a.4 8" 
 
 Pile 
 
 WIND'S..HISTnpFPAl SURVEY 
 
 
 
 
J V, 
 
 ClOnU^L C/L. ^<^*/C4frusr . '/ <^ 
 
 SALUT.AT 10 N 
 
 . To The 
 
 BRIT AIN S, 
 
 To call them 
 
 From the Many Things, to the One 
 Thing needful, for the Saving cf 
 their Souls . 
 
 ESPECIALLY, 
 
 To the poor Unlearned Tradcfmen, Plowmen 
 and Shepherds, thole that are of a low Degree 
 like myfell, this, in Order to direft you to 
 know God and Chrift, the only wife .Godjf 5 ' 
 which is Life eternal, and to learn of him, that 
 you may become vvjfer than your Teachers, 
 
 Bv ELLIS PUGH. 
 
 * 
 
 Tran Hated from the Britijb Language by Howland 
 Ellis , revis’d and corrected by David Lloyd. 
 
 The Second Edition. 
 
 They have for fake h me the Fountain of living Waters , and 
 he-wed them out Cijfenis , broken Cifterns that can hold 
 
 no Water. Jer. ii. 13. 
 
 ^————— — nima ——tw mm . ——■a —■ mi 
 
 LONDON: Printed and Sold by the Affigns 0 f 
 J. Sowle, at the Bible in Geerge-Tard Lombard - 
 fireeu 1739* 
 
V 
 
 / - • • \ 
 ( 111 ) 
 
 
 T3& 
 
 A N 
 
 account 
 
 OF THE 
 
 L 
 
 f; AUTHOR. 
 
 \f To the Reader, 
 
 |t? L L IS PUGH was born in the 
 r. Pari ft of Dogelle, . in the County of 
 Merionith, and Dominion of Wales, in 
 
 . the 6 th Month 1656. his Parents were 
 religious People , and he was left Fa • 
 therhfs and Motherlefs, like a Spar¬ 
 row alone upon the Houl’e-top. His 
 Father died before he was born , and his 
 Mother a few Days after : And when 
 he was in his Touth, going with the 
 Multitude into Folly, it pleafed God by 
 his Judgment, to ftand in his Way, and 
 caufed hits to confider the Things that 
 belonged to his Soul’s everlafting 
 
 A 2 Peace. 
 
( iv ) 
 
 Peace And in the eighteenth Tear cf 
 his Age , the Lord vfited him more emi¬ 
 nently, kindling a Zeel in him to ferve 
 
 his Creator more diligently, 
 1674, when having keen alfo reached by 
 
 Tcflimony of John ap 
 
 iecution. J ohn » one °J the People 
 
 called Quakers. 
 
 God, who promifed to be a Father to 
 the Fatherlefs, took care of him , and 
 end-ted him with his Grace ; and about- 
 the Tear 1680, gave him a Fart of the 
 Alinillry of the Gofpel of Cbrifi (not¬ 
 withstanding he was not one of the Wife 
 of this World , nor had human Learning ) 
 yet he was made a profitable Injhument 
 to turn Divers from Vanity , and to 
 exhort and ftr eng then many in their 
 fpiritual Journey in his native Land , 
 and alfo in t bis Country, where he finifh- 
 ed his Courfe. 
 
 In the Tear 1686, he and his Family, 
 with divers of his Acquaintance began 
 their Journey to Penfilvania, and whi.'Jl 
 they fayed for a Ship to be ready, there 
 came great Trouble and Exercife upon 
 him, fo that he was fick for fame 
 v - - , Days •, 
 
n 
 
 Jjyr 
 
 ( V ) ■ 
 
 and in that Strait the Lori 
 
 Jbrvced unto him, that trey Jhould rneer 
 with Troubies and Exercifes in their 
 Journey . and -that he bad a Work for 
 him in that Country , and that he mu[i 
 return there again . A ter they failed, 
 they met with Storms , Straits and 
 Troubles *, and having been upon the 
 tempoftuous Sea all Winter , they arri¬ 
 ved in the for ft Month at Barbadoes, 
 where they were joyfully and lovingly 
 received by their Friends , and the Sum¬ 
 mer following , in the Tear 1687, 
 arrived in Penfil Vania. After he hud 
 lived there till the Tear 17 c6,a Con¬ 
 cern remained upon him to vifit the 
 Inhabitants cf his native Country 9 ac¬ 
 cording to what the Ford revealed unto 
 him , before he came prom the rice. And 
 
 after he had performed that Service , 
 which was beneficial end acceptable to 
 many . he returned to his Family in the 
 Tear 1708 ^ and a Concern came upon 
 him to write the following Book , to di- 
 ref} the unlearned Biirains of low JV- 
 grce> to know God and Ckrifo , the Life 
 
 A 3 eternal • 
 
( vi ) . m 
 
 eternal •, which he wrote for the mojl 
 Part in his laft Sicknejs. 
 
 His Cor.dutl in his Tamily, in his 
 Neighbourhood , and in the Church, was 
 meek , loving , and peaceable, andtohdi- 
 ftcation, and his Convcrfation innocent, 
 chafe , and coupled, with the Tear of God, 
 honourable among his Triends , of 
 
 good Report among all People generally 
 and being patient in his tedious Sicknefs, 
 contented to wait the Lord y s Time, he 
 flept with his Tathers' on the %d Day of 
 the iorh Month, 1718, in Tavour with 
 God, giving him the Glory . 
 
 t 
 
 Courteous Reader, 
 
 Thou hajl here fome Account concern - 
 ing the Author, who was a Man fearing 
 God, and ejchewing Evil. Read without 
 Prejudice , confider impartially , and God 
 dire Pi thee in the Way that pleafeth him , 
 that thou may’ll: in the End obtain the 
 Crown of Life, which the Lord the 
 righteous Judge will give to all that 
 love his Appearance, 2 Tim. iv- 2. 
 
 Tare well- 
 
t[be TESTIMONY of the 
 Monthly-Meeting at Gwynedd, in 
 the County of Philadelphia, in 
 Penfilvania, concerning our Friend, 
 ELLIS PUGH, /h Author of 
 
 the following ‘T'reatife. 
 
 T HE Lord, out of his great Mercy 
 hath long forbore, and often called 
 aiter us, and in fome meafure opened 
 our Eyes, to fee the Emptinefs and Y»- 
 jf nity which we followed, and at that 
 time in a Concern for our Souls, endea¬ 
 voured to feek the Way to pleafe God. 
 And in the beginning of our Aflembling 
 together in thisCondition to wait upon 
 the Lord, it pleated him to prepare our 
 Friend and Countryman, Ellis Pugh, to 
 be a ferviceab’e Inltrument in his Hand, 
 to cheviih and inftruft us in Meekneis 
 and Tenderncls, to obey that which 
 God made known unto us of his Will, 
 and to follow and underftand the Ope¬ 
 ration of his Spirit, difcovertng to us 
 
 ! A 4 tha 
 
the Snares of tire Enemy of oar Souls, 
 his good will and 1 ving Care "among 
 others that were lilted for the lame 
 
 Service) hath been a more profitable 
 Means in the Hand of the Lord, to¬ 
 wards dirt-ding and edifying of us in 
 
 the Way of Truth, than the Miniftry 
 we had been under from our Youth •, 
 for by the Tendernefs and Influence 
 
 which came as Dew upon our Souls, 
 while we fat under his Miniltry, we’ 
 believed his Doftrine was of God. He 
 continued with the fame Diligence in 
 his Service, until he found in his Heart 
 to vifit his country People in his na¬ 
 tive Land. 
 
 We believe his Vifit was acceptable, 
 where there was an open Door to re¬ 
 ceive ir. After his Return, his Ser¬ 
 vice and often Vifits to us were profi¬ 
 table. 
 
 It is with us to make Lome Mention 
 of (he Lord’s Dealings with him, con¬ 
 cerning which we haw obferved, that 
 the Lord was near unto him in theTime 
 of his Trial. After his Return Home, 
 
 three 
 
 I 
 
( ix' ) , 
 
 three of his Children, in the Flower cf 
 their Age, dyed within one Month, 
 who from their \outh walked ordeily 
 and hopeful. He mourned not as one 
 without Hope. Strength was given 
 him to bear his Affliction. He faid, ij 
 he could bear his Ajjhffton acceptable in 
 the Sight oj God , it would be as Marrow 
 -to his Bettes*. Which Teftimony was 
 publick, to theComfort of theHearers, 
 and in a publick Meeting, among leveral 
 other 1 hings, which was to Edification. 
 His Refidence was then nearer to us 
 than before, which rendei’d his Life 
 and Convention more confpicuous, 
 and his Fellowship more known unto us. 
 He was of a meek and quiet Spirit, con- 
 fiderate and lolid in his Judgment, ci 
 few Words, and his Inclination was to 
 fuoport Love and Unity amongft ail, 
 more efpecially in the Houihouid ot 
 Faith *, honeft and careful in his Cal¬ 
 ling, left he fhould give juft Caufe to 
 make anv uneafie, which induced le- 
 ve a - to (peak of the Good they re¬ 
 ceived by his chafte Conversation ^ a^d 
 
 A 5 ’ 'tts 
 
r * j 
 
 his loving and comfortable Exprefilons 
 while he was among them, in their 
 fcveral Families, his Memory will not 
 loon wear our. 
 
 At the Time we had Notice of the 
 Departure (out of this Life) of our 
 Friend Griffith Owcr,, (a Man worthy of 
 being remembred in the Church and 
 Country, whofe Name is of good Savour 
 in the publick Place where he lived, 
 becaufe of his religious Behaviour in 
 his Calling among the People of every 
 Rank) at that Time he was taken fick, 
 which by degrees proved hisdyingSick- 
 nefs. This Sicknefs continued about a 
 Year and threeMonths, fo that he was 
 not well able to follow his Calling. In 
 the mean Time, his natural Life grew 
 weaker ; but his Candle (to wit , the 
 Light of hisSoul) (Lined brighter, as the 
 impartial Reader may fee, and feel his 
 Love and Good-will in the following 
 Treatife, as his laft Will, and loving 
 Salutation to his Country-People the 
 Britaint, in his native Country, which 
 he with his own Hand wrote in his own 
 
 Language, 
 
\ * •( xi ; 
 
 Language, in the Time of his long Sick- 
 nefs ; when the Object of his View was 
 towards that which pertains to Eterni¬ 
 ty ^ more efpecialiy to tliofe, or for the 
 Sake of thole to whom the Salutation 
 ' of his Life reached over Sea and Land, 
 for the Encouragement and Inftrudtion 
 of them that were Peeking the Way to 
 Sion , the new lerufalem, the City of the 
 great King , tmboje Walls and Bulwarks 
 fire Salvation. 
 
 There are many among the Proreliors 
 of Chriftianity, that fpeak and write 
 concerning her Glory by Study and Pre¬ 
 meditation, to gather thro the Strength 
 of human Learning and Wifdom, to 
 hold forth the Beauty and Excellency of 
 her, even the Lamb s Wife. Thou (halt 
 fee, if thou readeft impartially, what 
 be tafted and felt of the good Word of 
 ' Life, and of the Way that leads to the 
 Father, in which (we believe) he refted, 
 and laid down his Head in Peace. 
 
 In the Time of his Sicknefs, while he 
 could walkabout, near his End, he vi- 
 litedus, towit , the laft Meeting he was 
 
 A 6 among 
 
 I 
 
•( xii ) 
 
 % 
 
 -among us, weak in Body, but fervent 
 in Spirit, with a great deal of Love and 
 'lendernefs, as one taking his laft Leave, 
 faying, that the Lord granted him his 
 Defire to come and vifit us once more 
 often putting us in Mind to keep in 
 Love and Unity, and to keep out from 
 amongft us, as much as we could, all 
 Strife and Difcord ; and when any Thing 
 appeared, which had a Tendency there¬ 
 unto, that Hands Ihould be laid with¬ 
 out delay, to end it. And that none 
 Ihould depend upon his ownftand, Eye, 
 or Ballance in Judgment. 
 
 He was fitted to counfel others, be- 
 caufe his Life and Converfation was 
 an! werable to his Teitimony, amonglt 
 his family tender and careful to coun¬ 
 fel them to live in the Fear of God. 
 
 We looked upon him, and our 
 Thoughts were concerning him, that he 
 was as one who had finifhed his Work •, 
 and that theTime of hisDiflolutiondrew 
 nigh : And that he might fay, in the 
 Words cf Paul, according to his Mea- 
 fure, I have fought a good Fight , I have 
 
( xiii ) 
 
 finifhed m\Courfe, 1 havf kept the Faith’ 
 Henceforth there is ' laid up for me a 
 Crown of Right eoufnefs, which the Lord, 
 the righteous Judge (hail give me at that 
 Day: And not to me only, but unto all 
 them a/fo that love bis Appearance. 
 
 1 Signed in the Behalf of the faid 
 Meeti >y 
 
 John Hugh, 
 Edward Eoulk•, 
 John Humphry , 
 Edward Robert , 
 Hugh Griffith, 
 Meredith David. 
 Thomas Pugh, 
 Rowland Ellis, 
 
 David Meredith , 
 Thomas Evan, 
 Robert Evan, 
 Owen Evan , 
 Cadvoalader Evan, 
 Robert Jones, 
 Evan Evans, 
 
 John Evans . 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 , 
 
 
 * 
 
 
 ‘ 
 
 . 
 
 » > ' i 
 
 
 
 
 
 , • 
 
 ' . T' 1 ' ) 
 
 . 
 
 ' 
 
 ' 
 
 r 
 
 . . 
 
 4 
 
 . 
 
 
) 
 
 (I) 
 
 --- 
 
 ■ ■ -— ■ - - — 
 
 SALUTATION 
 
 T O T H E 
 
 BRIT JINS, &c. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 Concerning the Creation, Fall, and 
 Redemption of Mankind. 
 
 I 
 
 I N the Peginning God created all 
 Things according to his own Plea- 
 fure, and Man after his owh I- 
 mage (fu peri or to all the Crea¬ 
 tures) in a pure State, fit to ferve and 
 glorify his Creator: But the Serpent, 
 the envious fubtil Spirit, deceived 
 Eve , and {he faw that the foibidden 
 
 Fruit was a defirable Thing fo Adam 
 
 and 
 
* 
 
 ( 2 ) 
 
 and Eve broke the Command, by yield¬ 
 ing Obedience to the wicked One, and 
 Difobedience to God $ foSin andT anf- 
 - grcffion took hold upon Mankind : But 
 their merciful Father vifited them in 
 the Cool of the Day, to chaftife and 
 take Care of them, faying. That the 
 Seed of the Women JhaU bruife the Ser¬ 
 pent's Head . 
 
 So a Stream of Corruption, Sin and 
 Difobedience followed the Children of 
 Men like a Leproiy : But the Seed of 
 the Woman was the Help and Defence 
 God gave them, to the End they might 
 overcome Satan, which Seed is Chrift, 
 the fame that fby Corruption in the 
 Hearts of People) was j,lain from the 
 Foundation of the World, and was or¬ 
 dained alfo, in the Fulnefs of Time, to 
 lay down his Body to redeem People, 
 and to bring them Home and reconcile 
 them to the Father. For he was given 
 as a Light to the Gentiles, and Salvation 
 to the Ends of the Earth, Ifa. xlix. 6 . 
 
 And altho’ Satan and Corruption 
 made People unfit, and not able of 
 themfelves to perform any acceptable 
 
 Service 
 
I 
 
 (?) 
 
 Service to their Creator, yet by the 
 All ft rice of the eternal Word, and Light 
 to' ich en/ighteneth every ere tb<:t cemtih 
 into the World , the holy Men of God in 
 former Ages, wm (hipped God according 
 to his Will. And the Religion which 
 the Lord commanded was Job's Reli¬ 
 gion ; for he laid unto Satan, Hajl thou - 
 fet thy Heart on , or ccrftdered my Ser¬ 
 vant Job, that there is none like him in 
 the Earth , a perfetf and upright Man , 
 one that fearetb God and efcht v eth Evil , 
 Job. i. 8. And as the wifeMrn faid (the 
 Conclufem cf the whole Matter that 
 hath been heard is, Fear G d and keep 
 hrs Commandnents , for this is the whole 
 Duty of Wan. Feel. x ; i. 13. 
 
 But all Manner of Sms and Iniquities 
 grew up among People, when at the 
 fame Time they acknowledged there 
 was feme Service due to the Lord, re¬ 
 quired at their Hands, and Srtan taught 
 them to invent fome Form, fome Image 
 of Service and Worfhip, fome after 
 one Manner, and fome after another, 
 feeking to pleafe God, not in his Fear, 
 r.or yielding Obedience to him, all fet- 
 
 ting 
 
( 4 ) 
 
 ting up tneir own Idols, and bowing 
 thereunto : So the World was filled 
 with Superftidons and Opinions; and 
 tnus the Devi 1 did fet People at work 
 to hate one another, and to make War, 
 and to ihed the Blood one of another ; 
 fb Le made the lVorld a Wildernels 
 and Darknefs ruled therein: Therefore 
 he was called the Prince of this World , 
 John xiv. 30. alfo the Prince of the 
 Power of the Air, the Spirit that voorli¬ 
 ke tb m the Children of Dfobedience. 
 fchp. ji. 2. ' s * . 1 f ,r ■ 
 
 And as Satan brake into every 
 Vineyard, fo the Lord by his Prophet, 
 complained againft the Children of 
 ljrael' faying, they have forJalien me 
 the fountain of living Waters, and 
 hewed them out broken Ci(terns that can 
 hold no Water. Jer. ii. 15, For Men 
 m the State of Nature did, and vet do, 
 rather love their own filthv Waters 
 than the Water of Life, which Chrift is 
 giving to thofe that come unto him, 
 which Water wafhes and heals the Soul; 
 but the Enemy fets People at work, to 
 Q'g for dead and poifonous Waters, 
 
 which 
 
/ H ^ 
 
 \ ) / 
 
 which he makes fweet and defita- 
 hle to the Concupifence of Hefh and 
 
 Blood. ’ . , . 
 
 But for all this, God continued in 
 
 his Love and Mercy towards the Work- • 
 manfhip of his Hands, lending his Pro¬ 
 phets, rifing up early, to cad and in¬ 
 vite them, caufing the Covenants of 
 Peace to be made known unto them, 
 if they would return to him from their 
 evil Ways as may be feen, lfa.lv. i, 
 2, 6, 7, 8. Ho ! every one that 
 
 thirftcth, come ye to the Waters ! He 
 that hath no Money, come ye, buy and. 
 eat, yea, come buy Wive and Milk, with' 
 out Money and without Price. W here - 
 fore do ye Spend Money for that which 
 is not Bread, and your Labour for that 
 which fatisfieth not l Hearken diligent¬ 
 ly unto me, and eat yc that which is 
 good, and let your Soul delight itfelf in 
 Fatnejs. Incline your Ear, and come 
 untome : Hear and your Soul Jhall live , 
 and I will make an everlafling Covenant 
 with you . even the Jure Mercies cf 
 David. Seek ye the Lord while he may 
 be found, call ye upon him while he is 
 
 near 
 
(6 ) 
 
 7 ,ii ' h ', “ kci f l'„y 
 
 !■ (■ unngot eous Mnn his Thru oh/, 
 und la ])■)), return unto the Lord * & A l ’ 
 
 g 7 b r. M T? rf « if/:/ 
 
 v/uhtTi/n ^y-rm u .h„, 
 
 ,be Lord. 1 •'*>“*> (mb 
 
 Phets d ireM ft ord,e S 1 ?k e tl i!.: r, ’, ePr0 ‘ 
 
 u P Gn the fime Conditions: 
 
 «n, o»» ,be U^bm Falft - 
 
 their ,,T b ' the,r cw n Wavs, 
 t) r , 0Wn Th °ughts, and their own 
 
 rather J han the Lords - Be- 
 Woes and £ 10p “ ets P roi] ounced 
 
 their sl, ‘°" 0 J d 3inlt them 
 
 ikp j , rA r H0Llid nor return to 
 
 L nr ,, , Lp eir e 'ii Converfation 
 
 /Lt rhe Prophets- cried Peace re’ 
 the Unpod!v fivvi-n- ; 
 
 nvwnp i us ft -^oscl 
 
 thr cv y * , W/lJ not co ™€ upon u s . 
 
 the bveerd and the Famine - n 1 , ’ 
 
 This Land. " d 7101 bc ,n 
 
 Bloc!d to k!i is n2t “ ral for F ^ and 
 f, od t0 Relieve the beft of them- 
 
 elves, and the wo,It of thofe that • 
 
 fptak 
 
( / ) 
 
 {peak againft them, therefore they 
 hated arid pet (ecu ted the true Pro¬ 
 phets, by putting them to Death as 
 lalfe Prophets. So it was in the 
 Djvs of Abab : The Children of Ifrae /, 
 alter they had forfaken the Covenant 
 cf the Lord, 'and thrown down his Al¬ 
 tars, and liain his Prophets with the 
 Swoid, and heaped unto thetrilelves 
 Companies of falfe Prophets, fo not 
 without Caufe the Lord complained, 
 faying. Hear, 0 Heavens, and give Ear, 
 0 Earth ■, jor ibe Lord barb fpoken , 
 1 have nounjbed and brought up Chil¬ 
 dren , and they have rebelled again ft me. 
 The Ox knoweth his Owner, and the 
 Afs his Mafters Crib but Ifrael doth 
 not know, my Feop/e doth not conftder, 
 Ifa. i. 2, 2. 
 
 Neverthelefs, God (flow to Anger, 
 and of great Kindneis) fent his only 
 •begotten Son to the rebellious Vine- 
 drefiors to be killed •, he was willing 
 to die for Sinners, to redeem them 
 from their Captivity •, who when he 
 was born at Bethlehem Judea, the 
 Lord fent his Angel to inform the 
 It Tv Shep- 
 
( 8 ) 
 
 Shepherds ; not the wife and learned, 
 lull of their own Righteoufnefs * but 
 to the poor, mean, illiterate, and thofe 
 of low Degree i fuch as were keeping 
 Watch over their Flock by Night. 
 And lo the Angel of the Lord came up¬ 
 on them, and the G lory of the Lord Jhone 
 round about them, and they were'Jore 
 afraid. And the AngelJatd unto them , 
 fear not , for behold, I bring you good 
 Tidings of great Joy , which Jhall be to 
 nil People •, f or unto you is born this 
 Day in the City of David, a Saviour , 
 which is Chrifl the Lord. This Jhall be 
 a Sign unto you ye Jhall Jind the Babe 
 far ape d in j wad ling Clothes lying in a 
 Manger •, and fuddenly there was with 
 the Angel, a Multitude of the heavenly 
 Hojl, praiftng God, and faying. Glory 
 to God in the Higheft, and on Earth , 
 Peace, good Will towards Men. And as 
 the Angels were gone away into Hea¬ 
 ven, the Shepherds /aid one to another, 
 Let us go even unto Bethlehem, and 
 fee this Thing that is come to pafs which 
 the Lord hath made known unto us. 
 And they came voitb hajle, and they found 
 
 Mary 
 
( 9 ) 
 
 Mary and Jofeph and the Babe lying in 
 a Manger. And when they had feen it, 
 they made known abroad, the Saying 
 that was told them, concerning this 
 Child •, and all they that heard it, won- 
 dr ed at thofe Things which were told 
 them by the Shepherds : But Mary kept 
 all the/e Things, and pond red them in 
 her Heart. And the. Shepherds return¬ 
 ed, glorifying and praifing God for all 
 the Things that they had heard and feen , 
 as it was told unto them. Luke ii. 8, 9, 
 to 21. 
 
 Thefe are fuch People as preached 
 Chrift at his Birth, to the Admiration 
 of their Hearers: Thefe believed and re¬ 
 ceived the heavenly Meffage, and made 
 hafte to fee him ; when they faw him 
 they believed in him, and returned glo¬ 
 rifying and praifing God. The Shep¬ 
 herds were not offended at his Appear¬ 
 ance, notwithftanding it was low 5 lay¬ 
 ing in the Manger, in fwadling Clothes, 
 but that was not fuch a King as the wife 
 and great Men fought for. 
 
 When the Time came for Jefus to 
 fulfil his Miniftry, to preach and work 
 
 Miracles 
 
( 10 ) 
 
 the World could neither 
 
 Way was not his Way. But who re¬ 
 
 ceived him > The poor illiterate Fifh- 
 .ers and Men of low Degree. Thefe 
 alfo he hath chofen to be his Difciples: 
 Thele were not filled with Self righte- 
 oufnels, nor high Thoughts of them- 
 ielves, nor ot their own Religion : 
 They had Place to receive God’s King¬ 
 dom, therefore they left all, and fol¬ 
 lowed Chrift, who came to put an 
 End to the many Offerings, Sacrifices 
 and Traditions, which were Shadows 
 and Signs of his Coming, who is the 
 great everlafting Sacrifice which put 
 an End to all, fulfilling the fame 
 by the one Sacrifice of himfelf, with 
 which he bought all Mankind, by 
 bringing in the new Covenant, and 
 a more heavenly and more fpiritual 
 Miniftry. 
 
 And although the High Pricfis and 
 Scribes and Phanfees were reading and 
 waiting lor the Coming of Chrift, yet ' 
 they did not know him, nor receive 
 him, nor believe, becaufe he did not 
 
 pleafe 
 
( II ) 
 
 pleafe them, for he teftified a gain'll: 
 them, and their faife Wdys ; and tho’ 
 he wrought heavenly Miracles among 
 them, as healing all Manner of Di- 
 eafes, and railing the Dead, yet his 
 Word had no Place in them, for they 
 were full of human and earthly Wil- 
 dom $ they would not come unto him, 
 that they might have Life, but more 
 and more hated him, and became 
 his Enemies: And in Truth, this is 
 the Stone which the Builders, in eveiy 
 Age, have rcjeQed : This is the Word 
 that was trade Flefh , and dwelt among us 
 (that is, the poor unlearned Fifhers of 
 low Degree) and we beheld his Glory , 
 the Glory as of the only begotten of the 
 Father , full of Grace and Truth. John 
 
 1» T zj-* 
 
 But fome will fay, How came thele 
 unlearned Men to know Chrift, and 
 the learned Men not know him ? The 
 Anfwer is, becaufe the Filhermen 
 were poor in their Spirits: Therefore, 
 the Kingdom of Heaven was to be 
 theirs 5 the Poor that know a Hun¬ 
 ger and Tbirfl after Righteoufnefs (the 
 v ' B Pro* 
 
' ’ ' ( 12 ) 
 
 Vromife is to them) they /hall be fil¬ 
 led. Mat. v. 5. 6. Thele know their 
 Saviour, by his Grace, Virtue and hea¬ 
 venly inl'piration for God revealed 
 himfelf unto them : For when Peter 
 faid, Thou art Chnfi, the Son of the 
 living God ■, fief us anfwered, Flejh avd 
 Blood hath not revealed it unto thee, 
 but my Father which is in Heaven. 
 Mat. xvi. 17. 
 
 Thefe were empty, and in a Senfe of 
 their Want and Thirft of their Souls, 
 they were ready to come to the Foun¬ 
 tain, and drink of the living Water, 
 which was fweet unto them : And 
 therefore they loved Chrift, and ad¬ 
 hered unto him, and he alfo knew and 
 perceived who wereSick and who want¬ 
 ed a Phyfician : Therefore he called 
 them * and after they knew the Preci- 
 oufnefs of him, they would fay. To 
 whom Jhall we go ? Thou haft the Words 
 of eternal Life. John vi. 68. v 
 
 But the wife Men and Learned, they 
 were full, and had no room to re¬ 
 ceive j they were whole and wanted 
 not a Phyfician * nekher did they en¬ 
 quire 
 
( 11 ) ‘ , 
 
 quire for fo mean a Thing, and fo 
 contemptible as Chrift was in their 
 Sight ; therefore becaufe his outward 
 Appearance was not more glorious to 
 anivver their Minds, they rejected him 
 who was the Stone that is as to be the 
 Head of the Corner , and uas the Foun¬ 
 tain of living Water , and the Fight of 
 Life. Pfal. cxviii. 22. Mat. xxi. 42. 
 Rev. vii. 17. 
 
 Nevertheiefs Chrift had Followers, 
 whom from their fpiritual Poverty (as 
 above-mentioned) he made Choice of, 
 and they made Choice of him. Unto 
 fuch he taught the Law of the new Co¬ 
 venant, which exceeds that of Mofcs y 
 preaching unto them the Gofpel of God’s 
 Kingdom, fetcing himfelf forth to be a 
 Way, a Light, a Spirit, a Life, a Lea¬ 
 der, a Fotsntain, a Vine and a Shepherd, 
 to them, in fuch a Way as the World 
 could not, nor can receive him \ but 
 rather reje£t and gaini'ay him, as may be 
 feen at this Day among the Profeflors 
 of Chriftianity. 
 
 B 2 
 
 CH AP. 
 
( 14 ) 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Concerning the Scriptures, and our 
 Saviour’/ fpiritual Appearance . 
 
 C HRIST fa id, 1 am the Way, the 
 Truth and the Life : No Man com - 
 et b to the Lather , hut by me. John xiv. 6 . 
 But lbme fay, the Scripture is the Way 
 which leadeth us to the Father, and the 
 Scripture is the Truth, which is to teach 
 and guide us, and to declare unto us 
 the Will and Commands of God, and 
 fo we hope to have Life. But what 
 Scriptures tell us that Life ftands in the 
 Treatife, or in the Writing ? Do not 
 the Scriptures dire£t and call People to 
 Chrilt, and he calls to himfelf: He faid 
 unto the jews that ftrove againft him, 
 Search the Scriptures, for in them ye 
 think to have eternal Life they are 
 they that tejlfy of me, and ye will not 
 come to me that ye may have Life. Tohn 
 v. 39, 40. 
 
 And 
 
V ’ ' ( . 
 
 And are net the Profeffors of our 
 Age exaflly of the lame Mind with 
 t’nofe Profeffors > They would : ave 
 Life in the Scr proves, but they will 
 net have Chuff- who is the Life. Jeju > 
 Lid, J am the Light of the World \ be 
 ib it fnllcweth me Jh /'l not welk in Lark- 
 tirfs, but /I:al! have the Light of Life. 
 John viii. 12. But they fay, the Scrip¬ 
 ture is the belt Light which every one 
 ought to follow, which (they fay) is 
 fufScient to bring People to Salvation. 
 Is not this Darknefs, Blafphemy and Er¬ 
 ror, that is, to put the Scriptures be¬ 
 fore and above Chiiff and render it 
 more fufBcient to lead to Salvation ? 
 Which they cannot make out, forChrift 
 was given a Head to the Church above 
 every thing. 
 
 But hear with me to expoftulatea 
 little in the Defence of Truth, in Scrip¬ 
 ture Words. In the firft Place, I do be¬ 
 lieve there is none will deny but every 
 one that is undertheName of Chriftiar, 
 mutt acknowledge Chrift is the Word 
 that zoas made Flejh , and dwelt amongJ} 
 his Apoftles? What then ? Was not this 
 
 B 
 
 5 
 
 the 
 
( ) 
 
 the Word which was from the Begin¬ 
 ning with God , John i. 14. And God 
 was the Word •, all Things were made by 
 him. In him was Life , and the Lije teas 
 the Light of Men. There was a Man fent 
 from God , whofe Kerne was John, the 
 f ane came to bear witnefs oj the Light. 
 Jtie was not that Light, but zoos jer.t 10 
 bear witnefs of ihat Light , John i. 1, 3, 
 4, to 12. 
 
 But why may it not be laid in like 
 Manner, the Scriptures were fent from 
 God to bear witnefs of the LLht ? But 
 
 o 
 
 the Scripture is not the Light; but it 
 was fent, that it might bear witnels of 
 that Light but he was the true Light 
 which lighteth every Man that cometh 
 into the World : Which cannot be faid 
 of the Scriptures, for there is but a 
 fmall Part of the World that received 
 the Scriptures, and many of thofe have 
 not as yet received the true Light which 
 lighteth every Man , (Inning in theDaik- 
 nefs of Men’s Hearts, and the Dark- 
 nefs, not comprehending it. The World 
 knew him not, nor received him ^ but 
 as many as received him, to them gave 
 
 he 
 
r , ' 
 
 ( »7 ) , v 
 
 he Power to become the Sorts of God, 
 even to them that believe in his Name ■, 
 but Experience tells us, thatPeople may 
 receive the Scriptures, and read them, 
 and not receive Power to become the 
 Sons of God ; for the Power and LHe 
 is in Chiiif, who is the true Light, 
 and thole that receive this Light and 
 walk therein, they have Fellowship one, 
 with another, and the blood of Jcfus 
 Chrifl his Son cleanfeth than from every 
 Sin. _ 
 
 But the Profeffors of Chriftianity, 
 who in Contentions one againft another 
 fet up theScriptures aboveChrift, they 
 alio forlake the Fountain where they 
 may be wafhed. Is not this he whom 
 the World hates ? And this is the Con¬ 
 demnation, that Light is come into the 
 World , and Men loved Lar^nefs rather 
 than Light , becaufe their Leeds were 
 evil \ for every one that doth Evil hateth 
 the Light , neither cometh to the Light , 
 leaf his Leeds fhould be reproved : But 
 he that doth Truth comcth to tie Light , 
 that his Leeds maybe made m.mifeft that 
 they are wrought in God, John iii.-ip, 20, 
 
 »i. B4 Here 
 
( IS ) 
 
 Here the Reafon is manifeft why 
 Men loveDarknefs, becaufe it is eafier 
 for them to ftn in Darknefs ^ and thev 
 hate theLight. becaufe it makes mani¬ 
 feft all their evil Deeds, and reproveth 
 them in their own Hearts 5 and in as 
 much as they neither know it nor its 
 .. Virtues, any further than fomething re¬ 
 proving them, and that they do not in¬ 
 tend lu return at the Reproof thereof, 
 but to gather Reafons to fay and plead 
 againft it, that it is nothing but a na¬ 
 tural Light, and that it is not fufficient 
 to lead to Salvation. 
 
 But of a Truth, if Chrift, as he is 
 God, and hath all Power in him, and 
 as he is the eternal Word, the holy 
 Spirit; the Life, and the Light, and all 
 true Wifdcm and Knowledge rreafured 
 up in him, is not fufficient to lead to 
 Salvation, 1 know not what is fuffi- 
 cienr, if he is not : The Spirit that 
 guides into all Truth, concerning whom 
 Chrift laid, the Spirit of Truth whom 
 the World cannot receive , becaufe it 
 jeethhim not, neither knoweth him, but 
 
(~I 9 ) 
 
 ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, 
 and Jhall be in you : 1 will not leave you 
 comfortlejs, 1 will come unto you •, at 
 that Day you Jhall know that I am in the 
 Father , and you in me, and 1 in you, John 
 xiv. 17. 20. 
 
 But the ProfefTors of this Age, will 
 not have Chrift to be in his People •, 
 how then are they Chrift’s ? JVow if any 
 Man hath not the Spirit of Chrift, he is 
 none of his ; and if Chrift be in you, the 
 Body is dead becaufe of Sin, but the 
 Spirit is Life becaufe of Right eoufiitfs. 
 Rom. viii. 9, 10. For when Chrift 
 comes to take Pofteffion in the Hearts cf 
 People, he fets up his Kingdom* Law 
 and Government \ that is, the Law of 
 the Spirit of Life, which fets free from 
 the Law of Sin and Death j then the 
 Devil lofeth his Kingdom, and lofetii 
 his Subjefis and Government in the 
 Hearts of People, when Chrift com- 
 eth to caft him out, and take the Pol- 
 feffion. 
 
 Therefore the old fubtle Enemy fets 
 all his Craft to work to keep the Chil - 
 
 B 5 dren 
 
( 20 ) 
 
 dren of the World in his dark Kingdom, 
 granting them all outward Means to 
 deck- themlelves to appear religious, 
 and make them hold and confident of 
 their being in the Way : They may 
 have as many Church Traditions and 
 Cuftoms as they pleafe, they may read 
 the^ Scriptures, and what Books they 
 will, and they may talk of Chrift that 
 he died for them, and rofe and attended 
 into Heaven, and that hefits at the right 
 Hand ofthemoftH : gh-, for Satan is ful¬ 
 ly allured, that all this is not fufficient 
 to carry his Servants out of his Hands, 
 therefore hewill allow them every thing 
 hut the Knowledge of Chrift within, 
 
 . the Hope of Glorv. 
 
 The Apcftle laid, Examine your- 
 Selves zibet her you be in the Faith, 
 prove your oven feives , know you not 
 your oven feives, that Jcfus Cbrijl is in 
 you, except ye be Reprobates. 2 Cor. 
 xtii. 5. Satan knows this,'but he is 
 not willing his Subje&s Ihould know- 
 it, therefore People “will reckon them- 
 felves to be in the Faith, and accepta¬ 
 ble 
 
i 2T )' 
 
 ble enough, tho’ they know not Chrift' 
 in themielves, a Light to fhine upon 
 them, and to (how them their Con¬ 
 dition ^ as he is the Spirit of Truth, 
 to guide them into all Truth; as he 
 is Life eternal, to quicken and heal 
 the Souls that are wounded, weary 
 and heavy laden, and to remove them 
 from the Kingdom of Darkneis into his 
 own Kingdom, to be under his Govern¬ 
 ment, that fo he may dwell in them, 
 and they in him : Here Satan lofeth the 
 Field, and his Subtilties come to be 
 manifefted. 
 
 For if a Man had all Books and all 
 Knowledge that may be in the World, 
 and knew the Principles of every Pro- 
 feffion, and treafured them up in his 
 Head, yet except Chrift takes Hold and 
 Poffeffion of his Heart, there will be for 
 all that, room for Satan to make his a- 
 bode, and to work and keep Poflefiion ; 
 for where Chrift hath not Place to work 
 on the Hearts of People, ir is moft cer¬ 
 tain that Satan works there ; for he is 
 theSo’rit that works in the Children ef 
 
 Difo- 
 
: ( 22 ) 
 
 obedience, and he leads them into ail 
 Wicked nefs. 
 
 • But the Rule which Chrift promifed 
 t0 §' ve b* !S Followers to walk by, and 
 to be with them to the End of the 
 World, washis own Spirit: Lolwillbe 
 
 vnh you to the End, 1 will pray the Father, 
 c '-y u he fhan give you another Comforter, 
 i vat he way abide with you for ever, even 
 the Spirit of Truth. John xiv. 16, 17. 
 .who was to a bide with them and-to be 
 in them $ the Comforter, the holy Spi¬ 
 rit, who was to teach and guide them 
 into aL Truth. Is not this the one Thing 
 needful, without which, it is in vain 
 ibi Man to think that he can do any 
 
 thing towards the Work of his Salva¬ 
 tion. 
 
 He is alfo fufficient cf himfelf to 
 lead his Followers in the Paths of Life ; 
 he giveth them Power to be Sons of 
 God, for whofoever are lei by the 
 Spirit of God, thrfe are Children of 
 God, Rom. viii. 14. But the dark 
 People will fay, Whofoever are led 
 
 by the Scripture, are Children of 
 God. 
 
 Again, 
 
( 23 ) 
 
 Again, if ye through the Spirit do Mor¬ 
 tify the Deeds of the Body , ye /hall live. 
 Rom. viii. 13. But they lay, that thro’ 
 theScripture the Deeds of the Body are 
 moitify’d$ but God thro’ his Spirit did 
 reveal to his People, what Eye hath not 
 fcen, nor Ear heard , neither hath it en- 
 tred into the Heart of Man , the Things 
 which God hath prepared for them that 
 love him. 1 Cor. ii. 9. So the Things 
 of God no Man knoweth, but the Spi¬ 
 rit of God. 
 
 Therefore there are too many of the 
 Profeffors of Chriftianity, becaufe they 
 will not receive the Spirit of God, 
 they neither know nor underftand the 
 Scriptures, nor the Things which he 
 hath prepared for them that love him: 
 But , faith theAopoftle, we received not 
 the Spirit of the World , but the Spirit 
 which is of God , that we might know 
 the Things that are freely given us of 
 God. 
 
 But the natural Man received not 
 the Things of the Spirit of God , for they 
 are Foolijfmefs unto him $ neither can 
 
 he 
 
 know them, becaufe they are Spiritu* 
 
 tually 
 
C 24 ) 
 
 tually difcerned. 1 Cor. ii. 12. 14. And 
 as Chrift faid. It is the Spirit that 
 quickneth , and it is Life eternal to 
 know the Father and the Son. John vi. 
 65. xvii. 3. And how is he to be 
 known, but by the Revelation of his 
 own Spirit in the inward Man ? For his 
 Saints and Followers know him in¬ 
 wardly, to be a Light to enlighten 
 their Paths, and Life to their Souls, a 
 Fountain oj living Water , Springing up 
 to' everlafling Life. John iv. 14. to 
 drink thereof, that they may never 
 thirft: And inwardly he refrelheth and 
 comfotteth the Souls that are weary 
 and faint in the Way of their Pilgri¬ 
 mage. This is the Life eternal, which 
 is freely given to as many as open the 
 Doors of their Hearts, to take in the 
 King of Glory. 
 
 This living Water, is to be freely 
 given to the poor unlearned Tradefmen 
 and Ploughmen, Shepherds and Fiflier- 
 men, if they but turn their Minds in¬ 
 wards and there humble themfelves be¬ 
 fore their God, in a Senfe of his Mer¬ 
 cies and Deliverance, his Love and long- 
 
 SufFering 
 
 \ 
 
C 2? ) 
 
 Suffering towards them, even waiting 
 to be gracious unto them: For theLord 
 is near to them that feek him while he 
 may be found, and call upon him while 
 he is near. Therefore is not the Pri- 
 viledge of knowing the Founrain of li¬ 
 ving Waters in ourfelves made fure to us, 
 the Shepherds and poorTradefmen, ra¬ 
 ther than to the Men of Learning (who 
 have filled themfelves with the Know'- 
 ledge that puffeth up) or to the great 
 Men ? For it is a great Work for them 
 to come down fo low, to be taught by 
 that which is fo little in their Sight, 
 as is the Seed of God’s Kingdom : For 
 it is too common in them the leaft of all 
 Seeds. 
 
 So it is pofiible for the Shepherd 
 following his Flock, and the Tradef- 
 man at his Calling, to come to this 
 Fountain, and drink thereof, to com¬ 
 fort and refrefh their thirfty Souls 5 
 for the Lord fiUetk the Hungry with 
 good Things, and the Rich he Jends 
 empty away. Luke i. y?. But to the 
 poor and contrite Spirit will he look, 
 and God dwells with him that is of a 
 
 contrite 
 
(2 6 ) 
 
 contrite and humble Spirit, to revive 
 the Spirit of the humble and to revive 
 the^ heart of the contrite Ones. Ifa. 
 lvii. 15. So the Prayer of the poor 
 Publican went up to the Lord with 
 more Acceptance than that of the Pha¬ 
 risee. 
 
 Of a Truth, when thofe Poor come 
 to be acquainted withfpiritual Viiitaci¬ 
 ons in their Hearts, their Souls come 
 to be revived and renewed, and have a 
 godly Zeal kindled in them to ferve * 
 the Lord j thefe come to know Chrift 
 within, to give Life to their Souls; 
 thefe can be true Witneffes that in hirn 
 there is Life, and as John thebeloved 
 Difciple Paid, He that believeth on the 
 Son of God , hath the Witnefs in him - 
 felf , he that believeth not God , hath 
 made him a Liar , becaufe he believeth 
 not the Record God gave of his Son , 
 and this is the Record that God hath 
 given to us , eternal Life, and this Life 
 is in his Son. 1 John v. 10, 11, 12. 
 
 Therefore they who hold Life eternal 
 to be in the Scriptures, and in the Sa¬ 
 craments 
 
j ' ( 27) 
 
 craments, thefe do not believe God's Re¬ 
 cord of his Son, but feek to make him a 
 Lyar =, becaufe they do not believe that 
 Life eternal is in his Son : Again, He 
 I that bath the Son hath Life, and be that 
 hub not the Sen of God bath not lAje. 
 See here the Apoftle did not mention 
 any Thing to be put with Chrift to 
 make up the Life •, but he that hath 
 the Son hath Life becaufe every thing 
 neceffary to Life and Salvation is trea- 
 fured up in the Son. Again, He that 
 hath not the Son of God hath not Life. 
 
 And of a Truth, thofe that are with¬ 
 out Life, they are yet dead in TrefpaJJ'es 
 and Sins, without being made alive 
 with Chrift. Whatfoever they have, 
 they are but dead Things to them, this 
 agrees well with the old Britifh Proverb, 
 Heb dduvo heb Ddint, ond Duw a digov : 
 But fome poor ignorant People will 
 fay, we know nothing, we muft believe 
 what learned Men tell us, becaufe thev 
 read and know •, but that is not the 
 Way for thee to become one ofChrift’s 
 Sheep, becaufe if theFifhermen and un¬ 
 learned 
 
 / 
 
( ?3 ) 
 
 learned in the Days of old had believed 
 the learned Men, they had never be¬ 
 lieved in Chrift, nor became his Fol¬ 
 lowers. 
 
 And although there are Teachers in 
 this Age, who do profefs that they 
 believe in Chriff yet if thou follow 
 their Do£fr;ne, thou wilt never come 
 to feek the Spirit of God to lead thee, 
 that thou become a Child of 
 
 God, nor ever receive Jefus the Light 
 of Life, who gives Power to luch as 
 receive him to become the Sons of God, 
 by being born not of Blood, nor of the 
 Will of the F/eJh , nor of the ft ’ iU of Man , 
 but of God. John i. 12, 13. There¬ 
 fore it is much better for thee to take 
 the Apoftle’s Advice, If any of )ou 
 lack Wifdom , let him ask of God that 
 giveth to all Men liberally , and up- 
 braiieth not, and it Jhall be given him : 
 Every good Gift , and every perfecf Gift , 
 is from above , and cometh down from 
 the Father of Lights, w th whom is no Va¬ 
 riable r.efs nor Shadow of Turning. Jam- 
 i. 5, 17. 
 
 But 
 
( 29 ) 
 
 But when the Lord begins his Work 
 on the Hearts of People, Ihewing their 
 finful States, and railing Fear in Them 
 concerning their Souls, and a Defire to 
 know the Way to get Peace with God in 
 theirConfcience, divers will incline to 
 advife with their Teachers, or fuch as 
 they look upon to be wile and able to 
 give them Counfei, and it is very rare 
 but they meet with a Remedy much 
 worfe than theDifeale, for want of the 
 Phyfician s knowing the Work of God 
 upon their ownSouls^ they will belike 
 to advife them to Ihun melancholly 
 Thoughts, left Satan tempt them to 
 Difpair, and to lole themielvesj per- 
 luading them they need not be afraid 
 of their Souls, if they live like their 
 Neighbours * or elfe to invite them to 
 take the Sacramenr, and cry Peace to 
 them, and throw fome Water to quench 
 that Fire which God hath begun ro kin¬ 
 dle by his Judgments againftSin in their 
 Hearts. For Sion JhaU be redeemed with 
 Judgment. 
 
 But what fhall a Man do, when he 
 comes to be afraid of hisSalvatior, and 
 
 his 
 
. ( ?0 ) 
 
 his Sin becomes a Burden to him, dnd 
 knows not how to get Eafe > But was it 
 not upon fuch that Chrift himfeifc tiled ? 
 faying, Come unto me all ye that labour, 
 and are heavy laden, and I nil give you 
 Ref! ■, take my Yoke upon you and learn ef 
 me, for 1 am meek and low ; > in Heart, 
 and ye [hall find Y eft to your Souls. Mat. 
 xi. 28, 29. And thofe that know Chrift 
 by the Spirit of his Grace, teaching and 
 guiding them into all Truth, thefe know 
 that there is no Teacher like unro 
 him, for he is the Anointing, to whofe 
 Teaching alone the Apoftle direfled 
 the Saints, at the Time when there 
 were many Antichrifts gone forth to 
 deceive and beguile the true Chriftians. 
 1 John it. 20. Therefore he faid unto 
 them, Ye have an Unffion from the holy 
 One, and ye know all things. If that 
 which ye have heard from the Begin - 
 ring , fhall remain in you, ye alfo /ball 
 continue in the Son, and in the Father, 
 Ver.- 24. 
 
 And to eftablifh them on the immove¬ 
 able Rock, that they might be able to 
 withftand all Tempefts, Winds and 
 . Floods, 
 
V 
 
 I 
 
 ( V ) 
 
 I 
 
 Floods, and alio re-mind them of their 
 ltrong Tower and rortrefs, he faid, The 
 Anointing which ye have received of him 
 abideth in you, and ye need not that any 
 Alan teach you, but as the fame Anoint¬ 
 ing teacheth you alt things, and is Truth, 
 and no Lie 5 and even as it taught you,ye 
 j.hall abide in him. Ver. 27. So the Uhf'ti- 
 on remains in the true Chriftians, and 
 they in him, and thereby continue in the 
 Son, and in the Father. Thefearethe 
 Branches which are grafted in the true' 
 Vine, to whom he l'aith. Abide in me, 
 and I in you : the Branch cannot bear 
 
 Fruit of itfelf, except it abide in the 
 Vine, no more can ye except ye abide in 
 me. John xv. 4. 
 
 We fee here how needful it is for 
 every true Chriftian to know himfelf 
 grafted in Chrift the true Vine, and 
 after he is fo grafted, to abide in him, 
 (that is) in his Grace, Spirit and Infpira- 
 tion, in his pure Nature, Virtue, Love 
 and Fellowlhip in the inward Man. This 
 is the living Sap that the Vine is full of, 
 which afeends up to the Branches, cau- 
 fing them to grow, fiourifh and bring 
 
 forth 
 
 \ 
 
' . ( 32 ) 
 
 foith fweet Fruit, well pleafing to the 
 Husbandman, which naturally fprings 
 forth from the incorruptible Root. Such 
 Fruits no Man can bring forth, altho’ 
 he makes Ufe of all his Undeittanding 
 and Strength, endeavouring to form 
 his Actions to anfwer the Scriptures, 
 and break off his Sins that naturally 
 fprout from the Root of the wild Vine, 
 which will fpring out through the 
 Branches, letMan do what he will, un¬ 
 till he be cutoff from the wild Vine, and 
 be grafted in the true Vine. 
 
 But after fome Men ftrive and labour 
 againft Sin, and fail to get Vi&ory, 
 they are forced to yield, and drop An¬ 
 chor in the Quickfand, and Place of 
 Difpair, believing there is no Power to 
 be obtained to overcome Sin-, but that 
 the Saints and People of God mdlt live 
 in it all the Days of their Lives ; and 
 this Miftake is by reafon of their not 
 coming to Chrift in themfelves, to have 
 his Spirit that leads unto all Truth, 
 which will be a Rudder and a Compafs 
 for them to fleer the Courfe of their 
 
 Pilgri- 
 
, ' ( 33 ) 
 
 Pilgrimage, for thofe that are led by 
 him, he brings them to their defired 
 Port, where he gives them Eafe and 
 Reft, that is, in himfelf, who is the 
 true vine, of whom it was laid, Whofo- 
 ever abideth in him, finnetb not . I John 
 
 iii. 6 . . 
 
 And again, he faith, lam the Vine, ye 
 are the Branches ; be that abidetb in me, 
 and I in him, the fame bringeth forth 
 much Fruit, for without me ye can do no¬ 
 thing. John xv. 5. 
 
 But is it not Pity that this Do&rine 
 muft not go into the Pulpits in Chriftian 
 Churches, to enlighten People and fhew 
 them the Way of Salvation ? But the 
 Devil is careful to keep it out, left he 
 fhould lofe his Kingdom and Govern¬ 
 ment 5 for as the Lord faid by his Pro¬ 
 phet, If the Prophets had flood in my 
 Counfel, and had caufed my People to hear 
 my Words, then they fhould have turned 
 them from their evil Way, and from the 
 Evil of their Doings. Jer. xxiii. 22. 
 But the Voice of Chrift and his Pro¬ 
 phets and Apoftles runs confonant and 
 
 agreeable 
 
( 54 ) 
 
 ' agreeable the fame Way like a Stream 
 but the Voice of the World is in itfelf 
 full of Confufion, and quite contrary 
 to the Voice of the trueShephevd ; buc 
 it is rhe Voice of a Stranger, therefore 
 the Sheep run away from it, becaufe 
 they know not the Voice of Strangers. 
 John % S> He is the Door of the Sheep; 
 they that enter in by him, (hall have 
 Life, but fuch as climb up another Way 
 they are Thieves and Robbers. And he 
 faid, My Sheep hear myVoice, aril I know 
 them, and they follow me, and I give unto 
 them eternal Life. .. 
 
 - Is not this the Sum of the Religion 
 of a trueChriftian, and theSubftance ot 
 Salvation, the one Thing needful? That 
 is to know the Voice of Chrift within, 
 who is the true Shepherd, and follow 
 bim in all Things, and have of him eter~ 
 nJl Life- This is alfo the Grace that 
 appeared, even the Grace of God that 
 bringeth Salvation to all Men, teaching 
 us to denyGngoilinefs and worldly Luffs, 
 and to live foberly, righteoufly , and god¬ 
 ly in this prefent World. Tit. ii.ii* y- 
 
( 55 ) , 
 
 We fee that this was he that taught 
 the Apoltles. It may he alfo leen, 
 that fuch as take upon them to learn 
 by the Scriptures, are not able to deny 
 Ungcdlineis and Worldly Lulls: They 
 alio confefs their Lives and Conver- 
 fations are not like the Lives of the 
 Holy Men of Old, cf whom the Scrip¬ 
 tures tell us, that they were led by 
 the Spirit and Grace of God$ but the 
 Keafon of that is, the Want of their 
 Coming to accept of being led by the 
 lame Spirit, and taught by the fame 
 Grace •, for the fame Sap in the true 
 Vine caufeth the Branches to bear the 
 fame good Fruit. There is the fame 
 Virtue in the Grace to teach a godly 
 Life, and the fame Power in the holy 
 Spirit to guide into all Truth. And it 
 is given to the Sons of God, to be with 
 them to the End. 
 
 But great is the Deceit of the old 
 fubtle Enemy, to keep People in his 
 dark Kingdom, by making them be¬ 
 lieve, that the Spirit of God is not to 
 be had, to lead his People in thefe 
 Ages, Therefore, what may he 
 ; ' C thought 
 
( 86 ) 
 
 thought of that ? If the Spirit of God 
 does not lead any in theie Days, then 
 God hath no People nor Children upon 
 the Earth : It is true enough, that the 
 Devil would have it fo. For if the 
 Spirit of God doth not lead a Man, he 
 will be led by his own flelhly Lull, a id 
 the Spirit of this World, that is the 
 Spirit of Satan, which leads into all 
 Falfhood and Iniquities 5 for the Spi¬ 
 rit of Man is fubje£t to be led by fome 
 Spirit, and there are but two Spirits, 
 and two Natures, to wit, Good and 
 Evil , to govern the Hearts of People. 
 
 Therefore the Enemy knows, that 
 there is nothing draws a Man out of 
 his Reach but the Spirit of God, for 
 which Caufe he darkens and bewitches 
 the Inhabitants of the Earth, who are 
 made drunk with the Wine of Babylon's 
 Fornication, by putring Examples be¬ 
 fore them, of other Ways to be Chil¬ 
 dren of God, befides being led by his 
 Spirit: But thefe Ways are fo void of 
 , the Crofs, that after a Man comes at 
 them, he may fin as much as he will, 
 to i'atisfy bis liefhly Luft, and to ferve 
 
( 37 ) 
 
 the Devil: And although lie allows 
 them to have the Sciipture to read, vet 
 he will never grant them to come to 
 that which the Scripture calls them un¬ 
 to : For the Scripture fas was Ibid be¬ 
 fore; calls to Chrilt, and to the Know¬ 
 ledge of him, as he is to his Saints, a 
 Spirit, Life, Light, Grace, Fountain, 
 Vine, Shepherd, to work the new Birth. 
 
 It is true', that the Scriptures were 
 given forth by the infpiration of God, 
 and fprung from his Spirit, which was 
 in the holy Men and Prophets, Chriit 
 himfelf, and his Apoftles, who were 
 in the Spirit, and through the Spirit 
 gave them forth, and their Teltimonies 
 are true and profitable for Counfel and 
 Comforr, and Edification to every Tra¬ 
 veller that hath his Face towards New 
 Jertrjkfem: But it is poffible, that a 
 Man, in a State of Nature, who is for 
 fulfilling his Lulls, may fin at hisPlea- 
 fure, notwithftandinghe has the Bible, 
 which he could not do, if Chrilt, by 
 his Spirit, had taken hold and Poffefli- 
 on of his Heart and Soul. 
 
 C s 
 
 But 
 
( ?8 ) 
 
 But feme may fay, if the Scripture 
 had taken hold of the Heart of Man, 
 jr might help him to forbear Sinning. 
 Yet, who will open the Heart to re¬ 
 ceive the Scripture, if not the Lord > 
 He opened the Heart of Lydia to re¬ 
 ceive what was fpoken by Paul. In 
 him alone is Power to open People’s 
 Hearts. For where Satan keeps Pof* 
 feflion, no good Thing Ihall come in, 
 until he come that is ifronger than 
 he, to call him out and take Pofieflion, 
 and open the Heart to receive in all 
 the Goodnefs which God is pleafed to 
 vouchfafe to his People for their Edi¬ 
 fication. 
 
 For of a Truth, when Chrift, by the 
 Spirit of his Grace, takes hold on the 
 Hearts of People, the Fear of God 
 comes to take Place in them, o#hfing 
 them to tremble, and cry for Help to 
 depart from Iniquity. And the Lord 
 is near and ready to Hand by them, a- 
 gainft the Temptations of Satan: And 
 as they Hand faithful, he diftributes 
 to them of the Spirit of his Grace, to 
 leaven, change, and make them new 
 
 Creatures 
 
Creatures. Thefe come more and more 
 to be Partakers of the divine Nature 
 which is in the true Vine, to change 
 their Nature and Atfettions, teaching 
 them to love God, and love all Good, 
 and love all Men, love their Enemies, 
 
 • and pray for them, and do good to all 
 Men. 
 
 He likewife teacheth them to hate 
 all Evil, and flee from it, as from a 
 mortal Enemy, who is for breaking 
 their Peace with the Lord which 
 Peace they value above all other things. 
 Unto f'uch the Crofs of Chrift is eafie, 
 and his Burden light; and it is eafier 
 for them to keep God’s Commandments 
 than break them ; for to break them is 
 to break their Peace. 
 
 And of a Truth, this is the Religion 
 which the God of Heaven did and doth 
 command, and highly own, as hath 
 been Paid before. Haft thou confiderecl 
 my Servant Job, that there is none 
 like him in the Earth , a perfeff and an 
 upright Mm, one that fcareth God and 
 efcheweth Evil. Is not this the Con- 
 clufion of all that was heard, and the 
 
 C 3 whole 
 
(40; 
 
 whole Duty of Man ? And he that hath 
 this Religion, what Part foever of the 
 World he may dwell in, of what Lan¬ 
 guage, Tribe or Kindred foever, or of 
 what Profeffion foever he. may be, this 
 is the Man whole Lamp will fhine at 
 his latter End, and will find the Door 
 of the Kingdom open. 
 
 But the Man that neither feareth 
 God, nor keepeth his Commandments, 
 nor efcheweth Evil, though he makes 
 high Profeffion of Chrilitanity, and- 
 boafts of his Faith, Belief, Religion, 
 and Works, with great Boldnels and 
 Prefumption, when he looks Death in 
 the Face, his Lamp will be out, and 
 IPs Confidence will fail, for the Sting 
 of Death torments him, and Sin gnaws 
 the Confcience, and his Robe is filthy 
 and not wafhed, nor made clean in the 
 Blood of the L.mb, Rev. viii. 14. that 
 fo the Soul might have been fit to Hand 
 before the Throne, with the Saints in 
 white Raiment. 
 
 But now O finful Man, it is lamen¬ 
 table for thee to remember thy W ays 
 and Works, and alfo to remember how 
 
 Jefus 
 
( 41 ) 
 
 Jefus hath been knocking at the Door 
 of thy Heut, while the Dav of thy Vi¬ 
 bration lafted, calling for Repentance 
 and Amendment of Life, and thou 
 did ft net hearken unto him, but fol¬ 
 lowed thy lafeivious Defires, which 
 drown thy Soul in the bottomlefs Pit. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Shewing what is Saving Faith. 
 
 ERILY great is the Prefumption 
 
 which Satan works in the moft 
 
 abominable Sinners, making them be¬ 
 lieve they are in the right Way, and 
 in the true Chu r ch, where there is no 
 Danger cf Idling Salvation : Therefore 
 we may hear the Drunkards, Adulte¬ 
 rers, and all manner of Evil-doers, 
 boafting of their Religion, and boldly 
 pleading for it, though they have no 
 Religion at all. 
 
 It is very common, the more erro¬ 
 neous. the more is their Prefumption, 
 
 and 
 
( 42 ) 
 
 and falfe Confidence; for the more 
 iinful, the more blind they are ; lei's is- 
 their Love to their Fellow Creatures, 
 and the more fevere are their Cenfures 
 againft all other Profeffions, and with¬ 
 out Mercy i'acrificing all but themlelves 
 to Hell Fire. 
 
 This is very apparent in the Mem¬ 
 bers of the Church of Rome, and by 
 corrupted Nature creeps into other 
 Profefhons, making Sinners infolent-, 
 for though there are too many People 
 un^generated, yet neverthelefs they 
 will pretend to have Religion, and fet 
 up fome Stru£fure, under which they 
 fhelter and promife Heaven to them- 
 felves, though they are Servants to 
 Corruption, lulling themfelvestofleep, 
 eaiie in Sin and Iniquity. 
 
 Therefore, fome will boldly fay, 
 We have Faith in Chi if , who died jor 
 vs, and bought its by fufferivg on the 
 Crofs, and he took our Sins upon hint - 
 Je/f, and they were reckoned Sins to 
 him who was i without Sin. So it uiU be 
 counted , that we JhaU be Partakers of 
 
( 43 ) 
 
 his Righteoufnefs, though there is no 
 Righteoufnefs in us. 
 
 Is nor this a Dodlrine full of Pre- 
 fumption, to make People more bold 
 and confident to multiply their Sins 
 freely at the Lord’s Charge, throwing 
 all their Filth and abominable Sins 
 upon Chrift, who died for Sinners, to 
 deliver them, and to w’alh and cleanfe 
 them from their Sins? For he is the 
 Fountain that fprungup to the Houle 
 of Judah , and to the Inhabitants of 
 Jerufalem , to wafli away Sin and Ini¬ 
 quity. 
 
 But by this DoHrine Chrift did not 
 come to wafh People from their Sins, 
 but rather to juftify them therein*, 
 that fo they may fin as much as they 
 will with Boldnefs, and without Fear, 
 and caft it upon Chrift, who faid to 
 Peter , If I waft) thee not , thou haft no 
 Part in me : Yet it is poffible a Man 
 may be ready to fay, though I am an 
 unclean Sinner, vet I believe in Chrift, 
 and that he was conceived by the Ho¬ 
 ly Ghcft, born of the pure Virgin, 
 his Miracles, and Sufferings, his Ke- 
 
 C 5 furre&i ri, 
 
(45 ; 
 
 furrection, and Afcenfion into Heaven, 
 to fit at the Right Hand of the Mj jelly 
 cn high. 
 
 Ail rhefe Things are real Truths in 
 themlelves, and the Follow ers of Ch rift 
 enjoy the Salvation which he hath 
 prepared through his Sufferings; but 
 Satan knows all this, and the Devils 
 did confels that he was the Son of 
 God, though they had no Part in him, 
 ’outfought to fly from him. Mat. viii, 
 ■ op. 
 
 Rut the Man will fay, I believe 
 Chrift hath ranfomed me by his Death, 
 and paid the Price for me: It is true 
 enough, that the Heavenly King did 
 buy all Mankind, and paid for them, 
 to the End they might he made free 
 from Sins, and drawn from the King¬ 
 dom of Satan, and out of his Chains, 
 and tranfFred into his own Kingdom, 
 that they may be there under his Ban¬ 
 ner, Law and Government. 
 
 But what Portion haft thou in this 
 King, or his Kingdom, whilft thou 
 liveff in Difobedience to him, and his 
 Government, any more than the Pa- 
 
(44; 
 
 guv, Indian, or Barbarian , purchafed 
 with the fame Blood, and paid for? 
 But he will foon anfwer, I have heard, 
 or read of my Redemption, and how 
 Chrift Buffered for me, and believe it 
 all. 
 
 Then I may alfo fay, I have heard 
 there is a King in France , in Authority, 
 governing and putting forth Laws a-, 
 mongft his Subjeds, and they fight un¬ 
 der his Banner, in Obedience to the 
 King and his Commands: But though 
 I believe all this to be true, yet I have 
 no Mind ever to be one of his Subjeds, 
 nor to come under his Banner, to be 
 obedient to him: Therefore what right 
 have I in that King, or in his Kingdom 
 Laws or Government, becaufe I am en¬ 
 gaged under another King, who (poifi- 
 bly) may be his greateft Enemy ? And 
 therefore I have no Part nor Portion in 
 that King, nor in his Kingdom, nor 
 Government. 
 
 But the Man may fay, the Scripture 
 faith, He that believeth , and is baptized,, 
 Jhall be faved : Therefore I do believe* 
 Is not this feme Part of the Work of 
 
 c o my 
 
'(40 
 
 my Salvation ? To believe Chrift in re¬ 
 ality, is the true laving Faith and 
 Ground-work of Salvation, to which 
 the true Baptifm is joined. If thou 
 doll believe in Chrift, thou mutt give 
 Credit to Chrift ^ otherwife how canft 
 th ou lay that thou believed in him ? 
 For when he preached on the Mount, 
 letting forth the Law of the new Co¬ 
 venant, which was to be a Law to every 
 true Chnitian, and alfo the fpiritual 
 Fruits they were to bring forth, fo that 
 ail (hould be known by their Fruits; for 
 Fruits did and do diftinguifh between 
 the true and falfe Chriltian. 
 
 There were falfe Chiiftians, falfe 
 Prophets, and falfe Teachers, to come 
 in among the true Chriftians * there¬ 
 fore he made appear how to diftinguifh 
 them Te /hall know them by their Fruits: 
 T)o Aim gather Grapes of Thoms , or 
 Figs of Th; files ? So every good Tree 
 brivgeth forth good Fruit, but a corrupt 
 Tree bringeth forth evil Fruit : And to 
 corroborate, and confirm the Teftimc- 
 ny, he fa id again, A good Tree cannot 
 b/ing forth evil Fruit, neither can a cor¬ 
 rupt 
 
( 47 ) 
 
 rupt Tree bring forth good Fruit: Eve¬ 
 ry Tree that bringeth not forth god 
 Fruit, is hewn down and caji into the 
 Fire, Mat. vii. t 6 , 17, 18, 19 21. 
 
 But what will the irreligious Man 
 (that talks of believing in Chtift) lay 
 to thefe Things ? If thou doft believe 
 in him, thou muft alfo believe in thefe 
 Things-j and if thou believelt thefe 
 Things, thou muft come to an Amend¬ 
 ment of Life, and pray to God for 
 Grace to break off thy Sins, and bring 
 forth Fruit meet for Repentance, with¬ 
 out which there is here no Promife, 
 but to hew thee down, and caft thee 
 into the Fire, where the Devil and his 
 Angels are. 
 
 See here farther, what Chrift faith, 
 Not every one that faith unto me Lord, 
 Lord, Jhall enter into the Kingdom of 
 Heaven ; but he that doth the Will of 
 my Father which is in Heaven : And 
 towards the Conclufion of his Sermon, 
 after he had let forth his Heavenly 
 Law, he faid unto them, Every one 
 that heareth thefe Sayings of mine, and 
 doth them not , Jhall be likened unto a 
 
 foolijh 
 
, ' ( 48 ) 
 
 foolijh Man, who built his Uoufe upon 
 the Sand, which Houfe feU when the. 
 Wind and Storm came : Thus will the 
 Hope of the Ungodly fail in the moft 
 needful Time. When mortal Sick- 
 nefs, Oppreffion a d Hardfhip come, 
 then they will call upon him, Lord, 
 Lord , have not we confejjed thy Name ? 
 but this will be the Anfwer, 1 never 
 knew ye, depart from me ye that work 
 Iniquity, Mat. vii. 23. 
 
 But of a Truth, thofe that truly 
 believe in Chrift, have chofen him to 
 be to them a God, a Father, a Prince 
 and Shepherd •, a God to be feared, 
 and to be honoured, and to be bowed 
 before, and to give him the Glory, Re¬ 
 verence and Obedience, and to love 
 him with all the Heart, with all the 
 Soul, and with all the Mind * for this 
 is the greateft Commandment: There 
 fuch a one can believe in the Lord, and 
 truft in him, and depend upon his 
 Mercies, that he will hear his Prayer 
 in the Day of Diftrefs, and keep him 
 from the Hour of Temptation, which 
 (hall come upon all the World, to try 
 
 them 
 
( 4 ? ) 
 
 them that dwell upon the Earth, Rev. 
 iii. ic 
 
 And he is unto them a Father, and 
 takes Care of them, and makes them 
 to partake of all Things neceffary for 
 their Bodies and Souls; and they as 
 obedient Children do receive thofe 
 Mercies from his Hand with Humili¬ 
 ty and Thankfulnefs, accepting the 
 fame as Obligations upon them, to 
 
 bids his great Name for all his Mer¬ 
 cies. i 
 
 He is unto them a Prince, to put on 
 them the fpiritual Armour, even the 
 Word ofGodj which is the Sword of 
 the Spirit, the Shield of Faith, the 
 Helmet of Salvation, that they may 
 overcome the Devil, and all his Wiles. 
 The Lord alfo goes with them to eve¬ 
 ry Battle ^ and thefe, by fighting under 
 his Banner, do receive Faith and Belief 
 of their Conqueft and eternal Reward. 
 
 Thefe are Servants under their Ma- 
 lier, ears efilv purpofing to be obedient 
 and faithful in their Seivice to him, 
 that he may older and govern them 
 and put every one upon his appointed 
 
 Bufinefs; 
 
( 50 ) 
 
 Bufinefs*, and they keep their Places* 
 they believe and depend upon their 
 Lord, that he will plentifully reward 
 them beyond their Delerts. 
 
 And they take him to be their Shep¬ 
 herd, to hearken unto his Voice, and 
 follow him, deparring from all their 
 carnal Defhes, and choofe to bear the 
 Crofs: Fo- thcfe that believed in him, 
 left all Things to follow him. 
 
 Is it notin vain for the ungodly Man 
 to make mention of his Faith in Chrift, 
 and yet re'ufe Thrift to be his Lord, 
 and yet rebel daily 3 gainft him, choof- 
 ing to ferve the Devil > 
 
 For Faith is wrought bv Love, and 
 Love by keeping God’s Command¬ 
 ments, as Thrift faid, If ye love me , 
 keep my Commandments : He that hath 
 my Commandments-, and keepeth them , 
 be it is that lovetb me •, and be that 
 lovcth me , Jl-ali be loved of my Father, 
 and I to ill love him, and I will mani- 
 feft my felf unto him : If a Man love 
 me, be will keep my Words , and my Fa¬ 
 ther uiU love him , and voe will come 
 unto him, and make our Abode with him, 
 
 John , 
 
' ( 51 ) 
 
 John xiv. 15, 2r, 2?. So all the Ser¬ 
 vants of Chrift do love Chrift, by 
 keeping his Commandments s, and he 
 loveth them, and giveth them Faith 
 and Strength for a fpiritual Armour, 
 whereby they may withftand their car¬ 
 nal Defiles, and the Temptations of 
 Satan. 
 
 But the Man that makes a Talk of 
 his Faith, Belief and Chriftianity, but 
 does not come under the Law of the 
 New Covenant, all is in vain to him * 
 and as the Apoftle faith concerning 
 thofe of the Circumcifion, how they 
 were bound to keep the Law, but if 
 thou be a Breaker of the haw, thy Cir- 
 cumcifion is XJncircumcifion , Rom- ii. 2£. 
 So it may be Laid to the irreligious 
 Man, if thou art a Tranfgreffor of 
 Chrift’s Law, thy Chriftianity is be¬ 
 come Antichriftian. Again, if the Ur- 
 circumcifed therefore keep the Righte- 
 oufnefs of the Law, (hall not his Un- 
 circumcifion be accounted for Circum¬ 
 cifion > 
 
 So the Nations who have had little 
 or no Knowledge by Reading, or Preach¬ 
 ing 
 
( 52 ) 
 
 ing, and yet know God writing his Law 
 in their Hearts, and by the AfliR.ince 
 of his Grace come to lead a godly Life, 
 will nor their Unchrittianiry he counted. 
 Chriftianity ? But feme Profeflors of 
 cf Chriftianitv will not grant that any 
 can be Partakers ofthe Salvation which 
 Chrift hath prepared for them, but fuch 
 as have heard,of his Sufferings: How 
 then came all People through all the 
 Corners of the World, to be made Par¬ 
 takers of the Death which came by 
 Adam, who never had any Knowledge 
 of Adam, nor his Fall ? 
 
 The Serpentine Seed went forth to 
 bruife and to Wound, but the Seed of 
 the Woman, (even Jesus Chris t) 
 was given to heal and relieve; and ma¬ 
 ny were healed in former Ages, before 
 he appeared in the Flefh, and became 
 Partakers of the Salvation which he 
 prepared for them through bis Suf¬ 
 ferings. Job knew that his Redeemer 
 lived, and that he fhould ftand at the 
 latter Day upon the Earth. Job xix. 27. 
 and fo he bemoaned himfelf in the time 
 of his AfRidtion, concerning the Days 
 
 that 
 
( 53 ) 
 
 that were paft, faying, 0 ! th.it I were 
 as in Months paft, as in the Days when 
 God preserved me, when his Candle finned 
 upon my Head, and when by his Light 
 1 walked t rough Darkncfs. As I was 
 in the Days of my Youth, when the Se- 
 cret of God was upon my Tabernacle\ 
 when the Almighty was yet with me , 
 Job xxix. 2, 3,4,5. So Job had Faith 
 in Chrift, whom he knew to be his Re¬ 
 deemer, and a Light fhining upon him , 
 to enlighten his Ways, that he might 
 walk through Darknefs, and alfo know 
 him to be a Rock, which poured him out 
 Rivers of Oil. Job xxix. 6. 
 
 This is the Rock of Ages, of whom 
 David fpoke, 0 Lord, my Rock, and 
 my Redeemer, Pfal. xix. 14. It was A- 
 brabam’s great Joy, to fee the Day of 
 Chrift-, and he Jaw it, and was glad, 
 John viii. 56. And of a Truth, the 
 Godly in all Ages, and in every Corner 
 of the World, were, and are made Par¬ 
 takers of Chrift $ for they are walked 
 from their Sins, and do receive the Be¬ 
 nefit of what he did for them, in that 
 they witnefs him in themfelves, to be 
 rB a Light 
 
( 54 ) 
 
 a Light to enlighten their Paths •, Life 
 to quicken their S )u!s * Grace, to 
 teach them to live Godly ; and a 
 Fountain of living Water, fi r the in¬ 
 ward Man to diink, and to wafh their 
 Garments. 
 
 By thefe Means, Thoufands were 
 made Par rakers of the Benefit of Chrift 
 and his Sufferings, and Redemption, 
 before he appeared in the Flefh to per¬ 
 form what his Father had ordained him 
 that is, To offer hirolelf a Sacrifice 
 for all Mankind, and to reveal his own 
 fpiritual Miniftry the more clear,' 
 blight 3 nd (Tuning, drawing ir from un¬ 
 der the Shadows and Types which figu¬ 
 red out his Coming to fee up the Law 
 of the New Covenant, and to write it 
 in the Hearts of People, and to teach 
 them himfelf. 
 
 But it is true, that the fame Light 
 isto enlighten •, the fame Spirit to lead 
 and to quicken them ; the Grace ro 
 teach them ; the fame Fountain to 
 drink of-, and the fame Faith that A- 
 braharn ( the Father of the Faithful) 
 
 had, 
 
 i 
 
■J •; '( 55 ) 
 
 had, which he received from God for 
 his Faithfulnefs and Obedience, when 
 he was yet uncircumcifed. So Chrift 
 had Sheep in all Ages and Corners of 
 the World, yet not gathered to the one 
 Fold *neverthelefs they knew his Voice 
 leading them into the Waters here and 
 there in the World, and they hear the 
 Shepherd’s Voice leading them to be 
 waihed. 
 
 _ For John faw in Heaven a great Mul¬ 
 titude wbicb no Man could nutnber, of 
 all Nations, Kindreds, People and 
 Tongues , /landing before the Throne, 
 and before the Lamb , cloatbed with 
 white Robes, and Palms in their Hands, 
 glorifying God and the Lamb, Revel 
 vii. 9 And one of the Elders j'aid to 
 John, thefe are they that came out of 
 great Tribulation, and have wafhed their 
 Robes, and made them white in the Blood 
 of the Lamb-, therefore are they before 
 the Throne of God, and ferve him Day 
 and Night , in his Temple, and he that 
 fitteth on the Throne Jhall dwell among 
 them , Verf. 13,15. 
 
 Let 
 
( 5 ^ ) - , . * 
 
 Let ns obferve here the Rea ion why 
 theie were come to obtain fo high a 
 Dignity as to Hand be ore the Throne; 
 Was it not becaufe they had waihed 
 and made white their Robes in the 
 Blood of the Lamb > For this Walhing 
 makes a Man a Chriftian, giving him 
 a Part in Chrift, and making him fit 
 to praife God for ever. Therefore lec 
 every Soul be humbled before God, and 
 put his Mouth in the Dull j let him lay 
 alide all Prefumption : See that thou 
 art fearing God and efchewing Evil, 
 and that thy Heart and Soul become 
 fubjeO: to his Law, fo that thou can¬ 
 not commit Evil which difpleafes him, 
 and breaks the Peace of thy own Con- 
 fcience; This was the Law that bound 
 Jofepb to be the Servant of God> and 
 could not give way to gratifV finful 
 Lulls, to do the Devil’s Will, and of¬ 
 fend his heavenly Father, when his 
 Matter’s Wife, upon all Occafions, im¬ 
 portun’d him to lie with her, which 
 jfofepb look’d upon to be Death to his : 
 Soul $ therefore faid, How can I do this 
 great Wickednefs , and fin ag iinji God , 
 Gen. xxxix. 9. 
 
( 57 ) 
 
 0 , let us obfer-ve how much JoJepb 
 exceeded the Profeffors of Chriftianity 
 in this Age ? For many of them would 
 be glad of luch an "Opportunity to 
 commit Evil, and to gratify their car¬ 
 nal Defires, without much Thought of 
 the Soul; nor fear to offend the Al¬ 
 mighty, who daily feeds them with 
 his many Mercies, by nourifhing and 
 preferving them. But indeed, the un¬ 
 regenerate State is the broad Way that 
 leadeth to Deflru&ion, let People pro- 
 fefswhat they will: And as the Apo- 
 flle faid. Of a Truth , I perceive that 
 God is no Refpetferof Ter Jons \ but in 
 every Nation he that feareth him , and 
 voorkcth Righteoujnejs, is accepted 
 with him , A£fs x. 34, So by the 
 Means here before mentioned, our Re¬ 
 demption comes to be compleat Salva¬ 
 tion to us : This alfo is the Cup of Sal¬ 
 vation which is offered ; whofoever 
 drinketh not of this Cup cannot beheal- 
 ed ; butthe Man that hath thefe things, 
 hath Chrift , and the ldme can truly 
 fay$ I am my Beloved’s, and my Belo¬ 
 ved is mine. 
 
 
 CHAP. 
 
( 58 ) 
 
 ■— n 
 
 i 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Shewing a Remedy againft SIN. 
 
 P URE and Holy is the Almighty 
 God, who hath no Tleafure in 
 Wicked nefs, neither (hail Evil abide 
 with him , who hateth all the Workers of 
 Iniquity , Pfal. v. 4. Who jhall afcend 
 into tbe Hill of the Lord , and who Jhall 
 fit in his holy Place ? He that hath clean 
 Hands and a pure Heart , Pfal. xxiv. 3? 
 
 4. 
 
 Therefore he calls for Purity, Ser¬ 
 vice, Obedience, from his People; af¬ 
 fording them Ability to perform that 
 which he requireth at their Hands •, 
 who is making his Children new Crea¬ 
 tures, by purifying of, and deftroying 
 in them the Work of the Enemy, which 
 is Sin, even the only Caule of. Sepa¬ 
 ration between Mankind and their Cre¬ 
 ator. t 
 
 But there are many that love Sin, 
 and delight to live in it, and do not 
 
 feek 
 
{'59 ) 
 
 feek Help from God to overcome it. 
 Smre others would tight with it in their 
 own Strength, and lb fail of overcom¬ 
 ing it ; Therefore the greateft Part fail 
 into one Judgment, 1 hat there is no 
 Vi£lory to be had over Sin •, but that 
 the Saints and true People of God muff 
 be Si nners all the Days of their Lives : 
 Rut this is r.o evangelical Doctrine, 
 but the Evidence of Sinners.- They like- 
 wife fry, that the Works of the Saints 
 are Sin. 
 
 Buc it belongs to us here, in the fitffc 
 Place, f erioufly to confider what is Sin, 
 and from what Root, Spirit and Nature 
 it fprings, and is brought forth : Mull 
 not Sin be fome Evil ? If it is not Evil, 
 how can it he called Sin ? But if it is an 
 Evil, it mult fpring from an evil Root, 
 Spiiit and Nature, and is in fome Mea- 
 fure, theFruitsof theDevilsKingdom, 
 which are all unacceptable to God. 
 
 What then muft we think of this 
 DoChine? to wit, that thb beft Work of 
 the Saints and People of God, are Sin : 
 By this, their beft Deeds muft be Evil * 
 1 ' D this 
 
• (6c) . 
 
 this is a Dc&rine unfcriptural, fenfual, 
 dark and hurtful. They throw Dirt on 
 the Gofpel, to defile the Work of God, 
 and the heavenly Fruits of his Kingdom, 
 which fprung out through his Saints, 
 Prophets and Apoftles, and all the god¬ 
 ly, and thofe that were -grafted in the 
 Vine, to wit, Chrift, and their Words 
 and Actions fpringing from the Root 
 and Spirit of divine Nature ^ fo that 
 their Waters were clean, iffuing out 
 of the Rock where there is no Impu¬ 
 rity. • - 
 
 But it is pofiible they will confefs, 
 that the Words and Works of the Pro¬ 
 phets and Apoftles, and holy Men of 
 old, did proceed from the Spirit ofGod, 
 and pure Root : And if they will ac¬ 
 knowledge, that when I (hall fay, is not 
 God the fame to his People ? Is not 
 Chrift the.fame, the Rock of Ages? The 
 Water out of the Rock is the fame j the 
 Vine and the Sap thereof is the fame, 
 and the fame Spirit to lead into all 
 Truth, which is to be with the Follow¬ 
 ers of Chrift to the End of the World .• 
 r Alfo 
 
AlfoChrift's Sheen are the fame, and 
 the fame Shepherd they follow : The 
 lame God teacheth his People himfelr 
 under the new Covenant, and is to be 
 with them to the End that they may 
 know him from the lealt to tbegreateli, 
 a God and Teacher to them, j hr. xxxi. 
 
 34 * 
 
 Therefore I demand, how can the belt 
 Works of the Saints be Sin, fince they 
 muff fpring out of the fame Rock and 
 fame Fountain ? But perhaps fome may 
 fay, all the Things of God are good in 
 themfelves, but weare corrupt, and our 
 Veffels turn the Tafte of the good 1 hings 
 poured thereinto, and make them cor¬ 
 rupt and finful. This may be granted, 
 as to the old dirty Veffels, the unregt- 
 neratedMen,who are yet in the State of 
 Nature, without being born again-, but 
 Chrift makes his Saints and Followers 
 Veffels ft to receive and keep the new 
 Wine of the Kingdom of Gcd; for 
 faid he, No Man putetb new Wine into 
 old. Bottles, elfe the new Wine doth bn/ft 
 the Bottles, and the Wine is fpilled, a/ d 
 the Bottles will be marredbut new Wive 
 
 D 2 muft 
 
(6 2 ) . . 
 
 muff be put into new Bottles. Mark iu 
 
 22... AC pN* ■ 
 
 But of a Truth, thofe that plead for 
 Sin (which is theDevil’sService and the 
 f ruits of hisKingdomJ muft drop their 
 Anchor in his Dodrine, which Do&rine 
 hath darkened the chriftian World, and 
 madedrunkthe Inhabitants of the Earth, 
 by making them believe, that the Spirit 
 of God in thefeDays, doth not lead the 
 Children of God, and that Chrift is not 
 in his Saints, nor have they his Spirit ; 
 and that it will not avail People to 
 wait for the Knowledge of Chrift in 
 themfelves, a Life to quicken them, 
 and a Light to enlighten them, a Lea¬ 
 der to guide them into all Truth, nor a 
 Fountain to walhand refrelh their Souls * 
 therefore here is no Help for People, 
 but to live in Sin all the Days of their 
 Lives. 
 
 The End andDefign of the Devil, by 
 this Dodrine or Sermon, is to wafh 
 C.hriftians away from off the Earth, and 
 to (hut out Chrift and hisKingdom, and 
 Reign and Government, from amongft 
 
 and 
 
' . ' ( 6 - J 
 
 and out of the Hearts of People, that 
 
 f > he may fet up himfelf, and eftabiifh 
 his own dark Kingdom, Reign and Go¬ 
 vernment, in theHearts of People. And 
 indeed he has carried on his Work to a 
 large Degree, in the Night oi Daiknefs 
 which he brought in over theProfeffors 
 ofChrifti :nity, by making them Strang¬ 
 ers to Chrilt, and to his Work in their 
 own Souls: teaching them to dig Wells 
 for dead Waters •, delpifing and neg- 
 ledling the Fountain of living Waters, 
 and fowing among them all manner ol 
 falfe Dodtrine s making them believe 
 that they muftferve him (that is Satan) 
 and live in Sin all the Days of their 
 Lives, promifing them Heaven after 
 Death. 
 
 So fome will alledge, that it is the 
 Will of God, that Sin remain in the 
 Saints, to keep them humble : This is 
 not only unfcriptural, but clear contra¬ 
 ry to the Nature of God, and again ft all 
 good Rsafon ; for Sin is the only thing 
 that maketh Separation between Men 
 and their Creator •, and God th .ough all 
 the Scriptures calls his People our of 
 
 D 3 Sin, 
 
 
/ 
 
 ■y 64 ; - 
 
 Si.i, to Hoiinefs, Pene&ion, Cleannefs 
 <f Hands, and Purity of Heart, that 
 they may itand with him in his holy 
 PlsO* 
 
 i i u v «. • 
 
 So the Nature of G„>d is pure and 
 holy, hating all manner of Iniquity, 
 Sin and Tranfgreffion, which cannot 
 dwell with him : How then is it that 
 God defireth that Sin Ihould dwell with 
 him in his Saints > Is it not the Will of 
 God to fan£fify his People? 1 Tbcf. iv. 
 2. Boc the Will of the Devil is to 
 
 keep People Sinners, vvhilft they are 
 upon the Earth, for every Sin is Pome 
 Degree cfService to him, and inclines 
 to pleafe him ; and fo far it is again!! 
 God, and tends to make him angry 
 and dilpleafed. But is it not a great 
 Miftake, that is, to take the Will 
 of the Devil, inftead of the Will of 
 God ? 
 
 Thefe do manifeft themfelres to be 
 Strangers to God and his divine Na¬ 
 ture, who is of purer Eyes than to be¬ 
 hold Iniquity \ and where God dwells, 
 his Prefence is a confuming Fire to 
 .deltroy all the Drofs and Filth .* For 
 
 , I t 
 
( *5 ) . 
 
 he'fits as a Refiner of Silver in the 
 Hearts of his Saints, to purify and to 
 w ]fh them irom all Sin. And the De¬ 
 bate is not, i nut Sin is in me , or, that 
 Sin is in thee , but t he Caufe of it is, for 
 want of Chrift s bavins his petfeff vVoik 
 in USj whole Blood deanfeth from all 
 
 • Si n. • 
 
 But where they fay, It is necejfary 
 for the Saints that Sin be in them , to 
 keep them low and humble : This is but 
 Ignorance *, for it is contrary to all 
 Reafon that S ins make People fit for 
 the Kingdom of God ; and it is a poor 
 Defence, to put one Sin to help out of 
 another Sin. But Purely it is the cir- 
 cumcifing Spirit of Cftrift, that teaches 
 his People ro deny themfelves, and 
 bear his Crofs. And the nearer they 
 are to the Spirit and Nature of Chrift 
 in ihemfelves, the more humble they 
 are, the more mild, the leffer m iheir 
 own Sight, to do any thing cf them¬ 
 felves*, for they know' it will not avail 
 them to drive in their own Strength a- 
 gainft the Power of Iniquity to break off 
 
 D 4 their 
 
( 
 
 / /■ 
 
 c o 
 
 ) 
 
 their Sin?, without they have Chrift 
 with them a preienc Help,and becloath- 
 ed with bis Spirit ai d heavenlv Armour, 
 itit they may withltand the Snares of 
 the Devil, 
 
 And as they are taught by Chrift, who 
 faid, Take my Toke upon you , and learn of 
 me, jor lam meek and lovely in Heart, and 
 ye fail fnd Ref to your Souls. Mat. xi. 
 29. So he teacheth his Followers to 
 walk humbly,denying themlelves,mak¬ 
 ing them little and low in rheir own 
 Eyes. But Sin and Satan make or teach 
 People to be proud, to be high and lofty 
 in their own Sight, great and better than 
 any Body elfe. 
 
 Again, where they fay^ The Saints 
 and true Children and People of God dai¬ 
 ly fin in Thought, Word and Deed 5 it 
 would be well for fuch to confider what 
 Hope, what Promifes, what Security 
 they have, that they are Gods Chil¬ 
 dren, further than they prefume to call 
 themfelves fo. How can thefe rhink 
 they love God, or gain his Love to their 
 Souls, while they are daily finning a- 
 gainft him, in Thought, Word and Deed ? 
 
 For 
 
 
( ^7 ) 
 
 For where Sin daily bieaks out in Word 
 and Deed, that Man always forves the 
 Devil, and he cannot love God, nor - 
 keep his Commandments, becaufe none 
 can fetve God and Mammon ^ Chrift 
 fa id, If ye love me , keep my Command- 
 memhe that hath my Commandments 
 and keepelh them, he it is that loveth 
 me •, and he that loveth me, Jhall lie loved, 
 of nry Father , and 1 will love him, and 
 will man:fed myjelf to him. John xiv. 
 
 1 5 21 . 
 
 We fee here the Mark which Chrilt 
 put on his Sheep : So it is Life eternal 
 to know him and hear his Voice, iollow 
 him, love him and keep his Command¬ 
 ments, and theMan that comes to know 
 thefe Things to be carried on in his 
 Hearr, he comes to have Aflurance cd 
 his Inheritance. Was not this theHope 
 I 'the Saints had in the primitive Church, 
 as John the beloved" Difciple laid ? 
 Hereby we do know that we knew him , 
 if tee keep his Commandment s : He tbet 
 faith, [ know him, and keepeth not h:s 
 Commandments, is a Liar and the.}ruth 
 is not in him - 3 but whofo keepeth his Word, 
 
 D 5 in 
 
(6 Z ) 
 
 ' * 
 
 in him verily is the Word of God perfect - 
 ed •, hereby know zee that we ore in him. 
 i John ii. 3, 4, 7. But how can a Man 
 thinkjre is in God, or the Love of God 
 in him, or that he is his Child or Ser¬ 
 vant, while he ferveth Satan (the Ene¬ 
 my of Chrift,and theEnemyofallGood) 
 and linneth daily againlt the Lord in 
 Thought, Word and Deed. 
 
 And Chriff laid again, If a Man love 
 me he will keep my Words , and my Father 
 tcili love him ; zee will come unto him , and 
 will make cur Abode with him. John xiv. 
 23. We fee herefrom the Truth’s own 
 Mouth, that thofe who love-him mult 
 keep his Word and Commandments. 
 Then there is a comfortable Promile to 
 fuch a One, that he fhall obtain the 
 Love of God to him, and that God and 
 Chrift will come to abide with him in 
 his Heart; and when the Father and the 
 Son come to dwell in the Heart of the 
 true Ch iltian, how can the Devil have 
 room there ? He muft turn out, be- 
 caufe a ftrenger than he hath taken 
 PofTelTion, and is come to govern the 
 Heart. 
 
 % 
 
 Then 
 
( & 9 -) 
 
 Then the Child of God comes to he 
 led by the Spirit of God, who leads none 
 to do evil, nor to fin againft him, but 
 'guides them to all Truth, fetting them 
 at liberty from being Servants to Sin. 
 John vii. 32. Therefore they know they 
 are of God, becaufe he hath given them 
 of his Spirit, that works Hatred in 
 them againft all Manner of Wickednefs 
 (which is the Work of Satan) and 
 teaches them to love God, and love one 
 another, and defire theGood of all, en¬ 
 gaging them to lerve their heavenly 
 Father, and keep his Commandments. 
 Therefore the Apoftle faid, He that 
 keepelb his Ccmmnadmcnts , dvcelleth in 
 him : And hereby we /enow that he ahid- 
 cth in us, by the Spirit which he hath 
 given us. 1 John iii. 24. So the true 
 Children of God that are born of his 
 Spirit, he abideth in them and they 
 in him ; that is, in his Spirit, in his 
 Grace, in the undefiled Condition, 
 and pure Nature of his heavenly Fa¬ 
 ther. 
 
 And while the true Chriftian remains 
 in his fpiritual State, ,his Words and 
 
 D 6 Actions 
 
C 70 ) 
 
 •Aliens are begotten in that good Con¬ 
 dition and Nature, and are carried forth 
 by the Leading of God’s Spirit^ and of 
 a Truth, none of thele are Sin, but 
 thefeare the good Fruits, which every 
 good Tree and every Branch of the Vine 
 are to bear, under the Pain of being cut 
 off; tor, a good Tieecur.not bring forth 
 evil Fruit , neither cun a corrupt Tree 
 bring forth good Fruit. Either make the 
 Tree goof and his Fruit good , or elfe 
 make the Tree corrupt , and his Fruit 
 corrupt , for the Tree is known by its 
 Fruit. Mat. vii. 18. xii. 3?. Therefore 
 God's Trees (that is, his Children) bear 
 good Fruit. 
 
 What then ? Is not here a fit Place 
 for the Reader to enquire, Do not Go ds 
 Cold j en fin at all ? Or doth he cut them 
 off when they fin ? Indeed it murt be 
 granted that the Children fometimes do 
 fin, and their Father doth not cart them 
 away.* For to fin at fometimes upon 
 Provocation, which comes furpriiingly, 
 and to an unfavourv Purpofe fuddenly 
 breaking out inWord, or Adion, this 
 difpleufts the Father, and wounds their 
 
 0 w n 
 
 \ 
 
(70 
 
 own Conditions : But thele are not the 
 Children’s beft Works, but their worft 
 Works ; and indeed there is great Dif¬ 
 ference between this and finning daily 
 in Thought, Word and Aftion, and that 
 their belt Works are Sin. 
 
 For where are thofe Children, tho 
 they dwell in their Fathers Houle, and 
 in his Service, but at fome time and in 
 fome things, they difpleafe their Fa¬ 
 ther, and receive the Reproof of In- 
 ftru&ion to make them the more careful 
 not to do fo again ? So the Children 
 of God learn daily of God, and they 
 grow in Grace, Knowledge and fpiri- 
 tual Gifts, and they go further and 
 further from Sin, and nearer and nearer 
 unto God, by witneffing the Blood of 
 Jefus Chtift the Son, to cleanfe them 
 from all Sin. 
 
 Butfuch as do plead, ard hold that 
 the beft Works of the Saints are Sin, 
 they endeavour to come to the Scrip¬ 
 tures to verifie their Dcdrine by bring¬ 
 ing the Words of the Prophet IfaiaK 
 when he was praying for the Sons of 
 
 
c 72; 
 
 Jfrael, and as it is common, when God’s 
 Servants are praying for the Congrega¬ 
 tion, to put themielves with them in 
 interceeding for them, tho’they are yet 
 Sinners; eras thole People were, when 
 they had departed from theLord, there¬ 
 fore he complained, We are all as an un~- 
 clean Thing, and all our Rig ' teOafnefs 
 are as filthy Rags, and we all do fade as 
 a Leaf, and our Iniquities like the Wind, 
 have taken us away. Ifa. lxiv. 6 . See 
 here, how thefe were fallen, and their 
 Iniquities had carried them away from 
 theLord. There is none that calleth upon 
 thy Tame, that Jlirreth up bin/fie If to take 
 hold of thee, - for thou haft hid thy Face 
 from us. and haft conjumed us, becauje 
 of our Iniquities. Ver. 7. 
 
 So their Sins difpleafed God, and 
 made him hide his Face from them and 
 their Righseoufnefs, which wereas filthy 
 as Rags; and the Lord was weary with 
 them, fuch were their Offerings and 
 Sacrifices, their New Moons and Sab¬ 
 baths, their appointed Fealls and out¬ 
 ward Ceremonies, by which they thought 
 
 that 
 
. ('?? ) ■ 
 that they pleafed the Lord, heaping un¬ 
 to themfelves Offerings without Obe¬ 
 dience, upon which he would not look, 
 but rather weary of bearing them, and 
 complaining againit them, as may be 
 leen by the fame Prophet, faying, To 
 ivbat Purpofe is the Multitude of your Sa¬ 
 crifices unto me, faith the Lord? lam 
 full of the Burnt-Offerings of Rants, and 
 the Fat of fed Beajfs, and I delight not 
 tn the Blood of Bullocks, or of Lambs, or 
 of He Goats : When ye come to ap¬ 
 pear before me. Who hath required this at 
 your Hand, to tread my Courts ? Bring 
 no more vain Oblations \ Incenfe is an 
 Abomination unto me, the Niw Moons 
 and Sabbaths, the Calling'of Assemblies, I 
 cannot away with it is Iniquity, even 
 the folemn Meeting. Tour New Moons 
 and your appointed Feafs my Soul hateth, 
 they are a Trouble unto me, lam weary to , 
 bear them : And when ye fpread forth 
 your Hands, I will hide mine Eyes from 
 you yea , when you make many Prayers, 
 I will not hear , your Hands are full of 
 Blood. Ifa. i. n, 12, 1 3, 14, 15. 
 
 I ^ 
 
 m '' 
 
 Are 
 
C 74 )' 
 
 Are not thefe the Righteoufneffes 
 which were, and are in the Sight of the 
 Lord as filthy Rags, abominable and un- 
 favoury, upon whom he does not look > 
 Thole People intended to pleafe the 
 Lord with their Traditions and outward 
 Ceremonies, which they accounted Ser¬ 
 vice to him, and their Duties to per¬ 
 form : But becaufe they were a finful 
 Generation, a People laden with Iniqui¬ 
 ties, and had backflidden, and refuted 
 the Lord, and grieved the holy One of 
 lfrael■, therefore the Lord did not look 
 favourably upon, nor accept of their 
 Offerings, but rather hated them, and 
 was weary to bear them. 
 
 And tho 3 thefe were their beft Works, 
 and the Righteoufneffes which they 
 trufted in, yet none of them were ac¬ 
 ceptable with God .• Therefore he hid 
 his Face from thole People, for that 
 their Iniquities had carried them away 
 from him, to rebel againlthim, and to 
 difpleafe him daily lo when they pray¬ 
 ed much, he did not hearken unto them * 
 for their Hearts were evil, and their 
 Hands full olBlood: But what are thefe 
 
 Righ- 
 
 i 
 
( 75 ) 
 
 RlghtecufnefTes to be likened to the 
 Kighteoufi.eis of Chi id, who juftihts 
 his followers under the new Covenant, 
 hv walking, deanfing. purifying and 
 fai.dhying of them by his Grace and 
 Spirit, and fitting them to ferve Gcd 
 in Newrrefs of Life ? Alfo, ^hat are 
 the bed Works of the Children of the 
 New Birth, Sheep ar,d Lambs of Chrift. 
 Branches of the true Vine, which bear 
 fpiiitual Fiuir, fpringing from the 
 fweet Root, pure and uncorrupted, 
 fuch as Chriit by his Spirit leads into all 
 
 Truth? . , 
 
 But they have another Objection 
 
 which they think is If rong, and rmpcfli- 
 bleto anfw er, ard that from the Words 
 of the Apoflle John, who fpoke the 
 mod and the cleared ot all the Saints 
 (whole Tefti monies we have) ag3indSin, 
 Jj we fay that toe have no Sin, we deceive 
 cutjelve s, and the Truth is not in us. 
 i John i. 8. But whit of that ? Did 
 not the Apodle in this Place put 1 irolelr 
 among others, even all thefe who bad 
 : received the Chiifiian Faith ? And it is 
 ! very poffible that divers of them were 
 
 young . 
 
( 7 * ) 
 
 young and weak, and did not know 
 their Sins, nor Were not come to ac¬ 
 knowledge them : Therefore he laid. 
 If we conjefs cur Sins , he is faithful 
 andjufl to forgive us our Sins , and to 
 cieanfe us from oil Unright eoujnej s. I 
 John i. 9. 
 
 So the Defign of the Apoflie was to 
 bring them to confefs their Sins by Re¬ 
 pentance, that the Lord mighc forgive 
 them, and cieanfe them therefrom, and 
 not live therein all their Days ; as he 
 laid before. If we walk in the Light , a s be¬ 
 ts in the. Lig ht , we have Fellowfkip one wit h 
 another , and the Blood of JefusCbr ifl his 
 Son , cleanfeth us from all Sin. Verf. 7* 
 So he was for ha'ing them walked, 
 cleanfed, and puiified and fan fbined. 
 Therefore I cannot lee any Reafon to 
 grant John, the beloved Difciple, to be 
 a Sinner, any more t ran James was 
 a Curfer, notwithftanding he did put 
 himfelf among others, when he fpoke 
 concerning theTongues, Therewith blefs 
 weGod , even the Father-, and therewith 
 curfe we Men, which are made after the 
 
 Similitude 
 
f 77 ) ' 
 
 Similitude of God : Out oj thefiante Sleuth 
 proceedetb bltjfngs and Ctofings. Jam. 
 •ii. 9, io. My Brethren, theie Things 
 ought not fo to be. 
 
 Therefore who can think otherwife, 
 but James was clear of that Sir whjcn 
 he was Judging in his Brethren ? And. 
 without Doubt John was walked and 
 eleanfed from his Sins, though they, 
 unto whom he wrote, were not then 
 thoroughly purged; fome in a large De¬ 
 gree eleanfed, others in a lefs Meafure, 
 fome being young and weak, beginning 
 their Pilgrimage; therefore be faid, the 
 Biood of Jefus Chrift his Son deanfeth 
 us. Sohegoeson in thefecondChapter, 
 My little Children , thefe Things write I 
 unto you, that ye fin not : And if any 
 one fin, we have an Advocate with the 
 Father, Jefus Chrift the Righteous. I 
 John ii. i. 
 
 We may fee here,-what wrong Ufe 
 People make of Johns Words, that he 
 wrote to 1 is Friends, to petfwade them 
 againft finning, which thefe take for an 
 Occafion to live in Sin, and plead for it 
 but if anv through Temptation finned, 
 
 he 
 
 
 i 
 
( 78 ) 
 
 he hath (hewed them the Help and Pre* 
 fervation which they might have*, even 
 to walk in the Light, that the Blood of 
 Jefiis Chrift cleanie them from all Sin : 
 So he goespn, Whfiocver committih Sm 
 tranfgrtJfetb afo theLaiv •, for Sin is the 
 Tranfgrejfion of the Law. i John iii. a. 
 By this it is plain, and who can deny 
 that Sin breaks not theLaw of God that 
 he writes in the Hearts of his People? 
 which every true Chriftian is hound to 
 keep and perform, under the Penalty of 
 being cut off. 
 
 And ye know , that he was manifiejled. 
 to take away our Sins , and in him is no 
 Sin. Verf 5. So that this is the End of 
 Chrift’s Appearance in the Flefh, and 
 alfo, by his Spirit in the Hearts of his 
 People, even to take away their Sins, 
 and deliver them there-from, and to 
 make them in their Mealures to be like 
 himlelf, in whom there is no Sin. 
 
 Again, Whofoever abidet^ in him, fin - 
 neth not, whofoeverfinnethhath notfieen 
 him , neither know bun. Ver. 6. That is, 
 whiltt a Man abides in the Spirit of 
 
 Chrift 
 
■ . (79) - • 
 
 , Chrift, even in the good Condition and 
 Nature, he finneth not; but thofethat 
 are contenting themfelves to abide daily 
 in Sin, rhele do not know, nor come 
 unto him, who is to wafh them : 0 fit- 
 lie Children, let no Man deceive you • 
 he that doth Righteou/nefs is righteous , 
 even as he is righteous. Ver. 7. He that 
 committeth Stn, is oj the Devil , for the 
 Devil finneth from the Beginning. Bor 
 this Furpo/e , the Son of God was mani- 
 fefted , that he might defray the Works 
 of the Devil , Ver. 8. 
 
 So as Satan finneth daily from his 
 Beginning to his End, and the People 
 that do fo, are like him, to whom 
 they are Servants and SubjeQs $ but 
 the Work of Chrift is to deftroy his 
 Works, and to fet People free from 
 his Prifons and Servitude. Whofoever 
 is born of God , doth not commit Sin , 
 for his Seed remaineth in him y and he 
 cannot fin , becaufe he is born of God , 
 Ver. 9. \ 
 
 So every true Chriftian is in fome 
 Meafure born of God, and the Seed 
 
 1 S’ ‘ of 
 
 L 
 
 1 
 
 
I 
 
 ( So ) 
 
 of God remains in him, and he in God 
 and whilft a Man remaineth in him, 
 he cannot fin, as Chi lit himlelf faith. 
 He that doth Truth cometh to the Light, 
 that his Deeds may he made man if eft 
 that they are wrought in God. John iii. 
 21. And the Works that are wrought 
 in God, they are all pure •, for no E- 
 vil can be brought forth in him } 
 therefore a Chriftian in the Spirit, and 
 in the Power and Nature of God, can* 
 not fin. 
 
 But inafmuch as there ate many of 
 feveral different Opinions, and all 
 Societies in general, conclude them- 
 felves the true Church, and every Bo* 
 dy elfe in Darknefs and Error; and 
 that the Ordinances and Traditions of 
 [their] Churc-h only, is the true Ser¬ 
 vice and Duties which pleafe God, 
 therefore they are ready to fay, Be- 
 caufe we the Saints and People of God 
 do fail of getting Vi [lory over Sin , it 
 is vain for all others to fpeak of Per• 
 feUion. 
 
 And fome are fo bold and fhamelefs, 
 
 as 
 
r • . ( si ) 
 
 as to fay, None were ever perfeCt upon 
 Earth. Thofe do inconfderately give 
 God the Lie, who faid concerning Job, 
 that ho teas a perfetl Man. Ard if Job 
 was perfect, as without Doubt he was, 
 and divers others, before Chrift came 
 in the Flefli, how much more therefore 
 doth the God of Heaven call for and ex¬ 
 pert Perfection under the New Cove¬ 
 nant, when he pours forth of his Spirit 
 more plentifully into the Hearts of his 
 ^People, and writes his Law there? 
 
 How then is Perfection become im- 
 pofiible under the New Covenant ? 
 Shall we fay, That Chrift lays upon 
 his Followers Burthens impofiible for 
 them to bear, who faid, My Joke is 
 eajy t and my Burthen is light. Mat. xi. 
 30. So he commanded them, Be ye 
 therefore perfeff , even as your Father 
 which is in heaven is perfeff. Mat. v. 
 48. So that Perfection is poflible forthe 
 Children of God to attain in this Life, 
 Becaufe , greater is he that is in them , 
 than he that is in the World. 1 John 
 iv. 4. 
 
 Greater 
 
 N 
 
I 
 
 ( 82 ) 
 
 Greater and Wronger is the Power of 
 God, who helps his Children and Peo¬ 
 ple to overcome all Sin 3nd Iniquitv, and 
 to give them Ability to follow and ferve 
 him in Obedience, Perfection, San Cfifi- 
 cation and Cleannefs of Hands, than is 
 the Power of the Devil, who leads 
 and brings his Followers into Sin and 
 
 Iniquitv. , C'Xt i , f r]| 
 
 But People by pleading for Sin, that 
 they mull remain in it ("which is the 
 Enemy’s Work, and the Flelh’s Lull, 
 wherehy they rebel againft God, and fin 
 againft their own Souls.) they clearly 
 deny the Covenant, which they came 
 under at their Baptifm; where theMan 
 promifeth to deny the Devil and all 
 his Works, the Pomps and Vanity of 
 this wicked World, and all the finful 
 Lulls of the Flefh, and keep God’s 
 holy Will and Commandments, and 
 walk in the fame all the Days of his 
 Life. 
 
 Is not this thehigheu Degree of Per¬ 
 fection that any fpeak of ? And for 
 the Confirmation of the Matter, the 
 Man fays, By God's help I will do fo: 
 
 ' • Through 
 
( 8 ? ) 
 
 Through his Help, it is pcflible for 
 thee 5 but without that, it is impofh- 
 ble: But why doth thy Faith now fail, 
 and the Hope of gaining the B-ttle a- 
 gainft the Enemy of thy Soul, come to 
 an End? Art thou doubting that Gcd 
 cannot help thee to keep his Com¬ 
 mandments, and to deny the Devil, 
 and thy worldly Lulls > Indeed the ten¬ 
 der and merciful Father puts no Com¬ 
 mandments nor Burdens upon his Chil¬ 
 dren, or Sen-ants, but what they can 
 eafily perform by taking his Help, for 
 he will do the Work in them, which 
 they cannot do, nor no other, but he 
 alone. 
 
 Doft thou not fay in thy Catechifm, 
 That the inward Spiritual Grace , is a 
 Death unto 57/t, and a new Birth unto 
 Righteoufnefs ? O that People would 
 keep to the true Principles, and ear- 
 neftly feek Grace from God to break off, 
 and flay their Sins. But becaufe the 
 Profeffors in this Age, do not know 
 Chrift through the Spirit of his Grace, 
 and divine Authority, to lit upon his 
 Throne in their Hearts, to judge Sin 
 
 : l £ to 
 
s r 34 ) -• 
 
 to Death, therefore Fiefh fits on the 
 judgment Seat, and laves Sin and pleads 
 •tor it. 
 
 B at when Man comes to hearken to 
 his Conlcience, he will feel that Sin 
 breaks his Peace, and the fame Witnefs 
 is within informing of him, that the 
 Grace of God is able to help him to for* 
 fake all Sin and'Wickednels: This good 
 Belief the Poet had, who laid by way- 
 of Prayer; 
 
 ’Rvoi'n bvcriadu, rbag dt gas, 
 
 Ond caeldy Rds im helpu. 
 
 Lie bum i yn pechu am gwar yn Sytb , 
 j Xa vonelw yf bytb ond bynny. V 
 
 JV/’x gallai ddim o’m rhanfybun 
 Ond fely Mochyn eil-voaitb , 
 
 Tmdroi’n y dom, Duw g wared ji , 
 
 0 bob drygioni Diffaitb. 
 
 I do intend, thro’ awful Dread, 
 
 If with thy Grace thou’It me reftore. 
 Where I ftiff neck’d have film’d, to tread 
 Thofe Paths of Wickednefs no more. 
 
 But 
 
( 2 > ) 
 
 But of tnyfelf, noGood I do, 
 
 Swine-like, my Feet return to Mire ; 
 
 God cleanfe my Heart, thv Wavs to view, 
 
 ^ / 
 
 That from foul S ms, I may retire. 
 
 So this Man believed, if he had 
 God’s Grace to help him, it was pofli- 
 ble for him to overcome Sin, ar t] for¬ 
 bear committing Iniqu ty again : and 
 likewife he could do nothing of himlelf 
 but backflide daily, unlefs the Lord 
 would deliver him out of all Wick¬ 
 ed nefs. 
 
 But there are fome People th3t feem 
 Religious, by fetting themfelves at 
 work to lop the Tree of Iniquity, en¬ 
 deavouring to cut away the Branches as 
 they grow: This is the hopelefsLab >ur 
 and Striving which they efteem profita¬ 
 ble for them to be at all their Days, and 
 leave the Tree alive, and to bear Blan¬ 
 ches, that they may be daily employed 
 to lop them. „■ 
 
 What then ? Do they think if the 
 Tree dies, that they have no more to 
 do toward the Work of their Salvation > 
 
 E 2 _ But 
 
( 86 ) 
 
 But of a Truth, the Salvation of the 
 Soul, is to know the inward Ipiritual 
 Grace to mortify the Tree, by killing 
 the Root of it, fo there may be Room for 
 the Tree of Life, even the Truth, Chrilt 
 within, to grow in the Soul,and to bring 
 forth his own good Fruits. 
 
 Therefore let every trueChriftian lay 
 down his own Ax, and pray to God for 
 Grace to mortify and flay all his fmful 
 Lufts, and to give him Victory over the 
 Devil, and all his Temptations. Sin and 
 Iniquity \ but I believe that fome Peo¬ 
 ple have fought Help from God againft 
 all Iniquity and finful Lufts, and that he 
 heard them, and diftributed unto them 
 a Meafute of his Grace and Spirit, fo 
 that their Words and Aftions, in Degree, 
 fprungfrom the Spirit of God, and from 
 a good State and Condition. 
 
 But for all that, their Principles o- 
 blige them to account all their Attions 
 (let them be bad or good ) altogether 
 Sin j and in that they wrong the Lord, 
 and injure themfelves 5 becaufe their 
 Rudiments do not allow them to make 
 
 a Diffe* 
 
(^ 7 ; 
 
 a Difference between Bad and Good, and 
 become as the Mouth of the Lord : For 
 when a Child of God offends, he foon 
 knows Chaftiiement from his Father, as 
 a Cloud coming over him, with Guilt 
 and Trouble, hecaufe his Father hides 
 his Face $ but when he does well, his 
 bather fmiles upon him, rewarding him 
 with Confolation and Joy, and Ipeak- 
 ing Peace to him ; fo the Child knows 
 
 that tt was not Sin he committed at that 
 Time. 
 
 C H A P. V. 
 
 Concerning BAPTISM. 
 
 C HRIST faid to Ktcodemus , Verily, 
 verily , I Jay unto ihee , Except a 
 Man be born again , be cannot fee the 
 Kingdom of Heaven ; for God it a Spirit , 
 therefore the Children of God muft be 
 born of the Spirit $ that which is born of 
 the Flejh is Flejh, and that which is born 
 
 E 3 of 
 
of t’e. Spirit is Spirit \ marvel not that 
 l fay unto thee , Je mu ft be born as, am. 
 John iii. 2 . 6, j. 
 
 But this is the Birth which People, in 
 a State of Nature, cannot knew, or 
 comprehend, no m re than l\':codcmus t 
 until the Lord Leg’ ns to work in their 
 own Souis: For by Fpiritual Mean?, 
 God works the New Birth in the Hearts 
 of his People. Yea, as he is the eter* ' 
 nal Word, fo he is a Fire and a Ham¬ 
 mer to break and open the hard Hearts, 
 and to molify them. • He is alfo the 
 Fountain of living Waters, which Peo¬ 
 ple rejedt *. and the Virtue or that Wa¬ 
 ter, is to wafh and to heal. 
 
 But thefe Things the natural Man 
 cannot comprehend, becaufe they are 
 fpimfally difeerned. And Flefh has no 
 Room to fet itfelfat work. Therefore 
 
 unconverted People mu ft have all Things 
 carnal and outward, that Flefh and Blood 
 may comprehend them, and with Con¬ 
 jectures and human Reafon, debate and 
 labour in them. 
 
 But the Lord, in Condefcenfion to his 
 own People, the Children of IJfrael, de- 
 > livered 
 
/ 
 
 ( 89 ) ' 
 
 liverea to them divers Ordinances and 
 Ufjges-, to wir, Walhings, Purification, 
 Offerings and Sacrifices, which were 
 outward Things, to fignify the Sub- 
 ftance, which was to be revealed in the 
 Fulnefs of Time. And thcfe Shadows 
 and Signs, wese to remain to the Re¬ 
 iteration, that is, till Chrift came to 
 fet up a more fuMtamiai and fpiritu- 
 al Miniitry a nd Won (hip : And their 
 W a firings went under the Name of 
 Baptifm. 
 
 But next afer all thcfeSignsar.dSha- 
 dow9, the Lord, for p-eparing the Way 
 to Chrift, fent John to bant'Ze the Peo- 
 • pie in Jordan, coritefilng their Sins; and 
 then John faid I indeed baptize you with 
 Water unto Repevtever, bid ke that com- 
 et.h aft-er me, is mightier than /, whofe 
 Shoes lam vot worthy to bear , be fkall 
 baptize you ni h the Holy Ghojl and with 
 Fre. Matt. iii. r t. 
 
 ■ So them was a Difference between th 
 Bap' ifm of Chrift, and the B iptifm c 
 John , becaufe they were got of one Na¬ 
 ture, nor of one Matter. For the one 
 
 •E -4 baptized 
 
 
( 90 ) 
 
 baptized with outward Water, and the 
 other baptized with the Holy Ghoft 
 and with fpiritual Fire } the one walk¬ 
 ed the Body, the other wafhed the 
 Soul. So Chrift commanded his Difci- 
 ples, That they ftauId not depart from 
 jerufalem, but tea it for the Promtfe of 
 the Father, vehteb, laid he, ye have 
 heard of me : For John truly baptized. 
 ■Kith Water , but ye Jhall be baptized with 
 the holy Ghoft, not many Days hence 
 A&s i. 4, y. 
 
 Thefe two Teftimonies do well agree 
 with each other, and both make the 
 Baptilm of Chrift, and theBaptifm of 
 John, to be twoBaptifms. TheBaptifm 
 of John was an outward Shadow figni- 
 iving, but the Baptifm of Chrift was 
 the Subftance, and faving. The Baptifm 
 of John and his Miniitry, flood only in 
 Force at the Time when Chrift walk' 
 ed upon the Earth ; therefore Chrift 
 wenr to his Baptifm lor the fulfilling of 
 his Miniftry : But John endeavoured to 
 hinder him, faying, I have need to be 
 baptized of thee, and comefl thou to me ? 
 And JeJus a nf veering, /aid unto him, 
 
 . Suffer 
 
( 91 ) 
 
 Safer it to be jo now \ for thus it be - 
 cometb us to fulfil nil RighteoufneJ's. 
 Then John fuffered bint. Matt. iii. 
 
 1 4i 1 5 • _ 
 
 And as John and .his Miniitry and 
 
 Baptifm was to decreafe, and pafs by, 
 fo Chrift and his Baprifm and Miniftry 
 was to increafe, and to be fet up, and 
 ftand to the End. So that the Baptifm 
 ofChvjft, was the only Baptifm, which 
 did and doth deliver and fave the Soul ; 
 therefore the Apoftle faid. One Lord , 
 one Faith , one Baptifm. Eph. iv. 5. 
 And fince there was but one Baptifm to 
 remain, no more than one Lord, and 
 one Faith, and one God, doubtlefs it 
 is, that Chtift’s Baptifm was that one 
 Baptifm. 
 
 But Jefus fuffereth his Difciples to 
 baptize withWater,toaccomplifh 
 Adminiftration until the Time came to 
 baptize with the holy Spirit; and as 
 the Difciples loved John , and- efteemed 
 his Adminiftration, and being natural 
 to it bv the Jewijh Ordinances, fo they 
 made Ufe thereof in their Freedom a? 
 mong thofe that believed * but they 
 
 E 5 knew 
 
C 92 ) 
 
 knew it was not the Baptifm of the 
 Holy Gholt, as Peter obfierved, when 
 he preached at the Houfe of Cornelius , 
 and the Holy Gholt fell upon the Peo¬ 
 ple ^ faying Then remembred ItheWord 
 of the Lord , how that he /aid , John in¬ 
 deed baptized with Water , hut ye /all 
 be baptized with the Holy Ghojh A£ts 
 xi. i 5 . ■ ' 
 
 But when Daiknefs tame in among 
 the Chriftians, and they loft Sight of 
 Chtift within, and the Baptifm of the 
 Hclv Ghoft, then there was nothing but 
 extolling the Sign inftead of the Sub- 
 ftance, and fet it up as the Horn of Sal¬ 
 vation, and gave it a great Namein the 
 Church, accounting it to be the Means 
 by which Man is made a Chriftian. But 
 feme ufe the Way of Water-Bnptifm as 
 the Apoftles did, without depending 
 thereon, but to fulfil ir, becaufe they 
 think it their incumbent Duty : I do 
 not judge fuch. 
 
 But the Hurt is, when People fet up 
 feme outward Tradition, depending 
 upon it for Salvation, their Zeal goes 
 
 , " ' much 
 
 \ * 
 
 * 
 
( n ) 
 
 much for it, and the more their Zeal is, 
 the more they make it their Idol, and 
 then they cannot bear-fo much as to ask 
 from whence it came, and what Scrip¬ 
 ture is for it: There is in this dark Zeal, 
 Gail, Blood and Revenge ; and fuch 
 Zeal as this, has been the Caufe for the 
 M irtyts of Jehus, frequently to lofe 
 their Blood * becaufe the Meflage of 
 the Ambaffadors which God lent, was 
 to bear Teftimony againftall Manner of 
 Idols. j . 
 
 And when Chriftians came to be fully 
 perfuaded, that, ■ Water-Bapt’rfm was 
 nece’ffary to Salvation, they judged it 
 needful to baptize little Children, left 
 theyfhould die before they hadBaptil'm, 
 a:id be damned : But when they frw it 
 Was hurtful for little Children to be 
 dipt Over Head in Water, then they in¬ 
 vented another Way to baptize, which 
 is corrupt and unfcnptural. 
 
 And although the 'Proteflants have 
 tcftified, that Water-Baptifm was ‘ not 
 neceftary to Salvation, and as the friend¬ 
 ly and confidefate People of the Chinch 
 
 E 6 ' of 
 
 
( 94 ) 
 
 of England will acknowledge, that Wa- 
 ter-Baptifm does nothing for the Soul, 
 yet the fame, inthelike corrupt Way,has 
 crept in among them from the Church 
 of Rome fo far, that the dark People a- 
 mongft the Protejhnts are of the fame 
 Tone as the Fapijls : Oh ! Oh ! The 
 Holv Baptifm : Oh ! Make the Man a 
 Chiiltian ; fo that when a Child is born 
 into the World, they muft make hafte 
 to go with him fas they fay) to make 
 him a Chriftian. 
 
 Now therefore, O thou unconfiderate 
 M an, canft thou bear us to take a View 
 of, and handle this Matter a little, to 
 fee if there is Life in it, and fee how far 
 it isagreeable with theSciiptures. They 
 fav. That Chtift ordained two Sacra¬ 
 ments in his Church, when we do not 
 read that Chritt ever fpoke of a Sacra¬ 
 ment; nor is there any fuch Word as Sa¬ 
 crament in all the Scripture: But they 
 fav, The Thing does not confift in the 
 Name, but what we mean by this Sa¬ 
 crament, is Baptifm ; What then ? Is 
 this the Way of Baptifm.which we now 
 
 . ~ fpeak 
 
••( 9 ») 
 
 fpeak of, more agreeable to the Scrip¬ 
 tures, than the Word Srcrement ? That 
 is not yet made our. 
 
 Again, they will lay. We are all by 
 Nature born Children of Wrath, and by 
 Baptifm are made Children of Grace ; 
 I utterly deny that little Children new¬ 
 born, are Children of Wrath * and alfo, 
 that by fuch Baptifm ("which we are 
 fpeaking of) any are made Children of 
 Grace. Are not new-born Children with¬ 
 out Sin > Truly before Sin came, God 
 look’d on all that he had made, and the 
 fame was good in his Sight: But they 
 fay when Ai^zztranfgrefTed, he brought 
 in Sin upon all his Off-fpring, and they 
 are Partakers of his Tranfgrefiion, and 
 that the Children of Adam are by Na¬ 
 ture become Sinners. That is granted, 
 but that they are born Children of 
 Wrath, and that God imputeth Sin to 
 them before they do fin, That is de* 
 nyed.-' 
 
 ; For the Apcftle faid, Where no Law 
 it, there is noTranfgreffion. Rom ix. i?. 
 Since that the States of new-born Chil¬ 
 dren 
 
'.( 96 ) 
 
 dren do not apprehend, nor can they 
 reach to come -at any Law, therefore 
 Iniquity is not laid to their Charge, For 
 Sin is not imputed where there is no Low. 
 Rom. v. n. So where there is neither 
 Tranfgrefiion norSin, how can we rhink 
 there is Damnation ? But thofe that 
 hold forth the Damnation of little Chil¬ 
 dren, they imagine they have a foun¬ 
 dation for it from the Words of the 
 Prophet, who Laid, I was fhjpev in In¬ 
 anity-, and in Sin did my Mother conceive 
 me. Pfal. li. 5- Is not this Sin rather 
 to be imputed to the Parents than the 
 Child? For he doth not fay, my Mo- 
 oonceived me a Sinner \ but in S.n did 
 my Mother conceive me. 
 
 <\nd the Scripture faith, The Soul that 
 finneth it JhaU die: The Son/hall not bear 
 'the Iniquity of the Father, neither frail 
 the Father bear the Iniquity of the Sort, 
 Ezek. xviii. 20. But for the Iniquity 
 the Man himfelf commits, he fhall die- 
 0, I would think that Chrift’s cfm 
 Words are fufficient to give SatisfadVion 
 to every confiderate and impartial Mian; 
 
. : ( '97 ) 
 
 and put this Controverfy out of all 
 Doubt, who extolleth the State of lit¬ 
 tle Children, faying to his Difciples, 
 Except ye be converted, and become as 
 little Children, ye Jhall not enter into 
 the Kingdom of Heaven. Matt, xviii. 3, 
 10. • ' 
 
 We may fee here, how Chrift owns 
 the State of little Children above the 
 States of his Difciples, when they in¬ 
 quired who (hould be the greatelf in the 
 Kingdom of Heaven. And he having 
 called unto him a little Child, and jetting 
 him in the Mid jl of them, he further laid, 
 voboflever t berefiire jhaU humble him ftelf 
 as this littleChild , the fame is the great- 
 eft in the Kingdom of Heaven ; take heed 
 that ye d'fpfe not one of thefe little 
 Ones , for I Jay unto you, that in Heaven 
 their Angels do always behold the Face 
 of my Father which is in Heaven . Here 
 is the Judgment of the King, who knows 
 better than Men, who is fit to enter in_to 
 his Kingdom. -■ 
 
 He alfo is theDoor of the Sheep, and 
 heknoweth his own, and thofe that go 
 in by him: If any be fo ignorant, to 
 
 think 
 
(93 ) 
 
 think that thofeChildren whom Chrift 
 fo much owned, were baptized, there 
 was no baptizing of little Children in 
 thole Times ; and there is no Caul’e to 
 think, that the Condition of little C hil- 
 dren is worfe now, than in thole Times: 
 So the Commandment of Chrift was. 
 Take heed that ye de/pi/e r.ot one of the/e 
 little Ones , vohofe Angels behold God's 
 Face. ' > 
 
 But daik People take little Notice of 
 what Chrift laid * but the Rudiments 
 which they have received by Tradition, 
 from the Leaders of their Churches, 
 thofethev believe, and will have to be 
 Truth: Therefore they are not afraid to 
 difefteem the State of little Children* 
 who are newly come into the World, 
 from under the Hand of their perfett 
 Creator, who made all Things good, 
 and according to his own Pleafure 5 
 but they reckon the Child a Jew, or 
 fome unacceptable Stranger, ’till they 
 go with him to the Prieft, to be made 
 judge) a Chriftian, and ac- 
 
 ■ f And 
 
 (as thev 
 ceptable. 
 
C 99 ) ( ■ 
 
 And if the Child dies before he be 
 baptized, they efteem it not fit to bury 
 him like a Chriftian, after the Order of 
 the Church; but when the Child hath 
 been under the Prieft sHands, if he hap¬ 
 pen to die before he finneth, these is no 
 Doubt of his Sal vation : What then 
 fhail be thought of thefe Things? Did. 
 not God know how, or was he not able 
 to make the Child according to his own 
 Mind ? But the Prieft does know how, 
 and is able to make him according to 
 the Lord’s Mind ? fo that *tis time to 
 go with the Child to the Prieft, where 
 Sureties muit be had, to engage for him: 
 Firft, That he Jhould deny the Devil, and 
 ail his Works, the Pomp and Vanity of 
 this wicked World, and all the finfulLufis 
 of the Flefh. Secondly, That he Jhould 
 believe aU the Points of the Chrifiian 
 Faith. Thirdly, That he Jhould keep the 
 bleffed Will of God, and his Command¬ 
 ments, and walk in the fame all the Days 
 of his L fe. 
 
 And altho’they themfelves judge that 
 they are not able to perform thefe Pro- 
 
 mi fes, 
 
 * t '* 
 
 ) 
 
 | 
 
 •» x 
 
 in 
 
, ( TOO ) 
 
 mifes, yet it iseafieto get thofe Sureties? 
 but if they were to be bound by Promi¬ 
 les concerning Things of this World, 
 they would take more Care before they 
 became engaged, how they might per¬ 
 form their Promises. 
 
 So after having a little Water, the 
 Prieft goes and prays to God, that he 
 would fan&ify that Water, fo that it 
 may waih away Sin •, then the finfui 
 Man goes to wafh the Innocent from 
 his Sins : But what is this good for ? 
 There is no Reafcn, nor Scripture, nor 
 any Proof, but Part of the dead Tradi¬ 
 tions of the Romijh Church, for fuch a 
 Thing. 
 
 Then the Prieft calls the People to be 
 Witnefles how that the fan e Child is 
 made a New Creature, and tb r he is 
 grafted into the Body rf theChurth of 
 Chi Ut, and fo give Thanks to God for 
 the Child, thaThe is born again Hy the 
 Holy Ghoft, and received to be his own 
 Child by Adoption ; and then they pro- 
 fefs, that the Child henceforth is made 
 a Member cf Chrift, a Child of God, 
 
 and 
 
( ICT ) 
 
 and an Inheritor of rhe Kingdom of 
 Heaven. 
 
 But this is a great Work, if it were 
 bur done indeed, where there is a Ne- 
 ceflity for a Change, and a Newnefs of 
 Life : Bet this may be allowed, towir, 
 that the Child at hi ft, is a Member of 
 Chrift, a Child of Go'd, and an Inheri¬ 
 tor of the Kingdom of Heaven, and 
 that he is yet no worfe, nor in a Stare 
 to be made better: But if neither the 
 People nor the Prieft know no better 
 than thefe Things, the Lord enlighten 
 them. 
 
 But I do believe, there are many of 
 them know all this is but the Ufe, 
 Cuftom and Trdd’liC!: of tbs Church, 
 and therefore they do judge it a Duty 
 upon them to perform: But the Tradi¬ 
 tion and outward Cuftcms become cor¬ 
 rupt in the Ufing, as the Apoftle Raul 
 Laid to the Coir,J]i,ins , Wherefore if ye be 
 dead with Chrift from the Rudiments of 
 ji e World , why, as though living in the 
 Wtrld , are ye fubjeff ioOrdinances (which 
 all at e to peri ft) with the Ufing) after the 
 Commandner.ts and. Dccirines of Men ? 
 
( 102 ) . . • 
 
 which Things indeed have a Shew of 
 Wifdcm in WiU-Worfhip. Col. ii. 20. 
 22 , 2 ^. 
 
 What then > Is not this Wiy of bap¬ 
 tizing little Children not only corrupt 
 with the Ufing, hut alio form’d in the 
 Dark, and let up after the Command- 
 meins and Di (Shines of Men, and carri¬ 
 ed on in Will-Worlhip, after the Ordi¬ 
 nances and Rudiments of this World, 
 and not after Chrift > 
 
 Now therefore (hall we confidera lit¬ 
 tle, whatNecefftty there is for outward 
 Water in the Baptifm ? But thofe that 
 are for John's Bapiifm they have need 
 ofWarer to dip the People-, but as ma¬ 
 ny as come to Chrift to be baptized by 
 him, he baptizeth with theH-dy Ghoft: 
 For the Baptifm of Chrift, is • he Bao- 
 tifm of the Holy Ghoft, which, is the 
 Subftance : But the Ba ptifm of John (to 
 wit, Water-Baptifm} was the Figure or 
 Shadow thereof. 
 
 But there are many in thcfe Days, 
 that would tie theBaptifm of C hrift and 
 jfohn's Baptifm together, and make them 
 one Baptifm, faying, the outward Wa¬ 
 ter 
 
( 103 ) 
 
 ' J y * 
 
 ter, which is the Shadow, is one Part, 
 and the fpiritual Grace within, is the 
 other Part, which is knit to it. Is not 
 this Way cunningly devifed to beguile 
 the Ignorant of the Salvation of their 
 Souls ? For it muff be believed, if they 
 but receive, or have the Shadow, they 
 alio have the Subftance, even the Bap- 
 tifm of the Holy Ghoft, tho’ they know 
 
 not how, but only believe they are knit 
 together. 
 
 So of a Truth, all this is but to pleale 
 the Flefh, and Self-Knd of Man, who 
 hath been afferting that he had a Part 
 in Chrift, though he lived in the Fleih, 
 where none can pleafe God, and in fuch 
 Pomp wherein he cannot receive the 
 Spirit of Truth : And where they fay, 
 That the Subltance is tied to the Sha¬ 
 dow ; the Face of the prefent World is 
 as Clouds of WitnefTes to the contrary, 
 feeing that the Life and Converfation 
 of Thoufands of thofe who profefs 
 Chrift, and have been baptized with 
 i Water, are worfe than the Lives and 
 Converfations of Turks , Indians or Pa- 
 
 gant> 
 
( Ic 4 ) - 
 
 gens, who were not baptized with 
 Water. 
 
 By which we may fee, that the un¬ 
 godly and irreligious Profefil us have not 
 yet been baptized into the Baptifm of 
 Chrift, which is the Baptifm of the 
 Holy Ghoft, that cleanfeth from dead 
 Works, and makes a Man a New Crea¬ 
 ture, to live a godly Life-, whereby it is 
 evident enough, that the Baptifm of the 
 Holy Ghoft, and the Baptifm of Water 
 are two diftinfl Things. 
 
 So that it is poffible for a natural 
 Man to be baptized with Water, and 
 know nothing of theBaptilm of theHo- 
 ly Spirit: But the followers of Cirri!!, 
 are baptized by him with the Baptifm 
 of the HolySpirit, without elementary 
 Water and yet fome will fay. That 
 the Baptifm of John was to follow the 
 Baptifm of the Holy Spirit, becaufe 
 the Apoftles baptized with Water, and 
 that Chrift had given it them in Com¬ 
 mand. 
 
 That the Apoftles baptized with Wa¬ 
 ter, is granted. But that Chrift gave it 
 
 them 
 
( Jor ) . ' 
 
 them in Command, is not yet made 
 out : But they are ready to "fav. Hath 
 not Chrift commanded his Apoftles ? 
 Go ye therefore, teach all Rations, bap - 
 tising t hem in the Rome of the Father , 
 and of the Son , and of the H<>ly Ghujr. 
 Matt, xxyiii. 19 But I would think', 
 that inafmuch as there is no mention of 
 Wa ter, we have Room to examine what 
 One did Chrift command ? Was it his 
 own Baptifm, which was the Baptifm 
 of the Holy Ghoft, or was it the Bap¬ 
 tifm of John, which was Water-Bap- 
 tifm > 
 
 And inalmuch as then was the very 
 Time, wherein the Ipiritual Miniftry 
 of Chrift was to be fet up in Authority, 
 being taken from under the Shadows 
 and Signs $ that to baptize with the 
 Holy Ghoft, was the Work of Chrift, 
 ind that he at that Time was to pour 
 forth of his Spirit on his Minifters, to 
 end them on his own Work : What 
 ileafon therefore will tell us, that he fet 
 Iris Minifters upon John's Work (which 
 ;as not but an outward Shadow palTing 
 
 by; 
 
 1 ’ ^ 
 
( ic6 ) 
 
 by) inftead of fending them on his own 
 fpiritual Work, after he had filled them 
 with his Spirit, and cloathed them with 
 Power from on high, fit for performing 
 that Ipiritual Work. 
 
 But the Oppoler will fay, It was the 
 Work of Chrift only to babtize with 
 the Spirit, and the Apoftles could not 
 do it, becaufe they were but Men. It 
 is true enough, that it is the Work of 
 Chrilt to baptize with the Holy Spi¬ 
 rit ; What then > Was it impoffible for 
 Chrift’s Servants to do any of his Works 
 notwithftanding they received of the 
 Spirit of Chrift, even the Holy Ghoft, 
 which did baptize ? Bat without Doubt 
 the Servants of Chrift did his Work, 
 by his being co-working with them j 
 for when they taught and preached 
 where the Lord had lent them, they 
 were Inftruments in his Hand to do a 
 great Work ; that is, to turn People 
 from Darknefs to Light, and from the 
 Power of Satan unto God, through his 
 Co-working to open the Hearts of the 
 
 People. 
 
 And 
 
( 107 ) 
 
 And for this End Paul was fenr, and 
 not to baptize with Water, as we read 
 when the Lord was converting arid cal¬ 
 ling him, he faid unto him, Pi e, and 
 ft and upon thy Feet ; fcr 1 have appear¬ 
 ed unto thee for this purpofe, to make 
 thee a Mimfler and a Witnefs kith of 
 tbefe Things which thou haji feen, and 
 of thoje Things in the which I mil ap¬ 
 pear unto thee, delivering thee from the 
 People, and from the Gentiles, unto 
 whom now 1 fend thee , to open their 
 Eyes, and to turn them from Dot hr' fs 
 to Light, and from the Power of Satan 
 unto God, that they may receive I or give- 
 nefs of Sins, and Inheritance among 
 them which are fa net ifed by Faith which 
 is in me, Aftsxxvi. 16, 17, rS. 
 
 Let us therefore fee the great Wc k 
 which Paul was lent to labour in, whi< h 
 was the Work of the Salvation of thi 
 Souls of People, and the Thing he vtas 
 employed about, even to turn them 
 from Darkcefs to Lighr, and from the 
 Power of Satan unto God, to obtain 
 Forgivenefs of Sins, and a Portion a- 
 mongft thofe that are fan&ihed. Here 
 
 F is 
 
( io8 ) 
 
 is the Work of the New Birth, even 
 Chrift’s Work upon the Souis of Men : 
 Here alfo is the Baptifm of the Holy 
 Ghoft. 
 
 And as the Apoftle Paul was an In- 
 ftrument in the Hand of the Lord, fent 
 upon this Work * fo by preaching of the 
 true Gofpel, he performed the Com¬ 
 mandment, by baptizing them into the 
 Name of the Father, who is theftrong 
 Tower, and turning them unto him 
 who is the Light, and baptizing them 
 into the Name of the Son, who is the 
 Rock of Ages, Jefus the Saviour, Chrift 
 the Anointed, the Fountain of living 
 Waters •, which Water doth wafh away 
 Sin and Iniquity, that they may re¬ 
 ceive Forgivenefs of Sins, by baptizing 
 them into the Name of the holy Ghoft, 
 who fanftifieth and giveth them Faith 
 in Chrift Jefus. 
 
 So Paul taught the Gentile r, and 
 they were baptized with the holy Ghoft 
 under his Teftimony. After this man¬ 
 ner was the Commandment fulfill’d, 
 Go, teach all Nations, baptizing them 
 into i he Name of t he Fat her , and the 
 
( IC9 ) 
 
 Son, and the Holy Ghoft. And this A- 
 poiUe that was lent to turn the Nati¬ 
 ons, was not fent to baptize with Wa¬ 
 ter/ as he himfelf teftified when he 
 favv that the Corinthians were corrupt¬ 
 ed, by making a wrong life of Water- 
 Baptifm, and that Contentions were 
 among them-, and as it may be fuppo- 
 fed, lome faid, I am owned by the 
 Man that baptized me, and, I am own¬ 
 ed by the Man that baptized me, which 
 gave the Apoftle Occafion to fay, I 
 thank God that 1 baptized none of you 
 but Crifpus and Gaius, left any Jhould 
 fay that I had baptized in mine own 
 'Name-, and I baptized alfo the Houfhold 
 of Stephanus, befides I know not whether 
 1 baptized any other -, for Chriftfrnt me 
 not to baptize, but to preach the Gofpel, 
 
 i Cor. i. 14, 16, 17. 
 
 And inafmuch as this was the Apo* 
 file that was moft abfolutely fent to 
 teach and convert the Nations, and 
 was not fent to baptize with Water; 
 and that Commandment faid, Go ye 
 and teach all Nations, baptizing them 
 into the Name of the Father , Son and. 
 
 F z Holy 
 
( no ) 
 
 HolyGboft, therefore it was not out¬ 
 ward Water that was here commanded 
 to go with the Teftimonies of the A- 
 putties, but the Living W 7 ater and Eter¬ 
 nal Word, which is the Sword of the 
 Spirit, that is as a Fire, and as a Ham¬ 
 mer, to break/m pieces the hard Hearts. 
 
 Thus Life and Virtue w-ent along 
 with their Preachings Therefore whe¬ 
 ther God works upon the Hearts of 
 People by Inftruments, or without In- 
 ffruments, the Work is the Lord’s * 
 and fuch as know this Work to be car¬ 
 ried on in their own Souls, they fee no 
 Neceflity for Signs and Shadows, that 
 were to pals away, or do perrfh with 
 the Ufing. So that God’s Work upon 
 the Saul of Man is the Baptifm of the 
 Holy Ghoft, which makes a Man a 
 true Chriftian. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
Concerning the Communion or Nour- 
 ifhment of the Soul. 
 
 F ORafmuch as the Work of God up- 
 ^ on the Souls of Men, is the Work 
 or Regeneration and it belongs to eve¬ 
 ry Birth to have Nourifhment fuitable 
 to its Condition and Nature, fo it be¬ 
 longs to the Children of the new Birth, 
 thatare born of the Spirit, to havefpi- 
 ritual Food to nourifh their Souls, as 
 the natural Body is fed with outward 
 Food : This fpiritual Food the Chil¬ 
 dren of Adam\r\ the Fall cannot know 
 
 . ir 
 
 or apprehend, nor be Partakers of, till 
 
 the Lord in feme Meafure lays hold on 
 
 their Hearts, and enlightens them, and 
 
 . lets them fee their Conditions, and 
 
 makes them fenfible of rhe Neceflitv 
 
 -• 
 
 and Want of their Souls, and Jets a 
 Man fee how he is gone from home, as 
 
 F 3 ■ the 
 
( h2 ; 
 
 the Prodigal Son, into a far Country, a 
 Stranger to his Father’s Houfe, where 
 is Bread enough, and he ready to die 
 for Hunger : Then the poor Soul, hav¬ 
 ing a Sight of his Condition, cries for 
 h s Father’s Houfe, becaufe he is got 
 into a Belief that there is Bread enough 
 to feed his hungry Soul, left he ihould 
 die for ever. 
 
 So the Soul that comes to hunger 
 and thiift after Righteoulnefs, the Pro- 
 mi fe is, That fucb Jhall be filled, Mat. 
 v. 6 . For the Lord prepares pleafant 
 Dainties for the Poor in Spirir, that 
 turns to him with his whole Heart, and 
 waits upon him in Tiuth. So when a 
 Man comes to witnefs thefe Things, he 
 is in fome Degree to be counted a Child 
 of the new Birth, becaufe he cries for 
 Food, and Focfl belongs to him, and 
 he is ready to open unto Chrift, who 
 knocks at the Door, laying. If any Man 
 bear my Voice, and open the Door, I 
 uill come into him, and Kill fup ivith him, 
 and he veilb me. Rev. iii. 20 
 
 So that Chrift is ready to communi- 
 nicate, and the hungry Soul ready to 
 
 receive 
 
( 
 
 I 12 
 
 'I 
 
 receive Noutifhment: And this is the 
 Supper that gives Life, Nutriment and 
 Growth to the Souls of the Children or 
 the new Birth: Therefore what fort of 
 SappersfoeverMen may make without 
 opening unto Chrift, and receiving him 
 into their Hearts to iup with him, their 
 Supper is not Chrift’s Supper, nor of 
 any Benefit to their Souls; for nets 
 the Breed of Life w'ich comes dozen 
 from Heaven, and gives Life to the 
 
 World , Johnvi. 33. 
 
 This is the Food which God commu¬ 
 nicates to his Children, who are boin 
 of the immortal Seed thro his Word, 
 and have received the Holy Ghoft to 
 lead them into all Truth; which con- 
 folates and makes glad, andgivesNou- 
 lifnment and Increalb to the afflifted 
 and letuming Souls. _ Therefore thofe 
 that have opened their Hears, and re¬ 
 ceived Chtift to take Poffeffion, and 
 grvern in them with Power, fuch as 
 thefe come to be grafted into the true 
 Vine, and their Souls are fed with the 
 Fruit of the Vine, which is the lame 
 Thing as the Bread of Life which com- 
 
 F 4. cth 
 
( 1*4 ) 
 
 erh -down fiom Heaven, that he who 
 taietn therect may live ior ever, Joljtt 
 Vi. 71 . - • 
 
 The Fruit of this Vine is a3fo the 
 fpi'iuul Wine, or living Water, or 
 Heaveniy Blood, Which the Branches 
 diink &i ; fo that the fpiritual Birth 
 may gr=w and increafe, by feeding up¬ 
 oni Chi ft, and dwelling in him, who 
 laid, Aly Flejh is Meat indeed , and my 
 Bio ad is Dr in A indeedlie that eatcih 
 n:y Flejh , and drjnkeib my Blood , dvcel- 
 leihm me , and 1 in him. John vi 57, 56. 
 
 Let us fee here, thole that leed on 
 Chrift, they dwell in him, and he in 
 them. Not in his Body, but in his 
 Spirit, and his Spirit in them 5 and the 
 Lnitv and Communion between Chrift 
 and his Followers, not in outward 
 Things, as he laid to his Difcipleswho 
 were offended at the Hearing of fpiri¬ 
 tual Thingsj but he interpreted it to 
 them. It is the Spirit that quickneth y 
 the Flejh profiteth nothing 5 the Words 
 font I J peak uni 0 you-, they are Spirit, 
 and they are Lijc , John vi. 65. So 
 they that dwell in the Vine, the Fruit 
 
 and 
 
( ) 
 
 and Virtue of the Vine is Life and Sup¬ 
 port to them. . 
 
 S'"> he likewife Lid, As the living 
 
 Father Jent we, and 1 live by the ba¬ 
 ther \ fo he that eateth me, even he fhall 
 live by me. And as the earthly Part 
 nourifheth itfelf on earthly Food,, out¬ 
 ward and perifhing,. fo the ipiritual 
 Part is fed with Ipiritual Food, even 
 the hidden Alannn, invifible and eter¬ 
 nal; and fuch as feed upon it, know 
 where they obtain it; not in any thing 
 that is outward, but in a fpiritual Lel- 
 lowfhip with the Father and with the 
 Son Jefus Chrift, knowing their Savi¬ 
 our to be their Shepherd, to lead them 
 into the fruitful Paftures, by. the Hill 
 Waters, out of the World in them- 
 felves, and out of all carnal Reafon- 
 ionings and Conje&ures of He(h and 
 Blood. 
 
 He is alfo the Daily Bread, which 
 is a Support to the true Chriftian, and 
 the living Soul cannot be one Day 
 without it, but he will feel a Hunger, 
 and it is not enough for him to receive 
 
 outward Bread and Wine once a ^ ear, 
 |f|. o : ■ F 5 initeaci 
 
v ( H6 ) 
 
 inftead of Life to his Soul, and fpiri¬ 
 tual Food, which comes down from 
 Heaven, Day by Day, to the hungry 
 and thirfty Souls of thole that wait up- 
 on him: So the poor in Spirit fecretly 
 receives it, when there is none but he 
 and the Lord. 
 
 But luch as fpend their Money for 
 that which is not Bread, and their La- 
 bourfor that which fatisfieth not, they 
 come to the Pr;eff, to eat every one a 
 Bit of Bread that perifheth, and every 
 one a Sup of Wine, and their Princi¬ 
 ples oblige them to believe, that by 
 taking fo much, their Souls are fed, 
 though they know not how. O, how 
 eafily do People fuffer themfelves to 
 be deceived concerning their Souls E- 
 ternal Life, which is to know the Fa¬ 
 ther and the Sou to dwell in the Hearr, 
 and to have gain’d the Man to love 
 God, fo as to be as Meat and Drink to 
 do his Will. 
 
 For to do the Will of God is the on¬ 
 ly Thing that makes up the Peace, and 
 works the Unity and Communion be¬ 
 tween the true Chriftian and Chriltthe 
 
 Beloved 
 
( II? ) 
 
 Beloved of his Soul, So they that ore 
 looted to the loot'd eye one Spiytt^ r Cor. 
 vi. 17. And this is the Communion 
 which makes the Saints to be one 
 Bread and one Body, by being Parta¬ 
 kers of that one Bread, 1 Coy. x. 17* 
 which the Eating of Bread and Wine 
 cannot do ; -For People eat it before, 
 thev go to fpill one anothers Blood. 
 
 So alfo great has been the Strifes, 
 and going into Parties, which broke 
 out into Malice and Revenge, Wars, 
 and fpilling of Blood, amongll Profef- 
 fors of Chriftianity, about the Bread 
 and Wine, how to order it, and when 
 to take it. Here was the cunning De¬ 
 vice of Satan, even to drive People to 
 kill one another, about a dead Tradi¬ 
 tion j for thereby he drew them fa¬ 
 ther and further from God-,, into h s 
 own dark Kingdom, alienating them 
 more and more from the Life and Sub- 
 ftance, even the Bread from Heavea, 
 whichgiveth hife to the Uo/dd, John 
 
 vi. 13. . r n* 
 
 But the wife Men hunting alter U- 
 
 oinions concerning thefe dead Things, 
 v F 6 and 
 
' ( ri8 ) 
 
 and never could agree, becaufe they 
 were Strangers to the Spirit and Hea¬ 
 venly Life 5 they judge, that by re¬ 
 ceiving the Bread and Wine they nruft 
 eat the flelh of Chrift corporally, even 
 he that was born of Mary , and fuffered 
 upon the Crofs, and was railed again, 
 and afcended into Heaven, to lit on the 
 Right Hand of Majefty. 
 
 But as to that, they broke out into 
 three Opinions. The hrft is that of 
 the Papifts , who fay concerning the 
 Bread and Wine, That after the Prieft 
 confecrates them (as they call it) the 
 fame is no more Bread nor Wine, but 
 the Flelh and Blood of Chrift, in the 
 Suhftance which was crucified by the 
 Jews. Here is a grievous Error, Men 
 taking upon them to make Chrift cor¬ 
 porally upon Earth out of corruptible 
 Matter, and give People the fame to 
 eat for their Money. See R, Barclay’s 
 Apology, p. 498. 
 
 The fecond Opinion is that of the 
 laitberans , who fay, .That the Sub* 
 ftance of the Bread remains after it is 
 confecrared, but that alfo that Body 
 
 is 
 
V 
 
 ( H9 ) 
 
 is in the Bread, and with it, or under 
 it-, fo that there is in the Subftance of 
 the Bread, and the Flefh and Blood of 
 Chrift are mixed together, to be given 
 the People to eat for their Money. 
 The Difference here is. That the firft 
 take upon them to make Chrift bodi¬ 
 ly upon Earth, out of Bread and Wine, 
 that is perifhable ; the others take up¬ 
 on them to bring him down from Hea¬ 
 ven to be mixed with the Bread and 
 Wine. 
 
 The third Opinion is that of the 
 Calvinifls , who deny both the former, 
 laying, That Chrift is not corporally 
 in the Bread and Wine * but yet the 
 Faithful receive him by taking of the 
 Bread and Wine .- But how, or which 
 Way he is there, thev know not, nor 
 can they tell, but only we muft believe 
 he is there, yet fo that it is properly 
 in Heaven, (Birc/a/s Apology, p. 498) 
 but of a Truth, though this' Opinion 
 may in fome Things be born with, yet 
 it is very uncertain : It is nothing, but 
 we muft believe. 
 
 . \ 4 • ( 1 J * T .1 • % 
 
 I * i | S f 
 
 I . And 
 
( 120 j 
 
 And if we muft believe that our Souls 
 are fed with the Bread of Life, and 
 that we are Partakers ofChrift’sSupper, 
 though we do not know him come into 
 our Hearts, to fup with us, and we to 
 fnp with him, this is the Way for us 
 to deceive our felves; this is alio a 
 Sign of Death : For the living Souls 
 know, tike David, when they receive 
 the Joy of their Salvation, and when 
 the Lord by his free Spirit upholds 
 them, and their Sauls are by the Holy 
 Ghoft comforted, and they can fet their 
 Seal to the Words of the Apoftle, Do 
 not err , my beloved Brethren , every 
 good Gift , and every perfeft Gift is from 
 above , and cometh down from the Father 
 (If lights , with whom is no Variablencf r, 
 neither Shadow of Turning , James i. 
 16, 17. 
 
 But in the Night of Darknefs, where 
 Satan wrought amongit the Profeflors 
 of Chriftianitv, his Work and Cunning 
 hath been, and is, to deceive People, 
 and t ) fet them at Work to deceive 
 one another, to the End and Purpofe to 
 keep them in Ignorance, and wholly 
 
 Strangers 
 
( 121 ) 
 
 • ✓ 
 
 Strangers to the true Shepherd, who 
 gives Eternal Life to his own Sheep, 
 who know and follow him. 
 
 When he was with his Difciples eat¬ 
 ing that Supper, or the laft Paflover 
 before he was betrayed, he Laid unto 
 them. With Defire 1 have defred to eat 
 this Pdf'over with you before I fuffer •, 
 jor I fay unto you, I void not any more 
 eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the 
 Kingdom of God , Luke xxii. is* 1 6. 
 The fulfilling that Paffover, and that 
 which it fignified, together with other 
 Signs, was the Coming of the King¬ 
 dom of God, that is, God to dwell in 
 his People, to teach them himfelf. 
 For the Kingdom of God is within, and 
 Chrift within, a Comforter, flipping 
 with, and nourilhing the Souls of the 
 Children of the new Birth. 
 
 And when he took the Cup and gave 
 Thanks, he faid, Take this and divide 
 it among ycur felves for 1 fay unto 
 you , I vid not drink of t he Fruit of the 
 Vine until the Kingdom of GodJhaU come, 
 Luke xxii. 17, 18. And the Kingdom 
 of God is nor Meat and Drink, but 
 
 Righteoufnefs 
 
C 122 ) 
 
 Rightcoufnrfs , and Fence , and Joy in 
 the Holy Gkoft, Rom. xiv. 17. And be 
 took the Bread and gave Thanks, and 
 brake it, and gave unto them, faying. 
 This is my Body uhich is given for you, 
 this do in Remembrance of me, Lukexxii. 
 19. 
 
 Chrift, by doing this, was (hewing 
 his D'fciples that he was going togive 
 his Body to buffer fer them, and that 
 they, when they did eat and drink, 
 were to remember him. And the Apo- 
 ftle Paul fa id fu ther, Do this, as often 
 as ye do it, in Remembrance of me ; for 
 as often as ye eat this Bread, and drink 
 tlh Cup, ye do [hew the Lord's Death 
 till he con e , 1 Cor. ix. 2 6. 
 
 So all that can be gathered from thefe 
 Things is, that when the Difciples 
 fhould come together to break Bread, 
 they were to think of, and remember 
 Chrift and his Death, and his Depar¬ 
 ture from them that Night, and this in 
 Reverence to his Name, until the 
 Kingdom cfGod came to be enlarged 
 in their Hearts, and the King to (it in 
 his Kingdom, after a fpirituul manner, 
 
( 12 ? ) 
 
 to fup, and give himfelfto be Life 
 and Nourifhment to .their Souls. 
 
 We read alfo concerning the Apo- 
 files, h ow ihey continued daily with 
 one Accord in the Temple, and break¬ 
 ing Bread from Houfe to Fioufe, eat¬ 
 ing their Meat with Gladnefs and Sin- 
 glenefs of Heart; and they eat in a re¬ 
 ligious Way, having made a joint Pre¬ 
 paration for coming to eat together 5 
 and this did figeify their Unity and 
 Love one to another : They alfo did 
 eat to fatisfy their bodilv Wants •, what 
 then ? Did not the Apoftles, when they 
 came together in that Love and Unity, 
 find the Lord near unto them, to com¬ 
 fort them, and make them rejoice, and 
 edify their Souls ? Yet it was not in the 
 Meat that they found the Lord, but in 
 their drawing near in their Spirits to 
 his Spirit, and to one another in his 
 Love. 
 
 This Way of Tradition was foon 
 corrupted in the Uie of it bv Men, as 
 may be leen in the Church of Corinth., 
 where rhe Apoftle complains againft 
 them, When they cme together 10 eat 
 
 that 
 
( 124 ) 
 
 thffit Supper which they called the Lord's 
 Supper , in ft end of performing it unto the 
 Lord in an acceptable M inner, they 
 were m danger of eating and drinking 
 Damnation to themfclves , i Cor. xi. 
 
 17, 18. ' v ‘ 
 
 So they that met together for the 
 worfe, did not attain to the Know¬ 
 ledge of the Spiritual and invifible Food 
 which comes from Heaven, to renew 
 and comfort the Souls of the Saims in 
 their Meetings together $ neither did 
 they accomplish that Supper outward¬ 
 ly, but in a corrupt Manner: And as 
 Corruption came into the Churches, 
 the People went mQre and more after 
 outward Traditions, making of them 
 more and more corruot, by letting 
 them up inftead of the Subftance, and 
 inftead of the Kingdom of God; the 
 Coming of which was to put an End 
 to them. 
 
 ) 
 
 CHAP- 
 
( 125 ) 
 
 C II A P. VII. 
 
 * , / * 
 
 • * 
 
 Concerning Reprobation. 
 
 i 
 
 T H E Mercy of Gcd Almighty 
 hath been, and is, in a great and 
 large Meafure extended towards the 
 Children of Men, by fending his Mefc 
 fengers to offer unto them Covenants 
 of Peace, though they daily rebel a- 
 gainft him: And the Meffage which 
 he did put into the Mouth of his Pro¬ 
 phet, was, As / live , faith the Lord 
 God, I have noFleafure in the Dealhof 
 the Wicked, but that the Wicked turn 
 from his Way and live 5 Turn ye, turn 
 ye Jrom your evil Ways, for why will ye 
 die, 0 Houfe of Ifrael, Ezek. xxxiii. 
 1 I. For God fo loved the World , that 
 he gave bis only begotten Son, that who- 
 Joever believeth in him fhould not perifh, 
 but have everlafting Life. For Godfent 
 not his Son into the World to condemn 
 
 the 
 
 J 
 
( 126 ) 
 
 0 - ^ 
 
 the World, but that the World through 
 him might bef.ivcd, J hn iii. 16, 17. 
 
 So the Apoftleshad received theMi- 
 niftiy of Reconciliation, teltitying, 
 2 hat God was ir. Chriji r econo long the 
 World untohimfelfnot imputing their 
 Trefpafjits unto them and hath commit¬ 
 ted unto us the Word oj Reconciliation : 
 Wow then ire are Ambaffadors for Chriji, 
 as though God did befeech you by us, we 
 ■pray you in Chr ill’s Stead, be ye recon¬ 
 ciled to God, 2 Cor. v. 19, 20. 
 
 But contrary to theft Things, there 
 are fome hold forth. That God ordain¬ 
 ed the moll: Part of Mankind to Dam¬ 
 nation, and the other Part to Salvati¬ 
 on, even from the Beginning, or be¬ 
 fore the Creation $ fa that there is no' 
 Pofi'bility for any one of them to he 
 loft, that are fo fecured, nor any one 
 of thofe that are fo left, (ball ever be 
 faved. 
 
 If this were true, it would overturn 
 all the Protnifes and Covenants of 
 Peace which God fent his Mefiengers 
 to publifh throughout all the Scrip¬ 
 tures, and would deny the Reconcilia- 
 
( 127 ) 
 
 tion which God offers unto the World 
 through (Thrift: This intimates alfo, 
 that God harh not fent his Son into 
 the World to fave the World, but to 
 damn it. 
 
 This aifo .renders God unmerciful, 
 ( whole Mercies excel ail his Works) 
 if he ordained the molt Part of Man¬ 
 kind to be damned, not giving them 
 one Talent, nor any G^ace, nor Day of 
 Vifitation ; but ordai ;ed them to fin, 
 and wotk all Uririghteoufnefs, that he 
 may punilh them eternally for doing 
 that which he ordained them to do. - 
 By this there is no Room to extend 
 Mercy to the greateli Part of Mankind. 
 
 This is contrary to all the Prorniles, 
 Invitations and Counfels, which the 
 Scriptures are full of, from the Begin¬ 
 ning to the End, by calling People to 
 he converted, and return to God from 
 their evil Ways, and that under fare 
 •Promifes, that a Door is opened lor 
 them in Chrift their Redeemer, who 
 died for all: But they fay, Chrift died 
 
 not but for the Elect, that is, thofe few 
 
 - 
 
( 128 ) 
 
 that were ordained to be faved from 
 the Beginning. 
 
 This con traditts theScriptures which 
 declare, that Chiilt died for every one, 
 as may be feen, to wit. That God will 
 have all Men to be faved, and to come 
 unto the Knowledge of the Truth. For 
 there is one God, and one Mediator be¬ 
 tween God and Men, the Man thrift 
 Jefus : Who gave himfelf a Ranfom for 
 all, to be teftified in due Time, inhere un¬ 
 to I am ( fa id Paul) ordained a Preacher 
 and an Apoftle, i Tim. ii. 4, 5, 6 t 
 
 7 - 
 
 So the fame Apoftle faith, That 
 Chrift died for all, and tafted Death for 
 every Man , Hebrews ii. 9. And is the 
 Propitiation for our Sins , and not for 
 ours only , but alfo for the Sins of the 
 whole World, 1 John ii. 2. So Likewife 
 the Angels proclaimed to the Shep¬ 
 herds, the Coming of Chrift to be good 
 Tidings of great Joy , which fhall be to 
 all People 5 and there was with the An¬ 
 gel a Multitude of the heavenly Ho ft, 
 praifing God , and faying , Glory to God 
 in the high eft, and on Earth Peace, good 
 
 Will 
 
IO, 12, 
 
 ( 129 ) 
 
 Will towards Men, Luke ii. 
 
 14. - 
 
 And trul y, my Paper is too Ihort to 
 contain but few of the many Calls and 
 Invitations which God tenders to Sin¬ 
 ners, Come unto mead ye that labour and. 
 are heavy laden , and 1 will give you Reft, 
 Matthew x». 28. This is the Meffage 
 which God doth, and did, in all Ages 
 fend his Minifters upon, to call Sin¬ 
 ners to be reconciled to him through 
 Chrift, who is the Light which light- 
 eth every one that cometh into the 
 World, and tailed Death for every Man, 
 and he was given to be a Light to the 
 Gentiles, and Salvation to the Ends of 
 the Earth. - 
 
 Here is the Door of Salvation open¬ 
 ed to all Mankind, thofe who ask, and 
 feek, and knock, they fhall come in, 
 and be received with Joy : Alfo the 
 Grace of God, which bringeth Salvati¬ 
 on, hath appeared unto all Men. 
 
 By thefe Things we may believe, 
 that a Day of Vilitation from God, 
 through his Grace and Light, is or¬ 
 dained to all Mankind upon the Face 
 
 of 
 
r i3o) 
 
 of the whole Earth : For there is no 
 Man lb far in any Corner of the World, 
 but God is near unto him, if he will 
 feek him •, and where is there any Sin¬ 
 ner that knows not at Times the Re¬ 
 provings from the Light in his own 
 Heart and Confcience, calling for Re- 
 pentanceand Amendment of Life, al- • 
 luring Peace to him, if he will do good, 
 and likewife threatning fome Punifh- 
 ment for his Wickednefs ? * 
 
 Yea, whilft the Light (bines, and 
 Grace appears, and God by his Spirit 
 ftrives with the Sinner, it is poffible 
 he may be faved, and that by the 
 Lord, and through his great Mercy ? 
 For Grace and Light is all-fufficient to 
 lave and deliver every Man that 
 yields Obedience thereunto, whatever 
 out waif Knowledge he wants, The 
 Grace that bringetb Sulvation tcacbeth 
 every M.an bis whole Duty , Tit. ii.. 12. 
 For by Grace are ye faved, Eph. ii. 8. 
 Alfo the Light , which is Cbrift, light- 
 neth every JWan that cotneth into the 
 World 5 as he himlelf Laid, I am the 
 Light of the World j he that followctb 
 
( ni ) 
 
 me, Jhall not walk in Darknefs, but Jhall 
 have the Light of Life. Juhn viii. 12. 
 He is all-lufficient to lead untoSalvatl- 
 on every one that hearkeneth to him 
 while he knocks, and thole that turn at 
 his Reproof, he prrmiied to give them 
 of hisSpirit, and mukeknown his Words 
 unto them. 
 
 But thofe that rejed the Vifitations, 
 the Lord leaveth them, and their Blood 
 is upon their own Heads. Becauje I 
 have called (laid Wiidom) and ye refuf- 
 ed, I have fir etched out my Hand, and no 
 Man regarded. Prov. i. 24. Therefore 
 the Lord gives up Sinners to take their 
 own Ways * then the Day of their Vifi- 
 tation pafleth over their Heads, and the 
 Lord leaves them, and fo there is none 
 that will deliver them in the Day of 
 Diftrefs. 
 
 This is agreeable to the Words of the 
 ApoltleB/#/, in the Place where thoie 
 that plead for Reprobation would fallen 
 fomething, What if God willing to Jhcw 
 his Wrath , and make his Power known , 
 endured with much Long-foffering, the 
 Veffels of Wrath fitted to Defiruffion ? 
 
 G Rom, 
 
( 132 ) 
 
 Rom. ix. 22. The Word (Long-fuffer- 
 ing) (hews that they had a Day of Vifi- 
 tation, but they reje&ed it ; wherefore 
 Chrift wept over Jerufalem , faying, 
 That Jbe was to be defrayed , and laid 
 even with the (around , becaufe (faid he) 
 thou kneweft not the Time of thy Y/Jitati- 
 on, Luke xix. 44. 
 
 Therefore Man’s Deftru&ion is of 
 himfelf, but his Salvation is from the 
 Lord: In Chrift does the Ele&ion ftand, 
 and Juch as are grafted in the Vine, and 
 overcome the IVorld, and Satan and his 
 Temptations , they JhaU eat of the hidden 
 Manna, and a white Stonefball be given 
 them, and in the Stone a Kew Name 
 written, which no Man knoweth, favir.g 
 he that receiveth it. Rev. ii. 17. here 
 is the heavenly Infcription, and the 
 Karnes of the Elett, which are written 
 in the Lamb's Book of Life. Rev. xxi. 
 
 27 - 
 
 Are not People prefumtuous and 
 
 felfilh? Nothing takes more hold on 
 
 them, than what they received from 
 
 their own Church by Tradition, let it 
 
 be as erroneous as may be 5 they will have 
 
 it 
 
('m ) 
 
 it to be a Gofpei Truth, let God, Chrift 
 and the Scripture, fay what they v/ili *, 
 but the Thing faid by the Churchmen 
 and Society, which the Man owns, he 
 will believe and follow, and judge it 
 erroneous in all others, if they believe 
 not the lame Things, as may be feen by 
 divers wrong Rudiments, which crept 
 in amongft Chriftians in the Night o? 
 Obfcurity, when the Church went into 
 the WiWernefs, and the falfe Church, 
 even the Whore of Babylon , fat upon 
 the People. 
 
 So in this Cafe, God faith, 1 have 
 no Pleafure in the Death of him that 
 dieth , Ezek. xviii. 32. But thele Men 
 fay, that God hath willed and or¬ 
 dained the greateft Part of Mankind 
 to fin and die for ever. God calls the 
 Wicked, faying, Turn ye, turn ye> 
 ruby will ye die , return therefore and. 
 live. Ezek. xxxiii. 11. But they fay, 
 that God holds the Wicked under his 
 Order of Reprobation, that they can 
 do no lefs than fin to their Damna¬ 
 tion. 
 
 G 2 
 
 The 
 
r i?4) 
 
 The Apoftle faith, God would have all 
 Men 10 be faved , and come to the Know¬ 
 ledge of the Truth. Tim. ii. 4. But they 
 fay, God would have, yea he willed, 
 and made the mod Part to Dtftru&ion, 
 and that he wich-holdeth from them all 
 true Knowledge, and all Means of Sal¬ 
 vation, fo that they may not lay hold 
 thereon. 
 
 If I were to go on after this Manner, 
 I might gather a great Part of the Scrip¬ 
 tures, to fhew how oppofite this Dec¬ 
 line is againft God, againft his Mercies 
 and Love and Good-will towards all 
 Mankind ^ it is alfo againft Chrift, by 
 making his Coming, his Death and Re¬ 
 demption, unprofitable to the greateft 
 Part of Mankind, but rather adds to 
 their Damnation. 
 
 This denies theReconciliation, which 
 God offers unto the World, through 
 Chrift: It denies the Gofpel, which is 
 glad Tidings of great Joy to all People: 
 It makes Men of Opinion, that it is in 
 vain to ask, to feek and knock, in con- 
 tradition to the Words of Chrift, when 
 
 he 
 
( 135 ) 
 
 he preached to the Multitude. Mji'. 
 
 vii. 7, 8. rf> 
 
 Thefe alfo fay, That Sin cannot be a 
 Means to lole anv ot thole that are 
 elected, and that the Reprobate cannot; 
 do any thing that may be a Means to 
 fave them : By this it is in vain for 
 Man to mention Religion *. Oh 1 How 
 crcfs this is to the Words ol the Lord, 
 by his Prophet in the Chapter before 
 mentioned, from the Beginning to the 
 End, Behold all Sou’s are mine, the Soul 
 that Jlnneth it Jhall die ^ the Righteouj- 
 nefs of the Righteous (hall, he upon him. 
 Ezek. xviii. 4 See from the twenti¬ 
 eth Verfe to the End of the Chapter, 
 clofe to the fame purpofe; and alfo 
 in Chap, xxxiii. from the eleventh Verfe 
 to the Nineteenth, where it plainly 
 appears, that Sin feparates between 
 People and their Creator, and their 
 Return to him makes the Reconcilia¬ 
 tion. 
 
 Let it be our Belief therefore, that it 
 is pohible for the ungodly Man through. 
 Mercy, to return unco the Lord, whilft 
 he calls, invites and preffeth, (hewing 
 
 forth 
 
( n6 ; 
 
 forth his Hands, and knocking at the 
 Door of the Heart. Here is the Law 
 that was given to Cain in the Morning 
 oi rhe Creation, ]f thou doji well , Jhalt 
 thou not be accepted ? And tj thou doji 
 not well. Sin herb at the Door. Gen. iv. 
 7. Thefe Terms follow through the 
 Scriptures, from the Beginning to the 
 End. The Spirit and the Bride Jay, come. 
 And let him that heareth fay, come. And 
 let him that is a thirji , come. And vcho- 
 f° ever will , let him take the Water of Life 
 freely. Rev. xxii. 17. 
 
 Therefore let us truft in the Lord, 
 and believe his Promifes, hope in his 
 Mercies, depending upon Chrift and his 
 Offering, who hath redeemed us, and 
 paid the Ranfom for us, by giving him- 
 felf a Propitiation for rhe Sins of the 
 whole World ; alfo let us yield Obedi¬ 
 ence to the Grace and Light which is 
 given us, for a Manifeflation to lead us 
 into that Salvation which he hath pre¬ 
 pared for us by redeeming us. 
 
 Furthermore thefe hold forth, that 
 the Lord ordained Adam to fall, and it 
 
 is 
 
( i?7 ) 
 
 is he that chives and caufeth the Wick¬ 
 ed to iin, and keeps them in their Sins, 
 that he may have i a It Caufe to punilii 
 them eternally for their Sins, and alio 
 that God ordained all Things that come 
 
 to pafs. 
 
 We may here fee, that thele make 
 God the Author of all Wickednefs * and 
 alfo more unjuft, cruel and unmercilul 
 than the crueleft of Men as ever we 
 heard oft For where is, or has been any 
 King or Ptince, who would hind his 
 People with Chains of Iron in dark Pri- 
 fons, before they did any Thing to dif- 
 pleafe him, and there keep them under 
 inch Locks and Bolts, that it would 
 never be poftible for them to come forth, 
 yet come at Times, and call them into 
 the Field to work his Harveft, and be- 
 caufe they come net forth, then chaftife 
 them with the meft cruel Punifhment ? 
 O. who would impute this to God, who 
 is flow to Anger, and great in Mercy, 
 and repenteth ox the Evil.. 
 
 Where then dees this erroneous 
 
 Dodtrine allow the Devil to have 
 
 any 
 
( 193 ) 
 
 any Hand in the Deftrudion of People, 
 feeing that he cannot deceive, nor gain 
 any, but fiich as God hath ordained and 
 p epired for him ? What (hall we f: 
 to this ? Did not Frier know what h 
 laid, or was the Devil foolifh and mad, 
 
 mho was jo bujy, like a rowing Fyon , 
 walKing about, Jet king 1 whom he might de¬ 
 vour. i Pet. v. 8. 
 
 Bin Satan, no doubt, is well allured, 
 that God does nor make People on Pur- 
 pole for him •, and that he has none, but 
 fitch as he catches in his Snares and 
 Nets, by his Deceit and Baits •, he is 
 the Enemy of Men, and the Enemy of 
 Truth; he fowed the Tares in the Field ; 
 he deceives and corrupts People, mak¬ 
 ing them Children of the wicked One, 
 as Chrifi; faid, But the Tares are the 
 Children of the zeieked One. The Enemy 
 mho / owed them is the Devil. Matt. xiii. 
 38, 39. This Enemy deceived People 
 at firft, to fin againlt the Will of God, 
 and his Commandments, and he works 
 in the Children of Difobedicnce, and 
 
 holds 
 
 / 
 
 CD 
 
C 139 ) 
 
 holds Sinners captive at his Will, in his 
 dark Prifons. 
 
 But Chrift was fent by the Father, 
 
 and anointed to preach good Tidings un¬ 
 to the Meek , to bind up the broken heart¬ 
 ed , to proclaim Liberty to the Captives , 
 and the opening oj the Prifon to them 
 that arc bound. Iia. xli. i. Luke iv. i 3 . 
 Satan is gone out to deceive the Nations , 
 which are in the four Corners of the 
 Earth , Gog and Magog, to gather them 
 together to battle, the Number of whom 
 is as the Sand of the Sea. Rev. xx. tf. 
 But Chrifl was given for a Light to the 
 Gentiles , and Salvation to the Ends oj 
 the Earth. Ifa. xlix. 6 . To open the blind 
 Eyes, to bring out the Prifoners from 
 the Prifon, and them that ft in Lari - 
 nefs , out of ihe Prifon houje. Ifa. xlii. 
 7. To reconcile God and Men, to de- 
 itrov the Works of .the Devil, which 
 made the Separation. 
 
 This is the general Salvation which 
 Chrift hath purchafed to all Mankind, 
 bv his own precious Blood, and the 
 Help which he gave them, when he 
 pioprifed, that thejleed 0! the Wcma a 
 
 G 7 fhcul^ 
 
( I4°0 
 
 fhould bruife the Serpent’s Head, and 
 as the deadly Wound came by the Sin 
 and Difobedience ofand over-ran 
 the whole and every Part of the World; 
 fo through Chrift and his Sacrifice, who 
 was ordained to die from the Beginning 
 of the Creation, he is the Phyfician that 
 ■was given to heal the Wound fo far as 
 it is gone. 
 
 To the eternal God, whofe Mercies 
 are over all his Works, be Honour 
 and Obedience, Reverence and Glory, 
 who is worthy for ever and for ever¬ 
 more. ■- ' ■ 
 
 There is another Branch of the fame 
 Dofhine, where they fay, that thole 
 who once received Grace from God, it 
 is impoffible for them to fall from Grace, 
 or lofe their Salvation. 
 
 This is likewife contrary to the fore- 
 mentioned Scriptures, where it is laid 
 at large, that when the Righteous turn- 
 eth away from his Righteoufnel's, and 
 committeth Iniquity, his Righteouf- 
 nefs (hall be no more remembred to him, 
 but for the Sin he hath cammitted he 
 
 (hall 
 
- ( 141 ) 
 
 (hall die : Alfo Chrift himfelf faith. 
 That he is the true Vine, and his Father 
 is the Husbandman, every Branch in 
 him that beareth not Fruit, he taketh 
 away. John xv. i, 2. And fays Chrift, 
 If a Man abide not in me, he is caft jorJ h 
 as a Branch, and is withered, and Men 
 gather them, and caft them into tbs hire, 
 
 and they are burned, Ver. 7. 
 
 So it is poffibie, that Branches once 
 grafted in the Vine, may becutorr, oe- 
 caufe of Unfaithfulnefs: This is like- 
 wife truly anfwerable to the Apoltle s 
 Words, when he was writing to tho(e 
 whom he accounted the Ele€T, and 
 were grafted into the true Vine •, he 
 warns them faying. Behold the Goodnefs 
 and Severity of God : On them which fell,. 
 Severity : But towards thee, Goodnefs, 
 if thou continue in his Goodnefs : Othti * 
 wife, thou alfo fhalt be cut off. Rom. 
 Xl 2 2 • 
 
 This runs agreeable with the Stream 
 of Scriptures* to warn the Chriftian to 
 keep on his Watch, left in any wife as 
 the Serpent beguiled Eve, he himfelt 
 I v might 
 
( H 2 ) 
 
 might be deceived ; for the fame Apo- 
 ftle faith, For it is tmpojjible for thofe 
 who were once enlightened, and hove 
 ta fed of the heavenly Gift , and were 
 made Far takers of the Holy Gbofl, and 
 have tafed the good Word of God , and 
 the Powers of the World to come, if they 
 fhall fall away , to renew them again un¬ 
 to P.epentance , feeing they crucify unto 
 themfelves the Son of God afrefh. Heh. 
 vi. 4, 5, 6. See Chap. x. 2 6. 
 
 Therefoie he admonifheth the Saints 
 among the Galatians , faying, Standfaji 
 therefore in the Liberty wherewith Chnji 
 hath made us free, and be not entangled 
 with the Take of Bondage. Gal. v. r. 
 And the Apoftle Peter, fully teftifies to 
 the fame Purpofe. i Pet. ii. 20, 21, 22. 
 I do not fee any great Occafion to col¬ 
 led many Scriptures to prove that it is- 
 poflible for People to flip and fall away 
 from a State of Grace, and after they 
 are wafhed, to wallow in the Mire, 
 inafmuch as I know not any Scripture 
 faith or verifies that the fame is im- 
 pofiible. 
 
 For 
 
( H? ) 
 
 For fome of the Angels fell, having 
 left their Habitation. Adam fell, and 
 many Thoufands of the Pilgrims fell in¬ 
 to the Snares of Satan, after they had 
 the Knowledge of the Spirit of God to 
 lead and enlighten them. 2 Tet. ii. 4* 
 Jade i. 6 . This is a Warning for all 
 God’s Servants to be careful, faithful 
 and watchful, left when their Lord 
 cometh, he find them a fleep, and their 
 Work undone. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 I » 
 
 Concerning Perfecution. 
 
 ■ • 
 
 O F a Truth, great is the Myftery of 
 Ungodlinefs, which hath wrought, 
 and is working in the Darknefs of Mens 
 Hearts, in all Ages of the World, the 
 old Satan, the crafty and dark Spirit, 
 which worketh in the Night, turning 
 many Vineyards which God had plant¬ 
 ed, to bear four Grapes: And he began 
 to work in the Church in the Morning 
 
 of 
 
 I 
 
( *44 ■) 
 
 / , r i I ' V , ’ 
 
 of Chriftianity, appearing like an Angel 
 of Light : And as Chrift fent his Apo- 
 flles, lo Satan alfo fent Apoftles, who 
 transformed themfelves to be Apoftles 
 of Chrift, and Minilters of Righteouf- 
 nefs •, yet for all that, God carried on 
 his Work, and the true Church and 
 Minifters profpered and Chriftians mul¬ 
 tiplied. ' "H K y& 
 
 Therefore the Devil envied, and ap¬ 
 peared again in his own Colour, a de¬ 
 vouring Lyon, and entered into the 
 Heart of Am>, to pevfecute and impri- 
 fon, to kill, to burn, and ftone the 
 Lambs and Sheep of Chrift ; and for all 
 this, the Blood of the Chriftians was 
 the Seed of the Church ; though many 
 were martyr’d, yet the Chriftians mul¬ 
 tiplied • fo there followed ten heavy 
 Perfecutions, under the Pagan Roman 
 Emperors, and yet they increafed in 
 Number. 
 
 But the Way Satan overcame moft, 
 was by cooling of Love, and buffering 
 People to receive a Profeffion of Chrift 
 and Chriftianity, and from Age to Age 
 Darknefs thickned, Iniquity encreafed, 
 
 Schifms 
 
( 145 ) 
 
 Schifms and Contentions coming in 5 
 lefs of the Spirit and of the Grace, and 
 of divine Infpiration $ but Ordinan¬ 
 ces and Cuftoms were more and more 
 fet up, and more Strefs laid upon 
 them, and then fell out concerning 
 them, how to ufe and order them, 
 fome would have one Way, and fome 
 another Way ; then they broke out 
 into Forks and Branches, in divers 
 Schifms and Opinions, deftrudtive He- 
 refies. Fighting and fpilling one ano¬ 
 ther’s Blood, perfecuting and killing 
 Chriftians about Religion. 
 
 There Satan got the Viflory, by 
 making Chriftendom Darknefs and a 
 Wildernefs, and the Church a falfe 
 Church, that is, a Whore to fit in Au¬ 
 thority upon People, and Multitudes, 
 and Nations, and Tongues •, file alfo 
 fat upon the Beafi: having Heads and 
 Horns, that is, the Earthly Power, 
 which was an Enemy to the True 
 Church, And the Woman was arrayed in 
 Purple and Scarlet Colour , and decked 
 with Gold and precicus Stones , and 
 
 Pearls, 
 
( 14 ^ ) 
 
 Pearls, having a Golden Cup in her 
 Hand full of Abominations and Filthi- 
 nefs of her Fornication , Revelations 
 xvii. 4. 
 
 Thus the Whore was decked wirh 
 outward Traditions and Cuftoms, and 
 Church Ordinances, being transformed 
 glorioully in the View of the People 
 upon whom fhe fat, and deceiving 
 them, holding forth a Golden Cup, 
 that is, a Profeffion of Chriftianity, aud 
 every falfe Appearance, Deceit and 
 Diffmularion, but all Fihhinefs within: 
 And yet John five upon her Forehead a 
 Kame written , Myftery Babylon the 
 grear, the Mother of Harlots , and A- 
 bominations oj the Earth \ and he favo 
 the Woman drunken with the Blood of 
 the Saints , and with the Blood of the 
 Mirtyrs of Jefus , and he wondred with 
 great Admiration , Rev. xvii. 5, 6. 
 
 The Spirit of E nmity, which was 
 in the Pagans in perfecuting Chrift and 
 his Church, entered into the People 
 that held a Profeff.cn of Chiiftianity •, 
 fo the Church of Rome became bloody 
 and perfecuting, to kill, to burn, and 
 
 . to 
 
( HI ) 
 
 to martyr them whom the Lord fent 
 unto them, cr railed amorglt them, 
 to bear Teftimony a gain ft their Cor¬ 
 ruption, evil Conterlaiions and Super- 
 ftitions. 
 
 Alter they had thus left the Ttuth, 
 and loll Sight of Chrift, who was the 
 Head of the true Church, and Gover¬ 
 nor in his Saints and Followers, the 
 Bilhop of Rome was fet up to be Head 
 of the falfe Church, and then it was 
 not what Chrift faid was to be taken 
 Notice of, but what the Pope and the 
 Church faid ; the Lord of the Ffarveft 
 laid to his Servants, pull not the Tares, 
 let them grow together with the Wheat 
 until the Time of Harveft * but the 
 Pope and the Whore, who call the 
 Wheat (to wit, the Children of Grace) 
 Tares, fay, pull them all up $ fo Satan 
 would root up Truth and pure Religi¬ 
 on from among Men. , . 
 
 The Spirit of Perfecution is a dark, 
 angry, revengeful and unchriftian Spi¬ 
 rit, in what Man or People fcever it 
 appears; it is an Enemy to Truth, and 
 of that ftubborn curbed Nature, which 
 
 began 
 
( 148 ) 
 
 began toappear in the Time of Cain: 
 And that great City, to wit, Babylon , 
 began to lay her Foundation in the 
 Hearts of People in the Morning of the 
 Creation; for it was faid of her, that 
 in her was found the Bl >od of the Pro¬ 
 phets and Saints, and of all thac were 
 llain upon the Earth. 
 
 . So the evil Spirit and Nature were 
 the Caufe of killing of the Prophets, 
 and of perfecutingof the Righteous in 
 every Age-, fo there was, and is, an 
 Enmity in the Serpentine Spirit againft 
 Chrift and his Saints : So the Lord 
 fenr his Meffengers as Lambs amongfl 
 Wolves, to be perfecuted and brought 
 before Judgment-Seats to be killed, to 
 be martyred for his Name-fake, whom 
 the World hated. 
 
 Therefore rhe Devil, the old Ene¬ 
 my of all Good, moves his Servants 
 to perfecu.te the Innocent 5 and it be¬ 
 longs to Perfecutors to have two 
 ' Things to fit them for Perfecution ; 
 their Eyes muft be hoodwinked vvi r h 
 thick Darknefs, fo that they may not 
 fee what they are doing-, for Chrift 
 
 faid 
 

 ( H9 ) 
 
 faid to hisDifciples, They (ball put you 
 ! out of the Synagogues, yea , the Time 
 cometh , that vehojeever /allot hyou, vaU 
 think that he doth God Service , John 
 xvi. 2. It belongs to them alfo to have 
 their Confdenc.es feared with an hoc 
 Iron, left (he (hould grieve and bleed 
 when they kill and butcher the Inno¬ 
 cent Lambs. 
 
 But in this Blindnefs and Cruelty, 
 the Perfecutors confute together, come, 
 we the Lambs and Sheep of Chrift, let 
 us deftrey the Wolves. Where did we 
 hear that Sheep killed Wolves? There 
 is neither Scripture, Example nor Rea- 
 lon, that will tell us any fuch Thing; 
 but Perfecutors (hew themfelves to be 
 Wolves, and thofe they perfecute to be 
 the Martyrs of Jefus. 
 
 So Blindnefs, Ignorance, Cruelty, 
 Malice, Envy and Hatred of ail Good- 
 r.efs, will (it Judges in Babylon s Tribu¬ 
 nals, when the Followers of Jefus are 
 judged to fuffer for his Name : And in 
 thefe Courts it is to no Purpofe to ask. 
 What Evil hath this Pilgrim commit¬ 
 ted ? But away with fuch a one, hang, 
 
 burn. 
 
C 150 ) 
 
 burn, crucifie him! This was the 
 Treatment Chtift himfelf had in the 
 Eabylonifh Tribunal ; it was in vain for 
 Pilate in his own Court to atgue for 
 Jefus •, rheir Complaint againlt him 
 was, that he perverted the People, and 
 was reaching through all Judea , there¬ 
 fore thev would have him crucified. 
 
 But Pi Lite fa id, I Jin d no Fault in 
 this Alan, and argued again, that he 
 had examined him. And Herod having 
 examined him, and bad found no Fault 
 in him , nor any Thing worthy of Deaths 
 he would therefore chaffife him , and let 
 him go : Then the whok Multitude cried 
 out at -once, away with this Alan, and 
 releafe unto us Bara has, who for Mur¬ 
 der was caft into Prifon: Pilate there¬ 
 fore willing to releaf e Jefus, fpoke again 
 to them, but they cried out, faying, 
 crucifie, crucifie him : But Pilate rea- 
 Joned , faying , Why, what Evil hath he 
 done? I have found no Caufe of Tenth 
 in him, I void therefore chaftife him and 
 let him go : And they wore ivftant with 
 loud Cries, requiring that he might be 
 
 crucified. 
 
 I 
 
( I?I ) 
 
 crucified,, and the Voices of them, and 
 jf the High Enefis prevailed, Luke 
 xxiii. 
 
 Th is is the Treatment the Matter 
 had. who left Foottteps for his Saints 
 and Martyrs, (hewing them divine and 
 evangelical Examples, how to follow 
 him through Perfecution, by demon- 
 ftrating his Do&rine and pure Nature 
 in his Sufferings, who Laid, Love your 
 Enemies, blcfs them that curfe you , do 
 Good to them that hate you, and pray for 
 them which difpitefully ufe you , and pcr- 
 fecute you. Mat. v. 44. 
 
 So when he was led to be crucified, 
 and his cruel Enemies drove Nails 
 thro’ his Flett), he pitied them : Here 
 is the Heavenly Nature that is in- the 
 Lamb, and the Evangelical Spirit which 
 he makes his Followers Partakers of in 
 their Sufferings •, Then he prayed for 
 them, faying, 0 God forgive them •, for 
 they know not what they do. 
 
 And the firft that followed his Ma¬ 
 tter in Martyrdom was Stephen, who 
 had received of the fame Spirit, Grace 
 and Virtue, to fit him to fuffer for 
 
 his 
 
( 152 ) 
 
 his Teftimony. When the People 
 were cruel and devililh, (toning him to 
 Death, be kneeled, down , and cried with 
 a loud Voice , Lord, lay not this Sin to 
 their Charge , A<fts vii. 60. This is that 
 Evangelical, Merciful and forgiving 
 Nat ure, which hateth none, envieth 
 none, nor delires the Harm of any, but 
 the Good of every one. The Teftimo¬ 
 ny of God’s Meflengers in all Ages 
 was the Truth * and for declaring the 
 Truth they were hated and perfecu- 
 ted. 
 
 Micaiab, for telling the Truth, was 
 put in Prifon to be fed with the Bread of 
 Afflitfiov, avdmtb the Water of Afflifli- 
 on , i Kings xxii- 27. Jeremiah , for 
 fpeaking the Truth, was caft into the 
 deep Dungeon , Jer. xxxviii; 6. It was 
 for declaring the Truth that the Fol¬ 
 lowers of Jefus were hated and perfe¬ 
 cted by the cruel Spirit in all Ages of 
 the World : It was in vain for the 
 Chriftians in the primitive Church to 
 plead their Innocence before the Pa¬ 
 gans, there was nothing but Martyr¬ 
 dom for the Teftimony, and for not 
 
 worfhiping 
 
I 
 
 ( 153 ) 
 
 worfhiping their falfe Gods. 
 
 It was to no purpofe for the Prote- 
 Hants and divers others, when they 
 were reftoring Religion, to plead their 
 Innocence in the Courts of the Bifhop 
 of Rome, nor ask, what Evil have we 
 done ? But for their Teftimony againtt 
 the Corruption and Superftition of the 
 Fapifls, there was nothing hut to de- 
 ftroy them by every cruel Death ; it 
 was in vain for the Quakers in Kezv- 
 England , before that Tribunal, to ask 
 what Evil have we done ? What Law 
 have we broken? But becaufe they 
 came there to bear their Teftimony a- 
 gainft Corruption, there was nothing 
 but Hanging for them: So for the fame 
 CaufeChrift and his Prophets and Apo- 
 Itles, and all his Mefiengers in every 
 Age fuffered, that is, for their Tefti- 
 moniestothe Truth, which the World 
 could not receive, For they did not 
 /peak in the Words which Man’s Wifdom 
 teachetb,but which the Holy Ghoft teach' 
 eth , 1 Cor. ii. 13. And the Teachings 
 of the Holy Ghoft are out of Efteem 
 among the wife Men of this World, 
 
- ( i54 ) 
 
 for it is Fcolilhnefs in their Sight. 
 
 Ch riif is the Stone which the Build¬ 
 ers rejefled in all Ages, even the Wife 
 of this World : Therefore God ac¬ 
 counted the Wifdom of this World to 
 be Foolifhnefsi becaufe they prefer 
 human Wifdom and Learning before 
 the fpiritual ; and becaufe they rejedt 
 the precious Scon e, the Rock of Ages, 
 the Fountain of living Water, and hate 
 him and his Ambaffadors, and their 
 MefTage: O! what is the Meffage then 
 that Chrift and his Minifters declare 
 among the Children of this World, to 
 make them angry and envious towards 
 them ? Is it not the Gofpel of Salva¬ 
 tion which calls People from Satan to 
 Clarift, from the Kingdom of Darknefs 
 to the Kingdom of the Son of God, 
 and to his Light > They alfo call the 
 People of the Lord out of Babylon, that 
 they be not Partakers of her Sins, and 
 receive not of her Plagues $ inviting ah 
 to the Waters, to buy Wine and Milk 
 without Money and without Price. 
 
 Satan 
 
( 1 )) ) 
 
 Satan is difturbed at this, left he 
 iofeth his Subjects, and he moves the 
 Inhabitants of the Earth, who have 
 been made drunk with the Wine of the 
 great City’s Fornication ; as aifo her 
 Merchants, left they lcle their Gam ■, 
 and her great Men who lived deliciouf- 
 lv in her, feeding their Lufts; thefe 
 will agree to war againft the Lamb, 
 and againft his Saints; but the Wea¬ 
 pons of the Warfare of Chriti’s Ser¬ 
 vants are not carnal, but fpiritual^ 
 and in the meek Spirit (after they have 
 known the Fear of God) they perfuade 
 others, exhorting them in Love and 
 good Will to their Bodies and Souls, 
 befeeching them to be reconciled to 
 God, fhewing them good Converfation 
 and Examples, Patience and Forbear¬ 
 ance, in order to gain them, as the A- 
 poftle James faid, Who is a wje Man, 
 and endued With Knowledge among you ? 
 Lei him fhew out of a good Converjation 
 his Works with Meeknejs of Wifdom 
 but if ye have bitter Envying and Strife 
 in your Hearts, glory not, and he not 
 againft the Truth \ this Wifdomdcfcend - 
 
 H etb 
 
( *s6 ) 
 
 etb not from above , but is earthly, Jen - 
 fual and devi/ijh : iw wta/v Envying 
 and Strife is, there is Confufton and 
 every evil Work ■, but the Wifdom that 
 is from above, is fir ft pure , /be/? peace¬ 
 able, gentle and eft'y to be entreated t 
 full of Mercy and good Fruits, with¬ 
 out Partiality, and without bypocrify , 
 James iii. 13, 14, i5> 16, 17. This 
 is the Wifdom that gains upon the 
 Hearts of People, in order to turn them 
 to God-, not to drive them by Oppref- 
 fton and Strength of Arm, and carnal 
 
 Weapons. f ' ; “ 
 
 It is very poffible, that Numbers of 
 the true Church may be deceived by 
 Satan, to hold forth fome erroneous 
 Points which the Church cannot bear » 
 what therefore (hall be done to fuch, 
 but after Perfuafion and Advice, if they 
 cannot be gained, then turn them out 
 of the Unity of the Church, and there 
 leave them amongft the reft of Man¬ 
 kind, to ftand or fall to their own 
 Mailer? But what if the Church is in 
 Authority, and the Rulers and Officers 
 are Members thereof? Is it net then 
 
 lawful 
 
r ‘I??) 
 
 lawful for the Officers to ufe Chaf- 
 tifement, as Fines and Imprifonmenr, 
 in order to turn the Erroneous into the 
 Wav > ' ' ' 
 
 Of a Truth, it is not Perfecution 
 (that is, to rob and imprifon) will ever 
 bring People to love the Religion of 
 thole that persecute them but it gives 
 them an Advantage to confirm and 
 ftrengthen them in their Way, and 
 count themfelves fuffering Perlecution 
 for the Sake of Chrift and their Con¬ 
 ference, looking upon their Perfecutors 
 to be cruel and unmerciful; for Per¬ 
 fecution is heinous in the Sight of all 
 that fuffer under it: But it is natural, 
 and too often happens among the Pro- 
 feffors of Chriftianitv, when they get 
 into Power, to raife Perfecution againft 
 thofe that cannot join with them in 
 Religion. This is alfo contrary to the 
 Nature of Chrift and his Command¬ 
 ments, Law, and heavenly Kingdom, 
 which is not cf this World, neither 
 are his Servants to war for it with car¬ 
 nal Weapons, as may be feen by r. is 
 Doftrine, when the Village of the 
 
 H 2 mdritans 
 
( 158*) f 
 
 mantans would nor receive him and 
 his Difciples. James and John feeing 
 it, they f iid. Lord , to ill thou toe com¬ 
 mand Fire to come down from Heaven 
 and confume them, even as Elias did ? 
 But be turned and rebuked them , and 
 /aid, Te know not what manner of Spi¬ 
 rit ye are of, for the Son of Man is not 
 come to deftroy Men's Lives , but to 
 five them, Luke ix. 54, 55, 56. 
 
 Let us obferve how far it was from 
 Jefus to return any Revenge, though 
 Power was in his Hand 5 and how he 
 reproved that Spirit in his Difciples, 
 and utterly difowned it, as a Thing 
 contrary to his Nature, Kingdom and 
 Gofpel. And fince it is unlawful, and 
 contrary to the Way of Chrift to call 
 for Fire from Heaven to deftroy thofe 
 that would not receive him, how much 
 more unlawful is it to kindle a Fire on 
 Earth to deftroy fuch as believe in 
 him, becaufe they cannot for Confci- 
 ence fake pin their Religion exa&ly to 
 the Sleeves of the Magiftrates, and be¬ 
 lieve and fay every Thing like them ? 
 And if People mutt follow the Religion 
 
 ' of 
 
I 
 
 ( ) 
 
 of thole that are in Authority, it is in 
 vain for them to learch the Scriptures, 
 and endeavour to try what is good, in 
 order to follow ic, becaufe they mult 
 receive the Migiftrates Religion, or 
 leave the Country, or elfe relolve to 
 die for their Religion. 
 
 The Perfecutors, by carrying on and 
 pleading for their Woik, do juftify all 
 the cruel and curfed Perfecutors, who 
 in all Ages afflicted God’s People .* But 
 it is poflible they may fay, thofe in 
 Times palt were wicked, and thofe 
 whom they periecuted were good •, but 
 it is not lo at this Time, becaufe we 
 are the godly People who are in the 
 Way, and we endeavour to bring them 
 that are gone aftray to the Right, and 
 to return to us. 
 
 Is not this the Plea and Excufe by 
 which all Perfecutors in Ages paft, did 
 feek to excufe and Ihelrer themfelves, 
 and jullify their Caufe? Therefore 
 fince the Perlecutors of every Age 
 have been of one Voice, how much 
 greater Truth can he in thefe Excufes 
 
 H 5 in 
 
( i6e ; 
 
 in the Mouths of latter Ferfecutors, 
 more than in the former > It is in vain 
 for them to fay, We are the Lambs, 
 let us perftcute the Wolves $ becaufe 
 till this Time of the World, the Lambs 
 have fuffered, as the Apoftle faith, 
 All that Kill live godly in Chr.jl Jefus 
 Jhall fujfer Perfecution, 2 Tim. iii. 
 3 2. ft ttt 
 
 When a trueChriftian is fully refol- 
 ved to keep the Commandments of 
 God, and the Magiftrates command 
 the contrary, the Faithful mult fuffer 
 for his Religion, let come what will 
 c^rne, and fay, as Peter and John, 
 Whether it be right in the Sight of God 
 to hearken unto you more than unto 
 God, judge ye, Afts iv. 19. Thefe lat¬ 
 ter Ages verify the fame Things. It 
 is reproachful to relate, how much the 
 People called fjjhaktrs fuffere d in Eng¬ 
 land and other Places, becaufe they 
 c&u'd not fivear, for the fake of keep¬ 
 ing the Command of Chrift, who faid 
 Sw.'ar not at all g and yet they (the 
 Magiftrates) faid ftp ear. 
 
 But 
 
( ICI ) 
 
 But Chrift gave forth the Com* 
 mandment fo clear and lull, that all 
 the corrupted Sons of Adam cannot 
 make it void. When Chrift was (hew¬ 
 ing the Difference between his own 
 Law, even the Law of the New Co¬ 
 venant, and the Law of Mofes, he 
 fxid, Te have heard that it hath been 
 faid by them of old Time , Thou fhalt not 
 for/wear thy J'elf, but (halt perform un¬ 
 to the Lord thine OathsBut 1 fay un¬ 
 to you, Swear not at all: Herein the 
 fitft Place he forbids fwearing to the 
 Lord, which under the old Law was 
 commanded j yea further, A either by 
 Heaven , for it is God's Throne, nor by 
 the Earth , for it is his Footfool 5 nei¬ 
 ther by Jerufalem, for it is the City of 
 the great King •, neither Jhalt thou Jwear 
 by thy Head, becaufe thou cayifl not 
 make one Hair white or black but let 
 your Communication be Tea , lea, Kay, 
 Kay-, for what fever is more than thefe 
 cameth of Evil. We fee here that Chrift 
 -hath forbidden all manner of Oaths, 
 and alfo commanded not to fwear at 
 all. Mat. v. 33 , 34 . 3 $, 36, 37 - 
 
 But 
 
( 1 ^ 2 .<) 
 
 But there are many of t'nofe that 
 take upon rhem ro be good Chriftians 
 in thefe Times, do not lee a Necefiity 
 of keeping the Command of Chrift ^ 
 therefore they it rive to gather many 
 Reafons, feeking to caff down and a- 
 boliih this Commandment and Doc¬ 
 trine of Jeius 5 but the more a Man, 
 that is wile in his own Sight, gathers 
 for Arguments and Realons to oppofe 
 Chrift, the more he makes himfelf 
 an Enemy and Refifter of him.* For 
 he is the Author of the New Covenant, 
 the true Lawgiver, the great Prophet, 
 whom every one is to hear under the 
 Pain of being cut ofF; then where will 
 a Man go to hunt for, or gather Ar¬ 
 guments to ftand for his Aft of Swear¬ 
 ing ? If he goes to the Law of Mofes , 
 Chrift hath changed that 5 thou haft 
 nothing there unlefs thcu wilt be a 
 Jew. 
 
 Bur if thou comeft to fearch the 
 N ewTeftament, thou wilt find there 
 the Apoftle James of the fame Mind 
 with his Mafter, becaufe he gives a 
 manifeft Command, that they fhould 
 
 not 
 
( ) ' 
 
 not fwear, faying, But above all things, 
 my Brethren , jzvear not , neither by hea¬ 
 ven, neither by the Earth, neither by 
 any other Oath •, but let your Tea be Tea, 
 and your Kay, Kay, left ye fall into 
 Condemnation, Ja mes v. 12. See here 
 how both thele Teftimonies of Chrift 
 and his Apcftle meet each other, fo 
 agreeably to (hut out all manner of 
 Swearing. This Apoftlealfo command¬ 
 ed it above al! Things, becaufeit came 
 from his great Mailer, even the Lord 
 cf Lords, and King of Kings, and like- 
 vvife under fuch Danger, left they 
 Jhould fall into Condemnation. 
 
 And yet People would hold forth, 
 that neither Chrift: nor his Apoftle did 
 forbid Swearing before Magistrates, in 
 a Way of bearing "VVitnefs in Cauies.- 
 But of a Truth, thefe Teftimonies of 
 Chiift and his Apoftle are wrought in¬ 
 to a Ring, fo intirely ftrong, that there 
 is no room for Time or Caufe to break 
 in upon them • But when any of thofe 
 who are for obiervirg this Command, 
 come before Magiflrates to be Wir- 
 nefles in a Caufe, what will they an¬ 
 ti 5 fwer? 
 
( 1*4; 
 
 fwer ? Hath not Chrift told them, and 
 put Words into their Mouths, to wit, 
 I.er your Communication be Tea, Tea •, 
 J\ay, ]\ay : Whatsoever, is more than 
 ihe /\ cometh of Evil. And the Apo- 
 ftlc likewile, Eet your Tea be Tea, and 
 your Kaybe Kay, left you fall into Con■ 
 demnahon. Of a Tr tub, great is the 
 Difference between the Voice of the 
 A pottle, and that of the prefent World, 
 where he fays, Above all Things, Jvoear 
 not at all but they fay, Above all things 
 you mu ft fwear. They will not allow 
 any to be a Minifter in the Church, 
 without he is firft fworn, which is a 
 Breach of the Command of Chrift 5 as 
 if they deemed that a Mart is not fit 
 for any Service in the World without 
 he firi! fwears. 
 
 It would be but reafonable for Peo¬ 
 ple that confefs Chrift, if they could 
 not forbear Swearing, to be eafie with 
 thole that would forbear, becaufe of 
 keeping the Commandment. 0 ever - 
 lofting Father , Lord of Heaven and 
 Earth, enlighten thou the Children of 
 Men , draw them out of Babylon, that 
 
 dark 
 
• ( ) 
 
 dark City , where is Envy and Malice, 
 Pride and Contention , Revenge, Wars, 
 and fpilling of Blood •, remove them to 
 the New Jerulalem, where there is 
 Light , where there is Love, where there 
 is Tranquility , { 7 / 7 /fy, ghiietnefs, 
 
 an l Fellowfnip one with another, and with 
 the F/ther, and the Lamb, among all the 
 Citizens, 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 Concerning Antichrill, the Fall of 
 Babylon, the Beaft, and Falle 
 Prophet. 
 
 T HE Meflhge which the Servants 
 of God received of him, and de¬ 
 clared unto others, That God is Light , 
 and in him is no Darknef s at all •, and 
 the Work which God let them upon, 
 was, to turn People from Darknefs to 
 Light, and from the Power of Satan ting 
 to God, even from the dark Kingdom^ 
 (where the Devil, the dark Spirit doth 
 
 H <5 govern) 
 
( J66 ) 
 
 govern) to the Kingdom of Light, 
 whereof the Lord God is the Light, 
 and to that City which hath no ]\eed 
 of the Sun, neither of the Moon to fhine 
 in it \ for the Glory of Gcd did lighten 
 it, and the Lamb is the Light thereof, 
 and the Nations of them that are faved, 
 Jhab Walk in the Light of it, Revel, xxi. 
 2 3, 24. 7 be Sun /hall be no more thy 
 
 Light by Day, neither for Brightnefs 
 fhall the Moon give Light unto thee ; 
 but the Lord fhall be unto thee an ever- 
 laffmg Light, and thy God thy Glory , 
 Jfa. lx. 19. 
 
 This is the Work of the true Apo- 
 liles, even to call People to God, who 
 is Light, and hath enlightned every 
 Man, and calls them to Chrift who is 
 the Light of Life-, and this Light, 
 (which is the Father and the Son) hath 
 lighted every Man that came into the 
 World; And this is the Condemnation, 
 that Light is come into the World, and 
 Men loved Darknefs rather than Light, 
 becaufe their Deeds were evil: For 
 every one that doth Evil hatetb the 
 
 Light , neither cometh to the Light, led 
 ' , his 
 
0 ( ) 
 
 for Deeds jhoitld be reproved ; but he 
 that doth Truth, cometh to the Light, 
 that his Deeds may be made matt if eft 
 that they are wrought in God , John iii. 
 19, 20, 21. 
 
 ' So they that hate the Light in them- 
 felves, they hate God, becaufe he re¬ 
 proves them for their Sins •, and where 
 they love Datknefs in themfelves, they 
 love the Devil, who fpeaks Peace to 
 them, though they walk after their 
 own Hearts Lulls. Thus the Minifters 
 which God and Chrilf fend, are Hated 
 by the World, becaufe they fpeak a- 
 gainft Evil in Men. Therefore Jefus 
 comforted his Difciples, faying. If the 
 Woild hate you, ye know it hated me be¬ 
 fore it hated you : If ye were of the 
 Wot 'Id, the World would, love his own $ 
 but becaufe ye are not of the World, but 
 I have chofen ye out of the World, there¬ 
 fore the World hatethyou, John xv. 18, 
 19. : - 
 
 And in as much as the Woild could 
 not receive, nor be pleafed with fitch 
 Minifters as Chrift fent $ therefore the 
 World did and doth provide and ac¬ 
 commodate 
 
' ( t6 8 ; 
 
 commodate themfelves with Minifters 
 to their own Content, who will fay 
 what may pleafe them .* So they, hav¬ 
 ing itching Ears, heap unto themfelves 
 Teachers, who will have their Verfons 
 in Admiration becaufe of Advantage, 
 Jude 16. The World fitteth its Mmi¬ 
 llers by its own Spirit and Wifdom, 
 and 3S John faid, They are ojthe World, 
 therefore fpeak they of the World,, and 
 the World heareth them. And as ye 
 have heard that Antichriji /hall come , 
 even novo are there many Antichri fts, 
 whereby we know that it is the la ft Time : 
 They went out from us, but they were 
 •not of us, for if they had been of us , 
 they would no doubt have continued with 
 us •, but they went out, that they might 
 be made manife/l that they were not of 
 us, i John iv. y. ii. iS, 19. 
 
 Thefe are the falfe Prophets of 
 whom Chrift fpoke, that they were 
 to come among them in Sheeps Cloath- 
 ing, whom they were to he aware of, 
 and know them by their Fruits, Mat. 
 vii. 15. And thefe falfe Teachers crept 
 
 into 
 
( 1 69 ) 
 
 into the Church in the'Days of the 
 Apofiies, who bore their Teftimonies 
 a gain ft them, as may be feen, 2 Cor. 
 ix. 12, 1 J 14, ry. Jude 4, 8, 10, 
 11, 12, 1 6, 19. and i'everal other 
 Places. 
 
 So Corruption grew among the Teach¬ 
 ers of the Church : The Bifhops came 
 to be g r eat and honourable in the 
 World; then went to covet after Re¬ 
 verence and Pieheminence, high Pla¬ 
 ces, Authority and Dominion over the 
 Church, and over one another: Then 
 great Gain and Riches mull be had to 
 fupport them in Honour, alfo they 
 muft learn in the Schools Degrees, 
 Languages, and human Wildom, ro 
 fit them to be Minifters in the 
 Church. 
 
 So by this Corruption increafing from 
 Age to Ag'e, thofe that were poor, il¬ 
 literate and unlearned, have been de- 
 barr’d from having any Share in the 
 Miniftry : Then the Spirit of Jefus and 
 his Authority was excluded and fhut 
 out of the Church; but human Rule, 
 Wifdom and Honour, were fet up in- 
 
 ftead 
 
( * 7 ° ) 
 
 ftead thereof, prefuming Authority to 
 make their Minifters according to their 
 own Wills and Way, letting upon them 
 the Riches and Glory of this World; 
 then every one was to countenance his 
 own VVay, and to look after his Gain 
 from his Qjrarter and Place where it 
 was oidered him. Lo here ! Such 
 Watchmen as were of old Time, who 
 were ignorant, yea , they were greedy 
 Dogs which can never have enough , and 
 they are Shepherds that cannot under - 
 fiand , Ifa. lvi. 11. 
 
 Thefe Sort of Shepherds God pro¬ 
 claimed Woe a gain ft, Who fed them - 
 felves and not the Flock, faying, ve eat 
 the Fat , and ye cloath you with the Wool, 
 ye kill them that are fed, but ye feed not 
 the Flock : The Difeafed have ye net 
 ftrevgthened , neither have ye healed that 
 which was fick, neither have ye bound 
 up that which was broken, neither have 
 ye brought again that which was driven 
 away, neither have ye fought that which 
 ■ was loft but with Force and Cruelty 
 have ye ruled them , Ezek. xxxiv. z, 
 
 4 - 
 
 The 
 
( l 7 ! ) 
 
 % \ 
 
 The fame Complaint was made by 
 the Prophet Jeremiah agairift the Pro¬ 
 phets of Jtrufalem, mho ftrengthcncd 
 the Hands of Evil-doers, that none re¬ 
 turned from their Wickednefs: They 
 fay fill unto them that defpije me, the 
 Lord hath fold ye JhaU have leace and 
 they fay unto every one that icalketb 
 after the Imagination of his own heatt, 
 no EvilJhaU come unto you •, I have not 
 fent thefe Ptopbets, yet they ran- I 
 have not fpoken to them, yet they pro- 
 phefied. But if they had flood in my 
 Counfel, and caufed my People to hear 
 my Words, then they ft ould have turned 
 themfelves from their evil Way, and. 
 from the Evil of their Doings: And. 
 they caufe my People to err by their 
 Lies, and by their Lightnefs ■, yet ^J ent 
 them not, nor commanded them y there- 
 jorc they Jhall not profit this People at 
 all, faith the Lord, Jer. xxiii. I 7 » - J > 
 22, 2?- Alfo by the Prophet Micah, 
 Thus faith the Lord concerning the Pro¬ 
 phets that make my People err, that bite 
 with their Teeth, and cry Peace, and he., 
 that puteth not into their Aloutbs, they 
 
 eve % 
 
( 172 ) 
 
 even prep,ire War a gain ft him. The 
 Heads thereof judge for Reward, and 
 the Priefts thereof preach for Hire, and 
 the Prophets t hereof divine for Money: 
 Tet they will lean upon the Lord, and fay. 
 Is not the Lord among us ? None Evil 
 can come upon us, Mic. iii. y, ir. 
 
 And in Truth, though there he falfe 
 Teachers in this latter Time, that are 
 decked with the Whore’s Jewels, and 
 although they hold the golden Cup, 
 vet the fame Root brings forth the 
 fame Fruit * and as Chrift marked 
 them, They are ravening Wolves , ye 
 jhauknow them by their Fruits, Matr. 
 vii. 17,16. So did the Apoftle Peter 
 let the lame Marks on the falfe Teach¬ 
 ers, faying of them, They are to come 
 among the Chriftians, And through 
 Covetoujnefs fhdU they with feigned 
 Wl rds make Merchandize of you, whofe 
 Judgment now of a long Time hngreth 
 not , and their damnation flumberetb 
 not, having Eyes full of Adultery that 
 cannot ceafe from Sin, beguiling utilla¬ 
 ble Souls an Heart they have cxerciftd 
 with covetous Pratt ices, curfed Chi /- 
 
 dren 
 
( 173 ) 
 
 Jren, which have for fake n the right 
 Way, end are gone aft ray, jolt owing the 
 Way of Balaam, who loved the Fl 'ages of 
 Unrighteoufnej r, 2 Pet. ii. ?, 14, i>. 
 
 This co etous Spirit entred into the 
 Hearts of lome in the Church of Co¬ 
 rinth, which caufed the Apaftle to be 
 fo ftrift, that he would take nothing 
 from any of them to anfwer his Necefi- 
 firies, left he fhould give them Occa- 
 fion, as he teftifies at large, how he 
 had been in Want whilft he preached 
 to them the Gofpel of God freely, 2 
 Cor. ix. 9. 12, 13. And thole covetous 
 Minifters he reckoned to be falfe Apo- 
 ftles, deceitful Workers, being trans¬ 
 formed into the Apofiles of Chrift. 
 
 And of a Truth, great is the Difference 
 between the Miniftry and Minifters 
 of Chrift, and the Minifters anil Mini- 
 ftrv of Antichrift i they are as unlike 
 as Water is to Fire, or Light to Dark- 
 nefs; Chrift called his Dii'ciples from 
 unlearned Men, and fitted them by his 
 Grace and Inspiration ; Bust Antichrift 
 mull have Scholars fitted with human 
 Wifdom. Chsift communicated freely 
 
 to 
 
( *74 ) 
 
 to them ofhis fpiritual Goodnefs, com¬ 
 manding them to give as they had re¬ 
 ceived treelv •, but the Minifters of An- 
 tichrift receive not freely .• It is great 
 Pains and Labour to them, and Ex¬ 
 pence of much Maney ; therefoie it is 
 coftlytoany thit receive of them. The 
 Meilengers of G ;d called People to 
 Chrilt the Fountain of living Water, 
 that they might drink of the Water of 
 Life freelv, and buy Wine and Milk 
 without Monev and without Price : 
 But the Merchants >f B by Ion call eve¬ 
 ry Body to their Shops after this man¬ 
 ner, Come to us and buy, and if you do 
 not buy , pay and if you do not pay 9 toe 
 zv:ll make War again[i you. But the A- 
 poftle Paul faith, / have covered no 
 Alan’s Silver or Gold, or Ap parel: Tea 
 you yourfelves know, that thefe Hands 
 have minified to my Kece/Jitv , and to 
 them that were with me , Afts xx. 33, 
 34. But thefe Merchants are too great 
 to work with their Hands $ they will 
 have Gold, or Silver, Corn, Wooland 
 Lambs, with Part of the Increafe of 
 Peoples Goods. 
 
 The 
 
( * 7 ? ) 
 
 The Apoftle fa id, A Keceffity is laid 
 upon me to preach the Gofpel, yea Woe 
 is unto me if 1 do it not: But there is 
 no Necefiity uponthefe to preach any • 
 but where they have the moft Wages. 
 The Apoftle did not bid them believe 
 Men, but God ; laying, Do I feek to 
 plo aft Men ? For if 1 pie a fed Men , I 
 Jhould not be the Servant of Chrift , Gal. 
 i. io. But thefe are for pleafing of 
 Men* therefore they are not the Ser¬ 
 vants of Chrift. Again, the fame A- 
 poftle faith, I certifie you Brethren , 
 that the Gofpel which ivas preached of 
 me, is not after Manfor I neither re¬ 
 ceived it of Man, neither was I taught 
 it, but by the Revelation of Jefus Chrift, 
 Verf. ii, 12. But thefe preach Do- 
 ftrine (which they call Gofpel) after 
 they receive it, and learn it of Men, 
 and not by the Revelation of Jefus 
 Chrift ; for they deny fpiritual Reve¬ 
 lation in thefe Days. Alfo the fame 
 Apoftle faith. We have received not 
 the Spirit of the World, but the Spirit 
 which is of God-, that we might know the 
 Things that are freely given us of God.-. 
 
 Which 
 
' ( J 70 
 
 Which Things alfo wefpeak, not in the 
 Words which Alan’s Wifdom teacheih, 
 but which the tidy Gbofl icucheth, I Cor, 
 ii. 12, 12.. 
 
 But thefe do not profefs that they 
 have received the Spirit of God nor 
 is what they preach freely given them 
 of God •, neither do they fpeak the 
 Words which the Holy Ghoit teach- 
 eth, but thofe that Man’s Wifdom 
 teacheth. 
 
 Now it is high Time for People to 
 be awakened out of Sleep, and endea¬ 
 vour for their Lives to come out of 
 Babylon : For a Voice from Heaven calls , 
 Come out of her my People, that \e be 
 not Partakers of her Sins , and that ye 
 receive not of her Plagues : For her Sins 
 have reached unto Heaven, and God 
 hath remembred her Iniquities : There¬ 
 fore JhaU her Plagues come in one Day : 
 Death, and Alourning and Famine , and 
 fhe fhali be utterly burnt with Fire 
 for ftrong is the Ford God who judgeth 
 her. And the Kings of the Earth who 
 have committed Fornication, and lived 
 
 delicioufy 
 
( *77 > 
 
 delicioufly with her, (hall bewail her , and 
 lament for her, when they Jhall fee the 
 Smoke of her Burning fianding afar off, 
 for the Fear of her Torment, faying, a- 
 las , alas ! that great City Babylon, that 
 mighty City ! For in one Hour is tby 
 Judgment come: And the Merchants 
 of the Earth Jhall weep and mourn 
 over her ; for no Alan buyeth her Aler- 
 chandize any more , the Merchandize of 
 Gold, and Silver , and precious Stones , 
 and of Pearls, Rev. xviii. 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 
 II, 12. 
 
 Here is the Gaity the Whore has 
 been deck’d with, even by all manner 
 of guilded Appearances, all the Shews 
 of Religion, all Sorts of Shells and 
 Husks, all manner of Traditions, Cu- 
 ftoms and Ordinances, every Form of 
 Worfhip, Service and Duties j as 
 alfo by adorning her Minifters with 
 Gold and Silver, Rewards, and great 
 Gain, Honour, Preheminence and Au¬ 
 thority to govern throughout all the 
 Streets of the great City: Thus they 
 were enriched by thefe Merchandizes. 
 
 But 
 
( ! 7 8 ) 
 
 But of Truth, the Time is at hand, 
 when the Lord will bring to pafs this 
 Prophecy, to volt. The Downfal of 
 Baby/on : And then thofe that trade in 
 thele Things, and they that have been 
 made rich by her, will ftind afar off 
 from her, fearing her Torment, weep¬ 
 ing and mourning;'and it will not be 
 
 without Caufe that thefe fhall weep 
 and mourn, but for lofing their Riches 
 and Honour, and for that none will 
 buy any more of their Merchandize •, 
 and likewifefor Fear of her Torments 
 and everlalting Burning, becaufe they 
 have lived deliciouflv in her, and were 
 Partakers of her Sins; therefore her 
 Plagues are to fall upon them. 
 
 But the Voice faith, rejoice concern¬ 
 ing her, O Heaven, and you the holy 
 Apoftles and Prophets, becaufe God is 
 avenged of her for yourSakes? For when 
 the Lamb opened the fifth Sea!, John faw 
 under the Altar the Souls of them that 
 were (lain for the Word of God , and for 
 the TeJUtttony which they held , and t ! ey 
 
 cried with a loud Voice, faying, how 
 
 long 
 
( *79 ) 
 
 long, 0 Lord, holy and true, doji thou 
 not judge and avenge our Blood-on them 
 that dwell on the Earth ? And white 
 Robes were given unto every one of them, 
 and it was faid unto them, that they 
 Jhould rejl yet for a little Seafon, until 
 the Number of their fellow Servants and 
 their Brethren that Jhould be killed as 
 they were, jhould be fulfilled, Rev. vi. 
 9, 10, ii. 
 
 And indeed the Saints in Heaven and 
 upon the Earth, do jointly cry to him 
 who fits upon the Throne, that he may 
 haften on his Journey againft the Power 
 of Darknefs, and overwhelm Babylon, 
 the Beaft and falfe Prophet, and to ex¬ 
 alt his great Name; and their Cry en¬ 
 ters the Ears of the Almighty, and he 
 makes ready to firetch forth and make 
 bare his powerful Arm to avenge the 
 Blood of his Saints and Prophets upon 
 the great City, on her Inhabitants, her 
 Merchants and great Men, who com¬ 
 mitted Fornication with her, and thofe 
 that dwell upon the Earth, and have 
 been drunk with the Wine of her 
 Whoredom. 
 
 I 
 
 Now 
 
( i8o ) 
 
 Now the Day begins to dawn, and 
 the Lord fends, and hath fent his Mef- 
 fengers to preach the true Gofpel; and 
 tho’ there are many People that have 
 been enlightned in a large Degree to 
 behold the Pretence and Liken<rfs of 
 Worlhips that are among the Children 
 of the World, who are yet in the Flelh, 
 fulfilling the Lulls thereof: Neverthe- 
 Jefs the Power of Darknefsand the Spi¬ 
 rit of the great World are too ftrong 
 for them to refill; therefore it is ne- 
 ceffary that the Lord fhould again fend 
 one Army of valiant Soldiers againft 
 Babylon, who will Hand in the hoteft 
 Fire, and before the fharpeft Arrows, 
 and the moll cruel Enemies which Sa¬ 
 tan owns, and that without turning 
 their Faces to Afilftance or Defence, but 
 altogether trtift in the Lord, and fland 
 in the heavenly Armour, as Lambs a- 
 mong Wolves, until the Number of 
 the Martyrs be fulfilled $ and then when 
 the Numbers of the fellow Servants 
 and Brethren of thofe that are under the 
 Altar flaying for them is made up, then 
 the Blood of the Saints and Prophets 
 
 Ihall 
 
 / 
 
( i81 ) 
 
 lhall be no more fpilt by the Whore. 
 
 For the Lord will make bare the Arm 
 of his great Power to appear with his 
 Servants, to quench the Violence of 
 Fire, to flop the Mouths of Lions, to 
 wear away the Strength of Archers, to 
 fmite the Camp of the Ajfyrians t to 
 open the Prilons, and break their bands 
 in pieces To the Lord will call down 
 and demolilh all the Caftles and Bul¬ 
 warks of Babylon , and he will blow his 
 mighty Winds upon all her Woods, and 
 all her fair Trees, to wither and con- 
 fume them. 
 
 Indeed the fpiritual Purpofes and 
 Prophecies which God revealed to John 
 fwhen he was in the Spirit on the Lord’s 
 Day) are in a great meafure come to 
 pafs; the Church is coming up out of 
 the Wildernefs, and the Gofpelis freely 
 preach’d in divers Countries, the fpiri¬ 
 tual Sun begins to (hine, and is not the 
 OneThoufand Two Hundred and Sixtv 
 Days fully expired fincethe Church lied 
 into the Wildernefs? And is not the 
 forty and two Months, even the Time 
 wherein the Beall: had Power given him 
 
 I 2 ' tO 
 
( 182 ) 
 
 to work, near expiring ?For the Num¬ 
 ber mentioned before is within a little 
 .'of the forty and two Months. 
 
 But fome may interpret thus, jhe 
 cope is the Beaft, and by the Time he 
 came, and by this Number he has yet 
 about one hundred and fifty Years to 
 reign: But it is eafier for me to think, 
 that the Devil and Satan was the firft 
 Beaft that John faw riftng out of the 
 Sea, to zeit, out of the Fulnels and 
 Depth of Corruption, which had the 
 Wound by the Sword in the Time of 
 Chrift and his Apoftles, but now is re¬ 
 vived, and has Authority from the Dra¬ 
 gon to work forty t wo Months , and Power 
 over all Kindreds and Tongues and Na¬ 
 tions*, and that the Pope was the fe- 
 cond Beaft which came up out of the 
 Earth, to do the Service of the firjl 
 Beafi , and to caufe them that diceU on 
 the Earth to worfhip the Devil, and to 
 make Images to him , and reverence him, 
 and receive his hellifh Marks in their 
 Hands or in their Foreheads, that they 
 night buy and fell. Rev. xiii. 4, 5, 7, 
 Ji, i2, 16. And fo the Downfal of 
 
 Babylon 
 
(183; 
 
 f * 
 
 Babylon is at the Door, and all her Glo¬ 
 ry to be laid in the Duft, and all her 
 Shops, Riches and Merchandize to be 
 burnt with the fiery Indignation ofhim 
 that fits upon the Throne and lives for 
 ever. 
 
 And of a Truth the Lord hath raifed 
 Witneflesfor himfelf in thefe latter A- 
 ges to preach the true Gofpel, and to 
 proclaim again!! Babylon , but not in the 
 Place where was the ftrongeft Defence, 
 and moft cruel Soldiers of the Beaft : 
 Bur, after they had fuffered in England 
 and other Places, Spoil and Imprifon- 
 ment, and fome the Lois of their Lives, 
 God waspleaied to fofiten the Hearts of 
 the chief Men, and the Hands of Per- 
 fecutors grew weak, and Liberty of 
 Confidence in a large meafiure was 
 granted * and then the Work in Part 
 Hood, Therefore there muft be one 
 Commotion again, and one fiery Bat- 
 . tie between the Lamb and the Dragon, 
 and I believe fome of the Soldiers of 
 that Battle are already born: There¬ 
 fore let every true Chriftian pray to his 
 heavenly Father, that he may haften 
 
 I 3 o»j 
 
( 184; 
 
 on his Journey, to exalt his great Name 
 and to deliver Men out of Babylon's 
 Darknefs, and bring them to the New 
 Jerufaletn , to live there under his 
 Wings, and in his Light, in Peace and 
 Holinefs, Amen. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 Shewing the TRUE WORSHIP. 
 
 T H E Almighty God, who made 
 Man in his own Image and Like¬ 
 ns, and hath endowed him with 
 Knowledge and Underftanding, giving 
 him Authority to rule over all the Crea¬ 
 tures, it is his Due to have Reverence 
 and Obedience and Humility, as being 
 the Subftance of true Worlhip •, for 
 Worfhip is a Thing that the World 
 makes a great Noife about, and much 
 Strife concerning it, many fet Ways are 
 invented by the Conjeftures of Man, and 
 by the Reafonings of Flelh and Blood, 
 to the End they mayfeek to pleafe the 
 Lord without Obedience : But God re¬ 
 quires 
 
( 185 ) 
 
 quires of his People a fpiritual Wor¬ 
 lhip to be performed, but In the Spirit, 
 as Chrift faid, God is a Spirit , and they 
 that worjhip him , mu ft worflnp him in 
 Spirit and in Truth \ here is the Wor- 
 fhip the World knows not, nor the 
 Place to worlhip. 
 
 But Men will fay, we muft worlhip 
 God in the Church ; yet many are lo 
 ignorant, that they know not what the 
 Church is, nor where Ihe is; whereas 
 the Church is the People of God, who 
 worlhip in Spirit even in God, who 
 dwelieth in his People, and makes them 
 a Temple for himi'elf. 
 
 And though there is but one Church, 
 yet Ihe is in a twofold State in the out¬ 
 ward : For the Woman that John faw 
 flying in the Wildernels from the Face 
 of the Serpent, was the Church which 
 God feeds there. Thefe the Perfecu- 
 tors cannot fpy out, thefe are difperfed 
 thro’all the World, fome of all Pro- 
 fellions, fome of all Kindreds, Tribes 
 and Languages, who fear God and de¬ 
 part from Iniquity ; for John faw an 
 Angel flying in the midfi of Heaven , 
 
 14 having 
 
( 186 ) 
 
 having the everlajling Gofpel to preach 
 unto them that dwell on the Earth , and 
 to every Nation, and Kindred , and 
 Tongue, and People ; faying with a loud 
 Voice, fear God , and give Glory to him t 
 for the Hour of his Judgment is come, 
 and worjhip him that made Heaven and 
 Earth, and the Sea, and the Fountains 
 of Water, Rev. xiv. 6, 7. 
 
 And of a Truth, the Voice of this 
 Angel hath reached to the utmoft Part 
 of the World, and there is a Witnels 
 in every Man that tells him he fhouid 
 fear God and give him Glory •, for his 
 Judgment is within upon the Heart of 
 the Sinner, by reafon of his Wicked- 
 lids. Alfo the Heaven and the Earth, 
 the Sea, Fountains of Water, and all 
 the wonderful Works of the Creation 
 are in the Sight of People, to (hew 
 them the Greatnefs and Power of him 
 that made the whole : This (hews them 
 that Man ought to bow before the 
 Creator of all things, and yield Adora* 
 tion and Obedience to him. Alfo they 
 have been illuminated with the Light 
 which lighteneth every one that com- 
 
 eth 
 
- ( lg 7 ) 
 
 eth into the World. This is the Light 
 of Life, and the Grace that brings Sal- 
 vationhath appeared untothem to teach 
 them to fear God and forfake Wicked- 
 nefs, that they may be acceptable. 
 
 But in what Place, or after what 
 Manner do thefe worfhip, inafmuch as 
 they are not yet gathered to worfhip by 
 themfelves ? It is probable there are 
 fome of thefe belonging to all Sorts of 
 Idol Worfhips which are among the 
 Children of the Worlds but their Wor¬ 
 fhip doth not ftand in what their Kyes 
 fee, nor in the thing, which their Ears 
 hear, but in the Bowednefs of their 
 Hearts, Souls and Spirits in the inward 
 Man, before the Almighty God ; and 
 tho’this Worfhip is not ty’d to Man, 
 nor to Place nor Time, but when they 
 turn inwardly into themfelves, and the 
 Lord breaks in upon their Hearts, in 
 the Confideration of his Mercies and 
 Deliverances, his Prote&ion and Love 
 towards them. And in this Lowlinefs 
 and fpiritual Poverty, their Hearts are 
 foftned, and their Souls and Spirits ten¬ 
 der together. And this is the Worfhip 
 
 that 
 
C 188 ) 
 
 that God receives acceptably from eve* 
 iy one in particular, when the Perfon 
 is without any Body but him and the 
 Lord. This is the Stare of the fcat- 
 tered Church and her Worfhip, which 
 is in the Spirit, out of the Sight of 
 Men : O ' this Sort was the feven thou- 
 fand which the Lord had in the Days 
 of Ahab. 
 
 But the Place and Time when thefe 
 (hall come to know each other, we 
 know not, tho’ the Lord may gather 
 Lome of them together to join in Wor- 
 fhip; for the Worfhip is the fame, and 
 they in the fame fpiritual Poverty do 
 worfhip $ yea it is fuch Worfhip that 
 God looks upon, for blejfed are the poor 
 in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of 
 Heaven, Mat. v. 5. Becaufe the Lord 
 will vifit luch, even the poor and nee¬ 
 dy. and the contrite in Spirit , who 
 tremble at my Word, faith the Lord, Ifa. 
 Jxvi. 2. For his Promife is, Where two 
 or three are gathered together in my 
 Name, there I am in the mid ft of them , 
 Mat. xviii. 20. This Worfhip is in Po¬ 
 verty of Spirit, becaufe thefe needy 
 1 Ones 
 
( i8 9 ) 
 
 Ones have nothing defigned or prepa¬ 
 red before hand to fpeak or aft, but 
 wait near the Lord for him to prepare 
 them an Offering that will be accepta¬ 
 ble in his Sight for he hath promifed 
 to give of his Spirit unto his People, 
 and teach them hitnfelf, and to make 
 manifeft unto them what they fhall fav 
 or do. J 
 
 And here is the Difference between 
 the true Church which Chrilt is the 
 Head, Captain ana Prince of, and the 
 Idolatrous Churches which have deck’d 
 themfelves with a fet Method, Service 
 and Worfhip. When they come to¬ 
 gether everything is madeready ; there 
 is Plenty of old Prayers to be read to 
 fill the Peoples Ears, and which of 
 them belong to be read this Dav, and 
 which to the next Day of the Worfhip. 
 And how little of the Scriptures is to 
 be read on every Day of Worfhip -.there 
 is alfo a Sermon defigned, and by hu¬ 
 man Wildom fet in Order beforehand, 
 fo that they want nothing from the 
 Lord ; they have all Things ready 
 there is nothing but going upon the 
 
 Service 
 
» ( i9o ) 
 
 Service, in their own Time, and in 
 their own Will, and in their own Pow¬ 
 er, without waiting upon the Lord for 
 Help and Affiftance; nor for the holy 
 Spirit to refrefh and comfort them, and 
 to be with them a Life and a Light to 
 lead and guide them in their Service * 
 for without the Light (that is Chrift) 
 we can do nothing that is acceptable. 
 
 But the true Worlhipers, when they 
 come together, the Bufinefs and Con¬ 
 cern of every one in particular is to 
 turn inward, and give his Heart and 
 Mind to wait upon the Lord, for his 
 Prefence to refrefh their Souls: And 
 their Prayers are in fecret to their Hel¬ 
 per, that he may appear in his Temple, 
 to drive cut the Buyers and Sellers, 
 that they may witnefs true Silence in 
 the inward Man from all carnal Sounds 
 and Keafonings cf Flefh and Blood, 
 that they may in Quietnefs and Pati¬ 
 ence poffefs their Souls, and refign 
 themfelves into the Hands of their 
 heavenly Father, even as Clay in the 
 Hand of the Potter, to the End that 
 he may fit every one to the Service he 
 hath prepared for him. So 
 
So in this filent Waiting their ftrength 
 is renewed, and as it is written, They 
 that wait upon the Lord Jhall renew their 
 Strength, Ifa. lx. 31. In this true Si¬ 
 lence they fit under the Teaching of 
 that Anointing which they recei \zJrom 
 the Holy One , who is the Spirit of Truth, 
 that leads into all Truth * and as this 
 abides in them, they need not that any 
 one teach them, but as the fame Anoint¬ 
 ing teacheth them all Things , 1 John ii. 
 27. And when God fees meet to put a 
 Word into the Mouth of anyone of 
 them, he is to fpeak what the Lord 
 hath revealed and taught him, 1 Cor. 
 ii. 4, So is he to give it forth ir^ De- 
 monftration and Power, and in the Vir¬ 
 tue and Life of the Spirit, that it may 
 be to Edification in the Church * for 
 Deep calleth unto Deep, and Life reach - 
 eth unto Life, and the Congregation go 
 together to the Waters to drink freely, 
 Pfal. lxii. 7. And if any thing be re¬ 
 vealed to one that firs by, when the firft 
 is filent, that Stream of the fpiritual 
 Gifc is turned to the other, becaule 
 that fpiritual Liberty is in the true 
 
 Church 
 
( 192 ) 
 
 Church, for everyone to fpeakas they 
 are moved by the holy Spirit, and as 
 the Lord pours upon them the Spirit of 
 Grace and Supplication, they are to 
 pray with the Spirit, and in the Spirit, „ 
 as God reveals to them the Wants and’ 
 Necefiities of the Congregation. 
 
 So here is the Church that cometh 
 up from the Wildernefs, leaning upon 
 her Beloved, Cant. viii. $. Here allb are 
 the Worfhipers and their Worfhip; and 
 as the Spirit of Jefus Chrift is their 
 Leader in their Worfhip, he likewife 
 is to order them in their Lives and Con- 
 verfations, and all their Affairs, teach¬ 
 ing them to love one another, and to 
 take Care one for another, that every 
 Member may keep his own Place, and 
 learn of his Matter to do the Service 
 he has fitted him for, and puts him 
 upon, and that every one may live a 
 clean Life, andConverfation in Inno- 
 cency and Simplicity of Heart, with 
 his Eve to his Matter. 
 
 It is not the Place of any to pufh or 
 drive another forward in any of the 
 Lord’s Bufinefs, before he hath fitted 
 
 him 
 
( 193 ) 
 
 him for the Work, and Ihewn it to him, 
 and held his Light before him ’to en¬ 
 lighten his Paths * therefore as every 
 true Chriftian is ordered and led in 
 every thing by the Spirit of Truth, fo 
 nothing ought to rule in the Church of 
 Chrift but the Spirit of Chrift. 
 
 And inafmuch as no Man is a true 
 Chriftian, nor owned by Chrift, but he 
 that hath his Spirit, there is no Con¬ 
 gregation can be a true Church nor his 
 Sheep, but thofe that know him, hear 
 his Voice and follow him-, unto fuch 
 he is Head and Shepherd, King and 
 Ruler, to order them at his Command, 
 and lead them into fat Paftures, and 
 make them drink of the Water of Life, 
 that they may live for ever with the 
 Father and the Lamb, and walk in 
 white Robes before the Throne, to ling 
 Hallelujah to him that lives for ever. 
 To whom Obedience, Reverence and 
 Honour is juftly due ; to whom be it 
 returned from henceforth for ever and 
 evermore. 
 
 FINIS.