lost, which men should have preached and lived on, have tithes been set up. So you that have had the form of godliness, denied the power, (the gospel,) and have ravened from the life of God, your gospel will not maintain you; and ye cry, help magistrate, help law, cast into prison, summon up to courts,' and this hath been your work for many hundred years for maintenance. And so all sober men that stand and look on are ashamed of you. Thus the poor people are deceived with your false covers, and wolfish spirits. You have gotten the sheep's clothing upon your backs; but now are the vials, and hail storms fallen upon your heads, which make many of you gnaw your tongues; and now are the thunders coming out, and the plagues, which make many of you fret yourselves.

P. He saith, False apostles and deceitful workers, and satan transforming himself into an angel of light,' &c. See page 11.

A. Christ said false prophets, and antichrists, the inwardly raveners in the sheep's clothing, should come; the apostles saw they were come before their decease, who were devouring, as most of the epistles declare of them; the apostles saw them before their decease; that made a prey upon the saints; that served not the Lord Jesus Christ but their own bellies. Now since the days of the apostles hath the world run after them; and they have devoured the world, and they have gotten the sheep's clothing upon their backs: therefore have ye deceived the world. Now, you have been the skirts, and the suburbs of this great city; the day hath declared you, your city is besieged, and the Lamb and the saints have conquered it: by whom the saints have been slain, and their blood drunk. In which city hath a trumpet sounded, and the piping hath been, and the mourners have gone about the city. But now are come to her lamentation, desolation, and wo, and to all her merchandise, that hath builded up and thrown down, whereby the world was brought into confusion; the faith, and truth, and life, and love being reprobated from, and that the saints were in, that gave forth the scriptures. That which the apostles saw coming in before their decease, which Christ said should come, hath ruled and reigned, since their decease, until this day that Christ hath come and made it manifest.

P. He saith, The devil could not do mischief in the church where the candle is burning, and light shining: but he gets on his garb and the weakest of children are carried about with every wind of doctrine.' See page 17. He saith, The prince of darkness is transformed into an angel of light, he walketh in the churches.' See page 18.

،

A. The church of Christ is the pillar and ground of truth, which truth the devil is out of, and abode not in it: he walks on the outside, and is not in the church, and so, children thou knowest not, that are

heirs of the kingdom of Christ, and are of his church, the pillar and ground of truth. And the devil, and false prophets, and mother of harlots, though they have all the sheep's clothing, they cannot get into the church where the candle is, and the burning shining light: not the devil with all his garb,' as thou callest it. Let the whore who hath ravened from the spirit of God, be arrayed never so gorgeously, that is the church, the pillar and ground of truth, that is in the spirit of God, where the candle is burning and light shining; this the whore, devil, wolves, false prophets, antichrists, and beast, are out of, raging on the outside, in the earth? So the church of Christ is the pillar and ground of truth, and here the elect is known that cannot be deceived. And the devil, the prince of darkness, though he transform himself into an angel of light, he doth not walk in the church, for the church is in God, the pillar and ground of truth, and out of that he is, and all his apostles, and his messengers, and truth is atop of him, and them all, and with it they are shut out.

P. He saith, Honour is the expressing of the inward respect that we bear to persons,' and many scriptures he brings for bowing and for master, page 23. and so stumbles at thee and thou.

A. Which shows he never learned his accidence, nor Bible, and is a transgressor of Christ's commands, who saith, Be not of men called master; for ye have one master even Christ, and ye are all brethren;' and a transgressor of the law, for they that respect persons commit sin,' and are convinced of the law as transgressors, and reprobate concerning the faith, which is held without the respect of persons. And though they bowed in the old time: several bowed before the angels: yet Christ is come by whom all things were made, the salvation to the ends of the earth; to whom powers, principalities, thrones, and dominions must be subject: to whom angels, and thrones must bow; yea things in heaven, and things in earth, and every tongue confess him to the glory of God, and every knee bow:' and there people come into the unity, and there they hold the head.

P. He saith, The Quakers' light teacheth to forsake the scriptures; and set up a spirit in man, which will not be examined by scriptures.' See page 26.

A. He is out of the truth who speaks it: for the Quakers have not received the spirit of the world, but the spirit of God; by which they know the things which are freely given of God, and know the scriptures given forth from the spirit of God: and with the same spirit the scriptures are owned again.

P. He saith, Paul swore, after Christ, and the angels swore,' page 27. And saith, 'I wonder Paul should so forget himself, and sin so VOL. III.

26

fearfully in swearing,' &c. 'So the Quakers' light that denies swearing, is of satan, and not the light of Christ,' page 28.

A. Christ the light, (which satan is out of,) who is the oath of God, ends all oaths sworn by prophets or angels whatsoever. And who swear are fallen into the condemnation of the devil; and it is no where said that the apostle swore; but such as thou art, matter not what they speak. So that spirit that preaches for swearing is not the spirit of Christ, but is the spirit of antichrist, preaching up that which Christ and the apostles preached down, who preached condemnation to them that did swear.

P. He saith, The light in the conscience that takes them from the law of God, is the light of satan.'

A. The light, Christ, in the conscience is the end of the law for righteousness' sake. And that which keeps men from that which doth end the law, is not the doctrine of the true apostles, but the false.

And the light which doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world,' which is the substance, leads men off from all types, and figures, and signs: who come to enjoy him, enjoy the end; who come off from all outward elements, as bread and wine, and such things, to the substance itself, to look at things that are not seen. For things that are seen are temporal, but the things that are not seen are eternal.' P. He speaks of a new creature distinct from Christ,' and saith 'while we live sin lives.' And saith, I deny that the righteousness of Christ, whereby a believer is justified, doth dwell in him,' page 36. A. Is not the new creature in Christ? He that is in Christ is a new creature,' and is not distinct from him; and how hast thou divided the word here? And Christ is justification, sanctification, wisdom, and righteousness; and if he be not within you, ye are reprobates. And where Christ is, he is not without righteousness. Therefore they are not without righteousness, and wisdom, justification, and sanctification, if Christ be within; for, where he is, that is not wanting. And the apostle said they were made free from sin.' And 'let not sin have dominion over your mortal bodies;' mind, mortal bodies,' which sin was not to have dominion over. And old things pass away, and all things become new.' Sin is an old thing, from the old deceiver. So while any sin is standing, all things are not made new, and sin hath its dominion.

6

P. He saith, he hath not read where a believer dwells in Christ's righteousness,' page 37.

A. Every true believer is born of God; and he that is born of God doth not commit sin.' And he that dwells in Christ, dwells in righteousness and truth, in that which sin and the devil are out of,

which blots out sin and transgression, where the body of it comes to be put off.

P. And the light which teacheth men to say they have no sin, is of satan.' And saith, The Quakers' light teacheth them to deny prayer.'

A. The apostles' light taught them to say, they were made free from sin, they had put off the body of sin, and their sin and transgression were blotted out. The sins of the little children' were forgiven, they that walked in the light, the blood of Jesus Christ cleansed them from all sin,' taught them to know the faith that gave them victory over the world, that purified their hearts, held in a pure conscience. And this is the Quakers' light, which teacheth them the path of the apostles; and it teacheth men to be holy, as God is holy, and perfect, as he is perfect. This was the light of Christ, and the apostles bid them to be as Christ is, and said, as he is, so are we in this present world.' And the light that guides the Quakers doth not teach them to deny prayer, but brings them to pray aright, with the spirit and with the understanding; without which all prayers are in the hypocrisy.

P. He saith, 'We acknowledge there is a thousand perfect men in England, as perfect as children, tossed to and fro,' page 40. But he saith, I deny that any man hath that perfect knowledge of Christ in this life,' &c.

6

A. Christ is in you except ye be reprobates.' And the scripture speaks of such as had both the son and the Father. And all those children that are tossed to and fro, are carried about with the windy doctrine, which hath got up in the apostacy since the days of the apostles, among them that are ravened from the spirit of God. Such their doctrines are windy, and do not settle, nor perfect, nor bring into the unity of the faith, nor the knowledge of the son of God, the faith that gives the victory;' nor to a perfect man, nor to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ,' which was the work of the true ministry which was before the apostacy. None come to the knowledge of Christ but by the light.

P. He saith, The church teacheth to pray without ceasing; but you bid, stay till the spirit moves us,' &c.

A. The church, which is the pillar and ground of truth, prays not without the spirit. And such as pray without the spirit, pray without understanding. And they that pray as the spirit doth move them, know what they ought to pray for. So 'every man that cometh into the world,' being in the light that lighteth every man,' it will direct him to pray, and to pray aright, and to ask in the name of Christ, "who is the way to the Father.'

P. He saith, "The children of God never assumed to themselves an infallible spirit.'

A. Did not the apostles say, they that had not the spirit of Christ were none of his?' and was not that infallible? And were not all the scriptures given forth from the spirit of God, and is not that infalli

ble?

P. The spirit of Christ is a spirit of wisdom, and a rational spirit. The light that brags of an infallible spirit, and cannot speak sense nor reason, is the spirit of satan,' page 46.

A. The spirit of Christ that was in the apostles, which led them to speak to the world, who were in their own wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, was always judged foolishness by that wisdom, knowledge, and understanding; for they ministered to the spirits in prison. And Christ the covenant of God, who was promised to come, and who should say to the prisoners, show yourselves forth,' was accounted as a madman by the wise Jews; and the apostles and prophets likewise were accounted as fools. Were not the saints ever judged, by the sense and reason of the world, to be madmen, and fools? Christ, a madman? the prophets, fools? and the apostles mad, and babblers? They who are in the spirit of the prophets, of Christ, and the apostles, by this generation are judged the same. So is the spirit of the Quakers tried and know of all men; the witness in all men's consciences shall answer them.

P. Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. And they that plough in hope, and thresh in hope, are made partakers of their hope. And we are denied our corn, and are fain to go to the magistrates, our nursing fathers. And so we thresh half a year, and can get no wages, then are we fain to go to the magistrate,' page 47.

A. How can you thresh or plough, and have not the infallible spirit? Can any get out the corn, or the wheat, that have not the infallible spirit? Now we say, they that have not the infallible spirit cannot get out the corn; they may beat the air, they may get the sheep's clothing upon their backs, and go out, and beat the air; and so when their gospel will not maintain them, then they are fain to fly to the magistrate; and to the hills, that must be beaten as chaff, because they cannot live of the gospel they preach; which doth not open the hearts of people, doth not get out the seed of God.

P. He saith, The Quakers' light condemns such as the light of Christ approves.' And saith, Tell us what it is to walk holily, as the holy men of God did,' &c. page 49.

A. Who walk holily, walk in the spirit that the holy men walked in, that gave forth the scriptures, which spirit is infallible. And none