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Show 'I he Chriftian-Quaker a.nd bu J673: The fame Apoftle in his ~piftle to the R~manr, is mor~ exprefs concern. ~ ing the Holy Narurea~d E~cacy of the Ltght ro.Salvatton, when he thus Chap. IV. exhorts them: T11c Nrgbt u far fpenr, the Day u at Hand; Lu.m· tbcrefore cafl off tbe Worhs of Darknef.r, an~ pu! ~n the Armour of Lrghr: Let ltom. ll· 12' 111 walk Honeflly a1 in the Day; not tit R10tmg and Dmnkenne.fs., not in 13' 14". Chambering and iVantonnefs, not in Strife and Envy, but put ye on the Lord JefuJ Cbrtfl, and make no Pruvifion for tbe' F/~jh, to ful}£1 the L11fls thereof. From whence I fhall briefly remark Three Tbmgs1 greatly to our Putpofe, ;!nd the Truth's Defence in this Matter.. . . 1• That there is :1n abfolute Oppofinon betwtxt ltght a~d Da1knefs: As Darknefs c:an only Vail the Light from the Undexitandmgs of Men, fo Light only can difcover and difpel that Darknefs. <Jr tbm: That th~ Light manifefts and condemns the Works of Dar kneE : }or, f!'l~or Commumon barb 2Cor.6.14· Ligf1t wit1J Darknefs? Their Difference Chows theD1v1ne Efficacy of the Li~~tThat in this Light there is Armour, which hcin~ pur on, is able to defend againtt, and conquer Darknefs, and fecurc the Soul from the Evil of it : Orherwifc, it would be very ftrange, t~at the Apoftle fhould ex· hon the People to put it on, to defend them agamft the Worker and Works of Darkner~ . . 3. Th:Jt putting on the Armour of the Light, a~d puttmg on the Lord Jefus Chrift (the Light of the World) are Synommous, or one and the · fame Thing, ai;Id for one and the fame End ; as f!!lY be obfel'\'ed from the Apoftle's Words? Le! "!pur 011 rbt Jlrmour of Lr~!u, and w_alk H{me/11y, tU Jtom. 13, 12, in t11e Day, not m Rtonnq an4 Drunkennifs, not m Cbamber111g and Wanton-: 13, 14. nrfr not in Strife and Envymt· B~t put yc on the Lord Jefm Cbrift, nnd mnkt no Provifion for the Flejh,' to fulfill tbe Lufls thereof.. . . , . • . . I hope then, neither w1ll 1t be d1fallow d, that Chnfi 1~ That Lrflhl, wah which Men are inlightned, (but more of that anon) nor lS that Ltght Men are exhorted bJ us to obey, a Naked and Infu.fjicient, but a Searcbin.!_, ExpeYing, Pouerju!, and Arming. Light, ~tgni1ifl, Darknefr, and all it's U11}rllitfid TVorkt t11Jd conftquently Savzng. . Th.:S the Beloved Difciple teftifies very e"!phati~lly, in his Firfl Epifile, where he gives us a Relation of the. Apofi:ohcal Mliflon: Tbu rhnz rrr~e .l'tleffage wbicb f1Je baue beard of bun, a'!'d Jeclart unto you, Thor <;Jod .11 1 Joh!\ 1, ~~ Lig.bt; and in Him is no DarAnefs ~It aU ; if wt fay, we have FeDoJ?flnp wtrb 6, 7• Htm and wa{k in Darknefs, we Lte, and do not the Truth ; But if we walk in the Light 41 be is in the Litbt, we have Feliow/hip ont witb anotber, and the Blood of )ejrn OJrift bit Son deanfetb rn from All Sin. Here is a brief Stating of the whole Great Cafe of Salvatiory. (!.)What God is; Light. (2.) Who theyarethat can have no Fdlowibtp wuh H1m; Such aJ walk in Darknefs, that u Sm. (3.) Who they are that have Fcllowfhip with him· Such tU walk in the Light, '"He is in the Dgbt. (4.) The Reafon Why: is given; becaufe fuch ns walk in the Light, are there-in fure to f~el the Virtue of Chrift's BI~od, to cleanfe them from All Un4 tighteoufn.efs. Where obferve, _that the Ligh~'• le~ding us out of Dark .. n~fs, that is, Unrighteouf~tfs, !S the fame Thtng wtth the Blood of Je/111 Cbrift, cleanfing frotn all Stn: Sm and Darkne~s, ~nd to be clean(~ from the one and co be rranflated from the other, IS 10 the Text Equru~lent: Other~ife, a Man might be del~vercd _fto~ Dark.nefs, and walk !n the tight, and not be cleanfed from SUl, whtch IS That Darkxejt : A Thmg ab· furd aod impoffible. In Chort, th7y go t?gether. • . By this it is evident, that the Ltght bemg walkt m, doth dueaty leld to1 God and Fe!low(bip with him, who is the S1ving Light and Health of al Nations, and confequently, that the Light lea.l'3 to Salvation l for that 15- . Sa~;~0y";re the Denominations that ate given_in Scripture to 8ne a,d the fame. Thing: Chrift is ca.ll~d, the W~rd, tb~ Lrghr, the ~Vny, the Trutb, /be" Life, the ~ui,kening Sptrlf, tbe SaTJmg liealtb, tb& StWJ~IIr) Emman11R,;,k, VoL. I. Tellimony Stated alzd Vindicated. 531 Rock, a Door, a Vine, f' Shep_berJ, &c. A State of Sin is fometimes called, J6 DarR.nifs, Death, Difobedunce, BarrenneJs 7 RebeUion Sl!jfRcd.ednef< 73· Eating of So11r Grapes: And wieked Men, Britlrs, Thor~t Tbifllt!t T11re~' ~. Dead-Trees, Wo/vu, Goatr, &c. On the contrary, a Sra'ce o( Co~verfio~ p. · is fometim_es expreff~d by fuch Words, _as, Parg~d, Refined, Wajhed, Cletm~ jed, S,mllified, Juftijird, Led hy the Spmr, Bapuzed by One Spirit into One Body, ma~e Czrcu.mcijion wttbour liand.t; Rc:entrated, &deemed, Saved, Bo~gbr uulb a Pnce, &c. And Pcrfons fo qualified Tbe Cbi!dren of God Cb,/drcn of Light, Children of tfre Kingdom, _Heirr ~1 Glory, Lombr, Sbtef: Wheat, &c. And that by Which they became or continued rhus Ligbt Spirit, Grace, Word, Fire, Sword, Hammer Power, Seed Tr~ttiJ Way' Life, Blood, Water, Bread, UnUion, tballeaJnb into 11U Tr;th. All .:Vbicb' ref~e£l:ively, _is but ona arnd the.fam~ in N~ture, no.tWi~h1tanding the grea~ Vanety of Eptthur, or l\ames given 10 Scnpture. So Smora Sinful State is variouOy den~m~ated_, from the divers Operations and Difcoveries of· t~e Nat_ure of lt, 1n Wicked Men. The like may be faid of the feveral Vut~es m Good and Holy Men, as of that O}le .d.ivine Principle, which fo qu~hfies and prefcrves th~m: For as the Pnmmve Saints felt the Ope .. rattan of the one holy Pnnc1ple, fo they denominated it: To men in Dark'• nefs they called it Light; to.fuch asbeli_eve~ and obeyed, it became a Leader : And thofe who had wuneifed thetr Sms conquered their Lu{b cut dow~, their J:learts broken, and their Souls wa(hod, Red~emed, and daily' n~urifhed up m the Truth, they called this Divine Principle, a Sword, aFzre, an Hammer, Water, F'_lefl?, Blood, and .Bread, ~nd Seed of Life. 1n fhort, th.e fame he~venl_Y Principle became Ltgbr, Wifdom, Por»er, CouDfel, Redemption, San[/ificatron, and Eternal Salvation unto thofe Who believed in it So that the_Y~riety of Expreffi?ns in the Scriptures, muft not beta .. ken for _fomanyd,ftu~ft: Th~ngs m Km~, no nor fometimes in Operation. A:nd tndeed, notwtthftandme; the L1ght fome would lodge in the bare Scnptures, exc/ufive of the Spuit, all the Wife Men of the \Vorld, met together, would be confounded, to give a Right Account of the ,net therein contained, if t~~y wer~. noc Living, Experimental Witneffes of the Wor~ of the Holy S~mt therem expreffed. For as He is not an Evidence t~.~.fficlent by ~ws Hu_man, that was not an Eye or Ear WirnefS, neither ~re they t~e Ri&ht Ev1denc~ for G_o~ and Chrift, who have not been Eye and Ear W1tnefies oft~e L1ghr1 Spmt, Grace, and Word of God in their Hearts. And I can wah Boldnefs affirm, they have no more Tide to the Glori_ous Promifes, _declared in Scripture,_ than a Man. has to a large Deed Qf G1ft, where he IS not at all named or mteoded. It IS Time then for fuCh to lo~~ abo.ut them,_ left the Midnight Cry overtake them, and their Lamp. be found wuhout Oil: For I muft needs tell them, in the Beloved Difci· pie's Language, Jle that faith, he il in the Light, and baletb bis Brother it in the IJarkne[S even until now. And in my own Language, that I tak~ it to be thetr State, who lbew fo much envious D1fpleafure affinll' a·n Harnl~ efs Sufferi~g People, that _never ~et offended, much lefs ]Uftly provok'd them. B'ut would they brtng their Thoughts, Words and Deeds to. this l.igb·t of JESUS, in their own Confciences, and let True Judgment pafs upon EVi1 '!houghts, Words and Deeds, and patiently undergo the Heayenly Chafhfemems ther~of,_ for their Difobedience to it, and' vilifying o( l,t, t~eY: would come to 'Yirnefs a ConviCtion from DarkneG to Light, an'cf conunumg to walk therem, :~s that Holy Way, in which the RanJDJned of th"eLordalways_did do, and !hall walk through allGener:~tions; and l~hich leads to the EnJoyment of Eternal Peace: And fuch is the Excellency of (:hrift, the True Light of the Soul; that as He was the fjrft, fa (hall He ~-e the Laft; yea, when all outward Yerformances, Writi~s. 3nd Worihips, a~d the whole Wot!d !hall »e at an End, the Ufe and Excellency of this l1ght will remain for ever Divine, as faith ]ohff the Divine. And they jha/J. feebls Face, nnd bifNamefoalJ be uririen in tbeirForehenJ$, and rberejhaU ~e RQ Night _there, an.J ~luy need no Candle, '!either lilbt oft he Slln,.for rhe lltet; ~,;..., "'Qrd God g1veth the L1ghr, mrd the}flJalJ retgnfor rver m1d ever, Amen. S• - '<{ y 'I• CHA:P. :\1:· |