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Show 536 The Chriftian-Quaker, and bu VoL. I. 1673· the Giftt of Goifr J.isht and Spirit to the ' bennler, that mtt~e far }h<' ~ gre6ujl Parr thereof, p-om thefe Script11res, rbar only Jeem to prove i: 1-be Chap. VI. Priviledge of the Jews. ' To which I Anfwer, That I cohcei'e I hove urg'd thofe Sc,iptur:s already which give a plain ConviElion of the 1'mrh of thai genm) lnfei· ence :'Bur bec:mfe I am defirous from mr Soul, in pc_rfe~ Love to rhein/ thlt {ball read this Difcourfe, of temovmg what ObjeEltons I am ab\t t9 forefee it may meet with, after it lb::t11_ have JY.!ft my Hand, I l'llilJ yet _en.l deav'our to make appear, fi rft from Scnpture; and next from the heft_ At. count we have of the Do8rinu and Ltve.r of lieat{Jens; and lattly trom Redfon, the Thin~; That. God's Love in the ~ll~minari_on qf his Spirir was Univrifa!; or that Manktnd was before ~hnfi s C_omtn~ _m the F!efh tn· ligbuned with fuch a .Meafure of the L1ght of hts Spatt as ~as ~~~ving in it .(elf, and fo expenenced of all fu~h as .recetved and obey.ed tr, tn the Love of it. In order to this, I fhaH bncfly tnfift on a few $c;npture!, fome of wblth have been already quoted, though not fo direflly to this Mac· Oen.6.3. teJ. My Spirit jhaU not nlways flrive witb Man. Here obferve, That no one Nation was interefted more than another, but Man ihnds for the whole Jldam, or ft1ankind: From whence I concl~dc, thlf:t Mankind w:~s not deflirute of the Spirit, or Light of the Alm1gh.ty, rnough it might be known in no higher Degree, than that of a C011vtncer or Reprover of' Sin: Yet it followS nor, but that if Man had yielded to the- Strivings of it he had been thereby redeemed from the Spirit of Iniquity, that was the Ground of his grievous Revolt and Refiftance, which Redempcion I call Salvntion from Sin. Job. 24: 13, 11. They are tJ/ tbofe that rebel ngainft the Light; they know not the Wnys tbereof, nor abide in tbe Patlu tbereof Here is no M~h rion m3de of Jewf more than Gentiles in this Chapter, if at all in th,e whole Book. for Job is here giving rhe Charafter of wicked Men in g~ncral, wirhaut Refpea to any panicular Nation. So that We may well infer, he d1d not1 underftand that the Light whereof he fpoke fhould be lim'hed in 'its Illu· rnination ro :my parricular People. In lhon, I argue tbus ; if fuch as pluck the Fatherlefs from the Breafl, and rake a Pledge of the Poor, {as Ver. 9· rhe Context relates) are thofe that Rebel againft the Light,' and walk not in it's Way; then becaufe that Vice was never limited to the Jews, but other Nations wrought that Wickednefs as well as they ; ·it will plainly follow, that the Light, againft which fuch Offenders rebell'd, w:.~s not h~ mired to the Jews, but extended to rhe Gemilu alfo : UitlciS we fhould fay, That what was Rebellion and Wickednefs in the Jtws, was nor fo. in the Gentiles. But becaufc Sin was, and is, Sin i11 its own Nature, ag the World over; Light war, and is Lig1JT, all tbe TVorld over, whether Men bring rheir Deeds unto ir, or not. Job2i·3· Ill. Bur again, let us hear the fame Book fpeak, Is there any Number of his Armies? Anti upon whom doth not his Ligbt ari{e? This Quefiion carries in it a ftrong Affirmative of .the T]niverfality !lf God's Light, as much as ro fay, 'Who is there among Jll the Sons a~d Daughters of Men, rhat can juftly fay, I am npt cnhgbrcn'd hy him? If then none can, ic muft needs follow, That all are enlighren'd, as well Gc1t~ tiles. as Jews. ~ Neither is it our Conflrufli011 only, but theJudgtncnt of Men fam'd in the \:Vorld, for their ~xatl:nefs in the Original Text, or Lener of the Scripture. T~ey interpret ir .to be the Light of !be Di~ine Wij'do~11-, the Fountain l'j Ltghr, yea God lmnJe/f: That rcbellmg agawft the L1ghr.is againfi God T~ 4>;f Tl 'Iu~«H1<, rbe Light of l{rnel: Alluding to the Pfalmdl, Tbe Lord is my Light and mJ Salvation. Nay, to the Light _ mendon'd by the Apofile Paul, Ye, who wue fometimes Darknefs, are now Light in the Lord. And that very Light, which is faid to have fprung up to rhem that far in Darknefs, which is the Light of Trutb; and by All allow'd ~~ V en.,. I. l'eftimony Stated atZd Vi>~dicatetl. be the Evangelical, and !poke. of Chrifi's Manifefiation. , All<> tllJt th• 5 37 W:~ys of L1ghr,. :ue L1ght, le~tdmK. t? the Li~hr it felf which Wicked Me~ 16 7~ ... ~ur~ from, and J~urn :u. T~at this IS the Light, which there is none b C(YVf 1t :1~es upon, wher~by ro give them trlle Sight of ThemfCives g .. ' bt M ~f· · Crltl~ks, Alunjlerws, Vmablm, Clttrir,s, CttfleUio on the 17rh Verf~~ ~u~ v.~;bJ~'· ~fpectally f?n:fim an~ Codurc!IS, who Ely,' AU A1en Purtakeof!bat L'i hr Cl~or,Caffd. , and rh.1t 1t Js ?u!ficrent t~ manife~ artd drive away the Darknefs ofgEr~ ~;;!;(a~~ir . ror. a.nd. that It 1s the L1ght of Ltfe; N.1y Codurc11s calls ir .1n Evtfnge· in 24 ~~ ch !ten! Pnnaplc, and feems to explain his Mind }ly a (4Joration ~f rhe Evan~ Ver. 'q,' an<i g~hit's \Yord.s, John I. 9· That was the tr11e Ligbt, tb.11 inligbtncrb all illm• ]Job. P·3284 kmd coJmng mro tbe World. - ~ to 3308. Chap. 2~. 3• IV. Thus much thofe two Notable Parables teach us of the Sower and the Lord tha[ gave his Servants Talents. They who believe Sen' wre rnuft acknowledge them to reprefenr God's Dealmgs wi1h Mankind fn re' ferenceroGi}t, Duryand Reward. ObfervethefirftParable. ' • The f ttmc Day wenJ Jef/IJ' our of the Houfe, and fat by the Sea·fide. And Mate. q .• great A1ull!tudcs wete gathered tognher unto bun, fo that be t~enr :mo a 1···1•• Sh1p, and fat , tlltd the whole MNllltllde flood on rbe S!Jore. .A11d be Jpot.e '""t!f Thm,ts unto them m Pmablu, faymg, Behold, 11. Sorxer went fo11h 10 fow~ and 'PJhen bcJorved, joJIJe Seeds fell by tbeWtry:/ide and the Fowls came and JevtJard rbem up; Some feU upon Stony Places, wb;re they bpd nor mud; Earth, and forthw1ththeyfprmtg up, buaufe they bad noDeep1refr of Eartb and when tbe Sun wm up~ tbey were Jcatcbed, and beca11fe they bod no; Root, t/Je) w~tber'd away; and fome [clJ nmon~ Tho1nr,nnd the Tbormjprun fo and chon!\ d them ; But (Jtber fell m Good Ground, and broughr forth Frull~ to h'e;~ lf.;~,~~::t:~~ f ome SiXIJ·fotd, fome Th,rty-[0 /d, \Vho hath Ear~ I: is grant~d by J11 that I ~now of, that the Seeds·M::lll is Chrift: The Vcr. ~~ Scnptnre. ~auh, the Se~d is .the Word of the Kingdom, which muft needs be the Sp~nrual 'Y'ord !11gh m r.he_ Hearr, fui~able to the Heavenly King-dom, whrch Chr~ll fald was Wl/hm, orher·wife can·d Ligbr, that is faid To befowufor the R1ghr.eous; or t~e Grace whicb comer by Chrift. tbnt ap~arr u_nro all Mef1, and (lrmgs Salvation ro them tbat ore tttugbt by it; or rhe Spi· Ilt th~tQu1ckens us: And !aftly, common &nfi:: tells us, rhat ihe feverat Grounds comprehend Mankind J for they muft either include the Bld with t~e. Gp~, or the G_ood only .mult be Sown: Bur the very Scripture ex,prefly dtftmgu1t.herh bet~Jxt the,Good and Bad Ground, yet affirms rhe One to ~ave .been fown wah the Seed as well as the Other: Therefore God's l:iift lS Umvcrfal, however Men, by Wicked Works, may have render'd thc:ir Po~~tsF~~i?' Thorny, or otherwife defe8:ive and unca-pable of bringing , The ot.her Parlble is alfo very Weighty, and much to our Purpofe: f~r the K111gdoiP of Heavtn MIll a M .. n TraveOing into, fttr Coumry, who Matt. 2~,; t4i t11Ued kif own Servants, and delivered to them his Goods 1 tJ!Id unto one he to H~ g11ve ~IY:e Ta.lenrs~ ,ro nnotber ':fwo, and to another One; ro Every 111al( ttcto~Jmg. ~~ hn .tl.bibtyj and jlr111ght~way took hH ]o11rney. Tben be tbJr bad rewv~d hve Talents, fJ.:e.nr a_nd traded witb the fame~ and ,,Jt/Je tbel!l Q. ther Five Talents~ a,td lil\ewife b~ that had received Two, He a!fo G:~ined Other ':fw~; Bat ,he that had rece,vcd One, tQent nnd Digged. in rhe t.~mh. ond Hu{ lm Lords Mon~y. .ilfter a long Time, the Lol'd of thofe Servants tomub mrd Rec!.:oneth wah them: And fo he th4t bad received Five Tr~lenrr tame . ar,d brought Oc~er Five Tale~ts, jitying, Lord, Thou Jdivcredfl unttJ me. F,vc Tt~l~nts, Behold, I bnve gmned, bejides them, Five Talents More. JiJ.S Lord f,nd unro him, Well done thou Good and Faithful Servant rhou h~~ been faithful ov_er 3 few Thingli, I will make thee Ruler O\'er 'mJny 'jhtngs; Enter rhc.m Ill to the Joy of !by Lord. He a!Jo tbar h11d received wo T.J/ents, tame t1,11d{aid, L~rd, Thou deliveredfl unto me Two Tt~!em.r, b~bold, 1 hnve gqined Two other Talents befides them; His Lord f:~id unro · . Jm, Well done Good and Faithful Sen•ant, Thou haft been faithful ovet a Z z z . few |
