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Show 538 The Chriftian Quaker, and his Voi..J. t6?'~· few Thmgs, 1 w11l make Thee Ruler O\'Ct many Things, enter thou into ~ the Jov of rhy Lord Then be who bad nerved One T~lent, came andfatd, CbJp. VI. Lord,:l knew thee, tfMt thou art an Hard Man, Reapm~ where thou haft 110r Sown, and Gathermg where thou haft not Strawed; tmd I wm tt/raul, and went and H1d thy Talent in the Earth: Lo, there tbolf bafltbat whub a tbme. Hu Lord anfwer'd, and ftud unto hmt, Thou Wtc}ted and Slothful s va t rhou kncwdt that I Reap where I fowed not, and Gather where I h~~·e 00~r fbawed, Thou oughteff therefore to have pur my Money to the Exch:Jngers, and thtn al my Comrng ljhou!d bave ruetvtd my Own wub Ufitry h J(zkc the1cforc the Taknt from h1m, and g1vt rr unto bun tDbo ba~ Ten Talem I For 1mro every one that !Jatb jh1U be grven, and be fhall have A~ b11ndan;e, bur from htm that has not, fbnll be ta~en 4Wa), rven that ubub l l rb. And calt ye the Unprofitable Servant tnto utter D:uknefs, there fl~a/bc rirecpmg, and Gnrtfotng of Tutb; when tbe Son of JUan fhalJ ccme in hu (1/ory and all tbe Holy .Angels wtt!J H""r thenjhaU He }it upon the Throne oj hts Gl;ry, and bejolt b1mfoall be gatbu'd alJ Nottottl, 4nd HejhaBfeparatl them one jl 0111 anot1Jer, as a Shepbtrd drvttfetb btr Sheep from the G1atr, and He fh:tllfet the Sheep on his Rtlht Hand, b11t the Wars on the Ltft. So 1o!IS Relldtr I have the rather repeated the Scnpture at large! becaufe of thJt great Str~ngth it carries with it, methinks to the Conv.tEhon, at l~.:~n Confufion of rhat Narrow Spirit, w~ich confi_nes the Infimte GoodnetS of God, and renders him, w~tlft ~e ts :he. Umverfa~ Creator, but a i1:Urow BenefaElot; Shuning up hts Gtfts. wtthm the ftr::ught Compafs of a Few; reprcfenting him t~ereby . a.s Parttal_, as fame Parents, who, tbe_,know not why, belide then own un~qual Wtlls, do frequently ~eftow thm Favours (indeed their whole Affef.hon) upon an Ele8:ed Darlmg, to the manif<it, though Caufelefs NegleU of the Reft. B.ut to. fpeak. th~ T~th of the Maner, the Over·fondnefs fome carry to th~tr Optmon, JO~nd wub the Envy raifed tnwards thofe who conform not to.tt, has fo e~~tted them Qf all natur:1l AWefl:ion, tkat looking upon God tn that Condmon, They dare think him as Unnatura\ a'9 themfclves. For my Part1 I have not a greJt while believ'd· but that it rather rifes from an Unwilhng1_1efs in fome that DiRenrers from tlrem fhould be faved, (thereby endeav~u.rmg a Coltl'" -ptrance upon Necefftty) than that God had not ~een propitious un.to a!l his Crea.mres. For who fees nor, th:H can or wtll fee, that God 15' tb\9 Sovereign Lord, that he made Mankind to be his Serva~ts, that thefe three Servants Reprefent Mankind, and to the End -r:hey ':'light not be U~profitab1c He gave them Talents to improve ag:nnft hts Return, that ts, a~ gainft 'the Day of Recompence, for wbicb tbey are accountable; that Tho& who improve their Talents may be rewar.ded, ~nd !hey who mak~ no lm• provernent of their Talents, may be pum£ht Wtth Eternal Separauon from the Ptefe.ce of God, and all his Holy Angels. I wlll conclude with thefe Five Obfervations. t. That Gcd, though it be his Sofereign Prerogative to give w.hat H_e wi\l, has gilcna Talent out of his Celelli-al TreafuryunroEvery Jllananil WonMn. fi h' · 2. That this Talenr is in it feif Sufficient: But as the befr Corn, o t bs Talent, put up into a Napk~n. muft _n~eds be Unpro~ta~le: Yet, that t e Fault is in the PJJty Negle8:tng or Htdmg of It, not tn 1t felf. ~- That thofe who improve not their Talent, are moft apt to charge Gn·d with Reaping where he fows not, as do many Profeirors we have ~o do with, that make God to requi-re ~m Account of aU,. and yet deny, 1R order to rend ring up this Account with Joy, tbat be bty gtven to aU a Ta/enl S••ffici(nt rbcrcl!nttJ. d 4· That the Eternal Eftate of Men and Women, as Sheep :Jnd Goats, e· pends upon their Improving, or not Improving of that Heavenly Talent wherewith God bas indu'd them. r L 11 {/!y, Neither is there any She her for thefe Men, under the l~eqaa r'l of trl'ie Number .of Talenrs; for it is nor how many Talents are g~ve~, ut WfJ;:I Improwmnrt is made of what is given~ \Vherefore greater ts ht~~d, • VoJ.. I. Teftimony St~ted and Vindicated. ward, who makes one Talent three, than his, who of Ten, adv::mcfs but w Fifteen ; fince the one makes but half, whilft the othu makes Treble Improvement. Bleffed therefore are you all, and will you affuredly he it't the Day of the Lord's Recompence, who difregarding the Vanities, Plea· fures, Cares, Honours and Carnal Religions of the V(orld, Diligently min,d your own Talen~. and are in the Pure Fear and Holy Counfel of the Lord, making your datly Improvement of the fame, Laying up TreaJure in the High and· Heavenly Place, that is Durable and Everlafilng. 539 <i67J. ~ V. This Reafonable Truth is yet further manifefl:, from the weighty Words of our Lord Jefus Chrift; For every O'f1fe 'that doth Evil hatctb the John 3• 26J Lig.bt, nei1ber comes ,to"rhe Light, iejl hH Deeds jhou/d be Reprov~d. To whtch I would add as. before, that of the ApofUe, Whatjoever n r(proved U lipb. $• 114 made manifojl by the Light. Certainly then, unlefs Men will be fo Unjuft to God, as to think (contrary to Scripture and Re:afon) He ibould let MiUi .. ons of Men, and Scores of Generations live in Sin, without a Light w fhew it them, ?r a Law to limit them, it muft he yielded, rhat they had Ught and Law m their Hearts and Confciences, by which they were co11vi8ed of Sin, and that fuch as ohey'd.ir, were helpt and1le4 to work Righteoufttefs; fince their refufing to bring their Deeds to the Light, was not an Atl: of Ignorance, but Defign ; becuufe they knew rheir Deeds would be con- T' .> demn'd, and they for them, which loudly afrerts, that they both h:td a Light, and knew they had it1 though they tebell"d againfr it. And if I fhould gram that whatever was ReprovabJe, was not made manifeft unto them, yet this will no Ways impeach the Capacity of the Light< to do it. 'Tis evident, That fome Things which the Gentiles did, were rep"Iov'd,.· therefore they had the Light : And if they had it not in all the Extent of it's Revelation, the Light was no more to be blamed, than that Guide was,. whofe Paff~ngers never came to their Journey'! End, becaufe they neve~ would begm, ~t leaft. proceed by his Direltion. Had the Heath-ens heen Faithful ro the Light that God had given them, and not been blinded by the Vain Idolatries and Superftitious Traditions of their Fathers, they had more fully known and learn'd the Mind and Will of rhelr Creator; which fame of thofe Gentiles notwithfianding did, as wHI anon :tppen. VI. Thus the Apoftle Paul teaches us to believe, in that remarkabfe Paf.. fage of his in the firft Chapter to the Romans: For I am not .Ajbdm.'d of Rom. t. ,&J. rbe Gofpel of Ori/1: For 1t is the Power of God MnfO Salvation, ff1 every 17, t8,191. ~ne that believeth, to the Jew fiifl~ and alfo to th( Greek. For therein is 201 2 1'; a~ the Righteoufnej& of God r(vtafd, f,.om Faith to Faitb: tU it is tofitten, The ]ufl foaU live hy Faith, For the Wrat!J' of Gt~d is reOealed from Hcav~1i 1gainj1 all Ungodiinifs and Unf'ighreoufnifs of· Men, !fho boll tbt Truth in. Unrigbuoufneft. Becauje that Whitb mnJ be !utrJwn oJ ' God is 1114nijej1 Iri them, for God hath fhewed it ·Unto them. Eor tbe lnvifihl( 'fbi1tgs of Him from the Creation af tj>r World are cle.rly flen, bein~ undlrjlaod by tbt' Tbing.s that are made, even fJis Eternal Power and God~head., jo· that zhey are witboJd Excufe; bua11je that when they knew God, tliey Glorified ltim not' as God, nei1bu were Thankful•; h11t buame Vllilf ih th~ir lmllginariom, anJ. their Poolijh Hearts were Darken' d. lind evm tU they did nor iik( ro Re .. • taio God in their Knowledge, God gave them over to a ;.(probate lrTind, to do tbofe Thin,gs which (ITt not. Conv~ttient, Thefe Notable Lines of that great Ap·o.ftle:. give an apparent Overthrow· t()-all Objefiions-againfi, eithetthe Univerfality·or Sufficiericy of the Lighi within: ·Which wi11 further apP.f!ar, if the Reader be but pleas'd to obferve thele few Particulars. (t.) Th.r in the ~fpel o &tift is the R%hteoufnefs of God reveal'd, and that· fr-om Fait& to Faith. (2.) T-ha.t rh1s Fault t~e Juft have ever lived by; for he quores a Ti,me paff. as i1: i~ written: Which Writing was about 700 l'ears before he wrote. char Eprftle: (3.) 'Tha~ many had Deg~nerated ftorn the Rightepufnefs of God, to W1t, th(\ G(ntiln into Uh'godlincfs, agairHt .which the Wrath of God WJS revealed' from Heaven. (+) That they however 0," An<w the Troth. (;.) Thar Zzz> they |
