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Show 57'~ The Chriftian-Quaker; and bio Voi:--i: \ 1673. wiU ~filling upff 1Chrijl'$ SujJefi11g1 that wtre tcfore his o~ttward Com~ng,:'as ~ what to this Generation are yet behind to be-compleJted. , Ch. XVI[ And as at any Time Difobedient Men have hearkened to the Sti\f Voice .1\7 of the Word, diat.Meffenger o£ God in rheir Hearts, to be a.fl'eEl:ed Jnd. con~ vinced by it, as it b~ings He proof far Si,n, wbkh is but ;t farherly Clqif:fzement; fa UP.OO (fue Brokennefs of ~ou~, and Contrition <;>f Spirit, chat \'e1 1Y fame Principle and Wor!l of Ltfe rp Man, b.u .1Hedratc4 nnd A~Cnci ~md God has be& Propitio111, lifting up tbe Light of /;f.s Cin111tenona; an,J Repleni£hing fuch humble "Penitents with Divine Confolations. So thjc Rill the fame Chrift, Word~God, who has lighted all Men,-is by Sirt grie\'ed and burdened, Jnd Be:us the Iniquities of fi\ch as fo Sin, Jnd reject his Benefits: Buc Js any hear hi's · Knocks and fer htm into thei1' Hearts, he firft Wounds, an9. then Heals: Afterw:uds he Atones, Mediates, and Re·inlta~es Man in the Holy Image he is fallen from by Sin. Behold th is is th~ State of Reftitution ! And this in fome MeafLJre was wimeffed by the Holy Pani· 'archs, Prophets and Servants of God in old Time, to whom Chrift wasj11bflanrially the Same Sa?iour, nn.1 Sud Bruijing tfJe SuJ?ent's .Hed, that he is now to us, what Difference foever there may be m Pomt of Manifefta. lion. · 11- Bnt notwithf'bnding it was the fame Light and Life with thlt which :tf~ terwards clothed it felf with that outward Body, which did in mealhre inwardly appear for the Salv::uion of the Souls of Men, yet, as I h:n·e of• ten faid, never did that Divine Life fo eminently thew foith it fel f, as "in that SJnltified and prepared Body: So that what He then Suffered and Did in that Tranfcendent Manifeftation, may, by Way of Eminency, hl\'C the Credit of the whole \iVork unto it fclf that lte ever did before or . m~ght do_ afterwards for ~an's Sah:ation. For d6ubtlefs the t:ery S~mt Ltghr. Life an~ PoWer, whtch dwelt .m that Flefhly Tabernacle, Eminently was the Commtcer, f,onilemner, Savtotlr and Rrdumu: Yer not only as . confined t<,> that Bleffed Body, but ~ifo ~ revt(Jed in rbe Hearu of A len; as he was tn Paul, who, not confuhmg wah Flefh and Blood, :Jg:'inft the L.ord of Gl(lf'y, did wi,Uingly rutive bim i'!, to bi~d the fhong Man, fpoil , his Goodr, and c~~ hut? our~ thar H.e .might Reign whof~ Right it w:~ s. And.that the Dtvme L1fe, L1gh~, Sptm, Nature or _Principle, which refided tn that Body was the Efficient Ca.ufe of Salvauon, obferve rhe Title ' that is given Hirn,, fro_m rhe grea~ Work he was to do, n::ur.ely, To fave bh feqplc from tbetr Sms ;_there 1s not one Vlord of \Vrath, bur contf· quentiatly. Now, fince that Sin is in the Hearr and Confciencc of Man· kind, nothing but a Divine Light, Spirit or Power can Reach :1nd Convey Purity into thofe inward Parts, and confequently that rnuft be the Rec!eero.~ er and Saviour from Sin. But indeed, thofe who have a Mind to Naturalize that firange Figure into the L:1nguage of rhe Holy T R u T H, I mean, that to be Saved, is only to be faved from Wrath, and nor from Sin. whofe affured Wage£ is\¥r:nh, may havefornelnrereft, though no Reafon for their implacable Enmity againft a.n inherent Holinefs. But I further confefs, rhat his Righteous Life, with refpea to its Appearan_ ce in that Holy Hody, w:ls grieved by Sin, and rhlr the Wetght of the Jmquay of the whole World, ·wtth the Concernment of it's Eternal "\Vell·heing, lay M.rd upon him, nor wat his Manhood U"nfenfible of ir, Under the Load of rhis did he travel, he alone trade the \Nine·Prefs · that is, All others were then infenfible 9f that Eternal Wrath: ·which would be the Portion of the impenitent Perfons, as well as thlt it WJS his great Care, and deep Travel, that the Holy, yet Oppreffed Seed might arifC O\'er the Preffurcs of Iniquity in the Hearts of Men. to Bruire' rhe Serpent's Head in all. And as Outwardly h~ g;~ve his Outward Life for the World, ·. fo he might inwardly fhed abroad. in their Souls the Blood of God that · is, The H(l/y Purifying Life nnd 11irrue, which is in him as the WtuJGod, · and as which, he is the Light :1nd Life of the World. ' ~ Thi~ was it which gaVe the Manhood the Undcrft:Jnding it had, :md fitted 1r for fo gre:~r· :Jn Embaff'y; by whofe Power alone it Fafld, Pra;rd, ... ftNdJ'J, VoL. L . Teftixoony Stated and Vi1ldicaud. 575 P~each'd, _Cafl-out Devi/J', Wro11ght Miracles,. Lived that moft Vnh!emijh'J r6 L;{e, PtJtt~'!t!y St~.f/cred J?t:ath, v.•ar raifedfor nn H_o!y Confirnzatiun, mau ·e ~ alf _the Mthtary <;lppofiuon.o~ the ]ez~s: And th1s Divine Power it :as Ch. XVII whtch a~c~mpamed the Mtm{try of hts Followers ; rendring it £ffic:Icious • t~ Co~v.tE\J.on and Converfion; So that the lnvifible, Spiritual and Divine ~tfe, 1 nn.clple.or N~ture, was the Root and Fountnin of all which is forne-nme3 afc~1bed 111 Scnpture to the Body, by thar Common Figure or \V' of Spe~k1ng amo_ngft Me~, the Thi11g 07_!tttining. whkh was the :Body, f!r the Thtng Comnmcd, whtch was the Eternal Puwer TVifdo!lt Life &: Not that we fho.ul~ irre,•erently Rob the Holy BodY of wha~foeve'r A~~ knowledgement IS Juftly_ due, nor yet feparate that which God hath joyned: Though I con~efs, Wtt.h H_oly Fear, I dare not attribute that to an Ex~ te~n~l pr~pared Bet~g, wh1ch IS the Natural, Proper and only Work of the p1vm~ L1gbt and LiJ.e to Opera_te and Effe8:. But ce:-tainly, if fome Men Jn .Scnpture arc entttuled Snwo11rs becaufe of the Contribution of their Tnals, _Trav.els and Labours to~ards the Salvation of Mankind, of muth more Right ts that Honour afcnbable to him who had the Spirit without ~eafurc.: For I do freely acknowledge the Holy Manhood to have been m fome. Senfe, a Co:worker and Partner with the Divine Life in thofe Tri~ al~, _Wetghts, Suffenngs ;;md Travels for Mankind. Yet as it was the D~v~ne P~we: tha~ gave ~hem l\i"eight in that great \Vork, fo was it the Dtvmt Life m H1m, whtch made that Holy ft1nr.hood what it was. and therefore ought we, chiefly, to appropriate the Sal~:~tion to Chrift, ds the TVord-God, ~r.d to th,e Holy Manhood, but Secondan!y and InflrumentaOy: 1 mean, as It was a C.bofe~t .lnflrument or Veflc!, in and by which God de· dared the Bleffed Glad .. ~Idmgs of Love, and his Meffuge of Reconciliati .. on to the World: ~n which h: gave the moft Heavenly Example of P11rit ~ and throul)h whoie whole Life, DoB:rine and Death, did fbine forth t?e clearefr Ev1dences of Tfutb, Goodnefr, lHercy, Patien&e deep Travel for the World, Se/f-Dcnit~(, Ho!iRefr and Triumphant Martyrdo'm. No Wonder the~, tf he be called a Saviour, who not only carne on an Embalfy of SJ~vat1on, but w~en come, dld draw many after him, who were fi~uck Wtth the .Authomy of his Sayings, and whom he altow'd fo.r a Ttme to have thetr Eyes and Hearts upon him, as in that Stare prefent wnh t.hern; But afterwards, he let his DifCiples know, of how much B~ nefit. It would ~e to them, that h.e fbould leave them: How? For ever and In ~11 Capacttes ? . No: But as wnh RefpeCt: to his outward Appearance, that b_emg fcatter~d, tn that J?ay, !O their own Meafure of Light, Power and L~fe, the~ m1ght know htm 1\o more after the F!ejh, but witnefs him co.mc: IntO thetr Hearts a Comfor:er, _who would not leave his true-hearted Dtfctples comforrlefs. He that lS wtth you !hall be in you; John· 14. 16, T~ be b~ief, that I may yet again exprefs our reverent Sen(e of Chrifi's 17· Mantfeftatton, fo far as relates to that Holy Thing that lhould be born of .Alary; takethefe few Particulars in my next Chapter. CHAP. XVIIL A. Co,ifsjJiM, in particular, to Redemption, Rt miffion, Ju{lification and Sal- Ch. XVIJf. vaeion by CHRIST. ~ L THough we belieVe the Eternal Pou:er, Life and Ligbt which inhabit· . ed_that Holy P~rfon, who was born at Bethlehem, was and is chiefly a.nd emu1endy rhe Sav1ollr (j11r there t"-5 no Savit~ur brfi.de.r me faith God) yet Hof. 11· 4· we Reverently Confefs the Holy M3nhood was lnfirumen~ally :1 S;aviour, as pre~ared and. chofen for the Work that Chrilt, the Word-God, had then to ~om u, wh1ch was a.C\:ually to the Salvation of fome, and intention~ :tlly of the whole World, then, and in Ages to come; fuitable to that Scrip· |