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Show 17-l No. XIII. ~ ·~ l . • u "' No. XIV. ~ A{ounbLet· ur,o R.B. Life f• 49· An A 'P 'P E N 'J) I X to VoJ..,J. Concerning r. The True •nd Fn!fe lUiniflry. 2, TIJe True and Faife Church. . . 3 The Su/ficiertcy oft be Ligbr wttbm aU Men to Etenval • Salvation; and what elfe it !hall pleafe thee to add. ' And to render this defired Conference more dillin£ ant in~li~b~e, F~ ' R (i a: to a particular Difcuffiojl ofThmgs, we o cr t IS et o , I , , ri rfi me One of rbe aforementioned Particulars be througb'ftebated, be~ 'for~ a:y other of then: be infifled on. Secon~ly, 0Thllt ~w~ 01' T..;;e r;.at ' Side jbaU luztlt Liliury to Jpe4k; but fo tU "*.' ne on Y . (l 1 . H. d tr ~ 1 Tl' ;~y 1at rbere }hall be a j1ri8 and c/ofe kcepmg to the (tl_atter m on , tU weJJ be, 10 prevent impertinent Preachment, and trijlurg _Exc"{Ji.ons~ to c fhun the }Haner, and evade tbe Dint of ib·gumtnt _; ondbtlmjhro //nVIo;· ' bl objerved on both Hnnds. Founhlf., Tbatfo doll1g, t ere t! e Ro n· c 1/,r11prion on either Side. Fifthly, 1\ame wba.t Place thou pleaftjl, b.ut tb11t ' tohicb I am forbidden. . ' To all which we defire thy Return by thts Bearer, to Thy Friend, W. P. P 0 S T S C R I P ~ I hope at the End oftbis Conference, we may have~ li~de Time, to.de· bate the Merits of John Fa/do's eaufe, and thy Subfcnpuon, at leaft, In a few Particulars. To R 1 c H A R o B A x T E R· ' TR.H B.E p . Il . Paper h pleas'd thee to put into my Hand at au. r a.r~mg, 1ave ' at laft got Time to perufe: And I will a~ure thee, us oot T~o ' whole Days fince my many Otcafions would gH'e Leave to confider tt. t' The Civility and Kindnefs I receiv'd from thee at our Conference, have ' prevail'd with me to overlook the Afperiry of it; thongh, ifi fpeak fa,r ' my felf, I am not apt to ex38: the uttermofl Far1hing, or make th~ worft • Ufe of .11-Ien's Infirmitiet. There appear'd Matter of great Adv_:ln~age ., ·a~inft a Man that had ever been Author of ~ny _Defe,tce of the Pnnuples ' oj Love: Yet, it fo happens, that the Ob]efh?ns, ov~r a~d abo~e the ' Mode of making and managing them, are very fbght; and, tf I mlflake ' not, (I am fure I wonld not) more than t is granted: So that I could n?t ' fee any Ground ror that Sevtriry from the ~Perfon moft 'of' all concern d, ' much lefs from an unprovok'd Stranger. Bu~ that which heightned my ,' Wonder, was to fee thy Name to a late Epittle, recommending Qf J. Fs ' Book ; that feems fo much to rare at us for SharpnefS : I hope thou wilt 1 not be difpleafed with this Freedom. ' Herewith I return thy Paper, and this in Anfwer to what's Material in ' the Objet\ion: That, by the Spirit's being tbe R11le, I underftood what the ' Apoftle did, when he faid, That Ill mtmy as are led by the Spirit of God, • are the Sons of God. And if I am to be cenfured that I write not more ' PbilofophiEally, the .Apo{l!e muft keep me Company. I did not mean, ' (hat all lnftruments or Means are always excluded; 6nly that under the ' Gofpel efpecially, the Spirit by the Holy lnfpiri11gs of ir, in a more imme-' diate Manner than formerly, was eminently the Rule of the Strints ~ as ' under the Law, the Law writ on Stone~ under the Goj)el, the Lttw wr\t ' in the Heart; and that rhis was the General Evangelical Rule. When 1 ' am beuer inform'd, I fhall believe, and write better, till then, I muft·do '.as I can; and I fee nothing in that Paper, to induce me to ;my Alteration 1 of my Cretd. . ~~ VoL. I. ' For what I underfrand by Light, I need only fay, chat not I)De of my ' Arguments is fo much as tlnempted, at leaft, as laid down by me. and in ' l mauner, all is granted me, befide what thou miftakeit me in~ I am ' chid for not diflioguifhing upon the Term, Light; truly I defervll it c bad not my'Adverfary taken the Term for gramed, as I 'underftood it~ ' And what Need there was I fbould turn Critick upon rhe Term agreed • upon, rhy Reprehenfion has not afforded me Light enough to fee: 1 all : a!ong fhew, I meant not th~ Sun in _rhe O.utward Firmament, the meer , Rno.wlcdge of Man, or Capacuy to receive Kno~ledge, as Conflitutiv~ of a , Raltonal f?rcalu~e~ but the lnteJ:ntJl Sun of Rrghteoufnefs, by which the Soul recetves Dtvme Underfiandwg : And mine Oppofer I had to do with : ~ives his Su.ffrag~ to this Thing ; for he was a Sodnian, one rhar believ~ m the outward Sun, and bur too largely of Man's meer Natural Facultiu ' and but too meanly of a DiviJte and Supernatural Light as nece1f.uy tO ; ~an's Eternal Felicity_: Which I conceive to rranfcend tht Light of Birds, ~1fhes, F.$~. by them, m my Apprehenfion, fri\'oloufly objeEted . c • Thy Fhn& at my Attempt to prove Man enlightned, from fohn r. 4, 9· h!tS m.e not 10 the leaft: For I affirm from thefc Words, rhat it is nor any : ~tgh~ (a~ thou ~ou~dft make n1e only to intend, and limir my Argument tn) that 1s Conibtuttve of Beafis or Men, as filch in an abfiraft:ed Senfe. : but fomething tranfcenditJg and Supernatural, as fame fpeak. For Man j; a Man. befote that 11/umintttion, as Dnrji11s well obferves. . ' Agatn, thou art by much reo fevere in ftraining thefe Words Tbe Litbt ' m.uft give TrJie Sight ; as if I meant,. that every Man to whom God offe.r'd , this Light, bad True Knowledge, whether he would or no : For ro that , St~etch thou bringefl_ it. The like about its Sufficiency; as if ic were fuf' ~c1_ent to contend,, wuhout Man's Regard of it~ No fuch Matter: 'Tisfu , m tt felf, but nor m Men without their Affent, as thou confeffeft. , • I fee nothing_ o~er'd in this Pape~, that~ could not, with as goud Rea...' , fan, J?tOduce aga1nft the Holy S~npture tt felf. It lies moil upon the , Q~efhon, If youmeanfo, l deny it : Jf Jo, I grant it; when, alas, I mofr~ , ly mtend, what thou gra?te~: And can fee no Caufe given by that Dif~ , courfe. for any fuch ObJeB:Jon, unlefs that a Nored Preflyrerian, ~s Men , call him, has got my Book, ~nd I. ~as to be Jeffen'd by any Artifice, ~here I bad any Inre.refi, e.fpec1ally tf It was thought to prevail. , I !haJJ conclu~e With this Affuranc~, that if the Civiliry and Kindnefs of our late Meettng, bad not been With fame moJe than ordinary Sarif: faftion remembe(d by me, I had made more. Ufe of thy Name than 1 , ~ave _done, both 1n my late Anfwer to the Ept1Ue before·mentioned, anti 1 1n th1s Paper: But, merhinks, it is fo defirable for Men to confer with , Reafon and .Mode~y, that I rath~r chu~e to befeech People into that Com· mendable Dijpojition, than to ra1fe rhetr Paffim~s by an early AggravatJon ' of their Mifcarriages. I am, iu very much Love, Tby Jiffured FrienJ, W. P. To RICHARD BA:XTER. No. X?. ~ R. Baxter~ . : J Have.received a long Letter from thee, which l fhall anfwer witli wh:lt Aji{thut; , Brevity I .c~n. The firit Part contains an Evafion of a Meeting ; the tt~ro R. B., , laft, a Reperltlon of rhy o~d refuted Clamours t qnd both wrapt up in Ltre P· 49• Terms only fit for the Devil. Such is the Sweetnei of thy Narure and : the Grear Charity of thy N~w-.Modelfd Religion. Bur, ro the firft 'Part, , thy Words are thefe, I fha.ll fland to the Offer I ;nade of another Day's Con .. , f~re?c:; but not at your Trme nor Rates. Buc who concluded thee ? Not , I. T1s true, I olfer'd thefe Things ; bur fo as I left Room for Excepd· 1 o:;s. Yet, why f,b~uld not I have the giving the Laws of che fecond7 when _ t ou hadft the giVIng the Laws of the Firft Conference? 'Tw;rs my Turn * ~ m |
