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Show • 2 68 Innocency '1R!itb ber open Face. VoJ.. f. 1668. Wherefore I am fiill confirmed in the BelPef ofGJrifl tbe Sl\iour'.r Divinity; V"""V"""'V for he that made .:tll. Things, and by whom they confift Jnd are upheld, becaufe before all Things; he was not made JIOr upheld by another, ,and confequenrly is God: Now th:lt this AOTOl:, or Word tl~nl. was mttde flejh, or Cbrifi the Light, Power and W!fdom of God, and Sa\'Jour of Jllen, brub made aU Things, and is be by wlwn tbq only conjifl. and :re upheld, he~.ttufe be fDas before tbem, is moft evident from the rec1ted 1 aff~ges of Scup[Ure ~ therefore be wat nor made, nor is be upheld by any otber Powt'r than hu own, nnd confequently is truly God: In fhorr, this concl~five Argumem for the Proof of CbrijJ the Savun.tr'.r being God, fhould certamly perf wade all fober Perfons of my Innocency, and my Ad\•erfari~s Malice, He thJ~ is the Ever~ laflin,g Wifdom, the Divine Potocr, th~ true L_zgh~, the only Stll!JOJtr, the eretiling Word of nO Tbings, (whttber_ v_ijible or znvijihle) and tbru: Up!~older by bit own Pou·er, is wit bout Contrndz{fronGod; but all thefe Qualifications aod divine Properties :tre by the concurrent Teftimonies of Scripture afcribcd ro the Lord Jc.fm Cbrifl; th~refore, without a Scruple, I call tmJ heltevc him really to be the mig1Jty God. And for a more ample SatisfJttion, let but my *ruVol, 2, ¥Reply to J. Clapham be perufed, in which Chrift's Divinity and Ererniry is Guide Mift•· very fully atferted. . . . • ken. Judge then imp::trnal Renderr, (to whom Iappe:~l_m th1s Concern) whc~ thcr my Chriftian Reputation hath nor been Unworthily rraduc'd ; and that thofc feveral Perfons who hJVe been pofiing our their Books againft me (wbi!fl a daft Prifoner) have not been beating rhe Air, and fighting with their own Shadows, in fuppofing what I never thought, much leiS wrir of. to be rhe Intenrion of my Book; and then as furioufiy have f:tfiened on me their own Conceits, expeCting I fhould feel the fmart of every Blow, who thus far am no ways interefted in their Heat. As for my being a Sociniarr, I muft confefs I have read of one Sociml!, of (thlt they call) a 110ble Family in Stne in lrnly, who about the YeJr 1574, being n )'Oitng ftlnn, voluntarily did abandon thC Glories, Pleafures and Honours of the great Duke of Tufcany's Court at Florence, (rhJr noted Place for all worldly Delicacies) and b~came a perpetual I!.Xi!e for his Corr~ Jcience, whofe PJrts, Wifdom, Gravity and jutt Behaviour m:tde him rl1c mofi f:tmous with the Polonian and Tranjilvanian Churches i bur I fiJttt never bapri.::ed into his Xamc, and the.refore deny that reproachful Epithet; ;.Ind if in any Thing I acknowledge the Vericy of his DoUrine, it is }or tbe Trml/.r Salce, of which, in many Things, he had a clearer Profpect than moU of his Contemporaries; but nor therefore 3 Socinit~n, any more than a Son of the Eng!ijh-Churcb, whilft efiecmed a ~unlur, becaufe I juftifie many of her Principles, fince the Reformation, againft the Rommz Church. II. As for the Bujinefs of S.11isjaOio1t, I am prevented by a Perfon whofc Reputation is ~enerally great amo1fgft the Prott/lants of thete Nations; for fince the Doctnne agaiuft which I mofily levelfed my Arguments, was, the I"!poifibi(ity of G_od'r forg_ivin~ Sin upon Reptntance, rtJithout Cl•rifl's paying lm ]uflue, by Juffcnng m./i.mtt: Venteancc tmd Eternal Dtatb for Sins pajf, prefent, and to come, he plainly in his late¥- Difcourfe about Chrifi's Suffer- * Stillingfl.eet i!1gs, againft Creliim·, acknowledges me n? .leiS, by granting, ~pon a new ;~~"'6;,r;~~. State of ~he Controverf~,. both _the ~o.ffibrluy of Go.i's pf1rdonmg Sins, or 271 , 272, Debts~ vm7Jout /rtcb a rtgtd S~rufallzon, and the lmpql]ibiliry oj C!Jrijls fo 273,274- fuffermg for the World; reHe~mg clofel:y:- upon t~ofe Pcrfons, us giving Jo JltJ! an ~c~llji~n ~o the Church .r !ldv~r[tlrtes to thmk they triumph ovt_r btl' Ftutb, w!Hijf,t u only over thttr Mr!laker, mh'J argue wirb more Zen/ r"an ]~td,gment: Nay, ooe of rhe main Ends which firit induced me to tlr:n P· 16o. Difco?rfe, I find thus dclirer'd ~y h}m. namely, If they did believe Chrift came tnto the World to reform It, That the Wrnrb of God U now rcvett!~ ' ed from Heaven ogainft all Unrithteoufnefs, that his LoYe which is tl10wn ; to. the World,_ is _to d~liver tbemfrom the Hand of their l:!.Pemies, thor they nugbt ferve hun rn Rrghteotifnejl and Holinef! alJ the Day; of rf"cir Livu, : th_ey could nevtr imagine thac S:~lvatioa is entailed by the-Gofpel ~tpon a _ mrghty Confidence, or vebemrm Perjwajio1r of «"btlt Chrijl b:ttb done and 'fuffcrcd VoL. I. lnnoeency witb her open Face. 'JlljfcreJ for thtln; ' thus dot.h he confefs upon my Hypothcfis, or Pro. 1668. po6cion what I mainly contend for; and however pofitively I may r~je£1: ~ or deny my Adverfaries unfcriptural and im:tginary S1tisfaEHon; let all know this, that I pretend to know no other Name by which Remij]ion, A-tone,. ent and Salvtttion tan be obtnin~d, but Jefm Cbrifltbe StiViour, who H the Power nnd JVifdom of God, what Apprehenfions foever People may have entertained concerning me·. III . .At for ]uflification by an imputed R;ghteoufnefr, I fiill fay, Tbot wb(l~ foever believu in Cbri.ftfhali have Remiffion and ]t~fli}icorion; but then it muft be fuch a Faith as can no more live witbout Workr, than n Body without a Jam. 2, 26, Spirit; wherefore I conclude, tbat true Fi1itb comprehends' Evangelical Obt .. dience; and here the fame 'f. Dr. Stillingjleet comes in to my Relief (tho' h's not wanting) by a plain Affertion of the Neceffity of Obedience (viz.) Juch * ld. P· 1~4-; who make no other Condition of the Gofpe! hut believing, ougbt to have agrrat 16S· 166• CAre to keep their Heart.r founder than their Heads; thereby intimating the grancl.lmperfe[/ioR and Danger of fuch a Notion; and therefore (God AI· mighty bears me Record) my Defign was nothing lefs, or more, than to wrefi thofe beloved and fin-pleafing Principles out of the Hands, Heads and Hearts of People, that by the fond Perfwafion of being ju!lified from the perfonal Righteoufnefs of another, without relation to their own Obedi, ence, they might not fin on upon Truft, till the Arreft of Eternal Venge• ance lhould irrecoverably ovenake them :; th:u all might be induced roan earne!t Purfuit after Holinefs, by a circumfpcEt Obfervance to God's Holy Spirit, without which none ]hall ever fie the Lord. And (to fhut up my Apology for religious Matters) that all may fee the Simpliciry, Scripture DoEl:rine, and PhraH~ of my Faith, in the moft important Matte!s of Ercr~ nal Life, I {hall here fubjoyn a fhorr Confeffion. 1 fincerely own, and u!tfeigned!y believ~ (by virtu~ ()f tb~.found Knotrkdge 4tfd Experience received from the Gift of tbot H()!y Unftion, and Divine 1 Cor. 8.$,6..Grace tnfpired from on High) in One Holy, Jull, Merciful, Almighty lnd Eter~al God, who is the :Father of all Things; that nppearcd to the Holy Heb. J, :1. Patrzo!cbr and Prophtt.r of old, at fundry Times, and in divets ·Manners, .drrd m ONE Lord Jefus Chrifi, the Everlafiing \Vifdom, Divine Power, 1 Cor.8.6.i True.Ligbt, only Saviour and Preferver of all, the .fame One, Holy, Juft, Merciful, Almighty and Etei'hal God, who in the Fulnefs of Time rook, and W:ls m~nifefted in the Flelh, At which Time be prencbed (and hX Difcipler John r; 14. after. b1m) the Everlafiing Gofpd of Repentance, 11nd Promift of Remij]ion ~Tim, 3· 1G1 of. Sms, nn4 Eternal Life to nlJ that hettrd and obeyed; whofaid, he that ls at. 4' 17' With you (rn the F!cfh) !hall be in you, (by the Spirit) JOd though he left Loke24. 47• • th~m, (ar to the Flejh) yet not comfortlefs, for' he would come to them a~ {~hn 14' L7, gam, (m the Spirit :) For a little while, and they lhould not fee him ( 01 c;;, 16. r6. ro tbe F!efb;) again, a little while and they fhould fee him (in the Spirit;) for the Lord (Je]ilf Chriil) is that Spirit, a Manifefiation whereof is given 2 Cor.J.r7• to eyery one to profit withal, In which Holy Spirit I believe, tU tb~ j{1me 1 eor. 1' 7• Alrn1ghty a~d Etern;:~l God, who, 01 in tbofeTimes be ended all Shadows, nnd Rom. 8. I4t became tbe znfallible Guide to them thnt walked therein, by mbich they were 17• :Jdopted Heirs and Co~heirs of Glory~ fo am I a /ivin.t; Witnifs, tbtlt the fame Holy, Juft, .Merciful, Almighty and Eternal God, U now, ar tben, (a/ter this tediops Night of Idolatry. Super/lit ion nn.l bu1!1ane Inventions that . ba~b o_verfpread the World) gloriou/ly mani/ejled to difcover and }"ave frot~ aU ~~~.2;8,3; 1 ... lm'J,IIliJ, nnd to condi_tll unto the 110/y Land of Pure and Endlcfs Peace; rll a ~Vord, to tabernacle m A1en: And I alfo firmly believe, thttt r.vithout repent· Luke 14. 3Jo tnt, and forfnking of pofi Sinr, and walking in Obedience to tbis Heav~n!y Rev. 21. 27. Votce, whr~h would guile into all Truth, and ejlnblijh there, Remiflion and Ch.n, 14· Eternal L1fe can never be obtained, hut unto them th.1t fe:Jr his Name, and keep his Commandments, they, and they only fhall have Righr unro the Tree of Life, for whoJe Name':r jake I hnve been mode tt~ifling ro re!in'}ui}b ?>lat.ro. 31t ttn~ fo:Jak.e all the vain Fajhions, enticing P!eaf11res, al111ring Honour; 1111d 38, 39• gbltermg Glorier of this tranjirory World, t~nd readily to auef't rhe Portion ~J a Fool, from 1bH deriding Gencr11tion1 and buome a .hlan of Sorrorv.r, and dptr .. |
