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Show ~68 The Chriftian Quaker, and bu VoL. I. r6 • Sword, the Gofpel as Balm: The one Doty, the other L~ve. And that ~ which alone is needful to attain unto the htghefr D1fcovery, u, to ~e hum .. C)la .XIV. lJly fubjeEI, and conftantly obedient to the lo~teft Appearance ofu: The P Faitbfu!&rvant becomts a Son by ..d.Jopt!O'n~ \Vouldft thou know~~ Word a RecMciler, thou muft firft wirnefs. lt an l{amme~, n Sword, tJ 'hu, &:.c. The Way to arrh•c at Evangelical Rtghteoufnefs, lS firit t~ .Perform the R.ighteoufnefs of the Law: By Law 1 mean no.t that of Pohnck Shadows and Ceremonies or the External Order or Polley of the J ews ; but that Moral and Ere~ul Law which is f:tid to have come by .Mofe.r (though bur Iepcated and renewed by' him) an~ is accomplirh'd by ~h~Hl. ~nd there is rear Hopes, that who Confciennoully ke~p t_he Beg1nnmg? will complfs ~he End. Such as kave conquer~d Evt! P,om4, 1~ they be f:uthful t? what they have received of God's Ltghtand Spun, 11 wrll en1ble them agamft Bad Sayi11g, till at bfi: they overcome I:.Vi~Tbinlcing too; a_nd witpefs that Scripture fulfilled, Judgm<nt (the Low) "broNgbt forth tnto V,[/ory (the Gof. pel) bt rhat follows mt, {the Ligh~ of. the World, that cnlrgbteJts aU ~·fen comi"..{ into tbe World) jhaU. not abzde m Darkneft, hut fha/J hai.!e .the ?'t!JI John s.u, of Lije. I make not this DiftinlHon of Law and Gofpel, to diflt~gmlh IB 1' 9· Kind, but Degree, and for the S1ke of the ~eak accufi:omed ~o .n. And if the Son make you Free, th~n are you .Free mdeed .: For ~s It IS a Con-demner, it may be cJlle?- th~ Ltght rh:n br~ngs .Ceath, 10 that Jt fiays, by the Brighmefs of it's com1ng mto the C:mfcJsRce, the tranfgreffing_ Nature :; Like unto tbat Exprellion, the Day of the Lord is o Dt~)' o~ Darkn~s, _becaufe of the Judgments and Terrors of the Lord in the Conffience for Sm; but to the Obedient, it is the Light of Life;; i~ brings Peace and Confobrion. Chop.XV. ~ Thi> is Chrift as the Word-God, and Lzght of the World, through every :pifpenfarion, o;e in Himfel/, t_ho' to Mank~nd h~ has v:uioufiy appearerl, 11ot by different Lights, bu~ different Manifefla,nons only, of One and tbt fame Erern.t Light of Life and Righreoufnifs. C H A: P. XV. The Se((ntd Part of the OhjeOion, Tbat CHRIST WtU 'lfOI anci:nt!J caD~l the LIGHT, anfwered. .dnd the contrary proved from Scnpture tJ.n'rJ Re.ifo/1, TO the Second Part of the Ohjeaion, If tDe Light in every Man rccre Cbrijl bow con:u it rh.1t the Jews and Greeks never caUed it .Jo? I anfwer, w; Jo not fay tbt~t the Li,ght flriflly in every Jlfa-: is Chrift, hut of Or from Chrilt : He is that Fulnefs ffom whence all recen•e a Meafurc of1 Divine Light and Knowledge; but not that e\·ery Individual has the. Wholeor Comple11t Chrifl in hitn, fo as to be no where elf~: Such an Abfurd1ty nevet fell from us, not is it confequent of our DoClrme, though the Mahce of our Adverfaries hath charged it upon both. But as the Exte~nt~l ~1111 dans it•s Light upon the Org:tn of the Eye o~ the Hody, by which tt conveys. True Difcerning to aEl:, about Vifible Thmgs, fa_ ~oih _the Internal S11n o~ Rigbteoufnefs jhine upo11 the Eye of the Soul, gzvmf. 11 the K11ow!eJge f'J t!Jofe Invijiblc Things which properly nlate to the ll.ature of t he So11l: So that we are the lefs obliged to give a Rea ron why others called not rbe Light in Man, Cbrift, fince we renounce all Share in fuch Belief o~r frlres,. ftrlE\ly fpeoking. Yet thus far I will fay, that Chrift was called L1ghr, be-ll fore ever he was in the World, though not before he was Chr:ft. I tD1 give him for a Li,ghr to lighten the Gentiles, f.!lc. Now if any will.fay th~l~ this Light was nor Chri!t, let them tell us fo in plain VVords : But tf It Will be allowed, they had heft o!k, Wby zhe Prophet by tbe HolyGI){)jl jhoN!d ·~ Chrijl, Light, evtn a1 foon, if not before ke was called Cbn/1; and nby_, tn that very Stott, in u-bicb he wa1 called CJlrijl, be .foou!J ttl/o be- calle-d Lrg_~· Certain it is then: thn by Him, the L1gh,t, we arc tQ underfiaod ~~icb. VoL. I. Teftimony Stt!tell a11tl Pi~rliicated. w~ich is one_and the fame T~ing, as if he h:td faid, .I wiD give Chrifl f or a l:_1ghe_ to £_~tll4ht_en the Gemlfe_s; _or, He wbo i.r tbe Cbrijl, ii the f.igbt ~ or the Ltgbt n Ghrifl: So that 1t wdl follow, the Gentiles were enlightened by Chri!t, which is the IVhole of what we Ullder!tand by our Alfertion ·•• to the Ltght 111 Alan. ' .Again, J ohn exprefly ca1ls t.bat ~ighr, with which every Man is enligbtncd, the Word, and_theWord 11 [md to hove takenF!cjh: If then He .that tookFlefh1llas Chtlft, and con(equently that Body, Chrift's Body only, as ~on~, I thmk, w1H dare ~eny, bdt .Muggferon, and his Credulous Follow~rs, It Wil1_ follow! Thn~ Chrijl. who took, or appeared in that Prepared Body, i.r the Lrgbt, wuh_wh1~b every Man is Lighted. Further, Chnft htmfelf fays, I nm zht Light of rrr World : Which is as much as lf he bd. fa1d, _I bt~ve lighted, or jhincd /on !• ro the World; there· fore the L1ght Wh tch fhmes in the Hearts t>f Mankind, ;, Chrijl, though we do not fly that erery particul:u Illumination is the Entire Chrifl for fo Bthleorfep hweomuoldu sb. e as mJny Chrifis as there are Men, \\'hich were Abfurd 3Jld I6fl. ~ Chap. XV. But /,zj/iy, the Apoft!e himfelf calls Him Chrift, before his Coming in the Flefh; fo that Chrift w:ls Chrift before his Appe:trance in that Holy Body at 1erkfalem, which clears thlt Poirit in Controverfie. For the Strefs of the Objcftio~, :Js to this Particular, lies here, Chrijl, m Cbtijl, wtu nor before be toolt. llrjh ; ~herefore though it fhould be granted, that as the Word-God all :Ire enli@'htned by him, yet not ttl he iJ Cbri/l, before tbnt Vijih!e .Ap~earn_nce. Bur if Chrift was not before, then the Manhood that was taken In T1me, rnufi only be the Chrifl: But I would fain know fi1ch People's Reafon for it. ,The Dilemma in fhort is this, That fuch as deny Chult, ~o have heen Chnft hefore that Coming, thwart as plain a Text as the S_cn ptures have, and if they fhould allow it, their Oppofition to our Affemon muft appear. unfound and reprovable. Howbeit, fince Cluift, as the Word· God, hath Ltghted All Alcn antecedent to his Coming in the Fleili as,mofi ?four ObjeEl:o_rs confefs, and that t~e Apoftle fays, That the fVorJ 1 Cor. tb. 1, ~as Cbri~, or tbat Chrifl ttMs before he came 111 the F!ejh; in that Chrijl tv.u 4, m the WI!Jernifs, a Rock to lfrae/, (unlefs Chrift and the Word are Two diftinE\ ~eings, or that there be Two di!lind Chrifts) Chrift was that Light w_htch Lighted Mankind, _and that very Light with which Mlnkind Was Lighted, was the Very Cbrijl of GoJ, and confequently the Light has been coiled, both exprefly and implicitly, CHR 1ST, before that Vifible Ap· pearance at Jenifalem. Nor is the Allegation of that Scripture againfi us pertinent to the Mat- ter in Hand, (viz) 1flbicb none of the Princes of tb!s World knew, &c. for that was fpoken 1n Reference to the Wifdom which h:Jd been hid, and not ~o .the meer Manhood of Cbrlft. llut fuppofe his Holy Manhood concern'd mIt; we_ have t~ts _to ~ay, Tbat jiub ttl n j efltd Him, and much more t bofe lh~t Cr_ucijied Hrm 111 hu ONfW11rd .Appf!tlrnnce, httd firft Jefpiftd and jlain Hun wz;bm: T!Jey were of thoje, as .]oh faid, who rebeU'd ngainflthe Light, and lov d not tbe Wny.r thereof. And I affirm, ag:tinft all Oppofers, that it was by the Sight this Divine Light within gave to Simeon, Peter, Nathanael, and all others who belie,•ed in him, thar they truly came to confefs him, :tnd fulfer for him. Ye:1, fuch as had not our-finned their Day, and fimllly hardn.cd their Hearts, as other5 by wicked lV'orks had done, but through the. Light of the Lord, had in good Meafure kept their Confciences void of Offence, they received and embraced him. The Light knew it's OioV'fl: The LeiTer led to the Greater, :J.nd the Grearer Light as naturally Jttra£t.:d the Leifer, as we may fee Fire does every Day. To conclude this Particular, let me add. that they were not the frinces of this W(Jrld rhat put him outwardly to Death; for it came by the Envious and Wicked Accufations of the Jews, (a broken conquered People) to PJ!ate, Governour of a Prdvince only; rherefote, Iince I believe wh1t Che Apoftle fl!ith to . be true, I hare rather R.e:t fon to infer, that it was rue.:znt of"Chrift My.fiic:ally, than of ~hat \'itib!e Body. However it be, that PJrt D d d d of |
