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Show The Chriftian Quaker, and his Vox.. I. Jt)Jj. of our Adverfaries Obje8:ion. about the Liglu's not_ being call'd Cbrifl, ante· ~ cedent to 1Jis Coming in tbt i!lefo, can be Of 110 f1!e,gbt to tbc .A1atter under Debnu, fince we have fo tVIdc.zrly made rbe contrary appe11r. Ch>p.XVI. ~ CHAP. XVI. 'l/!1 Third Part oj the Objdlion: If Chrill WtU enjo~·cd under the Law, "' He wo ;{the Light be Cbnft, Why tVtU He Typified? ls proved of no Force. 'Tbe Type and Anti·type, in fome .Rej}eOs, 1/JtlY be at on~ and the f_ame Time; tl~iJ it prove~ by Plenty of Scnpture. 011r ildverfarus Oppo~ jirion and Cavzl weak and mfuccrfsfu/. T HE Third Parr of the Obje8ion, ond wlur feems ot firft Sight to carry fornething of Moment againft us, is this; If the Ligbr within h1 Chrift, nnd the Jew~ mzd Genti~es bad it from tbe Beginning Of tbe World, bow can Chrift be fazd to b~ Typified our, 111 nor com~, and Propbefi~d of tl come, when b"f )!Our own Principle he hatb be:n always come? I anf.wer rhis Part of the Objeaion ;, in fome Refpea butlt upon the fame Mrlloke " w:1s the fecond, namely, that the Illumination within is intirely Chri~; concerning which, I have plainly a~d truly expreft my fctf before. ~ w1ll therefore faithful'J !tare the Queftwn for them thus: Well, but jhll JOlt f ay Chrif/ Ligbte Jews and Gentiles Before that Vijibk Coming; if fo, tbcn wa; be cO!lJC by your own Principle, whilft h!s .Coming wa.r Typified out, and Propbrjied of: Doth not this fecm a ContradzO'o.n? But to ~ht.s I far, .that the fuppofed Conrradillion arifeth from the Mtftake .of the DtfpenJanons, for it takes for granted, that there was no ~tffe~ence m t~e Degree of ~llu~ mination before, and at the Coming of Chnft, 1n that Vtfible Manner mto the World, which all muft needs confefs. For as I would he undedl:ood, when I c:11l the Light before and after Cbrif!.'s Coming ;, the Flejh, Li~!Jt, to mean but One and the felf-fame Light in 1\ature; ff! kt none ~pprehmd, tiS if tee made no ~ifference, by tbe .ilcknowlcJgment of a more Emment .Alanifoflatio" of the fame Light. What follows then? W~J th~s much l!loit clearly, That un.dcr the Enjoyment of the lejJer AJanijefltlfton of L1.ghr, Jnittd to the then Child{fh Stolt of the Jews, God was pleafed to aUnre thtJJZ after an ExpeElation of higber Things, by Typer and Propbe.(ies of that far more ExciUcnt and Exceeding Glorious D{f}enfaticn 4 the L1ght and Love of God in .after .Ages. The End of God's giving the ljraelitct that outword Prophet ond Lcoder ".il1ofes~ was, to bring. to the Inward Leader, CHRIST JESUS; and t.houg~ they through Carnality and Weokne!S, were not then fenfible of H1m, .lo as to ftay their Minds upon Him, yet Mofes prophefied of Him: And m· deed, :Ill the External De:1lings of God with Men, ha\'e been to bring to Chrift, the Seed within, which is able to Bruif~ the Scrpent•s Head, and did fo, iq fome Meafure, through all Ages, So that with good Rrafon 3~a, Truth we may alfert, Cbrifl_ the l..igbr, was the Rod that follow'd Ifrael tn the Wildernefs (who i.r the Rock of Agu, nRd Foundotion of all Generation!, and who ever ligbt~d all .Manki11d, the f~mt Yejlerdlly~ to Day, a_nd for ever) yet a Greater 1Hanifojlation of tbnt D1V111e L1ght, m1gbt be Typually Prracbt forth 11ndcr the Enjoyment of the lcjJer. And th:lt we herein are not without the ()f the Scriptures to .our Defence, I would fain know, if notwithfia thofe outward Waf'h1ng~s-of thofe Times, God did not frequently very Suhfiance it felt, namely, A Clean Heart, and a New Spirir; accounting all Worfhip ll1ort thereof, but as rhcCutti11g off of a Dog .. s Neck, and Offermg of Sroilus Blood? And whether Chrifi himfelf did not with his own Hands. give the Bread _:m.d Wine toMs Difciples, and yet hid them Do it rill H( came? Whence H IY e:1fie to obferve, that unlefs the Bread and .the· Wine are the very C.hri~, thereby defiroying the Nature of a Sacramem, and inileaci of Doi"g '" nil be come, th~t he ihould ~orne whenever they do receive it,. it muft be gwe~i"' VoL. I. Teftimony Stated and Vindicated. 57 1 cd to us,. that ChrHl: ~refent gave them a Figure ofChrift to come: There~ r6 73• f?re to F1~ure out C:h~1ft ~o co~e, deftr~s not Chrift's being come; cfpe .. ~ C!al}Y taktng our DJ~t~Chon of the _Lejjer ./;f:mifejlation from the Grtatcr, Chap. XVI wh1ch n,everthel~fs dtvtd~s not the Ltghr, but that it remains in it ·reJf, One Pur~, .Eternal Bemg of L1ght and Sun of Righ~eoufnefs through ever? Dif~ penf.tnon. A~d thus much th:Jt Paffage I have already ob!erved from the Apoftle Pau~, m A~fwer to. the Second Part of the Obje8:ion, plainly dears ro us: For 1f ChrtU, Typrfied out, was their Rock, or the Rock of that Age, even whe!l.the Brazen Serpent, the Type was· in Being I cannot fee but the Type and the Thing typified, might be at one and ·rhe fame Time~ not as to Degree, but Narure ; for fo I would be underftood , Before I conclude, t:lke this Notable Saving of Chrifi N. the ]eros and. What may be collefled from i.t to our Pur~ofe: Before Abtaham war, J~m- John t. ~~ Abraham Jaw 111"f Df/J and re;~~·ced- whrch afForas us hriefl.y thus much; ~1. ~8. Thlt thou,gh he was not fo ~~hbly come, yet it was the very fame H~ that came .abo\e One Thoufand Stx Hundred Years ago, who was with the Fa-thers of Old, and that Jfbraham, who lived One Thoufand Nine Hundred Helv. Chro_, Ye:ns before that outward Appearance, faw him, and his Day . . If this be not the Import of the PJace.l k1_10W none; f~r the ]tu•r not believing him . to be the: lt1e[/iflh, thought lt hrgh Prefumpnon far him to compare with librabtun. Art thou Greater tban Ollr Farber Abraham, •ho ir Dead tmd the Propbets are D__ead? Whom tllakefltbou tby je/f? faid that UAbeli~ving People: Unro wh1ch .he anfjVered (that he mtght prove himfclf to be the T~ue lfle~ab, the Chnft ~f God) AbrahamJaro my Day, and rejo)'ced ~ 'I:hey fhll harpmg upon that V16ble Body, or 9utward Man, not Thirty Three Yea~s Old, replyed, 17Jou art not yet Fifty, mzd bafl thou fee,, Abraham ? Taktng that to be the Mt./.]iab, the Chrift of God, and :Saviour of the 'V-.r.orld, he .meant, w~ich th~y faw with their C:1rnal Eyes. To which he tejoyned wuh a Ven/y, veTilj I /•Y unto you, btfore AQraham war I nm : Then took they 11p Stones to cajt nt lnm, &~. By :1ll which it is moft clear that unlcfs o~r .A~v~rf~ri~ will deny him that fo fpoke to be Chrift, whC: fingled and difttngutfh d htmfelf •. os the J.1efliah, the Cbri/1 of God, and,Sa. vzo11r of ,the World, from th:lt V1fible Body, not Fifty Years Old indeedJ b~th Ghnft that then fpoke m?ft needs have been long before .dhrabam's Tun~, :1nd tl,at fuch Hol~ Ancte~ts were not wirhouc a Sight and Profpea o! h1m! and th.e Day '?fh1s Glonous Appearance, or that moft Signal Mamf~ ftan~n of h1mfelf m t~e Body prepared for thJt Great :Jnd Holy Pur .. pole, wttnefs the exceedtng Cle:u :1nd Heavenly Prophecies in the Scrip· tures of.Truth, that were as fo many Fore-runners, or Introducers of the Evangeltcal State. And this is unqu~itionably confirm'd unto us, by th:Ir known and weighty Ixpreffion of the Apofl:le Paul to the Romans: Wbofe art the Fathers and Rom.SJo ~ of whom, ar concerning the Flejh, Chrifl rome, who is over ali God hleffed for ever, Amen. Since here both ChriO: is diftinguirh'd from th~ Body he took and alfo made One with God, who. is over all bleCI'ed for ever, Acen. A~ much. os to fay, Of wh~fe Flefh Cbrij/ took, therefore Chrill was before he took lt; or hts taking tt dtd not only conftiwte him Chriff wh-ich Chrif! isGod: And if God (which cannot be faid of meer Flefh, o; any Corporal Ltneoge) then muft he have been from all Everlafting. · To conclude, as lihrabam outward and natural was rhe great Father of th_e ]evu, outward and natural, whofe Seed God promifed to blefs wnh Earthly Bleffings, J.sGmnan, &c. and that they werefigurath'e:oftbe tme Seed Chrift, and fuch as he fhould beget unto a lively Hope through. th: Power of his fpiritual Refu~r~Ct:ion, it will confequenrly foJiow, ~hac thts Seed mufi be InwarJ :1nd Spmt11al; !inc~ pne outward rhing can nor be the proper Figure or Reprefemation of another; Nor is it the Way ofho-Jy Scripture, fo to teJch us; the 011/Wnrd Lamb thews forth the inward Lamb; the Jew Olltu·ard, the Jew inward. As God attcnde<l the one with many !ingular outward Mercie~(to fay no more) above other Nations. So doth he benefit t!Jt Jew in Spirit, ab.oveall other People. . • D d d d 2 ' f hOVO |