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Show The Chriftian Quaker, and hi; VoL. t. J67J.· elfewhete, let them do fo here : It mi/becames Men that have their Wits ~ to R:tck them to prop Fancy. ' Cha?.X)~. Further let me add, that ~s. He who then .carne into the World, was rhe John~o 10. Same that Created that World Jnto which he came, and therefore previ-ous! or before fuch Gaming; fo neither' on it hold that the World into wb1chMan comes, is the New Creation, finceit is notfaid, who believe ~hich is uf\\J_lly joyncd to Thin~ of that Imporrance (Believe an.d be Saved, f5c.) Nor c~n fuch as don't hel1eve, be .rora_lly .excluded fr~m betng lighted, fince John ;.ty. th~ \Vtc~ed could not Reb~l agam.ft It, 1f they had 1t not; neither Men's Eph. 5· 13. :Evt~ AEhons be Reproved Without 1t: So tbat all fuch Notions are foreign both frcm Scripture and Reafon. \Ve {hall conclud~ thep, . Tb,u Cbrift., rbe W~rd-God, h the Light of the JVor!d, a11d that alJ are Enltgbt11ed by H1m, the f.rernal Son of Ritbteoufiufs. 1bere[ore the Light of Men is Cbri/1: For to Him, Chrifl, or the True Ligh/ John ufiified, who g_ivu Wicked ~Men_to fu tb~ir UnrigbteouJnefr, and wh; leadr .GQod Me.a Qn m tbt W~y of liobne/J_, whub, perftvered i11, brings un. gue/110n'ably to Et~rnalllapp111ifs . ; and Without ~hu~. all Imputation of General .Alb of R1gbuoufne[J; performed by Cbrift without 111 VJilJ avail r.otbing f or Salvation in rh_e Great and Terrible Day of God's Iniue/f and J11dgment, toh~n all jha/1 be judged, no~ by the Deeds any other hath lone for rhtm (wb~lly WlthoJtt them) h!it occordmg to the Du ds done in their own A1orr4f JJotber. Chap. XX. ~ Th.is Subjcfr I flnll conclude, with A few Re.fons f or the Univrrfa!iiy and S11}ftcienq of the Lilbt wit.hin, that we may not only be feen to have the S~riptures of Truth, and other Authorities, but Reafon alfo (whith h more Univerfal) on our Side tao. CHAP. XX. Tbe Univerfality of tbt LIGHT Within, pr~ved by Reafon. T HAT 1here is an Univerfai Light, the Univerfality of all Ages h31h plentifully rdtified. There is nothing more conftant now that en plead either fuch Antiquity, or General C..onfent : Not a Nati~n in the World ever knew an Age, in which it W3S deftitute of fuch a Difcovery of {nterQal Light, as gave them to difcern E-vil from Good; That Virtue was· llflt ever moft corn mendable, and Vice above all things pernicious and dam~ DO!-ble. Thjs is M_arter of~aa, ~hich l have-already pro\'ed, and the moR: ~rbarous Qf 'N:Jttons now. tnhabtted, are 3. clear Demon~ration of what I j;iy. I ~onclude therefore fince both Wicked ancl Good Meo in all Ages ~~ve confefs'd.l? Well and lll Doing, and that rhis depends upon the Dijco: vtry of the Dtvmt L1ght of Cbrift., whtch mamPcfts C\'ery Reprovable AEtiqn; that nope of Mankind are. exempted from this Illumination. But again, it is highly confiftentt with the Goodnefs of God and O.rder of his Crqrion,..fince it fe::ms U!fretfonable that Men fhould ha;e the ~ene· qt of a ~arural Sun, wh1ch !hmes on the Jull and Unjuft, by which ro dl· ~- thea Steps, and fecur.ely tranfafl all T~mporal Affairs. and yet r}ln \.hetr Souls fkou_!d he left. Jejliiute of a SpiritUal Luminary~ o; Sun o[RighreeuJnef- s, wb(ttl(l Gomparifon..o{ tk~ Salvatittn of a jingle Soul Chrift connu the World of no Vnfut. The Soul rhen h3t~ Eyes a~ well as •'he Body; and as Men may fe:e, 1f they pleafe; when the Sun is ifl the outward Fj rma~ !Pent, unlefs thoy wilfully rlofe their Eye~ fo rmy all Raribnal Souls· fee, ~~ theJ. wtll, by t~J(Ir _Eye. of Reifon, t!Mt b"piltillul Sun, which gives as true dt(cern_t9g.and DueClton to the Mind, hoW -to think and .dcfire, as tl1e Nai tura\ Sun dQth:the Body, how to aU ~nd walk aright~ . Wc;r<>nRt thiS tnte, Men .w.ould mtferably charge God with Ne~ledrb ljt_s Creatures :. For fince 1t ts to be fu·ppofed th ::tt God. m:~dc norh.u1g buf wuh. a Defign tt thould ac.knowlec!geaCtenor, after it's refpetli\-e Njture; t.n4 rl!al Man's Duty was peculiar> namd y Diri11e Homage and Wor!hiP, :. - _ exp1eft VoL. JJ 58) ~x.prJell11ge~erally bbeyl~ LiliGe c00orrhefpho~ddingdwirh that B~ing. which made him, 1 6 ~3- n~s . u .r u we _te\'e at 10 ue Mankind withfome[hing tblt is D1~1Re~ m order to If ~ fincc otherwife, Man would be dcltirure of that ~ wh1ch fh?uld e1:1able htm to perform that Duty, without which he cquld not pleafe or nghtly acknowledge God. If rhen all Mankina ought to Worfh1p, Fear, and Reverence God~ certainly all Mankin<l have an Ability from ~ ad fo to d?, or elfe perfeE't: 1mpoffibilities are cxpeRed, Man of him-fdf bt:tn_g a molt tmpo_tem Creature. But it can never Hand certainly with the Rettuud~ and Jufl:tce of the Eternal God, to expeCt from Man wh_ar·he never g:1vc h1m _Power to do, or the Improvement of a Talent he never h~d., In !hon, tf we ought to think that God is to be reyer~nc'd and wor~ fhtpd, we m.ufi agree that God endued Mankind with a Divine Light;ah.d Knowledge, tn order to that Eud, or fay with the Man in .iUattbew, God is an hard ftllf/Jcr~ and oNjler~ L?rJ, be Reaps whtre he never SowtJ. But Iatn almoft a~ra1d rhat the Prmctples and Prejudice of fome, incline them ra ... ther ro think hardly of God, than favourably of tbe Light. How ill doth tt ~come thofe to _objea an ~rnp?ffib!li[y of the Light's bearing their Inl-qumes, who a~e da1ly Woundmg 11 vut1J their ReheUionr? . Bur they ObjeCt, fom_e deny they have it, and orh.ers by their dilfolutc L~ves fhew they are vmd of it. To which I fay, it is n9t impoffible for a Ltfe of"!Vorl~ly Care and Ple.afures, and downright Debau.~;hexy, to datk:en and guite blmd thJt Eye whtcft only fees the Litbt cf Tru1b, and being ke~t !mgle, _preferves the Body full of Light ; but this makes no Alterati'on m ~he L1ght : If ~hrough Repentance and Contrition the Scales fall o~ the ~tght refufes "?~ I[ felf to the Eye that C:ln and will fee it; the Lighe remams unaltered, us Man that changes. Would the running Mad of fatnc Men be a g<?od .Ar~ument co p_rove Mankind irrational? Neither ill it any Dcmonfhauon ag~m~ the U~tverfality of the Light within, becaufe fame have, by the. Stuptfy1Qgs of Stn, rendred themfelves infenfible of it. , _Nor ~Q[h 111 ~iYing d.ifprove the Sufficiency of the Light, though it prove Dtf~bedtcncc to lt: Is tt Good Logick, that becaufca Wicked Alan will not rr:ce!\'e Good Adv1ce, therefore he never had it? And what better Reafon can u be to fay, Men _difobey the Light, therefore they never had it, whilft t~lt proves they had n, at leaft as a Condemner? A Man may be faid robe l1ghted, when he knows and does not his Duty ; but rather, I confefs, when ~e bc_:comes a _better Man by fuch Illumination. In the firft Senfe, All are lll.ummared J . m the !aft, o_nly f~ch :s follow to obey the Light; for they wtl~ find then Underftandmgs tllummated, and their Hearrs mended of whtch the Difobedience of others depr-ives them. In fhorr, All have Light ~o Repro~e. unlefs they have quite put out thcjr Eyes; but fuch only have ~f bi~~efic1a1ly, as their Teacher and Direflor, who receive it in the LoYe Since then tHe Confe_nr «?f Mankind, the GoodnefS and Juftice of God, and Reafon of rhe Thtng 11 felf plead fo llrongly for the Univerfality of th1s Ltght, I need fay the lefs, and (hall defcend ro confider it's Sufficiency. CHAP. XXI. The Suffi<itn<;r of tbt L I G H T proved by RenfUt. BEc:mfe, as weU t~e S~fficiency, as Univerfality of !he Light, is firuc~ at . by our Adverfanes, 1t fball not=, I hope, feem amtfs if 1 fay fomerhtng bneHy to it, rhough much of what I have faid about the other, may be referred t_o this. Th::~r the Univerfal Light is :1lfo Sufficient, is a Belief fo Reafonabte Jnd Neceffary, th:Jt the oppofitc Opinion mnft need! .impeach rhe Juftice of God. All grant_, that God has made Man R:nioo::~l, c::~p::~ble in fame Meafure of t~e Knowledge of his CreatOr; which his blre Capacity would never have · g1ven. him, unlefs God had pleafed to have made fornc Difcovery of him• f f. f f felf, Chap.XXI: ~ |
