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Show 6o6 Of the General Rule VoL. I, His SpiriT, that only gives to Know, Difcern and Judge of the Thing& that ate of God. " Obj. But bow wiD rbit deurmine r~c Controverfie, and aUay tbe F11ry of Debates tbtlt are on Foot in tbe World. .A • r. N h · rkc it if a Man adhere to ir ; and if he does not, there · nJW· 1 °/ b"~ t~c w'rath that is to be Rcveal'd. But moit Perfuafions !sr:~ re:a ab~ututhc abfolute N~ceifari~s in Religion, from t~at Light and w· g fi G d h s placed in Mans Confctence, VIZ. That God u, That He II 12 ~~:a:Jero of 1 3bem that dtligently Juk llrm; That the Way of God u a Wny of p11, 11 Pattcnce, Meeknef1, &c. umbout tJ:!m!J )tO JUan can fee tbe Lml. Na th{' accord in fame confiderable Matters fuperadde~, as tome of them fl eik 1[ wit, Tbat God wu manifefted extrllo1dinanly m tbe Fleth; that J1e g;ve btt Life for t1Je World, that /ttcb tU beheve and obey Hu Grace zn their Heartr recezve Remi.ffion of Sznr, and Life Evcrlaflmg. Now I fay, fince thefe Things Men generally c~mfent to, l~t them live up to t~ef!!, and £; bear wanton Scrutinies after Thmgs or Nonons that gender to Stnfe and C~ntention, and leave not Mankind better,. but rather worfe than they found them, and the World would be foon Rtd of Conuo_verfie. Holy Lrvin , and not Difputing, wou~d be the Bufinefs of Manktnd .. What more efcellent Judgment can be gtven, than that Men ~uzt thetr C~mtenuons about Notions ;:end Opinions, and betake themfelves to the Prafbce of that Good which God hath alreadr {hewn unto them ; as fpak_e both th; Pro-bet Mzc1rb vi. 8. and the Apoftle Paul, Rom. i. 1_9. A~d 1f any. ~hmg be ltevealed to one more than another, le~ the reft JUdge m the Spntt, or be Stlent till God manifeft more to them, 10 order to Rtght .Judgment. ~is ood to Try AU Tbzngs; but wemufi have fometh1ng to try them by; and wh~t ought that to be, but the: Spzrzt ~bitt fearchetb, ,and fhe Ji.noz~t• Cor· 2• 1o. ing that teacber'.AU Tbzngr, which is Truth tt felf Here Mankmd w1_U hve 1 John 2 ' 20' in Lo\•e having at leaft Natural AfFe£\ions (now loft. by the Barbamy of 27' fame 0£ their Cruel Religions, or Heats for theu Optn~ons) and a Judg· ment of Thmg.s will be made, not from the Ra(h, Parttal, Short-fighted, and Froward Mind of Man, but that Etern~l L1ght a'!d Sp_tr~t that netJtr erred· which however d1fguftful to fame Protefiants m th1s Age~ was no Falfe ·DaB-ride in the Account. of_ John Phzlpot and Bi(hop Lat1mer, Two Great Founders of the Rtformrmon zn England. . . . The firft in his Anfwet to the Bifhop of Cb~cb<jler, reprDvmg hiS Confi· BMartyrs, dence bou't True Faith in Chrifi:. The.fe He~etzclu, falt~ he, rake u1,on tbem Voi.JoP·I77· tab< streof aU Things tbq fland rn. Lubmtdoubt (fatth John Pbt~f') of his Faith that lifletb; God give me olwayt to btlteve Jbat 1 am Sure OJ Tnte Faith and Favour in Cbrift. • . U · The fecond, in his Anfwer to Sir Ed. Baynton, obJe8mg the ~certamty B. Martyrs, of Man in what he calls Truth, thus reco~ded by '].Fox, To~r Frzendr ~en~ Vol. 3• pag. not, but tbot tertain Truthr are communzcat:d to 111 llc&ordzn_g to CapaCitY.· 4n• But m to my Prefumption an{l .Arrogancy, ezther I am certazn or unttrltJ/11 tbar it is Truth tbtit I Preach; if it be Truth, W~y may no~ I fay fo) .If 1 ~e uncertain Why dare 1 be io bold as to Preach lt ? And if your FrztnJs e 'Pretrcber; tbemfelvu after their Sermon, I pray you aft them, Whether they be Certain and Sure ;bty Preach the Truth or not; and Jend me Word tchat thq Jay that I may learn to fpeokafur th<m' If tbq fay they b< Sure, you know what follows; if they fay they he VnJure, when (hall )'OU be Sure, that have fo Doubtful and Unfure Teachers. . . . Let not Proteftants, for Shame, judge us for owm~g a Dotl!me that ts Coni\..,g'ed to, and Confirmed by fame of the Wotth1eft of thel! own _An· ceftors, viz. That an Unerring, Certain or Infalli~le Judgment m Thmgs Necdl'ary to Sal~ti~n., .is both Po!fible ;:end Requtfite, ::and that God coqt· municates it by H1s Sptrlt, to the Souls of Men. THj; ,. n ,t_) 't ,t " jlj THE CONCLU~ION. TO conclude, Emm~nuel, a.Word.fuited not only to that Appearance, but the whole Dtfpenfauon of the Gofpel, imports God nigh to or .fJJith !J'ftn: The Tabernacle of God is witb Men: he will d~tU in tbe111 'and Rev. ~:u; 3•7~ "alk m rhem' They jhaU be aU Tau~bt of ""!• and in Rigbreoufnifr .fh-fJ th<y· !Jio, H· 13• be <Jiablt/hed' That"· by the Spmt of hiS Son. .1\nd this admits not df aoy Book, or Ltteral Rule or Judge, to come between that indwelling Spi-· rir_ of Light, L_ife and Wifclom from God, and the Soul, as it's Rule of Falth and PraEhce. And becaufe it is the unutterable Goodnefs of God to People in rhetc latter Days, a_s the Sum. of Script~re·Prophecy, thus to nuke known himfel_ f; we are tnceil'ant , tn eu11 Cnes ~nta them,_ that they tVill turn rheir Minds Inward (now ;:ebroad, and takmg up theJr Reft in rhe' Externals of ~eligion) that tbf ~ay bear his Henvtnly Voice and Knoch, aJfd itt Him m and he_ taught. o hun to ~now and do his WiU, that they ~ay come tct be Expenenced alld Expert m the School of Chrill : For n<vtr :Man fpak< a'!~ taught~ a1 he. !tvmgly fpeak~ ~nd teaches in the Con{&iences of tboft mho d~hgen{ly bear hun,. and are wzUzng to be uugbt of liim the Knowledge tJj hzr Way.r. _T~e Pneft was outward, but he is now Inward ; the Law out.. ~ ward, but It ts now Inward. And now be is"" more tl Jew that i.r one out· ftom. 2• 2!. ward,, ?zor tb~t Circumti./ion ~bitb _i.r Oll~ward in ·1be Plejh; but be is a Jew 29' who zr o1re tnwardiy, and: Ctrcum&ijion u tlJat of the Heart in rhe Spirit and not in the ~Iter, whofe Pr~ife i.r not of Men, bur- of G~d. Which j; fo far from leil'emng rhe Authonty of rhe Scriptures of Truth th.n un• lefs This be Man's Rule and Jud$e in the Retrding ant! Beliroi,; of them· he ca~ never underfiand them Rightly, or keep their Sayings Faithfully: And 1ndeed, as before I have exprelfed, I cannot but fay That Man (whilft unrtgene~ated) fettinghis Wit an~ \\Tifdom ro Fathom ~nd Comprehend the lntentton of the Holy Gho"tt: tn many of thofe Writings, hath occafioned that Confufion, Darlmef.r and Perplex1 Controvcrjit. that now fo lamentably Pefters the World: In which State, for all the Extern:~! Imi~ rations of the Ancients in fame Temporary and Figurative Parts of lVor~ !hip, I am to rell fuch, and from rhe Spirit of the Lord God of all Truth, They wiU never be AccepreJ. The Urmoft of that Literal Knowledge, Hiftorical Faith, and Outward Religion, is h~r as the Old H8aVe1u that are to be w~apped tiP. m a Scrou!, and tbe Old Wme and Bottles that belong not to the Kzngdom of G~d: Such· Believers may flatter. on th.emfelves, and at laft cry, Lord, Lord; But alas! They fhall never enter Into the Reft rhat God bath referved for his Rejenerated .and Redeemed Children, For under fi1ch a FJith and Religion, ~vy, Wrath, Malice, Perfecution,. Pride, Ptlj]ion, Covetoufnef.r, Wor!dlyttuNdedneJ. r, &:c. may and do prev:ul; vea, and are Cloaked, as wirh a fC· cure Cover from the Stroak of God's Spirir; infomuch, as when any arc moved of the Lord to Decry fuch Fair and Hypocritical Shews of Religion, rhey Jte reputed Rlfh and Cenforious, and prefently a Plea muft be .ma:de on rhis wife; Do not we foUow rbe Commands of tbe Scripture? Did not fucb and fuch do fo anJfo? Which ar bell are bur the Duties of S1crifi"Ce, 3nd nor of Obedience: Never regarding from wh;:et Ground rhe Perform~ a nee fprings, whether it he according to the Rule of the l\~w or of the ~ld Creature: But abufe and vilific us for m:tking fuch DiftinEhons; as 1f the Prayers, PieJ.chings, Singings,. outward filptizings and Suppi@~: |
