APAPER we have received, in which we finde much Confusion, Lyes and Slanders, and false Accusations, which hath come from the dark carnall minde, which is enmitie with God, which knoweth not the living God (who is a God of Truth.) Therefore for the simple ones sake, which maybe deceived by believing such Lyes and Slanders which is cast upon the Truth by the Ene­mies of God; and for the clearing of the pure Truth of God, we, who are witnesses for the living, and true God, against all the de­ceit and powers of hell and death, are made free to answer this Paper, according to the Eternall Truth, as it is in Jesus.

And first, Thou Writes to the Church of Christ (as thou calls it) in Rainsorth, and thou confesseth thy own Rudeness, and weak­ness, and other Obstacles, &c. We answer, That thou who art in Rudeness, and weakness art not fit to communicate any thing to the Church of Christ; For the Church of Christ is pure, without spot or wrinckle, and will receive nothing from thy rudeness and weakness, [Page 3]and so thou might have spared thy breath and thy pen. And where­as thou saith, that age and weakness is coming upon thee, putting thee in minde of thy end: Here thou may be a Witness against thy self, that thou art not fit to communicate to the Church of Christ, when as thou doest no better consider in this thy old age, thy own ac­count that thou art to give at the Throne of Grace, where thou must give an account for evere idle word, and every lye, and eve­ry stander and false accusation which thou hast cast upon the inno­cent in this thy Paper, for which the Lord God will plead with thee, for all thy hard speeches, which thou hast spoken against the harmless and innocent people, which thou knows nothing by, nor of, but what thou hast from lying Reports: therefore under the wo thou hast brought thy self, which Iude speaks of, who speaks evill of the things which thou knows not, and therefore hath in these things corrupted thy self: And this (thou saith) is the Testi­mony of thy love, which thou wilt do at the last for the Church of Christ; and now here thou hast treasured up Wrath against the day of Wrath, which thou shall finde recorded, never to be forgotten, when thou cometh to reckon with the just and righteous God, who can by no means clear the guilty.

And whereas thou exhorts them to continue in the faith, &c. I ask thee what faith that is that thou would have them to conti­nue in? if it be thy faith, it is to beleeve lyes, (as thou confesseth in thy Paper) which is come so far as London and Bristol to thee to New-England, which is a publique and generall Faith, such a Faith as never any suffered for in the Marian-times (which thou speaks of:) Therefore thy Faith, which is founded upon such a foundati­on, (as a refuge of Lyes) is not fit to exhort the Church of Christ, neither will the Church of Christ receive thy Exhortation, but turn it back upon thee from whence it came; and the Church of Christ exhorts thee to beware of beleeving lyes, and casting Reproach­es upon the Truth of God, which went ever under Reproach and Scandall, which Christ Iesus, who is the Captain of our salvation, gave the blessing to those that were reproached, whom all men spoke evill of, and persecuted, which now we, (who are the Church of Christ) witness fulfilled at this day; but Reproaches is our Rich­es, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, must suffer perse­cution by this Generation which thou art of, who are given up to beleeve lyes: And herein we follow him who is gone before us, who was hated and rejected of men, a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; this is he whose steps we follow, who is made perfect through sufferings, and therefore are we willing to give our backs to the Smiter, and our cheeks to them that pulleth off the hairs; and to him that smiteth us on the one cheek, to turn the other; [Page 4]and he that taketh away our cloak, to let him have our coat also: and this is thank-worthy, to suffer for righteousness sake, for it is better (if the will of God be) that we suffer for well doing, then for evill doing; for Jesus Christ hath suffered the just for the un­just, that he might bring us unto God: And for this Faith do we contend which was once delivered to the Saints, and are willing to lay down our lives, and to seal the testimony of our Conscien­ces with our blood: and this our faith is not to beleeve lies, as thou doth, (which is manifested in thy Paper sufficiently) and this is that faith which overcomes, and gives victory over the world, and beleeves in the Truth as it is in Jesus.

And thou begins and reckons from the Maryan-times, the Ge­nerations of men famous, (as thou saith) who stood for Faith and Holiness, and the profession of true Religion.

I answer, Thou may see what thy profession of true Religion ends in, who art now in thy old age beleeving lyes and false accu­sations, which thou hast no true ground for, and are accusing and slandering the pure innocent Truth of God, which is clear in the sight of God of these slanders which thou hast cast upon it, for which the Just God will plead with thee, when thy talking of a Faith will not serve thee, nor thy profession of a true Religion, when thou art persecuting and detaining the pure Religion, and undefiled before God and the Father; this is to visit the Father less and the Widow in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted of the world: But thou art found in the desilement, and casting thy filth of lyes and slanders upon Religion, and therefore art thou found in the world, one of them. Therefore now repent of the e­vill of thy doings while thou hast time, and turn thy minde to that measure of God in thee, which tells thee thou should not lye nor slander, nor accuse falsly; there is something in thee that tells thee these things ought not to be; there is that of God in thy conscience which tells thee thou ought not to beleeve lyes, nor to take re­ports from the mouths of slanderers, and to cast them upon the innocent (who was ever reproached and slandered by the world) and so in this thou art become one with the persecutors that ever persecuted the appearance of God, where ever it was made mani­fest. So let that of God in thy conscience now examine and search what thou art doing, who art slandering those whom thou knows not, nor hath nothing to lay to their charge, but what thou hath by hear-say, and consider whether this be as thou would be done by. But in this thou hast manifested thy ignorance of God, and of his pure Truth, which leads to do unto all men, as they would have men to do unto them; and here thou art found out of the Truth, and out of the Life that gave forth the Scriptures, who [Page 3]takes the Scriptures but for a cloak to cover thy nakedness with­all, but art ignorant of that spirit that spoke them forth, as thou makes it manifest in thy next words, where thou saith, Those men gave not their mindes with Balaam, to look out for visions to curse Gods people. Here thou hast manifested thy ignorance of the Scriptures, for when Balaam looked out at the temptation of Baalack, he would have cursed them; but he did not look then to the vision of God, which said he should not curse them. And so all who wil but read that Scripture, may see thy confusion and ignorance, for in that Vision and Prophesie, Balaam did see and know the people of God, and could not curse them while he kept to it, untill he did hearken and look out at the temptation of Balaack: And so here read thy ignorance in Scripture: Besides in this thou speaks against all the Holy-Men of God, as Moses, Samuel, Nathan; Daniel, Isaiah, Paul, Peter, Iohn, &c. and all that ever was taught by the immediate Spirit of the living God, was taught by Vision and Revelation; and this thou exhorts those, whom thou calls the Church of Christ, from. Therefore let all that reads thy words, mark thy Blasphemy and ignorance of God, and of his eternall living Truth, as it is in Jesus the only begotten Son, which now the Father is revealing in this his day; and the Son likewise is revealing the Father; Glory and Praises be to the living powerfull God for ever. And thou speaks of railing against Magistrates and Ministers, which is a false accu­sation, for railing we do deny; but we speak the Truth in Christ, and lye not, our consciences also bearing us witness in the sight of God: And the Ministers of Christ we own, who are Ministers of the Spirit, and not of the Letter, for the Letter killeth, but the Spirit ma­keth alive; and those who have the Ministration of the Spirit, which quickens, we own, and have unity with them, who is made not by the will of man, nor the will of the flesh, but by the wil of God, according to the Promise of life which is in Christ Iesus; who have not received their Gospel by man, but by the Revelation of Iesus; this Ministry we own, and this Ministry we witness. But that Ministry which is received from man, who teacheth for Doctrine the Precepts and Commandments of men, which are found in the steps of the Scribes and Pharisees, which Christ cryed wo against, who sit in Moses seat, who are sayers, but not doers; who bindes hea­vy burthens grievous to be born, but will not themselves move them with one of their fingers, but all their works they do to be seen of men, love the uppermost rooms at Feasts, the chief seats in the Synagogues, are called of men Master, who devour widows houses, and for a pretence make long Prayers; who are blinde guides, such as Christ Jesus cryed wo against, who is our Lord and Master, and Shepherd of our souls; but who are found acting in those things which he cryed wo a­gainst [Page 4]we do deny, and turn from them, for Christ Jesus hath left us a Rule to know them by their fruits, which makes them mani­fest to be the ravening wolves inwardly, which Christ Jesus speaks of, who have the Sheeps clothing, (the Saints words and profession) but their ravening wolvish nature appears by their persecution and tyranny, which they exercise in this Nation of England, as most Goals in this Nation can witness, who have many of the innocent harmless people of God shut up in Dungeons and Holes, for no other cause but for bearing witness for the living God against the deceit, by which they keep poor people in blindness and ignorance of God, who are the same as ever the Lord sent his true Prophets to cry against, who bear rule by their means, and commit the horrible and filthy thing, which the Lord sent Ieremiah to cry against: And, who seek for their Gain from their quarter, and preacheth for Hire, which the Lord sent Isaiah to cry against; who feed with the sat, and clothe with the wool, which the Lord sent Ezekiel to cry against: And, such as make the people to erre, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace, Peace, and he that putteth not into their mouth, they even prepare war against them; which the Lord sent Micah to cry against: And those that seduce the people, saying, Peace, and there is no peace; and one builds a wall, and another daubs with untempered morter, those whom the Lord declared against by Ezekiel: And those whom the Lord saith he is against, who prophesie false Dreams, and cause the people to erre by their lyes and by their lightness, and say the Lord saith it, when, saith the Lord, I never spake to them. These are they whom we testifie a­gainst, which all the true Prophets of the Lord were sent to bear witness against, and therefore by them did they suffer, and were called before Magistrates and Rulers, and persecuted and hated of all men, and made as the off-scouring of the world, and account­ed not worthy to live. The same Testimony, and the same Effects and Fruits of it in this Generation (we, who are of the world in scorn called Quakers) do witness at this day in these Nations, as many prisons and stockings, and scourgings, and whippings we have suffered, which is our joy and riches, which suffering is not worthy to be compared to the glory which is to be revealed: And blessed be our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath found us worthy, and given us power, not only to beleeve on him, but also to suffer for his sake; and the Scriptures of everlasting truth is fulfilled, which hath said, He was numbred among the transgressors, and counted as Sheep for the slaughter, and killed all the day long; and this we witness to be out portion from this generation, which goes by the name of Ministers; and for no other cause that they have against us, but for bearing witness for the living God and his Truth, as it is made manifest in us by the same Spirit, and Life and Power as all the [Page 5]Holy Men of God were sent, Prophets and Apostles, who were made Ministers of the Eternall Spirit; these were alwayes sent to speak against those who had the form of Scriptures, and the profession, but alwayes persecuted the Life and Power that spoke them forth; and as he that was born after the flesh, ever persecuted him that was born after the spirit, even so it is now: And by this Generation of Priests, and Elders, and High-Priests, was Christ and his Apostles persecuted, and accused, and hailed, and arraigned before Magi­strates, as ye may read throughout the Scriptures; and all the righteous blood that hath been shed since Abel, hath been shed by this Generation, and so the Scripture is fulfilled which saith, As a Troop of Robbers waits for a man, so doth a company of Priests murther in the way by consent. And for Magistrates we own, such as Rule for the Lord, who are a terrour to the evill doers, and lay the Law upon the Transgressors, who bears not the Sword in vain; such as are for the praise of them that do well, such we own and honour in our souls, and are subject to for conscience sake; but all ungod­liness and unrighteousness of men, we bear witness against, in Magistrates, Priests and people, which act contrary to that of God in the Conscience, for God is no respector of persons, but of all sorts of people, he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted with him; and we honour all men in the Lord, and he that ruleth well is worthy of double Honour, and this we stand for, and bear witness to, and this Testimony we are willing (if we be called to it) to seal with our blood, as many who have gone before us have done. And so here thou may see and read thy Accusation to be false, who saith we rail against MAGISTRATES and MI­NISTERS.

And whereas thou saith, Truth is, Beloved, and that which is my grief, that I have been informed (and I dare not but beleeve it) that there are men among you who have departed from the Faith and Purity of the Gospel, to depend upon Iesuitical and Satanicall delusions, I mean such as go under the name of quakers, who depend not upon the Scrip­tures for Light, but on what they receive from a Spirit which casteth them into a Trance, what these Trances are, let men of understanding judge, for I am weak, &c.

Answer, Let all who reads thy words, try thy beloved Truth (as thou calls it) which is, that thou dare not beleeve lyes; that which many hundreds can witness to the contrary of this, that thou hast spoken, which though thou saith there is men among us, whom thou saith goeth under the name of quakers, that depends upon Jesuiticall and Satanicall Delusions, this we utterly deny, and a Cloud of Witnesses we have, which will stand against thee in this thing, and witness it to be an untruth (which thou confesseth thy [Page 6]faith dare not but beleeve) and among many thousands which is convinced of the everlasting Truch of the everlasting God, we do not know one Priest, or Jesuit, or Papist, that owns us, or joynes with us: And so let all that reads thy Truth, and thy Faith (as thou call it) see how far thou art from the Truth; neither is there any among us that is brought into the Ministry to Preach the everlast­ing Gospel, that ever did profess that Faith of the Romish Church. And so, whether thou be not found here in a Satanicall Delusion, who is thus bclying, and slandering, and accusing falsely the innocent, contrary to all Truth? whether lyes and slanders, and false accusations, be not of of the Devill; let all honest hearts judge? And now let any, who hath the least measure of God in them to guide their mindes unto Ju­stice and Equity, judge what Faith this is that thou art exhorting to, who art found in such delusions of beleeving lyes thy self, how thou can exhort to the Truth who art found quite contrary, accu­cusing, reproaching, scandalizing and defiling the Truth, thy faith which doth not purifie thy heart from this uncleanness, we do de­ny; and thy Hope which doth not purifie from these filthy accusa­sations, we do deny; and the Church of Christ wil deny it where ever it is, and doth know and see that no lye is of the Truth: And so this thy Faith which thou art exhorting to, when the just and righ­tcous God cometh to plead with all flesh, by Sword and by Fire, thou and thy Faith (which dare not but beleeve lyes) wil perish; and the hope of the Hypocrite doth perish, when the over slowing scourge cometh. Therefore take warning, and now thou hast time prize it, for the Judge stands at the doore, who layes Judgement to the line, and rightcousness to the Plummet; and thy refuge of lyes will be swept away, and thy Covenant with Hell and Death will be broken: For the tryed Stone is risen, the sure Foundation, who jud­geth with righteousness, and reproves with equity. Therefore turn thy minde to that which is just, and equall, and righteous, that is of God, which tells thee thou ought not to do wrong, nor to accuse falsly; this will shew thee the deceit of thy heart, and let thee fee thy vain thoughts that lodgeth within thee, and the darkness of thy minde, which thou hast made manifest by thy words, who faith, They depend not upon the Scriptures for a Light: Here let the Scriptures try thee and judge thee, who saith the Scriptures is the Light, when the Scriptures saith, Christ is the Light which lighteth e­very man that cometh into the world; and every one that loveth this Light, walketh in this Light, and bringeth his deeds to this Light to be proved and tryed by the Light; and he that doth evill hates the Light, and turns from the Light, least his deeds should be reproved. And here let the Scripture judge and try thee, whether thou doth not deny Christ Jesus, who saith, I am the Light of the world, whenas thou [Page 7]saith the Scripture is the Light; here thou denies him, who is a Light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of his people Israel. Now let all see what thou hast to see or to judge with, who denies the light of the body, which is the eye, for when the eye is single, the whole bo­dy is full of Light; but when the eye is evill, the whole body is full of darkness. And here thou art found now, who art looking at the Letter without thee, but thy body is full of darkness, confusion, and enmity against the Truth of God, as thou hath manifested in this thy Paper. And Christ Jesus said unto his Disciples, Ye are the light of the world; a city that is set on a hill cannot be bid: Let your Light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorifie your Father which is in heaven. But thy works and thy Light is made ma­nifest by thy envy that thou hast uttered forth against the harmless, which thou knows nothing by. But thou that hath no other Light to judge with but the Scriptures without thee, which was spoken forth from another spirit then thou speaketh from; now thou that taketh these words, and speaketh them forth from a lying spirit, which was spoken forth from the Light, and Life, and Power of God; from the just and the living Truth was the Scrip­tures spoken forth from: But thou who hath no Light to walk or speak by, but what thy dark spirit gathers out of the words without thee, were not like to speak truth; for they that spoke forth; the Scriptures, the Truth was made manifest in them, they did not speak from another, or by hear-say, as thou doth; thy spoke what they knew, and what they witnessed, and bare testimony to the Truth; and all who cometh into the same Truth, beareth witness unto them, and knoweth the same Truth as they did: But this thou art ignorant of, who hath nothing but the Husk and the outside, the Kernal and the Substance thou knoweth nothing of; but bles­sed be the Lord God for evermore, the same Life and Power as they spoke from is witnessed, and they that spoke forth the Scrip­tures are witnessed to be true, by the same life; and all such as thou who hath nothing but the Declaration of that life, are seen and known, and weighed, and all your profession which is without the life and profession denyed; and here is the Lambs war betwixt you and us, you have the words and Declaration which the life sple, we have the Life and Substance which spoke these words, and so you have the outside, who are born after the flesh, persecutes us who are born after the spirit: And so now read where thou, and you all are, who are found in this persecuting nature; for I am sure, if you will be tryed by the Scriptures, you cannot finde that ever any of the Saints of God persecuted any, but were ever per­secuted, and ever suffered persecution by those who had a professi­on; as Christ Jesus was crucified by the chief Priests, and the El­ders, [Page 8]Scribes, and Pharisees, who were the strictest professors of the Scriptures, which spoke of him, and prophecied of him, which that age, and that Generation had; besides, all the Saints, Ser­vants, Prophets, and Apostles that ever suffered, did suffer by a people professing Religion. So let the Scriptures be judg between you and us, and if you will come to be tryed by the Scriptures, you will be found of the same generation of Persecutors as ever was before you.

And whereas thou saith, VVe depend not upon the Scriptures for Light, hut from what we receive from a Spirit which casteth us into a Trance, and what this Spirit is, thou confesseth thou knows not, and yet thou lakes upon thee to judge of this Spirit, though thou confesseth thou art weak, &c. but thou saith thou tells what thou thinks.

Now here thou hast uttered forth thy weakness, and thy naked­ness appears in these words, and thy bitter spirit, in slandering that which thou knows not, for that which tries the Spirits is Truth, and Eternall and Infallible, and speaks that is knows, and beleeves not every spirit, but tries the Spirits whether they be of God. And from this Spirit thou hart shut thy self, and by this Spirit do we try thy Spirit to be a Spirit of Error and Delusion, a Spirit of Darkness, which hath no light in it; but thy Light is without thee that thou judgeth by, and thou judgeth by thinking, and this is for judgement: Christ Jesus said, Take heed that the Light which is in thee be not darkness; he doth not say, take heed that the Letter without thee be not darkness; and he saith again, If thy Light be darkness, how great is that darkness? and so here thou art in the darkness, and yet judgeth of the Light; but thy spirit is a fallibe Spirit, and so cannot give true judgement upon that which is in­fallible and eternall: But that Spirit which is infallible and eter­nall, gives true judgement on thee, and knows thee, and tries thee and thy Light, which is thee Letter without thee, which is none of thine, but anothers; and with the same spirit as spoke forth the Scriptures thou art judged, and thy spirit to be a fallible lying spirit; and the same good spirit of God as spoke in the Holy Pro­phets, Christ and his Apostles, which is not divided, but is one and the same for evermore; the same spirit do we witness, not another, but the same as was before ever the Scripture was written, and by this Spirit which was before Scripture was written, do we judge thee and thy Light which thou hath from the Declaration: Here thou confesseth that if thou had had no Scripture, thou had had no Light; but God is Light, and all who knows him, knows him in the Light; and all who sees him, sees him in the Light, for the immortallity dwols in the Light, but this thou knows nothing of; and we do accord with, and own, and witness, and have unitywith [Page 9]the same Spirit, with all that spoke forth the Scriptures, the Pro­phets, Christ, and his Apostles, and all the Holy men of God, that e­ver was taught by the Spirit of God; all that is guided by that one, and the same spirit we do witness and own, and all that have that same spirit to lead and guide them to the living God (who is a Spirit) wil own and witness us to be of God, and our Testimony to be true; and this shall be answered by that of God in all con­sciences.

And whereas thou speaks severall times of the Institutions and Ordinances of Christ, answer, The Ordinances and Institutions of Christ we own, and witness and honour, and his Commands arc not grievons, but joyous: but thou that speaks these words, hath made thy self manifest to deny the Ordinances of Christ, and his Institutions, and art ignorant of them what they are, when thou cometh to name them, thou names Sabboths, and Sacraments; and for the Ministry and Magistracy (which thou speaks of) we have answered that before; yet this I say to thee more, That those Mi­nisters which were ordained by Christ did not preach for Hire, Christ Jesus bare witness against the Hireling, and called him a Thief and a Robber; now see if thy Ministers which thou speaks for be not such, and then see if thou do not blaspheme Christ, in say­ing that he ordained such as he called Thieves and Robbers, which are Hirelings, which flies because they are Hirelings; those whom he ordained and sent forth, were sent forth freely, who had recei­ved freely of him, and freely they did give; they did not go in the way of Cain, to envy nor run greedily after the error of Balaam, for gifts and rewards. Now see if those Ministers which thou speaks of be not such; where did ever Christ ordain them? or when did they receive a Commission? but whom he ordained did preach the Gospel freely to every creature, and had a Commission from him to baptize all Nations, in the Nome of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, doth thy Ministers, that thou speak of, so? Read the Scriptures honestly, and see whether Christ ordained a­ny but such as had an immediate command and Revelation from him, and such received power from above to go teach all Nations: Now see whether these Ministers thou speaks of will own this com­mission, or witness it, and if they cannot, then thou art he that blasphemeth Chritt, and defames his Truth, which is pure, which will not admit of any decit nor guile. And for that thou speaks of Sabboths, here thou art denying Christ, for where he is known and witnessed to be come, he is the end of the Sabbath, and the rest of his people: and what Scripture hast thou which saith that Christ ordained a day to be kept as a Sabbath? wilt thou belye Christ Jesus, to say he hath ordained a Sabbath-day, which he putteth an [Page 10]end to. Here let all read the Scriptures and try thee and thy Or­dinances that thou pleads so for, the Son of man is the Lord of the Sabboth: If thou have an ear, thou may hear; or an eye, thou may see: but thou art blinde, and yet hath eyes; and deaf, and yet hath ears. And for thy Sacraments, which thou calls an Ordinance of Christ, this is an Ordinance of thy own making, which thou hath no Scripture for at all; wilt thou say that Christ ordained a Sacra­ment, when there is no Scripture for it? Oh that thou should be so blinde, and yet will take upon the to exhort (as thou saith) the Church of Christ! but surely the Church of Christ knows the Ordi­nances of God better then thou dost, for thy Ordinances is beg­garly Rudiments, which are but commandments and doctrines of men, but it is little with thee to call them the Ordinances of God, who art so far by the Truth, as thou art in all thy Paper through­out: But those who are dead with Christ from the Rudiments of the world, cannot be subject to thy Ordinances, for the Apostle exhorts from them, and saith, Touch not; tast not, handle not, which are all to perish with the using of them; and his exhortation we own and cleave to, and keep his Ordinances as he delivered them to us, and thine we do deny; but the Ordinances of Christ Jesus we live in, according to the Scrptures, and all the Saints in Light that ever went before us; for heis our peace who hath made both one, and broken down the partition Wall betwixt us, and hath a­bolished in his flesh the enmity, even the Law of Commandments contained in Ordinances, for to make himself of twain one New Man, so making peace, and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the Cross, having slain the enmity thereby; but where this enmity stand unslain, which is far off, and not wash­ed and made nigh by his blood, here the Ordinances of men is set up, and called the Ordinances of God, who are without Christ, being aliens from the Common-wealth of Israel, and Strangers from the Covenant of Promise, not being washed, and cleansed, and purged by his blood, which maketh nigh, and taketh away the partition-Wall, and makes of twain one New Man. Now if thou, or any of you, do witness this condition, then do you know and live in the Ordinances of Christ; but if you be dead in your fins, and the uncircumcision of your flesh, then hath he not blot­ted out the hand-writing of Ordinances, and hath not taken it a­way, nailing it to his Cross. Now see whether ye be here or no, or else ever talk of the Ordinances of God, but let them be, as in­deed and in truth they are, the Ordinances of men; and in the mean time so long as thou art ignorant of these things, and of the workings and operation of the living Spirit, and power of the living God; so long as thou knows nothing but what thou knows [Page 11]naturally, beware how thou speaketh of trances, and quakings, and such expressions, least thou blaspheme against God; for the living God, nor his power, nor working thou knows not, therefore be silent, and beware how thou judges with evill thoughts that which thou knows not, for in that thou corrupts thy self, and art found to be one of those filthy dreamers which defiles the flesh, de­spiss dominivn, and speak evill of dignities, and so, as I said before, bring thy self under the wo. And so beware, and fear and dread the living God, who is a consuming fire to his Enemies, and be­fore him thou cannot stand with thy filthy stuff, which thou hast raked together, his jelousie burns like fire, and this wil be as stub­ble before him: Therefore see what thou hast that will abide the fire, for nothing will stand in his presence but what will answer to the fire; and this thou shalt eternally witness to be truth, and love to thy soul. And the spirit which speakcth in us is one, and the same yesterday, to day, and for ever; and that spirit which doth not speak the same we do deny; and the judgement which thou judgeth we do deny, and by the eternall infallible spirit, we ijudge it to be false judgement, and of the living God of heaven and carth shalt thou be judged for thy false judgement, which thou hast given of the Spirit of Truth, and this thou shalt eternally witness one day, when thou art arraigned at the barre of Justice, as thou saith; and we judge and bids stand off all unclean spirits, all lying, dark, Satanicall Spirits, which knoweth not the living God, nor joins not to the living God, for who is joyned to the Lord is one Spirit, and this is that Spirit which we speak from, which leads and guides up to God. And thou that speaks of trances and quakings, and humbling, and confessing, and Originall Sin, and vileness, and casting down, and such like, which thou hast gather­ed out from the Letter, and speaks them with another spirit then spoke them in the Scriptures; thou that hath not the same Spirit as spoke these words in the Scriptures, we deny thy spirit, and judg it to be the Spirit of Error: by the same spirit as spoke forth the Scriptures, we do try thee and know thee; and we deny all false Doctrine, and contradictions, and rediculous and foolish things, which thou mentions, and all thy confusion which thou haft ut­tered forth in thy Paper, (not worthy mentioning) and the Spirit that spoke it, we do utterly deny; and the Spirit of the living God we own, and witness, and cleave to, which proceeds from the Fa­ther and the Son, which is the judge of all unclean, dark, fallible, lying Spirits; this is our Leader, and Teacher, and Guider, Judge, and Law-giver, and King: Glory and Praises be to our living and powerfull God for ever. And after that thou hast judged the Spi­rit of God to be the Spirit of the Devill; thou confesseth that [Page 12]thou hast not waded very deep into the matter: Here thou hast made manifest thy shallowness and sinfulness of Truth indeed, and uttering forth thy folly and ignorance of God. But thou art comprehended, and the depth of thy deceit is known and seen, and the bottom and foundation on which thou stands is sandy, and the words thou hears, but doth them not; and therefore art thou likened unto the foolish man, that hath built thy house up­on the Sand, for when the winde blows and beats upon thy house, it will fall, and great will be the fall of it.

And thou speaks of Iesuits, which was known in London to quake, and to speak in the Congregations, and thou saith, These men no doubt might make a Covenant with the Devill, and by the finest way of witchcraft and sorcery convey it unto others by an implicit Co­venant, seducing men thinking no such thing, but rather as though God had more abundantly declared his love to them, then to any people in the world, when as the matter is nothing else, but Satan transformed into an Angel of Light; and so then thou goes on to tell thy story.

Answer: Here let all who reads thy words, and hath any mea­sure of Justice, Equity, or Honesty in them, behold thy blindness and ignorance of God, and of his Truth, who hath given such a manifest lye as this is under thy hand, and yet hath the boldness to judge the Spirit of Truth to be the Spirit of Satan, at that ve­ry instant when thou art found in the Devils work, venting and vomiting lyes and slanders upon the pure Truth of the living God, which shall be found clear, and pure, and innocent, and guiltless of all these false slanders which thou hast cast upon it; God and his Truth shall be found true, and all such men as thou found ly­ars, as hundreds in London (from whence thou fetcheth this lye) shall witness, that this which thou hast spoken to be a lie and slan­der, and all lyes is of the Devill, and he is the Father of all lyars: and I do beleeve that thou wilt not finde one in London (of so ma­ny thousands as there is in the same nature as thou art in) that will say they saw Jesuits quake there; but I am sure that hundreds there are that are convinced of the living Truth of God, which will testifie against thy lyes, and bear witness for the Truth against thy false slanders, And those men which thou saith are seduced by witchcraft, and sorcerie, and an implicite Covenant. Answer; but those men whom thou speaks, as being contemptible, will quick­ly see thee to be a poor deceived, seduced creature, who utters forth thy confusion, and darkness, and ignorance, and makes thy folly manifest: And thousands there are at this day, who have not come so far up to the Truth of God, as to own us, yet will see thee to be a dark, ignorant, deluded, besotted spirit, who knows nothing at all of God, but what thou knows it is naturally, as a bruit beast, [Page 13]which Iude speaks of. And thou that doth ground and raise such scandals, as thou hath done in thy Paper, upon such lyes and un­truths as these that thou tells, let all honest hearted judge what spirit it is that guides and leads thee; for I am sure that hundreds will set to their hands and seals, that this which thou speaks is false; and yet from this ground dost thou raise thy Exhortation (thou saith) to the Church of Christ: so now whether any Church, which hath but the name and profession of Christ, will receive such reports, and lyes, and slanders, and give it under their hands as thou hast done; let all the professed Churches, though there be many that can talk of Christ, and God, as thou doth, and serve the Devill, as thou hath done here; I say, Let all the professed Church­ches (as thou calls them) both in New-England, and elsewhere, blush, and be ashamed of thee, who hast given such manifest lyes, and slanders, and scandals of the pure Truth (for a testimony of thy Faith) which thou confesseth thou hath but by report: But thou hast made thy self manifest to be a defamer of the Truth of God, who saith, Report, and we will report it: And so thou goes on with thy Report and Story, which thou saith is credibly reported to be in, or about Bristol.

There was a mans wife that desired to go to one of the Quakers Mee­tings, her husband was unwilling, but after importunity he gave her leave; but she was so wrought upon in that Meeting, that when she came home again she was fill'd with Revelations, and spoke as though she had spoken with the tongue of Angels, to admiration far above her self; her husband told her she was bewitched, but she was far enough from belee­ving that; but he could not satisfie himself, but would search her body, to see what tokens he could finde, & about her arm he found a silk thred, he inquired how that came there, she serious professed she knew nothing of it; wel, saith he, this shall not remain here; and he took it away, and then she returned to the same woman that she was before she went to the quakers Meeting: (and saith thou) if this be a true Story, as I credibly beleeve, tell me if there was not witchcraft used in this quakers Meeting, yea or nay?

Now let all honest hearts, who reads this thy Story, read thy Spirit and thy envy, who hatcheth Cockatrice-Eggs, and weaves Spiders-webs, and he that eateth of these Eggs dyeth, and that which is crushed breaketh into a Viper: Now if thou be not blind thou may read thy Spirit in this Scripture, but for this cause God hath sent thee strong delusions, that thou should beleeve lyes; and I know assuredly that thousands there is about Bristol, from whence thou fetcheth this lye, that will witness and testifie that this is a gross lye also, and that there was never any such thing done or ac­ted there by those people called quakers: And therefore let all [Page 14]who have but any moderation, or dram of honesty in them, judge thy boldness and impudence in lying, who should send such a ly­ing pamphlet as this is into another Nation, which thou professeth love to; but thy hands is defiled with blood, and thy fingers with iniquity; thy lips hath spoke lyes, and thy tongue hath utterd per­versness, and thy trust is in vanity and lyes; thou hast conceived mischief, and brought forth iniquity; and this is the fruits of thy Profession, which thou tells such a story of in the beginning of thy Paper, and of so many Generations which thou calls Churches of Christ; but there was never any Generation but might have such a Church as this is, whereof thou art a Member, which is grounded upon lyes, and reports, and stories; the Pope and Iesuits (which thou speaks of) can have no worse Foundation then thou hast: Therefore let all that profess this Faith, that thou art of, be asha­med of thee, and the fruits that thou brings forth, who hath made lyes thy refuge, and with falshood hast thou covered thy self as with a garment. And thou goes on, and saith, no doubt the devill can very wel paint men to come to the Lords table and to preach Christ, for thou saith, he hath sometime been a Preacher of Christ himself.

Answer: At that Table where thou sits the Devill may paint men to come to; and the Devill may preach Christ, as he doth in thee, talk of a Christ, and yet the Doctrine, and Foundation, and Ground from whence thou speaks, is lyes and untruths; and all lying comes from the Devill: And so let all, who have any thing of God in them to guide their mindes, judge and try thy Spirit, and what Scripture thou hath to prove thy words, or when it was that the Devill preached Christ: but though in words he might speak of him, as thou dost, and thy preachers that thou speaks of; but the Apostle saith, that there is none can preach except they be sent, and wilt thou say that God sent the Devill to preach Christ? or thou wilt deny the Apostles words and Doctrine; or thou wilt blas­pheme God; choose which of these thou wilt taste: And the Apo­stle said, they could not sit at the Lords table and the table of Devill: And thou saith, the Deville an paint men to come to the Lords table: Now wilt thou deny the Apostles Doctrine there? or wilt thou confess thy self be at the Table of the Devill, feeding among lyars and envious persons, which holds the Truth in unrighteous­ness? Therefore expect the wrath of God to be revealed from Heaven upon thee, which is against all ungodliness and unrigh­teousness of men, who are back-biters, haters of God, despitefull, proud boasters, inventers of evill, who have changed the truth of God into a lye. Here read thy self, and thy spirit, and thy practise, and thy portion, for God is the same, he changeth not, and according to thy works shall thy reward be. So thou goes on in thy accusing, [Page 15]and back-biting, and slandering: and thou brings up Grimdleton, whom thou sayes came up to Trances and Revelations, which thou saith fell at last to Popery and prophaneness. But this which we have only from thy own mouth, which is so stuft with lyes and slanders, who is set on back-biting, and slandering, and accusing, and thy ground is but by hear-say, we shall give little credit to what thou speaks, either of Grimdleton, or any else, for we know thy ground is falsity and lyes, and so there can no truth spring from that Root: But I do beleeve that thou does accuse Grimdle­ton falsly, and belye them, in that thou saith they are turned to Popery; but thy throat is grown so wide, that thou canst swallow any thing; and thou never heeds who thy Informers are, so that it feed that Root which grows in thee, which brings forth bitter fruit.

And thou saith, It is the main thing that the Devill drives at now' because Jesuits have been the chief Fomentrrs of this quaking Religi­on.

Let all behold and see now thy gross ignorance, and emptiness and shallowness, that thou should speak things that thou hast no president, not ground of truth for; where can thou say, or where hast thou heard that ever the Iesuits quaked? Oh that thou should not be ashamed of such idle, groundless untruths, that all who reads thy words may read thee to be a lyar and slanderer! Thou cannot produce any that ever knew a iesuit quake; and so let all who reads thy words, read thy gross error and ignotance of Scriptures, who talks of Iesuits quaking (which they never did) and art so blinde that thou cannot see who they were in Scripture that quaked. Was Moses a Iesuit, who said, I exceedingly fear and quake? And was the people of Israel Iesuits, who came in the morning to the Mount, where there was thunders, and ligntnings, and thick Clouds up­on the Mount, and the voice of the Trumpet exceeding loud, so that all the people that was in the camp exceedingly trembled; was this Trum­pet sounded among the Iesuits? Oh thou miserable creature! who art thou contending against? And was Ezekiel a Iesuit, to whom the Word of the Lord came, saying, Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and carefulness? And was Daniel a Iesuit, upon whom fell great quakings and trem­blings? Now see and read thy ignorance of the Scriptures, which thou saith is thy Light: Now see if thou be not blinde, who yet knows not that which thou looks upon to be thy guide, who casts a Reproach upon that which thou never came to know, nor never was made partaker of: But to an account and reckoning thou shalt come for all thy hard speeches.

And whereas thou saith, That thy hearts desire is, that they may be established in the Faith of Gods Elect.

Thy heart is deceitfull, and desperately-wicked, nor the Faith of Gods Elect, thou, nor them that thou writes to, never know, for the Elect of God is pure, and none can lay any thing to the charge of Gods Elect: So concerning that Faith be thou silent, for thou art here charged with many lyes, and slanders, and false accusati­ons, which Gods Elect was never found guilty of: But it was al­wayes the portion of the Elect of God to receive from by genera­tion such slanders and accusations as thou hast here vented in thy Paper, which hath made thee manifest to be none of Gods Elect, nor none of that Faith; neither can they abide in that which they never came in: So thou dost but utter forth thy folly in thy Ex­hortation. And thou goes on in thy confusion and vanity, and thou askest three questions, and thou answerest two of them thy self, according to thy folly, emptiness, and shallowness, and in the third thou hast set thy self fast, and knows not how to get out, and so thou leaves us to answer it; and so it is like we shall answer a fool according to his folly.

First, Thou askest by whom do we hope to besaved?

We deny the ground of thy Answer, and we answer from ano­ther ground and principle, which thou art ignorant of, and art an enemie to, We hope to be saved by CHRIST JESUS, who is the Light of the world, and hath lighted every man but cometh into the world; and this Light is thy condemnation, who saith the Leeter is the Light: and so the same CHRIST JESUS which dyed at Jerusalem, which witnessed a good Confestion before Pontius Pi­late, who is the way to the Father, the Light hath leads to life; this is our Saviour; and the same that saves us, condemns thee who lo­veth darkness rather then Light, because thy deeds are evill.

Secondly, Thou askest how we came to know there was ever such a man in the world.

And this thou answers according to thy publike faith, from a Te­stimony without thee; but we deny thy Answer; and our answer is, That we know that the Son of God is come, who hath given us an understanding, and we know him that is true: And hereby we know that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spi­vit; and we have seen, and do testifie that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world: And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lyes in wickedness, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son, Iesus Christ; this is the true God, and eternall life; He that hath an car, let him hear; but thy car, which should hear, is deaf.

Thirdly, thou saith, If Christ be the Saviour, and that the light and knowledge of him doth spring from Holy Scripture, thou asketh [Page 17] whether the Scriptures be any Rule of Faith and Life in these dayes, or are they ahorgated and put an end to by Christ? And hath he appointed another way for bringing his Elect to eternall salvation? This quaery (thou saith) thou must leave to your selves to answer, only (sayest thou) for my part I know no other way to come to Christ my Saviour, then the Holy Scriptures, which he hath commanded me to search, and in which he promiseth life eternall; and wherein he curseth all men that addeth to, or detracteth from them: what you have to say to these things I know not, but this I know, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God, calleth Iesus execrable; and what do they else that-vilifie and slight his word and Ordinances, and depends upon a Spirit which crosseth and contradicteth Christ, and his word and Ordinances.

Answer: In this quaery thou hast given a Testimony of thy Light, and of thy Spirit, and of thy Way, and of thy Faith, and of thy God; for thou hast taken Christ Jesus among the rest, and hath belyed him in plain words, now in the latter end of thy Pa­per: And thou art so blind, led with the God of the world, which hath so blinded thy eye; sure thou thinks all looks with that blind eye as thou doth: Thou confesseth that thou hast none other Light but the Scriptures, and yet thou art run away from it, and art now adding to it, and thou saith thy self, he curseth all men that addeth to it: therefore own thy portion now when thou seeth thy self there, for thou art now so blinde thou sees not where thou art, but when thou cometh to a search thou wilt finde thy self there: Where is it that Christ promiseth thee eternall life in searching the Scriptures? Doth not Christ say in the verse before, Ye have not his word abiding in you, for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not? Thou hast made it manifest what life thou hast; but it is no won­der, seeing thou hast no other Light, nor no other Way to come to Salvation, nor no other life, but what thou hast out of Scrip­tures. Thou art dead in sin, but it is no wonder: Oh that thou dare so belye Christ Jesus! Doth not that Scripture say, on which thou builds these words, Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think to have eternall life; and they are they which testifie of me, but ye will not come unto me that ye may have life. Doth he say here that life is in the Scriptures? or doth he say that he is the Scriptures, when he saith, ye will not come to me that ye may have life? And art not thou here found thinking to have eternall life in the Scriptures, and wilt not come to Christ that thou may have life? and this he spoke to the Scribes and Pharisees, who were in the same life that thou art in, to whom he said, they had neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape; but this is all the life that thou knows. And thou speaks of god walking in the midst of the seven Golden Candlesticks; but he doth not walk in the midst of [Page 18]the midst of thy Candlesticks, who hath no Light but the Scrip­tures; and before thou see the seven Golden Candlesticks, and he that walks in the midst of them, thou must be turned from where thou art: if thou hast an ear, thou may hear what the Spirit saith. And thou saith, this is thy light and thy way to salvation, and thou confesseth thou knows none other: Answer, This hath all drunkards, and all prophane persons that hath the Scriptures, hath that which thou hath; and if it brings salvation to thee, then it brings salvation to them; and so see what a publike faith thou art of: Now see whether thou be not in the broad way that leadeth to destruction; and now this is thy Testimony, and this is thy Light (that we are speaking of all this while) and this is thy way; but this way we do deny; for thou, and all who are where thou art, are gone out of the way, and there is none of you that doth good, no not one: And Christ Jesus (who was before Abraham, and before the Scripture was written) is our Light, and our Way, and our Rule, and our Truth, and our Life; and this is life eternall to know the onely true God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent; and this life is in his Son: and he that beleeveth on the Son of God, hath the witness in himself; and he that beleeveth not God, hath made him a lyar, because he beleeved not the Record that God gave of his Son; and this is the Record, that God hath given unto us eter­nall life: And thou that hath no life but what is in the Scriptures, hath not the Record of God, for the Record of God is eternall life; and he that hath the Son, hath life; and he that hath not the Son, hath not life; and this we witness fulfilled and manifested in us. And so now read, and see where thou art, who knows no life but the Scriptures, and saith that Christ hath promised eternall life in the Scriptures; and here thou hast manifested thy self not to beleeve the Record that God hath given of his Son, and so makes God a lyar. And Christ Jesus is the Light, and Way, and Life, and ever was, of all his children: But thou, and all who looks upon the Scriptures to be the Way, and Light, and Life, hath found out another Way, and hath wrested the Scriptures to your own de­struction, and abrogated them (as thou speaks) and denies the end for which they were given forth, which is, for the perfecting of the Man of God; and so here thou art found preaching another Gospel then Christ Jesus and the Apostles did, and art to be hol­den accursed. And here thou art found tottering upon a sandy Foundation, whereon thou cannot stand; but the Rock on which the whole Church is built, Christ Iesus, of whom all the Prophets bears witness, and on whom all the Prophets and Apostles is built, do we stand unmoveable. And he who was the faithfull and true VVitness, who was dead, is alive, whose Name is called, the VVord [Page 19]of God, which VVord was in the beginning, by which VVord the worlds were made; and without him nothing was made that was made; he is rison, who teacheth his people himself, who is the Shepherd of his sheep, who hath given his life for his sheep, who doth give unto his sheep eternall life: But thou art none of his sheep, who faith eternal life is in the Scriptures. And upon this Rock of Ages doth the quakers stand, which thou hast uttered forth and vented so much envie and reproach upon: Upon this Rock on which they stand, shalt thou, and all such Profeslion as thou lives in, and all your feigned Humiliation, and feigned Faith, and perishing Hope; upon this Rock shall you all be dashed to pieces. And though thou makes a scorn and a scoff of quaking and trembling, yet before him shall all Nations tremble, and the Rocks rend, and the Mountains melt, and the Hills be removed, for he is risen that shakes terribly the earth; but this thou art ignorant of, who art not yet come so far as the Devills, who do beleeve and tremble; and before ever thou do know the living God, and Jesus Christ to be thy Saviour, thou shalt witness quaking, and shaking down thy unclean nature, which is now head in thee; and if ever thou come to hear, the dreadfull voice of the Almighty, it will make thy filthy, lying, deceitfull Spirit (that speaks in the) to shake and quake, for dreadfull is the Lord to the wicked; and all that can be shaken must be done away, that, that which cannot be shaken may remain. But though thou talk and professeth the Scripture in words, yet thou art utterly ignorant of them, and the plain words that they speak; and this that thou calls thy light, and thy Life, and thy Rule, thou shalt finde wil come to utter ruine (when Christ Jesus, who is the Corner-Stone which all ye builders refuseth and disallows) shall stand and endure for ever, though he be for a Stone of stumbling, and a Rock of of­fence to such as thee; but he is become the head of our corner, on whom was are built, and founded, rooted, and grounded unmove­able for evermore: Glory and Praises be to the living powerfull God for evermore. And thou exhorts them in the latter end of thy Pa­per, to be set in the Faith and Worship of God; but hou confesseth thou knows not, nor doth not determine what it is, whether it be the Presbyterian way, or the Independant way, and so thou hast left them tottering indeed, (as thou art thy self) and thou and thy Religion is sure to come to utter ruine, that hath no better founda­tion, for thou sets them to two wayes, to take whether they will, which makes thee clearly manisest that thou knows not the truth at all; for the truth is but one, and the way to it is but one; and thou who art exhorting them, hath thy way to seek yet: and thou who out of the way (which is but one) must needs be in the erros, a­mong the Sects and Opinions, which is the broad way; but in the [Page 20]way of truth there is no division, for the light is one, and the way one, and the life one, and the faith one, and the baptism one, and one Spirit, and one Lord: but this thou art ignorant of, who knows nothing but the Letter without thee. But in the very close of thy Paper, thou tells them of the Law of God ingraven upon their hearts: Thou might do well to look into that Law in thy own particular, and search and examine there in thy own conscience, and see whether thou hve given thy Paper forth from that which God hath writ­ten there, or thou hath had it from other Records without thee: (it may be in other Nations.) Alack for thee, thou art rude in­deed, for thou hast compassed sea and land for these Stories that thou hast told in this Paper; and if thou could but get one Prose­lyte made by these lyes and slanders, they might very well be se­ven fold more the childe of the Devill. But now thou hast ram­bled up and down far distant, and from various Reports, it is wel thou art come home now in the latter end: Now thou art come to the Law written in the heart; stay here a while, and turn thy minde to that of God in thy conscience (which he hath written in thy heart) and that wil teach thee another lesson then to lye and slan­der, and falsly accuse, back-bite, reproach, and scandall; this Teacher will teach thee none of this; but this will reprove thee, and shew thee the evill of thy doings, and the deceit of thy heart, and the enmity and envy that lodgeth there, against those which never did thee wrong: To this Teacher thou must come, and to this thou must stand or fall, for he will be no more removed into a corner: He is the swift Witness which cometh near to Judge­ment, and beareth witness against the Sorcerer, and against the Adulterer and false Swearer, and against them that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fears not the Lord of Hosts. There­fore consider what thou hast been doing all this while, and fear the Lord God, and hearken to the voice that calls behinde thee, saying, This is the way, walk in it; and send not thine ear to the wicked, and so come to partake of their sins, and then thou wilt be sure to partake of their plagues. And so in love to thy soul we have answered this thy Paper and quaeries, and for the clear­ing of the Truth of God, which is innocent and clear of thy scan­dalls and lyes, and slanders, the Lord God is our Witness, who will plead our cause with our enemies, and clear the innocency of those that suffer for him; to whom alone we commit our cause, and to him alone return to be judged and tryed, who alone judges the secrets of all hearts, who judgeth righteous Judgement, and gives unto every one according to their deeds; to him alone we commit our cause, for whom we stand witnesses, in sufferings, in tryalls, in buffetings, in scourgings, in whippings, to whom we owe our [Page 21]lives, and whose Testimony we are willing to seal with our blood, if we be called to it. To him who is our Strength and Rock, our Preserver and Deliverer, be all Glory and Dominion over all, to Reigne and Rule, and have Dominion, who is King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, Blessed for ever­more.