of the earth, Prov. viii. 15, 16. And then they would be under him, who is their King and Lord; and the people would live a pleasant, godly and peaceable life, under their respective kings and lords. And seeing these things are promised, and that he is faithful that hath promised them, why should we not then hope for, and expect the fulfilling thereof? And so, courteous reader, having given thee this short caution and instruction, I leave thee to read the following discourse, and remain a friend to thee and all men. S. C. princes, priests and people, from one sect to An alarm sounded in the borders of spiritual awakened, once to consider and to bethink Egypt, &c. MANY are the devices of satan, and great is the subtlety which he furnisheth his children and servants withal, by which he seeks to up-from under it? hold his kingdom, pleading now a right to that which he got by subtlety; and has taught his whole family, that it is impossible for any to be freed from under his service, even as if all men that are created of God, were created to the service of the devil; and although he can make no man, yet that he is able, after they are made, to keep them in his service; yea, although their maker calls for them to serve him. By this supposed necessity, (which is a doctrine well-pleasing to the flesh,) he keeps nations, kindreds, tongues and people, in bondage to his will. And not only so, but he has so bewitched and besotted his whole synagogue, and every sort in it, that they cannot endure to hear that they should be made free. All that come to declare liberty to these captives, and an opening of the door of this prison house, (the darkness,) unto those that are shut up within it, they cry out against such, away with them from the earth, let them be crucified, stoned, hanged, burned, imprisoned and banished, or at least, derided, and mocked at, and all manner of evil be spoken of them. And what have they done? They have preached against sin, that it must come to an end, and have preached that that which is perfect, is to be found in this life, by which men might come to the acceptable year of the Lord, unto whom there is nothing acceptable, which is imperfect. Certainly, there is no manner of slaves so well contented with their bondage, as the devil's are; and therefore it is worth the considering, what right he has to reign over mankind, and what work it is, he gives his servants to do, that is so well-pleasing unto them, that they cannot endure to hear of being set at liberty, as long as they have a day to live. For my part, I have considered what right the devil can claim to the government which he has among the children of men, reigning over kings and In the first place it is to be considered, that this spirit, which is called the devil and satan, had no dominion over man in the beginning; for God gave man power over all beasts, fishes, fowls, and over every creeping thing, that he should rule over them. In that time the devil, that old creeping serpent, was kept under, and could not speak or command as with authority. He being but a subject himself, sought to have dominion; having lost the glory of the everlasting kingdom; and so he came to the woman, who was made, and brought forth in a time of sleep, and persuaded her, (mark, not commanded,) and his persuasion was, that she should break the command of God, under pretence that she should be profited thereby. So here was but a sneaking, underly spirit, coming to the woman in a deceitful, feigned manner, with a lie in his mouth, to see if he could deceive her, and lead her to be disobedient to her God and Maker. Who could then have thought, that this spirit that was subject to all sorts of misery, should have reigned and ruled over so many millions of thousands of men both high and low, young and old? Well, the woman hearkened to a lie, and broke the command of God, and went to try whether this serpent had found out a way to make her better or not; and not only so, but went to the man, and gave him also, and he did eat. Mark, this devil, the old serpent, did not go to the man, that was a work too high for him; but there comes his companion, (who was given of God,) who was of his flesh and bones, to tempt him. He did not hearken to the devil, but to his deceived wife, and he did eat, and their eyes were opened, and they were ashamed, and hid themselves. Here were the two first subjects which the devil had in his kingdom, he having before this time no dominion among the creatures which God had made. Now it is to be observed, that there are but four ways to come into dominion, to wit, by descent, by election, by conquest, and by trea son. Now which of these it is, by which the devil got his entrance, is easy to be concluded. All that are wise will say, that it was by treason and falsehood, and that man thereby came to be deprived of that dominion and rule which he had before, and his boldness was taken from him, and he was ashamed. So now see for whom you are pleading, all you that are so zealously pleading for the devil's kingdom, viz. for an old traitor, that came into his government by a lie, and spoiled our predecessors of their dominion, glory and power at once by sin, for which you are now pleading. Oh! blush and be ashamed every one of you, and let your mouths be stopped for ever. misery was great, and his sorrow unspeakable, and his darkness not to be expressed. He had lost his discerning of things that differ; and having an expectation of a Seed which should destroy the serpent, and bruise his head, he was apt to think that birth to be that Seed, as his children in the fall do at this day. So when Cain was born, his mother said, she had gotten a man from the Lord; but poor woman, she knew not the seed, and how that that seed which is born of the flesh is a persecutor, and that the enmity is great in the first birth. He grew up to be an offerer, yet he did not grow up in dominion over the serpent, nor over the quality of the destroyer in himself; and that sort of offering was more acceptable to the devil than to God. And now mark, that man was a sinner, and yet religious, his sin and religion were consistent, and could have place together at one and the same time in one man, as it is now with the professors of this age; who say, they are sinners, and that their best works are polluted and defiled with sin, and that they must remain so whilst they live; and yet they will seek acceptance with God in these polluted offerings, notwithstanding they do profess him to be pure to whom they offer. Thus was this first sacrificer blind and darkened, and so are many thousands after him, and the dominion of the devil was over him. But now, seeing that it fell out so, what was the determination of the Lord in this matter? Hearken to his sentence; and to the serpent he said, because thou hast done so, thou shalt creep upon thy belly, and art cursed above all cattle; and above all the beasts of the field. See, he must creep upon his belly, and not stand upon his tip-toes, lifting up his head above the nations; he must eat dust, and the other beasts must eat the grass of the field; but he, dust all the days of his life, and not the fat of the land, and to have the tenth part of the First, Deceiving him by leading him to exfruits of the earth bestowed on his meanest ser-pect an acceptance, because he offered, though vants, having also the other nine parts of it bestowed and ordered to his will. And so shall it be with thee as long as thou livest; that is not to say, that he shall live for ever, and to have dust to eat, and a belly to creep upon: but at last God has determined that his head should be bruised, there is his end. Oh! all ye pleaders for sin, behold your prince, and hear his sentence, and be ashamed, and stop your mouths for ever. And now, when he had gotten a little dominion, let us examine a little, how this traitor used his rule in the beginning. His first lesson was, to teach his new subjects to hide themselves from the presence of God. That which before was their chiefest joy and crown, was now their greatest fear and dread; and so they run under the trees, hiding themselves, as their posterity now do at this day. But the Lord found them out, and spoke to them, and caused them to hear that dreadful sentence; and not only so, but drove them out from where life was to be found, into the earth, where there was nothing to be gotten without pain and labour. And whereas they were before in dominion, and had nothing to do, but to dress the garden in which the life was, they must now till the ground, which brought forth unto them briars and thorns. In that state man's with an evil heart. Secondly, To lead him into the evil which had kept him from acceptance. Thirdly, By making him wroth and angry, (because he was not accepted,) against his brother that did well, and was partaker of the one sure faith of the elect seed of God. The serpent having thus darkened his mind, then he durst come before him with a lie, (though he was a man, of whom Eve thought that she had gotten him from the Lord,) persuading him, that if faithful Abel was out of the way, then it would be better with him; so he heark. ened to the counsel of this evil spirit, and shed innocent blood about religion. Here persecu tion got its entrance into the world, by one that was an offerer, and evil doer together; a fit instrument for such a work. But behold, what became of this man? The blood which he had shed, and the earth which had drunk it up, cried for vengeance against this bloody offerer, and he feared exceedingly; and said, he could not bear his punishment; and said, every one that finds me, will slay me. To prevent that, he went and built a city in the land of Nod. Here was the beginning of fortifications, which was to defend the transgressor; for the righteous have a tower, namely the name of God, and there they are safe, without such gates or walls. Now let every one consider how little right this spirit had in all these things; but he entered by a lie, and reigned by a lie, and darkness and deceit were his defence for his government; and how little reason there is to plead for such a spirit, let the wise in heart judge. all It would go beyond my present aim and purpose, to trace this spirit, who is called the devil and satan, the dragon, an old serpent, through ages, since the beginning, to see with how little truth, right or equity, he came to reign among men. The understanding reader of the scriptures of Truth can see it clearly enough; and it is a great wonder, and one of the greatest, that is in that part of the world called Christendom, that there are so many men, being men of knowledge in other matters, and such as set up the scriptures, so much as they seem to do, calling it the word of God, the rule of Christians, the light of the world, the guide of life, &c. That they should go with such a book in their hands, pleading for the devil's kingdom, and for a necessity that it must continue as long as there is a man upon earth. Whereas the scripture in substance is nothing else but as a declaration against him and his government, and showeth how he ought to be forsaken, opposed, resisted, and cast out; and withal, how that primitive, pure and holy, and righteous law of that Spirit, which is called God, and is holy, pure, and blessed for ever, how that ought to be embraced, received and exalted in the whole creation. I say, this is a very great wonder, of which, and of the consequences thereof, the Christians so called, have cause to be ashamed; yea, are a reproach to the whole world; and it is high time that some do arise for God; and the call is gone forth, Who is on the Lord's side? Exod. xxxii. 26. The devil has an innumerable host to plead for sin, some with arguments, and some with cruel weapons; but who is on the Lord's side that can say, The Lord reigns in righteousness, and in truth he judges the earth? Oh! all ye carnal professors of God and Christ in words, but [who] in works deny him, and say, that sin must stand, and remain as long as you live; be it known unto you, in the name of the God of heaven, that where sin remains, there the devil is prince and ruler, and if that must remain as long as you live, the devil desires it no longer; for he that will be his servant in this life, must be his companion in the world to come. But hear ye the word of the Lord, oh great host, and mighty army of the devil, beast, serpent, and the old deceiver, who plead that his government shall stand as long as there is a man to live upon the earth. The controversy of the Lord God Almighty is proclaimed, and begun against you all, and your prince; yea, the arm of the everlasting God is stretched out against you, and henceforth ye shall not be prosperous; but the dominion of your prince shall be lessened, and both his and your power shall be weakened, and your weapons, both of deceit and cruelty shall be broken, and come to nought. The inheritance of the wicked shall be laid waste, and the design which hath been carried on so long, shall be frustrated. Deceit and falsehood shall fall before the Truth, and darkness shall flee before the light. Your fortified city shall fail you, and the land of Nod will not be a hiding place for you: for the arm of the mighty God of Jacob shall scatter you as a reproach, and make you ashamed of your work and of your prince. Now, to touch a little at your arguments, which the servants of this spirit make use of, to hold up his kingdom, of which they say it is impossible that it should be brought down; even as if God had given up all mankind, which is the best of his creation, unto the devil; and that he should keep none of them for himself to serve him, till they have fulfilled the devil's work to the full, and can serve him no longer. Certainly the heathens, Moors, and Indians, have a better doctrine than these in the ground: though darkness is over their understandings, as concerning God and heaven, and such things, yet many of them do not judge that there is such a necessity to do evil, as long as they live; but abstain from that which they know to be evil, and they that do so, are esteemed to have their pleasure and delight in the Elysian fields, after they are dead. Lucillius said, know ye not what grievous punishments and torments the wicked and evil men are to suffer after this life; or in what great happiness the good men shall live? The heathen Epicharmus said, If thou art godly in thy mind, thou shalt, being dead, not suffer evil: and many such sayings are among them. But these fallen Christians, who plead a necessity to serve this spirit, whom they call the devil, whose place they will confess is in hell, and in the everlasting fire; yet they notwithstanding, without doing good, expect to enjoy their Elysium, to wit, a heaven where God and the holy angels dwell for ever. Now let us examine a little what reason there is for this great mistake. First, they say, that sin is rooted and planted in the nature of man; yea, so that a man must cease to be a man, before he can cease from being a sinner. Answer. That man in his natural state is so united with sin, as that he thereby is separated from God, I do not deny; and also that there is a natural inclination in man to commit sin, is also true; to wit, as long as they remain in their natural state and condition. If these champions for the devil's kingdom, had blotted out, out of that which they call their rule, all those precious sayings, that make mention of a state of grace, of being under grace, of being changed or translated, of being redeemed and made free, of being washed, cleansed, and sanctified perfectly in soul, body and spirit; and many more such places; then they had had a plea for their prince. But seeing there is such a large testimony of the mercy and goodness of God, and of his power and all-sufficiency to redeem and save; therefore it is worthy to be pleaded before we allow the devil such an unlimited power in and among you, yea, over all the sons and daughters of men. Therefore, as concerning the first part of this objection, to wit, that sin is rooted in the nature of man, how came it to be rooted there? whose work was it to make it so? was it the work of God? or hath he ordered it, that it should be so? if so, why is any man or woman punished or condemned for its being so, seeing it could not be otherwise? But none else but such as are wholly blind from a true sense of God, will dare to say so for then the manifold calling of sinners unto repentance, to wash them, to cleanse them, to put away the evil from them, to cease to do evil, &c., must all be against his will and ordering, and so consequently but a mockery. But God forbid that any man should say or think so. Well, if it was not by the ordering or appointment of God, but that God has made man righteous in his nature, will and affections; yea, in the image of God he created him; then it must needs be another that has wrought this great work, to plant sin in his nature. When it is examined, it will appear that it is the work of a cursed outcast, an unclean, lying, treacherous spirit, who was rejected of God, and had no place in the whole creation; but by framing a lie, he brought a poor woman from her integrity and obedience; and so from that, came a great alteration to be in her, and a ground or foundation was laid for the devil to build upon; and from that time he has always had a rule in the hearts of the children of disobedience. But now that this rule and government should not only be universal, but also irresistible and unalterable; yea, though God Almighty stretch forth his power, to redeem any out of this kingdom, to bring them into the kingdom of his dear Son; yet they say, it is impossible for him, till he dies. It is as much as to say, if God will have any man to serve him perfectly, he must first kill him, and then he shall have him to his service in another world. Oh horrible ignorance of the power of God, and of the end for which Christ came into the world! namely, to destroy the devil and his works. When his work is destroyed, which has a tendency to corrupt man's nature, then the nature of men and women come to be again holy, clean and pure, and man comes to be restored to his first image, and the glory of the first body is again known, of which all the bond-slaves of the devil are ig norant; and this power to restore the nature of man again is the Lord's alone. It was the devil that corrupted it, and it is God that sanctifies it again, and delivers it by the spirit of judgment and of burning, which the hypocrites cannot bear. Now, the manner how the nature of man came to be corrupted, you have heard, that it was by man's joining with that spirit that was fallen and cast out from God, and had only a power in the darkness, and could not reign over any thing, but over that which he could draw from the glory of God, into the darkness. God who dwells in the light, being moved with infinite compassion, sent his eternal Son, that was with him before the world, that he should be made partaker of the same nature in which man was created, that by the virtue of the eternal power, he might restore him unto God, and might minister unto the spirits of all such, to whom this darkness and corrupted state, was a prison-house. This Jesus received not the nature of angels, that was not his work, but he received the seed of Abraham, which was in captivity, that he might redeem it from captivity through death, suffering under the weight of that which oppressed the creature, and caused it to groan after redemption. So that although it could not deliver itself, yet it might come to be delivered through faith in him, who is mighty to save. And this Jesus, which was of the seed of Abraham after the flesh, purifieth the nature of all those that join with him; for the work of the devil, is to bring in corruption, and the work of Christ is to destroy it, and instead thereof, to bring in everlasting righteousness. Where sin is remaining in the nature, there the covenant with hell and death is not broken, neither are such in covenant with God, but are yet under the power of the prince of the air, whatever they may profess. The death of Christ is yet of no value to them, because they are yet in their sin and corrupted nature, unchanged, untranslated. So that those that hold this plea for the devil, that because he once got a place in the nature of man, and has corrupted it, therefore sin must remain, so long as the life or nature remains; such are strangers to the work of God, and to his power, by which he worketh, and also to Christ Jesus, through whom he works. They have more faith in the power of the devil, than in the power of Christ, believ ing that the devil is more able to keep the creature, and to hold fast that, which by deceit and treachery he has gotten in it; than God, who made the creature good in his nature, is able to restore it to his first purity, that the creature might come to serve him in righteousness and holiness. Such as so believe, are no true Christians, nor true believers; but are standing in the corrupt nature, that has unity with the devil, and pleads his cause, who is willing that his corrupt birth should live in man, as long as he lives in the world; for he knows, that so long no acceptable sacrifice can be offered up to God. You cannot bring forth a clean sacrifice, out of an unclean vessel; and as long as nature is defiled, the works will be unclean that are wrought in that nature. that were so, had overcome the wicked one, so that he could not touch them, but they had kept their garments white and unspotted, and that some have been freed from the law of sin and death, and that some have walked unblameably and without spot, and had put off the old man with his deeds, and had known the new birth, and could by the Holy Spirit call God Father, which things are all manifest in the scriptures of Truth, which none can deny, but those that will deny the scripture; why then should any man question, that the same work of redemp. tion should not now again be brought to pass? Therefore it is lawful to expect it without presumption, this argument being confirmed by the experience of the saints. Thirdly, The faith of God's elect is but one in all ages; and that faith has purified the hearts of many in former ages, and has taught them to walk with God. As for instance, Enoch walked with God several hundreds of years, Gen. v. 21, and it would be a horrible thing to say, that he walked with God when he walked in sin; as if God walked in a sinful way; for the prophet said, the bloody man, or the worker of iniquity, dwells or walks not with the Lord. But Enoch dwelled and walked with the Lord, and did not iniquity; for if he had, he should not have obtained a testimony that he pleased the Lord; for sinners and evil doers Secondly, The second pleading is, that never any man was freed from sin, since sin first entered into the world; and that therefore it is presumption to expect such a thing in this life. Answer. If this position were true, that there was never any man freed from sin, yet it would be presumption to say, that God should not be able to do that which he never did; and it is also presumption to conclude, that never any man was freed. But if this position be false, then not only the consequence is false, to wit, that none can be freed, but also the argument itself is proved to be a lie, and so is swept away, and a door is opened unto all, that have more love to righteousness than to sin, both to hope and to expect, that the same work should again be wrought in and for them, without presumption. That all men are sinners by nature, is evident; and that some were changed out of that natural state, is as evident; so that the ques-do not please him. By faith Noah walked with tion is only, whether those that are translated out of that sinful nature, remain sinful, yea or nay? Which if it be so, what advantage have they beyond others, if after they are translated, they must remain unfreed? But I answer with the words of the apostle, 1 Pet. iv. 1, He that hath suffered in the flesh, hath ceased from sin. Here he spoke of such that were yet in the body, but had suffered with, and were made partakers of the sufferings and death of Christ, by a dying to a sin; through which every one must By the same faith, Job was kept in the fear pass, before they can come to the resurrection of God in the land of Uzz; Job i. 22, for that that is in Christ, by which, said Peter, they ob- taught him to eschew evil, by which he obtaintained the answer of a good conscience in the ed a testimony of God, that he was perfect and sight of God, which he calls the baptism that upright, which no sinner is. If he had not been saves. Now some having been partakers of that free from sin, it would have been false to say death, baptism, and resurrection of Christ, by of him, that he eschewed the evil and was perwhich they came to cease from sin, and to have fect; and though his trials were many, yet he an answer of a good conscience, without offence sinned not with his lips, neither did he charge either to God or man, which none that sin can God foolishly. And in the end of all his trials, have, then may some lawfully expect to come to God cleared him of having sinned, witnessing the enjoyment of the same state of freedom and that he had found him faithful, and received a clearness, as well now as formerly without pre-sacrifice from his hand, for those zealous prosumption. Secondly, I answer with the words of the apostle John, 1 John iii. 9, He that is born of God sinneth not, because his seed abideth in him, and he cannot sin, for he is born of God. Now, whereas, there have been some that were born of God, and have been his children, and they VOL. XIV.-No. 6. God, and was a preacher of righteousness in the old world; 2 Pet. ii. 5. Also Lot in Sodom; which they could not have been, if they had been sinners, except they had been such preachers as the preachers at this day; but they were owned of God, though they were mocked of men; and it is said of them, that they did inherit the righteousness which they preached. And of Lot it is said, that his soul as well as his doctrine was righteous. fessors that had charged him with sin, whom God had cleared. The same faith caused Abraham and Sarah to be partakers of the promise. Abraham was a friend of God, of which Christ said, that none could be, but by fulfilling his will; and those that do so are no sinners. By this faith, Moses 27 |