all people that love the Lord Jesus Christ, you may see all the teachers of the world there, going after the ways of Balaam; for then that doctrine crept in, which is scattered over the world, and the apostles saw certain creeping into houses, leading silly women captive, laden with sin, and divers lusts, which were ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth, which he describes; they were lovers of their own selves, covetous, proud, heady, high-minded, self-willed, incontinent, truce-breakers, false accusers, fierce, despisers of those that are good, and lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these; men of corrupt minds, reprobates concerning the faith; but they shall proceed no further, their folly shall appear to all men.* Now the apostle bids, from such turn away; though once he said, some preach Christ of envy, some of strife and contention, some of good will, though their intention was but to add affliction to his bonds, yet he rejoiced in it; and that was a time when few did believe that that was the Christ; so that his name was spread abroad, he did not matter what they were; but when his name was spread abroad, and many got the form, and had not the power, such were antichrists, and were denied by them who had power, and so they are now. And all people consider (you that have been long hearers and learners) if you be yet come to the first principle of religion, to that which turns the mind to God † all whose faith doth not purify, they are reprobates concerning the faith. So ask any priest or people, whether they shall overcome the body of sin, as long as they are upon the earth? they will say no. Therefore their seeming faith I deny, for faith purifies the heart, and gives the victory over the world;|| and this I own, and you have put off the body of sin, by the circumcision made without hands; and whilst we were servants of sin, we were free from righteousness, but God be thanked, who hath made us free from sin, to serve God in righteousness, in the newness of the spirit, and not in the old-ness of the letter.** And whereas we are accused for not owning magistracy; justice we own for conscience sake; for that light which is in the conscience, loves equity, and righteousness, and justice, and leads out of all evil, and uncleanness; for let every soul be subject to the higher power, for all power is of God,tt and the powers of God our souls are subject unto; for he that resisteth that, resisteth the ordinance of God; but who lives in drunkenness, in pride, in covetousness, murder, lust and uncleanness, * 2 Tim. 3. 1. to 9. + Phil. 1. 15. + Heb. 6. 1. § 2 Tim. 3. 8. ↑ 1 John 5.4. ¶ Col. 2, 11. ** Rom. 6. 22. Rom. 7. 6. tt Rom. 13. 1. 1 John 3. 3. their souls are not subject to the higher power, but resist it, and that nature we do deny, and justify that which cuts it down: we own honour and set it up; and honour all men in the Lord; but as for respecting persons we deny, for he that respects persons, commits sin, and is a trangressor of the law. For to respect a proud man, because he hath a gold ring on his finger, and fine apparel, such respects we deny, for the scriptures deny the same; and to set up a great man which hath abundance of earth, joining field to field, and land to land, and respect such above the poor, this is an evil eye;t for God cries woe unto such, for God hath made all of one mould, and one blood, to dwell upon the face of the earth, and he is no respecter of persons; and who are in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is without respect of persons, for it is but one, and makes all one, one seed, one soul, one heart, one mind, in one God, father of all, over all, blessed for ever: and this we do witness (praised be the Lord) to be fulfilled, which all the holy men of God did witness forth, a good conscience, and therefore we have a cloud of witnesses which are recorded in the scriptures.§ And whereas we are accused for uncivil speeches, which the world calls uncivil, and railing, as because we say thou to a particular person, and you to a number. The scripture witness,|| that all the holy men of God practised the same, thoued one, and yeed many; thoued kings, thoued God, thoued Christ, and said, thou O Lord of heaven and earth; and therefore who art thou, O proud flesh, that thou art exalted ?** dost not thou, thou God, and thou Christ, in thy prayers? and wouldst thou be yeed? here shows the son of perdition himself, and is exalted above all that is called God in thee; and the language of God is not known with thee. And as for the customs and fashions of the world, bowing and making obeisance with cap and knee, which men and women have done one to another, which lived without the fear of the Lord, we deny ; but we honour all men in the Lord with our souls, and with our hearts, and who looks for these things outwardly, there is a fleshly principle, for these things may be done and are practised, and the heart full of envy; therefore all these fashions we deny.§§ And touching good-even and good-morrow, which are customs of the world, spoken without fear of the Lord, we do deny; but good to all men we wish, and the good day, that they may be brought into it, and that they may see the happy day; but the vain fashions and customs which the fleshly and heathenish nature holds up, and when it is crossed in its ways and customs, rageth, and is mad, we deny; and that nature which holds up all these things, we deny. Acts. 17. 24. James 2.5. * James 2. 2, 9. & 5. 2. † Isa. 5. 8. §§ Acts 10. 34. § Heb. 12. 1. ## Job 32. 21. For the God of power, light, and glory, hath raised up a light in his people, and gathered their hearts together to himself, and hath discovered unto them the vanity of all things, wherein they have lived, and shewed them his way and truth, where they should walk and glorify him, and serve him in holiness and newness of life;* and with eternal food, the bread of life, doth he feed us, whereby we become wonders to the world, as he hath raised his seed to his praise and glory, and is adding daily to his church,† and the strong man bows himself, and the keepers of the house tremble, and the powers of the earth shake, and the glory of the Lord is rising, and is risen, which terribly shakes the earth, that the idols of gold and silver are cast away, and God alone loved, who is Lord of heaven and earth; and the works of the Lord are strange and wondrous, as ever were, as the scriptures witness. When Daniel heard the voice, he fell down and trembled, and his strength was gone. And Paul, when he heard the voice, he fell down, and trembled:¶ and Habakkuk, when he heard the voice, his lips quivered, his belly shook, rottenness entered into his bones, that he might rest in the day of trouble.** And David when he heard the voice of God in the holy temple, and his prayers came before him, the earth shook, and David his flesh trembled. And work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Now these workings are strange to them, where the strong man keeps the house, and who are in the earth; but who are rising up out of the earth, witness the power of the earth to be shaken; and who are raised up out of the earth, witness these things, and have a cloud of witnesses to witness them, passing through the same door, to the same rest; and so we witness the scriptures, and the power of Christ, and them to be fulfilled, and fulfilling; praises, praises be unto the Lord God Almighty for ever. We witness the happy day of the Lord is come, the good and happy day, and glad tidings to souls, the day of Christ;|||| praises, praises, be to him for ever. All ye children of the Lord, praise the Lord for ever, sing praises unto the Lord for evermore. This is the day of salvation, and the everlasting gospel,¶¶ glad tidings are come into our souls, free pardon of sin by Jesus Christ, who is come to take away sin, and to destroy the works of the devil; thus do we witness the scriptures fulfilled by God alone, therefore deny all the ministers of the letter.*** TO THE HIGH AND LOFTY ONES. bowed down to him? HEAR the Lord God, and take heed of pride; woe unto you that are given to vanity, you grieve the spirit of the Lord God in you, you lose seriousness, you lose moderation in your apparel, in your diet; you lose temperance, you are not temperate in your apparel, nor in your diet. Bow to the Lord, you evil-doers; what a bowing and bending make you one to another; bow to the Lord, give him the glory, give him the honour, ye who are offended, that you have not the earthly honour. Earthly man, earthly Adam! not the spiritual man, the Lord from heaven heavenly, not the spiritual man, the second Adam. O how do you go in your apparel, that you can scarce tell how to pass the streets! O the glory of the world hath swallowed you up many of you! O! you have entered into the great temptation. What would the devil have given Christ to have Have you not the lusts of the flesh? Have you not the pride of life? And yet profess scriptures and bow down to him who is out of the truth: have you not your hearts' desire in those things? Are you not dressed so in your apparel, that you can scarce tell how to walk the streets, in gold, silver, jewels. Old men, have you lost gravity? Young men, have you forgotten sincerity? and young women fosraken modesty, following vanity? O what a painting of yourselves you make, young and old people? O the spirit is vexed where vanity is! God will not always strive with man. O how have you forgotten the Lord, and given yourselves up to your hearts' lusts! Consider all people the days you spend, and have spent in vanity, in wantonness, in fooleries and toys, in superfluities, in haughtiness, in sports, in pleasures and games. Doth not something in you all prick you and check you for your unconverted state, for your conversation in the earth, and for delighting in all things in the earth, setting your hearts in vanity? O old men, how can you but see and consider, is the fear of God quite gone out of your hearts? O who can but speak, who can hold his tongue? O how is the spirit grieved and vexed with your vanity and abominations? O how is the just trodden under feet? O how is every one carried away with vanity and vexation of spirit, and covered with it? How do men reel in their folly and madness, that they cannot tell how to go, nor what to wear, nor what to eat, nor what to drink, nor what to put on? Is not this the fashion of the heathen, and not like christians? Unsettled minds, that run into every fashion, that invent strange and new fashions! repent, repent, lest God's judgments come upon you, and sweep you away at unawares. O how doth your inordinate affections appear! you are excessive in apparel, you are excessive in superfluity and diet. O what good doth your preaching and teaching do you? How doth it profit you at all, while you are so given up to vanity, as though you had never heard talk of God, talk of religion, talk of christians, prophets and apostles! read their declarations, and see what they declared against. The rod of God must be fed withal, ye lofty and full, ye haughty and high-minded; O how do you eat and drink, and then rise up to play! Is not this your practice ye full ones, and fat ones? Do you call this recreation, ye idle ones, like the old world? as Sodom and Gomorrah in fulness of bread and idleness, who turned against Noah and Lot, the preachers of righteousness, so it is at this day, and so it was in the days of the prophets, and in the days of the apostles; these were spots in their feasts, that were beginning before the apostles' decease, to eat and to drink, and rise up to play, admiring men's persons because of advantage, of whose root and offspring you are, that make yourselves merry over the just in the particular, and then in the general, and so live wantonly upon the earth, and in pleasure, and nourish your hearts, you are of the flock that kills the just root and offspring; for the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play, with whom God was not well pleased, of whom God slew thousands at once; there is your example, and there is your stock, and there are your old fathers: though you profess the saints' words, if you read the scriptures, you may see of whose stock you are, and of whose generation, and whose path you go in; therefore if you love a long life, your souls' happiness and good, come out of vanity, come to seriousness and gravity, come to the Lord, come off all the barren mountains, all people come off the barren mountains, that you may have refreshment of the Lord God; come off vanity that you may be led with the spirit, and not grieve it, and vex it, but that you may have unity in the spirit, with the Father of spirits, and unity one with another; your vanities grieve the spirit, whereby you are a burden to the creation; it is a marvel how you can walk up and down the streets, and not be checked and reproved in your own particulars, for your vanity, and not be ashamed. Is the witness stifled in you? Hath the custom of the sin taken away the sense, are you past feeling? Know you not that you must come to the dust you high, lofty, wanton, giddy ones? O how are you daubed with silver lace, and your jewels, and your spots of your faces, and your feathers, and your wearing of gold, and through the abundance of your vanity and of your superfluity! ambition and pride, loftiness and haughtiness stops the ear from hearing the Lord, his decree and sentence against you, and how he beholds you afar off, and stops up the eye with which you should see yourselves, and stops up VOL. IV.-7 |