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denied the ministers of Christ's work, who preach Christ within, and preached every one perfect in him.

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P. That the scripture is the word of God.'

A. The scriptures are the words of God, as you may read, Exod. Matth. and Revel. and Christ is the word of God, in whom the words end, before the words were spoken forth; and man without the Spirit cannot interpret scriptures.

P. That the ministers of this nation, are the ministers of Christ and the gospel, and that it is a sin to despise them.'

A. The ministers of this nation, or any where else, are not the ministers of Christ and the gospel, that deny the light that enlightens every man that comes into the world, and hold up swearing. Neither are they the men that are to interpret scriptures; for they cannot see without the light which enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world, and which was before the world was made, which is the end of the prophets, by which the prophets' words are seen and the end of them. And so such before mentioned are to be turned from, that turn from the light; and it is no sin to obey the apostles' commands, 2. T'im. iii. to deny them who have come up since the apostles' decease, having the form but denying the power.

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P. That they may lawfully take tithes of the people.'

A. And you that take tithes of the people, are of the pope's tribe, got up since the days of the apostles, who said the priesthood was changed that took the tithes, the law was changed by which the priesthood was made, and the commandment disannulled that gave tithes. And Christ was the sum, the end of all similitudes, who was before Abraham was that paid tithes, Heb. 7. The pope is your author in taking. tithes, in the apostacy since the days of the apostles, and Christ is the end of the law.

P. Richard Mayo saith, that it is not unlawful to say you to a single person.

A. In this thou showest thou never read the Accidence or Bible; and it is unlawful to speak unrighteously, and to say there are many when there is but one, to call one many, or say you to one.

P. That ministers may exhort men to walk by the light of reason, as well as the light of the gospel.'

A. No man walks by the light of reason but he who is in the faith, who is in the light of the gospel, and all other reason is as the beasts of the field; that which makes men reasonable, is faith, and all that are in the faith, are in the light of the gospel, and this is one, which all unreasonableness is out of, and in the transgression; for none are in the reasonableness, but such as come out of transgression; and such as are reasonable walk by the light of the gospel.

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P. That the gospel itself is but a dead letter.'

A. The gospel itself is the power of God, that which the letter speaks of, and many may have the letter, the form, and deny the power of God, and so have not the gospel.

P. That the gospel is no more the power of God, than the rose cake that lay in his window.'

A. The gospel is the power of God preached in every creature, more than a rose cake; the gospel gives every creature its living and being; for it relieves the oppressed, and turns against the oppressor; so it is called glad tidings, for the gospel is preached unto every creature in heaven. The gospel is the power of God which turns against that which bondageth, to wit, the corruptions, and so gives liberty and freedom to the captives; and this, which is the power of God, is glad tidings, and is more than any creature, and all the creatures; that which gives liberty and freedom to all, is glad tidings.

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Richard Mayo further said, it was no matter to him if the devil was the original of tithes, if the law of the land would give it him, he would have it.'

A. We do believe thee; his servant thou art, thy seared conscience and hardness of heart discover it. But the ministers of Christ and the gospel never preached nor held forth such doctrine, nor would ever act any thing from that which the devil was the original of, and thou dost say thou wouldst take tithes though he was the original of them, if the law of the land would give them to thee! He hath been the original of them, and the pope's laws first set them up, whereby the saints' goods are strained, and spoiled, and made havock of; and you are not contented with the spoiling of their goods, but you bring their bodies into your priests' den; and thus you eat up people, and swallow up the needy for a thing of nought, as they did of old, as your forefathers did transgress for a pair of shoes.

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P. He saith, Cain was no vagabond after he had built a city,' and he said, 'there was no scripture that the apostles had no certain dwelling place;' and that the steeple-house was the church.'

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A. This is contrary to scripture; for Cain, though he builded a city, was a vagabond, and disobeyed the command of God, and lost his habitation in God; so all great men upon the earth, though they build a city, and are lords, and earls, and dukes, and princes, and kings, if they disobey the command of God, and do not dwell in him, they have no habitation, but are all vagabonds. And though Paul had no certain dwelling place, 1 Cor. iv. 11. yet he had a habitation in God, and was no vagabond. And the steeple-house is no church, but the old masshouse, set up since the days of the apostles, since they lost the true church, Thess. 1.

Priest Bushel's principles.

These words were given forth by Seth Bushel, priest of Whitley, as follows, the 25th day of the first month, 1658.

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P. MEN are not converted by the light within them"

A. If Christ be not in you, the body is dead, and he is light within. And the light that shines in the heart gives the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus.' And none are converted but they that are in him, and they are converted by him within; and the light that shines in the heart, gives the knowledge of conversion and unconversion; and there are none come to conversion but by it, the light, which is Christ.

P. He saith, that he denies that the light that lighteth every man is Christ,' as John speaks, John 1.

A. In this thou hast denied John's doctrine, who said, 'He is the true light which doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world.' And as many as received him, he gave them power to become the sons of God.' And thus thou art ignorant of the scriptures, much more of the power of God.

P. He saith, "The light which every man is enlightened withal, never converted any man to God.'

A. Here thou goest about in thy doctrine to prove that Christ never brought any to God, who is the light 'that lighteth every man that cometh into the world,' who is the way to the Father, who saves men from sin, and destroys death, and he that hath the power of it, and brings men into that which the devil is out of. Thou and thy doctrines are comprehended and condemned by the light; and no man is converted to God but by the light which hath enlightened every man that cometh into the world.'

P. He saith, That the light which lighteth every man is the broad way.'

A. Here people may all see this priest to be a minister of darkness and wickedness; for the light which doth enlighten every man is Christ Jesus, who is the way to the Father, and leads people out of the broad way, which is come up by Adam, sin, the devil, and transgression; and all are in the broad way that deny the light.

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thou hast thrown out, and set scripture in his room: and as for the rest of his words, they are not worth mentioning.

Enoch Howet's principles.

P. The doctrine of perfection in the creature is a lie.'

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A. The doctrine of perfection in the creature is Christ, who destroys the devil and his works, and binds the strong man, and spoils his goods, and takes the possession of it to himself, and the creature is a perfect creature, out of transgression. He that is born of God doth not commit sin,' seeing the seed of God remains in him; and that is the doctrine of perfection in the creature. And Christ makes all things new; and thou that canst not witness any thing made new, art in the old things, crying up imperfection; and that is perfect that brings men to confess their sin, and that is in the creature.

Thomas Hodges, rector in Oxfordshire, bachelor in divinity, saith,

P. That the holy ghost speaks in the scriptures.'

A. Here all may see his ignorance, whether this man be fit to be a rector who is thus corrected with the scriptures, which say, that the holy ghost moved in them that gave forth scriptures; but said, the letter was dead, and did not give life.' And thus he directs into darkness, in telling the people the holy ghost is in scripture, when the scripture never gave forth that speech, but said it was in them that gave it forth; for many may have the scriptures, and want the holy ghost, as the Pharisees.

P. To the law and to the testimony; and thou shalt not make to thy self any graven image that is in heaven or in earth.'

A. I say, to the law and to the testimony, before Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Epistles, and the Revelations were written. 'The law is light,' 'the testimony of Jesus the spirit of prophecy,' as in former days, Isaiah the 8. And you have told the people that it is the Old and New Testament; but the New was not written in his days, in the days of Isaiah. And why do you make likenesses of things in heaven and in earth, and hang up in your houses, and on signs, yet thou sayst we should not make them, for it is a breach of God's command: of whom have you learned to make all these images of things in heaven, and things in the earth, since the days of the apostles, but of them that went forth from the apostles, the pope's tribe; of whom ye are.

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