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through faith in Christ Jesus.' For they were not wise unto salvation, who had the scripture without the faith.

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P. He saith, We attain our gospel another way than Paul did.' And it is blasphemy to tell us that what ye deliver is by revelation from heaven,' &c.

A. You, who are apostates from the apostles, have received your gospel another way than Paul did, I do believe. And is it not blasphemy for you to speak and preach that which ye have not received from heaven? and so you have brought yourselves under the curse, and showed yourselves ministers of another gospel. For whosoever receiveth the gospel, which is called the power of God,' it is immediate, and by immediate revelation from God. And so your gospel which is of men and after men, is another, not the power of God received from God; for whosoever receiveth the gospel, the power of God, must receive it immediately, for the power of God is immediate; and that is the glad tidings to poor souls, that sets the soul free.

P. He saith, We claim tithes not by the law of God, but by the law of the land, and tithes seem to be Christ's wages, and Melchisedeck still liveth to receive tithes in Christ,' &c.

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A. Christ is come, and the everlasting priesthood; he ends the commandment that gave tithes, and the priests that took them; they end in him who is after the order of Melchisedeck that received tithes of Abraham, of whom Christ came according to the flesh. And Christ doth not any where give his disciples an order to set up another law in the nations, to give them tithes, the tithes of men's estates; so you are none of the order of Melchisedeck, but are of the order of them which Christ said should come, who are inwardly ravened, which John saw were come, and went forth from them, the false spirits that went forth into the world, into the earth; and so ye have set up tithes, temples, schools, and priests by the pope's authority. Had ye not your spiritual courts' not long since? And was not the pope the first author of your tithes? And are not you of that order, and far off from that spirit that leads after the order of Melchisedeck? For none come to the priesthood after the order of Melchisedeck, but who come to the spirit of Christ, and these are kings and priests to God for ever.' So ye have received your tithes after the order of that spirit that went forth from the apostles into the world, into the earth, that has had the sheep's clothing, but ravened and devoured the lambs, and worried the sheep, the ministers, prophets, and saints. So all that are of the royal priesthood, after the order of Melchisedeck, will see your order to be come of the pope's stock; for the apostles and Christ did not set up tithes.

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P. He saith, Baptism comes in, in the room of circumcision, and it VOL. III.

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is called the circumcision of Christ.' Again he saith, that thee and thou is a custom. So if any man be contentious, we have no such custom in the church of God.'

A. Circumcision is no where said to be a type of sprinkling infants; and sprinkling infants is no where said to be the circumcision of Christ. But the circumcision without, was a type of the circumcision within; and that the apostle witnessed the fulfilling of in the spirit, and so denies the outward. And the baptism of John was a type of that within. And 'you' to a particular, is your custom, and the scripture doth not declare to us, that that custom was in the church of God. But the apostle bid them 'keep to the form of sound words, that could not be condemned.' Now you' to a particular is not a sound word, as they can tell that have read but the bible or accidence. And no heathenish customs come into the church of God, that will spot or wrinkle it, nor does any thing come into it (that is the pillar and ground of truth) that will be condemned.

P. And he tells us of a word trinity: and saith, The only ordinary way to know Jesus Christ, is outward revelation; and to attain to the knowledge of Christ is, by the scriptures; and that he may be a minister of Christ, though he be partly out of Christ's doctrine, and though he be called of men master.' He saith, The scripture tells us plainly, that baptism is a christian's circumcision.' Again, He that saith, that light which is in every man is sufficient to discover and lead men to Christ, is under the darkness of his own fancy, having so far left the true light, the word of God.'

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A. The light in every man, which Christ hath enlightened him withal, loving it and walking in it, is sufficient to discover Christ and salvation; and they that are out of that, are in the darkness and fancy. And as for the word trinity, that comes from the old stock, the pope; the scripture teacheth us no such word. And none can know Christ by the scriptures; they testify of him, but none can know Christ but by revelation. Flesh and blood had not revealed it to Peter: and the son was revealed in the apostle. And none that deny revelation can preach Christ in truth; and they that are ministers of Christ, are in his doctrine. For when they are out of his doctrine and his commands, then they are wrong ministers; for they minister not for Christ, but preach themselves, and are antichrists and transgressors. And the scripture no where says, that baptism is a christian's circumcision,' as sprinkling infants; but circumcision in the spirit, and baptism in the spirit are all one, in which the outward ends.

And as for all thy other silly expressions published to the nation, it had been better thou hadst kept silent, and all of you, than to have published your shame to the nation. But your folly you must bring forth,

to make it manifest to all men, whose eyes are opening. Are not you in the devil's snare, who are out of the discerning? For you cannot tell what to bring people into. Alack for you! who are hung about with rags, and are not covered with the spirit of the Lord, but are all from that which we are in, and so have kept people in darkness, and not turned them to the light, being all ravened from it, and so think there is life in the scriptures, which testify of the life! So, I say, search them, and see if they do not testify of the life. And all your words that ye have spoken that have not been from the life, shall be your burthen; the witness in thee shall answer it.

Thomas Weld, Richard Prideaux, Samuel Hammond, William Coale, and William Durant, ministers in Newcastle. Their book, called The Perfect Pharisee.' Their principles follow.

P. THEY say, if they shall say that every man hath the knowledge of Christ by special revelation, and that immediate by the spirit, they say that which is quite contrary to the common knowledge of thousands.'

A. All that ever come to know Christ, (you and all the people upon the earth,) it must be by revelation; for no man knows Christ but by revelation. " And all that ever own Christ, they must own the light that doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world' to be the covenant of God; which light men are to believe in; which not believing in, they are reprobated. And I do believe you, that neither you nor thousands and thousands who have had the sheep's clothing upon their backs, and so have covered the wolf with it, ever knew the revelation of the son of God;' and as none know the son of God until he be revealed, so they have not the knowledge of him. The scriptures testify of him, but they that had the scriptures knew him not, only those who were in the light, and in the covenant. So ye have all discovered yourselves to be in the apostacy from the apostles' spirit; and all to be the false spirits gone out into the world, for means, for maintenance, and are all puffed up in your pride. And that makes all your doctrine to be so dry and so barren, there being no revelation among you, nor any immediate speaking from God and Christ, but feeding people with the husk, with the outside. You have here proved yourselves to be but the wolf in the sheep's clothing, inwardly ravened from the spirit: (but with it ye are comprehended:) if it had not been so, you would never have published your folly to the nation. But the spirit of love,

and humility, and meekness, (which bears all things,) comes to be known by the spirit.

P. For people to be led with a light within, this is to make the scriptures useless.'

A. No; this lets all see the scriptures in their place, and the fulfilling of them; which were given forth to be believed, practised, read, and fulfilled, not for men to make a trade of them, and call people from the light within, with which they should see the scriptures. And none come into covenant with God, with their hearts and minds, that they need say one to another, know the Lord,' that they may be always living under man's teaching.

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P. How clear (say they) the scripture is, that faith cometh by hearing, and not by minding the light within.'

A. Doth any man know Christ but by the light within? And is not Christ the word? Can any see without the light, the word? Doth it not make manifest? Nay, doth it not give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus?' (read 2 Cor. iv. 1.) from whom faith comes; and so faith comes by minding the light within, Christ, the author of it, and brings to look at him, and hear him.

P. And multitudes were converted by those fair epistles written by the spirit.'

A. None are converted but who are in the spirit that gave forth those epistles, though they may have all the epistles: for that baptizeth, and circumciseth, and in that is the fellowship and unity. Your convertings, and the Papists, have been by the epistles, out of the life, since the days of the apostles, and so made proselytes, Pharisee-like. People, as I said before, may get the sheep's clothing, that ye have long been covered with, but inwardly have been ravening wolves, as your fruits have declared, and the northern part of the nation may manifest. The witness in all your consciences shall answer for me, and let you see that your own words are your burden; and a heavy cry will come upon you when ye feel it, who now are fat, and full; but a day of reckoning is coming, and inquisition is made for the blood that hath been shed, of all the prophets, martyrs, and saints since the days of the apostles, and the prisoning, and the persecuting by you and your offspring got up since the days of the apostles, the false spirits that went out into the world, that are now standing against the 'light which doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world.' A mark that you are inwardly ravened, and that you are the antichrists and false prophets! You are not like to own the light in every man, who are ravened from it, and are turned against them that walk in the light, and keep the testimony of Jesus. Here is the beast and the false pro

phet that make war against the saints, and overcome them for a time; but the lamb and the saints must have the victory. And you about Newcastle, ministers and teachers, are like a heap or dunghill, sogged and mudded; but come to the witness, else eternally you will be condemned.

P. They say, 'Blessed are they that hear the word, and keep it; which is a word spoken and written, not the eternal word. It is a notion of the word of God, to call the word of God a declaration. And the holy scriptures are able to make men wise unto salvation. To the law and testimony.'

A. To the law and to the testimony. The law is light,' saith Solomon and the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.' And many may have the old and new testament, and yet be out of the light, and out of the testimony, as you are, and so out of the spirit of prophecy. For Isaiah had the testimony, before Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and the revelations were written, and bid them come to the law and to the testimony; and you that do not speak according to that rule, it is because you hate the light in you. And Luke calls the scriptures a declaration, who was a minister of the word; and the scriptures are the words of God, and the words of Christ, and so not the word, but the words which the word Christ fulfils. So ye are men not able to divide the word aright, nor to speak a word in season to the wearied, but lead the halt, and lame, and blind out of the way; who for so doing must find misery.

Again, they that hear the word of God, hear that which lives and endures for ever; and this word is eternal, which lives and endures for ever, which they have within them; and with that they see that the words, and letters, and writings, or outward tables may be broken, but still the word remains. Who would think that the ministers of Newcastle should say, that the scriptures are able to make men wise unto salvation,' and leave out faith! You are no more made wise than the Pharisees were with the scriptures without faith. They were not made wise unto salvation by the scriptures without the faith, neither are you. But who are in the faith, they are made wise to salvation through the scriptures, and come to Christ the end of them; for it gives to see the scriptures, and in it (in the faith) is the unity, which scribes, and Pharisees, and apostates are out of.

P. That since the time of the apostles the call is mediate, and that the officers and elders of the church are to be ordained by a mediate way; the power without the person, government without governor, is a mere fancy.'

A. Christ said, false spirits should come, that inwardly ravened; they went forth from the apostles, into the world, and the world hath run after them. They can speak no otherwise but of a mediate call,

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