they are owned. But they who come into the baptism of the spirit, come into that in which the other ends, the greater. For many came to John; but when they should have come to receive Christ the light, which doth enlighten every man, &c. they stood against him, as you do now. And Christ told them they received 'honour one of another,' as you do now, (a mark of the unbeliever,) and the love of God was not in them, and the word of God was not abiding in them; and they had never heard the voice of God, nor seen his shape at any time. And there are you, like the Jews, whose table is a trap, sticking in the outward things, standing against the light that doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world, and so stumbling at the corner stone, elect and precious. But it is fallen upon your heads; and will grind you to powder; fight, bustle, and do all that you can, it is upon you, and all your compliments will do you no good. And none seek the honour that comes from above, but who are in the light that doth enlighten every man, &c. And none honour the son, but who are in the light that comes from him, though they have all the scriptures, as the Pharisees had in their age.

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46.

P. He saith, Error in life doth not prove error in judgment,' page

A. They who err in the life, err in the judgment: for all that err in the judgment, are erred from the life. And all the Pharisees had scriptures; yet being erred from the life, they all erred in their judgment, and knew not Christ the substance of scriptures. So all you that are in error in life, err in your judgment, you all stumble at the light with which Christ doth enlighten every man, &c. And none are out of the error of life, and out of the error of conversation, but who are in the light which doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world.'

P. He saith, that the Quakers foam at the mouth,' &c.

A. It is a shame that ever men should lose their soberness, and come to lose all modesty; that so many that do call themselves teachers in this nation, should publish such odious lies and untruths to the nation. And that the Quakers have hung ribands upon one another, and given ribands to one another, as instance, G. F. should have from M. F.' Oh! that ever modesty should be so lost, and shamefacedness quite gone, which should have been a garment to have covered impudency: that ever men, and teachers of people, and professors, should' make lies their refuge! But I say, the Lord forgive you, for all these things shall be your own burthen; and a heavy burthen is come upon you, and coming upon you all in the nation, that trust in lies. But what if you should see every man with his hand on his thigh, in pain to be delivered.

P. He saith, "The prophet that shall presume to speak a word in my name, and I have not commanded him to speak, he shall die.' See page 26.

A. Here thou hast brought thyself, and all of you, under thy own judgment, and given sentence upon yourselves, and all the rest of the teachers, that say they never heard the voice of God immediately from heaven, nor immediate inspiration nor revelation.' So ye all want the spirit of God, and are out of it that the prophets and apostles were in, and with it are all judged. Though ye may run in pretence of his name, (with the form,) and say ye never heard his voice; but 'that prophet shall die,' thou sayst. So thou hast judged yourselves, and there are all you teachers, in the apostacy, since the days of the apostles.

P. And Christ said, many deceivers should come in his name, and deceive many: and such as serve not the Lord Jesus Christ but their own bellies. And with good words, and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.' See title page.

A. Christ said in Matt. xxiv. and in Matt. vii. that false prophets should come, and antichrists, which before the apostles' decease they saw come; and such as served not the Lord Jesus Christ but their own bellies;' which went forth from the apostles, which, in the Revelation, John saw the whole world gone after; and those got the sheep's clothing, and so with the good words and fair speeches deceive; who were inwardly ravened from the light which doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world; and such have good words and fair speeches, but deceive the hearts of the simple, and gather people into forms, and heaps, and sects, and ways, and opinions one against another, which are nothing but the beast and his names, and all against the light that doth enlighten every man, &c. and so are making war against the saints of the Lamb. But the Lamb and the saints shall have the victory, who will slay with his sword, the words of his mouth. And judgment is come through unto victory, and set in the earth. And so the deceivers and antichrists are telling people, Now is the last time, now are they come,' and bidding them come to Matt. vii. and Matt. xxiv. which indeed Christ did say they should come; but John said they were come, whereby they knew it was the last time: and in the Revelations he saith, that all nations have drunk the whore's cup, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the inhabitants of the earth are drunk with the wine of her fornication, and the earth is corrupted; as ye make it appear, your fruits declare it. And this is that which hath brought the nations to be as waters, and peoples as waters, and tongues as waters, and multitudes as waters, ravened inwardly from the spirit of God, yet have gotten the sheep's clothing to deceive

the nations. Such as drunk the blood of the saints, the prophets and martyrs, did make war against the saints, and overcame them. But now the saints and the Lamb have the victory; glory to the highest. And to that which they ravened from, are people come now.

William Dell's book, called, 'A Stumbling Stone.' His principles follow.

P. HE saith, "The carnal church is a great enemy to Christ's church.' And they are offended at Christ, because in him there was no human nor earthly thing,' page 13. It is the greatest error that reigns under antichrist's kingdom, to affirm that the universities are the foundation of ministers. And Peter undoubtedly taxeth the universities, with such men to be false doctors, false prophets, out of which proceed all the teachers in the world, in their towns and cities, under the whole kingdom of antichrist, which have such doctors and teachers in the university for the whole world,' page 27.

A. The rest of the priests and teachers which are come from the universities, and such as have set up themselves to be teachers, (as in this book ye may see,) say that Christ in heaven hath a human body, and others say that he hath a human soul, and thou say st, there is no human or earthly thing in him. And forasmuch as thy saying it is the greatest error under antichrist's kingdom, to say the universities are the fountains of ministers.' That is a true word; it will be well for thee if thou be not caught in this fountain among these errors, maintaining of them; for such are they that quench the spirit, and speak the scriptures in that spirit which they came not by. And these are they that have deceived the whole world. And all such as make ministers in their wills, quench the spirit, limit the Holy One, despise prophesying, make a trade of scriptures which came not by the will of man, for the satisfying of their own wills. And happy would Dell have been, if he had lived in what he spoke.

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Gyles Fermin, called pastor of the church at Shalfor in Essex, his book called, Stablishing against Shaking. His principles follow.

P. HE saith, Take away learning, and England becomes a dunghill.'

A. Peter and John were unlearned men, yet were no dunghill. P. He saith, True teachers plead hard for their people's ears. The Quakers say we are not ministers, because we preach for hire; and are covetous and divine for money; and the apostles took wages and maintenance,' and saith, they eat, and drank,' &c. and he saith, The Lord did ever beteem his ministers honourable wages,' page 5. And the labourer is worthy of his hire,' page 6.

A. When the apostle speaks of taking wages, of eating and drinking, to them that examined him, he speaks this among the saints, gathered out of the world, from among Jews and Gentiles. This was not spoken to such as held up temples, tithes, and priests, but a gathered, separated people from them. And the gospel they preached, the power of God, opened the hearts of the people to give unto them, and not by an outward law. And the great work of the apostles was not to wrangle about their maintenance, as is the great work of the man-made ministers now in our age, such as divine for money, and prophesy for money. And hire was ever looked upon to be the false prophets wages, who are without the spirit of God that gave forth the scriptures; for the spirit of God would never value, equal, or measure his gift with the earthly things. And when the apostle speaketh of the labourer being worthy of his hire, he saith, 'Who goes a warfare at his own charge ?' and they that were taught, were to communicate every good thing to them. This still was spoken among the saints, this was not spoken in temples, and synagogues, and, to them that took tithes; for those were warred against by them that were in the substance: and the war- fare was to bring people to the substance; out of the first Adam to the second; and out of the shadows. And that whereby the ministers had the double honour, was the life and the power: such measured not a gift with earthly things; which brought them to lay down all their estates at the apostles' feet; which was more than tithes. But this gospel we see not among you, nor this power, the power of God; neither preachers nor hearers. And the apostles did not bid the Gentiles, nor the Jews that were in their forms and inventions, and traditions, that had elders among them; they did not bid them obey them that had rule over them; but they brought them from under those rulers, from those elders to Christ the substance, the elder brother: and so who was grown more than another in the life, was the elder, and watched over the weak. And it is manifest that you never received the gift of God, whose work is thus to jangle for outward things. For the gift of God which is perfect, would break through the imperfect, and raise up the witness to give freely.

P. He saith, No man can be a good text man unless he have attained to the languages which hath cost us so much; and he cannot know

the errors but by learning.' And saith, he may thus speak for the necessity of arts, without which men cannot be sufficient ministers.'

A. None are made ministers of Christ by arts, nor by languages; let them get all the languages upon the earth, they are still but naturalists, and men learning other men's natural language; he who hath learned but that which is natural, knows but that which is natural, what another natural man can speak; and all their arts are there. Now that which makes a minister of Christ is beyond the natural: yea, all the natural languages upon the earth; and seeth before they were. Let it cost them never so much, yea gold and silver, a wedge of gold, and the most precious things upon the earth, cannot purchase, nor make a minister of Christ; that which makes them is the spirit of God, and none know the scriptures given forth from the spirit of God, but with the spirit of God. Nor do any know the errors but by the spirit of God. Now if all men upon the earth have scriptures, in every one of their natural languages; yet none of these know the errors, nor the scriptures without the spirit of God from which they were given forth.

P. He saith, If the magistrates could find out any other way for maintenance for ministers, they would part with tithes, which have been these many hundreds of years.' See page 9. And there are many ministers will not take their tithes, but they compound with the people for their tithes.' And we dare not trust the people for maintenance. But we see care hath been taken for us many hundred years before we were born,' &c. See page 10. And why do not the Quakers charge us with idleness, as well as with taking wages.'

A. Are ye not all a company of idle fellows, bred up at schools in the pride and filthiness of the earth? And when ye come out ye raven after great benefices, and trouble parishes, and stir up the people to envy against one another, like a company of madmen, and sue, and hale people up and down to courts for maintenance. Are not these the works of belly-gods? And is the magistrate the lord of the vineyard, that he must allot a maintenance to the labourers? Hath not Christ already told his ministers what they must have? and were not the apostles to go forth without any thing, and to trust the Lord, and the people, which you dare not trust? And ye dare not trust the gospel to maintain you; but you have a set benefice, or augmentation, or a magistrate's power to give you maintenance before you go out to a parish. Oh! how are ye biting and devouring one another for such things as were not accounted of, or esteemed among the saints, who suffered joyfully the spoiling of their goods, by such devourers as you are! And is that your deceit, to compound with people for their tithes? and is that your cloak then, to say you do not take tithes? And since the days of the apostles, in the apostacy, since the power of God, the gospel, hath been