A. That is contrary to the apostle, who said, God was without respect of persons, and that the Gentiles should be accepted as well as the Jews. He that doth righteousness is accepted with God; who holds the faith of Christ it is without respect of persons, it is in the unity, and they that are out of that, are out of the unity. So thou who hast pleaded for that, art out of his doctrine. He that respects persons commits sin, and is convinced of the law as a transgressor,' saith the apostle. W. P. thy works are tried and weighed, and found too light, and condemned for the fire, as the witness in thy conscience shall answer; but now in thy security thou art asleep, but the wrath of the Lamb shall find thee out.

And as for all the lies and slanders thou heaps up in thy book, they are not worth mentioning, but will come upon thy own self, for they are thine own covering, which are judged, the witness in thee shall answer.

The Elders and Messengers of the several Churches of Ilston, Abergevenny, Tredingnoge, Caermarthen, Hereford, Bredwerden, Cledacke, and Liangors, meeting at Brecknocke, whose book is titled, 'An Antidote against the Infections of the Times.'

Who have shown yourselves full of poison, and such as infect the times, but with the spirit of truth ye are comprehended and judged. Your principles are as followeth.

P. You say, you are conceived in sin, and brought forth in iniquity.' Psalm li. 1.

A. David doth not say, 'you who were conceived in sin,' but 'I;' and W. P. saith, John was sanctified from the womb;' and the scripture speaks of such as were sanctified from the womb, and children that were clean. And so you do not speak as elders and messengers of true churches, or men dividing the word aright; but you are one against another, though you are all against them you call Quakers; that are in the truth.

P. They say, 'they observe the design of Satan to cast down the walls of Sion, and to remove the living stones thereof from the sure foundation, the rock of ages, the Lord Jesus Christ, and draw them to build upon the sands.'

A. Is this likely that the elect should be deceived? that living stones should be drawn from the sure foundation, the rock of ages, the Lord Jesus Christ? For these living stones to be built upon the sand, and drawn from the rock of ages, doth not sound like the doctrine of men VOL. III. 44

of understanding; for the living stones are the spiritual household, and the royal priesthood; and theirs is the foundation that stands sure, the rock which the gates of hell cannot prevail against. You in your notions should let living stones alone, for none can pluck them out of the Father's hand.

P. And they say, 'No man can redeem the soul of his brother.'

A. Solomon saith, "The fruits of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that wins souls is wise.' And he that saves a man from his evil ways, saves a soul from a multitude of sins.' Again thou sayst, 'No man, the greatest of men, can redeem the soul of his brother.' Ye should not have left out Christ the saviour, the redeemer, the man Christ Jesus, the elder brother; so you are a company of blind pastors, contrary to them that gave forth scriptures.

P. To say heaven and glory are in man, which were before man was, they are sottish and blind.'

A. There are none have a glory and a heaven but within them, which was before man had a being.

P. 'Wherefore, take heed of depending upon any righteousness within you, or any righteousness done by you.'

A. This is a strange doctrine, that men must take heed of any righteousness done by them, or within them! This is contrary to scripture, which saith, the kingdom of heaven is within, that stands in righteousness, peace, and joy in the holy ghost. And the fruits of the spirit are righteousness and goodness; and this is that which ends the righteousness of the law. And 'He that doth righteousness is righteous, and Christ, the righteousness of God, is with them.'

P. Man hath received a light from Christ as a creature, but not as a redeemer.'

A. That is false; for whosoever hath received a light from Christ, hath received a redeemer, and a saviour, and he that doth believe in it is saved, and he that doth not is condemned.

P. And they say, 'If you love your souls, beware of such delusions, lest ye perish eternally, that say it is the true light that enlightens every man that cometh into the world, and that following it, it is sufficient to bring men to heaven; which light is natural reason and conscience.'

A. The light that every man that cometh into the world is enlightened withal, cometh from the salvation, Christ, who is the way to the Father, whose throne is in heaven; and Christ saith, Believe in the light, that ye may become the children of the light,' and 'he that believes in the light shall not come into condemnation.' All men are enlightened, that through the light they might believe. able to divide the word aright, and all that are from this light, are lo

So you are not

here, lo there:' and so are in the natural reason and conscience, which the light is not; the light was before they were.

P. They say, 'None should ever have known a justification or a sanctification, if it had not been written.'

A. I do believe you had not, but here you have laid aside the holy ghost: how knew they before they gave scripture forth? Here thou hast denied revelation of the spirit; for though a man has all the writings, yet he knows nothing of God, but by the spirit of God, and the light which comes from him; nor of sanctification, nor justification, which is Christ.

P. You say, 'You are fallen into the last times prophesied of by Christ,' and you are to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints.'

A. The faith once delivered to the saints, ye are out of, in respecting persons, and are apostates from it; and the last times which Christ spoke of that should come, John saw were come, when the false prophets which Christ prophesied of, were come, who went forth from the apostles, who, since their days, the world went after; and now from them is the Lord God bringing his people to the rock of ages, into the faith they are out of.

P. 'Foolish man would have his righteousness in himself."

A. Every one that hath Christ hath the righteousness of God wrought in him, and none own the righteousness of Christ but who own the light that enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world; and they are foolish that know not this, and the righteousness of faith in them.

P. 'It is blasphemy,' they say, 'and colourable pretences, to witness an infallible spirit in them.'

A. The spirit that leads the saints into all truth, is infallible, and that shall reprove the world; and he that hath the spirit of Christ, hath that which is infallible, and he that hath not the spirit of Christ is none of his, but is in the colourable pretences.

P. They say, "The scriptures are the quick and powerful word.'

A. Many may have the scriptures and the form, and deny the power; and the scriptures are words of God, and the word is God; and this word is in the heart, which led them to speak forth scripture, And many scriptures they bring to oppose the doctrine of Christ, who saith, 'Be not ye called of men master; for ye have one master, even Christ,' to whom every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess, to the glory of God. Will men receive worship, when angels would not receive it, but bade them worship God!

P. They say, "They rail and cavil at the lawful maintenance that God hath ordained for them.'

A. God hath suffered the beast to make havoc, and spoil the saints' goods: but where doth God ordain that you should take tithes and treble damages, easter reckonings, and midsummer dues, and that you should sue men at the law, and cast them in prison till death,-where did God command this? They that preach the gospel should live on the gospel, and they bring glad tidings to people, and this is not glad tidings, to cast into prison till death, and hale up and down to courts and sessions, for outward maintenance. Let the spiritual judge whether these men bring glad tidings, or whether they do not make their folly manifest to all men that can but read the scripture.

P. They say, Such as trust in their own inherent righteousness, compass sea and land to make proselytes.'

A. It was so in the days of the Pharisees, it hath been so since the days of the apostles, since the beast and the false prophet got up, who deny the light that doth enlighten every one that cometh into the world, God's righteousness, (Christ.) And such as denied the light had the form; and such gather people into the form of Moses, the prophets, Christ, and the apostles' words; establishing their own righteousness, and denying the righteousness of God, the light that doth enlighten every one that cometh into the world. And all you that deny the light that doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world, have trodden the blood of the covenant under foot. And you tell us of human and inherent righteousness, but the scripture tells us no such words. And as for all the rest of the lies in this book, we let them go home again upon their own heads; every word shall be their own burthen, and that in their conscience shall witness. And the scriptures are owned by the Quakers, and denied by you, but owned for your own ends, that deny the light.

A book entitled, "The Quakers' Cause.' No name is found in it, but it is a book of darkness, railing, and lies. And because some leave father, and mother, and wife, therefore he rages, who is out of the light and doctrine of Christ. The principles in it are as followeth.

P. SUCH as forsake husband and wife, to do the will of God, this he calls a breaking of relations.'

A. And thus ignorantly speaks evil of those things he knows not. Thus, ignorant of the command of Christ and the scriptures, he hath showed himself to be a member of the world, and not of Christ, who

saith, he that doth not forsake father and mother, wife and children, is not worthy of me.'

P. He saith, Because he saith thou to God, it doth not follow that he should say thou to his earthly father, to speak to God as he doth to

man.'

A. Now mind what proud flesh would have, of whom thou hast learned to speak you to an earthly man, or to a particular person, which the scripture hath taught no such language, nor the accidence. That which teacheth thee to give more to man than to God is the spirit of the world, but the spirit of God teaches to speak righteously, and when there is but one, not to say as of many, but thou to one, and you to many. And so here is the form of sound words that cannot be condemned: now you may see where your original stands, who cannot endure the form of sound words.

P. He saith, 'To be justified by grace, which is Christ in them, this is a kind of Popery.'

A. Contrary to the scripture and the apostles' doctrine, (before the pope, and them too,) which saith, 'Christ was in them,' 'who are justified by faith;' and faith was in the heart; and 'justified in the spirit,' and who witness the spirit, it is the spirit of grace; and 'by grace ye are saved,' and that which saves, justifies; and 'being justified by grace.' And thou art of the pope, and in the apostacy, that deniest this.

P. To say, 'Christ is within, is never to mention Christ without.' A. There is none knows Christ within, but he knows him without, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever; and there are none know him but they know him within, revealed of the Father, which is beyond flesh and blood.

P. And he says, 'To run upon new birth, self-denial, light within, Christ within man, if this be not a kind of Popery, and a fair gate for Rome, he is deceived.'.

A. Light within, Christ within, new birth, and self-denial are out of your works and Rome's, which was the doctrine that the apostles held forth and the saints witnessed, Christ within, light within, and new birth. Such were they that came into the kingdom of God, over the kingdoms of the world. And because some have been moved of the Lord to go naked among you, a figure of your nakedness and want of clothing, you rage at it; that you may appear more naked of the spirit of God. And as for all thy lies and slanders and hard expressions in thy book, though thou hast hid thy name, yet truth will bring thy works upon thee, and make the witness in thee to answer; who and which are for the fire, and to thee this shall be thy burden, who art like a man that scorns and scoffs, and yet thou hidest thyself.