the scripture ends and which it testifies of; and so it is Christ, the same to-day, yesterday, and for ever, that the saints come to witness within them, not another Christ, neither many Christs. And they that profess a Christ without them, that have a Christ without them, and another Christ within them, here are two; for if it be not the same Christ that ended all types, and figures, and shadows; if it be not him that is within, they have not the possession, the substance, nor the comfort of the true Christ. But they who have not Christ, the end of the types, shadows, and figures, in them, are among antichrists and false christs; and they that have the form of godliness can confess a Christ without them, and not within them.

P. Again he saith, "The saints have a glorious light within them, but imperfect.' And 'it is an error to say they have an infallible light within them, that they must follow, which will show them all things.' And to judge of scripture that it must be fulfilled in them.' And 'these are they that are brought up in dark places of the earth, that are as Sauls that go to the witch and not to the law and testimony.'

A. None come to the law and to the testimony, though they have the Old and New Testament, but those who come to the light in them, for the law is the light, and those who come to the spirit within them, which is the spirit of prophecy; and all that go from this, go into dark places of the earth, and such are they that go in the path of Saul, such spirits as go from the light within them, and the spirit that is the testimony of Jesus, and the light. And the glorious light of the saints which they are enlightened withal is Christ, which is perfect, and they are changed from glory to glory; and so the light which thou sayst the saints are in, and yet not perfect, and yet glorious! mind thy words, consider thy measure, thy judgment. The infallible light which every one that comes into the world is enlightened with, is the leader of the people, and the light they are to follow, and it is the way to the Father, out of the way from the Father that is in the first Adam, in the transgression; which light is Christ the second Adam, that every man that comes into the world is enlightened with. And they who follow this, and believe in it, and walk in it, abide not in darkness, but have the light of life. And the light within, and the spirit of God within, that gave forth the scripture, is the trial of the scripture of truth; for men without that may wrest the words, and wrong translate them. So the light within, the spirit of God, is the judge of the scriptures and knows scripture, which gave it forth, and is the rule, and ruled and led them to speak them forth, and is the rule that leads them to open them again, and to lead into all truth, as saith Christ.

P. He saith, That which they set up above the scriptures is heathenish; and the scriptures are the ground of faith, without them faith

cannot act; and faith hath no bottom to rest upon but scripture; and scripture is more than faith, the sure word of prophecy, the balm of the conscience; it satisfies doubts, heals wounds, discerns the thoughts.' A. The Pharisees and the chief priests, were not healed, except they came to Christ; they found no rest for their souls; though they had the scripture, yet they came not to Christ the light, which was before the scripture was given forth. The Pharisees had the scriptures, but they had not faith; they stood against the author and the ground of it, Christ. The Pharisees had the scriptures, but it was Christ and God that showed them their thoughts; so the scripture knew not their thoughts, but who are in the spirit that gave forth the scriptures, it shows men's thoughts. Enoch and Abraham had faith, and had not scripture. All are heathens that are not in the light which was before scripture was written, though they have all the scripture. And the holy men of God acted in the faith, in obedience to it, before the scripture was given forth, and they were all in the faith that gave forth the scripture, and they did not act as from the scripture, but from the spirit of whom they had learned, who is the author of faith which the just live by, and God and Christ, the substance of the scripture.

P. And the scripture is an infallible rule of worship.'

A. The Jews and Pharisees had the scriptures, and the apostates since the days of the apostles have had the scriptures, and have been out of the life that gave them forth; they want the rule, which is the spirit, in which God the father of spirits is worshipped, and that was the rule which all the holy men of God were led by to give forth scripture, in which they worshipped God; for the Pharisees had the scriptures and not the spirit which gave them forth, that worshipped they did not know what. They wanted the rule, the spirit of God that was in them that gave forth the scriptures, in which they should have worshipped God; so saw not the substance, the ground of faith, and author of faith, Christ Jesus.

P. They will not put off their hats; they write thee and thou one to another; they will not say master.'

A. The honour of the hat, the putting of it off, is an earthly honour of the earthly Adam in the fall, in the transgression, which Christ the second Adam, the Lord from heaven, not of the earthly, comes to redeem man out of; he receives it not, he will have none of it, but the honour that comes from above, and cometh to stain the honour that is from below, and sees it a mark of earthly Adam in the transgression, and not of the second, the heavenly. And as for thee and thou, you to a number, and thou to a singular, they who stumble at this, show they have neither learned accidence nor bible; so are short of the spirit that spoke the sound words that cannot be condemned, and speaks pro

per words, which is the plant of renown. And as for being called of men master, Christ saith, 'Be not you called of men master, for ye have one master, even Christ, and you are all brethren ;' and they are in error that slight his commands and trample them under feet; and they are hypocrites, who, after they have trampled his commands under foot, make a profession of his words. Thomas Leadger, thou professest thou esteemest the scripture highly, above ordinances, above angels, and is not this scripture which saith, 'Be ye not called of men master,' and is it not Christ's command? Yet thou deniest these scriptures and tramplest them under thy feet.

P. The scripture is the lantern of obedience, and it directs men to Jesus.' And he calls the scripture 'the word of God, the sum of truth.' And they could not have known there had been a Christ, or a mediator, or grace, or glory, or worship, or Father, or spirit, or light, but as it is declared in scripture.'

A. I do believe that you who are got up since the days of the apostles, in the apostacy, inwardly ravening from the spirit of God, had not known there had been a Father, or spirit, or grace, or worship, if the scripture had not declared it; but they that had not scripture, had faith, had the holy ghost, had the Father, knew the Father, knew Christ, knew the spirit; they that had the scripture, the Pharisees, knew not the father, knew not the holy ghost, nor the redeemer, but resisted (as it was in Steven) him that was born of the spirit. Now they that had not the scriptures knew all these things, that had the spirit that gave them forth, while they that had the scriptures, and not the spirit, knew not these things, they that had the spirit of error, that were in heaps about the saints' words. Now the Pharisees had the scriptures, yet walked in darkness, had not David's lantern to their feet, and so could not see Christ as David did. Saith the apostle, their table was their trap, there they stuck. David that had the life that gave forth the scriptures, had the lantern to his feet; and had not they a lantern before the scripture was written? Abraham, Enoch, what led them all to give forth scripture? are not all they that have the scripture and are out of that which they were in that gave them forth, out of the light, and out of the lantern? And they had a rule of obedience before the scripture was given forth, the word of God, that lives, and abides, and endures for ever; that is the word of faith, in which the scripture, the words of God, ends. And those that had the scripture and were from the life that they were in that gave it forth, knew not Christ.

P. The gospel is the scripture.'

A. Many may have the scripture and deny the power of God which is the gospel, and many had the scripture and the form, and stood against the son, the truth, Christ Jesus, the power of God, the gospel.

And as for thy other lies and slanders which are not worth mentioning, which come from thy drunken spirit, when the spirit is awakened that suffers by it, thou shalt feel every word thy burthen, and thou that dost set the scriptures above Christ, and God, and the spirit, art a heathen.

Thomas Leadger's ‘Antiquakers' Assertions. His principles in it

6

follow.

P. HE saith, The divine nature is without mixture of sin, but it doth not destroy wholly the sinful nature that is in us;' and the being of sin dieth not until the body die;' and 'sin hath been in us to humble us.'

A. Sin is that which doth not humble, but lifts up. That which humbles people, and brings down the sin, is the humility which bears the sin and iniquity, which is Christ. And the saints were made free from sin while they were upon the earth, and had the body of sin put off. And they who have received the divine nature, know it, and have escaped the pollutions that are in the world, and the lust of it; and so the divine nature destroys sin in its being.

P. Again he saith, The scripture is a quickening spirit, the wisdom of God, the power of God unto salvation, the words of the blessed scriptures every line of it. I have had (saith he) the righteousness of God revealed in my soul; I have had the love of God, the grace of Christ, the communion of the holy ghost manifest in me, but I trample upon all attainments, the highest, as dung.'

A. Many had the scriptures, and stood against the wisdom of God, and stood against the power of God, yea, killed and persecuted the Lord of life and glory; they that had the dead letter without the life. And many got the form, and denied the power, and denied the quickening spirit. And the spirit of Christ doth not bring to trample upon attainments, not upon the love of Christ, nor the righteousness of Christ. The love of Christ, the grace of Christ, the righteousness of Christ, were never esteemed as the dung, nor trampled upon as the dung. Such as were transgressors were as dung, and they trampled upon the love of Christ, the righteousness of Christ, but who come into this, trample upon their own notion.

P. He saith again, That perfection is a golden dream, and the scriptures are the word of God.'

A. Perfection is over all dreams be they never so golden, and it ends them all, and is above them all. And Christ's name is called

the word of God,' and the scriptures are the words of God, which Christ, the word of God, by which all things were made, came to fulfil.

A book called 'A Serious Review of some principles of the Qua

kers.'

P. 'No man hath reason to say that the spiritual substance is in the creature, the divine essence is subject to change as is the soul of man, and every one is enlightened that comes into the world by the light of Christ,' and this he calls a natural light.' And 'that some persons are come up out of the fall, is an error. I do not own a perfection without sin, and it is an error to say there is any perfection without sin.'

A. All erring is in the fall, and that which is come up out of the fall is come out of the error, into the second Adam, where no error is, which many witness, for all error is in the first Adam in the fall, and in him that tempted. And the light which doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world, by which the world was made, which was before the world was made, by which all things were made and created, in whom is life, and this life is the light of men; and men being in the light which they are enlightened with, and coming by the light to him from whom the light doth come, they come into the perfection, out of sin; for all sin and imperfection are in the first Adam, in the earth. And perfection is in the second Adam, Christ Jesus, who bruiseth the serpent's head, the author of imperfection. And they who are in him, are in a perfection without sin, and there is no sin in perfection, nor any error in the perfection of Christ. And all who are in the unreasonableness are ignorant of the spiritual substance, and power of God, and holy ghost, the spirit of truth, the spirit of Christ, the nature that dwells in the saints, all which are substance and not shadow, and the divine power, and the power of the Lord God. And God doth not change, nor his spirit, nor the soul, nor his power; so read thyself. God doth not change in his being, neither doth that which comes from him, that which he hath in his hand, and in his power.

P. He saith, That which is imperfect can be reconciled to God, and that they are poor blind creatures that say the light doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world, and need no light and discovery to help, and the scripture doth no where call Christ the word, but the scripture is the word, and so these poor creatures err, not knowing the scripture. To speak in the singular number is nonsense, and