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work on that day, but rest? so it was a sign; the apostle saith, the sabbath day was a shadow of good things to come, which was Christ,' the good thing who restores the creation, and giveth the liberty to horse, ass, ox, and all the creation, unto man, and stranger, and servant, and redeems man up into the image of God, and renews it, which hath been lost; and so is restoring the creation, and giving rest to his people and all the creation, and destroying the devil, death, and all his works. Christ, who is the restorer, gives rest to the creation, who was before days were, by whom all things were made.

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P. You say, Thou shalt do no murder, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's goods, house, or servant, nor any thing that is his, his wife, or ox, or ass,' &c.

A. Do you do no murder? that was the law without; do you fulfil it in christendom? then you do not murder the just principle of God in your particulars. Do you not quench the spirit in people, and suffer it not to have liberty? do you not do murder to the just of God in you, in your own particulars? and so, then stop it in the general, for opening its mouth, with all your force and might? and are you not murderers there? And do you not steal by sea and land, and cozen, and cheat, and wrong one another? nay, do you not steal the words from your neighbour, and the prophets, and the apostles, and Christ, which you never came into the life of; is not this called theft and robbery? for you have not received it from the Lord God, as the prophets and the apostles, as his son and servants did: so all your profession, church, and ministry stand in the robbery, and have not received it as they did, as the true apostles, prophets, and ministers did; ye all stand in the robbery. And do not you covet your neighbour's goods, oxen, cattle, and servants, and wife? and one getting from another goods, and getting servants one from another; is not this out of the love in which the commandment ends, where there is serving one another in love? and are not all covetous idolaters shut out of the love in which the commandment ends? And hath not this been the practice in the whole christendom, coveting men's goods, servants, cattle, and that which is not theirs? is not that out of the law and gospel, and out of a pure heart, where the commandment is known and done? and that which it ends in is Christ, and love keeps the commands of Christ, they that love do not covet, and they are not idolaters.

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P. We are not to make any images to be tolerated in the churches and chapels, or figures of things made, for it is not seemly, for God will have his church be taught by living preaching.'

A. How is it that your churches so called, are so full of pictures and images of males and females, representing a figure of Adam and Eve, the apostles, and Christ in your houses, and on signs, of fish in the sea, and

lions and other creatures upon the earth, and of things as you imagine in heaven? are not all these your inventions, your works and inventions, you have learned of the Papists, and they from the heathen, not from the apostles? And you have daubed your churches, and flourished them with your pictures; these things you call your churches, but the church is in God, which the gates of hell cannot prevail against, but a shower of rain, or an earthquake, or a great wind, will prevail against your church, and the devil may come with his carnal weapons and throw it down, but the church of Christ, the pillar of truth, is that which the devil is out of.

P. 'You say a man may swear before a magistrate, and that this kind of swearing is ordained by God's word, therefore well used of the saints, and it is not lawful to swear by the saints or other creatures.'

A. Here ye are out of the doctrine of Christ, who saith, 'swear not at all,' and out of the magistrates' state the apostle speaks of, and out of Christ's doctrine and the apostles', and have broken the commands of Christ and the apostles' doctrine, which say, 'swear not at all:' so you wrong Christ Jesus, and the word of God you deny. And though Abraham sware, and Jacob and Joseph sware, the prophets and Moses sware, David sware, and the angels sware, and men in strife swear by the greater, and the oath ended the strife and controversy amongst men; yet Christ saith, before Abraham was I am,' he reigns over the house of Joseph and Jacob, he is the end of the prophets, he is the end of Moses, he is the end of men of strife, and brings peace on the earth. The angels must bow down to him, that saith 'swear not at all,' who was before Abraham was, and David called him Lord, who was greater than Solomon. And this is my beloved son, hear ye him.' Now which of you hear him? They said in the old time, perform thy vows to the Lord; this was the old time, the day of Abraham, David, the prophets, Moses, and Solomon; but Christ, who was before all time, by whom all things were made, the oath of God, ends the time, and saith, 'swear not at all;' so do his true ministers and the apostles, Above all things, my brethren, swear not at all, neither by heaven, nor by earth, lest you fall into condemnation.' Now here were true brethren, that kept the doctrine of Christ and the apostles, and his commands, which swearers break, who are got up since the days of the apostles, who are the false brethren apostatized from the true. So now the fruits of false and true brethren are seen, who keep the commands of Christ, and walk in the doctrine of the apostles, and who do not.

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P. You say, 'that in the fourth commandment God doth command that the ministers of the gospel, and the schools of learning, should be maintained, and on the sabbath frequent studiously divine assemblies, hear the word diligently, using the sacraments.'

A. Your schools, your sacraments, your sabbath, your studies by men, your ministers at your schools, you have made since the apostles, and not by the Lord, but among yourselves, who are apostatized from his spirit; for the apostles had not schools. And the apostle said, 'let no man judge you in meats or drinks, new moons, and sabbath days, &c. for the body is Christ,' and he brought them off from these services to Christ, the substance, the body, who ended the sabbath days, and the offerings upon them, who was before days, who is the rest for his people, and did not bring people into days, but into Christ, by whom all things were made, who was Lord of the sabbath. And such meet on the first day of the week, and are taught of God, and outstrip all your teachers made in schools, and by the learning of men; and so are not of man, nor by man, but the outward schools are of men, and by men. P. You say, 'The fifth commandment enjoins you to yield obedience to the faithful commandments of them that are over you, and the catechism.'

A. The fifth commandment enjoins that men should obey the command of God, not of men, nor the catechism, nor such stuff as is in this catechism, but they who are come to Christ come to the end of the commandments, the end of the law, him by whom the world was made, and who was before it was made.

P. You say, 'The meaning of the seventh commandment is, that you should live temperate, modest, and chaste, and holy in wedlock.'

A. Is this so, have you not broken wedlock both with God and man, and lost the chaste virgin state; and so got up into intemperance, immodesty, unchasteness, into uncleanness, and filthiness, and so show by your fruits that you neither come to keep this commandment, nor to Christ the end of it?

P. You say, 'The eighth commandment doth not only forbid robbery, but covetousness after other men's goods, evil, witchcraft, devices to seek after other men's goods.'

A. Then are you not all found in this seeking and endeavouring by force after other men's goods, and hath not this been much of your practice both by sea and land, of many people in the whole Christendom, who have been found in this witchcraft you speak of? and is not all this to be judged with the spirit of the Lord God to be out of his commands, and out of the love of God and Christ the end of the law? Therefore repent, and amend all your ways, doings, and lives, that you may return to the Lord, and find peace and rest in the time of need.

P. You say, 'The ninth commandment saith, bear not false witness against any man, and you should shun lying, and not falsify any man's

word, nor backbite, nor reproach, and shun all careless kind of lives,' &c.

A. How is it then that there are so many false witnesses, back biters, reproachers, rash condemners, men living in such careless kind of lives and deceit, among you, which is the devil's works? this is all out of the commands of God and the law, and short of Christ the end of it, and the fruits of this have now showed themselves.

P. You say, 'No one that is converted unto God perfectly, observes and keeps his commandments.'

A. Then no man loves God amongst you, nor are you converted; neither are you of the seed of the woman that keep the commands of God; neither are you the children of God that John speaks of, that keep the commandments of God, that love God; neither are you believers, for Christ is the end of the law to them that believe.

P. You say, 'There is no man in this life able to keep the law of God, and why then should God's law be so exact and severe?'

A. The law of God is just, is not so exact, nor so severe, but is just and equal, and righteous, and perfect, and good, and not, as you look upon it, exact and severe. Now Christ the righteousness of God is the end of the law, and the man that loves God keeps his commandments, and comes to the end of the commandments, that is, love out of a pure heart.

P. You say, Christ teacheth you to call God Father, in the beginning of your prayers.'

A. Christ taught that to his disciples who were his children, his sheep, but that was not spoken to the world that did not believe in the light that enlightens every man that comes into the world;' for the Pharisees could call him Father and Lord, but did not the things he commanded them, and such Christ said were of the devil, and the prayers of such he rebukes; the disciples could pray this in truth. So you must be born again of God, not committing sin, when you call God Father you must be like him, else you are bastards, begotten of the wicked one, children of the transgressor, sons of the sorcerer. The prophet speaks of children of God distinct from such as call him Father in the transgression, whom he hath not begotten, the transgressor's birth, that is a bastard, a false conception.

P. You say, 'Forgive us, as we forgive them that trespass against us.'

A. Is it so do ye do so? and would you be forgiven no otherwise, but as ye forgive others that have trespassed against you? Would you have God forgive you who trespass against him, no other ways, but as you forgive trespasses against you? mark, whether you would have as you say? and whether here be not justice? and whether you can witness

you are forgiven that do not forgive others? whether you have the assurance within you?

P. You say, The particle amen, means the things sure, out of doubt, for your prayers are much more certainly heard of God, than you feel in your hearts that you unfeignedly desire the same.'

A. Amen, or so be it, for the promise is to the seed, yea and amen, which fetches up the seed out of time who hath been in prison in time, and brings it by the power of God where there is no time, and there is yea and amen; and the Lord accepts no prayer from the corrupt heart, or such whose works are sinful, whose best works are sinful, for it is the praying, preaching, singing, hearing, tasting, discerning, handling, and feeling in the spirit the Lord accepts. The Lord knows the mind of the spirit, where it groans, which spirit guiding the man, gives him an understanding of the signification of it, and so every man being reproved with the spirit, if he hears it and is in unity with it, and turns to it, it will bring him to turn to God, and be at unity with God, and here his prayers are acceptable to him; and so every man being enlightened that comes into the world, every man that turns to the light Christ hath enlightened him with, is turned to Christ, from whom it comes, which brings him to know Christ, and to ask in his name, who is the way to the Father, and is in the Father, who is God, Emmanuel, Christ Jesus, and so forth, to the end.

Robert Tuchin, John Barnes, Edward Buckler, Robert Dingly, James Crosswick, John Martin, Vincent Sparke, Joshua Tompkins, Simon Pole, Thomas Clarke, William Harby, Martin Wells, William Bignall, Richard Beminster, Matthew Herne. Their principles are as followeth, who are teachers in and about the Island of Wight; and these fifteen priests are in the rear of the army of Babylon against the Lamb.

P. THAT the good things, which the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ brings to sinners, was first heard at Jerusalem.'

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A. The gospel, which is the power of God, which is the glad tidings to sinners, was preached to Abraham, before ever it was heard at Jerusalem, and the shepherds in the field received the message of the good tidings of the glorious gospel from the angel, which was sent to them of the Lord; who said, Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,' and this was before the gospel was heard at Jerusalem. And all the fathers and prophets, that heard the power of God, heard the gospel; for the gospel is the power of God, glad tidings to the seed, and

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